New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-12-09
4 STATE GROWING RICH.

A STATE UNIV AN
MINERAL WEALTH AND RAiL"Ai LEV
OPMENT.
u.,, on ,pox-sMELTING GOALS OF IN
TIE .MHrur RAILROADS ORGANIZED foh
THEIR DEVELOPMENT.
"a. Edtter Of TAs tribune
SIR: Indiana Is rapidly assuming i'"n ',,,an,a
WONG the states Of the Union She has been m'her,o
nr,rc,nalIy noted for her AGRICULTURAL proaueuons
% Known that her soil WA fertile, that the anhu"i
w.. a., Goa and wheat was enormous, that she pos |
ss.a magnificent body Of timber lands ana 'hat her
800, and artificial communications gave her free ac |
ns. IN the markets Of the world But now she u e"
ing mon another phase-thst OF mining anu na" |
,ur,ng State This change has been wrought p' 'e "'
coyery In her coal fields, OF one or more seams :" ,o"
.h,ch have IN crude state. all the propereso '""
o 10, reducing iron Ores and bringing out soi car
,rsce,os mig metal susceptible Of conversion mo
toneb malcable iron into Bessemcr steel Inc a''ef
"a the seycrest which can he applied I" 'he various
towns Of fossil fuel These peculiar Goals, 10 when
the term "bock" has been apphcd' oee'" ho"'
tina base Of tho coal measures. ana can oe
traced with occasional interruptions, all the wa!
from the middle line OF Fountain County aooni l"o es
south of Lake Michigan, to the ONO RIVER vi
more than $50 miles, entirely within he state vi
The congomerato. for the most part heAS' p'uuo"
andsone which rests the base OF the coai heio cops
ont IN bold lodges and gives TO the country broken con-
,onr Hence I'm the projecting Of the older railroads.
this region was summed nasmnch as deep cuts ana MIS-
ss well rs high grades and abrupt curves were requcu
The projectors ignorant of the inesmaoc weaith
stored beneath the Had, for instance the Louis
villa New.A Albany and Salem Railroad been located 70
miles further west. it would have riv"ed the heacihe
Rairo,d IN the amount Its frcghts. and stock would
have commanded the highest premium in the Market IN
stead Of being it s In the hands OF receiNor'
II wa, bat recently that the value OF the hocK COATS
came known and appreciated III 1867 the first furnace
fhc cti0nO nj al
followed The Of these furnaces and the wide
sura demand for these a domestic fuel led to
the organiza OF lines OF railway some OF which
have been COMPLETED while others are In the process OF
construction. brief enumeration OF these roads ana
of the markets which they intended t" supply may
not he out OF place. The St. Louis Nand,la ana ih"ah
s,ni. Railroad crossed this cOal-held already The
Indianapolis and St. Louis Railroad completed niue
over year far AZ relates 10 the e"a reE"'
within cannon-shOt Of the ST. Louis, Vahhaha anu III
diana,ols Railroad Instead OF seeking to develop
new field il boldly claimed to share with ia rival 10 the
traffic already developed. The Bloomington and ln-
iannpoliS Railroad 'opened within the last TWO years.
crosses the coal belt in Fountain County, nut thus iar
no ,oiccs have sufficiently developed 10 give 10
The road any substantial freight although the indea
tons are that the peculiar seam carrying Tue oocK co'
h,, il onicrop In that vicinity
Tho Vinronncs, Danvic and Chicago Railroad, to he
completed by the first Of January will form more dreet
connection with Lake Michigan than any OF the existing
routes and nj time will have access 10 the ONO
river at Evansville il has been built with cypress ref
crnc to The coal traffic, and hence all abrupt curves
aud tc,p GRADES have been avoided; andit equipped
with locomotives capable OF drawing trains OF forty
cars II. Is miles from the ontcr"p OF the
block Goals will receive its freight ron the cross
line, centering Tcrrc Hautr. The Vinccnnrs ana In
,lianapolis Railroad crosses the coal field OF Greene
County diagonaly, hut unfortunately the block coal
seam wedges out has been removed 'y drift agency
in this vicnity at all events no mine OF that particular
coal has been dcvclopcd along IT. line.
The Indiana Mineral Railway. upon which work will
commence ne xt Spring will start at Bloomfield and strike
Ohio Troy having special reference to the
development Of the agnicent spDt Goals which occur
IN the part OF Spencer County, the best in the
whole series Of Indiana Goals.
The Logan. port, Charlottesville and Southwestern
Railroad. just completed intcrsccta the block Goals
Sand Creek in Parkc Comfy. AMI through the Detroit
and Eel HN cr and the Toledo Wabash and Great West
Railroads, will to the ports on the
west shore Of Lake Erie. Detroit has her iron and
copper smelling works, and Toledo her iron works
Whch cannot fail TO welcome this new source OF supply
OF fossil fuel.
Last the enumeration. bnt not least I'm importance
f. the Cincinnati and Tcrre Haute Railway. the ground
ON which has Just been broken Starting at the great
commercial city OF Ohio It will traverse rich agricul-
,ur,l country already dotted with farms, to Blooming
ION where IL will bifurcatc branch going to Tcrre
autc and another via Bloomfield, to the wabash RIVER
where will connect with projected road through tho
Illinois ST. Louis III VIII CroSs W"
region OF the southern part OF Clay County and the west
rn part Of owen County, where the peculiar seam cx
hbts It's widest pan and affords almost uneqnaled
facilities f,- mining 1t will also develop large body
of native iron ores in the vicinity OF BlOomncld, ana
thick seam Of gas coal in Sullivan County II Is conf
duy claimed by the projectors OF this route that the
markets of Cincinnati and Louisville can be as cheapy
sulcd with block coal with the bitlminous Goals OF
Pittsburgh YoughgheDy; and that too without the
possibility Of "coal famine" III OF delay III the
rising OF the waters Of the Ohio.
Thus It will that before the lapse OF two years.
the mining OF these irOnneng Goals instead of being
restricted 10 single district at present. will be spread
over zone miles in exten SSd requires no pro-
pctc vision 10 predict that. before the lapse OF half
injury Indiana will rival Pennsylvania IN the amount
of nrr mineral products. . ,.. 80.
With yonr permission, propose in subsequent com
pu,ncations describe the and extent OF the
GOALS and chemical and physical character.
their sessibty to coa and the facilities for the
distribution their products widely separated re-
gions WAS on the watershed between Lake superior
and Lake Michigan before the iron deposits which now
Weld nearly l0ONOO tuns year. were disturbed saw
the iron mountain OF Missouri before Its sides were
few hundred tuns OF loose fragments
Oy annually dug out Of the ferfg1n0us clay
supply charcoal furnaces; and was ut
Brazil. Ind, when It an Indifferent railroad station,
geoogst passed by without needing In these matters,
then. speak not "a novice. j. W. FOSTER.
ferre Hdutc Ind Dec. :, 1871.