Idaho mining fatalities: 1913-1940

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IDAHO MINING FATALITIES
1913 - 1940
By
Gerald E. Sherard
(April2007)
Accidents sometimes occurred on the way to and from work. Once the miner got
to the mine, he was lowered down a poorly lit shaft in an ore bucket or cage, often several
hundred feet, to his working level. How would you like to ride up an ore bucket or wait
for a ride if you and your co-workers had to suddenly escape from a mine shaft several
hundred feet down? Once down to his working level, the miner had to contend with
moving tram cars, steam lines, electric wiring, machinery of various types, and the heavy,
hot, and massively vibrating drills. Supporting timber if poorly positioned, or if the wood
became water-soaked and rotten, or with minor shifts in the earth’s crust, tons of rock
would suddenly fall, trapping or crushing the miners. The mine’s structures and supports
were wood, and fire was a constant threat.
The worst U.S. coal mine disaster occurred December 6, 1907, at the Monongah
Nos. 6 and 8 Mine at Monongah, West Virginia, in which an explosion killed 362 miners.
This disaster compelled Congress to create the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1907. The worst
U.S. metal and non metal mine disaster occurred on June 8, 1917, at the Granite
Mountain Shaft copper mine at Butte, Montana, in which a fire killed 163 miners.
1910 was the year of the largest number of major mine disaster events in the
United States overall (19 coal, 6 metal/nonmetal). Also in 1910, the Pullman Company
made the first mine rescue railroad cars for the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The cars were
former Pullman sleeping cars which had been remodeled. The chief work of station and
car personnel was to investigate as quickly as possible the cause of a mine disaster, assist
in the rescue of miners, and give first aid; and as ordinary routine, to train miners in
safety, in rescue- and first-aid equipment and methods, and to examine safety conditions
at mines and recommend improvements. The cars continuously visited mining centers in
all States to present demonstrations, lectures, and training. When a mine disaster occurred
near a station, the employee in charge, with available help and equipment, preceded at
once by train or other transportation to the mine. When a rescue car was used, it was
moved by a special locomotive or connected to the first appropriate train available. In the
initial 5 years, 300 mine accidents, including explosions, fires, and cave-ins, were
investigated. In approximate totals, 290,00 people visited the stations and cars; 230,000
attended lectures or demonstrations; 34,000 were given training in rescue- and first-aid
methods, and 11,700 training certificates were issued, increasing continuously from 509
in 1911 in 4,258 in 1915 (ten districts).
In general, early mine accidents were blamed on God or carelessness of the miner.
Such attitudes on the part of the mine owners, the courts, and government agencies
continued well into the twentieth century. In the year 2004, over 6000 miners died in
accidents in China. This attitude still persists in some parts of the world. In the U.S.,
coal mining today is far safer than it was 100 years ago. Only 22 miners died in the
United States in the year 2005. There are more people killed in farming accidents in the
U.S. today than in coal mining accidents.
The major mine accidents in Idaho which resulted in a large number of fatalities