The Placer herald., 1871-09-16
BkUAtHiNG A MINE.

miners have to battle against, one Of the
greatest ariees from accidentally carrying the
excavations too close to some disused pit 3,
that perhaps many years since has Deer
boarded and earlhod over, and in course OF
time forgotten.
When miners have reason to suspect that
such is the case--a suspicion generally caus-
cd hy greater eXudation o.! water than l.
! usual--they at once proceed 10 what is tech
nically termed "ho!e it," and the following
description of the holng or emptying pit OF
water may lest lie given in the words of al
old Cornish miner, one Of the principal actors
n the undertaking:
'Well, you see, sir, We were working toe
hundred fathoms down--runnirg a level due
nortl!-and TO cur surprise the further we
went the more moist The earth got, till Oh
going to work one morning we found The
whole end OF the wall covered with drops Of
dew. Seeing this, it struck all Of US at
once that there must be a pit at no great
disiancd aud Gas they a most allus are) fail
of water. Fancy IL, ;;.:'- sir; . body Of water
reaching many filIcms above you, and The
narrow place in which you are working on',
: parated from ii ly a thin crust Of clay,
putting you il the momentary fear Of this
giving way and the water crashing in upon
goul
"IIowever. there it was and must be got
rid of, and this, too, ly driving or holine
right into it; for if left We should never be
safe, or tell when we might come unawaree
across one of Tie many levels or shafts
which run such numerous ways and depths.
"W hen the captain of the minc learned
OF its existence an offer was made on to!era-
ble advantageous terms, to any who chose to
empty it, which offer six of us accepting, we
ut once proceeded with our dangerous task.
"Ihe first thing We did was to put mp
strong framework with doors attached, open
ny mwards towards the old pit, so that the
instant the mine was holed, by running and
closing the doors in passing, the mass OF
water would be kept back for a time-!onc
enough, at all events, as we hoped for us to
reach the Ladders.
AFTER placing three Of these safety valves.
is We sailed them, we proceeded slowly and
cautiously with the more dangerous part OF
he work. BIZ hy bit We got nearer and
nearer to the cid mine, at every blow Of the
sledgc on the horer expecting the water to
follow, often and often fearing to strike more
than one blow before running for our lives
ill the constant dread which we was allus
! II so worked on the nerves Of the trives
ihat even the falling Of IA stone would be sui-
'icient to put every one Of us to fight.
"Nevcr shall forget the morning wher
At last we did get through; and can Almost
i..np ~ m, ,taa H., th.i
stood with TIE borer held up ready for an
gihr strike, the rest of us watching for the
blow to fall, and prepared to run if ueces
Siry.
AT last, while every eye was fixed Oh
EN-, the steel hammer rang On the horer
which in anoih her instant WAS sent whizzne
far away down he leyel, AS with a horrible
roar the water came tearins and crushing
through The earth.
1t was IA run then for lfe, sir; and in a fl
-horter time than can tell it, we were
through the first doorway, and in the act Of
.wingug to The next when he first was dashed
isAnst ii; but, thank Cod, this for a no
msnt resisted the pressure Of ,le water, or !
should not be here telling It.
con we sped, our only hope Of safety ly-
ing il gaining lie ladders before The last door
gave way; and what distance they seemed
.hen even few moments gained might res
cue us from death. Breathless at lust We
reached them, and had scended but few
rounds when, with hang-whir-;he wa
or Was upon liz, and, fast as we climbed,
ike some horrible monster seeking or de-
struction, it gldcd up step 10y siep with us.
even now "A sludderinG feeling creers
over me as call TO mind the fierce struggle
1t was to climb iister than the water rosc.
Faint and weary We still tore upward for to
rest only a few moments would, to certainty,
have been death Up, up. with oar dread
enemy gaining Oh our tagging footsteps;
now with cold water gliding to our knees,
ye, still with renewed desperation struggling
on. Thank Heaven the adit was at last
reached, and We Were saved. Dragging our
exhausted limbs few feet higher, We
watched the dread torrent rushing through
the outlet. 7 Then it wds that, giving glanc.
towards my comrades, found but two lefi
I les, SIR, siX of US went down; three only
came up. Whether they were oveitaken ii
he ieyc, or washed ftom the ladders, none
us at that time to allow of US bestowing 1t
thought upon oar mates. However, we
thought deal more about them on reaching
The mouth Of the pit, where stood their pal,
faced anxious wives, scanning Us on coming
to grass, and asking, with frightened cry,
wv here are our husbands?'
"We could only point down to the roaring
gulf, for our hearts were too full to uttei
even the simple word-dead."
The MASONIC FRATERNITY. Il he strength
of the Masonic Order in the United States
AS reported by the Committee on Correspond
ence of the Grand Lodge Of Pennsylvania,
aggregates as follows: Number of Lodges,
,495; members initiated during the last
year, Al 1856; total number Of members in
dirt l. -aic ht Statns nnd onn trerriforv 1G&