Gilpin observer., 1906-04-05
THIRTEEN LIVING
OUT OF TWELVE HUNDRED EN-
ToMBED COAL MINERS.
MINE DISASTER IN FRANCE
Few Who Escaped Lived Twenty Days
In Darkness and Foul Air-Their
Food Hay, Bark and Putrefylng
Horse Flesh,


Food Hay, Bark and PutrefyIng
Horse Flesh.
Lens, France-Thirteen of the 120)
miners who were entombed in the
coal mines at Courieres twenty days
ago were taken from the mine alive
and well Friday. They had lived Oil
hay found In cne of the underground
stables, and the morsels of food which
they took into the mine with them
nearly three weeks ago. All attempts
to rescue the entombed men had been
abandoned more than two weeks ago.
The sudden appearance of the i'm
prisoned men caused stupefaction. A
gang of salvagers had just completed
their nights work when they were
startled TO see group of miners ter
ribly haggard and exhausted and with
eyes sunken, appear from remote
part of pit No. 2. The strongest of the
party said they had broken out of a
distant gallery where they had been
entombed since the disaster of March
10th. The rescued men were taken up
the elevator but were unable to see
owing to the dazzling daylight.
The mine officials were deeply af-
fected as the weeping survivors were
able to talk feebly but audibly. Thsy
all asked for news of relatives or
friends and wished to go home imme-
diately. The doctors. however, pre-
vented them with difficulty from SO
doing.
Later crowds besieged the mines in
the hope OF hearing of further escapes.
necessitating the employment of a
strong police force and detachments of
troops TO maintain order. 1t is said
that others of the entombed miners
are alive and about to be brought out.
their signals having been heard.
One of the men rescued to-day, a
man named Nemy, said that for the
first eight days the party ate the bark
off the timbers of the mine. Later
they found the decomposed body of a
horse which they cut up and ate with
hay.
The survivors brought up portions
Of the decomposed horse meat.
Nemy, who was the most lucid of the
miners, who escaped. graphically de-
scribed their Imprisonment as fol-
lows:
After the explosion I groped my
way about. stumbling over bodies and
seeking refuge from the gases.
lOuuu SOlllt tOlul ddto Slltlltltu III q
remote niche. We ate earth and bark
for eight days.
I'VE continued to grope among the
bodies seeking for an outlet from our
prison. but were forced back time and
again. We found some hay which we
ate and two days after we found a
dead horse, which we cut up and ate
with the hay and bark. We suffered
| most for the want of water. Finally
we became desperate and separated
| into three parties and communicated
with each other by shouts.
Last night we felt draft of fresh
air which finally guided us to an open
| ing"
The doctors have forbidden the sur
vivors to do any further talking. Vast
crowds of people surrounded the hos
| pital where the escaped men are being
| treated
The families of the miners are in
| tensely indignant. They claim that
salvage operations were never under
| taken in the part of the mine from
which Nemy and his companions es-
| capped and disorders are expected. The
most severe repressive measures have
been taken. Crowds of women de-
nounce the directors and engineers,
crying:
IF you had given us tools we would
have saved our own husbands"