Horace B. Woodward — A Ramhle Across the Mendips. 483 



shoulders, and so rode home, dubbed by his friends the " Ammon 

 Knight." ' 



There also is a coal-mine ; but as we are going to loot at those at 

 Eadstock, we shall not delay here, but push on now through Marks- 

 bury, with Stantonbury Hill Camp on our left. Near here are traces 

 of the Wansdyke, which is considered to have been the last frontier 

 boundary, or line of protection, of the Belgfe, as they drove the 

 ancient Britons northwards ; and the numerous old camps speak of 

 the hard struggles between these tribes and the Eomans who 

 followed. 



Thence we pass over a gentle hilly country, which has a certain 

 sameness about it, to Eadstock. This may be said to be the 

 capital of the Somerset Coal-field, although it is a miserable little 

 town. One of the most striking features in the neighbourhood is the 

 number and size of the coal tips, the heaps of shale and grit brought 

 up from the mines and tipped at the mouth. They form large hills, 

 and quite alter the appearance of the country around Eadstock, 

 Camerton, Timsbury, and Paulton. The reason why the mines are 

 usually commenced some little way up the hills is to allow for these 

 tips. Wishing to go down one of the mines in company with a 

 friend, we arranged with the steward, or overseer of the men who 

 worked in the mine, and then awaited our turn to descend the shaft 

 into the lower regions. It was a busy scene above ground, the coal 

 being brought ixp and carried away in little trucks, to be transferred 

 to the railway waggons close at hand, or to be conveyed away in carts 

 to neighbouring towns. Boys and men were hard at work perform- 

 ing various duties, some at the engine-house, where a stationary 

 engine was placed to draw up and let down the little trucks that 

 carried the coal out of the mine. In some of the mines changes of 

 clothes are provided for visitors. I inquired of a coal-miner as to 

 this, whereupon he took off his old cap and offered it to me. Under 

 the circumstances, I preferred adhering to my own. 



"When all was ready, we got into a sort of iron cage with a lot of 

 men. " Keep still, and don't put your arms out," were the words 

 of caution given, and down we went some seven hundred feet with 

 a swift but steady movement into the mine. We felt the air at 

 once close and oppressive. When at the bottom, we were provided 

 with candles, as in the Eadstock mines there is no danger from 

 " fire-damp." Our guide proceeded with a flaring oil-lamp, leaving 

 behind it an odour that was anything but refreshing. We walked 

 cautiously along a tramway, having every now and then to stand up 

 close to allow a truck to pass, which was pulled along by a wire 

 rope, and we had to be A-ery wary of this rope, which lay along our 

 track ready to be pulled away at a swift pace at any moment. 

 Further in the mine the way got shallower, and we had to stoop ; 

 horses were emploj^ed in drawing the trucks, and galloped along 

 attended by small boys. The passages which at first were bricked 

 up were now supported by beams of wood, for as the coal is worked 



^ See Notes on a Geological Excursion to Bath, by Prof. Morris, Geol, Mag., 

 Vol. V. p. 234. 



