Eastern Utah advocate. [volume] (Price, Utah) 1895-1915, 1913-02-27
CHAPTER ~.


ing as we entered our room
u we made n rough test for gns'
for occasionally during the night some
door down In the entry was accidental.
~ left open. and the air current. short
circuited. might fail 10 reach up into
the room aud clean out the ever gener
aung gas And 80 as we left the en-.
try we would take our lamps from our
caps and walking one before the 9th.
e., holding them out before ~ and
slowly llfting them above our heads.
watch to see N n sudden squirt ~ blue
fame from the pit lamps would dis
close the presence OF "hredamp." the
most feared " all mine rnses
There II always some gas up under
the roof nj the head 81 room or an
entry, aud when the cars were loaded
We would sometimes burn II out. hold.
ing our lamps high up against the roof
until the gas up IN the end OF n drill
hole or IN hollow Of n rock burst
suddenly into soft blue and yellow
flame that pulled out against the roof
and down toward our hands There
was never much Of u. hut once IN
awhile whore the drill bored through
into n pocket there was more gas than
the men anticipated. and twice ! have
seen men come staggering down the
entry. holding their faces IN their
hands. when the lame had swcrved
suddenly down and caught them. We
could always hear 1.-THE trickling. like
water running over pcbbles-and some.
times too. az we ant and waited we
could hear far NJ In the strata above n
sudden cracking ne the pressure Of
200 feet 81 solid stone bent beneath its
weight the supporting timbers aud pill.
lars Of coal that held up tho roof %
the mine. Oid miners call these noises
the working ~ n mine. and often
whore the rooms we're close together
and the walls Of coal between them
were thin there was a constant spin.
tering sound and louder noises that
would bring M suddenly 20 our feet In
= little panic OF fear
II II not che loading nor the long
hours with the shovel and pick that
grind into the brain. but Il IA the ri
lcnce aud the waiting. the silence and
then the sounds. and then the silence
again
A coal mine Ia vast city In an IN
derrround world Reside the holstinE
shaft. down which the men are lower
"a into the mine and from which the
coal Il lifted In great ''Hkips" or more
often In the mine cars themselves.
there Il the alrshaft These are usual.
~ the only two connections between
the mine and the outer world. Shaft
I. where We worked. was about 400
feet below the aurfnce and comprlsed
over seventy-five miles OF tunuela laid
out by the engineers transit. accord.
ing TO perfect system for the hauling
Of the coal and the ultimate mining OF
the maximum quantity. From the air
shaft 20 the hosting shaft ran the
main tunnel or entry. aud parallel and
AZ right angles with this tunnel ran
other entries. dividing the mine Into
great sections
Down into the alrshaft every hour OF
tho day and night an enormous fan in
the farmhouse at the top OF the SHAFT
pumped air Into the niue. and BY
means OF many doors. Stopplngs and
bridges or "overcaats" this strong cur.
rent OF air passed through every mile
RI tunneling. never crossing its own
path and never stopping until Il again
reached the main entry. but this time
az tho foot OF the holstinE SHAFT.
through which. fouled by the gases.
the dust and impurities OF the mine. q
poured out a cold blast In summer and
In winter pillar OF misty vapor that
assembled far into the structure OF the
upple tower above the shaft mouth.
To keep this current OF air from taking
the path OF the least resistance aud
short circulting." cutting on whole
sections OF the mine. there was ar.
ranged n system OF doors which were
opened 10 allow the trains aud the
mine cars 10 pass and closed again /
when they had gone through. As an
additional precaution 10 take care OF
this lifeblood circulation. without
which work IN the mine would be i'm. |
possible, inspectors, whose duty Il was
10 measure the strength OF the current
aud 10 inspect the doors and stopplngs
to see that no part OF the mine escnp.
cd the cleansing daft. passed con. |
stantly from place to place. tes,iag for
the presence OF gas with their safety /.
lamps aud ever measuring the volume
and flow OF the air current
And through all this vast system OF
tunnels ran the great underground
electric railway. with It's low hanging
wire. Its switching stations, It's sid.
ings and its main belt line. small
electric locomotives in the various ont. /
lying sections OF the mine gathered the .
loaded cars from the rooms where they
were filled by the leaders aud made
up the trains on sidings near the main
belt line. All day long the large thlr.
teen ton locomotives gathered these
trains and dragged them past the scale
house, where Old Man Davis checked
up the weight OF the loaded cars 10
each mans credit to the great pit be- |