Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1914-09-04
CAUGHT IN A TRAP
Swinburne's Odd Adventure on
the Coast Of Normandy.
FACED A MADDENlNG DEATH.

FACED A MADDENlNG DEATH. Ts pl
A Perilous Feat That For Time En- h
tombed Him In a Marrow Tunnel Of d
Solid Rock and Came Near Putting al
Premature End to His Mortal Career.
In his youth Swinburne was a fa- !,
nous swimmer, and for years he used !,
to retire in summer to the picturesque Il
little village Of Etretat. on the Nor b
mandy coast. there to breast the waves II
and to wander about the chalk cliffs Il
and gaze forth from some coign of van 6
tage upon "the blown. wet face Of the 1t
sea- N
One day he met with a singular ad- a
venture. which has never been told In II
print. and came near putting a prema- Y
ture end to his mortal career. I
at one point Of the coast vast natu- O
raj arch pearly 1oO feet in height Is
formed by a flying buttress at right an y
giles to the general line Of the cliffs, I
which plants its foot below high water
mark on the shingle beach. The cen
tral mass of this buttress fell OF was
eaten away by the waves in prehis-
toric ages. leaving a pointed gothic
doorway of remarkable symmetry and
mightier than any ever built by man
/ 1t Is a famous landmark Of the coast
and is to be seen in countless marine
pictures painted in the latter half Of
the last century.
The outer springer or pier Of this
gigantic arch is submerged at food
tide. but when the water recedes 1t Is
seen to be pierced by small hole or
tunnel, also Of natural formation, pass
ing clear through the substance of the
chalk from one side to the other. This
hole is partly choked up with the flint
pebbles of which the beach is com
posed. but space enough remains nor
man 70 crawl through.
The massage Is about sixty feet IN
length. but is bent in its course. so that
when halfway through daylight cannot
be seen I'm either direction II was
local feat Of the athletic young fisher =
,n.sr, ,,f mo rf.sslon TO wrfegic their way
fhraus-g, the tunnel at low tide-
ss,x-fs,f,rue had Witnessed one OF a
these performances and made up his n
mind to attempt the passage himself.
He chose a day following one Of the )
fierce storms of late August. When he Il
reached the spot the sun was setting 0
and the beach was deserted He did a
not think 1t worth while to remove any 1
Of the rough tweed outing garments {
that he wore, but got down on his I
hands and knees and began worming
himself into the darkness Of the hole
At first all went well. but as he pro.
ceeded the passage narrowed and the
Shiny walls of the chalk rock so I'M :
peded his movements that he was un. .
able any longer to use his arms freely, =
but could only push with his feet and :
undulate his body. He bad reached :
the bend of the tunnel and the dark !
ness was absolute. He still pressed on, :
bat only to find himself wedged In yet = !
more tightly
A minute more and be realized with =
horror that he could no longer move q,
an inch either forward or backward.
The waves had heaped the pebbles up nj
in the. center, and he was now firmly Il
embedded within hundred thousand "
tons of solid rock. n
1t was evening. There was no y,
chance Of any ones coming to his res 3,
cue No one had seen him enter the =,
tunnel or had been informed Of his D,
purpose. His presence there might not el
be discovered in days or weeks. and b
meanwhile the tide would have risen OIL
and fallen many times, and be would =
have been helplessly drowned b.
In black darkness. powerless to stir,
be must lie and wait for the certain
end. The recession and rise of the
tide would take. he calculated. not less VI
than six long hours. and his best hope in
was that madness would render him Of
unconscious long before the end came 81
But as he lay there a sound came b.
to bis ears that chilled his nerves with Il
fresh terror. 1t was the sound of o
wave breaking at the farther mouth ta
OF the tunnel. The tide was rising and W
in few minutes It would begin to fill e
the narrow passage cI
The realization Of this fact paralyzed
him for a moment; then 1t stimulated
him to almost superhuman effort
Forcing himself on his left side, he su
succeeded in getting his right arm out st
beyond hin. 1t gave his body little of
more play.
By desperate but systematic wrig- Of
glings and twistings be was able to nj
work away from beneath him some of
the loose shinge and to gain a little eh
forward The exertion was tremendous pf
and far beyand his natural strength. Of
but he was working for life or death.
It was a race between him and the
tide.
The eud was sudden. The tunnel is
abruptly enlarged. He could now eq
crawl on hands and knees. AS he an
scrambled forward. trembling and ye
gasping a rush of water met and sub ag
merged him, but it carried him with It co
as it receded II hung him forth into Pe
the open air like wreck Of seaweed
bruised. choking and exhausted. but
alive. with the blessed sky above him
Another wave caught him and drove fol
him up Oh the beach. and he retained so
just s.uss qnd strength enough &c
little farther. beyond
er. n
"a know ae said nfterward. "thC Gl
fsslings of soul saved from nell"-
James WeIton Gray in St. louis Re
public.
The water wagon new skids-Ean. so
sas city star. ar