The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1895-11-30
For the WING.
DOWN in A COAL MINE.
BY j. Barry Sheehan.

\
His guest began to assume puzzled
look and you could plainly see that he
thought the punp-man was joking with
him.
| don't altogether understand, he said at
last.
Nor /, either said the pump-man, but
this know, that the rails used here weigh
eighteen pounds to the yard, and it will
eat one of them completely through inside
of month, and boys employed as drivers,
runners, and all other jobs where they
must handle spragues and such other things
have warts on their hands, and with wood
it acts as preservative. sulphur water
is the name given ii around here. You see
there is great deal of sulphur and gasse5
in almost every mine and the water in
most cases Is the same.
There is not the least doubt that if it was
pure a great many coal and iron companies
would be COAL iron and water companies.
and the water would be a source of much
additional profit for it could he produced
without any extra expense.
l think it must be near time for that
driver to be out; then broke in. Perhaps
it is sir. said the man from the city, had we
better 90 where you expect to meet him ?
| think it's best | answered. ! would not
like to miss him again, for it will be
almost noon when we are ready to 90 up as
it is.
We had Just reached the bottom of the
slope again when heard the switch boy at
the top of the tuIn- out call to the bottom
man that the "slant driver" was rounding
the curve. "Let him pull out" cried the
bottom man and the boy gave the signal
by shaking his light with an up and down
motion and in few minutes the driver
had his trip on the turn out ready to be
hoisted to the breaker 1t took but mo-
ment to transfer the team from the loaded
to the empty trip. and after filling his own
and the lead mules lamps, he started in
the gangway again with my friend and |
as passengers. The tri p consisted of sin
were drawn by fire mules and owing to
the unevencss of the road which is caused
by the bottom Chewing in places. The
ride was series of bumps and jerks until
we reached the bottom of the grade. There
we saw the driver leave tho bumper of the
first car and stand between a set of timber
until about half the trip had passed. Then
he suddenly jumped between the cars and
placing his foot on the coupling chain, he
throw it off the hook. This is called un-
coupling on the fly? So the team went up
the slant with only half the ears at time,
as the whole number was more than they
could take up once. Well, after going
quite distance from the top of the grade,
we came to another turnout, which as |
might have stated before is nothing more or
less than a siding or double track where the
team driver exchanges his empty trip for
it becomes necessary to move it in further,
which of couse is done as the gangway
lengthens. From this turnout the cars are
taken in ones, twos, threes, or as many as
the case may require, and are distributed
the miners to be loaded This is
done by three or four boys with one mule
each, and when loaded the cars are hauled
back to the turnout from whence they
were taken where they are bumped and
employed to do this are known as "bump-
ing drivers.
While | was explaining these things to
my companion as we walked along for the
turnout | came to a halt in order to ''pull
up my cotton" as it happened | stopped
Just under an old breast known as No. 50,
it being the eighty ninth breast on that
gangway Now | might as well state here
that the gangway is the main opening after
the gangway the track is laid on which the
coal is hauled from the farthest part of the
mine to the bottom o the above mentioned
shaft or slope, and whatever way the vein
of coal runs, be it straight crooked, up or
down the &augway is driven the same.
And nov there are the breasts, which are
openings 10 yards wide and as high as The
vein is thick, being in most cases from ) to
t. feet. Ihry are driven up ut a height
i.sy above the top oG the ears on the same
angle OF degree OF pitch as the vein lays
At lie opening or beginning Of q new
breast it is not made the full width 10
yards-but is made in the form Of shutc
about the width Of til. car. The men
doing this week are called ''Schutc men "
They only work it up 10 yards, and then ii
is ready for The nest mines in wait Of a
job and the schultz men begin another and
so on, but there is always 4 pillar or stump
of coal, which is also 10 yards wide, left
standing between each breast to hold up
the top. am thus particular in describ-
ing these places so my readers may under
srand more fully the description of an
accident which occurred in breast Ne 70,
from an outburst OF fire damp in which two
poor fellows lost their lives. So now hop.
inp the suhiept /. NOT hpcominu tirpsomp |