The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1913-11-01

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Clarence D"rrov Famou.
Jumps into little blocks on-down, down. down
until it landed in the huge iron pocket at the back
of the breaker twenty feet from the ground and Just
above the railroad tracks, ready for gate to be
opened to be let into the waiting car
i All the way down these long slantng chutes the
Jumps of coal tumbled and slid and FELL the catter
and shuttle of the endless rushing black stone
the sheet iron lining of the long trough drowned
the sound of the whirling machinery and the
crunching of the mighty iron teeth that ground the
large blocks into little bits, WHILE above ALL
hanging cloud of dust from the sliding coal covered
1 the black building and the black young children
with an everlasting pail
| Over the top of the slantng chutes was nailed a
row OF little planks like wide steps mighty lad
der Johnny told to sit of these little
planks and put foot each side of the chute and
then, the Jumps of coal swiftly down between
his legs, to snatch out the pieces of slate fast
his hands and arms could move, and throw them into
another pitching trough at his side. From the top
of the great breaker down almost to the bottom sat
this stairway OF little boys, each grabbing at chunk
of slate the coal rushed madly by until it passed
the last boy and tumbed clean and free from slate
into the iron pockets above the tracks.
! It took Johnny but little time to become a
breaker boy He had only to learn the difference be-
tween slate and coal and he had known this from
child True, it took skill to snatch the stone
from the madly rushing black flood covered with its
dense black cloud of dust; but little eyes sharp,
markable to see how this long line of little hands
would unerringly grasp the slate and let the coal
pass by. The rich man who owned the breaker,
whose name was Fox, used sometimes to stand and
watch these little hands, lost in admiration of their
dexterity and skill; their rapid movements and ma
chine-like precision seemed to him the beauty and
rythm of poem. of perfect meter
/ Mr.. Fox had daughter whom he dearly loved. He
fanced that she had musical talent and he found her
the most skillful teacher that money could procure
lSnr,an Cfn hu do1
girl take lessons in finger Development and he
veed at her dexterity and Skill but when he paused
for few moments beside the great long chutes and
saw the black diamonds rushing down into his great
iron pockets and watched the little deft hands of the
breaker boys he could not help thinking that the p
ano was not the only place to develop finger move
ment Still, that was about all he thought Mr.. Fox
was not bad man. He really good. He loved
his daughter and he intended to send her to Paris and
Vienna to complete her studies when she was old
enough, and, really every lump of coal that rolled
down the chutes proved how fondy he loved the girl
In few weeks, Johnny was full fledged breaker
boy His mother woke him at six in the morning. He
put on his oldest Clothes ate his breakfast and went
to the breaker. Morning after morning he climbed
the long flight Of stairs to the top of the breaker-
Morning after morning, he went down the ladder u-
til he found his little flat seat nailed across the chute
Then he sat down on the rough board placed one foot
each side of the trough and waited for the flood Of
local to come rafting down. In front of him and be-
hind him and at the side Of him other little boys
lowered with the same black pail that ever hung
|above his head. No one spoke, or looked up in the
gloom; they simply picked, picked picked while the
black flood moved down. The constant STOPPING mad&
ibis back lame aud And often in the night, his
mother was awakened with his crying and left her
bed to rub his little back Them too in the winter
when the frost was in the air and on the black humps
This hands grew numb and cold and he felt that be-
picked the coal with wooden prongs instead g hss
The bound them with rags to protect them from thu
[cold, or to save some bleeding wound made by The