The Press., 1890-01-16

Ithey take a hoe or sonaethin', and dig
 hole near the bottom Q the furnace, n let | it all run out, if that suits you better"
 "Hot ?" says she as
 'I guess you, d say hot 1" says l. 'It
 was so hot that they uster draw it of into
 a car, nd you could come along most any
 time in the course of twenty four hours.
 and spit on it, and it would all fly to
 pieces, like thin glass-I s'pose. That's
 the way it uster do out in the old keystone
 state, any old how. I'm most sure 'twas."
 "l It did? So hot as that, md not burn 1 up the car ?" she says.
 I "Burn up a stone car r saysI. "Not
 much.
 II never seen a stone car," she says. 'tYou sure they had one? Where'd they get the stone P
 Nd told she asked too many questions.
 I didn't knows was exactly sure, only
 they did in the keystone state. And, as
 to the place where they found the stone, I
 reckoned they might have got that in } the"
 "Key ?" says she.
 "Qunr7y!' says |; "the same quarry
 where they uster get the hearths for the
 furnace at Furnace Holler, you know. Course they had to have the bottom and
 sides of the furnace lined with fire stone,
 or it would melt; nd then they uster have
 ter stop every once in two or three months,
 and doctor it up again. I'm almost sure
 they did"
 "For pity sakes I" says she; 1T didn't ls'pose they was quarry anywheressround here. For pity sake, where is 1t ?"
 Didn't know they was any quarries in
 Stafford ?" says I. "A town ten miles square, with only seven or eight paupers
 in it, and not know it had quarry Why, |they's more quarries in Stafford" says 1,
 ethan you could shake stick at There's
 one up at State Line that uster belong to
 William Comins. That's granite; I'm
 a'most sure 'tis," says I. "I s'pose the
 Monson Flynts' own that"
 "Then the stone is flint, ain't it ?" says
 she.- .'..- ."
 How girls do run to nonsense like a
 little of it myself, you know, but can't 80
 layin' it on quite so thick as girls do.
 Humph!
 So didn't pretend to mind nothin'
 about what she said I went on talkin', ye see, straight as string. I told her all
 about that nice soft white fire-stone,-
 Gardner Cady and Richard Webber's quarry, you know,-stacks and stacks of 1t, nd how scrumptious it was for all them
 things, how, when was youngone,
 I uster love to stand nd see 'em work it
 looked so splendid nd white. And, if
 you'll believe me, that girl didn't know t
 they uster find the iron ore right here in
 Stafford, too, lyin' round most anywhere, as
 of it didn't cost nothin'. Nd she asked
 all manner of questions, how we got it,
 nd what we done with it. didn't rec'lect
 jest what they did in Stafford, here, but I'd been out amongst the Buckeyes since, nd seen 1t all-how they managed it | r 1ak 1T c1, Al, y.,l , didn't pretend but twas Stafford. I thought she'd think was smart if I told , her so much about the town she was born
 in that she didn't know nothin' about 7 humph was almost sure she would I : told her all about the lots and lots of chil- dren to work in the mines that ought to be to school.
 "Yes," she says, "I've heard that chil- , dren's minds are sometimes out of school 3 when their bodies are in," she said. "Think of the shafts-the great black , shafts, says l, "'nd the elevators rs-scarry : things as ever you see-'nd the mules dragging the great carloads of ore over the railways, from n,ornin' to night and from 7, night till mornin', only there ain't ever . any mornin'. Its black and pokerish down z half mile under ground there all the time with the water trickling all around, you see, nd maxim the little bits of lamps that i, you wear up in your caps, splutter like a anything. told her all about how they 1. boost up the roofs of the mines with shaky ! old timbers, that tumble down when they ? get ready-when they get through dang. ,, Hing; how they take some powder and ]. blast out a lot at a time of the rock, the . ' ore, you know, how you are like 10 get ir- r r to more explosions than you want, nd i told her all about what they call ''fire II damp" nd how they used the fuse, nd the . drills, nd the hammers, nd the bars, nd . . the pickaxes, nd how awful smutty nd v muscley the miners look, Ind how awful, ,, awful black it is-everything jest as black,
 as pitch, nd how the men get seventy five 2 cent day, doing it all. "Yes, yes, she says, kinder putchiky.
 "What does it all amount to any way { J When they get it to the furnace, you say they chuck the ore down into it, nd melt
 1t, nd draw off 8 lot of stuff that you don't sS want. l can't see particle of sense to it. Y Don't they do nothin' with what's left ?" ,, "H'ml course they do" says I. "They ;, make 1t into pigs, first thing" says ,, u "But the funny thing about it is how they a get the stuff up-way up there-high enough to dump down into the furnace, says I. .--.c
 ''It must be an awful bad job" says she buoy WOuAu UI0Ah tu6Al
 backs luggin' it up." t E.. .r ,, So told her how they boosted it up :, just as easy, with a water elevator, they . call it-make the water do every bit of tho ,. work. Nd when you dump it in, in il 's goes, sometimes with little lime, as vel r as the shells, and in it goes into the hot :. test place you ever see in all your life -s 4 thousand times hotter. And twelve hours Il | after it is ready for the pigs. .aa teA She looked comicle, nd wanted to know U what kind of pigs. told her pig iron ,. you know. told her all about it--hov
 they fixed great sand floor, nd packed i 'i down solid, with some sticks of wood al s' around, all packed Tn, jest as long as yo, '' want your pigs; nd you'd better be pret }, ty careful how you stop round there afte p, they get the pig pens fixed, says I.
 "Pig pens?" a:
 10 ''M'm-the molds, you know! Yo, ee knock little bit of loose sand in, and tn, | whole thing is busted and has to be don over. I found out that much, and can 's say that the holders were so very goot :. natured over it, either. I'm We'll, l. says I, "when they get the molds all fix ,, ed, just so, screech goes the whistle, ,ou comes the slag into the car, and then yo r see one of the prettiest sights. Out thrc