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

31 1818, everything being taken out of it that was considered worth removing. It was now 1837, so that nineteen years had passed over since it was laid bare, exposed to the action of the atmosphere, and left to Time’s destroying power. On this occasion we had to go down this pit; and to describe the danger in descending this shaft is almost beyond my literary powers. Our mode of descent was a gin, a horse, and a man to manage it, one man. only could go down at once, and I having the charge, of course must lead; we had prepared an enginewriglit’s lantern with three candles (sixteen to the pound) stuck in among the clay, to keep them erect, and protect them from the falling drops of water as I descended. The horse bad to walk backwards, guided by the man at its head which rendered the motion of descent extremely slow, the man decending with one thigh m the loop, and his left arm round the chain, with a heavy lantern in bis hand, and with the yard-wand in his right hand, to guide and keep himself as near as possible in the centre of the shaft; his object being to see everything, but touch nothing. As I passed by, a cistern projecting over the shaft and the collerens which formerly supported the bratticing, were all gone to decay, some broken as if something had fallen on them, some were loose at one encl, with iron bolts in them, hanging as if ready to drop; the sides of the shaft too, where the strata was tender, had given way, large side-wefers had slidden off, and others were hanging dreadful to pass by. The sixty fathom below the level of the drift, was filled with debris and water, and in this precarious and dangerous position I at length reached the surface of the water, and was the entrance of Kity’s drift. I then shouted “ hold" at the top of my voice; the signal was instantly attended to, and I hung looking around me with anxiety to find a place to land on. I could, however, reach no object to take advantage of, nor dared to look up to the fearful scenes I had passed in my descent. My duty prompted me to persevei’ence, and a thought struck me, if I could effect an oscillating swing of eight or nine feet, it would set me into the drift’s end, if they at the bank could but manage their part, I again shouted up to those at the top, and explained to them what I wanted to be at, the instructions were that as soon as I shouted down, they were to drop me that instant, under the hope of landing me where I wished to be: by this I got myself put in motion, slowly at first, but gradually increasing both speed and distance, like children on the swinging rope, and when I thought I had got the necessary spring, I shouted to those at bank down. In doing so I prepared myself for a hold of something, and fortunately caught an iron bolt at the end, and in the side of the drift, set in the solid stone for past purposes; this I clung to with the earnest intention of success, but they were too slow at the top in lowering down, which subjected me to serious inconveniences, and additional danger; by the forty fathom length of rope, in its vibratory spring, striking the sides of the shaft, and bringing down vast quantities of stones, &c., which whistled, into the water behind me. This made me loose my hold of the chain, and throw forward the lantern. Depending then on the bolt altogether for safety, I drew my leg out of the loop, and by the aid of this bolt I managed to crawl into the drift, but under these circumstances I could not preserve my lights, and there I stood in the mouth and entrance of the drift, witliout