Evening journal., 1896-06-30
lHE PlTTsToN DISASTER.
Hope Tor the Entombed Minera Is Nos
Practically Given UP.

Hope Tor the Entombed Minera II Now
Practically Given Up.
W1LREsBARRK, Pa, June s0.--It ls all
most n settled fact that Of tho small army
of mon which entered the i'll fated Twin
shaft at Pittston on Saturday night not
one survives. Not only Is every approach
to their dark tomb barricaded by enor-
nous mnsses OF rock and debris, but II Is
known that in the nline there Is q large
quantity OF water, whieh Is increasing In
volume with every minute Thus, the
,hanoes Of recovering their bodies are more
remote than ever.
The slope is choked up 70 the shaft with
debris and, the efforts Of the gang OF res
cuers are confined to keeping tho shaft
clear The work OF making another open
ing, In order to reach the entonbod men,
was begun In earnest by the making OF a
borohole at the Clear Spring. oolliery,
which adioins the Twin shaft. After reach
ing below the surface, work was begun by
driving hole with diamond drill from
the Clear Spring to the foot of the slope,
where the men are supposed TO be under
the fall. This holo is to be driven dag
onally for ITO feet. 1t Is an experiment.,
to learn wl6ther there Is gas OF water be-
low, with a view OF asoertalning the feasi-
bility OF driving an Rirway from Clear
Spring to the foot OF the slope. This can
be readily accomplished as there Is an In
dicator on the drill on the surface which
shows whether there is gas or water be-
low. The drill will go through pillar
of coal so feet thick, but as II will pass
through diagoneiiy, It will be necessary to
drill through about 100 feet.
After this has been done II results are
satisfactory, the rescuers will drive an air
way to point where the fall begins
Prominent officials say that after this
airway las renched the point referred 70,
weeks or months may be consumed In
clearing away the fall of the coal In order
to reach the bodies of the victims. A mine
superintendent OF 85 years experience
thinks the unfortunate men have met the
same fate that hefell the 20 miners who
porished in No slope OF the Susquehap-
ma Coal company IN December, 1880.
These men were caught ih a rush Of
culm and water from the surface Their
bodies were buried under mountain OF
coal refuse Three hundred mon labored
for moro than two weeks 20 rescue them,
hut the more debris they took out the
more rushed in from the surface opening.
As the task was hopeless one II was
finally abandoned, and tho portion OF the
mine where the men died was closed up.
A wooden monument now marks the spot
on the mountain Of coal dirt under which
lie the remains Of the 20 victims.
James Langan, a son of the entombed
superi ntendent created a sensation by de-
clarlng that he succeeded In crawling over
the first two falls in the slope and reach
ing within 500 feet Of whore the mon
were supposed to have been at work. He
insists that there was a vacant spot be-
yond, and he believes the entombed mer
are in there. He also says that the yenti
lation is good.
If this stcry IS true. It upsets oil previous
theories. Some doubt Is entertained re
! garding It, however. Bangan is greatly
excited over his fathers death, and th'
mine officials believe his narrative Is only
the wish TO recover the body that fathers
the thought. His undertaking was
hazardous'o one, but the boy was desperate
and as he knows every inoh Of ground II
the mlne he could go where others would
not think Of going Mine Inspector Mo
Donald refused to express any opinion OF
Young Langan's alleged exploration, bu
| Il is the general impression that he dil
not reach as far as he olnims.