The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-04-12


Round me everywhere. ~
Bring again, Oshades of EVENING"
Little forms in white,
BY my side in prayer kneeling
Ere they lisp -good-night."
Bring them back to me O. shadows,
Let me hear once more
Little feet that softly patter
Near me. on the floor.
Mrs. G. w. Bdzter, tn Burlington Rd,ukeye.
/. AN EARTHQUAKE IN A NINE.
The " Monarch of the West |" was Q
mine which had attracted no small at
tention among mining men. It had an
able superintendent in the person of
MIR. James Clarke, who was well known
for his skill in managing large mines
such as the Monarch. The main
shaft of the Monarch I" was two thou
sand two hundred and fifty feet deep.
On the surface of the ground near it
were the great hoisting engines, each
with its enormous cylinder, piston and
connecting rods. Gigantic reels could be
seen on the main shaft of the engines
upon which were wound the great steel
ropes which hoisted the cages up and
down in the shaft Near the engine
were the enormous air-pumps. used to
force the air down into the mine so that
elO A-&OA 0ACotA4C.
If the view on the surface was some
what strange, that below was no less so.
Going down the great shaft In one of
the cages-something like the thing you
get INTO when you ride in an elevator
and off at one of the levels, you see q
long, narrow passage-way cut in the
rock. Along the floor are laid rails side
by side, for the cars containing the ore
to be drawn. As you walk along this
level you come to wooden spouts, mark
ing the places where the "stopes"
passages through which the ore is tum-
bled from the <sbreast'' above, where
it is cut out into the cars on the level
are situated. Crawling up one of these
you come to the breast itself. where the
men are working. Here are the miners,
clad in coarse shirts and trowsers,
dripping with perspiration-for the heat
is very great-cutting out the ore. In
every direction you see enormous tim
bers, fitted together like some intricate
puzzle, and filing up the place where
the ore has been taken out. These tim
bers are put in to prevent a" cave of
the upper stratum of rock when it has
nothing to support it. oa. ID
/ do not suppose that Mr.. James
Clark thought much about.these things
as he stood on the edge of the shaft,
preparatory to going into the mine that
Tuesday morning. As amatter of fact,
he was thinking and talking of very
different thing-the result of the last
assay made by the assayer of the s'coreo
brought out by the diamond drill; an
assay which had been so good that Mr..
Clark was considerably elated over it.
As Mr.. Clark stepped into the cage and
: gave the signal to lower, he concluded
his last remark by saying: a lri
..Well; Pm going into that north
drift, and will see the thing for myself. F"
And as the cage was going down at the
time there was ridiculous dtmtpuendo
effect produced.
MIR. Clark reached the 1600-foot level,
tho cage stopped, and he stepped out
AS he did so he was met by Evan Jones,
the ssmining boss,' or assistant super
intendent, and the two proceeded along
the narrow level in the direction of the
north drift.
Passing the shoots on their way by
scores, the two men steadily tramped
on. Reaching at last the '.face" of the
level, the place where the cutting had
been going on and from which, aided
by the diamond drill, they had taken
the core, the ASSAY of which had so
much pleased Mr.. Clarke, they began
to examine the rock. 80
Seems to me, Jones, they haven't
timbered this place upenough."
''Well, sir, we ran out of timbeps Just
about the time they got here and the
new lot hadn't come. What there were,
] wanted down below"
"All right. See that they put them
in tomorrow, will youP don't like
this empty place. By the way, isn't
that little stringer of ore l see there
ON The lefta That bit there by the pick
mark"
"We'n soon see, SIR" and so saying,
Jones grssped pick and struck at the
wall.
1t seemed as though the blow was a
signal. Scarcely had it been struck
when noise, like nothing on earth,
was heard throughout the mine. Al
the same minute the walls of the Level
in which they were seemed to bend in,
then out and then in again; great
blocks of stone fell from them. the
ground on which the men stood rocked,
and then-an was still.
The two stood with blanched faces
looking ateach other. Both were brave,
both were old and experienced miners
yet as they stood there, frightful fear
could be seen in each white face.
''Pray God there's only one shock, "
said Mr.. Clark, in husky tone. sH
you get out, Evan, tell my wife that
thought of her at the last.''
EVAN nodded, and grasped the
others hand. Then they waited. Not
Lone In xhk.c h0,. II IL
sound was heard, and again the ground
rocked to and fro; again the walls
closed in and out like savage beasts
reaching for their prey, and more blocks
of stone fell, closing up the passage be.
fore them. This time q fragment, in
falling, struck with one of its SHARP
corners EVANS shoulder, cutting
through the old jacket and woundine
him slightly. Then all was still once
more.
The two men painted for breath; cold
drops of perspiration stood out on theil
foreheads like dew. and they trembled
! so that they could scarcely stand.
have said they were brave. Either one
would have faced almost any danger
that could be named with firm nerve.
and stout heart. But an earthquake II
a mine is so indescribably horrible, 81
terrible in its effects, that it is small
wonder that they, standing there alone
were panic-struck. Again they wait
ed, waited while each minute seemed
an age, for the third shock. 1t did no
come. The earthquake was at an end
The place in which they were wa.
strangely altered. When they cam,
it had been simply the end of a passag'
way, about eight feet wide and sever
feet high. Scattered around it ther'
had been tools, and her eand Their
small pieces Of stone or ore which has