The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-03-09


Jonah has won historic fame, and
claimed the sympathies of ninety gem
erations, for being shut up in a whales
belly; and after being swallowed so
suddenly. no wonder he should feel
somewhat down in the mouth. But
Jonah has been outdone by Messrs.
james Peacock and John Kelley, who
were Imprisoned in the bowels of the
earth nll Wednesday night, separated
from humanity horizontally by three
hundred feet of water, or perpendicu-
larly by thirty feet ofrock. 3
Wednesday morning Mr.. Peacock
and Mr.. Kelly went to work as usual
at the recently discovered Peacock
Chapman Radcliffe Bunting lead. They
hadto go down shaft seventy feet
deep; then along drift horizontally
three hundred feet; there is then a, rise
of about eight feet into new crevice,
when another DRIFT is reached about six
hundred feet long, leading to cave of
considerable extent, where they had
been eXcavating. Quitting time ar
rived, and the miners started to return
home. They came to the descent be,
tween the second and the first, and
sliding down this, one of the men found
himself in the water. In an instant he
comprehended the situation-the DRIFT
between them and the shaft by which
they must return to daylight WAS
filled with water, and the water con-
stantly rising. AT little distance east
was a ravine, beside which was "A
shaft, which became filled with water,
and from that made its way through
the net work of crevices into this drift.
There they were imprisoned, not know
ing for how long; and there was but
one possible way to make their situa-
tion known to those upon the surface.
A shaft was being sunk into the cave in
which they had been at work, and a
small drill hole, about two inches in
diameter, had been bored down through
thirty feet of solid rock. BY using this
as speaking trumpet, the men below
made those at work above sinking the
shaft aware of their unpleasant and
dangerous predicament.
or course eyery effort was at once
made to rescue them. Barrels were
brought, sunk, filled with water, and
drawn up; but for long time it seemed
doubtful whether by this method the
quantity of water in the shaft could be
reduced faster than it was running in.
At last it became evident that the water
was lowering, and the men at the
"pumps" (barrels) worked with re-
newed energy, This continued all
night till daylight next morning.
A candle or two had been lowered
through the drill hole; and a H'wee
drap'S of stimulus, by both of which
the tmiseries of those below were rem
dered lighter.
BY six O'Clock in the morning, the
water had been drawn OFF to such an
extent that the men in the cave con-
cluded they could make their way out.
They began to wade, tho water being
up to their necks; and, holding their
candles aloft, began to wade along the
driTt. BY and by they came to place
where the cap-rock, or roof of the tnn-
mel in which they were, was SO low that
the candles could not be held above
water, and were eextinguished; while in
some places there was room enough
between the water in the drift so that
they could keep their nose where there
was air, in some places the tunnel was
completely filled with water for short
distance, compelling them to iorego
breathing for the time. But Mt last the
shaft was reached, and the cold, wet,
hungry, bruised, weary devils-that Is
the way the story was told to us, and
they certainly didn't look like men or
angels-were dragged to daylight once
more.
About twenty men were engaged all
night i'll endeavoring to reduce the
water in tho shaft SO thatthe men could
escape, to all of whom the persons res
cued feel the deepest gratitude for their
untiring exertions.