The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1881-02-11
MINERS GRIEFS AND HEROISM.
SOME TOUCHING INSTANCES OF THE DEvo-
TION AND BRAVERY OF THE MEN
WHO WORK IN MINES.

Samuel Plimsol, writing in the Ninetecntb
Century, says / remember seeing one poor
woman a day or two after the explosion at
the Edmunds or Swaith Main pit The dead
body of her husband was then lying in the
mine but she had children the daily work
of life must be done, even by her. She
wanted a pan which, nearly full Of dirty
water, stood near her door upon a stone. ]
shall, l suppose, never forget Git is many
years ago now the far-ofT look in her eyes as
she approached the pan her whole figure
was the expression of one without hope, the
very embodiment of despair she raised the
pan by the edge, utterly careless that the
falling water spla3hed her dress and feet,
and listlessly moved away. Her grief was
too deep for words or tears, and / turned
away with heart sick to see such suffering
and to know that she was but one of more
than a hundred in the same sad condition.
Consider the men, their husbands, too.
What like husbands are they? Remember
the one whose body was found in the Hart
ley mine, after the accident to the engine
beam, laying with his hand upon the side Of
which with pocketknife he had scratched
dying message of love to his wife Sarah.
dark in early morning to that same colliery,
in deep depression of spirit, which he could
not account for but only felt, turned back to
kiss once more with tenderness his wife and
children and then resumed his walk to the
pit, which in two short hours became his liv-
ing tomb-for they did not die at once in
this case, their fate hung in the balance many
days, during which our kind-hearted queen
constantly telegraphed inquiries about the
possibility of saving mems lives.
Do you want to know what sort Of fathers
some Of these men are2
Remember the man who escaping with his
boy and a comrade only this year q think it
was in the Seaham cOlliery after the eXplO-
sionl, found the boy unable to 90 any fur
ther l think he was insensible. They could
not carry him, and the boys father was urg
ed by his conrade, who did escape, TO come
along with him. What was the fathers re-
ply? ''Nay," he said looking at the insen-
sible boy, ''I'n bide with the lad" Ard lie
did stay, and father and son were found af-
ter many days lying side by side in death
When the Edmuuds Main explosion oc-
cured which widowed so many scores of poor
women. there was a doubt, as there often is
been killed there was a hope, very faint in
deed but still hope that there might be
some men still alive in the pit; there was
imminent risk of a second explosion which
might occur at any moment, and the peril of
going down then was simply awful Still
some men might yet be then alive below.
What happened?
Volunteers offered themselves to 90 down;
the needful numbers were selected q think
seven men) they took their lives in their
hands. quite unconscious of the heToism of
their conduct because their moral attitude
was simply that of 50 many others they
went down on their errand Of mercy, and in
a short time these men Cwhose names even
were not given to the published accounts, so
little surprising did there conduct appear to
those who knew colliers) were added to the
list of the slain, for the dreaded explosion
occurred and now, alas there was no long
er room to doubt that all below were num-
bered with the dead.
Take another instance When the last
dreadful explosion took place at the Oaks
cOlliery, near Barnsly, which also killed two
hundred men and boys if remember right
", went there Immediately, and what had
Id llltttCu- ny llitllu I dlhiii JtiiGDths
mining engineer, had been sent for after the
first explosion had occurred it was one OF
extraordinary violence and had completely
destroyed the head gear, and they were in
momentary expectation of a second, as it is
clear that the first had utterly deranged the
ventilation but here also the hope was clune
to that some of the men might still be alive
in the pit and after most anxious consider
alton, it was decided TO incur the awful peril
Of descending the other shaft to see if it were
happily so (scOres upon scores of mems lives
have been saved by these heroic darings Of
peril) When the decision was taken, Mr..
Jeffcock said Il want eight men TO 60 down
with me ; volunteers, stand forward" At
once not eight but fifteen men stepped out
from the crowd they then picked out and
rejected the seven men who had the largest
families, and had to employ the police to put
them back into the crowd, out of danger,
lest the dreaded explosion should come even
whilh they were getting ready to go down
and Mr.. Jefcuck and his eight companions
. (heroes every one of them-and this they
would equally have been had they all return
/ ed alive) got ready and went down They
had not been dewn long before another ex-
plosion took place, and they too, were num-
bered with the dead.