The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1904-11-08
i'm
KILN
TOP
BY Albert W. TOlman.

4 - top Harry Sanders stopped
5EoNr his horses and twihed his
Tcins round the whip-stock standing
in its case on the right Of the seat.
Then he pulled on his Ieathern
grabs" and began to pitch bis load OF
lime rock. piece By piece. into the gran
its lined pit that yawned below him,
vomiting forth ccaseless tide OF
smoke and heat
Underneath. ia the body Of the kiln.
were twenty or thirty tons Of lime
rock In every stage Of burning. from
the thoroughly ealcined Jumps al the
bottom. which needed only shoyeling
out aud cooling of to prepare them for
packing in the casks, to the fragments
last thrown in al the top. crusted with
coal SCOT. but not yet heated enough to
show any signs Of crumbiing. From
this mass, through which the arches
sent q steady food Of streaming flame,
spun our by the forced draft. rose a
mingled column OF carbonic aeld gas
and coal smoke, a deadly combination
for the human lungs
II was Monday morning. and the rock
ia the kiln had settled a considerably
distance. The top was something over
twelve feet in diameter From this
point the body of the furnace gradually
contracted. until Just above the arches
st measured barely eight feet across.
Up TO within two or three yards Of the
surface IL was lined with fire brick, but
for the remainder Of the distance
blocks OF so-called fire granite were en-
ployed
The workmen below never inten-
tionaIly put on fresh coal when a cart
WAS being unloaded above. but some
times they could not avoid doing so.
and then the driver was subjected 70 a
very unpleasant smoking.
On this morning Sanders was unfor-
tuuate- He had not thrown off a
dozen pieces when be heard the scrap
ing Of shovels. and in a few seconds,
curling mp through every creyice IN the
rough pit bottom came the sooty vapor.
Thicker and thicker it grew, eddying
nnd whirling round him in choking
clouds But the team must be unload
cd and he could not stop. The faster
he worked the sooner he would be
through.
&,With dropped heads the horses stood
patiently, waiting for the signal to
start They were used to the smoke,
and. indeed, were so far forward that
they did not get nearly SO much as
their driver He was completely hid
den by it. A spectator a short distance
away could not have told whether or
not he was still on the top of his load
Sanders worked rapidly tossing the
Jumps one after another into the kiln
top. The wagon wss perhaps 4 quar-
ter unloaded when his left toe caught
under an especially large piece OF rock
and lie stumbled forward Then a
fragment under his other foot gave
way ard he pitched over the wheel
into the mouth Of the kiln As he fell
he caught unayailingly at the whip
stock round which the reins were
twisted. II yielded, and the place
where he had stood was vacant So
blackiy did the smoke roll over the
wagon that a man ten feet off could
not have seen him fall
Almost before the driver had time TO
realize what had occurred lie found
himself sprawling in a loose helpless
heap upon the rocks be lad just
thrown in They were not yet heated
through. but their sharp corners cut
and bruised him severely.
Instantly the deadly peril Of his situ-
alton dawned upon him. and he sprang
to his feet, bent upon getting out at
once. Warm. black and sitting. the
smoke wrapped him about like a
shrOud He began to cough and choke
An ordinary man would have sue
cumbed Immediately in that fearful at
mOsphere, but Sanders had become so
accustomed to breathing coal smoke
that he did not yield readily TO the
fumes. He was perfectly aware that
his life could be measured by a very
few scores of seconds unless he extTi-
Gated himself at once from this fiery
pit Two quick steps brought him TO
the front wall. He pushed his hands
up along the hot granite blocks. and
found that he could reach we'll over the
highest layer A moments grasp upon
some firm projection the quick thrust
Of a boot toe into a crack in the lining
and he would be out Of his dilemma in
a iiffy.
Even in the midst of his peril be was
inclined to congratulate himself that
the rick in the kiln was no lower. for
had the distance to fall been greater he
might have broken some bone. the heat
would have been more intense. and the
depth would have made il impossible
for him to get bis hands over the top
OF the granite.
He was on the point Of lifting his toe
to thrust It into some creylce IN the
wall when beneath his feet there came
rumbiing. a sinking The drivers
heart almost stood still with terror. for
De knew too well the meaning OF the
sound The kiln was settilngl Down
slumped the rock with suddenness
that almost threw ham of his balance.
The heated mass inside the furnace
sank barely two feet. but when the mo-
tion ceased the tips Of Sanders finger