Raleigh, Dec. 19—J.G. Connell [Council??], excavating contractor of this city, was buried alive for nearly 30 minutes, one negro was killed, and another negro rescued from a living grave, early this morning, when a landslide in Glenwood avenue in front of the Methodist orphanage caught the trio as they were installing a large drain pipe.
The dead negro’s name was given as Mose Johnson. Mr. Council and Joe Perry were rescued after heroic efforts by firemen, workmen and passing pedestrians.
Just in Time
Contractor Council was rescued after being buried under more than a foot of dirt, and only after his breathing had almost stopped. He was carried to the hospital, after having been given first aid treatment. A careful examination to ascertain injuries will be given. He complained of severe pains in his back but was otherwise none the worse for his experience.
One Found Under Tree
The dead negro was breathing when his head and face were cleared of dirt but died shortly afterwards. He was found directly under a tree which was carried into the excavation, and it is thought died from internal injuries influenced by exhaustion.
The cave in occurred about 8:30 in the morning, and not long after Mr. Council, Johnson and Perry had entered the cut to adjust the drain pipe being installed.
Was No Warning
Without warning the northern side of the cut gave way and the landslide carried a small tree with it upon the three men. The tree caught Johnson directly in its path, and is thought to have partially blocked the heavy impact of the slide from seriously injuring the others. Other workmen were nearby but not in the path of the landslide. One man yelled a warning, but the men had no time to avoid the impending rush of dirt.
Fire Fighters Called
Workmen on the job grabbed shovels, pedestrians were called to the rescue, and firemen summoned to the scene within a few minutes after the cave in.
For 30 minutes shovels made record time in excavating dirt over the location where the men were last seen.
Doctors on the Scene
Mr. Council was the first to see the light of day as the earth was rapidly cleared away, and when Joe Perry was able to blink his eyes and look into the face of his rescuers. Mose Johnson was the last to be found, but when it was ascertained that he was not dead, the rescuers directed their efforts in further freeing Mr. Council and Perry.
As soon as the contractor’s head and face were freed of dirt Drs. Dewar and Fremean were on the scene. Dr. Dewar immediately gave the contractor a hypodermic. This brought relief and then Mr. Council was able to talk.
“Boys, take your time now, and I’ll soon be out of this hole,” the contractor said, as he directed nearby rescuers in their work.
“I’m all right, but I felt my breath getting shorter and shorter just before you found me,” he told his friends.
Later, after being placed in an automobile for the trip to the hospital he shouted to the crowd all around:
“I thank you all.”
Works After Rescue
Joe Perry, the first of the buried to be liberated, won the plaudits of the crowd when he grabbed his shovel and took a hand in the liberating of his boss, Mr. Council. He worked fast and heroically for 10 minutes, collapsed and was lifted out of the hole and rushed to St. Agnes hospital.
“I have got to git my boss outer dere,” he exclaimed as workers insisted on his leaving the scene.
Perry was at the extreme end of the fill and loose dirt covered him up.
Draws Big Crowd
News of the cave in spread quickly throughout the city and hundreds of spectators were on the scene. Policemen, however, took charge of the situation, and kept back the crowds when it looked like another slide might follow. Workmen engaged in the rescue work were endangered by their labors, but cool heads eliminated any slight danger that might lead to cause a second cave in.
Mayor Culbreth and Commissioner Page and Birdsong watched the rescue work, and were deeply interested in the possible chance of bringing the dead negro ack to life. They were much relieved to learn that Mr. Council was alive.
“I’d rather the water would have backed up clear to the Orphanage buildings than for this to have happened,” Commissioner C.C. Page said as he ploughed through the red mud from the fill after the third man had been brought out dead.
The fill across Glenwood Ave. has been a source of much trouble, tho this is the first time any fatalities have occurred here. Several years ago an accident was narrowly averted when the fill gave way and the street car track on the avenue caved in.
During the rainy spell in September, when the water backed up in the Methodist orphanage grounds, where there is a bowl-like depression, the drain pipes under the fill being too small to carry off the extra flood of water.
At one time the water rose so high that it spread out from the pond which had been formed in the Orphanage grounds across the road.
It was to relieve this congestion and provide larger drain pipes that the excavation was started which resulted in the fatality Friday. The pipes that were installed several years ago appeared to be large enough to carry off the flow of waters from the little branch that flows across the Orphanage grounds in ordinary times but any excess of rainfall is too much for the drain, and the water soon swells into a small lake beside the road.
The fill across the avenue is 25 or 30 feet deep.
From the front page of The Goldsboro News, Saturday morning, December 20, 1924
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064755/1924-12-20/ed-1/seq-1/
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