New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-03-31
SAVED FROM LENS MINE
TWENTY DAYS or HORROR
Thirteen Men Brought Back from
Tomb at COurYiereS.

rieres coal mines had startling sequel to-day
when thirteen miners were taken out alive, after
/ having endured unspeakablo horrors during
( twenty days of entombment The story of the
survivors. as far as it has been told, shows that
they lived in total darkness for many days on
putrid horse meat, and in the stencil from scores
Of decaying corpses. The presence of living
human flesh would speedily have forced the
starving men to resort to the last desperate ex-
tremity if their rescue had not occurred
The survivors were sturdy young miners from
seventeen to twenty-five years old, except their
leader Henri Nemy. who is thrty-eight All
. show the terrible effects of their experiences,
being emacated and blinded. Their rescue re-
stored to them a temporary nervous lucdity, in
which they greeted their relatives and graph
ically related their suferings. The doctors then
enforced quiet upon them, fearing that fever
and poisoning might result from having eaten
decayed horsehesh
There were touching scenes as wives and
mothers greeted those whom they had long
given up as dead. Crowds besieged the hospi-
tails to which the men were taken, cheering the
survivors and denOuncing the ineffciency of the
rescue work after the disaster.
The rescue Of these thirteen men revived the
hope in many families that others are alive. The
relatives Of those whose bodies have not been
recovered DANGEROUSLY demand that efforts be
redoubled to bring out any possible survivors.
There is report that in addition to the thir-
teen men who brought out of the mine to-
day there were five others who went with them
almost TO the bottom of the pit, but were unable
to go further account Of exhaustion.
The total number of men missing after the
catastrophe was 1.212. The bodies recovered ap-
proxmately numbered five hundred The
gineers explain that smOuldering fires prevented
them from exploring remote passages of the
mine. where it was thought that there could be
no survivors. The mine owners say that the
strike Of miners reduced the number Of rescuers
available Many engineers and scientists agree
that all in the mine must have died long ago.
Engineer Laur. however. dissents, asserting that
the work Of rescue has been deplorably ineffl-
cient, and he believes that scores died from ex-
haustion owing to the poor work of the rescue
companies
The sudden appearance Of the imprisoned men
caused stupefactiOn. A gang of salvage work
men had just completed their nights task when
they were startled to see a group Of miners bag
gard and exhausted, appear from remote part
Of Pit No. 2. The strongest Of the party said
that they had broken out of a distant gallery
where they had been entombed since the dis
aster of March 10. The rescued men were taken
TO the surface. They were unable to see in the
daylight. The men were able to talk feebly, but
sensibly. They all asked for news Of relatives
friends, and wished to go home Immediately.
The doctors however prevented them. Later
crowds besieged the Mines a strong police force
and detachments of troops being needed to
maintain order
Henri Nemy said that for the first eight days
the party ate the bark from the timbering of the
mine Later they found the decomposed body of
a horse, which they cut up and ate with hay
Nemy described their Imprisonment as follows:
After the explosion I CROPPED my way about.
stumbling over bodies and seeking refuge from
the gases. l found some comrades sheltered in
a remote niche We ate earth and bark for
eight days, and then these provisions gave out
We continued to grOpe among the bodies seeking
an outlet, but were forced back time and time
again. We found some hay which we ate and
two days after we found dead horse which
we cut up and ate with the hay and bark We
suffered most from want of water. Finally we
became desperate, and separated into three
parties and communicated with each other bv
shouts. Last night felt draft of fresh air
which finally guided us to an opening.
The party which escaped to-day originally
numbered twenty men, of whom six disappeared
during the groupings in the darkness. The sur
vivors are positive that others are alive in the
mines They say they heard calls and tappings
yesterday, but were unable to reach the en-
tombed men. Rescue work has again begun the
members of the salvage corps carrying provi-
sions in case other survivors are found.
Nemy, on seeing his wife exclaimed: Hello!
Why, you are wearing mourning" A survivor
named Martin said:
We suffered greatly from cold. The chamber
above was burning, but it did not temper the
cold in the lower gallery.
Another rescued man, Lefebvre. asked if he
had slept. replied:
We never closed our eyes Sometimes we
dozed. but Nemy who took command, would not
permit us to sleep
Nemy showed his watch, which he had wound
regularly throughout his imprisonment The
watch was fast and therefore the survivors
counted only sixteen days from the time Of the
explosion Leon Boursier another member Of
the rescued party, said.
l have heard Nemy's story which is correct
except that Nemy forgot the carrots. We found
some in a stable and they formed our best
meal
A POLICE OFFICIAL MURDERED.