Mr. Buddle's Account of the Explosion in Jarrow Colliery. 195 



Richardson, John Spence, and Richard Storey were found at i ; Spence 

 and Storey, two boys, were dead, the other two were insensible. 



New stoppings were now placed in the headways stentings m, n, o, 

 p, q, the latter of which was the last that had been blown down in that 

 direction, the remaining stoppings to the face of the headways being 

 only shattered. This threw the current of fresh air into the face of the 

 headways (as marked by the darts on the plan) into the east workings. 



On gaining access to the face of the south headways, it was found 

 that no smoke or after-damp had ever penetrated beyond the four-feet 

 down-cast hitch q ; the atmospherical air having remained there all 

 the time unexpelled, and in a pure state. James Pringle, Thomas 

 Stewart, John Elliott, E. Millburn, and George Thornton, were work- 

 ing in those headways when the explosion took place. They felt the 

 shock and whizzing in the air, but the concussion was not so strong 

 as to put out their candles. They were much alarmed, and ran out- 

 wards immediately, but on arriving at the top of the four-feet hitch, 

 which was about fifty yards back from the face, they found the head- 

 ways there completely filled with smoke and after-damp, which were 

 so hot that they durst not venture into it. They then returned to the 

 face and deliberated, as to whether they should remain, or endeavour 

 to get through the smoke out-bie. Pringle got fretful and impatient, 

 and at last determined to run the risk of getting out. He proceed- 

 ed along the fore headway, on his way out ; but on getting on the 

 out-bie side of the rise hitch, he found the smoke and after damp so 

 strong and hot, as almost to be insupportable. He however, perse- 

 vered, and put his linen cap in his mouth, to endeavour in some 

 degree to palliate his sufferings ; and after great difficulty and exertion 

 he reached the crane g, where, by mistake, he went up the fore west 

 drift, instead of continuing along the headways towards the pit, and 

 was found in the face of the drift h, as already described. 



After having effected the ventilation of the west drifts and south 

 winning headways, and recovered all the dead and wounded persons 

 out of those workings, they proceeded to restore the ventilation, and to 

 expel the smoke and after-damp from the east workings, so as to enable 



