St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-05-10
BURIED THREE DAYS.
Billiards. Remarkable Adventure in
q Well.

The story of the unfortunate Dufavel,
who was buried accidentally in well,
and remained in it for a long period, Is
not without parallel in the history OF
mining transactions in France. In the
department Of the Indre, and parish Of
Fleure-la-Riviere, about half-past eight
one morning Etiennne Billiard, a working
mason, descended a we'll one hundred
and twenty feet deep, for the purpose OF
examining it preparatory to some re-
pairs. When he had reached the bot
tom, or nearly SO. an extensive portion
of the sides fell upon him, and shut
him out from the light of day; but by
remarkable piece of good fortune, the
materials, in falling, formed small
arch of about three feet in diameter
around his head. Had it not been for
this, he would have been either fatally
hurt by the heavy stones of the mason
ry, or would have been suffocated imme-
diately. Every other part of the well
around his body was filled compactly
with the fallen materials.
The noise Of the Eruption was heard
by some workmen near the spot. who
Immediately ran up to it. On listening
intently. they heard the cries of Billiard,
and the certainty that he was yet slive
inspired the hope Of delivering him.
Sending off oneo Of their number to alarm
the neighboring Inhabitants and suthor-
tiles, these woekDcn then lowered Light
ed candles down the we'll, the danger of
further fall of the sides deterring them
from going down. The candle went
down one hundred feet thus showing
that about twenty feet of the mass, or a
considerable portion thereof, lay above
the unfortunate Billiard. In reply to
their call, he WAS heard distinctly to say
that he could not see any thing of the
light. Il am assured" he moreover
said, that ! am lost man. But suffer
no pain, and l breathe freely"
No ordinary difficulty, it was obvious,
stood in the way of relief in this case.
For workmen to descend into the mar
row, deep well and attempt to clear away
the ruins, without some security against
further fall of the sides. was danger
Gus task. The authorities of the dis
trict as soon rs they arrived, and saw
the nature of the accident, sent of an
express for the district superintendent
of roads and bridges, NJ. Certain. He
was at some distance, and did not arrive
till next day. In the meantime. one
man, slater, ventured to descend to
the top of the fallen mass of stones and
earth, which proved. as had been shown
by the candle, to be about one hundred
feet below the orifice. Urged by the in
distinct cries for help which they heard
from poor Billiard, the men on the spot
began to lift the stones forming the
sides Of the well. When NJ. Ger
tain arrived, he descended with
out hesitation into the we'll. and
put several question to Billiard respect
ing his situation. NJ. Certain judged
it proper to continue the raising of the
sides of the we'll, as the displacement of
the lower part would render it most inn
prudent to go on otherwise. No side
boring could be executed with such
speed as the whole we'll conld be cleared.
The soil, fortunately, was clayey and
firm. While this labor was going on day
and night, with the utmost rapidity
compatible with a proper degree Of eau
tion, friends and fellow-workmen of
Billiard descended occasionally to ami
mate him with the cheering sound Of
kindly voices, and with the assurance
that help was near.
On the morning of the Goth the Gov
ernor and head engineer of the depart
ment of the lndre arrived. NJ. Ferrand,
inspector of works, was with him, and
descended into the we'll. He gave his
assent to the continuation Of the opera |
tions going on, which some of the anxious |
friends of the prisoner were beginning |
to exclaim against. from their seeming |
siowness. In presence of the gentlemen |
mentioned the labors were continued,
and on the evening of the 10Th the |
well was clear to the upper part Of the |
fallen mass. Without delay the process
OF lifting them was begun: but from the |
size OF the stones, the work went on very |
tardily, through the difficulty of hoist \
ing them to such a distance above. |
After they had advanced q certain way.
q new difficulty met them in the face.
1t was impossible to tell the exact state |
OF the arch formed SO miraculously over |
the head of the unfortunate man, or its |
degree Of stability. 1t was necessary,
therefore. to 60 on with the elevation of |
the stones with extreme care and |
delicacy. otherwise the unsettlement of |
any portion Of the heavy masses above
him might have caused his :nstantane-
Gus death.
At ten o'clock in the evening of the
18th, the workmen were calculated to be
about six feet above the captive. who
had now been shut out from the light
since the morning Of the 2sth. 1t was
impossible 70 send him food by bore.
and he had. therefore. the pressure of /
hunger added to his misery. His voice
sas heard more clearly as the workmen