Wichita eagle., 1888-08-09
DOWN In A COAL NINE.
WANDERING THROUGH PASSAGES
UNDERGROUND.

Passages andsNsrrow T1anels-3dulcs -
Motive PswerThs Miner Ind His
Drfn-The Blast.
The entrance to nearly an mines disap-
points preconceived notions. One cannot
say exactly what he expected. but he cer-
tainly expected something different from
the reality. Here, for instance. there was
no indication Of the existence of the nnine
save IN tho presence Of the breakers AID
the huge pile of culn. At short dis
lance from tho breaker was q little shed
about ten feet square, and yawning in this
was the mouth of the passenger shaft.
The other shaft, up which are hoisted the
the cars loaded with coal, opens directly
into the breaker.
As we gathered about the passsngeI
shat. the car was hoisted severs, TIRES,
bringing up q number OF miners and
laborers. and sn looked like iInps from
the Internal regions. Their bodies and
clothing were black IS jet from smoke
and coal dust. and the Only white ons
could SEQ about them was the whites Of
their eyes In their caps were extin-
guished torches, which still gave out
black and sullen smoke. Men we found
them. talking freely Of their lives and
rather enjcying the curiosity they In
spircd Thar appearance. and the mouth
of that black shaft leading down o sheer
800 feet into the bowels OF the earth. led
some Of the party TO conclude that they
would enjoy q birds eye view Of Provi-
dencc on the surface rather than tempt
Providence under ground So less than
forty made the descent.
Each Of Us was given little torch. and
then we gathered about the shaft. Tho
elevator IL simply . platform like .
freight elevator. with no railing at either
side. Above it is q hood to keep OF the
water constantly dripping down tho
shaft from the seams In the rock. Ten
ut time ve crowded upon the elevator.
the torches 1aring up around Us and fill
ing our Lungs with smoke. The signal
WIS given, and every heart sank httls
as tho car rushed swiftly down
Perhaps ! reveal q wocful ignorance
when l say that / expected 10 see a. soon
as stepped frel the car vast rugged
chamber. glittering with distant lights
and alive with eager workers. had read
descriptions Of mines and seen pictures Of
them, and yet this delnsion clings To me.
But In one instant vanished all these
ckiuleras, and l beheld q narrow tunnel.
SO low that ! involuat2rily stopped my
head. whether such q proceeding were
necessary or not, and darker than mid
night On either side were walls OF coal,
glittering strangely as tho rays OF light
fell upon them. and hewn into all sorts Of
irregular shapes and narrow recesses.
But the roof or ceiling seemed IS smooth
and polished as marble. The vein of coal
runs of almost uniform thickness. aud
the slate above and below forms conf
paratively level floor and roof
Along this narrow passage we wand
cred. the light from our pickering lamps
making the darkness ahead the more i'm
penetrAble. At short intervals were cham
bers where the coal had been mined more
extensively, but between eli chambers
pillars at lesst thirty feet IN thickness
were left to support the tremendous
weight Of the superintendent rock. And
in the chambers themselves were joists
and beams Of wood erected for tho same
purpose. One could scarcely realize that
all these passaSeways and chambers wero
carefully laid out by engineers and sur
veyors. and that plans were drawn. mark
ing all the turns and divergeneo@. as sccu-
rssely as the map of a city.
But such was the case, and not blow
Of the pickax IL struck that Is not fore
seen. and 50 two passageways approach
each other from opposite directions, and
are finally united in one. At intervals
are heavy, air tight doors Of wood. which
serve tho purpose Of breaking the cur
rents Of air, give aperfect circulation. aud
allow the steam fans to exhaust the fra
damp that may have accumulated Ia any
chamber, no matter how far distant. IA
these were closed bslind us they gave =
crash Ike thunder. every sound being
magnifed by she rocky walls. Finally.
when we had gone hundreds Of feet from
the shaft, We began 70 sec dam and
twinkling lights In thu distance. and TO
hear echoing cries, the crash of loaded
cars rolling along the rail, and the cisns
of steel on the sullen rocks. Mules farn-
ISL the only motive power. and perhaps 10
IL because Of their well known stubborn,
ness that they needed such vociferous d.
rection that FOR minutes Nc would hear
shouts and cries that were echoed until
they seemed to cor-Ic from a hundred
lungs. Then NO woald range ourselves
close along tho walls and up would rum
bic aud chatter and clash loaded car.
drawn by several s.rsslirg mules and
driven Cor rather directed. for no reins
were usedl by boy AZ black as tho eoal
itself, his eyes gtttering strangely Ia tia
light from the smoking Lamp stuck Ia hia
tat band
And finally We rearLeH thc r1tnc-- thern-
selves, for FL TIC raen we hed previously
seen were merely tho hborcrs. Eaoh
miner had G chamber to himself. and into
the walls be was vicbos1siy digging hIs
drill OF cpurss his eyes get aooustoIsod
10 the serni gicon. but 10 u Il see-1sssi -
Z he must WORK solely by siss senss OF
feeling. The miner VIC ssr<orn6ed told
as that he was Amos. ready for blast
w tle re waited Q car roal.d nGisily rp 10
) PIE Of broken cosl. and . black AID
yrfr,y hborss caught up . shovel and
vent The futaps thtE.derrg tcto The car.
Before IL wa Lied tbs u.i1Ax tod us TIA
his charge was rc~dy and hste us 60
around The lesress onrner. Fifty fret
1wey w vcre halted. and thca casss al
Luxtous pause. each ezse sgitatTd so,r.s-
What, II tia truth must De told Then
,aran O kud and sevcgberzttng roar, foi-
owed by the crash Of tur bling rock Tia
,arth shook brnesth cur fsst. and FROM
he slssp roof, foot above cur hknds.
plnters Ct rock scenes. 70 t&u armand
Ia Perhaps 10 one really expected tia
'oof 10 fan and crush ra. En c.ere was .
'igh Of relief when the hanss was Sser.
Ne hurried h.ck 20 the chamber With tbs
;neu Of powdz Ia orx noxtrlA A
aged hole vas pierced In tbs ecsl. ard
s wc hooked ehfvagh tie s:dkeGzd anst,
slsckeed sad deaCu3sc fAes spr>.rsd
{ u from ifs oeYsAA Tie bi.ss bad
psUed . p&Aas directly shso1gh La:s
b stjDen3Hg cAA.nhss. md De nsre v.s
hea Ct tho good nss.red s,Ansz on II,