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Show ID IS TSB Shift Boss Keeps Imprisoned Men Busy , to Make .Them Forget Their Dilemma As Prisoners In Caved-in Mine IpOXWOOD, Mkh., Sept. 30 (U P) One at a time, 4M half starved miners were rescued lat night from the tortures of nearly six days' imprisonment im-prisonment in a rock prison more limn 700 feet underground. The men crawled through a long, sloping shnft to the twenty-sixth level of the G. Pabst Iron mine, where an elevator lifted them to freedom. . They told a stirring story of an uncertain battle for survival and spoke wordy of praise for Tom Trewfirtha, 67-year-old mine boss, who refused to leaie nls prison until un-til his men got out first. Plenty Water They had plenty of water, hut it was not good. They boiled it before drinking, using, at the last, their clothes for fuel. For light, thev drained the kerosene from the tail lights of mine cars and used this in their lamps when the supply of carbine car-bine gave out. For wicks they tore up portions of their clothing. They stripped the bark from the birch shaftings of (he mine and made tea. They sang songs in several sev-eral languages and -employed divers schemes to break the monotony. Realizing that v ork was essential essen-tial to make the men forget their plight, Trewartha kept ihem busy striving to dig their way out with picks and sholevels salvaged in an old drift. Trewiirtha's authority was absolute during the long inenr-1 inenr-1 --nition. and his skillful leadership 'i-ohr-hly saved their lives, mine of-believed. of-believed. S:'in Snyklpma 3S-year-old fath-r fath-r of ci;:ht children, was the first ( the miners to be brought to the 'irf:i'-( Hp was taken directly to th? hospital. -Lrst Dinne: Bucket1 'I lost my dinner 7nc!;t when the cave-in shut mo off." lu paid "and I'd a gone hungry I iricss hut my buddie gave nip sa ndwtchos then old Tom wouldn't let nm eai 'em like I wanted to. But that va best, because I'm all right now atu" I might not 'a been without hone food." Although four separate rescue op orations were nttempred, the tar which succeeded in ' reneiiing tin men first came In from the Auror: mine, nbout 200 feet distance fron the- Pabst shaft, but on the sanr ridge. The successful shaft was made b. crews of men working in four bout . relays, timbering their tunnel as they progressed to prevent further cave-ins. For the first '100' feet the shaft was lateral. Then it turned np 'at n shnrp nhgle to reach the eighth level of the G. Pabst opern tions. where the men were entombed entomb-ed by a cave-In Inst Friday night. Rush To Mine-When Mine-When the word sprend down the iron ridge, men nnd Women rnn from nil directions to cheer. Guard-bad Guard-bad to exert force to keep overjoycr -iwcelbenrls and wives from flu danger zone aTounn: the elevator This elevator 'slipped and killed hroe men Friday night. The' vibra lions or tiiiit: cfn'sh n'ni'biMievefl I'e nnve -en'used The enve-in which trapped tlnV miners. ;- Weak soup and tea mid toast wen hastily' "prepared in the kitchen' of the temporary hospital sot up near the shnft over the week-end and sent down for feeding to the men before they were lifted to the surface. The men were idle when the rescuers res-cuers came upon them, though a short time before they hnd been (Tigging toward the lower level in an' effort to hieet the rescuers. Boss Suprenni The men kept, track of the time by recording 'each revolution of the hour hnnds on their watches on the rock wnlls of their oompnrtmont. Trewurlba, whose iron will pro-vented pro-vented panic as the men grouped nbout. their underground prison, colli! col-li! psed When lie liiifl safely brought his men out of tlie mine. As the tall straight flV-year-'nld mine boss ennie out the rescue channel chan-nel the crowd sent up a cheer. 1 "All right. 'noysi " he snid with n wnve of his hand. lie collapsed Ih-to Ih-to the nrins of another miner nnd was taken to the ' hospital, flis condition is not serious. All of the men who osr-aiied the "living death" today paid tribute to Trewartha. For hours their spirits were buoyed np by echoes of the mine whistle, which meant lhal roscue was close but when tin wbislle grew more Coin Ihey beenmr nervous. Trewartha forced Ihem to work and thus forget their dan- KL'r' . . . |