The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-04-29
Buried Alive.

/ The sensation of being buried alive.
with ones bones broken, and no hopes of
ever again seeing the light of day, is one
of those extreme cases of mental anguish,
! agony and unutterable woe TO which no
description, however vivid, can do justice.
| To feel that one Is shut out forever from
| the outer world by a wall that the most
superhunan effort cannot remove; to lie
crushed and wounded in darkness and i'm
pain of mind and body, with all the facul-
ties unimpaired, while death is slowly
stealing on, is one of the most awful situa-
! tions that even the most reckless writer of
ifctions has ever conjured up from the
realms of romance. -.---.--.
Yet such was the condition of Richard
Sturbridee, abOrer at the Diamond
Mine, w1o for five mortal hours lay buried
| beneath mass of more than thirty tons of
coal, away in the dark recesses of the
mine, his leg broken and no human being
cogniZant OF his fate.
! Ii was a litrle before O'Clock in the
evening, when Sturbridge was loading the
last car Tor the day. His companions in
the chamber had retired, and two brick
LAYERS, who had spoken TO him but five
minutes previously, also left the mine.
he was by the side of the ear STOPPING to
pick up what be Intended as the last lump
of coal, when IKE a thunderbolS he heard
a crash in the roof above him. and an in-
stant later an immense mass Of coal. over
thirty tons in weight, descended upon
him, burying himself and the loaded
car beneath its massive proportions, and
breaking the unfortunate fellows
leg. For a few moments he was
utterly unconscious, but when he
recovered he found that his position
was an awful one, indeed, and TO him
what seemed worse than death. He lay
beside the loaded car, in narrow space,
one OF bis legs broken. The car alone
saved him from being crushed into
shapeless mass, A portion of she fallen
heap Law upon the broken limb, and to ex-
tricate this was a painful task. Sturbridge
set about it, however, and finally freed
the aching member. Then came the
dreaded suspicion of dying slowly ia thai
dark, noxious and harrow tomb. All ef-
forts to get away were futile, and all
hopes of being relieved by his compau-
ions were also given up, as they had re-
tired from work for the night, and would
not return until morning. ~ a..h
He knew that if he lay there all night
he would never again see the light of day,
for he was very feeble, and cold perspi-
ration was already flowing from every
pore. The minutes see ned hours, the
hours months, as he lay there from unil
10 O'Clock. At length, when exhausted
by despair and agony of soul. he heard
the sounds of a pick and siovel overhead.
Relief was at hand, and his comrades
Were digging for him. 1t was joyful mu-
sic for him to hear each stroke, as it
helped to break the wall that shut him out
| from the blessed atmosphere of heaven.
He was exfrieated and carried to his
home, where he received due attention. 1t
appears that little before l0o'clock his
friends missed him, and seeing that he did
not return home, and that no one knew OF
his whereabouts, a search was Instituted,
which resulted in his discovery and happy
release.-Serontos Pa. Republican. =