The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-01-23
How Coal Is Mined.

The following sketch of coal mining at
Pittsburgh, written by Mr.. Parton, is pic
turesque IS we'll as full of information.
He says: r
"Crcss one of the bridges over the Mo
nongahela, walk up the hill that rises from
the banks OF that tranquil stream and you
behold in the side of the hill round hole
about large enough for man to stand up
right in. This cavity has smooth walls of
coal and there is a narrow railroad track
in it. Strangers usually enter this conven-
lent and inviting aperture, which may
| LEAD into the hill mile, or even three
| miles, After walking hundred yards or
80, strangers think 1t usually best to go
no further. 1t is es dark in there as dark
ness itself, and as silent as a tomb. The
entrance shows like q distant point of
! light. The visitor listens for the sound of
pickax, or the rumble of coal car; but
| nothing breaks the horrid silence of the
place, and, retracing his steps, he sees with
pleasure the point expanding into round
.. Treasured, he peers again into the
mountains heart, and discerns in the far
distance speck of light. A low and dis
tant rumble is heard. The speck of light
enlarges a little. A voice is heard--the
voice of boy addressing an observation
to mule. The light, that was but speck,
begins low to disperse the gloom and at
last we discover that it is a lamp fixed up
on mules head, and that the mule is
drawing two or three car loads of coal,
and is driven by perfectly black white
boy, who also has a lamp upon his head
The coal Is Immediately dumped, the
mule is attached to the other end of the
train, and re-enters the black hole. A
| stranger who has proper respect for his
garments will hesitate to climb over into
that exceedingly black car; but curiosity
| is frequently stronger than principle, and
| there are travellers who viii ride into the
| black bowels of the earth if they see any
empty Car going thither. What q strange
sensation d. How great distance! The
round 0 Of the entrance, after dwindling
| to white dot, disappears quite, and it is
| long before anything becomes visible in
| the mine. AS we pass along this black
| and narrow street-just wide enough for
| car, and not high enough for a man to
| stand upright in the car, we observe OPEN
iDgs like doors into black, empty rooms
These are "rooms" When mine is
| opened, the first thing, Of course, is to
make straight passage into it; but
on each side of the passage rooms are
opened, one man being assigned TO each,
| who excavates the apartment in solitude
! The partitions left between the "rooms -
| keep the hill from settling down, aud they
remain intact uEtil the seam is worked out.
| Then the partitions are knocked away and
| the coal removed. The hill is then only
| supported by upright logs, two OF three
| feet thick, which, as the hill settles, are
pressed slowly down and aattened out
After long ride in the Car, signs of
life appear; q speck of light is seen in the
distance, and the click of pickax is family
| heard. The train of empty coalc stops
| at the door Of "roon," and one of them
! is cast off and pushed into this apartment
by turnout. The solitary occupant of
| this room" is invisible at the moment,
because he is employed in what the miners
| cali bearing in" When q miner finds
himself before wall Of coal, from which
he is to excavate convenient masses of
| that precious commodity, the first thing he
| does is to 81 bear in." To bear in +" is to
60 down upon your knees, and with pick
ak cut deeply In at the bottom of the seam
| Of coal-as far in as you can reach, even
| by lying down. When the miner has made
| his cash, three feet deep and six feet wide,
! 1t is very easy, by wedges, or even by the
pickax alone, to bring down all the upper
part of the seam in pieces small enough
| to handle. Our miner was bearing In, at
| the moment of our entrance, with euthu
siasm, owing to his being little behind
| with his heap for the next load. Each
| miner expects to have a car load ready
! work accordingly. His task is done when
| he has dug out the coal and loaded it upon
| the car. And it is for doing these two
things that he is paid certain sum per
bushel. Seven years ago that sum was
three-Quarters of cent; it is now fcU-
cent. Our eager miner, hearing voices in
| his room, rose at length, and dimly re-
yealed himself by the light of very small
tin lamp that hung loosely on his fore
head. What picture he was, as he peered
over the heap of coal, with his black cap
| fitting close to his head, his dangling tin
lamp, his coaly visage, his red lips and
white teeth, and his black eyes glistening
in the midst of the dull black Of the rest
of his countenancei He looked the spirit
of the coal mine. He was, however, intro
duced to the intruders as Mr.. Gallagher,'
and very merry, social, pleasant fellow he
was. 8
People come into the mines prepared
to regard with compassion these grimy
workers in the eternal dark but. on the
contrary, they find them the gayest OF men,
very cheerful and companionable, with q
keen sense of independence and personal
dignity. We discovered at once that this
man of the dangling lamp was indeed Mr..