MULES USED IN COAL MINING

"Mules Important Cogs Before Electric Motors,,"  Bluefield Daily 
Telegraph.  Sunday, September 13, 1987.

     
When the first mine in the Pocahontas field was opened in 1883, 
mules were a very important part of the operation and continued 
to be for many years until replaced by electric motors.
     
They were used to pull cars inside the mines, as pack animals 
loaded with supplies and as dray animals, being kept in stables 
deep inside the mines.
     
At one time Pocahontas Fuel had around 200 of the sturdy beasts, 
most of whom were bought in Lexington and Mt. Sterling, KY. . .
     
The mules worked in shifts, just like the miners, and had their 
own blacksmiths, harness maker and hostler to take care of them.
     
[Author Jack M.] Jones writes [in his history of early coal 
mining],  "The animals also had their own bathtub and that's 
certainly more than the average mule of that day had.  It was a 
concrete wading pool and was used to remove the coal slack and 
muck from their legs after a day's work in the mines.  This was 
done for cleanliness and also to help prevent leg sores in the 
animals.  Thirty-six once died in an explosion.
     
"At the end of the week, on Saturday, the mule skinner would 
herd them together and [take] the anxious animals to their 
pasture.  Here they would spend the weekend relaxing and munching 
on. . . grass.

Sunday afternoon they reluctantly returned to the mines after 
much not-so-friendly persuasion by their guardian, the mule 
skinner. . ."
     
Years ago the animals were memorialized in a popular song that 
had a miner singing,  "My sweetheart is a mule in a mine."