, 1875-10-01

Atkn HAlH1 Nt HaH ElfK III NON 1GfH.
A HCKN1St; NINE.
Il Ringing Fire tn II yrtn t,r Anthracite
Work men Enr,&batttac tic f.ic;.tcilt*
Day and Night.
Ee'r rark H<rntt,
SCRANTON, Pa. Sept. ~ he ncnsation Of
knnwihE that bcncatI, oneH hpuue, nj a denth Of
abaut lUo feet fierce fire III ragin. fni bs acres
of anthracite and bidding lu'at,cs to a1l l,t,tuau
eiiottn employed to cxting'siHlI IT, il not cact-
latod to excite emotions Of tho mort trat1ui
natutn, anu rnt tins hha becn tho precise r1ai-
tim of II rofton of tho peorlo of ,|f,u0la 3
'HH'iuH suburb OF Scranton, for mora than week
past
About two wocka aeo q cfump of tlraegJing
depth. caught tfo, aud exhan.tcl iten!f in t!.n
tlntucn. This fact Did not ntttact attention at tho
tltnc, as tho burning of clnmp of hrurl,woui
WA nothing Uncommon ii, that vicinity, 4
blAuch railroad cotl,toslng With cuaf-srenAcs
rls along the brink pf Tho ray1no Ut the pnnt
whore tho btilslwood burned. aud tue enployo.
Oil tho coat Train were somewhat HtFpiiHrl to neo
smoke ctnannttng from tile cmbankmcht without
my indication Ut tito betng nppasens. 4 few
days later smoke began to escape from cfey,co
in the rising ground about 1iU feet north Of the
ravi'c, and At night rod g[aro Of light was
visible where tho coal frat caught fro from,
iu the vicinity, aud tho fact TINT tyctn" If
cuAl In the National Mine wnB on fro created
considerable alarm. The nsteit.un of Air. Will
lam Connell. ono Of tho propriesora Of tho ,nne
htance, and he, at once reaiizine tho tllreatoi,-
Ing character OF tho copilaKraliou, bout furco
Of LOU mon to c1tlnguis it, Working III gaugn of
iifty. day aud night. Tho extent of tue tra hsi
trascd and wan rapidly pushing forward through,
lilo litst vein, devourinE "tojt-coal" knd pilIsre
III its progto+s. Tie atop vesn lad
beon worked out eeveral years since
bnt' according to tho custom dictated
we'll AZ those whoBe homa are OH tho s1lr-
face Of this property, largo proportion of coal
Waa left iu tho roof End i'll rho Dupports On
th!s tho deyouting flames woro fcassiug fauncd
bJ tho swift cnrtenta bwceping through tho
underground chambers Of tho worked ont 1nInc,
aud receiving an tIupulso ~ tleT fury FROM tue
long accumulated gases tbnt traverse these
arcary passages. Alter tho lnen had hceu at
work come four or five DAYS, thor found thnt
tAoir foo, iua,ond OF becoming vnnIl,ished eren
moro and more formidable, and Threatened to
dofeat all their efforts. Its course lay agaIuat q
rising ground, mud in tho direction 1t Ind
takou tllo vein in which it ragcd had
been worked out for more than milo
ahead of il aud bonoath tic lnoat tlltcky ponu-
lated portion Of Diinooka Already portions Of
the surface oror where it had devoureu tha p[-
lars began "cavi,ly in.' n1,tl TINS Intensified lie
fear Of those living on tho surface, WHO hegQtl
70 think It could nut bH extlnEuised. Ihe
nearest available source froln which water could
DO directed effectively against it lay nbout f,iu0
yards distant nt tho Meadow brook breaker,
and engines wero sot to work aud k1pt congt41tt%
" pumping streams nrtnl it through l4oaa Of
sufficient Htrrugth htIu capacity 10 kee,l TN 4
continued powerful How. Alter wording for
some tinc At the faco of tho burning vein, tho
workmcn found 1t fusitc task to fol.ow tho fire,
and eo they adopted another pall. 4 Loly Of
Man were sent INTO tho ,nille through tic
Inan ontranoe aud they went to work cutting
down the piltaEB and placing I'll the distinctions
s.$ H., vyuri.nfA F.u
This was a mort rerilous taAa. Tho chambers
wore HurcllaEgcd with 1ox,oa,B Rnssus anu snl-
rhurolls vAipH. gcucrtL:ou thrle for yeard pte-
SlonH, anu 1t took hut a nhurt time 70 exhaust
each Eang OF W0rhlusn. Having ro,nuypi @ voutI
portion OF tho pll!uts. tho exnct LOCATION oi the
tira VIA nscorta.und. aud tho heaviest usssu.suk.
ing Ut a1l set OIL foot. 1t was to nursuunl tho
burning Hpot by nsgKinE deep truucl asouud it
from the sIrfaee n1ia shus ihontipG aud leaving
it 10 wear itself out. Tho tasli wHs undertaken,
however, ami puBAed vigorously on. Additional
Aauda were rot to work, and aro still employed,
day and night, cutting their way through the hill,
and cndeavotlnK to environ the irrelsefyt|o fire.
Already iu Bome ror.iuts they Aayo penetl mt ed
deot' as 100 feet tlruuE I'll har-t,al allI rocks
md cut oil q portion of tho burning mountain
aud tie remainder Of tho work is in fair way uf
haing ACCOMPLISHED. When visited tito ecene
tltH atterHo III sotno sixty mon WGro EMPLOYED
thero. An uiu miner informed mo TINT ho wuskul
in the yoIn wilero tho tiro Tagos eighteen yonrs
ngo. and thae it c1tc!d4 Tor 1uura tllat i milo
NJ. ona tho country covered by tho Village Of Mi
nupka. At tIElu, hu eAil, Lhpy dbl not tbik
they could asrcst tiau lire, hut NOW 1t is nearly
Wudsr contiol, AMI wAl probably bo oatnguishel
tlls ncck. portion Of tho Hill Wl.ose tho
tuell aro at work prcaeuta clrioua spectacle
1t il completely Aonoy-colnbed Ly cayos u,,l
tssures. Ho1lle Ut tAe Inter large gaping cracks
lIear'y 1oo feet long, and looking into tia most
den>0 opacity. About auartor of milo fsnn,
tlta accua moat singular sight III Presented.
II il large tssuro in the surface, which occur
Il 3utth A<r1{ in rst