The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1879-10-02
A True Story.

A True Story.
Two or three weeks ego an accident
did not occur near Scranton, Penn, the
newspapers missed sensational horror;
and . dozen men, instead of being hurl-
ed into eternity without time to breathe
prayer, walked quietly homo to their
dinners, quito unconscious that death
had had them by the throat. 1t might,
after all, be worth our while to look
into the cause of the loss of this tragedy
to the world; We should have been keen
enough to unearth the guilty party if it
had occurred. The facts are briefly
these:
In the largest anthracite coal mine IN
the State the care of the engine by which
the cars for passengers are lowered and
hoisted, is placed in the hands of q
Scotch Irishman, an ordinary fellow
enough. The cable necessarially of great
weight and thickness, passes through
the roof of Q slightly built shed under
which he stands. One morning, as the
man stood smoking his pipe, his hand
upon the lever, mind probably buoy
with his dinner, and assuredly not
wrought up to any rapture of resolve,
the ascending car, QoHded with coaD, at
one end of the cable, broke, and fell
crashing into the dark shaft, to DO shat
tered into thousand fragments. He
knew that 10 the next minute the cable,
released from the strain, would fly back
and fall with crushing weight on the
rickety beams and boards of the roof.
Death was absolutely certain If he did
not escape from the shed. But il he
took his hand from the lever, the de-
scending car full of men must fall one or
two hundred feet. He had but one in
slant to face bis death and theirs, and
choose between them. There was o boy
in the back of the shed; the man mo-
toned to him with his hcad to go out.
Then he frightened bis hold on tho lever.
The loosened cable struck and caught
somewhere below against the side Of the
shaft. Surely God meant it should 90
strike! 1t WAS the delay of but breath
of time; but it was enough. Tho Car
grated with jar against tho ground far
below, its occupants stepped leisurely
out, while the man who had saved them
above, threw himself from under the
shed Just as its roof, beams, pulley, and
oil, crashed down on the spot whore be
had been standing.
We do not know the man's name, and
should scarcely need to publish it if We
did. Fame or reward jar somehow
against the deed itself. There is whole.
some tonic for rs all in the certainty,
which is forced on ~ now and then, Of
the unknown, unmeasured resources OF
courage and heroism and un6inohing In.
tegrity to duty which we possess among
what We choose 10 call the mass OF the
people. It 10 after Ill, only when . man
reaches the certainties Of middle age
that be 10 not surprised every day by the
knowledge ofhow admirable crew haa
been put into the world for its long voy.
ago; how many Of the women are gra.
cious and finely natured how many
men respond promptly to the call Of
honesty, or duty, or even self-sacri6ce,
becAuse il is tho simple and natural
thing for them 70 do 90.
We vii congratulate ourselves, then,
not that his class can boost ono such
brave fellow - this Scotch Irish sogin.
eer, but that like King Harry over
Percy's grave, We believe ''it hes thoo-
sand such q he,"-N 7. Tribune.