Prescott Transcript in Prescott, Wisconsin

Man Buried Alive in Well Emerges in Hollen

An eccentric Maine laborer named Barnes was buried when a well caved in. After three years, he reappears at a farmer’s house, having tunneled to the surface and emerged in the town of Hollen, six miles east of the Penobscot river. The event follows an inquest where locals debated disinterment. The minister and coroner argued against digging him up, while his wife noted his missing clothes. Barnes had left a note on his fate by digging his own grave. He finally resurfaced and began to explain his long disappearance amid astonished townsfolk.