The Iola register., 1882-12-29
BURIED ALIVE.

BURIED ALIVE. t..dy,.
dorrifyinS situation Of Father lsad Son
! Buried Deep by the CsvinE in q q
-swell-One OF the Parties Rescued-Ef.
aforts to Extricate the Other. -'' ~.
Edward English and his son James began
digging well on Tuesday last at Great Plain.
two miles distant from here. They had sunk
the well twenty-five feet, and on Friday after
noon last mass of tn, with boards. timber
and stone. fell upon the two men. covering
them out df sight. An alarm was spread
IsauQoW tAe n&iRhbors and help was quickly at
theptocC james Moore, Michael Downey and
wmiah DRvb descended into the well by Q
lat9er to ascertain the condition of the urfort,
unates, both of whom were completely
hemmed in by dirt and fimbers
and unable to mCve. Their situation
was critical. The space about them was
scarcely more than two feet in diameter. II
was irnpoesible to reach the bottom of thewell.
The men were fastened in completely. and
above them was hanging mass of earth ready
to fall and smother them mt any moment
Above, around the mouth of the well, was q
crowd of men fully realizing the peril of the
father and son telU~. A small tin pail was
attached to cord and let down. There was
no room for anything larger. Tho son. who
had managed tC get his hands clear, illed the
pail with earth as well as he could, and it was
drawn up and emptied. 1t was terribly
slow process, but there was no other way to
work. Mr.. EnRlish succeeded in getting his
hands free als,, and he passed earth to the
Son. who put II In the pail. In thi, way much
of the earth was removed; but the father,
held fast by the timber and stones resting on
him, could not help himself further Mean
time other means were adopted to release the
men. ..E...f f...
On SaturdRy : morning. eighteen hours after
the well caved in, rope was attached to the
son, and fortunately he was rescued. Friends
passed nourishment to the men in the 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 at his side
wus firm and did not yield. He was penned in,
without the power of moving either body or
legs. Ehoits were now directed to removing
the dirt about him, for which purpose a small
fire shovel alone could be used. The earth
was after while removed from his shoulders,
butthe timber against his breast held him as
in vice. 1t could have been cut in two, but
It was feai ed its displacement in that manner
would prove fatal. Finally 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.
lMeantine the victim, twenty-five feet under
ground, within hearing of the voices of his
family and friends. and yet hopelessly beyond
thtfr reach, stood fastened in a living grave
waiting for tn, culmin1tiOn of the horror I'm
frlrhtful death. Alive 10 every sound, startled
by every falling pebble, Mr.. English passed
through the hours of the day rs be bsd
through tho night before-an eternity to one
thus imprisoned. Nour shment and medicines
A 4. .f,
gave out and he asked that all efforts be given
up and that he be left to his fate. Hut friends
worked on. trying their hest to get him out,
and hoping every hour to accomplish it. On
Saturday night there were several hundred
people on the ground, and a 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 il seemed as IL rescue was
well nigh out of the question. The same feel
ing, only Intensified. was experienced by Mr..
English. and he begged for a knife that with
IT he m ght end his misery. After daybreak
Of Sunday pr bject to tunnel by the side OF
the well was proposed. and to carry the same
down below where the unfortuna g man lay.
The whole of Sunday was Occup ed in this
work. When MIR. English heard of il hope was
revived. ..-.N
Up Sunday ACKNOWLEDGMENT hours
after the caving in of the well-th. sufferer
had partaken of no solid food and had slept
not more than ten minutes. At daylight the
Danbury fire-alarn had been sounded and the
tiremen detailed to duty mt the scene Services
in st. Peters Roman Catholic Church and in
other places of worship were omitted that the
people might 20 to the well and assist. All
through the day and despite u drizzling rain
throngs Of tihen. wended their way to the
place, and at one time there we're a thousand
persons present watching the work In the
tunnel. During these hours Mr.. English was
cheered by frequent news of the progress made
the tunnel, was- far enough advanced to
enable the hd man to hear the voice