The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-10-25
BURIED ALIVE.
Under Thirty Feet of Earth for Eighteen
HOurs-The Gentleman Fatigued by
Holding up the Debris.

On Saturday morning the 18Th inst,
Henry Rouch, German resident OF
Painesville, was buried alive in well
thirty feet deep. Mr.. RouCh went into
the we'll of Stephen Matthews at o'clock
Saturday morning, and when near the
bottom forty-two feet, the well caved in
burying him out of sight, the depth Of
sand and stone above him being about
thirty feet. The news quickly spread
through town, and in few minutes the
labor of excavating the earth and stone
was commenced by all the force that
could work. Hundreds of men were on
the ground so that each gang at work
would be relieved every half hour. No
one expected to find Mr.. Rouch alive, but
still the work progressed increasingly till
midnight, when his voice was heard an
nouncing that he was uniGured! 1t was
yet an hour and haf before he
was released from his prison, but cup
ofcoffee was lowered to him and he drank
it with an apparent relish. He was haul
ed up to the surface about 1870 Sunday
morning amid the rejoicing cheers of at
least two hundred people Although he
ate his breakfast Sunday morning as
usual, he felt somewhat fatigued as a man
naturally might after being buried alive
forty feet under ground, and remaining
there in an uncomfortable and unChange-
able position for eighteen and one-haf
hours
Mr.. Rouch said when he reached the
bottom he stepped out of the bucket and
looked around. He still retained the
rope by which the bucket had been lei
down in his hand, and was about to sig
nal to his companion at the top to let
down his tools when he looked up and
saw the side of the well coming in upon
him. He had just time to shrek once
when the light was shut out from him by
the falling debris which settled down
close around him. Although struck up
on the head with heavy stone he still
retained consciousness, and managed in
some way to get air enough to breathe
From the shoulders down he was in some
way protected flom the falling earth and
his limbs were left free. But he dared
lot move finger for fear that the earth
would settle in around him and suffJCate
him Upon his back was large stone,
aud also on his head, both of which pro.
badly kept the dirt from closing tightly
around his head. He heard his friends
working for MIN, even when they took
away the first stones. Three hours be-
fore they reached him he could hear them
talking of his death and arrangements
for his funeral.
Once when they left the work to and
get some plan&s TO brace up the exCava-
ton he thought they had given him up,
and he at once began to pray with all his
might that they might not leave him.
He was in continual fear thatthey might
give him up for dead and not dig any
longer, or that the earth might cave in
tightly around and sm other him, or that
they would strike him with their shov-
els.
When they came near enough so that
he could make them hear, he directed
their work, and when they got him in
sisted upon walking home, but was at last
persuaded to get into the buggy. When
he reached his house, however, his strain
ed nerves gave way and he tainted. The
chief question was how he obtained air,
and there are several theories given in
answer to it. 0ne being that the rope
by which he was let down making pas
sage through the sand let down air, while
another is that as the sand was very light
and mixed with heavy stones sufficient
air filtered through to sustain life.