Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-05-30

ooA VI INV tattAu oo&
that hindered my breathing. Air. air!
i must have air! / put up my hands
horror! They struck against a hard
opposing substance close above me.
Quick as lightning then the truth
flashed upon my mind. l had been
buried-buried alive; this wooden pris-
on that inclosed me was a coffin. A
frenzy SURPRISING that of an infurI-
ated tiger took possession of me. With
bands and nails l tore and scratched
at the accursed boards; with all the
force of my shoulders and arms /
toiled TO wrench open the closed lid.
My efforts were fruitless. grew
more ferociously mad with rage and
terror. How easy were all deaths COM
pared to m like this! / was suffo-
eating; / felt my eyes start from their
sockets; blood sprang from my mouth
and nostriis and ley drops Of sweat
trickled from my forehead. I paused.
gasping for breath. The, suddenly
nerving myself for one more wild eff
fort, 1 hurled my limbs with all the
force OF agony and desperation against
one side Of my narrow prison. Ii
cracked, ii split asunder, and then a
new and horrid fear beset me, and /
crouched back, painting heavily. If
IL l We're buried in the ground-so ran
my ghostiy thoughts-what use to
break open the coffin and let In the
mould, the damp worIny mould, rich
with the bones Of the dead; the pen
etrating mould that would choke up
mouth and eyes and seal me into
silence for ever! My mind quailed at
this fdnns Wau h-af ., $780, A.
verge of madness. / laughed-think
of it.-and my laugh sounded In M
w ears like the last rattle in the
throat of a dying man. But / could
breathe more easily, even In the stu
pefaction of my fears; l was conscious
OF air. Yes, the blessed air had rush
ed in somehow. Revived and encour-
aged / recognized this fact, that !
felt with both hands till I found the
creyice l had made, and then with
frantic haste and strength I pulled
and dragged at the wood till suddenly
the whole side Of the coffin gave way,
and / was able to force UP the lid. |
stretched out my arms; no weight of
earth impeded their movements; | felt
nothing but air-empty air. Yielding
TO my first strong impulse, / Ieaped
out Of the ha nful box and fell. fell
some distance, bruising my hands and
knees on what seemed to be a stone
pavement. Something weighty fell
also, with g dull crashing thud close to
me. The darkness was impenetrable.
But there was breathing room, and
the atmosphere was cool and refresh
Ing. With some pain and difficulty /
raised myself to a sitting position
where i had fallen. Ny limbs were
stiff and cramped as well as wounded,
and / shiyered as with strong ague.
But my senses were clear, the tangled
chain of my disordered thoughts be.
came even and connected; my previous
mad excitement gradually Gained, and
l began to consider my condition. /
had certainly been buried alive: there
was no doubt of that. Intense pain
had, / supposed. resolved itself into a
long trance OF Inconsistencies; the
people OF the inn where l had been
taken i'll had at once believed me TO be
dead of cholera. and with the panic
stricken, indecent haste, common in
all Italy, especially at a time of a
plague. a thrust me into one of
those iiimsy cotiins which were then
being manufactured by scores In Ma.
ples-mere shells OF thin deal, nailed
together with clumsy hurry and fear.
But how i blessed their wretched con
struction. Had l been laid In a much
stronger casket, who knows IL even
the most desperate frenzy of my
strength might not have proved un-
availing. ! shuddered at the thought.
Yet the question remained, Where was
1? ! reviewed my case from all points,
and for some time could arrive at no