Chap. II.
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of Cross Fell, which lofty mountain on the south, and others on the west, give an interestinggrandeur to the prospect from every place in the vicinity of Alston.
The whole of the lead country possesses great beauty, though of a diversified character.Mining is the sole resource of the inhabitants, who are universally so attached to thecountry, and to each other, that they continue to engage i;i an employment which illremunerates their toil, and brings many of them to an untimely grave.
The Leud Country , in a geological sense, is below the coal measures and above the oldred sandstone; the former consists of many strata of siliceous sandstone, limestone, clay,shale, with beds of indurated clay between them. The lead is found in all these strata,though not often in clay or in clay-shale, and a vein will descend from the surface downthrough all the strata, until it is so deep that it can no longer be followed on account of waterand other difficulties. Amongst the most remarkable beds is the encrinital limestone,with abundance of its peculiar fossil remains ; it may be seen in the bottom of a largeburn which falls into the Wear, some miles below Stanhope, near Frosterly Bridge, at Bishop’sCrag. Limestone boulders gathered from the bed of the Wear supply the lime-kilns ; andthere are large quarries worked about two miles below Stanhope, and near the commencementof the railway, adjacent to which are also beds of limestone of excellent quality, whichare carried by the railway to furnaces in the coal districts. In this country the minesnow worked all afford lead. There was a considerable quantity of copper found in onenear Garrigill Gate, in Alston Moor, and in some other mines, but none is obtained atpresent. Much farther west, in Caldbeck Fells, is a mine called Houghton Gill, in whichthere are ores of copper and lead in the same veins, in the proportion of ^ copper and £lead. The population of this country has been devoted to mining as far back as recordscan be obtained. As Cumberland was not surveyed by the Conqueror, we have noaccount of it in “ Domesday Book ;” but in the Record Office, in the Tower of London ,in the Patent Roll of the 20th of Henry III. , a. i>. 1235, is a copy of a charter, whichshows that the mines were then worked, and had been so during the time of the formerkings of England.
Working the. Mines. —The entrance into the mines is generally by a level driven intothe sides of the hills; in former times shafts were frequently sunk from the top, whichis now seldom the case. The level is made about 6 feet, sometimes 7 feet high, and from3 to 4 feet wide; where necessary it is arched with stone, and a railway for the waggonsis laid at the bottom. By means of this level, the water is brought out of the mine; cartsare drawn in by horses to a certain distance, and the ore put into them; the miners walkinto their work, or at least to the places where they ascend or descend. The level isusually driven into the hill as far as possible in the stratum called plate or clay-shale,that stratum being softer and more economically worked than any other. The object inpenetrating through the hill by a level is to arrive at a vein of ore, and when the workingcan be got on the first level it is most advantageous to all parties. In the level of themine at Stanhope Burn, after proceeding nearly ^ mile, there are several chambers inwhich the men work, breaking down the lead ore by hammers and picks, drilling holes,charging with gunpowder, and firing it; this extends through the vein of limestone rock asfar as 200 fathoms. The tools used by the miners are few and simple, as.
The Jumper , an iron chisel pointed with steel, the usual length of which is 18 inches,and sometimes 2 feet; one miner holds it against the rock, whilst another or a boy strikesthe end with a hammer; from time to time the dust has to be taken out of the hole.
The Hammer is used for striking the end of the jumper.
The Pricker. — After the cartridge is put into the hole, the pricker, which is a thin ironrod with the outside end formed into a ring, is driven into it and through the cartridge.When made of iron sparks are produced in siliceous rocks, or even in limestone, bothfrom the hammer and the spade: a copper-pointed pricker obviates this risk.
The Driver -This is a piece of iron with a broad head, to drive the shale down along
the side of the pricker; the head is usually of copper.
The Scraper is for taking out the dust from the hole made by the jumper and hammer.
In breaking down the rock, the lead miners use a pick very like that employed in thecoal mines, as well as a great hammer. They first drill a hole in the rock with the jumperand hammer, then insert a cartridge of gunpowder, in the same way as if charging a gun,although the hole may be bored perpendicularly, horizontally, downwards, or sidewards;hoys and young persons drill the holes, but are seldom trusted to charge it with the powder.They then drive a pricker through the cartridge, keeping it there for a time, and placewhat is called plate, or pieces of black shale, at the sides of the pricker, which withthe driver they force down as far as it will go, continuing this work until they have filledup the entire hole round the pricker, which is then drawn out by inserting the scraperin the ring at the end, leaving a hole open down to the powder, into which the men thrusta squib to which they apply a match : all except one man retire and get into the level, orsome place where the stone directly coming from the explosion cannot hit them, andturn their backs to prevent any piece being reflected into their faces; the man who lights
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