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Show FELL IfTO THE MIfE SHAFT. Th Jt0 of an jKrixona Hoy JTa-Otd Him From a Cr- rtble TOtath. Perhaps hs Hue a specimen of Juvenile nerve as whs ever exhibited mvuricd lu Tombstone one afternoon recentl.v about r o'clock, jnys the Tombstone (Arlr. l lpltnph I'enloii, the eleven year old son of Mr Hnd Mrs Swain, In company with I.eo Hill, or about the same age, are the subjects of the storj On this night both bo.s dlplntsl a ilegirv of nervousness mnl meiilnl dls tress tliaf arouse! the sollelludeof their parents, but would furnish no exphiun tlon for their conduit or condition. About 4 o'clock the next morning the Swain hoy arose and escaped In his nightgown and wandered up In town, wlieie a neighbor took (barge of him, put him to lied ahd tallid a pli.vsklali It was supposed at the time fh.it he was a victim of Homiiiiliihullaiii but the pbysUlan l)r Snhln, found that his conduct viik the result of dclliiuiii, jllle to terrihle mental ntralu, exi ileuiunt anil Its reaction Ilnvliu been renter ed ton rational condition the little fel low, .irter much coaxing on the pari of the physician, told htm his slot) which was fully coriohoruted liy the Hill boj and a close examination of the ground. It Is lo the effect that the boys, who aie almost constant companions, were playing on an old shaft dump pictty well out In the northern suburbs of the city At this point Is u shaft. It was originally 1'JO feet deep, lint a drift was run on the eighty foot level and the waste dumped into the shaft until nt the present time the shaft Is eighty feet deep 'I lie collar of the slinrt lias been left unprotected fori ears until It has assumed a funnel shape, the sur face composed of loose, treacherous giuigue. Across the shaft were two rot ten old boards Some ten feet below on the weit side was , stull aeioss the shaft ( lose Uu ttie wall The bojs were fully aware of the depth of the shaft and the danger of playing mound It and nevei attempted to play directly over It, hut were )ld lug down on the outside or the dump. Suddenly the Hill hoy lu stepping backward to the top of the dump to get a good start, toppled over oirthu Inside He gave a scream and expected expect-ed to go to the bottom, hut struck the plank. The plank, being rotten, gave way and started down the shaft with the boy clinging to It, but the lower end of the plank strut k the stull close to the wall and the upper end struck the east wall 'Hie boy Just happened to bring up astride of the plank, and every clrei mstnncu coiiihlucil to make for him the most miraculous escape on record Now the boys reiilbcd that something terrible had happened, and they were willing to risk their lives rather than hnve their parents learn the truth, so often had they been reproves! for playing around dangerous places. The had had a small rope, hut the rope, along with the Hill ho's li it, was TIIR I'lWk HTUIThlt IIOVVN THE SHUT WITH TIIK 110V 0MNOIM1 1U IT III the bottom of the shaft. Tho Swuln boy was nfiald his partner could not hold on while lie went for another Ho was determined the situation should not ho known to their pareuts, nnd lie looked around for some other means of rescuing hli little paitucr The onl nrllelo in sight which could be ued for the putposc was a rusty bariel hoop The Swalu bo realised that the tpiUktr he acted the better, us the Hill bov might grow weak or bo oveicome with fear and fall off, or tho rotten tlmbir might give way, so ho tlutteued the hoop so ns to make It reach us far as possible, and proceeded to the icsiuo. Hwo was the dllllcult part of the work, and It Is absolutely miraculous that they did not go to tho bottom together. Tho Swain boy climbed climb-ed down tho funnel shaped surfaco to a point within two feet of the deadly black ubss The ground shows where he dug his heels vigorously Into tho soft, treacherous dump, extended his hoop to the. Hill boy, who took a Arm hold on It, abandoned his plank, nnd by the one climbing forward and the other backward the Hill boy was rescued ! |