The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-05-26

! pressed against two rihS t.E. "'T1
brokenb. The skin Uvrl. m fercAeIH
seemed being cut. but il Wa, the prs
, sire Of my hat forcing the hsol ne
tween the laced straws. i l;lifo II
my pocket seemed burninr hot. Just
under the small Of my back lay a large
-Iod. The pain at the point 81 contact
was considerable at times. and my
spinal column seemed slowly breaking.
Then the pain stopped and / could feel
nothing.
~"Thoughts coursed like lightning
past life. future and home. | did not
think much of the situation. except to
wonder if | could breathe when | got
out. one singular thought occurred. |
remembered Of reading Of women who.
in war times. buried their husbands in
ash piles or SAND heaps to prevent their
being drafted into the army. | had
often wondered if it were possible for
II 50 placed to breathe through a tube
rs described in the stories. remember
trying to move a hand-even a finger.
one could not have been more firmly
held in a mold. Ny arms and hands
were perfectly mOtiOnlesS. The chest
could not be inflated or moved tho
slightest distance. On the contrary,
the downward pressure forced all the
air out of my lungs. | remember how
hot the earth against my face became
as the last breath was forced from me.
Just in front OF my mouth and chin was
a slight hollow, formed by the arching
Of two gOOd-sized Jumps of clay. |
could move my chin and open and shut
my mouth. That was the only part of
my entire body that could be moved.
| remember trying to keep my
mouth shut to keep out the dirt. But
after a few seconds my mouth instinct
lively opened and, the arch having
broken down, earth filed it. ] remem-
Der the horrible sensation of trying to
dislOdge the earth and the fear of
etrangling that suddenly seized upon
me. | then felt that was doomed to
perish. but had no fear and did not
particularly care.
1t was sixty seconds, so the surveyor
says. when the men reached my head.
The labOrerS think !. was over a minute.
but | am inclined to '~;eiievc the survey
or. | felt the earth move slightly
above my head. That gave lna hope. |
had not thought much of rescue, but |
gathered all my remaining strength. A
shovel passed across the top of my head,
cutting the scalp; l remember feeling
it as if a hot iron had struck me. Then
they uncovered my head and removed
the earth from my mouth and eyes. For
some unaccOuntable reason they stopped
for an instant. The surveyor says the
pressure was 50 great upon the impris-
Oned portions of my body that the blood
was forced to the head, and the veins
stood out so strongly he feared they
would burst. Even with the head un-
severed | could not breathe. They soon
had me laid outside on some wheat
shcaves. | remember, just as they car
ried me out. seeing a little wild c
nary" perch upon a tall thistle near at
hand. | heard it sing b sweet song.
AS the bird flew away, | seemed to fol-
low 1t, dancing about the fields. perch
ing TpOn this and that shrub, iust as it
did The sky seemed to have Il differ
ent cOiGr from that usually noticed. l
was impressed with its graEdeur-the
scenery of the Surrounding co1ntry
was remarkably be~autifui-and as l Oh
served all these things they Affected
Inc. and | cried.
They rubbed my limbs. | could see
the men ct work. but | could feel moth
ing. The partial paralysis of my limbs
continued for some days. TO some ex- |
tent the accident has atfected my mind.
| cannot now enter an underground
cave or mine. or stand under an over
hanging bank without an effort: it re-
quires all my Will to go in them. l also
often dream of caving banks and ex-
perience precisely the same things as l
did in reality. [ neglected to state
that the earth above my head was
about three feet thick; that Over my
legs was much deeper. Many persons
buried in gravel pits and in earth not
nearly so deep have been taken out
dead.-W. X. MOOrehead. in Science.