GYPSUM DEPOSITS OF NEW YORK 57 



railroad switch to that point. A sketch map of the underground 

 workings is shown in figure 5, page 55. 



There is a large flow of water into the workings, as in all the 

 shafts of this field, but drainage is accomplished satisfactorily. 



Akron Gypsum Co. The mill of this company is situated i mile 

 northeast of Akron on the Bloomingdale road. The mine is situ- 

 ated southeast of the mill and is connected with it by a narrow gage 

 gravity railroad. Mine and mill are comparatively new, active 

 operations having begtm in the fall of 1908. Mr George Ralph is 

 manager. Entrance is had to the mine by a 6 by 12-foot shaft 

 divided into two 6 by 6-foot compartments, and is 84 feet deep. 

 ]\Iining is conducted by the company itself and not under the con- 

 tract system. The men are divided into gangs, each consisting of a 

 macihine man operating the drill and doing the blasting, a helper 

 and two muckers. A large number of Indians from the nearby 

 Tonawanda Reservation are employed in the mines and are giving 

 very good satisfaction. Drilling is done by compressed air. The 

 mining system in vogue is based on the old method of extraction 

 by means of radiating gangways which center at the shaft. Pillars 

 are left 30 feet apart and about 10 feet thick. The mine cars are 

 pushed to the bottom of the shaft by hand, each man being required 

 to push 30 cars a day and receiving a bonus for all additional cars. 

 The gypsum bed as mined varies from 4j^< to 5 feet thick, so that 

 with the present methods of handling the cars, it is unnecessary to 

 excavate any bottom rock. When first opened, 4000 gallons of 

 water a minute were pumped from the shaft and although the flow 

 has since been greatly reduced, a 4-inch pump is still kept in opera- 

 tion most of the time and the mine is quite wet. No forced ventila- 

 tion is employed, a small airway on the east side of the sliaft giving 

 sufficient air. The mine cars brought to the bottom of the shaft 

 are nm directly on the platform of the hoist and are raised to the 

 surface by a small drum heist working in balance and driven by 

 a steam engine. The cars are raised to a level above the ground and 

 are dumped either directly into 2-ton steel cars on a gravity track 

 or are dumped on the reserve pile. The cars arc run by gravity to 

 the mill and arc hauled back in a string by a horse. At the mill 

 which is situated just north of the Bloomingdale road the cars are 

 hauled up an incline and dumped automatically into a Buttenvortli 

 & Lowe jaw crusher. From this crusher the material passes di- 

 rectly to a " cracker " of the usual type, which reduces it to pieces 

 no larger than hickory nuts. It is then elevatetl and distributed to 



