New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-08-23

face An iron manufacturer states that the potters and
other clay usedlby the glass manufacturers Of Indian
apolis found under the top vein OF coal under the
middle vein is the freclay. indispensable for lining
furnaces; and beneath the third vein is limestone
equally indispensable q fax In smelling iron.
To develop that part Of the block coal district which
adjoins the line Of the Indianapolis and Terre Haute
Railway, that Company has extended from both sides Of
the direct route series Of feeders and loops, which
reach the more important mines and iron works The
Railway Company put at the service of the American
Association for the Advancemenof Science excursion
tran which carried the members TO each Of the
important works and mines and thence TO Terre Haute,
occupying an entire day iii going. At knightsylle,
where large blast-fmnace in operation the charge
tapped and run out during the visit Many Of the
members, including ladies' who had placed themselves
near possible to the channels into which the iron
to rum found themselves cut of by the rapid flow Of
the molten fluid and hemmed in where the heat
was TO great for comfort remarkable display of en-
ergy ensued in jumping the Iedhot rivules.
respondent OF Of the New York newspapers being the
last OF the Jumpers, whose difficulties increased while the
streams rose higher The reception all along the route
munihcen; the citizens at KnightSyile and Brazil
lavished abundant entertainment upon their visitors
and the usual speechmakng dear TO the hearts Of Amer
leans was freely INDUCED in.
Several of the party including the writer entered one
of the mines Of NblOck, Zimmerman Alexander, and
thus enabled something OF the character OF
block coal" in Situ This OF those mines en-
tered horizontally through a shaft in the side Of ravne,
mules pulling the coal-wagons in upon tramroad with
out any machinery. One is struck on first seeing this
coal by its squareness-every block has the shape Of
dry goods box The mine is in the middle one OF the
three principal coal seame which is about four feet wide
Nothing interrupts the scene anywhere, except that
rarely lis thickness is narrowed by what miners call
" horseback"-a downward curve Of the shae roof
Blasting rarely resorted to- except where the water ac
fIaf md
blasted down somewhat and the floor raised by png up
the debris as clear the water The coal Is got out in
cubcal blocks when the pick is freely applied ana Iol
lowed by wedges above and below the seamthat is the
process of mining consists in extending the roof ana
floor. Depending upon the direction Of the gallery with
regard that of perpendicular cleavage IL results that
the sides of the mine present either series of square
holes holes of which two sides form right angle; as
if, in short so many packDgbOxes had been pulled out
of them.
The appearance OF block coal is otherwise than TO
shape so peculiar that ii is easily recognizable in
small pieces 1t cleayes horizontally as readily and
almost smoothly slate; but it is Of an inky intense
backnes looking if il had been newly painted black
and not quite dry Portions Of it cramble under
pressure between the fingers and look and feel like
ground charcoal blackening the hands quite thor
oughly And the senses are not deceived it u.s. in great
part pure mineral charcoal Pure in the of being
free from phosphorus and sulphur about the
tent that vegetable charcoal ia purity that cannot be
too highly valued in irOnmaling. Although buminous
coal it contains little bitumen that harm results.
II desirable to make this point clearer by mentioning
that iron-makers ordinarily find certain difficulties
with even fair bitumnous coal-such for In
stance as YouOuChauy The bitumen melts in the fur
mace the burden of the limestone and producing
solid bridge" through which the blast cannot
penetrate. What called scafoldng" is another dan
ger which the melted coal sticks to the sides of the
furnace Therefore ron-makers using bitunnous coal
10 ipstfp cote
REQUIRED as precautOn with block coal. because it
keeps its shape in the furnace and allows free passage
Of the blast Prof Muschet Of England is authority for
the that block coal has IS to ca per cent pure
carbon and makes iron from the quantity Of
ore than the weight in charcoal. 1t burns like
hickory wood until consumed leaving from to per
of white ash and clinker cnder the writer
clinkers around the works where it was used.
The value of such coal for TOn-mnkng, for seam-rais
ing and for domestic purposes is evident But there is
demonstration like The entire face Of the
country may he regarded as changed by It, Twoo
three years ago land in this vicinity worth $40 to SIS
per Now be bought at $500 per and
no owner wants TO sell anything more than a mining
royay-O cents per tun the land itself is not in the
market Brazil, a town the point where the Great
National Road uhat used to he the highway Of the West
before railroads superseded III is crossed by the Terre
Haue and indianapolis Railway, was, in 1860, mere
cross-TOad village. Since the development OF the coal
mines its population has quadruped and mansions not
architectural elegance begin
ming to line IT'S streets which bIistle with industry
Beside this there is mining village at every mine.
one thinks Of gTimy miners perhaps with doubt
whether such Increase that lives half the time under
ground should be accounted population But political
economists say that people must he estimated by what
they buy these miners the store prOpretors say,
want the best Of everything. Do see that smoking
! tobacco ~ said proprietor handing down package
from a shelf. ibid you better tobacco. put
UP in costly shape Well, that's what the miners
buy and anything inferior they won't touch and it's
with everything else" They make very good wages
when there enough supplied by the railroad com
pany At present they about $50 TO sj per month,
not working more than average of six hours per day.
| Each miner could. if there enough, average
four TO five per day, at 81 per tun But they have
labor organization, and committees from them wait on
the "hosses," and they squahble about bases and
grow over the relations of labor and capital after the
fashion communities where there is for
| such tantrums.
The chief market sOf This coal is Chicago The first
cost paid TO the miner 81 per un for his labor What
il curiousy denomiuated dead work. comprising the
cost Of keeping mules, the wear and tear and all other
incidental expenses at the mines, amounts to 10 or 80
cents per tun. 1t will he that this pay royalty
per tun and yet give fair profit if Sold it
is, the mouth of the mne for 81 25 81 So Shipped
To Chicago by present routes II freight per un Of
s. O5 TO s. 2j enabling il 10 pay further reasonable
profit and the cost OF handling there the prices there
paid, u TO " 90 But though there is large
| and constant market at Chicago the coal be-
| ing used by locomotives lines running from
| that city, and by steam-tugs on the lakes,
much to ST. Louis and much is consumed in cities
nearer home and in iron works in the immediate vicinity
| Some is sent far Rochester and Buffalo. Among
the large consumers at Chicago is the Calumet Dock
Company, in whose dredging machines it is used for
making About tuns had been taken out of
the mine that visited and its daily production will
shortly be raised 10 500 tuu Tie iron treated in the
furnaces here with block Goa, and that used the roll
ingmills in this neghborhood partly from the
Missouri Iron Mountain the hand and partly from
Lake Superior the other for iron follows TO the