The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-10-06
A THRILLING SITUATION.
An Unromantic Danger and Narrow
Escape.

The Detroit Free Press of the 29th ult. des-
crlbes an adventure by German named Henry
Osster, of Nankln township, who, in hunting
missing COW, got mired In piece of marshy
ground The narrative continues:
To his right, about ten feet away, was a
knoll of solid ground, on which grew thorn
apple tree, one of the limbs extending almost
over the mans head, and about four feet be-
yond the reach OF his arms. Thinking that II
he could get possession of his gun he might Sc
cure the limb, Osster took of his suspenders,
tied them together and made moose on one
end, and after careful and tedious work las
seed the rifle and dragged 1t to him. 1ns was
after he had been In the mire nearly too hours,
and quite while after dark. He was Induced
to believe that he had not sunk any for the
last half hour, but the extra weight of the gun
as he held 1t up sunk him nearly to his hips In
q moment, and he quickly laid 1t down.
Little tufts of grass, growing up from spots
of solid ground not much larger than his hand,
were all around the man, but the moment he
took hold OF one of them 1t would pull away
having no real support. Osster had o pipe
with him, and he got this from his coat and
twisted of the German silver ring around the
stem. The ring he broke between his teeth,
bent 1t up like hook, and then fastened 1t to
his suspenders, determined to make an effort
to reach the limb. Time after time he made
the throw. but the hook failed to catch, or
slipped off or bent out straight, and at ten
o'clock at night the victim was up to his hips
and slowly settling. Placing his coat and vest
on either side, he pushed them down with his
hands, and in this way kept his body from set
tling as fast as 1t otherwise would. He ceased
trying to shout, knowing that he could not ex-
pect help before another day.
"A Osster did not return at dark, Starks
feared that he might have shot himself or met
with some other accident, and walked mile
or so In the direction from which the man
was expected, and stopped within halt mile
of where he was sinking down to death. Re.
turning home, he agreed to make further
search In the morning, and when the time
came got neighbor to 60 with him. They
took direction quite distant from where
Osster was to be found, and, to be brief,
searched the woods until nearly noon, and
then determined to 60 to the hamlet and see
If Osster had been there. In coming out
ty rods of Osster, and were nearly
a halt mile away when one of them fired
shot at squirrel on the fence. All night
long Osster had been slowly sinking. and when
the sun marked noon he was up to his should.
ers In the mire. Hearing the shot, he put
forth all his vocal strength into one grand
shout, followed by another, and his voice We
heard and recognized. Even after his friends
were within fifty feet Of him he had to shout
to guide them, as his head was below the
grass. It is needless TO say that they instantly
set about the work of rescuing him. Logs
md brush were piled into the swamp until
they could reach him. Finding that they
could not pull him out by the arms, the mire
literally pried out by lever inserted under
his feet,