New-York tribune., 1909-11-21
TOLD By SURVIVORS.
Chezced Bark and Shoes and
Drank Seepdg6.

III fUHh Dtt puSt.
CLerry. H.. Nov. OF Zaranini one Of
the rescued, said that he and his comrades
shared the sausage and rye bread in his din
ner pail but il was quickly gone. S. Piga-
It's contribution 70 the common larder was
q bottle Of beer.
The discovery OF the men was almost ac-
cidentaL They had been drinking seepage
and were pounding on the wall in order 20
make the water drip down The noise Of
the pounding was heard BY the rescuers and
the work Of reaching them was begun.
William Cleland. one Of the survivors,
after drinking a bowl Of soup, appeared
none the worse for his experience
We made the most Of our situation he
said. sitting IN the car surrounded by
nurses As soon as we discovered IRE
last Saturday and that there was no hope
Of escape We retreated 70 a safe place
where water could be found. Fortunately
some of the timbers behind Us burned out.
and this let earth and rocks fall down. cut
ting as Of from the heat and gas How
the time went We do not know We must
have been unconscious part OF the time
ct remember soon after We were shut in
drinking great quantities Of the seepage
that had dripped down into the gutter and
eating my lunch. After that some of Us
pulled on the bark and chewed IT,
We did not realize how serious was our
position. IN fact, some OF the men spent the
time ioking and said they wished they
had pack of cards II was after
We had drunk up all the water and the
seepage had run dry that We began 10
pound ou the wall 70 cause more 70 drop
down Soon after this We heard voices and
one Of our men said. AT last they are com
ing after US We could hear them digging
on the other side Of the rock and dirt which
filled up the passage, and soon a little hole
was seen at the top and the CLEAN Of the
torches came through.
.Orr hrst question was. Is it Sunday or
Monday As matter of fact most Of u
thought 70 was Sunday and that We had
been in tne mine only about twenty four
hours"
Cieurge SieIuIrz. another Of the rescued
answered the clamorous greetings Of mis-
friends with an explanation Of the incident
lIppernost in his mind-the loss Of his din
rer pail When fh4 fire broke out Siemitz
rushed for rhe shaft. out was driven back
He fell over PROSTATE mule. losing the
dinner pail which later became Of more
value 70 him than all the banquets served
in the world during the week
william Cleland's wife and baby were
brought to the car and were greeted with
2 grin expressive Of the greatest relief
and gratitude He was calm. and his first
request was delivered 20 fireman. for a
cigarette.
Never mind the eats. but slip me the
rnaklngs. kid" said Cleland-
Joe" PIgar while being revived brought
out with "a smile a letter he had written
on A piece Of brown paper on the fourth
cav of his Imprisonment. when he thought
there was no hope Of escape. The letter
was addressed 10 his wife. and. freely
translated. reads
This Is the fourth day that We have been
down here That's what I think. but our
watches stopped. am writing in the dark
because We have been eating the wax from
olrr safety lamps 1 also have eaten plug
az tobacco. some bark and some Of my shoe
7 could ouly chew H.
7 bot.e YOU can read this. am not
afraid 10 die. on. Holy Virgin. have mercy
On me, think my time has come You
know what my property Is. We worked for
r together and IL Is all yours. This Is my
v-ul ana vou must keep g. You have been
a ..ood wife MAY the Holy Virgin guard
,,1r I hone this reaches YOU some time
and ,ou can read H. II has been very
auiet down here. and / wonder what mas
beco,Y,a Of our comrades. Goodby uhtl
Heaven shall bring US together
Arother man who was brought 10 the
.,..+,ce YER, solemnly requested that MS
u-if. %. Kept from the car
.t,,e beer away seven days. I think
can apologize better TO her al home
In one SHAFT blocked on from noxious
..s.s one of the entombed men became lost
Ias, Monday. ana in attacking the barrl-
csde inflicted on himself injuries from
which he died.
What did Huu do all these days yVd
80 ,,..,.fad tu9 George Subacas, one oi
,,,. .,trvivors. was asked tonight
why. SIs all said goodby 10 eaca other-
.,,I nv brother. We cried much. AT rrst