Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-12-21

Jllo manganese naQ Deen thoroughly WOIk
ed out. The party returned to the mali
gallery and Mr.. Ruttman. who had been il
the mine before. looked at tunnel, about
the mouth of which earth and timbers
were piled. Beams hung threatening from
the roof.
LETS try this drift" said MI. Rutt
man.
} Mr.. Carnegie exchanged chances with
Engineer Smith, and the latter, after &
moments hesitation, remarked: ''Rathel
risky, don't you think ?''
well, I IL make note of it,' said the
: New Yorker, producing his note book.
SWELL go in, if you WILL" said Messrs
Carnegie and Smith, and the quartette en-
tered the sinister ''drift.'' There was nc
time wasted there. The Pickering lanterns
showed confused helps of beams on the
ground. PonderOus timbers, the weight
of which would have crushed giant, men.
aced the hardy explorers from the top and
sides of the tunnel. The earth walls had
in mixture of clay and gravel, and the
thought occurred to all that should vein
of gravel be disturbed they would be over
whelmed, as surely as if an Alpine ava
lanehe swept down upon them with its
resistless force. Manganese in great abun-
dance cleaned from the floors. the sides,
the tops. No miner could have been found
to work this drift y for an attempt to do
so would have resulted in death. Mi. Rutt-
man, who had not been overjoyed at the
consent Of his companions to explore the
drift" soon led the party to the main
level. From there further investigations
were made. It seemed to Mr.. huffman as
if all the marked-out ''drifts" had been
kept in good repair, whilst the ''drifts"
containing an abundance of manganese
looked as if vandal hand or earthquake
had visited them. Mr.. Ruttman was
much perturbed at the dangers that at
tended his mission, but he was able to take
copious notes for the information of his
employers, the Virginia mine owners.
| INvEsTIGA TING THE INSTRUCTIONS.
After the galleries radiating from the
main level had been examined, Mr.. Rutt-
man suggested a trip to the second and
lower level. The party stepped into the
cage. The engineer was signalled, and he
lowered away. The cage soused into three
feet of water as it struck the bottom. 1t
was impossible to investigate the lower
level any further, and the cage was drawn
to the surface at rapid rate of speed.
Again the obstacle encountered in the de-
scent was struck, and Mr.. huffman de-
termined to learn the cause. President G,
III. Harmon, of the Virginia company, was
awaiting the party. Messrs. Carnegie and
Smith were permitted to get out of sight
on their way to the Office, a half mile dis
tant, when the engineer was Informed that
he was relieved from duty for the rest of
the day. Foreman Carruthers took the
engineers place, and under instructions
from MI. Harmon the empty cage was
midway between the top and the first level
the cage halted. The rope, which was be-
| ing slowly paid out, coiled on the top of
| the cage. 1t was evident that the cage was
being held by the bulglng sides of the shaft,
With a weight in the cage and terrific rate
of speed applied the cage could pass the OBJ
struction offered by the shafts totte.-
ing walls, and only by recourse to this
method could the descent be made.
An order was then given to hoist. The
rope strained and creaked, but the cage
refused to bulge. The steam pressure was
increased, with the same result. Finally
the utmost capacity of the engine was ex-
erled, and the cage bounded to the surface
YOU'D better get that pump out of the
mine if you want to save it, remarked
MT. Ruttman to Superintendent Carnegie
shortly afterwards.
"Why 20 asked Mr.. Carnegie.
because the mine is going to fill in
pretty soon,'' said Mr.. Ruttman.
| The next day. when the mine was visited
portion of the shaft had given way. For
| tunately, no one was in the mine at the
time. Escape would have been impossible.
The entire trouble was due to the method
in which the mine was worked by the
Carnegie company after it had failed to
purchase the mine OIL secure an extension of
the lease. In cutting ''drifts'' in all kinds
of mines, portion of the mineral is left
standing to support the walls. In sinking
the shaft care is observed in leaving
heavy lining of the mineral in the shaft.
The expert opinion on the condition of this
mine was that the ore most easily obtained
had been seized at the points where it should
have been undisturbed to secure safety to
the mine. This is known in mining circles
as ''robbing'' the NINE
SUED BY THE CARNEGIEs
| AS result Of the evidence obtained, the
mine owners refuse to purchase the machi-
merry put in by the Carnegies, and which
| they would have done had the mine been in
satisfactory shape. The Carnegies sued,
and the Virginians filed a cross suit for
damages aggregating the value of the amss-
chinery and $13, 900 additional. The case
was tried in Charlottesville. None of the
Carnegie firm appeared to testify, but a
deposition by MI. H. M. Curry, a stock
holder in the Carnegie concern, was filed.
Engineer huffman appeared for the mine
owners, and the jury returned verdict in
favor Of the mine owners for $13, 500.
president Harmon, Foreman Carruth-
ers, and [ testified" said MI. huffman
recently. ''Mr. Harmon testified as to the
business relations. and alleged that the
CarnegieS, in weighing the ore TO determine
the royalty, made returns Of greater per-
centage of moisture than Actually existed
Foreman Carruthers testified as to the
condition of the mine, and repeated some
singular conversations he had overheard.
las for my own testimony" continued
Mr.. huffman, my report to President Har-
man was offered in evidence, but objection