Item is a photograph showing miners at the Jeffrey Mines in Asbestos around 1905.
The caption reads: This is how stripping was done about 1905 and until 1914. Horses hauled dumpcarts which were loaded by hand, to the dump. Sometimes the drivers, mostly young boys employed by the contractor, would back the cart too close to the edge of the dump and when the latch was released and the load did not slide out easily, everything went, load of earth, dumpcart, and the poor old horse. In most cases that was the end of the horse. The harness was stripped off and the horse shot and buried by suceeding loads of earth. Incidentally the "Dirt Dump" was along side of the Danville road just a short distance below the "Square"
In this picture it is possible to see three separate pits. The small cabins on the edge of the pit were for the signal boys. The hoist operator could not see into the pit or even see the platform where the derrick boxes were dumped into the ore cars. so boys were placed where they could be seen by the hoist operator and the men in the pit. They used paddles about the size of a Ping-pong paddle or bat. These were brightly painted, mostly white with a ex red centre like a large target, bull's eye. With these they transmitted signals from the pit crew to the hoistman. There were two boxes to a hoist. While one was being hoisted and emptied the pit gang were loading the second. When they had loaded and hoisted 100 boxes their day was finished. Starting at 6,30 A.M. to 12.00 noon, one hour for lunch, restart 1.00.P.M. until the 100 box was dumped which was anywhere from 1.30 to 3.00 P.M. These same boxes were used to lower and raise the men into and cut of the pit."
