50

COAL MINES OF

In stating this explosion, it occurs in com-mon justice to humanity to mention the ex-ertions of Mr. Patterson, an engineer, to themine, and Joseph Gleghorn, one of the work-men, who immediately after the first burstof the inflammable thundering, descended thepit, and by the promptitude of their mea-sures, and the activity of their dangerous ex-exertions, saved many poor creatures from amiserable death.

Explosion of the Collingwood Main Colliery.

The next considerable explosion, which re-vived the remembrance of the horrors and dis-tresses at Felling and Harrington, occurred inthe Collingwood Main Pit. This colliery is si-tuate on the River Tyne, a short distancesouth-west of North Shields, and was in con-siderable perfection as to its working, and themeans adopted for securing it against the ac-cumulation of choak * and fire-damp.

men were destroyed, that Dr. Clanny and myself expe-rimented upon his lamp amidst inflammable air. .

* Choak-damp, or carbonic acid gas, is double the weightof common air, which causes it to sink towards the floorand spread in the bottom of the mine : it is fatal to respi-ration. Carbureted hydrogen, or fire-damp, is ten time*