The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-12-27
MINI sUPERsTITioSS


How a Terrible Acciden, Was Caused BY
Whistling far Beneath the ESfln-Aae
Great burning Mine-Tho Whistle OF th"
Bullet that Caused Morgan P'wcil's
Death.N
A singular superstition prevails among
foreign-born miners in the .rrat .'ro.'yi-
wtnia coal-leds that If any person whistles
in mine some disaster is sure to follow.
Miners born in this country DO not share
this superstitious belief TO any great cI'yu',
bat in Difference TO the wishes nt leilVw.A-
borers they never whistle IN the mines.
Sometimes they sing and hum their plain
tive ballads hundreds NJ feet below the sur
face of the Garth, and aa ;ule miners are
cheerful and contcutCi. The 7iip. ta,iitu,t,
believe that Il good luck spirit, idrkS Va
every mine and that at the SOUND at Hhist-
ling it flies and leaves TIE miners at The
mercy of the pumbercss spirits of evil.
terrible mine disaster occurred in 1910
which was caused, il is claimed by the
whistling Of one of the miners. The mine
was the property of the Delaware & ilud-
son Coal Company, and wa, not properly
supported Ivy >truug iimbcg3 This t'C.
was known 20 most OF the iuucr~, AMI Inc
S'a". u 10, IA len oh, w.s 10 haze n,v..
nUa.uvucd u d les DAYS the miEct
were about ~ ,,gil wu'k whvu Il Reckless
persod IaurI Jack Richards slrldcnly
laid dOon MS pick and startled his cnrl-
rad.a rs saying hat he would whistle Il jig
so they could dan ga farewell in the mine.
The miners again prot, aied, bu, Richards
laughed at their supci-tiiuG> IDEAS AID
commenced whistlius. The miner, were
preparing to leave the pace ~ Oacc, aud
the more frightened they brcnuc the luuGcr
and faster Jack whislc'l. Ia the nj isi -.
the tune a dull, roaring sound Wat heard
aud every check bauchcd wljh terror, tDr
they knew the mine wa, cav'ug IL. ldck
advised them all To ran for inri lives, aHd
he led the way, Another crash came,
masses of falling rock Numbered down, aud
they were impriSo, G these seventeen lnrl
III space only forty feet SVD,ar:.
lMrElsoTED * NINE
The gust of wind that had rushed through
the shaft when the raring in occurred
had extugushcd every lamp, and.
for a wonder, there WAS UOl q match III tnc
party. They cursed Richard, heartily hni
he did not respond. Subsequently he was
found dead. crushed by the ia! rH coUl and
rocks. He was the only one in the party
injured in any way. The imprisoned men
worked as men never worked before and
ever seeing their friend, ngajn nose was
heard against tho rocks, and ihey could
hear the regular click of the picks OF tho
men who were working to rescue them.
Presently raw of liphf was senn and in
half an hour more ibe men were
saved, The body Of Richards was
extricated and take1t 10 his home t,r hur,,
Very few the miners attended the funeral
boi;ov;n',thnt tIn ;I,, ,,'U "i'
to Richards havinr driven th" good s,,ir.,',
out of the mine with his lively whisiiing
n sicklv sister md shc was sn nrostrotcd hv
The loss of her brother That she jicd thSs
next dov and the Two wore huricd ot Tho
same time. A mine boss named IIosin WINS
also imprisoned in the mine ami i've, mn
for dead. Three DAYS after tb" trrritic ,rci.
dent he made his gpnrnronre barg,,,,l ,,nI
male. He had dnr ks wnv in, an i,1'nrc,,i,I,
distance throurh tl,c J"bris withnnt t,n'I
or water To- snstain him Tbr minn ,r,n" ,Ju
is fayorito ionic among thn nI1 ,nincr!!
who never fail to warn yi.iior. ,c"o d..n,G