A GREAT COAL MINE ON FIRE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 232, 30 September 1880, Page 4

A GREAT COAL MINE ON FIRE.

The Keely Run Colliery at- Shenandoah, Pa., was discovered to be on fire on- August 9. On the previous ' Tuesday an attempt was made to ventilate the inside workings, but the three men who went down were suffocated with" \yhite damp. Ifc was supposed that the White clamp was caused by a deposit of about 16,003 tons oi* coal dirt that had been pumped into an old break. The following description is given of what occurred subsequently : — " In endeavouring to relieve fche mine of this death-dealing agency, air rushed to the coal dirt, and spontaneous combustion took place. The miners went to work as usual next morning, but before they had reached their breasts, the cry pf " Fire " was raised through the gangway. The panic that immediately took place defies description. The workmen fled through the mines to the Bottom of the slope crazed with fear. Smoke and gas rolled into their faces, and one after another dropped into the gutters for relief. James Thomas cried in a loud hoarse voice, "Come back and help me !"' Several men at the risk of their lives, went' to his rescue, and, found him on the ground Vomiting' and writhing in agony.' The fire in the old break was increasing in strength) and' cracked horribly. ' The top of the slope was surrounded with people eagerly waiting for the arrival of -their friends. * <- "* Be calm," shouted a mino official. ':' No lives are lost." I Down in the deep mines the mules rieighed in terror. The smoke was blinding them and the bad- air caused t'h'eni to wheeze like" "children with croup. The miners tumbled over each otherUn their endeavours to escape. The engineer hoisted one gang, after another. as rapidly as his J engine could : do the "-work. As each waggon load landed at the top they were cheered. The more seriously affected- ran^to, beds of clay" and buried their faces ih it. This [relieved them of their horribly Suffocating sensations. | " The men are all up, ,now< for the mule^,";cried the boss. "**' ' ** i- ; There was no lack of willing hands f eady'td obey. The poor animals were soon landed safely, but on reaching-- the. surface 'they staggered as if drunk. j Tiie Keely Run^is-'pneTOf'^the^best' cpllie'rieis in this 'sedtion'."- tfs -^monthly pay rpli aggregates J. 0,000 dollars, Present indications point to its entire destru c tion. The vein . is from , thirty ■to seventy feet thick, and spreads for piiles under the mountains and through jthe suburbs of the town. The drowning process will, no doubt, be adopted in the end.;,; Tfiis,calam.ity,-.:peeuniarily,L is the biggest ever known in r the coalfields of the United States. ° ' - \ I i ' Shenandoah, Pa., August 10. : . A A confer euce of mining engineers experts, was-held here to-day- to decide - Upori.a.line of action with respect to the Keeley Run Colliery fife. -It' was decided to attempt to cool the burning ;cbal dirt with water, and then load it anto iron waggons aud hoisfc ifc to tho Jtop. If this plan fails, tho fire will be extinguished by the introduction of jsteam. In covering the dirt, several jmen were overcome to-day with gas land were carried home. The fire couJtinues to burn fiercely, and the people jof the town are discouraged at the oufcjlook. j Another account gives the following j description of the finding of fche dead jby a party who descended into the j mine :—" Their 'first attempt- proved ; fruitless, as they were compelled to re- ; turn to catch good air. After remain- ; ing on top for a short time they again ; went down, led by Mr. Hemingray. They did their work so swiftly that ■ they got to the point where the men lay. They quickly rushed up and informed those on top of their success. A fresli batch of men again descended after. Mr. Hemingray and the men. were found. The opening made in the slope had somewhat purified the air, and the rescuers were enabled to* remoye the men. Mr. Wasley was first found. He was lying upon, his face, with his hands clasped..; across the back of his head. Mr. Reese was lyingvabput nine feet from him in a somewhat similar position. Mr. Wilman-was fchdiurthest off, and rested with his Bead on one hand. They were all dead. Expert miners say that ifc is impossible to survive ten minutes in the damp; '-. Messrs Reese and Wilman looked natural, but , Mr. Wasley was terribly puffed,, and ! his complexion , had changed ;to a I darkish brown. 'Mr. Wasley was about 50 years of age, and leaves a wife and seven children. Mr. Reese was .about 40 years of age, and leaves a wife and s v 3Yen""ciuidi*eru ;OMr~. Wilman was'lss years old^and leaves a wife and * three children. All belonged ?to r the' j Masonic order. j,-,] ' a .*:.*• La: .:. J; Women's f PcCKETS.n-AU of . them ! Bigh for poelcets,' tiiit ; they *. clbti't seem | sto^knqw* where to put them. Tn the ' .ighf-flfc'tihg coat, surtoutj or redingote there seems to be no place, for it spoils the perfect fit that is adeemed "necessary in these masculine looking andattrac-- ] tiy© garments.:- If placed! , on; the, put-, side of the dress, it is in,easy reach, of pickpockets, who now tickle tne noses of .ladies whotbappen to Jig looking into simp windows. ' Ker is easily imagined, while gazing into these attractiye bazaar:; the fair hand involuntarily the -white handkerchief to the itching nose, and the; expert thief steals the contents trom the exposed pocket. It is in London, however, that tbey ire bo ekiliul; they have hardly yet attained that degree of perfection- on this side^ofrthe Atlantic If the pocket is pufeih the underskirt, she jaever knows where to find. it. If in/ft car, or sitting, she must rise in order to reach it* and then it's a mystery as to where it is, for a pocket, has no precise locality. After a prolonged and irritating search. it is finally found; and then;is never half large/enough ; it will not -more than hold handkerchief, and.'lhs dozen miscellaneous things gnennßy want to carry— her smelling-salts, knife,- -pencil, thimble> pin-cushiony powder-bdi^aHL"*musfc*be leffc4t ldle. ' r This ifiatelier envy thl

male * sex with bis dozen pockets, that may be filled with anything and every-; thing, and yet never declare their presence by. unsightly bulges on the outside garment, 1 as they would in a woman's. She may wear them in her skirts, bufc in the wonderful mystery of floiincas, plaits,. loops, 1 and general'pullback tightness, hoW one Lh can she ever gefc infcorthem, or,_if-once ,in, out again?. All she has to do is. Id/submit^ hug her one pocket to .her," with'the! hope there will be; a revolution^ in pockets, -arid to bim who hath not shall be given, and to him who hath too great an abundance shall be taken aWay. — Amer'can Exchange. Sere is a very lively specimen of American criticism, liken from the San Jose (Cal.) Argus :— Our old friend Lo Due is on deck againT this dine with a lar£e volume on the 'Diseases of Swine/ and in forwarding it to us he expresses the hope that fve will giye the work a careful perusal, and favour the Department of Agriculture with such criticism as we think it deserves. We have given the work a careful per* nsal— that is, we tore the wrapper off and looked at the gorgeous chrorao of a microscopic section of the mucous membrane of the intestines of /Mr Harris' oig. In our humble judgment, this is the best. chrorao of 'a mucous membrane of the 1 of Mr Harris' pig that has ever, been placed before the gnze of an admiring and arl-loving poor pie. The perspective is fine, though ; the chiaroscuro is a little off. The sub-' ject is a grand one, calculated to bring into play all the artist's, power of imagination, and giving scope to a t' lo^ Oriental fancy that dwarfs into -insignificance the'pretentiousefforts of Dore". 1 In fact, we mistook this master piece at first sight, for a finely-executed copy of Turners ' Slave Ship*' As to the text,; we have never had any experience with sick pigs," ana* can't criticise the chapters on that subject. In bis circular letter to us, Mr Le Diic says: ;^ 'If remedies have been employed with any degree of success, please state the ingredients and the proportions, in which they are compounded, and : the quality given.' .We employed a reniedy btice to cure a neighbour's pig 'of the pernicious habit of rooting up our garden. The ingredients were nitre^sulphur, carbon,- lead, and an old-fashioned "mustefc; propoi tions, two handfuls of powder to one of shot. We are; happy to inform the Agricultural Department t^at the degree of success was simply immense! The pig was cured, and lasted our, family, aeveral months. Eegarding hogs *we are better ; . posted. There are lots„ of .them in San Josethat want lo' dollars' worth of advertising for a dollar and six bits. There is no cure fpr them.