Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 February 1882 — DEATH IN A BEER VAT. [ARTICLE]

DEATH IN A BEER VAT.

' »*' £■ 5* '"" "1 W-'M - Ronlauce of Two Brother* VVho Loved the Same Girl and Died theSinue Death. [Philadelphia Pres*.] Cooling ia one.enormous tub, as large as au ornamental lake iu a private park, were thousands Ot gallous of pprter. The carboni- gases arising from the poor Were so strong that the reporter almost lost his senses as he carelessly leaned over the side of the tub and gazed at the frothy mass. “It would be death to lean over there for five minutes,” said Mr. Godson. ‘•More than one poor fellow has lost his lile by inhaling the noxious gases which arise Irom me sides of the vat, even after the liquid has all been emptied. Strict injunctions are given to the men not to enter the tubs imtil a certain number of hours after the liquid has been emptied. Another rule is that a man shall be detailed to watch the others cleaning, so that if he notices anything wrong he can immediately render assistance. It is only when these rules are broken that accidents occur. During the years Iha ve been chief brewer only two deaths have occurred among my men. I remember au awful‘occurrence which took place "at a brewery where I was formerly employed; about as romantic a case of misfortune and suicide as could well be imagined. Two biotbers were' employed as vat-cleaners, fine healthy young fellows, with only a year’s difference iu their ages. They were the best of friends, were always seen together, and never known to quarrel; iu lact their loving good lellovvship became a proverb among the rest of the workmen in the brewery. “One Sunday the,brothers were seen accompanied by a third person, a pretty, laughing girl. She was walking between her beaus, taking one arm ot each, and both seemed to be pa.\ iug her equal atteutiou. For the next few montns there never was a Sunday Jor holiday but the brothers, Luke and Harry, and the young lady were seen together. This naturally gave rise to remarks among us, and the boys were frequently asktd: ‘Which one of you is she going to marry? Who’s the happy man?’ and similar questions. One of the pair, however, always replied with a until it became a j >ke among ,us, that ‘Jessie,’ for that was the name of the girl, was going to marry both brothers. One morning a change came over the scene. It was noticed that the brothers avoided each „ other, and did not speak when they met. One of them watched sullenly over the side of the tub, while the ottur wotked, but not a word was exchanged. A quarrel had evidently taken place. On the following Sunday the cause was learned, for neither brother would discuss the matter with any ot us. Jessie was seen alone with Luke, and by their manner it was evident that they were au engaged pair. A summer and a win ter passed and spring was with us, and during all that time, more than a year, Luke and Harry worked side by side without exchanging even a single word or look of iriendly recognition. We had ceased to comment on the matter, exept now and then to wonder when the quarrel would end and when the lovers would be mar lied, au event which was supposed would in all probability, reunite the brothers. One Saturday about a dozen of us received a note in a big sprawling hand, signed, Luke and Jessie,’ inviting us to be pieseut at the wedding on Sunday morning, ‘and bring the old woman along with you for the dinner afterward,’ was Luke’s postscript. What a happy man he was all that Saturday morning, and how miserable aud angry the other brother appeared. Aoout 4 o’clock Luke came to us and said, ‘Bqys the boss says I can take a honeymoon holiday until Wednesday but I gue3B I’ll just scrape the bottom of that large porter vat before I go, so as to have things cleared up.’ I called over to him to be very careful, as the vat had been only recently emptied. ‘All right, sir,’ was the reply, and he passed on with a look at his brother,as much as to say, I suppose you will follow me. I continued my calculations for the next twenty minutes, but with poor success, for my thoughts were dwelling on the unhappy quarrel of the brothers. I happened to look up, aud noticed Harry at work on a cask. ‘I don’t know what he’s at, sir,’ was the reply. ‘Did you not accompany .him to the porter vat’ I exclaimed. No. sir,’was his reply. Ijumpsd off my seat, and rushed into the cooling room, and hurriedly ascended the steps on the side ot th j vat. My worst fears were realized. Luke lay stretched on his back at the bottom of the tub. Iu a minute I had summoned assistance and the lifeless figure was borne into the fresh air, and medical aid was immediately summoned. The agony of the other brother was simply terrible. He threw himself on his kuees beside bis brother,ue chafed his limbs,he kissed his face, aud calltd on God and man in heartbroken accents for help, aud frequently exclaimed that he was 4*is brotbe.’s murderer. The doctor fJrtune and did his best, but to no effect. Luke never 8 gained consciousness. Half an hour after being lifted from the vat, life was extinct; the fatal carbonic gts had killed him. I will not describe to .\ou tte scene which folio ved. I only know that Iwill never forgetit .Poor Jessie drooped aud died of grief in a few weeks. For months after the fuu eral Harry was a raving maniac in the hospital. In time he recovered and returned to his employment, a bowed aid enfeebled man. He went about his work with industry, but hardly evjoined in any conversation, and was never know to smile. One afternoon be came to me asked permission to leave early,;as he felt ill. I readily granted his desire, and fit the same time I shook him by the bend and begged him to be more cheerful, to try and forget. 'No sir,’ he said, *1 am a murderer; J can never forget ’ Those were the last words he ever said to a living soul. In the morning I receiv-

ed a letter from him with these words: . “I can not Jive any longer. .I.jhust .got® him. You will find me in the V«U. God forgive me. Good fey. ■ —. ■ Harry-Masters. “Filled with horror. I called to some of the men, and we‘hastened to the va r . The wretched man had tchi the truth in.his letter. He jay in the same position as his brother Luke, oniv completely dead and cold. After lea iug me the previous afternoon he f ad posted the letter, aud then slipped back, unobserved, or at any rate unnoticed, into the b-every, hastened to the eobl* ing-room, and descended’info ihe unoccupied vat, had laid himself down and calmly awaited suffocation and death. Of course, the poor fellow was crazed with remorse aud grief. We never used that vat again. The idea would have been horrible. It was broken up, aud the pieces burned in the furnaces. And now com*- and look a - our boilers ”