Geophone Expert Listening for Tapping of Survivors.
Courtesy of U. S. Bureau of Mines.
Building the Wall for the "Sand-Hogs."
Courtesy of U. S. Bureau of Mines.
If, indeed, it were safe to blast, it might be possible to get rid of the obstruction by the use of a heavy blast and then rush through and grab the men. But this was impossible. The Burrell tester showed a large proportion of methane gas or fire damp, and a blast of any size might easily start an explosion which would not only wreck the mine, but also kill every member of the rescue parties, while affording no chance of getting the imprisoned men.
How could the wall be taken down, without allowing the gas to percolate through?
"Stand back, men," said the official, "here come the 'sand hogs,' now."
Amazed, the colliers retreated from the coal face to give place to a very different group of men. Small and wiry folk, these, dressed in an entirely different fashion from the miners. The respirators gave them the same goggle-eyed goblin faces. Not one of them had ever been in a coal mine before.