Connecticut western news., 1871-08-25
let po P, shouted the oyerseer.

"Let go !'' shouted the overseer.
 The drivers loosened the heads of the horses, and the well-trained animals dashed off at once In a minute the bucket rose to view--empty
 "Ba,.;! Down with it! For life! for life! exclaimed the director, stamping with impatience.
 The men hastened to obey his orders, but before the bucket had descended dozen yards the roar of the explosion smote upon their ears, and a cloud of smoke and dust was driven violently up the shaft. When it cleared away the faces ot all present were seen to be pale with horror.
 "You villian" cried the director to Gomez: "what is the meaning of this %
 "Upon my life-as I am a Christian the rope shook in my hands," replied Gomez whose teeth 'chattered, and whose whole frame seemed to tremble with nerv- ous agitation, while his eyes carefully avoided those of the director.
 The latter did not waste another word upon him, but, seizing shovel, he sprang into the bucket, along with two of the miners, and was quickly lowered down the shaft. Here they set about removing, as rapidly and carefully as possible, the pile of earth and stones with which the explo- sion had filled the bolton of the shaft, not doubting that they should find the mangled remains of the poor matchlighter beneath them. .,. . .-..-.
 While they are thus engaged Tn a fruit less search, let us follow the actual course of Manuel's proceedings. He had just lighted the matches, and was on tue point of stepping into the bucket, when 1t was suddenly drawn up. A conviction of the overseer's perfidy instantly flashed upon him, and with it a sense of the horror of his position. But Manuel was, as the di- rector had said, a quick -witted fellow. He knew that the workmen employed in the shaft had, few days before, come upon a small side-cut, or passage barely large enough to admit the body of a man, and that, on tracing it to its termination, it was found to lead to an immense chamber in the old mine of San Adrian. This fam ous mine, as is we'll known, was worked shortly after the conquest of Mexico, and, having yielded immense wealth to its pro- prietors, was abandoned, about the end of the sixteenth century, on account of the difficulty experienced in it's drainage. The workmen who had explored the passage had reported that the chamber was nearly full of water, and was so large that the light of their candles did not penetrate te the further extremity. The recollection of this discovery now occurred to ManuePs mind, and seemed to offer him chance of escape Looking eagerly around, he ob- served the opening about three feet above his head; and gaining it by desperate spring, he drew himself up by the hands, and plunged into the passage. Urged by the dread of the coming explosion, Ee rushed eagerly onward, and just as the roar of the blast filled his ears he fell head long forward into sheet of water, which spread about three feet below the extrem- ity of the passage. He sank beneath the surface, and when he rose, confused and breathless, it was to find himself floating in utter darkness, without the slightest idea of the point by which he had entered and with hardly chance of discovering the opening, which lay so high above the water. A more horrible situation can
 hardly be conceived. Still, even in this
 extremity. hope did not desert him. After
 some reflection, he fixed upon the direc-
 ton in which he judged the passage to lie,
 and swan carefully towards it. He was
 soon convinced. by the space passed over,
 that he was mistaken in his judgment; but
 considering it better to keep on until he
 found the wall than to waste his strength
 in swimming about at random, he pro-
 ceeded steadily forward for distance, as
 he judged, of nearly two hundred yards
 At length he encountered the wall whicE rose perpendicularly far above his head, as
 he found by the splash of the water whicf he threw against it. Coasting along it and occasionally touching it with one
 hand, he advanced for about a hundred yards further, by which time his limbs were becoming stiff and benumbed in th' ice-cold water, and his heart had almost failed him. But he was not destined tt
 perish thus. He suddenly came upon { 2 passage, the opening of which was a littl' lower than the surface of the water. Il was evident from this fact, as we'll as iron the size of the passage, that it could no , be that by which he had entered. How . ever, it offered him at least respite iron death, and he promptly avaled himsel ! of it. After sitting motionless for tim torecover from the exhaustion of his recen z efforts, he rose and proceeded to explor the passage. It proved to be a sort o . vaulted chamber, of about his own height \ and just wide. enough for him to touch it p sides with his outstretched hands, A soul i. cheering idea suddenly flashed upon hi . mind. There was tradition of an ancien ' s0cabon, or adit, which had been driven a {, vast expense through the mountain, t !, effect the drainage of the old mine of Sa . Adrian. When the mine was abandoned . the adit, of course, was no longer attende ,e !, to; it's external opening became closed uI f and, in the space of more than two hundre
 years which had passed, it's precise localit a indeed, everything but the mere fact ( ~ its existence-was forgotten. Manu' " well remembered to have one day hear Q Don Jayne Say to Mexlcan gentleman ,. who accompanied him on former visit t / the mine, that he should consider the di' covery of the old socabon an inestimabl - service, as it would, probably. save th d company an immense expense for drainae D. in their new works. -:.7:7tff.r !. .-., a The further the miner advanced tf k more assured he became of the truth
 his supposition. The adit Mas-as from i :" situation it must necessarily be-of gre; pr length and Manuel walked. as he suppose h. nearly five hundred yards before reachi1 DO the. extremity. The water all the wa Iy was just up to his ankles, and he thougl Te he could perceive at times that it had Id slight current in the direction in which UT was going. The passage was closed, as k had anticipated, by a solid mass of cart S. and stones, which he at once set abo, 1e removing. Making good use of his lol
 knife, he worked indefatigably for mo nt than an hour. At last he struck the roo is of tree, circumstance which assured hi es that he was approaching the surface. II s, conviction gave him renewed strengt w He cut with his knife, and dug with he torn and bleeding hands, until at length