Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-12-01
Interviews Miners.

Interviews Miners.
| An interesting result of Mr. Shaffer's
visit at Cherry was his INTERVIEWS
with two men who were rescued from
the mine after being imprisoned in
one of the veins seven days. These
men were Walter Waite, assistant
manager of the mine, and George
Eddy, mine examiner for the St. Pau
company. Each gave the Madison
man an autograph and a brief state
meDt concerning the length of the i'm
| prisonment.% The statements are as
| follows:
"Mr. Walter Waite, Cherry, Ill.
Bureau Co., Asst. Mine Manager. In
mine 179 hours
Geo. Eddy, Cherry, H., mine exam.
liner for st. Paul Co., went into the
mine on Saturday, the 10, at / p. M,
and was rescued on Saturday, the 90,
at 2:30 p. M"
Tell of Suffering.
These men told Mr.. Shaffer of the
awful mental and physical agony they
experienced during the time they
were entombed in the mine. The men
corroborated the stories printed con-
corning their suffering, but denied the
statement that they used their coats
for fans. They held that they avoided
creating current in the air for fear
of coming in contact with the danger
Gus black damp. Mr.. Eddy said the
suspense was almost unbearable and
declared he lost 35 pounds as result
of the nervous strain and intense hun
ger. Mrs. Waite, wife of Mr.. Waite,
is the mother of five children, the
youngest being about five months old
5 She stood at the mine almost contin-
ually during the time her husband
was entrapped. Her mental agony
was so great she did not think of hey
own hunger and was almost uncon-
scious of the existence of her little
child. Like many of the other horror
stricken women, she stood in the mud
and water near the mouth of the mine
anxiously and hopefully waiting for
news of her husband Mr.. Eddy was
not in the mine when the accident oc-
CURED but upon learning something
was wrong descended into the shaft
and was trapped with the other miners
before he could escape
Buried in Trenches.
Mr.. Shaffer describes the burial of
the dead miners as a most heart
touching scene. From the large tent
morgue near the mine, the hearse
bears the bodies short distance to a
beautiful, level meadow. Here are
length. When the collins are brought
to the grounds they are lowered into
the trench and placed side by side.
There is not single tomb stone in
sight. The graves, however, are
neatly formed into mounds, each
marking the resting place of miner.
The survivors think OF the burial
grounds with terror and shudder as
the sight of the funeral procession
brings memories of their awful suffer
ING dnu nq1lOW G0CdpS0s
Scene at the Mosgue.
When the two Madison men arrived,
the last man in the morgue was 1den-
tilted by heart broken widow. The
priest, who was always on hand, adj
ministered the short funeral service
and the body was taken to its place
among the many others in the long
trench.
Mr.. Shaffer and his friend were at
the mouth of the mine shaft and saw
several mules hoisted from the pit
and hauled short distance, where
they were burned. Mr.. Shaffer said he
could hear the rescue party working
at a depth of almost $40 feet below
He said it was useless for him to at
tempt to picture the situation, for
that would be impossible. He de-
clared that there are no few special
incidents which may be picked out
to give an idea of the suffering, for
it seems every living thing in the
town is overshadowed by the disaster.
The relief work is being handled as
we'll as is possible and everything is
being done for the comfort of the des-
titute families. Mr.. Shaffer is of the
opinion, however, that it will be many
months before the eject of the situa-
ton will become normal among the
stricken people.