photo by: Ken W. Watson

This is a portion of a c.1810 drill hole made for black powder blasting by a "jumper drill." Usually with a chisel face and about 3 feet long, this drill was held in place while one or two other men hit it with a sledgehammer. The drill would jump with each hit, allowing the driller to rotate it slightly before the next hit. It tends to form this type of irregular (not a perfect circle) hole. A blacksmith kept the cutting edge sharp.