Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1890-04-25

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| passed half 4 dozen rusty picks that
must have been lying there decade.
at least.
Il hadn't noticed them. either, aud
soon we bumped our heads against an
old lantern hanging from the top Of
the drift We hadn't met this before.
Then we saw more unfamiliar things.
and We noticed that there was water
beside the old ear track, while the
drifts BY which we had come were all
dry rs a bone.
I'VE look at one another and cvi.
IDENTIFY the same thought passed through
both our minds, but we kept on, and
soon our fears were realized. The
tunnel ended in what had been years
before. cooling station, place where
the miners ate their luncl. and rested
and cooled off when they were in the
ncighboring drift. We t"d followed
some one elSc's chalk marks. and we
had now no idea of our whereabouts.
I'VE can't get ont the way we came
said Ben. and no work is being done
IN the upper levels, so what we've 60
to do is to get down as far as we can,
and we're bound to run across some
miners then we began trying to find
ourselves. We took the nearest tunnel
and followed it until we came to a shaft
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 rs before.
whenever we came to new shaft
we threw fragment of rock down to
ascertain how deep it was. Then we
would climb down as far rs we could
We had just reached one level when a
rushing sound broke the stiffness. The
noise startled us for an instant. but
hurrying ahead we saw hundreds of
rats coming out of small tunnel. at
the mouth Of which stood Wondering
old ore car.
This chcered, 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 off.
Soon we saw that it was candle car
ricd by Il miner. We let out shout
but to our Amusement and horror the
miner dropped his candle and ran rs
though forty devils were chasing him.
We hurried after him and picked up
his candle, bat he must have turned
into some other drift for we could not
find him, aud our weary search soon
became rs hopeless rs before We had
by this time been in the mines 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
ut 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 cam
dies and, holding each others hands,
fell asleep.
II remember that my last thought
before | became unconscious was that
a long time afterward they would find
our bodies, and | think | even COM
posed my face and arranged my limbs
so as to make 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 w.
ing there together, sobbing, in the
dense darkness. Suddenly I became
conscious of low, continued roar as
of water running long way off. My
companion heard it and we listened,
duly wondering what it could be. We
finally lit a candle, ate the last of our
lunch and started to find out. We
both had been down the minc frequent
ly before aud had no fear OF the dark
ness or the rats SO VIC went without
hesitation. 1t was not hard to follow
the noise. Along tunnels down short
upraises and up inclincs we went until
we struck our corridor. We followed
on toward the noise. 1t was louder
here, and as we advanced it grew into
perfect roar that filled the tunnel.
Soon we ran into n wall of wood,
from behind which the noise came.
We peered through chink in the par.
ttion and saw broad moving line. II |
was the cable that hosts the cage, and
that is what made the noise. We
watched through tho chink in the
boards until we saw cage loaded With
rocks 90 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. II was moi
long before we found deep shaft, and
down that we clambered. As we neareG |
the bottom we heard another tumb bling
an orc 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.
"'Whero are weP we both shouted, |
as soon as we could speak.
This is the 1,500-foot level of the |
Crown Point, he answered.
I'VE had gone mile and a half un-
der the ground and nearly third of n |
mile down. We were sick and bruised
and hungry and our clothes were torn
almost of of us. 1t was 10 o. clock in
the morning when we entered the old
incline. and it was nearly o'clock the
next morning when the carman found
us. In no time Mt all we had been fed
and sent in charge of miner on the
cage to daylight. again. San Fran
cisco Examiner.