The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-09-04
COLLIERY BOYS.
HARDY YOUNG LADS AS MULE DRIV
ERS AND SLATE PlckeRs.
A Vocation In which No Sinking ls Toll
Grated ed-severity OF the Cracker
Boss"-Ground to Death-A
Mining War.

fScranton (Pa) Cor New York Timeal
Those who havs at any time visitei any
OF the mines or coal breakers Of the anthra-
cite regions OF Pennsylvania could no fail
70 be fcrcibly impressed by the large num-
Der Of boys, many OF them Of very tender
age, employed In the collieries as drivers OF
mules and door tendsri, and In the screen
room as slate pickers Many Of thoss little
meiis who with their grimy faces and hard
sned han Is look like q strange race of human
teings, are under the age Of IL years,
but they perform a most important task In
the great work of preparing the dusky an-
thracite for the market In the mines as
muls drivers these hardy lads are invalu-
able. They sing and whistle and laugh and
play amid their gloomy surroundings, and
they can manage the erratic mule better
than most men. They drive the loadei
cars from the working chambers to the foot
Of the shaft up which the coal Is hoistsd to
the tower OF the breaker. and they take the
@empties" back to the men who blast down
the coal from the 3breast."
As a general thing the boys employed as
mule drivers are older and stronger than
those who work in the screen rooms Of the
breakers. The duties Of the latter consist
In sorting the slate from this broken coal,
which flows in black streams down q num-
ber OF chutes from the ponderous machinery
in which the cleaning anthracite boulders
are broken into the requisite Sizes The
slate pickers sit In rows astride these chutss,
their eyes fixed steadily on the broken coal
that bru shes past them down the steep in
cline, and their fingers nmbly at work pick
ing out the black. dull pieces of slate that
are mixed with the glistening anthracite
During this flow of coal down the ch u tes no
shirking u tolerated. The boys must keep
their eyes con tantly on the chutss and see
to it that all the bits of slate are taken out
In order to insure strict attention on the
part of these little workers a superintend-
ent stands on guard, with his eyes on the
boys This individual, who by the nature
OF his occupation Is usually dislike by the
slate pickers, is known as "cracksr boss"
the breaker being sometimes called a coal
cracker. The "cracker bos,r must be strict,
therefore be IL considered severe. Some
times he is the victim Of various mischiev-
Gus pranks. His whip is hidden, his chew.
ing tobacco Is lost. his hat Is mislaid, or
some other accident" Of an embarrassing
sort occurs whenever the opportunity pre-
sents itself. II by any chance the "cracksr
boss" Is absent for few minutes the screen
room suddenly undergoes transformation,
and the rows Of little fellows who usually
sit at their work with bowel heads give o
I rcible illustration Of the maxim that
@hoys will be boys"
Some OF the sadd accidents connected
with coal mining have occurred In the
breakers among children who pick slate
Little fellows have been ground to death in
the massive machinery, and many Of their
comrades have lost their lives in the effort
to save them. The unselfish heroism OF the
men who work in the mines has had i.s
counterpart among the lads In the coal
breaker, and instances could be mentioned
Of this child heroism of the screen room
When the little fellows first 60 to work at
slate picking they find the task severe and
painful Sitting in STOPPING position amid
clouds of coal dust Is painful, and tiny
fingers are cruelty cut and bled by contact
with the pieces of coal which are as sharp
as bits OF broken glass. In tins the hanis
become hard enei and so do the boys, SO that
what was at first regarded as a slavery
seems comparatively easy.
In the coal breakers especially many hum
dreds of children are employed under the
age of 10 years There are instances Of be-
ing sent to pick slate even at 6 years Of
age and any number may bs found In the
screen-room between 8 and y. Some Of
these are probably the sole support OF a
mother and younger children, the father OF
the family having been suddenly killed at
bis work In the mine. It seems cruel to
send such boys to work, but It seems equally
cruel to prevent them from earning the
needed crust for the stricken families to
which they belong. The question has con-
sumed much attention for several years
xhra tho 81 81 xhs l.at
session of the legislature Of Pennsylvania q
section was embodied in the general mine
law prohibiting child labor in and about the