The state herald., 1897-07-23
STEVENS IS RESCUED.
A STORY OF THRILLING INTER-
EST. t.,
After Being Imprisoned In an Arizona
Mine for Over Thirteen Days He Was
Taken Out Alive Through the Heroic
Efforts of His Fellow Miners.


james Stevens, the imprisoned Gold
Fields miner, is again free.
Thirteen days and ten hours he has
been without food and eleven days
without water, constituting a record
for endurance probably never equaled
elsewhere, yet he Is alive, and If his
physician may be believed, stands an
excellent chance for complete recovery,
though convalescence will probably be
slow.
His body Is drcadfully emaciated,
with every bone outlined under the
wasted skin. His features are cmaciat-
ed and gaunt ana from a st0ckily built
man of 100 pounds he has been shrunk
by famine to surely not more than
ninety pounds weight.
The rescue was made, at 7:3O this
morning. All night long the miners had
heard Stevens below them. signaling
with his hammer on the drift timbers,
and at last they could hear his voice
as he implored them to make haste.
II am burning with thirst" he reit-
Grated. The second morning shift,
composed of miners Danielson and
Megran, had just taken up its work,
when a stoutly delivered blow drove n
pick through the tale side of the drift.
Work here shouted Stevens. aid
ing the miners from inside, and within
five minutes he had grasped their
hands and was lifted into the shaft and
the good news shouted to the expect
ant throng at the mouth of the pit
DR.. Hart of Tempe, Superintendent
Hall and your correspondent were
quickly lowered with stimulants and
water. and the rescued man was taken
back into the drift and there nourshel
and made comfortable till such time as
the physician shall deem him fit to be
removed TO the surface. When he is
taken up 1t will be TO be the particular
invalid of the camp. with the camps
reading room transformed to his bed
room, and with all the men of the
camp as his attendants. Lying back on
n mattress in the bottom of the narrow
drift, in what he declared was wonder
full comfort. Stevens, at intervals,
pieced together his story Of his awful
trial:
81 and another man on the lower
drift We're the only men working on
the night shift the Fourth of July.
The rest were celebrating. heard the
timbcrs crack back OF me in the old
II.
| had taken my lunch, however, about
10 o'clock, when the noise increased
enough to scare me. I grabbed my
empty lunch box and my canteen and
started for the whim shaft. Then
hcsitated n moment. That moment
spared my life, for down came the
rock, hlling up the stope, knocking the
smart into smithereens and sending n
Of Il
stun seemed TO I'LL this eighty.foot
drift.
Il appreciated that was In for n
long stay. If not forever. and all had
10 make 1t on was n gallon OF water
ana short candles and mighty little air
AS soon as the dust settled COM
menced working towards an old air
smart that comes up from the lower
level. l could not reach II, though I
cleared away thlrty-hvc feet of drift
TO the whim shaft. There found fresh
er nirnnd there stald most OF the time
after. that. My candles and my
matches gave out Just MS found the
fresher air and my water few hours
afterward. Wednesday night. the eth
How ala l Know 1t was Wednesday :?
why" he laughed with curious.
marsh laugh. II didn't have anything
to do most OF the time except TO keep
account OF time. or course / could not
see my watch face. 1t was almost too
dark down there to think. hut I know
there were just two winds to the hour.
See " haven't kent correct time. Isn't
this the morning OF Saturday? How did
pass the time. Well. got rather
weak after water gave out and all
could do was to listen to the men work
ing overhead and answer their signals.
i believe heard every blow. they
struck. ! heard them when they tried
TO reach me through the stopc. knew
they couldn't make II that way and
then i heard them commence on the
hanging wall In the solid rock. ] knew
they would reach me that way. hut I
couldn't tell whether | could hold on
I'LL they did. They seemed ungodly the
last few feet. | don't think 7 could
have held out another day. worried
during the last two days and II had
done as ] liked ! would have killed
myself. but | have family. The pain
IN my stomach from thirst was fright
ful. didn't seem TO mind the lack of
grub 50 much"
stevens appears to have retained pos-
session OF his senses and was passive
In the medical mans hands. His puIse
when the drift was entered was IIo
ana his temperature iOt. In nm hour
the one had fallen TO 81 and the other
TO normal. and the mnn. mnrmurlng
something about drink Of Ice water
ana wish for smashing good din.
nci. had composed. i.ms,lf 10 sleep.
Tie cave occurred In tho southern
workings Of the Mammoth mine. ono
OF the richest In the West. the proporty
OF Hall Il sullivan Of Denver The
s'opc that caycd had been known 10
he dangerous, and n large force had
been M work fll'lng II mn through
WINES. The stopc. seventy feet long
and 200 feet deep, lay between tho
main south shaft and what Is known
MS tho whlm shaft Tho large shaft was
unhnrt. but II was impossible 10 drift
through the loose rock and tImbcrs TO
stevens on the l.5.foot level. An nt.
ienn' was made 10 sink through the
debris. hut abandoned after forty-onc
| feet had been accomplished and sixty
hours wasted, Then n shaft was started
on the ledge matter In solid ground and
prosecuted tn completion.
| stevens II n Colorado miner of thirty
! years experience nrd tells TIM, his
three brothers were killed IN mining
accidents. lie Inns n wife and Ave chill.
hrcn ~ Central CITY nni was 10 invo
left July 10 to have Joined them for the
summer.
The rcscunrr In order 10 reach Ste.
vons sunk the SHAFT 100 feet through
nolld rock