The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-10-15

steel drills made no impression I; and,
after q week of utterly futile work, the
design of making sump was aban-
doned, and slight roll occurring at
some little distance from the bottom of
the shaft, the coal was mined therefrom
and the cavity thus made was used as a
sump, although it only held few thou
sand gallons of water.
We started on our tramp after exam
lining the two steam-pumps and noting
the number of strokes per minute they
we're making. The mines were very
wet, and little drippers falling from tie
roof trickled down our backs, causing
very unpleasant sensations.
We did not find much to complain
about in the workings till we came to
the point where the squeeze had mani
tested itself. Here stout timbers of
one foot and half in diameter had
been bent into a bow-like form by the
pressure of thousands of tons of super
incumbent rock, and the crush was
ouly beginning to make itself manifest.
The practiced eye of the superintend
ent, aided by his unerring judgment,
soon noted the points where extra
strength was required, and he gave his
orders to the "mine boss" who care
fully marked them.
We now retraced our footsteps, and
turning irto another gangway, reached
the "breast" " in which the roll had oc-
Cured. The pitch, or slope, of the
coal-vein was here steep, nearly forty
five degrees, which may be compared to
the slant of the roof of an old-fashion-
ed house, and we m ade our way with
difficulty up the narrow man-way, on
which steps had been cut in the rock.
The lower part of the "breast was
filed with coal which had not been
drawn out for several days, being left
for the miners to obtain foothold
while bearing in " on the solid coal
above them.
The man-way was a tortuous passage,
with barely room for one to crawl
through but, after little trouble, we
reached the face of the "breast," and
began our observations on the roll.
There was no mistaking the fact of its
being "roll )" the top rock had de-
scended and the bottom raised till but
three inches of coal were left, and that
was so shelly that it could easily be
crumbled between the fingers.
The superintendent took out his lit
tie pocket-compas from its velvet lined
case, and, after poising it delicately be-
tween his fingers and noting the course
of the roll, stated his opinion that it
would bemet with in the next "breast, y
about five feet higher up the pitch than
it was in this. We now prepared to de-
scend, when he suggested that we might
as we'll eat our lunch here, where it
was dry, instead of going into the gang
way, where we would find a difficulty
in getting a convenient seat. In this
we acquiesced, making ourselves as
comfortable as we could upon Jumps of
coal. We opened our cans and-but
Just then sharp, cracking noise was
heard, which brought us all to our feet
and, following it almost instantly, the
roof was seen at little distance to
sway and then to fall, making a draft
of air which instantly extinguished our
lamps and left us standing, for the mo-
ment, bereft of speech in the darkness,
while the dull, heavy echo reverberated
till it was lost in the recesses of the
mine. We were, as 1 said, stupetied
for the moment, but soon recovered
our speech and senses and anxiously
inquired of each other if any one had
been hurt
1 answered that I was all right, and
asked where the "inside boss was,
for [ had not heard his voice. The
superintendent said he was standing by
him when the fall came 80 we pro-
duced matches, lighted our lamps, and
looked around us. A glance to the left
showed us his form, lying insensible,
with a cut in his forehead, the dark
blotches of coal-dirt on his face con.
trasting terribly with the waxy color OF
deathlike by the yellow CLEAN of the
lamps.
1t was evident that we were fastened
in by the fall of coal !; but that did not
concern us greatly, as it was well known
that we were inside, and men would
soon be sent in search of us. But what
were we to do with the stunned man,
for by this time we had ascertained
that he breathed family. Though
neither of us had the advantage of q
medical education, we knew what to dc
in case of this sort, and dampening
our handkerchiefs from little dripper,
we laved his temples, and soon had the
satisfaction of observing the return OF
his faculties.
After we had explained the situation
to him, which he slowly comprehend.
ed, we took counsel as to what were the
best means of escaping from our under
ground prison.
Though we felt certain that it could
not be long before parties would be in
search of us, yet it was agreed that we
should not remain idle, but endeavol
| fo ont Our xyov ont into annoa ofha,
chamber of the mine. Picks and shov'
els were lying around where the miners
the preceding evening had left them.
and each taking one of these in hand,
we proceeded to tap lightly the coal in
order to determine if possible by the
sound where the nearest pillar stood
J and, therefore, where we would have
the least cutting to do.
While We were engaged in thus
sounding the walls of our prison, dis.
tant rumble was heard which caused III
to stop short in our labor and look a
each other with blanched faces.
! Our thoughts ran on but one thing
the timbers in another part of the mine
must have given way and blocked III
out completely.
We now waited motionless for th'
gust of air which always follows fall
but as our lamps gave not the slightes
flicker, We were entirely at loss to &C
count for it.
} So puzzled by this collection of mis-
haps, and wondering how soon the,
J would come in search of us, we con
tinued our tapping on the side of tn
"breast )" but it always gave back tn