The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-02-07


!....ssal $500.
UnderkreHnd "A ssagkiar AAysnturs.
The Musksgan (Michisan) Enterprise re-
lates the following singular adventure:
- When viewers publishing q paper In
Lewisburg, W. Va, several years ego, b
very singular accident befel young man
there, which we narrated briefly ct the
time. A few days ago We CHANGED to meet
him here in Muskegan, and he narrated
his adventure at our request. It occurred
on the farm Of General A. W. G.. Davis, in
dreenbrier county, in 1856, We give ,his
story In his own words, as near as we can
recollect them: I was blowing on Gene
raj Davis's farm in 1885, said he, un-
suspicious of being on insecure ground,
when suddenly the earth seemed to fail be-
meath me. l saw the horses descending, but
was too frightened to let 20 the pillow han
dies. The pitch of the horses with the
earth gave my fall en- impetus, and some-
now caught the name Of one of them In
my fall, and 30 held on instinctiyely.
What thought when falling I can hardly
tell. At any rate did some rapid
thinking. When I landed fell on the
horse whose name I had hold of, and,
although the horse was instantly killed, !
was merely stunned and confused. On re-
covering myself ! looked up, end the hole
through which I had fallen looked 30 small
that l concluded must have fallen full $50
feet. My first thought was to call for aid,
but instantly recalled the fact that was
ct least mile from General Davis's house,
and that there was not the remotest proba-
bility that any one had seen my descent
into the earth. 1t was then early morning,
and, as had brought out my dinner with
me, no one would miss me before nightfall.
While going over these facts in my own
hand, and it occurred to me 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 Green
brier river. To say where I was, or at
tempt to follow the subterranean passage,
was the next question. sometimes took the
team to my own tenant stable, and therefore
might not be missed for days; so deter
mined to follow the stream. l waded into it,
and judging from its depth of from one to
three feet, concluded it must be the identi-
cal Sinking creek spoken Of. Leaving my
dead companion behind me, followed the:
stream. For the most part I had pretty
easy work of it, but sometimes came to
deep place, where was forced to swim for
q considerable distance sometimes ! ran
against Jagged rocks, and then again was
often precipitated headlong into deep water
by the PERCEPTIONS nature of the rocky bed
Of the stream. Talk about the darkness of
the gravel A grave itself could not have
been more impalpably dark than the pas
sage was following. The occasional rip
ping Of the waters was an inexpressibly
dear sound to my years. Day and night
was the sameto me. At last, wearied with
my efforts, laid down on comparatively
dry rock to rest, and must have slept for
hours. When I awoke again took to the
water, carefully ascertaining which way it
ran, 30 as not to lose my labor by retracing
my steps. 1t seemed to me that the farther
l went the more difficult progress became.
When I had gone perhaps o mile came
to place where the archwsy narrowed so
much that I had to crawl on my hands
and knees in the water. Here was dilem-
ma I had not looked for. I tried either
bank of the river, but found no passage.
I could swim under water for q consider
able distance, but the distance before me
was unknown, and I halted long before
making the dangerous venture. At last l
concluded that my fate was equally doubt
full in returning as in proceeding, and
plunged boldly into the swift current, and
soon found that it was so swift in it's con-
fined passage that / only needed to hold my
breath to 20 through. In the course of
twenty or thirty feet again got my head
above water, and took a long breathing
spell. Again the archway above seemed to
enlarge and the bed of the stream become
more even. I sped along comparatively ra-
pidly, keeping my hands outstretchcd to
prevent my running against the jagged
rocks. Wearied out, again laid down and
slept soundly in my wet clothes. On
awakening pursued my course down the
subterranean stream, and at last, in the
long distance ahead, saw glimmer that
looked very bright in the darkness I
was then pent in. Nearing this, I found
that it did not increase in brightness ;
and when / had gone perhaps mile
/ came to another place where my path
narrowed to the very tunnel filled by the
water. My case was now become more des-
perate. I could not possibly retrace my
Steps, 50 1 submitted myself to the current,
and was immeasurably overjoyed to find
myself rapidly swept into daylight. Elk
hausted and half drowned, crept out upon
the land and was not long in recognizing the
objects about me. had come out into the
Greenbrier river, as I knew from the To-
miliar look of General Davis's mill on the
bank. On reaching home I found that I
had been over forty-eight hours in making
my perilous journey of six miles under
ground! The hole where this man went
through is now fenced round. On listening
one can plainly hear the rush Of water be-
low, and a stone thrown down will some.
times be heard to splash in the stream"
THE WINTER.-The continued mildnese
and spring-ike weather of the present win