The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1878-08-08
A Fearful Swing.

teal knowledge required for their partic-
ular work. The incident we are about to
relate will show how severely the former of
these qualifications may at times be tested
The work of these men is confined to
the shaft of the pit, and consists mainly in
repairing the "tubbing" or lining of the
shaft, stopping leaks, or removing any
distractions interfering with the free
passage of the cages up and down the pit
The coal-pit at N has double shaft,
divided by "bratticing" or wooden par
tition. These divisions we will call A
and B. Two cages (the vehicles of trans
port up and down the pitt ascend and
descend alternately in shaft A. AT GER
tain point the shaft is widened, to allow
the cages to pass each other, and their
simultaneous arrival at this point is in
sured by the arrangement of the wire
ropes on the winding wheels over the
plymouth. The oscillation of the cages
is guarded against by wooden guiders
running down each side of the shaft,
which fit into grooves in the sides of the
cage.
On one occasion, during a very severe
frost, these guiders had become coated
with ice, and thus their free passage in
the grooves of the cages was inter fered
with. Before this obstruction was discov-
cred, the engine having been set in mo-
ton, the downward cage, which fortu-
in the shaft before arriving at the passing
point. The ascending cage, whose only
occupant was small boy returning to
"bank," proceeding on its upward course,
crashed into the downward cage in the
narrow part of the shaft, where of course
there was only single passage. Though
the shock was something terrific, the steel
rope was not broken; as the engineman,
whose responsible position entails the
greatest presence of mind and watchful-
ness, had stopped the engine on the first
indication of an unusual tremor in the
rope. Yet such was the violence of the
meeting that both cages, though strongly
constructed of iron, were bent and broken
in fact rendered useless-by being thus
TANNED together in narrow space. The
greatest anxiety was felt as to the fate OF
the boy, as it was seen that even if he
had escaped with life after such a severe
crash, his rescue would be work of great
danger and difficulty.
We may imagine the horror of the poor
little fellow while suspended in the shat
tered cage over gulf some four hundred
feet deep, both cages firmly wedged In
the shaft, and the ropes rendered useless
for any means of descent to the scene of
the catastrophe. The rcadiest way of
approach seemed to be 10y shaft b, the
g al hnr Il
above Down this, then, IA shaftman
whom we will call Johnson, descended in
cage until he arrived at an opening in
the brattice- by which he could
enter shaft A. He found himself (as he
supposedly at point a little above where
the accident occurred; and this c0nclu-
sion he came to from seeing two ropes
leading downwards, which he naturally
took to be those by which the cages were
suspended Under this impression he
formed the design of sliding down one of
the ropes, with view to liberatipg, II
possible, the entangled cages, and secur-
ing the safety of the unfortunate boy
The hardy fellow was soon gliding
through the darkness on his brave and
dangerous errsnd. He had descended
about forty feet, when, to his horror and
amazement, his course was suddenly
checked by bend in the rope; and the
terrible discovery flashed upon him that
he was suspended in the loop of the slack
rope, which here took return course to
the top of the downward cage.
1t will be understood that when the
descending cage stuck upon the runners,
as the rope continued to unwind from
the pulley it hung down in loop, de
scending lower and lower, until the en-
CINE was stopped by the meeting of the
cages. This loop or blight" was natu-
rally mistaken by johnson for the two
ropes, and he did not discover until he
found himself in the fearful situation de-
scribed, that he had entered through the
brattice into shaft A below instead OF
above where the cages were fixed. There
he hung, then, over yawning abyss
many fathoms deep-closed from above
by the locked cages-all below looming
dark and horrible.
None of course knew his danger; his
hands were chilled by the freezing rope !;
his arms, already fully exercised, began
to ache and stiiren with the strain and
intense cold, added to the bewildering
sense of hopeless peril. Good need there
was then that pluck and endurance be
found IN the shaftman. His square,
sturdy frame and unflinching spirit were
now on their trial. Had his presence of
mind gone or his nerve failed he must
have been paralyzed with fear, lost his
hold, and been dashed into an unrecog-
nizable mass.
But self-preservation is potent law,and
working in such spirit, he framed des-