A KEW-FAPHIONED BOOTJACK. 
33P 
was apparently the backbone of a bed of dark-gray griv- 
nite or sandstone, when, presto! instead of feeling a solid 
rock under his foot, he would find himself boot-top 
under; and, upon being assisted to haul his leg out, he 
would cither leave his boot behind, or drag it out be- 
smeared with a greasy paste, just for all the world as if 
he had stepped into a tub of soft soap. It acted the part 
of a bootjack for us more than once, and with admirable 
success. 
In some places this singular substance ran from the 
mountain’s side just like so much fat, — not in a stream, 
for its consistency was too groat to admit of flowing; 
but we often found basins of it that had apparently 
soaked through the earth, and in these cases it was so thin 
as to admit readily of being stirred with a stick. In 
other places it was found in a more dense state; and 
in this latter stage it often proved a great draw^back to 
us in our mining-operations, for, as it generally existed 
in layers over and between the strata of coal, we had 
to dig it away with shovels before w'e could get at this 
latter. It was so sticky that it often I’efused to leave 
the shovel, and the men complained greatly of its 
straining their arms. One man Avho attempted to heave 
a shovelful of it down the hill-side, wdiile his footing 
was none of the firmest, had it stick to such an extent 
as to carry him down, shovel and all, upon the boggy 
pile, where he stuck horizontally upon all fours until 
some of his fellow-shovellers hauled him out. And 
there were twm others w’ho resorted to a “ clinch” as 
the readiest mode of reconciling a difference of opinion, 
when the weaker party, falling upon his back with the 
