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

35 sible force the water clown its original channel to the Tyne, and thereby prevent it from getting to Coxlodge engines. We had got the dams put into all ordinary holeings, but how to get one put into the south east drifts, leading to the Engine Pit, and that too, to the west of the twenty fathom pit, become a subject of controversy. The drift in this distance was con- structed for a double purpose, being sunk at the north side, three feet below the sole or level of the horseway, with three feet additional breadth, and a quadrant arch turned from the sole of the horseway, to and against the wall on the north side, making the height between nine and ten feet, and in some parts eleven feet from the bottom level to the roof. This portion of the drift was a horizontal chimney too, to convey the smoke from the engine (that drew the coals, &c., up out of this twenty fathom pit), to the Granary, as the up-cast shaft; it was also the water’s channel away to the Tyne. The construction and shape of the drift were in this form, at F. (See next page.) But at this time all the working had long ceased, and the place was now a void space of curious form, and apparently it was a prevalent opinion that clay dams would not resist the pressure of water at more than between six and seven feet high, and that they became soluble in the water at above that point. I was of a diffei’ent opinion, I had had a great deal of practice in putting in dams, and reflection on the operations of nature induced me to conclude that the secret was to prevent a union of action with the water and atmosphere operating on the clay, consequently my object was to exclude this com- bined influence, and form a dam accordingly. After examining the strata in the whole of the distance, I found the formation best suitable near to the twenty fathom pit for such an experiment; it was here a close grained white poste, or free-stone without threads or facings, yet it was eleven feet in height from the bottom level to the roof. I set the men on to cut out the ground work at this part, confident of success. While so engaged, on a certain clay, we had also eight men on getting clay down the Granary Pit, and into the twenty fathom, to be ready for the com- pletion of the dam, &c. To keep up the ventilation we had a large fire lamp at the bottom of this pit as the up-cast, the Old Engine Pit being the down-cast, expecting this would be a protection against eveiy contin- gency, all hands (thirteen in number) were working away quite cheerfully. J'lie under-viewer came down to see the process, and the principle on which 1 was going to build the dam. They had not got far from the shaft when a sudden and serious change took place in the atmosphere, and such was the mighty outburst of carbonic acid gas from the old Yo,,kings to the south, the west, and north, cutting off our communica- tion with the shaft, and instantly enveloped us in darkness. Being so situated, each man was making for the shaft as fast as he could to save* hs own life, if possible, regardless of his fellows at the dam ; we, being furthest in, the fire lamp at the shaft, which a few minutes before was burning a bright glowing fire, was in an instant put out, and the reel hot cinders turned as black as coal—such is the effect of the deadly poison °n combustion. We at the dam were nearly 500 yards from the shaft, aud had to plod through water nearly the whole of the distance, at some parts up to the chest. One man wrapped his jacket round his head and