Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1920-12-22
Miss Florence Minis Explores
y asss AN Iron Mine.

}sss an Iron Mine.
tDsar dvertiser:
\, Some time ago in letter l spoke
[ofs wonders "under the earth" in
aurora, meaning the great iron
Emiiis which have made this part of
ths country rich and famous.
ednesday evening party Of
sSSKS q "trip down into the ST..
Jaas mine, about quarter of a
mile from the town itself. Since
Ettaei5 was a great deal Of climbing to
Ebes asie, we were obliged to wear the
tcIof:ses that the miners wore. Over
Ealfs4 hat had once been blue, and
|coaf Shat doubtless had been too,
EcoSs with mud and iron ore, were
fgiiYs JUS to wear. After looking long
land hard at these togs, / summoned
all Hsss will power possessed and u.s.
||iing safI had stored up for the future,
|I got into the clothes and we survey
lea lssch other with peals of laughter.
H: |sg:3 Each was provided with hat from
the locker of some sturdy Austrian
EoT italian and unless one looked at
The sfeetsan the face it could not be
told whether we were real miners,
81 minors, as some one suggested and
Which NE all claimed to be.
henever / think of a mine, l
thine also Of the story of Jean Val
|Jeaf sin the underground sewers Of
|PaSis, though the mines unlike the
sewers, are sources of great wealth.
entrance to the mine is exactly
lskeSshe entrance into an elevator on
the first floor of building, only this
F,eIeygspr is called cage and we felt
like aaimals, in our outlandish suits,
descending into den. A drop of It's
|feet from the level of the ground
Ebroug ht us to the bottom of the mine,
and and il imme ediately thought of Edge
|feid and felt myself there on seeing
Che sticky mud just exactly like the
red goid dShills sof Edgefeld, ! really
din ii t mind walking around in it. I
Felt iYsbso Iusely. /. natural as though !
7,
NIX hi up over the clay bank and md
ss FsseSsAe fil ign sS;ehS her
familiar place.
can think of no comparison that
seems to fit more aptly than that be-
tween the subway and the mine. Car
tracks run along leaving about as
much space on either side as car
track leaves in a subway and the
stations might be compared to the
elevator, landings where the visitors
get on and off.
Overhead the archways were quite
low. We wore carbide lights on our
heads and someone was continuously
asking "Is my light out?" And the
gentleman who took US through was
there to replenish our headlights.
From one level to another we
climbed tiny perpendicular ladders
with just enough room to stand on.
In fact l was such an unskilled climb
er and the quarters so narrow that l
burned my hand on the light on my
hat.
can think of no color combina-
ton more vivid, not even the tango
of a few years back, than the red
mud and iron ore dust. My rubbers
are still wearing the effects of it and
someone on looking down at them to-
day said "Oh l see you have been
down in the mine"-that in spite of
two cleanings 1 had given them.
|, Someone would call out every now
and then, as we went along "Look
out for your head" for / was absent
mindedly thinking of something a
long way off and once 1 did hit the
top of the mine but came out with
my light still burning.
We all looked like statues of liber-
ty on dark coast.
On turning a bend in the passage
way we came upon some men at work
and Immediately offered the assis-
tance of our mighty right arms. l
took up large shovel almost as long
as myself and managed to get two
pieces of ore on it, which l almost
dropped on my foot instead of into
the ore car. Then dug into the soft
ore with tremendous pick axe and
succeeded in loosening few pieces.
The miners, with their strong arms