The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1879-12-17
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V
& 4 ilreip AN nstlsse oolIieFy, i short ill.
tance from M Eesixb aAs sasoue lsn,.a 5lajI.
road, o. the oasstifis il P<sstou, hi, con-.
tinues Y burn tlerqclys All psesent Il d esty-
mated that Ten xeres Of asithras;ts ara 49,.
iag IN che ripper ven and W. snost Starring
phase Of the affair i That HE minors. ii tbe
employ Of the comPsny are working the vein
beneath. A visit ishs workme,l II, their am.
serranean oven gives some idea Of the intens-
~ with which the IRE IL ranging over their
heads. Althoagh separated from them by
seventy feet of solid rock, YET the heat il 70
great that they are compelled to work without
q particle Of clothing upon them, with tho
exception Of light pairof drawers or over.
ais. The pcrapiration peurs constantly from
tlcis bodies, and the ssmperaturs ii continu-
ally much the same as g they were as work
IN the. presence Of roaring furnace. Il IL
very. seriously questioned aby th6se nnder-
standing the situation whether the men
should be permitted TO work In this intensity
perlous position. The fire. IN the Butler mine
has now been burning upwards of two years.
1t originated in the old Workshop OF an
abandoned or worked-out mine, near what
was known us the outcrop Of the fourteen-
feet vein aud on the very highest ground of
the property of the Butler Coal Company. =
The destructive spark waA first kimdled BY a
poor, degraded woman, who, having been
driven from the shelter OF the town, took
refuge IN one Of the numerous caves on the
outskirts. Here she made a fire for the pur.
pose of cooking such stray crumbs as she
could pick up and to keep her warm at uight
One night she was alarmed BY seeing the en-
tire side OF the cave on fire, and she fed Ia
terror from the scene, Superintendent Ben
nett, one of the most practical and careful
managers ~ this region, had his attention
called to the fire early In june, 1877. BY that
timeait had made good deal Of Roadway
northeast of the pitch along the pillars, and
the course II was taking Indicated 1t would
shortly exhaust itself There was nothing
to give rise then TO the apprehension that it
would work its way down the pitch or declivA
ity, and immediately steps were taken to CIV
er the cave holes = by which the air was ad.
United to feed the flames. The immediate
vicinity of the fire ut that time was honey
combed with three cave holes, caused by the
caving IN of the surface whore the mine had
been worked out and no pillars icft to sup
port the roof. The stopping up Of Theses
prevented ina measure Che progress VI the
fire, but owing TO the elevated character Of
the place it was impossible to obtain water in
-1ss-i@s.t s.s.s.tits s,ia.s ssFsats..e % a.
rangement was made with party to open and
clear out an old chamber In the mine, intend
lug thereby to cut off the flames, bat the
work was done IN abunglinR manner and fail
cd to do what was intended. Seeing the
threatening character Of the element, the
company at length adopted plan at an enor-
NOUS expense, which ~ WAS hoped would
prove effective, A point was selected aboub,
eight hundred feet from the fire, at which an
open cut was begun fren-the. surface down to
the old workings. II was intended that this
cut should be $50 yards 10 length, 30 feet
wide ut the bottom, aud ranging from IL to As
feet 10 depth. The plan was that Of Engineer
q. n. Conrad, who contemplated 1T the out
set tile removal Of $4,000 cubic feet OF earth,
rock and coal in the construction Of this magic
circle about the Gre. He tunncied part of
the way, and, In the face Of obstacles appar-
emily insurmountable he worked steadily day
and night with a strong force of inen until his
plan was effected The progress Of the flames
has since been slow, but now they seem to
have gained great hold, and not only the
coal but the superincumbent rock H. red with
fire. The danger lies In the tuuneled part,
where 1t is feared glowing rocks will carry
destruction over the archway and cominnni-
cate II to the adjoining property. The great
danger from the fire would arise from Its ex-s,
tension into tho workings of the Pennsy wanna
Coal Company, and once there no power on
earth can prevent 1t from working its way nm
der the town OF Pittston. Here indeed would
be poetic and terrible revenge on the partof
the outuast who was denied shelter by the
town and He'd, like Hagar, to the wilderness.