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Literary
February 22, 1873
Frostburg Mining Journal
Frostburg, Allegany County, Maryland
What is this article about?
Essay by Quix on the dangers of coal mining in Pennsylvania counties, detailing 153 deaths, 462 injuries, 84 widows, and 280 orphans in one year, urging sympathy for miners and their families facing the 'angel of death' in the mines.
Merged-components note: The table provides statistical data integral to the literary article on mining dangers.
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[Translated from the "Baner America"-a Welsh paper-for the JOURNAL.]
The Angel of Death in the Mines.
BY QUIX.
Coal fires are very comfortable by which to warm in the winter season, and it is excellent for manufacturing purposes. But often very little is thought about the hardships, the labor, the wounding and killing that takes place before it comes from the bowels of the earth ready for use. It is impossible for those that live in parts of the country where mining is not carried on, depending entirely on what they hear about it; yes, it is impossible for them to form a correct idea of the horrible calamities and miseries that are so often met with in the mines. In the morning the father leaves his wife and children with a stout heart and a smiling countenance; but perhaps before noon, the angel of death meets him among the rocks and coal that so often fall without notice or warning. He is carried home to his beloved wife and family, mangled, bleeding and dead. There are scores of wives made widows and hundreds of children made fatherless-every year by these terrible visits of the angel of death to the husbands and fathers in the mines.
The miners and their families should have more of the sympathy of the country at large; if it was considered the danger that they are constantly exposed to; the circumstances under which they are compelled to earn a living for themselves and families, their bodies cramped in a disagreeable position for long hours every day- situations conducive to everything but good health; compelled to breathe poisonous atmosphere; liable at any moment to be crushed under a fall, or burnt to a cinder by the ignition of the fire damp, or some other deadly peril, while their friends and families at home are continually in dread of seeing some beloved one carried home on the terrible stretcher.
If all these were duly considered the miners, I am satisfied, would receive their full share of the sympathy of the country at large.
I have before me a statistical account of the accidents, &c., that occurred in the last year in the coal mines of Schuylkill, Northumberland, Columbia, Dauphin, and the eastern part of Luzerne counties, Pa. The report shows that the working of the mines in the above-named counties for the last year has cost the miners and their families as follows:
Reader, read and think over the above report. Yes, read it over many times; let it be impressed on your minds and upon your heart. What! one hundred and fifty-three of our fellow-beings crushed to death in unearthing that coal! Look again! four hundred and sixty-two human beings wounded and groaning in their misery!
Notice one more: Eighty-four loving wives and kind mothers made widows in one year! O pity! two hundred and eighty poor children made fatherless by the mines. Who would not feel for them? What heart so hard that could not pity them? O, what weeping and wailing! what poverty in Schuylkill county
Every 74,000 tons of coal mined cost the life of one miner. In East Luzerne every 97,917 tons, mined in the last year, cost the life of one human being. In Northumberland county it cost a human life for every 200,000 tons mined. In Dauphin county one human being was sacrificed for every 76,000 tons mined.
Dear reader this is not poetry, nor fiction, but strong, indisputable facts. Figures tell the story, red with blood wet with tears and black with the pall of death! Can any christian forget the miner in his prayers, he who works every day down deep in the bowels of the earth, under thousands of tons of earth and rock? can the rich philanthropist forget the poor fatherless children, and the widows of the poor miner who met the angel of death in the mines
May the Judge of the widow and the Father of the fatherless fully redeem His promises to them! May every breast be full of sympathy for them may every heart be full of love and respect for them, and may every one that enjoys the genial warmth of his coal fire think of them.
The Angel of Death in the Mines.
BY QUIX.
Coal fires are very comfortable by which to warm in the winter season, and it is excellent for manufacturing purposes. But often very little is thought about the hardships, the labor, the wounding and killing that takes place before it comes from the bowels of the earth ready for use. It is impossible for those that live in parts of the country where mining is not carried on, depending entirely on what they hear about it; yes, it is impossible for them to form a correct idea of the horrible calamities and miseries that are so often met with in the mines. In the morning the father leaves his wife and children with a stout heart and a smiling countenance; but perhaps before noon, the angel of death meets him among the rocks and coal that so often fall without notice or warning. He is carried home to his beloved wife and family, mangled, bleeding and dead. There are scores of wives made widows and hundreds of children made fatherless-every year by these terrible visits of the angel of death to the husbands and fathers in the mines.
The miners and their families should have more of the sympathy of the country at large; if it was considered the danger that they are constantly exposed to; the circumstances under which they are compelled to earn a living for themselves and families, their bodies cramped in a disagreeable position for long hours every day- situations conducive to everything but good health; compelled to breathe poisonous atmosphere; liable at any moment to be crushed under a fall, or burnt to a cinder by the ignition of the fire damp, or some other deadly peril, while their friends and families at home are continually in dread of seeing some beloved one carried home on the terrible stretcher.
If all these were duly considered the miners, I am satisfied, would receive their full share of the sympathy of the country at large.
I have before me a statistical account of the accidents, &c., that occurred in the last year in the coal mines of Schuylkill, Northumberland, Columbia, Dauphin, and the eastern part of Luzerne counties, Pa. The report shows that the working of the mines in the above-named counties for the last year has cost the miners and their families as follows:
Reader, read and think over the above report. Yes, read it over many times; let it be impressed on your minds and upon your heart. What! one hundred and fifty-three of our fellow-beings crushed to death in unearthing that coal! Look again! four hundred and sixty-two human beings wounded and groaning in their misery!
Notice one more: Eighty-four loving wives and kind mothers made widows in one year! O pity! two hundred and eighty poor children made fatherless by the mines. Who would not feel for them? What heart so hard that could not pity them? O, what weeping and wailing! what poverty in Schuylkill county
Every 74,000 tons of coal mined cost the life of one miner. In East Luzerne every 97,917 tons, mined in the last year, cost the life of one human being. In Northumberland county it cost a human life for every 200,000 tons mined. In Dauphin county one human being was sacrificed for every 76,000 tons mined.
Dear reader this is not poetry, nor fiction, but strong, indisputable facts. Figures tell the story, red with blood wet with tears and black with the pall of death! Can any christian forget the miner in his prayers, he who works every day down deep in the bowels of the earth, under thousands of tons of earth and rock? can the rich philanthropist forget the poor fatherless children, and the widows of the poor miner who met the angel of death in the mines
May the Judge of the widow and the Father of the fatherless fully redeem His promises to them! May every breast be full of sympathy for them may every heart be full of love and respect for them, and may every one that enjoys the genial warmth of his coal fire think of them.
| Counties, | Kill'd Wound'd Wid'ws Orph'n | |||
| Schuylkill, | 71 | 226 | 41 | 136 |
| Northumberland, | 8 | 26 | 3 | 14 |
| Columbia, | 0 | 10 | 0 | 00 |
| Dauphin, | 7 | 13 | 2 | 11 |
| East Luzerne, | 67 | 187 | 38 | 119 |
| Totals, | 153 | 462 | 84 | 280 |
What sub-type of article is it?
Essay
What themes does it cover?
Death Mortality
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Coal Mining
Mining Accidents
Pennsylvania Counties
Miners Deaths
Widows Orphans
Angel Of Death
Sympathy For Miners
What entities or persons were involved?
By Quix.
Literary Details
Title
The Angel Of Death In The Mines.
Author
By Quix.
Subject
On Mining Accidents In Pennsylvania Coal Mines
Key Lines
In The Morning The Father Leaves His Wife And Children With A Stout Heart And A Smiling Countenance; But Perhaps Before Noon, The Angel Of Death Meets Him Among The Rocks And Coal That So Often Fall Without Notice Or Warning.
There Are Scores Of Wives Made Widows And Hundreds Of Children Made Fatherless Every Year By These Terrible Visits Of The Angel Of Death To The Husbands And Fathers In The Mines.
Every 74,000 Tons Of Coal Mined Cost The Life Of One Miner.
Dear Reader This Is Not Poetry, Nor Fiction, But Strong, Indisputable Facts. Figures Tell The Story, Red With Blood Wet With Tears And Black With The Pall Of Death!