Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-04-02

4 Singular AdvsaSire.
The Muskcgan (Mishieaa) Esisrtr:sWtI =
relates the followiss sinsulaS sdyeat1re3
"Whso We were publishins psps H..
Lewisburg, W. Vs., ssvsrsi JsEfs ~ . !
very singular accident bsssll 4 1sass t1sAi
there, which We narratsd bsi6ly 6 ~
time. A few days ago. " Skas4ed 1U
meet him hero in Muskssn6, And ho mr..
rated his adventure st our vsasest. 4 n,
occurred on the farm. Of Gen. a Wxrovs
Davis, 10 Greeubvisr county, ID I0eds
We give his story in his own words, u nssfi.
as VIC can reco!lcct them I. W. pIowiuk
on General Daviss farm Id 1885, said Ne.
uususpicious Of being on insecure ground.
when suddenly the earth seemed 10 fail
beneath me. / saw the horses descending,
but was too frightened to let 20 the pillow
handles. The pitch Of the horses with tho !
earth gave my fall an impetus, and sons.
how caught the name Of one Of then in !
my fall, and 80 held on instinstivsly.
What | thought when falling ean hard
ly tell. At any rate I did sons rapid
thinking. When landed fell on tho
horse whose name had hold of. and. al
though the horse was instantly killed, I
was merely stunned and confused. On
recovering myself I looked up, and the
hole through which I had fallen looked 90
small that l concluded must have fallen
full $50 feet. My first thought was %
call for aid, but I instantly recalled the
fact that was at least mile from Geu. 9
eral Davis's house, and that there was not
tho remotest probability that any oss had
seen my descent into the earth. Il wasi
then early morning and, as brought out
my dinner with me no one would miss me
before nightfall While going over these
facts in my mind, hoard the rush Of
waters near at hand, aud it occurred 10 mei,
that must have fallen upon the bed Of
Sinking creek, which, as you know, falls
into the earth above Frankfort, and does
not come out but once till it reaches the
banks of the Greenbrier river. To say
where was, or attempt to follow the sub
terranean passage, was the next question.
sometimes took the team. to- nv oWn !
tenant stable, and therefore might not be
missed for days so T determined 10 follow
the stream. waded into il, and Judging
from its depth Of from one 70 three feet I
concluded It must be the identical Sinking,
creek spoken Of. Leaviog my dead con-
panion behind me, followed the stream.
For the most part had pretty easywort
Of it, but sometimes came to deep
place where was forced to swim for = :.
considerable distance sometimes I ran,
against jagged rocks, and thea again wss
often precipta:ed hcadlong into deep W.
ter by the precipitous nature Of the rocky
bed Of the stream. Talk about the dark,
ness Of the gaave! A grave itself could
not have been more impalpably dark thar
the passage was following. The occasional
ripping OF the waters was an exprcssihly
dear sound to my ears. Day and night
was the same TO me. At last wsaried With
my efforts, laid down on q comparatively
dry rock to rest, and must have slsps S4or
hours. When I awoke I again took 10
the water, carefully ascertaining which
way it ran, so as not to lose my labor By
rctraciug my steps. It seemed to me that
the farther went the more difficult pro-
grcss became. When / had gone perhaps
mile came to place where the arohs
way narrowed so much that had. 70 crawl
ou my hands and knees 10 the water.
Here was dilemma had not looked ~.
l tried either bank Of the river, but fSuafA
no passage / could swim under vaAsf
for considerable distance, bat ths
distance before me was unkpowp, and i
halted long before making the dangerous
venture. At last I concluded that nv
fate was equally doubtful in resurhisg e
in proceeding, and plunged boldly into IL
swift current soon found that i was ~
swift in its coufncd passage that I only
needed to bold my breath to 70 thruugE.
In the course Of twenty Or thirty fsefsI
again got my head above water, Ind tsok
long breathing spell. Again tho arah-
way above seemed to enlarge and the bod
Of the stream become more even, / ypsd
along comparatively rapidly, keeping ~
hands outstrctched to prevent ny fua6isf
against the jagged rocks. Wesriod ct
I again laid down and slept soundly in. NJ
wet clothes. On awakening ! pursued ~
course down the subterranean stsearSs
and at last, in the long distances
ahead, saw glimmer that Looked sssy
bright in the darkness / was then psusis.
Nearing this, I found that Il did not il
crease in brightness; and when I Aad
gone perhaps . mile came to another
place where my path narrowed % the vstt
tunnel filed BY the water. Ny cass -
now become more desperate. i could -
possibly retrace my steps, % I snAmiate4
myself to the current. snd vas imusas6ra-
bly, overjoyed to fnd myself rapidly sxspt
into daylight. Exhausted sud hill
drowned, erept ous upon shs lasd -
was not long recognising the objects abs1E
me. ! had come out into the Greeabs}pr
river, ss ! knew from the familiar lcck ri
General Davis's mill on the bAnk. OF
reaching home / found that / had -
over forty-sight hours in makiag ~ peg1k
ous journey Of six miles uadsr eee9ndl
The hole where this man vent thropeh $
now fenced round. On listening ose o.