Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-11-11
COAL MINES ON FIRE.
Another One Added to the Perpetual
" Burning Mines OF PENNSYLVANIA

A Pottsville pa letter says: The
failure Of all the attempts to extinguisf
the fire which has been raging in the
Kelley run colliery for several weeks
1t is feared, will add another to the per.
petually burning mines that now exist
in the Pennsylvania anthracite regions
The greatest of these is probably that
IN the jugular vein, near Coal Castle
this county. This has been burning
since 1885. Lewis E. Dougherty open,
ed this vein in 1888. The upper drift
of the mine was above water level and
a huge fire was kept in q CRATE at the
mouth Of the mine in winter to keep
the water from freezing in the cutters
One night in the above year the tim
bers of the drift caught fire from the
CRATE. When it was discovered the fire
had been carried Gown the air hole to
the lower drifts, ard was beyond CON
troll. Two miners entered the mines
hoping to r6cove' their tools. They
never came out. The mine was aban-
dOned. No el1ortwas made to mine
any of the coal nar the burning vein,
| although it was Considered the best coal
in the region, until 1856. Then John
McGinnis put i'll a slope on the east
side Of it, below water level. He struck
the vein at place where the coal was
so thick that two miners could keep a
large breaker supplied. When four
hundred yards If gangway had
been eXCavatd the heat
from the burning Dougherty mine
began to bother tie miners. McGin-
mis- attempted to Oen an air hole. The
heat became SO reat that the men
were paid doubb wages to induce
them to work. TRy worked entirely
naked, and were relieved every ten
minutes. Finally he heat became so
intense that work vas abandoned. The
mine was flooded. After being pump
ed out men could gain work for a few
| days. The mine was flooded nine
| times. McGinnis finally failed, and
the mine was abandoned. The fire
has been raging i the vein ever since.
An area of half nile in every direc-
ton has been buhed. No vegetation
grows on the SURGE. In places the
ground has cavedn, forming chasms q
hundred feet dep. There is but a
thin shell Of cart over the pit Of fire.
| At night blue sulhurous flames issue
from the crevicein the ground. 1t is
dangerous to Wlz across the spot.
| Several persons hive mysteriously dis
appeared in the vicinity during the
| past twenty veal 1t is believed that
in a majority of he cases they have
fallen into the brning mine. Dough-
erty, the originl proprietor of the
mine, attempte to go across once.
He sank to his rmpits through the
crust, and was oily saved by courage
Gus friends who entured to his assist
ance. The stons on the ground are
hot, and snow nSer rests there. Rain
turns to vapor afast as it falls on the
roof of the burnig mine. Millions of
dollars worth f the best quality of
coal have been assumed by the fire.
The Summit i'll mine, near Mauch
Chunk, has bee burning for twenty
five years. It's believed that this
mine was set olfire by discOntenteG
miners. Thounds of dollars have
been expended fruitless efforts to ex-
tinguish the fans.
The Butler ME, near Pittston, has
been burning the years. 1t was set
on fire by a partof tramps, who built
a fire in the minin 1877. The fire is
in the upper dris. 1t is confined to
an area Of forty crcs by an immense
ditch forty feet de, which was excav-
ated between thburning drift and con-
meeting ones. lie digging of the canal
cost $50 900. b for that obstacle the
fire would have communicated to some
of the most exnsive mines in the
Lackawana vale and a subterraneous
confiagration VOID have swept under
the whole of We; Pittston. Miners
have worked in tn .ower drift of the
Butler mine sine he fire broke out
but there are bu folty feet of rock be-
tween them and d field of the fire
above. The watethat trickles through
the roof is scaldy hot. The temper
ature is so high at the men can wear
but little clothin