Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-07-07

London. 1t is by "a Traveller Under
Ground" .r
atAsD BALL IN A coAL-PIT.
The ballroom was situated at a depth
of nearly LOO feet below the surface of
the earth, and was in the shape of the
letter L. the width being fifteen feet, the
base twenty-five feet, and the perpendic-
ular height forty-eight feet. Seats were
placed on the sides of the said ballroom,
the floor was dried and tagged, and the
whole place was brilliantly illuminated
with lamps and candles. The company
began to assemble, and descend in appro-
pirate dresses, about half.past nine in
the morning, and continued to arrive till
one in the afternoon The men engaged
in the work, their wives and daughters,
and sweethearts !; several neighbors with
their wives, the proprietors and agents
with their ladies, and sundry friends of
both sexes, who had, courage to avail
themselves; of the privileges these
gradually found their way to the bottom
of the shaft. 20 BIB -.4 -t""y hsH
Immediately on their arrival, they pro-
ceeded to the extremity of the drift, to
the face of the coal, local never has "a
white face, thodgt it sometimes has a
clean face in mining language y at the face
each person hewed a piece of coal as a
menento of the ball, and then returned
to the ballroom. AS soon as sufficient
number of gtiests had assembled dancing
commenced; and was continued without
intermssion til1three o'clock in the after
noon. No distinction was made!among
the guests, and born dfid bred ladies
joined in general. dance with bort1 and
bred pitmen's daughters. All now re-
turned in safety, and in nice clean and
well-lined baskets, to the upper regions,
delighted With the afnhsements In which
they had been engaged. A local band Of
miners musicians was IN attendance, and
the pit was filled with music and merri-
mentnI The genil of the caverns were
startled, and the young dandiffed pitmen
never looked so happy, so clean, and SO
gay. Refreshments were not forgotten,
and cold punch, malt liquor, and biscuits
of all kinds, were dispensed in abundance.
1t was, estimated that between. two and
three hundred persons were present, and
that nearly one half fthem were females.
1t must be remem bered that the pit was
clean, prepared, and had not.h worked;
SO that no smoke and dust exuded from its
mouth, and every facility was given for a
comfortable, slow, and safe descent.
~ lii 40 THE rRApPER BOYS. W --'~ '1--
Igreatly commiserated these little fell
lows, and was anxious to discover their
real ages as well as their real condition.
To discover their ages, however. was no
easy matter, for they themselves scarcely
know them, and it was not thought very
desirable by any body that l should find
them out. On one occasion met, in the
4ecesses of pit, with a little; boy who
was certainly not above seven years of
age, and who, from his diminutive appear
anee, might have passed for six years old!
He told me his father was killed in an ex-
plosion, and that he was very much afraid
that if any accident should happen, he
would never get out of the pit alive; 3'for,
said he, "Igo in every far by tmeaning far
tin) and it is very hot there" - also elic-
tied from him that he was down the. pit
at an explosion, which happened a year
and half ago-the same, I think, that
killed his father; he described it as
, coming like a heavy wind, and blowing
all the candles out, and the small coal all
about. It blew Richard Cooper (another
trapper boy down, and the door upon
him. q You may suppose that Z L looked
on thislittle spared one with great interest.
Let happy mother imagine her little boy,
of some SIX years of age, as y,ersed in the
history of q destructive pit explosion,
and left htherless byiit. All! ] suppose