The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-28
A CURIOUS EXPERIENCE.
Waiting in Mine for a Blast to Go
npf

From the New Orleans Times Democrat
A man with an empty sleeve told
curious story in one of the hotel lob
bies last night. "In 1889 l was pros
pecting in the Joplin lead district" he
said, "and with two partners had sunk
a shaft about thirty feet deep on a
promising claim. At the bottom of the
excavation we started to 'drift'-ln
other words, to drive tunnel at right
angles. One afternoon, when the tun-
mel had progressed some twelve feet,
it became necessary to put in a blast.
l was below at the time and my two
companions were at the top, working
the windass. / drilled a hole in the
formation. which was very hard, put
in a dynamite cartridge, tamped it
well with broken rock, lit the fuse and
stepped into the bucket. At the first
turn of the windlass the rope broke
at the top and dropped down into the
shaft. The bucket fell only yard or
So but I plunged head first against
the side. and it was perhaps a couple
of minutes before ! could collect my
senses. Then in a flash 1 realized my
situation and jumped back into the
tunnel to eXtinguish the fuse. but it
had already burned down to the tamp-
ing and all l could see was a little
smoke oozing out through the rocks.
could hear my partners yelling to me
from above, but I knew there was no
other rope in our camp, and the only
thing T could think of was to pick out
the tamping and get at the fuse before
1t reached the dynamite. For all
H. -s s,.ID4 4,I-
at any instant, but / grabbed a drill
and began to claw at the tight packed
rock. In a few seconds l realized that
1t was a hopeless task, so I dropped
the drill and as a last resort ran back
to the shaft and crouched against the
far wall.
IF l live to be a thousand" con-
tinued the story teller "I will never
forget my agony while waited for the
blast to go off, knowing full we'll that
my chances for escape were almost
too small for computation. It seemed
as if me explosion would never occur,
and all the while a horrible panorama
Of death and mutilation was rushing
through my brain. Now. Now! Nown
I kept saying aloud, thinking each time
Z uttered the word thai the roar
would follow, but it didn't. l could
have sworn that fifteen minutes
elapsed, and 1 was beginning to feel a
wild hope that the fuse had gone out
when an awful thunder-clap came and
everything disappeared. My partners
had secured a new rope and We're pull
ing me out when recovered conscious
ness. My left arm had been crushed
and l was peppered all over by flying
rock. but suffered most from the poi
sOnous gases of the nitroglycerine in
the dynamite. Next day they took off
my arm at the elbow, and it was six
months before l got out of bed,
Strange to say, My hearing wasn't af-
fected and, as you see have no scars
on my face. SO I may consider myself
very lucky on more counts than one.
BY the way, there was one very strange
incident connected with the affair. AS
! said before, ii seemed to me that
lay there an interminable time waiting
for the blast to go off. Afterward,
when ! was convalesccnt, | mentioned
the matter to one Of my partners and
he looked surprised. He told me that
he was at the shaft mouth when /
crouched down, and that the explosion
occurred Immediately afterward. He
was intending TO drop his coat over me,
but didn't have time TO take it off"