Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1879-10-10
"A Man Forty Hours Under Ground.
BREATHING THROUGH a GAs-PIPE, AND
COMMUNICATING WITH HIS REsCUERs
BY THE SAME MEANS.

BREATHING THROUGH A GAS-PIPE, AND
COMMUNICATING WITH HIS REsCUERs
BY THE SAME MEANS.
The Nasonville (Wis.) "Republican,''
in recent issue, says:
last Friday at noon we'll being dug at
the fair grounds caved in at the bottom
after it had reached a depth of 116 feet,
hurving William Selves, y workman, un-
der about 10 feet of sand, measuring from
his head while he was nearly in an upright
position.
The we'll had reached the depth of one
hundred feet when stratum OF loose,
white sand was reached, which made
curbing necessary. An upright curling
in sections four feet long was used. While
putting in the fourth section the caving
of the well took place, first crushing in
I the lower section not yet finished, and
pinning Selves in solid sand and nearly to
his arm pits. 1t was instantly followed
by the three sections above, which were
crushed into the centre, leaving vacuum
there. On seeing it start Selves had in
stinctively raised a section of the curbing
over his head, bending back wards, face up.
| with the arm supporting the piece OF curb
ing stretched over his head. In this posi-
ton the sand settled about him, com
pletely binding him except his head and
| one arm, which he could move at that
| time. The section of curbing which he
had raised above his head created a vacu-
UNI, which for short time communicated
with the vacuum through the centre of
the well made by the coming together of
the Darrell like curbing.
AS soon as possible a gas-pipe for the
purpose Of pumping air to him was inser-
ted through the opening, Selves, who
then had one arm at liberty, placing it as
| near his mouth as the boards over him
| would permit. Soon after this was ac-
com plished the sand settled solidly above
| him, leaving only the vacuum under the
board, which soon filled SO close as to i'm
prison the arm that had been at liberty,
and to also render his head immovable.
In this situation. plainly depicted by him
self in sepulchral tones through the air
tube, William Selves, then six hours with
out 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
we'll the danger of those who might at
tempt it in hurry. The task was to re-
move from thirteen to eighteen feet of
sand from the bottom of a well Ito feet
deep, by putting in new curbing while
taking out the sand and debris of the old
curbing, and to do 1t all SO carefully as not
| W LII uuo llttl0 vdCCuu dUOVc Ills ldCc.
| Coupled with this task was the appall-
ing danger to the Workmen of a fresh cav
ing of the well, now more imminent than
the first, for above the OminOus vacuum
made by the caving of the sand hung the
hundred feet of clay wall with no support
but its own adhesion, its natural founda-
ton of sand being gone. The bore
through the clay, being but 81 inches in
diameter, could net. for lack of both time
and space, be curbed. In the face Of these
discouragements there were brave hearts
enough found to work night and day, new
er Stacking except for a short time on Sat
urday morning, when for time further
attempts seemed suicide by reason of the
caving in of a small portion of the clay
wall. But soon new precautions were de-
vised, and the almost hopeless work went
on to its practical conclusion at l O'Clock
Sunday morning, when a friendly hand
raised the plank and brushed the sand
from the now nearly unconscious face.
He had retained his mind perfectly up to
within few moments before. when the
tenderly cautious hands above him, in
spite OF their care, had so disturbed the
} sand as to cover his face and interrupt the
supply of air from the tube. He returned
to perfect consciousness in d few moments
and his hands released, the work went
rapidly on, he himself helping materially
after his arms were released.
AT $3.50 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 the glad shouts of the throng
who had so long shared his suspense. His
operations in assisting to free himself had
given him the use Of his limbs again. and,
when he reached the surface, about all he
seemed to need was nourishment. which
be had not had since the Friday morning
/ before, nearly two days. ..........,r.