Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-10-01


cumstances, it was reasonably expected that
Five Forks would do its duty, and equally i'm
press the stranger after its own fashion.
Letters to this effect were sent from San
Francisco by prominent capitalists there, and
under the able superintendent of one of their
agents, the visitors were taken in hand, shown
"what was to be seen," carefully restrained
from observing what ought not TO be vislb and
so kept in biissful and enthusiastic condition
And so the graveyard of Five Forks, in which
but two OF the occupants had died natural
de tths, the dreary, ragged cabins on the hIl.-
sides, with their sad-eyed, cynical, broken
spirited occupants, toiling on, day by day. for
miserable pittance and q fare that a Self-re-
speeding eastern mechanic would have scOrn-
fully rejected, were not a part of the eastern
visitors recollection. But the hoisting-works
and machinery or the "BlaZing Star Tunnel
Company" was the" Blazing Star Tunnel Com
psny," whose "gentlemanly superintendent"
mad received private information from San
Francisco to do the "proper thing" for the
party. Wherefore the valuable heaps of ore in
the cOmpany's works were shown, the oblong
bars OF gold-ready for shipment-were plsy-
fully offered to the ladies who could lift and
carry them away unaided, and even the tunnel
itself, gloomy; fateful, ane peculiar, was shown
as part OF the experience; and, in the noble
language OF one correspondent, s'the wealth OF
Five Forks and the peculiar inducements that
it offered to eastern capitalists were established
beyond doubt. And then occurred little in.
cident which, as an unbiased spectator, L am
free TO say offered no inducements to ANYBODY
whatever, but which, for its bearing upon the
central inquire OF this veracious chronicle, can
not pass over.
Ithsd become apparent to one or two Imore
practical and sober minded in the party that
certain portions OF the " Blazing Star" tun-
nel-(owing. perhaps, to the exigencles of a fat
teripg annual dividend)-were economically and
imperfectly "shsred" and supported, and were
consequently unsafe, insecure, and to be avoid
ed. Nevertheless, at O time when champagne
corks were popping In dark corners, and enthu-
siastic voices and happy laughter rang through
the half-levels and galleries, there came a sud
den and mysterious silence. A few lights dashed
swiftly by in the direction Of q distant part OF
the gallery, and then there was q sudden sharp
issuing of orders, and dull, ominous rumble
Some OF the visitors turned pale-one woman
tainted
Something had happened. What? "Noth-
ing"-the speaker lie fluent but uneasy-'one Of
the gentlemen, in trying to dislodge specimen
from the wall, had knocked away a support.
There had been 'cave'-the gentleman was
caught and buried below his shoulders. 1t was
all right-they'd get him out In a nom snt-onIy
IL required great care to keep from extending
little man-the husband of that lively lady with
the black eyes. Eh! Hullo therel Stoo hsr.
For Gods sake mot that wayi She'll far
from the shaft! She'll be killedln
But the lively lady was already gone With
the gloom, with hands and feet that sought to
incoherent cries and supplications, following the
moving OF ignis fatHus lights ahead, she ran,
and ran swiftly! Ran over treacheroas founda-