Scenes And Incidents From The Life Of A Practical Miner
With A Treatise On The Ventilation Of Coal Mines

20 Panic stricken, I returned, ordered the men to screw on their lamp tops, and told them my discovery. After letting them all see it, I fixed on one of the most experienced to stay at or near the spot, to prevent any one from approaching this dreadful volume of inflammable gas until I returned. I set off to meet the overman, and got him to send these ten men into the other districts for that day’s work, which he did; and to gratify his own curiosity, he went with me to see this unwelcome visitant. On our arrival at the spot, I ventured in through the double doors in the dark, and took out tlie slide from the regulator, adding a few more inches area to the aperture, so as to prevent it from getting worse. I then set off to ascertain how far it existed along the return passages. I entered at about a mile distant, but found none there. I locked up the doors again, went back half a mile and entered there, where I found it all inflammable gas. So that we had reason to conclude that the whole district of workings and waste, with a distance of three-quarters of a mile along the air return passages, was purely inflammable gas ready for explosion. It may be asked what induced me to go down the pit, two hours before the men, on this occasion. My answer is this : It was my duty. I was chief in the ventilation of the mine. A great responsibility devolved upon me. The lives and safety of the workmen were entrusted to my care, and that was an all-sufficient reason for me to be careful. We now left the pit, to return at four p.m., leaving a man to protect the entrance to this work- ing district, and all the other avenues locked up, conscious of its safety. We had to provide two tramway doors for our operations when we came back, and had to take them in with us, and set them befoi’e we could begin. Before I left home I deemed it my duty to seo the overman, and said, “Are you not going with us?” “ What to do?” said he (with a smile). “ Well then,” said I, “are there any ways or means you can suggest as to the manner in which we may best proceed?” “I think we cannot do better than leave it to yourself. Take your own way. That’s what I would ad- vise.” I then left him, promising to send a man out to meet him in the morning in time. When I got to the pit the under-viewer was waiting to see me. He also declined to go with us, remarking, “I think it will be best to leave it to yourself.” We then descended the shaft, and arriving at the place, found the gas as we left it. The man we left in charge (a brave old Englishman) refused to go home. He was determined to see the process, if he got nothing for his shift. Seeing this, I gave him my “ bait,” i.e. our victuals, and told him to stop. Tinis, we had got the dooi'S set, and all was in readiness by nine o’clock. I had ordered them to bring watches and T placed them at those doors, where they had two to open, and two to shut throughout the process. We ventured through the double doors again in the dark, and took the regulating stopping wholly out; my instructions were that they were to operate with the doors so as to lay the whole pressure of the atmosphere direct from the shaft on this district for ten minutes; that done, they were to alter the doors, so as to let the air take its ordinary course for five minutes, and so on until they heard from me. I also sent a man out a mile, to enter the return passages of the air. There to hang his lamp up in a sheltered spot, and if ever he saw it fill with flame he was to prop open the two man doors, and come to nie.