A MEDIÆVAL MINING DISASTER.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8082, 21 September 1894, Page 4

A MEDIÆVAL MINING DISASTER.

Tho Shanghai correspondent in the Standard Bays : A Bbrango occurrence io reportod from tbo district of Ilaing Knochow, in the neighboring province of Anghui, whore there aro oxbonaive coal workings. A party of miners recently Btruok an ancienb shafb, whoio history records that a greab cabußthropo occurred 400 years ago, tho reco/ds being preserved amongst the local archives, The minora, on reopening this old shaft, came upon upwards of 170 bodies of the former workors lying whoro they had been overcome with foul gas four centuries back. The corpses wore as if thoeo of yesborday, quite frosh-looking and nob decayed in any way, Tho faces wore liko those of men who had only just died. Ou an attempt being made to romovo thorn outaido for burial, they one and all crumbled away, leaving nobhing bub a pile of duet and bho rornnanbs of bho sbronger part of bhoir clothing. Tho miners, torritied, fled from the spot, and though there wore valuable deposits of coal in tho oh aft), nothing would induce tho suporßbibiouo raon to roturn to their work.

Don't) toast) tho health of others at fcho oxponso of your own. Nothing is nearer akin to death than idleness. It is not necessary that I should live, it it necessary that whilst I live "I bo busy. — Frederick the Groat. One is apt, says tho London Globo; to regard a yacht as a somewhat delicats structure, but there is no fragility about Mr Yftnderbllt's, Roxellana. For we read that while entering the port of San Marco the othor day she came into collison with a lighthouoo «itu»ted on a rock. Tho yaoht recovered from the shock, tho house it | was fell, thus illustrating the differ- ! onco between jerry-built) ani Vaoder* .MM),