Morning journal and courier., 1889-10-12

contributed through generations to the moid~
ing Of the Cornish miners self-reliant, man
1y character. They are constantly called
upon to exercise forethought, ingenuity and
the faculty Of invention. They are thus
given an individuality and manhood. In
mines-adventursr in the best sense, specu-
1ators with their own combined capital of
labor; business men In way which fosters
the growth of the best qualities, assiduitiss
and motives.
six "coresn or "ehifts" of miners in two di-
visions of three "cores," each of which la
bors eight hours continuously. The local
nomenclature and hours of these ore: First
division, "frst core by day." working from
two to ten q. m.; 'second core by day." ten
a. m. to six p. m.; and "irst core by night"
from SIX p. N. to two a. "a. The second d.
vision reliefs are: Forenoon CORE" six q.
m. to two pm; afternoon core, from two to
ten p. M; and "last core by night" from
ten p. m. to six a. m. This adjustment OF
"cores" provides each gang or shift fair
chance to send their ore "to grass" or sur
face; and to follow a miner through one
days experiences, which are practically the
same as those Of all working days of the
year, will be found interesting as a key to
his life and character. But before doing
that we must take peep at the Cornish NIL
ners' homes.
They are seldom found clustered in dirty
villages contiguous to the mines as In our
own country. do not recall half dozen
instances Of this sort in all Cornwall. Two,
three, four, very seldom dozen. may be
found together. They are everywhere, on
the road or off. Like the Irish cabins, you
will find them usually at the back, instead
of the front, of somewhere or anywhere.
Nearness to q mine seems to possess no adj
vantage. Few are as near as half mile;
thousands are from two to six miles away.
"Pairdners" in "core" may live in as many
different directions, Jem and Jack and Jan
often occupying homes from six to ten miles
apart. But wherever the cottages are, their
walls are all Of everlasting stone embowered
in brilliant Cornish ereepers and roses, with
cement floors and thatched roofs, every one
subject to interminable repairs from on
slaughts of scores of vicious sparrows, tiny
miners themselves, endlessly sinking shafts
soft and yielding straw. There is one room
below, sometimes two, and half-story gar
ret beneath the thatch. There Ia only q
front door. A window is at either side OF
this, and sometimes directly above these tiny
lights for the garrett Each cottage at one
end, or at the back, is provided with an open
fireplace in the center; sort Of range at
O16 SlU6, 1uQICIUuSly COtoIco Wlsh D1os6 CA~
naments, at which the housewife is endlessly
polishing; while at the other side Is an
'sungconer." with "heps" or upper and un-
der doors for storing furze faggots for fuel.
| The furniture though scanty is honest and
| useful. At the fireplace are the "brandis,"
| a triangular iron on legs, on which over
furze. fires, the kettles boil, the circular cast
| iron "baker" and cover are set, and the fish
or meat, when they can be luckily had,
"scrowled" or grilled. There are perhaps
four chairs, singulsrly enough with solid ma
| hogany frames, but the seats are of painted
pine and are waxed weekly. These are for
s'best," and all the best. For everyday use
| one or two ssGrms" or rude benches are pro-
vided. The single table is of pine, one top
coming flush with the sides, the other, de-.
| tatched, two inches thick, one side unpaint-
ed and secured snowy white daily with
"grewder," a rotten granite which lathers
like soap, and the other eide painted for
Sunday or company" use, and drawer be.
meath for the rude cutlery. The tableware
is something startling in cheap goods and
each member of the family is provided with
a real "chany" cup and saucer with gor
geous gilt band. Two or three rude engra-
wings, generally of Scriptural subjsots in
cheap oaken frames such as the village car
penter may make, with the beds and bedding
under the thatch, complete the furniture Of
the miners cottage.
For his class and means he Is q generous
liver. Soups and stews are consumed by thu
gallon. For his breakfast, if he Is out O
the mine, "mawther," the wife, will provid
} | the usually villaiuous stay" consumed b.
! the English and Irish working classes, infre
| quently an egg, perhaps a bit Of saffron
{, oalze, s. Cornish favorite apparently devoie
of everything but sweet and color, and, ma
be, bread (without butter) and treacle
Sometimes this is varied with "butter-sop g.,
l a. Ia cao11pd and aaaaona6 .
At noon, or for the mine "oroust" or lunch
there are "taty pasties," or potatoes and va
grant meat scraps enclosed in a crescent
shaped crust, interchangeable With "fgg,
pssties," the same as "taty pasties" with
few raisins added; 'hoggans" or round pork
pies, and s'faggans" tough crust cakes 81
hard, at least in Cornish renewn, that the,
sand fathom mine shaft. For supper
''croust," that is, lunch of any sort left owe
from the days provision, or perhaps ga ba
: ker taties" which means mashed patatoe
fried In grease, turned and Drowned, An
: cut in az many segments as there are mem
bers of the family, may be provided. TIL
one big Sunday meal, however, is seldol
lacking in generous supply of boilin
r meat; and as every cottage has its acre {
:. | half-acre garden, there is nothing to hind'
: an ample supply of vegetables.
0 But let us follow this Cornish miner fe
n one day. We will suppose him to be one {
b the forenoon core" whose ''shift" Ia frol
. six q. m. until two p. m. He will probabl
10 live from four to six miles, say, from tt
II great Dalcoth mine here near Camborn
q which I am visiting. He must rise at thrs
is O'Clock. His cottage is cold, dark and chee
It less. Having donned his clothing, who
Q comprises coarse wool stockings, eorduro
,. trowsers, gingham shirt, cheap duckir
. waistcoat with huge, low, front tapped pool
It cts and cambris sleeves, a chilly cooked" b
s of the "slouch" variety which lasts him Fl
D; ten years, if in winter rough 'oiled coat
l. and tremendous hob nailed shoes-he ca
\ his cold ''croust" which the wife the previo1
q night has left on the table; gets his "fogga,
h or "pasty." which is always ready in clea
sr "crib bag' in the cupboard; lights his sho
!. pipe, like an Irish dudeen which is expl
le sively sucked and puffed and ponderous
9, guarded by his whole huge hand; and tn
], sets out on his rugged tramp. Nine tim
y out of ten his route is across bowling moor
at ever dangerous paths that literally wiz
g. about pitfalls, or through six-foot Ian
te where the thorn trees prod and lance hi
a savagely. Dark and dread this trip fer al
nt man. Pitch dark and wild it always Is
ID the Cornish miner, for it nearly always raj
W in Cornwall, and the wind forever RACES ov
m the rock-strewn peninsula so that even t
ne grave-stones are propped that the sign-poi
a. of the dead may not be blown away. VIII
ic the mine is reached our miner goes direct
t. to his own locker in the "dry-room" ne
In the great engine furnaces, where he prepaI
ID for his descent into the mine. He strips
IN the skin and dons a complete coarse ducki
of suit, woolen shirt, high boots as stiff
Ia sheet iron, with hobs protruding from 4
r soles as big as the heads of twenty pen,
ID nails, and his miners hat hard as a boar
IL on the front of which he slsps a chunk
a. putty-like clay. This forms a socket for
., candle, his only light below. With this, b
IN water proof box of matches and his strii
r. of candles tied, or "skewered," to his shi
re or buttoned coat, he seeks his 'core-pair
I'd ners" at the "man-engine house, and
is ready for the descent, which for you or
If an experience full of grewsomeness and per