El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-13
TIE MiSSionaru'S Death

He was q tall, dark browed man and
apparently not exceeding So or 30 years
old. This Lancashire miner, whose man
ner was uncouth and whose speech was
composed of dissonants conveying quaint
figures of speech, had crossed the Attain
tic to work in the great coalhelds of
Pennsylvania, and. sooth to say, he could
discover little difference between the
mines of Lancashire and those of Scran-
ton.
"You see, SIR" he said to me, I'm a
real son of earth. l was born hundreds of
feet below the surface. You see, sir, my
father and mother were workers in the
lead in which l was born. They very
rarely came to the top of the ground.
Once q month or so they'd do that, when
there was money in wage to get and
brandy and tobacco and food to buy.
II was not only born but grew up in
the galleries, and / was u good bit of a
youngster-perhaps or s years old-be-
fore l took seat in the bucket and was
sent up the shaft to where there was an
other kind of light. How strangely / was
affected by not only the light of the sun,
but by all l saw on that first day! Why,
1 just thought l was in the paradise old
Joe Blinktop used to talk to us about.
well, the shaft was upward of 500
feet from the top to the bottom, and after
my first visit to earth, which was my holi-
day-and l was a regular savage-I found
! had work laid out for network push
ing coal cars on the tramways that was
sometimes beyond my child strength.
Still / worked without complaining, for 1
remembered well the strange world had
been allowed to look upon for an hour,
and l asked to be permitted at some fu-
ture time to visit it again.
1.-TWO years later, when / was about as
big and strong as an ordinary sized man,
] came up with others, mostly lads of my
own age, to enjoy for week the life Of
the outer earth.
THAT was my second visit to the sun
light, and l never went down that shaft
to work again. There was an explosion.
Let me add this much: After many days,
when the mine had been thoroughly ex-
plored, no living soul was found in the in
terminable corridors; but, go where you
would, the bodies of dead men and dead
women and pale, face pinched, back bent
and shoulder distorted lads and lasses
would trip you up-yes, even in the path
ways.
'The fire damp had done its work in
deed.
Il was too young to feel greatly ag-
grieved at their loss.
My father and mother had hardly been a
day in their collins. lying in the earth of
the graveyard, when / was ordered to an
other shaft. where / was to be set at my
old business of pushing over the tram
ways beneath the coal boxes.
''The first person l recognized when I
had got to the foot of the shaft of the
colliery TO which 1 had been assigned was
the missionary, Joe Blinktop. 1t was
tal hot no 81 a
explosion in the mine in which my par
ents were destroyed grew out of this
mans negligence to comply with rules
which are considered imperative and al
ways necessary to the safety of the op-
eratives.
However this may be, the missionary
was not refused admttance to the other
shafts-by n strange chance he was alb
sent, it was said he had been in London,
at the time of the explosion-and as he
was personally popular with all, no mat
ter where he went, his drinks of liquor
were quite as frequent as his prayers.
I'm the new mine 1 worked hard. and
the little that was given me in return l
put carefully away.
"Six years l labored in the new colliery.
In that long period OF time. during which
l grew out of boyhood into manhood, /
don't think l saw the sun as many times
as there were added months in those
years. l was quite careless and happy.
and / perhaps would have worked con-
tentedly there all my life but for the ac-
cident am about to relate.
I'm the course of time the missionary
was made aware that l wasted little Of
my earnings, and he became covetous
and resolved on possessing himself of my
treasure. Had he come to me and frank
ly asked for any or all of my pounds
a mr. II in oil III
have gratiied his wishes. but the man
chose to take them from me by surrepti-
tious means, and he succeeded in his evil
desire.
81 in time found out what he had done,
but not before he had wasted all my
substance. and / became terribly angry,
threatening, in my passion, to kill him
whenever l had a decent opportunity.
ut happened one Saturday afternoon
l had insensibly grown into the habit Of
going up to the surface at the close of
the week and staying there sometimes
until the following Monday-that, in a
beastly condition from the too free use
of liquor, the missionary was to ascend
with me. He stepped into the basket
and. seizing the chains, placed himself
on the edge of the vessel. l saw how
dangerous was his seat and told him
he had better stand up by my side. He
laughed at me and cried out:
SO you're the man that's going to
take my life?'
This was heard by several, but before
/ could reply We were a hundred feet on
our way up the shaft. The basket tip
ped.
"'Get in, sirp 1 cried, quite as much
alarmed for my safety as for his, and
Involuntary stretched out my hands to
clutch and save him; but, excited by liq-
uor and possibly remembering what 1