Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-11-21
INSTINCT OF NINE RATS.
How They ForeteH Disaster by Fleeing
From the Fated Spot.

As the work of mining advances In the
great coal mines, says a Scranton pa cor
respondent of the New York Times, the
| collapse of the workings become more fire.
quent, more extensive, and more fatal.
! After all the coal has been removed then
the coal pillars left to support the roof are
mined away, and this Is called 'robblng
the pillars. . and is an extremely hazard
Gus Undertaking. 1t is, however, done by
the employees of the coal company, and not
| by needless thieves, as the phrase would
suggest.
There was great fall of roof in one of
the principal mines at Archibald, in the
northern portion of the Lackawanna val
ley, recently. The men had been rob
bling pillars and had made considerable
Roadway Everything looked all right
Saturday evening when they quit work,
but when they returned to work Monday
morning they found that acres of the roof
had fallen in, and great field of rock
from three to nine feet In thickness, lay on
the floor of the colliery, after having
ground several stout anthracite pillars to
powder. The miners congratulated them
selves on the fact that the great rock which
must have weighed millions of tons, had
fallen Sunday when they were absent from
the mine.
In cases of a falling roof the experienced
miner is forewarned by the cracking
sounds, often as sharp as a pistol-shot that
invariably precede the down-rush of the
great mass; but an invaluable warning of
future danger is said to be the desertiOn
of the mine by the huge rats that make
the slopes their homes.
The belief in this particular notion is
quite general throughout the coal fields,
and, repulsive as the great, fierce mine
rat is to the miner, he likes to see it at
ease in the dismal depths where death is
of such frequent occurrence. There is
good reason for associating the disap-
pearance of the rat from colliery with an
impending disaster. The rat is sensi-
tive thing; it makes its resting place in
the hooks and crannies of the mine,
and it feels the first slow movement of the
crumbling rocks as they begin to squeeze
and settle and shape themselves for the
disaster which eliminates in the fall of
the roof The wary rat is first to feel the
commotion. He is dazed by the grinding
motion of the rocks; he undoubtedly thinks
they have suddenly become imbued with
life and he flies from his fellows, panic
stricken, from the place.
The first great fall of roof that ever oc-
Cured In this region was at Carbonate
about thirty-fve or forty years ago. The
entire side of the mountain fell and sew
eral lives were lost. Several days before
the disaster the people of the neighbor-
hood were astonished to see swarms of
rats leaving the mine This fact was re-
called after the great disaster occurred,
and the rats was credited with extraordin-
airy foresight.
The rats became very bold In the mines.
They will frequently take a piece of bread
or meat from the miners hand and follow
him about for food. A miner who is not
easily frightened, told me recently that he
has often been frightened by mine rats.
On one occasion he had a considerable dis
lance to go, and he had to pass through
portion of an old working There he en-
large and fierce, and were not bit startled
by my presence. On the contrary they,
soon showed that they rather liked his
company. His oil was burning low in his
lamp, and smelled very strong, and it was
evident that it had a great attraction for
the hungry rats. They followed close at
his heels, and whenever he fastened his
step they did the same. His only hope
was in keeping the tiny fame in his lamp
glowing, and he felt tn at if it was extin-
guished by any mishap they would attack
him at once. It was with nspeakable
relief that he reached his destination be-
fore the last faint flicker of his lamp died
out.