Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1891-02-24
AMININGMIRACLE.
Five of the JeansyiIIe Men
Taken Out Alive.
ENT0MBED EIGHTEEN DAYS.
The Most Remarkable Rescue In Coal
Region Annals.

-Four Of Them Were So Weak After
Their Eighteen Day Fast That They
Could Not Move or Speak. While the
Finh, a Man Of Magnificent Physique,
Was stilI Able TO TaIk-The Quintet
Are In Such Precarious Condition.
However, That They Cannot BE re
moved from the Mine for Several pays.
The Gallant Rescuers who HAD Given
Up All Hope Were wild with JOY.
EVANSVILLE, Pa, Feb. 24-1his place
was thrown into fever Of excitement al
1890 last night when it was announced
that five Of the men who were entombed
in the mine here eighteen days ago had
been found alive. Their names are John
Tumaskusky, Joe Matuskowich, John
| Berno, Bosco Frlnko and an unknown
Hungarian who was visiting Berno on the
day OF the disaster These five. with the
thirteen bodies recovered, make every one
OF the missing men accounted for. How
they survived is a miracle Nothing like
it has been known or heard Of in the an
thracite coal fields of Pennsylvania.
They Heard a Faint Tapping
At o'clock last night there came "a
the ears Of the workers in the deepest
shaft the sound of faint tapping from an
abandoned position Of the mine
The workers listened intently and the
| tapping was resumed IL was recognized
as a signal from their imprisoned brothers
| who still lived. The news was sent to the
mouth Of the mine, and il created the wild
est excitement At 10 o'clock the rescuina
| party had got so near the imprisoned men
as to be able to converse with them. The
men were located in an overhead passage
way and could not possibly be reached unr
til the foul gases and impurities could be
removed Every effort was exerted and
preparations for receiving them were
made.
SO weak They Must Lie stiii.
At 1880 the five unfortunate men were
reached They were lying in various posi-
tions all huddled together ia their Efforts
to keep warm. Careful examination re-
yealed the fact that all were still alive.
They were so weak that with one ex-
ception they could not be removed John
Tumaskuskys excellent strength left him
in better shape than any Of the rest and
he was able TO be moved to the bottom Of
the slope There he was cared for by ply
sicians who had been hurriedly summoned.
while the other men were cared for where
they lay. The men win not be brought To
the surface for several days. Careful nurs-
ing will be given them and every effort
put forth to save their lives, SO chat their
terrible tale may be heard.
They Heard big Joe's" Voice.
When the news was first announced
every man who could work in the narrow
shaft joined the rescue party and added
his frantic efforts 20 pierce the harrier
which still remained Earlier in the day
four more bodies had been taken out, max
ing twelve in all recovered of the seventeen
who It was supposed had perished The
last four had perished by drowning, and
not by starvation as did those found Sun
day
Efforts to reach the four whose signal
indicated that they had not yet perished
were terribly hindered by the black damp,
which WAS present in large quantities.
Means Of getting rid of this impure air had
then TO be constructed, while nourishment
was taken down by physicians. At IL
o'clock the exploring party had got so
near the imprisoned men AS to be enabled
10 converse with them. The voice heard
was distinguished as that Of Joseph Matus.
kowich, better known as big joe"
wild with Joy.
From Matuskowich, it was learned that
Frinko, John Tumaskusky and John Berno
were with him and still alive The aston
ishing information was received by the
rescuers with joy and they could scarcely
restrain themselves from rushing into the
deadly black damp Repeatedly Superin-
tendent MeFarlane cautioned them 90 work
carefully, and after four hours exciting
and continuous toll they were enabled 10
reach the point from which they could
satisfy themselves that the men lived.
The way They Were Caught.
The experience Of these four men with
that Of those who were closed in Sugar
Notch ia 1880 can in no manner be com
pared. Those men had water pure air and
a mules carcass to live upon
They had plenty Of room to move around
in and other conveniences which these
men were deprived Of II is supposed when
the rush came they were on the gangway,
near the breast" worked by Reed, and in
making their escape from the rushing
water fled up the man way This led them
to a cross hole, and after proceeding along
IL for some distance they found their road
blocked by the water which had now come
down another opening and filed up the
space through which they were travelling.
Upon retracing their footsteps TO find an
exit from the end through which they en-
tered they found themselves similarly cut
of.
Sueei Is Nowhere.
TIN water had cut across the level and
moved downward. The space which they
4 lttIt TO- oh tr, -.
four feet high and two and one-half feet
wide. How they managed to live in the
place is mystery. The Polander, whose
vitality and strength are to be marveled
at, cannot be perfectly understood on ae-
count of his broken English, but the fact
that himself and his three companions are
still living is satisfactorily established
R.d Navvs for HFfuar4