Evening star., 1934-11-18
Continued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page.)
times he had passed No. 10 entry in
those last four days. He grabbed it
up. The light from his electric head
lamp showed a scrawl:
"Forty-two men alive in tenth left
For Gods sake, hurry"
The note was dated Friday.
Her Daddy Comes Back.
Mary was still waiting at the mine
mouth when her daddy, weak from
lack of food, was brought out on a
stretcher, along with Al companions.
Thank you. Mr.. Bill" said Mary.
"I knew you'd get my daddy for
me-"
And a flood of tears came to the
child's relief.
When the explosion occurred, AZ
men who had not been caught by
the progressive blast, realizing that
they could not make the mine mouth
without running afoul of deadly gases,
had retreated to the dead-end of No.
10 entry. There they had built two
sets of walls, one inside the other, Of
rock and coal, cementing them with
muck scraped from the floor. The
double barricade had sealed out the
carbon monoxide and the men had
sat down to wait.
Friday night several Of the miners,
whose nerves could no longer stand
the strain of the continued entomb-
ment, started to tear down the brat
tices in the hope they could reach
safety. But there was enough strength
and determination left in their calmer
companions to keep them from it..
However, it was decided that one of
the men might leave. He was given
note, in the event he should sue
cumb to the fumes. The mine had
not yet cleared when he reached the
main drift. He staggered, dropped
the note on the track and shouted
to his companions for help just as he
bursting relays on the part of his
buddies to drag him back to doubtful
safety behind brattice walls. But
had it not been for that message
fluttering on the main track No. 10
entry might not have been explored
for days and-well, Mary's vigil might
not have had its happy conclusion.
Blasts Rarer Each Year.
But coal mine explosions like that
are becoming rarer every year, due
in large measure, to the research of
the United States Bureau of Mines
and the cooperation Of operators
and men. Classy" mines are better
ventilated. electric miners lamps are
replacing the open flame carbide
lights. new explosives that leave no
noxious gases have been developed,
electric fuses have replaced powder
fuses and Illuminating caps.
Explosions ordinarily start at the
working face of the coal seam. In
many large mines the working face
has been driven back into the hills
5, 10 or more miles. Side drifts or
entries branch from the main haulage-
ways at frequent intervals and from
them open smaller rooms and gal
leries. An explosion at the working
face will stir up dust on walls, roof
and floor of the drift behind it. This
dust, suddenly thrown into suspen-
sion. will ignite, stirring up dust be-
yond, carrying on progressive ex-
plosion that reaches its fingers of fire
and wrack throughout the mine,
trapping and annihilating men miles
from where the explosion started.
Most mine explosions are caused BY
dust, not by gas.
"Duster" Curbs Danger.
But now the "rock duster" is fast
eliminating that danger. Thousands OF
tons of pulverized, silica-free lime
stone are blown annually onto the
walls and roofs of rooms and drifts in
the well-operated mines Of the coun-
try. Limestone dust is not explosive.
1t lowers the ignition point OF coal
dust, when mixed with it, to point
where it is no longer hazardous. If
a local explosion does take place there
is little likelihood of its spreading.
Miners at the working face are sup
piled with bags of limestone dust,
which they throw onto the coal seam
as they break new faces. Motor
driven blowers, hauled by electric To-
comotives, run through the main
drifts once a week, filling every
crevice and covering every surface
with this dust that means safety from
explosion. The odd thing is that the
inside of a coal mine is no longer
black, except at the working face. It's
as white as a dairy barn that has
;,,,k Lanv,
The coal measures of Virginia, West
Virginia and Kentucky form a new
field, compared with other coal re-
gions Of the country. Thirty-five
years ago this district was back
woods" Pioneer families, whose fore
fathers had pushed West from sea-
board plantations, still lived a pioneer
life in their log houses. These noun
tain people have the typical American
qualities that came straight to them
from one of the oldest and one of the
best American stocks. And it is these