Bodie Mine Shafts- Dynamite Danger Below!!
~~~Sinking a Mine Shaft through rock required the following sequence: (1) Drilling a round of holes. (2) Loading the holes with explosives.(3) Blasting, removing the broken rock. (4) Trimming the shaft to form. (5) Installing the timber supports. (6) Then drilling the next round of holes.
~~~The “holes” were loaded with Dynamite and fired with electric detonators, known as “blasting caps”. Dynamite was called “powder,” a carryover from the days when “black gun powder” was used in underground mining Sticks of Dynamite that did not not exploded were called “misses” or “missed holes.” They were extremely dangerous, and had to be discovered before work continued. Many a Miner was maimed or killed by accidentally drilling a “missed hole,” or setting off the charge.
~~~After blasting, the “broken rock” was removed from the bottom of the Shaft by shoveling it into the ore bucket, and hoisting it out of the the mine for dumping. This business of shoveling was known as “mucking.”
~~~With one man at the hoisting, and the other man at the bottom of the shaft, it was necessary to devise some sort of communication. by pulling a cord a man below could “ring a bell” inside the Hoisting House. Bells were used for communication. The different “bell signals” were for UP, DOWN and STOP. “Stop” meaning- STOP RIGHT NOW! That was usually- ONE BELL!
~~~When the sSgnal was given, the loaded ore bucket was hoisted up the shaft. At the surface it was dumped into a waiting mine car. A 60-Gallon Bucket held enough rock to fill one 1,100 pound capacity Mine Car. These mine cars were prevalent in small mining operations, because they fit inside a tunnel and could be handled by one man. They also pivoted, so that dumping could be directed to either side of the tracks. (Larger cars were pulled by mules.)
~~~The “timber cribbing” that supported the rock, and earthen walls of the shaft was framed to fit, then lowered into the Mine in the ore bucket. Each framed section was known as a “set”. Since the “Shaft Sets” are placed from the surface downward, each “new set” had to be “suspended from the set” above, until it was wedged in place. Iron Rods known as “hanging rods” provided the temporary support. The Shaft had to be kept “straight and plumb”- to allow the raising and lowering of the of the “free swing ore bucket.”
The miners “rode the bucket” only while lining the shaft with planks. This was extremely risky, dangerous, and done with extreme caution. (There were no guides in the Shaft.) The Shaft was all boxed in, so the Bucket would not catch any exposed timbers, if it started to swinging. It was pretty hard not to keep a hundred-foot cable from swinging.
With no Guides in the Shaft, the danger the Bucket might catch on something, and tip you out was a “falling to your death.”