Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1913-03-30
Is:5i-E:.); l: <; HIlS tL:ii,vE:
!. sjjnd Struggle For Life h ji:4
 Depths of the Earth.
,osT IN TIE DARK IN 4 MINE:

r..;II;oo Experience Of Workman
 who Found Himself After an ExpIo-
 .io, hare and Without a Light In ,.a cufTocating Coal Hole.
 ,- ba lost in the woods or on the .,,ins is q fearful experience. but there
 ,;cfim has the heavens above him
 cau at least see his way about ,,,,,, tnrr0rs of a similar adventure in .no nttcr Ilarl;ness of a @;lS filled coal .i,,o ore thus described by d core snon5eut of the Yonth'S Companion: r.os working alone in a room on uo socond south entry of the mine r. vas ] o'clock. the time for firing the e.o.noon blasts The man who was "5uivinr" the entry lighted his fuse o,1 came back through the entry cali int ont .Eirn,' One after another the ,.4lor miners set off their blasts and eo,,e along the entry until they reach od ,,,1. room lighted my fuse. watch all f s,ltter for moment and went o,t into the entry to wait for the blast several seconds passed. and there r.o. no explosion. My fellow miners ,sesel out of the entry and left me ,lonn I went back into the room and found that the blast opening was clog co1 so that the fire could not reach the nowder. I had to remove the tamDinG ond recharge the drill hole. By this tima he mine was filled with dense o.s laden powder smoke from the otha, blasts.
 In thc stifing smoke l ret!lar@ed the hole. tanpcd it, inserted the fuse lishted it from my head lamp and bur red to the mouth of the room. Tn" work was hastily done. When the novdcr exploded the rush of air eStn suishcd my lamp.
 l The Garl;ness was absolute. and there 1 is no darkness so dense as that of A mine To my consternation foun1 l the matches in my ''iock"y box" So damp that they would not ignite l Then I hecame really ala"&nd. was l two miles under ground without q light l in an atmosphere so heavy with gas l that if would not sustain life for any l length of time.
 | dashed into the entry. ran against a pillar and was knocked nearly sense l less
 I staggered to my feet and groped 1 down the tunnel In q coal mine great l oaken valves or doors close the en 1 frances to the various tunnels. Th~ l air enters through the main antri ;n(' l is sucked out of the mine by grea! 1 fans at the opposite end of the ninr l after it has been distributed througli ] the workings by means of these valves 1 and crOsscutS situated near them. reached door. rulled it open and l passed through. Beyond it two tnn nels came together at a right angle One led toward the open air. the other into the depths of the mine. My sense of direction was entirely gone and could not tell which to take. l! was all chance. l went ahead and aft CT a time reached another valve
 If only had q light. One glimpse of the number painted on the dool would tell me where I was. tried to feel the number with my fingers, but in vain. pushed through the door and entered another tunnel. dow. which l walked for hours, as it seem cd. My head was bursting with pain from the gas.
 When l heard the sound of runnin" Water knelt down. dipped in my hand and found that l was going ui, stream and consequently deeper anG deeper into the mine. So I turned Dack. reached the valve aud felt along the pillar until found the other t'ln hel opening. The gas had by this time begun to affect my brain, and I rcclcd ana staggered as l walked. left the track and walked in the "sump" water up to my knees. keeping ope hand on llle wall to steady myself
 passed through valve after valve ana tried to keep count but my brain reused to perform that simple task Al last l pushed through a valve and ieit q blast of fresh, cold air With 'lat breath of oxygen my reason re
 turned. With renewed courage push
 eu forward. Many times in following 'i"' lire giving current of air plunGe;! 'hlo"Gh halrow cross cuts. stumbled o'ef masses of slate, fell into water noies and bruised myself by striking asalnst tie sharp corners of the coal 'eil' but was steadily creeping near ef to the surface.
 suddenly stumbled against d loaded wal car, That meant that was in the
 "''ill entry. but how far from the en-
 '"nce could not tell. worked my
 way along the string of loaded cars
 "u began to ascend :n incline The
 a,sh ar swept down the tunnel in a
 e.e ! Kept peering ahead. in the hope
 seeliig daylight. but none appeared
 wohdered why broke into d run.
 ..'u Tn another minute | had emerged
 ..a o" t'ie mine and stood gazing nt the
 h' It was almost midnight. and
 aau left my room shortly after 5