Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-02
FELL $50 FEET
And Lived to Tell the Tale as Here
Related.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A miner named Hartz, living in Oakland,
Cal. has had what is probably the most re.
markable fall that a man ever. experienced
and lived to tell about. That he could
be precipitated a distance of $50 feet and
not be fatally injured sounds fishy, but it is
true, and the shaft down which he fell
and himself prove the assertion. 1t was last
April that Frederick Hartz had this expe-
rience. He is badly bruised, but not a
bone in his body was broken, and he will
recover. Hartz's story of his thrilling ex-
perience is best told in his own language,
and is follows:
Il was working in the Mount jefferson
mine, in Tuolumne county. l had been
there about month and was considered
quite an old hand for that place, for the
fact was that few men would stay in the
mine after they became aware OF the dam
gers that surrounded the work. They would
generally work a day or two and then de-
mand their time and leave. usually with
very few words in the way of explanation.
''On the day that l mentioned L was work
ing in stope u few feet from the bottom
OF the main shaft. The mine was always
wet everywhere. and the pit below, when
We were working, contained several feet
of water. 1t was to the presence of this
water that l unqueStionably owe my escape
from being instantly dashed TO pieces when
| fell.
My partner was Mr. Dick O'Neil, who
is we'll known in San Francisco, where he
was for years on the police force, having
beat the Potrero. He is also the man
who was the first to get to the three men
who were killed in the Jumper mine, in the
same county, last New Year day, by the
falling of a cage.
I'VE were drilling a set of holes in the
face of the vein matter of the ledge, and
had made some haste to get the blasts in
these holes ready for firing or shooting by
noon time, so that the smoke and powder
fumes might have time to clear away while
We were al dinner. We had finished the
work and it being my turn i started 10
go up to the 300-foot level to get the pow
der used in blasting. / made the trip up
safely enough, and, having secured what
wanted, got into the skip with my load,
intending to go down again
II gave the signal, two bells, to the en-
gineer for descending. but he has always
declared that he never got but one, though,
as he left the place very suddenly after /
was hurt / cannot help thinking that he
knows he made a mistake. One bell would
raise instead of lowering me, and at once
/ felt myself ascending through the black
darkness toward the surface.
This did not alarm me seriously. for i
thought l would simply go up to the next
level and there stop, and see if l could
find out what was wrong with the signal
bells. I had proceeded upward perhaps
thirty feet when l felt the skip, a sort of
truck in which l was riding, leave the
track upon which it rode. 1t trembled fer
moment IN staggering way upon the
edge of the track, and then, quick as a
fash it turned squarely bottom upward.
Instantly the light of my single candle
was snuffed out and 1 found myself in total
da rlSness in mdair and standing upon moth
ing. at least $50 feet from the bottom of the
shaft.
"Of course, i fully understood what that
meant Death. sure, swift and terrible, was
upon me. In few seconds its cold fingers
would be clutching at my heart, and then
would come for me the end of all things.
Il have read that persons IN such s;tua-
tions have declared that the most impor-
tant events of their lives, and especially
matters where conscience had condemned
had passed swiftly in review before them
but / had never believed the statements
Now / know that such things do happen.
In that awful moment I saw numerous
phases of my past life. Many that
thought long forgotten doomed up before
my minds eye. They We're far too numer-
Gus TO mention here, but 1 will say that