Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-02-11

AC $500
swarthy giant-the dim hight makes
them look immsuse-drive in his pick
with a dull thud and bring down ava
l~aneiles of ''black diamonds" or to
notice how, with sledge hammer and
drill, holes in the rock are bored tore
ceive the charge of powder; or hurry
past, half choked by the pungent
smoke, where the shot has Just been
fired, and the pleased workmen are
shoveling up the copious results of
their skillfui blasting.
We have already noted some of the
fossils of the vegetable life of long-past
ages. Here we catch sight of living,
apparently thriving spiders. though
they are colorleSs and diaphanous,
presumably from lack of light, and
perhaps also through insufficient nu-
trlment-for what can they find to
eat? Not so the fungi, which hang,
like huge puff-balls, from long threads
rooted in the roof. But they, too, are
pale and almost substance less, so
that if you hold a candle, or even clap
your hands against them, they crum-
bic to powder. Looking at this
STANCE growth, wethink of chat impris-
oned miner, who, when he was rescu
ed, after many days OF starvation,
well nigh dead, was found to be
ed all oyer-face and hands and all
with a kindred plant. Oh, the horror
of the quietness and stiffness in which
a fungus could thus root itself, and
flourish on n living mani
Now for an adventure, if you are
ventursome," our guide cries Is we
reach the top of a long steep incline
worked by a horse and an endless
rope. "Did you ever try t~obagganing
on snow? This is a good substitute
these bits OF plank | have had made
with q groove to run on therails, SIT
on it sc and off we CO."
"Of - e" lily describe win
hAtipcneG, tTr ; kept tumblin4 s,ver,
%eiti,er on the rope OF one side, O. exc
az inst the rough, rocky WA! OF this
marrow passage. If the charm of to-
bogganing consists in a judi1ious mix
ture OF speed and danger, this methoL
of going down a coljery incline doubt
less resembles it closely. But for all
that, l should prefer to walk, another
time.
Arrived at the bottom, bruised and
shaken, we find ourselves in a sort OF
dome of coal. It's height is perhaps
fourteen OF tfteet teet, and, In u
ineXperience, WI at oAce eXCidim: "Ah,
this is more like the real thing"
mo" the manager answers; you are
mistaken. This is only a fault and
will soonnarrow down again to itsnor-
NAL thickness of five or six feet. You
fancy it is easier to hew the coal here;
quite otherwise. There are narrow
bands OF 'shale' every here and there
in these walls of coal, and it requires
considerable skill and care to'keep this
out of the trans. While, il the newer
fails to send up his coal reasonably
clean, it is condemned, and he gets no
pay for it. Then there is great danger
from falling stones when the roof is
too high. For example, not long ago
we had an accident here, not without
a comic side to it. One of the golfers
was endowed with an immensely large
nose. While he was at work a sharp
stone fell in front of him. 1t fortu-
nately missed his head, and would
have dropped clear of any ordinary
mortal; but the nose came in the
way, and from it a good thick slice
was cut off. The man suffered much
pain, and was laid off for a long time;
but on his return to work he was
complimented on the vast improve
ment in his appearance, and his nick
name, The Beak, fell into disuse."
But for all that we agreed to choose
this omen, well-ventilated and roomy
place to work in, if we were Golfers,
especially after we had been exposed
to the faint and close odor which an
other vein hard by gives out.
When we complained of nausea and
begged to be taken away we were told
that strangers had been known to
vomit after standing by the face of
this seam of coal for a few minutes.
"Thesmell serves one useful purpose,
in indicating at once what strata We
are working; for, as far as | know"
our guide informed us, 'this is the on
ly shrinking vein in the district. 1t is
quite safe; there is no choke damp or
other noxious gas. Ican't explain
how it is so; it is only one OF themany
puzzles that confront the mining engi-
neer. Another is where the water
comes from we constantly have to
contend with. Look at that hole,
ABOUT big enough for a hen to go
through. You'll hardly believe zoe
when / tell ycu that five weeks "nc
there ives a road five feet i.igh
r1un1r! down there. On Sunday
evening re deput! bailiff WIS going
l1a rouI44s to see that all was
RENT for the night men-who repair
roofs and keep the roads good-to
come down when hefound his tiVe-foot
way contracted to a height of only
two feet. He crawled through to see
what had happened, and fortunately
got back safely before a flood ofwater
burst through the spongy, fre-clay
floor, which it had crushed up in such
a remarkable n All the work
ings below this point were flooded and
are not in a fit condition for coal get
ting. How much worse it must be IN
fiery mines, where gasses rush out in
thesame sudden manner, dealingdeath
to score. of hapless Golfers. We have
no such awful perils in this pit, thank
God Yet our men have ample hard
ships and dangers to face. Now that
you have seen them work, don't omit
when occasion serves, to say a good
word for those who do SO much for
England's prosperity-our colliers."
With which parting words our oblig-
ing cicerone put us under care OF a
subordinate, who led us back safely
by the way we had come, and brought
us up out of the horrible pit into the
cheerful light of day.