The daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1874-1883, 1882-01-10
MEDITERRANEAN suPERsTITIONs

|
The Destiny Of Miners as Well as
Girls Affected by the Practice of
whistling.
From the Phila. Times.
A singular superstition prevails
among foreign>born miners in the
great Pennsylvania coal fields that
II any person whistles in a NINE
some disaster is sure to follow.
Miners born in this country DO not
share this superstitious belief to any
great extent, but in difference TO the
wishes of fellow-laborers they never
whistle In the mines. Sometimes
they sing and hum their pl
ballads hundreds OF feet below'vthe |
surface of the earth, and as rule |
miners are contented and cheerful
The superstitious believe that q |
1oood luck spirit'' turks in every |
mine aud at the sound OF Whisthng
1t fl es and leaves the miners at the
mercy Of the numberless "splrits OF
evil" A terrible mine disaster oc-
Cured in 1910 which was caused, 1t
| is claimed, by the whistling OF ons
of the miners. The mine was the
property of the Delaware and Hud"
son Canal Company, and was not
properly supported by strong tim
| beers. This fact was known by most
of the miners, aud the shaft, a mile
in length, " as to have been aban~
doned in a few days. The miners
were about to quit work when a
reckless person named Jack Rich
ards suddenly laid down his pick
and startled his companions by says
ing he would whistle jig so they
could dance farewell i'll the mine.
The miners in vain protested, but
Richards laughed at their superstl-
tious ideas and commenced whist
ling. The miners were preparing
to leave the place at once, and the
more frightened they became the
louder and faster Jack whistled' In
the midst of the tune dull roaring
sound was heard, and
EVERY CHEEK BLANCHED WITH TER
RoR,
for they knew that the mine was cav
ing in, Jack" advised them all to
run for their lives, and he led the way.
Another crash came masses OF falllng
rock Numbered down and they were
| imprisoned, these seventeen men, IN
space only forty feet square. The
- gust of wind that had rushed through
the shafts when the caving in occurred
had extingulshed every lamp, and fol
a wonder, there was not match II
the party. They cursed Richardl
heartily, but he did not respond
Subsequently he was found dead
crushed by the fallen coal and rocks
v He was the only one of the party whit
was injured in any way. The i'm
l. prisoned men worked as men neve
worked before, and as they were abou
D. giving up all hope OF ever seeing thei
d friends aga'n noise was heard agalns
, the rocks, and they could hear tn
regular click of the picks of the me
were working to rescue them. Pres
emily ray af light was seen, and /
half an hour more the men were savet
The body of Richards was extricatec
and taken to his home for buria
Very few of the miners attended u
funeral, believing that the disast'
was due entirely to Richards havln
ID driven the "good spirit" out of IL
mine with his lively whlstling. Ricl
ards had no relatives in the world bl
a sickly sister, and she was so pro
trated by the loss of her brother In
she died the next day, and the tS
were buried at the same time.
mine boy named
HosIE WAS ALSO IMPRISONED
in the mine and given up for dea
Three days after the terrible acclde
IN he made his appearance, haggard a
- pale. He had dug his way for an
credible distance through the dcbI
without food or water to sustain hi
This mine tragedy Is fayorite tol
among the old miners, who never
to warn visitors who descend into
shaft that they must not whistle
talk loud enough to brighten away
s'good spirits" Near Landsford,
and within few steps of the fame
SWitchback railroad is the great Blu
II ing mine, which has been on fire sill
IL 1858. The origin of this fire is
counted for by the superstitious fr
the fact that skeptical miner y
whistling in the shaft, and hardly
he ceased when the announcem
came that the mine was on fire.
mine has been flooded, but the
cannot be extinguished, and. eV
year it keeps on knaWing its '
through the vast veins of coal,
stroying millions of tons of anthrac
On the I'd of December, 1872, Nor
1L- Powell, mine boss, imagined
heard a man whistling in the sh
Investigation proved that no one
been whistling at all. He was told
the miners that he had had a
omen, and that some trouble VIC
befall him. That night as he
leaving the store of Capt. Williams
and at Summit Hill, midway betw
rded Lansford and Mauch Chunk, he
Press shot dead by Mollie Mcguire assass
nds, who we've afterwards captured by
tective McPharlan, and hanged
Mauch Chunk. The miners thin
was the whistle of the fatal bullet
heard that morning.