The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-06-24
ARE STILL DIGGING
For the Thirty-two Imprisoned
Miners in the Dunbar Mine.
MEN THOUGHT TO BE alive
ny Some Of those In Charge OF the
Rcscuing party-Thc Report that
tho W0rkcrsare on the Wrong
Track Declared to De False,

LUMBAR, fA., June 23,-lt has beer
one week since that fash Of gas shut uf
80 men in the Hill Farm mine. TeT''
To-day the rescning gang are at worl
through tho Mahoning mine, and art
from 80 to 90 feet from ;the heading
which they hoped to reach. i
This would be small distance on ton
OF the ground, but when two men only
can work in a space four ieet high and
two or three feet wide; when they have
to stop every half hour to, permit heavy
timber to be erected, the work is neces.
sarily slow.
| None Of the rcscuiug party know
what is ahead OF them, and go tbey can.
not tell what time the line OF coal diyil.
ing the two mines is reached or how
long it will take them to get through It
when reached. II the men can reach The
clear places they hope to find they will
get to the coal tonight. II they reach
the coal 1t is barely possible that thoy
can get through by morning. They
still hope to find some OF the imprisoned
men alive, but that hope is growing
fainter,
Beth Warmnn and others still hold
that there is no reason to fear that thu
men are dead. They hold that they can
stand 1t Tor nine or ten days, and that
gives two or three days yet.
WHAT INSPECTOR EVANS SAYS,
Inspector Evans was seen to-day by a
correspondent. He was reported to
have admitted that the engineers had
made mistake, and in consequence the
rescuing party had gone 1000 feet out of
ita road. He said: II never made anv
such admission, and the statement il
false. No mistake has been made. | |
tell you the very shortest route was Ia.
ken and bus been followed. We are
getting to those men as fast as human
efforts directed by science can take us.
and everything is being done that can |
be. II We could show people with what
we have to contend every one would
understand why the progress seems So |
slow. 1t is not slow. Under the cir.
cumstauces We are pushing ahead won. !
deriully last. ! have hopes Of reaching |
the coal by night"
Mine Inspector Black, who is a South
Side man, was in charge of the work Of |
the two night shifts. He did not come |
outtill nearly 8 O'Clock. He is one Of the |
coolest-headed men in charge hero. II
asked him what advance bad been made
since Sunday, and hc answered; ~
have not measured up the distance. but
think at least so feet. Do YOU See that !
COB pile there" End ho pointed to a |
great heap OF loose slate and dirt. ave
could 20 through that lots easier than we |
are going through this stu ff in the mine. |
We could keep drill going ahead OF us.
and the stuff could be pulled right back
We are now virtually building small |
wooden tunnel. When the two men
who are digging cut down Il little stutI
they have to stop till it is pulled out and |
the new wooden roof built. I can't eay |
when We will reach the coal. as soon
as We DO we can rush things. II we had
been working through solid coal we
could have reached the men long ago,
This COB we are digging through now
We met unexpectedly. We NAV get
through in the same way.
we may aod twenty or thirty feet of |
clear space on the other side aud walk
rightup to the coal; but then our work |
is not done. Suppose We had gasses ir |
the Hill Farm mine. If we turn on the |
ventilation We push the gasses right up !
on the face, aud IN explosion will fol. |
low, worse by far than the first one. We
Will have to 80 carefully, and it will take |
US long while; want to say that no
mistakes have been made, and that the
work is going right along"
The end is drawing very near. At
midnight a newspaper man returned
from the face Of the heading where the
rescuers are working. They are in coal
at last.