The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1868-08-07

| away, to Yorkshire, or to the diggingS
in Australia, for that matter? The no.
ton, if it was good for nothing more,
gave me little spirit. 1t turned my
thoughts, and ! stepped out brisker, GO
ing straight home. l hadn't much to
settle there, only to bid good by to the
folks lived with, and soon came out
pack on my back and began my tramp.
stopped at the moor and looked
back, remembering might never see
the place again, and dismal as / now
thought it, with its gaping walls and
shaken roofs encumbering the blacken-
ed ground, had been happy there.
Not one of those tumbling cottages but
would open its door to me; not one
where wouldn't meet friend. And
there | had been born it was the spot
on earth than even in the hour of bitter
ness, | loved best, and / didn't turn
away without dashing my hand over
my eyes.
was walking on when suddenly the
air was rent with a crash which shook
L
such sounds denote but one result in
the black country, and throwing down
my pack, | darted off to the pit, with
the feelings that animate every miner
on such occasions.
1t didn't seem a minute before | came
to the dust heaps around the pits
mouth but some were there before me,
and the off-men and the women were
rushing up from the village in stream.
The smell from the pit almost knock ed
me back, and had to get my breath a
lite, when three or four of us crept on
the mouth and looked down. The ex-
plosion had destroyed the cage, mot leav-
ing a stick of it, but it hadn't injured
the signal rope; hence means ofcom-
munication remained for any one i'm
medately below. AS soon as | saw
this set to work to rig cross-bar, and
presently had it ready.
Just lower me gently" | said to
two banksmen. may pick up one or
two, if there is any near"
"You can't go down yet" said the
viewer. "How many are there in the
pit?"
"Half an hour ago there We're fifty"
replied the timekeeper; "but | am
thankful to say they all came up but
ten."
"And they are all lost !" said the
viewer, ''lor there will be another ex-
plosion directly.'
"Pll go down anyhow" said dog
gedly, "and if nobody will lower me
I'll jump down."
n good many were ON the heaps now,
men and women; some of the women
crying, and some praying but when
spoke out that way, there was dead 81
lence. Two or three called out-"Good-
by, Charley. God bless you, brave lad"
The banksman lowered me down, and
! sank through the pits mouth. A
Davylamp was tied around my waist
and held IA rope in my hand, 50 that
might signal to be hoisted up, if the air
became too foul. But | had no inten-
ton of going back till had searched
the pit, ,and seen if there were any alive.
One thing didn't care ebout my life:
and another would have been ashamed
to face the folks above without doing
something. The shaft had never SEEM
ed so deep to me before. | strained my
eyes into the darkness below, and saw
no bottom, glanced up, and the gleam
/ "a orr W n N n np
| scanned the walls of the shaft, and
marked only their black bound. But
my progress was notified by the increas-
ing density of the air, which began to
affect my breathing; and as | went on,
! had to shift my face from side to side
to make little current. AT last my
feet touched ground.
| looked round, as | jumped on the
saddle, and saw the furnace was out,
which put n stop to the ventilation
of the mine, as far rs il depended
on the brattices, and no air entered
by the shaft. The stencil was over
powerng, and, from this and the
silence, | guessed the worst. 1t was
plain that the explosion had killed
the horses, for not n sound came from
the stables, which were close to the
shaft, and what hope could there be fol
human beings in "A distant part Of the
pit? You may be sure didn't stop tc
make these reflections; they tloated
across me, and was working forward
| hat h,,
knew the old mine blindfold but what
with the gloom and my shortness o.
breath, | was some minutes scrambling
to the top of the incline, keeping my
arms stretched out, as went along, tC
feel for anything in the way. And il
was lucky | did, or should have dash
ed my head against some empty trucks
and in the state ! was in, that woulC
have finished me. Thus | reached thu
first gallery which you could only cnte
STOPPING. pushed open the trap, anC
went on few steps, though my Davy
lamp was what pitmen called "ailre
the fame being all blue-and | knew
that the atmosphere was so much gun
powder. But ] stumbled along; II
wasn't to save any one, it didn't matte
what became of myself, and pleased
> myself with the thought that Nell.
would hear that had died in the at
, tempt. rAnd then, all at once, it cam
, into rhy head what she had said abou
f her brother Jack being in the pit. Thi
. gav&my heart such turn that | quit
staggered, and the perspiration poure,
from my forehead like water. lrushe
forward rs if i was mad-my foot struc
= something bent down over wha
A seemed corpse, and the gleam of III
/ lamp fell on his face. 1t was Jack Glo>
Q er. | didn't know whether he wa
: alive or dead, but caught him in my
g arms, and with the strength of Il gial