The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1921-12-16

t be much bigger than an ordInar
: street water main?
! The other possibility was even les
hopeful 1t was the driving of a shor
tunnel. which Daddy and might I'm
dertake without additional help, from
the level of the high bench straight II
to an intersection with the mine shaft
This, estimated, might tap the watel
at point possibly twenty feet below
its present level In the shaft Its sue
cess, as ! saw at once, would depend
entirely upon the location and volume
Of the underground lake which was
supposed to be supplying the flood II
this reservoir were shallow and high
In the mountain, the short tunnel
might drain 1t. If 1t were deep and
low, nothing would be accomplished.
The question was still hanging hope
lessly up in the air when / made my
way around to the mine buildings by
the left-hand gulch path, sneaked in
and began to shuck myself into Dad
dy's extra pair of overalls; just for
what, l hadn't the least idea; only
needed to be doing something to keep
me from going completely dotty In the
guessing contest.
BY this time. as I knew, they would
be getting up from breakfast In the
cabin across the dump head, which
would most likely be Bullerton's cue
to come over and ride me some more.
When / looked out In sour anticipa-
ton, here he came, smoking one of his
high-priced cigars and staggering a
bit, as he always did In walking.
This is your irty-thousand-dolla
day. Broughton." he tossed at me as
soon as he stepped over the threshold
of the shaft house door; but l fancied
| could notice that. some way, he
didn't seem quite so clipper and care
less as he had the day before.
"See here" / ripped out; whats
the user You can't buy this mine at
any pricel It's not In the market and
1t isn't going to be. Not In a thousand
years 7"
'But see here; what's the use of
butting your head against a stone wall ?
You're stuck, world without end, and
you know 1t. This flooded hole In the
ground is of no more use to you than
pair of spectacles to blind man I"
Perhaps not; it's a poor thing but
mine own l guess l can keep it as
a souvenir If feel like 1t, can't II"
"Oh. hill" he gritted, and turning
on his heel went away.
After he had gone l patted myself |
40 har
temper and then, Just to have an ex-
cuse for staying away from the cabin
and the Fullerton vicinity, made fires
under the boilers and got up steam. In |
the former pumping spasm Daddy and
/ had operated only the two big CEN
trifugals, ignoring the deep-well pumps
designed to lift the water from the
lower levels of the mine.
Just TO try something that we hadn't
tried before. got steam on the deep
wellers, and soon found that the
which we hadn't taken
down In the general overhauling,
needed tinkering before 1t would be
safe to run it. Banking the boiler
fires. / went at the job single-handed
and managed to wear out the livelong
day at 1t.
1t took me all the afternoon and
hen some to get the machinery cleaned
md tinkered up and reassembled. In
paving over the supplies In the mine
left by the former op-
had found an acetylene
iare torch and can of carbide and l
igged the torch so that could go on
working after dark.
1t was along about nine O'Clock when
got the deep-wells ready to run and
reshened up the fires and turned the ,
team on. In curious contrast TO the {
are which had been taken to provide I
discharge outlet for the centrifugals,
he Cornish pumps had merely an iron {
rough which ran to ditch leading 4
own to the bench below the mine d
uildings. After a few minutes of the v
lanking and banging. the water began /
o come. II was horribly smelling Q
tuff, thick and discolored; evidences r
efficient that 1t was coming from the {
ottom of the mine. The two pumps 4
ogether were lifting nborf an eight {
lch stream, and II Occur ed to me at h
nee that II | could set fhe centrifu-
ais going at the same time the mass
tack might accomplish what the d
Iece-meal assault couldn't. b
Throwing In the clutch that drove C
lie big rotaries. | ran up against what s.
addy would have called "circum- b
ance.' There wasn't power enough II
} drive both sets of pumps coupled 81
together; at least. not with the Il
cam pressure the boilers were car X
ing. Thinking to get more power by al
Ishing the fires bit harder, went W
the detached boiler room to stoke in
}. leaving the deep wells changing
way In the shafthouse. | had fired
10 of the furnaces and was at work
the third when series of grind
& crashes in the machinery sent me
ing to find out what was going ha
-ong. Sc
What was happening-what had al m,
ady happened-was a plenty AS nj
We said. the great Cornish water 81
tiers we're driven through a train mp