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Tape 16-1
Page 17

yet or not, when you come down into Buck Mountain from this here tunnel room.
There was a bridge there, the raailroad bridge used to cross through there.
Well, when you pass that bridge on your left, the school house was there.
Well, one time there was a slope there where the miners used to go in and
the mules used to go in. Well, they said there was all kinds of coal down
in there.

AV: What did they call that slope?

JS: That---Buck Mountain, that's the Lower Buck Mountain. that, that much went
all the way down to that next mountain that you see over there,
Weatherly Mountain. that coal must have run all the way
back in there. And they say it's a big mine in there, and there's everything in there,
cars and everything filled up with coal, you know, and they were drowned out.
Mules and all got left in there.

AV: What happened?

JS: This tunnel come a flood.

AV: Oh, really?

JS: And it started to get bad and they had to run out, and the mules they left
and everythig left in there. So all of that is standing years and yearsback, that was
a mine. they got a lot of coal up there yet.

AV: When did that happen, that flood?

JS: Oh, a long time ago. I don't remember when they worked that slope. I don't
remember. Yes. that was before my time yet. But the ones that still are
around, they used to talk about.

AV: Yeah?

JS: Yeah. So, there's a lot of coal in this town yet. To take out, if they take it.
'Course, they need better equipment and everything if they're gonna
get it. Because , this here strippin' what I was