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

54 that each and every colliery had a sufficient quantity of air properly applied through the mine, so that the workmen might have a healthy atmosphere, and be free from danger. This not being the case, I must apologise for my own ignorance in the system they pursue, and leave the im- portant subject in your own hands, until another coroner’s inquest is made necessaiy by one of those human sacrifices which cannot be prevented by government inspection, as at present put in practice. However, I was after this transferred to another colliery (S. aton Delaval), where my office was that of a gaffer over a certain number of men, who were employed at nights foi’ the purpose of making a district ready for broken or pillar work- ing. There was a general master-shifter over us all, who regulated our proceedings in conformity to the orders of the resident viewer and overmen. eweieset onand directed by this general master every night, with this exception, that we had to act by the orders of the back overman and eputy m reference to preparing and repairing certain places in this dis- i ic , each night. I had not been there long, when one night as we went in we found that the back overman and deputy had not come out, as was leir usual custom: we wondered what was the matter, waited a short time ui suspense, and at last we set off’ to our work. On reaching the spot, we ound them repairing the board-end stoppings, and the inbye side of the separation doors. I asked them what was the reason they were doing that. me ^ie sout^ jU(l was foul, and that the backmen were obliged to go home. I said, “Let’s go in and see it.” In courtesy, I also asked how they got their air, and if these were not down going boards Ihe back overman said they were. “ Well then,” I said, “ Go off home and we 11 clean the place for you.” From my character, they confided in me, and went home. I then took an old man with me, and broke a hole in the up-bearing stopping, to admit us through into these down soing boards, io the west oi the foul jud, where I found the west end of the pillar that was foul quite close, so that no air could pass down it I immediately set to work and made a hole of sufficient size to set the air through, after which we returned back to our work again, making the stopping good as we came out. When we got back to the other’men there was no mflammable gas to be found; and they, not knowing the nature and principle of true ventilation, in wonder asked me what I had p°Mtv m.l '» > "/T ‘>hlS Uttle “Cident mere’y t0 8how the bv X oL wh yiT UCh ,'ydr°8™ 8“ may conquered and expelled eLZi thltlL > “q"redv “M1 by «peri®« ; tat it cannot be sXt „f T10 ?eveI;.had ‘he opportunity to learn, nor saw the sxibtile athenng of the deceptive element, could possibly know how to deal with its peculiarities. 1 mentioned it to show, as well how easy it would be when work of this kind is exposed to’ the .XXent of persons situated, as these men were, for an accident to happen w their hands, they being without the knowledge necessary to meet the emer- faüto dZ dell0 k 6 ltOi Wame?- 1 ?y’ UOt the men’ but those who tail to piovide the knowledge requisite for every contingency. However whether this master-shifter made use of me as a tool to fill up las own defects or not, I cannot say, but whenever Sere wJanyX” fresh to be done, or difficult to do, he invariably told me it was ti Jorde?