Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-12-09

| hooked on the train and drawn to the
scales, where it is weighed. The
| weighman hangs the tab on its APP
| propriate hook in the Office and gives
credit to the proper number on the
books for the weight. Thus the
account with the miner Is kept each
day.
| The main shaft running southwark,
when we were there last week, had
pierced the hill 80 feet. The air
course. similar to the main shaft,
running parallel to it and Is or 20
feet from it, Is the same length. Air
is supplied to the mine from per-
pendicuIar shaft at the north end OF
the air course. IT is forced down this
shaft, through the air course it's en-
tire length then through small
opening or "break !" into the main
shaft and out at the month OF the
mine. About 100 feet from the
mouth Of the mine-or "pito as the
miners call it's passage through
which the mining cars are drawn
from the air course to the main shaft,
and returned. One hundred feet
further back Is side shaft leading TO
the west from the main shaft at a
right angle, and a similar one
ing leading eastward from the air
course. From these side halls the
"rooms" lead out at right angles,
which makes them parallel with the
main shaft. In these rooms and at
the ends Of the four. halls are found
the miners at their work. And a
Jolly, brawny set of fellows they
seemed to be. Some of them nude
from the waist up, showed great
muscular arms that welded the pick
and crow, drill and sledge like play
things. One of them, Hinglish-
man." from Lancashire, answered to
our own name. His broad chest and
shoulders, bare and smutty, his arm
which our two hands would not span
below the elbow, made us exclaim,
"Shades of Hercules I" Shades :?
He was shady enough for native of
Guinea instead OF the chalk bound
island of Britain. But he earned
the stains by honest labor, and his
eyes beamed out with sparkle that
Lit up his bearded smutted face with
a glow Of native intellect and mirtb.
His gigantic form reminded us by
contrast Of the physical degeneracy
OF the race. He was good-natured
fellow, and in reply to some remark
about his healthy proportions and
his name, he said there was no occa-
sion for him to look for any relation
ship with an editor, as his branch Of
the Barker family were miners, and
the essential qualities Of miner
were a big arm and weak head"
| The first Of these he had to the full,
and we half envied him his muscular
power. He could not fairly boast the
weak head, however. Cultivation
might have made Prime Minister
of the miners boy Of Lancashire.
But about the coal again. In the
center Of the vein is a layer Of ex-
cellent canal coal. For this the
miners get something extra to COM
pensate them for separating it from
the other. 1t is shipped to the
Ottumwa Gas Works, and brings a
fancy price. The other coal is sold
mainly to the @. B. q @. Railroad
j Company. On Tuesday Of last week
j Superintendent FlagIer shipped one
days product--six cars-from this
mine to the Omaha Smelling Works,
/ for trial, expecting to make name
and market there for the Marion
county coal.
At its four mines this coal company
now employs about 400 men, to
whom it pays no less than sl2, 1000
month. Its product from three
mines last month was Ills cars Of
coal, Of II tons each. And its sales
for the month aggregated $4,000.
1 This article has already grown too
long. The facts it gives, however,
will tend to show bow great an in
dustry IL just opening in our midst.
These 80 miners turn out nearly half
as much coal every day as an ordi-
Diary locomotive can draw over the
road. When the force is increased to
one thousand men, as it will be with
In a very few years, dozen or more
locomotives will be required to carry
the coal even rs far as Abba; and all
these men and thousand more who
will be brought here by the coal in
terest, must be fed. Capital will very
soon come here to engage in manu-
featuring, and bring hundredsof men