A NIGHT OF HORRORS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1342, 19 May 1885, Page 3

A NIGHT OF HORRORS.

On the night of the 31st December ult., at Allihies, a village near Castle-town-Berehaven, happened an incident, which, for suffering and horror, has not been surpassed in the most thrilling narrative of the present day. On hew Year's eve night Sergeant Michael Blake, of Allihies Police Station, was returning to the barracks, and, as the evening was rather dark, being about seven o'clock, be took a short cut across some fields, in which, unfortunately for him, was an old disused shaft of the Allihies copper mine, which has no protection whatever, as the paling which once encircled it has long since rotted away. The pathway leads close by the mouth of this shaft, but being well acquainted with the place the sergeant apprehended no danger. He stopped for a moment to light his pipe, his cover fell, and in groping for it, his eyes being dazzled with the glare of the match, he tumbled headlong into the pit. When about half way down the back strap of hip coat caught a projecting rock, and he hu;;g for a moment, but the strap broke almost immediately, and then he fell to the bottom, which covered with rotten matter of all descriptions, as this i pit had been the receptacle of all the carrion of the neighborhood, such as dead dogs, horses, *etc, fqr the past 15 or 20 years. Into this mass of putrid matter the unfortunate man fell, and found when he attempted to move that his right fore-arm had been broken, and his left ankle dislocated. As, in all probability, no person would pass that way until morning, the poor man had to contemplate the fearful fact that if he did not die in this horrible hole he would have at least to spend the night there. .But matters got worse, f"r soon a horde of rats collected, who, thinking the man legitimate prey, attempted to eat him alive. The feeling of Sergeant Blake at this period may be better imagined than described. The agony of his mind must have been something dreadful. With an old bone which he found in the place he defended himself, but the attempt was only partially successful, as, lying on his back and nearly disabled, he could but use his left hand, and he frequently found the rats running across his face, and he found himself obliged to shut his eyes to exclude the filthy matter with which these vicious animals were reeking. When daylight came the only intimation that the poor man had of its appearance was a light which looked like a'star far abpve hia head. He began now to shout with all his might, and a young lad named Dennis Harrington, who heard the noise and fancied that a dog had been recently thrown into the pit, commenced to throw down stones to put the animal out of pain. This was certainly not what the poor man below expected, and this must have heightened the agony of his mind. When the lad had satisfied himself with throwing stones he went away, and happened to meet a woman who was lookirtg for her husband (he not haying returned the nighc before.) He told her of the noise in the pit. She immediately went to the place and shouted down, and on receiving the answer that it was Ser.geant JJlake who was down there Bhe

went to the barracks and told the police, who had been looking for the sergeant all night, that he was down the Kilogue shaft. • They immediately procured ropes and all necessary appliances for the descent of the shaft and release of the poor sergeant. But no one could be found to make the descent until an old miner named James Kelly, who had worked in the mine twenty years ago, came up and volunteered to rescue the man below. He was lowered into this black hole, and on reaching the bottom he fastened the rope round Blake's body, who was hauled up to the surface more dead than alive at about one o'clock p.m., eighteen hours after his fall into this loathsome den. The rope was again lowered for brave Kelly, who fastened himself and was hauled up. A litter was prepared for Blake, who was conveyed into Allihies. Blake is rapidly recovering from his injuries.—Cork Examiner.