A year or two back I did some transcribing work for a client on part of the
following (sorry for the capitals - copied & pasted from the original):
AN INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGINAL STATE AND FORMATION OF THE EARTH DEDUCED FROM
FACTS AND THE LAWS OF NATURE TO WHICH IS ADDED AN APPENDIX CONTAINING SOME
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE STRATA IN DERBYSHIRE WITH SECTIONS OF THEM,
REPRESENTING THEIR ARRANGEMENT, AFFINITIES, AND THE MUTATIONS THEY HAVE
SUFFERED AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF TIME. INTENDED TO ILLUSTRATE THE PRECEDING
INQUIRIES, AND AS A SPECIMEN OF SUBTERRANEAN GEOGRAPHY.
BY JOHN WHITEHURST, LONDON
Anyway, this little gem (below) might be of some interest:
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These curious observations I received from Mr. Mettam of Eyam, overseer of
the mines, who also addressed the following account of them to Mr. George
Tissington of Winster.
"SIR, Eyam, 2 July, 1768.
"I send you, by the bearer, two specimens of our
"slickensides,* containing all the variety of minerals
"where the explosions happen; they fly out in such
"slappits,** smooth on one side. The explosions are
"sometimes heard to the surface, and felt like an earth-
"quake; they frequently blow out all the candles in
"the mine, and split the stemples*** into splinters as
"small as the twigs of a birch broom, to the distance
"of thirty or forty yards from the forefield§; others
"are broke, and some of them become too short and
"drop out.
"The smooth sides lie face to face, and have the
"appearance of being shot with a plane, consisting
"of various members. There is generally two of
"these divisions in our forefield at Haycliff, about
"eight or ten inches asunder, and a seam of white keb-
"ble in the middle of that space, half an inch thick,
"in which the miners rake down a sharp pointed
"pick until the crackling ceaseth; then they run
"away, knowing that the explosion will follow in a
"minute or two. Sometimes a noise is heard like
"the beating of a church clock, after which the
"greatest explosions happen.
* Slickensides, shining, as if polished by art, on one side.
** Slappits, fragments of the minerals burst out of the vein.
*** Stemples, joists laid across fissures, when the minerals are cut out, by
way of making a floor, on which rubbish is deposited, to save the expense of
raising it to the surface.
§ Forefield, that part of the vein under workmanship.
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Cheers - John
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