Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1909-11-25

head and shouted: We'll, then, by G.
I am not going out of the mine unit
I get the Others
1--WE demonstrated and said: 1--WE
will toxic you up to get fresh air an6
warm food, and then maybe let yo
help us; but Waite protested We
actually had to force him into the
cage, he shouting: Let me help ge'
the Others
UP LIKE A SHOT
"All the time those on the surface
had not conceived the possibility of
recovering any of the men alive. When
we called: We have got some men
alive, hoist quick we went up like
shot and rushed the men into a Pull
man car, where they were cared for"
Across $50 feet of space between
the mouth of the shaft and the sleep
ing cars the survivors were taken
through a gangway massed with peo-
pie and lined with troops. The wo-
men especially scrutinized the faces
of the survivors as they passed.
AS night fell the flicker of the
torches at height of hundred feet
reared the framework ofthe shaft ma
chinery. Each time the signal sound
ed to hoist the cage. there was
murmur of expectancy and press to-
ward the line of ropes.
WIVES AND MOTHERS PLEAD
When the cage reached the top a
dozen torches lighted the rescuers,
who wore rubber coats. Between them
wrapped in blankets, they held the
rescued men, some standing, others
they carried The procession novel
through the gangway and was greeted
sometimes by mothers and wives,
murmuring billie" Frank" ooh,
Andy, are you there"
Blankets drawn over the heads of
the men prevented Identification. The
women tore toward the sleeping cars,
imploring anyone to give them good
news. One man, overcome by the ap-
peals, called out the name of the man
he was escorting, shouting: 1--WE have
George Eddy here"
HEARD CRY OF HIS WIFE
ooh, George" came a woman's cry,
''Is it you? Come here. | am waiting
for you"
Eddy, who was the mine inspector,
was too weak to reply. AT the car
steps the crowd was kept back.
In a little four-room cottage, three
doors from the livery stable across the
street." Mrs. George SubacUs this ev-
ening became envied by all, for her
husband was the first to he taken
home. Subacus, and his brother John,
were among the first survivors out. IN
a bedroom lay Subacus, with his threa
youngsters peering at his blackened
arms and face through the bars at the
foot of the bed. A Catholic sister was
watching the patient that he did not
Overeat.
STORY BY A VICTIM
Subacus said: 'The fire was burn
ing an hour before I knew of it. !
started to run, and met 20 others. We
tried to throw up a barrier, but 1t
was dark and we did not get along
well. All the time we were breath
ing gas. l had nothing to eat, but
chewed bark and drank water from
little holes in the bottom of the emit
ry. We made five holes, and there
was always someone at them. 1t was
our principal food"
"What did you do all the days you
were penned in?'
1--WE all said goodbye to eaCh other.
At first the English sang songs, and
the Italians were praying; after while
we were all too weak to more than
crawl about.
Nobody reached us today - we
reached them We wanted more wa
ter; we crawled over one barrier, start
ed and walked ten feet apart so as
not to fall on each other The last
'fall-in' nearly blocked the passage.
We wormed through long aperture
scarcely a big enough hole for US. We
were dreadfully weak, for we breathed
so much poison. Then we saw our
rescuers. There was no cheering, we
Just let them take care of US. No
body had voice enough to cheer"
Subacus was the only man allowed
to go home for several hours, the doc
tors fearing they would eat too much
But the Lithuanian was SO excited he
was allowed to have his way.
Francisco Zannarini said:
eve managed to get enough water
from the sides of the gallery for the
first few days: then we thought we
would die of thirst. One man said:
There is lots of water in this loose
coal if we could only squeeze it out
Several men tried sucking handsful
of coal off the floor and thus moisten-
ed their lips and tongues.
after while we all quenched our
thirst the same way.
1--WE made twenty attempts to es-
cape This morning seven of us start
ed out of the room, when we went
short distance the smell was awful.
We passed lot of dead burros, prob
ably forty. 7 think the burros fran
tic with thirst, stampeded, and got
tangled in heap and died.
"Our courage diminished Sunday
night when one fellow died. Since
then we had alternately gloom and
merriment. When someone was de-
spondent the others would try to
cheer him.
Joe Pigati, while being revived, pro-
duced letter written to his wife
on brown paper It reads:
ct am writing in the dark because
we have eaten the wax from our
lamps. I have also eaten plug Of
tobacco, some bark and some of nv
shoes. am not afraid to die Holy
Virgin, have mercy. You know what
my property is We worked for it
together. 1t is all yours. This is my
will. You have been a good wife.
Goodbye until heaven bring us to-
otbaY