Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1875-04-03
G IIOIt Us.
The Coal Miners.

We clip from the Commercial But
|c'l1s, the following description of the
life and manners of our coal mining
people. Ii is in the main correct in
It's premises, and for this reason, it is
worthy of transfer to our columns,
Our readers will find much in it to
interest and instruct them:
The opening and development of
the coal beds of Eastern PENNSYLVANIA,
the source of ali the anthracite coal in
tins country, excepting one or two in
significant deposits, have brought to-
gether III Schuylkill, Carbon and con
U5Uous counties, mining population
possessing many peculiar characters
istics and customs Mining in the an
thracite beds presents obstacles to
overcome and situations Of the materi-
al sought which occur in no other
mines, and although the system fol-
lowed Is, IN the main, patterned upon
that in vogue in England it is so DIFF
ferent from it in every detail as to de-
serve the name of a separate and dis
tinct method of mining.
The population Of the mining coun-
ties is now made up Of a great number
Of nationalities. At the outset the
Pennsylvania Dutch, It people who
inhabit neighboring counties, and
have language and many customs
peculiarly their own were relied upon
a do hn 1t bn ,Unr1-
But it was not long before Cornish
men and Welshmen found that there
was mjning to be done, and they flock
ed to the mines. More workmen We're
needed, laborers to pick and shovel,
to do the heavy work without any
great exercise Of skill, and for this
class the Irish seemed best suited.
Then came Scotch, English, and Cana
dian French, and now and then a gen
uine native-born American so that
now, when the interest has expanded
into vast proportions, giving employ
ment to thousands Of men, and sup
port to a vast number Of families, the
population Of the mining regions has
become mixed and miscellaneous in
the extreme. The Irish, first employ
ed almost solely in heavy work, now
rank as well as the best in the matter
of skill, and except that quarreymen
from Cornwall are perhaps better than
any in rocllwork, in driving tunnels
and cutting through faults and
slips, each nationality furnishes its
full quota of
ABLE MINERS
"This phrase will of course recall
and reminds me that ther are many
points Of resemblance between the mi
ner and the seataring man. ,4Ae mi
ner has his shifts, as the sailor has
his Watches the difference being
that miners shift below is his period
of hard work, while the sailors watch
below his period Of weIl-earned rest
The sailors fortunes are bound up in
his vessel as a living thing, and even
assigns her a sex. SO the miner,
speaking of his vein, will tell you that
she is working easier, that she II dip
again soon, and even assign her NOR
al qualities by saying she is bad one
for dirt, or "a wicked one for damp,
the latter word meaning, not moisture,
but gas. Beyond this, there is some
thing in the yenturesome, free and ca
sy, happy go-lucky style of a miner,
which reminds one of poor Jack, and
certainly one vocation is no less
traught with danger to life and limb
than the other.
The mining tracts or properties,
generally belong to individuals who
have nothing to do with mining
They lease their land for stipulated
number of years to some company or
individual, the rental being so much
per ton-the amount varying from
fifteen to fifty cants--of prepared coal
taken out and sh1rped.