Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-06-07
ADVENTURE IN A WELL.
Thrilling Story OF Unfortunate Ettienne
Billiard.

,
who was buried accidentally in well an,
remained in it for long period is no
) without a parallel in the history of mimi.
transactions in France. In the Depart
ment of the Indre, and parish of Fleur-la
Riviere, about $50 o'clock one morning
Etienne Billiard, a working mason, de
scended well 120 feet deep for the pur
pose of examining it preparatory to some
repairs. When he had reached the bot
tom, or nearly so, an extensive portion o
the sides fell upon him and shut him ou
from the light of day; but by remarkable
piece of good fortune the materials in fall
ing 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 stone masonry
or would have been suhocated Immediately
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 immedi-
ately ran up to it. On listening intently
they heard the cries of Billiard, and the
certainty that he was yet alive inspired the
| hope of delivering him. Sending off one OF
their number to alarm the neighboring in
habitants and authorities, these workmen
then lowered lighted candles down the
| well, the danger of further fall of the
sides lettering 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. Law
above the unfortunate Billiard. In reply
| to their call he was heard distinctly to say
that he could not see anything of the light.
81 am assured" he moreover said, ''that |
am a 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 narrow deep well and attempt to clear
away the ruins, without some security
against further fall of the sides, was a
dangerous task. The authorities of the
| district, as soon as they arrived and saw
| the nature of the accident, sent off an ex-
press for the District Superintendent of
Roads and Bridges, NJ. Certain. He was
at some distance, and did not arrive until
next day.
In the meantime one man, a 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
100 feet below the orifce. Urged by the
indistinct cries for help which they heard
from poor Billiard, the men on the spot be-
gan to lift the stones forming the sides of
the well. When NJ. Certain arrived he
descended without hesitation into the well
| and put several questions to Billiard re-
speeding his situation. NJ. Certain judged
it proper to continue the raising of the
sides OF the well, as the displacement of
the lower part would render it most i'm
prudent to go on otherwise. No side
boring could be executed with such speed
as the whole well could be cleared The
soil, fortunately, was clayey and firm
While this labor was going on day and
night with the utmost rapidity compatible
with proper degree OF caution, friends
and fellow-workmen of Billiard descended
occasionally to animate him with the
cheering sound of kindly voices, and with
the assurance that help was near.
On the morning of the 10Th the Gov
ernor and head engineer of the depart
ment of the Indre arrived. NJ. Ferrand,
Inspector of Works, was with him, and
descended into the well. 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 slow
ness. In presence of the gentlemen men
toned the labors 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 hosting them to such
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 miracu-
lousy over the head of the unfortunate
man, or its degree of stability. 1t was
necessary, therefore, to 60 on with the ele-
walton Of the stones with extreme care
and delicacy, otherwise the unsettlement
of any portion of the heavy masses above
him might have caused his instantaneous
death.
At 10 o'clock in the evening of the 29th
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 bore, and he had there
fore the pressure of hunger added to his
! misery. His voice was heard more clearly
as the workmen went on, and they could
now even tell the exact point where he
was confined. But during the night
of the 18th his voice became a
sound of fear and alarm TO the laborers
above him. Billiards motionless condition,
| his want of food for so long time, began
to overthrow his moral courage. His rea-
son gave place to delirium, his hope to
despair. The workmen heard him at one
moment lamenting his fate and piteously
crying for food, and at the next moment
they heard him abandoning himself to the
most extravagant gaiety. Laughter heard
in such situation was thing almost too
deplorable and shocking for human ears to
| listen to.
When consulted on the meaning of
these symptoms on the part OF Billiard, NJ.
Nabert, surgeon who had never quilted
\ the spot since the time of the accident.
recommended the workmen to hurry on
| their labors, as the man could probably
survive but few hours in this state. In
| consequence of this advice, a new direction
was given to the work, and in place of
passing down by the side OF the spot where
the poor man was supposed to be, the ex-
cayation was carried slopingly down to
his head. In short, after three days and
three nights of incessant toll, the head of
Billiard was reached, and cleared of all
surrounding matter. The instant that this
took place, it was notified to those above
by cry, and the deafening shouts that
were Immediately raised showed what an
assemblage had gathered around the place
to learn the issue of the case The deliv-
erance took place exactly at 10:45 o'clock
on the morning Of the 30th.
When raised once more to the daylight