The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1884-01-17
A ROMANTIC STORY FROM THE MINES
OF PENNSYLVANIA.
WILKES BARRE PENE;,

OF PENNSYLVANIA.
WILKES BARRE, PENN,
January 5, 1888. |
EDITOR JOURNAL THE history OF
the anthracite coal industry in the
great commonwealth Of Pennsylvania
reads like a romance, and some Of the
achievements Of the coal companies
employers, thousands of which are
unpublished aud unknown would
read more romantic still. What
thrilling tales many Of the quiet un-
obtrusiye looking and self-cOntaiRed
men who work In the collieries could
tell In relating their own experience.
Of some Of the hours that have passed
while they we're delving away In the
caYerns Of the earth after the "black
diamonds" that lays treasured there
In. Many Of these grimy-faced mi-
ners could relate rOmances almost the
equal Of those cOncOcted by inveterate
authors, and not a few Of them
are cOnversant with countless
legends pertaining to these regions
that are more interesting than Irving's
Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" Death
I'm the mines Is so very common, and
the circumstances are Oftentimes so
extremely appalling, that q faithful
relation Of them would cause many a
tear to come from the hardest heart
and vet Oftentimes they attract no
more attention than, often not as
much, as death that comes in. the
usual quietude Of the home. Two
strong and healthy men may go
down a shaft or slope that enters q
mine early i'm the morning, and enter
breast or chamber and proceed to
perform their labor In the usual way.
At noon one Ofthem may be conveyed
through the long and interminable
gang-ways and caverns 10 the shaft or
slope head, and be brought to the sur
face a corpse. The notice in the
vicinity aud metropolitan papers Of
the next morning, aggregating from
six to ten lines space, appears headed
"Killed by q fall Of eoaln-and that is
generally the extent Of the notice the
accident reviews. Oftentimes q line
or two is added stating that "the dead
mans companion received injuries
which will undoubtedly disfgure him
for life." The deceased miners fam
ily, III he have any, Is left to struggle
through life as best they may, until
some man weds the widow and be
comes q protector and prOvider for
both her and the orphaned children.
The mishaps occur 30 often that the
people who are the readers, as well as
the members Of the press, pass them
over rather hastily-nOt because Of
any want Of sympathy, for the people
are as sympathetic here as elsewhere,
aud contribute largely TO the main
tainance Of INDECENT miners families
whenever and wherever they are dis
covered.
The coal regions are populated with
a large mixture Of foreigners, every
nation, nearly, being well represented
The Welsh, English, German, Polish,
Irish, and Hungarian males are the
denOminatingiclass among helabOrers /
about the cOllieries. The POlanders |
and Hungarians are q recent acquisi- /
ton, nearly all Of them having landed |
on our shores within the past four or
five years. At first the male Poland |
ers came, with occasionally q female,
and a. they gradually accumulated |
enough gold to send for the women /
left behind, they were brought over TO |
look after the domestic and culinary /
necessities OF, the men and these same /
POlanders are among the thriftiest /
and most orderly Of Luzerne oOunty's /
population. Just 80 with the HunRa-
rians. Large colonies Of them are al
ready quariered within the confines
Of the valley, and they are among the
most industrious Of our people. Al
though many Of their habits are de-
grading and somewhat bordering on
the barbarOus, they are rapidly becom-
ing Americanized and prove them
selves very apt In the art Of mimicry.
The Irish, English and Welsh have
long been located here In large num-
bers. Germans are a still more recent
acquisition, and they still love plenty /
Of "der lager beer.h The fact that In /
England and Wales bltuminOus coal
mining is prosecuted very extensively
and many hundred Thousand persons
employed IN the work, seem 70 en-
minently nc these men for mining 1
work In the anthracite fields Of this
country, and thousand Of them are
found located here. But the Welsh
and English are q fearfully obstinate
peOples IL isn't strange that in the
constant changing about Of the miners
from cOlliery 70 cOliiery and region 70
region that a family and its head may
become separated for many years. A |
case which appears very probable, and
undoubtedly Is true, came under my
notice In one Of the publications Of
this section, and its perusal struck me
that u was q very romantic tale.
Here it e.:
'In 1882 young Welsh couple by
the name Of Morgan came 10 the Le-
high coal region, where the husband,
who was q miner, had procured work
In the mine. A few months after
ward he enlisted In . company that
was being raised 20 join q Pennsyl-
vania regiment in the war, and went
70 the froat. A short time afterWard
his wife gave birth 10 q child. She
received one letter from her husband.
and then never heard from him Rgnih.
The small pox broke out In the min
Ing village where she lived, and both
she and her child contracted The Dis
ease, but both recovered. The red
ment IN which Morgan had enlisted
suffered terribly during the var. and
but q few returned 70 their homes
when it was over. Morgan did not
His wife hsd removed to Ly.
kens Valley coal region 60 1854. BE-
lieving that her husband wa dead.
She conducted q boardinr-h0nss In
one Of the small mininR Villages In
the Valley, her boardens being pFinci-
paily miners. She vas enablod 70 en-
Eegs IN the business thrOurh the
kindness Of q midfle-a4sd miner
1ansd Schell. In 1870 she married
Scheii. IN ls7s be Wa killed b a