cheesan.int.

1906 Engin. & Mining Jrnl. 24 Feb. 380/2 There is a practice almost universal in the mines of the Rand which appears to have escaped the notice of the late commission on ventilation. This is the practice of making and burning ‘cheesa sticks’ for firing the fuses of holes when blasting.

1915 A. Marshall Explosives xxx. 441 In South Africa ‘Cheesa sticks’ are used, which consist of sticks of cordite with ammonium oxalate and shellac. They have recently been authorized in England.

1948 C. W. Biccard Jeppe Gold Mining S. Afr. viii. 108 The cost of..lighting torches (‘Tchisa sticks’) £20,700.

2013 A. Mills Pathologist Remembers v. 86 With a lighted ‘cheesa’ (burning) stick, which emitted a strong hissing flame, even under water, the slow burning fuses were lit.

1956 K. Courlander I speak of Afr. xvii. 164 The rock-breaker would fill these apertures with explosives and the ‘cheesa’ boy..would come along with a slow-burning fuse.

1972 F. Wilson Labour in S. Afr. Gold Mines 1911–1969 p. vii (list of plates) Only the white man is allowed to ‘charge up’ by driving the explosive into the hole; he is assisted by a ‘chisa boy’.

1955 J. Seymour One Man's Afr. xiii. 185 We would then shout ‘Cheesa! Cheesa!’ as a warning, and walk—at a dignified speed—towards the shaft.

1970 W. Smith Gold Mine xl. 111 ‘Cheesa!’ said Rod, the traditional command that had come down from the days when each fuse had been individually lit by a hand-held igniter stick.