A Mine, a Mystery Blast, and $20,000 to Find Out What's Down There
The Conquest mine pumps out its flooded lower workings and bets big on a new season of development — but a strange underground explosion nearly knocks the crew off its feet.
The work of unwatering the Conquest lower workings will be completed today and drifting will be commenced at once. Supt. DeCamp is in charge of the work, and reports are to the effect that it is expected to spend in the neighborhood of $20,000 in development work this season, with more money to come if favorable showings are found.
A peculiar explosion, thought to be due to foul air, occurred in the mine one day last week. The workmen were leaving the tunnel when a terrific explosion occurred, the force of which threw them off their feet, but fortunately they had gone far enough from the scene to escape any serious results.
“The workmen were leaving the tunnel when a terrific explosion occurred, the force of which threw them off their feet.”
The Conquest's gamble on unwatering and drifting was the ordinary arithmetic of a mining boom — spend thousands now for the chance at a fortune later. Today the same logic drives speculative extraction across the West, and the danger of foul air underground remains a real hazard for the workers who go down first.
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