The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-04-25

! ont all our candles except one, for we had not
more than half.a- dozen In ALL they began re-
solu teiy to work to clear out the road again.
Il went on slow and toilsome, for having no
imber to prop 1t up, the roof WAS continual
" giving way, now that II was once broken.
Candle after candle burned away, and though
the sweat ran of them, they could not make
much progress in clearing the road. When
half the candles were gone. they had MOI gain
Cd above "a couple of yards In length: still they
kept msnfully at IL, being all Thoroughly
arou sad to the i'm impending danger Of being left
with iiitIe air and uo light Ne rouId po,y
hear men working at the other end OF the head
and Knocking, as GOLFERS do when they wish
to signal to one another, being too far away
TO oe heard hy shouting, and this re vived our
courage very mach for though we could tell
that the head had fallen in for considerable
length, we knew every effort would be made
to get at us. l carried the last candle to them
ma had to wipe IL carefully before giving il
them, for almost unkuowingiy, tears had
been dropping on il as hurried along ] told
the man gave ii to, that it was the only one
iett; he said nothing, but sticking il in a hit of
clay against large rock, worked on in silence
with more vigor than before. / dragged away
with all my strength at the rocks they got out,
TO Clear their way little, stealing now and
then furtive glance at the small candle fast
| melting away. When it was almost burned
Town, one OF them proposed that we had bet
Ter see after our dinuers, and put them where
we conid conveniently find them in the dark.
We did so, and then tried to cut up one OF the
hack helves into splinteTs, to give light lit
tie longer; but it was old and tough, and
would NOT, after all, give any light 10 work
by. Bits OF tobacco paper and other scraps
made a spill or two to exc ont q fame for
few minutes, and then we were left in total
darkness.
Judging by the time the candles would
last, we had now been blocked up for six or
eight hours, and l, for one, began TO want
something to eat badly, though ashamed TO
say SO TO the rest. Now we were in the dark
however the oldest man proposed we should
nlItrp and "a nal mar fJno n nI1r ri,
neTs, and think over what We could do for the
best. Oh, how good the soft bread WAS now
l wondered how could ever have disliked il
before, and could hardly deny myself from
eating it all. But as heard the men whis-
pering TO each other that it may be day and
night before We could be got out, L laid
portion by for another little meal, nor
did quite empty my can of beer. Trying to
work again IN the dark. one of the three men
got hurt in the back by a rock falling upon
him, so that we were compelled to give over,
lest some of us should get killed. We knocked
occasionally, Tor them TO near and answer us,
but the sounds did nos seem to come much
nearer. How slow the time passed away
Our little store of food, though divided it
into small portions, was soon gone, and now
thirst began TO be felt more than hunger. Az
ter we had been shut up about tween ~ four
hours. rs near could tell, the air began
to feel very close and oppressive, and it naio
the men feel so weak that they could not
have worked even if We had had candles One
of the golfers had been used 10 attend PRAYER
meetings. and getting us all to kneel do pyn to-
Sether, he prayed earnestly, and encouraged
all to do the SANE. / cannot remember
much longer myself, for they told me | had
been insensble tor some time before the road
was open; but at length the way was cleared
and we We're carried out all but lifeless 1t
had taken more than forty eight hours to get
to us, for the rock fell in continually that
timber had TO be set all along to support the
root over the narrow way"
When the grey headed old collier had fin
tSnp0 he rPfiIpI his and tod 10
know if nobody else had got nothing to say" !
There was a lusty little fellow in one corner |
whom they called Jerry, who gave us an |
account of how one day he was pulled up the |
pit without his leave. 1t appears he was !
what they call "hooker- on, ~ or one that |
connected the carriages Of the coal with the |
pit Chain, when ready for being wound ND |
the shaft, and unlocked those which came |
down empty; and, if the pits company were
all at work. was continually kept close to
the bottom of the shaft. II appears that one
day as he was connecting Il carriage of coal to |
the main chain the engine started rather
sooner than he expec ted and Just as he was
slipping the hook into the large link, his
thumb got fas ed, by the snatch of the en- |
CINE, between the two, and before he was
we'll aware of 1t, he found himself a good
many yards up the shaft. They pause slightly
a short distance up the shaft, To steady the
weight; but he said he WAS unable to shout |
and consequently was pulled up in that man
ner to the top of the shaft, his hand and arm
completely numbed by pain and tension
lUhtS occur, 1t seems, even cD4l
mines and one that had nearly proved fatal |
to the parties engaged was now related In |
some pits, otherwise well ventilated, small |
quantities of carburetted hydrogen gas collect |
In hooks and crevices of the roof, especially in |
corners purity out of the current of air which |
runs through the various workings. To fright
an a novice, a reckless fellow will pat a na-
ked candle up into one OF these places causing |
4 miniature explosion of fire damp, lust sut- |
hcient To territy any inexperienced person |
but what an old hand would consider a mere |
bagatelle. 1t appears a stranger had been
10 wn one of the pits, who seemed very for |
ward with his remarks, and altogether skapti- |
'al as 10 danger: indeed the nun SAID she
gave himself important airs, and knew ALI
about every thing Il great deal better than Us
poor GOLFERS" so when they had come to q |
part of the pit by an old road, that had,i
oeen used for some time, sly rogue
among them directed this savant's atten-
ton 10 some tarry matter oozng out from the
coal IN the roof, close to the air door leading |
INTO the old road. Adjusting his spectacIes |
the opinionated wisaacre put up his candle To-
the place to note well the phenomenon, say
ing, at the same time, that it was nothing |
new to him but he had scarcely uttered this
self conceited remark when the gas caught |
lire from his candle, which he had been pokng |
all about and scorching flime passed over
and almost blinded them. They instantly |
fell down nat, as is usually the safest plan in |
cases OF fire, and he, imitIting their example |
did the same. 1t was well they did so; for |
a lmost in an instant IA loud explosion fairly |
shook the ground, blowing the air door, close
to them, into fragments over their heads -
The fltme, they said, must have passed
through il creyice close to the door, and ignit-
ed a large quantity of iniiammabla gas in tt,a
Did disused road. Fortunately they esc3ned
without any very serious injury, though the
learned theorists practical experience was of
1 painful charac ter-such he would not
wish repeated for his eyebrows and WhiskerS
were singed Off, and his clothes bore sure les
lmony that g the smell of the fire had passed
over them
The in troducion of fat chains into the col
ierIes, though combatted against by the men
1t first as most new things are, has been the |
means of saving much loss of life 1t was nor
very uncommon thing, before, to hear OF a
iempen rope breaking, and dropping q whole
,and-full OF men. Such accident seldom
" never occurs where good three link chains
ire used, for as one of the chains is able to !
,ear more than is generally trusted TO al!
hree, and as they are all joined fast together
1t every alternate link by q wooden s'kay - |
triven tightly IN, and held there by stout little
lails called stubbs, it is possible that all three
'hains may be broken in separate places and |
he weight still be sustained, by the interven-
ion Of many keys between broken parts An |
I'D char ter mas ter-who ontracts for raising |
he coal at so much per ton-tod us how terri
bly, frlgh tened he had been once BY two Lin ks |
breaking together. He was coming an the mn |
IN the top of a loaded coal ''skip,' or b,sket
Ind when near the top he heard something !
map, and looking up, saw that one OF the |
inks had broken, and of the TWO remaining
inks one appeared rather slack. BY and by |
ne could plainly see that the one link which
appeared TO bear all the weight, was parting
n two. II was an old engine, which wound
tut slowly, and the short time taken ia being |
pulled up the last few yards seemed, ne said
ike an age. As the link parted and stretched
| little, of course the other chain tightened
up, and had come TO its bearing before actual
severance had taken place. 1t was impossi-
lie, he said, To describe the intensity of his
ceilings for the few remaining seconds as his
yes glared At the single whole link lett. on
which his life depended He wasn't a pray
ng man then, he said, but his heart offered