The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-27

Slanung tunnel to him be constructed.
on tuesday night steel road scraper
andSa traction Angine were secured,
and this trehch WAS begun.
On "wednesday shaft that was in
tended to parallel the old well was be-
gun. The volunteers worked with fe-
verlsh haste throughout Wednesday
afternoon and night. When darkness
came lanterns and bonfires were used
TO illuminate the spot, and hundreds of
men waited their turn to help in the
removal of dirt as it was taken from
the shaft.
Sanford's Mother Hears News.
Reassuring messages were shouted
to Sanford down the iron pipe, and as
each foot was gained in the slowly
deepening shaft the hopes of the
watchers grew brighter.
SanfordS mother heard in her sick
ped at Branchton that her son would
soon be released, and on Thursday
morning the shaft was announced to
nave reached a depth of fifty feet. 1t
was stated that the workers were then
almost on level with Sanford. The
shaft was at that time about three feet
from the outer wall of the we'll and, to
the west of it. During Wednesday
night rainstorm occurred, and the
dampnesS had it's effect upon the Shift
ing quicksand in the shaft, but no one
believed that it would cause a mishap
TO the project for the release of the i'm
prlsoned man. At IL o'clock on Thurs
day morning Sanford tapped a mes
sage to the surface that he heard the
shoVels of the diggers below him and
that they should begin tunneling farth-
er up. He was wrong in this, however
as subsequent events proved
AT the moment when the attempt to
enter the we'll was made, and the spir-
its OF the watchers had risen high, the
second collapse of the well occurred.
Men Have Narrow Escape.
At 11:4O o'clock, without warning,
the treacherous sand shot down several
feet, and the ground for several yards
around gave way. The men at work in
the tunnel sprang into the bucket and
were safely pulled to the surface, and
before the last rumbling of the shifting
earth had subsidized the great crowd
mad turned away, sick at heart at what
was then the certainty that Sanft~l
had at last been killed
That second miracle had occurred
ana tnat the young man was still alive
never entered into the minds of those
who had been so active before and the
Workmen, many of them in tears, slow
ly gathered up their tools and left for
their homes
Late in the afternoon two friends
of the victim passed the spot and found
John henderson, a well digger, build
ing fence about it to protect the pub
lie from dangerous trespassing.
They were discussing the sad fate of
Sanford when they were interrupted
by calls which came, apparently, from
an adjoining field
They could not trace the voice until
Henderson shouted 'in the WE'LL" and
he sprang into the bucket and was
lowered to the bottom of the shaft.
Sanford could@be plainly heard cry
ing inside. Two of the men raced to
Paris, and Henderson began work
alone. 4
With incredible rapidity tremen-
dous crowd gathered, the workmen
sprang from their beds, and within
half an hour the work had been re-
sumed. Greater care was necessary.
however, and the further excavations
were made with additional life lines
hung in readiness for the escape Of the
reseuing party.
Chamber Is Uncovered.
A day later, Friday, about II o'clock,
they could hear what Sanford said
through the walls of the chamber in
which hes4Was confined and late in the
afternoon they uncovered this chamber
SO that his head was visible through a
small hole connecting the shaft and the
we'll about fifty-six feet from the sur
face.
He was in a sitting posture and was
entirely free, with the exception of his
right leg, which was firmly wedged
between the pipe and pile of brick.
The men in the shaft had been unable
to remove this obstruction, and San
ford had worked at it himself until his
strength had given way. To reach the
pile OF bricks the deepening of the tun-
mel would be necessary, and to do this
meant grave danger that not only San
ford but the men in the shaft would be
engulfed. Sanford's father and sisters
declared that they could not ask for
such sacrifice, and asked that the i'm
pr1soned man try again to aid him
self, but, weakened by the effort al
ready made, Sanford had fallen asleep.
Carnie's Heroic Work Begun.
Then John Carnie, who had worked
steadily in the shaft for seventeen
hours, and whose signal heroism has
brought him into wide fame, volun-
teered to construct another tunnel and
go through it himself to save the man.
John Penman, the executor of the es-
tate on which the we'll was situated, at
first refused to allow him to expose
himself but on Saturday morning the
offer was accepted, and Carnie called
for volunteers. Robert Hamilton, an
old friend of Sanford's; Richard Doyle,
practical machiniSt; George Blanch-
ard and George Wentworth responded
to the call. All this time Sanford was
comparatively easy. He had plenty of
air, but his leg was anchored as firmly
as ever. He wanted cold water, but
this was refused.
IF 1 don't get that water tell the
doctor I'll come up for it," he said.
And the crowd shouted with historical
laughter.
Only once did his spirits fail him.
and that was when he slipped a few
inches back into the hole. Several
ropes had been passed around his
body, and the attempt to pull him
away from the obstruction BY main
force was made. This failed, and it
was when Sanford felt himself going
back that he weakened
Carnie Effects the Rescue.
Carnie found that directly under
meath the first tunnel there was a bed
OF sharp, dry sand. About three feet
below this excavation the sand was
taken out and a casting put in until
the We'll was reached. The bricks
which formed the lining of the well
were standing end to end, and the en-
tire pile which was supporting Sanford
was SO fragile that the workmen were
Sell elui III ulSIurD1ng any
part of 1t. Fortunately, however, this
pile was found to have a foundation
of a bed of gravel, the debris, by a
lucky accident having apparently
caught on this projection and formed
a bed for Sanford when the landslide
occurred.
By means of scantling inserted
through the lower tunnel and shored
up with ropes, the pile was sustained
while Carnie removed the bricks one
by one, handling them as if they were
birds eggs. Within two hours the
foot was free.
Co1foyd ,,zo =, ,1,o4 o,.4 e -, =,