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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

A desperate rescue drama unfolded near Winona, Washington, west of Colfax, when Archie Long and Otto Chapell fell from a scaffold into a deep irrigation test hole. Chapell died instantly, but Long was trapped alive in boulders and gravel.

“His head was free to move two or three inches and there was a tiny cavity below his face,” said the news account. “The porous character of the gravel and rocks allowed air to reach him.”

A crew of workers spent day and night attempting to dig Long out, but “the rock is round and runs like water, coming under the curbing constantly.” One man, William Schulting of Colfax, worked in the hole almost without pause, coming up only occasionally for two or three hours of sleep.

Long was able to talk to his rescuers and once said he wanted a drink of water and a cigarette.

Finally, after 130 hours, the rescuers managed to get Long out of the hole and to the surface. He immediately collapsed and was treated by two doctors on the scene, but to no avail.

“He lived only long enough to thank his rescuers for their heroic efforts.”

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1851: Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes.