The daily morning Alaskan., 1902-03-18
Tie MiSsionau'S Death

| ugufes or rpccNn' h"" 'i"as'u thc hb"h tic to work in the great coaldelda of Pennsylvania. and. sooth to say. he could discover little difference between the mines of Lancashire and those of Scran. | ton.
 "You sec. sir" he said to me. I'm a real son of earth. was born hundreds of feet below the surface. You sec. sir. my father and mother were workers In the I lead in which l was born. They very rarely came to the top of the ground. Once a month or so they'd do that. when there was money In wage to get and brandy and tobacco and food to buy.
 "I was not only born but grew up in the galleries, and l was a good bit of Q youngstcr-perhaps C or s years old--be- fore took a seat in the bucket and was sent up the shaft to where there was an- other kind of light. How strangely l was affected by not only the light of the sun. but by all saw on that first day! Why, | just thought was in the paradise old Joe Blinktop used to talk to us about.
 Well the shat was upward of 900 | feet from the top to the bottom, and after my first visit to Oarth. which was my holl- day-and l was a regular sayage-l found had work laid out for me-work push ing coal cars on the tramways that was sometimes beyond my child strength. Still l worked without complaining. for l remembered well the strange world had been allowed to look upon for an hour. and asked to be permitted at some fu' ture time to visit 1t again.
 1.-Two years later, when l was about as big and strong as an ordinary sized man, l 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 sum light, and l never went down that shaft to work again. There yas m explosion. Let me add this much; Alter many days, when the mine had been thoroughly ex' plored. DO living soul was found in the In. termipahle corridors; but, go where you would, the bodies Of dead men and dead women and pale. face pinchcd. back bent and shoulder distorted lads and lasscu would tr'r you up--yes, even in the path ways.
 "Thc 6rc lamp had dthe its work in decd.
 "l was too young to feel greatly az grieyed ar their loss.
 "Small lime was given me for sorrow. My father and mother had hardly been a day in their cofins. lying in the earth of the grnvey lrd. when was ordered to an- other shaf where l was Co be set at my old busine,s Qf pushing over the tram. ways beneath the coal boxes.
 "The frs, pesson l recognized when l had got tt th foot of the shaft of the colliery 10 Vhicl. had ben assigned was the missionary. Joe Bllnktop. It was shrewdly suspected that the cause of the explosion iN q c mine it which my par ents were destroyed grew out of this mans ncgl gence to comply with rule1 which are considered imperative and al ways ncces ary to the safety of the op aratiyes.
 "Iowcvcr this may bc. the missionary was not refused admittance to the other shafts-hy strange chance he was ab sent. it was said he had been in London. at the time of the cxplosion-and as he was personally popular with all. no mat ter where Le went. his drinks of liquor were quite as frequent as hls prayers.
 Tn the new mine l worked hard, and the little that was given me in return put carefully away.
 "Six year I lalorcd in the new colliery In that long period of time. during which 1 grew out 5f boyhood into manhood. ] don't think l saw the sun as many times as there were added months in those years. I was qui;e careless and happy, and | perhars would have worked con tcntedly thcc all my life but for the nc
 dent | am about to relate,
 "ln the COUrsc uf time inc missionary
 aS made are that l wasted little ai
 rannc,. anl he bCcame coyctou. ld resolved op possessing himself Of ml
 rasurc. Had hc come 70 me anl frank asked for any or al Of my pOund'
 d crowns should in aG probability ,vc grutifcl his wishes, Aut the ma .osc Co take them from me by su.iept
 ,"s means. nnl he succeeded in Li' 'yi
 sire.
 I in time fouud ont what be lad don not before le bal wasten all ml
 istJnce. aud berame terribly angry ,cltcning. in my passion. tC kill bin
 loncycr lad lcceut opportunity.
 'lt hyppgard one Saturday afternoon
 hai incrSi, ly grown into the habit oi
 ing up tu tlv suifatc at the close of
 , week and Si6ying there sometime
 n the following Monday-that. In Q
 a.tly condition from the too free uS
 liusor. tht missiDnlry was to ascend th uc He stepped into the baske. d. ,ciz'n. ,hr ca nf. placed himself tlc edge of ,., vcssrL l saw how
 tu.crous was h', seat and told bin % bad better st. .1 up by my s.de. II
 ughcd at me and cried out;
 "'So you're ifc man that's goiDg { Ike my lIfer
 "Ihls was h ard by several, bui before ,vdld reply we were hundred feet oD )ur way up the shaft. The baske, tip ped
 "Get in. siry cried, quite ss much alarmed for my safety as for his, and l nyoluntarily stretched out my hands to dutch and save hipl: but. excited by liq. uor and possibly remembering what l lad said when charged him with steal ng my money, he pusbed farther away from me and did what 1 had dreaded ,apsiIed the baslet.
 "The man was instantly oui or m, light. heard a heavy thud. is of the falling of sofi body from a great d,s tance below me. and ! knev that the missionary bad been crushed 10 death. "l wa, ndi blamed for his dcsth." add d the miner. ''bnt l could DO longer stay ind work In England with corfo.t. an : l | efah