Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-03-26
BURIED THREE DAYS.
Billiards. Remarkable Adventure In
Well.

AOb WAbuOuI q DdTdllcl III Juc ulSbOIy vi
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 a 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 we'll
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 tho cries Of Billiard,
and the certainty that he was yet alive
inspired the hope of delivering him.
Sending of one of their number to alarm
the neighboring inhabitants and author
tiles, these workmen 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. 81 am assured" he moreover
said, "that am lost man. But suffer
no pain, and 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
a further fall of the sides, was danger
GUS task. The authorities Of the dis
-trict, as soon as they arrived, and saw
the nature of the accident, sent of an
express for the district superintendent
of roads and bridges, M. 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 we'll. 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 1t most i'm
prudent to go on otherwise. No side
boring could be executed with such
speed as the whole well gould be cleared.
The soil, fortunately, was playey and
firm. While this labor was going on day
and night, with the utmost rapicitY
compatible with proper degree of eau
ton, 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 Indre arrived. M. Ferrand,
inspector Of works, was with him, and
descended into the we'll. lie gave his
assent to the continuation of the opera-
tions going on, which some of the anxious
friends of the prisoner were beginning
to exclailr against, from their seeming
slowness. In presence of the gentlemen
mentioned the lab6rs were continued,
and on the evening of the Goth the
we'll 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 certain way,
a 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 go 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 bis iDstaptaRe-
Gus death.
At ten o'clock in the evening Of the
Goth, 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 9th. 1t was
impossible to send him food by a bore,
and he had, therefore, the pressure of
hunger added to his misery. His voice
was heard more clearly as the workmen