The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-07-01
IN A MOUNTAIN TOMB.
FATE OF PITTSTON MINERS 4 MAT.
 TER OF DOUBT.

 A Ray of Hope That They May be Alive
 Rescuing Party Still at work-Men or
 Bodies Will be Found No. Matter What Obstacles stand in the Way-Prisoners
 Number Fifty Eight.
 Wilkesbarre, Pa, June 30.---A consult alton of experts from Scranton, Wilkes barre, Nanticoke and Plymouth was held in Superintendent Laws office at Pittston this afternoon. The situation was thoroughly discussed. and it was resolved to continue the work of res- cue. The company has completed 8 careful canvass of the names and the number of men who perished in the mine. This list shows there were but fifty-eight men, all told, including the Hungarians
 The timbermen have progressed 15O feet in the slope where the men were caught. They have got to the edge of the cave-in and have encountered the mass of chipping of the fall. It will be slow work to dig through this, and al though some bodies may be recovered at any point, it seems likely that none will be found less than 500 feet from the face of the fall, and that most of them will be recovered about 1,200 feet inside the slope. This may be mat ter of, days, or it may take weeks.
 The officials authorized the statement that no matter how long it will take, the search will be kept up until the bodies shall all have been recovered The work will cost anywhere from $5O,- 900 to $10O,000, if the searchers have no more serious setbacks. A faint ray of hope came to-day to the families of the miners entombed in the Twin shaft. The work of rescue has pro- ;. gressed more rapidly than was ex- pected. The condition of the mine proved better than the most sanguine had cause to expect yesterday. Spurred on by the belief than some of their friends may yet be living the rescue gangs worked to-day with an energy born of renewed hope. Before another day they hoped to reach the first of the buried men, dead or alive.
 The gangway leading to the tomb has been safely propped up and no more cave-in is occurring. Strong timbers support the roof for a distance of 1000 < feet from the shaft and the miners can fnow reach shaft No. 3, the spot where the first cave-in occurred Slope N, is 1000 feet long and is the lowest vein in the mine, there being six. other veins between it and the surface.
 James Langan, son of M. J. Langan, the missing superintendent, crawled over this first fall of earth last night and learned nothing beyond the fact that the air was fairly pure, and the mine did not seem to be taking in water He could get no further be- cause the gangway is caved in.
 At the foot of the slope the gangway divides, one branch running to the left toward the Clear Spring workings and another, the heading, going a little way to the right The men were working along slope No. of the left branch. Just at the foot of the slope the mine was supported by very heavy cog pill lars built up of logs,
 S Said Langan T am pinning my hopes on my father and some of the men being alive because those pillars are standing. If they stood, as l be- lieved they did, for they were very strong, some of the men will be about them."
 w. D. Owens of the Lehigh Valley railroad had charge of a shaft of fifty seven men, who worked all night. He said that there was a better prospect of getting at the men than hitherto. and that if everything went well they would be reached soon. But when asked whether he hoped to find them alive, he shook his head gravely. To his mind the extent of the cave-in was too great for any of them to have had the slightest chance. He did not share young Langan's hopes.
 J. B. Law, the general manager of the company, said that now the mine was safe for the men to work in. But it hardly seems possible that one of those men can be alive" he added. Still we must hope for the best. We cannot tell what is beyond the wall of earth we have reached"