The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1876-05-18
Have We Stone Coal

There is DO material question of more inn
portance 10 the people Of this valley than that
Of cheap fuel 'Haye you discovered coal
yetg'' is the sterotyped questions of a majeri-
ty o, prospectors. Upon the satisfactory set
tlsment of this question depends much.
Without cheap fuel the manufacturing inter-
ests of this valley wall never attain TO that i'm
portance that. they otherwise would. Our
water powers, for the most part, remain un-
developed and INFESTED. But two or three
systematic efforts hare ever been made in
this vicinity to settle the question. One Of
them was abandoned when the drill had
reached only 100 feet. Another. the MeCamp-
bell shaft, which we have often noticed, and
which is being sunk five miles east of town, is
still being pct down. Messrs. Todd 4 Royal.
formerly merchants of this city, both Of whom
yet reside and do business here, and who are
the proprieters OF Salt City, Sumner county,
have been boring for coal at the latter point
for over year back. Word was received
here the other day that the "back diamonds"
had been struck sure enough. at a depth Of
four hundred feet. The shaft is within aSfew
rods OF the famous salt springs and the deposit
found only varied four feet in depth from the
estimate made by the geoiogist. 1t is sup
posed TO be the same vein discovered on the
Canadian river in the Indian Territory, which
has over four feet OF workable face. The
Commonwealth in speaking of it SAYS, truly.
that ''eyery month seems to open up some
thing new aud rich for Southwestern Kansas
We talked with Mr.. Todd the other day
about the matter aud he assured us that as
soon as be could he would give US reliable
data connected with this important discovery.
when we VIII gladly lay the facts before our
readers. There is one thing certain, if pay
ing vein Of coal exists at salt City, it exists
here also, for the geological formations are
identical. II such vein is the Canadian vein,
and it does net dip at a greater angle TO the
north between this point and that then it Is
sjust as certain that we can reach it at W ichta
at depth of from 600 to 700 feet Upon tho
other hand il the dip should be TO the south,
that is, il the deposit should rise faster than
the surface Of the country. then less than 400
feet would reach the same vein here. We
shall await, anxiousy, further developments
touching the Salt City vein
ou last IihdN we hIpfe OUT ana lO0h q
look at the MeCampbell shaft The works
are in excellent condition. and excepting a
little surface water that seeps in through the
subscil near the top of the gypsum formation
or deposit. there is nothing to retard the
work. Particles of Ignite, or soft imperfect
coal, ranging in size from walnut to consd-
cradle chunks, have been found scattered
along through the conglomerate slate and
gypsum for the last sixty or eighty feet. The
surface water having Stacked the material OF
the walls Of the shaft, the Messrs. McCamp-
bell have just purchased fifteen thousand feet
OF lumber with which TO crib the works.
Through the water that covers the bottom.
and which slowly trickes in at the top. as
above stated, small streams of gas continually
bubble up, which gas burns brightiy-when
fired. The shaft is now 240 feet deep. The
pluck and energy eyinced by the McCamp-
bells is worthy Of all praise, aud we hope it |
will be rewarded by the finding of good !
workable vein of fuel We have often /
thought that the county or city or both should |
have extend some encouragement in the way |
OF money, to the enterprise, for it is one in
which every tax payer is. interested, and |
that deeply.