The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-03-28
WHITE FLIES IN A MINE.

home in England. :,
WHITE FLIES IN A MINE.
The Man Who Discovered Them fooha q
Snake OF the Same Color.
BANGOR, CAL, March 27.-ln connection
with the recent general resumption OF MN
ing operations along the famous Blue
lead'' in this section q most. peculiar DIS
covery was made. Among the mines now
he;np worked is the old Potter mine, owned
by Mrs. Ben Bishop, and rechrlstened the
Bishop mine. When the mine was hrst re-
opeped one of the Will boys entered q dry
siope leading to q second shaft whose ex-
istence was unknown owing to q thick
growth of brush and trees ABOUT
It. and had nearly reached the
shaft when he noticed a large NUM-
Der of flies buzzing about him III a very
troublesome manner He MADE several
SLAMS at them, and accidentally caught one.
On examining it by the aid of his lantern
be wat nearly startled into letting it go by
the uncanny appearance of the insect. IL
was absolutely white, with the exception OF
its ewes, which, having the usual red color,
seemed unusually large and prominent
The relieved white fly, while not being
common. is not unknown in the older
mines. pnrticularly the deep coal veins OF
the east; but this is the first time, 80 far as
known, that they have been found IN any
California mine where access &c -lght ana
the open air are too easily ~obtalnable Tor
flies TO remain below long enough to fade
out. .
Scarcely had Mr.. Will recovered from his
snrnrise at the white flies when he was
startled again. this time by the wh1rrlhR
sound of a rattlesnake's musical apparatus.
Looking carefully around, he saw the eyes
of the reptile and threw q fock at tnem.
rL. ..441;,. ~ N yt1y raaaaH and a mass or
white. plistening convolutions wrlthed INTO
view from behind a p%rotrudlng boulder. A
connie more rocks despatched the creature,
which proved to be Il rattlef over four feet
long. One of the rocks thrown had Knocked
off a good part of his snakeshlp>s rattles' SO
his age was not to be discovered, but he
must have been an old fellow. Thu color
of the snake was pure white, Though u
temperate man, Mr.. Will was not fully sat
isfed that be was in his ordinary condition
of sanity until he had dragged his prizes
back to the newly opened shaft and listened
to the expressions of surprise of his COM
panions at the remarkable appearance OF
the two captures.
Professor Harlow Ballard, of Buffalo, N.
Y, who was visiting Bangor in search of
mineral specimens, secured the snake ana
several 81 ecimens of the white HES, which
he has properly preserved and shipped to
the east. The professor iB of the opinion
that the flies are the offspring of some I'M
. nrisoned in the slope years ago by the us
ing of the water in the lower workings.
The old and partially filled shaft allowed
air, but no light, to enter the slope, while
the stream flowing into the slope may have
provided them with food. The snake, he
thinks. may have been carried down by the
water while very young, as 1T 10 scarcely
possible that it ID thirty years old. which il
would have been had it remained there ever
since the mine was flooded. What the rep
90 - --..- ~ ~rr II wit r 10 own rr
the mysteries. Since the complete reopen
ing Of the Bishop mine the white flies have
entirely disap peared, and q few which Pro,
fessor Ballard kept in d small glass case 1e-
sumed the colors of ordinary house flies
within a week after exposure to tie light.
Al the Catskill mine another of those
newly reopened, the other morning one Of
the workmen found a cavity in the wal
filed up with d stone. Looking in he saw
a faint glitter, and investigation resuittt
in the unearthing of II large, dusty bottl"
filled with liquor. which turned ont to bt
whisky. Experts sampled 1t and declared
it to be the finest they had ever tasted
With due appreciation for the excellence o
Aliouo which was quite evidently thirt,
years old, the experts deserved half TIN
contents of the bottle (about q pint for
future seance. In the meantime Nat Car
ter, an eastern man who was stopping a
the Globe, heard Of the find, and, ufte
much persuasion, induced the finder to par
with the pint of aged firewater for ST.
Carter departed on the afternoon etage TO
Marysville, and that evening one of tn
night mon at the Catskill made a great roy
because some one had stolen his bottle q
whisky.
T. quiet Investigation elected the fat
that tho man had discovered the cavity an
bottle, drank the thlrty-yehr-old whisky
contained, had the bottle filled with an o.
Aremely modern article from Oroville, an
thinking the hiding place a secure one. ha
pat the bottle back for future reference.
The exports divided the money receive
from Carter with the agRrieyed workman
and further bribed him to silence with tt
promise of another full bottle. but he, n,
wishing to chance the loss of the new SUI
ply, proceeded to secure it by imInedia
consumption, and in a fit of communioi
tiveness, told the facts as related above.
10 quite likely that the success of the worl
inQs at Bangor will result III the reopenir
of all the mines along the Blue lead, fo
nerly quite numerous and uniformly pr
ductlve.
A Worlds Fair Agent.
CHICAGO, March 27.-Word was recent
received here from Parig that Il Frenchnl,
named Steacing is in Jail and awaiting tri
on the charge of %swindlinR Lewis Copen,
Paris, out of loo, 600 francs. Steacing esta
lished a fraudulent Worlds fair agency
Paris and seouy cd the money from Cob
by representing to him that he had pl
cured the privilege for a hundred kiosts
Worlds fair grounds. Steacing show
Cohen letters signed by Director Gene
Davis. which were forgeries. Cohen p'
the money on the strength of the letters
an installment to secure, supposed pri
leges.
What Timothy Hopkins Got.
-.
NV YonK, March 27.-The Worlds PIT