1903...A miner's story
By Connie Jones
Connie & Greg's Pine Creek Cabins
Mining around Marysvale in late 1800's and early 1900's had to have been a battle just to survive! It's hard to image how difficult a life of mining had to have been. Your goal was to find that precious metal. After that, your focus was to just make it out at the end of the day. I'm sure a silent prayer would go up every time a miner left home and more importantly, were the prayers when the miners came home.
After reading an article by Josiah Gibbs "The Perils of Mining and the Men who Mine" this is the story of one of those miners. The year was 1903, miner Ed Dalton lit 4-5 fuses and suddenly, the first fuse exploded! This young man was only 30 years old and had only been married 6 months. His young wife was home and very ill and unaware of the perils her husband was enduring.
In the moments following the explosion his co-workers, unbelievably found the miner had taken the full force of the explosion and survived! His body penetrated with rocks the size of a man's fist but still alive. They cleaned his wounds but it would be another day before a doctor could reach him. With the lack of pain medicines, it's hard to comprehend the pain he must have been in. Then, he had to be transported all the way to Salt Lake City for numerous surgeries. Doctors believed it was only due to his strong will and robust physique that he endured. He even survived a fire at the hospital where he was being treated. We will never know what all this young man endured before succumbing to his injuries.
This story was just one example of the many miners who worked tirelessly in the mines around Marysvale. He fought the good fight but lost the battle. Thanks to all the miners and their families who did so much to make Marysvale the town it is today.
Thanks to Connie Jones of Connie and Greg's Pine Creek Cabins