IN PERIL UNDERGROUND.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 21, 11 July 1863, Page 8

IN PERIL UNDERGROUND.

My comrades and I were underground and hard at work two full hours before sunrise. Our work lay in a part of the coal mine, far away from where the general work was carried on, and was on this account comparatively lonely and remote. We were employed in driving a pair of drifts through a barrier of coal which divided the workings of two coal-pits situate in the north of England. But before I proceed further, it will be necessary to describe the workings of the two pits, and their relation to each other. The pit by which we descended was sunk near the dip of the mining property, so as to allow the water to flow in all directions towards the pump, by which it was raised to the surface. The air for ventilating the mine desoended this downcast pit. After traversing the underground workings and galleries, it was conveyed, by means of a short shaft or staple, into a coal seam lying sixty-five feet above, and then found its way by an air-course to the ventilating furnaces at the bottom of the up-cast pit. The upcast was distant from the down-cast about one mile, and its lowest seam of coal was worked for a considerable distance down the incline or to dipward, the strata dipping regularly to the east, at an angle of about eight degrees. All these workings, which were open and extensive, had been for a number of years filled with water, through the insufficiency of the pumping engine to maintain a constant and complete drainage of the mine. And it had been thought better by the managers to suspend the working of this pit, and erect a more powerful engine at the downcast, which was accordingly accomplished. In order to draw off the water from the inundated works, drifts were started to be driven through the barrier which divided the workings of the two pits. They were to be driven to within twenty or thirty feet of the water, and the •remaining portion of coal to be pierced by large bore-holes supplied with stopcocks, so that the water could be drained off at pleasure. Eighteen of us were employed in these drifts, ana, as we were divided into three parties of six each—each party contributing eight hours of alternating labor in the twenty-four,—we kept the drifts in a constant state of progression. You will readily understand that the barrier was a long strip of coal, bounded on its upper edge by the dip of the old inundated workings of the upcast pit, on its lower by the rise, or upper part of tie workings of the down-cast; and in order to reach it we had to traverse an old headway or narrow bord, which had been reopened and mndfl into a waggon-way to convey the coal mined in the drifts to the pit's bottom. This headway cut or intersected various bords or galleries, driven parallel to the main level of the shaft; but they were closed up at their points of intersection by firmly-built brick stoppings. From the 6haft, or pit bottom, to the headway, the distance was, south, four hundred yards; and from the main level, west, up the incline of the seam, to the barrier, eight hundred yards; and the drifts had pierced the barrier, in the same direction, one hundred and eighty yards, at the time my sad tale commences. We had worked with great caution, keeping bore-holes a sufficient distance in advance, both diagonally and straightforward, to ensure our leaving a quantity of coal adequate to resist the pressure of the water on our near approach to the upper end of the barrier; and, as is necessary in coal-mining operations, we were driving a pair of drifts, connecting them in lateral galleries for the sake of ventilation.

We all seemed to begin with the intention of Tiifllring up for lost time, for I could hear the ringing of my comrades' picks, while the dull thumps of the bore-rods showed that they were applied diligently. I was beginning to feel quite cheerful, as we always do when our work yields, when suddenly there came a tremendous crash, accompanied by a violent rush of wind, which swept ont all our lights and left us in darkness. We did not stay to reflect, for we knew that something serious had happened, and to run towards the shaft was apparently the only chance left to us. And run we did. I being the youngest and most nimble, got the lead and kept it to the end of that fearful race; for it was a race in {the dark down a narrow drift, and the prize was precious life itself. Being in advance, I was free from the hindrance of tumbling over my comrades, and so escaped many bruises. An extraordinarily strong current of air was steadily opposing me with great force; but on I flew, scarcely noticing it, nor did I much heed what had been at first a low rumbling noise, but which was now rapidly neariag and increasing into the roar of furious elements. I took no time to reflect on the cause of this increasing thundering noise; my only object was to gain the bottom of the pit, and for this I strained every nerve. On I flew; nearer and nearer came the horrible roar, which seemed to be close on my right-hand side; for I had now gone a considerable distance down the old headway, where the workings were on each side separated from me only by the brick stoppings at the end of each lateral gallery, as I explained. I still ran on; but now a noise burst into the headway, which convinced me that the roar proceeded from water, and that the mines were inundated! It had been too deafening and general for ae to distinguish the cause before, and it was most fortunate that I understood it when I did, for another second would have plunged me into the madly rushing torrents. The water burst through the stopping with such force that, when it struck the angles of the opposite pillars of coal, it caused the floor and roof of the mine to shake as if convulsed by an earthquake. It seems to me as if I was then invested with the power of seeing the events taking place in all parts of the mine. The bodies of men were caught up by the currents and

dashed fearfully against the jambs of the coal pillars, tearing them, as jl thought, limb from limb, and drifting the parts in different directions. The most painful scene which my imagination, or perhaps something superior, forced upon my vision, was that of a little driver, eleven years of age, whom I recognised in the main waggon-way, with his horse yoked to a train of rolleys and corves. He had been in the act of driving outwards with his load, but his horse was backing and plunging. Tears were flowing fast down the poor little driver's smutty face, when a rush of water down an adjoining headway engulphed all at once—the horse, the driver, and the load. This euded a succession of visions too horrible to detail. It seemed as if I had been a considerable time witnessing such scenes, but it could not have been more than a minute.

It required all my energy to enable me to start backwards; but the splash of a body of water close to me showed the immediate necessity of this only alternative. Back I ran as fast as my now trembling limbs would carry me. I was knocked down, and had not the faintest power to prevent my opponent from running headlong into the water. I regained my legs, and commenced a speedy retreat. I soon met my remaining companions, and prevailed on them to turn back, which I had to do by means of cuffs and signs, for we could not hear each other's voices. We all made directly to the face of the drift, where the noise was not so loud, and where we could talk to each other quite easily. One was missing, and we knew too well his awful fate. We were so confused and terror-stricken at our horrible situation that we could scarcely command our senses, and raved more like insane men than rational beings. There were lamentations, prayers, hopes, wishes, all uttered simultaneously—their poor wives and dear children—who would protect them, was their plaintive cry ! Our situation was really desperate. There we were, driven into the face of a narrow drift, six feet wide by four feet high, and we could hear the water rapidly advancing, while none of us knew whether we should be spared many minutes in this life or not. About an hour afterwards we were comparatively calm, like men in a state of fretful resignation. The distant roar had gradually ceased, and I was the first to venture to the water's edge, which may have been about forty yards from the face of the drift. I found great resistance in moving, and, knowing some little trifle of pneumatics, came to the conclusion that this resistance was caused by the compression of the air; therefore, that the column of water would be kept back by the elasticity of the air, and that we were no longer in danger of being drowned. I communicated my opinions to my comrades, and then went into the other drift to reflect. My spirits rose high, and I felt extraordinary mental power; owing, I suppose, to the increased pressure of the atmosphere and the proportionate amount of oxygen. By the height of the water, and length of the drifts within the barriers, from which no air could escape, I found the pressure had increased two additional atmospheres ; and by the degree of inclination, I calculated that the water would be stationary about thirty yards above the face of the drifts. The upper edge of the barriers of coal was expected to be about twenty yards further than the face, thus leaving ten or twenty yards of water above the upper edge of the barrier. It also struck me that some one would be down the up-cast pit examining the old works to endeavour to give relief to those who had been working in the upper part of the new or down-cast workings. I knew, however, that this would be probably given up as soon as the settled level of the water had been discovered; yet, with the hope of being heard, I commenced knocking on the face of the drift, and continued to do so in measured time, so that any one might recognise the knocks as proceeding from us. Most fortunately the very first blows I struck were heard: they were faintly answered by similar knocks, which appeared to us a hopeless distance off.

This, I afterwards learned, was the case; for a party of explorers were there, and were on the point of turning back in despair, when the sound of my first blows reached them. They could not tell what to make of it, nor how to account for the sounds proceeding from below the level of the water; and a sort of superstitious dread came over them as they answered the knocks by making similar ones on the nearest coal; which, however, was cut off from the barrier by a gallery, which accounted for their faintness. I immediately returned to my companions, and communicated to them my hopes of escape. They were still in a state of quiet despair, yet they agreed to keep up a system of knocking on the face of the drift, though with small hopes of good result. Knocks responding to our own, and with the same measured time, a little raised their spirits, for we knew that, if it was possible, we should get assistance. The knocks seemed to be about forty yards distant, struck on the edge of the seam, which confirmed my supposition that the upper edge of the barriers was under water. The question was, could the water be lowered by the new pumping engine, so that a drift could be driven towards us from the upper edge of the barrier ? and could this be accomplished before we died of starvation 1 That a drift would be driven to us we felt confident, but it might arrive too late to save life. Yet hope gleamed brightly through all the blackness, and we, one and all, looked forward to an ultimate release. We had to suffer much. It was honible to think that the water we were obliged to drink contained the dead bodies of all our friends and comrades; among them, my two brothers and my father, who had been working in another part of the mine, where I knew they must have

been drowned. And then I thought of my mother and sisters, how they would be mourning for us all; and I prayed to be spared for their sakes. Time passed, and brought on hunger; and soon our thoughts were concentrated on our own sufferings. We had a few pounds of candles which we divided amongst us, and which we were obliged to eat very sparingly. Two of our number sickened and died very shortly after the candles were consumed ; leaving but three of us to meet our fate. The poor fellows died quietly, without a murmur, and it seemed to us as if they had simply fallen asleep, when they lay dead beside us. "VVe did not throw them into the water, for a sense of deathly sickness was settling on us, as the change from hunger to weakness was taking place. At the beginning of that trial I suffered terribly from hunger, and my mental sufferings were also great; but, as I grew weaker, my pains and sufferings diminished in proportion to my strength. Hope left us at last, and we ceased knocking on the face of the rock ; but once more I collected the little remaining strength I had and struck a few blows. There was no response. Then hope flew, and I did not care to encourage it back. The last clear recollection I have, was calling Harry Walter's and Whitehead's names, and that they did not answer. I then laid down; for I felt drowsy. What passed now seemed to be a feeble dream. I had alternating periods of light and darkness ; in the light period I seemed to live, but in the dark I thought I was dead. I also faintly recollect that I considered why I did not go to the world eternal. It then appeared faintly illuminated, and I imagined I was sur- ! rounded by beings like what I had pictured the I angels to be, but they looked very sad; I thought I was still prostrate and human, and very miserable. The scene gradually darkened, and I thought I heard familiar noises, but my head | seemed to fly from my body and dart against something hard. I suppose that I was trying to sit up then, but from weakness fell back.

At last I saw light once again, this time more vividly than before, though but for a moment. I thought I was in a tomb of fire, while a being, human in form but of brilliant flame in substance, came towards me, and took hold of me. In an instant all was dark, and I remember no more.

It was weeks before I got better, or could call to mind the feelings and incidents I have just related. I can only account for the light and dark periods by -supposing that I was delirious when I thought it was light, but sane and semi-unconscious when I thought it was dark. The noises I heard were real, for a drift was being driven towards where I lay, and they must have proceeded from the workmen. The familiar sounds no doubt aroused me, and I tried to sit up, but I was too weak for this, and must have fallen back on the slaty floor. When the opening was made and the candles of the searchers appeared, I must have opened my eyes and believed the place to be a tomb of fire, and the man who was as a flame in human form must have been the man who rushed to ascertain whether I was alive or dead. I can make no other explanation.—All the Year Round.