The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-05-09
CAUGHT IN A CAVE.
Tourists Rescued Nearly Mad After Days
of imprisonment.

of imprisonment.
Gratz, May S-The detachment of sappers
and miners who were endeavoring to release
the imprisoned tourists from the stalactite
cave at Lugloch succeeded yesterday in
forcing narrow passage into the cavern.
The members of the party were found alive,
but very much exhausted. The physicians
attending them believe that they will sur
vive.
The unfortunate cave explorers presented
ghastly spectacle as they were brought in
to the daylight. They were so weak from
exhaustion that they were barely alive. The
church bells of the village of Lugloch rang
out joyous peals and the diver to whose
efforts the rescue was due was carried on
the shoulders of the villagers
The rescued tourists were in a. condition
so near to death that report arose that six
of them We're dead. This, however, proved
untrue. Mrs. Fashings, one of the party,
gave premature birth to child while in the
cave and Mrs. Zwaier was driven mad
from despair and fright.
The statement that the party was COM
posed of eight persons was erroneous. There
were but seven and all of them were taken
out OF the cavern alive. They re at once
put under the care of physiei who ex-
press the opinion that all M44I recover,
though it will be some time before the full
force of their terrible sufferings will disap.
pear.
1t was almost five o'clock in the afternoon
when the last one of the tourist party was
taken from the cave, although the diver
Fischer, succeeded in reaching them at
half-past ten inthe morning. Six of the seven
persons who were in the cave have so far
recovered that they are able to walk. They
still had small supply of bread and cheese
when they were found and they also had a
few candles remaining.
When the diver made his first descent to
the mouth of the cave he reported that the
entrance was so blocked by huge timbers,
rocks and small flood debris that it would be
necessary to use dynamite in order to clear
it. Accordingly several cartridges were ex-
ploded, but the extreme caution the work.
men were obliged to observe made it neces-
sary that only light charges should be used,
as heavier ones might bury the unfortunate
prisoners beneath a mass of rock, and the
explosives were not effective. Yesterday
several more cartridges were exploded,
when Fischer was able to gain an entrance
to the cave.
He was gone longer than usual this time
anu eVeryDouy expected MIN TO report that
the tourists were dead. When he returned
with the news that they were all alive a
mighty shout went up from the crowds.
! Fischer reported that he found the tourists
almost on the verge of madness from the
terrible nervous strain they had undergone.
They had kept candle burning in order to
be able to keep together. They had heard
the attempt to rescue them, but the slow pro
gress the rescuers were making had made 1t
seem certain that they would die before
they could be reached, and their anxiety
and terror were intense. They were
cheered by the noise of the explosion of the
dynamite blasts, but the shocks were SO
violent that they were in constant fear of
being killed by falling rocks.
The party entered the cave nearly a week
ago for few hours of exploration, and
while they were in the cavern, a storm
arose, swelling the steams outside and
blocking the entrance with fallen rocks,
| timbers and other debris.