100 Years Ago in Spokane: Man rescued after 52 hours at bottom of well

JBy Jim Kershner

James Griffin, 60, was climbing up a ladder with a bucket of dirt while digging a well at his place near Garden Springs. He lost his balance and fell backward, all the way to the bottom of the 19-foot well.

And there he stayed for 52 hours.

He later told authorities that he lost consciousness at the bottom of the well. When he woke up, he had no idea how long he had been there. He called feebly for help, but his neighbors were too far away to hear.

At first, he was too weak to attempt to climb the ladder. Finally, after two days, hunger and thirst motivated him to try to crawl up the ladder. He eventually made it, and then staggered to his neighbor’s home.

The neighbor immediately called for help, and Griffin was rushed to Sacred Heart Hospital, where he was reported in serious condition.

From the dope beat: Five men associated with two messenger-service companies in Spokane were arrested for dealing and distributing morphine and cocaine.

Police raided the companies and found drugs that had been smuggled in from Butte.

Recent drug raids had netted nearly a dozen people.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1776: Members of the Second Continental Congress began attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence.

2014: Dr. Kent Brantly, the first Ebola victim to be brought to the U.S. from Africa, was escorted into a specialized isolation unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where he recovered from the disease.