St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-23

2.4OO feet from the surface of the earth The
greatest stretch Of the Imagination, or the
largest amount Of courtesy is necessary in
order to call this cavity even by the name Of
cabin. There is no upholstering here"
said the manager. "This is the chamber Of
horrors" added the under-manager. And as
we made our way through heat and darkness,
the thought came into my mind that there
Is some excuse for those theologians Of un-
scientific times who held that hell is in the
center Of the earth Half mile has to be
traversed from the officers cabin through q
dismal dreary tunnel before reaching the
place where the men are mining coal. Short
as the distance is, 1t tries ones athletic pow
ers and the inexperienced explorer some
times severely bumps his head against the
rugged roof. In spite Of difficulties. women,
not new women, either, have been known to
DO this trip through the tunnel. The dress
OF the miners Is almost savage in its very
simplicity. 1t consists merely of pair of
drawers and pair Of clogs. And curious
study 1t is to see these solid specimens Of
humanity, with sparkling eyes and red lips.
and blackened bodies. resting on their
launches. Some Of the young miners are
well up in certain branches of science; not a
few of them take to preaching 1 met two
young miners who study theology during
their leisure hours in the evenings. They
are preparing themselves for the Methodist
streets. His manner lacked the repose of a
We're de We're. his sentences were not re-
markable for cadenced phrases, his gram
mar was not faultless and his pronunciation
was hopelessly provincial But withal he had
rude eloquence and an air of intense earn
estness which a university man might well
envy.
AN EXALTED EXAMINERS OPINION.
One is always pleased to find evidences Of
education among men engaged in the rougher
pursuits Of life. Compulsory education,
passed into law in 1872, has done its work
well. AS a result there illiterate mi
ners now save those who are very old. And
speaking of old age reminds me that these
mines of Lancashire have their
yea, their patriarchal man and their patri-
archal woman. The old man of the mines is
John Keegan. He has worked in the coal
pits for upwards of sixty years. He is still
picture of good health, stands feet II
inches in height, and weighs 220 pounds. The
valiant woman, who may well be called
the patriarchal female of the pit brow dam
sells, is seventy-four years DID, and has
worked in connection with the mines for
some fifty years. Her name is Margaret Fer
r1s, but she is better known among her fell
lows by the name of Peg Nat. Many Of the
pit brow girls continue to work here after
marriage, when, ordinarily, there should not
be much necessity for them to do So In
view OF the foregoing favorable indications
l asked Mr.. Barton, are the men and women
mere satisfied with their lot? He answered
me this wise:
i have had an experience Of twenty-seven
years IN these mines: l know the workers
OF To-Day as well as I did when I was one
or them. l have never known a miner to
De satisfied with his lot, not one who would
not gladly change his calling if he could
conveniently do So"
But perhaps the desire for chanee which
MT. Barton noticed in the GOLFERS is by no
means peculiar to them. I myself have oh
served served 1t In seafaring men, and have often
heard them give expression TO kindred
thoughts. Students of Horace will readily
recall the poem Of the Roman poet Wherein
ne raises the question about persons beino
not not content with their lot, being dissatisfied
with the fate which fortune gives them or
cnance mas thrown in their way
CA are the mines very profitable Mr. Barton %
Yes, he replied. II believe there has been
n,G1e gpio made indirectly from our coal
mines here than from the gold mines of
many lands During the Franco Prussian
war there was a coal famine. We were min
ing coal and making fortunes whilst the
sT re1 zen ana Germans were killing each other
All the landowners here have become wealthy
by reason of the enormous coal fields Of
these parts. But many of them have flown
with their wealth, leaving us to bear the
burden or local taxation. Not library not
reading room, not a picture gallery not
an educational establishment, not a public
institute OF any kind have these men en-
lowed. They pocket their enormous gains
all the result Of an unearned Increment
and, without doing a single benefcent act
for the local community, they betake them
selves to SUMMER chimes to spend their sud
denly acquired wealth. This is not as 1t
ought to be-" concluded Mr. Barton with
quiet Indignation.
LEGENDARY LORE.
The hard matter-of-fact life of the mines
has not by any means killed off the local
legends. Whilst enjoying a GOLFERS dinner.
the organizer Of our party produced a his
tory from which ne read the following little
romance:
In the days of the crusades, an ancestor of
the present Earl Crawford went to the wars
He was long time absent and was supposed
to be dead. Finally he returned and found
his faithless spouse, the Lady Nab, married
Penances were severe in those days of faith,
and as punishment for her sim her con-
lessor imposed upon her the obligation Of
going every day on her knees from the castle
on the heights Of Wfgan to a place in the
town And, sure enough, a memorial called
Mab's cross marks the very spot to this day
The legend Is pretty enough but am very
heretical about such matters. and unless the
women of crusading times had very horny
kness 1t is hard to believe how even an ath-
letic lady could traverse a mile and a half
every day In the manner described.
| cannot conclude these notes without ex-
pressing my appreciation of the sterling hon
esty of these stawart miners. And though
their faces be black and their hands rough
their own expressure of an honest man. "he
pays his road is a proof that their hearts
are clean and their minds pure. And let me
express my disapprobation of the action of
the Chicago journalist who passed through
Wigan few months ago and repaid the hos
pitality of these generous hearted people by
revamping the old libel. Hello, Bill. here is
a stranger, let heave half brick at
him. John Joseph Conway