The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-28
A DRILL AND HAMMER MATCH
MINERS CONTEST THAT STIRRED
a COLORiDO AUDIENCE.

single and Double Team Contests n some
Remark able Records Made betting
by the Watchers That No Ef.o rt Is Made
10 StOp-A Physician Always at Hand.
In CoiSado there Ia one form OF sport
wholly unkpown to the East. the miners
contest with the drill. II Ii the most vio-
lent form OF exercise. calling for ire
mendous endurance. a sure eye and great
quickness. The rules under which 1t is
played limit the contestants TO actual miners.
just as college sports are limited to actual
students. and the code Of ethics in force
among the drillsrs Is as rigid as that which
governs the conduct of any body Of scien-
tihc men.
The 1907 contest. which has just taken
place in Boulder county, Is fairly typical
of all these contests. although the Boulder
organization considers itself tho leanest
and most perfectly s~ystematized OF them
all. The stone on which the contestants
tried their muscle was a 20 ton block Of gran
lite. brought down from Eldora, close to the
Continental Divide. 1t Ia the hardest homo
geneous granite to be found in the State Of
Colorado and 10 much more refractory
than the average stone in which the miner
has TO work. The drills used vary In length
from ten TO forty inches and are Of the best
grade OF seven-eighths inch steel.
The men work in double and single teams.
The highest record Tor depth OF hole is made
by the double team. although the man who
works single handed holds the record for
the number Of strokes TO the Minute. The
winner OF the single team contest this year.
a miner from Wallstreet. Boulder county.
by name Charlie Dahlin, drove the drill
20 lie inches into the rock in fifteen min
utes, beginning with 108 blows 20 the min
ute and after the sixth minute dropping
70 100 blows.
The double team winners were Collins
and Shea Of Boulder. who came close to the
worlds record. drilling a hole 50 inches deep
in fifteen minutes, Collins averaged thirty
three blows in his half minute work, and
Shea, with a somewhat more. powerful
stroke, averaged thirty. The contest was
held IA usual in the great auditorium Of the
Boulder Chautauqua. On the last morning
of the three days struggle there were more
than 5000 people in the auditorium--chau-
t~auquans who were attracted from the
nearby cottages and tents by the yelling
and cheering OF the miner partisans. citi-
zens of Boulder in search of the most ex-
citing spectacle to be seen In all this ountry
of hair raising experiences. miners who had
boarded their earnings for months TO wager
them on the home team.
Two purses are offered annually. the
double team prize being $3.50 and the single
team $3.50. All che expenses OF the contest
are borne by the citizens committee. under
whose auspices the engagement takes place.
This committee and thu members OF the
Chautauqua board are deaf and blind TO
the gambling that goes or around the
block Of granite.
The work OF the double team 10 mar
v~ellous, and terrifying. One man holds
the drill while the other swings the ham
mer at arms length. bringing it down
with rhythmic beat and tremendous force
on the small drill head. His work lasts half
a minute. when he drops his hammer and
hammer that 10 by his aide and bringing Il
down upon the drill In such perfect time
! thegs SCENE No hree4A4~ -