370 Mr. Buddle's Narrative of the Explosion 



there for the convenience of the wastemen. These doors are forty yards to 

 the east from the place where those men were at work blasting down the 

 stone, and being out of the way of the ordinary workings, had not been 

 locked for some time preceding the accident. 



William Thompson's body was found lying just at the entrance of the 

 stenting K., and the bottom or cistern of his Davy lamp was lying unin- 

 jured two yards within the end of the stenting, close to where the first 

 door stood, the gauze cylinder was found hanging on a nail near to the 

 place where he had been working,* the body was dreadfully burnt. While 

 the body of William Johnson was lying about a couple of yards to the east 

 of it, nearer to the pit, in a creeping attitude, but neither burnt nor ex- 

 hibiting marks of any sort of violence. He had evidently died of suffoca- 

 tion, without much suffering, as his Davy was found in his hand. He must 

 therefore have been in one of the stow-headways when the explosion hap- 

 pened, and had been endeavouring to escape. If he had been in the 

 Rolley-way Drift at the time he would have been killed by the explosion, 

 or severely burnt, as the fire had passed up the Rolley-way Drift further 

 west than the Stow-headways with great force. 



As has already been observed, these man doors had not for some 

 time been locked, and what could have led Thompson to approach them 

 must remain matter of conjecture, as the having approached them with 

 a naked light from the situation in which his body was found is the only 

 fact that can be known. 



It is a common practice with colliers, when working stone work, as in this 

 case, to make use of the recess, formed by a stopping, or a pair of doors in 

 the opening through a stenting or Coal-wall, as a closet for their clothes, 

 tools, and provisions, and frequently the space between the doors is made 

 use of for the same purpose. But whether Thompson had approached 

 the fatal spot for this purpose, or had been led there for a private occasion 

 or other object, must for ever remain unknown. Nothing could be more 

 clear than, that this was the point of ignition, and that it had exploded 

 the gas, in the two worked out districts, marked L M on the plan. 



* The bottom or cistern of the Davy lamp is frequently used without the gauze cylin- 

 der by the workmen, as a substitute for the commom lamp or candle, where naked lights 

 are permitted to be used. 



