Grass Valley telegraph., 1856-06-24

Fifteen Days in the EartIa.

Fifteen Days IN the Earfhs
We clip the following thrilling narrative
of asmining accident and rescue from one of,
our exchanges by the late steamer
! We have chronicled the release of the four
men who were entombed at Blue Rock Coal
Mines, and now give, from the Stasesman
the scene before and at the time of their re-
lease.
| The work of rescue was a herculean work,
/ but braHely undertaken and heroicallY con-
sumrnated 1t was the more diffcult,sas but
about eight men could work alta time. There
was about eighty men constantly laboringl
day and night, relieving each other in gangs4
The progress was slow, and became slower.
the farther they went into the bank (; so that
since Sabbath last. not more than foot AMI
hour has been realized And this progress
was interrupted by the rock falling in, and
~ .i.o II t,,.ic dir which put out The lights
Let it be known that these heroic workmen
were in constant peril of their lives, in all
the fortnight's work. Of course they had
propped up with timber as they worked in
but at times the timber bent like reed un-
der the Immense pressure, and at times gave
way. The fragmentary condition of the rock
prevented the workmen from making them
selves secure. They could not work without
light, and when on Sunday they had cut in
236 feet, and were about to despair owing to
the bad atmosphere and the counsels Of some
who thought it too late to save the men.
they took new vigOr and new hope, and still
pressed on until Friday, when the attention
of the wOrkmen was arrested by knocking
within. They paused and halloed-again and
again halloed, when the voice of the entomb-
ed was heard family in a responsive hurrah
The crowd without, on the river bank, soon
caught the cheering news. and "Hurrah
Hurah - rent the air with such joy as never
awokR the echoes Of that beautiful valley be-
fore. sThe scene just then was most thrilling.
How differently it affects different men. this
rapture fjOy. Some ran aside, in silence
and tears. Some laughed wildly as lunatics.
Some whooped like Aboriginies Some ca
pered and cavorted like dancing Dervishes
in their Inspiration
n 1t was a rare scene, and not discredtable
to our fallen human nature.
The next thing in order was to hold con-
versatiOn with the entombed. The first in
telligible question propounded to the insiders
was .......t .-. .--
'|Was anybody killed by the caving?"
"None, " said the workmen.
'Hurrah hurrah !" was heard from within.
This jubilee of the entombed was reported
outside to the crowd, who responded to it by
a spontaneous hurrah of their own.
1t seemed that the men had picked their
| way some twenty feet within the rocky fis-
sure. and were enabled to converse pretty
freely. The Workmen warned them to re-
tire within, as they were in imminent dam
ger. Edgin said he wouldn't bulge till they
told them what was the day and hour, and
how long they had been shut in. The work
men told him that be had been in only a
week, that it was Friday deceiving him, as
they supposed, for mis- own good and that of
his companions. Edgin then told them to
say to their families and friends, that if they
didn't get out, they were ready to die hap
PLY, having made their peace with God. Ed
gin then retired, exclaiming to the workmen
most cheertully:
"We'l go on boys! Work on, boys! May
God bless you!"
This dialogue gave new hope to the work
men, and they labored on until the bad air
put out the lights again, when the work was
suspended for four hours, until they sent to
GAINESVILLE for some hose, bellows and pipe,
| by which they sent some fresh air in, and the
lights were resumed, and the work went on
till Friday night, when it was said they were
within twenty minutes of the rescue. Ar
rangements were all made to receive them,
and expectation was again baked by anoth-
er caving in Of the earth and rock. Friday
night the work continued. -.
some SIX nunQreQ people renamed I'LL one
o'clock Saturday morning, when the rescued
were brought out to the crowd with their
faces covered and their bodies very much
emaciated and exhausted Their families
were not permitted Immediately to meet
them. Physicians were present to look after
their well being, and everything done to
make sure of the results of the long labor,
viz: the preservation of their lives. Pierson
the older man, had futtering at the heart
the others seemed to be fas well as could be
expected" Their faces were covered to pro
tect their eyes. The boy Savage, it is said,
made inquiry the first thing after "chew of
| tohacco''-the rest after their families and
friends. They had taken some sleep on some
dry dirt which they piled up for that purpose,
but had no idea of the time that had elapsed.
Notwithstanding these men were thus i'm
bedded in the earth. perhaps their preserva-
tion from death by hunger was prevented by
that very fact. In the English mines. men
4 have lived even sixteen days without food
! The very want of light and free circulation
of air, the moisture Of their tomb, with the
lack of oxygen to carry off the particles eli
minated from the body, may have had some
effect in preventing that exhaustion which
has accompanied hunger in the open air, in
arid plains, or on the salt ocean,
! r NAPoLEoN's PRoPHKCY.-How is it to be
fulfilled? The conditions of the Peace lust
signed, utterly preclude the possibility that
Europe can ever be Cossack. Will it be Re
nub1ican .