The New York herald., 1875-09-29
A BURNING MINE.
RAGING FIRE IN A VEIN OF ANTHRACITE
THE NATIONAL MINE NEAR SCRANTON THREATA
ENED BY FLAMEs-woRKMEN COMBATING THA
ELEMENT DAY AND NIGHT.


ENED BY FLAMEs--woRKMEN COMBATING THR
ELEMENT DAY AND NIGHT.
SCRANTON Pa, Sept %, 1875.
The sensation OF knowing that beneath ones house,
at depth of about 100 feet derca fire raging fed
by anthracite and bidding defiance all human
efforts employed to eXtngush it, is not calculated 10
excite emotions OF the most tranquil nature, and yet
this has been the precise position of portion of tha
people of Mlnooka, mining suburb Of Scranton, fos
more than a week past.
About weeks ago cump of stragsna
brushwood, on the side OF ravine some
eighty feet in depth caught fire. and ex-
hausted itself in the flames This fact did
not attract attention the time the burning OF
clump of brushwood nothing uncommon in thai
vicinity. branch railroad connecting with coal
breaker along the brink of The avne the point
where the brushwood burned, and the employees thu
coal tram somewhat surprised TO smoke
mating from the embankment without any indication oi
fire being apparent A few days later smoke began Ia
escape from a in the rising ground about l0d
feet north of the ravne and at night red glare Oh
light visible where the coal first caught fire from
the burning brushwood. The news soon spread in thd
vicinity and the fact that vein" Of coil in the Nal
tonal Mine fire created considerable alarmv
The attention of Mr. William Connel, of the pro-
pretors of the mine living at Scranton, called 10
the circumstance and he at realizing the threat<
ening character of the conhagratior, force
Of 100 men to extinguish it, working in gangs of 1ftY,
day and night The of the fire had been greater
than they anticipated 1t had penetrated and was rap
idly pushing forward through the first ven devourina
"top coa and pillars in progress. This stop veins
had been worked out several years since but according
to the dictated by safety the lives of thd
miners well as those whose homes the sur<
face of this property, large proportion of coal was
lan in he nd in ha On tha do.
vourng flames feasting, famed by the swlt
sweeping through the underground chambers Of
the worked mine, and receiving impulse their'
fury from the long accumulated gases that traversd
these dreary passages. After the men had been az
work four five days, they found that
their foe, instead Of becoming vanqushed grew
and formidable, and threatened to
defeat all their efforts It's lay against rising
ground, and in the direction it had taken the IN
which 1t ragged had been worked out for more than
mile ahead Of IL and beneath the thickly
populated portion of Minooka Already portions Of
the surface where 1t had devoured the pillars
began "caving In" and this intensified the fear
of those living on the surface, who began ia
think IL could not be extngushed The nearest avail
able from which water could be directed elective
y against it lay about 900 yards distant at the Meadow
Brook breaker. and engines to work and kept
constantly pumping streams upon IL through hose of
sufficient strength and capacity to keep up continued
powerful flow. After working for some time At the
face of the burning vein the workmen found s
futile task to follow the fire, and they adopted
another plan. body of men were sent into thu
mine through the main entrance and they work.
cutting down the pillars and placing all the obsructona
possible in the path marked out for the flames. This
was most perilous task. The chambers we're sur
charged with gases and sulphurous vapors gen.
Grated there for years previous, and it took but short
time TO exhaust each gang OF workmen Having re-
moved good portion of the pillars the exact location
of tho fire ascortaned and the heaviest undertake
ing Of all set on foot 1t was 10 surround the burning
spot by digging deep trench around it
from the surface, and thus isoIatng and leav-
ing il to wear itself out Tho task
undertaken, however and pushed vigorously oRrA
Additional hands we're set TO work and sull efNP
ployed day and night cutting their way through tho
hill and endeavorng to environ the rrepressibe FIRE.
Already in portions they have penetrated deep
hundred feet through hard-pan and rocks, and cut
Off portion OF the burning mountain, and the reman-
der OF the work is fair way OF being accomplished.
When visited the scene this afternoon some sixty men
were EN- ployed there An old miner informed me that
he worked in the where the hre RACES
eighteen years ago, and that IL extends for moro
than mile across the country covered by tho
they did not think they could arrest
the FIRE, but now II is nearly under control, and viii
probably be extngushed this week. portion OF thu
hill where the men are at work presents curious
spectacle II is completely honey combed by caves and
assures of the latter large gaping cracks nearly
hundred feet long and looking into the most denss
opacity. About quarter Of mile from this scene
most singular sight is presented II is large hssure IN
the surface which occurred about week ago in tina
vicinity of school building where the mine began 10
''cave in. 1t Is about eighty yards long extending
across the main road and Immediately under irama
dwelling, which the strange convulsion IN the earth
/ tipped up on an angle OF ABOUT 80 ue,
when the phenomenon occurred his wife and four
children were within It preparing for dinner
shower OF bricks from chimney shattered the sovo
by which they were seated and yet by most mracn 4
lous circumstance they escaped almost unhurt TheS
doorstep had suddenly risen TO height Of nearly ionr
feet and the floor assumed steep incline, making t!
dlcult matter for the frightened family to escape.
They did however afer hard struggle and were shel
tered In a neghboring house make .nls ulgIessloN
TO show the nature OF the neghborhood IN which the
mine Are exists From several Of the caves and crtv
ices 10 which have alluded most dsagrecable smof1
rs beched forth making the atmosphere decidedly ue]
pleasant The men working puckly day and
night and will douhtl"ss completely conquer the namea
this week