Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-29
No Hope for the Miners Buried at
Pittston.
CRUSHED, sUFFOCATED OR BURNED
Practically Nothing Accomplished
Toward Their Rescue.
TIMBERING UP THE NINE


where nearly one hundred miners were
entombed early yesterday morning, con-
tlnues. The scene at the mouth Of the
shaft Is mt st pathetic. Besides the wives
and children of the buried men, there are
hundreds CT persons, not residents of Pitts
ton alone, but visitors from Kingston,
Scranton and Wilkesbarre. The grief of
the stricken families is intense. Wives and
children, many of whom have not left the
mouth Of the shaft since the terrible acc-
dent, stand near the opening and urge the
rescuers to greater efforts.
The situation is almost the same as that
reported last night. Practically nothing
has been accomplished toward the recovery
of the men. There is scarcely an old miner
about the opening of the mine who does
rot believe that the men all dead.
The rescuing party which went into the
mine at l O'clock came out of the shaft at
Z O'Clock. The foreman reports that the
tlmbering in the mine is going on as rap
IDLY as possible. He said the work was
necessarily slow, owing to the danger of
falling rocks, which have been loosenei by
the terrible explosion. 1t is hardly posi-
hle that actual digging will begin before
late this afternoon.
Taking Their Lives in Their Hands.
Any suggestions advanced as to the prob
able time the men will be reached are mere
guesswork, all depends upon whether
the slope is completely choked up with
debris not. If rot, the rescuers may
possibly be able to reach the men within
the next twenty-four hours; otherwise II
may be two three days. The rescuing
party is 1900 feet from where the caye-in
occurred The gas continues to accumu-
late, and the roof, which was weakened by
the explosion, is in danger Of falling at
moments notice. The men who came out
q <
of anxiety and hard labor.
Il am glad l am of that hole for a
while. 1 would like very much to the
eE Etombed men rescued alive but tell you,
We who are engaged in the work of rescue
are carrying our lives in our hands. Why,
we had hardly begun work this morning,
when big squeeze came on. 1 and two
iahorers were putting up prop about six
inches too short l sent a laborer for
cap" but before he returned the roof
came down and met the prop. So great
was the pressure that the heavy prop was
snapped off as though 1T were a match.
Fortunately, we succeeded in getting away
before the roof came down any further.
So you can readily see what chances We
are taking"
A survey of the interior Of the mine this
morning shows that the main slope is bad
ly blocked. 1t is blocked even worse than
the officials are willing to admit. 1t is
known positively that fully sixty feet that
had been cleared up yesterday afternoon is
blocked again by another fall that occurred
before o'clock this morning.
All Thought to BE Dead.
Before any attempt can be made to clear
this part Of the slope again 1t will be nee
essary TO do extra propping and timber
ing. This will consume great deal of
time. A few of the more hopeful, who be-
Iieved that there might be possibility
cf the entombed men being yet alive, have
now surrendered, and no one can be found
who is willing to admit that there is any
life undergo ound.
Hope of finding the men alive and unin-
jured, by the older miners. was abandoned
last night, becarse they knew the ventia-
ton was bad, and that even If the men
had escaped the fall they could not live
twenty minutes in such atmosphere.
The uninitiated however. recalled the
Sugar-Notch disaster of 1879, in which five
men We're rescued from breast in the
mine after they were imprisoned for five
days. But the fact was overlooked that
the breast in which they were was free
from any blockade and in a direct line with
the main current of air; This was the
most remarkable case in the annals of the
anthracite coal mining region, and may
not be repeated again for a century.
Speaking on this point this morning, Fire
Boss Johns, who is considered one of the
best experts ir. the Wyoming valley on
mine ventilation, said 1T is my belief that
the air current in the Twin-Shaft was shut
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 before being sutfocated Or, if the
space where they were was left clear, gas
may have accumulated and exploded,
which would. Of course, have burned the
men to death. It is not likely that it will
be known how the men met death until
their bodies are found"
Not Spnring Expense.
Mine Inspector Mcdonald, who has charge
of the district in which the mine is situated,
told the Associated Press representative
today that he was satisfied the mlne own
ers were doing everything possible to hurry
the work of rescue along. No expense is
being spared and the best labor in the
market has been secured. The disaster
probably means the ruin of the company
which operated the mine.
The damage to the mine is estimated at
s25OOO, and the expense of getting the
bodies out will not fall short of $4,000, and
may reach $4,000. Besides the company
will be called upon to bury great number
of the victims, especially the HungarlanS
and Polanders.
The company is receiving some censure
for sending men into the mine when the
higher officials knew 1t was in dangerous
condition. In answer to this criticism 1t is
claimed that the same thing is done every
day in the coal regions. There was valu-
able lot of coal in the mine, and the only
way it could be gotten cut was to prop the
roof and hOlQ II secure. Inc company
either had to do this, close the mine,
which would have meant the loss Of all
the capital invested.
Threatened by Water.
The rescuers in the mine this afternoon
encountered a new difficulty. Water is
pouring into the slope and threatens 20
drive the men at work out. Superintendent
Law thinks it is water from the surface,
and that it will soon cease to flow into the
mine.
There are others of u different opinion.
They think the water comes from the Sus-
quehanra river, which Is near. If 1t Is
river ater the whole mine will be flooded
in s1o 1t time, and it would take months
before the bodies could be gotten out. A
party of newspaper artists received per-
mission from Superintendent Law to go
down into the mine this morning to ms Ike
sketches. but Mine Inspector Mcdonald
protested, and said he would allow no man
to enter the mine who was not a practical
miner. There are enough lives lost now,''
he continued, land there is no use in in
creaSing the number"
One Of the artists offered to donate 500
to the relief fund II allowed to go down
the shaft, but the offer was refused
The Wilkesbarre papers have long edi-
torials on the disaster.
The Record says: ut is too soon to ex-