It's cold comfort. It's good that they didn't suffer physically but it must have been really hard on them to know that this was happening to them and know what their families would be going through and they couldn't do anything to stop it. What they did in writing the notes was the best thing they could have done. I'm glad the families know but if I got a note like that, I'd cry for weeks.
These are tough people, and their families understand the risks associated with their work. I do business in some out-of-the-way places in North America on occasion, and one thing I've noticed is that it's very hard to understand the culture of these places because most Americans look at things through the eyes of an urban/suburban person who is used to dealing with people who work in many different capacities. One unique characteristic of a mining town is that it is exactly that -- a mining town. Everybody in the town -- even those who don't work directly in the mining industry -- knows far more about mining than your average American does.
In the event of something happening to me
there is something I would like you all to see
It's just a photograph of someone that I knew
Have you seen my wife Mr. Jones?
Do you know what it's like on the outside?
Don't go talking too loud, you'll cause a landslide, Mr. Jones
I keep straining my ears to hear a sound
Maybe someone is digging underground
or have they given up and all gone home to bed
thinking those who once existed must be dead
New York Mining Disaster 1941