A Miner's Lot.

Image via Wikipedia

 Less than half a mile away from where I live are the remnants and spoil of Devon Great Consoles which at one time in the 18th century was the largest copper mine in the world. Within a square mile of where I live there existed six hundred mines where copper, tin ,wolfram and other metal ores were extracted.

 When all the copper had been worked out of Devon Great Consoles they extracted arsenic, for which there was a flourishing market, and to this day nothing grows on the massive slag heap left behind for arsenic kills everything. Trees falling onto the heap generations ago are perfectly preserved because no bacteria or insects or fungi can live there. It is a hideous monument to the past days in Cornwall where the mine owners took their vast profits but left behind their waste and the miners who toiled in unimaginable conditions.

  The miners left behind by the ruthless profiteers who abandoned them either had to starve or look for mining work elsewhere. So they emigrated in droves to the new mines in Canada, Australia, Tasmania, South Africa and America. It was said that if you looked down a hole in the ground anywhere in the world that you would find a Cornishman. They were fondly remembered by the loved ones and friends that they left behind who referred to them as Cousin Jacks. A West Country duo called Show of Hands wrote a song with the title of Cousin Jack which reflects some of the bitterness and hardship that is the miners lot the world over just as it was for those brave men in Chile who are now thankfully safe. Behind them, as with all miners, is a history of grief, exploitatation sweat and pain.