In a Well near Leith Fort. 109 



appeared as if dead, and leaning over the bucket, so as to be 

 in danger of falling out altogether. The men, therefore, above, 

 fearful of his falling down and being killed, instantly lowered 

 the bucket again, and one of them, ignorant of its being 

 noxious air that had burst from its confinement, slid down on 

 the rope, still without a candle, to see what was the matter 

 with his comrade ; on finding, however, his breathing begin- 

 ning to be affected, he returned to the mouth of the bore. A 

 lighted candle was now procured, and brought to the mouth 

 of the pit ; no sooner had its flame reached the level of the 

 ground, over the bore, than the whole air in the pit, inflamed 

 and exploded with a report as loud as that produced by firing 

 a large piece of ordnance ; the flames rose to the height of 

 forty feet and more from the pit's mouth, and are described 

 as having been of a blue colour. A strong sulphureous odour 

 was immediately perceptible. 



It was not until two hours after this explosion, that the un- 

 fortunate man was drawn out ; he was quite dead — his clothes 

 were but little injured by the flames. Those, who were stand- 

 ing near, or over the mouth of the bore, at the time of the 

 explosion, got themselves much scorched, and otherwise hurt. 

 The whole neighbourhood was violently shaken, but no win- 

 dows were bi'oken by the shock. 



No work was done in the pit for a week after this occurrence; 

 but on the eighth day after, a candle was again brought to the 

 pit's mouth, when immediately a second explosion, not quite 

 so violent as the first, but of the same character, ensued ; nor 

 could the men venture down for several days ; and the gas 

 collected in such quantity, that, for about a week after this, 

 it was exploded every morning ; and the men found, that the 

 quantity collected seemed to be greater in wet than in dry 

 weather. On continuing the workings at the bottom of the 

 bore, it was seen, that the jumper, used by the deceased and 

 his companion, had penetrated a large cavity, situated imme- 

 diately under the clay, and having for its floor a stratum of 

 soft bituminous shale, called by miners blaize. In this ca- 

 vity, therefore, — the size of which could not be exactly ascer- 

 tained, — the gas seems to have been confined. By the 20th of 

 May, they had got about ten feet below the surface of the 



