Monongah mines did NOT use any kind of live animal to test for gas.
Monongah used Wolf Safety Lamps which were designed by M. Charles Wolf in 1883 in Saxon, Germany and were available to the United States by the 1890s, long before mines #6 & #8 were opened.
Wolf would not develop an electric lamp until 1907.
Due to the unfortunate and infamous history of live birds being brought into mines to asphyxiate on behalf of the miners, the canary and other small birds would be a universal symbol for warnings about a gassy or gaseous environment. By the time of the Monongah disaster the only canaries in the mines were chalk drawings made by trapper boys on the doors, walls, and timbers of the mines. No matter what language one spoke or read, the visual language of a tiny bird upright and a tiny bird keeled over was all the literacy one needed.
It’s important to know that when canaries were in use miners did not just let the birds die. The moment the bird showed signs of distress they would quickly rush it back to fresh air to revive it. Until the late 1800s, the birds were not just life-saving tools, they were companions to the miners which were appreciated and cared for because they were lifesavers.
The use of canaries formally began in the UK, much like the manufacturing and distributions of the Wolf Safety Lamp. Watch the video below to learn more about the lamps, their history, and to learn some other…uh…”means” that were used for testing or removing gases from the mines.
For more:
- Wolf Safety Lamps: National Museum of American History; History of German Lamp Maker Friemann & Wolf Part 2: 1900 – 1990; Safety Lamps; Grace’s Guide – Wolf Safety Lamp Co.
- Birdi device
- Canaries & Coal Miners: US Bird History – Canaries in Coal Mines;
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