Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1891 — A TIGHT PLACE. [ARTICLE]

A TIGHT PLACE.

The Terrible Peril of Two Comstock* Miners in a Gold Shaft. ; •About as tight a place as I everi got into,” said a Comstock miner toj a New York World man, “was some! years ago at the old Empire shaftQ Gold Hill. Myself and another man) were down in the shaft for the purr 1 pose of trimming It trp, as the swell* ™g ground was squeezingin the sides and it was a good deal out of shape. “We were not on a cage, but simp-' ly on a platform of planks with ropes l going up from the corners to the, main cable, which was of hemp. When we reached a tight place in the shaft we stopped and trimmed out the guides, then went on till another such place was reached. . “At one point, having given the signal to lower, we went down soiricJ distance, when we finally stuck. We reached for the bell-rope in order tai give the signal to stop, but we found) that it had wound around a nail some distance above, and we could not usb it. The engineer knew nothing of our trouble, and continued to lower away; There was no station qear* and on all sides rose the smooth wall* of the shaft, leaving us suspended! over the horrible ohasm. “Down upon us came the cable. We feared every moment that! the platform would turn over would be pressed through the tight! place and drop from under us. “All we could do was to get hold of the cable and keep the coils df it under our feet as it came the platform should turn oyer ori drop from under us we might tie ablq to save our life by hanging on to thd cable. : “We shouted up the shaft till wa were hoarse, but no one lieard ouq cries, and steadily down came thel cable, causing us great trouble tti keep on top of the coils. “We felt that the great weight must soon start the platform, wheni both would most likely be hurled d the bottom of the shaft. “Finally, to our great relie thd cable ceased to descend. For al oug. time we waited in suspense, not knowing what- would be 7T th6 next move of those above. At last, how-* ever, we heard the voice of a man! shouting down to us from the nearest! station above. “We explained our perilous posi-’ tion in a few words, and at leri£tti the great cable began to crawl slowly' up the shaft again. Still being afraid the platform would give way we werd obliged to keep hold of the rope and dance about on the coils as they un-* wound. “It was a tedious business, and was all the time a matter of the toss, of a cent whether we got out alive or went to the bottom; but at last thd platform tightened up under us and! we began to ascend. Our work was: over then and we felt safe. “On arriving at the surface we found that the engineer concluded that we were going too far, and. halting or stopping his engine, had sent a man down to the station to find out if anything had gone wrong. “I may have been in- more dangerous places in the mines, but was never in a place where the danger lasted so long, and all the time up to fever heat. It was too long a time for any man’s hair to stand on end.”