In the beginning, there was only the candle. Miners would also use it to light the fuses of explosives... but often the fuse would blow out the candle in the process. So it was very important to have a second lit candle in order to see so you could get away in time! I fear they probably learned this the hard way.
The carbide lamp came along in 1900. It was originally designed for bikes. It lasted 2 hours, was brighter and miners could carry a container for carbide refill. Eventually they upgraded to Wheat lamps (with a 7 pound battery) and today we use LEDs. They no longer wear them on their hats though since the lights are so bright and blinding.
This is galena, a combination of lead and sliver. This piece weighs 42 pounds. Galena is MUCH heavier than average dirt. A truck loaded only 1/4 full can still be overweight.
A sample dynamite wall
Nitroglycerin, which went on to become dynamite, was discovered in 1868. It was superior explosive but froze at 52 degrees (remember this mine is a constant 48). When it defrosted, it was extremely unstable. Later they learned to add antifreeze.
A dynamite wall was used to advance a seam on a vein (a seam is a layer of ore thick enough to be mined with profit). This sample is 8-foot by 8-foot, with 6-foot deep holes. There might be 20 to 30 holes, depending on how hard the rock was. The charges couldn't be set off all at same time either or the wall would just fracture and remain in place. Some holes had to be kept empty, others placed at an angle, etc.
Essentially they needed to blast in concentric rings, creating a larger and larger hole. Finally, the bottoms ones would detonate, moving the broken rock away from the face.
1) 'Center cut holes' in the center fired first, blasting rock straight out and using the empty holes (called relievers) for expansion
2) Enlargers then collapsed more rock toward the center
3) Trimmers on top and bottom broke out clean corners
4) Finally the lifters (along the bottom) established a clean break at floor level
Using a 6-foot fuse, miners only had 3 minutes to light them all in the proper order... then run. Eventually they upgraded to electric blasting caps which had time delays. In 1900, the leading cause of death was drilling into a mis-shot (unexploded dynamite). Miners had to carefully listen and count each hole as it fired. Although here in this mine, more workers were killed in avalanches going to/from work than in the mine.
A blasting machine spins a dynamo, which creates electricity, which sets off the blasting caps.
Continuing on
It was the Cornish miners (immigrants from Cornwall in southwest England) who were the most valued. Along with their vast mining experience, they also brought with them some of their culture... such as 'pasties' (hearty, filled pastries, kind of like a self-contained pot pie). They could be eaten using just a thumb and one finger. This was important since mines were often filled with poisonous arsenic... which you didn't want to transfer from your hands to your food.
The miners would also leave a tiny piece for the Tommyknockers. Known as Knockers or Buccas in their homeland, these mythical creatures were the equivalent of Irish leprechauns or Scottish brownies. They were short, lived underground and looked like tiny miners. It's likely that the dwarves of Snow White were made in their image. They were mischievous and might steal a miner's lunch or tools if left unattended. Some saw them as helpful spirits, perhaps of those who had previously died in a mining accident, and they would 'knock' on the mine walls to warn of an imminent cave-in (which was probably just the creaking of the timbers before they gave way). Most miners were superstitious, and eventually even non-Cornish miners came to believe in the Tommyknockers.
This ore pass goes up 650 feet to another mining level. It was basically a 4-foot wide hole that the miners could dump the ore down to the train tracks here on this level. Sometimes it got plugged up and had to be blown open with dynamite.
This is a 200-foot long slusher. It extends in and out along a track, gathering and dragging back rocks. This saved someone from having to actually carry all the rocks. We got to watch it in action and it was quite loud!
This 1-ton ore car sat on tracks with a 1% grade so that no matter how heavy it was, it could could still be pushed. Originally they were filled using a shovel called a banjo (a very broad, round, short-handled tool that looked... well, not unlike a banjo). The banjo mentioned in the famous song "Oh! Susanna" (written in 1840 by Stephen Foster) is probably this shovel and not a musical instrument.
I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee,
I’m going to Louisiana, my true love for to see
It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry
The sun so hot I froze to death; Susanna, don’t you cry.
Oh, Susanna, don’t you cry for me
cos’ I come from Alabama
With my banjo on my knee.
The rocker shovel or mucking machine came along in 1937. No longer did miners have to load the car with a shovel. This was much, much faster and much, much louder (as a short demonstration showed)!
After eating all those pasties, the miners had to eventually 'put' them somewhere. This box was pushed down a remote track somewhere that wasn't being used. Miners, however, were usually 16 - 17 year old boys who enjoyed playing pranks... so this was a frequent target.
An old stretcher
Back where we started
We loaded back in the small train and had a very fast ride out.
Whew! It's much warmer out here!
WATCH A FEW CLIPS OF THE TOUR!
We drove back to Silverton the way we had come.
The Rocky Mountain or Blue Columbine is Colorado's state flower.
They only grow up at these higher elevations.
We stopped at the tramlines running overhead to the Mayflower Mill.
The mill in the distance
The line overhead...
... and running down into Arrastra Gulch
Arrastra Gulch was one of the busiest and longest-running mining areas of the San Juan Mining District. It began in 1870 with the discovery of gold at the Little Giant Mining Company and ended in the 1980's with the Sunnyside Mining Company. This was where some of the most complex aerial tram systems were built. The trams ran ore to the processing mills and men to their jobs. In an area where winters were severe and most of the mines were located above treeline, the trams were vital for year-round work... easily gliding high above snowslides or avalanche areas.
The gulch was named after some of the first equipment used in it... the arrastra, which was used to pulverize quartz and free any metals. It was eventually replaced by steam boilers and mill machinery.
A layout of the tramlines in the valley below (click for a larger version)
Line 1: The Iowa-Tiger Mining Company. From the mine (C) to the mill (B) was a 9,400 foot-long tram that dropped more than 2,200 feet in one mile. Built in 1895, it was considered an engineering marvel of its time.
Line 2: The Mayflower Complex. The 1929 tram line from the mine (B) to the mill (A) ran 10,100 feet and was the only one in the county to have steel towers.
Line 3: The Wilfley-Mears Mill and Flume. This project to retrieve mill tailings was designed in 1914.
Line 4: The Silver Lake Mining Company. The mill (A) was connected to a some of the earlier mines.
Line 5: The Little Giant. The mine (A) was staked in 1870 and the mill (B) was built in 1873. It had the first tramway in the area.
Number 6 is the 7-mile long Silverton Northern Railroad line between Silverton and Eureka, built in 1896 to transport concentrates from the mills to the smelter.
Miners going to work on the Gold King tramway in 1906
The metal towers at the Mayflower Mill were built in the 1920's.
The Iowa-Tiger Mill, situated in the middle of the gulch, could process 150 tons of ore a day.
The Silver Lake Mill (located on the Animas River) could process 300 tons per day. It was the finest of its kind when built in 1900, with its own electrical generating plant, railroad siding and other modern improvements.
The ruins of some mighty buildings
Back in Silverton, we took a short break so Joanne could do a bit of jewelry shopping.
