Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-06-29
PR Is THEIR TOMB
Women and Children Mourn for
100 Dead Coal Miners.


An BIT Three q tie Foree q Woek
Are Quickly Killed q Ieit Sor
the Gas to Finish.
Rsns - TAsss Laving Saw Anythine q me
Xh1e - HI Fellov woeknea. Wh~ Wers
frs4Ping Up the Roof IN n Endeavsr to
stsp '8q.ssssr-Mea work for Rescue
With Uncsasing vigof. But with Despair
in TAsir He.rts-Hardly . shadow q
Heps for shs Entsnbed.
WHKHsBARRR, Pa, June e9.-While
ninety miners were at work in the Rcd
Ash vein Of the Twin shaft, Pittston,
about . o'clock yesterday morning, the
roof caved In and it IL believed that all of
tho men perished. About half of the inn
prisoncd men wero English-speaking
miners, the others foreigners. The names
Of the former are:
NJ J. Langan, inside superintendent;
T. h. Linott, inside foreman; Alex Nc
Cormick, flfe boss; Robert Haston, ma
chinist; Thomas Murphy, driver boss, and
the following miners-Michael Costello,
J. II. Kelley, Michael Gaudhan, John
Hart, James DALEY, Michael Connell,
Daniel Ward, Frank Kehoe. James
Cleary, Edward Buckley, John Casey,
Edward Rogers, James Kehoe, James Nc
Donald, Edward Delaney, Cornelius Mo
Guire, James Golden, N. O. Brien, Michael
Hughes, Edward Kilday, James Burke,
Patrick Ruane, Thomas Tenpenny,
Michael r. Gaffney, Thomas Doing, An
thony Kane. ]. w. Murphy, Owen Lee,
Anthony Gordon, James Wall, - Wall
This sony, Dominick O'Malley, Peter Mar
tin, Michael Ford, Timothy Durbrick,
Thomas Dempsey, Thomas Carlin, Pat
rick Gibbons, John O'Boyle and Peter
Joyce.
Dead May Reach One Hundred.
Aside from these there may be other
English-speaking miners among the un-
fortunates. Thirty Polanders and Huns
were entombed, End it is thought that the
total number Of bodies in the mine will
reach 100. The men were at work prop
ping mp the roof when the fall occurred.
The alarm was Immediately given by tho
ringing Of the fire bells, and rescuers were
put to work without delay. Up to this
writing not single body has been found
More than two thirds Of the victims were
married men and leave families. Langan,
who was inside superintendent Of the
mine, was also acting mayor of the town,
and j. H. Linott was ward councilman.
Attempted to Stop Squeeze"
About two weeks ago the surveyors re-
ported to General Superintendent Law that
the mine was Squeezing - and that unless
steps were Immediately taken to timber 1t
cave-in or fall might be looked for.
superintendent Law lost no time, but at
once put n number of timbermen at work
to brace the falling roof. The Squeeze
continued, however, and Saturday the
situation became alarming. In the after
noon slight fall occurred, and the men
who were at work had to retreat before it.
A consultation of mine officials was then
held and 1t was decided that heroic meas
urcs would have to be resorted to II heavy
damages to the mine were to be prevented.
Inside superintendent Langan gave in
strhctions that the most experienced min.
ers should be secured, and that the party
would go down the mine at z o'clock
How the Horror Probably Occurred.
Expert timbermen put in an appearance
at TINT hour and were soon lowered into
the workings. They made their way to
Red Ash vein, l 500 feet down the slope
The work Of propping proceeded rapidly
until il O'Clock, when another fall occur
red. 1t made a low, rumbling, noise and
the flying coal and debris drove the men
back. Then the squeeze ceased again,
and the men thoughtit was safe to resume
work. They labored on until $3.50 O'Clock,
when-so it is presumed-the roof fell in
without warning, making a tremendous
crash. It is supposed, however, that the
men were not all together, but some near
the slope, and these probably ran up the
incline when the fall occurred.
Bare Feasibility That Exists,
The falling rock and coal filled up the
slope and the adjoining gangways, COM
pletely shutting on all avenues of es-
cape. 1t was at first supposed that the
men might have escaped being caught in
the fall, and that they were imprisoned
behind the debris, but the facts that arc
known would go to disprove this. It
10 still possible, however, that living men
may still be behind the fall, although it is
extremely improbable. Even II they es-
capped being crushed by the falling roof
the possibility OF their being alive for any
length Of time In . gaseous mine 10 re-
mote.
RESCUE WORK QUICKLY BEGUN,