The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-10-08


rapid work. and slow diggers replaced
fast ones at times. But il went on
steadily, beneath the stress of the
means of the child as if in pain. its
cries of mamma" and water" aud
the white face OF the crowd gathered
men wept and women and children
! wrung their hands at the rawlings of
the father. the stony. despairing look
of the mother ana TIE cries of the
helpless child.
Sunday morning dawned. but tas
crowd still gathered at the shaft.
Eating and sleeping were not thought
Of All day long the men worked in
relays. more slowly now as the danger
increased with the growing depth, and
greater care was necessary, while
more time was taken up TO haul up the
dirt. Still at midnight Sunday, the
level of the imprisoned child had not
been reached. The shaft had been
sunk fully sixty-iive feet. and there
, was 70 doubt that he had become
wedged in the tubing remaining in the
well. how far down in il was unknown,
and IL was heart sickenine To think.
/ At this point the most dangerous
and delicate operations must begin.
Who would now trust himself in that
! dry. crumbling shaft 10 finish IL, and
reach the child? 1t was more than
likely TO be death 30 the one who un-
dertOok it-perhaps death 10 both man
and chi!d-yet it was the only hope
for its rescue.
/ 81 knew how 'tw"uld he { the last.
an I've BIN waitin' fer it." said the
| tramp. vino nevertheless had been an
untiring worker is well as director.
I'm usel ter mines an bad places an
, We had lots of narrer 'scapes. emmy
one can do it can. | mean ter save
the little chap il he's ter be saved. an
/ il can't, nobody can, an il aim emmy
matter bout me- amt got emmy body
ter care il don't never come up. an
I'm goiu' down first now"
Ii was near midnight when the heroic
man descended the shaft to where the
strata OF sand and gravel had been
struck, after passing through one of
clay.
dig straight on down--it's only a
few feet farther" the impatient crowd
| above urged.
But he knew more about mining than
that. To follow such a course would
be sure destruction, for the narrow
walls would surely cave in and give
the signal for those above that layer
of sitting sand to do the same. So he
tunneled ia toward the well that he
might have clay roof above his head;
but il was terribly slow work now. as
he dug in like a mole for few feet then
sunk down another shaft nearer the
we'll hoping to strike at last below
where the child was lodged by a second
| sunneling in toward the well.
Faint means. showing that the child
still lived. helped guide the almost
unnerved man as he carefully bur-
rowed deeper. fearing the slightest
dislodgement of loose earth. The
slightest jar from above made him
shiver, the rolling down of the smallest
particle caused him TO tremble; but
he worked on all through the remain
ing hours OF that night. passing out in
silence the little mounds of earth,
handful by handful. to the one who
had followed him to the second shaft
| and on 10 the one in the main shaft,
up to the surface. where each handful
brought up was greeted with silent
| prayer
In the second small tunnel he tapped
the well. only to find the child below
him. but his feet within reach of his
arm. He quickly aud deity secured
him by rope fastened about the ankles
and then breathlessly burrowed down
in still another shaft, until he was
beneath him. then tunneled again
this time striking the very point at
which the child was lodged fast. his
little body doubled and wedged. in
sitting posture. in the top of the tub
ing with feet and hands extended above
his head. In this cramped position
seventy feet below the surface, the lit
| tie fellow had remained for nearly
forty-eight hours.
1t was terrible moment as he
grasped the child. manipulating his
own movements with the utmost care
| as he slowly drew him out The
crumbling walls of shafts and tunnels
seemed ready to close upon them any
moment as he drew him into the first
tunnel Backward he wormed him
| self with his burden. The word wena
| up 10 the surface-''The child is
reached"
Would the treacherous walls hold
firm? If prayers would have trans
formed them they would have turned
I