The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-11-27

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We are now in the coal mines, says
one who has been there, and the passage
we walk along so freely was tie bed of
seam Of coal, long since removed by
the miners who have pushed on into the
bowels of the hill, and are now at work
miles away tearing out the shining
walls that dispute their further progress.
To the right and to the left narrow
chambers, such as We are in, branch oil,
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 at last to
the chambers where the miners are at
work. We find these chambers to be
passages like those through which We
entered: some bronl and high, some low
and cmmped, Rll supplied with iron
trucks leading TO the end. At the ex-
tremitics of these chambers or work
ings, the miner stands, pick or bar in
hand, dclving 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 ut
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 n ear that stands ready, then
drawn by mules along the gangwny to
the shaft, and hoisted by machinery to
the surface above. This shaft is the
commencement of ofoperations in opening
mine, and is connected by gnngwnys
with every chamber worked, and some
times extends hundred fathoms into
the earth.
A mine many hundred feet deep is in
splendid working order men, boys, and
horses, filed with animation and indus
try, throng the chambers the sound of
the busy hammer, pick md car enliycns
the sense, and everything in cheerful
contrast with the gloom that envelopes
ALL Suddenly, by some unseen cause,
the circuation'of air is interrupted fire
damp Immediately accumulntes to an
explosive degree in some portion Of the
mine, and an unthinking miner enters
the region and sets the whole in blaze,
which sufiocates and consumes every
thing in reach. Such is the force Of
this conclusion and those succeeding,
that those ont Of the range of fame are
stunned or prostratcd by the shock.
Their lightsnre 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
pcdc 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 sccth-
ing atmosphere of flame that may penc-
tratc 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
earnings freely. The grocery bills Of
some small families average fifty and six
ty dollars per month. the women dcclnr-
ing that their good men work hard for
their money. and their only comfort is
in what they cat and drink. But this
underground work is not necessarily
more severe than certain kinds of labor
done upon the surface. II is seldom that
miner will leave the works and come to
the sod to earn his living. The mining
is done ut so much per ear, and they eau
have their own way, and in 4 dry we'll
ventilated mine they suffer no severe
extremes Of weather, and are generally
healthy. But in mines where the beds
arc thin, and the way in and ont is
through narrow, crnmpcd alleys, filed
with foul mir, water streaming from the
roof and knee-lcep on the floor, and the
air so heavy that n candle sheds no
light ten or fifteen feet away and must
be constantly swung to keep up the
flame, then the miners life is one Of I'm.
ending hardship, and must he endured
to be appreciated.