The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-07-17
b. JOE MORAN.

-. 80 10 -,
By JOE seORAN.
slstSsa Hs4sp on. tt-1at Lsrey PiAss.
ashingtoniars. pArtlnuiAriy the
mothers and fathers ot children. were
shocked and hOfftfisd q f6w days ago
whom they learned that two boys.
Louis and Myer kolker. .AssA Owe and
nine years, rebpootlvely--hAd been
swept to death W3It1e wod1ng near the
entrance to the ooldisrt' HenAe sevSS.
No one heard 0{s this dtStreseihg
double tragedy with more sympathy
or interest than I. beoauSH four yoArt
ago miraculously eecAbed death In
the same nisnnsr 1t sxaetiy The same
spot.
WILL NEWER FORGET II.
Upon my mind u tnAsiibly photo.
groDhed the blaokn>he OF that eeWer--
. death trap Tor bAf9&ootel nttls boys
who 40 wadtnG near Il. Do long ~ !
1--we /. shalt hear the svkikh, the roar
and the swirl Of the onrushtng murky
waters which Ill but swept me Into
the EASTERN heAnch' - 8 corpse. The
smell Of the dAnk. nAuseoub. oAseout
atmosphere IN the subtsrransan tunnel
just twelve years old. that hobart Bow
man, . boy about my age, who now
lives 1t SS0e Park place. and I went
wading where these two little victims
were playing the other day.
There had been slight shower and
the water In the gutter was almost
up to our knees. While we were
wAding another bte shower came UP.
The rain descended in torrents. and
there were many flashes Of lightning
ana psals Of thunder. but we paid
no Attention to -thess things.
Water Gets Swifter.
After we had been wading some
time Robert said: Joe this water
10 getting deep and swift" said.
sure; It's getting fine now"
A moment after spoke I iheard a
loud roar behind me. and looking
back / saw wall Of water about
two feet high rushing toward me. 1t
struck me with considerable force
and knocked me off my balance. A
I struggled to get back on my feet
I saw that was being carried rapid
ly toward the mouth OF the sewer.
Robert, who was several PAGES be.
hind me, scrambled UP the side OF
the gutter to safety and triod to
grab me, but I was swept beyond
his reach. The water kept getting
deeper and deeper. until II reached
my throat. And all the time i was
being rushed toward the mouth of
the sewer.
It takes me some time to tell It.
but II took the water less than q
minute to huri me into that dark
yawninG tunnel through which there
echoed the noise of the splashing.
swirliDg water. made q grab for
bthe aide Of the opening Of the sewer.
but failed and In another instant I
found myself In total darkness. with
the rushing water hurting me from
one side OF the stone sewer To the
other.
Catches Nal.
It seemed TO me az II I had [ n
carried a mile and q half through the
sewer-althouGh' have since learned
that It was only about 500 feet-before
! was dashed against the side Of the
sewer and stuck out my hand 70 keep
from striking my head. My fingers
ly clutched II TO. keep from sinking be-
meath the water or being carried fur
Their through the dark tunnel. hung
on to that nail for what seemed to mo
to be an eternity, but later learned ]
was In the Aewer only one hour and d
half before was accidsntally--if not
Acknowledgements
Strange as II may seem, I was not
badly frightened while I was en- route
to death. My one thought was. How
am going to get out of here7" Dur
ing my entire ninety minutes fmpris-
onment in the darkness with death
constantly threatening me. do not
believe once entertained the idea that
i was going to die. I kept wondering
how long 1t would be before got out
and what my mother would FAY to me.
Pal Calls Police.
While I thus bAttled TO save my life.
Robert Bowman reported to the police
that had been swept into the sewer
and everybody at once thought ! had
met certain death. The police. sewer
and fire department all sent men out
to try to locate me In the sewer, and
a squad of rescuers went to the outlet
of the sewer where it emptied into the