Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-12-20

that in their position they canuSs go. a
new supply OF air, and that having ex.
hausted what little was In the workings,
they must now be porlshlng from sutiOca-
tion. Measures for the relief Of those
still In the mine were begun AZ soon as
the other men had been brought 10 the
surface. At first little could be done,
for the water was five feet
deep and Il was impossible 10 commence
digging away the sand and culm which
blocked up the gang-way, Last evening
the water subsidized, having all run of TO
the lower levels OF the mine
and effective work was commenced.
Two gangs OF men were set TO
work eNcavating from different points to-
wards which II Is believed the men are.
One party, sixty strong, commenced
work from the foot Of the air shaft. This
is the nearest point to the men, but great
difficulties are encountered. There Is no
hoisting apparatus at the air shaft. The
men and tools are sent down by der
rick The workers are obliged TO throw
behind them the material they excaVate
and this hindors them. The gGngway
being blocked up at one end, they could
ret no circulation OF air until tubes were
brought In and air forced through them
from compressor used for rock drills TO
the place where the men were at work. The
rescures were working with the greatest
possible energy tonight. The thought
that their comrades are pcrishiDg on the
other side of the mass Of rock sand aud
dirt, nerves every arm with great
strength The gangs are relieved every
four hours, aud sixty men have been con-
stantly at work since last evening At6
o'clock this evening Il was believed they
had penetrated 10 within iifty or sixty
feet from where the Imprisoned men
are, Another party began work
from the direction OF the slope toward
the same point These men have
further 70 20 but better facilities inc
air IS pure and they have powerful hoistlng.
engines TO carry out the excaYated mate
rial Whether the men car be reached ~
time 70 save any lives cannot De told.
There is little ground Tor hope, but lhe
efforts will not be abandoned until the
fate Of the imprisoned men W determined.
The people OF Nanticoke are Ia the great
est excitement Nothing Is thought
Of or talked Of but the dlsas-
ter Business 70 partially suspend.
ed and the coliicry Is surrounded
By hundreds OF persons, among Whom are
many relatives OF the imprisoned men,
eager to learn how the work goes on be-
low and 10 gain hope that their friends
msy be rescued The officials OF the
company state this evening that there are
twcnty-four men IN the fatal slope, not
twenty.nine as is generally understood.
They state further that the disaster was
precipitated by the collapse Of the pass
ageway OF the tunnel 20 the extent OF I'VE
feet, causing a depression which brought
down into the tunnel twontg~ton VEN
Of cake-quicksaud The vacuum
created by this break formed an arch,
and through heavy assure Ia tho ROOF e
mass Of ulm, estimated ~ 5000 tons,
with the contents 81 pond Of water
overhead, containing over 10000 oOt
gallons, poured in flooding both No. !
aud 2 slopes, checking up the tunnel, aud
Carrying with II lfy-two miners, Who
were NJ work there. Of these men
twcnty-f0ur were 10 all probability caught
before they could gain lhe chambers, and
they are Supposed 20 BE ia this quick
srnd