244 COAL 



The miners descend into the mine in a cage, to which is 

 attached a rope, two inches thick, of twisted steel wire. 

 This rope passes over a pulley, which lets down and pulls 

 up the cages. The cage consists of a wooden floor, supporting 

 an open iron framework, something like a large box with open 

 sides ; it has two or more stages or decks, and holds about 

 twenty men. 



The miner cuts the coal with a sharp-pointed, double-ended 

 pick. One of the most important of his operations is holing. 

 This consists in cutting a horizontal slit, about three feet 

 deep, in the wall of coal, so that the overhanging mass falls 

 of its own weight. To do this he has to lie upon his side, 

 or in some other cramped position, and the darkness in 

 which he works is barely relieved by the glimmer of his 

 lamp. 



When the coal has been cut, it is put upon wagons and 

 brought to the bottom of the shaft. Here it is placed on a cage 

 and pulled up to the pit's mouth. The amount of coal brought 

 up varies in different mines, but is generally from 100 to 150 

 tons per hour. 



Dangers in Coal-mining. During the period when the woody 

 fibre of the trees and plants was fossilizing, or changing into 

 coal, some of the carbon of the fibre united with hydrogen 

 to form Marsh Gas. This is an inflammable gas, which, when 

 united with air, becomes explosive. It occurs in all coal- 

 mines, and often escapes with great violence during the working 

 of coal-seams. It is the presence of this gas that sometimes 

 causes terrible explosions in mines, and it is for this reason 

 that miners carry safety lamps. 1 



Sometimes, too, water enters a mine, and the miners are 

 in danger of being cut off from their comrades. A very 

 exciting adventure of this kind is described in Sans Famille, 

 by Hector Malot. 



1 Marsh gas is the ' Fire damp ' of the miner. During an explosion 

 a chemical change takes place, and large quantities of carbon dioxide are 

 formed. This carbon dioxide is the ' choke damp ' of the miner, and 

 probably causes more deaths than the actual explosion. 



