Year: 1872

A Little Boy Falls into an Old Well


Extraordinary Adventures.
A correspondent of the New York Times
writes from Oneida county, New York, as
follows:


The imagination Of the most extraYagant
writer of fiction could not create a more
perilous situation, or more miraculous de-
liverance, than the one in which a little
eight-year old boy of this village was placed
few evenings since, and from which he
extrieated himself unaided aud unseen.
His name is John Thomas, known for miles
around as a daring but not bad boy, and
called "Johnny,"-and, in company with
other boys, was playing "hide and SEEK
just out of the village. In vacant lot near
where they were playing, well had been
sunk some years ago, and, not being IN
use, had become covered with drift of
snow. While run ing through this lot
"Johnny" stepped en- this treacherous COW
ering, and was instantly precipitated to the
bottom. The boy relates the occurrence
himself, and with such apparent sincerity
and straightforwardness that there can be
no doubt as to the truth of the statement.
He says that when he fell in he thought he
was sinking into an old cellar, of which he
knew, but contact with the water suggest
ed to his mind that it must be a pond or
creek. He was completely submerged in
the water, which he describes as not feel
ing particularly cold, but soon rose to the
surface. He at once reached out his hands
and they struck against jutting stone,
which he grasped hold of. After sup
porting himself above water until be
could collect his senses, he felt around
and discovered by the walls that he
was in a well. 1t was dark as dark
could be, and he had nothing TO go by but
his sense of feeling. He knew that none of
his companions had seen his sudden disap-
pearance, and that consequently no aid
could be expected from them. He then
made up his mind that there was but one
way out of the well, and that was to climb
up the WALL This perilOus ascent he COM
menced without moments delay. The
circumference of the well was too great to
allow his spreading his legs to get a foot
hold on either side Of the wall, so he was
obliged to use a small portion of the circle
to brace against. After several trials he
succeeded in getting above the water, and
cautiously and slowly .-craWled upward
Ftiust," as he says, ''as if / was climbing up
ladder, only hadn't the rugs to take hold
Of" When about three feet up, and already
very tired, he made a misstep, and was
plunged back into the water. This, he
says, almost disheartened him, but, after
short breathing spell, he again began the
dangerous climbing. He literally dug his
finger nails into the damp wall, and clung
to the merest triaes. At last he came to a
place in the wall where he could not get any
hold to lift him any higher. He knew that
he must be somewhere near the top, but
above him, as far as he could reach, and to
the right and left of him, the wall was ap-
parently solid piece. Despair here almost
overcame him, and he says be felt as if he
must drop to the bottom Of the well and
give up. "But l thought Of mother
and the rest of 'em at home,
and knew that they were waiting supper
for me, and my mother would lift up the
curtain and look out n say, q wonder what
Johnny stays away so long for? Then he
made up his mind "to get out of there
some way" Feeling below bin, to his
right, he found that the wall offered him
foothold, but it would be necessary, in or
der to take advantage of that point, to de-
scend a few steps over the distance he had
gained, and then move about two feet to
the right around the well! This most per-
ilous part of his terrible task he accom-
plished in about the time It took him to
get up as far as he had. He then began
the ascent again, and reached the
snow safely above. The hole through
which he had fallen was directly over him,
and, after resting a spell, with bis hands
grasping the top Of the well, he pulled him
self out and started for home. He had
gone but few steps when he fell fainting
to the ground. The unnatuzRl excitement
that had nerved him 10 his superhuman eff
forts gave way, and lee him powerless. BE
revived soon, however, and crawled home,
which was not far distant. His clothes
were frozen stiff, and his hands scratched
and swollen dreadfully. II took him near
" an hour to climb from the bottom Of the
we'll