Year: 1861




rest, arose from my constantly keeping
myself as high above the floor of the pit
as possible.


do not know low long we had been
in the pit when ! heard enc of the men
say, tom, Charley's dead !" Charley
was one of the boys, and the first to per-
ish. The manager was the next who
passed away from among Us. Then, very
soon after, one Of the miners, who had
been to explore the workings, returned
alone, anu reported that his companion
had walked away into the gas before he
was aware of his intention, and had dis
appeared. He called after him several
times, but could get no answer. He must
have been suh0cated almost Immediately.


Then there came a time when a man,
whose turn it was to make an exploration,
would call on his companion, and re-
ceiving no answer, would find, on holding
the lamp close to his face, that he was
dead.


The oyerlooker who accompanied me
on each Inspection was in appearance a
middle-aged man, though in reality but
thirty-three years OF age but this aged
appearance is common enough among
the workers in coal mines who have gone
into a pit when very young. / had con-
ceived a great liking for him. Within a
few hours of our imprisonment he had
told me of the young wife and two little
children he had left behind him the last
time he left home; and when he found
that sympathized with him, which l
should have done if he had expressed his
feelings in less affecting terms than he
did, he often recurred to the subject.
When our turn came to make the inspec-
ton, he had been for some time silent
! called him, but he did not answer or
move. He was sitting just below me,
and ! stopped and shook bis head, and
thon | fetched the lamp and held j. 10 bis
face. The eyes were only half shut; his
face had the expression Of sound sleep
There was nothing indicative of the
slightest spasm having occurred at the
instant when the change had taken place.


While / was still looking at his face,
the blood was sent rushing back to my
heart by an extraordinary cry, very
piercing, and wholly unlike anything |
had ever heard before The miners
lying about seemed galvanized by it, and
came pressing around the light ! held in
my hand. had thus an opportunity Of
seeing their faces, and so emaciated were
they, and so strongly did their eyes and
features express the extremity Of terror
that-the cries continuing without cessa-
toni could scarcely hold the lamp
To one poor fellow, the fright in bis
weakened state was fatal; he fell forward,
striking his face against the blocks of coal
on which ! had been sitting, and never
moved afterwards. One Of the miners
suggested that it might he the pony, and
| then remembered that had, as we were
returning from the burning coal, noticed
some straw and hay Uttered about, but
| was too much excited by the dangers of
our situation to pay any attention TO IL.
We all felt relieved by the suggestion for
the moment, but the reflection which fol-
lowed was hardly less alarming, for it 1t
we're well founded, they all agreed that
the first FIRE must be close upon us. In
deed, now that our attention was called to
it, we all perceived the presence of
smoke, though in very small quantity.
We went forward. Passing round a
curve at a little distance from our sane
tuary, we arrived at the narrowest of the
openings through which we had found so
much difficulty in making our way on the
first day of our imprisonment. 1t was
about four feet high, rather less than that
in width, and from fifteen TO twenty feet
long. Looking through this tunnel |
conld see the poor animals head and
shoulders thrust into the other end Of it.
There the fire had evidently reached.
To delay the progress of the fire as much
as possible, it was decided to block up this
opening as far as was in our power and
this we succeeded in doing with the rub
bish which had fallen from the roof.


We were so much exhausted by the
labor in our weak condition, that we could
scarcely crawl back to the place whence
we had started. II will be remembered
that was just about to ascertain the point
reached by the gas, when we had been
alarmed by the cries we had heard, but,
though had not forgotten this, | was
unable to move any further just then.
As soon, however, as l felt myself capa-
BILE of performing my task, | took the
light, and rousing the miner whose turn
it was to accompany me in place of the