The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1899-06-22
A Double Shot
BY Stewart Edward White
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plains into the hills in bad humor
With himself and the world. He had
tried to be cow-puncher and had been
promptly bucked off; he had tackled
the cooking problem and only escaped
mobbing by resigning his job; now he
had dragged his little, SQUAD form
with It's hanging arms, up into the
hills to try mining. He applied to the
first camp he came to. King. the fore'
man, gave him a Job.
Early the next morning he and On.
other man walked down the gulch
through the sarvis bushes for half q
mile, turned abruptly to tho right
climbed the uneven length OF . zigzag
trail and at last halted near the top OF
q ridge. The pine trees, slim and toll
grew out Of the uneveniy carpeted
ground. through which cropped irreg'
ular slices Of q red-brown. erumbline
rock. Al the very crest was Q dark gray
"dike" Of qusrtzite, standing up steer
and costellated for . height Of so feet
or more. This WIS the Hanging wall
Of tho prospective mine. Down through
tho trees were glimpses Of vast, breath
less descents TO other ridges and othel
pines far below. Over tho dixie Wal
nothing but the blue sky.
The two men had stopped within {
hundred feet OF the top. The old hand
went over to q rough lean-to OF small
trees covering q rude forge, from be
meath which he drew several steel drills
OF various lengths and sledgehammer
which he carried to scar In the face ot
a huge outcropping rock. After lump
ing these he returned and got q can q
water and long T-shaped implement
OF iron. The two men then set to work
McCann held firmly while the Other
struck. After each blow he would half
turn the drill When dozen strokes
had been given he poured little watel
in the hole and thrust the drill through
n bit of sacking to keep 1t from splash
Ing. The other man jammed his ha'
down closely over his forehead anf
struck fiercely, alternately breathing
in ond grunting in rhythmical success
sion. When the hole became clogget
with fine, grny mud McCann carefully
spooned It out with the T-shaped in
strument, wiping the latter each tim'
on his trousers While ne did this hi
companion leaned on his sledgo o,
threw chunks Of rock with wonderful
accuracy at the squirrels that ran con
tinually back and forth on tho ridge
As the hole grew deeper longer drill
were used. until at last the longest O
all left barely enough above the surface
of the rock to afford hand hold. Will
that the miner expressed himself salts
fed He then brought three cylindrica
packages wrapped in greasy paper.
~What's them?" McCann inquired.
The miner grunted contemptuously
Hercules powder" he replied. HI
pronounced the proper name in two syl
lables-
With a sharp knife he cut these int
lengths Of about three inches each On,
dropped them one by one into the hol
in the rock. Then he rammed then
home with hickory ramrod, just as al
old miners will insist on doing. Becaus
Of this large percentage Of old miner
have no fore and middle fingers on thei
right hands. The last piece he split
inserted in the crack bit Of fuse, o.
tho end Of which was o copper car
dropped It in and then CAREFUL
chinked in with the wet grit which ha
been spooned out Of the hole.
"Mosey for cover, Irish!" he said. an
touched 1t off. e..
From behind his tree McCann saw th
sputtering fuse disappear. The mex
instant the rock seemed to bulge, spill,
ting in radiation as 1t did 30, and the
the smoke belched forth in o canop!
filed with fragments Of quartz. Fo
lowing the miner, he found q jagge
opening in the rock. Then they sharI
cned their drills at the forge and wen
at It again. BY night they had fire
two more blasts and had made a star
toward O shaft. After the third Bol
the miner said, glancing at the wests
"Thntll do, Irish" rt.
They cached the tools, caught mp th
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