The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-12-28

Miners are no less SuperStitlOuS than
sailors, and some strange sounds We're
heard recently at the Morfa coliery of
Taibach in Glanmorganshire. The fol-
lowing is racy description of the af-
fair by the original Morien, Of the
Western Mail: From the steps of the
Throne of the Knights of Carriers in
Windsor castle to the coal sheds Of
Morfa colliery. Port Talbot is IL big
jump. (Of course 1t Is. Just think of Il
man travelling from Scranton to New
York in one day. That's about the
distance poor Morien travelled upon this
memorable occasion.) I ascended the
steps to have view OF the queen and
her court. | visited Morfa in quest of
II ghost. In arriving at the place
found the Norfa miners standing in
groups at the street corners. Being
descendants of the ancient Silurans,
these men are very brave, and like
their ancestors. they would meet a
charge of cavalry on foot. But, If they
are equal TO all kinds of flesh and bones
In war or peace, they are terribly afraid
or ghosts. Did not we ourselves feel
the flesh creep the first time we beheld
the ghost of the Royal Thane Ham
let's father? Did we not think of the
speediest way of escape from the scene
when we first heard his sepulchral and
hlood-curdling tones crying List, list,
er seated in the daylight at his tireside,
to call the Morfa miners "supersti-
tious," because they on hearing strange
and uneXplainable noises in the darn
.cavcrns of the earth, hundreds of yards
below where the swans ride the waters
turn tail and holt toTtards the light of
the sun. One OF the miners today
standing among his fellows with his
hands i'm his pockets. q pipe in his
month told p1fslp a had rood b, .Ii II
commeuts in the Western Mail that
morning on what they. We're pleased 10
call the superstition of the Morfa
miners. "Tel the editor" he said So
vcrely, ''to conflnc his remarks to things
of this world, for he knows nothing
about heaven ana hell AMI the work.
ings underground" And he added the
remark that if the Western Mail ed-
tor had been seated in the dim light sc
rlanUy LAM in the interior of the
workings, and had heard groanng in
the darkness beyond and below in the
d""r,, he. too, would have taken to his
heels and quickly sought some hole to
hide in" Another miner. sharp-eyed
arl seemingly highly intelligent de-
cini"d to me there was not the slight
es- aoubt that ineXplicabie strange
noises had hecn heard in the workings,
both lately ana before the explosion six
years ago. This belief. which he de-
clnred 30 per cent of the men believed,
Las been intensified by the finding the
dove at 10 o'clock on Sunday night
close 10 the mouth of the shaft
Lowering q his voice. the same
young man sale to me as follows:
In the Bible the dove has Il unique po-
stion StarbenlgrwyddD. The church is
there alluded to as n cooling dove in the
wilderness. Tn" Holy Spirit assumed
.bo ~ a ,1I,.,, IN r.
the head of our Lord at His baptism.
]t was dove that vas sent out Of
Noah's ark in search of daylight after
thc deliigo. and" added he. chow do we
kaow but that the dove perched in the
might on that tram, close to the weigh
mouse, and near the pits mouth might
not be {, signal warning US of our peril:."
ON reaching the pits mouth ] ascer.
ta!ned that Mr.. Robson. the govern
'rent inspector: Mr.. Grey, the chief
manager; Mr. isaac Evans minels'
HcenD. and eight of the men had gone
down into the mine in search of the
spirits II any werc really thcra 1t
s,lIck me there was something peculiar
!n the numbers gone down to exercise
the spirits" Mr. Robson. Mr.. Grey,
end Mr.. Isaac Evans seemed to be en-
gagged after the manner of the Egyptian
trimurti. The eight workmen repre-
sented the seven rlanets and the Og-
Gnad or Octave. When | ascertaiued
the order with which they had gone to
face the enemy" instantly concluded
that he would take care to make him
self scarce on the occasion of their visit.
Dn their return to bank after spending
several hours below, they declared they
had neither seen nor heard anything.
Mr.. Grey, however. looked very serious.
Probably his seriousness on this occa
sion was mainly attributable. not to
the ghost or ghosts, but to the annoy
apce he felt at the stoppage of the col
liCry through the men declining to go
down. 1t was understood the men still
refused 10 resume work But immedi-
atcly after ascending out of the pit
with the authorities mentioned ahove
Mr.. Isaac Evans and the eight men rep
rcsenting the other underground WORK.
men returned to Talibacl to report the
result of the exploration. The story of
the fright Is briefly as follows:-A short
time before the explosion six years ago
several workmen declared they had
heard strange noises in the workings
IT is stated that several men We're so
frightened by what they had heard that
they left of their own accord and went
to work In the Iihondda Valley Among
Other things then said was that an ap-
uTtSStu Ill u DIdck O1l-clOtn
suit. had assembled from the shaft by
the side, Of tram of coal on the cage, |
and that it had. been seen walking
across the ward to the place used as a |
deadhOuse after the explosion. One of
the officials of the collery. dressed eX-
0ctly in the same manner, did as the |
appaiition had done Immediately after
THE .disaster mad happened. Z; On the !
present occasion in addition TO finding
the doye an stated OH Sunday night. two |
snien Icciaied the.alseard a few days ago |
aeroans issuing fro!r apart OF the work
einCs -nlIoc1up!efl' Tn addition to this |
II Is stated a heavy door on one of the !
rondways was seen to open and shut of
its own accord. and Il canvass door was
seen fiuttering in most mysterious
fashion. The entire locality Is much |
moved in reference to the affair. and |
among other things. as indicating the |
possibility Of things supernatural ap- |
.pearinE. refer to the witch OF Endor |
raising by the request Of King Saul tho |
ghost OF the prophet Samuel. It.must |
be admitted that it seemed that small |
minority laughed merrily over the tales !
told"
The majority of the miners working |
spooks. and are very indignant that the !
newspapers have given such widespread |
notorlety to the matter. Nevertheless, |
many of them have left and are now |
working elsewhere, but the most intel |
llgent OF them claim that the strange |
noises arise from the old workings III !