I thank alan and Phil for some further insights. I didn't intend to get
this involved, but I must finish with the following: although I handled
lots of powder, I only had the one nitroglycerine headache - and never
wanted another. I really can't imagine inducing one just to leave work
early - in the Sullivan it wouldn't have worked anyway.
John Greasley in talking of cavers brings up another point. I
think that people who go underground with no training in establishing
the stability of the ground are fools, but that is their business.
The drawings John refers to and his reaction to them do
stimulate a response: We had a saying that there were more rounds
drilled in the beer parlour than were ever drilled underground, and more
women drilled underground than were ever encountered on the surface. I
recall, when I had reason to comment on the Red Light Houses of olden
times to my old timer partner, he made the point that there were other
reasons for going to them than the women (entertainment and gambling).
Any attempt to continue the conversation was immediately ended when he
remarked that "gentlemen did not talk about such things." A later
younger partner was no gentleman, he would have delighted in the
drawings you describe and would no doubt have commented on them in great
detail. I doubt that any caver could shock any of the miners I knew.
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