Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1906-08-23
GHOSTS IN
DEEP MINES


clares the Butte (Mont) correspond
ent of the Philadelphia Record. And
of all superstitions there are none
more weird than those of the grave
yard" shift. The graveyard" shift Is
the dead of INTELLECTUALLY between
IL D. m. and a. m.-and 1T Is then
that the 'tommy-knockers" are most
| often heard. Nearly all of the big
mines of the west are in operation
constantly during the "a hours or
every day and the seven days OF
every week. A great mining plant
does not shut down on the Fourth
of July or even Christmas. The men
are driving the drills, the shots" are
being fired, the broken ore shoveled
into cars and carried out through
the shaft or tunnel, and the big
mills are grinding, pounding and roar
ing for 365 days in the year. The
miner who works steadily has NO
variation in his life. He is as far
away from the world as the sailor at
sea, and the conditions are far more
propitious for the birth and growth
OF superstitions.
Suddenly, in the never-ceasing drip,
drip of the water, he hears some
sound-the regular ring of hammer
not far from him. He is puzzled, for
he knows that he is alone In that
part of the mine. Never doubling the
accuracy of his understanding, he
takes his candle from the rock and
tramps through the tunnel toward the
sound of the drilling. He stops to
listen. 1t seems above and he climbs
up into raise" where ore has been
taken down from above the tunnel.
The drilling ceases. The miner
stops in surprise. He is alone, 500
feet below ground, except for this un.
known companion. There is mo-
ment of silence, intensified, 1T seems,
by the drip, drip, drip of the water and
the utter darkness.
Not far ahead the miner suddenly
hears new sound. Some one is walk.
ing rapidly through the tunnel with
a regular tread, splashing in the mud
and water. The miner, his candle at
his side, quickly follows. He almost
runs in his haste to find his compan-
ion. But the tramp and splash of the
unknown feet are always just ahead
Of him. He stops and shouts:
Hey! Who are you, there?"
No answer comes, and he calls
again and again. Still he hears in
the darkness the. tread and splash of
the phantom feet. All at once a
strong man is filled with fear He
|
then, in a panic of dread, he turns and
fees, stumbling and plunging through
the tunnel to the shaft.
And the mine has mysterious voices,
| too. A veteran miner tells OF
strange warning which came to him
once and narrow escape from death.
He was working in mine in Montana
in charge of the pumps, which were
kept constantly going to keep the
mine from filling with water When
each crew or shift" of men finished
work he would regularly make an in
spection of the five pumps which were
N operation.
The ore was lifted from this mine
on an inclined shaft. The cars, which,
run on wheels up such shaft, are
called "skips," and it was the break,
| ing of skip" which came near be-
ing fatal that night. The pump in
spector had visited four of the pumps
and was about to start down the shaft
to the fifth, which was 500 feet below
ground, when, as he tells me, he felt
a peculiar feeling of fear and voice
directly over his shoulder said to him:
Don't you go down that shaft to-
night" :
The miner stopped. He seemed al
most to feel the breath of the voice
against his cheek. Then he told him
self he was foolish to heed any mag
innings, and he went down to the
pump. When he reached the 500-foot
level he began at once his inspection
of the machinery. Back in the tunnel,
which extended away in the darkness,
the water stood nearly filling the pas
sage, over a mans head in depth.
A hundred feet above an ore car
filled with tons of rock was emptied
into skip" which was started up
the inclined shaft toward the surface.
A moment later the man working at
the pump heard a crashing, terrific
rafting sound. He realized at once
that the skip" had broken, and that
the tons of rock were tumbling
toward him down the shaft. Instinc-
lively he flattened himself against the
wall, and the rock came like an ava
!anche. Most of it he escaped, but
heavy pieces struck his shoulders,
causing painful bruises. But that was
not the worst.
Soon the air was filled with hiss
Ing steam The load of ore in its fall
had broken steam pipe above, and
the inspector knew that in few min,
utes more he would be smothered.
The steam was binding. 1t was hot
and sitting in his nostrils and his
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