News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-04-17

| and followed It until we came 10 shall
with ladders in it. These ladders were
crumbling and had evidently not been
used for years, but we were not heavy
and they did not break. Down we
! climbed to another level. This we fol-
/ lowed as before.
whenever we came to a new shaft
we threw fragment of rock down to
ascertain how deep it was. Then we
would climb down as far as we could
We had Just reached one level when
rushing sound broke the stiffness. The
noise startled us for an instant, but
| hurrying ahead we saw hundreds of
rats coming out of a small tunnel. at
the mouth of which stood Wondering
old ore car.
This cheered, us, for we decided
that men must frequent some place
near there, or the rats, which in mines
live on the remains of the miners
lunches, could get nothing to eat. But
though we hunted until we had to stop
and cry again, we could find no one.
Down an incline we went and struck
tunnel that had evidently been used
more lately than the others. As we
turned into it we saw spark away or.
Soon we saw that it was a candle car
ried by a miner We let out a shout
but to our amazement and horror the
miner dropped his candle and ran as
though forty devils were chasing him.
We hurried after him and picked up
his candle, but he must have turned
into some other drift for we could not
find him, and our weary search soon
became as hopeless as before. We had
bv this time been in the mines a good
many hours and had cried ourselves
sick. No matter which way we turned.
there were the same dead cold walls
Of rock. The passages were endless,
they seemed to lead nowhere. We
passed several old cooling stations and
at last we got to one and stopped. We
were utterly exhausted, and with all
our misery choking us we swallowed
some of our lunch. blew out our can
dies and, holding each others hands,
fell asleep.
Il remember that my last thought
before I became unconscious was that
a long time afterward they would find
our bodies, and I think I even COM
posed my face and arranged my limbs
so as to make a more effective corpse.
Nothing about this struck ME as being
funny. Indeed, fell asleep crying.
We must have slept good many hours,
and my next recollection is of our ly-
ing there together, sobbing, in the
dense darkness. Suddenly l became
conscious of low, continued roar as
companion heard it and we listened,
duly wondering what it could be. We
finally lit candle, ate the last of our
lunch and started to find out. We
both had been down the mine frequent
ly before and had no fear of the dark
ness or the rats, SO we went without
hesitation. 1t was not hard to follow
the noise. Along tunnels, down short
upraises and up inclines we went until
we struck our corridor. We followed
on toward the noise. 1t was louder
here, and as we advanced 1t grew into
a perfect roar that filled the tunnel.
Soon we ran into wall of wood,
from behind which the noise came.
We peered through chink in the par
tition and saw broad moving line. II
was the cable that hoists the cage, and
that is what made the noise. We
watched through the chink in the |
boards until we saw cage loaded With |
rocks go up, and then began to think |
how we could reach the point from |
which the cage had started. We
knew that we were very far under |
ground, for the rocks that we threw
down the frequent shafts splashed in
the water at the bottom. 1t was moi |
long before we found deep shaft and
down that we clambered. As we neared
the bottom we heard another tumbline
an ore car running the tramway
We shouted as we went down the lad
ders and the carman answered our cry.
Soon we were standing by him, while
he looked US over with wonder.
Where are we?' we both shouted,
IS soon as we could speak.
This is the 1,500-foot level of the
Crown Point, he answered.
1--WE had gone mile and half I'M
Ter the ground and nearly third of
nile down. We were sick and bruised
md hungry and our clothes were torn
lmost off of us. 1t was 10 O. clock in
he morning when we entered the old
ncline. and it was nearly 4 o'clock the
ext morning when the carman found
IS. In no time at all we had been fed
nd sent in charge of miner on the
age to daylight. again. San Fran
iSco Examiner.