in it, and had seen reason to be extremely
dissatisfied with the manner in which it was
managed. Not only was the lifting power at
the shaft feeble and insufficient, and of a nature
to render the occurrence of an accident highly
probable, but the mode of ventilation was of a
most unscientific character. I was so impressed
with the conviction that a dreadful accident
would one day occur, if preventive measures
were not adopted, that I had decided on making
a special report on the subject to the owner of
the mine as soon as I had finished my inspection,
which I determined, therefore, should be more
than usually minute. On the second morning I
went down, I insisted on the manager
accompanying me, for I had seen instances of neglect
in taking ordinary precautions on the preceding
day which would, in my opinion, have made him
criminally responsible had an accident happened,
and these I proposed to point out to him with
the view of an immediate remedy being applied.
Having called his attention to these, we
proceeded to the point where I had ended my
inspection on the preceding day, and resumed it.

We must have been in the mine about four
hours, and were examining a part of the workings
from which a large quantity of coal had been
dug, when we heard a loud dull sound, so
prolonged by the manner in which it was echoed
from point to point, that neither the manager
nor either of the overlookers who accompanied
us could say in what part of the mine an explosion
had taken place, though that an explosion
had occurred somewhere they all knew very
well. An immediate move was made in the
direction of the mouth of the pit, the
overlookers going a few yards in advance. All at
once we noticed that our lights were getting
dim, and we were conscious of a difficulty in
breathing; still we pushed along as fast as it
was safe to go, hoping that the gas was merely
a small quantity which had been driven here
through some of the side openings by the force
of the explosion, and that we should find the
way beyond it free. Our hopes in this respect
were disappointed, for just as we reached an
angle of the works the overlookers met us, and
directed us to go back as fast as we could, for
there was no possibility of getting to the shaft
that way, they having been nearly suffocated
before they could get back to us. We retraced
our steps rapidly to the place we had just
quitted, and which was still free from after-
damp. Here a brief consultation was held, the
result of which was that an attempt should be
made to reach the shaft by a more circuitous
route in another direction.

The difficulties we encountered in our way
were frightful. In some places the passage was
so low that we had to drag ourselves through
almost on our bellies; and probably there was
not another man employed in the pit besides the
overlooker who led the way, who knew that the
shaft could be reached from this point. Every
now and then we passed through places where
our lamps gave us ample evidence of the
presence of inflammable gas. Still we kept on, and
seemed to have got so far that I hoped we had
almost reached a place of safety. Presently I
fancied I could hear a rushing roaring sound
not quite unknown to me, and it struck me that
the pit was on fire. I suggested as much, but
nobody made any reply, and I concluded either
that I was mistaken, or that there might be a
chance of avoiding the fire. I was not long in
doubt, for the air grew warmer and warmer every
instant; yet it was not until we could see the
flames raging at some distance before us that the
man upon whose knowledge we depended told
us that escape by that way was cut off. The
horror of our situation could not well be
surpassed. Of the two ways of leaving the mine,
one was impassable from the amount of carbonic
acid generated by the explosion, and the other
from the presence of a mass of fire. Our
destruction appeared inevitable, and for a time
none of us could speak.

Those who are accustomed to see coal only
when burning furiously in a grate, and who have
never thought of the reasons why combustion
under this condition should be so rapid, may
suppose that the fury of the flame must be
infinitely greater in a mine; but this is not
so. At a distance the sight was terrific;
but when, at my request, we approached
more closely, with the view of rendering it
quite certain that the fire had reached a
point which made escape hopeless, we found
it dull and sluggish, in consequence of the
small quantity of air present to support the
flame. Although this rendered it possible
that many hours, or even days, might elapse
before the fire reached us, it did not alter
the fact that we were enclosed between flame
and suffocation. We looked earnestly at each
other as if for mutual comfort and support, but
every man's face bore an expression of blank
despair. After a time, nobody proposing
anything, I asked if it would not be better to
return to the larger and more open space we
had left? This being thought the best thing—
indeed the only thing—we could do, we turned
round and began the same wearisome journey
over again. We had been joined at different
points by several men and two boys, who had
been forced to retreat from the fire, so that
we now numbered eleven or twelve in all. Our
advance had been slow; our return was much
slower; for we had not now the stimulant of
hope. I was almost worn out with fatigue
and excitement when we reached the spot
where we had heard the explosion; but, as it
was advisable that some attempt should be made
to ascertain what advance, if any, had been
made by the after-damp, I requested the
overlookers to satisfy themselves on this point, that
we might know whether death was likely to be
immediate. They reported that they were able
to proceed within a few feet of our first advance.
Though there was little hope of our ultimate
escape, I thought it best to take every precaution
not to allow our situation being made worse
by any neglect of our own. I therefore made
inquiries of the men if they had any matches in