The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-07-30

mouth. To this end. dangling over the swful
smoking abyss Of the shaft, a triangular chain
AMI narrow iron bar, the latter a. seat at the
base of the triangle formed by II, and the two
small chains described.
But now came the test Of vaor Who would
dare descend to Hades, the sheol of Wales on
that slender bar? All the local communicating
only one then in the entire Rhondda there
in tears Who would dare, not the Excelsior
heights in snow and ice, but the oighty'tour
yards through the smoke. and in possible hre
below. Whol Who? Who? There stepped forth
from the weeping wives and mothers stalwart
gallant son Of old Suria It was sam liendre.
vorgan. IL will GO" quoth he, ICED helping
me-"
He was soon seated at the end Of the slender
hempen rope. lie was going alone through the
valley Of death, without the shadow thereof
He was the earliest Of the heroes Of the coal
mines Of South Wales. Ready" cried author.
ity, and Of shot the horse on his circular round,
around the whim track, shaped like the ring ~
circus. At the same moment valiant Srn
disappeared into the deep. Thoughts were now
too intense for tears. The attitude Of the horse
attached 10 the within was lone remembered He
seemed to understand what had happened, and
the urgency of the moment. He gallored at
such rate around. proud that his belly WAS
nearly touching the track. lie seemed to feel
the descending triangle and its precious load,
for the moment IL touched the bottom the gal.
liant stcrd stopped suddenly Of his own accord.
Sam aghted on the top Of hundreds Of tons OF
debris
In total darkness he crawlcd YEARLY down the
Alpine height. Below he could hear painful
groans and other sounds. In few minutes he
met u. Thomas head manager father Of the
late Edmund Thomas, Mandy Hall. lie had
Just reached the bottom Of the shaft when the
explosion occurred, and had been blown in an
opposite direction, and had now Just recovered
consciousness. lie ascended on the iron bar.
sam, fresh from above, entered the workings.
He was nearly done up, when he came TO
door standing on an unused track, which had
not been touched h. the thundersumc blast The
trd,k vas used as a short footpath from the IN.
terror OF tho workings
on tho other side Of the door. which, alas, he
was unable to open, ne overheard tie voice II
PRAYER in Welsh. II was that Of Thomas Row.
land the first man to start a Sunday school by
the invitation of Vicar Prchard, in Nstradyi.
odwg. He was the head deacon with the local
Calvinistic Methodisis sam was compelled 10
retreat, and went back to the surface and told
the eager throng he had overheard Thomas Row
land at prayer
The sccne which ensued was overwhelming in
its pathos II appeared as IL he had heard the
voice of Cranmer bidding farewell to his Coun-
try from the fres of martyrdom. Some days
later Thomas Rowland wns found dead on hi4
knees. with his two little ho,s one on each side
~ MIN. Thus the three had assembled cor dyrus
aniawch, i'r beraidd baradwys / fyw." His
Erandsons reside at Tonyrefail
on the morning of June -, 1850, sam. ac.
companicd by his little boy. descended into
Forth .Cymmcr pit He worked upwards Of a
mile beyond the bottom the shaft, attended by
his hoy. All the morning after the explosion
people in all directions were asking. 'Has sam
cscaped?" About o'clock in the day the OK
plorers including Daniel Thomas and T. T. Nor.