The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1867-08-29
STATE GEOLOGICAL SUR
VEY.
wApELLo COUNTY.
Coal.

y
aminations Of Che. coal region of ths
Des Moines valley, aftcrleaving Mar
ion and Monroe counties, 1 proceed
ed to the northwestern part OF Wap
clio, visiting the mines upon the
south side Of the river, going first
to those of G. Dudley & Co., on Sec
4,72, Is. Judging from what is now
to be seen ofthis mine it's coal viii
pobably prove to be unsurpassed by
any other now offered in the market
and these gentlemen will soon b.
able to furnish very large quantities
The bed is four feet thick, and very
uniform in quality. They are now
constructing a tram road from shei,
mine to the track IF the b Il NJ r RI
a little less than mile distant
About half mile southwark from
this mine an opening has been made
in what appears to be the same bed
but the quality Of the coal now OBJ
tanned is poor, and | fear the pros
pect is not fattering that it will i'm.
prove much within short distance
A quarter of a mile westward from
Dudley & Co.'S mine an opening in
the same bed is beingmade with good
prospect of finding excellent COAL
The bed in which the last named
has been made, as well as
that Of Dudley & Co.. is the second
in the series, as may be seen by go
ing down the creek few rods, where
the limestone -which, as l have Of
ten said in previous letters, forms the
floor of the coal measures, and be.
n cath which no coal need be sought
for-is found in the bed Of the creek.
About three feet above this lime, stone
is seen a bed of coal which is here
only about one and half feet thick
and which is Of course the lowest in
the series. Above this bed Of coal is
a space ofabout forty five feet, the
composing which is partly
hidden by the slope Of the hill; and
upon this rests the four foot coal bed
Of Dudley & Co.'s mine. On the
north side of the creek North Avery
a littl more than a mile from the
last named mine, Mr.. J. G. Heacock
has opened ono in four foot bed of
coal, but since the before mentioned
is seen exposed in the slope
only al out five feet beneath the coal
there, no doubt is felt that this is the
lower bed of coal, and therefore not
indentical with that of the mine OF
Dudley & Co, but with the thin one
which lies forty-five feet beneath 1T.
Mr.. Heacock has only just opened
his mine, and tho quality does not
seem to be- as good as some others,
but it will no doubt make good fuel
for steam purposes. It is reasonable
to suppose, however, that the quality
will somewhat improve asthe mining
proceeds beneath the hill, but there
is also reason to believe that the coal
of the second bed will be found to be
better than that of the first, at least
in this part Of the country. Going
down the river valley three miles be-
low the village Of Chillicotho to the
mines Of Henry Shock 4 CO., on Sec.
8, ~, Is, the coal was found to be of
good quality, and the bed five feet
thick. These gentlemen furnish q
large amount Of coal for shipment on
the B. & NJ. z. r. About q quarter
of a mile further up the small creek
which comes into the Des Moines
river there, and upon the same See.
Mr.. David G. Evans has Just got i
mine into good working ordes in the
Same bed Of coal which here also
measures FIVE feet in thickness, and
the quality fully equal to that of
Shock & Co. There is no doubt that
the high lands bordering this small
creek and the adjacent parts along
the Des Moines river bottom are UNI
derlaid by as good coal as is seen in
the mines just mentioned. HI
II the immediate vicinity ofO ttum-
wa several mines have been opened
but the beds are rather thin and the
quality poorer than the coal of the
county will average, although they
furnish considerable amount Of good
coal. The first and second beds OF
coal are represented in the hills at o.
tumwa, but yet it seems probable that
the principal supplies for the city
must be brought from mines four OF
five miles distant. About that dis
lance to the northwestward from the
city, on section 33, %, IA, Messrs.
Brown & Godfrey have some mines
in prepation from which they are
preparing to ship large quantities OF
coal. Both the d. v. r. r., and the
B. & NJ. r. r., run near each other
within mile Of their mines which
will give them unusual advantages
in shipping coal to various markets
on both roads. The quality Of their
coal is good, and the bead measures
from four to four and half feet thick
Northwestward from these mines,
and about a mile southward from
Kirkville several mines have been
opened, all apparently in the same
bed. Those latterly known as
Smiths mines haxe beed on fire for
several months past, probably the
work of an incendiary, but are now
nearly extinguished. The coal of
these mines has long been in
good repute, and Mr.. Smith will
soon have them in working order
again. Mr. Joshua Marshal has a
good five foot mine in condition on
sections II, %. IA, and has good To-
cal market for his coal. In the i'm
mediate vicinity Of Eddyville several
mines are worked in a bed which
ranges from three to four and half