Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-12-25
!
HICKS TELLS Tale
Of LIVING DEATH.
The California NJ liner Who
Was Entonbad forl5 Days
Relates Story.
----
LIFE SAVED BY CHANCE RApPIRG
oidn'. Realize That He was Alive
TIL He Heard Noises Far Above
and Answered It-Wan Never Go
Down into Any Kind of a Hole
Again.

as BAKERSFIELD. CAL. Dec. "a
3sls!ndsay b. Hicks. the miner who
was delivered late last night from
siiitesn days Imprisonment In the
4 wrecked tunnel OF tho Edison com.
pany, was able to tell tonight the
story of his experiences. Now that
ne has been brought back to earth,
alive and but little the worse for
his frishtful predicament, he rea-
3 LIES fully the mirSJulous character
OF his escape ana the selfsacrllce
or the men who toiled day and
night to snatch him back from what
seemed certain death.
Although his mental facilities are
sound. Hicks seems like n man
who has lapscd back to childhood.
Z frishtenei ut the dark, ana looking
sout on tho world with wondering
eyes His physician says IT is 9
1 Temporary phenomenon growing out
< OF the long strain aad the utter 10y
OF Tile victim over his delivorance.
Here Is the way he tells his story:
III were able TO tell all the
things that went through my mind
In that hole it would I'LL million
y books. If eternity is any longer
and hell Is wolve excuse me from
both OF them.
The first few minutes after
was buried were terrible. knew
what was coming and III second
AFTER the crash II seemed to be
dark IN my mind. NJ well rs in the
mole. knew that ] was still alive,
nut couldn't help feeling that
was dead The world seemed such
N long way off, and the last words
!, that heard just before the accident
Kept coming back to ME over ana
over again. If you've ever heard
The echoes after blast has been
Hired III mine--the echoes thar
come one after another and
zach one n little iower--you Will nm.
Sderstand how those words sounded
III me.
II didn't think ut first how II
was going othe to die in that place,
because | was already dead to my.
eelf, There was no light, no sonnl.
E,'Sair th;;t- could fGEr fia1 just just
let 30 all holds, even thinking, ana
KIND OF settled back MS II 1t was
dead for n thousand years
"Iiicko. You Are Still Alisc.i'
reckon / would ncysr have
come out of that trance IL | hadn't
heard something like the rapping
ON a%pipe somewhere away OFF. At
8first | didn't have the nerve to even
think what 1t might mean to me
that iarawas noise, Then began
to come bncS to myself. have no
idea how long that was after |
was buried.
ut might have been five min.
utes and 1T might have been five
) days for all know; but the noise
braoed me up like o drink of whis-
key, began to get hold OF my
self again, and said ITO myself
Hicks, this is you and you are
still alive. They may be coming
after you, Brace up ana stick for
1.-THE big show
My own words made mo laugh.
Ut was like somebody else talking
ito lime Then / began to feel around
and got hold of the pipe. / knew
I whore that pipe went TO, and 1t was
like q friend that could talk. / got
peice of stone and raped on
the pipe | tried 1t many times, but
( still nothing from above, but after
n spell that seemed years to me
II heard q tapping, 1t was the code
some of us had used MS signal