Morfa, Swansea, South Wales, 1895 and 1938

 The Strange Action of Morfa Miners.

An Echo of Ancient Legends. Uncanny Noises Underground. The Coblyn Knocker. Interesting Chapter on Coblynau.

In connection with the extraordinary conduct of the miners employed at the Morfa Colliery, it is interesting to read of Welsh miners' superstitions as described by Mr Wirt Sykes, who in 1879 was the United States Consul for Wales at Cardiff. The author classes, under the general title of Coblynau, the fairies which haunt the mines, quarries and underground regions of Wales, corresponding to the cablistic gnomes.

"The word coblyn," says he, "has the double meaning of knocker or thumper and sprite or fiend; and may it not be the original of goblin? It is applied by Welsh miners to pigmy fairies which dwell in the mines, and point out, by a peculiar knocking or rapping, rich veins of ore... The coblynau are described as being about half-a-yard in height and very ugly to look upon, but extremely good-natured, and warm friends of the miner. Their dress is a grotesque imitation of the miners' garb, and they carry tiny hammers, picks, and lamps. They work busily, loading ore in buckets, flitting about the shafts, turning tiny windlasses, and pounding away like madmen, but really accomplishing nothing whatever."

It would appear that the miner of old was not particularly afraid of these sprites, because "They have been known to throw stones at the miners when enraged at being lightly spoken of, but the stones are harmless. Nevertheless, all miners of a proper spirit refrain from provoking them, because their presence brings good luck." ..."Miners are possibly no more superstitious than other men of equal intelligence. I have heard some of their number repel indignantly the idea that they are superstitious at all."

The author quotes from the South Wales Daily News, which in June, 1878, recorded a superstition of the quarrymen at Penrhyn, where some thousands of men refused to work on Ascension Day. "This refusal did not arise out of any reverential feeling, but from an old and widespread superstition, which has lingered in that district for years, that if work is continued on Ascension Day an accident will certainly follow. A few years ago the agents persuaded the men to break through the superstition, and there were accidents each year - a not unlikely occurrence, seeing the extent of works carried on, and the dangerous nature of the occupation of the men. This year, however, the men, one and all, refused to work."

"These," proceeds Mr Sykes, "are examples dealing with considerable numbers of the mining class, and are quoted in this instance as being more significant than individual cases would be. Of these last I have encountered many. Yet I should be sorry if any readers were to conclude from all this that Welsh miners are not in the main intelligent, church-going, newspaper-reading men. They are so, I think, even beyond the common. Their superstitions, therefore, like those of the rest of us, must be judged as 'a thing apart,' not to be reconciled with intelligence and education, but co-existing with them. Absolute freedom from superstition can come only with a degree of scientific culture not yet reached by mortal man. ... When they (the miners) hear the mysterious thumping, which they know is not produced by any human being, and when in examining the place where the noise was heard they find there are really valuable indications of ore, the sturdiest incredulity must sometimes be shaken.

Science points out that the noise may be produced by the action of water upon the loose stones in fissures and potholes of the mountain limestone, and does not actually suggest the presence of metals. In the days before a Priestley had caught and bottled that demon which exists in the shape of carbonic acid gas, when the miner was smitten dead by an invisible foe in the deep bowels of the earth, it was natural his awe-struck companions should ascribe the mysterious blow to a supernatural enemy. When the workman was assailed suddenly by what we now call firedamp, which hurled him and his companions right and left upon the dark rocks, scorching, burning, and killing, those who survived were not likely to question the existence of the mine fiend. Hence arose the superstition - now probably quite extinct - of basilisks in the mines, which destroyed with their terrible gaze. When the explanation came that the thing which killed the miner was what he breathed, not what he saw, and when chemistry took the firedamp from the domain of the faerie, the basilisk and the fire fiend had not a leg to stand upon. The explanation of the Knockers is more recent, 'and less palpable and convincing.'"

South Wales Daily News, 13th December 1895.

 

 Local Mining Superstitions.

Apparitions seen by miners.

By "J.D.L."

While miners were working in the Morfa Colliery long before the explosion, a strange light would be seen, and on other occasions, a man clad in oilskins would be seen riding on a journey of trams, only to disappear within a few moments.

Such are the stories which were told by workmen at the colliery, and which are embodied in a book written by Mr Martin Phillips, the local historian.

A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to the little hamlet where once stood the Morfa Colliery, and the explosion and the scenes which accompanied it, were brought back forcibly to me. Of mothers, brothers, fathers, lovers, anxiously awaiting news, which in most cases was bad news; and ambulance men and salvation Army members working feverishly to save life in the first instance, and to comfort stricken relatives.

Mr Martin Phillips, in his book, relates the story which was prevalent at the time, and which was sworn to by the workers, of an oilskin-clad figure which appeared in the cage, and sometimes on a journey of trams, only to disappear suddenly. Many of the workers said that they had seen phantom trams or ghost trains running wild in the pit, drawn by a ghostly white horse.

Mysterious lights were claimed to have been seen, and noises of heavy falls in the colliery, when no such happenings had taken place. The singing of Welsh hymns by voices of extreme quality were also stated to have been heard.

On the fateful morning of the explosion, a miner, David Tanner, was proceeding to work, when he claims that he was told by unseen forces to retrace his steps, which he did, and thus saved his life.

In one part of the colliery, it was said that a pleasant odour pervaded the air at certain times.

The spectral dog of ill-omen, known as the Red Dog of the Morfa, was often seen, and it was claimed that the "animal" possessed blazing eyes, and was soon underground just previous to an explosion. In Welsh folk-lore, there are references to black and white dog apparitions, but locally, the Morfa dog provides an interesting underground counterpart.

Also a pigeon was observed at the top of the pit shaft for several days before the explosion. The association of birds with local mining superstitions was a leading feature in the district. The robin was regarded as an omen of ill-luck when seen near the shaft. A collier, seeing a magpie when proceeding to his daily duties, believed it to be an unlucky sign, while two crows, flying together, meant good luck.

Seamen are said to be superstitious, but colliery workers have superstitions which, even in these days, still persist.

Glamorgan Gazette, 22nd July 1938.

 

Dismissiveness. Foreign beetles implicated.

"Anti-Humbug" is a miner of sense without fear of superstition, and hails from Tonypandy. I welcome his sensible letter, though he comes down on "your Rhondda correspondent" with a heavy heel. "I accept his Treherbert dove story for what it is worth." There is decision about "Anti-Humbug." "But," he goes on, "the interesting story related by Captain Lewis, of Ynysfeio Colliery, is too good to be passed. He says that whilst examining a certain part of the workings by himself he heard tapping as though some person was striking the timbers some yards away with a hammer. Having listened and heard the sound more distinctly he advanced towards the spot whence the sound came ('plucky Captain Lewis'); going still further on and close to a pile of timber, he lifted one of themthem, and discovered immediately a large Norwegian black beetle, about two inches long, boring into the wood. He was positive that superstitious and timid miners would have quitted the place at once, declaring they had heard a ghost. Nonsense, the sound heard by Captain Lewis is frequently heard underground, and every man and boy knows the cause of it, and I believe even colliery horses for that matter.

The Norwegian beetle referred to is generally known among miners as a jasper or a Russian bug. The insect can be heard yards away boring into timber. I do not believe that the average Welsh miner is any more timid and superstitious than Captain Lewis, and certainly not half as fussy about the sound of an insect. What has been passed off in your columns lately as superstition is often a miner's fear for his safety, owing to the conditions of certain parts of the workings in the various collieries."

And then follows a vigorous protest against the silly reflections which have been cast "on us miners generally." A good deal of nonsense has been written and much more talked about the superstitious beliefs and fears of the Welsh miner, he says. Much more has been talked. Even "Anti-Humbug" will admit, I think, that the Morfa incident was a sufficient justification for a little plain speaking. I have laughed at the ghostly ideas in the same way that my corresponsdent disdains them. The dove stories, the singing in the glen, the mysterious forms "seen" in the mines and on the mountain sides are the thinnest of fictions, and as fragile as a dew spangled cobweb. To describe them in cold blood is to destroy the fictions; it is quite unnecessary to place them under the microscope of inquiry.

I have held all along that the "warnings," "tappings," and "noises" heard in the Morfa Pit were not unusual or strange. They are familiar to every miner throughout the country, only the miners at other collieries than the Morfa find the cause for the noises in quite ordinary and everyday phenomnea. My Rhondda correspondent declares that one form of "tapping" is well understood by the colliery horses, and I believe his assertion. I do not think the Welsh miner generally has been given credit for this silly belief in ghosts in the mine. The public laugh at the Morfa "spirits" and ask whether that mine is specially favoured by apparitions and message bearers, by doves and visitors who follow the miners from their work home and waylay them as they pass from their cottages to the mine. The men in the Morfa Pit hug their childish superstitions; in the Rhondda the colliery horses see through them!

South Wales Echo, 19th December 1895.

Morfa Colliery

The Morfa Colliery, six years ago the scene of an explosion, been deserted in superstitious terror by the miners, and for some days past they have been gathered about the pit bank, deaf to all persuasions to resume work. Some of them heard, or think they have heard strange sounds in the workings, cries, groans and a "twittering music"; a heavy door in the roadway has been seen to open and shut of its own accord, and direst sign of all, a dove was found perched on a coal truck in the weighing house.

It is conceivable that a seismic tremor, or a settling of strata over the older workings, caused the sounds and movements thus described, and in either case there might be danger. Such sounds were heard just before the disaster of 1889. But the Welshmen will not have it so; they say that at such times the pit is haunted, and in proof of this they tell a gruesome story.

Before the last explosion an apparition, dressed in black oilskin suit descended from the shaft by the side of train of coal on the cage, and walked across the yard to a building that was to be afterwards used as a dead-house; and immediately after the explosion one of the officials of the colliery, dressed in the same manner did exactly as the apparition had done.

By the way of reassuring them, Mr. Robson, the Government inspector; Mr. Grey, the chief manager; and a small party of men went into the mine to make a strict examination; but as they found nothing changed, the scare continues.

Rhyl Record and Advertiser, 21st December 1895.

Chats with some of the miners.

[By our special correspondent.]

Ugh! When I stepped out of the train at Port Talbot on Thursday this was my first exclamation. The rain was falling in torrents, and the wind, blowing in fierce gusts, swished into my face in a most disagreeable manner. Disliking this quite as much as the Morfa colliers fear things supernatural, I hailed a hansom, which afforded me shelter until the rambling village of Taibach was reached. There I found that the same condition of affairs prevailed with regard to the colliery as on Tuesday. Groups of colliers stood or "squatted" wherever shelter could be found. They were busily engaged in discussing the situation. After a few rather ineffectual attempts to glean some information from these, I entered the new and spacious hotel recently erected at the entrance to the village. Several colliers were seated there, the theme of conversation being the same as that which occupied the attention of their fellow-workmen without.

"Strange affair?" I ventured.
"Yes, 'tis rather queer," was the reply of an intelligent-looking man, sitting near the fire. The men were perfectly civil and respectful to a degree, which is neither queer nor strange, considering that the benign influence of "Morien" has been felt in the district.

In the course of my investigation I endeavoured to discover the nature of the noises said to have been heard by the colliers. One old collier, who is still in harness, upon hearing my question, pointed the stem of his pipe at me, and said:- "One of the men who heard the strange sounds described them as resembling the noise of running 'drams' in the old workings. Now I remember many years ago when I was working in the Peprose Pits, hearing a warning like that. My mate said to me, 'John, somebody'll be killed in this colliery very soon.' I laughed at him, and said he was skeered, but before that night shift was over he himself was killed by a fall in the roof. Although I don't believe in what you newspaper men call superstition, I do not like to jeer at men when they hear things like that."

Another old collier remarked: - "You see, sir, we colliers aren't so simple as some would make us out to be. But these men have heard noises, and we shan't be satisfied until we learn that the pit is in thorough working order. We carry our lives in our hands, so to speak, and we have a right to be assured that things down there is as they ought to be. An inspection can do no harm, anyway."

All the men whom I spoke to await the report of their agent, Mr. Isaac Evans, before entertaining the proposition of returning to work. "Unless the condition of affairs is perfectly satisfactory at the Morfa, we won't resume work. we have every confidence in Mr. Isaac Evans, and shall abide by his advice," seemed to be the prevailing opinion.

After my interview with the colliers, I proceeded to the pit. It was a short journey - only about two miles - but it seemed almost interminable to me. I had barely set out when a fierce squall burst. the rain beat mercilessly against me, and the high wind rendered it impossible for me to protect myself with my umbrella. However, I made the best of a bad bargain, and when I reached the Morfa Pit I met with Mr. J. Dyer Lewis, sub-inspector of mines, and Mr. Isaac Evans returning from the pit., accompanied by Messrs. Maddocks and Aubrey, overment at the colliery. All were becomingly attired, and all carried a thick super-stratum of coal dust. Mr. Lewis reported everything in good condition, and said the men might return to work at once. I accompanied Mr. Isaac Evans on the return journey to the village.

Upon being asked his opinion as regards the alleged noises he said, "Well, I am not superstitious myself, and must admit not having inquired very closely into the matter. I am principally concerned in discovering whether the pit is in proper working order. At the same time, when one hears intelligent men of considerable experience saying such things, and having regard to what has already happened at the Morfa, it would be unwise to disregard altogether what they regard as premonitory warnings."
"How long have you been down to-day?"
"We went down at ten o'clock this morning, and returned to the surface at about three o'cloc."
"Do you consider the pit to be in good working order?"
"Yes; the Morfa coal is fine stuff. I don't think that there's a better seam than the Cribbwr existing."
"I didn't quite ask you that, Mr. Evans."
"No," he replied, with a perceptible twinkle in his eye. "Well," he continued, "I would prefer not giving an opinion now. I have to report to a meeting to-night. The men will decide as to whether they will return to work."
"How many men are employed?"
"About 250."
"Do you think that they will soon resume work?"
"They may or they may not. I can't say."
And with this unsatisfactory reply I had, perforce, to content myself.

On Thursday evening a meeting of the miners was held at the Somerset Hotel, Taibach, when Mr. Isaac Evans, miners' agent, submitted a lengthy report dealing with his investigation of the condition of the pit. After a protracted discussion it was decided that the men resume work this (Friday) morning.



A PARALLEL CASE TO THE MORFA CASE.
A COLLIER'S EXPERIENCE IN CWMAMAN.
Interesting Letter from Mr. W. Thomas, Bryn Awel.

We have received the following interesting communication from Mr. W. Thomas, Bryn Awel, Aberdare:--

To the Editor of the "Evening Express."
Sir, - It occurs to me that the following may interest some of your readers, and especially those of them who are employed at the Morfa Colliery:-
Some 25 years ago, when I was in charge of the Cwmaman Colliery, I had a fireman there who was one of the best, most truthful, and conscientious men that ever went down a coal-pit - a man named William Lewis. Late one evening he came to my house, and asked to have a word with me privately. His wish was, of course, at once complied with. When we were alone he told me his story, which was, shortly, as follows:--

While making his examination of the workings of his district the morning of the previous day he heard a report, and felt the effects of an explosion, and instantly turned aside to the mouth of a stall to shield himself from the effects of the blast. He remained there some time, when the slamming of an air-door further on, and nearer the face of the workings, attracted his attention. Knowing, as he did, that there was not a human being in any part of his district - all the night men having gone out, and the day men not having come in - he became much disturbed. However, on he went, and just as he reached the outer door of a pair of air-doors that were on the main heading, not far from where he had sheltered himself, it was opened by a person, whose name he gave; then came a haulier at the head of a horse, followed by a tram, in which were several dead bodies, all of whom, as well as the haulier and the men who followed the mournful cortege, he well knew, being persons who worked in his district. He for a minute or two, discussed the accident with these men, and told them to tell me, should they meet me coming in, that he had gone on to the face to make sure the air doors were all right, and that no old timber or brattice-cloth was smouldering there.

On reaching the working faces, however, he found all in order, and that even at the "faces" where the persons whose dead and charred bodies he had seen dead and disfigured used to work not a trace of an accident could be seen, and he became satisfied he had seen an apparition - "drychiolaeth." He continued the examination of his district, and came back to the locking cabin at the bottom of the pit a little later than usual, and there impatiently waiting him were, amongst others, the very persons whose dead bodies he had seen brought out in the tram an hour previously.

He had, he said, spent a very miserable couple of days, and had not slept a moment the previous night, and felt he was bound to come and tell me what he had seen, and thus warn me of the accident that was sure to follow. I tried to laugh him out of his fears, but soon found out that that would not do, so pretended to treat his statement seriously. I knew he had been ailing for some time, and suggested he should take a couple of weeks' holiday in order to pick himself up a bit, but this he would not hear of, saying he was not going to leave me in the lurch when he knew there was such a calamity in front of me in his district, and that he would see it through, come what may.

To soothe him it was arranged between us that extra precautions should be paid to the ventilation, and that his brother - who was also a fireman in another district in the same pit - the overman, and myself should visit the ventilating furnace frequently during the following days to see that it was properly attended to, and that he and the airway man should pay special attention should be paid to any blowers that might break down.

He then left me, and bravely continued his avocation for three or four weeks more, doing his work with marked ability and care, until his health would no longer permit him to do so, and in a very short time I and others had the mournful duty of accompanying to its final resting-place in the Aberdare Cemetery the remains of one of the most truthful, loyal, and conscientious men it has ever been my lot to know. Pob parch i'w gofiant.

That he believed every word he told me I am certain of, and I am equally certain that his "drychiolaeth" was due to the nervous condition he had been reduced to through protracted indisposition, and which illness, in spite of rest and change of air, soon brought him to his grave. I should add that no explosion ever took place in poor William's district, and that some of the men whose bodies he so graphically described as being burned and brought out in a tram are still alive, proving that my friend's "drychiolaeth" was the result of his own imagination, stimulated by his state of nervous debility. Might the Morfa affair not be traced to the same cause?-- I am, &c,.
W. THOMAS.
Bryn Awel, Aberdare, Dec. 11.

In the Evening Express, 13th December 1895.

Ascension day superstitions

Thursday was carefully observed at the Bethesda slate quarries, not, however out of respect to the religious character of the day, but in deference to a superstition which has lingered for many years amongst the Penrhyn quarrymen, that working on Ascension Day, or Holy Thursday as it is better known in the district, was sure to be attended with a fatality or accidents of a serious charachter. Some six years back, the management succeeded in partly overcoming this feeling, and several of the men worked, an arrangement which was continued about two years. Strange to say, there was always an accident, and Ascension Day continues to be an idle day so far as the Penrhyn quarrymen are concerned.
Cheshire Observer,  24th May 1879



A Welsh Quarry Superstition.
Edinburgh Evening News, Friday 27th May 1881.
Superstition among quarrymen.
The old superstition which has existed for many years amongst the quarrymen engaged at Lord Penrhyn's extensive Carnarvonshire slate quarries, that working on Ascension Day is always attended with an accident, prevailed yesterday, and although, owing to the slackness of the market, the quarries have for some months been working only four days weekly, not a man went near yesterday. Seven years ago the management succeeded in persuading the men to disregard the superstition and go to work, but it was noticed that each year the custom was broken, serious accidents occurred.



Yesterday, work at Lord Penrhyn's slate quarries at Bethesda was entirely suspended, not out of any religious regard, but in deference to the belief that has long lingered in the district that working on Ascension Day is invariably accompanied by some serious accident. Several years ago the management induced the men to disregard this feeling, but every year there was an accident, and now not a man will venture into the quarries on "Holy Thursday," as it is locally termed.


Nottingham Evening Post, Saturday May 12th 1888.
Superstitions die hard. That Friday is a dies infausta is still a prime article in the creed of our sailors, and though you adduced all the practical disproof possible you could not get them to set sail with a light heart on the sixth day of the week. A similar superstition, it appears, exists in the Welsh slate quarries, but fortunately it only attaches to one day of the year, and not one in every week. Thursday being Ascension Day, the numerous workmen in Lord Penrhyn's slate quarries all suspended work, not because, being mostly Dissenters, they had any special regard for the sanctity of the day, but because there exists a lingering tradition, handed down from those early times when the old faith was still predominant, and the voice of the angelus was heard on every hill, that accident would follow labour on that day. Curiously enough a successful attempt to induce the men to ignore their traditions has more deeply rooted the superstition in their minds. Some years ago, it appears that the managers of Lord Penrhyn's quarries, after enormous trouble, succeeded in inducing the men to continue work on Ascension Day. But that year there was an accident - hardly a very marvellous occurrence where so many men are employed - and the consequence is that no man can now be persuaded to go near the quarries on Ascension day. [churnalism]




Lancashire Evening Post, 8th May 1891.





Thursday, being Ascension Day, there was a complete cessation of work at the Bethesda slate quarries. This is occasioned, not by any religious regard for the day, but because of the feeling long prevalent that work on Ascension Day is inevitably attended with accident. No quarryman will set foot in the quarries on that day. The slate trade is extremely brisk here and in other parts of Carnarvonshire.

Blackburn Standard,  25th May 1895.


Nottingham Evening Post, Friday 2nd June 1905.
Superstitious Quarrymen.
In deference to a superstition which has prevailed for many years, there was yesterday a complete cessation of work at Lord Penrhyn's quarries at Bethesda, where 4,000 men are employed. The superstition owes its origin to a succession of fatal accidents on Ascension Day. Some years ago the management succeeded in inducing the employees to remain at their posts, but, strange to relate, a fatal accident occurred, and now not a single quarryman will venture into the workings on what is locally known as Holy Thursday.


Nottingham Evening Post, Thursday 10th May 1923.
A Miners' Superstition.
Ascension Day, associated in many districts with the old-time ceremonial of "beating the bounds," has a sinister reputation among the Penrhyn quarrymen. There is a long-standing superstition that no work must be done in the quarries on this day or evil will result, and for many years, therefore, Ascension Day has been a day of idleness in Penrhyn.

Some years ago the managers did persuade a number of men to work, but, sure enough, a serious accident occurred, and since then the quarrymen have refused to risk a defiance of superstition.




Quarry owners yesterday intimated to the North Wales quarrymen that a free day in August will be granted to the men as compensation for working on Ascension Day in disregard of the old superstition that it is fatal to work on that day.
 Shields Daily News, 23rd May 1925.

 Western Mail, Saturday 28th May 1927.
Bethesda Quarrymen and Ascension Day.
Time was when the 3,000 quarrymen at Lord Penrhyn's Quarry at Bethesda declined to work on Ascension Day, not for any religious motive, but in deference to a superstition that work on that day would inevitably be accompanied by an accident. Fatal accidents did occur until the day was observed as a holiday, but gradually the men overcame the superstition and now work as usual that day. 

Mining superstitions in the making

Among the Welsh Miners.
About Superstitious Beliefs.
(By a Cardiff Welshman.)

During my stay at Treglo a strange and somewhat startling story was going the round of the town. Some two miles from the place is a small mining hamlet, which we shall name Cwmdu, and it was here the strange story originated. From the common talk of the people I gathered that there had been living in the hamlet for a short period an old woman who appeared to be living a solitary life. At least no one seemed inclined to acknowledge any  knowledge of her past life, nor her mode of living, further than to state that she earned her living by hawking sundry small goods for domestic use.

The story circulated about the woman was to the effect that she had foretold a couple of fatal accidents which had occurred in the local colliery, and that she had followed up her "bit of prophecy" by predicting two colliery explosions at given dates, one at the Cwmdu mine and the other in one of the collieries of Treglo.

The "Prophecy" was the staple topic of discussion right throughout the district, and the effect on the minds of the people amounted almost to a panic. Every man and woman who came to Tom's shop knew the story, discussed nothing else. What seemed to add to the weirdness of the affair was the rumour circulated that the "strange woman" had suddenly disappeared from the district, no one knew where or when. So real and intense was the popular belief in the woman's prediction that I found it extremely difficult to laugh the matter off my mind, so it was not without peculiar interest that I waited the approach of the day which was to put a portion of the prediction to the test. The colliery were working, but I was informed that there was a good number of absentees. Many had made it convenient to be too indisposed for work, others had managed to arrive at the lamp-room too late to be allowed down. Wives had hid away their husbands' clothes, and daughters had implored upon their brothers to "Joke bad, for fear there is something in it."

This attitude was aptly illustrated by an intelligent old miner, whose acquaintance I had made.
"It's as well, perhaps, to be on the safe side. One never knows," he said; "strange things do happen sometimes. It's better to lose a turn than lose one's life after all, baint it, sir?"
I expressed my entire accord with his sentiments.
"Not that I believe in the old woman's story," he continued. "To tell you the truth, I believe the poor woman has been so frightened herslef by the effect on the popular mind of her attempt at prophyesying that she has cleared. Some say, though, that is only a temporary absence, necessitated by the circumstances, to arrange the details of the affair with the devil or some such power of evil. But to speak common sense, who knows how much this story has grown in the telling? I'll tell you a little experience of my own when I was much younger than I am.

"I was working in a small level in this district before the pit here was sunk, and before we had such a lot of houses. The way to work was very lonely indeed. We had to pass an old stone quarry which was known far and near as being the favourite resort of a spirit popularly known as The White Lady. I was working night at the time I am speaking of. My mother was dead, and the home was looked after for my father by a young girl, married and living close by me now, who had her fair share of belief in the existence of the White Lady. My father, I ought to say, worked the day shifts, and, as I have said, I was working night with another collier as a 'boy'.

Well, Mary forgot to call me in time, and as a result it was quite dark when I was about to start to work. Poor Mary was almost hysterical. She knew my father would be annoyed if I did not go to work, and she felt, on the other hand, that she was driving me into some unknown land, where all trace of my existence would be for ever lost. It was blowing a little, and I could not carry a naked light, such as we worked with in the level, so Mary placed a candle in a tin lantern, and thus equipped I started on my journey. To admit the honest truth, I was very nervous when approaching the famous spot, although I tried to think as hard as I could of the impossibility of such strange things as spirtis retorning.

When opposite the quarry a novel idea took possession of me. I swung the lantern to and fro and challenged the White Lady to make her appearance to an unbeliever. This, perhaps, in the agony of suspense, and with a view of giving some effect to my boyish courage. I don't know what was the cause, but the result was that I found myself in darkness, running over a rough and hilly road with a feeling of some terrible phantom following at my heels. I reached the level, and getting to the spot I worked in, fell breathless into the arms of my 'boss'. There was little done for awhile, the workers were so busy expressing their sympathy with me in being sent to work in the dark by that 'hard-hearted Mary.' However this passed off, when I assured them, in my calmermoments, that it was only a bit of fright at being left in the dark, as the result of my indiscretion in swinging the lantern.

But the best part remains, and this is what I want to tell you, sir. I got home all right in the morning and Mary welcomed me, as if I had returned from the dead. With a view of impressing her with the desirability of calling me in due time in future, I told her if she knew ho I had been frightened at the old quarry, she would never forgive herself, and so forth. I went to bed, and, as was my habit, got up about midday for dinner, when I was surprised to find quite a houseful of womenfolk chatting - a regular Babel of tongues - with Mary. No sooner did I make an appearance than they swarmed around me like so many bees, pestering me for fully an hour with all sorts of strange questions. You know how the lawyers in the police courts cross-examine an unfavourable witness. Well that's how they went for me.

At last I commenced to doubt my own story. It had assumed such a weird character. Well the result of this was that a rumour went throught the village like wildfire that I had been nearly crushed to death by a 'spirit funeral' on my way to work, the story invariably ending with the sympathetic comment, 'What a wonder the young lad wasn't carried to the parish churchyard, and never heard of any more.' About a month or so after a real funeral - not the first - passed the quarry on its way to the churchyard, and by some method peculiar to the people it was demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was the identical one I had seen in its spirit form!

That's how the stories grow, you see," continued my collier friend; "and it is quite possible that this yarn of the prophecy of the old woman is simply the outgrowth of a silly remark which she may have made to some superstious person. A dream as likely as anything, sir, for we are great believers in dreams as warning."

The scare created by the predictions brought forth a good crop of ghost stories of various forms and degrees of credulity, some of which were extremely interesting as showing the lengths to which the people can go at times. Despite the characteristic religious turn of the Welsh mind, there is manifested periodically a peculiar susceptibility to the most extravagant forms of superstitious belief. The science in the religion of Spiritualism as taught in scores of homes, and in public at Cardiff, is practically unknown in the Hills. Although an open belief in Spiritualism as a scientific truth, or form of religion, would result in social ostracism, there is a very widespread belief in the supernatural. During my stay I fraternised with people to whom the gymnastic feats of circus performers are nothing more nor less than the "work of the devil;" but who would assert as probable the tallest ghost story imaginable.

South Wales Echo, 13th February 1896.

Strange sounds, smells and sights at Morfa colliery

Lingering Remnants of Welsh Superstition.

It is extraordinary that, notwithstanding the spread of education and the enlightening influences which are popularly supposed to have been brought to bear upon the people by the pulpit and the Sunday schools, there still linger in the minds of hundreds in the Principality remnants of the superstitions which prevailed in the days of the "Canwyll Corff" and the "Tylwyth Teg." Such is this fact, however, that the news that the workmen of the Morfa Colliery left the pit on Monday because they had heard "strange sounds" is an instance in point. Doubtless, there are districts in which such credulity dies harder than in others, and Morfa appears to be a neighbourhood in which superstition lingers longingly, for the story of the "sign," or foreboding of evil, conveyed by the appearance of a dove perched upon a colliery tram - absurd as such a fear may seem - reminds us that immediately after the occurrence of the great disaster at that colliery some six years ago, rumours were set afloat that omens of evil had just previously been seen. One of our represeentatives, who at that time interviewed a chapel deacon who had narrowly escaped with his life, had an opportunity of letting in some light upon such ridiculous canards as the appearance of a "red dog" underground and the overpowering influence of an "odour of roses."

Further investigations among miners then revealed a curious taint of such beliefs, occurring, strange to say, in several cases, among people possessed with a strong religious tendency. We are, of course, far from suggesting that such doctrines are propagated by the leaders of religion, but, surely, if isolated cases in other districts and a whole pitful of illustrations in Morfa indicate the presence of relics of a superstitious age, there is ample scope for the most active of ministers and preachers to explode the fallacies which still keep members of their flock so far behind the age. Let us hope that Mr. Robson, the inspector of mines, will be successful in exorcising the spirit which disturbs the Morfa men, and that we shall hear no more of "strange sounds," which have a tendency to make Welsh colliers a laughing-stock, for outside the southern portion of the Principality there will be many who will fondly imagine that the intelligent miners so recently praised by Justice Vaughan Williams are all tarred with the same brush as their innocent brethren at Morfa.

The Western Mail, 10th December 1895

Morfa Colliery disaster

The inquiry into the cause of the disaster at the Morfa Colliery, by which eighty-seven lives were lost, was resumed on Thursday, at Aberavon, before Mr Cuthbertson. -- Philip Williams and William Harding, the first two witnesses called, stated that a rumour had been circulated amongst the miners that strange sounds had been heard at the pit, and consequently a special examination was asked for. It was taken as proof that something unusual was to occur at Morfa - a fire or an explosion.

Replying to Mr. S.T.Evans, M.P. Harding said he did not know whether the noises spoken of were such as would be caused by gas. He did not think all the men had heard the sounds, but he and several others had, including William Summer, and they had created fear in the minds of the men. About a fortnight before the explosion he was in the four-foot, and with another man had taken a tram of rubbish to discharge into an old heading. After emptying it they were resting, and both had gone on their knees. No word passed between them, but they heard something, and looked at each other. He said suddenly "What is that? There are some people walking there," and as he uttered the word a door on the upper side of them opened and clapped against the frame.  "What in the name of goodness can that be?" he asked; to which his mate replied, "I don't know." They at once pushed the tram back.

He met a man named Tom Barass and said to him, "Something very strange has happened there to-day," upon which Barrass remarked, "Well, I can't doubt it, but this sort of thing makes one believe that everything one has heard before is true." Witness declared he had proof himself that sounds and signs occurred before the explosion in the pit in 1863.

-- By Mr Tennant, solicitor for owner: They found nothing to account for the noises.
-- By Mr Robson, Mines Inspector: He thought the explosion must have occurred in No. 8 or No. 8 1/2 heading. He had not heard that Wm. Leyshon went down to fire a shot on the morning of the exlosion, but there was a "mixture" in No. 8, and, if the blowers gave off at the time that Leyshon had his lamp open to fire that shot an explosion would be caused.
-- Mr Thomas Gray, manager of the mine, gave evidence as to the safety of the colliery and efficiency of  the arrangeents. He believed the explosion occurred in No. 8 heading. He had taken no special steps in consequence of the men's fear about ghosts, as this would not concern the management.
-- The inquiry was adjourned.

Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register,  26th April 1890.

Superstition or Reverence

No body of workers are more easily moved by trivial events than the hardy superstitious miner of South Wales. After every explosion we hear of many miraculous escapes due to strange dreams and visions on the part of those rescued, and that many a sad event has been carefully warned to one household or another is a common experience among them. The other day a miner committed suicide in one of the Clydach Vale Collieries lakes, and as they were unable to find the body, about 300 miners refused to enter the pit.

Fortunately, before the next day's shift was due, the poor miner had been recovered, and, consequently, the work proceeded as usual. Was it superstition or reverence that caused these men to abandon their work? We think it was due to their deep reverence for the departed spirit of their fellow-workman, who, probably, during a fit of temporary insanity, had put an end to his earthly existnece.

It is well known that after a fellow-workman receives serious injury every man employed in the district of the workings, where the injured was received, will throw down his tools and escort the injured to his home. It is common in the towns adjacent to collieries to witness a great procession of grave men walking from the colliery with the injured miner carried on a stretcher in their midst. When a workman is killed outright, every man and boy instantly leaves the colliery where the fatal accident takes place. Each man would regard working on that day, after such a sad event, as an insult to the dead, and to the class which he belonged. Miners are a sensitive and superstitious tribe, and as tender-hearted as the most sensitive of females.

The London Kelt, 29th August 1896.

Morfa Colliery, Swansea

A Haunted Pit.

The Morfa Colliery, six years ago the scene of an explosion, has been deserted in superstitious terror by the miners and for some days past they have been gathered about the pit bank, deaf to all persuasions to resume work. Some of them have heard, or think they have heard, strange sounds in the workings, cries, groans, and a "twittering music," a heavy door in one of the roadways has been seen to open and shut of its own accord; and, direst sign of all, on Sunday night a dove was found perched on a coal truck in the weigh-house.

It is conceivable that a seismic tremor, or a settling of strata over the older workings, caused the sounds and movements thus described; and in either case there might be danger. Such sounds were heard a little while before the disaster of 1889. But the Welshmen will not have it so; they say that at such times the pit is haunted; and in proof of this they tell a gruesome story.

Before the last explosion an apparition, dressed in a black oilskin suit, ascended from the shaft by the side of a tram of coal on the cage, and walked across the yard to a building that was to be afterwards used as a deadhouse; and immediately after the explosion one of the officials of the colliery, dressed in the same manner, did exactly as the apparition had done.

By way of reassuring them, Mr. Robson, the Government Inspector, Mr. Grey, the chief manager, and a small party of men went into the mine on Tuesday to make a strict examination; but as the explorers found nothing changed, the scare continues.

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 13th December 1895.


 The Superstitious Miners At Morfa Colliery.
Everything at the pit was at a standstill on Tuesday. Mr Robson (the mines inspector) and Mr Isaac Evans  are making a careful and minute inspection of the workings, which are so extensive that it will take several days to accomplish. Meanwhile the colliers meet with a good deal of ridicule for their superstitious notions.

South Wales Daily News, Wednesday 11th December 1895.