The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-25

leads by night and day hundreds of
feet beneath the surface.
Work never ceases in a coal mine
when it is run to it's full capacity. One
set of men go down the shaft at day
light and come out at dark, meeting
at the surface the men who are go
ing down, whom they will meet COM
ing out again next morning as they
themselves are going down.
1t is remarkable that in the confined
and sunless atmosphere in which the
coal miner lives at least one-half his
life he contracts but few maladies;
yet, in the course Of time, the bad air
works destruction to his blood, impov-
erishing it, and makes him an easy vic
tim to anaemia. The dust arising from
the coal does it's fatal work to chest
and lungs. When the miner is seen
with the CRIME of his labor washed
from his face, it's palor will be start
ling to the stranger. His eyes are pro-
truding, his form stopped, his gait un-
certain and shambling. He frequently
works in water up to his knees and he
thinks nothing of it, but he is in con-
stant fear of taking cold when in the
open air. While the outdoor laborer
congratulates himself that he is not
subject to the hardships and exposed
to the perils that the miner is, the
miner rejoices that he is sheltered from
the inclemency Of the weather, from
cold and wind and rain, unlike his less
favored brother the outside laborer.
The damp explosions and the fall OF
roofs and walls are the great dangers
that beset the coal miner. The one has
been greatly lessened Of late years
by improved ventilation of mines, al
though the improvements were forced
upon mine owners by legislation. Elec-
tricity is also taking the place of the
miners lamp in lighting mines, and it
is from the miners lamp and too fire.
quently the miners careless use of it
that the danger of explosions of fire
damp occurs. Before Sir Humphrey
| Davy gave to miners the safety lamp,
! it was the custom to light the fire
damp in coal mines every night. 1t is
| within the memory of old miners to-
! day when it was the duty of one man
/ to fire the gas in certain mines, espec-
! tally in Continental mines, so that the
| explosion might be provoked and the
mine made accessible again for the
| men next day. Wrapped in a covering
! of wool or leather, the face protected
| by a mask and the head enVeloDed in
| n hood like a monks cOwl, this man
entered the noisome depths to perform
the dangerous task imposed upon him.
| The ire-damp is lighter than air and
| floats above it, To keep as much as
possible in the area of respirable air.
! the penitent, as the man was called
because of the resemblance of his dress
| to that of a religious order Of the Cath
Ollie church, crawled on the ground.
bearing before him a long pole with a
| lighted taper on the end. AS he made
lis way along alone in the poisonous
mazes of the mine, his taper came in
contact with the explosive gas, and
detonation after detonation followed
one another until the noxous sub
stance had been entirely decomposed
and the mine was safe. Frequently the
penitent was killed at his post, either
by the force of the explosion or by
coal and rocks dislodged by it crush
ing him.
The coal miner, as every one knows,
is superstitious and credulous. He be-
leves in ghosts, haunted mines and
myths of all kinds. To whistle in a
| mine is something particularly omin-
Gus, especially in those old Cornish
and Welsh miners whom the influx OF
the Slav miners has not yet driven out
of the field.
"Doan't ever vessel In the mine,"
said one of these old miners, "for youll
drive the guide luck sperrit out an let
the bad luck divel in, if you do. Many's
the fall o. coal that's crashed down on
scores o. poor lads workin' In the
depths come all along o. some cranky
brain chap up an wesselin', an wes-
selln' some tune the divvel likes to
dance to. The bosses may score the
fails to shaky props, or the robbin' OF
the mine pillars, and all that, but it's
II wesselin as does it oftentimes.s So
doan't vessel here, lad, what time you
be down here mollgst u.s." ,.. ..,.