The Red Cloud chief., 1888-12-07

the lar this trip which Will ictcn IL
laundering down upon the car. Even
| the fact that the miners make this trip
twice "A day. laughing and talking. and
even humming snatches OF folksongs-
but eve wtistling; to whistle in a
coal mine will fetch the worst Of luck.
they say-fails 10 emove all thought
Of danger from the mind OF a novice
descending "A mine shaft. There may
be stranger sensations OF happiness
| and relief than those hc feels when the
reaches the bottom. but | doubt it.
Every one who can read knows what
a coal mine is like. One is like another.
the galleries crossing each other in all
directions. like the streets Of a town.
with many turnings-a black and
deep city. a city OF coal. Some Of the
| galleries are long and wide and we'll
ventilated; Others are low. narrow and
tOrtuous. with the air suspiciously foul
and charged with danger. The laden
ears, trundliDg along the gloomy train
ways toward the foot OF the shaft. pass
the empty ones going back into the
hidden depths for other burdens. The
noise OF blasts. the smell OF gunpowdcr.
the rumble mere and there of falling
coal, the glimmer Of lamps whose fee
BILE rays barely outline the ghOuli5h
forms OF the miners at their toll. the
noise of water pouring from the many
subtcrrancan veins sundercd by the
pick and drill-thcse are the sights
| and sounds that surround the life a
miner leads. by night and day. hum
dreds and hundreds OF feet beneath
the ground. Work never ceases in a
coal mine when it is being run to
its full capacity. One set Of men go
down the shaft at daylight and come
out at dark. meeting at the mouth Of
the shaft the men who are going down
for the night shift" and whom they
will meet coming out again next norm
ing. if all has been well.
"Nay. lad. don't thee w vessel
in the mine warned my old miner
guide; ..for ihee'Il drive tn gud luck
spcrit GOT an let the bad luck divvel
in. Thurs many "a fall o coal that's
"A wurrikin' in the dep's that's cOom'd
all along o some cranky rattle-brin
Oop an wesselin' afOrc they knOwd tn
like q him 4 doin' it-a wes,clin' some
tune othat tn divvcl likes to dance to.
The bosses may score the falls 10 shaky
props and the like q that. hut it's III
w~essclin' rs does il Oftcntimcs. lad.
SO don't thee vessel here what times
thee be's 'lorg wi U.s."
Firc-damp explosions and falls OF
roo and walls are the greatest dangers
the coal miner fears. The one has been
greatly lessencd Of late years by i'm
proved ventilation of mincs-an i'm
provemcnt that was compelled by leg
isla,ion. however. Before Davy gave
to miners the safety lamp that all but
canonizcd him among them. il WAS the
custom Ia light the firc-damp in coal
mines every night. II is within the
memory Of old miners when il was the
duty of n man Ia fire the gas in cer-
tain mines. especially those of CONT
mental Europe. SO that the explosion
might be provoked and the mine made
accessible and comparatively safe for
the men again mex day. Wrapped in
a covering of wool or leather. the face
projected by a mask and the head en-
vclopcd in "A hood like "a monk
cowl. this man entered the nois-
ONE depths to perform the dam
gcrous task imposed upon him. The
fire-damp is lighter than air. and floats
above i; in the min. chambers. To
keep rs much Hs possible in the are Of
respirablr air. the ..penitcnt." rs the
man was called. because of the re-
semblance of his dress To that of a
religious order % the Catholic Church.
crawlcd on the ground. bearing before
him a long pole with "A lighted tape on
the end. ~ hc dragged his way along.
alone in the poisonous mazcs of the
mine. his taper came in contact with
the explosive gas. and defamation after
d~etouation followed n another until
tll' NtpAA" ilaA '''h VII
tircly dccompo>ed and the atmosphere
made safe. Frequently the peni,cnt
WAS killed a: his post. either by the
force of the explosion or by coal and
rocks disloiyed and crushing him
where he crcp:. ~Firc-damp explosions
are still vcry frequent in coal mines.
and in too many instances inveSiiga-
ton shows that the responsibility lies
with the carclcssness or r~ccklcssness
of the miner himself.
Aye. lad" said the old miner. lit
bc's wonder. surely. the rat:le-brins
some q we miners be. What wurr it
that pore Davy Richards did? Loord
save u.s., Why. Davy wouldn't ha'
croosh'd a fly that stung him. sooch
wurr N tender heart he had: out in tn
graveyard. in tn village atop yoonder.
tharr's nineteen graves AS Davy
put THUR. an enoof a them. tn good
Loori knows. we had the like oop
THUR afoor. They bed a warnin'
Davy. his fellows he'd as they wurr
wurrikin' wi tn damp aboov en- in
tn mine. an some wurr tina: fearful 10
go on wi III task. An whites they
We're shakin' THUR heads an hangin'
back. an thcnkin' it'd be well fer tn
wives an tn little uns atop il wurrik
wurr stoppd beiimes. what does pore.
tho'tle>> Davy do but fill his pipe an
whisk a fire wi a lucifer To light il.