
1889 South Dakota gold

Three men (and a dog) exclaiming "We have it rich!" while panning for gold.
1956 copper mine
Two of these men are believed to have later been injured in an explosion.
Mining can be deadly

This message, left on the wall by 47 entombed miners, was written with carbide lamps (miner's lamp). Shortly before midnight on August 27, 1922, a fire broke out, trapping the miners. . .
A 1913 machine that took the place of "breaker boys"

Breaker boys were (literally) young boys who separated coal from impurities. This machine was more effficient and eliminated the need for young boys to do this.
Breaker boys, 1913

These are breaker boys doing the same work as the machine.
A trapper boy

Trapper boys opened and closed wooden gates - allowing trains filled with coal to leave the mine and controlling ventilation.
Trapper boy (far left)

He said he was going back to school - it was more fun!
Tipple boy, 1908

He tipped over loads of coal when they came to the surface so the coal could be sorted from trash.
1910 Tipple boy at work

Harley Bruce at a mine in Tennessee.
Boy braking coal train, 1908

That's a live wire above his head - at about the height of a grown man.
Coal miners eating dinner, 1903

After lunch at the Chance mine, 1909

Silver mine

Barstow, California, 1890's.
Going into work

Miners heading into the mines, 1909 Idaho.