Next Time We Strike

Appendix

Appendix«The Scofield Disaster" 1. Have you heard of the Scofield Disaster? 'Tis a heartbreaking story to tell; I was there and partook of the sorrow and grief, I remember, remember so well. Oh, mothers and wives of the miners, Who perished so suddenly there, Did you give them a loving embrace that morn, Did you bid them 'Goodbye' with a prayer? Deep, deep down in the mine, Who knows the danger down in the mine? 2. It was May Day, the year 1900, The sun shone so bright in the sky; The miners went merrily downward, Ne'er dreaming disaster was nigh. When the mountain it shook and it thundered, And a blast came from Mine Number Four; And a hundred and ninety-nine miners, Lay dead in the terrible roar! Deep, deep down in the mine, God, it was awful down in the mine. 3. When the dire news spread through the township, There went up a heart-rending wail, As the rescuers brought out the wounded and dead, And carried them over the trail. The women and children came running, To clasp their dear loved ones in death, 219 Appendix Dreadful fire-damp spread from ~ine Four up to One, And the brave rescue men gasped for breath. Deep, deep down in the mine, Whose keg of powder blew up the mine? (Stanzas 4 and 5 missing. ) 6. There were hundreds of children made orphans, And many dear widows were left; But one poor woman could not be consoled, She was sadly and madly bereft. That morning with high temper flying, Cruel words to her husband she'd spoken; And so by his graveside she wept and she died, Anguished, remorseful and broken. Deep, deep down in the mine, No man was working down in the mine. 7. You may ask how I know this sad story? Her five children I took to my home, Held them close in my arms to still their alarms, Kept them, and called them my own. Oh, mothers and wives of the miners, Strew flowers while life is still fair; Send your men off to danger with loving embrace, Bid them 'Goodbye' with a prayer. Deep, deep down in the mine, Silence and darkness down in the mine. This ballad was located and published by LaVerne J. Stallings in Western Folklore 18 (1959): 173-76. Permission to reprint from Western Folklore. As an introduction to the ballad, Stallings recounts the events that led to the discovery. Feeling sure that, like mining disasters elsewhere, this one had been commemorated in balladry, I began to search for evidence in periodicals , histories, and other books in local libraries for some reference to a Scofield ballad. Finding none, I turned to miners and long-time Utah residents that I knew. No one had heard of any verses dealing with the disaster. My first lead came one evening at a social gathering when, upon telling of my search, a Mr. Larry Kirton said immediately, "Scofield220 Appendix why my father was killed in that explosion," and he related the harrowing circumstances. He had heard of a song harshly critical of the mine superintendent, T. J. Parmley, and directed me to a relative of the superintendent, Professor Parmley of the University of Utah. Professor Parmley, when I met him, told me he knew nothing of the ballad, but suggested that I talk with Mr. John Beddoes, one of the few survivors of the disaster. Mr. Beddoes, now 93 and living in Salt Lake City, possessed a most remarkable memory for history and mining songs. He spoke freely of the event, which was still so vivid in his mind that his voice shook and tears rolled down his cheeks as he told how the tragedy had struck almost every family in Scofield. He had known Superintendent Parmley well, he said, and remembered his unusual valor at the time, and that he had been cleared of all blame in the matter. But Mr. Beddoes knew nothing of the ballad in question, nor of any other song reminiscent of the Scofield disaster. Later, following a lead supplied by Wayland D. Hand, and collaborating with Russell Gray of Ephraim, Utah, I went to Ephraim to seek out an old timer by the name of Arch Draper, who reputedly knew some lines of the Scofield ballad. Ephraim had been my parents' birthplace, and I arrived there with high hopes. Mr. Draper received me cordially and told me that he had done some mining...