Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-08-06
DIED I'm AGONY.
Terrible Suffering of a Chicago
Laborer.
HE FALLS INTO STACKING LIME

Which Does Its Horrid Work with Fright
on by the Time He Has Crawled Out
of the Box and His Flesh Full OF Holes
Death Relief.
CHICAGO, Aug. O. Patrick Kane, hod
carrier, fell into pit of slack lime he
was preparing at the yard of Robert Bor-
land, plasterer, S6l West Erie street, and
died from the effects at his home, 81 Hast
ings street yesterday morning Kane was
a stalwart Irishman, "a years old, and pos
sessed record of unbroken good health,
but on the day the accident occurred he
complained of sick headache At the
asked him to prepare some lime for the
next days work Kane at first declined
on the plea that he was ill, but was finally
persuaded to resume work. None of the
laborers was about the yard when Kane
began working the lime and his employer
went back to the Office to calculate esti
mates on some jobs in hand
Fell Into the Burning Lime.
About o'clocl, Kane, who felt weary
and tired, leaned heavily on the mixer
with which he was stirring up the lime.
The plank on which he stood had been
thrown carelessly across corner of the
box. His weight turned it over, and be
fore he could regain his balance or utter a
cry for help he fell full length into the
boiling bubbling lime. He sank down.
no part of his body escaping contact with
the burning liquid except his left arm and
the upper part of his face.
just Able to Get Out.
Kane was strong man, and though
half blinded by the specks of lime tina,
splashed up from the box, and suffering
horribly from the mouthful of fiery liq-
uid he had swallowed in his fatal plunge
| he crawled out. staggered few PAGES
and then fell PROSTATE on the sand heap
where he was found few minutes later
by his employer. From his shoulders
downward the lime had eaten into his
clothes and was slowly making its way
| through the flesh of the unconscious man
Terrible Effects of the Bath.
The soles of his boots had dropped off
and his trousers from the knee down huns
| In shreds from his slowly consumins
limbs. The skin on the upper part OF hi.
| right arm, which was barred to the shout
| der, had been burned away and the mus
Giles and tendons had succumbed to the
| destroyer. The nails on the fingers hat
| dropped Off almost Immediately aftel
coming in contact with the lime, aud tn,
hand was tightly clinched as if to con
| quer the maddening pain. The liquid
| crept slowly but relentlessly through hi.
shirt, eating its destructive way anc
| frightfully scorching his chest and back
A Mass of Burning Flesh.
The man was mass of burning fesl
| and lime. and when Borland, his employ
| er, found him on the sand heap the fata
| lime had etfectnally done its deadly work
| Borland rushed for the hose pipe and at
| tempted TO check the progress of destruc
| ton by deluging Kane with cold water
Then, despairing of the mans life, he car
ried him TO his buggy with the lime-eater
| clothes still clinging to his burned body
| and drove the injured man home. For
| week Kane lowered between life anC
| death.
Suffered n Hundred Deaths.
None of the sufferers seen by Dante dur
| ing his journey through the Inferno could
| ever have endured the awful agony expe
| rienced by the dying hod-carrier, as the
| lime fairly scorched its way through his
| lungs. The scars on his body and limbs
were hideous enough, but all chance oil
recovery was destroyed by the awful fire
| raging within. Kane bore his suffering,
| with the fortitude of a stole
Bore 1t Like "a Hero.
No word of complaint ever crossed hi.
| lips, and he showed no sign of the great
agony he felt except to lay his uninjured
| hand on his bosom and murmur, any
| heart is burning away!' The fiery fluid
released him yesterday after weeks sui
| fering, and Kane passed away uncon
scious of the approach of death.