The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-06-06
BURIED FOR NINE HOURS.
A Chew of Tobacco the First Thing the
Rescued Man Wished.

A Chew of Tobacco the First Thing the
Rescued Man Wished.
From the Netr YORK. Tribune
After nine hours Imprisonment beneath
tons OF dirt, Jacob Heeb of Newtown, L. l.,
crawled out alive and we'll yesterday after
noon. preacher was the first man to
lend him helping hand as he came out,
and he drove home in AN undertaker's
wagon between doctor and "A coroner.
Mr.. Heeb went to work yesterday morn
ing at $50 o'clock in q well situated on
property in Grand street, Newtown, belong
ing to Leopold Bernheimer, the brewer.
1t was driven well, and the pipe had been
sunk sixty-five feet. The shaft was thirty
six feet deep aud cased with boards. The
soil was loose, and at the bottom of the
shaft there was good deal of running
sand.
While Mr.. Heeb was at the bottom of the
shaft yesterday morning, the Earring of a
passing freight train on the Long Island
railroad caused some of the lower sections
OF the casing to give away. The loose sand
Immediately ran into the WELL the sides of
which caved in, and Heeb was quickly
buried under mass OF earth. Several of
the short boards used in the casing fell so as
to form roof over his head thus fortunately
saving his life He was buried in the run
ming sand up to his waist, and one of his
ebi AIS Vco "cuk0u AL UcbhCoA bnO OOhEd5s
The cavern was on one side, and at a short
distance from the mans head was small
air-hole. The two German laborers who
were helping the welt digger were
struck dumb with fear when the accident
happened. William Manwsring. an expert
well digger, happened TO be passing, and he
took charge Of the work of rescue. An
alarm was sent out and within few min
utes fifty men had gathered around the
we'll. One of the first who came was the
Rev. s. Mailman, pastor of the Newtown
Presbyterian church. He went down into
the shaft and found that Mr.. Heeb was
alive.
"Send that man down here" said Mr..
Heeb. II mean that fellow talking up
there. He understands it.
lie meant Man waring, who was near the
mouth Of the well, and whose voice he had
recognized. Manwaring went down and
told the imprisoned man his plans. A box
about eight feet square was placed about the
well, and within this the force of men di-
rected by John H. Prall. the broker, began
work. The digging was done carefully in
order to prevent the earth from caving in
further and thus burying the man deeper.
Nearly the whole population of Newtown,
men, women and children, turned out. and
the town constable was at his wits end to
keep back the crowd. About l o'clock al
air engine was brought and compressed air
was forced through pipe into the narrow
cell below. MIR. Heeb was able to breathe
with comparative ease after that, although
a quantity of packed hay in the shaft pre-
vented all the air from reaching him.
The earth was dug away around the shaft
for depth of fifteen feet, and then the dirt
was removed from above the head of the
intombed man. The Rev. Mr.. Mailman
went down into the shaft and at 4 30 o'clock
p. N. the we'll digger and the people were
drawn to the surface. The crowd cheered
again and again. and Mr.. Heeb was es-
corted to the wagon of Henry Shelton, the
undertaken. He was almost exhausted, but
still conscious.
Il never expected to get out alive" he
said.
The first thing he asked for was a chew
Of tobacco. A hundred packages of the juicy
weed we're brandished in the air and cry
OF take mine, take mine," passed through
the crowd.
He wes very faint but the use of restora-
tives soon put him in good condition. DR..
w. A. Combes examined him carefully and
found he was not injured.
Mr.. Heeb was seen last night at his home
In the Hoffman boulevard. With the ex-
ception of little numbness he was in good
condition. His remarkable rescue is the
talk Of all Newtown.