Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-02-25
FOUND ALIVE.
Five of the Men Imprisoned in
the Jeansville Mine
Rescued After Being EntOmbed
Nineteen Days.
Only One With Sufficient
Strength to Be Removed.

The Others to BE Carefully Nursed
Where Found-Their Survival After a
Lapse Of Almost Three Weeks some-
thing without Precedent In the An
thracite Coal Fields of Pennsylvania.
TOO Weak TO Tell the Story of Their
Sufferings.
HAzLEToN, Pa, Feb. 25.- "Alive
Alive!" was the joyful tidings Monday
night at II 80 o'clock from the ill-fated
slope No. / at Jeansville.
After nineteen days entombed in the
darkness of the mine five of the victims
of the terrible disaster were found alive.
Their names are John Tomaskusky,
Joe Mastuskowich, John Berno, Bosko
Frinko and an unknown Hungarian
who was visiting John Berno.
These, with thirteen bodies already
found, make eighteen men, the exact
number given in these dispatches the
day of the accident.
A Miracle.
How they survived is miracle. Moth
ing like it has been known or heard Of
in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsyl-
vania.
The searching party, after the expert
ence in finding Bollock, Reed, Ball and
Smith Sunday, were more anxious than
ever to solve the problem of the fate of
the remaining five.
Not a moments time was lost in the
search, but all in vain. No trace Of the
49,, ,eo,4,p,+a ,y;,4;,,,o Gould ba fO17p5 ~,
til late Monday night, when Superin
tendent McFarlane and Caleb Williams
were making a search in breast Of the
east gangway Of the north pitch. They
were startled and honiffed to come
across the bodies of the five unfortunate,
and yet withal, fortunate men. They
Were lying in various positions, all hud-
died together i'll their efforts to keep
warm.
Too Weak to BE Removed.
Careful examination revealed the Joy
full fact that all were alive, weakened,
of course, by the awful torture Of hun
ger and thirst but still alive.
They were so weak that, with one ex-
ception, they could not be removed.
John Tomaskusky's 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 Of the first lift into
the engine house. DR.. Doolittle, of the
village, was summoned at once, and en-
tered the mine, A large stock of blankets
was at once secured, and the men
wrapped in them. Tomaskuslky was
just strong enough to raise his head and
able to look around. He was carefully
carried to the engine house at the bottom
of the first lift and medical aid given
him there.
When spoken to he raised his eyes
mournfully, a look of despair passed over
his face and he muttered, John much
sick"
The rest of the men could not be
moved, b'lt were cared for just where
found. The men will not be brought to
the surface for several days. Careful
nursing will he given them, and every
effort put forth to save their lives, so
that their terrible tale may be heard.
Rev. j. J. Cumminsky, of Hazleton,
was summoned, and visited the men
down the slope and administered spirit
ual comfort Superintendent MacFar-
lane was so busy caring for the men
that no story of the finding could be
had. He said: Their story will all be
gladly given you later if you only give
us time now to make use Of the means
that a generous Providence has placed
at our disposal to bring the men around
again to life. -
They suffered terribly from the pangs
of hunger, and nothing but their hard
constitutions, common to their race,
saved them.
The contents of their dinner pals kept
them alive for six days Then they
lived on the oil from their lamps and
bottles. After that was exhausted they
drank the dark, sulphurous water.
Whatever the temptation may have
been to kill and eat each other, it was
not strong enough to tempt these sturdy
sons of Hungary to become man-eaters |
Announcement of the finding Of the
men was kert as quiet as possible, but
this precaution the
mouth of the slope was surrounded by
hundreds of excited people.
THEY ATE RATS.