3
thirty feet before the suitable "stone" is reached, the flint
is got to the surface without any rope, ladder, basket, or
windlas, or, indeed, any mechanical appliance whatever.
The modus operandi consists in sinking a series of alternat-
ing ledges or steps, in such a manner that, when the bottom
is reached, it is some ten or twelve feet away from the
perpendicular line below the opening; each of the steps
or ledges is from three feet at the top step to six feet at
the bottom one, and the excavator jumps or drops down,
but climbs up by means of footholes picked in the vertical
sides of the steps.
The shaft does not go straight down vertically, but
follows a zig-zag course in a diagonal direction, proceeding
alternately forwards and sideways. The shape of the shaft
may be realized by making a model in tin or cardboard.
When the vein or layer of good flint is reached, a horizontal
tunnel is driven as in an ordinary mine, the worker bringing
his lumps of flint to the bottom of the step-like shaft,
where he throws them up on to the first ledge; clambering
up, he repeats the operation on to the next ledge, and so
on, until he gets to the surface, where the excavated
flint is stacked in one-horse loads, called "jags."
These jags are loosely covered with loppings of fir-trees
to protect the flint from the sun and wind, which are
said to spoil its character for flaking up well. It is
generally supposed that the age of flint implements can be
proved by the patinated or semi-glazed appearance of
the fractured surface, and to some extent this is so; but
it is a curious fact that at Brandon this formation of
patina takes place under some conditions very rapidly, and
to such an extent that the glaze resembles porcelain, and
such examples are known to the natives as china-faced
flints, and may often be seen as ornaments in the cottages
of the villagers.
The loads of excavated flint are brought down to the
village as required; there is no regular gun-flint factory,
but the work is done in little sheds, often at the back of
the cottages. The first operation consists of "quartering"
the flint, as it is called—that is, breaking it up into pieces