The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-07-05
COL. INGERSOLL.
How a Descent Into the Lower lew
els OF the Ophir Mine Nearly
Converted Him.
From the San Francisco Chronicle

IFrom the San Francisco Chroncle.l
About four years ago Colonel Ingelsoll lee
tnred at Virginia City, and after the lecture
the reporters called at the hotel and escorted
tile Colonel and his family to the Ophir
works. lngersoll was in lively spirits, He
had lectured TO a crowded house. had lust re-
celVed news that he had been violently abused
Dy some San Francisco theologan, and was
ABOUT 10 experience novel sensaton--and
q delght1ul one, too, the reporters assured
MIN. lie cha'ted and laughed, and in reply
70 mint that some portions of the mine might
be little warm, replied: "Bring il on: Am
not AFRAID OF any natural heat, here or here
aftcr. Trot Oh your lowest levels" The
ladies were taken in charge by the wife of the
colored office porter, and supplied with
miners clothes in the ladies' dressing room,
! he men rugged themselves out likewise in
Dlue nannel shirts and pants, and hob-nailed
boots. The entire party was given long oil
cloth coats to wear going down on the cage,
as the vertical shaft was wet the drippne
water pouring down on the visitors like rain.
"All set," cried the foreman. and seven of us
packed on the cage were dropped to the
l4io'i"Ol level at an uncomfortable rate to
the visitor making his first descent. "Take
OFT your overcOats here" said the foreman, as
in the presence of crowd of car-boys and
miners. The ladies demurred, but the Col
One' being assured that it was the customary
thing, that the ladies would be too warm
with, ami greatly Inconvenience by the
coats, he encouraged them. "Why, certainly,
girls, take of your coats. Everybody takes
them of down here. That's all right, wife,
tell the girls to take their coats oil; there's
nothing to be afraid Of" and the young ladies
shyly emerged from their coats, looking pic
turesque in their rough blne miners suits.
Nothing was ever seen like the spirits of the
Colonel. He danced doubie-shutiie on the
iron switch h-plates to the delight of the
miners, and scared the ladies with stories of
gnomes and spirits. "Call this hot, eh ?'' he
laughed to the foreman ''oh, she y me some
thing warn, can't you? III freeze here"
The foreman winked solemnly to the report
ers, and replied: swell, we amt got no
very hot drifts here now hut come this way
and I'll give you something little warmer
than this We all branched off from the
crosscut a little east of the station, and
walked north towards the face of a drift run
towards the Union gronnd. The air changed
instantly as we turned north. 1t was warm
er; it kept getting warmer as we proceeded.
1t got hot. The foreman led, IngersOll fol-
lowed, after him the ladies, and in the rear
came the reporters. sit is cool along here"
remarked the foreman. "but it is little
warmer III the face of the drift" Ingersoll
was putting like porpoise, but he still ap-
peared cheerful. 'Come on girls, this don't
amount to much. Talk about your hot
mines; don't see where they come in.'
When it became so hot that breathing stung
the lips and nostrils, the reporters suggested
TO the ladies without attracting the Colonel's
attention that they had not better 60 any
further.
Ingersoll pluckily p'odded on, carrying his
candle asian: and peering little anXiouslv
ahead, until they met miner, with his head
down rushing out of the drift. "Where did
you come from, young man - asked lnger-
soil, as the miner passed him. "Came from
the face of the drift, old son." replied the
miner, without stopping. Something in the
manner OF the man interested lngersoll, and
he yelled after him: 'sAnd where are you
going?"
Going to hell to cool off," replied the
miner, who evidently did not distinguish the
ladies in their miners costume. Ingersoll
halted and said to the foreman, - Perhaps we
had better not 60 any farther; | see the girls
are not following As he came back he met
his wife and whispered huskily: Eva, if
thought there really was place hotter than
this we'd 60 up and join a Methodist church
this very night." Then we went down on
the incline 800 feet further on the gratf."
We were there to consummate our plot
While the ladies were being interested in the
compressed air engine, the exhaust pipe of
which formed ice IN temperature almost
hot enough to roast meat in, the fore
man told Ingersoll he had a curious natural
phenomenon be wished TO show him.
Ingersoll followed him down an abandoned
drift where the air was so hot that the Oldest
miner would not work unless fresh air pipe
was first introduced. When he came back he
was slirtless, drenchet with perspiration and
scarcely able to walk. We were afraid he
would faint. We prepared to ascend.
9: Eva" said the Colonel to his wife.
" | have been to "a place that is hotter than
-n
"Robertw
" Yes, dear: was only going to remark
that it was hotter than
"All set, said the foreman, interruptlng
the lntidel, as We scrambled into the glraff.
The foreman gave the bell rope three slow
pulls. -,
"What does that mean?' asked the
Colonel.
"That is the signal to hoist"
swell, my friends" gaspei the Colonel,
g if YOU get us TO the surface uncookeu,
will write you an obituary that would make
an angel turn green with envy when / get TO
Chicago and he sank back in the char OF
the ciratf. pale, exhausted and subdued.