Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1860-11-14
LOST IL THE CATACOMBS,

The Paris catacOmbS, once visited
bv all the strangers who came sight =
seeing to the French capital, ani
afterwards closed to the public ms
unsafe, are, as most people are doubt
less aware, old quqrries, extending
under portion oi the Faubourg 81,
German-thc streets of La, llarpe,
ST. Jacques, Vaugiard, and others,
and also under the Pantheon, the
| Observatory, the Odeon Theatre,
and other largo buildings, The
roof or crust of these vaults Is, as
may be Imagined from She weight
I IL supports. on great thickness aud
s0lidity but In certain places Il n
c0mpagativclysthin H. WAS about
J Fs6 that tl,a catn.0ntls iiirt receiv-
cl human remains 4 quantity Of
/ homes we're removed thither irpm
/ the charuci-h house of the lnn0ccnts.
/ During the RoSOi,aiOn Oi io5 they
served us burial places TO numer,
ous victims, and from lI92 to 1871
large quantities OF bones were de-
positcd In then. taken from church
es that were pulled down and from
cemeteries that were closed. Three
staircascs lead into tho catacombs,
Great precautions have, OF course,
been taken TO prevent any falling
in of the ground, and the place is
watched and kept in repair. a few
days ago NJ. katery, one Of the
guardians, wishing to have lock
changed in one of the galleries, went
down with II locksmith, his apprcn-
ticc, and an architect. Carrying II
lighted candle, he conducted these
three persons TO n distance Of more
than quarter of an, hours walk
from the entrance. Incredible rs it
appears, the candle was unprotected
by n lantern, and none of the party
had matches They had scarcely
reached the spot where they were
to work when puff of air cxtin-
guishcd the light. In the dark there
was little hope of rctracing their
steps. for the turns and winds were
numerous. 1t was more likely they
would get deeper into the labyrinth.
Nevertheless, Katery, Judging that
from the point where they were, ii
was impossible anybody could hear
them, babe his companions to fol-
low him, and sought his way out
But, after grouping for several
hours in profound darkness, he fe!t
it was hopeless case, so he called
a hault, and the four men strained
their lungs in shouting for help
Hour after hour passed, and no sue
cor came or sound replied. Atlast,
.towards two o'clock in the morning
when they had been for eleven hours
in this immense esubterrancan grave
yard, when they were exhausted by
fatigue and hunger, and tormentec
by the fear of being forgotten, they
suddenly heard voice inquirins
what they were doing there. Some
matches were thrown down to them
and the candle was lighted. They
found they were just below. th'
! street Of DuSuay Irouln. III ap
pearcd that compositor, going t.
his home in the street at the still
hour of,two A. M. heard faint cries
which seemed to come from beneath
his feet. In the noisy daytime
they would have been inaudible.-
Unable to account for the phenom
cnon, he hurried off to the neares
police station, whence some sergent
de viHe accompanied him to tn
spot. These men knew that th
, catacombs passed under the street
and it was through draught hol
, nearly opposite to the composltor
house that they were able to com
: municatc with the prisoners,