Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1871-08-31

a distance of about Numbered yards. Two
drivers, held the horses heads, and waited
in anxious silence for the signal from
Gomez. All was still as death in the
gdLcrd.
"Lct 90 !" shouted the ovcrseer.
The drivers looSencd the heads Of the
horses, and the well-trained animals dashed
off at once. In minute the bucket rose
to view-empty
"Back! Down with it For life for
life! exclaimed the director, stamping
with impotence.
The men fastened to obey his orders,
but before the bucket had descended a
dozen yards the roar of the explosion smote
upon their cars, and a cloud of smoke and
dust was driven violently up the shaft.
When it cleared away the faces of all
present were seen to be pale with horror.
"You william p cried the director to
Gomez; "what is the meaning Of this Z"
"Upon my lfe-as am Christian
the rope shook in my hands," replied
Gomez, whose teeth chartered, and whose
whole frame seemed to tremble with ncrv-
Gus agitation, while his eyes carefully
avoided those of the director
The latter did not waste another word
upon him, but, Selling 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 cxplo-
sion had filled the bottom of the shaft, not
doubling that they should find the
mangled remains Of the poor matchlighter
beneath them.
" lille they are thus engaged in a fruit
less search let us follow the actual course
of Manuel's proceedings. He had just
lighted the matches, and was on the point
of stepping into the bucket, when it was
suddenly drawn up. A conviction of the
ovcrsccr's pcrlldy instantly flashed upon
him, and with it sense of the horror of
his position. But Manuel was, as the di-
rector had said, a quick-wittcd fellow lie
knew that the workmcn employed in the
shaft had, a few days before, come upon a
small side-cut, or passage barely large
enough to admit the body of 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
, Gus mine, as is well 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 its 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 to
f the further extremity. The recollection
l OF this discovery now occurred to ManueFs
} mind, and seemed to offer him chance OF
= escape. Looking eagerly around, he OBJ
served the opening about three feet above
= his head; and gaining it by a desperate
e spring, he drew himself up by the hands,
and plunged into the passage. Urged by
2 the dread of the coming explosion, he
] rushed eagerly onward, and just as the
c roar of the blast filled his ears he fell head
t 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
c in utter darkness, without the slightest
idea of the point by which he had entered
c and with hardly chance of discovering
t the opening, which lay so high above the
o water. A more horrible situation can
- hardly be conceived. Still, even in this
n extremity, hope did not desert him. After
some reflection, he fixed upon the direc,
II ton in which he Judged the passage to lie
n and swan carefully towards it. He was
soon convinced, by the space passed over
= that he was mistaken in his judgment; but
e considering it better to keep on until he
= found the wall than to waste his strength
a in swimming about at random, he pro
d ceedcd steadily forward for distance, as
: he Judged, of nearly two hundred yards
At length he encountered the wall which
It rose perpendicularly far above his head, as
IL he found by the splash of the water which
J? he threw against it, Coasting along it
it and occasionally touching it with ont
: hand, he advanced for about hundred
is yards further, by which time his limbs
5. were becoming stiff and benumbed in thu
l. ice-cold water, and his heart had almos
IS failed him. But he was not destined tt
perish thus. He suddenly came upon {
|, passage, the opening of which was a littl'
d lower than the surface of the water. L
n was evident from this fact, as well as from
n the size of the passage, that it could no
It be that by which he had entered. How
ever, it offered him at least a respite from
Sc death, and he promptly availed himsel
C. of it. After sitting motionless for TIM
IS torecover from the exhaustion of his recon
- efforts, he rose and proceeded to explor
the passage. 1t proved to be sort O
r vaultcd chamber, of about his own height
cl and Just wide enough for him to touch it
st sides with his outstretched hands. A soul
m cheering idea suddenly flashed upon hi
N mind. There was tradition Of an ancien
~ socabon, or adit, which had been driven a
ct vast expense through the mountain, t.
,d effect the drainage Of the old mine of Sa
" Adrian When the mine was abandoned
lie the adit, of course, was no longer attende
at to-; its external opening became closed W
We and, in the space Of more than twohundre
years which had passed, its precise localit
or indeed, everything but the mere fact
nr its existcnce-was forgotten Manuc
Sc well remembered to have one day hear
H. Don Jayne say to Mexican gentleman
lis who accompanied him on former visit t
p. the mine that he should consider the dis
ne covery of the old Socabon an inestimabl
ry service, as it would, probably, save tn
he company an immense expense for drainag
at in their new works.
The further the miner advanced tn
I'D more assured he became of the truth {
his supposition. Thcadit was-as from il
ny situation it must necessarily be-of greG
he length and Manuel walked, as he supposed
o. nearly five hundred yards before reaChin
the extremity. The water all the wa