Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1901-08-01
LIITHD,HHz An Y! 0z,7u

Z The water main has burst. Frantic
/ men rush hither and thither Ruin.
I destruction, perhaps death, stare them
/ in the face
/ How can tie water be arrested?
I Only by closing the sluices at the bot
I tori OF the reservoir. A huge, bricked
/ tube. like sewer, leads down to the
machinery that controls the sluices.
( The descent TO the bottom is gradual.
I and ut the bottom itself a perpendicu-
I lar shaft leads up to the top of the
/ reservoir.
I Who Will go along and operate the
machinery?
/ The chief mining engineer steps for
I ward. He is John Sulman. He seizes
a lantern and rope and prepares to
/ do his duty. The safety of the mine,
( the lives of his fellow workmen, rest
! in the balance
4 Down the steep and Shiny passage he
cautiously creeps. Everything is dark,
noisome and foul. He slips and STUN
bles along, hoping against hope that
I the water, which has already burst the
pipes. will not overflow into the shaft
He reaches the bottom and rests his
lantern on ledge. Before him he sees
the windlass of the great sluice. Like
/ a Trojan he labors at his task. The
4 sweat pours from him in streams, and
I his breath comes in gasps. The work
Is heavy, but he falters not. and a sigh
! of qualification escapes him when the
windlass will turn no more and he
realizes that the sluices are closed and
the encroaching waters damned back.
With cheerful heart he picks up his
lantern and prepares to retrace bis
footsteps, when suddenly his face
blanches. his legs tremble beneath him.
even as the splash of water sounds in
his ears
What has happened? He raises his
lantern and gazes around. Water is
falling from the sides of the perpen
1 dicular shaft. The reservoir itself has
burst, and, although the distributing
pipes are closed, the water will force
its way through the shaft. and all his
efforts will be in vain. He must hurry
to the entrance, close the gates and So
keep the water back He hurries up
the incline at his topmost pace Assist
ance must be secured TO barricade the
. SdltNs lOis SiItliE dS litS might bet AA4t
water may prove the stronger.
He reaches the exit of the shaft The
gates are there, but
They are closed.
He staggers back In his horror. Well
he realizes what has happened. The
workmen, while he has been laborious-
IL closing the sluices, have discovered
the burst in the reservoir and, fearing
that the rush of water will be ire
mendous. have given up Sulman rs
lost, closed the gates and left him to
his fate.
Horror stricken he stands for some
moments helpless. Then frantic with
desperation, he beats and tears at the
gates, shrieking to be let out. But the
thick iron gates only echo back his
agonized cries. Shout as loud as he
Will, his voice cannot penetrate those
massive panels.
Is there no hope for him. Must he
drown like rat in the well Of a ship?
For a brief second or two he ponders
over his hapless position, when there
dawns upon him the great hope that,
after all, he may escape. He remem-
beIs that the vertical shaft has an iron
ladder running up the side To the top
of the reservoir. If he can get TO this
shaft and climb the ladder he might
escape, but-will the water at the bot
tom Of the sloping tunnel permit him
to reach the shaft:
lie starts down the slope at a run.
the light Of his lantern casting weird
shadows on the Shiny walls His feet
splash in icy cold water, and Il sick
ening fear comes over him that the
bottom end Of the tunnel may he com
pletely submerged.
low long can he keep his breathe
Can he last until he reaches the lad
der and draw himself up so that his
head will be above the surface: Those
few moments Of a-ruy are as years to
him. He reaches the bottom Of the
shaft; his hands grasp he rAngs Of the
ladder; he slips. ana his strength is go
ing from him. There is the frightful,
overwhelming impulse to open his
mouth-to breathe-to shout His
cropping hands grasp the ladder again.
lie draws himself up-up-up. VIII he
I never reach the surfacef 1t seems like
eternity.
But at that supreme moment, when
he feels that his palsied fingers can no
longer grasp the rungs OF the ladder his
head rises above water, and the re-
vulsion of feeling that comes over him
as he takes his first breath is SO great
that he nearly swoons. For some sec
onds he can do nothing but hang on 10
the ladder and take in deep drafts of
the revivlfyins air, but the water is
still rising. lie must mount the ladder
and reach the outlet.
Hand over hand. foot over foot, he
laboriously climbs Suddenly his up
ward progress is arrested. His head
humps against something. He puts
up his hand and rropes about.
lie IS foiled again.
The workmen have closed the top Of
1 tho shaft