The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-03-05


may be full OF suggestion, and in his mind
be easily prolonged and changed until they
become 10 him the sound of a football or OF
drller's hammer
And the mine has mysterious voices
too friend Of mine told me of "A
strange warning which came Ia him once
and n narrow escape from death He was
working in a mine in Montana into which
the water flowed in such quantities that
+ II was necessary 10 keep pumps constantlN
al work drawing IL TO the surface My
friend was in charge of the pumps, aud
when each crew or shift Of men I'm
ished work this man would regularly
mako an inspection Of all the five pumps
which were in operation
The ore wa- lifted from this mine on
an inclined shaft The cars, which run
on wheels up such shaft are called
"skps and It was the breaking Of a
skip which came near being fatal that
night. ] he pump Inspector had visited
four Of the pumps and was about TO
start down tho shaft 10 the fifth, which
was on the level 500 feet below ground
when. a. he tells me he felt peculiar
feeling of fear, and a voice directly over
his shoulder said to him
Don't you 90 down that shaft tonight
The miner stopped He seemed almost
to feel the breath Of the-voice against his
| cheek He was aware. he sa id, of a dis
tinct feeling Then he told himself that
he was foolish TO heed any imaginings like
When he reached the 500 foot level he be-
gan at once his inspection of the ma
chinery. Back in the tunnel which eN-
tended away in the darkness, the water
stood, nearly filing the passage, over a
mans head in depth.
hundred feet above an ore car filed
with tons of rock was emptied into skip.
which was started up the inclined smart
toward the surface, moment later
the man working al the pump heard a
crashing. a terrific rafting sound lie
realized at once that the skip had broken
and that the tons Of rock were tumbhng
toward him down the shaft lnstincuvely
he fattened himself against the wall, and
/ the rock came like an avalanche Most
of il he escaped. but heavy pieces struck
his breast and shoulders causing painful
bruises, But that was not the worst.
Soon the air was filed with Kissing steam.
The load of ore in its fall had broken
steampipe above and the inspector knew
that in a few minutes more he would he
smothered. The steam was binding 1t
was hot and sitting in his nostrlls and his
lungs But he had little time to think
Only one course WAS open de plunged
into the icy water OF the tunnel and swain
out into the darkness.
Then the break III the steam pipe was
discovered by those above An engineer
turned valve and stopped the hot vapor
flow The Inspector, seeing that the cloud
of steam had diminished swan back TO
I the HlAlt dnl rang hlkilttl NtAls - Nhl
was lowered and he rode to the surface,
weak with his bruises And now he does
not doubt the voice that spoke to him over
his shoulder and said. Don't 90 down the
shaft tonight
Although fatalities in mines are so fire.
quent. miners are peculiarly careless. II
I seems, about repairing the 80 Ks In floor
/ ing or timbers that cause Ia. Among
! miners themselves this Is mitted but
/ they do not explain the reason for II.
/ Last winter went through large mine
/ that is acknowledged To be one Of the most
carefully and Systematically operated min
ing plants in the United States, Several
/ Of is were picking our way very carefully
/ by the light Of our candles through sort
/ OF side tunnel which extended over deep
crevice from which large quantities Of
I ore had been taken. We were walking
/ on a flooring OF plank and logs when sud-
I denly the superintendent OF the mine, who
was ahead and was our guide, stopped.
Look out for this holel' he said, point
ing to a gap in the plank. Then, as we
came up, he told us that a month before
a shift boss" had been walking on these
I same planks when one Of them gave way
/ and the man fell into the open crevice
! beneath He was found sixty feet below
dead his neck brohen. Yet the broken
1 place had not been repaired although a
| month had passed.
Certain mines, like certain houses are
/ believed to be haunted. And these mines.
] WneTP the tommy kIOthfTN are nave
1 usually been the scenes Of violent deaths
I The records Of such mines are talked over
! bv the miners as they gather at lunch time
! far under the ground TO eat the contents
] Of their dinner buckets. or as two or three
I Of them assemble somewhere in the work
ings for few minutes 20 loaf and smoke
their pipes when the boss IS ont OF sight
But in spite OF its dangers, the Isolation
which il often entails, the arduous labor
which it necessitates. and the fatal all
ments which it breeds, no calling is so
fascinating to lis followers as Ia mining
Men who have become crippled and bent
and old in their labor gladly take UP their
buckets. climb on 70 the cage and are
dropped underground; and there, like
some burrowing animal, they are at home
and happy.
The most supcrstitious Of all are the
Cornishmen Everywhere they are known
among the miners az Cousin Jacks They
are great smokers. and frequently they
gather together in little groups under
ground TO smoke and talk-when the shift
boss" Is away And when a Cousin Jack ="
invites a comrade to smoke, he says:
Come, touch pipe bit old son, which
il a very sociable greeting indeed. Tom
nv knocker- is a term originated by the
Cornishmen. and a superstition which they
persist in Is that there must never be any
,-L;.,iipg IN a mine rs had uCk