, 1877-08-31
Down in q Coal Mine.

"Go down as fast as that?" the super.
intendent continued: "Oh, yes; there's no
danger. The shaft is nine hundred feet
deep, and we 60 down sometimes in ff-
teen seconds; sometimes, when we're in
no hurry, we take thirty seconds, some
times twenty. The engineer always
knows when to stop it, and the only dan
ger is at the top and bottom" The cage
stopped at our level with jerk, and We
stepped out on little platform, about
six feet one way by four the other, with
a roof, and fitted into the shaft so nicely
that marble could hardly roll through.
The superintendent seized little iron
ring and pulled it twice (mine language
for "lower'); his hand hardly left the
ring before a terrific rumbling began
(the cages make deafening noise), and
the floor began to sink from under us
like flash of lightning. The bottom
was dropping out Of everything. The
wheels rolling against the sides would
have shamed northeaster on the coast
This sinking lasted four or five seconds;
then we seemed to stand still. Things
had changed. We were not moving, but
the sides of the shaft were going up, up,
as if they had been shot up out of vol
cano, | wondered for second or two
how long it would take at this rate for
the shaft to tear itself out of the mine en-
tirely. 1t began to go faster than ever.
There must have been about $40 miles of
that shaft fired out already and still it
kept coming. 1t went up so fast, the
shaft, that it began to perspire, and the
spray few over us. AT this point 1--WE had
according to my calculation gone down
about two thousand niles l began to
lose all interest in shafts and mines.
We hadn't been moving for some time,
but the sides of the shaft stopped all of a
sudden. I suppose it had all gone out.
There were dim, smoky lights moving
about. There was mule moving (happy
reminder of the world above), compla-
Gently wagging his tail, We were in the
mine. Time of leaving daylight, 10.4O.15
time of arriving in gassy darkness, 1O.4O.-
80; time of trip, eighteen seconds
through express; no stops.
The main tunnel runs through the
mine from end to end. From this smaller
tunnels branch off land from these smaller
tunnels the workings are struck. A
working is little black cave dug into
the black rock, and in it the miner spends
his weary days. 1t begins with single
drilling into the rock, and keeps increas.
ing every day and every hour until it is
big enough for man to stand in. Still il
grows, till it is big dark cave, and al
last, after months, or it may be years of
silent labor, it turns into another tunnel
and other workings,in turn, branch out OF
it. What is dug out of this tunnel in max.
ing it is coal. From one to five men work
in each Of these holes, one miner digging
out the black wealth, the other laborerl
shoveling it away. There were working
in these solemn caves, in little groups
four hundred men, digging and delving
braving gas and falling rocks and kick
ing mules. One of the miners, handing
me his pick, asked me whether | didn'
want to save piece that I'd mined ou
myself. The first stroke was a failure
the second brought out half ton or so
all in one lump, but the third produced
shining little black diamond sparkling
like diamond of another sort, which
am saving till there's rise.
There comes while we stand u terrific
shock. The bed of rock under our fee
trembles; the wall of coal rising up By
our side, so cold and black, seems t
totter, q current of air flies through tn,
tunnels and drifts so unexpected, so VIC
lent, SO indescribably swift, that it feel
as if it was pebbles and stones and rock.
instead Of air, aud with this notion W,
put our arms up to shield our faces.
noticed that even the. miners did this. |
was SO quick that even long custom
could not override instinct. Then, IN
second or two, comes a tremendous crasI