Reports of the Inspectors of Mines of the anthracite coal regions of ...

Ex. Doc] Reports of the Inspectors or Mines. 177
twenty-five feet wide, and up thirty feet from tlie gangway, pitching about
5°. The top rock is very good at the place of the accident. A thin slate
adheres to the rock in some places, which requires centerpropping, and at
the scene of the accident this had been satisfactorily done by the deceased.
His laborer, who was loading the car at the time, came near sharing the
same fate.
Accident No. 15 on the list, Barney McTauge, miner, aged 35, fatally
injured by a fall of coal at Lattimer colliery, August 25, 1877. The de-
ceased was about to drill a hole in the four-foot bench, when about a ton
of the two-foot bench fell on him, crushing him so severely that he died
in two hours after he had been taken home. The breast was driven one
hundred and twenty feet up the pitch from the gangway, and thirty feet
wide. The coal was of a slippery nature, but not of a deceiving char-
acter, as sometimes happens to be. In m}' estimation, a safer place to
work could not be found, as the breast was driven up in line with an air
hole, affording a very safe retreat for the men in case of danger.
Accident No. 16 on the list, John Quinn, aged 44, instantly killed by a
fall of coal ofi" the. pillar, at upper Lehigh collier}-, September 11, 1877.
The breast was twenty-one feet wide and forty-five feet up from the
gangway. The top rock, or roof, was very bad in this breast, which
necessitated center-props to be stood every six feet, which is a thing
seldom required in the Buck Mountain vein, as the top I'ock is of ex-
traordinary hardness. The lump of coal which fell on the deceased
ought to have been taken down before he advanced too far on the face of
his working, but, unfortunately for him, he left it, as he supposed, as a
support for the roof, instead of standing a pi'op, (as stated by another
miner, to whom he told his intentions.) A great many accidents occur by
leaving hangings on the pillars, that could be trimmed off, and it is also
an injury to the pillar to leave those wings on.
Accident No. 18 on the list, Michael Boyle, aged 35, was fatally injured
at No. 2, Council Ridge colliery, October 10, 1877. The deceased was
laboring for a miner, in a breast. Considerable top coal had been left
hanging, which was of a very treacherous character, and should have been
taken down by the miner, who is censurable for not doing so, and it would
be commendable if mine bosses would insist upon men removing the least
suspicion of danger momentarily, and not to permit of an^- procrastina-
tion. By doing so the men would be rewarded for their trouble, and the
company' compensated for the act.
Undoubtedly, the miner's intention was to economise in the use of pow-
der, by advancing as far as possible on the bottom coal, so that the top
coal would require but little blasting. This, in my estimation, is a culpa-
ble practice, and should strictly be forbidden by the mine bosses.
Accident No. 19 on the list, Thomas Trelure, aged 28, was instantly
killed by a fall of slate, in Cranberry colliery, October 23, 1877. The de-
ceased, one of three, were employed at robbing an old counter-gangway,
12 Mine Rep.