The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-05-08

IMPRISONED TOURISTS RESCUED
AFTER TEN DAYS BURIAL.
Seven Persons Entombed in Cave In
Austria by a Sudden Flood Pass
Through Period Of Awful Hor-
ror-Trial OF Kneebe, The
American Trotting Horse
Man-Budgeto ofNews
From Over the
Sea.

GRAFT. Austria, May THE diver at
1O:3O this morning succeeded in reaching
the party of tourists who had been imprls-
oued in Stalactite cavern at Souraich since
Saturday, April %, owing to a sudden rise
in the water and the fact that the passage
had become blocked with timber and
boulderS. The diver found all seven tour
lists alive. 1t was at first believed eight
people were imprisoned.
The news that the tourists who have
been SO long imprisoned were still alive
caused the utmost satisfaction among The
crowds Of people who gathered about tue
cavern in order to watch the work OF the
engineers who have been toiling day and
night ever since they were ordered 10 the
spot when the local authorities announced
their inability to force an entrance into
the cavern.
The engineers had very difficult task
in making an opening into the cavern.
The entrance was blocked by timber.
boulders and flood debris. 1t was abso-
lutely necessary to use dynamite in order
to clear away the distractions which pre-
vented the entrance of a diver into the
cavern The engineers were compelled to
work slowly and with the utmost caution
as it was feared that too severe explosion
might bury the imprisoned people beneath
tons of rock.
When the debris had been cleared away
and all was ready for another attempt,
Diver Fischer made another, and this
time successful, descent into the
mouth OF the cavern. When he
reappeared he notified the engineers that
although the tourists were alive, they ap-
peared like people half berefit OF reason, as
the terrible nervous strain to which they
had been subjected had almost driven
them mad. The tourists must have taken
a considerable supply of provisions with
them when they went into the cavern over
"A week ago, as they still haIi 9Gcording to
the diver, little bread a1,1 ~heese left,
and they had some candles rt'r-gng. The
imprisoned tourists infor1csd the diver
that they had passed through a period of
most awful anxiety and terror.
They had been able to hear
the attempts to rescue them
butlthe work seemed to progress so slowly
that they had almost abandoned hope.
The noise made by the explosion of dyna-
mite ciieered up the imprisoned people,
though they were in dread of being buried
beneat falling rocks.
Late In the afternoon the rescue was
completed. Six of The tourists were able
to emergefro the cave unalded, but the
seventh was so exhausted that he required
assistance. Emperor Francis Joseph was
notified Of the safety of the tourists and
telsgrsphed his extreme satisfaction.
A dispatchsto the Times from Vienna,
saws that when connection was made with
the eutombsd tourists they all shouted:
ave are all alive and well. and still have
provisions.
As soon as possible, milk and brandy in
bottles were handed To them through
small aperture aud they were asked to
wIthdraw.as far as they could to allow
further blasting. The rescued men state
that box'0f provisions which was sent by
the rescusrs through the torrents of water,
reached them on Wednesday last and kept
them alive. They heard tho blasting and
this renewed their hopes of rescue.