The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-01-31
NO WOMEN OR WRESTLING.
Workmen Bar Both From the Alabama
District Mines

w VI hltlSli Bar BOLlt AOIIl tIiE E1AczUGa11d
District Mines.
Women and whistling are barred in
ore mines in the Birmingham district,
if orders from the superintendent can
prevail.
Not that the superintendent of ore
mines in particular have an aversion to
women and whistling, but it is because
! of the great superstition on the part of
the negro miners, who almost eXclu-
| sively work the ore mines Of Alabama.
1t is the belief among the negroes who
work in the ore mines that if a woman
enters the place or there is any whis-
Ting done where the men dig in the
red product that an accident is going to
happen. as sure as fate.
There is no better known ore mine su-
perintendent in the state than Captain
John D. Handy, who is IN charge of the
mines at Sloss, on the Birmingham
Mineral. He says that he has been in
the business for years and that he has
known it to follow as sure thing that
"A-%14 u HOIlidu SOCo anu q Va
there is whistling heard there an acct
dent happens and somebody gets hurt
Now, Captain Handy Is not a supersti-
| tious man himself, but he admits that
he has been so long around the mines
and has heard of these stories so often
| that he has been led to thinking that
way too.
AN ACCIDENT FOLLOWED
THE last time q woman went into
our mines,'' said Captain Handy, IAN
| accident followed and four men lost
their lives. 1t was a female book agent.
and she went into the mines without
permission I have issued orders time
and again against women going into the
| mines. I issued orders to that effect,
not that I was especially scared that
they might meet with accident them
selves. but because of the fear that
their coming bodies III. But occasional
ly a woman appears at the mines
mostly book agent or paper solicitor
and then there is trouble. The negro
miners will flock out of mine like rats
| leaving ship that is leaking when
they hear that a woman has been in the
PlGf\C vi lIItLL WIJlStllIlS ido bCCll OOl1C
in the mine. We watch the negro wo-
men who fetch their husbands meals.
We compel them to leave the pals at
| the mouth Of the mines, Not for any
thing could they go into the mines, for
| the laborers would be frightened for
| several days and the production would
be short. Yes, there is more or less SUI
perstition in this, but labor has 10 be
| petted more or less and therefore 1t is
advisable to guard against the evils.
while whistling is another Of the
| forbidden things in an ore mine I can't
say, but it Is true The negro miners
don't like whistling and they them
selves don't indulge while they are I'M
| der ground. If a stranger enters the
place and begins whistling he must be
called down at once or the miners will
get SO uneasy that something Is likely
| to happen"
A negro ore miner in telling Of these
superstitions said: 1.-THE women have
no business in the mines, and therefore
they shouldn't go in. AS for whistling,
| that's no place for it. Why we just
| don't feel right when woman has been
in the mine, and if we hear whistling
| it's a bad omen"
Not long since party of sightseers
visited mines near Powderly. 1t was
Sunday afternoon. A request was
made Of the superintendent to permit
the party to go into the mines. The re-
quest was refused He offered an ex-
PLANTATION, when member of the party
announced that there were no negroes
about "Oh, yes, there are" said the
superintendent as he pointed to the ne
gro quarters, where In every door and
at every windiw the negro men could
be seen watching the party. If the wo-
men of that party had entered the mine
| there would have been no work in that
mine for the next two or three days.
This superstition has been on ever
since negro labor has been employed in
the mining Of ore In this district,-Bir-
mingham News.