The herald., 1896-06-30
Miners At WnkESbARRE
Are Still EntOmbed in the Cavcd-
in Shaft
FRIENDS SURRENDER HOPE
That Even One VIII Be Taken Cut
Alive
A Boiler Explosion In Texas Printing House
kills. THREE Pc pie The Engineer
WGs Care!e33
ssociatca Press s;necial Wire.

Associated Press s;necia Wire.
WILEESBARRE. Pa, June 29.--The
excitement at the Twin shaft in Pittston.
where rearly 100 miners We're entombel,
continues today. AT the mouth Of the
shaft besides the wives and children of
the entombed men, there are hundreds
of persons not residents of Pittston
alone, but visitors from Scranton and
Wilkesbarre. Wives and children stand
near the opening of the death chamber
urging the rescuers 10 greater efforts.
Practically nothing has been accom-
plished towards the recovery of the
men. There is scarcely a miner about
the opening of the mine who does not
believe the men are all dead. The res
cuing party which went into the mine
at 1 o'clock came out at T. The foreman
reports the timbering is going on as
rapidly as possible. The work is neces-
sarily slow, owing to the danger of fall
ing rocks loosened by the explosion. 1t is
hardly possible actual digging will be-
gin before late this afternoon. If the
slope is not completely choked with de-
bris the rescuers may possibly be able
to reach the men within twenty-four
hours, otherwise it will be two or three
days. The rescuing party is 2000 feet
from where the cavern occurred. Gas
continues to accumulate, and the roof,
which was weakened by the explosion,
is in danger of falling any moment. A
survey of the interior of the mine this
moment shows the main slope blocked
hon he off 1;no tn
admit Fully sixty feet that had been
cleared up yesterday afternoon is
blocked by another fall that occurred at
4 o'clock this morning.
Fire Boss Johns said this morning:
"It is my belief the air current in the
Twin shaft was cut off the moment the
cave-in occurred. Then if the men were
not killed by the falling rock and coal
they may have lived some minutes be-
fore being Suffocated, or if the space
where they were was left clear, the gas
may have accumulated and exploded,
which would, of course, have burned the
men to death. 1t is not likely it will be
known how the men died until the bod
les are found
The damage to the mine is estimated
at $4,000, and the expense of getting the
bodies out may reach $4,000 The COM
pany is censured for sending the men
into the mine when it was in a dangerous
condition. In answer, the boss said the
company either had to do it or close the
mine, which would have meant the loss
of all the capital invested.
The water began pouring into the slope
and threatens to drive out the rescuers
1t is thought to be surface water and
will soon cease to flow. Others think the
water comes from the Susquehanna riv-
er. If it is river water the whole mine
will be flooded in short time, and it
will be months before the bodies can be
gotten out.
ALL ARE DEAD.
WIEKESBARRE, Pa, June 29.-It
was a settled fact tonight that if the
small army of men who entered the ILL
fated Twin shaft at Pittson on Saturday
not one survives. Not only is every ap-
proach to their dark tomb barricaded by
enormous masses of rock and debris, but
it is known that in the mine there is a
large quantity of water which is in
creasing in volume every minute. Thus,
the chances of recovering their bodies
are more remote than ever.
Prominent officials say that weeks or
months may be consumed in clearing
away the. fallen coal in order to reach
the bodies of the victims. A mine super
intedent of thirty-five years experience
thinks the unfortunate men have met
the same fate that befell the twenty-six
miners who perished in No 8 slope of the
Susquehanna Coal company in Decem-
Der, 1885, These men were caught in a
rush" of culm and water from the sur
face. Their bodies were buried under
mountain of coal refuse.
Three hundred men labored for more
than two weeks to rescue them, but the
more debris they took out the more
rushed in from the surface opening. AS
the task was a hopeless one, it was fin
ally abandoned and the portion of the
mine where the men died was closed