The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-11-28
QUENCHLESs FIRES.
roaI Mines that Have Burned for
Many Years.
Worcester Gazette.

The failure of all the attempts to extinguist
/ the fire which has been raging in the Keely
/ Run colliery, near Pottsville, Pa, for severa
weeks it is feared, will add another to the
parpetuaily burning mines that now exist il
the Pennsylvania anthracite regions.
The grsatest of these is probably that il
| the Jugular vein, near Coal Castle. This
has been burning since 1885, Lewis F
DougheIty opened TIL. in 1888. The uppe,
drift of the niue was above water level, and
huge lire was kept in crate at the
mouth OF the mine in the winter to keep
\ the water from freezing in the cutters. 0ne
nigat in tho above year the timbers of the
drift caught fire from the CRATE. When il
was discovered the fire had been carried
down the air-bole TO the lower drifts and WIS
beyond control, two miners entered the mine,
bopiag t. recover their tools. They never
came out. Tho mine was abandoned. ~
effort was made to mine any Of the coal near
I the burning vein, although 1t was considered
the best coal in the region until 1856. Then
John McGinnI3 nut in stone on the east
side of it, below water level. 40 struck he
vein at q place where the caal was so thick
that two miners could keep large breaker
supplied. When four hundred yards of
gaDgway had been exc waited the heat from
the burning Dougherty mine began to
bother the m ners McGi4nis att mpted to
open an air-h0le The heat became SO great
that the men we're paid double wages to in
duce them to work They worked entirely
4 naked, and were relieved every ten minutes.
Finally the heat becams so intense th at work
/ was abandoned. The mine was flooded.
After being pumped out men could again
/ work for few days The mine was flooded
nine times. McGinnis finally failed, and the
mine was then abandoned. The fire has been
4 raging in the vein ever since. An area of
half mile in every direction has been
burned. No vegetation grows on the surface
4 In places the ground has caved in, forming
chasms a hundred feet deep. There is
but thin she'll of earth over the
pit of fire. AT night blue sulphurous
flames issue from the crevices in the ground.
/ It is dangerous to walk across the spot.
Several persons have mysteriously disap,
peared in the vicinity during the past twenty
years. 1t is believed taat in the majority of
the cases they have fallen into the burning
\ mine. Dougherty, tho original proprietor of
the mine. attempted to 60 across once, He
sank TO his mpis through the crust, and
\ was only saved by courageous friends who
yentursd to his assistance. The stones on
the ground are hot, aud snow never rests
there. Rains turs to vapor as fast as it
falls on the roof Of the burning mine. Mil
/ lions Of dollars worth of the best quality Of
coal have been consumed by the fire.
The Summit Hill mine, near MAuch Chunk,
has been burning for twenty-five years. 1t IS
believed that this mine WAS set on fire by dis
cOntented miners. Thousands of dollars
have been expended in fruitless efforts to ex-
inguish the flames.
The Butler mine near Pittston, has been
burning three years. 1t was set on fire by
party of tramps, who built fire in the mine
in 1877. The lire is in the upper drifts. 1t
is confined to an area of forty acres by an
immense ditch forty feet wide, and WAS ex-
| cavated between the burning DRIFT and con-
netting ones. The digging of the canal cost
$4,000. But for that obstacle the fire would
have comm unicssed to some of the most ex-
tensive mines in the Lackawsnna valley, and
subterraneous conhagration would have
swept under the whole of West Pittston.
Miners have worked in tho lower drift of the
/ Butler mine since the fire broke out, but
there are but forty feet of rock between them
and the field of fra above. The water that
trickles through the roofis scalding hot. The
temperature is SO high that the men can
wear but little clothing.