Oxford Democrat., 1913-02-18
CHAPTER u.

III y u
Hi as in many mines today where
mulern methods have not sll-
perSeded those of Oldtime NM
-rs. a man did all the work. with ms
hand drill he bored into the face of
the coal ut the head OF his room OF
entry. and from his keg Of powder he
made long cartridges and inserted
them into his drill holes. Then. wheil
the coal was blasted down and he had
broken it with Il pick. he loaded IL
with his shovel into Il car. and trim
ming square the face of the tunnel.
propping when necessary. he pushed
ON and on until he broke through ana
ioined the next tunnel or completed
the required length OF that single
entry.
But today these conditions are. IN
most instances. changed. The work
begins with the machine men. who
operate the "chain machines. In Or
der that the blast may dislodge by
gravity an even block of coal the Ill
tunnel. these men cut with their ma
chimes ''sump cut or, In other
words. carve out an opening level with
the floor about six inches high and six
feet deep nj the end Of the tunnel.
The machines. which are propelled by
electricity. consist Of motor and
large oblong disk. about which travels
an endless chain containing sharp steel
bits" or picks. The machine Is brac-
ed. the current turned on and the disk
advanced against the coal, automati-
cally advancing as the bits grind out
the coal As soon as the machine has
entered to the full six feet the disk Is
withdrawn and the cut continued until
1t extends across the entire face.
In the evening the drillers, with their
powerful air drills. bore a series Of five
or six foot "shot holes" four along the
roof. and two on each side for the ''rib-
shots" Then a third crew Of men, the
shot firers." fill the deep drill hole
with long cartridges Of coarse black
bowder and blast down the coal, which
falls broken and crumbled into the cut
prepared by the machine men. In the
morning, when the ever moving cur
rent Of air. forced into the mine by the
fan at the mouth Of the air shaft. has
cleared away the dust and smoke, the
leaders enter the mine and all day long
load into the ever ready cars the coal
tn, has been blasted down. until the
pace" Is cleaned up and their work
ls done. Then they move on to another
place, and so the work goes on IN
perfect system of rotation.
Ny companion had told me as We
walked from the mine bottom that his
name was Billy Wild. Call me Bill
ly," he said. and as we walked down
the track to the main entry he turned
and called over his shoulder, You're
in Room ~, third west south. That's
where you are. if you want to know.
The light in my lamp was burning low.
and | sat down Oh Il pile OF coal be-
side the track. lifted it out Of the sock
1t in my cap, and pried up the wick
with a nail which one OF the men ION
top had given me for the purpose.
Then stripped to the waist and began
TO load, shovelful after shOvelful, each
lifted four feet and turned over into
the waiting car for two long hours.
sometimes stopping to break with my
nick great blocks OF coal that We're too
large to lift. even with my hands. Then
finally Jumps Of coal began to show
above the edge of the car. and trim
med" il. lifting some OF the larger
pieces to my knees. then against my
chest. and then throwing them up on
the top of the pile.
The noise of the shovel scrapins
against the floor and the clatter OF the
coal us the great pile slid down ana
filed each hole that | dug out at Its
foot filled the tunnel with friendly
sounds. but when the car was loaded
and | slipped Oh my coat ana sat uowil
on nile of fine coal dust beside the
track To wait. silence suddenly sub
merged me. could hear my heart
heat. and curious noises sang in my
ears. Up in the roof under the stratum
of slate above the coal came trickhng
sound like running water, the sound OF
gas seeping out through the crevices
In the coal. | was wet with sweat, and
nv face, hands and body were black
where the great cloud Of dust which
nv shovel had created had smcared my
wet skin. Dull pains In the small Oh
| nv back caught me when | moved, anu
| every muscle in my body ached. Tin
| week my hands had blistered, the blis'
| ters had broken. and then, over the
] cracked flesh ingrained with coal dust
healing callouses had begun to formo
| Then far OF In the distance came Al
mutlied, grinding sound that grew loud
or and louder, II sound that almost ter
| ritied. A dull. yellow light far down
i'm the mouth of the room outlined the
| square of the tunnel. and then around
the corner came the headlight OF the
electric gathering" or switching loco
motive and above II the bObbing vel
low flames OF two pit lamps. with
grinding roar the motor struck the up
grade and came looming up the tunnel
hlling 1t with its bulk. There wa:
sound. and the silence was gone. Th'
coupling of the locomotive locked VIII
the coupling Of the waiting car. ant
they rumblrl away. Once more th'
lmoluutive came. this time with al
"empty." to he filled. In the old dny'
mules were used to gather the load
ed cars. and. in fact, are still employed
in most mines today, but electricit!
permits bigger loads, and the dozen o
two Of mules that lived in the min
were used only where II was impossi
ble To run the locomotive.
| At the end Of the week ! was givel
companion. or buddy" Our lock
ers In the washhouse were uear to
gether. and We usually went down o.
the same hoist, but some mornings
would flnd Jim ahead Of me, waitin
hy tho scslshopse. Jim rRrsly too