The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-05-22
"CAyED.n-A MINERS STORY.

"Its caved!" exclaimed Bill Beave,
bursting into the cabin, where ! was leis-
urely eating breakfast and reading the news
from some last years papers that were
pasted on the wall. "The ground has
caved 1t came down mighty sudden !;
md Little Jimmy was at the breast.
was further out in the drift, and had the
start of it; but it made such close call
for me, that | know he must q got
kctched."
This technical jargon revealed to me the
fact that our mine had cayed, and had
buried one Of our companions, for Little
Jimmy" was not an infant, but man-a
miner and friend. He had been working
at the "breast" or farthest end Of the
drift" but was now perhaps sleeping his
last sleep in the bosom Of the mother of
US all.
Three years before this we had come to
this creek. We had prospected the ''side
gulches" and the bars. and found "colors"
everywhere. Indications were favorable,
so we 'staked" body of ground along the
main creek, built cabins, organized COM
pany, of which the writer was elected
president, and went to work to open our
claim.
Those three years had been years Of toll
and privation. We were in the heart Of
the Rocky Mountains. Our camp was
pitched in little basin Of valley, warm
and sunshiny, and Just at the entrance Of
a deep and gloomy canon, which We named
"The Devils Gate" and through which
our sparkling little stream foamed and
fumblcd down to that great river, the Mis-
souri,. Our ground was deep and very wet.
Drainage was necessary, and we had driven
a tunnel for this purpose through the earth
and boulders that filled the primeyal bed
of the creek, until we bad attained hori-
zontal distance of q thousand yards; but
the slope Of the gulch was so gradual that
we had not reached the "bed; d;rock," where
we hoped to find the gold laid in heaps.
"Bed- Rock" being the objective point,
must be reached, so we sank shaft at the
head Of our tunnel and betook ourselves to
a pump.
As it was a couple Of thousand miles to
the nearest foundry, and we could not af-
ford to await the completion Of the Nerth
Pacific Railroad, a pump, under the cir.
cumstances, was problem; so / will tell
how we got one. We had blacksmith's
and carpenters tools, which most Of US
could use; there was plenty Of timber
growing on the mountains, and 4 pair OF
dilapidated freight wagons supplied our
stock Of iron. Great slabs or segments
were cut from tir-trees, and hewn and
dressed on one side to smooth plane.
The other side was rounded to an arc or
convex surface, SO that when four such
segments were placed together lengthwise,
secured with pins at the edges, which were
first squared and then made parallel, they
forned a long, hollow trunk or barrel,
four-sauare within, but outside cylindrical,
and tapering slightly from one end to the
other. Upon this were driven hoops or
bands of iron, which forced the joints close,
like those of a cask, and thus we had
pumps or pipes Of considerable length and
solidity. 1t was easy to fit them with
valves and pistons, and to work them with
a wooden walking-beam moved by the
crank of water-wheel. This crank was
q masterpiece. 1t had arm or leverage oil
two feet, and was formed from the iron
axle of one Of our wagons, and its gudgeon'
or bearings were turned in lathe OF our
own contriying. This was heavy job for
our resources, but it was finished after an
nor II seemed TO US, of toll, puzzling, and
pespiration and VIC had produced machin-
cry that was capable Of raising to . height
of nearly thirty feet, many tons OF water
per day, and which answered all our re-
auiremerts for drainage. so that we were
able to reach that long-sought "bed-rock"
at depth Of ninety feet below the present
bed Of the creek. I will mention here that
our pump was twelve inches square inside,
and had a stroke Of four feet, raising the
water twenty-nine feet into adraln-tunnei'
whence it flowed out to the surface, a thou
sand yards down the canon. -, i
We had reached "bed-rock," but had not
Hstruck it very rich," and were running
drift or tunnel on "hed-rock" across and
up to the gulch in search Of the pay
.treak,n which we were hoping every day
10 find, when the announcement oil start
linz accident was made. Here wa, the
ruin Of our hope, and the death OF our
friend; for there was little room 10 nope
1t must not be supposed that much time
wa, wasted in such reflections, for, telling
BiIl TO rouse the entire camp, ! rushed OIL
10 the mine. Such Of the men as heard oi
the occurrence hurried from their work,
bringing with them their picks and 'hGvel. e..
as likeiy to be needed, and the miners
rom vc. divsings came clad IN coats, niSh