West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1877-11-03

like me, or worse rather-much worse
men that IL made sort of furious to he
tied down to anything, vet 50 soft-like
and contradictory i'm their natures that
you might lead them anywhere so long
rs they did not feel the string. Stranger.
1t takes all sorts of people To make a
world and we may have a good many
of the worst kind OF white men here ont
IN the West. But | have seen folks
/ upon this river-quiet-looking chaps.
too, as you ever see-who were so tee
totally caractevankterous that they II
shoot the doctor who'd tell them they
couldn't live when ailinC, and make a
die out of il iist out of spite when told
they must get well. Yes! fellows as
fond of the good things on earth as YOU
or |, yet who'd rush like mad right over
the gangway plank of life, il once
brought TO believe that they had To stav
/ IN this world whether they wanted TO
leave or not Thunder and bees! if
such fellows as that had heard the cocks
crow as / did-awakened TO find dark
ness about him-darkness so thick YOU
might have cut II with knife--heard
| other sounds, too, To tell that il was
morning-and scrambling to tumble for
that man-hole-found il too black
iron coffin around him-closed with not
rivet-hole to let Gods light and air i'm
-why-why, he'd swooned right down
| on the spot as | did, and amt ashamed
To own il TO no white man"
The big drops actually stood on the
poor fellows brow, as he now paused for
moment in the recital of this terrible
story. He passed his hand over his
rough features, and resumed with less
agitation of manner:
How long | might have remained
there senselcss | don't know. The doc
tors have since told me il must have
been sort of fit, more like an apoplexv
than swoon, for the attack finally
passed off in sleep. Yes, | slept, | know
that, for | dreamed-dreamed a heap of
things aforc | woke. There was but one
dream, however, that | have ever been
able to recall distinctly, and that must
have come on shortly before | recovered
consciousness. My resting place through
the night had been, rs I've told YOU. at
the far end of the boiler. Well. | now
dreamed that the man-hole was still
open; and what seems curious. rather
than laughable, if you take il i'm con
nection with other things, / fancied that
my legs had so stretched with the long
walk l had taken the evening before. that
they now reached The entire length of
the boiler and extended through the
opening.
At first, in my dreamy reflections. il
was comfortable thought that no one
could now shut up the man-hole without
awakening me. But soon il seemed as
if my feet, which were on the outside
were becoming drenched in the storm,
which had originally driven me to seek
this shelter. | felt the chilling rain
upon my extremities. They grew colder
and colder, and their numbncss grad
ually extended upward toother parts of
my body. 1t seemed, however, that il
was only the under side of my person
that was thus strangely visited. ] laid
upon my back, and il must have becna
species of nightmare that afflicted me,
for knew at last that i was dreaming
yet felt it impossible to rouse myself. a
violent fit of coughing restored at last
my powers Of volition. The water which
had been slowly rising around me
rushed into my mouth / awoke-to hear
the rapid strokes of the pump, which
was driving it into the boiler"
My whole condition--no, not all of
it--not yet--my present condition
flashed across me with new horror. But
i did not again swOon. The choking
sensation, which made me faint when |
first discovered how ] was entombcd,
gave way TO livelier though less over
pOwering emotion. | shrieked even as !
started from slumber. The previous
discovery of the closed aperture. with
the instant oblivion that followed seemed
only part of my dream, and | threw
mi al nd 4
the opening by which ! had entered the
horrid place-yes, looked for it. and
felt for it, though il was with the sad
conviction that it was closed, now sec
oHd time brought home to me, which
prompted my frenzied cry. Every
sense seemed to have ten-fold acuteness,
yet not one to act in unison with
another. i shrieked again and again
imploringly, despairingly, savagely. /
filled the hollow chamber with my cries
till its iron walls seemed to tingle
| around me. The dull strokes Of the ac-
cursed pump seemed only 10 mock 1T,
while they deadened my screams
At last gave myself up. It is the
struggle against our fate that frenzies
the mind. We cease to fear when we
cease To hope. ! gave myself up, and
81 was resigned to die-resigncd even
\ TO my mode of death. II was not, /
thought, 80 very new after ALL 90
awaken unwonted horror in a man.
! Thousands have been sunk 10 the bot
/ tom of the ocean shut in holds Of vessels,
/ beating themselves against the battencd
! hatches-dragged down from the upper
| world shrieking, not for life but for
/ death, only beneath the eye and amid
| the breath Of Heaveni Thousands have
endured such appalling kind Of suaOca-
tiOn. ! would die only as many a bet
/ ter man had died before. could meet
such death. / said so, | thought so,
/ felt sO--felt so, ! mean, for q minute or
more; ten minutes IL may have been, or
but an instant Of time; / know not. nor
does it matter II / could compute IT,.
/ There was time then, when ! was re-
/ signed to my fate. But, good God was
! resigned to il in the shape i'm which IL
next came 10 appal me? Stranger? ]
| felt the water growing hotter about my
/ limbs, though it was yet only mid-leg
deepl ] felt IL, and at the same mo-
ment heard the roar Of the furnace that
was to turn IL into steam before it could
get deep enough to drown me.
" You shudder. II was hidcous. But