No Rats in the Mines.

Rats are the best safety devices a coal miner can have. A rat knows when there will about to be a rock fall a lot quicker than any seasoned miner. They can also tell bad air and they stay away from it. Modern technology, however, is doing little or nothing for the miner. Coal mining continues to be the most dangerous occupation in the U.S. The U.S. federal safety law of 1952 was hailed as a long step forward in mine safety. Yet, between the passage of the law and 1968, 5,500 miners were killed and 220,000 were severely injured.