The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1908-07-10
ENDuRES 7 DAYS.
AGONY IN ICEBOX
Brooklyn Machinist Subsists on
Two Soggy Potatoes and
Drinks Stagnant Water.

New York, Special: Imprisoned seven
days and nights in the empty ice box OF
a refrigerator car. with no food but two
soggy potatoes. nor water but stagnant
drippings, Chester A. O'Connell, % years
old. Of Bath Beach, is i'll with typhoid
fever in the Lincoln hospital, the Bronx,
as a result Of his experience.
O'Connell is a master mechanist and un-
til eight months ago lived with his father,
Thomas, chief buyer for a manufacturing
concern. Owing to a slight misunder-
standing with the family while he was
temporarily out OF work. he left home last
October and went south. riding on freight
trains and often pausing" in search OF em-
ployment. In May he reached Jackson
vile, where he stayed four weeks, loading
fruit for a paltry stipend. On May IL,
hearing that machinists were wanted at
Atlanta, Ga. he boarded a train north.
planning to get off at charlottesville. ~. z.
Concealed In the refrigerator car, OCon-
nell found that preparations were being
made to load it and hurriediy retreated in
to the ice box. From his hiding place he
learned that the freight consisted of pota-
toes in barrels and several hundred coils
of fence wire.
Freight Blocks Egress.
Attempting to release himself after tho
train had started. he discovered that the
stuff had been piled against the ice box
In such a way that with the utmost exer-
ton he was able to open the door only
about a quarter of an inch, barely sutfi-
cient to afford him air. Describing tho
days that followed. O'Connell said that
the remembrance of them was like some
hideous nightmare.
IT soon lost all count of time" he said.
Days and nights We're alike for me. After
spending my strength in beating upon tho
sides of my prison and hurting myself
against the door I sank into a stupor. In
which l lay for hours. After a time J be-
came very hungry and thirsty. Carefully
searching the fee box on hands and knees
l came upon two old potatoes. long since
rotted and soaked with moisture. They
were the sweetest food that ever passed
my lips. Then l found a depression in tho
floor of the box partly filled with water.
dripings from the last load OF ice. 1t had
been there a long time and was foul and
filled with sediment. But l drank 1t
thankfully.
Rescuers Are Merciful.
II can recall little after that. ] slept a
great deal and at times, L think, was
light headed. 1t seemed as il ] had al
ways been travelling in a dungeon.
bumped and jostled and brea1hing rank
air. On Sunday, a week after ! started,
the car stopped longer than usual, and
toward night 1 heard mems voices. l had
heard them before and had shouted my
self hoarse, but this time they heard me.
They dragged me out, but did not kick or
strike me when they saw my condition.
Instead they directed me to the hospital.
a mile away, and somehow l managed to
make the distance"
AT first O'Connell told the nurses that he
had no friends in the city, but when he
learned that he was suffering from typhoid
he gave his name and address. There was
a family reunion at his bedside yesterday
and there will be a kindly welcome for
the young man in Bath Beach when he
RECEIVERS.