Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-01-21
Messages from the Dead.
Last Words OF Imprisoned Miners
showing How Bravely They Can Die.

showing How Bravely They Can Die.
How do men feel when abou, 70 die
not after being wasted and weakened ny
disease. nor when the blood is heated py
the strife of battle. Dut when they See -n-
evitabl- death approaching them and know
that iu a certain number % minutes u VIII
seize them. There vas q o1-Iert disaster
.u one az the scranton IIa mines r--
Gently. and one Of ITS ten victims seeIHs 30
have demonstrated l0T mine. can face
the certain approach Of dea--. ilr VITA
fOr.!tud- be wrote with a steady hand .L
his grimy notebook words ot consolation.
advice and cheer 20 his wife AMI children
MP 20 the moment the hau- 10 deatl was
upon Llm. and ms message from living
tomb was ended with a guaverln1 scraW..
The question is ans TereC also by most
remarkable record preserved by al old
LackawAuna miner native o. SAXOuF. b!
the disaster. which was g. q cOlIery lr
Saxouy. many miners los. their lives. OF
those who were not killed outright by the
explosion. but were preserved for the more
terrible death OF suftocatlon, one wrote
messages 70 their friends. None OF the
messages reveals bitterness against the
fate that the men could not avert The
old Lacka wanna miner is q survivor Of
that casually. and has copies OF those mes
sages which were found Z notebooks and
on scraps OF paper on the bodies Of the
doomed men when they were a. last re-
covered There is strange path0s IN
some Of the lines scrawlei by these death
Desleged men in the gloom OF Their narrow
prison. 4 youth, janet. had pinned %
ms Goa, a leaf from ms notebook on which
were written these last words 70 his sweet
hear,
Darling Rika Ny last thought was Of
thee. Thy name sha. be the las- word
my lips shall speak. Farewell
Lying next to Young Janet q miner
named Moretz was found. On d paper II
ms cap was written:
janet has just died Reiche is dying
and says: Tel my family leave them
with God Farewell, dear wife. Farewell.
dear children May GOD keep voL
The miner Re.che, when MS BODY was
found. cluiched in his hand scrap OF pa
per. on IL was written
Dear sister. Meyer in the village owes
me ten ihaieTs. l. is yours. ! hope NY
face will no, be distorted when they ind
Us. might have been better 10 you.
Good by"
The absence Of al seldshness IS appar-
ent II a. the messages. NV dear reia-
lives wrote the miner Schmidt, 'whiie
seeing death before ne l remember you.
Farewell until We meet again IN happl-
ness"
The miners who died uy suffocation had
been driven from one place OF refuge 70
another. according to the entry in the note
book Of one named Bahr This IS the
last place where we have taken refuge" j..
read. Il have given up all hope, because
the ventilation has been destroyed II three
separate places. May God take me ana
relatives and dear friends who must die
with me, as well as our families. under his
direction
Dear wife, 80 wrote Molle-. take good
care OF Mary. In book in the bedroom
you will nnd 4 thaler Farewell. dear
mother. till We meet again.
Mary was the miners only child. who
was blind. 4 miner named Jaehu wrote
to his brother who was a miner. bun had
been unable 10 work that day
Thank God for His goodness, brother.
Thou ART safe.
mo more toll in darkness" wrote
treltch kind wife, rear our unborn
babe 10 fear God. Bless thee Farewell
There are other messages breathing the
same spirit The uniform strain OF pie,y
running through them all is explained by
the custodian Of the records The miners
OF Saxony are reared in a strict religious
school. On entering mine they petition
heaven for protection through the dav. and
on leaving II at night they return thanks
10 God FOR guarding them and bringing
them safely through the dangers Of their
toll
Il never read the simple messages Of
those doomed miners without wet ewes
said the old Lackawanna miner. Il can
picture 10 myself the scene Of the rough.
handed but soft-hearted men spending
their last moments, not in raging against
tate, not IN wild cries for mercy and
screams OF remOrse, but in writing these
farewell messages to their loved ones. who .
were even then bewailing them as dead.