Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-02-25
:, ,,o,.n, the noss,b,lity Of f,re.

10 prevent the possibility Of fire.
All night long we moveo from one
entry to another. blasting down ID
each six feet more Of the tunnel. which
would be loaded out on the following
day. and II was 4 in the morning %
fore the work was finished.
II was usually between 4 and D ID
the morning when We left the mine
As we stepped from the hoist and iei'
behind US the confning darkness. the
smoky air and the sense of oppression
and silence of the mine below. the SOFT
fresh morning air In the early oaWn
or sometimes the cool rain. seemed new
or more refreshing One does not NO
tice the silence Of a mine 80 mucn upon
leaving the noise Ut the outer worlo
and entering the maze OF tunnels on
the DAYS work as when. stepping on
the hoist In The curly morning hours
when the world Is almost sdll, the suo
den sense Of sound and of living things
emphasises by contrast the silence OF
the underworld There Is a noise o'
life. and tue very motion Ut the all
seems to carry sounds. A dog barking
half mile away In the sleeping town
sounds loud and friendly. and there
seems to be u sudden clamor that Is al
most bewildering.
We were walking down the norm
entry one early morning and had )us'
passed through the last brattice dool
when Joe Brass. one Of the shot hrers
stopped. suddenly alert and silent. unc
held up his hund Sound means but
little In q mine. and eyes can but rare
~ detect danger
"Do YOU smell anything?" he asked
We shifted the cool air as 1t tanned
last us through the duor that we sill
leld open Almost tmperceptible Gu
tious foreign odor seemed to hang II
The moving current.
"Woud smoke" said one OF the men
We turned and walked back and clos
I'd the door behind US. The smell ol
the smoke defined itself as we walked
forward. Through the next door II
hung strong tm the air and with 1t int
oily smell of burning coal Then
light appeared down the entry. ane
from It's jerky motion we knew tina
he man was running before we hear
his feet clumping over the rough ties.
There's a fire IN room 26!' be yellet
before we could see him. The wore
had already reached bottom. and al
we paused AZ the turning OF the entry
trying to see whether to turn to ths
right or the left. there was sudder
roar behind us. and the glow OF loco
motive headlight. As we waited thu
lo.~motiye came rafting down thl
II Joined the main entry a solid stop
| ping of wood and plaster. A dozel
| men In minute relays held long stril
| of canvass against the roof while tn
rest of US pushed and wedged int
| place between the foor and the lov
roof a string of props or posts acros
| the room mouth.
AS the smoke thickened and the hea
grew more intense the relays becam
shorter, and We suddenly dived from
the dense. choking air above to IL
lat along the floor. sucking In the cool
clean air that lay above the water be
side the tracks In half an hour W
had erected a long line Of posts. wit
the canvas nailed against 1t, and TEN
porary stopping was effected BY tina
time a dozen Of the umbermen had al
rived. and motors had dragged up fron
the mine bottom piles OF matches
boards and sacks Of wood fiber plai
ter. An hour more and the stoppin
was REINFORCED with solid fence o
boards. and then. mixing the plaster Il
the water beside the track and usin
our hands. as trowels. we calked tn
seams. the plaster drying quickl
against the hot boards Three hour
later the work was done. and the al
current moving steadily down the er
try had blown away the last shreds Q
the thick and choking smoke. In tn
light of our lamps and lanterns W
again examined the long white wa
that we had erected across the roof
mouth. A few more handfuls Of pla'
ter on cracks through which a thi
trickle Of smoke still pufed outwar
and the work was done Two month
later. when the 6re. cut Of from tn
air of the mine. had smothered itse
to extinction. the wall was torn dowI
the gus blown out. and work was ono
more resumed