Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-04-21
RATS ENDED THE STRIKE.
A Combination Against Striking Miners
Which They Could Not Resist.


Which They Could Not Resist
mot one of the biggest, but one
of the most stubborn strikes that
ever occurred in the Pennsylvania
coal region" said former mining
engineer, twas ended by rats. The
rats that infest coal mines are of
enormous size and as ravenous as
they are big. The miners not only
tolerate them, but stand in awe of
them, for it is firm belief with the
coal miner that these rats can fore
tell disaster and give warming to the
miners of their danger by scurrying
out of the threatened mine in droves
in ample time to enable the miners
to make their escape also. So care
full are the workmen of these great,
hungry rats that it is not an uncom-
mon sight to see miner feeding
half dozen or more from his din
ner pail. They sometimes become
SO tame that they will climb on a
miners lap as he sits at his under
ground meal and crowd around him
to re I've such portions of his meal
as he cares to toss to them.
These rats never leave the mines
so long as work is going on. The
food of the mine mules is kept in
the mines, and on this the rats
largely subsist. They swarm about
when the mules are eating, and
sometimes the mules have to fight
the rats to save their meal. Often
scores of dead rats will be found in
mules stall in the mines, where
they have been trampled to death in
efforts to secure a portion of the
mules feed. When a mine lies idle
any length of time and the mules
are taken out, the rats abandon it
and become great pest in the min
ing villages.
"The strike I refer to was caused
by the refusal of mine boss to re-
instate miner he had discharged.
The men quit work. The mine own
ers declared they would let grass
grow and choke the mouth of the
slope before they would give in to
the men, and the men swore that
they would cut the grass and eat it,
if necessary, before they would yield
their point. The mules were taken
from the mine and turned out to
pasture. The rats, being thus de-
prived of their sustenance, abandon
ed the mine and took up their quar-
tiers about the miners shanties,
where they soon became a terror to
the families. The strike continued,
and the supplies of the men became
exhausted. Miners at neighboring
collieries who were at work respond
ed to the requests of their striking
brothers for aid and sent two wagon
loads of provisions and supplies of
various kinds. These were taken in
charge by committee appointed for
the purpose and were stored in a
building, from which they were to
be distributed to the neediest of the
miners. The very first night the
supplies were in the building it was
raided by horde of rats, and ev-
erything was devoured or carried
away. Four different loads of pro-
visions were contributed by the SYM
pathetic working miners, but it was
impossible to save more than one
third of them fl ON the rats. Some
of the miners kept cows at that
time, there being plenty of free pas
turage, but soon after the strike be-
gan the cows began to fall short in
their yield of milk. This was mys-
terry until one morning miner dis
covered half a dozen big rats suck
ing the milk from his COW as she
lay on the ground complacently
chewing her cud These combina-
tions against them at last forced the
miners to weaken, and they were
compelled by and by to resume work
on such terms as they could obtain,
absolutely beaten by the devouring
horde of rats. New York Sun.