A miner squats down to operate an air drill called a stoper or a "wiggle tail" in a gold mine in Gilpin County, probably in the 1880s or 1890s. The miner leans against a thick rock wall. Smaller rocks stand in a pile in the dark background. The stoper drill weighed about 75 pounds and was powered by compressed air forced through heavy, wire-wrapped hose connected to the main air pipes of the compressor. The compressor, along with the hoist and allied equipment, was ; included in the surface installation of the mine. The miner drills holes about 8 feet deep into the rock surface with the drill steel. After several such holes were drilled the miner would then load them with dynamite sticks and just before the end of his shift would light the fuses. The ore would be broken up by the explosion and then shoveled out by men working the next shift.
Date
[between 1935 and 1950?]
Notes
by an unknown photographer, possibly A.M. Thomas; this image and "K-174" were found among a collection of glass plates in an old house in Blackhawk that was destroyed.; Title from inventory prepared by Western History Department, Denver Public Library; image also identified as "F18889"; words "Kemp #C- 31 An early day flashlight picture by A.M. Thomas - Central City" penciled on negative envelope; words "Underground in a mine. Showing use of an air driven drill called a stoper or ẁiggle-tail' Name of mine not known A.M. Thomas photo; probably early 1900s." penciled on back of larger print; image is a copy of an earlier photograph taken ; R7001251751
Description
1 photoprint ; 20 x 15 cm. (8 x 6 3/4 in.); 1 photoprint ; 26 x 21 cm. (10 x 8 in.); 2 copy photonegatives ; 11 x 9 cm. (4 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.)
