The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-31

iuAsOEcu, among th0 crOW0 LhoL tno water main, which had broken, flooding the ditch. had been laid only few months ago, the dirt about it being still fresh. unpacked and unstable. In- quiry at the once of the City Engineer, however. showed that the main had been laid in May. 1905, eighteen months ago. The dirt. Engineer Gilchrist said. should have been packed hard in that time
 Another belief expressed was to the effect that the sewer was being laid too close to the water main. Manager Oliver said that he had no chart of the location of the main. and inquiry at the City Engineers office showed that the pipe had not been charted. Be. fore beginning work on the sewer, the contracting firm had sunk hole at the corner of Jackson and Tatum Streets to locate the water main, and had worked from this line.
 Coroner Tice. after Investigating the case. decided that no inquest was nee essary, cause of the deaths of the three men being plainly apparent.
 EscapeA and Disappeared.
 The accident happened a few minutes before II o'clock. At the time of the fall. so far as could be learned, there Two of these, said to be Sam Williams and Massey Harris. escaped They ais . appeared immediately after the acci- dent, and for . time 1t was rumoreo they had been caught and buried. Work- men who excavated to the orieinal pot tom of the ditch. however. uncovered only the three bodies. In addition to the men working Tn the ditch, a like number were on tho surface. removing dirt which the men below threw up with their shovels. Just before the cave-in. one of these, negro, John Grace, noticed the earth on the surface begin to crack. He shout ed a warning to the workmen In the hole. who looked up. Before four or them could make a move to escape however( the overhanging earth fell. burying them from sight. The other two, working at the ends of the fall ing portion, managed to escape the
 The portion which fell in on the men was about sevtny-five feet in length.
 It filled the trench to depth or nVe feet. Foremen Whitley and Moore' who were engaged In work at tnat per
 tion of the sewer at the intersection or Hall and Tatum Streets, heard the ta1i of the earth, and hurried at once to thS scene. Leaping into the trench. they at once set to work in the attempt to rescue the imprisoned men. Dorsey' who succeeded by digging with ms hands in raising his head above tne crust of the earth. was pulIsd rom
 his perilous position. one oi me other men, said by bystanders to nave been Warren, maraged to work ms head to the surface just as the water from the main flooded the ditch He was drowned before he could be take" out of the hole.
 cautiously enough, the water, wnie" brought about the death of the tnree men, was the agent which prousns about the release of Dorsey burleo ,y;tb bis head a foot beneath the sur face and his hands helpless. the water, filling the bottom of the trench, caused tha earth to settle so that the negro was able to work his hands loose anu dig the dirt away from his race; tne tale of his experiences buried In 'ne hole is thrilling.
 A Thrilling Experience.
 CT was working below, he said. when I heard some one above shout to us to look out. I glanced up Just in time to see the bank cave in on me. There was no chance to run. III an instant I was covered over with oiI.' pressed in tight. helpless. unable to even move my fingers. It seemed nhe an hour later that l felt the water reach my feet. A little later, IL iooseu the earth below, dropping that aoove me until could move my fingers. Then I got the use of my hands. and worked my arms to the suface With my hands free, I was able to dig the dirt away from my face and breathe again. The fresh air sure did feel good.
 All the time. though, l could feel the water rising. and I saw unless l could get loose. I should be drowned in the ditch. cried for help but none of the negroes would come to me. Then the white men came. and got me out" Dorsey was taken to q house near by where he received medical attend ance Later he was removed to Hale's Infirmary, where last night he was reported to be resting as comfortably as could be expected. He was badly crushed by the earth. and 1t Is thought there may be internal injuries. A com plete examination will be made of him | today
 Foreman Whitley said that he had left the crew immediately under his supervision for a few minutes and was talking with Foreman Moore at the corner of Hall street, about 200 feet away from the scene of the accident when the cavein occurred. He had just asked Foreman Moore the time. and had been informed 1t was 10:55 o'clock. Hearing the cries of the laborers at the upper end of the ditch, he hasten ed, accompanied by Foreman Moore. to the spot and began the work Of rescue. Just after the accident he was unable to tell how many men had been caught in the cavein. although it was discovered later that the four men first taken from the hole were the only ones buried.
 Mnager Oliver. speaking of the ac- cidcnt. said he had been called by tele- phone from the city to the place of the accident. and could not make any state mcnt as to the cause of the fall. No snoring had been done in the ditch.
 which was about two feet in width. as it was considered unnecessary in work of that depth to guard against caveirs. It was his, opinion that the men could have been saved if the water
 main had not been broken No danger If any sort had been anticipated. he said, which would have made the pre- caution of snoring necessary He had never been furnished with chart showing the position of the main. all though he knew of its existence and
 had located 1t at Jackson street by sinking hole. The manager said he had not had a fatal accident on work
 under him In more than ten years. Responsible for Accident. At the City Hall, the question was discussed as to possible responsibility
 of the city for the work. It was the
 generally expressed opinion that upon the contractor alone rested the duty or
 guarding against accident. This was the belief of Mayor Teague. City At torney c. P MacIntyre. when approach l. ed on the subject declined to make
 d. statement, as he was not in full pos 1 session of the facts.
 The bodies of the three dead men