I'm always on the look out for weird and mysterious stories, and a bunch of newspaper articles from November 1888 certainly seemed to fit the bill! As the Herald of Wales for November 24th said, "Of late there have been quite a number of diasppearances, but perhaps one of the most remarkable is that of a little boy who has been lost from his father's side in a Coal Pit..."
The South Wales Echo of November 21st 1888 reported:
STRANGE OCCURRENCE AT AN ABERDARE COLLIERYThis report was reprinted in newspapers across the country and, at least at first, I had no luck finding a follow up. Who was this kid? Did he really just disappear for good down in a coal pit?
Mysterious Disappearance.
Considerable excitement has been caused among the employees of the River Level Pit, belonging to the Abernant Company, by the disappearance, while underground, of a boy of 14 years, the son of Evan Thomas, collier, of Little Wind-street, Aberdare. It seems that father and son were working together on Monday afternoon.
The boy left his father's side for some purpose or other, and did not return. The father becoming anxious at the delay commenced to make enquiries as to the lad's whereabouts, but could get no satisfactory information.
Strange to say, nothing whatever has been heard or seen of the lad since, and the officials on the surface are confident that he did not leave the pit. No work took place on Tuesday, gangs of men being employed in examining the various workings, but up to a late hour at night no trace whatever had been found of the missing boy. The father can give no explanation whatever as to the cause of his son's strange disappearance.
The River Level Pit was in Abernant and, just like most of its brethren, had a less than stellar safety record. My first newspaper hit was for 1885, then newly sunk, when an explosion injured four men, killed a horse, and blew the entire roof of the pit off! In November 1875 a fall of stone killed a youth named Johnathan Riggs, and in February 1886 13-year-old David John Williams died of burns he had sustained in a pit explosion a few weeks earlier. In 1887 John Meredith was fatally injured in a clod fall, and in May 1888 45-year-old Thomas Morgan suffered the same fate.
In other words, some kind of pit accident certainly wasn't beyond the real of possibility.
Then, on November 23rd 1888, the South Wales Daily News reported:
SINGULAR DISAPPEARANCE IN A COAL PIT: The boy Thomas, who so mysteriously disappeared on Monday morning while working with his father underground at the River Level Pit, Abernant, was discovered late on Wednesday night, by the exploring party in one of the facings. He had not partaken of food or drink since Monday morning, and was conveyed home in a very exhausted condition, He gave no definite cause for his strange conduct, but it is alleged that he has been subjected to ill treatment.
The Western Mail of the same day laid out the whole sorry story:
EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE AT AN ABERDARE COLLIERY
RESULT OF A BOYS PERVERSITY | CONCEALED IN A PIT FOR THREE DAYS.
Early on Tuesday morning information was lodged at Aberdare Police-station of the disappearance of a lad named Philip Thomas, son of Evan Thomas, a collier, residing at 23 Little Wind Street, Aberdare. It appears that the boy, who is nearly fifteen rears old, was working with his father and brother at the River Level Pit, Abernant, and about mid-day on Monday was sent to fetch some "ramming."
Being late in returning he was scolded by his father, and thereupon ran from the stall, leaving his coat and vest behind. The brother followed in pursuit, but before be could be caught Philip ran through a "swamp" containing nearly 3ft. of water and disappeared into the old workings. Search was at once made, but without success, and the officials at the pit's mouth were uncertain as to whether the boy had come to the surface.
During the whole of Tuesday work was entirely suspended and exploring parties were formed, the father meanwhile journeying to Cardif in the belief that his son had made for that port. Mr. William Hughes, the courteous manager of the colliers, spared no trouble in searching for the missing youth, and the whole of the "gobs" were sifted to ascertain whether he had been buried beneath a fall.
On Wednesday night the men selected a number of colliers to traverse the surrounding mountains, and an exploring party was again told off to examine the workings, the general body of men being with difficulty prevailed upon to resume their ordinary duty. Shortly after the underground search was commenced the poor lad was discovered in a most exhausted condition near the spot from which he started, and was conveyed home in a cab under tho care of Inspector Thorney and amidst a large crowd of anxious neighbours.
From inquiries made on Thursday we learn that the boy repeatedly saw the searchers, and from time to time followed them, literally "hunting the hunter." On several occasions he had to take refuge in a stall when some of the party retraced their steps, but volunteers the statement that he felt extremely glad to join his discoverers in their journey to the surface.
The boy's clothes were saturated with water as a result of his passage through the "swamp," and it is feared that ill effects may arise from it, but the reason of his extraordinary escapade is still shrouded in mystery.
(River Level Pit is best known for a flooding disaster that killed six in 1896. Then one of the deceased's brothers was killed in a pit fall a few weeks later...)
Philip Thomas was born in 1874 to Phoebe (b. 1851) and Evan Thomas (b. 1851).
On the 1881 census the family were living at 2 Elizabeth Street in Aberdare. In addition to Phoebe and Evan, who was working as a collier, there were six children at home: John (b. 1868), Mary (b. 1870), William (b. 1873), Philip, Esther (b. 1876), and Evan David (b. 1881).
On the 1891 census the family were still living at 23 Little Wind Street in Aberdare. In addition to Evan and Phoebe, they had a boarder named Dan Avnon (b. 1851), another coal miner from Carmarthen, and nine children: John, Philip, Esther, Evan, Mary A (b. 1883), Phoebe H (b. 1884), Thomas (b. 1885), Maggie (b. 1887), and Benjamin (b. 1889).
By the time of the 1901 census Philip had left home, but his parents and younger siblings were still living at 23 Little Wind Street.
