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diff --git a/old/69134-0.txt b/old/69134-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f05d40c..0000000 --- a/old/69134-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6762 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Coal and the coal mines, by Homer -Greene - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Coal and the coal mines - -Author: Homer Greene - -Illustrator: Homer Greene - -Release Date: October 11, 2022 [eBook #69134] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Donald Cummings with images made available by the - HathiTrust Digital Library. - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COAL AND THE COAL MINES *** - - - - - - The Riverside Library for Young People - - - Number 5 - - COAL AND THE COAL MINES - - By HOMER GREENE - - [Illustration] - - - - - COAL AND THE COAL MINES - - BY - HOMER GREENE - - _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS BY - THE AUTHOR_ - - - [Illustration] - - - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY - The Riverside Press, Cambridge - 1898 - - - - - Copyright, 1889. - - BY HOMER GREENE. - - - _All rights reserved._ - - - _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, U. S. A._: - Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company. - - - - - To - MY SON, - - GILES POLLARD GREENE, - - WHO WAS BORN ON THE DAY THIS BOOK WAS BEGUN, - AND WHOSE SMILES AND TEARS - THROUGH HALF A YEAR - HAVE BEEN A DAILY INSPIRATION IN THE WORK, - This Completed Task - IS NOW DEDICATED - BY - THE AUTHOR. - - - - -PREFACE. - -[Illustration] - -In treating of so large a theme in so small a compass it is impossible -to do more than make an outline sketch. It has been the aim of the -author to give reliable information free from minute details and -technicalities. That information has been, for the most part, gathered -through personal experience in the mines. The literature of this -special subject is very meagre, and the author is unable to acknowledge -any real indebtedness to more than half a dozen volumes. First among -these is the valuable treatise on “Coal Mining,” by H. M. Chance of the -Pennsylvania Geological Survey. Other volumes from which the author has -derived considerable information are the State geological reports of -Pennsylvania, the mine inspector’s reports of the same State, and the -“Coal Trade Annuals,” issued by Frederick E. Saward of New York. - -The author desires also to acknowledge his indebtedness for valuable -assistance in the preparation of this work to John B. Law and Andrew -Bryden, mining superintendents, and George Johnson, real estate agent, -all of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, at Pittston, Pennsylvania, and to -the officers of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society of Wilkes -Barre, Pennsylvania. - - HOMER GREENE. - - Honesdale, Pa., - _May 15, 1889_. - - - - -CONTENTS. - -[Illustration] - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. IN THE BEGINNING 1 - II. THE COMPOSITION OF COAL 6 - III. WHEN COAL WAS FORMED 14 - IV. HOW THE COAL BEDS LIE 22 - V. THE DISCOVERY OF COAL 35 - VI. THE INTRODUCTION OF COAL INTO USE 51 - VII. THE WAY INTO THE MINES 75 - VIII. A PLAN OF A COAL MINE 94 - IX. THE MINER AT WORK 112 - X. WHEN THE MINE ROOF FALLS 127 - XI. AIR AND WATER IN THE MINES 147 - XII. THE DANGEROUS GASES 159 - XIII. THE ANTHRACITE COAL BREAKER 176 - XIV. IN THE BITUMINOUS COAL MINES 192 - XV. THE BOY WORKERS AT THE MINES 204 - XVI. MINERS AND THEIR WAGES 222 - - - - -COAL AND THE COAL MINES. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -IN THE BEGINNING. - - -Every one knows that mineral coal is dug out from the crust of the -earth. But the question frequently is asked concerning it, How and -under what conditions was it formed? In order to answer this inquiry it -is necessary to have recourse to the science of geology. - -A brief review of the geological history of the earth’s crust will be -of prime importance, and it will not be inappropriate to go back to the -origin of the earth itself. But no man can begin at the beginning; that -is too far back in the eternal mists; only the Infinite Mind can reach -to it. There is a point, however, to which speculation can journey, -and from which it has brought back brilliant theories to account for -the existence of the planet on which we live. The most philosophic of -these theories, as it certainly is the most popular, is the one known -as the Nebular Hypothesis, propounded by Laplace, the great French -astronomer, in 1796. This theory accords so well with the laws of -physics, and with the human knowledge of the age, that most of the -great astronomers have adopted it as the best that has been given to -us, and the world of science may be said to have accepted it as final. -Let us suppose, then, in accordance with this theory, that our earth -was, at one time, a ball of liquid fire, revolving on its axis, and -moving, in its orbit, around the parent sun with the motion imparted to -it in the beginning. As cooling and condensation went on, a crust was -formed on its surface, and water was formed on the crust. The waters, -however, were no sooner spread out than they were tossed by the motion -of the atmosphere into waves, and these waves, by constant friction -against the rock crust of the earth, wore it down into pebbles, sand, -and mud. The silt thus made being washed up on to the primitive rock -and left there by the receding waters became again as hard and firm -as before. Occasionally a subsidence, due to the contraction of the -earth’s body, would take place and the sea would again sweep over the -entire surface, depositing another layer of silt on the one already -formed, or possibly washing that again into sand and pebbles. This -process continued through an indefinite period of time, forming layer -upon layer of stratified rock, or excavating great hollows in the -surface already formed. - -That period in the history of the earth’s crust before stratification -began is known as Archean time. This was followed by the period known -as Paleozoic time, which is divided into three ages. The first is -the age of Invertebrates. It was during this age that life made its -advent on the earth. The waters were the first to bring it forth, but -before the close of the age it began also to appear on the land, in -isolated spots, in the simplest forms of vegetation. The next age is -known as the age of Fishes, during which vegetable life became more -varied and abundant, winged insects floated in the air, and great -sharks and gars swam in the seas. Then came the Carboniferous age or -age of Coal Plants, in which vast areas of what are now the Middle, -Southern, and Western States were covered with low marshes and shallow -seas, and were rich and rank with multitudinous forms of vegetation. -But these marshes were again and again submerged and covered with -material washed up by the waves before the final subsidence of the -waters left them as a continuing portion of the dry land. It was at the -close of the Carboniferous age that great disturbances took place in -the earth’s crust. Before this the rock strata had been comparatively -level; now they were folded, flexed, broken, rounded into hills, pushed -resistlessly up into mountain ranges. It was at this time that the -upheaval of the great Appalachian Range in North America took place. -Following this came Mesozoic time, which had but one age, the age of -Reptiles. It was during this age that the type of reptiles reached -its culmination. The land generally brought forth vegetation, though -not with the prolific richness and luxury of the Carboniferous age. -Birds, insects, and creeping things were abundant, and monsters of the -saurian tribe swam in the seas, roamed through the marshes, crawled -on the sandy shores, and took short flights through the air. The last -great division is known as Cenozoic time, and covers two ages, the age -of Mammals and the age of Man. It was during the mammalian age that -trees of modern types, such as oak, maple, beech, etc., first made -their appearance, and mammalian animals of great variety and size, both -herbivorous and carnivorous, roamed through the forests. True birds -flew in the air, true snakes crawled upon the ground, and in the waters -were whales and many kinds of fishes of the present day. But the marine -monsters and the gigantic and ferocious saurians of an earlier age had -disappeared. So the world became fitted to be the dwelling-place of the -human race. Then began the age of Man, an age which is yet not complete. - -Such, in brief, is the history of the earth as the rocks have told -it to us. Without their help we could know but little of the story. -Through all the periods of time and all the ages, they were being -formed, layer upon layer, of sand and silt, of mud and pebbles, -hardening with the passing of the centuries. But while they were -still soft they received impressions of the feet of birds and of -beasts, they were marked by the waves and were cracked in the fierce -heat of the sun, and their surfaces were pitted by the rain-drops of -passing showers. Shells, corals, and sponges were imbedded in them; -the skeletons of fishes and the bones of animals that walked or crept -upon the land or flew in the air were covered over by them; they caught -and held the drooping fern, the falling leaf and twig and nut; they -closed around the body of the tree itself and buried it from sight; -and as the soil hardened into rock, bone and shell, leaf and stem, -hardened with it and became part of it. To-day we find these fossil -remains, sometimes near the surface of the earth, sometimes hundreds -or thousands of feet below it. We uncover them from the soil, we break -them from the rock, we blast them out in the quarries, we dig them -from the mines of coal and ore. It is by them and by the structure of -the rock which contains them that we read the history of the earth, a -history covering so long a period of time from the beginning of the -stratification of the rocks to the age when man appeared upon the globe -that no one has yet dared to reckon the millions upon millions of years -which intervened, and give the result of his computation to the world -as true. - -[Illustration: COLUMNAR SECTION OF THE EARTH’S CRUST.] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE COMPOSITION OF COAL. - - -The first question that would naturally be asked concerning the subject -with which we are dealing is, What is coal? - -In reply it may be said that it is a mineral. It is black or brown -in color, solid, heavy, and amorphous. The specific gravity of the -average Pennsylvania anthracite is about 1.6, and of the bituminous -coal about 1.4. There are four varieties of mineral coal, namely: -anthracite, bituminous, lignite or brown coal, and cannel coal. To -this list it would not be improper to add peat, since it partakes -of most of the characteristics of mineral coal, and would doubtless -develop into such coal if the process of transformation were allowed to -continue undisturbed. The principal element contained in each of these -different kinds of coal is carbon. An analysis of an average piece of -Pennsylvania anthracite would show the following chemical composition:―― - - Fixed carbon 86.4 - Ash 6.2 - Water 3.7 - Volatile matter 3.1 - Sulphur .6 - ――――― - Total 100 - -The composition of the bituminous coals of Pennsylvania, as represented -by the gas coal of Westmoreland County, is shown by analysis to be as -follows:―― - - Fixed carbon 55. - Volatile matter 37.5 - Ash 5.4 - Water 1.4 - Sulphur .7 - ――――― - Total 100 - -An analysis of coal from the Pittsburgh region would show its percentage -of carbon to be from 58 to 64, and of volatile matter and ash to be -proportionately less. - -There is no strict line of demarcation between the anthracite and the -bituminous coals. They are classed generally, according to the amount -of carbon and volatile matter contained in them, as:―― - - Hard-dry Anthracites, - Semi-Anthracite, - Semi-Bituminous, - Bituminous. - -Coals of the first class contain from 91 to 98 per cent, of carbon, and -of the second class from 85 to 90 per cent. The volatile matter in the -third class is usually less than 18 per cent., and in the fourth class -more than 18 per cent. of its composition. - -The anthracite coal is hard and brittle, and has a rich black color -and a metallic lustre. It ignites with difficulty, and at first burns -with a small blue flame of carbonic oxide. This disappears, however, -when ignition is complete. No smoke is given off during combustion. -Semi-anthracite coal is neither so hard, so dense, nor so brilliant in -lustre as the anthracite, though when once fully ignited it has all -the characteristic features of the latter in combustion. It is found -principally at the western ends of the anthracite coal basins. - -Bituminous coal is usually deep black in color, with little or no -lustre, having planes of cleavage which run nearly at right angles with -each other, so that when the coal is broken it separates into cubical -fragments. It ignites easily and burns with a yellowish flame. It gives -off smoke and leaves a large percentage of ashes after combustion. That -variety of it known as caking or coking coal is the most important. -This is quite soft, and will not bear much handling. During combustion -it swells, fuses, and finally runs together in large porous masses. - -Following the question of the composition of coal comes the question -of its origin, of which, indeed, there is no longer any serious doubt. -It is generally conceded that coal is a vegetable product, and there -are excellent reasons for this belief. The fragments of which coal is -composed have been greatly deformed by compression and decomposition. -But when one of those fragments is made so thin that it will transmit -light, and is then subjected to a powerful microscope, its vegetable -structure may readily be distinguished; that is, the fragments are seen -to be the fragments of plants. Immediately under every separate seam of -coal there is a stratum of what is known as fire clay. It may, under -the beds of softer coals, be of the consistency of clay; but under the -coal seams of the harder varieties it is usually in the form of a slaty -rock. This fire clay stratum is always present, and contains in great -abundance the fossil impressions of roots and stems and twigs, showing -that it was once the soil from which vegetation grew luxuriantly. It -is common also to find fossil tree-stems lying mashed flat between the -layers of black slate which form the roof of the coal mines, also the -impressions of the leaves, nuts, and seeds which fell from these trees -while they were living. In some beds of cannel coal whole trees have -been found, with roots, branches, leaves, and seeds complete, and all -converted into the same quality of coal by which they were surrounded. -In short, the strata of the coal measures everywhere are full of the -fossil impressions of plants, of great variety both in kind and size. - -If a piece of wood be subjected to heat and great pressure, a substance -is obtained which strongly resembles mineral coal. - -That coal contains a very large proportion of carbon in its composition -has already been noted. If, therefore, it is a vegetable product, the -vegetation from which it was formed must have been subjected to some -process by which a large part of its substance was eliminated, since -wood or woody fibre contains only from 20 to 25 per cent. of carbon. -But wood can be transformed, by combustion, into charcoal, a material -containing in its composition 98 per cent, of carbon, or a greater -percentage than the best anthracite contains. This cannot be done, -however, by burning wood in an open fire, for in that case its carbon -unites with atmospheric oxygen and passes invisibly into the air. It -must be subjected to a process of smothered combustion; free access -of air must be denied to it while it is burning. Then the volatile -matter will be freed and expelled, and, since the carbon cannot come -in contact with the oxygen of the air, it will be retained, together -with a small percentage of ash. The result will be charcoal, or coal -artificially made. The principle on which this transformation is based -is combustion or decomposition out of contact with atmospheric air. -But Nature is as familiar with this principle as is man, and she may -not only be discovered putting it in practice, but the entire process -may be watched from beginning to end. One must go, for this purpose, -first, to a peat bed. This is simply an accumulation of the remains of -plants which grew and decayed on the spot where they are now found. As -these remains were deposited each year, every layer became buried under -its succeeding layer, until finally a great thickness was obtained. -When we remove the upper layer we find peat with its 52 to 66 per -cent. of carbon, and the deeper we go the better is the quality of the -substance. It may be cut out in blocks with sharp spades, the water may -be pressed from the blocks, and they may be stacked up, covered and -dried, and used for fuel. In most peat bogs the process of growth is -going on, and may be watched. There is a certain kind of moss called -_sphagnum_, which in large part makes up the peat-producing vegetation. -Its roots die annually, but from the living top new roots are sent out -each year. The workmen who dig peat understand that if this surface -is destroyed the growth of the bed must stop; consequently in many -instances they have removed the sod carefully, and after taking out -a stratum of peat have replaced the sod in order that the bed may be -renewed. There is little doubt that if these beds of peat could lie -undisturbed and covered over through many ages they would take on all -the characteristics of mineral coal. - -A step farther back in geological history we reach the period of the -latest formations of lignite or brown coal. This coal is first found in -the strata of the glacial period, or first period in the age of Man. -But it is found there in an undeveloped state. The woody fibre has not -yet undergone the complete transformation into coal. The trunks and -branches of trees have indeed become softened to the consistence of -soap, but they still retain their natural color. Going back, however, -to the strata of the Miocene or second period of the Tertiary age or -age of Mammals, we find that this wood has become black, though it -has not yet hardened. But when we reach the upper cretaceous or last -period of the age of Reptiles, the transformation into coal has become -complete. The woody fibre is now black, hard, and compact, though it -may still be easily disaggregated by atmospheric action, and we have -the true lignite, so called because of its apparent woody structure. - -The next step takes us back to the bituminous coal of the Carboniferous -age, the character and consistency of which has already been noted, -and finally we reach the complete development in anthracite. It is, -however, the opinion of the best geologists that the bituminous and -anthracite coals are of the same age, and were originally of the same -formation and character. That is, they were all bituminous; but during -the violent contortions and upheavals of the earth’s crust at the time -of the Appalachian revolution at the close of the Carboniferous age, -the bituminous coals involved in that disturbance were changed by heat, -pressure, and motion, and the consequent expulsion of volatile matter, -from bituminous to anthracite. - -Cannel coal is a variety of bituminous coal, burning with great -freedom, the flame of which affords considerable light. It was called -“candle coal” by the English people who first used it, as it often -served as a substitute for that household necessity. But the name soon -became corrupted to “cannel,” and has so remained. It is duller and -more compact than the ordinary bituminous coal, and it can be wrought -in a lathe and polished. A certain variety of it, found in the lower -oölitic strata of Yorkshire in England, is manufactured into a kind of -jewelry, well known by its popular name of _jet_. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -WHEN COAL WAS FORMED. - - -It becomes of interest now to examine briefly into the causes and -process of the transformation from vegetable substance into coal, to -note the character of the vegetation which went to make up the coal -beds, and to glance at the animal life of the period. - -As has already been said, the plants of the Carboniferous age were -exceedingly abundant and luxuriant. They grew up richly from the clayey -soil, and formed dense jungles in the vast marshes which covered so -large an area of the earth’s surface. Ferns, mosses, and tufts of -surface vegetation, and the leaves, branches, and trunks of trees fell -and decayed on the place where they grew, only to make the soil more -fertile and the next growth richer and more luxuriant. Year after -year, century after century, this process of growth and decay went on, -until the beds of vegetable matter thus deposited had reached a great -thickness. But condensation was still in progress in the earth’s body, -and in consequence of it her crust, of necessity, at times contracted -and fell. When it did so the land sank throughout vast areas, these -beds of incipient coal went down, and over the great marshes the waters -swept again, bringing drift of vegetation from higher levels to add -to that already buried. Then over these deposits of vegetable matter -the sand and mud and gravel were laid up anew, and the clayey soil -from which the next rich growth should spring was spread out upon the -surface. This process was repeated again and again, as often, indeed, -as we find seams of coal in any coal bed. Thus the final condition for -the formation of coal was met, the exclusion of atmospheric air from -this mass of decaying vegetation was complete, and under the water -of the ocean, under the sand and silt of the shore, under the new -deposits of succeeding ages, the transformation went on, the wood of -the Carboniferous era became the coal of to-day, while above and below -it the sand and clay were hardened into rock and shale. - -The remarkable features of the vegetation of the coal era were the -size and abundance of its plants. Trees of that time whose trunks -were from one to three feet in diameter, and which grew to a height -of from forty to one hundred feet, are represented in our day by mere -stems a fraction of an inch in diameter and but one or two feet high. -A comparison of quantity would show differences as great as does the -comparison of size. - -But at that time all the conditions were favorable for the rapid and -enormous growth of vegetation. The air was laden with carbon, which -is the principal food for plants; so laden, indeed, that man, who is -eminently an oxygen-breathing animal, could not have lived in it. The -great humidity of the atmosphere was another element favorable to -growth. Vegetation never lacked for an abundance of moisture either at -root or leaf. Then, too, the climate was universally warm. Over the -entire surface of the earth the heat was greater than it is to-day at -the torrid zone. It must be remembered that the internal fires of the -globe have been constantly cooling and receding, and that the earth, in -the Carboniferous age, was subjected to the greater power of a larger -sun than shines upon us to-day. - -With all these circumstances in its favor, warmth, moisture, and an -atmosphere charged heavily with carbon, vegetation could not help but -flourish. That it did flourish amazingly is abundantly shown by its -fossil remains. The impressions of more than five hundred different -species of plants that grew in the Carboniferous era have been found -in the coal measures. There are few of them that bear any direct -analogy to existing species, and these few have their counterparts -only in the torrid zone. The most abundant of the plants of the coal -era were the ferns. Their fossil remains are found in great profusion -and variety in most of the rocks of the coal-bearing strata. There was -also the plant known as the tree fern, which attained a height of -twenty or thirty feet and carried a single tuft of leaves radiating -from its top. Probably the species next in abundance, as it certainly -is next in importance, to the ferns is that of the Lepidodendrids. It -doubtless contributed the greatest proportion of woody material to the -composition of coal. The plants of this species were forest trees, -but are supposed to have been analogous to the low club mosses of the -present. Fossil trunks of Lepidodendrids have been found measuring from -one hundred to one hundred and thirty feet in length, and from six to -ten feet in diameter. - -Similar in appearance to the Lepidodendrids were the Sigillariæ, which -were also very abundant. The Conifers were of quite a different species -from those already named, and probably grew on higher ground. They were -somewhat analogous to the modern pine. - -The Calamites belonged to the horsetail family. They grew up with long, -reed-like, articulated stems to a height of twenty feet or more, and -with a diameter of ten or twelve inches. They stood close together in -the muddy ground, forming an almost impenetrable thicket, and probably -made up a very large percentage of the vegetation which was transformed -into coal. - -One of the most abundant species of plants of the coal era is that of -Stigmaria. Stout stems, from two to four inches in diameter, branched -downward from a short trunk, and then grew out in long root-like -processes, floating in the water or trailing on the mud to distances of -twenty or thirty feet. These are the roots with which the under clay of -every coal seam is usually filled. - -The plants which have been described, together with their kindred -species, formed the largest and most important part of the vegetation -of the Carboniferous age. But of the hundreds of varieties which then -abounded, the greater portion reached their highest stage of perfection -in the coal era, and became extinct before the close of Paleozoic -time. Other types were lost during Mesozoic time, and to-day there is -scarcely a counterpart in existence of any of the multitude of forms of -plant life that grew and flourished in that far-off age of the world. - -The animal life of the Carboniferous era was confined almost entirely -to the water. The dry land had not yet begun to produce in abundance -the higher forms of living things. There were spiders there, however, -and scorpions, and centipedes, and even cockroaches. There were also -land snails, beetles, locusts, and mayflies. Reptiles, with clumsy -feet and dragging tails, prowled about on the wet sands of the shore, -leaving footprints that were never effaced by time or the elements, and -are found to-day in the layers of the rocks, almost as perfect as when -they were formed, millions of years ago. But the waters teemed with -animal life. On the bottom of the shallow seas lay shells and corals -in such abundance and variety that from the deposits of their remains -great beds of limestone have been formed. Broken into minute fragments -by the action of the waves and washed up by the sea during periods of -submergence, they were spread over the beds of carboniferous deposits, -and became the rock strata through which the drills and shafts of -to-day are sunk to reach the veins of mineral coal. - -Fishes were numerous. Some of them, belonging to species allied to the -modern shark, were of great size, with huge fin spines fully eighteen -inches in length. These spines have been found as fossils, as have also -the scales, teeth, and bones. Complete skeletons of smaller fishes of -the ganoid order were preserved in the rock as it hardened, and now -form fossil specimens which are unequaled in beauty and perfection. - -Besides the fishes, there were the swimming reptiles; amphibian -monsters, allied to the ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs which were so -abundant during the Reptilian age that followed. These animals are -known as enaliosaurs. They attained great size, being from twenty-five -to fifty feet in length; they had air-breathing apparatus, and -propelled themselves through the water with paddles like the paddles -of whales. Their enormous jaws were lined with rows of sharp, pointed -teeth, and their food was fish, shell-fish, and any other kind of -animal life that came within their reach. They devoured even their own -species. Living mostly in the open seas or fresh-water lagoons, they -sometimes chased their prey far up the rivers, and sometimes basked in -the sunshine on the sands of the shore. Frightful in aspect, fierce, -and voracious, they were the terror and the tyrants of the seas. - -Such were the animals, such were the plants, that lived and died, that -flourished and decayed, in the age when coal was being formed and -fashioned and hidden away in the crust of the earth. That the fauna and -flora of to-day have few prototypes among them should be little cause -for regret. There was, indeed, hardly a feature in the landscape of the -coal era that would have had a familiar look to an inhabitant of the -world in its present age. In place of the hills and valleys as we have -them now, there were great plains sloping imperceptibly to the borders -of the sea. There were vast marshes, shallow fresh-water lakes, and -broad and sluggish rivers. Save by isolated peaks the Rocky Mountains -had not yet been uplifted from the face of the deep, and the great West -of to-day was a waste of waters. In the wide forests no bird’s song was -ever heard, no flashing of a wing was ever seen, no serpent trailed -its length upon the ground, no wild beast searched the woods for prey. -The spider spun his web in silence from the dew-wet twigs, the locust -hopped drowsily from leaf to leaf, the mayfly floated lightly in the -heavy air, the slow-paced snail left his damp track on the surfaces of -the rocks, and the beetles, lifting the hard coverings from their gauzy -wings, flew aimlessly from place to place. In seas and lakes and swampy -pools strange fishes swam, up from the salt waters odd reptiles crawled -to sun themselves upon the sandy shore or make their way through -the dense jungles of the swamps, and out where the ocean waves were -dashing, fierce monsters of the sea darted on their prey, or churned -the water into foam in savage fights with each other. - -But in all the world there were no flowers. Stems grew to be trunks, -branches were sent out, leaves formed and fell, the land was robed and -wrapped in the richest, most luxuriant foliage, yet the few buds that -tried to blossom were scentless and hidden, and earth was still void of -the beauty and the fragrance of the flowers. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -HOW THE COAL BEDS LIE. - - -The process of growth, deposition, submergence, and burial, described -in the preceding chapter, continued throughout the Carboniferous age. -Each period of inundation and of the covering over of beds of vegetable -deposit by sand and silt is marked by the layers of stratified rock -that intervene between, and that overlie the separate seams of coal in -the coal measures of to-day. The number of these coal seams indicates -the number of periods during which the growth and decay of vegetation -was uninterrupted. This number, in the anthracite coal regions, varies -from ten to thirty or thereabouts, but in the bituminous regions it -scarcely ever exceeds eight or ten. The thickness of the separate -coal seams also varies greatly, ranging from a fraction of an inch up -to sixty or seventy feet. Indeed, there are basins of small extent -in the south of France and in India where the seam is two hundred -feet thick. It is seldom, however, that workable seams of anthracite -exceed twenty feet in thickness, and by far the largest number of -them do not go above eight or ten, while the seams of bituminous coal -do not even average these last figures in thickness. Neither is the -entire thickness of a seam made up of pure coal. Bands of slate called -“partings” usually run horizontally through a seam, dividing it into -“benches.” These partings vary from a fraction of an inch to several -feet in thickness, and make up from one fifth to one seventh of the -entire seam. - -The rock strata between the coal seams range from three feet to three -hundred feet in thickness, and in exceptional cases go as high as five -or six hundred feet. Perhaps a fair average would be from eighty to one -hundred feet. These rock intervals are made up mostly of sandstones -and shales. The combined average thickness of the coal seams of -Pennsylvania varies from twenty-five feet at Pittsburgh in the western -bituminous region to one hundred and twenty feet at Pottsville in the -eastern anthracite district, and may be said to average about one -fiftieth of the entire thickness of the coal measures, which is placed -at 4,000 feet. - -Some conception may be had of the enormous vegetable deposits of the -Carboniferous era by recalling the fact that the resultant coal in -each seam is only from one ninth to one sixteenth in bulk of the woody -fibre from which it has been derived, the loss being mainly in oxygen -and hydrogen. It is probable that the coal seams as well as the rock -strata had attained a comparative degree of hardness before the close -of the Carboniferous age. It was at the close of this age that those -profound disturbances of the earth’s crust throughout eastern North -America took place which have already been referred to. Hitherto, -through the long ages of Paleozoic time, there had been comparative -quiet. As cooling and contraction of the earth’s body were still going -on, there were doubtless oscillations of surface and subsidence of -strata in almost continuous progress. But these movements were very -slow, amounting, perhaps, to not more than a foot in a century. Yet -in Pennsylvania and Virginia the sinking of the crust up to the close -of the Carboniferous age amounted to 35,000 or 40,000 feet. That the -subsidence was quiet and unmarked by violent movement is attested by -the regularity of strata, especially of the carboniferous measures, -which alone show a sinking of 3,000 or 4,000 feet. Neither were the -disturbances which followed violent, nor were the changes paroxysmal. -Indeed, the probability is that they took place gradually through -long periods of time. They were, nevertheless, productive of enormous -results in the shape of hills, peaks, and mountain ranges. These -movements in the earth’s crust were due, as always, to contractions -in the earth’s body or reductions in its bulk. On the same principle -by which the skin of an apple that has dried without decay is thrown -into folds and wrinkles, the earth’s crust became corrugated. There -is this difference, however: the crust, being hard and unyielding, -has often been torn and broken in the process of change. Naturally -these ridges in the earth’s surface have been lifted along the lines -of least resistance, and these lines seem to have been, at the time of -the Appalachian revolution, practically parallel to the line of the -Atlantic coast, though long spurs were thrown out in other directions, -isolated dome-shaped elevations were raised up, and bowl-shaped valleys -were hollowed out among the hills. - -The anthracite coal beds were in the regions of greatest disturbance, -and, together with the rock strata above and below them, assumed new -positions, which were inclined at all angles to their old ones of -horizontality. More than this, the heat and pressure of that period -exerted upon these beds of coal, which up to this time had been -bituminous in character, resulted in the expulsion of so large a -portion of the volatile matter still remaining in them as to change -their character from bituminous to anthracite. Although the strata, -in the positions to which they have been forced, are at times broken -and abrupt, yet as a rule they rise and fall in wave-like folds or -ridges. These ridges are called _anticlinals_, because the strata slope -in opposite directions from a common plane. The valleys between the -ridges are called _synclinals_, because the strata slope from opposite -directions toward a common plane. One result of this great force of -compression exerted on the earth’s crust was to make rents in it across -the lines of strata. These rents are called _fissures_. Sometimes -the faces of a fissure are parallel and sometimes they inclose a -wedge-shaped cavity. This cavity, whatever its shape, is usually filled -either with igneous rock that has come up from the molten mass below, -or with surface drift or broken rock fragments that have been deposited -there from above. Where there is displacement as well as fracture, that -is when the strata on one side of a fissure have been pushed up or have -fallen below the corresponding strata on the other side, we have what -is known as a _fault_. Sometimes the displacement seems to have been -accomplished with little disturbance to the sides of the fissure; at -other times we find, along the line of fracture, evidences of great -destruction caused by the pushing up of strata in this way. A fault -may reach a comparatively short distance, or it may traverse a country -for miles. The vertical displacement may be only a few inches, or it -may amount to hundreds or thousands of feet. In the bituminous coal -regions, where the strata lie comparatively undisturbed, faults are -but little known. In the anthracite districts they are common, but not -great. - -[Illustration: VERTICAL SECTION THROUGH SOUTHERN COAL FIELD.] - -[Illustration: VERTICAL SECTION THROUGH NORTHERN COAL FIELD.] - -Besides the great folds into which the earth’s crust was crowded, there -are usually smaller folds corrugating the slopes of the greater -ones, sometimes running parallel with them, oftener stretching across -them at various angles. A marked instance of this formation is found in -the Wyoming coal basin, the general coal bed of which is in the shape -of a canoe, about fifty miles long, from two to six miles broad, and -with a maximum depth of perhaps one thousand feet. Running diagonally -across this basin, in practically parallel lines from one extremity to -the other, is a series of gentle anticlinals, dividing the basin into -some thirty smaller synclinal valleys or sub-basins. - -The irregularities produced by folds, fissures, faults, and partings -are not the only ones with which the miner has to deal. So far we -have supposed the coal seams to have been laid down in horizontal -layers of uniform thickness, with smooth and regular under and upper -surfaces. This is true only in a large sense. As a matter of fact -each separate seam varies greatly in thickness, and its roof and -floor are often broken and irregular. The beds of clay on which the -deposits were laid were pushed up unevenly by the exuberant growth -of vegetation from them. The action of waves and ocean currents made -hollows in them, and laid down ridges and mounds of sand on them, -around and over which the decaying vegetation rose and hardened. The -same forces, together with the action of running streams, made channels -and hollows in the upper surfaces of these beds of incipient coal, -which cavities became filled by sand and gravel, and this also hardened -into rock. These irregularities are found by the miner of to-day in -the floor and roof of the coal seam, and are called _rolls_, _horses_, -or _horse-backs_. When the coal seam thins out so rapidly that the -floor and roof come nearly together, this state of things is called a -_pinch_, or _squeeze_, though the latter term is more properly applied -to the settling of the roof rock after the coal has been mined out. -The inequalities of a coal seam that have now been mentioned, although -perhaps but a small portion of those that are daily met with in the -process of mining, are neverthless characteristic of the whole. - -The hills and mountain ranges that were thrown up at the close of the -Carboniferous age were many times higher and broader then than they -are to-day. Heat and cold and the storms of a thousand centuries, -working by disintegration and erosion, have worn away their substance, -the valleys and low lands are filled with it, and the rivers are -always carrying it down to the sea. The peaks and the crests have -been the portions of the elevations that have suffered most. It is -often as though the tops of the anticlinal folds had been sliced off -for the purpose of filling the valleys with them to the level of the -decapitated hills. A great part of the coal measures have thus wasted -away; in some portions of the anthracite district by far the greater -part, including many valuable coal seams. - -When a fold or flexure of the earth’s crust has been decapitated in -the manner mentioned, the exposed edge of any stratum of rock or -coal is called its _outcrop_. The angle of inclination at which any -stratum descends into the earth is called its _dip_. The direction of -a horizontal line drawn along the face of a stratum of rock or coal is -its _strike_. It is obvious that the strike must always be at right -angles to the dip. That is, if the dip is downward toward the east or -toward the west, the direction of the strike must be north and south. -It is now apparent that if one begins at the outcrop of a coal seam -and traces the course of the seam downward along the line of dip, his -path will lie down the inclination for a longer or shorter distance, -until the bottom of the synclinal valley is reached. This is known as -the _basin_ or _swamp_. Here the seam may be comparatively level for -a short distance; more often it has a mild vertical curve, and starts -up the dip on the other side of the valley, which inclination may be -followed till the outcrop is reached. If now the decapitated portion of -the fold could be replaced in its natural position, we could trace the -same seam up to and over the anticlinal axis and down upon the other -side. As it is, we must cross on the surface from the outcrop to the -place where the corresponding seam enters the earth. In the southern -and eastern anthracite coal districts of Pennsylvania decapitation of -folds to a point below the coal measures is general; the coal seams -dip into the earth with a very sharp pitch, and the coal basins are -often very deep and very narrow, striking into the earth almost like -a wedge. In the northern or Wyoming district decapitation is not so -general, the angle of inclination of strata is mild, and the basins are -wide and comparatively shallow. In the bituminous districts, where the -disturbance to the earth’s crust has been slight, the coal beds lie -very nearly as they were formed, the dip seldom exceeding an angle of -five degrees with the horizon. The exposures here are due generally to -the erosive action of water. - -[Illustration: OLD OPENING INTO AN OUT-CROP OF THE BALTIMORE VEIN.] - -The carboniferous measures are the highest and latest geological -formation in the great coal fields of the United States. Therefore -where the strata have not been disturbed by flexure the coal seams -lie near the surface. This is generally the case in the bituminous -districts, and it is also partially true in the northern anthracite -coal field. Deep mining is necessary only in the middle and southern -anthracite coal fields, where the folds are close and precipitous, -and the deep and narrow basins formed by them have been filled with -deposits of a later geologic age. - -Some of the difficulties to be met and overcome in mining coal will by -this time have been appreciated by the reader. But some of them only. -The inequalities of roof and floor, the pitching seams, the folds -and faults and fissures, all the accidents and irregularities of -formation and of location, make up but a few of the problems which -face the mining engineer. But the intellect and ingenuity of men have -overcome most of the obstacles which Nature placed in the way of -successful mining when she hardened the rocks above her coal beds, -crowded the earth’s crust into folds, and lifted the mountain ranges -into the air. - -It will not be out of place at this time to make mention of those -localities in which coal is found. Indeed, there are few countries on -the globe in which there are not carboniferous deposits of greater -or less extent. Great Britain, with Ireland, has about 12,000 square -miles of them. In England alone there is an area of 8,139 square miles -of workable coal beds. In continental Europe the coal fields are -numerous, but the character of the deposit is inferior. Coal is found -also in the Asiatic countries, in Australia, and in South America; and -in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick there is an area of 18,000 square -miles of coal measures. The combined areas of coal measures in the -United States amount to about 185,000 square miles. The Appalachian -or Alleghany region contains about 60,000 square miles, included in -the States of Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, -Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. The Illinois and Missouri -region contains also about 60,000 square miles, and has areas not only -in the States named, but also in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Kansas, -and Arkansas. Michigan has about 5,000 and Rhode Island about 500 -square miles. There are also small areas in Utah and Texas, and in the -far West there are workable coal fields in Colorado, Dakota, Indian -Territory, Montana, New Mexico, Washington, Wyoming Territory, Oregon, -and California. The entire coal area of the United States, with the -exception of that in Rhode Island and a few outlying sections in -Pennsylvania, contains coal of the bituminous variety only. Both the -area and supply are therefore practically without limit. In the coal -regions of Rhode Island the disturbances affecting the earth’s crust -have been very violent. The motion, heat, and compression have been so -great as to give the rocks associated with the coal measures a true -metamorphic or crystalline structure, and to transform the coal itself -into an extremely hard anthracite; in some places, indeed, it has -been altered to graphite. The flexures of the coal formation are very -abrupt and full of faults, and the coal itself is greatly broken and -displaced. Its condition is such that it cannot be mined with great -profit, and but little of it is now sent to market. The only areas -of readily workable anthracite in the United States are therefore in -Pennsylvania. These are all east of the Alleghany Mountains, and are -located in four distinct regions. The first or Southern Coal Field -extends from the Lehigh River at Mauch Chunk, southwest to within a -few miles of the Susquehanna River, ending at this extremity in the -form of a fish’s tail. It is seventy-five miles in length, averages -somewhat less than two miles in breadth, and has an area of one hundred -and forty square miles. It lies in Carbon, Schuylkill, and Dauphin -counties. The second or Western Middle field, known also as the Mahanoy -and Shamokin field, lies between the eastern headwaters of the Little -Schuylkill River and the Susquehanna River. It has an area of about -ninety square miles, and is situated in the counties of Schuylkill, -Columbia, and Northumberland. It lies just north of the Southern field, -and the two together are frequently spoken of as the Schuylkill Region. -The Eastern Middle or Upper Lehigh field lies northeast of the first -two fields, and is separated into nine distinct parallel canoe-shaped -basins. These extend from the Lehigh River on the east to the Catawissa -Creek on the west, and comprise an area of about forty miles. They -are principally in Luzerne County, but extend also into Carbon, -Schuylkill, and Columbia counties. The Northern or Wyoming field is a -crescent-shaped basin about fifty miles long and from two to six miles -broad, with an area of about two hundred square miles. Its westerly -cusp is just north of the Eastern Middle field, and it extends from -that point northeasterly through Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, just -cutting into Wayne and Susquehanna counties with its northern cusp. It -lies in the valleys of the Susquehanna and Lackawanna rivers, and in -it are situated the mining towns of Plymouth, Wilkes Barre, Pittston, -Scranton, and Carbondale. There is also a fifth district, known as -the Loyalsock and Mehoopany coal field, lying in Sullivan and Wyoming -counties. It is from twenty to twenty-five miles northwest of the -Wyoming and Lackawanna field, its area is limited, and its coals are -not true anthracite. - -It will thus be seen that aside from this last field the anthracite -coal area of Pennsylvania contains about four hundred and seventy -square miles. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE DISCOVERY OF COAL. - - -Although it has been within comparatively recent times that coal has -come into general use as a fuel, yet there can be no doubt that it was -discovered, and that its qualities were known, many centuries ago. To -prove its use by the ancients, mention is sometimes made of a passage -from the writings of Theophrastus, a pupil and friend of Aristotle -and for many years the head of the peripatetic school of philosophy. -This passage dates back to about 300 B. C., and is as follows: “Those -substances that are called coals and are broken for use are earthy, but -they kindle and burn like wooden coals. They are found in Liguria where -there is amber, and in Elis over the mountains toward Olympus. They are -used by the smiths.” - -The word “coal,” however, as used in the Bible and other ancient -books, usually means charcoal, or burning wood. It is claimed, and -not without plausibility, that coal was mined in Britain prior to the -Roman invasion. The cinder heaps found among ruins of the time of Roman -supremacy in the island point to quite an extensive use of coal by the -people of that age. But no writings have been found recording the use -of coal prior to 852 A. D. In that year twelve cartloads of “fossil -fuel,” or “pit coal,” were received by the abbey of Peterborough in -England, and the receipt was recorded. It is said that coal first began -to be systematically mined in Great Britain about the year 1180. - -It is certain that by the end of the thirteenth century the exportation -of coal from Newcastle was considerable, and the new fuel had come -to be largely used in London. But the people of that city conceived -the idea that its use was injurious to the health of the inhabitants -generally. The coal, being of the bituminous variety, burned with -considerable flame and gave off a good deal of smoke, and the ignorance -of the people led them into the belief that the air was contaminated -and poisoned by the products of combustion. So they presented a -petition to Parliament asking that the burning of coal be prohibited in -the city of London. Not only was the prayer of the petitioners granted, -but in order to render the prohibition effectual an act was passed -making it a capital offense to burn the dreaded fuel. This was in the -reign of Edward I., and is characteristic of the policy of that strong, -unyielding king, whose ends, great and just perhaps, were too often -attained by harsh and cruel means. - -The coal industry was checked, but it was not destroyed; for, half -a century later, we find Edward III. granting a license to the -inhabitants of Newcastle “to dig coals and stones in the common soil of -the town without the walls thereof in the place called the Castle Field -and the Forth.” Afterward this town, owing to the fine coal beds in its -vicinity, became one of the great centres of the British coal trade, -from which fact doubtless arose that ancient saying concerning useless -trouble or labor, that it is like “carrying coals to Newcastle.” - -In Scotland coal was mined in the twelfth century and in Germany in -the thirteenth, and the Chinese had already become familiar with its -use. But in Paris the same prejudice was excited against it that had -prevailed in London, and it did not come into use in that city as a -household fuel until about the middle of the sixteenth century. This -was also the date of its introduction into Wales, Belgium, and other -European countries. - -That coal was familiar, in appearance at least, to the natives of -America, long before the feet of white men ever pressed American -soil, cannot well be doubted. They must have seen it at its numerous -outcrops; perhaps they took pieces of it in their hard hands, handled -it, broke it, powdered it, or cast it away from them as useless. -Indeed, it is not improbable that they should have known something -of its qualities as a fuel. But of this there is no proof. The -first record we have of the observation of coal in this country was -made by Father Hennepin, a French explorer, in 1679. On a map of his -explorations he marked the site of a coal mine on the bank of the -Illinois River above Fort Crevecœur, near the present town of Ottawa. -In his record of travel he states that in the country then occupied -by the Pimitoui or Pimitwi Indians “there are mines of coal, slate, -and iron.” The oldest coal workings in America are doubtless those in -what is known as the Richmond or Chesterfield coal bed, near Richmond -in Chesterfield and Powhatan counties in the State of Virginia. It is -supposed that coal was discovered and mined there as early as 1750. -But by whom and under what circumstances the discovery was made we -have only tradition to inform us. This says that one day, during -the year last named, a certain boy, living in that vicinity, went -out into an unfrequented district on a private and personal fishing -excursion. Either the fish bit better than he had thought they would, -or for some other cause his supply of bait ran out, and it became -necessary for him to renew it. Hunting around in the small creeks and -inlets for crawfish with which to bait his hook, he chanced to stumble -upon the outcrop of a coal bed which crosses the James River about -twelve miles above Richmond. He made his discovery known, and further -examination disclosed a seam of rich bituminous coal, which has since -been conceded to be a formation of Mesozoic time rather than of the -Carboniferous age. Mining operations were soon begun, and were carried -on so successfully that by the year 1775 the coal was in general use -in the vicinity for smithing and domestic purposes. It played a part -in the war for independence by entering into the manufacture of cannon -balls, and by 1789 it had achieved so much of a reputation that it -was being shipped to Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, and sold in -those markets. But the mines were operated by slave labor, and mining -was carried on in the most primitive fashion for three quarters of a -century. So late as 1860 the improved systems of mining, long in use in -the North, were still comparatively unknown at the Virginia mines. - -During the war of the rebellion these mines were seized by the -Confederate government and operated by it, in order to obtain directly -the necessary fuel for purposes of modern warfare; and upon the -cessation of hostilities the paralysis which had fallen upon all other -Southern industries fell also upon this. But with the revival of -business, mining was again begun in the Richmond field, and from 1874 -to the present time the industry has prospered and grown, and Virginia -has furnished to the country at large a considerable amount of an -excellent quality of bituminous coal. This coal bed covers an area of -about 180 square miles, and has an average thickness of twenty-four -feet. It is supposed to contain about 50,000,000 of tons yet unmined. - -Another of the early discoveries of coal in the United States was that -of the Rhode Island anthracite bed in 1760. Mines began to be regularly -worked here in 1808, but only about 750,000 tons, all told, have been -taken from them. For reasons which have been already given these mines -cannot be profitably worked in competition with the anthracite mines of -Pennsylvania, in which the location and formation of the coal beds are -greatly superior. - -It is impossible to say when the coal of the great bituminous district -of Pennsylvania and Ohio was first seen by white men. In the summer of -1755 General Braddock led his army through western Pennsylvania by a -military road to that terrible defeat and slaughter in which he himself -received his death wound. This road, laid out by the army’s engineers -and graded by its men, was so well built that its course can still be -traced, and it is seen to have crossed the outcrop of the Pittsburgh -coal seam in many places. It is not improbable that a large number of -the soldiers in the English army were familiar with the appearance of -coal, and knew how to mine it and use it. Indeed, Colonel James Burd, -who was engaged in the construction of the road, claims to have burned -about a bushel of this coal on his camp-fire at that time. - -Some of the English soldiers who survived that terrible disaster to -their arms afterward returned and purchased lands in the vicinity, and -it is reasonable to suppose that the coal was dug and put to use by -them. A lease, still in existence, dated April 11, 1767, making a grant -of lands on “Coal Pitt Creek,” in Westmoreland County, indicates that -there were coal openings there at that date. Captain Thomas Hutchins, -who visited Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh) in 1760, mentions the fact that -he found an open coal mine on the opposite side of the Monongahela -River, from which coal was being taken for the use of the garrison. - -From 1770 to 1777 it was common for maps of certain portions of the -Ohio River country to have marked on them sites of coal beds along the -shores of that stream in regions which are now known to contain seams -of the great bituminous deposit. - -Probably the Susquehanna River region was the first in which this coal -was dug systematically and put to use. It was burned by blacksmiths -in their forges, and as early as 1785 the river towns were supplied -with it by Samuel Boyd, who shipped it from his mines in arks. In 1813 -Philip Karthaus took a quantity of coal to Fort Deposit, and sent it -thence by canal to Philadelphia. After this he sent cargoes regularly -to Philadelphia and Baltimore, and sold them readily at the rate of -thirty-three cents per bushel. This trade was stopped, however, by -the building of dams across the Susquehanna, and it was not until many -years afterward that the mineral resources of this section of the coal -field were developed again through the introduction of railroads. - -In the Pittsburgh region the demand for coal increased with the -increase of population, and at the beginning of the present century -it was in general use, not only in the manufacturing industries but -also as a domestic fuel, throughout that section of country. The -first coal sent from Pittsburgh to an eastern market was shipped to -Philadelphia in 1803. It was carried by the Louisiana, a boat of 350 -tons burden, and was sold at the rate of thirty-seven and a half cents -per bushel. From that time the increase in the mining of bituminous -coal in the Pittsburgh region has been steady and enormous. Its -presence, its quality and abundance, have induced the establishment -of great manufacturing enterprises in that section of the State, and -many millions of tons of it are sent every year to the markets of the -seaboard. - -Pennsylvania was a region much in favor with the North American -Indians, and it is more than probable that they were aware, to some -extent, of the existence of mineral wealth beneath her soil, long -before white men ever came among them. - -Besides the numerous outcroppings of coal which, in their journeyings, -they must have crossed and recrossed for centuries, there were -many places where the coal seams, having been cut through by creeks -and rivers, were exposed fully to view. In this way, in the Wyoming -district, the seven feet vein along the Nanticoke Creek had been -disclosed, and the nine feet vein on Ransom’s Creek at Plymouth; -while at Pittston the Susquehanna River had bared the coal seams in -the faces of its rocky banks, and up the Lackawanna the black strata -were frequently visible. But whatever knowledge the Indians had on the -subject was, with proverbial reticence, kept to themselves. It is said -that about the year 1750 a party of Indians brought a bag of coal to a -gunsmith living near Nazareth in Pennsylvania, but refused to say where -they had obtained it. The gunsmith burned it successfully in the forge -which he used for the purpose of repairing their guns. - -The presumption that the Indians knew something of the uses of coal, -and actually mined it, is borne out by the following incident: In the -year 1766 a trader by the name of John Anderson was settled at Wyoming, -and carried on a small business as a shopkeeper, trading largely with -the red men. In September of that year a company of six Nanticoke, -Conoy, and Mohican Indians visited the governor at Philadelphia, and -made to him the following address:―― - -“Brother,――As we came down from Chenango we stopped at Wyoming, where -we had a mine in two places, and we discovered that some white people -had been at work in the mine, and had filled three canoes with the ore; -and we saw their tools with which they had dug it out of the ground, -where they had made a hole at least forty feet long and five or six -feet deep. It happened formerly that some white people did take, now -and then, only a small bit and carry it away, but these people have -been working at the mine, and have filled their canoes. We desire that -you will tell us whether you know anything of this matter, or if it be -done by your consent. We inform you that there is one John Anderson, a -trader, now living at Wyoming, and we suspect that he, or somebody by -him, has robbed our mine. This man has a store of goods there, and it -may happen when the Indians see their mine robbed they will come and -take away his goods.” - -There is little doubt that the mines referred to were coal mines. -The presence of coal on the same side of the river a few miles below -Wyoming was certainly known, if not at that time then very soon -afterward; for in 1768 Charles Stewart made a survey of the Manor of -Sunbury opposite Wilkes Barre for the “Proprietaries’” government, and -on the original map of the survey “stone coal” is noted as appearing on -the site of what is now called Rosshill. - -This valley of Wyoming, the seat of such vast mineral wealth, was -first settled by people from Connecticut in 1762, and in the fall of -that year they reported the discovery of coal. - -These energetic, enterprising Yankee settlers could not fail to know -the location of the coal beds before they had been long in the valley. -Some of them were probably familiar with the English bituminous coals, -which were then being exported in small quantities to America under the -name of “sea coal;” and from the fact that our anthracite was known -to them as “stone coal” it is probable that there were those among -them who knew that the English people had a very hard coal which they -could not burn, and to which they had given the name “stone coal.” -Specimens of this Wyoming valley stone coal had already been gathered -and sent to England for examination. Indeed, there is no doubt that the -first anthracite coal ever found by white men in the United States was -discovered in this valley. But these Yankee settlers could not make -their stone coal burn. Repeated trials met with repeated failures. -There was one among them, however, Obadiah Gore, a blacksmith, who -would not be discouraged. In 1769 he took a quantity of these coals to -the blacksmith’s shop conducted by him and his brother, put them in -his forge, and continued his efforts and experiments until finally the -black lumps yielded to his persistency, and he had the satisfaction of -seeing the blue flames dart from them, and the red color creep over -them, and of feeling the intense heat sent out by their combustion. But -their ignition and burning were dependent upon the strong air current -sent through them by the bellows; without that he could do nothing with -them. - -So this Yankee blacksmith, who was afterwards one of the associate -judges of the courts of Luzerne County, became, so far as is known, the -first white man to demonstrate practically the value of anthracite coal -as a fuel. The success of Gore’s experiments soon became known, other -smiths began to recognize the merits of the lately despised stone coal, -and it was not long before the forge fires of nearly every smithy in -the region were ablaze with anthracite. - -The fame of the new fuel soon spread beyond the limits of the valley, -and if the difficulties of transportation checked its use elsewhere, -the knowledge of how to use it in forges and furnaces was not uncommon. -The demand for it overcame, at times, even the obstacles in the way of -shipment, and it was sent to points at long distances from the mines. - -In 1776 the proprietary government of Pennsylvania had an armory at -Carlisle in that State, in which they were manufacturing firearms to be -used by the Continental troops in the war with Great Britain; and the -first coal ever sent out from the Wyoming valley was shipped by them -to Carlisle during that year and the succeeding years of the war, for -use in their armory. - -The next discoveries of anthracite were made in what is now known -as the Southern coal field. It had long been a matter of tradition -among the stolid German farmers of Pennsylvania that coal existed -in the rugged hills along the Lehigh River, but no one succeeded in -finding it there until the year 1791. It was then discovered by one -Philip Ginther, a hunter and backwoodsman, who had built a rough -cabin in the forest near the Mauch Chunk mountain, and there gave to -himself and his family a precarious support by killing game, large -and small, carrying it to the nearest settlement, and exchanging it -at the village store for the necessaries of life. Telling the story -afterward, himself, he said that at one time the supply of food in -his cabin chanced to run out, and he started into the woods with his -gun in quest of something which should satisfy the hunger of those -who were at home. It was a most unsuccessful hunting expedition. The -morning passed, the afternoon went by, night approached, but his -game-bag was still empty. He was tired, hungry, and sadly disappointed. -A drizzling rain set in as he started homeward across the Mauch Chunk -mountain, darkness was coming rapidly on, and despondency filled his -mind as he thought of the expectant faces of little ones at home to -whom he was returning empty-handed. Making his way slowly through -the thick, wet undergrowth, and still looking about him, if perchance -something in the way of game might yet come within the range of his -gun, his foot happened to strike a hard substance which rolled away -before him. He looked down at it, and then bent over and picked it up, -and saw by the deepening twilight that it was black. He was familiar -with the traditions of the country concerning the existence of stone -coal in this region, and he began to wonder if this, indeed, was not -a specimen of it. He carried the black lump home with him that night, -and the next day he set out with it to find Colonel Jacob Weiss at -Fort Allen, now Weissport, to whom he exhibited what he had found. -Colonel Weiss became deeply interested in the matter, and brought the -specimen to Philadelphia, where he submitted it to the inspection of -John Nicholson, Michael Hillegas, and Charles Cist. These men, after -assuring themselves that it was really anthracite coal, authorized -Colonel Weiss to make such a contract with Ginther as would induce -him to point out the exact spot where the mineral was found. It -happened that the hunter coveted a vacant piece of land in the vicinity -containing a fine water-power and mill-site, and on Colonel Weiss -agreeing to obtain a patent for him from the State for the desired lot -of land, he very readily gave all the information in his possession -concerning the “stone coal.” - -In the Pottsville district of the Southern anthracite region coal was -discovered at about the same time as in the Mauch Chunk field. This -discovery too was made by accident, and the discoverer in this case -also was a hunter, Nicholas Allen. He had been out with his gun all -day, and at nightfall had found himself too far away from his home -to make the attempt to reach it. He accordingly built a fire under a -projecting ledge at the foot of Broad Mountain, and, lying down by -it, soon fell asleep. He was wakened in the night by a strong light -shining on his eyes, and by the sensation of great heat. Springing -to his feet, he discovered that the ledge itself was burning, or, as -he afterward expressed it, “that the mountain was on fire.” He could -not understand the phenomenon, and remained in the vicinity until -morning, when he saw, by daylight, that what he had thought to be a -ledge of rocks was really a projecting outcrop of mineral coal, which -had become ignited from his camp-fire of sticks. Whether this story is -or is not authentic, it is certain that no practical results attended -the discovery of coal in this region. It was not until twenty-six -years after Obadiah Gore’s experiments in the Wyoming valley that coal -was successfully burned here in a blacksmith’s forge. The attempt -was made by one Whetstone, and met with the same marked success that -had attended the earlier effort. But owing to the difficulty still -ordinarily experienced in combustion, the coal of this region was not -generally used until after the year 1806. In that year David Berlin, -another blacksmith, experimented with it in his forge, with such -complete success that a new impetus was given to the coal trade, mining -was resumed, and the new fuel came into general use in the blacksmiths’ -shops of the vicinity. - -In the Middle anthracite district coal was not discovered until 1826. -This discovery also was made by a hunter, John Charles. On one of his -hunting expeditions he chanced to find a groundhog’s hole, and, laying -down his rifle, he began to dig for his game. In the course of the -excavation he uncovered a projecting shelf of stone coal. He made his -discovery known, further explorations were set on foot, the coal bed -was located, and a company called the Hazleton Coal Company was formed -to work the field. - -From these several points of discovery the search for anthracite coal -was extended in all directions, the limits of the beds were eventually -defined, and each field was surveyed and mapped with much care. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE INTRODUCTION OF COAL INTO USE. - - -At the beginning of the present century the anthracite or stone coal -was in general use, in all the districts where it was found, as a fuel -for the blacksmith’s fire and the iron worker’s forge. This, however, -was the limit of its utility. It was thought to be necessary to force a -strong artificial air current up through it to make it burn, and since -this could not well be done in grates, stoves, or furnaces, there was -no demand for coal for domestic use, or for the great manufacturing -industries. Efforts were indeed made to overcome this difficulty. -Schemes without number were set on foot and abandoned. It was proposed, -at one time, to force air through a tube to the under part of the grate -by means of clockwork operated by a weight or by a spring. But the cost -of such an arrangement made it impracticable. - -It seems, however, that Weiss, Cist, and Hillegas, who were developing -the discovery made by Ginther in the Mauch Chunk mountain, also solved -the problem of burning the stone coal without an artificial draft. They -had sent specimens of their coals to Philadelphia, and presumably had -accompanied them with instructions as to the proper method of burning -them. This presumption is borne out by certain letters sent to Jacob -Cist of Wilkes Barre, a son of Charles Cist the printer, who was in -company with Weiss and Hillegas. Two of these letters are now in the -possession of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society at Wilkes -Barre. An extract from one of them reads as follows:―― - - “I have experienced the use of them” (the Lehigh coals) “in - a close stove and also in a fireplace that may be closed and - opened at pleasure, so constructed, as to cause a brisk current - of air to pass up through a small contracted grate on which - they were laid. I find them more difficult to be kindled than - the Virginia coal, yet a small quantity of dry wood laid on - the grate under them is sufficient to ignite them, which being - done, they continue to burn while a sufficient amount be added - to keep up the combustion, occasionally stirring them to keep - down the ashes. They produce no smoke, contain no sulphur, and - when well ignited exhibit a vivid bright appearance, all which - render them suitable for warming rooms.” - -This letter is dated “Philadelphia, Feb. 15^th 1803,” and is signed -“Oliver Evans.” - -The second letter is similar in its recommendation and report of -success, and states that the writer, “Fred^k Graff, clerk of the -Water Works of Phil^a ... made a trial of the Lehigh coals in the -year 1802 in the large stove at the Pennsylvania Bank in Phil^a.” - -So far as is known these are the first recorded instances of any -successful attempts to burn anthracite coal in grates and stoves. Dr. -James of Philadelphia has also left on record the fact that he made -constant use of anthracite coal for heating purposes from the year 1804. - -These well-authenticated instances of the use of anthracite appear to -destroy the commonly accepted belief that Judge Jesse Fell of Wilkes -Barre was the first person whose attempts to burn this coal in an open -grate were rewarded with complete success. Nevertheless the value of -Judge Fell’s experiments cannot be questioned, nor can he be deprived -of the full measure of credit due to him for bringing those experiments -to a successful issue. - -Until the year 1808 all efforts in the Wyoming valley to burn the -“stone coal” of the region without an artificial air blast had utterly -failed. People did not believe that it could be done. The successes -of Evans and Graff in this direction were either not known or not -credited. It is certain that Judge Fell had not heard of them. His -opinion that this coal could be made to burn in an open fireplace was -based wholly on the reasoning of his own mind. He was a member of the -Society of Friends, and had come to Wilkes Barre some years before -from Berks County. He was a blacksmith by trade, the proprietor of the -best hotel in town, and he came afterward to be one of the associate -judges of Luzerne County. When he had fully considered the matter of -burning the stone coal, and had reached definite conclusions, he began -to experiment. At first he constructed a grate of green hickory sticks, -and the presumption is that the fire he kindled in it was a success; -for he began, immediately afterward, to make an iron grate similar to -the grates now in use. The work was done by his nephew Edward Fell and -himself in the blacksmith shop of the former, and was completed in a -single day. Judge Fell took the grate home late in the afternoon and -set it with brick in the fireplace of his bar-room. In the evening -he kindled in it, with oak wood, a glowing coal fire, and invited a -large number of the most respected citizens of the place to come in -and see the stone coal burn. Only a few came, however, in response -to his invitation; they believed his theory to be impracticable, and -feared that they might be made the victims of a hoax. But to those -who came the fire was a revelation. It cleared the way for immense -possibilities. Judge Fell himself realized the importance of his -discovery, and thought the incident worthy of record. Being a devoted -member of the order of Free and Accepted Masons, he chose from his -library a book entitled “The Free Mason’s Monitor,” and wrote on the -fly-leaf, in a clear, bold hand, this memorandum:―― - - “Fe’b 11^th, of Masonry 5808. Made the experiment of burning - the common stone coal of the valley in a grate in a common fire - place in my house, and find it will answer the purpose of fuel; - making a clearer and better fire, at less expense, than burning - wood in the common way. - - [Signed] JESSE FELL. - - “BOROUGH OF WILKESBARRE, - _February 11^th 1808_.” - -The complete success of Judge Fell’s experiment was soon noised abroad, -and a new era of usefulness for anthracite coal set in. From Wilkes -Barre up and down the entire Wyoming valley fireplaces for wood were -discarded and grates were set for the burning of the new domestic fuel. -This was followed, not long after, by the introduction of stoves, so -that by 1820, says Stewart Pearce in his “Annals of Luzerne County,” -grates and coal stoves were in general use throughout the valley, coal -for domestic purposes selling at three dollars per ton. At the time of -Judge Fell’s experiment there was no outside market for the product -of the mines of the Wyoming valley. The distances to the large cities -and manufacturing centres were too great, the means of transportation -too rude, and the knowledge of the use of anthracite too limited, to -warrant any serious effort to create a foreign market for it. The -attempt had nevertheless been made in 1807 by Abijah Smith, who -shipped an ark-load of coal down the Susquehanna River to Columbia, and -was obliged to leave it there unsold. - -In 1808 the experiment was repeated by Abijah and his brother John, -who, profiting by the success of Judge Fell’s late experiment, took -with them an iron grate, set it up at Columbia, and proceeded to -demonstrate to the doubting inhabitants the practical value of their -coal as a domestic fuel. The venture proved successful, and after this -they found no difficulty in selling at the river towns all the coal -they could mine. After 1812 they extended their trade by running their -coal to Havre de Grace, and sending it thence by schooner to New York. - -The success which attended the efforts of the Smiths appears to have -been an inducement to other enterprising citizens of the Wyoming valley -to embark in the coal trade, and in 1813 and 1814 Colonel George M. -Hollenback, Colonel Lord Butler, Joseph Wright, Esq., and Crandal -Wilcox all engaged in the mining and shipping of coal. They sent the -product of the mines down the river in arks, and up to 1830 85,000 -tons had been mined in the valley for such shipment. After that year -coal was sent by the North Branch Canal just completed to Nanticoke, -and in 1846 the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad pierced the valley, -and opened a new era in transportation. So it came about that this -region, which in 1807 opened the anthracite coal trade with a shipment -of fifty-five tons, sent to market in 1887 a grand total of 19,684,929 -tons. - -[Illustration: - - MAP - _SHOWING_ - ·ANTHRACITE·COAL·FIELDS· - -_OF_- - ·PENNSYLVANIA·] - -In the mean time Weiss, Cist, and Hillegas pushed their coal enterprise -on the Mauch Chunk mountain, opening what was afterward known as the -Great Summit Mine, and in 1803 started six ark-loads of coal down the -Lehigh River, to be floated to its junction with the Delaware, and -thence to Philadelphia. Only two of the arks reached their destination, -the others having met with disaster on the way, owing to swift currents -and unskillful navigation. Of the two cargoes that arrived safely -at Philadelphia not a lump could be sold. The owners made strenuous -efforts to find a market for it, but people did not wish to purchase -a fuel that they could not make burn. At last the city authorities -were appealed to, and, after some hesitation, they agreed to take the -coal and try to make use of it for a steam-engine employed at the city -waterworks. This they did; but all their attempts to make the alleged -fuel burn proved unavailing. They finally gave up the task in disgust, -declared the coal to be a nuisance, and caused what remained of it -to be broken up and spread on the footpaths of the public grounds, -in place of gravel. This was indeed a most ignominious failure. It -caused a sudden cessation of mining operations at Summit Hill, and for -several years the Lehigh Mine Company, utterly discouraged, made no -effort to retrieve its fallen fortunes. William Turnbull attempted to -revive the project a few years later, but his effort also met with a -dismal failure. - -In 1813 Charles Miner, Jacob Cist, and John W. Robinson, all of Wilkes -Barre, renewed the enterprise at Summit Hill with great energy, and -on the 9th of August, 1814, started their first ark-load of coal down -the river to Philadelphia. Before it had gone eighty rods from the -place of starting it struck a ledge which tore a hole in the bow of the -boat, “and,” Mr. Miner says, “the lads stripped themselves nearly naked -to stop the rush of water with their clothes.” After many and varied -adventures on the swift currents of the rivers the ark reached its -destination on the following Sunday morning at eight o’clock, having -been five days on the way. Its arrival had been anticipated by its -owners, and they had called public attention to its cargo by means of -handbills printed in both English and German, and distributed freely -throughout the city. These handbills, besides advertising the coal, -gave information as to the method of burning it in grates, stoves, and -smith’s forges. They were also accompanied by printed certificates -from blacksmiths and others attesting the value and availability of -the Lehigh coal as a fuel. The owners of the ark went still farther. -They put up stoves in conspicuous public places in the city, built -coal fires in them, and invited the people to stop and inspect them. -They went to private houses and prevailed on the inmates to be allowed -to kindle anthracite fires in the grates which had been built for the -use of Liverpool coals. They attended at blacksmith’s shops, and even -bribed the journeymen to give their coals a fair trial in the forge. -Thus, by persistent and industrious, nay by presumptuous, efforts, -these men succeeded in awakening public interest in their enterprise, -and in creating a demand for their wares. The proprietors of the Lehigh -coals gave particular attention also to the instruction of the people -in the matter of igniting the new fuel. Having once disabused them -of the idea that a strong artificial air current was necessary, the -next step was to prevent them from disturbing the coals constantly by -poking, punching, and raking them, a proceeding which the uninitiated -seemed to consider of prime importance, in order to induce them to -ignite. And, strange as it may seem, this fallacy was the hardest to -overcome. Among the purchasers of the Lehigh coals in 1814 was the -firm of White & Hazard, manufacturers of iron wire at the falls of the -Schuylkill. They had been told by Mr. Joshua Malin, proprietor of a -rolling mill, that he had succeeded in using the new fuel, and as the -Virginia coal was very scarce at that time, White & Hazard decided to -test the qualities of the anthracite. They purchased a cart-load of -it, paying a dollar a bushel for it, and took it to their works. Here -they tried to build a fire with it in their furnace, giving it what -they considered the most skillful manipulation and the most assiduous -attention. Their efforts were in vain. The entire cart-load was wasted -in a futile attempt to make the coals burn. Nothing daunted, they -obtained another cartload, and determined to spend the night, if need -should be, in the work of building a coal fire. And they did spend -the night. But when morning came they were apparently as far from -the attainment of their object as ever. They had poked and punched -and raked; they had labored incessantly; but notwithstanding the -most constant manipulation, the coals above the burning wood would -not sufficiently ignite. By this time the men were disheartened and -disgusted, and slamming the door of the furnace, they left the mill in -despair, and went to breakfast. It happened that one of them had left -his jacket in the furnace room, and returning for it about half an -hour later, he discovered that the furnace door was red-hot. In great -surprise he flung the door open and found the interior glowing with -intense white heat. The other hands were immediately summoned, and four -separate parcels of iron were heated and rolled by the same fire before -it required renewing. Seeking for the cause of this unexpected result -the men came to the conclusion that it was due to simply letting the -fire alone, a theory the correctness of which they afterward abundantly -proved. Thus, by chance, these men hit upon the secret of success in -the matter of building a fire of anthracite coals. That secret is -simply to throw the coals loosely on the burning wood, and then _let -them alone_. The incident at White & Hazard’s mills becoming generally -known, people learned more from it about the process of building a coal -fire than they had learned from all their previous instruction. - -Nevertheless the enterprise of the Lehigh operators was still not -destined to meet with success. They had embarked in the coal trade in -1814, while the war with Great Britain was still in progress, when it -was impossible to procure coal from England, and when coal from the -Richmond district was very scarce. They were therefore able to obtain -fourteen dollars per ton for the Lehigh coal, but even at this price -the cost and risk of mining and shipping was so great that the business -was barely a paying one. In 1815, however, peace was concluded with -Great Britain, the market was again opened to the reception of foreign -coals, and the Lehigh operators, being unable to compete with the -sellers of soft coal, were obliged to abandon the field. - -Notwithstanding the efforts and energy of these proprietors the Summit -Hill mining industry did not pay, and in 1817 the mines passed into -the hands of Josiah White and Erskine Hazard. They perfected a system -of slack-water navigation on the Lehigh, and in 1820 made their first -shipment of 365 tons. The tables commonly printed showing the growth -of the anthracite coal trade usually make that trade begin with this -shipment of Lehigh coal in 1820. This, however, is not quite correct, -as we have seen that coal was sent to market from the Wyoming region -at a much earlier date. It is remarkable that, whereas in 1820 the 365 -tons of Lehigh coal stocked the market, in 1831, the year in which the -system of slack water navigation was superseded by shipment on the -Delaware division of the Pennsylvania Canal, this region sent down -40,966 tons. And in 1887 there was sent to market from the Lehigh -district a total of 4,347,061 tons, an amount which would have been -much greater had not a prolonged strike of coal miners seriously -interfered with the output. - -In the Schuylkill region of the Southern coal field similar obstacles -to the introduction of coal were encountered. Nicholas Allen, the -discoverer of coal in that region, had formed a partnership with -Colonel George Shoemaker, and the firm had purchased a tract of coal -land near Pottsville, on which they began mining operations in the year -1812. They raised several wagon loads of coal, and offered it for sale -in the vicinity, but with the exception of a few blacksmiths, who had -been taught its value as a fuel by Colonel Shoemaker, no one could -be found to purchase it. Allen soon became disheartened and sold his -entire interest in the property to his partner, who, still persisting -in the enterprise, mined a considerable quantity of the coal, filled -ten wagons with it, and took it to Philadelphia in quest of a market. -But it did not meet with a ready sale. People looked at the coals -curiously, considered them to be nothing more than black stones, and, -seeing no reason why they should burn better than stones of any other -color, would not buy them. - -Colonel Shoemaker sounded the praises of his wares so vigorously and -persistently, however, that at last a few purchasers were induced to -take them in small quantities, just for trial. The trials, as usual, -proved to be unsuccessful, and the people who had purchased the coals, -believing they had been victimized, denounced Colonel Shoemaker as a -cheat and a swindler; while one person, whose wrath rose to a high -pitch, procured a warrant for the colonel’s arrest, on the charge that -he was a common impostor. At this stage of the proceedings, Colonel -Shoemaker, believing discretion to be the better part of valor, quietly -left the city and started toward his home by a circuitous route, -driving, it is said, some thirty miles out of his way, in order to -avoid the officer of the law holding the warrant for his arrest. - -This was indeed a discouraging beginning for the Schuylkill coal -trade. Fortunately, however, not all of the colonel’s customers at -Philadelphia had met with failure in the effort to burn his coal. -Messrs. Mellen & Bishop, a firm of iron factors in Delaware County, -at the earnest solicitation of Colonel Shoemaker, made the experiment -with the small quantity of coals purchased by them, and finding that -the fuel burned successfully they announced that fact through the -Philadelphia newspapers. Other iron workers were thus induced to try -the coal, and finally all the furnaces along the Schuylkill had open -doors for it. Eventually it came into use for the purpose of generating -steam, the experiments of John Price Wetherill in that direction having -been only partially satisfactory, but those at the Phœnixville iron -works in 1825 meeting with complete success. - -Still the prices which coal commanded in the Philadelphia market -were not sufficient to pay for the labor of mining it and the cost -of shipping it. So that, prior to 1818, nearly all the coal mined in -the Schuylkill region was sold to the blacksmiths of the surrounding -country. In that year, however, the improvements of the Schuylkill -navigation were completed, and afforded an additional, though not by -any means safe or sufficient, outlet for the products of the mines. By -1826 and 1827 the growing importance of the coal trade became manifest, -the Schuylkill navigation system was placed in excellent repair, -and the mining business of the district grew rapidly to enormous -proportions. - -The northeasterly extension of the Wyoming coal basin, leaving the -Susquehanna River at Pittston, follows the valley of the Lackawanna -up to a point seven miles beyond Carbondale, where it cuts slightly -into the counties of Wayne and Susquehanna, and there runs out. This -extension is known as the Lackawanna region. Coal was dug up and -experimented with here at the beginning of the present century. Its -outcrop at the river bank was noted by Preston, a surveyor, in 1804. -In 1812 it was mined at Providence and burned in a rude grate by H. -C. L. Von Storch. About this time the brothers William and Maurice -Wurts, having been attracted by the mineral wealth of the region, came -there from Philadelphia and began explorations for the purpose of -ascertaining the location, area, and quality of the beds of anthracite -coal. William, the younger brother, in the course of his wanderings -through the rugged hills and thick forests of the country, chanced to -meet a hunter by the name of David Nobles, who, having fled from the -adjoining county of Wayne to avoid imprisonment for debt, was leading a -precarious existence in the woods. Nobles was well acquainted with the -country, knew where the outcroppings of coal were, and having entered -into the service of Wurts, rendered him most valuable assistance. - -Their investigations having proved the presence of large bodies of -coal, the Wurts brothers next procured title to the lands containing -it, and then turned their attention to the problem of finding an -outlet to market. They decided finally to ship coal on rafts by the -Wallenpaupack Creek to the Lackawaxen, by the Lackawaxen to the -Delaware, and thence to Philadelphia. This method was experimented -on from 1814 to 1822 with varying degrees of disaster. In the year -last mentioned they succeeded in taking to Philadelphia 100 tons of -coal, only to find the market flooded with 2,240 tons of Lehigh coal. -Competition was apparently hopeless; but instead of abandoning the -enterprise, as men of less energy and perseverance would now have done, -Maurice Wurts turned his attention to a new project. This was nothing -less than to make an outlet to the New York market by building a canal -which should reach from the Hudson River at Rondout, across to the -Delaware at Port Jervis, and thence up that stream and the Lackawaxen -to the nearest practicable point east of the coal beds. But when that -point should be reached there would still be the Moosic Mountain, -with its towering heights and precipitous bluffs, lying between the -boats and the mines. The Wurts brothers did not acknowledge this to -be a serious obstacle. They proposed to overcome this difficulty by -building across the mountains a railroad, which should consist largely -of inclined planes, the cars to be drawn up and let down these planes -by means of stationary steam-engines, and to move along the stretches -between the planes by force of gravity. Having formed their plans they -set to work to carry them out. They procured the necessary legislation -from the States of New York and Pennsylvania, they secured a charter -in 1823–25 for a corporation known as the Delaware and Hudson Canal -Company, and by dint of supreme personal effort they succeeded in -obtaining capital enough to begin and carry on the work. In 1828 the -canal was completed to its terminus at Honesdale, the gravity railroad -having been already constructed from the coal fields to that point, -and in 1829 the company began to ship coal to tide-water on the -Hudson. It was a bold and ingenious scheme, and for those days it was -an enterprise of immense proportions. That these two men conceived -it and earned it out in the face of great difficulties and against -overwhelming odds entitles them to a place in those higher orders of -genius that are touched with the light of the heroic. The Lackawanna -region has been pierced by many other lines of railway, and to-day by -these great highways a vast amount of Lackawanna coal is sent to the -eastern cities and the seaboard. - -But as a rule, men who invested their money in coal lands in the early -days after the discovery of coal lost the amount of the investment. -They, with prophetic vision, saw the comfort, the commerce, the -manufactures, of a nation dependent on the products of the coal mines, -but the people at large could not see so far. These pioneers made -ready to supply an anticipated demand, but it did not come. Talking -did not bring it. Exhibitions of the wonderful utility of the black -coals served to arouse but a passing interest. No other product of the -globe which has obtained a position of equal importance ever had to -fight its way into public favor with such persistent effort through so -many years. But when at last its worth became generally recognized, -when the people had reached the conclusion that they wanted it, and -its value in dollars had become fixed and permanent, then the pioneers -of the industry had vanished from the field; they were disheartened, -destitute, or dead; new hands and brains took up the work, matured -the plans of the elders, and reaped the fortunes of which former -generations had sown the seed. - -In the beginning the coal lands were mostly divided into small -tracts, and held by persons many of whom thought to open mines on -their property and carry on the business of mining as an individual -enterprise. This plan of work was partially successful so long as -coal could be dug from the outcrop and carted away like stones from -a quarry; but when it became necessary, as it soon did, to penetrate -more deeply into the earth for the article of trade, then the cost -of shafting, tunneling, and mining in general usually exceeded the -resources of the individual operator, and either he succumbed to -financial distress, or disposed of his mining interests to men or firms -with more money. As the art of mining advanced with its necessities, -it was learned, sometimes after bitter experience, that the business -was profitable only when a large amount of capital was behind it. -Therefore men who had invested a few thousand dollars transferred -their interests to men who had a few hundred thousand to invest, and -these, in turn, associating other capitalists with them, doubled or -trebled the investment or ran it into the millions, forming companies -or corporations to accomplish with their more perfect organization -that which would be impossible to the individual. So it has come about -that in these later days the individual operators have given place -largely to the corporations; those who still remain in the field often -operating their mines on a small capital at great disadvantage. In the -bituminous regions, however, this rule does not hold good. There the -coal lies near the surface, is accessible, and easily mined. It needs -only to be carried to the river bank and screened as it is loaded into -boats and started on its way to market. Compared with the anthracite -regions, it requires but a small capital here to sustain an extensive -plant, and produce a large quantity of coal. Therefore we find, as we -should expect to find, that in the bituminous districts the bulk of -the coal is produced by individuals, firms, and small companies. In the -anthracite regions, however, this rule is reversed. Of the 36,204,000 -tons of anthracite produced in the year 1887, 16,109,387 tons, or -nearly one half, were mined by five great companies; namely: The -Philadelphia and Reading; Delaware and Hudson; Delaware, Lackawanna, -and Western; Lehigh Valley; and Pennsylvania Coal Company. The immense -out-put of as many more large corporations left but a very small -proportion of the total product to the small companies, firms, and -individuals. - -It follows, as a matter of course, that the acreage of coal lands held -by these companies bears the same proportion to the total acreage that -their coal out-put bears to the entire coal out-put. That is, they -either own or hold under lease the great bulk of the coal beds of the -anthracite regions. The value of coal lands varies with the number, -thickness, and accessibility of the coal seams contained in it. In the -very early days of anthracite mining these lands were purchased from -farmers and others at from twenty and thirty dollars to one hundred -dollars per acre. Before 1850 the price had advanced, in the Wyoming -region, to from seventy-five dollars to two hundred dollars per acre. -Recently a piece of coal land was sold in this region for $1,200 per -acre, and another piece, containing thirty-six acres, was sold at the -rate of $1,500 per acre. Perhaps from $800 to $1,000 per acre might -be considered an average price. In the Middle and Southern anthracite -regions the coal lands are of still greater value; not because the -quality of the mineral is better, nor because the market for it is more -accessible, but because the coal seams dip at a greater angle, and, -therefore, a given number of acres contains a larger amount of coal. - -The system of leasing coal lands to coal operators is a very common -one, especially in the Wyoming valley, where the surface is so richly -adapted to agricultural uses. The proprietor can, in this way, retain -the use of the soil, and at the same time reap a handsome profit from -the development of the mineral deposits beneath it. He invests no -capital, runs no risk, and is sure of a steady income. As it is usual -to work leased coal seams, wherever convenient, from openings made on -the adjoining lands owned by the company, it is not often that the -surface of leased property is interfered with, or if it is, but a -comparatively small area of it is taken. The contract of lease usually -stipulates that a certain royalty shall be paid to the lessor for each -ton of coal mined, and it binds the lessee to mine not less than a -certain number of tons each year; or at least to pay royalties on not -less than a certain number of tons each year, whether that number is -or is not mined. Twenty years or more ago coal lands in the Wyoming -district could be leased at the rate of ten cents per ton. Lately a -large body of coal land was rented to the Lehigh Valley Coal Company -at forty-five cents per ton, and it is said that one proprietor at -Kingston has been offered a lease at fifty cents per ton, and has -refused it. Perhaps from twenty-five cents to thirty-five cents per ton -would be an average rate. - -As an example of the immense purchases made by these companies, it may -be noted that the Philadelphia and Reading Company, in 1871, purchased -one hundred thousand acres of coal lands in the Schuylkill region, at -a cost of forty millions of dollars. And as an example of the amount -of business done in a year, it may be noted that the Delaware and -Hudson Canal Company paid in 1887 $5,019,147.16 for the single item of -mining coal, and that their coal sales for the same year amounted to -$10,100,118.69. - -This concentration of coal lands and coal mining in the hands of great -corporations, aside from its tendency to stifle healthy competition, -is productive of many benefits. Coal can be mined much cheaper when -the mining is done on a large scale. This is the rule, indeed, in -all productive industries. An enterprise backed by the combined -capital of many individuals is more certain to become successful and -permanent than an enterprise inaugurated by, and carried on with, -the entire capital of a single individual. Especially is this the -rule in a business attended with as much risk as is the business of -coal mining. One person may put his entire fortune of two or three -hundred thousand dollars into a single colliery. A depression in -the coal trade, a strike among the miners, an explosion, or a fire -would be very apt to bring financial ruin on him. A company, with its -great resources and its elastic character, can meet and recover from -an adverse incident of this kind with scarcely a perceptible shock -to its business. It is simply one of the items of loss which it is -prepared to cover with a larger item of profit. There is also the -additional assurance that all work that is done will be well done. The -most careful observations and calculations are made of the amount and -quality of included coal in any tract of land before it is purchased, -and the best surveyors are employed to mark out the boundary lines of -lands. The services of the most skillful mining engineers are retained, -at salaries which no individual operator could afford to pay. Their -forces are well organized, their mining operations are conducted with -system and economy, and they are able to keep abreast of the age in -all inventions and appliances that insure greater facility in mining -and manufacturing, and greater safety to the workmen. Their employees -are paid promptly at stated periods, and the possibility of a workman -losing his wages by reason of neglect or failure on the part of his -employer is reduced to a minimum. - -In general, it may be said that the control of the anthracite coal -business by the great corporations, rather than by individual operators, -is an undoubted benefit, not only to all the parties in direct interest, -but to commerce and society as a whole. The only danger to be feared is -from an abuse of the great powers to which these companies have -attained; a danger which, thus far, has not seriously menaced the -community. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE WAY INTO THE MINES. - - -A wise coal operator never begins to open a mine for the purpose of -taking out coal until he knows the character of the bed and the quality -of the mineral. This knowledge can only be obtained by an exhaustive -search for, and a careful examination of, all surface indications, -and by drilling or boring holes down to and through the strata of -coal. This is called “prospecting.” The examiner in a new field will -first look for outcrops. He will follow up the valleys and inspect -the ledges and the banks of streams. If he be so fortunate as to find -an exposure of the coal seams, or of any one of them, he will measure -its thickness, will calculate its dip and strike, and will follow its -outcrop. He will also study and make careful note of the rock strata -with which it is associated, for by this means he may be able to -determine the probability of other seams lying above or below it. This -examination of the rock strata he will make, whether coal is visible -or not visible. It will be of much service to him. For instance, it is -known that the great Baltimore vein in the Wyoming valley is usually -overlaid by a coarse red sandstone. If the examiner finds rock of this -character in that section, he has good reason to hope that coal lies -beneath it. Under the lowest coal seam of the anthracite beds there -is found, as a rule, a rock known as the conglomerate. If, therefore, -the explorer finds an outcrop of conglomerate, he will know that, as -a rule, he need not look for coal beyond it. This rock, coming to the -surface on the westerly side of the Moosic range of mountains, marks -the limit of the Lackawanna coal field toward the east. No one, having -once studied the conglomerate rock, could mistake it for any other, -though its composition is very simple. It is nothing more than white, -water-worn quartz pebbles, held together by a firm, lead-colored -cement. But it is a rock of unusual hardness and durability. It is -proof against the erosive action of water, grows harder by exposure -to the air, and has a consistency that approximates to that of iron. -In the coal districts it is used largely for building purposes, where -heavy walls and foundations are required. Experience has taught that -there are no coal seams below the conglomerate, so that wherever this -is found as a surface rock, or wherever it is pierced by the drill, -it is usually unnecessary to explore below it. If no coal outcrop is -found, the bed of a stream is searched for fragments of the mineral, -and, if any are discovered, they are traced to their source. Coal is -sometimes exposed where a tree has been uprooted by the wind, and -pieces of it have been found in the soil thrown out at a groundhog’s -burrow. - -Wagon roads crossing the country may be scanned for traces of the -“smut” or “blossom.” This is the decomposed outcrop, which has become -mingled with the soil, and may be more readily distinguished in the -bed of a traveled road than elsewhere. Other surface indications -failing, the topographical features of this section of country should -be studied. Wherever the coal seams come to the surface, being softer -than the rock strata above and below them, they are disintegrated and -eroded more rapidly by the action of the atmosphere and the elements. -This wearing away of the exposed coal leaves the surface outline in -the form of a bench or terrace, which follows the line of the outcrop. -And this form is retained even with a thick deposit of soil over the -edges of the strata. Small shafts may be sunk or tunnels driven through -this thickness of earth, and the outcrop explored in this way. This -process of examination is of more value in the bituminous than in the -anthracite regions, since the bituminous coal, being soft, is more -rapidly eroded, and the terrace formation resulting from such erosion -is more distinct and certain. In these days, in the anthracite coal -fields, there is hardly an area of any great extent in which mines have -not been actually opened. These mines, therefore, in the facilities -they afford for studying exposed strata and developed coal seams, -offer the best means of acquiring knowledge concerning the coal beds -of adjoining tracts. In a country where no surface indications of coal -are found over a large area, it is hardly worth while to explore for it -by boring. In the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania the limits of the -coal beds are now so accurately defined that it is seldom necessary to -bore for the purpose of testing the presence of coal. But it is always -advisable, before opening a mine in a new field, to test the depth, -dip, and quality of the coal and the character of the seams by sinking -one or more bore holes. Surface measurements of a seam are, at best, -very uncertain, as indications of its continuing character. The angle -of dip may change radically before a depth of one hundred feet shall be -reached. And coal undergoes so great deterioration by long exposure to -the atmosphere that, in order to judge the quality of a coal bed, it is -necessary to have a specimen fragment from it that has been hidden away -in the rocks. Hence the necessity of boring. - -Hand drills were generally used in the early days of prospecting, and -a sand pump drew out the sludge or borings for examination. This was -superseded by the spring pole method, which in turn gave way to the -rope method in use in the oil regions, the borings in each case being -carefully preserved for inspection. The diamond drill is the one now -in common use in the coal regions. Its cutting end is in the form of a -circle set with black, amorphous diamonds. It cuts an annular groove in -the rock as it descends, forming a core, which is withdrawn with the -drill, and which may be examined in vertical section. The sludge is -washed out by a stream of water which passes down through the centre of -the drill rod, and is forced back to the surface between the rod and -the face of the bore hole. The invention of this rotary cutting drill -is due to Leschot of Geneva, and the method of flushing the hole to -Flauvelle. - -After having obtained all possible information concerning his coal -property, and, if he be wise, embodying it in the form of maps, the -coal operator must decide where he shall make an opening for mining -purposes, and what kind of an opening he shall make. The answers to -these two questions are, to a certain extent, dependent on each other, -as certain kinds of openings must be located at certain places. When -coal was first gathered for experiment or observation, it was taken -up loosely from the ground, where it had fallen or been broken down -from the outcrop of some seam. As it came into demand for practical -purposes, it was quarried from this outcrop backward and downward, as -stones for building purposes are now quarried, the seam being uncovered -as the work proceeded. This process was followed along the line of the -outcrop, but excavations were not made to any considerable depth, owing -to the great expense of uncovering the coal. - -The open quarry system of mining coal has been successfully practiced -in America in but a few places. One of these was the great Summit -Hill open mine, near Mauch Chunk, where the Lehigh coal was first -discovered. Here, on a hill-top, was a horizontal coal bed, some -sixty acres in extent, and varying in thickness from fifteen to fifty -feet. Over this was a covering of rock, slate, and earth from three -to fifteen feet in thickness. This bed was mined by simply removing -the covering and taking the coal out as from a quarry. Other examples -of this method are seen at Hollywood Colliery, and at Hazleton No. 6 -Colliery, both near Hazleton, in Luzerne County. There are isolated -instances of this method of stripping elsewhere in the anthracite -regions, but as a rule the conditions are not favorable for it. -Ordinarily there are four methods of making an entrance into a mine -for the purpose of taking out coal. These are known as the drift, the -tunnel, the slope, and the shaft. - -To the early miners the drift was the favorite mode of entry. Finding -an exposed seam of coal in the face of a ledge or cliff, they would -dig in on it and bring the coal out from the opening in wheelbarrows. -A place was selected, if possible, where a creek or river ran at -the base of the ledge, and the coal was dumped from the wheelbarrow -directly into a boat. In default of a water way a wagon road was built -at the foot of the hill or cliff, a platform extended out over it, and -the coal was thus loaded from the wheelbarrow into the wagon. - -[Illustration: CROSS SECTION OF DRIFT OR GANGWAY WITH TIMBERS AND -LAGGING.] - -The modern drift, though fashioned on an improved plan, is the simplest -and least expensive way of making an entrance into a coal mine. The -outline of the proposed opening is first marked out on the edge of the -exposed coal seam. From fifteen to eighteen feet is an ordinary width -to accommodate two tracks, and ten feet will readily accommodate one. -Seven feet is an average height, though, if the seam be comparatively -flat, the coal will be taken down until the rock is reached, even -though a greater height should be attained. With this width and height -the opening is cut into the hill through the coal seam. The floor of -the drift must have a constant upward grade as it progresses inward, in -order that the water may run out, and that loaded cars may be hauled -more easily. The mouth of the drift must be above the level of the -adjacent valley or stream, so that the water may be carried away, and -the drift is therefore what is known as a water-level opening. It is -usually necessary to support the roof and sides of the drift by timbers -joined together in the form of a bent, and placed more or less closely -to each other. These timbers are also sometimes lined by sticks placed -behind and over them horizontally, and known as “lagging.” It will be -seen that the conditions under which the opening by drift may be made -place a serious limitation on the use of this method. It will also -now be seen why the drift is the simplest and most economical mode of -making an entrance to a mine. In this method there is no expense for -removing earth or for cutting through rock, nor any cost at any time of -pumping water or of hoisting coal. When the fact is remembered that it -sometimes costs from $50,000 to $100,000 to sink a deep shaft through -hard rock, and that to this amount must be added the cost of buildings, -machinery, and repairs, and the perpetual cost of pumping water and of -hoisting coal, the economy of the drift method will be appreciated. But -the day of drift mining in the anthracite regions has gone by. Those -portions of the coal beds lying above water level have been largely -mined out, and the areas of coal that are now accessible by drift are -very limited. In the bituminous districts, however, where the seams lie -comparatively flat and the coal is mostly above water level, the method -by drift is still almost universally used. - -Next to a drift, the tunnel is the simplest and most economical method, -under certain circumstances, of making an entrance into a mine. This -is a passage driven across the measures, and at right angles to the -seam, in order to reach coal which at the point of opening is not -exposed. The tunnel is usually driven into the side of a hill. The -earth is first dug away until the rock is exposed, or, if the soil be -too deep for that, only enough of it is taken to make a vertical face -for the mouth of the tunnel. The opening is then driven into the hill -at about the same width and height that a drift would be made, and in -practically the same manner. If there is a section of earth tunneling -at the mouth, the timbering must be close, and the lagging will be of -heavy planks. When the solid rock is reached, however, it is not often -that any timbering is necessary, the sides and roof being so hard and -firm as not to need support. This passage is driven against the face -of a coal seam, and when the coal is finally reached the tunnel proper -ends, a passage is opened to the right and one to the left along the -strike of the seam, and from these gangways the coal is mined. The -tunnel, like the drift, must be above water level, and its floor must -have a descending grade toward the mouth, to carry off water. The -expense of the tunnel, and its superiority to the slope or shaft, will -depend upon the distance through which the rock must be pierced before -coal is reached. It is especially advisable, therefore, before opening -a tunnel, to have an accurate map of the location and dip of the coal -seams to be struck by it, otherwise no approximate calculation can be -made of the extent or cost of the work. - -In the anthracite districts, where the seams are sharply pitching, -tunnels are driven in the interior of a mine from the workings of -a seam already opened across the intervening measures to strike an -adjacent seam. In this way two, three, or more coal seams can be -worked, and the coal can all be brought out at one surface opening. -This is virtually the only kind of tunneling that is now done in the -anthracite regions; for, as has already been explained, the coal that -lay above water level and was thus accessible by tunnel has now been -mostly mined out. - -If there is an outcrop of coal on the tract to be mined, and the dip -of the seam is more than twenty degrees, it is usually advisable to -enter the mine by means of a slope. This is a passage which, beginning -at the outcrop, follows the coal seam down until the necessary depth -is reached. It is driven in the coal. The distinction between the -drift and the slope is that the drift is driven from the surface on -the strike of the seam while the slope is driven on its dip. Where -the coal seam comes within a moderate distance of the surface, as at -an anticlinal ridge, a slope may be driven through the rock until the -coal is reached at the axis, and from that point follow the seam down. -Sometimes a shaft is sunk to the top of an anticlinal ridge, and from -its foot two slopes are driven, one down each side of the roll, in -opposite directions. If the seam is very irregular, or if it is much -broken by faults, there may be a great deal of rock cutting to be done -in order to preserve the uniformity of grade necessary for the slope. -The cost may, indeed, in this case, amount to more than would have been -sufficient to sink a shaft to the same depth, although, as a rule, the -entrance by slope should cost only about one fourth of that by shaft. - -[Illustration: CROSS SECTION OF SLOPE WITH DOUBLE TRACK.] - -The same methods are employed in sinking a slope as are used in driving -a drift, except that generally the timbering need not be so heavy. The -minimum height of the slope is about 6½ feet, the width at the top, or -collar, about 8 feet, and the width at the bottom, or spread, about 12 -feet. If a double track is desired the spread should be 18 feet and -the collar 14 feet. In the Wyoming region, where the dip is usually -less than twenty degrees, with infrequent outcrops, the slope is not in -general use; but in the Southern coal field, where the dip varies from -twenty degrees to the vertical, the slope is the most common method of -entering a mine. There the opening is driven down for a distance of 300 -feet, at which point gangways are started out to right and left, along -the strike, and chambers driven from them back toward the surface. This -is called the first lift. The slope is then continued downward for -another distance of 300 feet, new gangways and chambers are laid off, -and this is called the second lift. This process is continued until the -synclinal basin is reached. - -Where the dip of the slope is less than thirty degrees the coal is -brought to the surface in the car into which it was first loaded in the -mine. At a greater angle than this the ordinary mine car is superseded -by a car or carriage especially adapted to carrying coal up a steep -incline. - -Where there is no outcrop in the tract to be mined, and the coal -lies below water level, the best mode of making an entrance to it is -by shaft. In the Wyoming region, since the upper veins have been so -generally mined out, nearly all the openings are by shaft. The location -of the shaft at the surface should be such that when it is completed -its foot shall be at the bottom, or nearly at the bottom, of the -synclinal valley into which it is sunk. As will be more readily seen -hereafter, this is necessary in order to carry the water of the mine -to the foot of the shaft, to facilitate the transportation of coal -under ground, and to get room to open up the greatest possible working -area. The depth to which a shaft must be sunk depends on the seam to -be reached, and on the district in which it is located. At Carbondale, -in the northeasterly extremity of the Wyoming basin, the average depth -to the conglomerate or bed of the lowest coal seam is 250 feet. From -Scranton to Pittston it is from 500 to 600 feet. At Wilkes Barre it is -1,200 feet. It reaches its greatest average depth a mile northeast of -Nanticoke, where it is from 1,500 to 1,600 feet. - -This will be the limit of depth for shafts in the Wyoming region. At -present the average depth is from 300 to 400 feet, and there are few -that are more than 800 feet deep. The red-ash vein to which most of -the shafts are now being sunk is, at Pittston in the middle of the -general basin, from 450 to 650 feet below the surface. In the southern -anthracite region the average depth of shafts is somewhat greater, the -maximum depth being reached in the vicinity of Pottsville, where the -Pottsville deep shafts are about 1,600 feet in depth. - -In beginning to open a shaft a rectangular space is staked out on the -ground from four to eight feet wider and longer than the proposed -dimensions of the shaft; and the soil and loose stones are thrown out -from this larger area until bed rock is reached, which is usually done, -except in the river bottom lands, within a depth of twenty feet. - -From this rock as a foundation a cribbing of solid timber, twelve -inches square, is built up to the surface on the four sides of the -opening to prevent the earth from caving in. Sometimes heavy walls of -masonry are built up instead of the timber cribbing, and though the -original cost is greater, the purpose is far better answered by the -stone curbing. When this has been completed, sinking through the rock -goes on by the ordinary process of blasting, plumb lines being hung at -the corners of the shaft to keep the opening vertical. - -An act of the Pennsylvania legislature, approved June 30, 1885, -regulates the conduct of coal mining in the State so far as the safety -of persons employed in and about the mines is concerned. Former acts -are consolidated and revised in this, and new provisions are added. -By virtue of this act both the anthracite and bituminous coal fields -are divided into districts, each of which is placed in charge of -an inspector, whose duty it is to see that the provisions of the -law are carried out, and to make annual report to the Secretary of -Internal Affairs of such facts and statistics as the law requires -to be made. As there will be frequent occasion hereafter to refer -to various provisions of this act of assembly, it will be mentioned -simply as the act of 1885. The matter is brought up here in order -that the rules relating to the sinking of shafts, as laid down in the -act, may be referred to. These rules provide the manner in which the -necessary structures at the mouth of the opening shall be erected, what -precautions shall be taken to prevent material from falling into the -pit, how the ascent and descent shall be made, that all blasts during -the process of sinking shall be exploded by an electric battery, etc. -All these rules have but one object, the safety of the workmen. - -The horizontal dimensions of the modern shaft average about twelve feet -in width by thirty feet in length. This space is divided crosswise, -down the entire depth of the shaft, into compartments of which there -are usually four. The first of these compartments is the pump way, a -space devoted to the pipes, pump-rod, and other appliances connected -with the pumping system. To this six feet in breadth is allowed. Then -come, in succession, the two carriage ways, each of which may be seven -feet wide, and, finally, the air passage through which the foul air is -exhausted from the mine, and to which ten feet is appropriated. The -partitions between these compartments are made of oak sticks six inches -square, called buntons. The ends of the buntons are let into the rock -sides of the shaft, and they are placed horizontally at a vertical -distance from each other of about four feet. These bunton partitions -are then closely boarded down the entire distance. The partition -between the hoisting compartment and the airway is not only boarded up, -but the boards are matched and are rabbeted together. It is necessary -to make as nearly air-tight as possible this way for the passage of -air, and where the edges of the boarding meet the rock sides of the -shaft the irregularities are carefully filled in with brick and mortar. - -Fastened to the buntons at each side of each hoisting compartment -are continuous strips of hard wood, from four to six inches square, -reaching from the top of the shaft to its bottom. These are the -“guides.” To each side of the carriage, which raises and lowers men and -materials, is fastened an iron shoe, shaped like a small rectangular -box without top or ends. This shoe fits loosely on to the guide, -slides up and down it, and serves to keep the carriage steady while -it is ascending or descending. This invention is due to John Curr of -Sheffield, England, who introduced it as early as 1798. The ordinary -carriage consists of a wooden platform with vertical posts at the -middle of the sides united by a cross-beam at the top, and all solidly -built and thoroughly braced. The posts are just inside of the guides -when the carriage is in place, and are kept parallel to them by the -shoes already mentioned. To the middle of the cross-beam is attached -the end of a wire cable, from which the carriage is suspended, and by -which it is raised and lowered. On the floor of the platform, which -is planked over, a track is built uniform with the track at the foot -and head of the shaft, and continuous with it when the carriage is at -rest at either place. The mine car is pushed on to the platform of the -carriage and fastened there by a device which clings to the axle or -blocks the wheels. - -[Illustration: VERTICAL SECTION AT FOOT OF SHAFT, WITH ASCENDING -CARRIAGE.] - -At the mouth of the shaft and projecting into it are the “wings,” -“keeps,” or “cage rests,” which are pressed against the sides of the -shaft by the ascending carriage, but spring back into place underneath -it and support it while it is at rest. When the carriage is ready to -descend the wings are withdrawn by hand levers. - -The safety carriage is now in general use in at least one hoisting -compartment of every shaft. This carriage is built of wrought iron -instead of wood; it has a bonnet or roof as a protection against -objects falling down the shaft, and it has safety clutches or dogs to -stop the carriage and hold it in place in case of accident by breaking -ropes or machinery. Operators are required by the act of 1885 to -provide safety carriages for the use of their employees, and also to -keep movable gates or covers at the mouth of each shaft to prevent -persons and materials from falling into the opening. - -Where mining is done by shaft there is seldom any other way provided -for the passage of workmen in and out than the way by the carriage. -A small shaft for the admission of air is sometimes driven down to -the highest part of the seam, and ladders are placed in the opening -on which men may climb up and down, but these ladders are seldom used -save in an emergency. It is made obligatory upon operators, by the act -of 1885, to provide two openings to every seam of coal that is being -worked; these openings to be at least sixty feet apart underground, -and one hundred and fifty feet apart at the surface. The object of this -rule is to provide a way of escape for workmen in case of accident to -the main outlet. - -It is seldom necessary, however, in these days, to sink a separate shaft -in order to comply with this provision of the law; the underground -workings of the mines having such extensive connections that often not -only two but many openings are accessible from each seam. - -As to the comparative cost of the different methods of entry, the drift -is of course the cheapest. In this method the very first blow of the -pick brings down a fragment of coal that may be sent to market and -sold. For this reason the sinking of a slope is less expensive than -tunneling or shafting, because the excavation is made in the coal. It -may be said to cost from twenty-five to fifty dollars per linear yard -to sink an ordinary double track slope, from fifty to seventy-five -dollars per linear yard to drive a tunnel of average cross-section to -accommodate two tracks, and from three hundred to five hundred dollars -per linear yard to sink a shaft with four compartments. Of course -circumstances, especially the character of strata, may greatly increase -or lessen these limits of cost. Indeed, it has happened that a shaft in -process of sinking, which had already cost many thousands of dollars, -has been necessarily abandoned because an intractable bed of quicksand -has been encountered. - -The experienced coal operator, knowing the advantages and disadvantages -of each of these methods of entering a mine, and the adaptability of -each to his particular coal bed, will find no difficulty in making a -selection from them. Indeed, there may be, and usually is, practically, -no choice. The selection of a site for the opening is ordinarily -attended with but little more freedom of choice. The outcrop, if there -be one, the topography of the surface, the outline of the coal seam, -the accessibility of the spot, the location of the breaker, all govern -in the selection of the site, and usually all point to the one most -available spot. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -A PLAN OF A COAL MINE. - - -The progress that has been made in the science of mining coal within -the last half century bears favorable comparison with the progress -that has been made in the other industrial sciences. To-day the ripest -experience and the best engineering skill in the land are brought -to bear upon the problems connected with coal mining. In comparison -with the marked ability employed and the marked success attained in -the mining enterprises of to-day, the efforts of the early miners are -almost amusing. The pick and the wedge were the chief instruments used -in getting out coal. Powder was not thought to be available until John -Flanigan, a miner for Abijah Smith, introduced it into the mines in -1818. It is said that when openings were first made for coal in the -vicinity of Pottsville shallow shafts were sunk, and the coal was -hoisted in a large vessel by means of a common windlass. As soon as the -water became troublesome, which was usually as soon as the shaft had -reached a depth of twenty or thirty feet, this opening was abandoned, a -new shaft sunk, and the process repeated. - -The mine operator of to-day, having decided upon the shaft as the best -method of entry into his mine, sinks it to the bottom of the coal -bed, so that its longest dimension shall be with the dip of the seam. -Then from each side of the shaft, and at right angles to it, he cuts -a passage out through the coal with a width of from ten to fourteen -feet. These are the beginnings of the “gangways.” Then from each end -of the rectangular foot of the shaft he cuts another passage, at right -angles to the first one, about six or eight feet wide, and extending -to a distance of from fifteen to thirty feet. These are the first -“cross-headings.” At the extremities of the cross-headings passages are -now driven parallel to the gangways. These last passages are called -“airways.” When the gangways and airways have reached a distance of -from sixty to one hundred feet from the foot of the shaft they are -united by new cross-headings. - -It is now apparent that two pillars of coal, each from fifteen to -thirty feet wide and from sixty to one hundred feet long are left on -each side of the shaft. Larger pillars than these may be left if the -roof about the shaft should need more support. It is also apparent, -the coal seam being inclined, that the level of one of the airways is -higher than the level of the gangway, and the level of the other airway -is lower. - -It will be remembered that the design was to sink the shaft so that its -foot should be nearly to the bottom of the synclinal valley or basin. -If this has been done, then it is possible that the passage below the -foot of the shaft parallel to the gangway actually runs along the -synclinal axis. But if the bottom of the valley is still lower, the -cross-headings will be driven farther down and a new parallel passage -made, and, if necessary, still another. These openings now slope from -the foot of the shaft downward, and in them is collected not only the -water that may fall from the shaft, but, as the work advances, all the -water that comes from all parts of the mine. This basin which is thus -made to receive the mine water is called the “sump,” and from it the -water is pumped up through the shaft and discharged at the surface. -If the mine happens to be a very wet one it will require the constant -labor of the most powerful pumping engine to keep the level of the -water in the sump lower than the foot of the shaft. In some cases, in -older workings, a section of the mine which has been worked out and -abandoned is used for a sump, and then the water may cover an area many -acres in extent. When a shaft has been newly sunk, the openings for -the sump are the only ones that are made below the level of the foot -of the shaft or below the level of the gangway. Henceforth all the -workings will be made on the upper side of the gangway, extending up -the slope of the seam, until such time as it may be deemed advisable to -sink an inside slope to open a new set of workings on a lower level. -The main gangway on one side of the shaft and the airway above it are -now carried along simultaneously, and parallel with each other, and -are united at distances of from forty to sixty feet by cross-headings. -As soon as the last cross-heading is opened the one which immediately -preceded it is walled up as tightly as possible. This is to insure -ventilation. A current of air comes down the hoisting-way of the shaft, -passes into the gangway and along it to the last cross-heading, where -it crosses up into the airway and traverses the airway back to the -cross-heading that was driven up from the upper end of the foot of the -shaft. Passing down this cross-heading it comes to the air compartment -of the shaft, and is drawn out to the surface by a powerful fan. This -is the ventilating system of the mine in its simplest form. It is -apparent that if any of the cross-headings nearer to the shaft than the -last one should be left open, the air current would take a short course -through it up to the airway, and so back to the shaft, without going to -the extremity of the gangway at all. This gangway is the main artery of -the mine; it is the highway by which all the empty cars go in to the -working faces, and by which all the loaded cars come out to the foot -of the shaft; it is the general watercourse by which the entire mine -above it is drained, and by which the water is carried to the sump. In -comparatively flat seams its height is the height of the slate or rock -roof of the coal bed, but in steep pitching seams it is made seven or -eight feet high with a roof wholly or partly of coal. In some cases -the roof and sides are so firm that no timbering is required, and in -other cases the timbering must be close and heavy in order to give -the necessary support and security. The floor of the gangway must be -given a constantly ascending grade, usually from six inches to one foot -in every hundred feet, as it is driven inward. This is to facilitate -drainage and the movement of loaded cars. - -Where the strata are horizontal, or nearly so, as in many of the -bituminous mines, the gangway may, and usually does, take a perfectly -straight course. This is also true where the line of strike has but a -single direction, no matter how steep the pitch of the seam may be. But -both of these conditions are so rare in the anthracite regions that -one seldom finds a gangway driven for any considerable distance in -one direction. The surface of an inclined coal seam is not dissimilar -to the surface of one side of a range of small hills. Any one who has -seen a railroad track winding in and out along such a range, keeping -to the surface of the ground and preserving a uniformity of grade, can -understand why, for the same reasons, the gangway must often change -direction in following the seam of coal. It must curve in around the -valleys and hollows that indent the seam in the same manner that a -surface railroad curves in around the depression where some hillside -brook runs down to meet the stream, the course of which the railroad -tries to follow; and it must strike out around the projections of the -seam in the same way in which a surface railroad bends out around the -projecting spurs of the hill range along which it runs. But the coal -seam is more irregular and more uncertain in its outline than the -hillside, and the curves in it are sharper and more varied. The surface -railroad too may shorten its route and relieve its curves by bridging -its small valleys and cutting through its narrow ridges. For the -gangway this cannot be done. As a rule the coal seam must be followed, -no matter where it leads. And it often leads in strange courses,――in -courses that at times curve back on themselves like a horseshoe and -point toward the foot of the shaft. The mining superintendent or -engineer never knows in advance just what tortuous course his main -artery may take. He cannot go over the ground and stake out his line -as a civil engineer does for a surface railway; he must build as he -advances, not knowing what the rock and coal may hide in the next -foot ahead of him. He must be prepared to encounter faults, fissures, -streams of water, diluvial deposits, and every other obstacle known to -mining engineers. - -There are several systems of laying out a mine for actual working -after the gangway has been driven a sufficient distance. The one most -commonly in use in the anthracite region is known as the “pillar and -breast” system. In the bituminous mines it is called the “pillar and -room,” and in the mines of Great Britain the “bord and pillar.” It will -be borne in mind that the mine which is now being described is in the -Wyoming region, where the seams are comparatively flat, the entrance -usually by shaft, and the method of working is the pillar and breast -system. The gangway and airway are not driven far, not more than two -or three hundred feet, perhaps, before the openings are made for the -larger production of coal. Beginning on the upper side of the airway, -at such a distance from the shaft as will leave a reasonably large -sustaining pillar, perhaps from sixty to one hundred feet, an opening -is made and driven up the seam at right angles to the airway. This -opening is called a “chamber” or “breast.” In the bituminous districts -it is known as a “room.” The chamber is usually about twenty-four -feet wide, though where the roof is exceptionally good its width may -be increased to thirty-six feet. It is not often opened the full -width at the airway. Instead of this a narrow passage, large enough -to accommodate the mine car track, is driven up to a distance not -exceeding fifteen feet, and it is from this point that the chamber is -driven up at its full width. This narrow opening can be more easily -closed in case it is desired to prevent the passage of air through -it, and besides a greater proportion of coal is left in pillars along -the airway to prevent the passage from becoming blockaded by falls. -When the first chamber has been driven up a distance equal to its -width, a new chamber is begun parallel to it and on the side farthest -from the shaft. These two chambers are now separated by a wall of coal -from fourteen to twenty feet thick. If, however, the workings are -deep and there is danger from the weight of superincumbent strata, -the wall should be made as thick as the chamber is wide. When the new -chamber has been driven to a distance of twenty-five feet, or, if the -mine is free from gas and the ventilation is good, to a distance of -forty or sixty feet, the wall between the two chambers is pierced by -an opening from six to ten feet wide. This is called a cross-heading -or “entrance.” A partition is now built across the airway between the -openings to the two chambers, and the air current is thus forced up -into the last chamber, across through the entrance into the first, down -it to the airway again, and so in its regular course back to the foot -of the shaft. In the mean time progress has been made in the first -chamber, and by the time the second chamber has been driven another -distance of thirty or sixty feet, the entrance which will then be cut -through the wall will find the first chamber still in advance. The -inner extremity of the chamber is called the “face.” It is sometimes -spoken of also as the “breast,” though this last name is properly -that of the chamber as a whole. The wall of coal at the side of the -chamber is called the “rib.” A third chamber is now begun and driven up -parallel to the other two, then a fourth, a fifth, and so on; as many -chambers, indeed, as can be laid off in this way without deviating too -greatly from a right angle to the airway. But the face of the first -chamber is kept in advance of the face of the second, the face of the -second in advance of the face of the third, and so on, until the limit -of length is reached. This limit is determined, to some extent, by the -dip of the seam. In comparatively flat workings a set of chambers may -be driven in to a distance of five hundred, or even six hundred feet. -Where the pitch is steep, however, two hundred or three hundred feet is -the greatest length at which chambers can be economically worked. The -limit of length of chambers is sometimes determined also by an outcrop, -an anticlinal axis, a fault, or a boundary line. The wall of coal left -between any two chambers is divided by the entrances cut through it -into a line of pillars nearly uniform in size. As soon as the second -entrance from the airway is cut through the wall the first entrance is -blocked tightly up, and as soon as the third entrance is cut through -the second is closed, and so on to the extremity of the line of -pillars. This is to compel the air current to pass up to the very face -of the chamber before it can find a way across to the other chambers -and down again into the airway. If the air of the mine is bad, or if -the coal is giving off deleterious gases with rapidity, a “brattice” or -rude board partition is built from the lower side of the last entrance -diagonally up toward the face of the chamber to force the air to the -very point where men are working before it finds its way out through an -open entrance. These boards are sometimes replaced by a sheet of coarse -canvas, called brattice cloth, which is lighter, more easily handled, -and answers the same purpose. - -[Illustration: A PLAN OF AN ANTHRACITE MINE WITH A SHAFT ENTRANCE.] - -From the mine car track in the gangway a branch track is built, -crossing the airway and running up each chamber to its face. Up this -branch track a mule draws the empty car, and when it is loaded it is -let down to the gangway by the miner’s laborer. If the dip of the -chamber is too steep――more than ten degrees――for a mule to draw the -car up, a light car, used only in the chamber and called a “buggy,” is -pushed up by hand, and when the dip is too steep for this the coal is -pushed or allowed to slide down to the foot of the chamber. Chambers -are often driven up obliquely in order to reduce the grade, or are -curved in their course for the same reason. - -When, on account of the steepness of pitch or a change in the direction -of the gangway, or for any other reason, one set of parallel chambers -is brought to a close, a new set is begun farther along with a -different course. - -The direction in which a gangway, airway, or chamber is to be driven is -fixed by the mine boss. His bearings are obtained with a small miner’s -compass, and he marks on the roof, near the face of the opening, a -chalk line in the direction desired. The miner, sighting back on this -line, is thus able to take his course and to keep his opening straight. - -Sets of chambers similar to those described are driven up from the -gangway along its entire length. This length may be limited by various -causes. A boundary line of property, a fault, a thinning out of the -coal seam, are some of them. They are usually driven, however, as far -as strict principles of economy will allow. A gangway that requires no -timbering and is easily kept in good working condition may be driven -to a distance of three or four miles. But where these conditions are -reversed, a mile may be as great a distance as coal can be hauled -through with economy. Beyond that limit it will be cheaper to sink -a new shaft or slope than to increase the distance for underground -haulage. - -As the main gangway progresses inward it may separate into two -branches, each following a depression in the coal seam, and these -branches may separate into others; so that there may be a number of -gangways all keeping the same general level, from each of which sets -of chambers are driven. When the chambers tributary to a gangway -have reached their limit of length, and there is still an area of -coal above them to be mined, a new gangway is opened along the faces -of the chambers, or is driven just above them in the solid coal, and -from this, which is called a “counter-gangway,” new sets of chambers -are driven up the seam. It is often necessary to raise and lower cars -passing from one gangway to the other on an inclined plane, on which -the loaded cars, descending, and attached to one end of a rope, pull -up the light cars, ascending and attached to the other end, the rope -itself winding around a revolving drum at the head of the plane. This -system can be put into use on any incline where the gradient is one in -thirty, or steeper. - -By this general system of gangways, counter-gangways, airways, -chambers, and planes, the area of coal lying on the upper side of the -main gangway and on both sides of the shaft is mined out, hauled by -mules to the foot of the shaft, and raised to the surface. On long -straight gangways the mule is sometimes replaced by a small mine -locomotive, and in these later days the electric engine has been -introduced into the mines as a hauling agent. - -So far, however, in this mine which we are supposed to be working, not -a tap of a drill nor a blow of a pick has been made into the coal on -the lower side of the gangway save where the sump was excavated at the -foot of the shaft. If this shaft has been sunk nearly to the bottom -of the basin or synclinal axis, a short tunnel may be driven from the -main gangway through the rock or upper bench of coal across the valley -to the rise of the seam on the other side. A new gangway may here be -driven right and left, and this area of coal be made tributary to the -shaft already sunk. It often happens that a large body of coal lies -between the main gangway and the synclinal axis, for these two lines -may diverge greatly as they recede from the shaft. But chambers cannot -be driven down from the main gangway owing to the difficulties of -transportation and drainage. It therefore becomes necessary, in order -to work this area, to sink a slope from the main gangway down to or -toward the synclinal axis, and from the foot of this slope to drive a -new gangway. From this new gangway chambers will be opened extending up -the seam to the line of the main gangway, but not generally breaking -through into it. The coal is run down to the lower level gangway, -hauled to the foot of the slope, and hoisted up it to the main gangway. -It is apparent, however, that the inclined plane system cannot work -here; the conditions are reversed; the loaded cars are drawn up and -the light ones are let down. To do this work it is necessary to bring -into use a small steam stationary engine, or one working by compressed -air. A common method is to locate the steam engine on the surface -vertically above the head of the underground slope, and to carry power -to the sheaves below by wire ropes running down through bore holes -drilled for that purpose. - -The system of slope mining by lifts, which is in common use in the -Middle and Southern anthracite districts, has been explained in a -preceding chapter. In this system the sump is always made by extending -the slope a short distance below the level of the gangway. This gangway -is driven from the foot of the slope to the right and left in the same -manner as in the Wyoming region, except that, the seam being so greatly -inclined, the gangway roof, or a part of it at least, will usually be -of coal instead of slate or rock, and in very steep pitching seams the -airway will be almost vertically above the gangway. The gangway is not -usually so crooked as where the workings are flat, and having been -started only three hundred feet down the slope from the surface, it -often follows the coal to some low point on the line of outcrop, and is -then known as a water level gangway, which is practically the same as a -drift. - -The system of opening and working breasts differs somewhat from that -in use in the Northern field. Beginning at such a distance from the -foot of the slope as will leave a good thick slope pillar for its -protection, a narrow shute is driven up from the gangway into the coal -to a distance of perhaps thirty feet, at a height of six feet, and -with a width of from six to nine feet. It is then opened out to its -full width as a breast and continued up the seam toward the outcrop, -not often breaking through to daylight unless an airway or manway is -to be made. Parallel breasts are then laid off and worked out by the -usual pillar and breast system. If the dip is less than twelve or -fifteen degrees, the coal may be run down from the working face in a -buggy, dumped on to a platform or into the shute, and loaded thence -into a mine car standing on the gangway. If the dip is more than -fifteen degrees the pieces of coal will slide down the breast to the -shute, though if it is under twenty-five or thirty degrees the floor of -the breast should be laid with sheet iron to lessen the friction and -give greater facility in movement. In a steep-pitching breast a plank -partition is built across the shute just above the gangway, to hold -back the coal until it is desired to load a car with it. This partition -is called a “battery,” or, if there is a similar partition to hold the -coal in the breast, a “check battery.” In this partition there is an -opening through which the coal may be drawn when desired, and through -which the men may also go to their work, though a separate manway is -often provided. In these steep-pitching breasts the miner works by -standing on the coal which he has already mined, and which is held back -by the battery, in order to reach the uncut coal above him. There are -various systems of shutes, batteries, man ways, etc., in use, but -all are based on the same principles. - -[Illustration: GROUND PLAN AND LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF CHAMBER.] - -When the gangway of the first lift has reached its limit in both -directions, and the breasts from it have been worked up to their limit, -the slope is sunk to another distance of three hundred feet, and the -process is repeated. From the gangway of the second lift the breasts -are not extended up far enough to break through into the gangway -above; a wall of coal is left between that gangway and the faces of -the breasts, from fifteen to forty feet in thickness, known as the -“chain-pillar.” This is for the protection of the upper gangway against -falls and crushes, and is also necessary to hold back water from -escaping into the lower level. These lifts will continue, at distances -of about three hundred feet apart, until the synclinal valley is -reached. - -When the method of opening the mine by a shaft is employed in these -steep-pitching seams, the shaft is sunk to the lowest level, and the -successive sets of gangways and breasts are laid off as the work -progresses upwards; that is, the slope method of extending the lifts -downwards is simply reversed. - -The method of mining by tunnel and drift, and by slope in the flat -workings, is not different from the method already described for -shafts. So soon as the drift, tunnel, or slope has extended far enough -into the coal seam it becomes a gangway, chambers are laid off from -it, and mining goes on in the familiar mode. - -Various modifications of the pillar and breast system are employed in -the anthracite coal mines, but no system is in use which is radically -different. - -In the “long wall system,” common in Great Britain, and used to some -extent in the bituminous mines of Pennsylvania and the Western States, -the process of cutting coal is carried on simultaneously along an -extended face. The roof is allowed to fall, back of the workers, roads -being preserved to the gangway, and the roof at the face is temporarily -supported by an abundance of wooden props. - -The descriptions of underground workings that have now been given have, -of necessity, been very general in their character. It is impossible, -in a limited space, to describe the various methods and modifications -of methods which are in use. No two mines, even in the same district, -are worked exactly alike. Sometimes they differ widely in plan and -operation. That system must be employed in each one which will best -meet its peculiar requirements. There is large scope here for the play -of inventive genius. There is scarcely a mine of any importance in -the entire coal region in which one cannot find some new contrivance, -some ingenious scheme, some masterpiece of invention devised to meet -some special emergency which may have arisen for the first time in -the history of mining. Yet the general features of all coal mining -methods must of necessity be the same in underground workings. No one -reasonably familiar with them could ever mistake a map of a coal mine -for a map of anything else under the sun. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE MINER AT WORK. - - -The number of persons employed in a single mine in the anthracite -regions varies from a dozen in the newest and smallest mines to seven -hundred or eight hundred in the largest and busiest. The average would -probably be between two hundred and three hundred. In the bituminous -districts the average is not so large. - -First among those who go down into the mine is the mine boss, or, as -he is sometimes called, the “inside boss.” It is his duty “to direct -and generally supervise the whole working of the mine.” All the workmen -are under his control, and everything is done in obedience to his -orders. He reports to, and receives instructions from, the general -superintendent of the mines. - -Next in authority is the fire boss. It is his duty to examine, every -morning before the men come to their work, every place in the mine -where explosive gas is evolved or likely to be evolved, and to give -the necessary instructions to the workmen regarding the same. He also -has general oversight of the ventilating system, and sees that all -stoppings, doors, brattices, and airways are kept in proper condition. -The driver boss has charge of the driver boys and door boys, and sees -that the mules are properly cared for and are not abused. Each driver -boy has charge of a mule, and the mule draws the empty cars in along -the gangway and up to the faces of the chambers, and draws the loaded -cars out to the foot of the shaft. The door boy must stay at his post -all day and open and close the door for the cars to pass in and out. -The use and necessity of these doors will be explained in a subsequent -chapter. Then there are the footmen, carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, -and tracklayers, whose occupations in the mines are apparent from the -names which indicate their several callings. - -Finally we have the miners and the miners’ laborers, and it now becomes -a matter of especial interest to inquire into the character of their -work and their manner of performing it. To drive a gangway or airway -is much the same as driving a chamber, except that the gangway is -only about one third the width of a chamber, and must be driven on a -slightly ascending grade. Gangway driving is special work, for which -the miner receives special wages, it being impossible in this work to -send out as much coal with the same amount of labor as can be sent out -in chamber work. And since the great bulk of coal is taken from the -chambers, it will be better to observe in one of them the processes of -mining. - -There are usually four workmen, two miners and two laborers, employed -in each chamber. The miners are employed by, or are under contract -with, the coal company, and the laborers are employed by the miners, -subject to the approval of the mining superintendent. The two miners -divide their profits or wages equally with each other, and are called -“butties.” A miner’s butty is the man who works the chamber with him on -halves. A laborer’s butty is the man who is associated with him in the -employ of the same miners. Between the miner and the laborer there is -a well-defined and strictly observed line of social demarcation. The -miner belongs to the aristocracy of underground workers; the laborer -is of a lower order, whose great ambition it is to be elevated, at an -early day, to that height on which his employer stands. - -Now as to the work done by these four men. Before the chamber has -progressed a pillar’s length above the airway, propping will usually -be necessary to sustain the roof, so large an area of which has been -left without support. Hardwood props about nine inches in diameter -are used for the purpose. They are purchased by the mining companies -in large quantities, and are usually cut and hauled to the railroad -in the winter time to be shipped at any season to the mines. By the -law of 1885 the person or company operating a mine is obliged to -furnish to the miner, at the face of his chamber, as many props of the -required length as he may need. Having received the props the miner -himself sets them on each side of the middle line of the chamber at -such points as he thinks require them, or at such points as the mine -boss designates. He drives the prop to its place by means of a large -flat wedge inserted between the top of it and the roof, thus making -the stick tight and firm and also giving it a larger bearing against -the roof. Some chambers require very few props; others must be well -lined with them. Their necessity depends upon the character of the -roof. If it is soft, slaty, and loose it must be supported at frequent -intervals. It very rarely occurs that a chamber, worked to its limit, -has needed no propping from its foot to its face. Usually a good part -of the miner’s time is occupied in setting props as his work at the -face advances. - -Every seam has its top and bottom bench of coal, divided about midway -by a thin slate partition, and one bench is always taken out to a -horizontal depth of four or five feet before the other one is mined. -If the upper bench contains the best and cleanest coal, with the -smoothest plane of cleavage at the roof, that is first taken out; but -if the choice coal lies at the bottom, then the lower bench is first -mined. The reason for this is that a shot heavy enough to blast out -effectually the section of rough, bony, or slaty coal which sticks to -the roof or floor would be heavy enough to shatter the adjoining bench -of clean brittle coal, and make a large part of it so fine as to be -useless. - -Let us now suppose that the miner has a clean, vertical wall of coal -at the face of his chamber in which to begin work. Making sure that -his tools and materials are all at hand, he first takes up his drill. -This is a round or hexagonal iron bar about one and an eighth inches in -diameter, and about five and a half feet long, tipped at the working -end with steel. This end is flattened out into a blade or chisel, -having a slight concave curve on its edge, and being somewhat wider at -its extremity than the diameter of the bar. At the other end of the -drill the diameter is increased to one and a half inches, forming a -circular ridge at the extremity of the bar, in one side of which ridge -a semicircular notch is cut into the face of the drill. The use of this -notch will be subsequently explained. This, then, is the tool with -which the miner begins his work. Selecting the bench to be first mined -he chooses a point a few feet to the right or left of the middle line -of the face and delivers upon it the first stroke with the sharp edge -of his drill; and as he strikes successive blows he rotates the drill -in his hands in order to make the hole round. The drill is never struck -on the head with sledges. Its cutting force depends on the momentum -given to it in the hands of the miner, and the stroke made by it is a -jumping or elastic stroke. - -Instead of the bar drill, which has been described, many of the miners -use a machine hand-drill for boring holes. This machine works upon the -same principle that the jackscrew does. It is operated by hand by means -of a crank, and an auger-like projection forces its way into the coal. -The work of turning the crank is more laborious than that of drilling -with the bar-drill, but the extra labor is much more than compensated -for by the greater speed at which boring is done. It is probably due -to the spirit of conservatism among miners that this machine is not -in general use by them. Coal-cutting machines, working by steam or -compressed air, are not used in the anthracite mines. The character of -the coal, the thickness of the seams, and the inclination of the strata -make their employment impracticable. - -When the hole has been drilled to a depth of about four and a half -feet it is carefully cleaned out with a scraper. This is a light iron -rod with a handle on one end of it and a little spoon, turned up like -a mustard spoon, on the other end. Then the cartridge is inserted and -pushed in to the farther extremity of the hole. The cartridge is simply -a tube made of heavy manila paper formed over a cartridge stick, filled -with black powder, and folded at the ends. Dynamite and other high -explosives are not used, because they create too much waste. Ready-made -cartridges in jointed sections are largely used, but as a rule the -miner makes his own cartridge as he needs it. - -The miner’s needle is an iron rod about five and one half feet in -length, with a handle at one end. It is about five eighths of an inch -in diameter at the handle end, and tapers to a point at the other end. -When the cartridge has been pushed in to the extreme end of the bore -hole, the needle is inserted also, the point of it piercing the outer -end of the cartridge. The needle is then allowed to rest on the bottom -or at the side of the drill hole while the miner gathers fine dirt from -the floor of the mine, dampens it slightly if it is dry, and pushes -it into the hole alongside. This dirt is then forced in against the -cartridge with the head of the drill. More dirt is put in and driven -home, and still more, until, by the time the hole is filled to its -outer extremity, the packing is hard and firm. This process is called -tamping. It can now be seen that the semicircular notch on the rim of -the blunt end of the drill is for the purpose of allowing the drill -to slip along over the needle, which still retains its position, and -at the same time to fill the diameter of the hole. The tamping being -finished the miner takes hold of the needle by the handle, turns it -once or twice gently in its bed, and then slowly withdraws it. A round, -smooth channel is thus left from the outside directly in to the powder -of the cartridge, and into this channel the squib is inserted. The -squib is simply an elongated fire-cracker. It has about the diameter -of a rye straw, is about four inches in length, and its covering -projects an inch or two at one end and is twisted up for a fuse. The -covering of the squib may indeed be of straw, sometimes it is of hempen -material, but more often, in these days, it is made of paper. It is -filled with powder and is then dipped into a resinous mixture to make -it water-proof, to coat over the open end so that the powder shall not -run out, and to make the wick at the other end mildly inflammable. If -the bore hole should be very wet an iron or copper tube, through which -the needle is run, is laid to the cartridge before the hole is tamped, -and when the needle is withdrawn the squib is inserted into the mouth -of the tube. If inflammable gases are exuding from the coal through the -bore hole, or if for any other reason it is feared that the cartridge -will be exploded too quickly, a short piece of cotton wick, dipped in -oil, is attached to the fuse of the squib to lengthen it, and this -extra section of fuse is allowed to hang down from the mouth of the -bore hole against the face of coal. - -When all is ready the tools are removed to a safe distance, a lighted -lamp is touched to the fuse, the men cry “Fire!” to warn all who may -be in the vicinity, and, retreating down the chamber, they take refuge -behind some convenient pillar. The fuse burns so slowly that the men -have ample time in which to get out of harm’s way, if ordinary care is -taken. When the fire reaches the powder in the squib the same force -that propels a fire-cracker or a rocket acts upon the squib and sends -it violently through the channel or tube into contact with the powder -of the cartridge. The explosion that results throws out a section of -coal from the face, breaking it into large pieces. So soon as the -place has settled after the firing of the shot the men go back to the -face to note the result. The broken coal is pushed to one side, and -preparations are made for drilling the next hole. It usually takes five -shots to break down a single bench. When both benches of coal have been -blasted out the length of the chamber has been increased by five or six -feet. In blasting, the miner must take advantage of such conditions as -are presented to him at the face of the working, and he will bore his -hole and fire his shot where, in his judgment, the best result will -be attained. He cannot always take one position at his drilling; it -is rarely that he finds a comfortable one. Sometimes he must hold the -drill at arm’s length above his head, at other times he must rest on -his knees while working, still oftener he is obliged to lie on his back -or side on the wet floor of the mine, and work in that position, with -occasional respite, for hours at a time. - -In nearly every chamber the miner has a powder chest which he keeps -locked, and which is stored at some safe and convenient place, not too -close to the face. In this chest he keeps, besides his powder, his -cartridge paper, cartridge pin, squibs, lamp-wick, chalk, and such -other little conveniences and necessaries as every workingman must -have at hand. The other tools are usually at the face. He has there a -mining pick. This pick is straight and pointed, and from the head or -eye, where the handle enters, it will measure about nine inches to each -end. It is used for bringing down slate and coal from roof, ribs, and -face. The bottom pick is used by the laborer for breaking up the coal -after it is down. This pick measures about two feet from tip to tip, -and is curved slightly upward at the points. Each miner has two drills, -and perhaps a hand machine-drill. He has also a steel crowbar for -prying down loose portions of the roof, and for turning heavy pieces of -slate or coal. He has an eight-pound steel hammer, with a handle two -feet and four inches in length, which he uses in setting props; and he -has a heavy sledge for breaking rock and coal. The list is completed by -three large scoop shovels, used generally to shovel the smaller pieces -of broken coal from the floor of the chamber into the mine car. - -[Illustration: MINER’S TOOLS.] - -The miner must furnish his own tools. His powder, fuse, and oil he gets -from the company that employs him, and they are charged to him in the -account that is stated between them monthly. It will not do to omit -the miner’s lamp from the list of appliances used in his calling; it -is too great a necessity. Without it he could do absolutely nothing; -he could not even find his way to his chamber. Formerly candles were -much used in the mines; in Great Britain they are still common; but the -anthracite miner invariably uses a lamp. This is a round, flat-bottomed -tin box, about the size of a small after-dinner coffee cup. It has a -hinged lid on top, a spout on one side, and a handle shaped like a hook -with the point down on the opposite side. By this hooked handle the -lamp is fastened to the front of the miner’s cap, and he wears it so at -his labor, removing it only for the purpose of renewing the material in -it, or of approaching the powder chest, or of examining more closely -some portion of his work. In the lamp he burns crude petroleum, which -is fed from a cotton wick emerging from the spout. Very recently -electricity has been introduced into the gangways of some large mines, -for lighting purposes, and has given great satisfaction. Perhaps the -day is not far distant when an electric light will swing from the roof -at the face of every working chamber. - -When the coal has been blasted down and the props have been set the -miner’s work is done; the rest belongs to the laborers. They must -break up the coal, load it into the cars, run it down to the gangway, -pile up the refuse, and clear the chamber for the next day’s work. The -mine carpenters have laid a track, consisting of wooden rails set into -caps or notched ties, as far up the chamber as the working at the face -would permit. Up this track the mule and driver boy have brought the -empty car and left it at the face. The laborers throw into it first -the smaller pieces of coal which they shovel up from the floor of the -chamber, then huge chunks are tumbled in and piled skillfully on top -until the car is almost overbalanced with its load. It is then pushed -out to the gangway to await the coming of the driver boy, who attaches -it to his trip of loads and takes it to the shaft. - -The mine car is usually but a smaller edition of the coal cars that can -be seen any day on the surface railways of the country. The running -portion is of iron, and the box is stoutly built of hardwood, braced -and stiffened by iron tie-rods, bolts, and shoes. At the end of the car -is a vertical swinging door, hung from the top by an iron rod, which -crosses the box. This door is latched on the outside near the bottom, -and the coal is dumped from the car by tipping it up and letting the -unlatched door swing outward. The size of the car depends greatly on -the size and character of the workings in which it is used. Perhaps -an average size would be ten feet long, five feet wide, and five feet -high from the rail. Such a car would contain about one hundred cubic -feet, and would hold from two and one half to three tons of coal. The -track gauges in common use vary by three inch widths from two feet and -six inches to four feet. The miner and laborer start to their work -in the morning at six o’clock. If they enter the mine by shaft they -must go down before seven o’clock, for at that hour the engineer stops -lowering men and begins to hoist coal. Immediately after arriving at -the face of his chamber the miner begins to cut coal. If the vein is -thick and clean, if his shots are all effective, and if he has good -luck generally, he will cut his allowance of coal for the day by ten -or eleven o’clock in the forenoon. It will be understood that by the -system in use by most of the coal companies not more than a certain -number of carloads may be sent out from each chamber per day. And when -the miner has blasted down enough coal to make up that number of loads -his day’s work is done. It is very seldom indeed that he is not through -before two o’clock in the afternoon. But he never stays to assist the -laborer. It is beneath his dignity as a miner to help break up and -load the coal which has been brought down by means of his judgment and -skill. So the laborer is always last in the chamber. His work is seldom -done before four or five o’clock in the afternoon. He has just so much -coal to break up, load, and push down to the gangway, no matter how -successful the miner may have been. He consoles himself, however, by -looking forward to the time when he shall himself become a miner. - -Blasting is always a dangerous occupation, and the law in Pennsylvania, -embodied in the act of 1885, has recognized its especial danger in the -mines, by making certain provisions concerning it for the protection -of life and limb. The rules laid down are strict and complete, yet, -in spite of them, accidents from powder explosions and premature -blasts are frequent and destructive. But it must be said that these -accidents are due, in most part, to violations of these rules. It is -impossible for colliery authorities to keep constant watch over the -workmen in every chamber. The conduct of these men must be largely -governed by themselves, and the frequency of accidents, both serious -and fatal, as a result of carelessness on the part of workmen, does -not seem to deter other workmen from constantly running the same -risks. The most prevalent and the most serious source of danger to -the miner is not, however, in blasting, but in falls of coal, slate, -and rock from the roof, ribs, and face of the chamber. Material that -has become loosened by blasting is pulled down carelessly, or falls -without warning. In many cases the roof is insufficiently propped, -and large sections of it give way. Men are caught under these falling -masses every day, and are either killed outright or seriously injured. -Yet, as in the case of blasting, their injuries are largely the result -of their own carelessness. Any one who reads the reports of these -cases cannot fail to be convinced of this fact. The mine inspector’s -reports of Pennsylvania show that during the year 1887 there were in -the anthracite district three hundred and thirteen fatal accidents -which occurred in and about the mines. Of this number one hundred and -forty-seven were due to falls of roof and coal, while only twenty-one -were caused by explosions of blasting material. These figures indicate -plainly the direction in which the skill and supervision of operators -and the care and watchfulness of workmen should be exerted for the -protection of life. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -WHEN THE MINE ROOF FALLS. - - -A first visit to a coal mine will be prolific of strange sights and -sounds and of novel sensations. If one enters the mine by a shaft, -the first noteworthy experience will be the descent on the cage or -carriage. The visitor will probably be under the care of one of the -mine foremen, without whose presence or authority he would not be -allowed to descend, and indeed would not wish to. From the head to the -foot of every shaft a speaking tube extends, and signaling apparatus, -which is continued to the engine-room. These appliances are required -by law. In these days the signals are often operated by electricity. -At the head of the shaft is stationed a headman and at the foot of the -shaft a footman, whose assistants aid in pushing cars on and off the -carriages. The footman is notified of your coming, and you take your -place on the empty safety carriage. It swings slightly as you step on -to it, just enough to make you realize that you have passed from the -stable to the unstable, and that besides the few inches of planking -under your feet, there is nothing between you and the floor of the -mine, five hundred feet or more below you. When all is ready the -foreman cries: “Slack off!” the signal to the engineer is given, the -carriage is slightly raised, the wings are withdrawn, and the descent -begins. If the carriage goes down as rapidly as it ordinarily does -your first sensation will be that of falling. It will seem as though -that on which you were standing has been suddenly removed from beneath -your feet, and your impulse will be to grasp for something above you. -You will hardly have recovered from this sensation when it will seem -to you that the motion of the carriage has been reversed, and that -you are now going up more rapidly than you were at first descending. -There will be an alternation of these sensations during the minute or -two occupied in the descent, until finally the motion of the carriage -becomes suddenly slower, and you feel it strike gently at the bottom -of the shaft. As you step out into the darkness nothing is visible to -you except the shifting flames of the workmen’s lamps; you cannot even -see distinctly the men who carry them. You are given a seat on the -footman’s bench near by until your eyes have accommodated themselves to -the situation. After a few minutes you are able to distinguish objects -that are ten or fifteen feet away. You can see through the murky -atmosphere the rough walls of solid coal about you, the flat, black, -moist roof overhead, the mine car tracks at your feet. The carriages -appear and disappear, and are loaded and unloaded at the foot of the -shaft, while the passage, at one side of which you sit, is filled with -mine cars, mules, and driver boys in apparently inextricable confusion. -The body of a mule looms up suddenly in front of you; you catch a -glimpse of a boy hurrying by; a swarthy face, lighted up by the flame -of a lamp gleams out of the darkness, but the body that belongs to it -is in deep shadow, you cannot see it. Bare, brawny arms become visible -and are withdrawn, men’s voices sound strange, there is a constant -rumbling of cars, a regular clicking sound as the carriage stops and -starts, incessant shouting by the boys; somewhere the sound of falling -water. Such are the sights and sounds at the shaft’s foot. If now you -pass in along the gangway, you will be apt to throw the light of your -lamp to your feet to see where you are stepping. You will experience a -sense of confinement in the narrow passage with its low roof and close, -black walls. Occasionally you will have to crowd against the rib to -let a trip of mine cars, drawn by a smoking mule, in charge of a boy -with soiled face and greasy clothes, pass by. Perhaps you walk up one -of the inclined planes to a counter gangway. You are lucky if you are -in a mine where the roof is so high that you need not bend over as you -walk. The men whom you meet have little lamps on their caps, smoking -and flaring in the strong air current. You can see little of these -persons except their soiled faces. Everything here is black and dingy; -there is no color relief to outline the form of any object. Now you -come to a door on the upper side of the gangway. A small boy jumps up -from a bench and pulls the door open for the party to pass through. As -it closes behind you the strong current of air nearly extinguishes your -lamp. You walk along the airway for a little distance, and then you -come to the foot of a chamber. Up somewhere in the darkness, apparently -far away, you see lights twinkling, four of them. They appear and -disappear, they bob up and down, they waver from side to side, till -you wonder what strange contortions the people who carry them must be -going through to give them such erratic movements. By and by there is -a cry of “Fire!” the cry is repeated several times, three lights move -down the chamber toward you and suddenly disappear, then the fourth -one approaches apparently with more action, and disappears also. The -men who carry them have hidden behind pillars. You wait one, two, -three minutes, looking into darkness. Then there is a sudden wave-like -movement in the air; it strikes your face, you feel it in your ears; -the flame of your lamp is blown aside. Immediately there is the sound -of an explosion and the crash of falling blocks of coal. The waves of -disturbed air still touch your face gently. Soon the lights reappear, -all four of them, and advance toward the face. In a minute they are -swallowed up in the powder smoke that has rolled out from the blast; -you see only a faint blur, and their movements are indistinct. But when -the smoke has reached and passed you the air is clearer again, and the -lights twinkle and dance as merrily as they did before the blast was -fired. Now you go up the chamber, taking care not to stumble over the -high caps, into the notches of which the wooden rails of the track are -laid. On one side of you is a wall, built up with pieces of slate and -bony coal and the refuse of the mine, on the other you can reach out -your hand and touch the heavy wooden props that support the roof, and -beyond the props there is darkness, or if the rib of coal is visible it -is barely distinct. Up at the face there is a scene of great activity. -Bare-armed men, without coat or vest, are working with bar and pick -and shovel, moving the fallen coal from the face, breaking it, loading -it into the mine car which stands near by. The miners are at the face -prying down loose pieces of coal. One takes his lamp in his hand and -flashes its light along the black, broken, shiny surface, deciding upon -the best point to begin the next drill hole, discussing the matter with -his companion, giving quick orders to the laborers, acting with energy -and a will. He takes up his drill, runs his fingers across the edge -of it professionally, balances it in his hands, and strikes a certain -point on the face with it, turning it slightly at each stroke. He has -taken his position, lying on his side perhaps, and then begins the -regular tap, tap, of the drill into the coal. The laborers have loaded -the mine car, removed the block from the wheel, and now, grasping the -end of it firmly, hold back on it as it moves by gravity down the -chamber to the gangway. You may follow it out, watch the driver boy as -he attaches it to his trip, and go with him back to the foot of the -shaft. - -You have seen something of the operation of taking out coal, something -of the ceaseless activity which pervades the working portions of the -mine. But your visit to the mine has been at a time when hundreds of -men are busy around you, when the rumble, the click, the tap, the noise -of blasting, the sound of human voices, are incessant. If you were -there alone, the only living being in the mine, you would experience a -different set of sensations. If you stood or sat motionless you would -find the silence oppressive. One who has not had this experience can -have no adequate conception of the profound stillness of a deserted -mine. On the surface of the earth one cannot find a time nor a place -in which the ear is not assailed by noises; the stirring of the -grasses in the field at midnight sends sound-waves traveling through -space. Wherever there is life there is motion, and wherever there is -motion there is sound. But down here there is no life, no motion, no -sound. The silence is not only oppressive, it is painful, it becomes -unbearable. No person could be long subjected to it and retain his -reason; it would be like trying to live in an element to which the -human body is not adapted. Suppose you are not only in silence but in -darkness. There is no darkness on the surface of the earth that is at -all comparable with the darkness of the mine. On the surface the eyes -can grow accustomed to the deepest gloom of night. Clouds cannot shut -out every ray of light from hidden moon or stars. But down in the mine, -whether in night-time or daytime, there is no possible lightening up -of the gloom by nature; she cannot send her brightest sunbeam through -three hundred feet of solid rock. If one is in the mines without a -light, he has before him, behind him, everywhere, utter blackness. To -be lost in this way, a mile from any opening to day, in the midst of a -confusion of galleries, in an abandoned mine, and to be compelled to -feel one’s way to safety, is a painful experience, is one indeed which -the writer himself has had. - -There comes a time in the history of every mine when it is pervaded -only by silence and darkness. All the coal that can be carried from it -by the shaft or slope or other outlet has been mined and taken out, -and the place is abandoned. But before this comes to pass the work -of robbing the pillars must be done. This work consists in breaking -from the pillars as much coal as can possibly be taken without too -great risk to the workmen. The process is begun at the faces of -the chambers, at the farthest extremity of the mine, and the work -progresses constantly toward the shaft or other opening by which the -coal thus obtained is taken out. It can readily be seen that robbing -pillars is a dangerous business. For so soon as the column becomes -too slender to support the roof it will give way and the slate and -rock will come crashing down into the chamber. The workmen must be -constantly on the alert, watchful for every sign of danger, but at the -best some will be injured, some will perhaps be killed, by the falling -masses from the roof. Yet this work must be done, otherwise coal -mining would not be profitable, the waste would be too great. The coal -that can be taken out under the prevailing systems will average only -fifty per cent. of the whole body in the mine, and at least ten per -cent. more will be lost in waste at the breaker, so that it behooves -a company to have its pillars robbed as closely as possible. It is -after all this has been done, and all tools and appliances have been -removed from the mine, that it is abandoned. Perhaps the lower levels -of it become filled with water. It is a waste of crushed pillars, -fallen rock, and blocked passages. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive -of anything more weird and desolate than an abandoned mine. To walk -or climb or creep through one is like walking with Dante through -the regions of the lost. There are masses of rock piled up in great -confusion to the jagged roof, dull surfaces of coal and slate, rotting -timbers patched here and there with spots of snow-white fungus, black -stretches of still water into which a bit of falling slate or coal -will strike and send a thousand echoes rattling through the ghostly -chambers. For a noise which on the surface of the earth will not break -the quiet of a summer night, down here will almost make your heart -stand still with fear, so startling is it in distinctness. - -But it is not only in abandoned mines that falls of roof take place, -nor yet alone at the unpropped face of breast or gangway. They are -liable to occur at almost any point in any mine. Sometimes only a small -piece of slate, not larger perhaps than a shingle, will come down; -again the roof of an entire chamber will fall. It is possible that two -or more chambers will be involved in the disturbance, and instances -occasionally occur in a working mine where a fall covers an area -many acres in extent. The falls that are limited in extent, that are -confined to a single chamber or the face of a chamber, do not interfere -with the pillars and can be readily cleared away. They are due to lack -of support for the roof, to insufficient propping and injudicious -blasting, and may, to a great extent, be guarded against successfully -by care and watchfulness. But to foresee or prevent the more extended -falls is often impossible. They are due to the general pressure of -overlying strata over a considerable area, and both props and pillars -give way under so great a strain. Sometimes they come without a -moment’s warning; usually, however, their approach is indicated by -unmistakable signs days or even weeks in advance of the actual fall. -There will be cracks in the roof, small pieces of slate will drop to -the floor, the distance between floor and roof will grow perceptibly -less, pillars will bulge in the middle and little fragments of coal -not larger than peas will break from them with a crackling sound and -fall to the floor, until a deposit of fine coal is thus formed at -the base of each pillar in the infected district. This crackling and -falling is known as “working,” and this general condition is called -a “crush” or a “squeeze.” If one stands quite still in a section of -a mine where there is a squeeze, he will hear all about him, coming -from the “working” pillars, these faint crackling noises, like the -snapping of dry twigs under the feet. Sometimes the floor of underclay -or the roof of shale is so soft that the pillar, instead of bulging or -breaking, enters the strata above or below as the roof settles. When -this occurs it is called “creeping.” In the steep-pitching veins the -tendency of the pillars on the approach of a squeeze is to “slip,” -that is, to move perceptibly down the incline. When these indications -occur the workmen are withdrawn from the portion of the mine which is -“working,” and vigorous measures are taken to counteract the pressure, -by props and other supports placed under the roof. Sometimes this work -is effectual, sometimes it is of no avail whatever. Often the fall -comes before the first prop can be set; and when it comes the crash is -terrible, the destruction is great. However, not many feet in thickness -of the roof strata can come down; the slate and rock which first fall -are broken and heaped in such irregular masses on the floor that they -soon extend up to the roof and afford it new and effectual support. -It is therefore only near the outcrop, or where the mine is not deep, -that a fall in it disturbs the earth at the surface. But in the -mining of the upper veins such disturbances were frequent. In passing -through the coal regions one will occasionally see a depression, or a -series of depressions, in the earth’s surface to which his attention -will be attracted on account of their peculiar shape. They are not -often more than ten or fifteen feet in depth, and though of irregular -outline their approximate diameter seldom exceeds sixty feet. They -are the surface indications of a fall in shallow mines, and are known -as “caves” or “cave holes.” A section of country one or more acres -in extent may, however, be so strewn with them as to make the land -practically valueless. - -When the upper vein in the Wyoming region was being mined, buildings -on the surface were occasionally disturbed by these falls, but not -often. If houses had been erected over a shallow mine before the coal -was taken out, strong pillars were left under them to support the -roof, and if the mining had already been done and the pillars robbed, -no one would risk the erection of a building over a place liable to -fall, for these places were known, and points above them on the surface -could be definitely located. Sensational stories are sometimes started -concerning a mining town or city that it is liable any night, while -its inhabitants are asleep, to be engulfed in the depths of some mine, -the vast cavities of which are spread out beneath it. It is almost -unnecessary to say that such dangers are purely imaginary. There is -probably not a town or city in the mining districts so located that a -single stone of it in the populated portion would be disturbed by a -fall in the mines underneath it, supposing there were mines underneath -it, and that a fall is liable to take place in them. The areas of -surface which could possibly be disturbed by a fall are too limited in -extent, and are too well known, to make such a general catastrophe at -all within the possibilities. The mines in the upper coal seams have -for the most part been worked out and abandoned long ago, and the roof -rock has settled into permanent position and rigidity. In the deep -mines of the present day no fall, however extensive, could be felt -at the surface. The broken masses of roof rock that come down first -would have filled up the cavities and supported the strata above them, -long before any perceptible movement could have reached the surface. -The conditions that lead to surface falls in the Middle and Southern -regions are somewhat different from those that prevail in the Wyoming -field. In the first-mentioned districts steep-pitching coal seams are -the rule, and they all come to the surface in lines of outcrop. In -driving breasts up from the gangway of the first level, it is intended -to leave from ten to twelve yards of coal between the face of the -breast and the outcrop; while over the outcrop will be from twelve -to twenty feet of soil. Any experienced miner can tell when the face -of the breast is approaching the outcrop; the coal becomes softer, -changes in color, breaks into smaller pieces, sometimes water runs -down through. It is obviously unsafe to erect buildings on the line -of this outcrop, or immediately inside of it, where the roof is thin. -There is no assurance that the body of coal left will not slip down the -breast; and the pillars of coal near the surface are so soft that any -disturbance of this kind may cause them to give way and let down the -entire thickness of strata above them. This was what occurred at the -Stockton mines near Hazleton on December 18, 1869. Two double tenement -houses were situated over the face of a worked-out breast, near the -outcrop. About five o’clock in the morning the roof fell, carrying -both houses down with it a distance of about eighty feet into the old -breast. The inhabitants of one of the houses escaped from it a moment -before it went down, those in the other house, ten in number, were -carried into the mine, and were killed. The buildings in the pit took -fire almost immediately, and rescue of the bodies crushed there among -the débris was impossible. - -[Illustration: GANGWAY IN KOHINOOR COLLIERY, NEAR SHENANDOAH, PA.] - -Accidents of this class are happily very rare. The exercise of ordinary -judgment is sufficient to prevent them. The list of disasters due to -falls of roof at the faces of chambers might, as has already been -explained, be greatly reduced by the same means. But it is often -impossible to prevent, or even to guard against, those falls which -cover a large area, though their coming may be heralded for days by -the working of pillars and all the indications of a squeeze. This was -the case at the fall in the Carbondale mines in 1846, one of the most -extensive falls that has ever been known. It covered an area of from -forty to fifty acres, fourteen persons were killed by it, and the -bodies of eight of them were never recovered. Although this disaster -occurred more than forty years ago, the writer had the privilege, -in the summer of 1888, of hearing an account of it from one of the -survivors, Mr. Andrew Bryden. Mr. Bryden is now, and has been for many -years, one of the general mining superintendents for the Pennsylvania -Coal Company, with headquarters at Pittston, Pennsylvania. His story -of the fall is as follows: “This disaster occurred on the twelfth day -of January, 1846, at about eight o’clock in the forenoon. It was -in Drifts No. 1 and No. 2 of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company’s -mines at Carbondale. The part of the mine in which the caving in was -most serious was on the plane heading, at the face of which I was -at work. We heard the fall; it came like a thunderclap. We felt the -concussion distinctly, and the rush of air occasioned by it put out -our lights. I and those who were working with me knew that the fall -had come, and we thought it better to try immediately to find our way -out, although we had no idea that the fall had been so extensive or -the calamity so great. We did not doubt but that we should be able to -make our way along the faces of the chambers, next to the solid coal, -to an opening at the outcrop; so we relighted our lamps and started. We -had gone but a little way before we saw the effects of the tremendous -rush of air. Loaded cars had been lifted and thrown from the track, -and the heavy walls with which entrances were blocked had been torn -out and the débris scattered through the chambers. We began then to -believe that the fall had been a large one, but before we reached the -line of it we met a party of twenty-five or thirty men. They were -much frightened, and were running in toward the face of the heading, -the point from which we had just come. They said that the entire mine -had caved in; that the fall had extended close up to the faces of the -chambers along the line of solid coal, leaving no possible means of -escape in the direction we were going; and that the only safe place in -the entire section was the place which we were leaving, at the face of -the heading. This heading having been driven for some distance into -the solid coal, the fall could not well reach in to the face of it. We -were greatly discouraged by the news that these men told us, and we -turned back and went with them in to the face of the heading. We had -little hope of being able to get out through the body of the fall,――the -way in which we did finally escape,――for we knew that the mine had -been working, and that the roof had been breaking down that morning -in the lower level. Indeed, we could hear it at that moment cracking, -crashing, and falling with a great noise. We felt that the only safe -place was at the face of the heading where we were, and most of the -party clung closely to it. Some of us would go out occasionally to the -last entrance to listen and investigate, but the noise of the still -falling roof was so alarming that no one dared venture farther. After -a long time spent thus in waiting I suggested that we should start out -in parties of three or four, so that we should not be in each other’s -way, and so that all of us should not be exposed to the same particular -danger, and try to make our way through the fall. But the majority of -the men were too much frightened to accede to this proposition; they -were determined that we should all remain together. So when some of -us started out the whole body rushed out after us, and followed along -until we came to the line of the fall. We had succeeded in picking our -way but a short distance through the fallen portion of the mine when -we met my father, Alexander Bryden, coming toward us. He was foreman -of the mine. We heard him calling us out before he reached us, and -you may be sure that no more welcome sound ever struck upon our ears. -He was outside when the fall came, but the thunder of it had scarcely -ceased before he started in to learn its extent, and to rescue, if -possible, the endangered men. He had not gone far when he met three men -hastening toward the surface, who told him how extensive and dreadful -the calamity had been, and urged him not to imperil his life by going -farther. But my father was determined to go, and he pushed on. He made -his way over hills of fallen rock, he crawled under leaning slabs of -slate, he forced his body through apertures scarcely large enough to -admit it, he hurried under hanging pieces of roof that crashed down in -his path the moment he had passed; and finally he came to us. I have -no doubt that he was as glad to find us and help us as we were to see -him. Then he led us back through the terrible path by which he had -come, and brought us every one beyond the fall to a place of safety. -When we were there my father asked if any person had been left inside. -He was told that one, Dennis Farrell, was at the face of his chamber, -so badly injured across his spine that he could not walk. The miners -in their retreat to the face of our heading had found him lying under -a heavy piece of coal. They had rolled it off from him, but seeing -that he could not walk they set him up in the corner of his chamber, -thinking it might be as safe a place as the one to which they were -going, and gave him a light and left him. My father asked if any one -would go in with him and help carry Dennis out, but none of them dared -to go; it was too dangerous a journey. So my father made his way back -alone through the fallen mine, and found the crippled and imprisoned -miner. The man was totally helpless, and my father lifted him to his -back and carried him as far as he could. He drew him gently through the -low and narrow passages of the fall, he climbed with him over the hills -of broken rock, and finally he brought him out to where the other men -were. They carried him to the surface, a mile farther, and then to his -home. Dennis and his brother John were working the chamber together, -and when the piece of coal fell upon Dennis his brother ran into the -next chamber for help. He had scarcely got into it when the roof of the -chamber fell and buried him, and he was never seen again, alive or dead. - -“It was only a little while after we got out before the roof fell in on -the way we had come and closed it up, and it was not opened again for -a year afterward. But we knew there were others still in the mine, and -after we got Farrell out my father organized a rescuing party, and kept -up the search for the imprisoned miners night and day. - -“John Hosie was in the mine when the fall came. He was one of the -foremen, and he and my father were friends. Two days had passed in -unavailing search for him, and it was thought that he must have been -crushed under the rock with the rest. But on the morning of the third -day my father met him face to face in one of the desolate fallen -portions of the mine. He was in darkness, he was almost exhausted, his -clothing was in rags, and his fingers were torn and bleeding. When he -saw my father he could give utterance to only two words: ‘Oh, Bryden!’ -he said, and then his heart failed him and he cried like a child. He -had been caught in the fall and had lost his light, and though he -was familiar with the passages of the mine he could not find his way -along them on account of the débris with which they were filled, and -the utter confusion into which everything had been thrown. He had -wandered about for two days and nights in the fallen mine, clambering -over jagged hills of rock, digging his way, with torn fingers, through -masses of wreckage, in constant peril from falling roof and yawning -pit, hungry, thirsty, and alone in the terrible darkness. What wonder -that his heart gave way in the moment of rescue! - -“The bodies of some of those who were shut in by the fall, or buried -under it, were found when the drift was again opened, but for others -the mine has been an undisturbed grave for more than forty years.” - - NOTE ADDED IN 1898.――The latest disaster resulting from a - squeeze or fall in the mines occurred June 28, 1896, at the - Twin Shaft of The Newton Coal Mining Company at Pittston, - Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. This mine had been working for - some days, and when the fall came the Superintendent, together - with his foremen and workmen, were engaged in timbering or - propping the affected region, in order, if possible, to prevent - a fall. The effort was useless, however, and these officials - and workmen were caught while at their work, and perished - in the disaster. There were fifty-eight of them. Superhuman - efforts were put forth to rescue them, but the attempt was - useless, and later on it was found utterly impossible even to - recover their bodies, owing to the extent and magnitude of the - fall. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -AIR AND WATER IN THE MINES. - - -Man is an air-breathing animal. So soon as his supply of air is cut -off he dies. In proportion as that supply is lessened or vitiated, -his physical and mental energies fail. One of the first requisites, -therefore, in all mining operations is that the ventilation shall be -good. To accomplish this end an air current must be established. It is -true that into any accessible cavity atmospheric air will rush, but -if it be allowed to remain in that cavity without any replacement it -becomes dead and unfit to breathe. If, in addition to this, it takes -up deleterious gases, like those which escape from the coal measures, -it becomes poisoned and dangerous to human life. Hence the necessity -of a continuous current. Provisions for such a current are made with -the opening into every mine. The separate air compartment of a shaft -has already been noticed. In drifts, tunnels, and slopes a part of the -opening is partitioned off for an airway, or, what is more common, a -separate passage is driven parallel with, and alongside of, the main -one. In drifts and tunnels, since the mines there are not deep, air -shafts are often driven at some other point above the workings, or -slopes are sunk from the outcrop to accommodate the return air from the -mine. It is due to the necessity of maintaining an air current that -all passages and chambers are driven in pairs or sets in the manner -already explained. It has also been explained how the fresh air going -in at the carriage ways of the shaft, or other openings, passes along -the gangway to its extremity, back along the airway, up to and across -the faces of each set of chambers, and then down into the airway again, -to be carried to the foot of the shaft and up by the air passage to -the surface. But in the larger mines there are many passages besides -the main gangway that must be supplied with air, and the current must -therefore be divided or split to accommodate them; so these separate -currents, taken in this way from the main current, and themselves often -divided and subdivided, are called “splits.” The air channels thus -branching, uniting, crossing, and recrossing form a most complicated -system of ventilation. But the current goes nowhere by chance. Every -course is marked out for it. On the fact that it follows that given -path depends the lives of the workmen and the successful operation -of the mine. Sometimes it becomes necessary to carry two currents of -air through the same passage in opposite directions. In that case the -passage will either be partitioned along its length, or a wooden box -laid through it to conduct one of the air currents. If one air course -crosses another, as is often the case, a channel will be cut in the -roof of one of the passages, and the lower side of the channel will be -closed tightly by masonry, to prevent any possible intermingling of the -currents, a circumstance which might prove disastrous. Entrances and -cross-headings cut through between parallel passages for purposes of -ventilation are closed as soon as the next cross-heading is made, for -reasons already explained. This closing is usually done by building up -in the aperture a wall of slate, rock, and coal, and filling the chinks -with dirt from the floor of the mine. Sometimes wooden partitions are -put in instead, and between principal air passages the cross-headings -are closed by heavy walls of masonry. When it is necessary to turn the -air from any traveling way, or to prevent it from further following -such traveling way, a partition is built across the passage, and in -the opening left in the partition a door is swung. If this is across a -way through which mine cars pass, a boy will be stationed at the door -to open it when the cars come and close it as soon as they have gone -through. He is called a “door boy.” All doors are so hung as to swing -open against the current of air, and are therefore self-closing. The -law directs that this shall be done. There are several patented devices -for giving an automatic movement to mine doors; but few if any of them -are in practical operation in the anthracite mines. The conditions here -are not favorable for the use of self-acting doors, and besides this -the act of 1885 provides that all main doors shall have an attendant. -The law is very explicit on this subject of ventilation; it is a matter -of the utmost importance in operating a mine. A failure of the air -current for even an hour might, in some mines, result in the death of -all those who chanced to be inside. For this current not only supplies -air for breathing purposes, but it takes up the smoke, the dust, the -dangerous and the poisonous gases, and carries them to the surface. -In the same way pure air is drawn into the lungs, loaded with the -refuse matter brought there by the blood, and then expelled. So life is -preserved in both cases. - -In order to create this circulation of air and make it continuous, -artificial means are ordinarily used. The earliest method of creating -an artificial air current which should be constant, and one still -in use to a limited extent, is that by the open furnace. This is an -ordinary fireplace with grate bars, built near the foot of an opening -into the mine, and having a bricked-in smoke-flue which leads into the -air passage of that opening at some little distance above the floor of -the mine. The volume of heat thus passing into the airway will rarefy -the air therein, and so create and maintain a strong, invariable, -upward current. Sometimes the furnace is placed at the foot of an air -shaft a long distance from the main opening, thus making it an upcast -shaft. The reverse, however, is usually the case. All air that enters -the mine by any opening is usually drawn out at the main shaft or other -main entrance. But as the air returning from the working places of -the mine is often laden with inflammable gases, it is not allowed to -come into contact with the fire of the furnace, but is carried into -the shaft by a channel cut into the rock above the roof of the mine. -Furnace ventilation in mines in which explosive gases are generated is -dangerous at the best, and is now prohibited by the act of 1885. - -The modern and most common method of creating and maintaining a -circulation of air in a mine is by a fan built at the mouth of the air -compartment of the shaft or slope. The fan exhausts the air from the -mine by the airway, and fresh air rushes in by the carriage way, or -any other opening to the surface to restore the equilibrium. Sometimes -the fan is used as a blower and forces air into the mine instead of -exhausting it. The advantage of this method is that it gives better air -to the workmen at the faces of chambers and headings, but the objection -to it is that it brings all the smoke and gases out by the main -gangway. This is a serious objection, not only making this principal -passage unfit to see or breathe in, but making it dangerous also by the -presence of inflammable gases. The fan is therefore commonly used as an -exhauster. - -There are various kinds of fans in use at the mines, but the kind -generally employed is patterned after Guibal’s invention. It is simply -a great wheel without a rim, and instead of spokes it has blades -like those of a windmill. It is run by a steam-engine, makes forty -revolutions per minute at an average rate of speed, and sends from one -hundred thousand to two hundred thousand cubic feet of fresh air per -minute into the mine. - -The act of 1885 requires the mine operator to furnish two hundred cubic -feet of air per minute to every man in the mine. This is the maximum -amount necessary for perfect respiration. In the larger workings -perhaps six hundred men and boys are employed. For this number one -hundred and twenty thousand cubic feet of air per minute would be -required by law. A large fan would supply this amount by running at -almost its minimum rate of speed. So long, therefore, as the fan and -air passages are in good working condition there need be no fear of -lack of proper ventilation. But to give absolutely pure air to the -workers in the mine is an utter impossibility under any system that has -yet been devised. The outer atmosphere that is drawn into the mines -has hardly got beyond the light of the sun before it has taken up a -certain percentage of impurities. As it passes by the working faces -of the chambers it carries along with it the gases evolved from the -coal; principally the carbonic acid gas or black damp, and the light -carbureted hydrogen or fire damp. It also takes up and carries along -the powder smoke, the organic matter contained in the exhalations of -men and animals, the products of decaying timber, and the dust which -is always in the air. Nor is this the only deterioration which this -air current undergoes. The proportion of oxygen in it is diminished by -the burning of many lamps, by the respiration of many men, and by the -constant decay of wood. It is seen, therefore, that the air in which -the miner must breathe is far from being the pure oxygen and nitrogen -of the outside atmosphere. It follows also that the longer the route is -of any particular current, and the more working faces it passes in its -course, the more heavily laden will it be with impurities, and the more -poisonous for those men who last breathe it on its return to the upcast -air shaft. - -This evil, however, is limited in extent by the act of 1885, which -provides that no more than seventy-five persons shall be employed at -the same time in any one split or current of air. - -The wonder is that the health of these mine workers does not sooner -fail them, especially when we take into consideration the wet condition -of many of the mines. It is a fact, however, that miners as a class are -not more subject to disease than other workmen. The decimation in their -ranks is due mostly to accidents producing bodily injuries and death, -not to diseases which attack them as a result of their occupation. - -Next in importance to the matter of ventilation in mines is the matter -of drainage. The first difficulty experienced from water is while the -shaft or slope is in process of sinking. It is usually necessary to -hold the water in one side of the opening while work is going on in -the other side. A small pumping engine is generally sufficient to keep -the pit clear until the bottom is reached, but occasionally the amount -of water is such that a large engine and pumping appliances have to be -put in place at once. In Europe much trouble is often experienced from -the excessive flow of water while sinking the shaft, and a watertight -casing has frequently to follow the shaft downward in order that work -may go on at all. Such appliances are not as a rule necessary in this -country, though much difficulty has been encountered in sinking shafts -through the quicksand deposits of the Susquehanna basin in the Wyoming -valley. - -The general principle of mine drainage has been already explained. It -is, in brief, that the floor of the mine shall be so graded that all -water will gravitate to a certain point. That point is near the foot -of the shaft or slope, and is at the mouth of the drift or tunnel. -But from the sump of the shaft or slope the water must be raised by -artificial means. A powerful steam pumping engine, located at the -surface, is employed to do this work, and one compartment of the shaft -or slope, known as the pump-way, is set aside for the accommodation -of pipe, pump-rods, and supporting timbers, which extend from the top -to the bottom of the shaft. The most powerful of these pumps will -throw out a volume of twelve hundred gallons of water per minute. It -is seldom that the tonnage of water pumped from a mine falls below -the tonnage of coal hoisted, and in some of the wet collieries of the -Lehigh district eight or ten tons of water are pumped out for every ton -of coal hoisted. In the Wyoming district a thousand tons of water a day -is not an unusual amount to be thrown out of a mine by a single pump. - -In driving gangways or chambers toward abandoned workings that have -been allowed to fill with water much care is necessary, especially if -the new mine is on a lower level, which is usually the case. The act of -1885 provides that “whenever a place is likely to contain a dangerous -accumulation of water, the working approaching such place shall not -exceed twelve feet in width, and there shall constantly be kept, at a -distance of not less than twenty feet in advance, at least one bore -hole near the centre of the working, and sufficient flank bore holes on -each side.” It often happened, before accurate surveys of mines were -required to be made and filed, that operators would drive chambers -or gangways toward these reservoirs of water in ignorance of their -whereabouts. The firing of a blast, the blow of a pick, perhaps, would -so weaken the barrier pillar that it would give way and the water -breaking through would sweep into the lower workings with irresistible -force, carrying death to the workmen in its path and destruction to the -mine. Some very distressing accidents have occurred in this way. It -is customary now for operators, when approaching with their workings -a boundary line of property, to leave a barrier pillar at least one -hundred feet thick between that line and the outer rib or face of their -workings; and this whether the area on the other side of the line is -or is not worked out. Under the present system of accurate surveying -and mapping, accidents resulting from flooding by mine water should be -rare, since the location of boundary lines may be calculated almost to -the inch, as well as the location of all workings in their relation to -each other. - -But accidents due to a flooding by surface water are not always to -be obviated. Sometimes when a stream crosses the line of outcrop the -water will break through into the mine and flood the lower levels in -an incredibly short space of time; and this too when good judgment and -prudence have been used in leaving sufficient coal for protection. -The continuity and character of the strata lying between the earth’s -surface and the coal face cannot always be determined. It is not often -that accidents from flooding occur while mining is going on under large -bodies of water. The precautionary measures taken in presence of a -known danger are sufficient to reduce that danger to a minimum. - -Disasters occur occasionally as the result of a peculiarly deceptive -condition of the overlying strata, whereby a rush of earth, quicksand, -or mud into a mine causes loss of life and destruction of property. -The bed of a stream cut deep into the rocks in some former geological -period, and then filled to the level of the surrounding country -with drift in some later age, leaves a dangerous and unsuspected -depression in the strata which the miner’s drill may pierce or his -blast break into at any time with disastrous results. One of the most -characteristic of this class of accidents occurred at Nanticoke in -the Wyoming region on the 18th of December, 1885, in a mine operated -by the Susquehanna Coal Company. A miner by the name of Kiveler broke -into a depression of this kind while blasting, and immediately through -the aperture a great volume of water, quicksand, and culm came rushing -down. It filled up that entire portion of the mine, burying twenty-six -men and boys beyond possible hope of rescue and endangering the lives -of hundreds of others. Energetic efforts were made to tunnel through -the masses of sand and culm packed in the passages of the mine in -order to reach those whose avenues of escape had been cut off, many -believing that they had been able to reach high enough ground to escape -the flood. These efforts, lasting through many weeks, were wholly -unsuccessful. The men were never reached. Bore holes, drilled into the -chambers where they were imprisoned, both from the inside and from the -surface, proved conclusively that the passages were crowded full of -sand and culm, and that the men must have perished immediately upon the -occurrence of the disaster. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE DANGEROUS GASES. - - -One of the chief dangers to which workmen in the mines are subject -arises from the gases given off by minerals and metals. Though these -deleterious gases are commonly found in more or less abundance in -the coal mines, and are usually considered in connection with such -mines, they are, nevertheless, not confined to the coal measures. -They have been noticed also in mines of lead, sulphur, salt, and -other substances. It is said that anthracite contains a much larger -proportion of these gases than do bituminous or other coals, but that -being hard it holds them more tenaciously, and is therefore worked -with less risk. The soft coals, on the contrary, being porous as well -as soft, allow the gases to escape from them much more readily, and -so increase the danger at the working faces of the mines. The gas -given out most abundantly by the coal is light carbureted hydrogen, -known as marsh gas, from the fact that being a product of vegetable -decomposition under water, bubbles of it rise to the surface on -stirring the waters of a marsh. This is the gas that is known to miners -as fire damp. The French call it grisou. Marsh gas, in its simple -form, consists of four parts of hydrogen to one of carbon. It is about -one half the weight of air, and therefore rises and gathers at the -roof of a mine chamber, extending downward as it accumulates. When it -is mixed with from four to twelve times its volume of atmospheric air -it becomes violently explosive. If the mixture is above or below this -proportion it is simply inflammable, burning without explosive force, -with a pale blue flame. The value of a perfect ventilating current -across the faces of chambers which are making gas rapidly can now be -appreciated. It is not only necessary that the supply of air should -be sufficient to make the gas non-explosive, but that it should be -sufficient to dilute it beyond even the point of inflammability. For -to its inflammable more than to its explosive quality is due most of -the disasters with which it is accredited. A peculiar and dangerous -feature of this gas is that it does not always escape from the coal at -a uniform rate, but often comes out suddenly in large compact bodies. -These are called “blowers.” They are found most commonly in faults, in -cracks in the coal seams, or in open spots in the body of coal, where -they have opportunity to accumulate. They contain, besides marsh gas, -less than one per cent. of carbonic acid, and from one to four per -cent. of nitrogen. It is impossible to anticipate their coming; the -miner’s drill may strike into one and free it at any time without a -moment’s warning. It may even burst through the face by its own power. -In such cases danger is imminent, disaster is most common. - -When the naked light of the miner comes into contact with any -considerable quantity of fire damp in an explosive state the shock that -follows is terrific. Men and mules, cars and coal, are hurled together -to destruction. Walls are swept out, iron rails are bent double, doors -are torn from their fastenings, the mine is laid waste. The damage -which results from an explosion of gas is of course much greater than -that which is due to mere ignition and burning without the explosive -force. In the latter case, however, the danger to the miner is but -slightly diminished. He is liable to receive injuries which may prove -immediately fatal. His burning lamp no sooner touches the body of fire -damp than it bursts into flame, which, propelled by expansive force, -passes swiftly down along the roof of the chamber. Taking up enough -oxygen from the atmospheric air to make combustion more fierce, it -returns to the face of the chamber with a violent contractile surge, -scorching everything in its path, and then, perhaps after another brief -sally, it burns itself out. - -The miner who accidentally fires a block of fire damp falls suddenly -flat on his face on the floor of the mine, burying his mouth, nose, -and eyes in the dirt to protect them from the flame and intense heat. -Then he clasps his hands over the back of his head and neck to protect -these parts from injury, and lies waiting for the minute or two to pass -before the fire shall have burned itself out. But he must not wait too -long. The fatal after damp follows quick upon the heels of the flame, -and his only safety from certain death lies now in immediate flight. - -The danger from inflammable gases was known and appreciated very early -in the history of mining. But it was long thought to be an unavoidable -danger. Light must be had or no work could be done, and the only light -that could be obtained was from the flame produced by combustion. -Candles were commonly used. They were stuck into a ball of clay and -fastened to the sides of the working places at the most advantageous -points. The bituminous mines of England were peculiarly prolific of -inflammable gases; accidents were almost of daily occurrence. On the -25th of May, 1812, a great disaster occurred at Felling Colliery, -near Newcastle, in which eighty-nine persons lost their lives by -explosion of fire damp, and public attention and the public conscience -were directed to the matter of safety in mines more intensely than -ever. Sir Humphrey Davy was then in the zenith of his fame. In April, -1815, he returned to London after a triumphal tour through France and -Italy, in which his progress had been marked by a series of brilliant -experiments. He had no sooner reached home than he was asked by Mr. -Buddie, a well-known colliery owner of that day, to turn his attention -toward improved methods of lighting the mines. Specimens of the -dangerous gas were sent to him from Newcastle, and he experimented with -them. He found that the flame from them would not pass through a small -tube, nor through a set of small tubes standing side by side. He found -also that the length of the tube was immaterial. He therefore shortened -them until they were mere sections, until his set of parallel tubes -became simply wire gauze. The proper proportion between the substance -of the wire and the size of the aperture was found to be twenty-eight -wires to the linear inch, and seven hundred and eighty-four apertures -to the square inch, a proportion that is still in use. This wire gauze -was then made into the form of a cylindrical tube about six inches long -and one and one half inches in diameter, with a flat gauze top. To the -bottom of this tube was fastened a small cylindrical oil vessel, and to -the top a ring handle. The wick extended up from the oil vessel inside -the tube. - -When Sir Humphrey had perfected his lamp to a point of safety he took -it and went with Mr. Buddie down to Newcastle, and together they -traversed with impunity some of the most dangerous parts of the Bentham -seam, at that time one of the most fiery coal beds known. At about the -same time the celebrated George Stephenson also invented a safety lamp -similar in most respects to the Davy, so also, later, did Clanny and -Museler, and all four kinds are in general use. Other styles have been -invented also, but for the purposes to which a safety lamp is properly -applied the Davy doubtless still excels all others. Those purposes are -principally the investigation of workings to discover the presence -of gas, and to aid in the erection of proper appliances for driving -it out. It is not necessary, in these days of powerful ventilating -machinery, to allow dangerous gases to remain in working places and -to mine the coal there by the light of safety lamps. It is far safer, -and better in every way, to sweep the chambers clean from foul air by -strong ventilating currents, so that the miner may work by the light -of his naked and most convenient common tin lamp. The objection, -therefore, to the Davy lamp, that the light given out by it is too dim, -need not be considered a serious one. The size of the flame cannot be -increased without destroying the proportion between it and the gauze -cylinder, and the size of the cylinder cannot be increased without -making a dangerously large chamber for the accommodation of explosive -gas. Therefore the light given out must, of necessity, be dim. - -But the safety lamp itself must be used with care and prudence, -otherwise it may become no less an instrument of danger than the naked -lamp. When it is carried into a chamber that contains fire damp the -gas enters freely through the gauze into the cylindrical chamber, and -is there ignited and consumed without communicating its flame to the -outside body. The presence of gas is indicated by the conduct of the -flame of the lamp. If the percentage of marsh gas is small the flame -simply elongates and becomes smoky. If it is mixed with from eight to -twelve or fourteen times its volume of atmospheric air the flame of -the wick disappears entirely, and the interior of the cylinder becomes -filled with the blue flame of burning gas. It will not do to hold the -lamp long in this mixture, the wires will become red with heat, and the -outer gas may then become ignited from them. Neither will it do to hold -the lamp in a current of gaseous air moving at a greater rate of speed -than six or eight feet per second, since in that case the flame is apt -to be driven through the gauze and to set fire to the gas outside. -There is also danger if the lamp be thrust suddenly into an explosive -mixture that the force of the explosion inside the wire-gauze cylinder -will force the flame through the mesh. It will be seen, therefore, that -even the safety lamp is not an absolute protection against danger from -explosive and inflammable gases. - -The position and duties of the fire boss at each colliery have already -been referred to. He goes into the mine about four o’clock in the -morning and makes his round before the men arrive. If gas has been -found in an inflammable or explosive condition the workmen are not -allowed to enter the place until it has been cleared out by the -erection of brattices and other ventilating appliances. If only an -insignificant quantity has been found in any chamber, the miner who -works the place is warned of its existence and told to brush it out. In -obedience to this order he goes to the working face, sets his lamp on -the floor, and removing his coat swings that garment vigorously over -his head, thus mixing and diluting the gas and driving it down into the -current. - -It is not in the working chambers, however, that the most dangerous -accumulations of fire damp are found, but in the worked out and -abandoned portions of the mine. Here it may collect unnoticed until -large bodies of it are formed, and then when some one blunders into it -with a naked lamp a terrific explosion is the inevitable result. The -act of 1885 recognizes this especial danger, and makes it obligatory -on operators to keep old workings free of dangerous bodies of gas; and -to this end it directs that they shall be inspected at least once a -week by the fire boss or his assistant. Where it is known that such -gas exists, or is liable to accumulate in old workings, the entrances -to such places are barred across, and the word “Fire!” is written -conspicuously at the opening to them. But notwithstanding all rules -and precautions, ignitions and explosions of fire damp are still -dangerously common. Among the thousands of mine workers there is always -some one who is careless, some one who blunders; the lessons of -perfect watchfulness and obedience are hard lessons to be learned. - -As has already been intimated, the danger which results from the -burning of fire damp lies not alone in the fierce flame given forth, -but also, and perhaps in a still greater degree, in the product of its -combustion. This product is known to the miner as “after damp,” and -consists principally of carbonic acid gas with some nitrogen. It is -irrespirable, and a single inhalation of it, in its pure state, will -produce immediate insensibility and speedy death. It is heavier than -atmospheric air and therefore falls to the bottom of the mine as soon -as it is formed from the combustion of the light carbureted hydrogen. -It is for this reason that the miner, who has fallen on his face on the -floor of the mine to escape the flame of the burning fire damp, rises -as soon as that flame has disappeared and hastens, if he is able, to a -place of safety. Indeed, it is easier to protect one’s self from the -surging fire above than from the invisible and insidious gas below, so -quickly does it form, so deadly is it in effect. - -One of the most characteristic disasters of recent times, resulting -from the explosion of fire damp and the accumulation of after damp, -occurred on Monday, August 14, 1871, at the Eagle Shaft, situated about -a mile below the town of Pittston, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. -At nine o’clock on the morning of that day a driver boy by the name -of Martin Mangan was passing along an upper gangway, driving a mule -with a trip of mine cars. Just above him lay a section of the mine -that had been worked out and abandoned, in the old chambers of which -a large body of fire damp had been allowed to accumulate. At the hour -mentioned there came a sudden and extensive fall of roof in these old -workings. The impulse given to the air by this fall drove it out into -the working galleries, and with it the inflammable gas. When the fire -damp reached the heading and touched the flame of Martin Mangan’s -lighted lamp there was a terrific explosion. At the mouth of the shaft -timbers were cracked, clouds of dust poured out, and débris from the -mine was thrown violently into the outer air. People who were a mile -away heard the noise of the explosion and hastened to the scene. Mining -experts knew at once what had occurred. As soon as sufficient repairs -could be made to the shaft a rescuing party, led by Superintendent -Andrew Bryden of the Pennsylvania Coal Company’s mines, descended into -the mine and began to search for victims. Those workmen who were on -the other side of the shaft from where the explosion took place were -rescued and brought out alive. But little progress could be made, -however, toward the region of the trouble on account of the after damp -which had accumulated. Up to two o’clock on Tuesday morning five dead -bodies had been discovered, and during that day twelve more were taken -out; all who had worked in that section of the mine. The positions of -these bodies showed that the men had fallen where they chanced to be -when the explosion occurred. The first wave of after damp that touched -them had made them insensible, and death speedily followed. They died -from asphyxia. - -“Black damp” is pure carbonic acid gas, containing two parts of oxygen -to one of carbon. It is the principal constituent of after damp, which -may, indeed, contain no other elements in appreciable quantities. The -two mixtures are therefore often spoken of as being the same, and the -miners apply the term “choke damp” indiscriminately to either. - -Black damp is also given off by the coal in the same manner that fire -damp is, and frequently the two mixtures are evolved together. Carbonic -acid gas is also one of the products of burning coal, of burning oil, -and of the respiration of man and beast. It is about one and a half -times as heavy as air, and is therefore always found next to the floor -of the mine. This gas is not inflammable. Its presence may be detected -by the conduct of the flame of the lamp. In an atmosphere containing -but a small percentage of it the lamp light will grow dim, and, as the -proportion of gas increases, will become more and more feeble until -it is finally extinguished. An atmosphere containing from eight to -ten per cent. of this gas may be breathed without immediate danger; -it will simply occasion dullness of intellect and numbness of body. -This condition changes into one of insensibility as the inhalation -continues, or as the percentage of gas is increased, and to enter an -undiluted body of it means sudden death. It is stated that the workmen -in the Creuzot mine, in France, descended the shaft one morning, -on their way to work, not knowing that carbonic acid had formed in -the mine during the night. Following one after another along the -main passage, they had reached a point not far from the foot of the -shaft when the leader suddenly entered into a body of black damp and -fell, stricken with asphyxia, before he could utter a cry. The man -following him fell also. The third, bending over to draw his comrade -out of danger, was himself prostrated, and the fourth, by reason of a -similar effort, shared the fate of the others. But the fifth, being -an experienced master miner, turned quickly in his tracks and obliged -those behind him to ascend the shaft. The black damp is thus quick -and terrible in its effect. The greatest danger from it, however, -exists, not at the working faces, where it is usually swept away in -the ventilating current, but in abandoned workings, where it often -accumulates unnoticed. - -“White damp” is a more dangerous gas than either of the others, but -is not so frequently found. It is carbonic oxide, and consists of -equal portions of carbon and oxygen. It is a very little lighter than -air, and has a tendency to rise. When present in a sufficiently pure -state it burns with a blue flame, but ordinarily it is incombustible -and produces no effect upon the flame of the lamp. It is tasteless -and odorless, and its presence cannot be detected before it has done -its dangerous work. To breathe an atmosphere containing a very small -percentage of it will speedily produce a fatal result. It acts on the -system as a narcotic, and its effect is produced even more quickly than -is that of black damp. It is not thought to be given off in appreciable -quantities by the coal at the open faces; but it is formed when the -carbonic acid passes through any ignited carbonaceous material, or -when steam passes over burning coal. It is therefore produced most -frequently by smouldering gob fires, by burning wood in the mines, or -by a shaft on fire, and may exist as one of the results of an explosion -of fire damp or of blasting powder. It is the most to be dreaded of any -of the gases which the miner has to encounter. He may possibly avoid -the surging flame of the fire damp, he may escape from the falling -after damp, and make his way unharmed through bodies of black damp -lying thick about his feet, but if he has still to encounter this -terrible white damp his good fortune will have been of little avail; -death will almost surely seize him. - -In connection with this may be mentioned the fact that under certain -conditions coal dust may become violently explosive. When it is mixed -with air, with or without the presence of fire damp, and is set into -sudden and intense vibration by a heavy powder blast, a fall of roof, -or other means, it may explode with greater destructive force than even -fire damp is capable of. Happily such explosions are not frequent, all -the conditions necessary being rarely present at the same time. It is -obvious, moreover, that an accident of this kind could occur only in -a very dry mine. It is true also that the dust of bituminous coals is -much more liable to be explosive than the dust of anthracite. No well -authenticated instances of coal dust explosions have been reported -from the anthracite regions, while in mining soft coals they have -undoubtedly occurred. Two cases of this kind were reported from France, -one in 1875 and one in 1877. No longer ago than November 9, 1888, a -terrible explosion of coal dust occurred in a bituminous coal mine at -Pittsburg, Kansas, by which more than one hundred lives were lost. - -In some mines the inflammable and poisonous gases are given off in such -abundance by the coal that it is dangerous to remain in them for even -an hour after ventilation has been stopped. At such collieries when, on -account of accident, or for any reason, the fan stops running, the men -are called out immediately, and are not allowed to enter again until a -new circulating current has been established. One of the most notable -mine disasters of recent years was caused by the quick accumulation -of black damp and white damp in a mine, the ventilating system of -which had been destroyed and the shaft burned out by fire. This was at -Avondale, near Plymouth, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on the 6th -of September, 1869. There were three conditions here, the presence and -coöperation of which made this calamity possible. First, the mine was -ventilated by a furnace at the foot of the shaft; second, the breaker -was built over the mouth of the shaft; and, third, the shaft was the -only outlet from the mine. The partition of the ventilating flue took -fire from the furnace draught. At ten o’clock in the forenoon a young -man by the name of Palmer Steele stepped on the carriage with a load of -hay to take to the inside stables. Half way down the shaft the hay took -fire from the burning buntons. The engineer saw the flames rise from -the mouth and let the carriage, with the young man on it, as quickly -as possible to the bottom. There were then in the mine one hundred and -eight men. Not one of them came out from it alive. In an incredibly -short space of time the flames leaped to the top of the breaker, one -hundred feet from the ground, and by the middle of the afternoon the -great building was a mass of ruins, covering over and blocking up -the only entrance to the mine. It was far into the night before the -débris had been sufficiently cleared away to permit of descent into the -shaft. Then two men, Thomas W. Williams and David Jones, went down to -search for the imprisoned miners. They were scarcely beyond the foot -of the shaft when they stumbled into a body of white damp and were -stricken with death. The fire occurred on Monday. It was not until ten -o’clock Tuesday morning that a sufficient ventilating current had been -established to make it safe for men to descend. The greatest distance -that it was possible to go from the foot of the shaft on Tuesday was -seventy-five feet. Beyond that point the danger from suffocation was -still imminent. Only three bodies had been thus far found. - -Wednesday morning a rescuing party went up the plane at some distance -from the foot of the shaft, and at the head of the plane they found a -barrier across the gangway. It had been formed by placing a mine car in -position and packing the space between it and the walls with clothing -and refuse. This barrier was broken down, but there was no one behind -it. Later another party was able to go a little farther, and came to -a second barrier. Outside of this lay the dead body of John Bowen. He -had come out for some purpose from behind the barricade, leaving open -an aperture through which to crawl back, but before he could do so he -had died from asphyxia. This barrier was broken down, and behind it -lay the victims, one hundred and five of them, all dead, suffocated -by the foul gases of the mine. The story of their experiences, their -struggles, their sufferings, can never be known. - -The disaster which occurred at the West Pittston mine on May 27, 1871, -was similar in many respects to that at Avondale. In this case also the -breaker, built over the shaft, the only opening to the mine, took fire -and burned to the ground, closing the avenue of escape to thirty-six -men and boys. These prisoners shut themselves into a chamber, building -a barricade across the foot of it to keep out the foul gases; but when -the rescuing party broke in to them on the following day fourteen of -them were found dead and the rest were unconscious. Of those who were -brought out alive four died soon after reaching the surface. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE ANTHRACITE COAL BREAKER. - - -In the act of 1885 it is provided that “no inflammable structure other -than a frame to sustain pulleys or sheaves shall be erected over the -entrance of any opening connecting the surface with the underground -workings of any mine, and no breaker or other inflammable structure -for the preparation or storage of coal shall be erected nearer than -two hundred feet to any such opening.” This was for the purpose of -preventing, if possible, such lamentable disasters as those of Avondale -and West Pittston. The results of this legislation in providing greater -security to the employees in mines is invaluable. Formerly it had -been the custom to build not only the shaft-house over the opening -into the mine, but the breaker itself, wherever there was one, was -usually erected over the mouth of the shaft. This was convenient and -economical, since the coal could be hoisted directly from the mine to -the top of the breaker, without the delay of a horizontal transfer at -the surface of the earth. Many of the shaft houses and breakers that -had thus been built at the time of the passage of the act are still -in operation, and will so remain until the time of their utility is -passed. But all new buildings are erected in accordance with the law. - -[Illustration: THE SLOAN COAL BREAKER, HYDE PARK, PA.] - -At the mouth of the shaft heavy upright timbers are set up, inclosing -the opening. These are united by cross-beams, and the whole structure -is well braced. In this head-frame are set the sheaves, at a distance -from the ground of from thirty to fifty feet, although, when the entire -surface plant was under one cover, they were set much lower. These -sheaves are huge upright wheels sixteen feet in diameter, over which -the ropes pass that connect with the cages. A sheave similar in form to -the bicycle wheel is now coming rapidly into use; it is found to bear a -greater strain in comparison with its weight than does any other form. - -The hoisting engine must be in the immediate vicinity of the shaft, and -the rooms for this and the boiler, furnace, and pump are usually all -under one roof. The iron or steel wire ropes extend from the sheaves -in the head frame to the drum in the engine-room, around which they -are coiled in such a manner that as one is being wound up the other is -being unwound. Therefore as one carriage ascends the other descends by -virtue of the same movement of the engine. - -Since the breaker may receive coal from two or more openings it must be -so located as to be convenient to both or all of them. If the ground -slopes sufficiently the breaker may be so built that its head will be -on a level with the head of the shaft. This will save breaker hoisting. -When coal is brought out by a slope the track and grade of the slope -are usually continued, by an open trestlework, from the mouth of the -opening to the head of the breaker. Wherever it is possible to do so, -the loaded cars are run by gravity from the mouth of the opening to the -breaker, and the empty ones are drawn back by mules. Sometimes they -are hauled both ways by mules, and sometimes a small steam locomotive -engine is employed to draw them back and forth. - -The coal breaker is an institution that is peculiar to the anthracite -coal fields of Pennsylvania. Its need was made manifest early in the -history of anthracite mining, its development was rapid, and it has now -come to be wholly indispensable in the preparation of anthracite coal -for the market. It is very seldom indeed that one sees this coal in the -shape and size in which it was mined. All anthracite coal for domestic -use is now broken, screened, and separated into grades of uniform size -before being placed upon the market, and this work is done in the coal -breakers. - -Previous to the year 1844 these breakers were unknown. Several -experiments had been made in the matter of breaking coal by machinery, -but there had been no practical results, and the breaking still -continued to be done by hand. In that year, however, a breaker after -the modern plan was erected at the mines of Gideon Bast, in Schuylkill -County, by J. & S. Battin of Philadelphia. It was started on the 28th -of February, 1844. There were two cast-iron rollers in it, each about -thirty inches long and thirty inches in diameter, and on the surface -of these rollers were set iron teeth or projections about two and one -half inches long and four inches from centre to centre. These rollers -were placed horizontally, side by side, and were so geared that, as -they revolved, their upper surfaces turned toward each other, and the -teeth on one roller were opposite to the spaces on the other. These -rolls were afterward improved by being perforated between the teeth, -thus presenting less of solid surface to the coal, and causing less -crushing. Another set of rollers was afterward added, being placed -above the first set, and having the teeth larger and wider apart, -so that large lumps of coal might first be broken into pieces small -enough to be crushed readily by the lower set. After the perfecting -of the rolls came the perfecting of the screens for the purpose of -separating the broken coal into grades according to size. Before the -introduction of coal breakers a hand screen was used. This screen was -set in a frame, was cylindrical in form, and was slightly inclined from -the horizontal. It was turned by a crank at one end, in the manner of -a grindstone. The screen placed in the breaker was of much the same -pattern, except that instead of being from five to eight feet long the -length was increased to twenty feet, and the diameter correspondingly -enlarged. Mr. Henry Jenkins of Pottsville then invented a method of -weaving thick wire into screen plates about three feet wide, having -the proper curve. These curved plates being joined together formed the -necessary hollow cylinder. These separate plates are called jackets, -and when one of them wears out it may be taken from the cylinder and -replaced, with but little trouble and delay. The screen is set in heavy -framework, and is inclined slightly from the horizontal. The first -segment at the upper end of the screen is made of wire woven into a -mesh so fine that only the smallest particles of coal will pass through -it; the mesh of the next segment is larger, and that of the next larger -still. The screen may contain from two to five segments in its length. -Now the coal, being poured in on top of the revolving rolls, comes out -from under them broken into small pieces, and passes immediately into -the upper or highest end of the hollow cylindrical screen as it would -pass into a barrel. But, as the screen revolves on its axis, the finer -particles of coal fall out through the fine mesh of the first segment, -and are carried away in an inclined trough, while the rest of the coal -slides on to the next segment. Here the next smallest particles fall -through and are carried away, and the process is continued until the -lower end of the screen is reached, out of which end all the coal that -was too large to pass through the mesh of the last segment is now -poured. It will be seen that by this means the different sizes of coal -have been separated from each other and can be carried by separate -shutes to the loading place. This is the principle of the rolls and -screens which are the main features of every coal breaker, though each -breaker usually contains two or more sets of rolls and from eight to -twelve screens. The Woodward breaker recently erected near Kingston, -Pennsylvania, has six pairs of rollers and twenty screens. Some of -these screens are double; that is, they have a larger outside screen -surrounding the smaller one, and the coal that passes through the inner -screen is caught by the outer one and again divided by means of a -smaller mesh. - -Before the days of breakers and screens coal was sent to market in -the lump, as it came from the mine, and it was generally broken and -prepared for use by the consumer. But when the separation of coal in -the breaker became reduced to a system, the four smaller sizes than -lump coal were soon graded. They were known as steamboat, egg, stove, -and chestnut. It was thought at the time that no finer grade of coal -than chestnut could be burned to advantage. But it was not long before -a smaller size, known as pea coal, was separated, placed on the market, -and readily sold; and now, within recent years, another still smaller -size called buckwheat has been saved from the refuse and has come into -general use. Everything smaller than this is culm and goes to the waste -pile. The names of the different sizes of marketable coal and the -spaces over and through which they pass in the process of separation -are given in the following table, taken from Saward’s “Coal Trade -Annual,” for 1888:―― - - ───────────────────┬──────────┬────────── - │ OVER. │ THROUGH. - │ Inches. │ Inches. - ───────────────────┼──────────┼────────── - Lump coal bars │ 4½ to 9 │ - Steamboat “ │ 3½ to 5 │ 7 - Broken mesh │ 2⅜ to 2⅞ │ 3¼ to 4½ - Egg “ │ 1¾ to 2¼ │ 2⅜ to 2⅞ - Large stove “ │ 1¼ to 1⅞ │ 1¾ to 2¼ - Small stove “ │ 1 to 1¼ │ 1¼ to 1½ - Chestnut “ │ ⅝ to ¾ │ 1 to 1¼ - Pea “ │ ⅜ to ⅝ │ ⅝ to ⅞ - Buckwheat “ │³∕₁₆ to ⅜ │ ⅜ to ⅝ - Dirt “ │ │³∕₁₆ to ⅜ - ───────────────────┴──────────┴────────── - -The necessity which controls the form and construction of the breaker -building is that the unbroken and unscreened coal must first be -taken to a point in the building sufficiently high to allow of its -passage, by gradual descent, with slow movement, through successive -rolls, screens, shutes, and troughs until, thoroughly broken and fully -cleaned and separated, it reaches the railroad cars, standing under -the pockets, and is loaded into them for shipment. It is sometimes -possible, as has already been intimated, to locate a breaker on the -side of a hill so that the coal may be run into the head of it from the -mine by a surface track without the necessity of hoisting. In this case -the building will hug the hill, extending for a long distance down the -slope of it, but without rising at any point to a great height from -the surface of the ground. In these days, however, the breaker is more -frequently erected in the valley. The general results are thought to be -better, and the special convenience to railroad outlets to market is -certainly greater. Besides this, the necessities of the case in shaft -mining seem to demand it. - -A peculiar and characteristic feature of a breaker so built is the -great vertical height to which one portion of the building is run -up. This is the portion that contains the shaft up which the coal is -hoisted, and from the top of which it starts on its long descending -route to the surface again. From one hundred to one hundred and fifty -feet is not an unusual height for this portion of the building. From -this topmost part of the structure the roof slopes down by stages, on -one or two sides, widening out, running off at an angle to cover a -wing, spreading by a projection here and there until, by the time the -last ten feet in height are reached, the ground space covered by the -building has come to be very great. Under the last or lowest portion -of the structure are the railroad sidings on which the cars stand to -be loaded from the many pockets in which the shutes have terminated. -Two engines are necessary at the breaker, one a winding engine to -hoist coal from the surface to the top of the breaker, and the other a -breaker engine to move the rolls, screens, and other breaker machinery. -The winding engine is usually put on the opposite side of the shaft -tower from the rolls and screens, and the ropes from it, either exposed -or under cover of a long sloping roof, reach up to the sheaves in the -head frame. The breaker engine is usually housed in a wing at one -side of the main building, while the several nests of boilers, under -a separate cover, are required by the act of 1885 to be at least one -hundred feet away from the breaker. - -No one, having once seen and examined an anthracite coal breaker, could -ever mistake one for a building erected for any other purpose. These -breakers have a character peculiarly their own. They are the most -prominent features in the landscape of every anthracite coal region, -where they tower up black, majestic, many-winged, and many-windowed, in -the range of almost every outlook. - -When the mine car full of coal is hoisted to the head of the breaker it -is run by two headmen from the carriage across the scale platform to -the dump shute bars on to which it is dumped. These are long, sloping, -parallel iron bars, set two and one half inches apart. The dirt and all -the coal that is small enough falls through these bars into a hopper, -from which it is fed into a pair of screens, one on each side. These -separate the dirt in the manner already described, and divide the clean -coal into sizes smaller than, and including, egg. Each size as it falls -through the segment of, or out at the end of, the screen, is caught in -a separate shute and carried to a second set of revolving screens where -it is again cleaned and separated, passing from these screens into the -picking shutes. All the shutes or troughs in which the coal is carried -have a sufficient inclination to make the material move by gravity, -and, to decrease the amount of friction, the bottom and sides of each -shute are lined with sheet iron. The large coals which passed over the -dump shute bars now slide down to a second set of bars, set four and -one half inches apart, called steamboat bars; all coal falling through -these being separated by still a third set of bars into steamboat and -egg, and eventually finding its way to the picking shutes or to the -rolls which break the prepared coal. All coal which passed over the -steamboat bars is lump coal, and, after having the slate and bony coal -removed from it by hand as it passes, is carried into the lump-coal -shute and sent down to the loading place; or else it is carried, by -another shute, into the heavy rolls and crushed. As it emerges, -broken, from these rolls, it passes into revolving screens, and the -same process of screening and separating goes on that has been already -described in the case of coal falling through the first or dump-shute -bars. But all this broken, screened, and separated coal finds its way -eventually into the picking shutes. These are narrow troughs down which -the separate grades of coal pass slowly in shallow streams. Across the -top of each trough, at two or more points in its route through the -picking-room, narrow seats are placed on which boys sit facing up the -shute. These boys are called slate pickers. It is their duty to pick -out the pieces of slate, stone, or bone, from the stream of coal which -passes under them, and throw this refuse into a trough at the side of -the shute, from which point it slides rapidly away. The coal as it -comes from the mine is full of waste material, so that the boy who -sits first or highest on the shute has no trouble in finding plenty to -do, and, work as hard as he may, much of the unfit material must still -escape him. The boy who sits below him on the shute is able to give the -passing stream a closer inspection and more careful treatment, and, -should there be one still below, he must have sharp eyes and skillful -fingers to detect worthless pieces that have been left by his comrades. -The boys often put their feet in the shute and dam the coal back for -a moment to give them time to throw out the abundance of slate that -they may see, but no matter how careful they are, nor how many hands -the coal may pass through in the picking process, a certain percentage -of slate and bone is sure to remain. The slate pickers are not all -stationed in one room, though the picking-room usually holds the -greater number of them. They are put at the shutes in any part of the -breaker where their services may be useful or necessary. Indeed, there -are pickers who sit at the refuse shutes to pick out the pieces of good -coal which have been inadvertently thrown in by the other pickers. In -some breakers the coal passes from the shute across a gently sloping -platform, by the side of which the boy sits to pick out the waste. - -[Illustration: SCREEN-ROOM IN BREAKER, SHOWING SCREEN AND SHUTES.] - -But the time is undoubtedly coming when the occupation of the picker -boy will be gone. The inventive genius of the age has already devised -machinery which does its work faster, better, and with greater -certainty than the most conscientious breaker boy could hope to do it. -The great collieries are, one by one, adopting the new methods, and the -army of breaker boys is gradually but surely decreasing. - -Nearly all the slate-picking machines are based on the fact that the -specific gravity of coal is lighter than that of slate or stone. One -method brings the principle of friction into play. A section, a few -feet in length, of the floor of the shute down which the coal passes -is made of stone. At the end of this stone section is a narrow slot -cut in the floor, crosswise of the shute, and beyond the slot the iron -bottom is continued as before. Now when the shallow stream of broken -coal strikes the stone bottom the friction between that bottom and -the pieces of slate and stone is so great that these particles are -impeded in their progress, and by the time they reach the slot they -have not impetus enough to cross it and must therefore drop into it and -be carried away. But the friction between coal and stone is slight in -comparison, and the pieces of coal retain enough of their impetus to -carry them safely across the slot and on down the shute. This is not a -perfect separation, and the coal and slate which it divides has usually -to be looked over again, to insure satisfactory results. The best and -most practicable invention thus far brought into use is that of Mr. -Charles W. Ziegler, picker boss at the Von Storch colliery, Scranton. -This machine acts somewhat upon the method last described, though by -a system of rollers, levers, and screens in connection with it and -attached to it, it is able to make quite perfect separation of the coal -and slate. Two or three of these machines placed on a single shute -should do the work required of them very thoroughly. - -The experience of domestic buyers of coal would seem to indicate, -either that the picker boys do not do their whole duty or that the -picking machines have not yet been made perfect. But it must be -remembered that the separation of slate and bony coal from good -material is made only in a rough and general way in the mine, and that -a very large percentage of the output, as it reaches the breaker, -is unfit for use. To clean and separate this material thoroughly, -therefore, requires much labor, and extreme care and skill. - -After these separate streams of coal have passed the scrutiny of the -picker boys or the test of the picking machine, the shutes in which -they run are narrowed into pockets or bins, closed at the end by a -gate. The pocket projects over the car track high enough from it for a -railroad coal car to stand beneath, and the coal is then fed from the -pocket into the car at will. - -There is also a loading place for the rock and slate which have been -separated from the coal on its way through the breaker; and there are -two or three points where the coal dirt is gathered from its pockets -to be taken away. All this refuse is run out by separate tracks to a -convenient distance from the breaker and there dumped. - -It is estimated that sixteen per cent. of the material which goes -into the breaker to be prepared comes out as waste, and is sent to -the refuse dump. It can readily be supposed, therefore, that in the -course of a few years these waste heaps will grow to an enormous size; -and as a matter of fact they do. The dirt or culm, which includes all -material finer than buckwheat coal, is usually dumped on a separate -pile from the rock, slate, and bony coal, since it is not wholly -without at least prospective value. It has been used frequently in -the coal regions to fill in beneath railroad tracks supported by -trestle-work, and it is valuable as a foundation on which to lay -stone flagging for footwalks, since it does not yield readily to -the action of frost. Culm has also been utilized by adding to it a -certain percentage of mucilaginous or pitchy material and compressing -it into bricks for fuel. In some European countries a large amount of -waste is burned in this way, but in America the cost of preparation -is still too great to permit of competition with prepared anthracite. -The most characteristic feature of scenery in the anthracite coal -regions, aside from the breakers themselves, is the presence of these -great, bare, black hills of culm, shining in the sunlight, smoothly -white under the snows of winter. Sometimes these culm banks take fire, -either spontaneously or as the result of carelessness or accident. If -the pile is near enough to the breaker to menace it, or near enough -to an outcrop to carry combustion into the coal of the mine, the fire -must be extinguished, and this is sometimes done with much labor and -at great expense. If no danger is apprehended, the fire is allowed to -smoulder until it burns out, a process which may take months or even -years, during which time little blue flames flicker on the surface of -the bank, the sky above it is tinged with red at night, and the whole -black hillside is finally covered with great blotches of white ash. To -the poor people who live in the vicinity of the breakers these heaps -of refuse coal are an unmixed blessing. Pieces of good coal are always -being thrown out inadvertently with the waste, and the bony coal that -is discarded is not by any means without value as a fuel; indeed it -makes a very respectable fire. So, too, one can obtain, with a screen, -from the culm heap quite a little percentage of material that will -burn. Thus it comes about that every day women and children and old -men go to these black hills with hammer and screen and gather fuel for -their fires, and carry it home in bags, or wheelbarrows, or little -handcarts. It is the old story over again of the gleaners in the field. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -IN THE BITUMINOUS COAL MINES. - - -A brief history of the discovery and introduction into use of the -bituminous coals of Pennsylvania has already been given; but only -casual reference has been made to the methods of mining in the -bituminous regions. It is true that of the one hundred and twenty -thousand square miles of workable coal beds in the United States less -than five hundred square miles are of anthracite coal. It is true, -also, that more than two thirds of the coal produced in the United -States during the year 1887 was of the bituminous variety, and that -the income from bituminous coal during that year was nearly twice as -much as the income from anthracite. Yet it is obvious that in any -description of coal mining methods the anthracite mines should be -used as the chief examples. This is not only because of the greater -commercial importance of anthracite, and of its greater familiarity -as a domestic fuel, but it is principally because of the far greater -skill, judgment, and ingenuity required in mining it and preparing it -for market. In the bituminous regions the coal is soft, lies flat and -near the surface, and is mined by the simplest methods. The reader -is already familiar with some of the complications, obstacles, and -problems that meet and beset the operator in the anthracite regions, -and with the great labor, vast expenditures, and high degree of skill -necessary to reach, take out, and prepare the anthracite coal. In -view of these facts no excuse is necessary for attaching the greater -importance to the description of methods in the anthracite region. But -a brief outline of the systems in vogue at the bituminous mines will -not be uninteresting, so far at least as they differ from those in use -at the anthracite mines. - -In the year 1887 a little more than one third of the bituminous -coal output of the United States came from the Pennsylvania mines. -Pittsburgh is the centre of the soft coal trade of that state, and -the principal coal seam of the region is known as the “Pittsburgh -bed.” It is included in an area about fifty miles square, and varies -in thickness from two or three feet in the northwestern part, and six -feet at Pittsburgh, to ten feet up the Monongahela River, and twelve -feet up the Youghiogeny. The exhaustion of so vast a coal bed is a -practical impossibility, and the questions that engage the attention of -the mining engineer in these regions are not so much questions of the -economy of coal as they are questions of the economy of labor. The coal -lies near the surface, and the outcrops on the flanks of the hills and -banks of the rivers are so numerous that most of the mining can be, -and is, done by drift above water level. The outlay of capital required -in opening a mine is therefore very small, marketable coal being -obtained at almost the first blow of the pick. - -Before mining operations are begun a complete survey is made of all -outcroppings, and their differences in level are obtained. From this -data a comparatively accurate knowledge may be had of the position of -the coal bed under ground, as the dip of the seams is very moderate and -uniform, and but few faults and other irregularities are encountered. -It is then decided where to locate the mouth of the drift so that the -entry can be driven in on the rise of the coal and the mine become -self-draining. It is important, however, to have the opening at a -convenient point near the river or railroad, and it is usually so made -if possible, even though the dip should be away from the opening. -The inclination is always so slight as not to interfere greatly with -the hauling of cars, and it is not much of a task to make a separate -opening for drainage. The coal seam is divided by vertical cleavage -planes, running at right angles to each other, one of which is known -as the _butt_ cleavage and the other as the _face_ cleavage. The -main entries are driven in, if possible, on the face cleavage, as -are also the chambers, or “rooms” as they are called here; while the -entries from which the rooms are turned are always driven on the butt -cleavage. The drift, or main entry, has an airway running parallel -with it; sometimes it has one on each side of it. It is driven eight -or nine feet in width, except where two tracks are necessary, in which -case it is made from twelve to fifteen feet wide. These double or -treble entries are parallel to each other, and are separated by a wall -of coal from twenty-five to forty feet in width. Through this wall, -at about every thirty yards, entrances, or, as they are called here, -“break-throughs,” are made, having the same width as the entry. The -height of roof in the entries of the Pittsburgh seam is usually five -and one half or six feet in the clear. At right angles to the main -entry butt entries are driven in pairs, parallel to each other and -about thirty or forty feet apart, with break-throughs or cross-cuts -for the passage of air, as on the main entries. From each of these -butt entries, at right angles to them, and in opposite directions, -the rooms are driven. They are made about twenty-one feet wide, with -pillars between them twelve feet thick, and are not often more than -eighty yards in length. They are usually driven to meet the faces of -the rooms which are being worked from the next parallel butt entry, or -are extended to that butt entry itself. At the point where the room -turns off from the butt entry it is made only seven feet wide for a -distance of from fifteen to twenty-one feet, then the room is widened -out to its full width of twenty-one feet. The track on which the mine -wagon runs is laid straight up the side of the room from the opening -at the entry, occupying a clear space about seven feet wide. The rest -of the room is well filled with the refuse which has been separated -from the coal as mining has progressed, and the roof is supported by an -abundance of props, or “posts” as they are here called. In one room, -with an ordinary roof, about six hundred and fifteen posts would be -necessary. The pillars are long, the distances between break-throughs -averaging thirty yards. This is known as the “double entry” system, -to distinguish it from the single entry system which was formerly in -general use. The method by single entry consisted in driving the butt -entries singly, about one hundred and sixty yards apart, and the face -entries the same distance apart, at right angles to the butt entries, -thus laying off the mine in large square blocks which were then mined -out. The difficulty with this system was that from twenty-five to fifty -per cent. of the pillars were necessarily lost, while by the double -entry system, which now prevails, all or nearly all the pillars can be -taken out. - -Of course the features in the plan of each mine vary according to the -special necessities of that mine, but in general they do not differ -greatly from those that have been described. - -[Illustration: PLAN OF A BITUMINOUS COAL MINE.] - -The method of cutting coal here is also peculiar to the soft coal -mines. The miner has a pick with sharp, pointed ends, and with this -he cuts a horizontal groove or channel, from two and a half to three -and a half feet deep across the entire width of the entry or room. -This groove is cut in that horizontal section of the face known as the -bearing-in section. It may be in the bottom layer of coal, or it may -be one or two feet above the bottom. The process itself is known as -“bearing in,” “under cutting,” “holing,” or “undermining.” While he -is at this work the miner must lie on the floor of the room, partly -on his side, but with hands and arms free. When the horizontal groove -has been completed a vertical groove similar to it in size and shape -is made at one side of the face. These channels are sometimes cut -with mining machines having compressed air for a motive power. This -machine is small but powerful. It is placed on a low inclined platform -at the face of coal, and is operated by a man called a “runner.” The -inclination of the platform causes the machine, which is on wheels, to -gravitate constantly toward, and to press against, the face of coal. -The compressed air cylinder drives a piston-rod to which is attached -a steel bit two inches in diameter projecting from the front of the -machine. This bit strikes the coal with sharp, swift blows, chipping -it out in small fragments, and eats its way rapidly into the seam. -The compressed air is carried to the machine in an iron pipe from the -compressing engine, which is located at the mouth of the mine. When -a machine is used, seven men usually work three rooms. Three of these -men are contractors or partners, three of them are laborers employed -by the contractors, and one of them, called the “scraper,” is a -laborer employed by the coal company. When the channel has been cut a -sufficient depth and distance the coal above it is brought down either -by wedging or blasting. If blasting is to be resorted to it will be -unnecessary to cut the vertical groove. If the bearing-in channel was -cut above the floor, the bottom coal is then lifted by wedging, and -broken up. The miners do the cutting and blasting, the laborers break -up the coal and load it into the mine wagons, and the scraper is kept -busy cleaning the cuttings away from the channels and attending to the -lamps. - -The mine car track that is extended up into the room is of wooden -rails, and the empty wagon is pushed in to the face by the laborers, -and loaded and run out by them to the entry. Each wagon will hold a -little more than a ton, and a mule will draw four wagons to the mouth -of the drift. The wheels of the mine car are set close to each other, -near the middle of the car, to facilitate its movement around sharp -curves; the doors at the ends of the car are swung from a bar hinge at -the top, and the cars are dumped in the same manner as those in the -anthracite region. In some of the bituminous mines a small locomotive -is used to draw the trains of mine wagons from the working parts of -the mine to the opening. It will draw from twelve to sixteen wagons -at a time, and will do the work of twenty mules. There is usually a -separate split of the air current to supply the locomotive road in -order to keep the smoke out of the working rooms. - -When a set of rooms has been driven to its limit the miners then -“draw back the rib;” that is, take out the pillars between the rooms, -beginning at the face and working back. Posts must be used freely to -support the roof while this work is in progress, about sixty or seventy -being necessary in drawing a rib. - -Ventilation here is obtained by both the fan and the furnace systems. -In mines that are worked below water level fire damp often accumulates, -but where the coal does not descend at any point below the water-level -line, there is no probability that mine gases will be found. - -As has already been said, the usual method of entry into the bituminous -mines has been, and still is, by drift. But as the working faces of the -mines recede farther and farther from the general lines of outcrop, it -often becomes necessary to resort to the method of entry by shaft, and -this latter method will doubtless in time supersede the former almost -entirely. The main shaft, as it is now constructed, is usually about -twenty feet long by nine feet wide, and has three compartments, two for -hoisting and one for ventilation and pumping. It rarely exceeds two -hundred feet in depth. The hoisting apparatus is much like that in use -in the anthracite districts. Air shafts from fifty to one hundred feet -deep, sunk for purposes of ventilation and drainage, are frequent, and -stair shafts in which are fixed ladders for the purpose of ascent and -descent, and which may be used as air shafts also, are not uncommon. -Slopes, like those in the anthracite regions, are not usual here; the -coal seams do not dip sufficiently to make them practicable. Narrow -rock slopes are sometimes driven diagonally through the strata, at an -inclination of twenty degrees or less, to strike the coal bed, but they -are used only as air ways, as traveling ways for men and mules, and to -serve as the “second opening” required by the mine law. - -In the bituminous regions coal breakers are unnecessary and are -unknown. As the vertical planes of cleavage of the coal are at right -angles to each other, and as the stratification is nearly horizontal, -the coal when broken takes a cubical form, large blocks of it being -made up of smaller cubes, and these of still smaller, to an almost -microscopic limit. All slate is separated from the coal as it is mined, -and the refuse is piled up in the room. - -The mine wagon is loaded only with good coal, and is taken directly -from the mine to a building which, with its appliances, is called a -“tipple.” It is here dumped into a screen, it runs from the screen -into a car or boat, and is then ready to be hauled or floated to market. - -If the opening of the mine is practically on the same level as the -tipple the arrangements are very simple, as no extra motive power is -required to get the cars to the dumping place. It is usual, however, to -find the opening at a higher point than the tipple, since the latter -must always be at the railroad track or on the bank of a river. It -becomes necessary, therefore, in this case, to raise and lower the cars -between the opening of the mine and the tipple. This is usually done by -the inclined plane system, in which the loaded cars descending draw the -light ones up. The same system is much used in the anthracite mines, -and has already been explained. - -The railroad tipple consists simply of a frame building from forty to -sixty feet long, fifteen feet high, and from eighteen to thirty feet -wide. This structure is set upon four or five plain timber bents, -and its floor is usually twenty-seven feet higher than the top of -the track rails which run beneath the outer end of it. A platform on -this floor is so adjusted by a single shaft that, when a loaded car -is pushed on it, it tips forward to an angle of about thirty degrees. -The end gate of the wagon is then opened and the coal runs out on to -the screen. This screen is simply a set of longitudinal iron bars -inclined outwardly at distances apart of one and one half inches. All -coal that passes over these bars is called “lump coal” and is run -into a sheet-iron pan suspended from the scales platform, where it is -weighed, and it is then dropped directly into a car standing on the -track below it. The coal which passed through the first set of bars -has, in the mean time, fallen on to a second screen with bars only -three quarters of an inch apart. The coal that passes over these bars -is called nut coal, and is also weighed and dropped into the cars, -while the coal that passes through the bars is called “slack.” This is -dropped into a shute, is carried by it into a car on the slack track, -and is run thence to the dumping ground. When all three kinds of coal -are loaded together it is called “run of mine,” while lump and nut coal -together make “three quarter coal.” These tipples may, of course, be -built with two sets of screens and platforms, and thus be made to do -double work, and some of them are so built. Under the projecting end -of the tipple there are usually four tracks; the first or outside one -for box-cars, the next for lump-coal cars, the next for nut-coal cars, -and the last for cars for slack. Four men operate a single railroad -tipple; two dump and weigh the coal above, while the others trim and -move the railroad cars on the track below. To this number a helper is -often added, both above and below. Besides these men a boy is usually -employed to rake the nut coal from the lower screening bars where it -sticks and prevents the slack from passing through. Sometimes it takes -two boys to do this work properly. Boys are also employed to push the -slack with a scraper down the shutes into the car on the slack track -when the elevation of the tipple above the rails is not sufficient to -afford the necessary grade. Bars are being largely superseded now by -revolving screens for separating slack from nut coal; they do the work -far better, and make the employment of a raking boy unnecessary. - -The river tipple is operated in much the same way as the railroad -tipple, except that its apparatus must be so arranged as to accommodate -itself to high or low water. The floor of the river tipple is usually -placed from forty to fifty feet above low-water mark, and the weighing -pan is held in position by a counter-weight, which may be raised or -lowered at pleasure. A small stationary engine, or a hand windlass, -draws the empty boat or barge into position under that end of the -tipple which projects over the water. About twice as many men are -required to operate a river tipple as are necessary to operate a -railroad tipple, and while the railroad tipple costs but from two -thousand to four thousand dollars the river tipple is built at an -expense of from four thousand to ten thousand dollars. But even this -latter figure is small when compared with the cost of an anthracite -breaker, which may run anywhere from twenty thousand to one hundred -thousand dollars. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE BOY WORKERS AT THE MINES. - - -In the coal mines of the United States boys are employed at two kinds -of labor: to attend the doors on the traveling roads, and to drive the -mules. This is known as inside work. Their outside work consists in -picking slate at the breaker, and in driving the mules that draw mine -cars on the surface. No one of these different kinds of employment is -such as to overtax the physical strength of boys of a proper age, but -they are all confining, some are dangerous, and some are laborious. Yet -the system of child labor in the coal mines of America has never been -comparable to that which was formerly in vogue in Great Britain. The -British “Coal Mines Regulation Act” of 1872 remedied the then existing -evils to a considerable extent; but the hardships still to be endured -by children in the British mines are greater than those which their -American brothers must suffer. The act of 1872, just referred to, -provides that boys under ten years of age shall not be employed under -ground, and that boys between ten and twelve years of age shall be -allowed to work only in thin mines. It is the duty of these children -to push the cars, or trams as they are called, from the working faces -to the main road and back. Boys who are thus employed are called -“hurriers” or “putters.” They are often obliged to crawl on their hands -and knees, pushing the car ahead of them, because the roof of the -excavation is so low. That is why boys who are so young are allowed -to work here; because, being small, they can the more readily crawl -through the passages cut in these thin seams, which often do not have a -vertical measurement of more than from twenty to twenty-eight inches. -The act of 1872 forbids the employment of females in the British mines; -but formerly not only boys but girls and women also worked underground. -There was then no restriction as to age, and girls were sent into the -mines to labor at an earlier age than were boys, because they were -credited with being smarter and more obedient. It was common to find -children of both sexes not more than six years old working underground; -and girls of five years were employed at the same tasks as boys of six -or eight. They took the coal from the working faces in the thin mines -to the foot of the pit. Sometimes they carried it, sometimes they drew -it in little carts. The older children and young women had a sort of -sledge, called a “corve,” on which they dragged the coal, but sometimes -they preferred to carry it in baskets on their backs. They were called -“pannier women.” The girls tucked their hair up under their caps, -dressed like their brothers, and in the darkness of the mine could -scarcely be distinguished from boys. And the girls and boys not only -dressed alike, but worked alike, lived alike, and were treated alike at -their tasks, and that treatment was rough and harsh at the very best. -As the girls grew they were given harder work to do. On one occasion -Mr. William Hunter, the mine foreman at Ormiston Colliery said that -in the mines women always did the lifting or heavy part of the work, -and that neither they nor the children were treated like human beings. -“Females,” he said, “submit to work in places in which no man nor lad -could be got to labor. They work on bad roads, up to their knees in -water, and bent nearly double. The consequence of this is that they are -attacked with disease, drag out a miserable existence, or are brought -prematurely to the grave.” Says Robert Bold, the eminent miner: “In -surveying the workings of an extensive colliery underground a married -woman came forward, groaning under an excessive weight of coals, -trembling in every nerve, and almost unable to keep her knees from -sinking under her. On coming up she said in a plaintive, melancholy -voice: ‘Oh, sir! this is sore, sore, sore work. I would to God that the -first woman who tried to bear coals had broken her back and none ever -tried it again.’” - -One cannot read of such things as these, of a slavery that condemned -even the babes to a life of wretched toil in the blackness of the -mines, and then wonder that the great heart of Mrs. Browning should -have been wrenched by the contemplation of such sorrow until she gave -voice to her feeling in that most pathetic and wonderful of all her -poems, “The Cry of the Children.” - - “Do ye hear the children weeping, O my brothers! - Ere the sorrow comes with years? - They are leaning their young heads against their mothers, - And _that_ cannot stop their tears. - The young lambs are bleating in the meadows, - The young birds are chirping in their nest, - The young fawns are playing with the shadows, - The young flowers are blooming toward the west. - But the young, young children, O my brothers! - They are weeping bitterly; - They are weeping in the playtime of the others, - In the country of the free. - - “‘For, oh!’ say the children, ‘we are weary, - And we cannot run or leap; - If we cared for any meadows, it were merely - To drop down in them and sleep. - Our knees tremble sorely in the stooping, - We fall upon our faces trying to go, - And, underneath our heavy eyelids drooping, - The reddest flower would look as pale as snow. - For all day we drag our burden tiring, - Through the coal dark underground, - Or all day we drive the wheels of iron - In the factories round and round.’ - - “‘How long,’ they say, ‘how long, O cruel nation! - Will you stand to move the world on a child’s heart, - Stifle down, with a mailed heel, its palpitation, - And tread onward to your throne amid the mart? - Our blood splashes upward, O gold heaper! - And your purple shows your path; - But the child’s sob in the silence curses deeper - Than the strong man in his wrath.’” - -In the United States neither girls nor women have ever been employed -in or about the mines. The legislative prohibition of such employment, -enacted in Pennsylvania in 1885, was therefore unnecessary but not -inappropriate. - -The general mine law of Pennsylvania of 1870, which was the first to -limit the employment of boys in the mines according to their age, fixed -twelve years as the age under which a boy might not work underground; -but maintained silence as to the age at which he might work at a -colliery outside. This provision was amended and enlarged by the act of -1885, which prohibited the employment of boys under fourteen years of -age inside the mines, and of boys under twelve years of age in or about -the outside structures or workings of a colliery. - -The duties of a driver boy are more laborious than those of a -door-tender, but less monotonous and tiresome than those of a slate -picker or breaker-boy. When the mules are kept in the mines night -and day, as they frequently are in deep workings, the driver must -go down the shaft before seven o’clock, get his mule from the mine -stable, bring him to the foot of the shaft, and hitch him to a trip -of empty cars. He usually takes in to the working faces four empty -cars and brings out four loaded ones. When he is ready to start in -with his trip, he climbs into the forward car, cracks his whip about -the beast’s head, and goes off shouting. His whip is a long, braided -leather lash, attached to a short stout stick for a handle. He may -have a journey of a mile or more before reaching the foot of the -first chamber he is to supply; but when he comes to it he unfastens -the first car from the others and drives the mule up the chamber with -it, leaving it at a convenient distance from the face. He continues -this process at each of the chambers in succession, until his supply -of empty cars is exhausted. At the foot of the last chamber which -he visits he finds a loaded car to which he attaches his mule, and -picking up other loaded cars on his way back, he makes up his return -trip, and is soon on the long, unbroken journey to the shaft. There -are sidings at intervals along the heading, where trips going in the -opposite direction are met and passed, and where there is opportunity -to stop for a moment and talk with or chaff some other driver boy. -If there be a plane on the main road, either ascending or descending -from the first level, two sets of driver boys and mules are necessary, -one set to draw cars between the breasts and the plane, and the other -set to draw them between the plane and the shaft. Of course, in steep -pitching seams, all cars are left at the foot of the chamber and are -loaded there. There are two dangers to which driver boys are chiefly -subjected; one is that of being crushed between cars, or between cars -and pillars or props, and the other is that of being kicked or bitten -by vicious mules. The boy must not only learn to drive, but he must -learn to govern his beast and keep out of harm’s way. He is generally -sufficiently skillful and agile to do this, but it is not unusual to -read of severe injuries to boys, given by kicking, bucking, or biting -mules. - -If the mine in which the boy works is entered by drift or tunnel, -his duties lie partly outside of it, since he must bring every trip -of cars not only to the mouth of the opening but to the breaker or -other dumping place, which may be located at a considerable distance -from the entrance to the mine. So that for a greater or less number -of times each day he has from ten minutes to half an hour in the open -air. In the summer time, when the weather is pleasant, this occasional -glimpse of out-of-doors is very gratifying to him. He likes to be in -the sunlight, to look out over the woods and fields, to feel the fresh -wind blowing in his face, and to breathe an unpolluted atmosphere. But -in the winter time, when it is cold, when the storms are raging, when -the snow and sleet are whirled savagely into his face, then the outside -portion of his trip is not pleasant. In the mine he finds a uniform -temperature of about sixty degrees Fahrenheit. To go from this, within -ten minutes, without additional clothing, into an atmosphere in which -the mercury stands at zero, and where the wind is blowing a hurricane, -is necessarily to suffer. It cannot be otherwise. So there is no -lagging outside on winter days; the driver boy delivers his loads, gets -his empty cars, and hastens back to the friendly shelter of the mine. -At such openings as these the mine stable is outside, and the boy must -go there in the morning to get his mule, and must leave him there when -he quits work at night. Sometimes, when the mining is done by shaft -or slope, there is a separate entrance for men and mules, a narrow -tunnel or slope, not too steep, and in this case, though his duties lie -entirely in the mine, the driver boy must take the mule in from the -outside stable in the morning and bring him back at night. - -One afternoon I chanced to be in a certain mine in the Wyoming -district, in company with the fire boss. We were standing in a -passage that led to one of these mule ways. In the distance we heard -a clattering of hoofs, growing louder as it came nearer, and, as we -stepped aside, a mule went dashing by with a boy lying close on his -back, the flame from the little lamp in the boy’s cap just a tiny -backward streak of blue that gave no light. They had appeared from the -intense darkness and had disappeared into it again almost while one -could draw a breath. I looked at the fire boss inquiringly. - -“Oh! that’s all right,” he said, “they’ve got through work and they’re -going out, and the mule is in just as much of a hurry as the boy is.” - -“But the danger,” I suggested, “of racing at such speed through narrow, -winding passages, in almost total darkness!” - -“Oh!” he replied, “that beast knows the way out just as well as I do, -and he can find it as easy as if he could see every inch of it, and I -don’t know but what he can. Anyway the boy ain’t afraid if the mule -ain’t.” - -In deep mines, as has already been said, it is customary to build -stables not far from the foot of the shaft, and to keep the mules there -except when for any reason there is a long suspension of work. At many -mines, however, the greater convenience of having the stables on the -surface induces the operators to have the mules hoisted from the shaft -every night and taken down every morning. They step on the carriage -very demurely, and ascend or descend without making trouble. They are -especially glad to go up to their stables at night. Where mules are -fed in the mine, and especially in those mines that have stables in -them, rats are usually found. How they get down a shaft is a mystery. -The common explanation is that they go with the hay. But they take up -their quarters in the mine, live, thrive, increase rapidly, and grow -to an enormous size. They are much like the wharf rats that infest the -wharves of great cities, both in size and ugliness. They are very bold -and aggressive, and when attacked will turn on their enemy, whether man -or beast, and fight to the death. There is a superstition among miners -to the effect that when the rats leave a mine some great disaster is -about to take place in it; probably an extensive fall. Rats are hardly -to be credited, however, with an instinct that would lead them to -forecast such an event with more certainty than human experience and -skill can do. - -But it is not improbable that the driver boy and his mule will be -superseded, at no distant day, by electricity. In one instance at least -this new motive power has already been put into use. This is at the -Lykens Valley Colliery of the Lykens Valley Coal Company, in Dauphin -County, Pennsylvania. - -The duty of an outside driver boy is to take the loaded cars from the -head of the shaft or slope to the breaker, and to bring the empty ones -back; his work being all done in the open air. Of late this service, -especially where the distance is considerable, is performed by a small -locomotive, which draws trains of as many cars as can well be held -together. The wages paid to inside driver boys by the Pennsylvania Coal -Company in 1888 were from one dollar to one dollar and ten cents a day, -and to outside driver boys eighty-eight cents a day. - -The door boys are usually younger and smaller than the driver boys, -and though their duty is not so laborious as that of the latter class, -it is far more monotonous and tiresome. The door boy must be at his -post when the first trip goes in in the morning, and must remain there -till the last one comes out at night. He is alone all day, save when -other boys and men pass back and forth through his door, and he has but -little opportunity for companionship. He fashions for himself a rude -bench to sit on; sometimes he has a rope or other contrivance attached -to his door by which he can open it without rising; but usually he is -glad to move about a little to break the monotony of his task. There is -little he can do to entertain himself, except perhaps to whittle. He -seldom tries to read; indeed, the light given forth by a miner’s lamp -is too feeble to read by. In rare cases the door boy extinguishes his -light, on the score of economy, and sits in darkness, performing his -duties by the light of the lamps of those who pass. But there are few -who can endure this. It is hard enough to bear the oppressive silence -that settles down on the neighborhood when no cars are passing; if -darkness be added to this the strain becomes too great, the effect too -depressing, a child cannot bear it. The wages of the door boy are about -sixty-five cents per day. - -Although the duties of the breaker boy or slate picker are more -laborious and more monotonous than those of either driver boy or door -tender, he does not receive so high a rate of wages as either of them. -His daily compensation is only from fifty to sixty-five cents, and he -works ten hours a day. At seven o’clock in the morning he must have -climbed the dark and dusty stairway to the screen room, and taken his -place on the little bench across the long shute. The whistle screams, -the ponderous machinery is set in motion, the iron-teethed rollers -begin to revolve heavily, crunching the big lumps of coal as they turn, -the deafening noise breaks forth, and then the black, shallow streams -of broken coal start on their journey down the iron-sheathed shutes, to -be screened and cleaned, and picked and loaded. - -At first glance it would not seem to be a difficult task to pick -slate, but there are several things to be taken into consideration -before a judgment can properly be made up in the matter. To begin -with, the work is confining and monotonous. The boy must sit on his -bench all day, bending over constantly to look down at the coal that -is passing beneath him. His tender hands must become toughened by long -and harsh contact with sharp pieces of slate and coal, and after many -cuts and bruises have left marks and scars on them for a lifetime. -He must breathe an atmosphere thick with the dust of coal, so thick -that one can barely see across the screen room when the boys are -sitting at their tasks. It is no wonder that a person long subjected -to the irritating presence of this dust in his bronchial tubes and -on his lungs is liable to suffer from the disease known as “miner’s -consumption.” In the hot days of summer the screen-room is a stifling -place. The sun pours its rays upon the broad, sloping roof of the -breaker, just overhead; the dust-laden atmosphere is never cleared -or freshened by so much as a breath of pure sweet air, and the very -thought of green fields and blossoming flowers and the swaying branches -of trees renders the task here to be performed more burdensome. Yet -even this is not so bad as it is to work here in the cold days of -winter. It is almost impossible to heat satisfactorily by any ordinary -method so rambling a structure as a breaker necessarily is, and it is -quite impossible to divide the portion devoted to screening and picking -into closed rooms. The screen-rooms are, therefore, always cold. Stoves -are often set up in them, but they radiate heat through only a limited -space, and cannot be said to make the room warm. Notwithstanding the -presence of stoves, the boys on the benches shiver at their tasks, and -pick slate with numb fingers, and suffer from the extreme cold through -many a winter day. But science and the progress of ideas are coming to -their aid. In some breakers, recently erected, steam-heating pipes have -been introduced into the screen-rooms with great success; the warmth -and comfort given by them to the little workers is beyond measurement. -Fans have been put into the breakers, also, to collect and carry -away the dust and keep the air of the picking-room clean and fresh, -and electric lamps have been swung from the beams to be lighted in the -early mornings and late afternoons, that the young toilers may see -to do their work. Indeed, such improvements as these pass beyond the -domain of science and progress into that of humanitarianism. - -[Illustration: SLATE PICKERS AT WORK.] - -When night comes no laborer is more rejoiced at leaving his task than -is the breaker boy. One can see his eyes shine and his white teeth -gleam as he starts out into the open air, while all else, hands, -face, clothing, are thickly covered with coal dust, are black and -unrecognizable. But he is happy because his day’s work is done and he -is free, for a few hours at least, from the tyranny of the “cracker -boss.” For, in the estimation of the picker boys, the cracker boss is -indeed the most tyrannical of masters. How else could they regard a man -whose sole duty it is to be constantly in their midst, to keep them -at their tasks, to urge them to greater zeal and care, to repress all -boyish freaks, to rule over them almost literally with a rod of iron? -But, alas! the best commentary on the severity of his government is -that it is necessary. - -As has already been said, the day is evidently not far distant when the -work which the breaker boy now does will be performed almost wholly by -machinery. And this will be not alone because the machine does its -work better, more surely, more economically, than the breaker boy has -done his, but it will be also because the requisite number of boys for -breaker work will not be obtainable. Even now it is more than difficult -to keep the ranks of the slate pickers full. Parents in the coal -regions of to-day have too much regard for the health, the comfort, -the future welfare of their children, to send them generally to such -grinding tasks as these. This is one of the signs of that advancing -civilization which has already lifted girls and women from this, for -them, exhausting and degrading labor at the collieries; which is -lessening, one by one, the hardships of the boys who still toil there; -which, it is fondly hoped, will in the course of time give to all -children the quiet of the school-room, the freedom of the play-ground, -and the task that love sets, in place of that irksome toil that stunts -the body and dwarfs the soul. It is now mainly from the homes of the -very poor that the child-workers at the collieries are recruited, and -the scant wages that they earn may serve to keep bread in the mouths -of the younger children of their households and clothing on their own -backs. - -Accidents to boys employed at the mines are of frequent occurrence. -Scarcely a day passes but the tender flesh of some poor little fellow -is cut or bruised, or his bones, twisted and broken. It is only -the more serious of these accidents that reach the notice of the -mine inspector and are returned in his annual report. Yet, to the -humanitarian and the lover of children, these annual returns tell a -sad story. The mine inspector’s reports for 1887 show that in the -anthracite region alone during that year eighteen boys fifteen years -of age and under were killed while fulfilling the duties of their -employment in and about the coal mines, and that seventy-three others -were seriously injured, many of them doubtless maimed for life. These -figures tell their own story of sorrow and of suffering. - -Yet with all their hardships it cannot be said that the boys who work -in the collieries are wholly unhappy. It is difficult, indeed, to -so limit, confine, and gird down a boy that he will not snatch some -enjoyment from his life; and these boys seek to get much. - -One who has been long accustomed to them can generally tell the nature -of their several occupations by the way in which they try to amuse -themselves. The driver boys are inclined to be rude and boisterous in -their fun, free and impertinent in their manner, and chafe greatly -under restraint. The slate pickers, confined all day at their tasks, -with no opportunity for sport of any kind, are inclined to bubble over -when night and freedom come, but, as a rule, they are too tired to -display more than a passing effort at jocularity. Door boys are quiet -and contemplative. Sitting so long alone in the darkness they become -thoughtful, sober, sometimes melancholy. They go silently to their -homes when they leave the mine; they do not stop to play tricks or -to joke with their fellows; they do not run, nor sing, nor whistle. -Darkness and silence are always depressing, and so much of it in -these young lives cannot help but sadden without sweetening them. We -shall never see, in America, those horrors of child slavery that drew -so passionate a protest from the great-hearted Mrs. Browning, but -certainly, looking at the progress already made, it is not too much to -hope for that the day will come when no child’s hand shall ever again -be soiled by the labor of the mine. - -It will be a fitting close to this chapter, and will be an act of -justice to the memory of a brave and heroic boy, to relate the story -of Martin Crahan’s sacrifice at the time of the disaster at the West -Pittston shaft. Martin was a driver boy, of humble parentage, poor and -unlearned. He was in the mine when the fire in the breaker broke out, -and he ran, with others, to the foot of the shaft. But just as he was -about to step on the carriage that would have taken him in safety to -the surface he bethought him of the men on the other side of the shaft, -who might not have heard of the fire, and his brave heart prompted him -to go to them with the alarm. He asked another boy to go with him, but -that boy refused. He did not stop to parley; he started at once alone. -But while he ran through the dark passage on his errand of mercy, the -carriage went speeding, for the last time, up the burning shaft. He -gave the alarm and returned, in breathless haste, with those whom he -had sought; but it was too late, the cage had already fallen. When the -party was driven away from the foot of the shaft by the smoke and the -gas, he, in some unexplained way, became separated from the rest, and -wandered off alone. The next day a rescuing party found him in the -mine-stable, dead. He lay there beside the body of his mule. Deprived -of the presence of human beings in the hours of that dreadful night, he -had sought the company of the beast that had long been his companion in -daily labor――and they died together. - -But he had thought of those who were dear to him, for on a rough board -near by he had written with chalk the name of his father and of his -mother, and of a little cousin who had been named for him. He was only -twelve years old when he died, but the title of hero was never more -fairly earned than it was by him. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -MINERS AND THEIR WAGES. - - -A good miner may be called a “skilled workman,” and, as such, he -is entitled to greater compensation for his labor than an ordinary -workman. He expects it and gets it. There are two principal systems by -which payments are made to miners. The first is according to the number -of cubic yards of coal cut, and the second is according to the number -of tons of coal mined and sent out. The first, which is prevalent in -the regions of steep-pitching seams, is followed because the coal may -remain in the chamber for an indefinite time after being cut. The -second, which in the Wyoming region is almost universal, is somewhat -more complicated. A chamber is taken by two miners, but the account -on the books of the coal company is usually kept in the name of only -one of them, who is held to be the responsible member of the firm. For -instance, “Patrick Collins & Co.” work a chamber in Law Shaft, and -the firm is so designated. The first thing they do is to adopt some -distinctive mark which may be chalked on the sides of their loaded cars -to distinguish them from the loaded cars from other chambers. The -letters of the alphabet are frequently used by miners, but, in default -of these, some simple design that cannot readily be mistaken for any -other is put into service. The triangle ∆ is a very common symbol with -them, so is the long, horizontal line, crossed by short vertical ones, -thus: ――|――|――――|――. The miners call this a candle. When a car has -been loaded the symbol is chalked on the side of it, together with a -number which tells how many cars have been sent from the chamber during -the day. For instance, when a mine car appears at the surface marked -“∆ 5” it means that the car is from a certain chamber designated by -that symbol, and that this is the fifth car which has been sent from -that chamber during the day. On its way from the head of the breaker -to the dumping cradle, the loaded car passes over the platform of the -weighing scales and registers its weight on the scale beam. This weight -is quickly read by the weigh-master, is transferred to his book, and -goes to make up the daily report. In some districts a system in which -tickets are used instead of chalk marks is in vogue, and in other -districts duplicate checks are employed, but everywhere the general -features remain the same. - -In order to get a chamber from any of the large mining corporations, a -miner must apply in person to the mining superintendent. He must come -well recommended, or he must be known as a skillful, industrious, and -temperate workman. The responsibility of driving a chamber properly is -not a small one, and mining companies choose to take as little risk as -possible in the selection of their men. Having accepted an applicant -for a chamber, the company makes a contract with him, usually a verbal -one, to pay him at a certain rate per ton or yard for the coal mined -by him. The rate, though not wholly uniform, on account of the greater -or less difficulty of cutting coal at the different collieries, is -practically the same throughout an entire district. - -A miner working at full time and in a good seam will send out enough -coal each month to amount, at the contract price, to $150. But his -expenses for laborers’ wages, powder, oil, fuse, etc., will amount to -$75 per month, leaving him a net income of $75 per month. The laborer -is also paid according to the number of tons of coal sent out, and his -wages will probably average $2 per day. It is not often in these days -of thin seams that these rates of income are exceeded. And when the -mines are in operation only a portion of the time, as is now often the -case, these figures are seriously reduced. - -The subject of wages frequently has been under discussion between -miners and operators, and the differences of opinion on it have been -prolific of many strikes. By some corporations and at some collieries -a sliding scale has been adopted. That is, the miner has been paid, -not at a fixed rate, but at a rate which constantly adjusts itself to -the market price of coal. The objection to this method is said to be -that the great companies who practically control the anthracite coal -business form syndicates, fix the market price of their coal for a -certain period of time, and then limit the output of each member of the -syndicate to a certain number of tons during that period. - -It is certain that no scheme of payment has yet been devised which is -perfectly satisfactory to the great body of workers in the mines. But -it is true also that employer and employee are working together more -harmoniously now than they have worked at any time in the past, and -that long and stubborn strikes of miners are growing, year by year, -less frequent. It is to be hoped that the time will come when even the -strike will not be considered necessary as a weapon of defense for the -workman. As a rule strikes result in loss, and in loss only, to both -capital and labor; and, as a rule also, labor suffers from them more -than does capital, and this is the saddest feature of the case. Hon. -Carroll D. Wright, the National Commissioner of Labor, has compiled the -statistics of miners’ strikes in Pennsylvania for the years 1881 to -1886 inclusive. His tables show that of 880 such strikes, which was the -total number that occurred during the period named, 186 succeeded, 52 -partly succeeded, and 642 failed. The loss to employers resulting from -these strikes was $1,549,219; the loss to employees was $5,850,382; and -the assistance given to the strikers during the periods of suspension -amounted to $101,053. These figures form the best commentary to be had -on the subject of strikes; they are eloquent with tales of hardship, of -suffering, and of despair. - -In those regions which have had long immunity from strikes, and in -which work at full time has been the rule, the mine-workers are not -only comfortable, but frequently are prosperous. They rarely occupy -rooms in the cheap tenement houses of the towns, even if such occupancy -would be to their convenience. They prefer to live in the outlying -districts, where they can have homes of their own and gardens that -they may cultivate. In the colliery villages the lots are usually laid -out and sold or rented by the mining company to its workmen. Rent is -not high, and, in case of sale, a long term contract is given, so that -payments are in easy installments. The miner prefers to own his house -and lot. Such ownership has a tendency to impress any man with the -importance and responsibility of his duty as a citizen, and the miner -is no exception to the rule. He is apt to waste neither his time nor -his money when he has property and a family to care for. He tries, too, -to lay by something for a rainy day; he knows that the probabilities -are that either he or his family will eventually need it. As his hours -of labor are comparatively short he has considerable leisure which he -may spend profitably or foolishly as he will. Many of the men spend -this leisure working in their gardens or about their premises. It is -seldom that any of them go so far as to have regular extra employment -to occupy their time while out of the mines. Indeed the prevailing -tendency among miners is to do as little work as possible outside of -the mines. The opinion seems to be prevalent among them that when a -miner has cut his coal he has done his full duty for the day, and is -entitled then to rest and recreation. He does not take kindly to other -kinds of work. He rarely deserts his occupation of mining to take up -any other calling, and it may be said that after he has passed middle -age he never does. There is a fascination to the old miner about the -dark chambers, the black walls, the tap of the drill, the crash of -falling coal, the smell of powder smoke in the air, a fascination that -is irresistible. He would almost rather die in the familiar gloom of -the mine than live and toil in the sunlight on the surface. Years of -walking under the low mine roofs have bent his back, have thrown his -head and shoulders forward, have given him that long swinging stride -characteristic of old miners. His face is always pale; this is due, no -doubt, to the absence of sunlight in his working place; but, as a rule, -his general health is good; except when he has worked for a long time -in dry and dusty mines. In that case he is apt to find himself, sooner -or later, a victim to the disease known as “miner’s consumption.” The -miner’s appearance, as he passes along the street or road on his way -home from his work, is, to eyes unaccustomed to the sight, anything but -favorable. He wears heavy, hobnailed shoes or boots, flannel shirt, -coarse jacket and pantaloons, all of them black with coal dirt and -saturated with oil. He has a habit, when he comes from his work, of -throwing his coat loosely about his shoulders, and wearing it so as -he goes to his home. He usually wears a cap on his head, sometimes a -slouch hat, rarely the helmet or fireman’s hat with which artists are -accustomed to picture him. This latter is too heavy and clumsy for -common use; he only puts it on when working in places where water comes -down freely on his head. Hooked to the front of his cap is the little -tin lamp already described. When he goes to or comes from his work in -the dark he allows it to burn and light him on his way. His face and -hands are also black with coal dirt and powder smoke, and his features -are hardly recognizable. The predominating race among the mine workers -is the Irish, next in point of numbers comes the Welsh, then follow the -Scotch and English, and, finally, the German. Of late years, however, -Hungarian, Italian, and Russian laborers have come to the mines in -large numbers, especially in the southern districts. These people can -hardly be compared with the English or German speaking races; they -do not become citizens of the country, have in the main no family -life, and are, in a certain sense, slaves whose masters are their own -countrymen. - -In speaking of the characteristics of the mine workers as a class, it -may be well, and it certainly is just, to correct a misapprehension -concerning them which has become prevalent. From reading the -descriptions given by newspaper correspondents and by certain writers -of fiction, many people have come to think that all miners are little -less than outlaws, that they are rude, ignorant, brutal in their -instincts, and blind in their passions and animosities. This is very -far indeed from the truth. Mine workers, as a class, are peaceful, -law-abiding, intelligent citizens. That they are economical and -industrious is well attested by the comfortable appearance of their -homes, and the modest deposits that are made, in large numbers, in -the numerous miner’s savings banks of the different districts. There -are, indeed, among them those who are intemperate, those who are -coarse and violent, a disgrace to themselves and a menace to society. -These are always the ones who come to the surface at a time when -strained relations exist between employers and employees, and by their -harsh language and unlawful conduct in the name of oppressed labor -call down just retribution on themselves, but unjust condemnation -on the true mine workers, who compose ninety-nine one hundredths of -the class, but who do not go about drinking, ranting, destroying -property, and inciting to crime. The proportion of “good-for-naughts” -among the miners, however, is no greater than it is among any other -class of workmen having the same numbers, and the same advantages -and disadvantages. With the exception of the Hungarians, Russians, -Italians, and Poles, of whom mention has already been made, the miners -and their families compare favorably with any class of workers in -the same grade of labor in America. Many of them indeed attain to -prominent and responsible positions in business and society. Not a -few of the clerks, merchants, contractors, mining engineers, bankers, -lawyers, preachers, of the coal regions of to-day have stepped into -those positions from the chambers of the mines, and have filled them -admirably. The miner is fond of his family; his children are dear -to him, and, whenever the grim necessities of life permit, he sends -them to the schools instead of to the mines or breakers. He wishes -to prepare them for a larger enjoyment of life than he himself has -had, even though that life should be spent in the occupation which he -himself has followed. And, indeed, there are few other occupations in -which the possibilities of advancement are so great and so favorable. -There must be mine bosses, mine inspectors, mine superintendents, and -many of them, and they are, as a rule, promoted from the ranks. Young -men of character, skill, and judgment are almost sure to step into the -higher places. - -If it were not for two evils that constantly menace and hamper him, the -coal miner of to-day would be the most favored of workmen. These twin -evils are strikes and lockouts. Abolish them and there would be no more -comfortable, happy, and generally prosperous class of people in America -than the workers in the coal mines. - - - - -GLOSSARY OF MINING TERMS. - - -_After damp._ The mixture of gases resulting from the burning of fire -damp. - -_Air shaft._ A vertical opening into a mine for the passage of air. - -_Airway._ Any passage in the mine along which an air current passes; -but the term is commonly applied to that passage which is driven, for -ventilating purposes, parallel to and simultaneously with the gangway. - -_Anticlinal._ A fold of strata in which the inclination of the sides of -the fold is from the axis downward. - - -_Barrier pillars._ Large pillars of coal left at a boundary line, or on -the outskirts of a squeeze. - -_Basin._ The hollow formed by a fold of the seam; any large area of -included coal. - -_Battery_. In steep-pitching seams, a wooden structure built across the -shute to hold the mined coal back. - -_Bearing in._ Cutting a horizontal groove at the bottom or side of the -face of a breast. - -_Bed._ Any separate stratum of rock or coal. - -_Bench._ A horizontal section of the coal seam, included between -partings of slate or shale. - -_Black damp._ Carbonic acid gas; known also as choke damp. - -_Blossom._ Decomposed coal, indicating the presence of an outcrop. - -_Blower._ A forcible and copious discharge of gas from a cavity in the -coal seam. - -_Bony coal._ Coal containing in its composition slaty or argillaceous -material. - -_Bore-hole._ A hole of small diameter drilled or bored, either -vertically or horizontally, through the measures or in the coal; -usually, a hole drilled vertically for prospecting purposes. - -_Brattice._ A partition made of boards or of brattice cloth, and put up -to force the air current to the face of the workings. - -_Breaker._ A building, with its appliances, used in the preparation of -anthracite coal for the market. - -_Break-through._ A cross-heading or entrance, used in the bituminous -mines. - -_Breast._ The principal excavation in the mine from which coal is -taken; known also as chamber. - -_Broken coal._ One of the regular sizes of prepared anthracite. - -_Buckwheat coal._ One of the regular sizes of prepared anthracite. - -_Buggy._ A small car or wagon used for transporting coal from the -working face to the gangway. - -_Buntons._ The timbers placed crosswise of a shaft down its entire -depth, dividing it into vertical compartments. - -_Butt._ In bituminous coal seams, the vertical planes of cleavage at -right angles to the face cleavage. - -_Butty._ A comrade; a fellow-worker in the same chamber. - - -_Cage._ See Carriage. - -_Carriage._ The apparatus on which coal is hoisted in a shaft. - -_Cartridge pin._ A round stick of wood on which the paper tube for the -cartridge is formed. - -_Cave-hole._ A depression at the surface, caused by a fall of roof in -the mine. - -_Chain pillars._ Heavy pillars of coal, lining one or both sides of -the gangway, and left for the protection of that passage. - -_Chamber._ See Breast. - -_Chestnut coal._ One of the regular sizes of prepared anthracite. - -_Choice damp._ See After-damp. - -_Cleavage._ The property of splitting on a certain plane. - -_Collar._ The upper horizontal crosspiece uniting the legs in the -timbering of a drift, tunnel, slope, or gangway. - -_Colliery._ All the workings of one mine, both underground and at the -surface. - -_Conglomerate._ The rock strata lying next beneath the coal measures. - -_Counter-gangway._ A gangway which is tributary to the main gangway, -and from which a new section of coal is worked. - -_Cracker boss._ The officer in charge of the screen room in a breaker. - -_Creep._ A crush in which the pillars are forced down into the floor or -up into the roof of the mine. - -_Cribbing._ The timber lining of a shaft, extending usually from the -surface to bed-rock. - -_Crop-fall._ A caving in of the surface at the outcrop. - -_Cross-heading._ A narrow opening for ventilation, driven through a -wall of coal separating two passages or breasts. - -_Crush._ A settling downward of the strata overlying a portion of an -excavated coal seam. - -_Culm._ All coal refuse finer than buckwheat size. - - -_Dip._ The angle which any inclined stratum makes with a horizontal -line. - -_Door boy._ A boy who opens and shuts the door placed across any -passageway in the mines to control the direction of the ventilating -current. - -_Double entry._ One of the systems by which openings into the bituminous -coal mines are made. - -_Downcast._ The passage or way through which air is drawn into a mine. - -_Drift._ A water-level entrance to a mine, driven in from the surface -on the coal. - -_Drill._ Any tool used for boring holes in the rock or coal. - -_Driving._ Excavating any horizontal passage in or into the mines. - -_Drum._ A revolving cylinder, at the head of any hoisting-way, on which -the winding rope is coiled. - - -_Egg coal._ One of the regular sizes of prepared anthracite. - -_Entrance._ See Cross-heading. - -_Entry._ The main entrance and traveling road in bituminous mines. - - -_Face._ The end wall at the inner or working extremity of any excavation -in or into the mines. In bituminous mines the vertical plane of cleavage -at right angles to the butt cleavage. - -_Fan._ A machine used to force a ventilating current of air through a -mine. - -_Fault._ A displacement of strata in which the measures on one side of -a fissure are pushed up above the corresponding measures on the other -side. - -_Fire-board._ A blackboard, fixed near the main entrance of a mine, on -which the fire boss indicates each morning the amount and location of -dangerous gases. - -_Fire boss._ An official whose duty it is to examine the workings for -accumulations of dangerous gases. - -_Fire clay._ The geological formation which is usually found immediately -underlying a coal bed. - -_Fire damp._ Light carbureted hydrogen. - -_Fissure._ A separation of rock or coal across the measures. - -_Floor._ The upper surface of the stratum immediately underlying a coal -seam. - - -_Gangway._ An excavation or passageway, driven in the coal, at a slight -grade, forming the base from which the other workings of the mine are -begun. - -_Gas._ Fire damp. - -_Gob._ The refuse separated from the coal and left in the mine. - -_Guides._ Narrow vertical strips of timber at each side of the carriage -way in shafts, to steady and guide the carriage in its upward or -downward movement. - -_Gunboat._ A car used for hoisting coal on steep slopes. - - -_Head-frame._ The frame erected at the head of a shaft to support the -sheaves and hold the carriage. - -_Heading._ Synonymous with gangway. Any separate continuous passage -used as a traveling way or as an airway. - -_Hopper._ A feeding shute or pocket in a breaker. - -_Horseback._ A small ridge in the roof or floor of a coal seam. - - -_Inside slope._ An inclined plane in a mine, on which coal is hoisted -from a lower to a higher level. - - -_Jacket._ One of the sections or frames of wire mesh of which a -revolving screen is made up. - - -_Keeps._ Projections of wood or iron on which the carriage rests while -it is in place at the head of the shaft. - - -_Lagging._ Small timbers or planks driven in behind the legs and over -the collars to give additional support to the sides and roof of the -passage. - -_Legs._ The inclined sticks on which the collar rests in gangway, -tunnel, drift, and slope timbering. - -_Lift._ All the workings driven from one level in a steep-pitching -seam. - -_Loading place._ The lowest extremity of the breaker, where prepared -coal is loaded into railway cars. - -_Lump coal._ The largest size of prepared anthracite. - - -_Manway._ A passageway in or into the mine, used as a footway for -workmen. - -_Mouth._ The opening, at the surface, of any way into the mines. - - -_Needle._ An instrument used in blasting coal, with which a channel is -formed through the tamping for the entrance of the squib. - -_Nut coal._ One of the regular sizes of bituminous coal. - - -_Opening._ Any excavation in or into a mine. - -_Operator._ The person, firm, or corporation working a colliery. - -_Outcrop._ That portion of any geological stratum which appears at the -surface. - -_Output._ The amount of coal produced from any mine, or from any area -of country. - - -_Parting._ The layer of slate or bony coal which separates two benches -of a coal seam. - -_Pea coal._ One of the regular sizes of prepared anthracite. - -_Picking shute._ A shute in the breaker from which the pieces of slate -are picked out by a boy as they pass down with the coal. - -_Pillar._ A column or body of coal left unmined to support the roof. - -_Pillar and breast._ The name of a common mining method. - -_Pinch._ See Crush. - -_Pitch._ See Dip. - -_Plane._ Any incline on which a track is laid for the purpose of -lowering or hoisting coal. - -_Pockets._ Receptacles at the lower ends of shutes, in breakers, from -which coal is loaded into railway cars. - -_Post._ A wooden prop to support the roof in bituminous mines. - -_Prop._ A timber set at right angles to the seam, in anthracite mines, -to support the roof. - -_Prospecting._ Searching for indications of coal on the surface, and -testing coal seams from the surface. - -_Pump way._ That compartment of a shaft or slope down which the pump -rods and pipes are extended. - - -_Rib._ The side of an excavation as distinguished from the end or face. - -_Rob._ To mine coal from the pillars after the breasts are worked out. - -_Rock tunnel._ A tunnel driven through rock strata. - -_Rolls._ In breakers, heavy iron or steel cylinders set with teeth, -used for breaking coal. - -_Roof._ The stratum immediately overlying a coal seam. The rock or coal -overhead in any excavation. - -_Room._ Synonymous with breast or chamber; used in bituminous mines. - - -_Safety lamp._ A lamp that can be carried into inflammable gases -without igniting them. - -_Scraper._ A tool used for cleaning out bore holes in blasting. - -_Screen._ Any apparatus used for separating coal into different sizes; -usually, the revolving cylinder of wire mesh in a breaker. - -_Seam._ A stratum of coal. - -_Separator._ A machine for picking slate. - -_Shaft._ A vertical entrance into a mine. - -_Sheave._ The wheel in the head-frame that supports the winding rope. - -_Shift._ The time during which a miner or laborer works continuously, -alternating with some other similar period. - -_Shute._ A narrow passageway through which coal descends by gravity -from the foot of the breast to the gangway; an inclined trough, in a -breaker, down which coal slides by gravity. - -_Single entry._ One of the systems by which bituminous mines are -entered. - -_Slack._ The dirt from bituminous coal. - -_Slate picker._ A boy who picks slate from coal. A machine used for the -same purpose. - -_Slope._ An entrance to a mine driven down through an inclined coal -seam. Inside slope: a passage in the mine driven down through the seam, -by which to bring coal up from a lower level. - -_Slope carriage._ A platform on wheels on which cars are raised and -lowered in steep slopes. - -_Smut._ See Blossom. - -_Split._ A branch of a ventilating air current. - -_Spread._ The bottom width of a slope, drift, tunnel, or gangway -between the legs of the timbering. - -_Squeeze._ See Crush. - -_Squib._ A powder cracker used for igniting the cartridge in blasting. - -_Steamboat coal._ One of the regular sizes of prepared anthracite. - -_Stopping._ A wall built across an entrance or any passage to control -the ventilating current. - -_Stove coal._ One of the regular sizes of prepared anthracite. - -_Strike._ The direction of a line drawn horizontally along any stratum. - -_Stripping._ Mining coal by first removing the surface down to the coal -bed; open working. - -_Sump._ A basin in mines entered by a slope or shaft, in which the -water of the mine is collected to be pumped out. - -_Swamp._ A depression in the seam. - -_Synclinal._ A fold of strata in which the inclination of the sides is -from the axis upward. - - -_Tipple._ In the bituminous regions, a building in which coal is -dumped, screened, and loaded into boats or cars. - -_Trapper._ See Door boy. - -_Traveling way._ A passageway for men and mules in or into the mines. - -_Trip._ The number of cars less than enough to constitute a train drawn -at one time by any motive power. - -_Tunnel._ An opening into a mine driven horizontally across the -measures. - - -_Under-clay._ See Fire clay. - -_Underholing._ See Bearing in. - -_Upcast._ An opening from a mine through which air is taken out. - - -_Vein._ Used (improperly) synonymously with seam, bed, or stratum. - - -_Wagon._ A mine car. - -_Waste._ Gob; coal dirt. - -_Water level._ An entrance into or passage in a mine, driven with just -sufficient grade to carry off water. - -_White damp._ Carbonic oxide. - -_Wings._ See Keeps. - -_Work._ To mine. - -_Working face._ A face at which mining is being done. - -_Workings._ The excavations of a mine, taken as a whole; or, more -particularly, that portion of the mine in which mining is being done. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Accidents resulting from falls, 126; - to boys, 218. - - Act of 1885, 88. - - After damp, composition of, etc., 167. - - Air currents in mines, 148, 149. - - Air, deterioration of, in mines, 147, 152. - - Airways, beginning of, 95. - - Allen, Nicholas, 49, 62. - - Ancients, use of coal by, 35. - - Animal life of Carboniferous era, 18. - - Anthracite coal, analysis of, 6; - commercial sizes of, 181; - description of, 8; - ignition of, 59; - of bituminous origin, 25; - skill in mining, 192. - - Anticlinals, 25. - - Appalachian Range, 3. - - Archean time, 3. - - Areas of coal measures, 31; - of Pennsylvania coal fields, 33, 34. - - Avondale Mine, disaster at, 173. - - - Baltimore vein, 75. - - Basin in a coal seam, 29. - - Battery in steep chambers, 108. - - Bearing in, in bituminous mines, 197. - - Benches in coal seams, 23–115. - - Bituminous coal, analysis of, 7; - description of, 8; - process of mining, 194. - - Black damp, composition, etc., 169. - - Blasting in mines, 119, 120, 125, 131. - - Blossom of coal, 77. - - Blower of gas, 160. - - Boys, accidents to, 218; - amusements of, 219; - at tipple work, 202; - characteristics of, 217; - duties of, at breaker, 215; - in British coal mines, 205. - - Boy door-tenders, duties of, 214. - - Boy drivers, duties of, 210. - - Braddock’s road, 40. - - Brattice at face of chamber, 103. - - Breaker, description of, 179; - location of, 178, 183; - passage of coal through, 185; - picking shutes in, 186; - structure and appearance of, 184. - - Break through, in bituminous mines, 195. - - Breast. See Chamber. - - Bryden, Alexander, 143. - - Bryden, Andrew, 140, 168. - - Buildings at mouth of shaft, 176. - - Buntons in shaft, 89. - - Butler, Col. Lord, 56. - - Butt cleavage in bituminous mines, 194. - - Butty, 114. - - - Calamites, 17. - - Candles, use of, in mines, 162. - - Cannel coal, 6, 13. - - Carbondale Mines, fall in, 140. - - Carboniferous age, 3. - - Carboniferous era, animal life of, 18. - - Carboniferous plants, 14–16. - - Carriage in shaft, 90. - - Cartridge, how made and used, 117. - - Cave holes, 137. - - Cenozoic time, 4. - - Chain pillars, 109. - - Chamber, car track in, 103; - description of, 100; - length of, 102; - scene at face of, 131. - - Charcoal, process of formation, 10. - - Charles, John, 50. - - Chest, miner’s, 120. - - Choke damp, 169. - - Cist, Charles, 48. - - Cist, Jacob, 52, 58. - - Coal, classification of, 7; - originally all bituminous, 12; - origin of, 8; - production, by corporations, 70; - specific gravity of, what is it? 6. - - Coal dust, explosive quality of, 172. - - Coal lands, division of, 69; - investments in, 68; - leasing of, 71; - value of, 70. - - Coal mining by corporations, 72. - - Coal plants, age of, 3. - - Coal seams, number and thickness of, 22, 23. - - Coal-waste, heaps of, 191. - - Conglomerate, 76. - - Conifers, 17. - - Corve, in British coal mines, 205. - - Cost of different methods of entry, 92. - - Counter-gangway, 105. - - Crahan, Martin, story of, 220. - - Creeping pillars, 136. - - Creuzot Mine, accident at, 170. - - Crop falls, 139. - - Cross-headings, 95. - - Crowbar, miner’s tool, 121. - - Crust of earth, subsidence of, etc., 24. - - “Cry of the Children,” Mrs. Browning’s, 207. - - Culm, its disposition and use, 190. - - Curr, John, 90. - - - Davy, Sir Humphrey, experiments of, 162. - - Decapitation of coal seams, 29. - - Delaware and Hudson gravity railroad, 66; - canal, 66. - - Diamond drill, 79. - - Dip of strata, 29. - - Door boy, duties of, etc., 149, 214. - - Doors in mines, 149. - - Drainage in mines, 154. - - Drift, as a mode of entry, 80. - - Drilling, by diamond drill, 79; - by hand, 78; - by rope method, 78; - by spring pole method, 78. - - Drill, machine hand, 116; - miner’s, 116. - - Driver boss, his duties, etc., 113. - - Driver boy, duties of, etc., 113, 210, 213. - - Dump shute bars in breaker, 185. - - - Eagle Shaft, disaster at, 168. - - Early mining methods, 94. - - Eastern middle coal field, 33. - - Electricity in breakers, 217; - in mines, 105, 122, 127, 213. - - Enaliosaurs, 20. - - Entrances in mines, 101. - - Entries in bituminous mines, 195, 196. - - Evans, Oliver, 52. - - Experiments with anthracite, 52, 53. - - - Face cleavage in bituminous mines, 194. - - Face of chamber, 101. - - Falls of roof and coal, 125, 135. - - Fan for ventilation, 151. - - Fault in strata, 26. - - Felling Colliery, disaster at, 162. - - Fell, Judge Jesse, 53. - - Females in British coal mines, 206. - - Ferns of coal era, 16. - - Fire boss, duties of, etc., 112, 166. - - Fire damp, characteristics of, 160; - explosions of, 161; - in abandoned workings, 166. - - Fishes, age of, 3; - of Carboniferous age, 19. - - Fissures in strata, 26. - - Flanigan, John, 94. - - Flowers in Carboniferous age, 21. - - - Gangways, beginning of, 95; - description of, 97; - direction of, 98; - driving, 113; - length of, 104; - walking in, 129. - - Gases not confined to coal measures, 159. - - Germany, mining of coal in, 37. - - Ginther, Philip, 47. - - Girls in British coal mines, 205. - - Gore, Obadiah, experiments of, 45. - - Graff, Frederick, 52. - - Great Summit Mine, 57. - - Guibal, inventor of fan, 152. - - Guides in shaft, 90. - - - Hammer, miner’s, 121. - - Head-frame at mouth of shaft, 177. - - Health of mine workers, 153. - - Hennepin, Father, explorer, 38. - - Hillegas, Michael, 48. - - Hoisting apparatus at shaft, 177. - - Hollenback, Colonel George M., 56. - - Horsebacks in coal seams, 28. - - Hosie, John, adventure of, 145. - - Hurrier in British mines, 205. - - - Inclined planes in mines, 105. - - Indians, coal known to, 37, 43, 44. - - Inside slopes, 106. - - Invertebrates, age of, 3. - - Investments in coal lands, 68. - - - Jenkins, Henry, 180. - - - Laborers, duties of, etc., 114, 122. - - Lackawanna region, early coal trade in, 65. - - Lagging, its use, etc., 82. - - Lamp, miner’s, 121. - - Laplace, astronomer, 1. - - Lehigh coal, early trade in, 57, 58, 62. - - Lepidodendrids, 17. - - Leschot, inventor, 79. - - Lift mining, 85, 107. - - Light carbureted hydrogen, 159. - - Lignite, 6, 11. - - Loading place in breaker, 189. - - Localities in which coal is found, 31, 32. - - Locomotives in mines, 199. - - London, burning of coal in, 36. - - Long wall mining system, 110. - - Loyalsock coal field, 31. - - Lump coal, bituminous, 202. - - - Machine for mining soft coal, 197. - - Mammals, age of, 4, 12. - - Man, age of, 4. - - Marsh gas, composition of, etc., 160. - - Mellen and Bishop, experimenters, 64. - - Mesozoic time, 4. - - Mine, anthracite, number of employees in, 112. - - Mine boss, duties, etc., 112. - - Mine car, 123. - - Mine, darkness in a, 133; - in an abandoned, 134; - silence in a deserted, 132. - - Mine law of 1870 and 1885, 208. - - Miner, Charles, 58. - - Miner, appearance of, 227; - character and ambition of, 230; - clothing of, 228; - duties of, etc., 114, 122, 124; - home and outside occupation of, 226; - nativity of, 228. - - Mines, flooding of, 156. - - Miocene period, 12. - - Mules in mines, 212. - - - Nanticoke, accident at, 157. - - Nebular Hypothesis, 1. - - Needle, miner’s, 117. - - Newcastle, carrying coals to, 37. - - Nobles, David, hunter, 65. - - Northern coal field, 33. - - Nut coal, bituminous, 202. - - - Open quarry mining, 80. - - Outcrop of strata, 29, 75. - - - Paleozoic time, 3. - - Pannier women in British mines, 205. - - Paris, burning of coal in, 37. - - Partings in coal seams, 23. - - Peat, 6, 11. - - Pennsylvania, coal fields of, 32, 33, 34. - - Picking machine in breaker, 187. - - Picking shute in breaker, 186. - - Pick, miner’s, 121. - - Pillar and breast mining system, 99. - - Pillars at foot of shaft, 95; - creeping, 136; - robbing of, 133; - slipping, 136. - - Pinch in a coal mine, 28. - - Pittsburgh, coal beds near, 193; - coal trade of, 42; - discovery of coal near, 41. - - Pittsburg, Kansas, disaster at, 172. - - Pockets in breaker, 189. - - Props, use and setting of, 114. - - Prospecting for coal, 75. - - Pump mining, 155. - - Pumpway in shaft, 155. - - Putter, in British mines, 205. - - - Rats in mines, 212. - - Reptiles, age of, 4, 12. - - Rhode Island, coal in, 32, 40. - - Rib of coal, 101. - - Richmond coal field, 38. - - Robbing pillars, 133. - - Robinson, John W., 58. - - Rocky Mountains, 20. - - Rolls in breaker, 179. - - Rolls in coal seams, 28. - - Rooms in bituminous mines, 195. - - Run of mine, bituminous coal, 202. - - - Safety carriage, 91. - - Safety lamps, how to use, 165; - invention of, 163. - - Schuylkill region, early coal trade in, 62, 64. - - Scotland, mining of coal in, 37. - - Scraper, in bituminous mines, 198. - - Scraper, use of, 117. - - Screen, revolving, in breaker, 180. - - Semi-anthracite coal, 8. - - Shaft, compartments of, 89; - descending a, 128; - foot of, 128; - in bituminous mines, 199; - in steep-pitching seams, 109; - location and depth of, 86; - sinking of, 87; - water in, while sinking, 154. - - Sheaves in head-frame, 177. - - Shoemaker, Colonel George, 62. - - Shovel, miner’s, 121. - - Sigillariæ, 17. - - Slack, bituminous waste, 202. - - Slate picker’s duties, etc., 186. - - Sledge, miner’s, 121. - - Slipping pillars, 136. - - Slope, dimensions of, 85; - entrance by, 84; - in steep-pitching seams, 85. - - Smith, Abijah, 56. - - Smith, John, 56. - - Smut of coal, 77. - - Southern coal field, 32. - - Sphagnum, 11. - - Splits of the air current, 148. - - Squeeze in a mine, 28, 136. - - Squib, use of, 118. - - Stair shaft in bituminous mines, 200. - - States in which coal is found, 31, 32. - - Steep-pitching seams, raining in, 107. - - Stigmaria, 18. - - Stockton Mines, accident at, 139. - - Strike of strata, 29. - - Strikes among miners, 225. - - Summit Hill Mine, 80. - - Sump in mine, 96. - - Surface, disturbance of, by falls, 138. - - Susquehanna River, coal trade, 41. - - Swamp in mines, 29. - - Symbols marked on cars, 223. - - Synclinals, 25. - - - Tamping, process of, 118. - - Temperature in mines, 210. - - Terrace in coal outcrop, 77. - - Theophrastus, 35. - - Tipple, at the bituminous mines, 201, 203. - - Tunnel, entrance by, 82. - - Tunnels in mine interiors, 84, 106. - - Turnbull, William, 58. - - - Ventilation by fan, 151; - by open furnace, 150; - in bituminous mines, 199; - principle of, in mines, 97, 148. - - Von Storch, H. C. L., 65. - - - Wages of miners, 224; - computing and payment of, 222; - of boys, 213–215; - sliding scale for computing, 224. - - Waste in coal mining, 134; - of the coal measures, 28. - - Water, driving workings toward, 155; - in mine, 96; - tonnage of, hoisted, 155. - - Weighing coal, 223. - - Weiss, Colonel Jacob, 48. - - Western middle coal field, 33. - - West Pittston, disaster at, 175. - - White & Hazard, coal trade of, 62; - experiments of, 60. - - Wilcox, Crandal, 56. - - Wings in shaft, 91. - - Woodward breaker, 121. - - Working pillars, 136. - - Wright, Joseph, 56. - - Wurts, William and Maurice, 65. - - Wyoming coal field, 33. - - Wyoming valley, discovery of coal in, 45; - early coal trade of, 56. - - - Ziegler, Charles W., 188. - - - * * * * * - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). Superscripted - characters follow a caret (Fred^k, 11^th) - - ――Obvious printer’s, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were - silently corrected. - - ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - - ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COAL AND THE COAL MINES *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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