Blue man - when did he appear?
The blue man is a well-known figure from the Blaafarveværk's folklore. The descriptions that have been known so far often described a blue man who visited the miners in advance of a mining accident to warn of the coming accident.
However, we have now succeeded in discovering a source that is possibly the oldest written source for this story. In the interest of the reader, the story will be reproduced in its entirety.
Strange rescue.
My mother often told me about an incident that happened at one of the blue colour factory's pits at Modum at the end of the 1940s, when a man by the name of Røtter, who worked in the so-called North Pit, was warned in a strange way so that he avoided being crushed by the collapsing pit.
At night he was busy in one of the mine tunnels burning "Stull". The fire blazed brightly and threw its light through the dark side tunnels. Røtter is standing with his back to the fire, warming himself, when a young man comes up to him from one of the side passages and says: "Now you must go up quickly."
Røtter was puzzled by the young man's appearance, as he knew that there was no one besides himself in the pit that night.
He therefore replied: "No, I can't do that." The figure disappears, but comes back after a few minutes and says to him: "Yes, now you must go."
Røtter then answered again: "No, I can't; I must look after the fire, and cannot leave my post."
The figure disappears, but comes back immediately, walks straight up to him, takes him by the collar, follows him to the ladder and says: "Now you're getting dirty."
Up the ladder he ran as fast as he could, and then went into a nearby parlour and sat down on a bench. But no sooner had he sat down than he heard a tremendous crash, so that the ground shook. Immediately afterwards there was another crash, more violent than the first, the door burst open, and he thought the house would collapse.
Now it became quiet. He began to wonder what had happened, but did not dare to go out; he wanted to wait until morning. Then he came down to my parents and told them what had happened during the night.
When people came to the pit in the morning, the entire tunnel where he had been working had collapsed. It was the noise of the collapsed pit that he had heard during the night.
Who was the mysterious young man who made him leave the pit, so that his life was saved at the last moment? There was no one in the pit but himself, as already mentioned. The figure was a bold young man, wearing blue clothes with a cut that was not used around there.
Some time ago, when I read a number of pieces in your magazine about "visions and omens", I thought I would write down what Mum has told me so many times.
Was it a warning?
O.
Retrieved from www.bokhylla.no: Buskeruds Blad, Friday 25 December 1903
Link: https://www.nb.no/items/cb9dc1d8ac34f930edf6483a84ab587f?page=1&searchText=%22Blaafarvev%C3%A6rkets%20gruber%22 (Read 29.10.2024)
