The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-11-19
VOLUME 27-NUMBER 7.
From the San Francisco Golden Era-l
How Jack Rabbit Saved q Miners
Life.

While my friend CLYDE aud myselt
were out in the hills back OF the Glod.
en- Gate PARK, last week, q jack rabbit
came along aud stopped to Iook at "a.
"If had thought TO bring my re-
volver along We would have lack on
toast for breakfast Tomorrow I re-
marked.
mot with my consent" he replied.
"What reason can you give for not
eonsenting."
"a rabbit saved my life, and have
not killed one since, and never will
kill one again."
''Hov did it manage to save your
life?"
''Fhree years ago 1 WAS living in
Montana. A smelter had Just been
built and IL created q demand for l.
yer rock. Iowned an interest 10 9
lead that had been sunk on thirty
feet. Thinking the time had come to
make 1t available, / concluded to 20
there and get some ore, and have il
tested. 1 did so; and reached the
place just in time to take shelter in q
mine from = terrible hail-stOrm.
lighted my candle, went to the bot
tom, aad went to work. / bad not
been there more than five minutes
when l heard q noise tbat sOundt d
like a cannon. The rocks over nv
head shook, and in q moment the
shaft behind me eaved. You can
imagine my feelings better than can
describe them, when / found myself
buried alive. I trembIe even at this
day when think OF that moment.
Fne IoOf of the shaft was rocks, and
when they did come down they did
not PACK me so tight but what the sir
came through. There was nothing /
could do to release myself. / knew
that II relief did not come fIOm the
outside must perish. No one knew
had gone there. A road ran past
the mouth of the shaft but II was
not Travelled much, and l was not
likely to attract attention by calling,
nevertheless | shouted at Intervals all
day. The following morning I com
menced calling again aud all day,
whenever / thought heard a sound,
| shouted.
"When night came again all hopes
of being released abandoned me. One
thing added great bitterness to my
sutferings. | owed quite q large
amount of mo ney, and should my
fate remain unknown my creditors
would think I had fed to defraud
them, and my name would be stig-
matized.
IL will not dwell on the agonies I
endured. am sorry that l cannot
forget them.
"Fhe morning Of the fourth day OF
my imprisonment neArd something
CRAWL into my grave. lighted my
candle and szHA rabbit. There was
only one aperture large enough to adj
init him | closed it TO prevent his es-
cape, saw IN him food 20 appease my
munger, and my hand raised to kill
nim, when Thought occurred to me
that prevented the blow from descend
lag. had two fish lines, fheir united
length would reach 10 the road.
took OF my shirt, aud tore It into
strings, tied them together, and on To
the fish line, wore 3 long gold watch
chain ; l tied it on to the part of the
line that would cross the road. then
cut several leaves from my diary,
wrote on them my condition, and tied
them on the part of line that would
be outside. then tied the end made
out of my shirt around the Jacks
neck and let him out. He soon reach
ed the end of the line, aud | knew by
the way he was pulling that he was
making desperate attempts to escape.
Soon the tugging stopped, and know
ing ynSwing 20 be Jacks chief accom-
plishment, thought be had cut him
self loose. About three hours after
ward felt the line pulled, then some
one called. l tried TO answer, but the
hoaTse noise made died in the O..
vern. / then pulled the line to show
that was not dead.
"All grew still again, and knew
the man had gone for assistance.
Then came the sound Of voices. pull
ed in the line, anc it brought me food.
It took all the men that could work
in the shaft nine hours to reach me.
"a very large pine tree that stood
near the shaft had been the cause ol
my tnrsfoFS-------IE had -naen- dad q
number of years, and the storm bad
blown it over. The terrible blow II
struck the ground had caused the cave.
"Jaek had wound the line around
the bush and tied himself 30 short that
he was imprisoned outside as securely
as had been inside. He was taken
to town, put in large cage, and sup
piled with all the rabbit delicacies the
market afforded. He, however, did
not thrive, and the boys, believing
that he 'pined in thought decided 70
set him free. He was taken back to
his girdling grounds and liberated.
"He not only saved my lie, but be-
came the benefsctnr of all the rabbits
in the neighborhOOd-the miners re-
training from shooting any, fearing II
might be him."