The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-06-18

footing a very little way up the curve at on
side, out of the immediate glare Of the tiamt
that beat full upon the bottom. The only
aperture except the orifce at the top,was tina
by which the contents were intenied to b,
drawn off but this was not much large
than the mouth of large tumbler. To clam
Der out without the assistance Of a ladder, o
rope fastened from above, was impossible. =
Had there been ledge on the rim of tn,
opening through which I had descended
| would not have despaired, for thu
clothes | wore would have furnished
materials for rope strong enough to supper
my weight, and one of the loose bricks tina
lay at my feet would have given me the
means Of making it fast above | tried the
experiment with brick-bat attached to ONT
of my suspenders; but, though easily swung
it over the rim, there was no ledge for it Il
catch on and was forced to give up all hopes
of escaping in that way. had now i'll grea
measure recovered my presence Of mind, fol
| perceived that there was no longer any dan
ger to be apprehended from the flames above
and | knew that the mass Of brickwork which
surrounded my prison was sufficient to pro
tect me from all effects of the burning RUM
of the scaffold around. | need scarcely say
that had already used every effort to make
myself heard by the crowd, both by shouting
ct the top of my voice and beating the sides
of my prison; but such was the noise caused
by the cracking and roaring Of the flames
which still surrounded me on every side-toI
the ruins of the scaffolding burned freely
where they fell, and strewed the whole plat
form with fire-that either | failed to make
myself heard, or could not hear the cries OF
those whom called to in reply. Seeing, then,
that | had no chance of an immediate escape,
made up my mind to compose myself as
well as | could, and wait till the fire should
burn itself out and leave passage for my res
cue.
| had remained in this resi- gned state for
some time, when the thought flashed across
my mind that perhaps, if called through the
aperture of the stop-cock, mentioned above,
my voice might be heard The opening was
i'll the very bottom of the vessel, and had
to kneel down on the bottom to apply my
mouth to it. My knees did not come i'll CON
tact with the metal, and my hands We're de-
Tended by thick gloves thoroughly wetted, so
that, till brought my face close to the aper-
ture, | had no suspicion Of the dreadful truth
that was now to learn-the copper was so
hot that ! could not bear it against my skin !!
| started to my feet every pulse flying with
| dare not think OF my situa-
ton. rushed desperately up the sides of the
prison. | Might as we'll have tried to scale
the vault of the sky | shouted, | screamed
for assistance-the cracking growl Of the
was my only reply. / sat down
on the little pile of rubbish that formed the
center of what | now felt was fast becoming
4 brazen furnace III which | was to be tried,
md endeavored to think. | put my hand to
ny forehead l was bathed in a cold sweat |
pulled the thermometer / had beoa using in
,empering my patients bath, out of my pock
cit stood at 103 degrees placed the
oulb of it on the metal; when | had touched
It the mercury rose with q rapidity that
threatened to burst the tube, and | took it
away, terrified at what | saw, and afraid to
witness the whole truth After sitting for
some moments trembling and inactive, burst
INTO tears. was, | confess, quite unnamed
1t the prospect Of the torments must endure,
f. as | had every reason to expect the met
ii around me should become red hot. My
weakness it could be called
prepared me, however, for seeking strength
n prayer; and prayed, with fervor long
. stranger to my breast, that God would give
me strength to bear the trial he had prepared
for me; and thank God | did not pray in
vain. Composed and relieved [ now stood
up, and summoned all my resolutions to look
lly danger in the face.
The thermometer had by this risen to 1l2
but | knew, from the experiments
Of Eordyce and Bankes, that the living fibre
,ould for short time bear heat more than
vice as great without permanent injury. A
'av of hope lighted the gloom OF my heart, as
ran over in recollection the various instan-
,es, with which my professional studies had
rendered ME acquainted. of living bodies bear
ng great degrees of heat | recollected the
,ase of the girl at Rochefoucault who had
zone into an oven where the thermometer
stood at 28S degrees called to mind San
lerat's account of fishes living in the hot
springs of the Manillas, III water at temper
sture of upwards of $50 degrees; and taxed
my memory to recollect the names Of plants
Which the same writer mentions as fiourishing
n the island of Lucon, with their roots in
hermal rivulet so hot that the mercury plung-
ID in its waters, rose to ia degrees | con-
Hdered that perhaps the cause OF the heat
now surrounding me was no more than the
everberation of so great body OF flame as
hat overhead on the metal, and that as the
lame diminished in volume which 1t plainly
lid every minute, the heat of the copper might
)e expected to abate. But the continually
Using tenperature of the air, indicated as it
90 plainly was by the thermometer which |
leld in my hand, 500 deprived me of the
,ague comfort of such a surnise. next en-
leavored to form some estimate Of the heat
/ i hafo ba toin
.ir would rise to temperature of $50 degrees,
which l supposed it possible | might be able
o bear; but, what with anxiety and confu
ion, conld make no approximation to an
answer. These various processes OF thought
lad, however, restored a certain degree OF
presence of mind, as may be judged from the
act that dreadful as the prospect was which
had before me, | was calm enough to make
everal memoranda on my tablets with the
of attaching them to weight, to be
led to the end of my handkerchief and flung
ut, i'll the hope of letting it be known where
was. These tablets have anow before me;
have preserved them ever since, as mem
rial Of moments such as | trust have fallen
O the lot of no other human being. | trans
or the memoranda uerJatim. 1t will be seen
hat many of the words are but half written,
nd that in some places entire words have
zen omitted but, if any one will try the ex-
,eriment Of writing i'll such situation, dare
ay his composition would be scarcely more
orrect l began thus -
81 am DR., of-St. If any one finds
his, come to the copper in the new building,
where am burning to death for want Of a
adder Halfpast 70 o'clock. Haste haste!
Two such memoranda as this | had already
lung out by weights attached to my suspen-
ers; but they seem to have fallen into the
Iarles.)
MY will is in the upper left hand drawer
f the bookcase. Let George have. the
arrangement of my papers. wish all the
,apers relating to s business to be bum
d with several other memoranda, relating
0 my private affairs, which l omit.)
Il am wrapped in cloud of steam f, II
ny wet clothes. The Thermometer stands at
80 .. 1t is now 26 minutes to l o'clock
The air is suffocatinglv hot; am drenched
=, ,,o,,s miro tiOp | ,-ilI rn+a oil 7 CON