The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-08-24

W. .-. -.r.r-F - - r..
The cold gray dawn was sbreaking, and
the slreaks of daylight which crept in
through the chinks aud ~crevices of the rough,
y ill-itted doors and windows in the primitive
log hut already began to overpower the eliIn-
mer of the one candle, which, from its socket
n the neck Of an empty aud tallow-dripped
black bottle, had struggled to illuminate the
gloom. 1t fickered, sputtered, blazed up,
sank lower and went out, and as if to cele-
brate the victory of the day the sun sent Its
nrSt golden beams through a wide crack in
the wall, straight across the ,haggard face of
the resurrected man. The hardy miners who
. stood or leaned in picturesque attitudes, half
hidden'ih the gloom of the cabin, looked with
glad and eager eyes on their companion, who
had come through death to share again their
hard work, rough living, few rewards.
ss'h 81 tell YOU, boys, it was a close shave,''
and he drew a long breath as he raised up in
his bunk and threw off the won gray blan-
ket which covered him. 1.-THE first warning
vol the danger was the shout from Tom there:
'Run for your life! She's+caving!'' l dropped
my pick and started, but the warning had
? come too late. The first giving way was at
) the mouth of the drift, and The weigh of the
earth kept falling toward NE. L could hear
the tinbers creaking, cracking, splitting Ike
straws under the weight upon them, aid l
drew back away from the coming pressure.
4 felt the space growing smaller, anu G stvheu
low, almost imagining | could / '"p be ~. The
terrible crushing weight, anu set kra}.ing
. that IN an instant it would be ugJIt NE. The
y. uprights trelnbled, then crashed, aud l fell.
don't know how long lay there, for | must
have been stunned by the fall, or else | faint
ed from fear. Presently l woke and tried to
move, but could, not. l WIS piluel fast by
the great limbers, which ~! fa}ian in sucl.
q way as to shield my head and body, while
holding me immovable. | opelfd my eyes
and was confronted by a darkness SO intense
it could be felt. Ny first thoughts were as to
the chances Of escape from this ~trIsltful
'~burfai. , l knew tfe law Of humanity that
~ holds in all camps Of tevery,One to the res
cle of a miner in DISTRESS. and | knew that
in less than al hour every one of the two
hundred men in the diggings would be taxi
ing his turn in digging for. ma. | reckUnel
the time it Wou!ltake thcn-23 feet from the
surface, about he same distance from the.
shaft, working IN either direction through the
coarse gravel-IEin'usnt they could reach me
in 10 lQurs. l cou!d do nothing but wait.
l strained my ears for Il sound TO break the
terrible Stiffness, and III my cagerness l fan
cled L could hear the click of picks and
:shOvelS IN the efforts to ul.earth me. -.
"But, boys, there was a new horror not
one of you thought of in your most dread
tul imaginings' of my situation. While l lay
there, counting the beats of my heart like
you do tie ticking "f 4 clock in the dark, L
felt myself growing cold. First my back,
then it crept up my sides, then my arms, over
-tay hands, higher, higher, colder, closer,
had stopped, and the water was rising in tie
shaft. Higher, nearer II crawled, like the
ssealthy approach of some intangible mon
ster. Icould feel it like an added weight on
my breast. Higher It craWled till it touched
my chin, over my chin, it reached my lips.
I,screamed aloud III my agony. 70 be saved
from the crushing OF the earth upon me only
to die by a more %torturing and terrible means
to die alone here in the earth in cold and
darkness. 1t was horrible. But the terri
bic fate came creeping, relentless in its very
4 stiffness and sloWness. 1t came over my
mouth, up my lips to my nostrlls. Like a
Hash Cane the pictures of my life. They
& were hard, rough scketches, most of them
hardslipS and trials had made up my life
almost since | left my mothers knee but
there was brightness enough in the darkest
of the pictured days to draw Inc back like a
cable to life, as | felt it, slipping away; but
4 death stared N in the face, and l. gould do
i nothing bat die bravely there alone in the
i gloom.
81 said u last prayer, brief but ~fervent. |
thought of you all. my good old friends, and
knew, there would, be, many Il moist eye
among you when, IN the darkness, The light
of your cleaning lanterns would fash on
my dead white face. l closed my ewes to
shut out the horrible giooln,. and the water in
its cruelty crept On over my ~"'strils. anE
was gene. But Sensation did AN lie. Could
| believe it?:-zthe water vas going down;
lower, lower, below my cIiin-sinklng, sink.
ing. Was 1 dreaming, or was this only a.
newer torture'of ,drowning?' No, it was not
an Illusion / felt the chill leave. me. The
pumps had started again. Hope spral!g like
a ray OF sunlight into M brain.
at was only a temporary stoppage after
] all, and | began again 10 speculate upon the
strokes OF willing hands that were working
for me on either side. could hear the dull
grating and tlaIa OF the iron coming family
to me through the gravel I hal myself dug
through III the search for gold, But again |
felt that rising chill. The pumps had stopped
again. IT. was useless to hope. This time
death was. surely here. IL rose higher:
slowly but surely, almost insenslble, it crept
over my breast, over my chin, my lips, My
n%ostrils. Id.cd again and again. / woke to
md myself still piniened in this %crunbIinr
vault, and again'heard the nearing blows Of
your steady work above me. | shouted to
you, vaiilly imagining l could hurry YOU
on. dreaded, with a shipering fear, the ris-
ms again OF this ~Stealthy, creeping, crawling
monster which stood ready to devQur me,
but your coming would be too late. r. came
d again.
six times | died there, alone in the dark
ness aud gioom--iied with the sounds nf sal
WALTON ringing in my cars, with succ0r olly a
tewfeet away-died alone and helpless. When
1 woke, here in my cabin, and saw the old IA
miiiar faces bending over me, the same wan
light .glimtncring. through the window, |
thought my spirit had ONE back 10 nv iiv-
ting hatint9. But it is feal-it is myself. All,
boys, it was a close shave .'i--Son Ffuaci%co
N Argondut. .. ..-... ~,...,
How TO tsrs'a wife len India.