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

37 beloved Queen; beneath is the magic name of Victoria, with the date; and last of all is my own name. Tinis does man build up monuments, even in the mine, to outlive himself; not another man engaged on that day now lives, all are gone save myself, who alone am left to tell the tale of times that are past, days of other years. We now wend our way home; our ascent was by the Oki Engine Pit, and having all got safe up, we bade adieu to the dreary scenes of danger and slavish toil, and transferred them to other men of other times. But we are not yet done with the south and west portion of the waste and water channel; we had frequently to descend the Granary Pit to gauge the water and examine the passages. After the lapse of years we again got the water of Kenton old workings down to Coxlodge engines, consequently I took three of the wastemen with me to find out the cause, and if pos- sible to apply a remedy to the evil. One day, the weather being most favourable, with a bright sky and brisk wind from the north by west, we descended the Granary Pit, one by one, and found near two feet of water at the bottom of tlie shaft, which told us the stoppage must be along the north-east cross-cut, as the main drift that leads into the old workings. We knew that we had left the innermost dam one foot short from the roof for ventilating purposes, so that we dreaded a monster fall might raise the water until it ran over this dam, and so we found it. After plodding through the water, and over the falls, we at last came to what was truly a monster fall, it had broken down tlie arching for several yards, and we found the water close up to the roof, darn’d back froni-this point, and uo doubt but running over the dam as we suspected. Being pro- vided with the implements of labour, we began to reduce tlie fall imme- diately, and run off the water in the best way we could, so as to bring it below the level of tlie dam. I had not, however, forgotten the lesser arch, built in beneath the larger and original one, consequently I sent a man out at different times to examine, and ascertain if the water was getting away to the south west, or if it was rising any at this little arch at tlie cross-cut head. On every occasion lie came back and told me all was right; on this information we ran tlie water off as fast as possible, and at last considering we had done enough for the day, we left our gear to return again and finish the work properly. We then setoff for home, but to our astonishment when we got to this lesser arch we found the water two inches above the centre, yet we felt no impediment or incon- venience in the air as to breathing. I accused the itian of the imposi- tion he had practised, and the importance of the duty entrusted to him, and the culpability of his own conduct. I then broke through one of the stoppings into the return drift, and found the water up to the roof there also. There we were, barred in. with water, the effect of an incautious imposition, with no prospect but to form a resolute determi- nation. to save our own lives, by diving through this lesser arch, a distance of eighteen yards, without any delay. The construction of the lower arch, is shown on the plan, it is built in beneath the larger, is marked red, and is situated between tlie south-east by east drift leading to the twenty fathom, marked C., and forty fathom, marked D., to the Old Engine Pit at E.; and the north-east by east cross-cut head, leading