The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-03-29
DOWN IN A COAL NINE.
Down in n coal mine,
ITp|arpo.t A., .--.,,,-,,7

togo "down in coal NINE" or know what ,
weird. strange life those lead who work s.under
reath the ground"
Mr.. II. W. Perry, General superintendent o
the coal nines about Brazil. Ind very kindly in
iiiaed us in the mysteries of the Morris Mine.
the largest one IN that vicinity. There thirty
i've miues being worked il The County. twenty
eight OF which are near The town OF Brazil
These give employment TO twenty-five hundred
men. Mr. Perry : daughter, Miss Lee 4 Lowell,
familiarity with the niue, aud the pleasure wlsf
which the miners received her, showed that she
| MAS a frequent aud welcome visitor there.
While waiting az the shaft for the cage 4
come mp, we took peep down. Ugh, How
iIishtiul it looked. We felt like giving up The
uip, but Lee assured US there was not the least
bill Of danger unless something gave way. "ADc
am not afraid she continued. where father
courage, and the cage" cane up just as she had
finished telling me about woman who had
| stepped backward a few years ago in the shaft
out again.
Dir. Perry and his daughter stepped over on the
little platform OF the cfge not more than five fee.
1 square. and with rothiug TO hOld To- stood m
| while descending the s6aft. / cTouched on the
tOor at their feet. shut your eyes" said Lee
| and you won't mind it," But | did mind il. -
a thousand ic0nfused thoughts whirled through
nay bsain. One reels a horrible sensation on going
down into such depths OF utter darkness.
When We touched the bottom it would not
| have taken very great stretch of the imegina.
| ton, as we listened 10 the oaths and impreca.
tons OF q miner near. TO believe We had reached
! a station near the internal regions Our guide
lighted his little bank lamp and stuck il in his
cap. The lamp is filed with lard oil. ana is a
tiny little affair, two inches high, shaped like AN
| old-lSShlened tin coffee pot.
A. our eyes got accustomed to the darkness we
saw that we were in what they call the double
parting Of the shaft" the passwsy here is six
The machinery at the shaft is so arranged that
Double work II done. one cage gCiI up while the
other comes down. We noticed that the double
/ far de Il
1 that for 500 yards the ceiling was planked. We
learned that this was for the better protection OF
those who were constantly at work in that part.
We saw that trace ike a railway, was laid in
the passage, and told that there was six miles
of Il in that mine. Only think what an immense
amount of labor 1t requires to get mine in work
| ing order-sinkiug shafts, cutting roads layiuc
IA cks, protecting ceilings, furnishing pure air.
lay ing pipes to carry of water, etc
Well take car - Lee said, Ito go out to the
IT oms; so we sat Gown on great lump of coal
to wait for the car" / wondered meanw nile
whether they built the street down there IL
| never could have been brought down that shaft.
/ But, as usual. my imagination had run away with
me, for lol when the car came Ii was coal box
used to haul the coal TO tue shaft. We climbed in
/ The diver yelled, "Git up, Dam" and Dan, a
| moustrOus mule started off at 8 pace that
e ok ones breath away. We went the
length of the main passage. At regular intervals
OF space There are passages on the right and the
left-passsges which nIe laid with trucks, and
which lead 10 the miners rooms. Every nov ard
/ then, fore we came 10 IT, door would omen a.
| il bg magic; but while we we're rushing through
| We caught glimpse az little blacke ed -
somebody's carllng," stationed there TO perform
| the work.
Whoa, DAM" shouted the driver. and Dan
ghoaed. We climbed out of our box ard followed
he guide TO make series CT calls the
miners.
had always imagined mine like unto 2 great
cave. with jolly lot OF men working together in
groups; but found thst we could not stand up
right ia the PASSAGES that led 10 the rooms, and
that room was low pace, SO low that our heads
touched the ceiling when sitting down, aud That
II was twenty feet wide. One man has sole posses
sion room, and Is tneTe monarch OF all ne sur
veys." which might be more. In this room he
works until the ccal is dug ont between his and
:; the ,,n aoJ'ininn;g room a. Then a new one
miner takes in partner. In such
case each man calls the other a butte They
all work IN sleeveless jackets, and sleeveless
everything, for all were bare-armed It was
whispered 70 me that sometimes they "dOtfed'
more than their sleeves, bus that they made
themselves prgSentGble when they heard ladies
coming. The dangers that miners tire exposed 70
are numeronS-fOui al. falling oi roofs. going up
and down shafts, explosions, fires ia miues etc
tuns:e Ia trait respect, for life has never bcea
lost there. Inc men get 81 ton Tor diggi0g
the coal Is OF kind called 'blocE." and looked
as Tn 'ush il took bat little labor dig it, The
men can ges ont three ana four tons day.
IL seemed 10 me the least desirable work on
earth; so lonely, 30 daTs, SO dirty. so dangerous
Showing that they like tire work This has been
a bad winter for them. The consumption II c0a
has been 50 small that men have not been able 10
/ see that this weeks "Lsbor Tribune" makes a
strong appeal 10 the young workMen 10 leave the
mines aud learn a trade.
The vein Of coal in the Morris mine is from
three ana half to four and half feet thick.
One could listen for hours to the recital Of hair
breadth escapes that the miners tel. But II you
want the interview TO be thrilling one, don go
To their homes but to their rooms" hundreds of
feet under ground, where the nickering light of
the bauk" lamps make all sorts OF weird ShaG-
..lnnmpff a al
coal or slate falling IRON the ceiling causes the
miuer to stop talking for minute. while be takes
up his pick and makes s0undings, and you sit
there III an sgoDy Of fear, expecting the whole
roof to fall Oh you. bOw well their are
trained; they can tell by the least difference ia
sound the condition OF the wall above them.
OF the many experiences we heard that morn
ing we viii relate only that Of Dir. Norman. He
has been miner sixty-thTee years; is Irish by
birth. "Ae mother took me" he said, ''whiE
only five years ard Fix months cid, took me by
the hand and led me down IN a mine in the Ould
cOuntTy and hired me there for a trooper" THE
'tToppeTs'' are the boys that open and shut TIE
doors that | spoke of coming through "She had
the tares Ia her eyes" he continued, but she
wired EN- out wild the corner OF her apron, and
tried to be brave whin she left me, wild GODS
blessing on me- Whin I'd go up the shaft al
night me mother would be there with arms out
su etched To meet me-
3 Oh mothersl if YOU could realize as do now
what the life Of little trspper is you would not
wonder that the child was met every night with
open arms. These doors are kept closed TO keep
the pure air from going where il Is not needed,
and are only OpeHed for car 70 pass through. 81
there, almost total darkness, ana all alone.
stanos the little ''trapper boy ali DAY long. Ii
looked TO me as though the position was a dan
gerOus one aside from the usual dangers attend
Jog position Ia the mine. For those great over
grown mules come numbering down the track at
fearful pace, and II must require care 10 keep
out Of their way. And then 10 think of our hye
year cid boy occupying such position.
WELL" the old man went on, after taking q
puff two az his shortstemmed pipe, Il IN
great believer in prayer; an. I'll tell ye why. One
day, over sixty years ago. yit remember it well.
there was e great explosion at the mine; the
mine where me and me father was working
There was thirty -four killed that day and forty
four horses"
Sand your iather?" asked.
''lIs. father. too, am; livery last soul of
em that Was il the NINE but meselE So. ma'am
whin they took me up above, they swoIe me that
must say 10 livery body that asked me that the
others were coming. Oh but that was all awful
time-mofhers aud wives and children running
about ike wild. crying ana screaming, ana ii
better been dead alongside of them a laying be-
low than t. live 10 the sights they had to for
ninst the sun went down. To livery one OF
them what asked me I'd say, 'Yis, they are a
comin.' And so they were, ma'am; but comm
to break the hearts Of them as loved 'em.
Whin | went ia the door at home, and me
mother seen me, she jist cried out. Yer fathers
killed no. he amt. MOTHER for was not that
what was tould to say? Hes coming directly
while livery drop of blood left her face; felt ali
The day like something was goin' to come. and for
two hours have i been on my knees praying,
oh, God. whatever happens, spare the lad
And OH, me boy, me boy said me mother.
hugging me up 10 her breast, God has answered