History of coal miners inventiveness in clothing their families. Mining has always been dangerous, because of methane gas explosions, roof cave-ins, and the difficulty of mines rescue. The worst single disaster in British coal mining history was at Senghenydd in the South Wales coalfield. On the morning of 14 October 1913 an explosion and subsequent fire killed 436 men and boys. It followed a series of many extensive Mining accidents such as The Oaks explosion of 1866 and the Hartley Colliery Disaster of 1862. Most of the explosions were caused by firedamp ignitions followed by coal dust explosions. Deaths were mainly caused by carbon
Caliban in the Coal Mines God, You don't know what it is — You, in Your well-lighted sky — Watching the meteors whizz; Warm, with a sun always by. God, if You had but the moon Stuck in Your cap for a lamp, Even You'd tire of it soon, Down in the dark and the damp. Nothing but blackness above And nothing that moves but the cars … God, if You wish for our love, Fling us a handful of stars! Caliban in the Coal Mines Caliban in the Coal Mines was written by the American poet Louis Untermeyer (1885–1977) and published in his 1914