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42 THE DIAMOND MINES OF SOUTH AFRICA
In
May, 1898, there was another great mud rush through the 1120-foot
level, from which a whole gang of native workers barely escaped alive.
On this occasion "Jim," one of the best of the "baas" boys, was almost
buried alive with his gang of 15 men. The rush shut this working party
up in a narrow passage on this level for more than 64 hours. When the
men were rescued at length from their stifling quarters, where they
were imprisoned for more than two and a half days, without a morsel of
food to eat or a drop of water to drink, all were greatly exhausted, as
might be supposed. But in spite of his sufferings, the brave leader,
Jim, went back at once into the mine to grope back over the mud in
search of one of his gang whom he supposed was missing, and he would
not return to the surface until he learned beyond doubt that all had
been rescued.
The
endurance of the native miners under such circumstances is remarkable.
In July, 1898, a Basuto boy, "Joseph," was almost buried in a mud rush,
and was completely shut in the " dead end " of a tunnel, on the
960-foot level. The attempt to clear a passage to rescue him was begun
at once, and the work was pushed without a respite night and day, but
it was late on the third day before the place of his entombment was
reached. He was found lying crouched beneath some timbers resting on an
overturned truck, around which the mud had risen to the depth of two
and a half feet. The rescue party had given up all hope of finding him
alive, and were about to blast the enveloping mud in order to pull out
the truck, when a faint cough was heard, apparently coming out of the
dense mass of mud. The natives at work were badly frightened at this
weird sound, and called up the contractor in charge, who finally
succeeded in digging out the poor Basuto boy nearly lifeless. One of
his legs had been pinned beneath the truck so heavily that the
circulation of the blood was stopped, and mortification set in,
necessitating its amputation. The boy bore the operation with the
characteristic fortitude of his race, and is stumping about to-day
with a wooden leg. He had been shut up for more than three days in a
little hole in the ground wholly without food and drink,
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