, 1854-11-04

bk5 we copy inc lOHoWlnS IRON Ihe
San Francisco Herald, written by cores
pondent for that paper:
"THE Coal MINEs IN CALIFOKNA-In
aluson 10 an article under the editorial
head of Monday mornings Alta, inrelation
to the coal Of Bellingham Bay, and specu-
lations on the subject Of a speedy supply Of
coal for this city from the northern coast;
permit me to call your attention TO the fact
that at and in the vicinity of Goose Bay in
Southern Oregon, at distance Of some
thing less than four hundred miles from
San Francisco, there exists immense guam
titles Of coal in the most favorable posi-
tion for mining, lying in horizontal strata,
running through the hills at an elevation
of from two to three hundred feet above
the level Of the bay. The most valuable
field yet discovered exists in a range of
hills, or in a ridge extending from near the
bay to distance Of five or six miles inland.
In this ridge the strata of coal are seen to
crop out in most of the gulches and ravines
that, run down on its sides through its
whole length, and on both sides of the
principal, ridge, and also on its spurs.-
There afe-two or three principal strata,
varying in thickness from one or two feet
to eight or ten feet, considerable depth Of
earth intervening between the different
strata. | measured one Of the veins at
its outer opening which measured eight
feet; some others are reported as thicker
than this.
These strata all lie in horizontal planes,
or in some places at a very slight incli-
nation. 1t is believed that the quality Of
this coal, although not equal in body and
value to that imported from the east, is
nevertheless fully equal to the best Of that
from Bellingham Bay and Puget Sound.
Parties wishing to supply San Francisco
with coal have only to construct railway
from three to five miles in length over a
highly practical route, from the coal banks
to the bay, and they have access to mines
which, for all practical purposes, are mex
haustible. Vessels of two hundred tons
and less can freely make the entrance to
the bay.
Professor Evans, the United States Ge-
ologist, at Oregon City, in. his analysis
considers this as most nearly allied to that
species of coal termed Ignite, but reports
it as the best quality of that species of any
he has seen on the coast. S.
DR.. EvAYs, United States Geologist for
Oregon, referred to above, few weeks
since, made hasty geological reconnois-
sance of this Territory, and We had the
pleasure, on its conclusion, to be benefited
by his views on the subject Of the mineral
resources by which we are surrounded, to
which allusion was made ina previous num-
ber of this paper. AS before stated, DR..
Evans was positive in the conviction that
both limestone and sandstone exists in
large Quantities within our borders, and
expressed himself as "dgreeaby disdPpOint-
ed" at the quality aud quantity of the coal
resources of the country--,enturing the
opinion, without hesitation, that when LiY-
erpool coal, or that on the Atlantic. side
was scarce or commanded an undue price
on the Pacific, the coal of Puget Sound
would find q ready market-be used by
ocean steamers, &c. DIR. Evans was free
to inform US, that according to his obser-
vation, the farther nOrthtcard coal was
found, the better and more perfect the arti-
Gle; that to the southwark it partook grad
ually of the lignite character, until finally
it became unfit for steam or other purposes
of utility that the coal Of Southern Ore
gon and California was nothing better than
Ignite, and would bear no favorable COM
parison with that of Puget Sound. We
think it impossible that )Dr. Evans could
have changed his opiniopof our coal fields
since his visit here, and must therefore infer
that the correspondent Of the Herald has
been laboring under some misrepresentation.
DR.. Evans pronounced the Bellingham Bay
coal the best he had seen on the Pacific
coast, (native product), in the most en-
phatic terms.