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

32 any light, except the shade of day, which, falling on the surface of the water, was reflected back to the sides of the shaft, showing in more dismal form the dangers I had passed. Thus anxiously gazing on the dreary scene, I stood alone in contemplative silence, my mind wandering between duty and humanity, the question with me being, whether I should allow any more men to venture down, or whether it would not be better that I should try to get up again myself. While I stood in this frame of mind, those at the bank shouted down, wishful to ascertain if all was right with me, and expressed a wish, to follow. On this, I permitted the process to gc on, charging them to bring a light, and be carefu] to keep in the centre of the shaft. The great increase of danger in descending this shaft was, in a great measure, occasioned by the working away of the strata, right round the shaft, for useful purposes, no doubt, when it was a current going pit. On the north and west side had stood the machinery, and on the south and east side had stood a large cistern, or reservoir, into which the engine had delivered the water, the whole would at the time be supported with timber properly arranged to make it secure and keep it safe; the entire excavation formed a circle of great height, right round the shaft; ex- tending the diameter to an enormous area on the level with Kity’s drift, but now, at 1837, the timberand other supporters had been out of this shaft nineteen years, and those large projecting frames of stone had been left exposed to the atmosphere, that common changer of nature’s scenery. When in this state they had fallen away for several yards up this shaft, which was now, at this part, in the shape of a cone without any support whatever, this was the most dangerous position I ever saw man placed in, and it was at once seen to be so. Well do I remember how those scenes operated on my mind at the time, when in my dreams the appalling vision appeared at my bed, where sleep and rest alone should be. However, the process was continued with safety to all; we got down one by one, and my being there to receive t,- >u removed the principal difficulty in landing them into the drift. When we all got lights, and our first sensation of horror had had time to calm down, w? set ofi* as an exploring party to discover the cause of the stoppage, and where the water got down to Coxlodge Collieiy. We had advanced, say 400 yards (I cannot vouch for distance) along the drift, when we came to a pit sunk in this drift down to the seam of coal 40 fathoms below. The sides of this shaft also were wasted and fallen away by the lapse of years, so that our passage appeared to be stopped, as there was no way of getting ovei* this obstruction without venturing to creep along the water boxes, which had been in use many years before and might be i’otten; but to risk and test them was our only chance of success. Duty again urged us on to perseverance at all hazards; and on to the boxes [ got, all fours, and arrived safely at the other side; in the same way, one by one, all braved the danger, and we pursued our journey until we came to another shaft, sunk by the north side of this drift 20 fathoms down to the coal. But there being plenty of space for us to pass we were subject to no inconvenience, nor exposed to any danger. We found that the wliok of the water from Kenton old workings was running down this pit, and of course away to Coxlodge engines. Hence the increase of water. Still