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The day crew is finished with a shift when they explode the charges in the holes they drilled. The second shift then comes in and mucks out the loose ore and trams it to the ore bin. They then drill new holes, load them with dynamite, explode them and leave the loose ore for the next shift to muck out.

If you are working in a "stope", ( an underground room) you work on top of a pile of ore, drilling holes in the "ceiling" and there is no mucking because the ore is taken out below through chutes and the ore pile is lowered just enough to make room for the next crew to come in and drill another round of holes.

I worked in some stopes at the Klondike that were only eighteen inches high and slanted up at a forty five degree angle. We laid there on our stomachs beside a big stoper and let the mud and water run down our collars. The drills pounded away and cut into the rock. Water was forced down a hole in the center of the drill and it washed the cuttings out and it came down into our collars. The noise was deafening and there was always a lot of oily smoke discharged from the drilling machines. It was not a fun job but there were those who would not work at anything else.

There was constant danger from loose rock falling from overhead. There was also danger from explosive charges in broken ore piles where the charge had failed to detonate as planned. I have uncovered many sticks of dynamite in muck piles and the detonating caps were still inserted in the explosives. Fortunately they did not go off when I dug them out but great care had to be exercised.

The crew at the Klondike was quite a mixture. Many were from the East where they had worked in tunnel jobs but could no longer pass the physical examinations required there. They came West to work in small mining operations where no exams were required prior to employment. There were coal miners from Utah where the mines had closed down and the miners needed jobs. There were also men from other lines of work who were mining because it was the only job they could get. Our "Boss" was an ex-owner of a mine and he had just sold out and was marking time until the economic situation improved.

I probably should tell you that the miners were very protective of me. They would not allow me to go in the most dangerous parts of the mine. They even overruled the Boss on some occasions. They also had all kinds of advice for me when they learned I was getting married in August. I cannot repeat their advice here but it was both amusing and serious. On my last day on the job they would not allow me to go underground. Each of them knew dozens of workers who had fatal accidents on their "last day." The final weekend of work for me the miners put on a dinner dance in my honor. We went to a hotel in Kingman and dined and danced in style. I made a little speech of appreciation, thanking them for all their help and advice. I regretted leaving such wonderful friends but was most thankful to leave the mine without an injury. I had that money I needed to become a husband.