Separated by planks, hooked on to retain the fallen coal, they each occupied about four metres of the seam, and this seam was so thin, scarcely more than fifty centimetres thick at this spot, that they seemed to be flattened between the roof and the wall, dragging themselves along by their knees and elbows, and unable to turn without crushing their shoulders.
Séparés par les planches a crochets qui retenaient le charbon abattu, ils occupaient chacun quatre metres environ de la veine; et cette veine était si mince, épaisse a peine en cet endroit de cinquante centimetres, qu'ils se trouvaient la comme aplatis entre le toit et le mur, se traînant des genoux et des coudes, ne pouvant se retourner sans se meurtrir les épaules.