372 Mr. Bubble's Narrative of the Explosion 



the top of the A pit ; under these circumstances, the B Pit furnace could 

 not be lit with safety. It therefore became necessary to shorten the run 

 of the C Pit air to such an extent as to enable the water-fall to reduce it 

 below the firing point, and to carry off that part which could not be so di- 

 luted by the pipe drifts and dumb furnace. 



This plan succeeded, and on the morning of the 21st of August the two 

 furnaces were lit up, without the slightest accident. It was of importance 

 that the furnaces in the two up-cast pits should be lit at the same moment ; 

 the best mode of effecting which was, a desideratum, as the old mode, by 

 running a red-hot ring of iron down a line from the surface into the fur- 

 naces was impracticable, owing to the distance at which they were placed 

 from the bottoms of the pits. 



My friend, Major Emmett, of the Royal Engineers, who took great in- 

 terest in our operations, and from whom I received many valuable hints 

 during their progress, suggested the idea of lighting them by the aid of a 

 piece of quick and slow match, such as is used in the artillery service. I 

 carried this hint into effect in the following manner : — A piece of French 

 slow match, of sufficient length to burn twenty-seven minutes, was attach- 

 ed to a piece of quick match of five or six inches in length, with a piece 

 of mealed gunpowder secured in a paper case at the point of junction. The 

 furnaces being made on with a cold fire of dry wood, tarred rope, and coals, 

 an apparatus of the above description was placed in each. The slow 

 matches were fired at the same instant, the time being regulated by stop- 

 watches ; the common artillery slow match being used for that purpose, 

 which allowed sufficient time for the parties employed in the operation to 

 get to bank before the quick match was ignited. 



The interval of time between the lighting of the slow match, and the 

 appearance of the smoke from the furnaces, was watched with great anx- 

 iety. And as nearly as possible to the time calculated, we had the satis- 

 faction of seeing the smoke begin to appear at the top of the up-cast pits, 

 and presently afterwards to discharge freely, which shewed that the furnaces 

 were effectually ignited, and that the return air from the workings was 

 not inflammable. In a couple of hours the furnaces were renovated with 

 fresh coals, and the return currents of air to both were found remarkably 



