Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-01-28

ne'us OF hsnaWhai GgYandette, Elk suI
Goal rivers alone would supply ali the mar
kets OF the world With disulled oil for cen
turles after all the exhaustion of American
Petroleum. --','
Until now Pennsyivauis has rivaled n,
IN the supply of the coal markets on tht
rivers below u.s. Bntso soon as an acces
sion OF capital and labor will enable us n
meet the whole demand South and West
our shorter and less obstrueted Waterfront,
van eventually secure to US the monopoly
OF those markets
The vsstness and accessibility of th,
hansWha coal heids, bad, some years ago
l9duceq wealthy French company to pur.
chase the ames river and Kanawhs canal
with alvieW of supplyingthe French NAVY
with fuel. The outbreak of the rebelIio1
prevented the consummatiou of this pro.
ject, which, tits hoped, may vet be resn.
med upon the return of peace,
The next mineral in order of sxsent is
Lime, which is present on the surface o.
more than one half of the State. Salt has
been exten sively manufactured in the Ka-
nawhs valley, for half a century, and, fol
several years past, also in Mason county
on the Ohio river. The supply from both
of these sources is only limited by the de.
mand. Indications of salt are preyalen,
at many other points, but not yet expert.
mented upon. Iron ia abundant in many
localities, aud has been mined and manu-.
facIured in West Virginia fora number Of
years. Several furnaces are now in opera.
tion in the northeast section of the State.
and will multiply with the increasing sun-
ply oflabor. Saltpeter, slate, SULPHUR, ce.
ment, pptters' clay, and white sand for the
manufacture of glass, are found and par
italy developed in various, sections, All
these minerals, with the exception OF salt
and petroleum, are 5available without la
b3rious and unusually expensive. Mining,
from the fact that they are found near the
surface, or above it in the horizontal strst.
ifcation pertaining to this geological dis
trict.
From the foot of the Allegheny noun
tsins to the Ohio river, the unevenuess of
the surface appear to have resulted from
the gradual abrasion of q secondary or in
part, at least, tertiary plateau, originally
ona level with the Glsdes, or nearly so.-
With the exception of the narrow, up :
heaVed "trip in the counties of Writ, RIt-
chle and Peasants, containing the oil fis.
'sures, no traces of disturbance of the orig
lnsl deposits have as yet been discovered.
Considering, however, that tho region, Just
designatedl was Inhabited and improved
for more Than fifty years before its geolog-
lcal peculiarity WAS. suspended, it is res-
souaole to infer the probability of similar
accidents in other localities.
The process of gradual and constant
abrasion to which opriStste owes sStopo-
graphical iphysiognomy, accounts for the
uniform aud tranquil character of our pre-
dominating scenery, presenting an min
terrupted rami6cstion of dividing ridges
aud spurs with their corresponding drains.
The latter are designated as runs, creeks
aud rivers, according their respective di.
mensionsr and form the picturesque valleys
aud gleusif where the honss of our people
are chiefly built, and the surface is suscep
tibie of the highest order of culture. Our
streams, which retain water to their d D.
permost head branches, during most of the
whole year, are generally stocked with fsh
of excellent quality, and increase in
sprightliness and transparency in the di.
rectlon OF the mountains, the crystal home
of the trout. isada .'aH
THE MAIN THoRoUG4FAREs
of West Virginia are the nayigable Ohio
and Great Kanawhs rivers, and the Balti.
more aud Ohio Railroad, which, divergtng
at Grafton to Wheeling and ParkeEsbarg,
luELQeGl
accessible points in every direction of the
compass. The distance from the two latter
cities TO Baltimore is about $50 miles and
is travelled in eighteen hours. The West
Virginia Central Railroad, connecting with
the Pennsylvania Central, and traversing
nearly our entire territory in a S. W. direc.
-tioh, is already chartered By the Legisla-
ture, and is looking to speedy completion
at the hands of Pennsylvania capitalists
Tbs vest end of the CoViug! "a and Ohio
Railroad, entering our State with the val.
ley of ofGreenbriar river, aud connecting the
Virginia Central with the Ohio fiver at the
mouth of Big Sandy, was in progress of
construction befor the war, aud will, when
completed, together with the James river
Canal; play conspicuous part in the de-
veiopment of our principal mineral region
The Sandy Valley Railroad, and one or two
others, have also been incorporated, but
their construction is yet too distant to ad /.
NIT of their defaite location on the map
L Moderate sized streams in every part IF
the State facilitate the transportation of
saw logs, lumber, mineral aud agricultural
produce. Several frst-class msca damizad
turnpikes, running East and West are in :
tersected by a large number of second
class roads connecting with every county,
the very worst of which are waggonable, at
least during the dry seasons OF the yelr.
and are being continually improved. Under
the State Constitution, the expense of cou-
structing and repairing roads is to be al.
most exclusively betrayed by county tax
alton.
The Constitution requires theLegislature
to provide for a thorough and efficient
system of
EDUCATION,
and to foster and encourage moral, intel
lectual, scientific and agricultural i'm
provement.
Under these provisions the Lsgislsture
has established liberal system OF Free
Schools, supported by taxation, fines aud
special appropriations, and regarded by
emineutly competent judges as one of the
most perfect Institutions Of its kidd in the
States. Its effect upon the Intellect Of the
mass of the people, however, can only be
the work of time and patience, and from