Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-01-30
IMPRISONED SIX
DAYS IN A WELL
Frightful Experience of Two
Men on a Lonely Ranch
in Oregon

Burns, Ore.-SiX days in O well,
without food and water and suffering
severe injuries was the experience
that befell two young men, William
Carroll, aged twenty-four, and Rob-
ert Koontz, aged thirty-two, at Car
rolls home, so miles from Burns,
Ore. On the homestead was an old
well about so feet deep. Carroll de-
ctded to clear it out and drive the
shaft still deeper and had engaged
koontz to carry out the works Car
roll himself arranged to assist his
workman, as it was necessary to do
some blasting.
The work was well under way
when Carroll went down the rope
ladder to help Koontz prepare a
blast. He had not descended more
parted. Carrogl made frantic
clutch at the rough. uneven wall, but
tailed to secure any hold and fell a
distance of nearly 70 feet, fractur-
ing both legs just above the ankle.
Helpless in Bottom of Well
Carroll lay at the bottom of tho
pit, unable to move and in great
pain. His companion attended to the
injuries as best he could, binding up
Carrolrs feet and legs with bandages
taken from his shirt. 1t quickly
dawned upon Koontz that their posi-
uop was a critical one, the walls of
tho well being almost perpendicular
for a distance of so feet. Further
more, the chance of rescue from a
passerby was remote, for the valley
was very sparsely inhabited and few
people passed along the road, half
mile distant.
There was nothing to do but at
tempt to scale the steep wall, and
without delay Koontz started to do
so. He went up about eight feet
then his feet slipped and he fell with
a thud to the hard bottom. ~
Time after time Koontz tried TO
scale the wall He dug into the clay
with his feet and made handholes
higher and higher. But fate was
against him. A mass of clay sud
denly gave way when he had reached
point that meant 81 cess was in
sight. He fell, and as he did, gain
ed momentum so rapidly that he
struck the bottom with terrific
force.
His injuries were so severe that
he was unable to get up. For two
days the unfortunate men, lying
side by side at the bottom of the
shaft, suffered intensely from lack
of water and food. They managed
to sleep, despite their crumpled po-
sition, but finally began to feel the
effects of the damp and cold.
Another Attempt at Liberty
Made desperate by their condition,
Koontz, half delrious from pain and
hunger, made one more frantic at
tempt to reach the top. Gradually
he dug his way, niche by niche, to
within IL feet of the pits mouth,
but could go no further. He clung
to the wall for many minutes and
was just on the point of giving up
and dropping to the bottom when he
heard the rattle of wagon wheels on
the frozen ground above. He
shouted as hard as he could and Car
roll, at the bottom of the well, join
ed in.
Ben Weaver, a teamster, stopped
his horses, ran to the we'll and peer
ed down. He saw Koontz clinging
desperately to the side. Without a
moments delay he had attached
fresh ropes to the windlass and in a
short time both men were on the
surface.
Here the plucky Koontz, despite
his injuI .es, mounted a horse and
rode eight miles to telephone for a
doctor. 1t was found necessary to
amputate both Carols legs just be-
low the knee, and this was done
some days later. Koontz, however,
quickly recovered and soon was able
to return to work.