Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-29
DOWN IN A COAL NINE.
IN THE BLACK DIAMONDS HOME,
NINETY FEET UNDER GROUND.

Life aud Labor by Lamplight-Seen and
! Unseen PerIis of the Miners Occupa-
rion-A stroll Through Underground
/ Avenues" Shooting Down
/ Having supplied ourselves with small lamps
We go ahead. The avenue through which We
are travelling Is thirty or forty feet wide, the
roof high enough 10 allow us TO walk erect,
and the ground dry and dusty. Now and
then We meet a train Of three cars beirs
hauled by one mule. Sometimes these trans
suddenly emere from side entries, the exist
enCe Of which never would have been Sus-
pected by a stranger, and finally, as mule,
driver and train crawl out of one, evidently
of more magnitude than AIRY We have passed,
Mr. X. remarks: Lets go in here" We
enter, and after travelling a quarter OF a mile
lani in IA chamber Where men are at work
filing cars with coal that has been blown
down with powder Holes are bored into
the face Of the stratum with u drill operated
by compressed air, which is sent into the
mine through iron pres connecting with
powerful compressor in the engine room
above These drills ran at lightning speed
boring a hole an inch and n half in diameter
and six feet deep In less than three min
utes. Then the mrchine is moved TO an
other point six or ei sht feet distant and an
other hole bored The three sides Of the
room are thus penetrated with holes, into
which blasts are inserted, the fuse attached
and then the miner connects the wire of an
electrical hand dynamo with one fuse at a
time, walks off to safe distance and forms
the cirCuit-there is flash, a jar, and
several hundred bushels Of mineral come
down with tremendous crash. The other
blasts are touched Off i'll the same way, with
similar results, and then the man with the
drill and the electrical battery loads them on
his tool car" moves out TO the main line
and hunts up another chamber
Returning tO the main avenue we move
forward until we arrive al a chamber where
a machine is at work. These machines are
also operated by compressed air, moving
back and forth against the wall Of coal and
breaking it down by penetrating it with
powerful iron fork The implement is placed
on tracks that move on an iron track, and is
SO constructed that the prong viii cover All
arc of six feet i'll its immediate front The
truck and the machine can be moved at ease
and without the loss of much time and when
operated on full time does the work Of ten
men. Mr.. Brand-nberger, the general super
intendent OF the mine whom we met at this
point, stated that the difficulty with the ma
chimes was that they were constantly getting
out Of order, and, i; being necessary 10 take
them ont of the mine for repair, which some
times cost As much the machine when new,
he did not think there was much saved in the
long run over hand mining. Sometimes a
machine would be virtuall, ruined from
sudden fall of slate or shale or contact with
a mass OF sulphuret of iron. When at work,
moving back and forth, sending their iron
tongues into the black bosom OF six a foot vein
OF coal, each attack being followed by u crash
and q tumble OF perhaps a ton of mineral.
they present all effect on the senses both won
derful and startling. They are somewhat more
dangerous than hand mining, from the fact
that they are more sudden in their effects,
and at all times and i'll all mines tue operator
must look out for sudden falls of slate.
A general stroll through the mine covered
q distance of about two miles, and led through
many avenues and streets running at right
angles or parallel TO each other just like
streets and avenues in city, and laid out
with as much mathematical precision. In all
mines in this part OF the country pillars OF
coal are left standing TO support the roof,
and these pillars may he compared with the
buildings covering blocks of ground in the !
city, the entries, as they are called by miners !
being the streets surrounding the buildings |
The end Of the avenue, or where actual mining |
is going on is called a chamber and during |
our walk we found men at work in nearly all |
OF the latter Through every avenue is laid |
an iron tramwsy over which the coal must |
be hauled in the dummy cars to the bottom |
Of the shaft In tramping about you are apt /
to come in collision with a train of these dunn |
mics at any moment and to avoid accidents |
recesses sre sunk into the walls at regular dis
tances, into which you can step and I've per !
fectly safe.
Here and there wide avenues are driven off |
from the main avenue to distant points, !
when smaller ones are pushed out like the |
roots Of tree, with the exception that they |
generally run At regular angles to each other, |
50 that in the course of time a labyrinth i |
formed out of which the unfamiliar explorer
would nLver find his way except by the |
mereSt accident. The miner soon becomes [
as familiar to them, however, as does any
resident of city to its streets, and when he
enters the mine never gets lost or confused IN /
the Journey To his chamber He Is assisted
however, very materially ty the numbering
of every avenue, placard being hung up at
the entrance Of each on which is painted the
proper numbers. In our journey We passed /
through about fifty Of these avenues In one
or two of them we were compelled to stoOp
considerably in moving forward, but in all
others the ceilings were not less than seven
feet high.
The ground under foot was smooth and dry,
the atmosphere pure and the temperature
about 60 Fahrenheit. The volume of air sent
through all parts of the mine ~ means of the
fan keeps il clear of smoke foul gas or the
unpleasant odor emitted from the small oil
lamps worn in the caps OF the workmen.
Upon first entering the mine the darkness Is
int nse but in a few moments the eyes ap-
pear to overcome it, and a sort of weird twi-
light surrounds you, through which objects
may be seen several rods. The further the
mine is penetrated the less intense the dark
ness seems 10 become. As might naturally /
be supposed, the acoustics of the mine are |
perfect Low tones and even whispers of the
human voice may be heard great distances.
During the journey we heard a tremendous
crash which appeared to be within few feet
VI us, but my companion, seeing that | was
startled, remarked that il was
caused by the shooting down of a mass of
coal nearly 900 feet away. Distance and
locality cut as much of a figure in mine as
they do on the surface of the earth Miners
will tell you that room No. ~ is quarter
Of mile away; that is to reach it you must
20 down No Is TO No. Is, turn TO the right
and walk four blocks, then TO the left one
block and yoa can't help finding it." Fol-
lowing these directions you are certain to
reach No 20 i'll mine as you would be in
reaching a similar number by means of a sim
liar direction Oh any street in Chicago
Bellevills Qlls.l Cor Chicago Her1ld {