Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-08-15
A MUD TRAP.
Remarkable Rescue of Men Trapped
In q Diamond Mine.

| III DidnOHO miH0s
It would be difficult to find, In all
the records Of brave mems heroism, a
more stirring example than is given in
the story Of the great Kimberly mud
fight which took place a few years
ago.
AS a result Of it six English miners
were awarded the Edward medal and
were hailed by the late king as pat
terms for the empire.
They worked in the famous diamond
mines Of Kimberly, and part Of their
duty was the supervision Of bands OF
natives engaged in the work.
One morning when everything was
going along as smoothly as possible
and party Of these natives were hard
at work in corner Of the mine they
were startled by dull noise outside as
IL few tons Of some soft substance
had been hurled against the high door
that separated the spot where they
worked from the long tunnel leading
| to the shaft.
"The mud" they cried, and dropped
their picks in an instant.
There was no mistaking the sound.
It was the dreaded mud, the terror Of
diamond miners.
A mud rush means certain death to
all on its track. 1t gives no warning.
It comes along silently, like an ugly
wriggling snake working its way swift
| ly, sparing nothing, covering every
Thing, sucking, suffocating foe that
strikes fear into the hearts OF all who
see 1t.
| TO poaka noatters worse the place
where the natives worked was a sort
of hollow-a little chamber, which ss
already indicated, they reached by de-
scending a steep hill. Had the tunnel
| been fiat they could have opened the
door and floundered through the mud
quite easily; but owing to the slope the
slime held them prisoners. 1t had risen
higher than the door In few minutes,
and II II poured long enough there
was nothing to prevent Its rising TIL
1t streamed over the high wall In
which the door was fixed.
| They shrieked for help, and the
| Englishmen at the opening to the tun-
mel roared out, "Climb to the top OF
the WALL" which the miners promptly.
did. They were safe there for the time
at least.
"Stay where you arel" the English
men called. IF you jump down you
will be sucked in and suffocated in two
minutesn
And while the natives sat there
staring wild eyed at the great black
mass that cut them of from safety
the other men at the entrance to the
passage set to and fought the foe with
hundreds Of buckets and shovels.
1t was dreary work. The men slav-
ed steadily on all day, and the natives
looked on, and prayed and cheered
and wept. The rush Of mud had stop
ped, fortunately, and after thousands
of bucketfuls had been removed the
rescue seemed certain.
| Suddenly, almost in the moment Of
victory, the outlook was blackened. A
loud, terrifying cry rang through the
workings.
"The mud! The mud!"
The rescuers scattered themselves
like scared rats, and the cry was taken
up by all.
The mud! The mudI"
There 1t was again, a black stream
Of death rapidly refilling the tunnel
Within a few minutes the work Of
many hours had been destroyed.
The deadly swish delivered its
| mournful message to the imprisoned
natives, and their agonized walls
mingled with the sighs of the strong,
beaten men staring moodily at the inky
| river rising and rising.
The river flowed on. Soon the tun-
mel was tunnel no longer; II was a
dull mass Of rising slime that deaden-
ed the cries Of the mud-barred miners.
1t flowed for hours. Then, like
some tired-out torturer, 1t slowed
down again and ceased, leaving great
black barrier as memento Of Its mas
| terry.
The rescuers sat round on a neigh
| boring rock and looked down at the
all-powerful King of Diamonds For
minute they were nonplussed-hope-
| less.
Then they held council of war.
Each man was invited to suggest what
| he considered the best means to adopt
in tackling the enemy. All manner Of
suggestions were made, most Of them
| worthless; but in the end 1t was decid-
| ed to try and reach the men, not by
removing the mud, but by passing over
it.
It was q perilous undertaking. One
man placed a plank upon the face Of
the mud and stretched himself on 1t,
the others standing by ready to drag
him off IL the support showed signs Of
sinking. Fortunately 1t didn't. A lit
tie spade was handed to the rescuer,
and he began to cut into the mud and
| so pull his way along down the tunnel
like a man face downward In a canoe
pulling himself forward with q paddle.
When he had gone few yards the
| danger became greater, owing to the
fact that he was now beyond the reach
Of his friends. He was solely depen-
dent now on the treacherous mud. II
it failed him he would sink and be
swallowed up before the eyes Of his
| comrades.
But he worked bravely on-half
inch by half inch. Another plank fol-
| lowed, with another man on 1t.
In half an hour six men were laid
| fiat on six planks in the middle of the
mud surface. II the mud took to
seething and bubbling for a moment
| they were doomed. There was no way
out. Sixty-five feet Of mud, and be-
tween them and 1t plank that might
| heel over any second and send them
to suffocating death.
Ahead were the shrieking natives;
| behind was the hidden spring Of de-
struction that might let loose its slime
again, flood the tunnel still more and
| cause the planks to capsize like
cookie shaft on a turbulent sea-
And the rescuers, forgetting 1t all.
plodded on their muddy way, half inch
by half inch.
AS the news went round thousands
VI W ucdu VI
shaft, and by the time the first man
reached the prison house all South Af-
rica awaited the result of his bravery
success or death, mud or mastery.
1t was success.
When the man on the first plank
reached the wall on which the natives
were huddled he called instructions to
them.
you've seen the way I've come"
he said. still lying fiat and face down.
We'll, I'm going back the same way,
but I'm leaving the planks for you to
follow on. Crawl along the planks as
much like a snake as you can"
Slowly the men on the planks slid
back, leaving the wooden line behind
them. Slowly the natives followed on.
Nobody spoke. The black mass under
meath, that looked as hard as rock but
was as soft as porridge. seemed to the
men to be all eyes-grinning eyes Of
death.
AS each man reached the end plank
he was hauled to safety by friends
standing near and carried half faint