Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1824-12-02
rso,, he Aired, gf.iaej cotaa5ian Star.
s.e,tARKABLE PRESERVATION

;,oo Of human lite, when ialmmlnent da07
u usr occurred az Geneva, 10 the state Of
as York on the 2Sd ult MIR. James
cry. an Irishmao, had descende well
y, me purpose OF removing some obstruc-
.:'o. The well was 81 feet deep, ana
me Of the stones in the wall, near the
soi,om. had been looseneG by the wash
40 u cuicksands flsvieg descended be-
,Tsen 40 and 81 feet, az ne was standing
9Th one foot ia the bucket. and the other
sting upon the side ofthe " all, on sud
Sen The stones below gave way and closed
,orerhsr, and lhe,whole mass ofthe walls
.Soys sunk down upon hi'p, and buried
Inbeseath the ruins.
The shock, says the Geneva Gazette,
] r,oduced by such disaster can be ina.
rr,aed hut not described. groan issued
;,om beneath the stones aud earth, which
r,oyed that life was not extinct, and in
sored feeble hope OF extricating the uu-
inriuoate man alive Hundreds irnmedi-
,,ey collected around ths spot. in painful
eol;citude. all anxious to bear part in
,o.cu,ng fellow mortal from so terrible A
crave The most promp' and active exer-
tious were made TO eyca,.te, as soon as
nossible, the stones and earththat had fall
On 10. Ii was halt past four o'clock, P. M.
when the catastrophe happened In Is
minutes windlass and bucket were pro,
cured, and put 10 operation. No less than
20 tons Of Stone were drawn up before le-
Ief could be given But few could labor
Al time, and although they proceeded
vhh the utmost activity, the removing OF
! 90 great quantity of stones mingled with
The earth That had fallen in, was task
slow and tedious. As they proceeded, oc-
e,sional groans could still be heard issuing
rom the cold damp earth beneath. When
night approached, they had penetrated
but few feet below the surface, and the
prospect seemed gloomy and doubtful =
A crowd of two or three hundred anxious,
II waited the issue OF the event Every
thing was soon put into systematic train;
persons were appointed TO make all neces-
ssry provision. and preserve order and 81
Ience amongst the crowd The night was
dark and unpleasant. but, by the assists
auce of lamps they vigorously prosecuted
the work. Those in the we'll would, at
intervals, call TO the buried man to sscer-
tain il he could hear them; but no answer
could as yet be heard A general silence
and solemnity prevailed, broken only by
The occasional mnrmurs of enquiry among
the crowd--the hollow noise of the stones
tumbled into the bucket 10 the well-the
voice OF the workmen-aDd now aad then
The groans Of the distressed man beneath!
Il was now towards midnight; and they
bad gone about twenty feet below the sur
hce-the workmen in the well called a
gain TO Gerfy-breathless silence prevail
ed and distinct answer was returned -
AT ibis a TnrmIr OF Joy ran through the
crowd, an. the countenances of all were
frightened up with hope. They now toll
ed with renewed ardur. occasionally CALI
ing to Gerry as before, aud receiving in
return distinct responses. They asked
bin what distance be thought he was
down? He nationally replied, between
brty and fifty feet
There now reIDained not a doubt but be
night be extricated alive provided the
stones were not arched above him liz such
a manner as to fall upon him when iossen>
ed, they now proceeded with the utmost
caution. Between two a0d three o'ciocs,
when they had come 10 within twenty
feet Of him, they stopped about fifteen MI
nu,es to take some refresbment. The poor
sufferer below, who Tor some time had
been conscious Of the exeriions OF his sym,
patbizing fellows, perceiying that the
noise from the tumbling OF the stones into
The bucket no longer continued, now tan.
cied they had ceased their exertlons, ana
1 left him to expire in that terrible situation!
10 this nc ment OF despair be burst out in.
tOa pitiful tone OF wailing, and begged
hem for Gods sake not to leave him
They informed him OF the cause OF their
Stopping; and be was soon gladdened by,
The returning sound Of the rafting stones
in The bucket. They asked him IN what
situation be WASP and he answered that
hewas wedgsd in all around by the stones.
When they mad come within three or tour
eet of BIN, he called for some water TO
drink His thirst was TIE natural result OF
this protracted agony About Daylight
they bad lowered the mass down even
with his head. They found him torty,eIght
below the surface, in an erect position
completely wedged in, as he bad ss'd.-
large stone, weighing eighty pounds,
rested on his head, which was turned III,
ueup, making considerable gash' ino
hO producing fracture IN the Skulls
stone on each side OF his bead, pressing
like vice-and one or two smaller oues'
covered with blood, about his face, ieaV-
log small aperture tor his mouth. SO that
he could just brea'be and speak. ms
arms were raised in the position IN whlcn
be held The rope-one foot was 10 tne
] bucket, AMI tie OF er fortunately was Al IL
oerty so that be could move it-no otner
part of his body could Stir! 80 fI2At was
Aewedged in, thatit was necessary 10 te-
move the stones down as low as his ieet.-