Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1897-06-23

'fou We uearu Iirv- st,vea----------s,-- -
the mine itself-the Langley Mine, in
Derbyshire. I had only been assistant
surveyor at the pits there for about
nine months when it happened. Ats
o'clock that morning, Arthur, three of
us stepped into the cage-old jim
Halliday, the foreman, his son Jim,
and myself; the raen had gone down
an hour before. I shall never forget
that young Jim's sweetheart had
walked over to the pit with him, as she
occasionally did, They were to be
married in week or two, and she
and she had on her finger the ring that
he had bought in Derby the day be-
fore-just for safety's sake, or perhaps
out of womanly pride Irecollect that
just as the chain clanked and the win
ter sunshine was disappearing over
head, he shouted out third 'Good-byI
to her little dreaming that it was
to be good-by. Little enough old Hal
lday and I thought that days would
elapse before We emerged into Gods
sunlight againl
ga new vein had been bored the
year before, and then abandoned be-
cause it ran in the direction of the
river. We three had had instructions
to widen it for space of 800 yards-a
piece OF work that had occupied us
nearly a a month. Old Jim picked.
and young Jim wheeled the coal away
to the nearest gallery, from where it
was carried over rails to the bottom Of
the main shaft.
"'Well, by 4 o'clock that afternoon
we calculated roughly that we had
reached the limit laid down:
"T tt 'rk it's as near as possible,
Mr.. Carson, old Holiday said. Jim,
give another count, we don't want the
water coming in
"Jim went back. We could hear
him singing out the PAGES in his light
hearted fashion as he returned, his
voice echoing through the long CALLER
les. Two-sixty-nine-pooh! you're
miles off it, dadr = He was only 8
score of yards off, though. 'Two-six-
ty-nine-two-seventy It'll allow
full twenty yet, recon-
He had Just finished his count when
but there, no man could properly
describe it. 1t was something one
had to realize for himself before he
could understand q bare half OF the
sudden terror that whitened our lips
and seemed to bring our hearts to 6
standstill. There was runbling in
one of the distant galleries, and O sick.
ening tremble of the ground under.
meath us; then-then the most paralyz.
ing sound, L do believe, that is to be
heard in this world. How or why i;
happened is something to be placed
among the host of unsolved mysteries
but there was one grinding, splinter:
ing roar, rs though the earth had split
into pieces.
"Before We could stir hand or foo
to save ourselves, before we could even
take in that an explosion had occurred
while we were guarding against an.
other sort of danger, down thundered
mass of coal, tons upon tons OF it.
that blocked up the only passage lead
ing to the, shaft. It just reached
young Jim; standing where he did, he
was struck down-we heard his screesh
stihed beneath the debris. For about
fi-e more seconds the earth seemed tc
be heaving aud threatening universe
chaos; then ali became still as tomb
"a tomb! Sve had our lamps; ole
Jim and T looked, and saw that VIZ
were cut off from the rest Of the world
.eWhat happened next I haral!
know; was Supplied with the shock
sick with mortal fear of death. H'
and 7 stood staring mutely at eacl