Additional to the interesting story of coal mining in Chatham county written by Hon. W.D. Siler a few weeks ago, it is gratifying to be able to publish the following reminiscences of a former Chatham lady, which is furnished The Record by Dr. Clarence Poe. Dr. Poe writes:
“Editor Record:--Your readers may be interested in the following information about former explosions at the Cumnock mine as sent me by my aunt, Mrs. Alice E. Brown, formerly of Chatham County, but now of Vidalia, Ga. She writes me:
“The first explosion was in March 1856. It was about 9 o’clock in the morning. Father and the hands were in the field. They heard a loud sound like a cannon, and looking, they saw the awful smoke coming out of the shaft. Father and my brothers all went and when they got there they said of all the cursing and swearing, those boss men were doing it. From what I can remember there were 11 killed and one was blown up to the mouth of the shaft and caught on a nail and when he was brought to the top someone said to him, “You ought to thank the Lord.” He said he didn’t thank the Lord, he thanked the man that put the nail there. In a little while he went back down and a piece of timber fell on him and he was killed. The next explosion was just before ethe war; and right after the war in 1866 another explosion occurred.”
From the front page of The Chatham Record, Pittsboro, N.C., Thursday, June 25, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn85042115/1925-06-25/ed-1/seq-1/#words=June+22%2C+1925
No comments:
Post a Comment