National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1871-11-24
Down In the Mines.

We are now in the coal mines, says
one who has been there, and the passage
we walk along so freely was the bed OF
n seam of coal, long since removed by
the miners who have pushed on into the
bowels of the hill, and are now at worl,
miles away tearing out the shining
walls that dispute their further progress.
To the right and to the left narrow
chambers, such as we nre in, branch off,
some on upward grades, some down
ward.
At intervals we are confronted by
massive wooden doors used to control
currents of air and secure ventilation.
After walking good mile, and seeing
nothing but mules hauling the coal cars
along the track to some place in the
mysterious distance, we come ut last to
the chambers where the miners are at
work, We find these chambers to be
passages like those through which We
entered: some broad and high, some low
and crnmped, all supplied with iron
tracks leading to the end. At the cx-
tremities of these chambers or work
ings, the miner stands, pick or bar in
hand, delving and wrenching to remove
! huge masses of coal from the seam whose
lead he is following. Here is the coal
we seek, and here is the miner, laboring
patiently by the dim light of his single
lamp, isolated by walls of rock and earth
from his companions, water dripping
from the roof and standing in pools at
his feet, in constant danger, and allotted
to incesSant toll. The huge chunks of
coal, wrought out by manual force or
blasting powder, fall into heaps on the
floor and are loaded by the miner or his
help into a ear that stands ready, then
drawn 10y mules along the gangway to
the shaft, and hoisted by machinery to
the surface above, This shaft is the
commencement of operations in opening
a nine, and is connected by gangways
with every chamber worked, and some
times extends a hundred fathoms into
the earth.
\ mine ma !, hundred feet deep is in
splendid Jrking order men, boys, and
horses Alled with animation and indus
trv ohrong the chambers the sound of
ne busy hammer, pick and car enlivens
the sense, and everything in cheerful
contrast with the gloom that envelopes
all. Suddenly, by some unseen cause,
the circulation'of air is interrupted fire
damp immediately accumulates to an
explosive degree III some portion of the
mine, and an unthinking miner enters
the region and sets the whole in blaze.
which sutfocates and consumes every
thing in reach. Such is the force of
this conclusion and those succeeding,
that those ont of the range of flame are
stunned or prostrated by the shock.
Their lights are blown out and the warn
ing that the explosion may be rolling
along the chambers to meet them,
causes many to hurry to the nearest
shaft. Unusual heaps of rubbish i'm
pede their progress, and they wander in
the wild confusion to uncertain alleys,
and sink down, overcome by noXious
vapors, or are swallowed up in the seeth-
ing atmosphere of flame that may pene-
trate every part of the mine.
The miners of this region earn very
high wages the year roNnd when they |
work. Those who are sober and frugal |
own their own houses and save money. |
The life is rather an adventurous one, |
and the temptation is to spend their
freely. The grocery bills of
some small families average fifty and six
ty dollars per month, the women declar
ing that their good men work hard for
their money, and their only comfort is
in what they eat and drink. But this
work is not necessarily
more severe than certain kinds Of labor
done upon the surface 1t is seldom that
A miner will leave the works and come to
the sod to earn his living. The mining
is done at so much per car, and they can
have their own way. and i'll dry we'll
ventilated mine they suffer no severe
extremes of weather, and are generally
healthy. But i'll mines where the beds
ire thin, and the way in and out is
through narrow, cramped alleys, filled
With foul air, water streaming from the
oof and knee-deep on the floor, and the
ir so heavy that a candle sheds no
light ten or fifteen feet away and must
'e constantly swung to keep up the
lame, then the miners life is one of un
nding hardship, and must he endured
o be appreciated.