The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1882-12-23
BURIED ALIVE.

Horrifying situation of Fatser and Son.
Hurled Deep by the Gazing In of u
Well-One of the Parties Rescued-EC
forts to ENtricate the Other.
Edward English and his son james be,np
dig ing wei on Tuesday last at Great Pain.
two miles distant from here They had sunk
the well twenty-five feet, and on Friday after
noon last Il mass of earth, with boar ls. timber
AMI stone tell upon the two men covering
them out OF sight. An alarm was spread
among the neigbbors and help was gu ckly at
the place. James Moore, Michael Downey ana
William DAVIS descended into the wen by a
lad Ter to asc rtain the condition of TIC unfort-
llnates, both of whom were completely
hemmed in by dirt nn6 timbers
and unable to move. Their situation
was critical. The space about them was
scarcely more than two feet in diameter. It
was impossible to reach the bottom OF the well.
The men were fastened in completely. and
above tn m was hanging mass OF earth ready
to tall and smother them at any moment
Above, around tho mouth of the wei, was
crowd OF men fully realizing the peril of the
father and son below. A small II pail was
attached TO a cord and let down. Ihore was
no room for anything larg r The son who
had managed to get his hands clear, tillod the
pau with earth as well us he could, and il was
drawn up and empued. II was terribly
SLOW process, but there was no other way to
work Mr.. English succeeded in getting his
hands rec als and he passed earth to the
SON. who put It in the pail In this vay much
OF the earth was ramoved; but the father,
held fast by the timber and ston IS resting on
MN could not help himself further Menn-
ume other means were adopted TO release the
On Saturday morning, eighteen hours after
inc Wen caVed in, n rope was attached to the
son, ana fortunate y he was rescued. Friends
passcd nourlshinent TO the men in tn pit at
the perl of their lives. The result of the re-
lease of the son did not facilitate that of the
father, as was expected The earth mt his side
was hrm and did not yield He was pennedin,
without the power of moving either body or
legs; Efforts were now directed To removing
The dirt about him, for which purpose "A smell
nre shovel alone could he used. The eur:h
was after while removed from his shoulders,
out tne lumber against his breast held him as
IN vice. II could have been cut in two, but
1t was feared its displacement in that manner
would prove fatal. Fin lily a windlass was
erected over the mouth of the well and an at
tempt was made TO build new curb This
work and what little could be done IN remov-
ing loose earth took the whole of Saturday.
Meantime the victim Twenty-Five feet under
ground, within hearing of the voices of his
family and friends, and yet hopelessy beyond
their reach, stood fastened in a living grave
waiting Tor the elimination of the horror in II
frightful death. Alive TO every sound, startled
ny every falling pebble, Mr.. English passed
through the night before-an eternity to one
thus imprisoned. Nourshment and medicines
were passed to him. At times his courage
up ana that he be left to his fate. But friends
worked on trying their best to get him out
ana hoping every hour to accomplish it. On
saturday night there were several hundred
people on the ground, and large proportion
of them remained till Sunday morning Still,
in spite of all that could be done the sufferer
was not released, and when the first dawn of
the Sabbath broke it seemed as if rescue was
well nigh out of the question. The same feel
English, and he begged for knife thTt with
1t be m ght end his misery. After daybreak
OF Sunday project to tunnel by the side. OF
the well was proposed and to carry the same
down below where the unfortuna Q man lay.
The whole of Sunday was occup ed in this
work. When Mr.. English heard of it hope was
Up to Sunday acknowledgement hours
after the caving In of the weII-th3 sufferer
had partaken of no solid food and had slept
not more than ten minutes. At daylight the
Danbury fire-alarm had been sounded and the
ilrenen detailed to duty at the scene. Services
In st Peters Roman Catholic Church and In
other places of worship were omitted thar the
people might 90 to the well and assist. All
through the day and despite a DRILLING rain
throngs of citizens wendell their way to the
place, and ut one time there were thousand
persons present watching the work in the
cheered by frequent news of the progress made
for his release. AT seven O'Clock last ght
the tunnel was far enough advanced to
of Mr.. English. He cried to them: "Dig
away, boys" Every little while after that he
was spoken to and replied. Tired as his
zeal, caring naught for fatigue 50 long as he
was hopeful. 1t was wonderful that he was.
At ten o'clock 1t was ought tbatin few min
utes he would he free. AT midnight the earth
nj he head of the tunnel broke away SO fast
the passage was with difficulty advanced. At
one o clock this morning the tunnel had reach
ed the original curb of the well At half pastone
there was slide inside just 10 the let of the
prisoner He was called to. but there was no
response. Several times afterward he was
spoken TO, hut did not reply. A man descended
into the well as far as he dared, bat could see
nothing of Mr.. English. 1t being believed
That he was dead work was begun on top of
the ground between the well and the Dit in
order to recover the body.
shortly after five o'clock this morning the
men had reached within three feet OF the un-
fortunate, and continued their operations till
four O'Clock this afternoon, when it was dis
covered that he was still breathing. There is
little hope that he can be extrcated alive
Work still continues, however. and will be
kept mp until the object sought for is attained.
Mr.. English has wife and eleven children,
whose agonzing suspense in regard to the fate
OF the husband and father Is beyond descrip-
ton. -DdnbuIp Comm Cor. N. Y. Herald
Ut has since been reported that Mr.. English
was killed by subsequent caving IN of earthl
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