The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1895-12-07
DOWN in A COAL MINE.
"The Story of '89" Being Almost A
Chapter of Accidents.
BY j. Barry Sheehan.
( Part Sir. J
For the WING.

HIM that the place had a history, of course
he requested me to tell the story, which
was the same old tale repeated of one of
those uncomfortable and distressing acct
dents resulting from an out-burst of fire
damp, by which two unfortunate men lost
their lives
On the night Of the accident five miners
and two fan boys were all that were en-
gagged in that part of the mine. BY reason
of the frequent out-bursts the day shift had
been discontinued some time previous to
the accident. The work in the gangway
schutes and cross heading was then confined
to night work, and the workmen restricted
to the use bf locked safety lamps
On the night of the accident the work
men had been engaged in the usual way
without any indications of an outburst.
About twelve o'clock, fortunately, the
miner had occasion to 80 back to point
where his supply box was located He had
no sooner reached the box. than he heard
the report OF the out-burst. Thinking it
had occurred at the gangway face, he called
to his laboreis to run, at the same time
making his way toward them, but to his
surprise when he got as far as the second
schultz from the face he found the miners
who were working in it on the gangway
nearly exhausted, the opening charged
with gas, and the volume rapidly increas-
ing. driving them back. 1t was from iif-
teen to twenty minutes before the force of
the out-burst of gas had expended itself
sufficiently to allow them to make an
attempt to rescue the two laborers.
However, When they reached the schultz
next to the face of the Sangway, to their
dsmay, they found that the gangway had
not only been blocked with gas, but
that it had also been filled to the roof with
coal thrown from the face of the schultz by
the outburst.
Still hoping that their fellow workmen
were yet alive at the face of the gangway,
they commenced to make an opening over
top Of the loose coal, but had not gotten far
with the work, when the lifeless bodies of
the unfortunate laborers were found. They
had been buried alive by the rush of coal
forecast from the face of the schultz, by the
pent-up pressure of the gas. 1t is quite
evident that as soon as the men heard the
report caused by the discharge of gas, they
made rush out of the gangway, but I'M
fortunately were caught by the mass of
material thrown from the face as stated
above.
Notwithstanding that the opening in
which the out-burst occurred was but five
feet wide by four feet high, over twenty
tons of coal had been displaced from the
solid face. 1t was very fortunate that the
men had strictly complied with the rules
of the colliery by using none but safety
lamps. Had they used an open light, it is
more than probable that the whole Of the
number employed in the mine that night
would have met their death, instead of
only the two unfortunate laborers as related
in this brief and sad STORY of 80"
The reader will readily perceive that the
above was one OF class of accidents that
cannot be averted, as both the operators
and employees used every precaution to
prevent it, but without avail. Neverthe-
less, it had been truthfully said that with
a reasonable amount of care and pru-
dence on the part of the unfortunate vic
tins themselves, the mine inspectors would
not be called upon to chronicle the sad fate
OF so many of the poor fellows who have to
earn livelihood down in the bowels of the
earth. 1t is sad in the extreme to
behold wife in poor circumstances with
the little ones running about not know
ing what loss they sustain in the death of
their father left to the cold charity Of the
world. In fact there are several other
sources of danger connected with mining
operations, such as the handling Of pow
der, attempting to couple and uncouple
mine cars while in motion, etc, where the
safety of the workmen, to great extent,
depends on themselves. Hence it behooves
them, as well as those in charge, to be al
ways on the alert
To illustrate how careless some miners
become | will endeavor to describe an acct
dent in which the two unfortunate victims
lost their lives by their recklessness. In
the section of the mine where the accident
occurred were two gangways, the one now
in operation, and an old gangway worked
out and abandoned number OF years pre-
vious to the present operation
The distance between the two is about
fifty feet, hence the coal that was being
worked was that in the pillar between the
two gangways. The old abandoned gang
way was an upper-lift or counter-gangway
and the men were working up the pitch
and straight towards it from the new one.
Up to the time of the accident the new
gangway had been extended distance of
about fourteen hundred yards, and the coal
worked out between the two levels, hence
what little water had accumulated in the
old gangway had been tapped and drawn
off as the lower workings advanced without
any mishap, until the time these two men
lost their lives