The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-01-03
(Roy Norton in Wide World)

During long career of adventure
have had many exciting experiences
but my biggest thrill occurred il
1898. UP on the Big Divide of Cali.
fornia | met a seasoned old prospecto,
named Julian Beebe, and both beine
Lonesome and busted" joined forces
and tried pocket mining We found a
vein that looked promising and threw
a little gold'-not much, but jus,
enough to buy beans and bacons anc
dynamite to keep us going
! think we must have been rather a
reckless, devil -may-care pair to be-
gin with. Jules" used to cri,no full
inmate of mercury caps over a fuse
with his teeth because he was too lazy
to use knife; and he was always
getting into fights. In an emergency
however, he could act. Other wise
should have ended my promsng
young career in that year of 1898
We had our shaft down on the YER
tical for about 40 feet, and were short
of fuses, but confident that every
round of blasts-or shots" as pros
pectors call them-woud snake us
rich. Julian had just recovered from
one of his fights and fall over a low
cliff, so | did the underground work
that day while my partner calmly
slept beneath the shade of a tree close
i nv the mouth pf fba cbaft
| We had eight drill holes in the face
short ones, because in pocket min
ing, when you think you are near
crossing where gold is likely to be
found, you don't want to scatter it all
over the shaft or drift.
At four o'clock bawled myself
hoarse trying to get Julian to lower
me drink of water. When | got no
response l climbed up our rickety lad
der and found him lying dead to the
world in the shade. l couldn't arouse
him, try how l would. So | went back
to my work, leaving him to sleep.
When I first went down the shaft
he had lowered me on the hand wind
lass we used, because the ladder was
far from strong, having been built up
in sections with pieces of rope and
rawhide, for we were in a, land where
nails were scarce. All prospectors use
such makeshifts at times, | noticed
that 1t wobbled about somewhat when
climbed up, and that it wobbled a
good deal more when | went down
again, but being annoyed at Julian's
delinquency, and eager to get the
shots in, l put off repairing the ladder
till next day.
At about six o'clock | finished drill
ing the last hole, put about two thirds
OF stick of dynamite in each, and
with the load all tamped prepared to
fire them ] shouted again and again
to Julian without getting response,
so took chance rather than wait for
him to lower me the windlass rope
usually done as matter Of additional
safety. / knew the fuses were short
and that it would be just about all |
could do to scale that ladder and roll
over the edge of the shaft before they
blew l therefore lost~no time, after
firing them, In making a bolt.
And now came disaster. As | sprang
to climb it the lower section of that
treacherous ladder came away and-I
dropped me back on to the floor of the |
shaft with jolt that ratified my teeth. !
Every fuse was suffering savagely |
md here was I beside them in space |
about four feet by four.
The section of the ladder that had
allen away was just about eight feet
ong. let out a yell that would have
awakened the dead, made desperate
cap and just caught the lowest re-
naming rung. Under the strain of
ny weight that, too, came away with
crash.
Things, | realized, were beginning to
ook decidedly bad knew there was
10 chance of picking all those fuses,
nd that to throw myself on the floor
( the shaft would be just as fatal as
nything else could do. made desl
crate jump for another rung and
aught 1t, and, as fate would have it,
hat also gave way. ] bade myself
arewell and jumped yet again, but