The Washington weekly post., 1900-04-17

from the Bile across the creek. which was
perfectly true, bar onIy his short visit
with the superintendent.
wen. the next morning they find Hea-
ton In his Office with the most Of his head
gone and no reasonable explanation ap-
parent. as his gun was locked up in his
oesk and all the doors and windows clos
ed.
The fact OF the matter was Gonzales
mad Just planted blasting cap in the
middle OF that cigar he had made, and
You know those caps are guaranteed so
pounds pressure, 80 there wasn't much
left afterward TO tell how the thing hap
pened.
shaft Rope Was Gut.
Mining Is risky business anyhow" as
sented the engineer. "Insura nee compa-
nies always wanted to rate me as extra
hazardous, and they couldn't have struck
II closer IL they had known me intimately
But what I was aiming to emphasize was
that dynamite amt the only thing man
has 20 look out for around a shaft by any
means, and the best way OF having a long
life and peaceful one IS to keep friends
with the man on the hosting engine
Il was running a switch back up At
Leadville one time soon after the camp
commenced TO boom. ! knew the fellow
who was running the holster on what was
afterward the Coronado shaft Then Il
was only about seventy feet deep. and
they called IL "A prospect hole. There was
trouble on between the engineer and the
shaft boss. and 1t eliminated one night
with four flush and a big jackpot down
at the Windsor Hotel. The engineer made
up his mind that the carbonate country
was too small for him and the shaft boss
unless one of EN- was under ground, 50
he goes in very quietly TO iix it,
They were running the prospect pretty
much on the cheap. and they had he-up
ropes on the hoist. One night when the
last gang was coming up. the bucket
swayed a good deal. and when the men
got To the top, the engineer called the
superintendent attention TO little nick
in the rope about half way from the full
Of the drum. IT was just a little scar that
looked as though the rope might have hit
a spike IN the shaft when the bucket was
swinging, for there was red clay stains
along where the rub had come.
The engineer said he guessed it would
be SAT. enough TO have a new rope
stretched in the morning. as he didn't
want TO take any chances with the men,
and the superintendent was Just about
agreeing with him when the shaft boss
cut i'm and swore the rope was all right
and the engineer was an old granny and
wanted TO break the company for engine
fixings. The man On the holster didn't say
anything. because he had made that nick
in the rope himself the night before and
climbed halfway down the shaft TO get
hot sffefNtl # PaH al.
the cut with. That night he ran the rope
over TO clean her. Then he took an old
file and CheWed through every other
strand one place or another within i
couple Of feet each side OF the first flaw
| Then he took the red clay he had saved
and added little judiciOusly along the
weak sIOt in the rope as If il had rubbed
off from the shaft lining. That being done
he wound up his rope and laid for the
shaft boss. who was usually down early
AS luck had it, he got the shaft boss and
load of fresh drills and bars for his
first passengers.
About halfway down an eccentric ring
! he had fixed the night before cracked
clean across and he had TO shut of SHARP
That brought up the rope with 2 round
turn, but the bucket never stopped iLsf
parted company at the weak spot and kept
on down with the shaft boss and a fun
/ load Of hardware.
The engineer reminded the superintend-
ent he had been working that rope under
! protest, and since that they used wire ca
| bles on the hoist.
''Oh, yes, murder will Out-sometimes'