So, I'm all excited. I have what looks like a very cool spot...nearby river that drops off a 10z+ waterfall into a totally vertical canyon, lots of wood on top. I'm picturing a very cool fortress at the top and drilling down for good stuff. Seriously fun. Well, when I surveyed the area upon arrival I had the idea to construct a wooden palisade at the narrowest point between the river and the edge of the hilltop, then remove all the ramps around the edges for a nice hilltop fort. So, I got that going. Then I thought...hmm, maybe I can dig a small moat in front of my wall, learn how levers work and hook up a drawbridge, and it'll be good! Hey, since I'm right next to the river, I can even flood the moat easily! Cool.
Now, I was worried about my miner. I sent him down into the moat that I channeled out and had him remove all the upward ramps at the bottom, except for a row of five or six ramps on the outer edge of the moat, right near the river. Perhaps foolishly, I thought that I wanted the moat to have sheer edges so that bad guys who fell in would be more effed. But I definitely thought to leave the miner a way out, since I knew the water would be coming.
That dumb fucker panicked when he broke through to the river...and instead of just running two squares east onto the ramp and out to safety, he bolted down to the far end of the moat, where he eventually drowned. I'm bummed to have lost my most promising initial militiadwarf, but I'm equally pissed to have lost one of my two starting picks, which is going to slow shit down for sure!
Is there any safe way to retrieve his body and his stuff? I'm a little concerned about not being able to give him a proper burial, especially since my first fort died because of spiraling bad moods, tantrums, berserker fits, and melancholy (oh, and trolls).