The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-05
DOWN TN 4 COPPER MINE
An Adventure in a Shaft
in the Schuyler
Tract.

A number.of old boys We're talking one
evening last week about the old copper
mines opposite Bellevilles and 1t was a
! singular facf that everyone in the party
had Visited the old Schuyler mine on tbs
hillside time and again and explored 1t fol
a distance through the horizontal shaft
or tunnel under the hill which was sup
posed to be an air shaft. None had ever
| entered the mine by the vertical shaft
although there was one ma ofNover q
| in the party, and ne said that he had
| known the mine since he was 70 years
old, says the Newark Sunday Call
"If it was Il another shaft in the
| neighbornood I don't wonder" said an
| other of the old boys. II mean the one
| on the west side of the Lodi road, some
distance south of Schuyler's Corners. ]
| guess it is forgotten by most people,now
and has been filled in. I have not been
near it sinceI was a boy of Is, and that
is over forty-ive years ago. 1t was a ver-
teal shaft, d. few feet from the road. and
around it's mouth were old eimbers, a
broken hosting within which had been
operated with horses, and huge piles of
rock and shale taken from the mine. |
don't think that old mine is remembered
by many now"
81 remember it WELL said another of
the party. Il ought to remember it be-
cause I nearly lost my life in it Then a
boy. / had explored the old Schuyler
about as thoroughly as anybody could,
and was aching to get down into the
other. I had studied it from the surface
as well as could be lone by letting down
a lantern and dropping stones, and !
knew that a continuous series of ladders
ran down from stage 70 stage at one side
of the shaft. l figures thai the bottom
of the shat was not more than 100 feet
from the surface, and that it would be
easy work to get down IL the ladders
were sound. SO one Saturday three OF
US boys started QUITO try it. 1t was
agreed that I should go down first and II
/ got along all right the others We're 10
follow. We knew that there was water
at the bottom. but hoped to find lateral
galleries further up. or that the water
was merely al collection from direct rain
fall and not yefy deep. The ladders were
crude affairs made by iiailing heavy
c~rosspieces, upon still heavier ~uprights,
but l had a lot Of faith in the strength
of the big wroughtYirdn nails used in the
construction. and went down without
feeling any fear The. runga were rather
far apart for my and arms, but /
didn't mind that at the start. The first
ladder, as 1 remember it, was about
twenty-nve or stfiirty feet long, and l
found it irisgexcellent condition and quite
dry, as was the narrow landing stage.
test ted everythingI BY jumping on it with
my feet while keeping a good handhold.
The second ladder was damp, and the
third was decidedly wet and slippery, but
/ had on old clothes and | did not mind
the increasing slime. | was not in the
dark. because one of the other boys was
steadily lowering lantern and obeying
my Instructions to keep II about even
with my feet. I rested for some time on
the last stage from which / could see the
water below. Their was no side shaft in
sight anywhere,sa and I determined to go
down and get my feet wet just to show
the other boys that / had not finched
The hast ladder was the worst of all. 1t
was covered with black slime and felt
quite rickety, but / was confident that
it would bear. my light weight and I care
fully lowered myself down, stamping on
the middle of each rung, and then keep
ing my feet close to the sides in letting
myself down. Il was about two-thirds of
the way down when, as / stamped upon
one of the rhngs, the whole ladder seemed
to crumble way at the bottom and set
tied do M about ten feet. was tossed
outward and caught at the lantern string
as 1 was falling. pulling it out Of my
chum's hand and Knocking it into the
water. j landed Hat on my back in water
nearly ais cold as ice, and quickly dis
covered chat it was too deep for wading.
/ had got my feet with a vengeance.
I swan to the broken ladder and clannb-
cred up on II until clear of the water, and
Then screecfcd to- my companions. They
did not answer. and 1 knewsthatthey had
run away. Then. i wondered whether
they had gone for help or NOT. | had
known 81 eases where boys had lost a
companion by drowning and been 50
frightened that fhey ran home and said
nothing about the matter for a day or
two. The question upperfnost in my
mind was whether my chums were that
kind OF beys. / climbed the ricketty lad
der to the top at the risk of another fall.
and found that I could not reach within
many feet Of the staging, and the walls
of the shaft were SO smooth that there
was no chance of climbing them. Then
/ rave up3all hope of helping myself and
tried to be- natient. I was friglhtfully
cold ana could do nothing to warm up.
t guess Iscried considerably. and it seem
ed that i: had been down there for hours
when Igsheafd d voice calling TO me. II
was Fred Sturges, one OF my churns. n
he called in q low voice dis if he was
- ~. - xl1,4 1913 -,.t