| Show THE GASES 1 I MINES Iii Fnrmer Days Explosions Were Attributed to Evil Spirits THE CAUSES OF MINE DISASTERS I i The Grotto del Cane in Italy UnprtlouaUle Ignorance Causes a Great Deal of Sufferine I I I was among the German miners that I the term gas as applied aeriform bodies I was first used They were alarmed at the I frequency and severity of the explosions to which the followers of their craft were subject and yielding to that paramount tendency of mankind to concoct a theory of explanation for every mystery they promulgated pro-mulgated the belief that the disasters in mines were caused through the agency of spirits or ghosts whose interest it was to guard the precious metals of the hills The name by which they expressed the idea of an unseen and intangible spirit was gcist and from that our Anglicized term gas has been derived We are less superstitious today we do not believe in genii and gnomes and at times we are apt to consider con-sider ourselves safe from the dangers that beset our fathers of old because we have changed the names by which our ancestors designated such mishaps Call them gases in the modern way or gclsts in the original none can doubt that there are at work within the caverns of the earth causes which frequently culminate in dire explosions explo-sions While the ghost theory was still held an allsufficient explanation of such disasters disas-ters it was known that these mysterious influences were of two well defined classes some accomplished their deadly work by I the aid of fire and others choked their victims vic-tims to death The names now adopted for these diverse spirits are firedamp for the first and chokedamp for the second 01 to be more technically correct carburetted hydrogen which by its explosiveness and infammabit often spreads fiery destruction destruc-tion in mines and carbon dioxide which is a total nonsupporter of respiration and i which consequently produces death by suffocation suf-focation if the substance be inhaled With the latter carbon dioxide or carbonic car-bonic acid as it has been so long called we have much to do It is a colorless odorless gas and a constant product of combustion respiration fermentation and decay Anyone Any-one who desires to investigate the properties proper-ties of this strange gas may find pleasing and profitable entertainment in manufacturing manufac-turing a quantity of the substance in a comparatively pure condition and this may be done by placing a small amount of baking bak-ing soda in a conveniently sizt bottle and pouring upon it a little dilute acid muri atic acid is best adapted but strong vinegar vine-gar will do When these materials are brought together a violent effervescence caused by the of the ensues escape gas which up to that time had been imprisoned within the soda by the powerful agency of chemical attraction I the bottle had been first provided with a tightly fitting stopper through which a bent glass tube had been passed the gas could be conducted through the tube as fast as it was produced and conveyed to any desired receptacle Fill a widemouthed bottle with the gas then plunge into it a lighted candle or bet ter still a tolerably large swab dipped in alcohol and fired the flame will be instantly in-stantly extinguished Owing to this property prop-erty carbon dioxide is frequently employed em-ployed as a means of subduing fire and most of the portable fire extinguishers depend de-pend upon some device for quickly generating gen-erating large quantities of the gas I is a matter of record that a coal mine in England Eng-land was extinguished by these means after being afire for thirty years the sub teranean conflagration extending over asp a-sp ce of twentysix acres In effecting this a continuous CtiCaiP of CaVjO diXmS I gas was forced into the mine without intermission inter-mission for three weeks and to lower the temperature of the mass that there might be no danger of a reignition when air again entered the mine a spray of cold water was thrown in along with the gas There are other remarkable properties pertaining to this substance besides its being such a ironpflnced nonsupporter of combustion I we Cal capture a harmless harm-less unnecessary mouse We may honor the creature by making it the subject of a scientific execution Place it in the bottle Of carbon dioxide gas ah l it gasps a time or two and is dead indeed its demise is far more sudden Urn would have been the case had the bottle contained water instead of carbonic acid Human beings would die just a9 quickly if compelled to breathe tbs soffocating stugx I sofocatng I Car lnt nnlil Is V6FV Beavv in com pari son with the aiistt Blat though but a gas it can be pouted istom vessel to vessel and I polr carried iiLouVJRets as readily as could be done with iiiiuids A few years ago the writer enjoyed the privitegfcof visiting a large vinegar factory rh ihfc state of Maryland I noted with rtprise the huge fermenting vats with a vsapacityof several thousand gallons apiece in welch the crushed and macerated corn with the proper admixture of malt was placed By the fermentation of the mash alcohol was produced and from this the acetic acid of the vinegar was subsequently formed But it was to the vats and the operations going on within them to which my attention was most directed di-rected It was the rule of the works I that the vats should not be more ban half filled with the mash leaving the upper part of these gigantic tubs free to contain the carbon dioxide gas which re salted from the fermentation I climbed the ladder leading to tho top of one of the vats and there verified the presence of the invisible carbonic acid pas by leaning over and dipping my hand fodid cup fashion and hen pouring the unseen contents downward down-ward on the lamp flame the blaze was in every case instantly extinguished Then I got a bucket and found that the stuff could be drawn up and poured as easily as could water though to the sense of sight alone the bucket seemed empty I I learned that at these works but a few days before the time of my visit three workmen had been engaged in repairing the wall alongside one of the vats into which by mistake a double quantity of the mash had been pumped There was insufficient insuf-ficient room in the vat for the accumulating accumulat-ing carbonic acid and in consequence the huge vessel soon filled and overflowed The laborers below were without warn inn enveloped in the invisible clouds of the suffocating pas and before help could reach them all were dead When generated in low situations such as the deep wells or valleys or even the cellars of houses carbonic acid frequently accumulates more rapidly than it can ba removed by diffusion and in consequence such places fill with the deadly gas I is a time honored custom and a sensible one indeed to test the condition of such a place before descending into it by lowering some burning body I the flame goes out it is proof that the gaseous contents of the place are irrespirable and prudence would suggest that we refrain from entering it Such a place may be freed from the carbonic car-bonic acid if the gas does not gather with more than moderate rapidity in several ways The gas may be drawn out in buckets buck-ets or it may be absorbed and then removed re-moved in pans of lime or of freshly heated charcoal Many travelers have described the celebrated cele-brated Grotto del Cane or cave of the dog which occurs in Italy There is a queer old man living in the neighborhood who for a fee will enter this cave in the pres once of visitors leading with him his dog The animal soon falls senseless whereupon where-upon his master drags him into the open air and revives him with a dash of cold water The gas does not accumulate t a sufficient height to envelop the head of the man but the dog carrying his nose near the ground inhales the asphixiating gas and is in consequence speedily overcome Carbon dioxide has been often employed for murdeous and suicidal purposes the ease with which it can be produced suggesting I sug-gesting this infernal service The burning noted French chemist M Bertholet that I the young man became mentally depressed and finally resolved on the heinous crime I ef self destruction There are few people I who reach so desperatea state and feel desirous de-sirous of engaging in scientific experiments to the last but this individual was a rare I exception F locked himself in a small room closing every aperture and crevice through which taeshair ceuild be admitted provided himself with writing materials and a seconds watch lighted his charcoal furnace and was found dead on the floor By him was a paper in his lawn writing as follows folows 11 light my furaace plaoeony candle and lamp on the table with mgr watch It is now fifteen minutes past ton The charcoal char-coal lights with difliculty I ihavc placed a 1 funnel on each furnace toaid the action of the fire Twenty minutes past ten the funnels fall I replace the this does not go to my satisfaction The pulse is calm and beats as usual Tenth hour and thirty Ilminutesa thick vapor spreads itself by degrees in the chamber My candle seems eadj to go out my lamp does ibetter A wolent headache commences my eyes are filed with tears I have a gene uneasiness uneasi-ness Tenth hour and forty minutes my candle is extinguished the lamp stall burns the temples beat a if the veins would burs I am sleepy I suffer horribly at the stomach the pulse beats forty per minute min-ute Tenth hour and fifty miuute I am suffocating strange ideas present themselves them-selves no my mind lean hardly breathe I shall not live long I have symptoms of madness Tenth hour and sixty minutes I He noweonf ounas the hours and the minutes min-utes I caT hardly write my vision is disturbed dis-turbed my lamp flickers 1 did not believe we suffered much in dying Tenth hoar and sixty two minutes then follow som illegible characters There are many of us who seem to tempt I ruination of health if not indeed destruction destruc-tion of life and that too by the same means Our dwelling rooms become charged with the deadly carbonic acid and with greatest rapidity during the cold season when we strive so ardently to maintain a temperature tempera-ture which during the summer would be considered unbearably oppressive From the lungs of the inmates and from fires and lights vast volumes of the gas are produced pro-duced t and it is seldom that adequate means are adopted for the renewal of the air Then we wonder and perhaps even philosophize on the unhealthful state of the times and often consider that to be a judgment of God which is in reality but an instance of our own unpardonable ignorance igno-rance J E TALUAGE |
