The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1859-12-29


ing them ia time. put the box into my
breast, and bu,toned my vest over it,
What with my failure in procuring n light,
and the pain Of my bruises. added to my
terror and bewilderment Of mind / sufer'd
intensely. Through all. il became clear to
that instead Of falling over, had fallen
MroagA the cliE--strange ms 1t was that
holIew ground should occur so near the
edge without the external wall Of the
cliff caving in towards it. The place
through which had fallen must have
been uarroM, for my body was bruised
and the skin torn from my sides, with
strips Of my clothing; that l could tell.-
Oh! for a light to examine better into
my miserable position; but, after all, l
did not feel without hope. could not
loose the idea that | was to hit upon some
means or way Of escape, il / only could
get the matches to ignite, and show me
The size and form Of the cave.
Worn out with pain and thought, |
must have slept. Iawoke with raging
thirst, and, almost at the same time, |
became sure that heard the dropping Of
water. ] dragged myself towards the
sound. stretched out my hand, and drops
from above fell upon it; eagerly swsl-
lswed lew which burned my threat
,hey were distilled brine salt as any
impregnation Of water could possibly
be-! ...
This disappointment crushed me terri
bly,. should die Of thirst ere found a
mode Of exit. l Thought Of the matches
and tried them again, in vain; this time,
however, they gave forth light smoke
In time the heat Of my breast would dry
them--that was hope. | had no idea
of time, save that my watch had run
down while l slept. ] wound it up a.
gain, knowing that when it again stopped
eight -and.lwenty hours would have gone
by. Again, on my hands and knees,
crept around. feeling by the damp walls,
and as continually approached and reced-
ed from the spot where the salt water
dropped from the projecting rock, l dis.
covered that the cave must be nearly
round, and not many yards square, Hav.
ing discovered this. became more col.
lected and resolute, and forced myself to
a calm review Of my position. ! had to
acknowledge to myself. that my only
chance Of escape seemed the hole or crack
through which / had fallen, but no ray OF
light betrayed ttat spot--earth and stones
must have fallen in and choked it up =
Parehing with thirst, and faint from bod
lily injuries, J was almost at the poin
Of despair, when a distant sound fell upor
my ear. listened with intense attention
S on more and more distinctly, / rcoy
nized the noise Of machinery, the rumb-
ling Of carts, and the voice Of men; then
a bell rung, and with throb Of Joy,
recognized it as the morning summons t,
the laborers in the works. A night onl,
could have passed since my leaving th
outer world. Had they missed me? Alas
there was nothing to lead them to suspec
the spot Of my captivity. thought o
the strange disappearance Of my youn,
brother-this double bereavment woult
kill my poor mother; but still l was com
forted by the knowledge that only par
tilion Of rock separated me from my fel
low men. Now I could almost disttn
guish their voices. / felt that it WA.
vain to hope that my calls and shouts
could BE- heard by them yet / could no
forbear shouting till 1 was quite exhaus
ted.
Then l reflected upon the means
could find of digging away the barrier o
rock. 1t could not be thick-I knew
that by my facility in hearing sound, ant
concluded that, as l had fallen close t
the edge Of the cliff, had sunk straight
down to the level Of the valley at its foo