The sun., 1873-12-25
A -,reuqrnoa Wonderful Appearance.


About one o'clock yesterday morning
some # the resdcnts in the western part of THIS
city were startled by observing what seemed a
column Of hame aity or sixty feet ia height
sh0Jilug up out Of a shaft near the old Ophir
rk-. II was at first thought that the old TIM
hers I'm tho mine were on fre, and three ur four
men ran 10 the spot ~ see what could he done
toward smOtherinS the namts. ON reaching the
shalt, however they found that there was no
-ulrll of smoke, and also that the supposed flre
w1- q iieht uHiiNe ANYTHING they had ever be-
fore .r-u ia IT, weird whteness. and in the
-tHtu.c r.rrl-tntiuur ~ It's tuiuDuucnt parti-
clc-. In the usut she'd about the faces Of the
Two or three uf tuose present were miners re-
turning from W,rk Wltn thor dinner pals IN
tleir nhl.-, aud IL Wa- observed that the pads
aim appe rcd ~ a brilliant steel tlue color.
Their clothing and hair also partook Va some de-
gree Of the sIuc ghustly ana unnatural color.
The hight came up the full LIE ui the large
suunre shaft, and seen at "a distance IA IL rose up
through the falling snow, closely re~emhled one
OF the shooting spires seen In The aurora bore
ajis unI il seemed to have something OF the same
waving ana iucunstaut motion.
Although the men felt creeping over them a
sort Of sunerettious awe, they ztill had sum
cient courage 10 approach the smart and gaze
into IL strange slsht was ttI' seem lhe
whole Interior Of the shatt seemed to be az a
white heat, and glowed Ike furnace. The
timbers on the sides were particularly brilliant,
and each splinter, eXcrescence, or hit OF fungus
seemed dartng dazzling rays that streamed
steadily out In all directions. warm, steamy
current Of air assembled from the sweltering
regions below, and there was observed scken-
iug. mu,ty smell. All those who looked into
the shalt afterward felt o severe pain in the
Temples, and two or rnlce were made sick at
the stomach.
THIS singular appearance lasted for nearly
half an hour alter IL was nrst observed, and be-
fore II was all over eight or ten men, mostly
miners returning from their work AT various
mines dt being about the time Of changing
shifts. had collected about the shaft. The Hight
! died out from the top downward, ana protu.
! beTances IRON the s,des Of the shaft continued
! Ia glow for some minutes after the hght Was no
| longer visible above the top OF the shaft. The
! light would seem 70 have been caused 10y the
| belching forth Of some kind Of highly phos-
/ phorated gas from some ~ the deep under
| ground chambers in the old abandoned works
| The rush of gIs-lur gas of some Kind 10 must
! have been wa probably caused by an eKten-
! sivc cave In some place where the old timber
! had rutted away.
/ one of the men who had the fortune TO wit
ness The strange phenomenon Is Of tho opinion
that the mixing or minging Of the nas from the
/ mine with the atmosphere air had something
TO do with intcnstfying the light, ~ he observed
! ia the ascending current OF pseudo fame my
! riads of small PARTICLES Of some substance, glp
/ hura OF Napor ur something pi the Kind, which
! apueared tu dash ana -cintll tie ~ they dartet
/ upward AMI wnch presented IN the genera
/ column ~ light much the same appearance Al
/ NOTES moving about in sunbeam.