New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-11-20
instinct of Mine Rats.

i Instinct OF Mine Rats,
4 AS the work of mining advances in
the great coal mines, says a Scanton
+ Pa correspondent of the New York
Times, the collapse of the workings
becomes more frequent, more extern
slVe, 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 rob
blng the pillars Z and this is an ex-
tremely hazardous undertaking. It
is however, done by the employees of
che coal company, and not by heed
/ less thieves, as the phrase would sug-
gest.
There was a great fall of roof in
one OF the principal mines at Arch
bald, in the northern portion Of the
Lackawanna valley, recently. The
men had been ''robbing pillars and
had made considerable Roadway.
Everything looked all right Satur-
day evening when they quit work,
but when they returned to the mine
Monday morning they found that
acres of the roof had fail
en- in, and a 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
themselves on the fact that the great
rock, which must have weighed mill
ions of tons, had fallen Sunday when
they were absent from the mine.
In cases ola falling roof the expert
enced miner is forewarned by the
cracking sounds, often a pistol-shot,
that invariably precede the down
rush OF the great mass; but an in
iallible warning of future danger is
said to be the desertion of the mine
by the huge rats that make TELESCOPES
their home.
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 fire.
quent o:curance. There is good rea-
sons for associating the disappear
ance OF the rat from 4 colliery with
an impending disaster. The rat is
sensitive thing; it makes it's 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 roof.
The wary rat is first to feel the COM
motion. He is dazed by the grinding
motion OF the rocks; he undoubtedly
thinks they have suddenly become
imbued with life and he fees with his
fellows, panic stricken, from the place.
The first great fall of the roof that
ever occurred in this region was at
Carbonate about thirty five or forty
years ago. The entire side of the
mountain fell in and several lives
were lost. Several days before the
disaster the people of the neighbor-
hood We're astonished to see swarms
Of rats leaving the mine. This TACT
was recalled after the great disaster
occurred, and the rats were credited 7
with extraordinary foresight.
The rats become very bold in the
mines. They will frequently take
piece of bread or meat from miners
hand, and follow him about forfood.
A miner, WAC is not easily frighren-
ed, told me the other day that he has
often been scared by mine rats. On
one occasion he had considerable
distance to- 60, and he had to pass
through a portion of an old working.
There he encountered about a dozen
rats. They were large and fierce,
and were not a bit startled by his
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 q
great attraction for the hungry rats.
they followed close at his heels, and
whenever. he FASTENED his speed they
did the SEINE. His only hope was in
keeping the tiny flame in his lamp
glowing, and he felt that if it was exr
by any mishap they would
attack him at once. 1t was with un-
speakable relief that he reached his
destination before the last faint flick
or of his lamp died out.
------Dl~-N---
Cop pity the homeless!" never re-
caives sn Svmna fhntic a rocno,oo ~