The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1853-05-18
to go down and send up all that was ne

lie WaSAooklng down INTO tne Weil, a.
ter hauGng up the last bucket full, and saw
Walker pulling at small stone which pro-
jected from the wall. when at the very in
.stant he. removed i, the wall on that side
slid in at the bottom, breaking the arch so
that the whole wall around began to slide.
and in three seconds the whole we'll had
collapsed. and the earth to the distance OF
several feet on all sides, appeared to fol
lowsthe wall. ss.
Messengers on horseback had been des-
patched in various directions, and when
f.arrived the people were hurrying from
all quarters to the scene of disaster, but
as yet nothing had been done, no arm
raised, no motion towards disinterring the
poor fellow who had been so suddenly bu-
ried alive
There was possibility that he might be
alive, and thought they were heartless and
unfeeling-all those strong armed men
standing there as they did, inactive, above
the deep grave Of the best friend had on
earth. .4., - ~
| did not know that the very thought Of
human being laying there beneath their
feet buried deep in. the earth, had COM
pletely paralyzed them-,hat their hearts
were as warm and generous as my own );
did not know this, and so cursed them
and called them towards. in the bitterness
of silent heart agony.
Ten minutes after my arrival, Col. Whi.'
ting rode up, and Immediately on his dis
mounting all eyes we're turned to him for
directions as to what they should do; bu,
for full five minutes, no sound, nothing
but the bard labored breathing Of the ex-
cited crowd broke the awful silence.
AT length Mr.. Post spoke
"What shall we do, Col. Whiting ?''~
And in an instant sixty eager voices
echoed back the words-"what shall we
do ?'' af .F .-F' .s!#s
"My friends" replied the Colonel, in a
slow measured tone, 'swe can do nothing;
he is dead. and as well buried there. as he
can be. 1t is useless to-
Father! Father! is it possible that you
can stand here and speak thus coldly of
Thomas z" ii
And pushing the men and woman from
her, Salome-the betro,hed wife oft the bu-
ried man-stood there on the brink OF the
pit beside her father.
'sSalome, my child, we cannot bring the
dead back to life."
"No father. but we can give the dead a
have, though no other arm than mine be
raised to remove the earth that covers him.
/ aoiH see him, father.''. @ aa ata
And seizing spade the noble girl leap
ed down into the pit; but twenty others,
myself among the number, were there be-
fore her.
Like wild fire, the enthusiasm leaped
from heart to heart. and soon men, women
and even children, were at work with pick.
axe, spade and crow-bar, each straining
every nerve, and heaying up rocks and
earth-each laboring as though the being
Of the universe depended upon the exer.
lions oi their single arm. 80,
As we progressed down ards, tubs, bar
rels, baskets, and bucket attached to ropes,
we're brought into requisition, being low.
cred and drawn up by those above while
we in the pit filed them as fast as they
came down. -
Night came before we had excavated
half the depth ofthe we'll. but a dozen great
fires, built and fed with boards and fence
rails, and whatever came TO hand with fiC.
ty lanterns on the brink, and a hundred
candles within it, rendered it as light as
MONDAY /; and with no thoughts Of halt or
breathing time, we. piled our spades till
but five feet Of earth covered the buried
man, when Salome, who, from the first,
never left the pit, knelt in the centre ofthe
excavation, applying her lips close to the
loose stone, called
"Thomas-dear> Thomas."
All had suspended work and held their
breath, till there came back from the earth
a faint, indistinct moan, and then on the
instant, uprising from the pit, went the
glad. ringing shouts,
"He lives! he lives Thank God he
is still alive ~
The cry was caught up by those above.
and the voices of hundreds, who had by
that time gathered TO the spot, mingled in
the joyful chorus Of
NHe lives he lives 70 45e
Itseemed as though tenfold vigor had
been impaired to every arm by that single
low moan, and never by human hands,
was five feet Of earth hremoved quicker han
was that which intervened between US and
the buried man.
We found him standing up to his knees
in water, STOPPING over, leaning on his
spade, with two great rocks. shut together
above his head, like an inverted A, and
these had savad him from being crushed
to death.
Almost on the instant that wesdrew him
up into the fresh air, he famed. Salome
also. sunk down in swoon, and both were
draw up from the pit insensible.
a The next day Walter was wholly recov.
cred, bul Safome, poor girl, her mental ag.
ony nearly killed her, while her constan,
labor for nine. hours, with her spade, had
worn every particle Of skin from the palms
OF her delicate hands.
They were married at the time appoints
ed and Thomas Walker had received the
whole devotion of his. betrothed vile with
twenty years Of love and gratitude.
| We do not say that every passionate
person is kind and generous, but that is
generally the case; nor do we mean to say
that every person who. keeps calm will take
your eye teeth from you; but such things