Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-10-07
T EPISODE.
A Miner saFocated, Hanged By the
Neck and Afterwar4Thrswn Down
nAhnn-Ho sill Lives.

NECK -
ashaft-He still Lives.
The other afternoon Jim O'Donnell,
the energetic and efficient foreman OF
the Succor mine, was applied to for
work by a big, tall, slab-sided Down
Easter. Jim surveyed his powerful
proportions and concluded, as he said
he was q green hand, he would be
just the man to run q car, so he told
him to 60 to the mine and he would
put him to work that evening on the
. o'clock shit. At the appointed time
he was on hand. and telling the night
foreman that Mr.. O'Donnell had sent
him, he was taken down into the mine
to work In n drift, the night foreman
not knowing but that he was an old
miner. The drift was q short one,
from the bottom of a small shaft or
winze thirty feet deep, and intended
to effect q connection with q raise
being made from the lower part Of the
mine. Here in this drift he was LETT
to 90 to picking and shoveling, the
foreman telling him he would send
along the man directly who was to
work with him. Our Down Easter
found it rather dark there with his
single candle, so he lit a couple moro
and stuck them at the sides Of the DRIFT.
About this time he became fully con-
scious of
A Very Bad Smell
Pervaded the drift. 1t was caused by
the shift which had quit work there a
short time previously letting of a
blast of giant powder as they left, the
smoke of which had not yet got out.
He did not fancy the disagreeable odor
at all, and hearing other miners at work
in another drift near by, he went out
and asked them about 1t. Says he,
"does 1t always smell this way under
ground? Inever smelt any slch smell
as this ere one before, and be derned
eff l like 1t n bit. 1t makes me feel
sleepy and mean" 80, that's moth
ing" said they, sits only giant pow
der smoke, and you'll soon get used to
that" He went back to work, but tho
smoke was, so thick ut the far end Of
the drift that he concluded that II he
worked In it he would soon be
sufoeated.
He found enough of 1t at the bottom
of the shaft to make him feel very
dizzy, so he thoughthe would lie down.
He had hardly done so before he was
in a sound, stupid sleep, insensible to
everything. Shortly afterward the maj
who WAS going to work with him came
along, descended the ladder and at the
bottom Of the shaft found the PROSTATE
body. He took him by the arm and
shook him, saying, "What are you do
ing herel what's the matter? get up
But there was no get up to him. Con-
Guiding he had found
A Dead Mas,
He clambered hastily up the ladder
and ran to the other parts Of the mino,
giving the alarm. Directly there was
an anxious and excited crowd OF some
twenty or thirty miners gathered about
the fatal shaft, all discussing the prof.
able cause of the terrible accident
the most probable idea being that the
poor fellow had accidentally fallen
down the shaft. The next thing vas
to get him out; so they got the wind
lass over the shaft ready, and an enter
prising Dutchman volunteered to so
down and send up the corpse, because,
says he, ''poys, Use a sailor man, al d
puts der rope rount his poddy shoost
right, you pet" He took a turn OF
the rope about the waist OF the corpse
and fastened it properly, and then III
tended TO take q half hitch around
under the arms, but in his nervous
trepidation he managed to put the
hitch under only one arm and across
the other shoulder, consequently when
he scrambled ont and told the boys to
hoist. the rope slipped from the shoulder
and drew tightly about the neck OF the
corpse, strangling him almost as ef-
fectually rs though "60l" had got
after him. BY this time the night
foreman had arrived at the scene.
"What the DEVILS the matter? ?" said
he. He was told and Immediately
went down to ease the corpse up along
the ladder while the men were hoist
ing at the windlass. About twelve or
fifteen feet from the bottom he met
our unfortunate Down Easter
Dangling aad Choking
At the end of the rope, fully aroused,
and struggling like mad. Hold on
there, boys." roared the foreman,
"d-n it, this Is no dead man ; lower
away, quick At the same time he
got below on the ladder and placing
his shoulder under Down Casters body
supported his whole weight-about 200
pounds-while he loosened the rope
about his neck. Just as he did this the
Door fellow, sick at the stomach from
the powder fumes, and half strangled
to death with the rope, gave a terrible
grunt and vomited all over him.
!Whew!" thunder and the devil"
! shouted the foreman, "that's enough
I've got enough Of you" and he dump
ed him of his shoulder, thinking lie
was only a step or two from the bot
tom, The slackened wlndlaSs whirled
fiercely from the hands Of those at the
cranks, and down went the supposed
corpse sprawling to the bottom of the
shaft. 1t was n rough old fall, but he
was fully
Brought to Lilo
By it, and fortunately not being hur'
much, he was soon able to climb W
the ladder out of the shaft without
assistance. The excitement was now
changed to general hilarlty, and great
was the joking at the expense Of Down
Easter. He IS a man Of courage, how
ever, and not easily set back by even
this rather rough introduction to min
ing experience, for he went to WORK
again next day, and Is still Mt work III
| the Succor mine. He will soon be able
to stand the fumes of giant powder OF
any other powder.
DELISoUESrs.-A week has now OK
pired since the corporation taxes oil