Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-05
|. MEXICAN BURIED
IN PITCH BARREL
FOUR OFFICERS NEEDED TO
EXTRiCATE MAN
FALLS HEAD FIRST INTO cAsk
OF AsPHALTuM
Ouartette of Law Guardians COM
PEELED to Use Hstchet to Chop
Victim out-Mustache
Jerked from Face

With both arms Durleu up u thH
shoulders in a barrel of asphaltum and
half of his head and most of his face
submerged in the sticky substance,
Salvador Talamantes, S5 years old, q
Mexican laborer living at Chatsworth
Park, was found almost suffocated al
Main and Alameda streets early yester-
day morning by Deputy Constable M.
Miklauschetz, who probably saved the
unfortunate Mexican from horrlDle
DEATH Miklauschetz was unable TO eN-
tricate the man, and not until ne mao
three other officers was the
unlucky man dragged from his peculiar
prison.
Taiamantes passed the evening pre-
pairing for the Fourth of July by imbib-
ing as much liquor as he could-or
thought he could-carry. Shortly be
fore he was found mixed up with the
pitch he was seen staggering north on
Main street.
At the place where he came in con-
tact with the asphaltum the railroad
tracks are torn up and several barrels
cut in half containing pitch which is
used to I'LL the crevices between the
cobblestones are placed on both sides
of the rails. Talamantes erratic
course was shaped toward these par
rels and in trying to step aside and, as
he later explained, let the barrel pass
him, he lost his balance and plunged
forward.
He attempted to regain his balance
by thrusting both hands into barrel.
Instead of this assisting him, 1t In
creased his momentum and both arms
sunk in the sticky mass. The force
was So great that the arms sunk up
TO the shoulders, and all that prevented
the unlucky man from having his head
completely submerged In the pitch was
the fact that his forehead struck the
edge of the barrel and checked the
heads downward course.
Hears Muffled Cries
Miklauschetz saw the man fall, but
thought he simply had fallen in an
empty barrel and started to pass on,
when he noticed that Talamantes was
struggling desperately and giving voice
TO muffed sounds. The deputy consta-
BILE seized the imprisoned man by the
shoulders and gave him strenuous
jerk. He might as we'll have tried to
dislodge a telephone pole, for the man
did not move the fraction of an inch.
Mil<lauschetz wrenched his back as
the result Of his effort and then stopped
4 minute to consider the best plan for
releasing the Mexican. The latter, his
face slowly sinking in the asphalt, be-
gan to kick with greater energy, and
the deputy constable, after one more
terrific pull at the imprisoned man
without result scraped the sticky stuff
from Talamantes nostris so the latter
could breathe and hurried away for as
sistance.
He met Patrolman +. r. Williams
and quickly told the story of the
strange Imprisonment. The two men
were Joined then by Patrolmen l.. Hol-
lowell and B. G. Croft The four Off
GERS hurried to where Talamantes was
nd h i'm oil 1rt-f narlNo srtg Il
struggling feebly. The asphaltum had
spread over his face and one nostril
was closed and the other was rapidly
being filled by the encroaching pitch.
The first thing the officers did was TO
\ scrape away the stuff and allow the
.Mexican to breathe freely. They then
seized him by the shoulders and legs
and with concerted pull attempted to
yank him from the barrel. The Mexi-
can was not moved from his prison, but
instead the barrel was moved several
feet and the valiant officers sprawled
on the pavement.
The rescuers then ceased operations
and consulted.
Heroic Plans Suggested
Lets take the mixture of Mexican
and asphaltum to the iron works over
there and have him pulled out with a
derrick" suggested one of the men.
the barrel the stuff would melt enough
to allow us to get him out" ventured
another. AS this plan might result
seriously to the imprisoned man IL was
not considered.
Suppose we roll it over to the street
car tracks and attach a rope to his
legs and have the car jerk him out 2"
suggested the third rescuer.
1.-The easiest way is to get a hatchet
md oh II i'm n
officer. This plan was considered the
most feasible and was adopted.
The officers set to work with a will
and chopped and dug and pulled, until
at last, after half hour of strenuous
exertion, they freed the unlucky Mex
lean. He presented an appearance that
beggars description. From his waist
to the top of his head he was covered
with pitch, which hung down in
strings and festoons a yard long With
the exception Of one nostril his face
was covered completely with the sticky
substance.
Talamantes showed fight as soon as
she found he was free. His imprison-
ment evidently rendered him hysteri-
cal and he made frantic efforts to
strike his rescuers. Finally he was
overpowered by the officers, whose
uniforms were we'll splashed with the
troll to the receiving hospital, where
the police surgeons, after great effort,
succeeded in getting off the mans coat.
The pitch had oozed up the sleeves and
had cemented the garment to his shirt
and to his skin. Finally the Mexican
was undressed, and after laboring for
almost two hours the surgeons finally
removed the pitch, and with it a lux
uriant mustache worn by the unfor-
tunate man.
Jerk Mustache Out
The surgeons were enabled to re-
move the mass from the mans head
by cutting or shaving off his hair.
They were unaware of the fact that
the patient wore a mustache, and
jerked the stringy stuff from his face.
This operation required several per-
sons. as Talamantes struggled so des-
perateIy that several had TO hold him
TO enable the others to remove the
stuff.
Later Talamantes was able to leave
the hospital without assistance, and II
Is probable that in the future he will
never be able to grow mustache and
probably will never be shaved again.
~
Hubby Didn't Like Her Cake
"Didn't see the policeman eating
some OF my cake in the kitchen last
night. Katie"
"Sure you might have, ma'am," was
the maids reply.