Knowing: A Historical Novel Based on the Life of James Hardy Fielding Born 1796

By LINDEN FIELDING

Based on real-life dates and events, this book tells the story of James Hardy Fielding. James was born to a single mother who was determined to provide a loving, supportive home for her child. From meager beginnings, James grew, married, and raised his own family of eleven children against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution in England. A midlife turn of events launched James, his children, and his grandchildren to a destination and life dramatically different from their beginnings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781532071140

LINDEN FIELDING

Linden Fielding grew up in the Western United States on a large family farm. He received a degree from Utah State University in Agricultural and Irrigation Engineering. He married Ann Godfrey and they raised a family of 5 children on the farm. After raising their family, he became General Manager of an international construction company, traveling and conducting business in many countries of the Middle East, Europe, Asia, the Orient, and most states of the United States.

Book preview

1

J ames had drifted into a trancelike state while operating his bucket lift at the mine. His arms and legs had been working the levers and foot pedals in a nearly identical routine for years, lifting coal from the tunnel two hundred feet below to the aboveground bin, where it was loaded into barges and wagons. He still had the taste of breakfast in his mouth, which was usually smoked pork, eggs, bread, and coffee. But this morning instead of bread, his wife, Ann, had made him a pancake smothered in jam. Ann and James had been married just over a year. He loved being married. They both loved being married.

They had enjoyed fixing up the house and grounds James had bought from a man who couldn’t continue living on his own. The man had lived alone for several decades after his wife passed away. Now he would spend the rest of his days living with his daughter and her husband in Oldham.

James was jerked to attention by a loud snap, followed by the levers going completely limp—no back pressure. The five-thousand-pound bucket was in a free fall to the mine tunnel two hundred feet below. When the snap occurred, the coal bucket had been near the top of its journey. A swaged fitting must have failed, and now the cable was suddenly loose from the pulley that kept it in position. The bucket accelerated as it fell. The loose cable started to sing as it snaked through the top pulley, spinning at absurd speeds.

Thoughts streaked through his mind. What happened? Broken cable … impact … injuries … escape! He jumped out of his chair and backed away from the levers but still felt danger from the madly whipping cable end.

James was no stranger to mine accidents. Various accidents at the mine had shaped much of his mining career. On his very first day, when he was just fourteen, filling in as a door closer for a boy who had severely sprained his ankle, he had been instrumental in freeing a miner pinned under a loaded coal cart. James’s suggestions had saved the man’s life. Management had been impressed and had offered him a permanent position working in the lifting tower.

A few years later, a section of floor had caved in, trapping and injuring a miner on a ledge forty feet down the hole. James had been called to help craft a way to extract the miner. James even had volunteered to be lowered down into the hole to retrieve him. The injured miner had survived and had turned out to be the father of James’s future wife, Ann Henthorn.

Ann and James had courted and married, and they had just had their first child, Annie, a few months ago. Ann was a favorite name in James’s family. James’s mother was also named Ann. To keep conversations straight, James’s mother liked to be called Miss Ann, a tradition started by Bob, the friend of James who had been responsible for having James help at the mine that first day. James’s wife went by Ann, and the new baby daughter was Annie.

Because of James’s aptitude for working well with machines and his straightforward and honest but kind way of working with others at the mine, he was now the foreman of the bucket crew. The mine operated two bucket lifts, and James oversaw the hiring, firing, and training of the bucket crew of seven to ten men. The bucket lifts were the bottleneck of the whole operation. The number of miners digging out coal and the amount of coal sold could vary with market conditions. But the amount of coal lifted from the depths below each day set the upper limit of mine production and profits.

James didn’t know what to expect when the full bucket hit the tunnel floor at high speed. He braced himself and hung on tightly to an upright I-beam used to shape the operator’s cabin. An explosion was unlikely, but the force of impact within the tunnel walls would create a blast. There was a safety braking mechanism built into the cable system, designed to automatically apply brakes if the bucket should ever start falling at an uncontrolled rate, but with the cables now loose, the braking mechanism was useless.

Another second had passed as James’s mind raced, trying to think of something to mitigate the effects of the impending crash. He could think of nothing and realized the blast-like crash would be directed along the tunnel and could harm anyone in the tunnel up to five hundred feet away. The effects would also be pushed up the lifting shaft, with James sitting right at the top of that shaft. In the last second before the crash, he realized he had to get away from the operator’s cabin. He made it two rungs down the ladder before the blast reached him.

2

B efore James opened his eyes, the pain in his head was so sharp that he groaned. He reached up and put his hand near his ear. It was warm and wet. His shoulder was ablaze with pain. He opened his eyes a bit and found he was lying on his back, staring up at the sun, which was partially obscured by thick, drifting dust. There was no smoky smell, so there hadn’t been an explosion.

I was climbing down the ladder from the operator’s cab, trying to get out of the way of a blast from below, he now remembered. How long ago was that? Was it a few seconds or minutes or longer? Judging by the dust surrounding me, it must have been several minutes. Can I move? I’ll try moving my legs. He bent his legs at the knees and drew his feet up close. No stinging pains. They’re not broken, but everything aches, especially my shoulder. I must have been blown off the ladder and landed on the ground on my shoulder, he thought.

His surroundings were quiet. The clattering, banging, and screeching of mine operations had stopped. He lay there assessing his pain, deciding where and how seriously he was hurt. He took deep breaths as he reviewed his last few seconds of consciousness before he was knocked to the ground. There must be hurt miners down in the tunnel, he thought.

Before he could muster the strength and coordination to stand, he heard a voice. James, are you all right? What happened? It was Fred, the mine manager, kneeling beside him.

James squinted his eyes, swallowed, and squeaked out the words. Something broke loose, and a full bucket crashed into the tunnel. There must be hurt men down there.

Another voice interrupted, a woman’s voice, shrieking. James, are you hurt?

James turned his head slightly. The mine clerk, Mary, who was also James’s mother-in-law, came into focus as James weakly said, I think I’m all right.

Fred then directed, Mary, you stay with James. I’ll go see what I can find out about the men in the tunnel. He jumped up and ran toward the tunnel entrance.

Lie still for a moment, James, Mary said. Then she added, When you feel you’re ready, I’ll help you sit up.

A couple of minutes passed. Okay, help me sit up, he said weakly.

Mary slipped her hand under the injured shoulder and gently lifted, not knowing it was throbbing with pain. James recoiled and gasped.

I’m sorry, James. Your shoulder must be hurt, Mary said as she slipped her hand under the other shoulder and gently, tentatively lifted James to a sitting position.

It took James a couple of minutes in an upright position for the surroundings to stop spinning and his dizziness to leave. Okay, let’s see if I can stand up, James said as he drew his legs under him. With Mary steadying him, he slowly stood erect. He took a deep breath, beating back the continuing pain in his shoulder. Hang on to me, Mary. I’m not sure what will happen when I try to walk. He took a short, quick step, legs trembling, and then stopped and assessed his balance and pain.

Take all the time you need, Mary reassured him. Let’s head toward the office, where you can lie down in the infirmary. The infirmary was a back room with a small bed and two chairs.

James was walking rather well when they got to the office, but he was exhausted and quite willing to lie down on the bed. Mary rummaged in her bag for a handkerchief to hold against his injured head, which continued to bleed. It wasn’t long before six others were helped in with various injuries. One man’s arm looked broken. Additional chairs were gathered for the miners to sit on.

At least no one has been brought in on a stretcher yet, James said to try to lighten the mood.

What happened? questioned one of the men who appeared less injured. Was there an explosion? All eyes turned to James for the answer.

No explosion, James replied. The cable came loose when the bucket was right at the top of the shaft. I’ll look into it and find out exactly what happened.

The doctor stepped into the room carrying his bag and immediately scanned the room, looking briefly at each injured man to see if any injuries were critical. Behind him entered his nurse, also carrying a bag of supplies. The doctor then stepped to each man, inspecting each injury. He looked for other injuries that were not obvious, such as concussions or injured eardrums. He instructed the nurse to take most of the men into the outer room to clean, stitch, and bandage their injuries. The man with the broken arm and James stayed with the doctor. First, the doctor turned his attention to the injured arm. After determining what was needed, he asked the miner if he wanted a swig of whiskey before he set his arm. The doctor took a bottle from his bag, gave it to the miner, and then gently maneuvered his arm into a specific position. While the miner drank from the bottle, the doctor turned his attention to James.

Looking closely at the gash in James’s head, the doctor cleaned it without comment, pulled out a needle and thread, and commenced sewing it up. After six stitches, he said, There, that should be enough. He then examined James’s shoulder. After poking around the shoulder a few minutes, he said, You’re lucky. It’s not broken, but it is dislocated. Repairing it will be quite uncomfortable, briefly. The doctor slowly straightened out James’s arm, positioned it in a specific direction, rotated it slightly, and then abruptly jerked the twisted arm.

Arrr! James involuntarily howled.

The doctor looked at him with a slight smile as he gently pushed James’s arm against his side. Better? he asked.

With a sigh of relief, James nodded. Yes, much better.

Satisfied, the doctor abruptly stepped to the miner with the broken arm. He grabbed the man’s wrist firmly with one hand and his shoulder with the other hand and then jerked the broken arm into position. Even after drinking the whiskey, the man let out a scream and tried to jump away from the doctor. But the doctor held firm. Now sit still while I put a splint on it.

As the doctor was putting the finishing touches on the split, Fred came in. He looked carefully at the miner with the broken arm and then at James. We’ve got a few injuries, but no one was killed, Fred said with relief. But we’ve got to build a new bucket and repair the lift station. I’ve already assigned six men to start work on it. Doc, if James rests up today and tomorrow, do you think he can come in and supervise the repairs?

He should be able to if he only watches. No lifting anything for at least a week, the doctor replied, looking at James as if he were giving orders. But even just watching, if you feel lightheaded or dizzy, fetch me. There may be something else going on that I’ve missed.

Bob, the longtime friend of James who also worked at the mine, walked home with James in case he needed any help. They stopped twice along the way for James to rest. As soon as they rounded the last corner to James’s house, the door flew open, and Ann came racing out to meet them, carrying little one-year-old Annie in her arms. Ann had heard about the incident at the mine and had been anxiously awaiting his return. James put up his hand to indicate he didn’t want Ann to hug him. Ann stopped dead in her tracks with a puzzled look on her face.

His shoulder was dislocated and is still tender, Bob explained to Ann.

James and Bob’s friendship had begun when they were boys, when they had started competing in a game of throwing knives called mumblety-peg. Ann was Bob’s cousin. James had first met Ann when she was only nine years old. She had followed Bob to Beal River, a favorite spot for young people to associate, and challenged James for the mumblety-peg championship. Even at nine years of age, she had made an impression on James that stuck in his mind. James also made an impression on Ann. They saw each other occasionally as they grew through their teenage years. It wasn’t long before Ann knew that James was the man she wanted to marry someday. Even though James was impressed with her, he always referred to her as Bob’s little girl cousin. Back then, the three-year difference in age was too vast for James to think of her as anything but an acquaintance.

This had changed dramatically when a cave-in at the mine left Ann’s father severely injured and stranded on a ledge forty feet below the tunnel floor. James had been called to help craft a method to retrieve him and had played a key role in the successful rescue. Ann’s father, Jonny, was lying unconscious on a stretcher, being attended by a doctor, when Ann and her mother, Mary, came rushing in.

This time when James met Ann, he saw that she had matured in every respect, and he was intensely struck by the sight of her. It also helped when she threw her arms around James and thanked him for his part in the rescue. The relationship grew rapidly from there, and they were married about a year later. Just before Ann and James married, he bought a house with a few acres of land. During their courtship, James had been promoted to be the foreman of the group of men called the bucket crew. It was their job to operate the cranes that lifted large buckets of coal from the tunnel below and then load it onto barges, wagons, and now newly implemented railcars.

For several years before James and Ann married, Ann had worked at a cotton mill in Oldham, England. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing. In the next several decades, more than three hundred cotton mills would be built in and around Oldham. The cotton mills were installing steam engines to power the spinning and weaving of cotton fibers into cloth. With steam power, larger, more complicated machines were being used to increase production. Oldham would become known as a major cloth-producing area, producing more cloth than any similarly sized area in the world.

Along with the Industrial Revolution came a labor revolution. With the use of steam power, mills that had employed several hundred workers now needed only a few dozen. There were riots as hundreds of laid-off workers starved and struggled to find new work.

Ann had demonstrated that she could work with these new machines and that she had leadership ability. Shortly before she and James were married, she was offered the position of floor foreman, meaning she would be responsible for all the production and workers on her floor. She talked it over with James, but her goal was not to run a cotton mill but to be married to James and raise a family. She thus had turned down the offer but had continued to work at the mill until Annie was born.

Thanks, Bob, for walking with him, Ann said as she took hold of James’s good arm to help him into the house.

Glad I could be of service, yet one more time, Bob replied, referring to the fact that he took credit for Ann and James being introduced and for James’s position at the mine. Then after a few steps, Bob stopped and said to the parting couple, You two—I mean, you three—look good together. Maybe it’s time Bob gets a wife.

3

A fter a couple of days’ rest, James returned to oversee the cleanup and rebuilding of a new bucket. He was very interested in every aspect of the repairs and wanted to be right among the other crew members, lifting, prying, measuring, and bolting the parts together. But his shoulder and energy kept reminding him that his job was to sit and watch.

James sat across from Fred at his desk late one afternoon after a long day. If we must rebuild the bucket anyway, why not build it bigger?

This got Fred’s attention. How much bigger? asked Fred. There is a limited amount of room in the lifting shaft. We’re also at the limit of what the steam engine will lift.

If we make the bucket twelve inches wider, six inches deeper, and eighteen inches longer, we would increase the bucket capacity by forty percent.

Fred’s eyes grew wide as James explained. A forty percent increase would be no small amount and deserved serious consideration. If we increased the width of the bucket that much, it would put us too close to the shaft walls. An off-center load would scrape the side of the shaft, reasoned Fred.

That’s right, replied James, happy that Fred was showing serious interest in his suggestion. We could counter that by installing guide rollers on the sides of the bucket, so if a load were off-center, the rollers would keep it centered in the shaft without causing damage.

Fred slowly and silently nodded as he mentally pictured what James was proposing. What about power? Fred finally said. We’re at the limit of the power we have from the engine. A forty percent increase on one of the buckets would overload the engine.

James continued, The cost of increasing the bucket size would be relatively small. On the other hand, another steam engine would need to be purchased for this bucket. That’s an expense the owners might object to. But … James paused to be