Posted on 08/22/2007 5:12:53 AM PDT by scouse
Irish railroad grave mystery solved
Scientists in Pennsylvania believe they have found a mass grave containing the bodies of 57 Irish immigrants who died 175 years ago.
The men from Donegal, Tyrone and Londonderry had made the journey across the Atlantic in the summer of 1832 to work on the railroads, but their time in the US was tragically short.
Mystery still surrounds the question of how they met their deaths just six weeks after getting off the boat - a cholera epidemic was blamed, but foul play has never been ruled out.
At the time, a cholera epidemic was spreading towards the area known as Duffy's Cut, and one theory is that some of the men - none older than 25 - were murdered by local vigilantes afraid of them spreading the disease.
One factor suggesting that some of the men were murdered is that death from cholera was not inevitable, as the disease's mortality rate was not more than 65%.
With much prejudice in Pennsylvania against the Irish and Catholics at the time, the men may have been seen as an expendable underclass.
The apparent cover up by the railroad company which followed their deaths means the location of their graves has been a mystery until now.
Researchers have spent three years sifting through dirt, and have uncovered some of the workers' possessions such as clay pipes and shirt buttons. They now believe a breakthrough has been made, having turned to modern technology to solve this old problem.
Immaculata University history professor Dr William Watson said advances in thermal imaging had helped them find where the men were buried.
Bullet holes in the men's skulls would confirm they were murdered.
However, the archaeologists will also turn detective, looking for clues such as if they were in a coma and presumed dead but actually buried alive.
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6958216.stm
Published: 2007/08/22 09:21:22 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Gosh, it must be great to be a scientist and know this kind of stuff!
GGG ping
Evidently, no bullet holes have been found yet.
I’m part Irish - I demand reparations!
Not if they committed suicide........
Sounds like they are hoping to find evidence that will turn the tide in favor of illegal immigration and illegal immigrant rights better than than those for the rest of us..
>>>> Gosh, it must be great to be a scientist and know this kind of stuff!
Can they prove they weren't shot postmortem< /snark>
ping
Mass suicide? Alcohol related gun accidents? Mercy killings?
[quote]Bullet holes in the men’s skulls would confirm they were murdered.[/quote]
Isn’t that the same thing MSM said about good old Vince Foster?
Navigator, navigator rise up and be strong
The morning is here and theres work to be done.
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes to shift a few tons of this earthly delight.
They died in their hundreds with no sign to mark where
Save the brass in the pocket of the entrepreneur.
By landslide and rockblast they got buried so deep
That in death if not life theyll have peace while they sleep.
Navigator, navigator rise up and be strong
The morning is here and theres work to be done.
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes to shift a few tons of this earthly delight.
Their mark on this land is still seen and still laid
The way for a commerce where vast fortunes were made
The supply of an empire where the sun never set
Which is now deep in darkness, but the railways there yet.
Navigator, navigator rise up and be strong
The morning is here and theres work to be done.
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes to shift a few tons of this earthly delight.
Navigator
-The Pogues
That's averaged across the population, of course. Mortality rates among famine-weakened, hard-drinking men living in squalid conditions would be much higher.
More Victimology
In eighteen hundred and forty one
My corduroy breeches I put on
My corduroy breeches I put on
To work upon the railway
The railway
I’m weary of the railway
Poor Paddy works on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty two
From Hartlepool I moved to Grove
And found myself a job to do
Working on the railway
I was wearing
Corduroy breeches
Digging ditches
Pulling switches
Dodging hitchers
I was working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty three
I broke me shuffle across me knee
I went to work for the company
And leave me seldom railway
I was wearing
Corduroy breeches
Digging ditches
Pulling switches
Dodging hitchers
I was working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty four
I landed on the Liverpool shore
Me belly was empty me hands were raw
With working on the railway
The railway
Im weary of the railway
Poor Paddy works on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty five
When Daniel OConnell he was alive
And Daniel OConnell he was alive
And working on the railway
I was wearing
Corduroy breeches
Digging ditches
Pulling switches
Dodging hitchers
I was working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty six
I changed me trade from carrying bricks
Changed me trade from carrying bricks
To working on the railway
I was wearing
Corduroy breeches
Digging ditches
Pulling switches
Dodging hitchers
I was working on the railway
In eighteen hundred and forty seven
Poor Paddy was thinking of going to Heaven
Poor Paddy was thinking of going to Heaven
To work upon the railway
The railway
I’m weary of the railway
Poor Paddy works on the railway
I was wearing
Corduroy breeches
Digging ditches
Pulling switches
Dodging hitchers
I was working on the railway
Researchers are also investigating the possibility that their leader Edward O’Kennedy was driving a horse drawn passenger wagon in the area. Local legend says that O’Kennedy was driving the men to a job site, and drove off a shoddy wooden bridge after consuming a locally produced “tonic”
Ireland ping, sorta. Interesting story about immigrants.
ping
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