The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-08-25
AN AWFUL EXPERIENCE.
Story Of the Accident Which BefeI
Mrs. Borst.


Wilson Borst of Window is in re
ceipt of letter from his brother at Al
bany, N. Y, giving some information il
regard to the accident which befell Mrs
Borst, mention of which was made in
The Free Press at the time. Mr.. Borst's
letter is as follows:
"She is well located in a good hospi-
tai and is having the best of care. Her
sister is there with her. | talked with
her and she wanted to talk but
thought it best to come away and have
her keep quiet. l told her that l would
write you and she said that l should
tell you how she could not write be-
cause of the injury to her right arm and
hand, her right hand being considerably
swollen.
"She had a terrible experience and
shows the effects of the bruising, her
eyes being somewhat black and her face
being blackened and bandaged up. Her
arms are both bandaged as well as her
limbs. 1t will be some days before she
will write you. Night before last she
had very bad night but improved yes
terday, and from the fact that she has
no broken bones and no internal injur-
les she should get along beyond question
unless, of course, some unforeseen diff
Guilty should set in.
81 think you need have no fear but
that she will recover and get out in
the course of week or so. There is ev-
cry chance for that result.
"She has been most severely injured
but it would seem now as if no serious
danger is to be apprehended, and yet
she is suffering considerably, but as the
bruises are all external she should get
over it.
"She wanted me to tell you how it
occurred and how she became involved
in it. She was on her way from her
friends in Albany to take train to
90 out to her mothers. Her baggage
had gone on and she and her friend had
stopped to make some small purchases
at the Myer store.
''They were on the first floor and had
completed their purchases and just turn
ed to 90 to the door when she heard a
cracking and looked up and saw the
ceiling settle down, and she herself went
down. She went down through the base
ment from the first floor into the Gel
lar underneath She kept her senses all
the time and found herself in the dark
with her head fastened between two tim
bers so that she could not move it. Her
face and mouth were up against plaster
which choked her, her arms on each
side extended and fastened, her right
leg bent up under her and on to some
thing, and her left leg hanging down
loose. She hung by her head supported
somewhat by her leg. She told me how
she suffered from her leg being bent up
under her but l have reason to believe
from her description that it saved her
life as otherwise she would have been
resting with her whole body hanging
from her head and it would have kill
ed her. She went down at 8:l5 and
was not rescued until about IL. She
heard people moaning and grooming,
praying and crying all about her. Some
of them of course died from the effects
of their injuries. She imagined that no
effort was being made to get her out.
The dirt evidently worked away from
her mouth and after a time she called
to her friend. She had been uncon-
scious and answered, Eta After a
time some material must have been re-
moved from above her and she saw the
light. Until that time she had been in
the dark She then commenced scream
ing. Later she felt that somebody was
picking with an axe or some other i'm
plement over her head and she felt 1T
come down on her hat which had been
TANNED on her head. She called that
they would cut into her head and heard
man saw that there was woman here
and they set to work to get her out.
In saving the timbers they sawed her
arm somewhat, but finally got her out
and put her into basket such as they
use on such occasions and took her to
hospital The shock has been most
severe and trying to her. especially
when she was hanging there and listen
ing to the cries and means of the dying
opd ;piurpd about her -