The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-10-29

here two villages, not thousand feet apart
in reality, aud yet several miles apart
practically. You can only 60 from the
nart on the river bank to the one on the
bluff by the chute or incline, 100 feet
long, at an angle Of IS, unless you make q
circuit of several miles. Yet all this has
been wisely ordered, for by this arrange
ment Of the qualification the cost Of
mining has been reduced to mini
mum, and the mode Of conducting it
rendered as simple as possible. The
steep slope of the mountain reveals
the seams of coal, some five, some
eight, and some twelve feet thick, one
above the other, at various distances, with
intervening coal seams Of other thickncSscs,
all above the water level, and extending
with great uniformity over large areas,
with no uplilts" or "down-t throws"
" tirc-damps" or chokc-damps," no
huge pumps to draw up rivers Of ccaScleSs
waters, or powerful engines to lift the coal
from depth of thousands of feet, as in
portions of Pennsylvania but a car hold
ing hundred bushels is easily drawn by Il
mule to any part OF the mine, on a nearly
level grade and when filled, it is hauled
to the mouth Of the mine; ard by 4 simple
contrivancc q full car goes down an 9" in
cline" to the rivers bank, or chute,
where it is emptied, and at the same time
it draws up the empty car that had pre-
coded it; so no motive power is used but
the mules that drag the cars into aud OUT
OF the mine. The miners say they can
deliver the coal in Cincinnati 600 miles,
at six cents 4 bushcl, or Sl.4S ton.
We presume there is no other place
in the world where it can be done
as cheap|y-and then the supply is so
vast. We saw fifty feet Of workable
coal in some places, or more than sixty
thousand tons to every acrc-thc camel
for oil, steamers, and the cheerful parlor
fire the splint for smelling purposes, need
ing no cooking; and the btuminouS for
shops and common fires; all found on the
same acre, and often in the same mine,
each several feet thick, and with clearly
defined limits. The iron manufacturers of
Wheeling are proposing to bring their Goa!
from this region, on account oil IT'S superb
GRITTY. And where DO you think they get
their iron ore from? Why, from the
shores Of Lake Superior and the Iron
Mountain of Missouri, thousands of miles
away, the ore for a ton OF metal Costlng
them about So, How long would snch
a state Of things continue il the Chesa-
pcake and Ohio railroad were in opera
ton, passing, as it will, for fifty miles
through the heart Of the "iron belt OF
Virginia, with its mountains Of iron ore,
ard where the cost of enough for a ton OF
metal delivered at the mouth Of the fur
mace is less than eleventh Of twenty
two dollars. These mines of iron and coal
are less than $50 miles apart and if the
coal could be brought east for $3.50 a
| ton, and the ore carried west at the same
price, or both at dollar more, it will take
! but few figures to show that the seat OF
the iron empire OF the Union must be
about midway between Richmond and the
Ohio. Ii any one is disposed TO be skcp
teal on this point, we will only ask him to
stop ut Elizabeth furnace, III Augusta
county, on the line of the Virginia Cen
| trail railroad, and look at the masses OF orc
exposed at its ore banks, and then look at
the seams OF Splint coal here, $50 miles
from there, and we think those two units
will convince him that any numbers are
possible.
The steamers run to this place in good
i stages of the water: but this season has
been unusually dry, and shipments have
been few from this high up; but business
is again rcviring, and the Oil Company
here will resume active operations Ia Il
few days. The superior quality OF the
oil made from camel coal secures them
Il better price for it than is obtained for
that from the wells. The establishment
here is an extensive one, owned and man
aged by Rhode Island men and their viii
lage presents quite 4 thrifty appearance,
| both in the upper and the lower town.
The valley Of the kanawha is narrow
here, and its bottom lands are valued at
500 per acre, but the uplands are held at
mere nominal price when we consider
the value they must have as soon as the
railroad is completed to them. Coal lands
are held at from five to twenty dollars an
acre that in Pennsylvania would readily
command $500 and $1,000; still some
mines are worked on a royalty OF three
| tourths of cent a buShcl, which UrlngS
them up to very good price.
| We were much Interested by the salt
works in the vicinity OF Maiden. They
extend seven or eight miles on both sides
of the river. Some of the establishments
are quite extensive, and turn out their
hundreds Of barrels of salt day; but
there are good many abandoned ones,
and the region for good wells is much
smaller than formerly. Some think the
brine is weakened by the running in of
water through the hundrcd or more aban
doncd wells, and they propose to stop
them up. They make three grades OF
salt-dairy, fine, and common-and put 1t
up in barrels, some holding as much as
seven bushels. The salt sells there 1T
fifty cents bushel, enjoying q sort Of mo-
ropoiv. No salt is made III open kettles,
as formerly, but it is all cvapUratcd under
pressure or in vacuum pans, and heated
by steam pipes. The outlay for carrying
on large establishment must be very
considerable. The coal used is obtained
from the neighboring hills at from one 10
! three miles from the works. The smoke
aud vapor from so many salt furnaces fills
the air with black cloud, and makes il
quite disagreeable to strangcr-cvcry-
thing is bcgrimed. One must get used 10
such an atmosphere before he can
be any ways comfortable. But the
natives look hearty and seem 10
have stamina enough. The country
above Maiden, desolated by the war, is all
Il waste, no effort seeming 10 have been
made to reclaim it. 1t reioiccs in the
name Of Camp Pia,t. The wide bottoms
from there TO Charleston are covered by
extensive corn-fclds that promise heavy
crop; but there was hardly q Theat-ileld
10 be seen.
This whole valley is as warm and as
much sheltered as hot-bed. They have
not had any frost as yet, though we hear
there has been quite hard one even as