634 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



struggling against the liiieful ravages of the in- 

 flammable air; but it baffled the sklli of the most 

 experienced engineers, and all the precautions ol 

 liieir most unwearied diligence and anxious atten- 

 tion. The genera! quesiion, and anxious inqui- 

 ries were: Can no remedy be devised to avert 

 these awful cilamiiies, to deliver an industrious 

 class ot'society from such desolating catastrophes'? 

 Many plans were proposed, but they were altoge- 

 ther inapplicable. The hrst person who stepped 

 forward, a number of years ago, and wrote upon 

 the subject, was Dr. Trotter, of Newcastle. He 

 j)ublished a pamphlet, wherein he proposed to 

 neutralize the carbureited hydrogen as soon as it 

 appeared iathe mine, by chemical agents. Every 

 praise is due to him, lor his very humane inten- 

 tions, and earnest endeavor to remedy an evil so 

 great. But although the principles he brought 

 Ibrward were consonant with sound philosophy, 

 and were practicable upon a small scale, they 

 were totally inapplicable to the extended workings 

 of a coal-mioe, where there were excavations of 

 many hundred acres, and where the issue of gas was 

 not only incessant, but in great abundance ; hence, 

 the principle was not only inapplicable in a gene- 

 ral point of view, but the expense of the neutral- 

 izing substances must iiave been so great, even 

 had the principle been applicable, as to render the 

 plan altogether out of the question. After Dr. 



past eleven o'clock, the gas fired, and produced a 

 most tremendous ex|)losion, which alarmed all the 

 neighboring villages. "The subterraneous fire 

 broke forth with iwo heavy discharges from the 

 dip-pit, and these were instantly followed by one 

 from the rise-pit. A slight trembling, as from an 

 earthquake, was felt fijr about half a mile around 

 the colliery, and the noise of the explosion, though 

 dull, was heard at from three to four miles dis- 

 tance. Immense quantiues of dust and small 

 coal accompanied these blasts, and rose high into 

 the air, m the form of an inverted cone. The 

 heaviest part of the ejected matter, such as corves, 

 wood, and small coal, fell near the pits, but the 

 dust borne away by a strong west wind, fell in a 

 continued shower to the distance of a mile and a 

 half from the pit. In tlie adjoining village of 

 Heworth it caused a darknees like that of early 

 twilight, and covered the roads so thickly, that the 

 foot-steps of passengers were imprinted in it. The 

 heads of both shaft-frames were blown off, their 

 sides set on fire, and their pulleys shattered in 

 pieces. The coal-dust ejected from the rise-pit 

 into the horizontal part of the ventilating tube 

 was about three inches thick, and soon burnt to a 

 cinder ; pieces of burning coal driven off the solid 

 stratum of the mine were also blown up this 

 shaft." 



Such were the fearful and volcanic effects in the 



Trotter's pamphlet, nothing particular appeared mine and atmosphere ; but we have yet to state 



lor years upon this important subject, the mining 

 engmeers, therefore, applied their whole skill and 

 energies in producing a circulation by the means 

 before mentioned, particularly upon the principles 

 of rarelijclion and exhaustion by fire. 



In some cases, fish, which in the incipient stage 

 of putrefaction, give a strong phosphoric light, 

 had been tried to give light to the miner in very 

 dangerous cases ; and the light produced bv the 

 collision of flint and steel was universally employ- 

 ed, when candles could not be used without pro- 

 ducing an explosion. The machine lor producing 

 this light is named a steel mill, which will be par- 

 ticularly noticed afterwards. Philosophers pro- 

 posed the various kinds of phosphorus, but these 

 were altogether insufficient for the purpose. When 

 tried in the mines, they only produced a most me- 

 lancholy light, and rather tended to render the 

 "darkness visible." In the mean time the mines 

 were extended, and the melancholy catastrophes 

 constantly increased. At last an explosion and 

 catastrophe took place at Felling colliery, near 

 Gateshead, in the county of Durham, about a 

 mile and a half distant fiom Newcastle, more 

 dreadful and melancholy in their consequences 

 than any which had ever taken place in the colli- 

 eries of Great Britain. This colliery was work- 

 ing with great vigor, and under a most regular 

 system, both as to the mining operations and ven- 

 tilation ; the latter was eflected by a furnace 

 and air-lube placed upon a rise-pit on elevated 

 ground, south from the turnpike road leading to 

 Sunderland. The depth of the winning was 

 above 100 fathoms ; twenty-five acres of coal had 

 been excavated, and sucli was the execution of 

 work, that from one pit they were drawing at the 

 rate of 1700 tons of coal weekly. Upon The 25lh 

 May, 1812, the night-shif\ was relieved by the 

 day-shift of miners at eleven o'clock forenoon, one. 



the result of the melancholy catastrophe as re- 

 garded the unfortunate miners. Of the 121 per- 

 sons in the mine, at the time of the explosion, only 

 32 were drawn up the pit alive; and of these, 

 three died within a few hours alter the accident. 

 Thus were no let's than 92 persons killed in an in- 

 stant by th?s desolating pestilence. The scene ai 

 the pit-mouth cannot be described. 



The viewer, with his assistants, instantly de- 

 scended, in the face of the most imminent danger, 

 eager to save, if possible, any of the workmen ; 

 but the mine was found to be on fire, and they 

 durst not proceed. In consequence of this fire, 

 another explosion took place, and no alternative 

 was lefi but to shut up the pits, and extinguish the 

 fire, which was accordingly done. The pits were, 

 alter a considerable lime, again opened, but it was 

 the 19ih day of September, belbre the complete 

 ventilation v/as restored, and tiie last of the bodies 

 of those who had perished was found ; a period of 

 117 days from the day on which the accident look 

 place. A minute account of this accident was 

 published by Rev. John Hodgson, the worthy 

 pastor of Heworth ; who, upon this melancholy 

 occasion, attended most assiduously, and perform- 

 ed the most painful duties amongst his suli'ering 

 peo|)le. From his account of the misfortune, the 

 particulars above stated are taken. 



This filial misfortune at Felling, roused the 

 minds of every one connected with coal-mines, in 

 order to find, if possible, a remedy for preventing 

 such catastrophes. 



It appears that Dr. William Reid Clanny, of 

 Sunderland, who, from his medical profession, had 

 frequently to attend the neighboring collieries, 

 when the workmen were hurt by the explosions 

 of the gas, had, in ihe year 1813, turned his at- 

 tention to the construction of a lamp which would 

 burn oraongei inflammable air, and, though an 



hundred and twenty-one perf^ons were in the mine, j explosion might take place in the lamp, would not 

 and had taken their several places, when, at half- |communicale flame to the external Burroundir.g 



