The Washington times., 1909-11-28
HEROIC RESCUERS.

"a urday this work Of rescuing bodies
ROM Thursday night to noon Of Sat
went on 1t was possible, now. though
the IRE was still burning in parts of the
mine, TO work in the vicinity of The
main shaft without helmets and with
naked lights. But almost precisely a
week from the start Of the fire some
thlng happened which put new hone
INTO the heart Of every watcher at the
Top OF the shaft, ana IL we are 70 IN
uerstand that we must go back to
George EDDY and his true heroism in
going down the mine to warn the work
men.
EDDY was one Of the twenty. He vas
one of those who crawled into a tube
Of this great Underground boiler and
yet saw the door open With nineteen
mates he CROPPED IN the darl, for eter-
nifty.
What he endured, none Of the few
who have since talked with him, feel
they can comprehend Surely, what he
endured can never be set forth in the
printed words of any page. But as
much OF it as can be set forth win have
no honest value unless it IS set forth
without the addition Of jot. So what
follows-thougn it has not the awkward
ness Of question and answer and does
not pretend to be his vvords-yet does
not offer the reader a single detail which
ne has not authorized.
Some Reaches
Are Mile In Length.
Some Of the reaches OF Cherry mine
on The second level are a mile Ionr-at
the ends Of those vaults are little rooms
in which men were still at work when
this simple, earnest mined boss was hur-
ryInS others I'D the hosting shaft He
knew his danger as a practical miner.
But he did not even slow his r1,n as
he set off down one OF the longest OF
these black alleys.
In the far end Eddy found Walter
Waite, an examiner Of the mine ana
nineteen others, and the seventeen of
those others who still live. owe their
coming back to Gods freedom on green
earth solely to this leadership. The
type Of these associates will be clear
from such names as Attenore Ouarta-
roleat, Francisco Zannanni. Georee
Semrieh, and Josef Baranofski. Less
than half Of the party spoke English.
Cut OF
By Wall of Flame.
Waite and Eddy were Quick To see
that they had cut themselves or by a
wall OF spreading fame. They knew all
the latent dangers Of damp II they
stayed where they were. They stoned
and tasted the air. What there was
seemed fairly pure. If they could wall
themselves away from the flame and
ind pocket which permitted them to
curtain the air Of the larger shaft so
that 1t would circulate past their barri-
cades, they calculated on more than a
chance Of living until their party ex-
hausted the oxygen in their pen.
They found such a retreat and made
such walls. 1t was a little -, - branch
ing from larger one. When both ends
of their own were closed they knew that
the air outside. with its menace of
damp" and smoke. would pass them
by. and they went TO work with miners
skill picking down the sides and ceiling
until they could pack the mass of dirt
and coal into alright partitions
Men Had
Lamps and Some Food.
Several Of the men had carbide lamps,
two had watches which were wound
and going. and nearly all had some
little food left IN their pals or picked
up on tx way.
They found that, good as the air
seemed, their naked lamps would not
burn il it while the csrbides would. So
they shut themselves down 10 the half
Darkness Of one such lamp and sat
stiH to wait for rescue.
Saturday night and Sunday there was
Continued on Seventh Page,)