The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-10-22
BURIED ALIVE W DAYS.

OF Sand Thirteen Feet Deop Over 100
Feet Below the Surface Brave and
SkNlful Rescuers.
Last Friday, at noon, says the Neils-
vile (Wis.) Republican, q well being
dug at the fair grounds caved in at Inc
bottom after it had reached a depth OF
l1e feet, burying William Selves, a
workman, under about thirteen feet OF
sand, measuring from his head while ne
was in a nearly upright position. The
we'll had reached a depth of 100 feet
when q stratum of loose white sand was
reached, which made curbing necessary.
An upright curbing in sections four feet
long was used. While putting in the
fourth section the caving in Of the well
took place, first crushing in the lower
section, not yet finished, and pinning
Selves in solid sand nearly to his arm
pits. 1t was instantly followed by the
three sections above, which were crushed
in the center. On seeing it start Selves
had instinctively raised a section of the
curbing over his head, bending back
ward, face up with the arm supporting
the piece of curbing stretched above 4ls
head. In this position the sand settled
about him, completely binding him. ex-
cept his head and one arm, which ne
could move at that time. The section
of curbing which he had raised above
his head created q vacuum which tor a
time communicated with the vacuum
through the center of the well made by
the coming together of the barrel-hke
curbing
As soon as possible, a gas pipe for the
purpose of pumping air to him was IN
serted through the opening, Selves,
who then had one hand at liberty, plac-
ing it as near his mouth as the boards
over him would permit. Soon after
this was accomplished, the sand settled
solidly above him leaving only the
vacuum under the board, which soon
filled so close as to imprison the arm
that had been at liberty, and to also
render his head immovabie. In this
situation, plainly depicted by himself in
s%epulchral tones through the air tube,
and perfectly audible at the top of the
we'll, William Selves, then six hours
without food, and cramped 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 well the danger to those
who might attempt it in a hurry.
The task was to remove from thirteen
to eighteen feet of sand from the bottom
of a well 116 feet deep, by putting in q
new curbing while taking. oul the sand
and debris Of the old curbing. and to DO
it ali so carefully as not to fill the little
vacuum above his face. Coupled with
this task was the appalling danger to the
workmen of a fresh caving of the well,
now NOR imminent than the first, tor
above the ominous vacuum made by the
caving of the sand hung the hundred
feet Of clay wall with no support but its
W adhesion, its natural foundation of
sand being gone. The bore through the
clay being but twenty-seven inches in
diameter, could not, for lack of both
time and space, be curbed.
In the face of these discouragements
were brave hearts enough foundto work
night and day, never Stacking except for
a short time on Saturday morning, when
for q time futhcr attempts seemed sui
cidal by reason of the caving in of n
small portion of the clay wall. But
O new precautions were devised, and
the almost hopeless work went on to sit
practical conclusion at one O'Clock this
Sunday morning, when a friendly
hand raised the planks and brushed the
sand from the now nearly unconscious
face. He had retained his mind per-
fectly up to 4 few moments before, when
the tenderly cautious hands above him,
in spite of their care, had so disturbed
the sand rs to cover his face, and inter-
rupted the supply of air from the tube.
lie returned to perfect consciousness
in a few moments, and, his head re-
leased, the work went rapidly. on, he
himself helping materially after his
arms were released. At $3.50 o'clock,
nearly forty hours aftep his incarcera-
ton, William Selves stepped firmly
from the mouth Of his living grave and
was received in the arms Of his young
wife amid glad shouts ofthe throng who
had so long shared his suspense; His
eXertions in assisting to free himself
had given him the use Of his limbs
again, and wien he reached the surface
about all he seemed to need was nour
ishment, which he had not had since the
Friday morning before, nearly two days.