Semi-weekly herald., 1910-05-16
$4,000, ,o0o, 900 COAL FIRE STOP
PED; BURNS FIFTY YEARS
(By William f. Curtis, Correspondent
of the Chicago Record-Herald.)

Il w ASniNt lON.-One OF the most
remarkable feats in the history of en-.
gineering has recently been accom-
plished near Mauch Chunk, Pa, In
order to save 400 900. 900 tons OF an
thracite coal, valued at $4,000. .000. 900
belonging to the Lehigh Valley Coal
and Navigation company, which has
been on fire for more than fifty years
There are many burning coal mines
in different parts of the country. Some
of them have been on fire for ages
being gradually consumed Phenom-
ena OF this KIND are scattered along
the coal belt In the Rocky mountains
which extends from Wyoming to Ari.
Zona. through me states OF Utah and
Colorado. No ore knows how they
caught fire, but there are various the.
ories which have been the subject OF
much speculation. Three explanations
are accepted "a That they were
caused by stroke of lightning; (2)
That they were caused by forest fires
t3) That they We're caused by Indian
camp fires. built under the protecting
ledges of the mountain. All of these
reasons are probably sound and here
have been burning since the days OF
the cliff dwellers. an extinct race. HUI
man life is easily extinguished, hut
when deposit of concealed combupti
ll. tes h.,y a. q.
Il different matter.
In many cases along the cliffs
which extend for thousand miles OF
more from Wyoming to Arizona the
outcrops of the beds OF coal come
to the surface and in various places
may be found accumulations of ashes
showing where fires have been burn
ing in the past. In some places the
heat of the burning coal has been
so intense to melt the rock
One of the most notable fires Is on
the banks of the Green river; another
is on the bank of Fremont river, where
the coal has been burning for cen
turies, In a canyon of the Prince
river in Utah, where coal Is now be.
ing mined. there are two fires which
the people have tried to extinguish In
vain.
There is burning mine on the
banks of the Ohio river the mouth OF
which is situated so low that 1t is
flooded annually when the high water
comes in the spring, but even that
does not extinguish the flames.
In the bad lands of the Little Mis-
scuri, North Dakota, deposit of lig
mite is being slowly consumed. The
Indians call 1t smoking earth" and
1t is a tradition among the Sioux that
the pale, thin column of smoke which
arises from IL was seen by their an
cestors ages ago. There is no way OF
telling how the coal became ignited
The combustion is very slow and
the flame is not visible except al
night.
Near Montgomery, w. Va, mine OF
camel coal has been burning with
greater or less activity since 1866
when 1t was set on fire, whether by
accident or design will never be
known. 1t is related that there had
been trouble with the miners, who
were discharged for some reason, and
the following morning flames were
roaring through the entry and were
well under way. The timbers and rails
have long since disappeared. The
Itbree-quarters through the vein OF coal
and still burns on.
There are two perpetually burning
mines at Pittsburg, one within the
city limits, the other in the borough
of West Liberty. and although many
methods have been tried, none has
been effective enough to extinguish
the flames.
Fires in mines are frequent; they
are often started by explosions, by the
carelessness of employees and other
causes. The thin layers of fine coal
dust that accumulate upon the timbers
are very inflammable, and the high
temperature that usually prevails
makes it all the more dangerous. Ac-
cidents have frequently happened, but
as a rule it is possible to extiuguish
the flames by flooding the fire area
with water or by choking them With
sand.
Nobody knows how the fires in the
Lehigh Valley Coal companys mine
started. 1t was discovered on the
morning of Feb. l5, 1859, in some aban-
doned workings in what is known as
the Mammoth VEN at the east end of
the Summit Hin basin in Panther
Creek valley. The general shape of
that coal basin ha3 been compared TO
a mans hand, with the thunlo and the
fingers extended The fire started near
the end of the thumb. which is 6eo
feet wide at the narrowest and loo
feet wide at its Droadest point; and
| for fifty-onc years 1t has been work
ing its way slowly toward The ma'a
part of the hand. II II ever rea cheo
there the work OF devastation could
I