Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1882-12-22
BURIED ALIVE.


uOrrifying sltuafion - Ea1her snd "a
buried Deep ~ tbs Casing IN os>h
Well-One Of the Parties Rescued-Ef-
forts 70 Extrieate the Other.
Edward English and hIs son James beean
digging well on Tuesday last At 0rcat PiaIn,
two miles distant from here. Ihey h,d sunk
the we'll twenty-five feet. and on Friday after
noon last mas Of earth, with boards, timber
and stone, fell upon the two ncn. covering
them out Of sight An alarm Was spread
among the neighhors and help Was quickly at
the place. James Moore. Michael Downey and
William Davis descended Into the well by .
ladder % ASCERTAIN The condition Of the unfortr
unstos, both Of whom were completely
henlmed In by dirt and iifnbers
and unable 70 move. Their situatlon
was critical Tho space about them was
scarcely more Than two feet in diameter. II
WAS impossible TO reach the bottom OF the well
The man were fastened in oomp1etcly. and
above ihem was = hanging mass OF ear<h rcaAy
% fall aud emolher them u any uomaxk
Above. aroun1 ~ mouth Of the we'll, was .
crowd 81 men fully realizing the perl VI ehe
father and son bolow. A small tin pail was
attached 70 cord ana let down. There M
no room fur anything lars =. The son, who
he'd managed to set his hands clear, filled tho
pail With earth - web a. he could, and it was
slow process. but there was no other way to
work. Mr.. Enslish succeeded in getting his
hands free nls and he passed earth 70 the
son, who put IT In the pail In this way murh
OF the earth vas removed; hut the father,
held fast By the timber and stones resting on
him. could not help himself further. Mean
tino other means were adopted 70 release the
mcn
On saturday morning. eighteen hours after
tho we'll oavod In, = rope wns attached 70 the
son, and fortunately he Was rescued. Friends
Ies>cd nourishnent 10 the men In the pit 1t
~ perll Of thsir nvss ne result of there
lensc Of tho sou dld not facilitate that Of the
fnther - wns expec1ed. Tho earth It his side
was nrm md AZ not yteld. Ne was pcnnedi In.
without TIE power Of movins eithcr body or
iegA Efforts weFs nov directed 70 removing
the dirt about him, for which purpose . ANAL
nre shovel alcue could b used. inc earth
was after a while removed frou his shoulders,
hut tho timber sgainst his breast held him as
tn vice. II could have been cut In two, but
Il was feared Its displacement I'm that manneg
would prove fatal. Finally windAass was
erected over tho mouth Of the well and an ut. \
tempt WAS nnde 70 build q new curb This
work and whnt little could lua-donc IN pmov-
aesntine ihe yIcsinl. twanty-ive We feet under
ground, within hearing Of the voites 1t his
family and friends and yts hopclcssly beyond
sss sr 80 sS e nSs
fr;rhtful DEATH Alive 10 every souni, startled
hy every falling pebble. Nc English passed
through me hou.a 81 the day ss be had
thus Imprisoned. Nour'shn,ent and medicines
were passed. TO him. A. fIucs bis couraEc |
gave out and he asked thst nlt efforts be given
workod ON. tryinw their hest 10 get him Out. |
end hoping every hour 10 accomplish t. On
SATURDAY night there wcre several hundred |
81 them remained IN sunday morning HIli.
In spite of all that csa,ld " done. the sufferer
was not released. and when the lirrt dawn Of |
well nigh cut u tho question. TSc same feck |
ing. only intcOsilcd. was expcFicncnd BY NJ. /
English, and be begBcd for knife thst with |
Of SUNDAY nsss s !" s:,nce, =, sss sSr
the well was proposed. aud to carry the same |
down below whore the unfortunsc man hay. |
wai NV when n Mr. sssIsy HnsS ms { hope Va"
upto sunday afternoon-for lhourr
ks .j rStafsn 81 ken X n b e sa, n foss s ai had lsps
not more than ten minutes. Al daylight the /
nanbnry fire-alsrm had been sounded and the /
ffrcmcn detailed 10 duty ut the scene services
IN -. Peters Roman Catholic Church and in |
other places Of worship were omitted thai tho
people might 40 10 the well aud assist. All 4
throngs OF tiscns wcnded their way TO the
place, aud nj one time there were Thousand
persons present watching the work In the /
tunnel During these hours Mr.. English was
chccrcd by frequent news OF the progress made
for his release. At seven O'Clock last n sght
the tunnel was far enough advanced 10
cnahlc the b al man 10 hear the voice
OF Mr.. English. He cried 10 them: Dig
AWAY. boys." Every little while after that h.
was spoken 20 and replied. Tired as his
helpers were they went VI the work with fresh
zeai caring nauRht for fatigue 80 long ns he
was hopeful. II was wonderful that he wns
alive after nifty hours in that awful condition. |
A. ten o'clock II vast ought that In n few min
utcs he would he free. At midnight the earth
NJ the head of the tunnel broke away 80 fast
the passage was with dif1culty advanced A.
one O'clock this morning the tunnel had reach
there was slide inside Inst 70 the let Of the
prisoner He WAS called 10. hut there was no
response. several times oftcrvnrd he was
spoken to. but did not reply. A man descended
into the well es far as he dared. but could ece
nothing Of Mr.. English. II being believed
Tint he was dead work was bcsun on top ~
The ground heswecn The we'll and the pit Ia
order 10 recover the b<<ly.
shortly after 1--WE O'Clock this morning the
mon had reach d Within three feet Of the un-
and continued their operations till
,vcrcd that he wns rtill breathing. Thcrc 10
little hope TINT he can be extr.catcd alive.
Work still continues, however. and will ~
kept up until the object sought for is attained.
Ar. English has wife and eleven childrc,.
whose nGoniznH suspense In rrxard to the fate
of the husband and father 4 beyond descrip-
ion. -Dunbury tC"nn.) Cor n. Y. HeroN.
tIt has since been reported that Mr. English
was killed by subsequent casinR In OF earth-1