Saga of the Sanpitch Vol 24

The Stone Boat

dad loved these musical evenings. The Welsh had a keen sense of humor and enjoyed a good story or joke. Some of their practical jokes involved the huge rats that lived in the quory. The men pretended the rats were chasing them, or they occasionally killed a rattlesnake and put it in someone's bed. They didn't let their love mining the rock. Handling the dynamite was the most hazardous of the many quory jobs. My dad often said that one of the best powder men he ever had was his oldest son, B. H. Parry, playfully tested the dynamite by creating a large fire-he was very careful. One day when it seemed that all of the charges had been exploded, the dust was settled, and all appeared Johnson put a crowbar into one ot the drilled noles. the gone off with the original blast. Particles of rock flew with great force into his face and eyes'. He was taken to a local doctor, who cleaned and bandaged the wounds, but Dad was worried about Jack's eyesight, and If these had not been removed, Mr. Johnson could have J![~om this accident and had trouble with his eyes the remainder of his life. being able to handle the large rock. Some weighed as much as twenty tons or more, and hauling them to the rail- road was often difficult. One night, as it grew dark, I could feel that Mother o clock * He could travel the ten miles and be home by set. One wheel of the huge wagon, with a seventeen-ton rocs on it had six pped off the narrow briijyi? that crossed 16