The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-03-26
SMALL BOYS HARD TO KILL.
SOME OF THEIR ESCAPES RELATED
BIZ q TRACTORS.
One who Was Buried Alive and Might Have
Supplied n Mystery-Another Who Got the
Spanking He Desrryed-CiCaTrtte Party
in n Dynamite Box-Fun with u Boiler.

~ " "hb NAiN II 'NF
Supplied n Mystery-Another Who Got the
Spanking He Desrrved-CigaTrtte Party
in n Dynamite BoN-Fun with n Boiler.
Several contractors and builders got TO talk
ing the other day about peculiar accidents and
remarkable escapes from death or injury
which they had observed in their work.
One OF the most singular accidents | ever
Witnessed" said an old contractor. OCCURRED
On Il piece OF work | was doing up in the Bronx
a couple Of years ago. | had the contract for
laying a ,arGe water main and had the street
opened w fer several blocks. We had laid the
pipe. which vas a large one. ami had begun to
fll up the trench. The pipe did not rest upon
the bottom OF the trench. but each Joint was
Placed upon a brick and cement foundation.
and under the pipe. between joints. there was
a space OF about eight inches between IL and
the bottom ~ the trench. About IL o'clock in
the morning | went to a drug store q few
blocks down the street to get 4 cigar. As l
entered the drug store | saw n little boy about
Gycars old running upon the nile II dirt along
side the trench. He was a fright little fellow.
well dressed. with long tiaxen curls about his
head. and was havin. a cool time kicking the
dirt and stones into he trench. l spoke to
him and cautioned him about the danger OF
falling In the trench and getting hurt. lie
stopped an instant. laughed and ran on. lie
had gone only a few feet when he stumbled
And rolled down the pile of dirt into the trench.
l was provoked that he should be there. and
fully expecting him 10 scramble up again.
went into the drug store.
Il remained in the drug store about ten
minutes. and coming out. was going to the
trench to see il the boy vas there. but Je-
fore | reached it | saw. as | supposed.
the same li'tlo bow brushing or his clothes
about half u block away. ! dismissed
the matter from my mind aud went up the
street to where the men were filling in. In a
short time | thought of the incident again. anl
try as | would l could not dismiss il. though
| was sure | had seen the bov brushing of his
clothes unframed. The men were rapidly
filling in the trench and had reached the spot
where the little boy had fallen. After they had
partly covered the pipe. l could not feel easy
about the boys tate. and spoke 10 the foreman
about it. He only laughed at me and as
sured me that the kid was not there.
In order 10 satisfy myself l determined to
have the dirt removed and see if by any re-
mote possibility l had been mistaken about
seeing him brushing oil his clothes when | left
the drug store.
Il ordered the filing in stopred and told the
men TO remove The dirt from the pipe at this
point. They hadn't been at work ten minutes
when one Of hem unearthed a little white hand
and a faXen curl OF hair. In IA few moments
we IH,l MI tIt ulTI TpmpNeu,a ana tneEe the 10y
lay lenGthwise under the ripe. iasensible and
almost dead. We carried him to the drug store.
where a physician restored HIM to conscious
ness. We questioned him when he had re-
gained Consciousness and he told us that when
he fell into the trench he ht his head on the
PIPE and rememtered nothing afterward.
Here was Il case where there came very nearly
being a mysterious diSapIearance. We
learned atterward that he had run away from
home and when last seen 10y any one who knew
him was severa. blocks from where the acct
dent occurred. NOBODY saw him fall hut my.
self. And. furthermore. in all probability |
would Fever have heard or read Of his disap-
tearanre. "a The next day | went aboard a
yacht with some friends and for three weeks
was out Of the reach Of new~uaners. Had
not stopped the work and begun the search the
mystery would never have been cleared W."
That reminds me-. said another ~contrac-
tor. "of a case Of nearly a similar character. /
was having a biz water main. We had COM
pleted the lob aad were filing w the trench.
Where the Iipe ended we were Obliged to rut
heNt sector! had NOT teen started AMI probably
,s not tH i"r some '.al". W. hal liiSd W
covering over the end and mad rarity Tiled az |
the tt"ie with dir when We hear! a fe.',i" cry |
Tor a moment fiina"SyT tTe'ff or "TrE 'I T":"ysfsd
nresenre O.; mind enough TO order them To- re-
inN'V. VIC ~ hllAi I'ttIS 'illi see Wllul was IN |
the pipe. When they had done so out crawicd |
about a. thor9rshsy fricht-ned . nny as eve.
the aft, r.Yon to hi'e from h. comranions
ana had fallen asleep and Was uuly awakened
aratnst, the t"ag'i- ,~ro'erinc az the cud ui The |
ripe. HIS mother htr Irnei alon- about this
tLne; When che learned, what had occurred
she st down her market basket. ucked up d
;hth and treated u- 10 an eNhIniticn II how a
hoy should l." properly ,]spanked. She did the
loh Ia artistic snare and when She stopped for
want OF breath that hoy had the fact IMPRESSED
UPON his mind that "A mar IN q big water main
was Hss,nst me rue 81 thr lami!y'
gaze He P"u as nnd a sSHrT last summer as
one OF the three | would have imInIIHimr,. ~ ,
sranking which would have been ur To- all tho
contract re iul:ement> OF a weLt-reguiatei fam
near a large op"n JoI and The sinai boys Of
the neIenb9rho,i used 70 bother us ~ utter
wnrkmen were not about. one rainy morn
ing about q week before the Fourth .; Juy
6y firing oil trecrarkerS about the place. As
me men were, not, working on account II the
about II O'Clock | cane IN 10 the place 70 pre-
pare TO ret the men 10 work at O'Clock. as
IT ma 52ok Snid iifr :lf ntm,si pp; +, | found sasdd the T4ish:
had ,rerateJ him ~ ha negligence we rro.
ceeIed toWtiG the place.
boS where our dynamite vas stD.el partly
1tep and propped up with a stick. ant from out
smoke, We ran for our lives untt! We lad
reached a safe distance AMI awaited tn" on.
come, As there we're rounds of dynamite
and, about fifty pounds of black Iuwder st"rnI
IN thar box neither Of US would have gone
near II for any amount of money. our trst
thought was that those BOYS had set lire 70
some rubbish in the box with their frecrack.
ers. We warned every one who came near
ana did all We could to avoid an acciien..
After waiting about rem minutes in breuthiess
eNi ectation 0t n terrible eNpl ,siOn. we saw
three youngsters stick IN their heals and
peeu out; each one with n cigarette in his
mouth. We made a run for those yCungsterS.
anu uut they jumped and .campercd away. II
the Waterman had heen snhc- and had haen
a6out ~ pounds lighter and TWENTY-FIVE years
Younger We might have caught those liffIe
-clmns, but teer. age and avoildupois wsts
against us aud they got away."
i We also had my trouble with bows and cara
less waichinen, said another mem er OF the
party; Parry last sumner | had u ,oN IN in
me BronN. and as | had been away from t6a
place all on day. took a drive W theIe win
my VIE that evening about X O'Clock. When
got in sight Of the place saw about If.vu
hall grown boys about the engine and derrick.
ne boiler Wa blowing on steam al a faa-fSi
aud IN" derrick was tuGGiug away with a
.wo,tun rock twenty feet IN The air TIA
whole SCENE in the ,lpEEv pbnl =. -