Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1915-01-29
CLOSE TO AWFUL END
ACCOUNTING DEATH VERY NEAR TO
THIS MAN.
On Bale of Silk in Vat of ScaIdinq
Water the Sufferings of a Life
time Were Compressed Into
Few Minutes.


dyeing silks in this country tells
story OF strange and thrilling adven-.
ture that he passed through when
he was still only the superintendent
of the boiling room"
silk, he says, in telling the story,
"has been the means of my living,
and once it saved my life. Have you
ever been in a room where they boil
the raw silk? It's a hot, steaming
place, with great bubbling watts that
are sunk to a level with the floor.
The raw silk, in bales, all fluffy and
sticky, comes in on rolling trucks and
is dumped into the watts. The mass
has to be stirred about good deal
before it goes under.
"Just before the noon hour one day
a truck came in with two bales on It.
dump it into number six vat,' I
told the men. I'll stir it if you fell
lows want to go to dinner
when they had gone I began to
look round for the stirring fork.
couldn't find it anywhere. 'Confound
Bill" said I to myself. He loses ev-
erything.'
II had hardly got the words out of
my mouth when my foot went off the
edge of the vat. l felt myself falling
and I was seized with the full con-
viction of death.
81 had time to think over Just how
terribly hot the boiling water would
feel and to wonder how much of me
would be left when the men came
back from dinner. Then felt myself
land fiat on my back on the mass Of
floating silk.
"To this day l can see the very
look of the old smoky roof as l lay
on the island of silk with the boiling
water on all sides. It. was horribly
hot there; the perspiration started out
all over me, and / felt that I must
move.
First, however, shouted as loudly
as l could. When no one answered
cautiously tried to turn on my side.
The bale of fiber began slowly to roll
over. Nearly paralyzed with terror,
/ threw out one arm. 1t was just
enough change in balance; felt the
rolling motion stop. Then knew it
wouldn't do to move. I lay on my
back, poised on the middle of the bale,
and walled for help. After a minute
or two / began to realize that the silk
was slowly sinking into the vat.
you could hardly notice the motion.
At first ! could look out of the corner
of my eye and see the edge of vat num-
Der eight. A little later, when | looked
again, it was out of my line of vision.
/ couldn't move without having the
bale roll over, and if l remained still
l would go down inch by inch into the
scalding water below.
81 can remember that / became a
little hysterical It's funny, what
tricks the mind plays.
""This is dyeing with a vengeance
I said aloud, and / even laughed as
said it.
ct was growing hotter Steam had
begun to percolate through the silk,
and l was wet through with the sitting
clouds that rose from the surface Of
| the water. / had no idea of time. By
and by, however, some one answered
my shouts. The door opened and two
men came rushing across the room.
"'Get a pole!' shouted one.
81 knew that would be fatal; the
slightest push and would roll over in"
to the steaming stew.
Boys cried l, don't touch me or
it will be all over! One of you turn
off the feed pipe. Let the other man
go down the ladder. The pipe that
empties this vat is on the left. Turn
it on-full Do it quick!
II could hear the chug! chug! of the
steam being cut off from the vat; a
moment later l could see the wet rim
that broadened round the edges, and /
knew the water was falling. 1t took
half an hour to empty number six. For
a while the two men ran round like
excited June bugs. Then they got a
rope and sat on the edge of the vat
watching me with great staring eyes.
LAS the water ran out the silk sank
now on one side, now on the other.
| Once it started to roll. Both the men
grunted and sat up very straight. Sud-
denly one of them cried out:
] There's the bottom!'
81 felt the mass of silk settle against
something. I heard the last water gulp
/ q it ran out Then tainted away
| YC lth's Companion.