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



I have laid upon the table a specimen of the sooty coal taken out of 

 the fatal fissure in the fore drift, and also a specimen taken out of the 

 same fissure in the back drift. The latter, No. 4, it will be perceiv- 

 ed, is in a compact and indurated state, while the former. No. 5, is in a 

 state of disintegration. 



It seems that the compact state of the sooty Coal, in the fissure be- 

 tween the two drifts and in the back drift, had prevented the eruption 

 of gas from taking place in the back drift. The block of Coal in the 

 face of the fore drift having proved to be the point of least resistance. 



By the appearance of the sooty Coal, it would seem to have been ex- 

 hausted of its bitumen, but on testing it in a tobacco pipe, it seemed 

 to give out quite as much gas as the best part of the seam ; the only 

 difference was, that it appeared to give out its gas at a lower tempera- 

 ture. This experiment is not, however, to be depended upon, as it 

 could not be made with sufficient accuracy. No. 1 is the cinder pro- 

 duced from the sooty Coal, and No. 2 is the cinder produced from the 

 best part of the seam. Apparently then, this sooty Coal does not seem 

 to have undergone any material chemical change. The most feasible 

 mode, therefore, of accounting for its presence in this situation is, by 

 supposing the seam to have been crushed by the same convulsion which 

 fractured the strata, and formed the hitch. No. 3, is a specimen of the 

 charred Coal dust, which is deposited in every part of the workings 

 within the range of the fire. This dust flies in all directions in lumi- 

 nous sparks, similar to those discharged from the chimney of an engine, 

 which are frequently propelled by the force of the explosion to a consi- 

 derable distance beyond where the flame of the ignited gas reaches. 

 They scorch and wound those who may happen to be within their reach, 

 and frequently set fire to any combustible substance they may fall upon 

 — sometimes to the Coal itself. 



In the course of the following day, and subsequently, much informa- 

 tion connected with this unfortunate affair was collected from indivi- 

 duals who had escaped the catastrophe ; and as part of their informa- 

 tion may not be altogether uninteresting to the curious, I shall give it 

 without further apology. 



