Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-02-08

that would suck down the strongest
man TO a horrible death Wonderful,
terrible monsters are these elevators,
with their humps of houses on their
roofs, their awkward spOuts, their dix
zy nights, and dismal, dusty chasms of
empty bins. 1t makes me sick to
think of them now"
The man really did look a little
Whiter in the face, and nervously fin
gered the empty sleeve of his jacket !;
but he was over with the feeling in
minute, and went on with his story
had been at work about week In
one of the largest of these elevators,
when. one afternoon, I was sent, In
comapany with another labOrer-a big,
Whiskered, swearing, ruflan fellow
to tend to a bin that was about to be
emptied. We were sitting on the edge
of the bin, waiting for the grain to
run, when my companion, who seem
ed to be under the influence of liquor,
called out:
Il say, Mike 70
"As [ have said, the fellow was a
rufian In appearance He seemed to
have quite liking for me, as he tried
to be with me In my work as much as
possible; but | couldn't bear him. He
knew my name well enough, aud il
angered me to have him call me in this
way; so said sharply:
Ny name is not Mike
How should I know 2 he asked,
looking angrily into my face, as If he
wished to make me quarrel with him.
You have heard it more than
once, I said. You know very well
What-it is--Joe. aud there's no sense IN
a rrnu n hs,N-
to him
"'Then don't call me Joel That
amt my name. It's a cOunterfeit.-
I'm Tom, which is a better name.
He had a piece iof chalk in his
hand. and began to print with il on the
big beam where we were sitting
Tom, Tom, Tom, he scratched in
large, seraggly letters, all the while
looking at me from under his heavy
eyebrows. Then he made a B, and
rubbed his hand across it as soon as it
was made.
"'Bob, it's long way down there
pointing into the half filed bin.
Twenty feet, perhaps
Twouldn't kill man, the fall,
eh 2'-moving closer to me
mo!
"'But it's as good as water to drown
him if the grain be moving and the
dust and chaf flying?
He wouldn't live long, that is
sure!'
t''Then go down there, he yelled,
giving me a blow and apush that huri-
ed me headlong from my seat. Go
down there stay there rot there
Bob Campbell; and don't forget, when
znIl re a dying. that Tom BriutOn sent
you.
"The fall didn't hurt me bit, and
I began to crawl toward the rope-lad-
der hanging against the side of the
bin, thanking God that the grain had
not begun to move, else I'd be a dead
man in no time But as soon as the
ruf6an saw what | was after, he went
round and pulled up the ladder
8 Let that alone, I shouted, feeling
how little hope of escape / had with
the ladder out of my reach. He laugh
ed, and flung the ropes over a beam.
. Do you mean to murder me {?
cried.
No I'm going to leave you there,
Bob You've fallen in, you see. That
will be the verdict when they find your
body You'll want your shovel. man,
to make the thing look natural, I'll
throw il to you in minute
II felt quite sure that it was so dark
In the bin that he couldn't see me very
plainly, if at all; and that he would
try to hit me with the shovel I got
close to the side with one cheek against
the wood; looking up | could see him
directly above me. peeTing down into
the gloom, and with the shovel in his
outstretched arm ready to spear at me
as if I were a fish. There followed a
stiffness that continued for five min
utes, during which he stood on his
guard Suddenly I heard the muffled
rattle of machinery and felt a strange
power pulling at my feet. while my
whole body seemed to be sliding gent
ly down bOttOmless pit. In an in
slant | knew what was happening.
"1'he grain J0as running
Il madly flung out my arms, and my
fingers clutched one of the upright
beams. As | drew myself up against
the receding torrent / heard a laugh
above me and the words,
Remember Bessie TillOtt, Bob
Campbell, and that I loved her, and
the words / spoke to you by the big
elm ! GOod-byP
When I looked up the man was
gone from my sight. l don't know ex-
actlv how [ managed to climb that
huge beam l think there were nails
here aud there that helped my feet and
hands; for after l was rescued my
body was found to be covered from
head to foot with great gashes or
scratches Any how, slowly and pain
| fully / managed to reach the top, and
threw my left arm over the edge of the
Al
when I was so near to safety, to hope,
to life, I felt horrible, sickeniDg blow
upon my arm-a blow from something
| neither dull nor sharp. The arm, bat
tered and broken, lost its grasp and l
| fell back into the darkness and hOr-
ror of the bin. Hardly had I touch
ed the wheat when my shovel was
| thrown from above and struck within
/ a few inches of my head. l did not
/ faint. | heard the murmur of machln-
cry and the rushing sound of the wheat
as it poured into the spout Where l
lay the grain had not yet begun to move
into the little whirlpool.
Lying thus, hopeless and helpless,
a carelessness of death came upon me-
had visions of green fields, aud heard
the songs of birds aud the rustling Of
leaves. Then Bessie's sweet face, as
il was when we were married, seemed
to be above and close to mine as il
waiting for a kiss as in the olden time
before she was taken from me. 1 for.
got all else but her. had only a con.
seriousness that [ was going to her. i
seemed as if the great Relief woulc
never come and give me to my darling
Il must have been growing unoon
scious, I think, for sudden thTOb o
! pain IN my arm robbed mo of my wife Z
face and brought back the old feeling
of resistance against death. The cir
Gle of the whirlpool had reached M
3 and was dragging me down to tortur.
} and death. I couldn't submit to suel
= death. [ must live. / screamed TO
] help. Manned, and gasping for breath
| [ fought against the power that wa
slowly, but surely, dragging me down
e I plunged my arm deep into the whea
D and tried to pull myself up. In tn
J, dismal, murky light of this hideou
D den struggled as but few men hav
S ever struggled. I thought no more o
a NV broken arm. [ was burning wit