The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-11-05
A 5O.YEAR FIRE
EXTINGUISHED
Four Hundred Million Tons of Coal
Saved.

million tons of coal from flame |
that had been burning half century, |
one of the most remarkable opera !
tions in the history of American |
engineering has just been completed
at Mauch Chunk, Pa.
This is one of the garden spots of
the country. The scenery of the
famous Panther Creek Valley and of
the heights that overhang it caused
this section to be spoken of as the
Switzerland of America. Some of
it's beauty has been torn from it
by the great coal mining operations
that have been continually in opera
ton, but much remains of the pic
turesque.
But under this smiling face of
nature has been raging for half
century, beginning before the Civil
War was started, consuming fire
that has eaten ton after ton of coal
in it's relentless advance.
Nobody knows how this fire start
ed, but it was first discovered in the
mines on February 10, 1859. Dur
| ing the time it has been raging,
while two generations were coming
and going, it has consumed ten mil
lion tons of coal, estimated at loss
to the company of $25,OOO,OOO.
Succeeding administrations of the
Lehigh Valley Coal and Navigation
company, owners of the land, have
recognized that the greatest service
they could do to the company was to
stop the progress of the flames, be-
fore they finally got into the main
deposit, and destroyed all the coal.
Four hundred million tons of that
lay in danger, and this represented
a value of $4,000 100000. 1t was
a stake we'll worth playing for, and
we'll worth exerting the last atom
of ingenuity, and spending fortune
in cash, if the advance of the flames
could be checked. But how to do
it was the problem.
That flame which may have been
started from hot ashes raked from a
stove at the foot of the slope, or
from a miners lamp, carelessly left
among the timbers, presented a
problem so serious that the best en-
gineers failed in their efforts at a
solution.
One plan after another was tried
by engineer after engineer, but the
result was always the same failure
and big outlay of money for which
no return could be shown.
In the early stages the blunder
was made of attempting to subdue
the flames with water, but this only
hn CT
ter coming in contact with the flames
produced explosions that cracked
the coal open, andmade new paths
along which the fire could make its
way. "
Sometimes the fire would slow UP
bit, and engineers would get the
: idea that they had succeeded. On
one occasion, indeed, it seemed to
have stopped altogether, but just
: when the hope dawned the flames
: broke out afresh, in still more pow
erful volume, and the sacrifice OF
: valuable coal land went on una
bated.
= Only one fortunate circumstance
) came to the aid of the man who has
, now finally succeeded in making the
: winning fight against the fire, w. A
, Lathrop. This is the shape of the
deposit Because Mother Nature
: elected to place the coal in such a
| direction as she did, Mr.. LathroI
| was able to devise the scheme that
5 has finally brought success after
five decades of failure.
: The general shape of the Panther
Creek coal basin has been likened tC
that of mans hand, with the
l thumb extended and the other fing'
ers held together. The spur that
marks the thumb extends to Summit
l Hill, and at the end of the thumb
the slope was originally opened up
: The point where the fire started fif
ty years ago was on the outside OF
the thumb.
S 1t has taken fifty years for the
4 flame to eat up this giant thumb
} but now the job is vitally accom-
e plished, and the next step of the
work of devastation would be to ge
5 into the main part of the hand.
e Once into the hand there would
e have been nothing to stop the pro
81 SooJ anu lOul huh0lCu LAilllOL
i tons of coal must inevitably have
/ been sacrificed. But there is where
n science in the person of Engineer
= Lathrop came to the rescue.
h w. A. Lathrop, in addition to be
. ing an expert on engineering sub
jects, is also the president of tn,
t Lehigh Valley Coal and Navigation
= company, and he has been for
e long time devoting himself to stud.
e of the subject in order to save tn,
g great coal deposit.
e He first tried the plan of "slush
j, ing holes" Long borings wer,
o made across the spur and in ad
e vance of the rapidly moving flames
1t was difficult work, for the hea
# was great, and the men who CAV
It the battle had to be relieved often
g These seven hundred holes wer
Iafx ~