The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1909-11-26

1t was a critical moment for the
hopes of many. Mothers and wives
stretched forth their arms murmuring,
Billie" or Frank" or James," ARE
you there; speak to me, am here"
The blankets over the bodies Of the
men hid their faces and prevented
Identification from the crowd. Not
receiving a reply, the women tore to-
wards the sleeping cars, imploring
and begging any one to give them
good news.
Eddy's Letter to Loved Ones.
George Eddy, a hero among the he
roes who escaped from the st. Paul
mine, in the darkness and despfir Of
his position made shift to write q few
words of courage to his wife. The
letter follows:
NOV. 14.-Dear Wife and Children:
l write these few lines to you, and /
think 1t will be for the last time. /
have tried to get out twice, but was
drove back. There seems to be no
hope for us. l came down this shaft
yesterday to help to save the mems
lives. l hope the men l got out was
saved. Well, Lizzie, II / am found
dead bury me in Streator and move
back. Keep Esther and Clarence and
Jimmie together as much as you can.
l hope they will not forget their
father. I will say good-by and God
bless you all. GEORGE EDDY"
On the reverse side of this letter,
written on a leaf torn from a note
book, was the following from Walter
Waite:
Nov. 1--we, the undersigned, do
not blame any one for the accident
that happened to pen us in here, and
we believe that everybody has done
all in their power to relieve us. Best
wishes to all concerned. Frank Waite,
John Brown, Thomas White, John
Lorimer, Jack Pigate, Salvador Pr
gate, Lawrence Fredick, @. Antonore,
Frank Zanarini, Leopold Demond,
Bonfilo Roggardi, George Shimits,
John Shimits, William Clelland, Fred
Bieraski, Frank Preraski. Joe Beronas.
George Eddy, Walter Waite"
From survivors who were seen, the
highest praise for fortitude and lead
ership is accorded William Clelland.
Scot Led in Prayer.
Twice Clelland, who is a staunch
~churchman, conducted religious SER
vices. His favorite hymn, the words
of which even some of the foreigners
picked up parrot-hke, was Arise, My
Soul"
Twice a day Clelland's rich Scotch
burr arose in the dark cavern with
the grand consoling words:
arise, my soul,
Fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens,
The Lord with me abide"
Twice daily, likewise, Clelland de-
livered a blunt, stout-hearted sermon,
cheering on the faltering men.
Keep up your hearts, lads. God Is
with Us. Don't despair. Others have
been shut off from the light of day
as we are and in Gods good time
come out alive" is the way one of his
sermons was quoted.
1.-THE Lord Is with us, even here,
mt great his mercy; her followed
the Lords Prayer, invariably.
Imprisoned with the miners was q
live mule, which. owing to a Slavish
superstition, is still alive.
Feared to XIII Dumb Brute.
When Clelland and Lorimer started
out to find more water, the departure
which led to their ultimate delivery, q
dozen or more men remained tempo
rarily behind.
IF we don't succeed in getting
water, kill the mule"
At these instructions Lithuanians
held up their hands In horror, for they
had a superstition If in such an ex
tremity they sought to prolong theil
own lives, ever at the sacrifice Of
dumb brute, they would surely die
Rather than take this chance the.
speedily followed the trail Of thos'
who had started to obtain water.
George Semmerich's inexperienced
efforts to make the contents of hi
lunch pail last as long as possible
threw a light on the extremities t
which the prisoners were for food.
y Eat Tobacco and Leather.
Semmerich's pail contained fou
slices of bread, n piece of pie and
huge dill pickle. Semmerich's est
mate of how long this food would las
proved woefully wrong, for deductin
what he gave others, it all disaI
pcared in twenty-four hours. Fortr
nately the prisoner still had a pras
tically unimpaired plug Of tobacco
From this they extracted all the noul
ishment possible, and then swallowe
the quid. This diet kept the stomac
In SO feyerish a condition that for fv
days the plug lasted he felt no hunge
.pangs. The leather band on his ca
was pressed into service az a subst
tute for tobacco, and as a destroyer {
appetite served quite as well as toba'
CO. His gloves followed.
1T wasn't very sustaining" sai
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