The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-02-18
GheG4telAaeater
DIR HUNTINGTON LETTER.
Notes of n Trip Through the iFon
Regions OF Virginia

REGIONS OF virginia
HUNTINGTON, W. VA Feb. IA, 49,
Elton Of tho Intelllsenceri
Perhaps few brief notes OF a triP 1 gs1
taken through the iron regions Oh VIZ
oipia would interest your readers. Le ;
Ens Clifton Forge early on the morning
ng,be 4th. our party, which consisted Of
o. o..o mi furnace men Of the Hanging
XII district, started down Jackson's
t t;Sar Onr first examinations were nj
r r Furnace. Here we found young
man. D. S. Cook, Of Wrightsville, Pa,
who is battling brsvely with the great
~roblem Of cheap iron. He had built
smsIl furnace, and was receiving his orc
delivered by contract at % cents per Ion
and his limestone at 30 cents per so"'
This seemed incredible until We ekap'
;ned his mines. We found n;.,
First-A vein Of orc Collect IN taick-
ness, almost vertical, StTiPPed ~ aau H. ~
posed for two miles, and entered !t 20
tn0nel driven $50 feet below the surface
Of The ore into tho vein, and IN upright
~ NJ. ' wb;cb has been turned into o
T";Hh,v funnel, down which they roll the
LIaSa "1 mssses OF ore, which are crushed
I...L" a. ii and then loaded into the cars.
y s.cond-A vein Of limestone more than
.,xtS ieet thick, lying within a few feet OF
the ore, and above it and mined In the
ordinary way. :,
though it maybe injured by the shells
found in II.
from 40 10 60 per cent, and work
ipv in the furnace without being assorted
Or washed, about 4S per cent
The iron ofthe furnace has a good re-
imitation, especially for foundry purposes,
but Il Enthusiastically cold-short.
There we're two other ore veins higher
nm the mountain, one fossillifcrous, the
otbsr called d "red shale" which we did
not examine, although We saw some beau
,iinl specimens Of the ores. 1885,
Passing down the Valley Of the james,
wc saw numerous openings Of similar
veins, measuring from ten to forty ieet
n thickness, and, fifteen miles below an
immense cliff Of black limestone, analyz-
inc % per cent. OF pure lime. AT Bucha-
nan, thirty miles below Clifton Forge, we
ionnd beautiful specimens OF magnetic
ores, ranging from IS to 90 per cent. ly-
\ ing in veins represented to US to
be- from four to seven feet thick, but
We had no time for careful ex-
smiuations. They told US that q furnace
was built here, and It's stock and founda-
lions made out Of this ore, and the own
or hauled an inferior ore several miles,
and never discovered his good fortune
until his charcoal was all gone. Leaving
this field we went on with our examine
ton 40 miles below, 10 Chestnut Noun
tain, 10 miles below Lynchburg. Here
we found surface indications Of large de-
posts Of specular and red hematite ores,
and going is miles below this, to Rivers
vile. where these ores are being mined
Some English miners had charge Of the OPP
GRAFTON. and although the veins OF course
reached from the base to the summit, they
were sinking shafts on the ridge and wind
ing the ore up with windlass, and haul
ing Il down with mules. The thrilling
matter Of lift Of from so to 200 leet
and haul Of two miles-was preferred t
a tunnel OF perhaps $50 feet and gravita
ton into the canal. But "they did so ii
England" The veins here opened wer'
from 2 to 7 feet thick, contained by reg
ular walls, and varying in richness iron
80 to 10 per cent producing in tho furnac'
about As per cent. These ores resemble
the Pile ores OF Lake Superior ane
are reduced very easily. They produce
sof, and strong iron, and the best oil BeS-
,emer steel. The ores mined were being
,hipped to Gen. Bartlett's furnace neal
Richmond and to some works in Pennsyl
yauia, These ore deposits at and below
Buchanan lie along the canal, but there
is gap OF 30 miles between the canal ant
CSC, R. r. that Of course makes al
westward movement Of them impossible
At present. The State has been unable
to extend the canal, and unwilling to a.
low its franchises to be interfered will
and thus has excluded this rich region
A vigorous movement is being made t
supply the missing link, and the iron ant
the coal may soon be brought together
When this is done, il furnaces to use tn
leaner ores are built at the mines, requlr
ing an eastward tonnage OF coal, WASHED
aud selected ores Of brown hematite varie
ties ought to be loaded at cost OF Y
cents per ton and the magnetic ores, at on
dollar per ton. Such ores should contail
from IS to 70 per cent Of iron, and thu
transportation to Huntington should no
cost more than 50 rs. This would pro
vide cheaper road, than has ever bee
furnished in the Ohio Valley. There ar
many difficulties in the way, for railroa'
must be built and operations must be o.
a large scale to secure cheapness: But
10 probable that within a few months tn
Iron masters OF the Ohio Valley will hay
offered TO them class OF ores, we'll suite
to their different works, and at a prict
that will give them great. advantage i
the close competition Of the future.
Yours ScoTr.