The Washington herald., 1915-07-18

joined Ned at the window | was hor-
rIfied at the sight which met my gaze.
for the pithead of the Hilda was a
mass of flames that shot high into the
heavens An immense black cloud of
smoke hung above the flames. which
made the forked fire seem to glow with
greater intensity.
I In a few seconds both of US boys
were dow nstairs. where we found my
/ aunt conscious of the danger. crying
! bitterly. as her husband had descend
( ed the mine shortly after midnight.
I shall never forget the horrors OF
that morning or the sea of huma n
/ faces. many white and hard set. be-
! longing TO men and women from the
surrounding pit villages.
! One hundred and twenty men and
boys were entombed below in living
grave. and this total would have been
trebled had the fire broken out late
enough to allow the dayshift miners
to descend.
Women with white haggard faces
were convulsively clutching their
hands together. some praying. others
crying Historically.
Hundreds of tons of the timber
forming the pithead were ablaze, and
! little wonder-as the wood was soaked
with tar and grease. The smoke in
dense volumes kept pouring down the
main shaft, the chief means of en-
trance to and exit from the mine
4, All thoughts were turned toward
the Smoky" shaft. up which a thin
vapory column of smoke ascended, but
! SO faint that experienced miners grew
sick as they looked Il it
The ventilation in the mine is
growing defective" l heard a strong
bearded miner whisper to a comrade.
/ I'm afraid that there is small chance
of any of them being found alive
Luckily the smoky" shaft was fully
| thirty yards from the main pit-head.
and the cages in ii were worked by
separate set of engines. Nemesis
must have been at work on that Sep
tember morning, for the smoky" shaft
was found to be unworka BILE.
The fire was still blazing at the
main pit-head. and soon the immense
pulley fell with an awful crash
well alight. The pulley legs had been
burned through and. overcoming the
point of resistance. the wheels, many
tons in weight. fell with deadly ef-
feet. tearing the oak buntings in the
shaft as though the latter had been
made OF matchwood
There was only one means of saving
the imprisoned miners below, If not al
ready dead and the idea occurred to
the chief engineer.
The mine. which stands on the slope
of a hill received its water supply
from a large reservoir situated at the
top of this hill.
Hundreds of willing hands grasped
Shovels and piCkaXes and within half
an hour hundreds of tons of water
from the reservoir were pouring down
the main shaft.
The wind was blowing in con-
trary direction to the smoky" shaft.
II seemed to me then. and il does now.
that an all-wise Providence had so
ordained this.
One of the cages in the smoky"
shaft had stuck fast near the mouth.
while of course, the other was at the
bottom.
A suggestion was made by some one
perhaps brandy was badly needed
below. The only mode of inSress was
by the rope attached to the cage at
the bottom of the shaft Would any
one volunteer" In trice score of
miners among whom were several
shaftmen. sprang to the front anxious
for the honor. Miners as class pos
sess the hearts of lions.
Among those who thus so nobly VOL
unteered was Tom Green, and he was
chosen. a couple OF tins nlled with
brandy were tied to his back. and he
STEPPED forward to execute his peril
Gus mission.
Carefully seizing the steel rope. he
closed his legs round it and disap-
peared
1t was a couple Of hours before the
smoky" shaft vas in condition for
men to be drawn up and down. but
by noon all in the colliery. with the
exception Of three men and two boys.
had been safely drawn to earth. all
more or less suffering from "stythe.'
as smoke in a mine is called in Eng
handsome unable to stand. others
dazed as II suffering from the ef-
fects Of drink.
return alive was Tom Green. He ac-
complished his mission in safety. and
after delivering the brandy made in
missing or not.
Then it turned out that three men
and a boy were working in a level
the shaft bottom. and with them was
Green's favorite pony-Punch.
This was more than Green could
bear. so. despite the expostulations of
the men he had come to succor. he
went in search Of the missing miners
and-Punch.
The bodies of men. boys. and pony
were found in a working twelve fur
longs from the shaft bottom. Poor
Green's life had been an unhappy and
hard one, but his death was truly no.
Bile.
ICorvriRht b. the AS, lated Ltesry Prsal