Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1879-10-16
Buried Alivo in q Well.

Last Friday, at noon, says the Neilsyilc
(Wis.) RcpuLlico., a we'll being dug at tho
fair grounds, cavcd in at tho bottom after
i: had reached depth Of 1I6 feet, burying
Wm. Selves, workman, under about thir-.
teen feet Of sand, measuring from his head,
whilc ho was in nearly an upright rosition.
The we'll had reached depth of one hun
drcd fcct, when stratum Of loose white
sand was reached, which made curbing
necessary. An upright curbing in sc c,tions
four feet long was used. While putting in
the fourth section the taving in of tho we'll
took place, first crashing in the lower sec
tion, which was not finished, and pinnng
Selves in solid sand nearly to his armpits.
1t was instantly followed by tho thrco SEQ
tons above, which were crushed il tho
contrc. On seeing it start, Selves had in
stantly raised II section of the curbins
over his head, bending backward, face up,
with the arm supporting the piece of curb
ing stretched above his head In this posi-
ton the sand settled about him completely
binding him except his head aud Que arm,
which he could move ut that time. The
section of curbing which ho had raised
| above his head created vacuum which for
short time, communicated with the
vacuum through the centre of tho we'll
made by the coming together of the barrel
like curbing. AS soon as possible gas
pipe for the purpose Of pumping mir to him
was inserted through the opening. Selves,
who then had one hand at liberty, placed it
as near his mouth as the boards over him
| would pormit. Soon after this was accom-
plished, the sand settled solidly atoyc him,
leaving only the vacuum under the board,
which soon filled SO close as to imprison tho
arm that had hccn at liberty, and also to
render his head immoyablc.
In this situation, plainly depicted by
himself in scpulchral tones through the
air tube, and perfectly audible ut the top of
the well, william Selves, then six hours
without food, and crampcd and chilled by
the cold sand, said he would hold on to life
if there were brave hearts enough above
him to undertake his release, knowing full
we'll the danger to those who might attempt
It in hurry. Tho task wos to remove
FROM l3 to Is feet of sand from the bottom
of well ll6 feet deep, by putting in new
curbing while taking out the sand and
debris of the old curbing, and to do it all
80 carefully as not TO fill the lt.lc vacuum
above his face. Coupled with This task
was the appalling danger to the workmcp of
freah caving of the we'll, now more immi--
nent than the first, for above the ominous
vacuum made by the cayipg of tho sand,
hung tho hundred feet Of clay wall with no
support but its own adhesion, its natural
foundation of sand being gone. Tho bore
through the clay being but twcnty-sevcn
inches in diameter, could NOT, for lack of
both time and space be curbcd.
In the face of these discouragcmcnts
were brave hearts enough found TO work
night and dav, never Stacking except for a
short time Saturday morning, when for Il
time further attempts seemed suicidal by
reason Of the caving in of small portion
of tho clay wall. But soon new prccau- :
tiocs were devised, and the almost hopeless
work went on to its practical conclusion at
l o'clock this Sunday morning, when u
friendly hand raised tho plank aud brushed
tho sand from the now nearly unconscious
face. Ho had retained his mind perfectly
up toa Tow minutes before, when the ten
dcrly cautious hands above him, in spite of
their care, had SO disturbed tho sand as to
cover his face, and interrupt the supply Of
air from the tube.
! He returned to perfect consciousness in u
few moments, and, his head released, the
work went rapidly on, ho himself helping
materially after his arms were released. at
$50 o'clock, nearly forty hours after his
Incarceration, William Selves stepped firmly
from the mouth Of his living grave and was
received in the arms Of his young wife
amid glad shouts of tho throng who had
SO long shared his suspense. His excrtions
is assisting to free himself had givon him
tho uso Of his limbs again, and when he
reached the surface about all he sccmed to
need was nourishmcnt, which ho had not
had since tho Friday morning before,
nearly two days.
Gcorgia's now venture--tho Atlanta