The sun., 1901-12-04


with Him for Food Five Day. In
Box Before He Succeeded 10 Break.
,pg Out Suffered Intensely From Cold
and Thirst atoms for the Trip.
Johann Beck, the German house painter
vho locked himself up in box and sailed
for this country as freight In the hold OF the
Hamburg American liner Palaua. whence
h. was rescued on Monday afternoon.
having spent sixteen days in and out OF
his box below hatches, recovered suf-
Scdsntly yesterday afternoon to tell some
thing Of his trip.
Beok's story was gathered In fragments,
a, he Is still In such q weak condition that
bs cannot speak above whisper and cali
not say more than a couple. Of words at
A time. He Is almost entirely deaf, and
all questions that were put 10 him yester-
dsy had to be shouted In his ear His
two weeks and two DAYS In the hold OF
the liner have reduced him to a shadow.
A more emaciated specimen Of humanity
va. never seen. and yet the doctors say
that his frame indicates large man and
a powerful one. What amaaes the doo-
.ors who have been attending him is not
that he is alive 90 much as that he seems
to be in fairly good mental condition.
After such an experience they say they
would not expect any man TO be anything
but a raving lunatio. But Beck holds
on well and last night there was every
reason to believe that he will get we'll
although 1t will be a long time before he
is able TO leave the hospital.
Beck's story knocks out the dozen or
more explanations Of his presence on the
palatia which followed the announcement
Of his discovery there. He says that he
ia not fugitive from justice. that he is not
what a Hamburg despatch Of yesterday
described him, a professional box travel
ler.' and that he did not perform the feat
on a wager. He is q painter by trade.
and having met with reverses on the other
side made up his mind TO come here and
try his fortune He didn't have enough
money to pay his passage and so hit upon
the box scheme.
he SAYS that he didn't know q soul In
America, but that he had found some
where the business card OF Schaeffer
Neumiller, proprietors Of the Union Square
Hotel In this city, and so wrote them that
he was coming here In a box and would
like TO have them get him something 10 do
on his arrival. Schaefer d Neumiller
admitted receiving the letter yesterday
and gave IL out for publication. They
regarded II as hoax.
Beck says that he lived at % Ianestrasse,
St PAUL., which is a suburb OF Hamburg,
When he decided to come over here he
spent what little money he had In fitting
up the box with straw and burlap and
putting In a supply Of food. He says that
- -. an ~ rantansaI mill
a box Of dry prunes. dozen cakes Of choco-
late, several bottles OF coffee and some
fRs and dates He thinks he may have
put some other things in. but he could not
remember what they were Yesterday,
When all was ready he went 70 the Office
OF the American Express Company at II
Schmeidtstrasse. Hamburg, and told the
clerk there that he had a box which he
wanted TO send TO the United States on
the Palatia. He gave directions for the
handling Of the box, saving that IL con-
tanned a model and that il must not be
shaken up or put on end. He told the
clerk that the box would be ready in one
hour and that he didn't want any delay
IN calling for IL.
Beck went homo and told his landlady
that he would leave a box in his room for
the e1pressmAn. He would not he around
when the expressman called, he said. and
wanted her To see that il went all right.
Then he mailed a letter TO friend In Ham
burg, telling him what he had done and
warning him TO keep the secret. and climbed
into the box. pulled down the cover and
locked IL on the inside.
He heard the expressman call, and kept
perfectly quiet when he was carried out
and placed on the wagon. He heard the
men who moved him To and from the wagon
aud those who put him aboard the steamer
warn one another 10 be careful. az the box
contained a valuable model This part
- 10 .xVs4Viapp.a ha nttlts4 lowed IL Was
not until he was placed In the hold Of the
Paatia that his troubles began. thad
shipped himself to Schaeffer and Neumiller
a. the Union Square Hotel, and, what was
more, had shipped himself {. o. ID. because
he hadn't g., the amount OF the express
charges on himself and his box.
Beck had marked tia. outside of his boz
with various warming as ~ which side
should b. up and which down, ana had q
lot Of fragile aud handle with care
wArnings on the box, Nhich IL undoubtedly
tho only reason Why the boa was not thrown
down in the bottom of the hold aud
tons of other stun piled on top ~ Il. A. II
sac u vac but eigItoan lnchss from the
csillug II the hold aud surrounded on all
sides by bags ~ salt aud miscellaneous
packages. A numleT Of sIuclet SoT"
piled on a. aud B.ck says that when hs
trlod a. oI-sn ~ according o. tis plaJls lis
lad made. b. oould Iai- lhs hd hut a uiho,
and not enough a. Kri nut
no htnN ~ iht iWlWN h We siit NioA
no had got 60 "a, and inliuodtatslN bogan
the sufk IT ips'ins hius..i A. 10 s-iy
n.si hs sayr, d. uiuaii 60 siAy IA the boa
bui uEe day siil. vii-n be- ut.t ~ frs-
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