River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-08-30
Under twenty Feet of sand

The tragic death ofpoor, noble hearted
Ralph Gore, of Erie; has been made the
more narrowing by a knowledge of the
details. Gore was contractor, and al
though poor and uneducated, he was q
fine specimen of the true-hearted,
whole-souled Irishmen. On the morn
ing that he went TO the Poplar street Elk.
cavation for the last time, he was heard
to remark that his orders for additional
boarding UP the sides of the cutting had
not been complied with. and that this
neglect must be repaired Immediately:
There were about thirty laborers work
ing at the bottom when he descended,
and as he issued some orders he
noticed the fail of some gravel
and sand from above. Look
ing up he turned pale and shouted :
Make for the ladders, men, there will
be cave inw A rush took place for
The ladders, and men scrambled and
climbed over each other in the effort to
reach the top before the wall caved in.
Quick, boys, or you are lost| ex-
claimed Gore, disdaining to take advan-
tage Of the means of escape until all his
men were safe. They were all up but
one, Jim Reilly, who was rheumatic and
unable to move fast. For Gods sake,
come up, GoreW cried they on the sum
nit of the firm bank. mot to leave this
poor fellow" replied the contractor,
pointing to the decrepit old laborer.
The sand and stones were now sliding
uown faster and faster, and the western
wall appeared TO be on the point OF
bursting
at last the old man reached the top
and Gore made bound for the ladder
but as he grasped the rung the bank,
broke, and fifty tons of sand descended
with crash. Situated as he was, Gore
was only struck by the bghtest end OF
the mass and was buried in the sand
up to his neck. A stone had struck him
on the head, but not with sufficient force
to kill him He recovered himself in a
lew minutes, but was unable to extri-
cate himself form the Sarth around him,
the pressure of which was becoming
greater every minute.
s'Boys," he shouted, ST guess III
have to trouble you to dig me out, if you
can. and if you can't, I'll be all the same
Obliged to you" A hundred willing
hands went to work to effect his deliver
auce. 1t was tedious process, for the
only way to avoid an additional fall OF
earth was to make transverse cutting.
A sponge saturated with VINE WAS
lowered and he managed to get it with
his teeth. Hour after hou
passed. and yet the work of rescue
was not half accomplished. Boys, is
it any good?" he cried, and they told
him they would work all night for his
sake. The ground above was covered
with people, many of whom were weep
ing and praying for the poor fellow.
Word was silently passed to the rescu-
ers to hurry in the name of Heaven, as
another slide ofearth Immediately above
Gore was threatening. It was now get
ting to be dusk. and an awful stiffness
Tell upon all. Courage, Ralph, they
will soon have you," cailed out repor-
Ter, but the words had barely passed his
lips when the dreaded slide began. The
doomed man saw it coming, and, ever
anxious for the safety of others before
his own. he cried, to them to keep back
from the edge for their lives sake. His
upturned face was a sight that made
stre ng men weep ike children. Good
bve, lads. Remember me To-" To
whom Ralph Gore wished to be remem-
bered will never be known this side
of the grave. The fall of earth that fol-
lowed buried his brave, sunburned face
twenty feet under the sand, killing him
instantly Correspondents Cleveland
Leader.