The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-02-23
\ TALE OF HORROR.
ESCAPED FROM THE SOUTH CARO-.
LIMA MINES

L"t I" bs Drowned by tho R.s,n. rids
hut Got Away I'm n BOX Car.
ago the Augusta Chronicle published
the following, which was dated New
York, Feb. |: Half Il hundred ppOpIe
gathered about the form of Il prosirate
Italian who had just fallen from an
empty box car of Il freight train that
pulled lnto the Pennsylvania yards IN
Jersey City yesterday Afternoon.
A noise of moaning in the cir had at.
tracted the attention Of half u doZnn
yar'mcn and they had opened the car
only to fan back in fright us Il wan face,
with bloodSh0t eyes. rose on, Of the
dark car and Il laggard form fell flint.
ing into their arms.
For an instant the man lay limp in
their arms then fell tn the ground
He is dead" cried several of the crowd
that had colleclpd.
NAV! nav, naw,' mutterrd the
prostrate man as he beat the air wildly
with his hands and feet.
Then springinI td his feet he dashed
staggeringly through the crowd to-
wards the terryboa!s Once aboard
the COrtlandt street boat he made his
the city of New York, wept hk" child
then lifting his hands to heaven he
knelt in prayer.
The man was Camlllo Marrida, aud
he had escaped but atew days before
from the phosphate mines OF South
Carolina.
The gaunt Italian, Il mere shadow of
what he was a few months ago, told t. e
following story to an Advrrtis u r.
porter amid eXclamations of drlghL as
the boat reached New York city which
he seem, | To look upon us the goal Of
freedom.
81 lett Italy one year ago. cine TO
America to get rich. Onr day man
came to where lived. at No. 3Ol Mon
roe street, New York city, and told me
could make lots Of money IN tile phnS-
/ phate mines. thought of my little
girl ut home.
",The next day got orsthe steamboat
and sailed for three days. When we
landed in Charleston it was the last
time was free tor months The next
day we were marched into the country
aud at night we camped near river.
| IN log cabin was our only shelter
and here twenty of us were huddled to-
gether, while man with gun. walked
up and down outside. Ia the morning
we were ordered out at sunrise, and
two men with guns showed us the way
to the mines.
"Out on the open marsh half dozen
negro men with balls chained to their
feet, were at work digging away at tn,
mud. This was the phosphate mines
ana soon we were all given spades and
made to Woik wi h the negroes lrO u the
penitentiary.
"For dinner we were given piece of
bacon and some hOminy. This was JuI
meal three times Il day. At night we
slept in Il log cabin, guarded by Spntries
and a pair OF bloodhounds that were
kept In readiness for any convict who
tried 10 escape.
ut was summer then, and soon oul
men began to Sicken and die In vain
we pleaded for release. but we had
signed contracts for Il year, and were
never permitted to leave the vicinity OF
the mines.
"Tu add to our misery We were III
lowed to buy food and medicine Nnly at
| the cOmpany'S Store. SO that at the end
of every week we found ourselves III
debI. Never once did receive one cent
of money.
"Once we trit to. escape, but the
guard fired on us and shot one Of Omr
men. One man did escape and went to
the Italian consul at Charleston, but he
was sent back, and told us that the
matter had been reported to Governor
Tillmap, but nothing could be done, rs
we were unIer contract.
"One day ] determined to make an
effort to escape. | almost succeeded.
but they set the hounds upon me anu
kept me up in Il tree all night before
calling them off. After that my spirit
was broken
zone day | fell headlong into IN open
| ditch. ~ pile 0flOOSe mud and phO3.
phate rock rolled down upon me, and
lay there unnoticcd and too weak &c
move. Hours passed, %nd could feel
myself slowly freezing to death.
"Darkness came, and my comrades
ceased to work rs the incoming tide
began to ill the new made trenches
Suddenly felt something warmer than
air about my limb. IT was the water of
the rising Ashley.
death. But ~ the water rose h,rlc,
and higher wanted to 1--we, but nv
limbs were encASel in the Tough mu
and could not move
"With an energy born of despair
tried to raise my head, but il was
held in vice like grasp | closed my
eyes, and thought of my sunny home
In Italy, and the dear ones there. The
water touched my li,.s, and prayed lo
the saints. ! could breathe no longer,
for with every breath ! drew in the
water of the river
"a sound of rumbling thunder
echoed in my ears, and the waters of the
Ashley closed over my head. Then
suddenly my limbs, became free, and |
struck out for the shore. The rising
tide had ioosened the pile of rock and
mud, and large portion of 1t had slid
into the river.
81 was free. The Thought gave me
strength, and as | drilted by the rail
road bridge ] seized one OF the piles,
and after several attempts clanbcrt ii
up to the treStle work.
There lay exhausted all night I'm
I'll the early morning train from Sayan.
nah Slackened I'd stopped above my
head. With great lator climbed upon
one Of the trucks Of the forward car,
and did not remember anything till /
was I'm Savannah
"F' arful Of being retaken hid in a
box car, and, completely exhausted,
went to sleep. When | aWoke the Car