Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-04-14

newspaper readers. A patient was to be
transferred from the operating room at the
top of the building to one Of the wards on
a lower floor. The stretcher was placed ON
the car used for the purpose and taken to
the elevator by the two men who usually
performed this duty. One of them oper ed
the door, and then turned and helped mis-
companion to push the stretcher with the
helpless patient on it. into the empty shaft,
where he met his death-by falling to the
bottom Of the building. 1.-THE carelessness
which caused this accidcn concluded the
doctor. was no less than criminal Both
men insisted positively that they had seen
the elevator in the shaft, but of course they
showed poor - off without even look
ing"
You are wrong. DOCTOR" said Mr.. Argen-
tine, who had been an interested listener
10 the Doctors narration. although |
never saw the men and know nothing of
them, i am ready to swear that they saw
mat elevator. Its ghost was there. This
startling announcement calls for an expla-
nation continued Mr.. Argentine, "and If
you would like to hear 1t, | will tell you a
story bearing on the subject"
There was a murmur of announcement
from the guests, and drawing his cigar to
rresh llghl the narrator began: j am, as
you an know, mining engineer; and in
my life under ground | have seen and
heard many queer things: and one of them
is the fact that elevators have ghosts In
most mines, where vertical shafts are used
the cage, or skip, Is constructed lust like
an ordinary freight elevator The mines
are worked from series of tunnels or
levels, one above the other which run in
both directions from the shaft like the
nallwayS or house. The ore is brought to
the shaft in iron buckets, holding a couple
or tons, which are transported on fat cars
by tram men," or "muckers' as we call
thenf. me car tracks run to the edge of
the shaft on both sides, and on the plat
form or the cage" there is a section of
track so arranged as to be continuous with
that of the level" In this way a car can
be pushed upon the cage and hoistad or
run across the shaft and out on the track
at the other side. In early days il was
customary to give the 'mucker' no other
light than the lamp which, like all miners.
he wore in his hat; but the men were for
ever thinking they saw the cage in pos!-
ton, and running their cars off into the
shaft, where gravity made a disposition CT
them not altogether to the liking of their
owners. So now when a level is being
worked, big flare light is placed at the
shaft, and in the inky darkness the effect
is almost like that produced by an arc li;.ht
in a city street. Every detail can he plain
~ seen, and any error arising from the
confusion of shadows etc, is eliminated
Still, men ''see the cage" as much a ever
ms erect is not produced on ignorant
miners alone every one who comes often to
the place is sure, sooner or later. to expert
ence II. L have come out of a tunnel after
making survey and seen the cage waiting
TO take me up; the CLEAN of the rails in the
midst of the bits of broken ore on the plat
form, the strong bracing of the sides and
even the end of candle plaStered to one side
with bali of clay and forgotten by some
on board my foot has gone down into the
darkness and l have saved myself from fall