The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-10-25
Written for the woRKrSaNANs ADvocAru.
The Origin Of Coal-No. z.
THE ALLEGHENY COAL FIELDS.

AhE AAaLhOuB VI NOAL
In the United States upwards Of $50, 900
square miles Of territory are occupied BY
strata Of the carboniferous formation. Ge-
ologists, who have carefully studied the
character and formation Of the different
coal fields Of America, are Of the opinion
that, at one time, the whole country be-
tween the st. Lawrence and the mouth Of
the Mississippi, and the Atlantic and Rio
Grande, was one vast and unbroken coal
field. The rocks Immediately below the
coal measures, which we're originally the
bottom Of the great carboniferous sea, ex-
tend in an unbroken range across the whole
of the above area, except in the case of
the Silurian strata Of the Cincinnati anti
clinal, composed Of the mira -carbonifer-
GUS rocks, which doubtless formed a line
of separation between the coal field Of II
linois and that Of the Allegheny basin.
The great Allegheny coal field extends
from the southern line of New York %
the interior of Alabama, and passes
through portions Of the States Of Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. =.
upwards of seven hundred miles long by
nearly eighty miles wide, on an average, and
occupies between ifty-6ve and sixty thou
sand square miles, being ten times larger
than the combined coal fields Of Great
Britain. The Goals OF Eastern Pennsyl-
vania, which became involved in the up
heaval Of the Allegheny mountains are
pure anthracites, those Of the broad toy
region OF Pennsylvania and the Frostburg
region of Maryland, where the contortion
OF the strata are more gentle are semi
bitumlnous, while in the central portions
Of the field, i'll western Pennsylvania,
West Virginia and Ohio, where neither
special nor local causes have effected the
strata, the Goals are largely bituminous.
Towards the southern limit Of the field,
the strata is again affected BY the contor-
tions Of the Apalacian chain and the cones
involved in the disturbance, have lost much
of their original character, and approach
the anthracItes Of Easter. Tennsv wanna.
The basin or lowest piece Of his c6al
field is near the city of Wheeling. on the
OllAo ARCAs lOIy llhG All COAL uEHls. LlE
strata exists in a basin-hke shape. Here
the measures are about sixteen hun
dred feet thick and includes ten mineable
beds Of coal, with an aggregate thickness
Of forty-hve feet In Eastern Pennsylva-
MIA the seam Of the Goals thicken, one Of the
beds-the Monmouth vein-being upwards
of forty feet in thickness Some Of the
bituminous seams in different places of
this field also rise to great heights that OF
the big vein Of the Frostburg region being
nearly fourteen feet, and the great bed
of the southern mining region of GAio
being from eleven to thirteen feet
There being no reserve formations to cap
the coal measures of this field, the upper
beds, in the central portion of the basin.
and the lover beds, below the barren meas
ures. nearer the lines Of outcrop, can gen
orally be reached by drift mining hem
all Of the bituminous Goals ~ Pennsyt
mia are got BY drift mining except tn
block coal Of the Shenangu valley, which.
owing to its eccentric existence, requires
to BE- reached BY shafting III the anthra-
cite mining region Of Pennsylvania, steep
slopes, which follow the inclination of the
coal seam, or which are cut through the
planks Of the outlying strata to strike the
face of the bed, are the general mining re-
sort. In Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky, &c,
the divisions Of the land aid the practical
miner, and III numerous cases make re-
sort to drift mining practicable, though i'll
Eastern Ohio, III the block coal mining re
gion, as in the Shenango valley of Penn
sylvania, shaft INNING is increasing and
these two valleys, which are, in reality,
one mining centre, though scarcely ten
years have passed since the mining indus
tries began to assume any Importance, now
rank as amongst the foremost mining and
manufacturing cities of the Union, and
perhaps as well deserve the name Of the
black country as any district of Great
/ Britain.
/ The waters Of the Monongahela and
Ohio rivers obliquely cross the coal field
on the line Of It's greatest breadth. and lay
\ open for the purposes of the mining AL
/ venturer the coal beds Of the upper meas
ures, which include some valuable seams.
among Others the famous Pittsburgh coal.
/ This single bed of coal extends over ia. 600
| square miles Of country, and has been for
v forty years mined on both banks Of the
I Monongahela. The city of Pittsburgh owes
its growth and prosperity to this coal bed
Both banks of the Monongahela are ria
died With coal mines, and the city Of Pitts
burgh, he iron city Of America. u one
vast scene Of manufacturing industry-the
flames and smoke from the mills and man
dfacturing establishments rise high in the
air, and the atmosphere is So highly inn
pregnated with coal smoke and dust hat
the city is known all over the Union as the
smoky city The coal smoke soils ana
blackens everything with which il comes
in contact
FIve-sixths of all the coal raised III
America is drawn from this coal field ID
contains every variety Of coal known 70
exist. Its various beds exist in great rau
ularity, the Gals VI central p1r-iUn. w the
held Just possessing inclination enough to
Drain the waters NJ the mine Even in
the semi-biteminous districts Of Pennsyl-
vania and Maryland the uudulated Hex-
lures Of the coal troughs are never violent,
though ID the anthracite mining regions
the contortions of the strata are very vio-
lent. indeed sometimes throwing the vari-
Gus beds almost upon their ends but the
proximity Of this region to the Atlantic
sea-bOard, and the thickness and excellence
Of its Goals, make IL the most valuable
mineral del osit which exists, perhaps, on
the globe.
MIsHDER BRINDER, how about Shay
| Cook und knuapanv ! | IarL. la.,,r. .-s..'.