A Night of Horrors.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 5107, 30 May 1885, Page 1

A Night of Horrors.

©n the night of the 31st Debember ult., at Allihies, a village near Castle-town-Berehaveri, happened an incident, which, for suffering and horror, has not been surpassed in the most thrilling narratire of the present day. On New Year's eve night Sergeant Michael Blake, of Allihies Police Station, was returning to the barrack, and, as the evening was rather dark, being about seven o'ciock, be took a short cut across some fields, in which unfortunately for him, was an old disused shaft of the Allihies copper mine, which had 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, bis eyes being dazzled with the glare of the match, -he tumbled headlong into tbe pit. When about half way down tbe back strap of his overcoat caught a projecting rock, and. he hung for a moment, but the back strap broke almost immediately, aud then be fell to the bottom, which was covered with rotten matter of all descriptions, as this pit had been the receptacle of all the carrion of the neighborhood, such as dead hogs, horses, etc., for 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 enkle discol&ted. As, in all possibility, no person would pass that way until morning, the poor man bad to contemplate the fearful net that if he did not die in this horrible bole he would have at least to spend the night there. But matters got worse, for soon a horde of rats collected, who, thinking this man legitimate prey, attempted to eat him alive. Tho 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 aeroes his face, and he found himself obliged to shut his eyes to exclude thefiifchy 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 above his head. He began now to shout with all his might, and a young lad named Denis Harrington who heard the noise, and fancied that a dog had recently been thrown into the pit, commenced to throw down stones to put the animal as he thought out of pain. This was certainly not what the poor man below expected, and it must have heightened the agony of his mind. When this ■ lad had satisfied himself with throwing stones he went away, and happened to meet a woman who was looking for her husband (he not having returned the night before). He told her of the noise in tho pit. She immediately went to the place and shouted dowu, and on receiving the answer that it was Sergeant Blake who was down there, she went to the barracks and told the police, who had been lookiug for the sergeant all night, that he was . down the ICiloguc shaft. They immediately procured ropes and all necessary appliances for tho descent of tbo shaft and the release of the poor sergeant, But no one could be found to make the descent, until and old miner named James Kelly, who hud worked iv the rnfhe about twenty years ago, came up and volunteered to rescue the man below. He was lowered idto this black hole, and on reaching the tottom he fastened the rope around Blake's body, who was hauled un to the surface more d^-ad than alive, at

about the hour of ono 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 Slake, who was conveyed into Allihies. Blake is rapidly recovering from his injuries.—Cork Examiner.