The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #157256 Message #3711017
Posted By: Gurney
22-May-15 - 06:04 PM
Thread Name: Folklore: Miner's water bottle
Subject: RE: Miner's water bottle
There was a reason that the drink bottle had a narrow neck, as mentioned right at the beginning.
If a miner subbed a mate to a drink of water, the drinker poured the stream of water into his mouth without touching his lips to the bottle, and swallowed without closing his mouth, which takes some learning.
When I was a miner as a lad, I was a Jig Runner, controlling a haulage, and the Motorman carried an extra-large bottle as an act of charity. The Rippers or coalface workers coming off shift were sometimes dehydrated and would beg or even steal water wherever they could.
The undermanager at my pit was Welsh, and he called snap 'snapping.'
I never heard the bottle called a Dudley, or anything but a bottle. Dudley Town is about 20 miles from that pit.
Miners at that time carried a pocket-watch in a tobacco tin, packed with pads of cotton. The dust ruined a wrist-watch in a very short time.