The evening times., 1897-12-04
RODENT TRIBES In MINIS
Occupants Of Pits That Workm' n
Can Favor.
Often Scent Impending Dangers ana
Give Warning to the Men TOiltng
Beneath the Ea rth's Surface.

HazletOn, Pa, Dec. 4.--The old adage
that rats leave a sinking ship was parallele,i
In a striking manner when a cave-in oc
Cured in mine near here lately. The men
had been working in the slope for some
hours after the nightshift had gone in with
aster, when suGdcniya swarm Of rats cam,
pouring UP the slope, whzzed past the sur
pnsed men ana disappeared In the gloom
leading 10 the mouth of the slope.
Run for your lives. Loys." shouted the
foreineIi, who at once knew what thi.
meant, and, dropping their toOls, the men
rushed out OF the mine. II was well they
did 30, for a few minutes after they han
gained the open air a crunching and crush
ing noise was heard, and the place where
the unen had been working was filled witt
tons OF coal ami stone and dirt. Thefalen
mass would have crushed the life out Oi
every one OF them had they been there
when it came down.
The rats had given the warning of th,. i'm
pending disaster, as they have done IN tlu,ny
instances before, and that is why n friend
ship exists between the miners and the rats
THE mine rats seem to be or species
entirely different from other rats said
an old miner, for they seem to have an al
fectiun f,ir tie men working in the min II
and ave bot at all u fraid Of them. There ar
rats that never saw the light of day, art
they seem to have yes lik an owlCr Il cat.
for they can zee peri ectiy in the dark.
They art very smart. too, and scent danger
afar off. Tney arenever foundiu danger
GUS spot, and miners have found by tx
perience over and over again that win
there are no rats in a breast or aions Il
gangway, IL is unsafe for IA man to wGrk
or linger there. AS soon as the timers
crack, or a crunChing noise is heard, III,
rats get out and seek place OF SAT ETY.,
That's why the fellows in No. slGlt
got out in n hurry the ether day, Wien
they saw ttierats skip past for theykloret
that scnetlin' was soon Soin to happ, n.
And IL did.
but besides warning miner of impend-
ing danger, they get friendly with him la
other ways. We ha d some rats in the mines
that Were real pets. When worked In the
stables two little fellows came daily to The
trough where fed the mules, and friend
ship sprang Up between us. When YOU are
all alone H. the mines and have nothing
to talk to but pair Uf stubborn, long
cared jackasses. even n rat is better
company so took a shine TO the little
fellows and fed them for months. and got
then: so bold that they would almost feed
out of my hand.
They you'd sit In front of me like I,
cat waiting for a crust OF bread. l tried
TO catch one or the other several TINES, out
as soon as | made move they would sS p
out. Rats are nut 50 plentiful as they used
TO be, lis cats are kept in the mines by he
coal companies TO eNtermnate them. But
/ believe that rats are good TO have IN a
slope. They know when there is danger,
aud many "a mans lif, has been saved by
these despissd rats.
ION the other hand, the rats sometime
get to be a nuisance in the mines. Wh.n /
worked III the stables in the Drifter mine
they were always on hs q when .h.re
was something tn eat. tt - like corn in1
feed, and OF ten had trouble to keep them
cut of thu troughs while the mules were DE
ing fed. They We're not af raid OF me nor
CT half a dozen meh. They were too t"esh
entirely. They would jump right into the
trough az soon as we put the corn or feed
in for tie mules to eat. They would jump
in before the jacks could get mouthfhl,
and would sobblc up every grain.
They got to he such a nuisance after
awhile that we determined To get rid Of
them. We got poison and scattered 1t
along the truCehs where the rats could get
at il e.,siiy. The next day we picked Gp
several bushels of rats that had died lur
ing the night from the effects OF the poison.
Another time we had an order from Sa-
loon keeper foi fit rats lie wanted IN I'm
for his dogs to have some fun with, and We
Caught the required number I'm few hours
When we got them to the surface they
looked surprised, for they had never seen
daylight before. But they put Up a great
fight with the dogs when they were in the
pit with them