The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1878-02-26
Rapida CitY Correspondenoe.
RAprps CITY, Ill, Feb. IS, 1878.


In this article it is proposed to give an
extended account of what, when fully de
veloped, will be conceded by all to be one
Of the best, finest, and most extensive coal
mines in Rock Island county, and that is
the Wan Lock Head coal mines, so named
after the little place where the principal
owner, Mr.. II. NJ. Gilchrlst. was born and
bred, Working as a miner in the lead
mines as soon as he was old enough, Mr..
Gilchrist had very little more than COM
mon education. and not much time for
that. He was born in 1882 at Wanlock-
head, in Dumfrieshire, south of Scotland,
where are located extensive coal mines.
AS soon as old enough he worked in the
mines at first as helper and then as a
regular miner. In 1871 Mr.. Gilchrist left
Scranton, Penn, working as a miner for
the first time in America in the anthracite
mines of that region, He worked there
about nine or ten months, making about
800 to $3.50 per month, when strike
occurred and he concluded to travel on.
He was now sick of coal mining aud went
| to Western Virginia to look for land, then
to settle. and become tiller of the soil.
But fate decreed otherwise, and he finally
found himself iu Iowa and still a miner.
In 1872 he had reached the home Of his
future greatness, Rapids City. and COM
menced work as a miner in the soft coal
mines Of Mr.. s. Williams where he worked
only short time when he quit and com.
menced coal shaft of his own in company
with Pete Jones and another man, on land
NOW. and then owned by Adam Hofstettel
who at present is drawing SO large 6
royalty from this same mine that he does
not know what to do with his money. lu
August 1873. the first coal was
hoisted and business commenced
which was lively, as coal was Is cents {
bushel there and the supply very short
Mr.. Gllchrist run his mines to a country
trade for quite while and then he erect
ed river dump, and loaded boats on tn,
river His business has steadily grow
until now, 1878, he runs face" of Goa
in entrys which run south, east and ives
and presenting coal enough to run fv
years or over without driving an entry
one face being almost mile long. Tn
coal ranges from four to six feet in thick
ness and with few exceptions is very hart
and firm. 1t is pronounced by good judg
es to be the best coal in the market 70
storing, as it does not slack like other kind
of coal mined in the county. The sam
may be said of other mines here and a
Happy Hollow, but Mr. Gilchrist probabl
owns the largest and best developed min
in this vicinity, for as yet he ha
taken but very little coal, compar
red to what is left, out of the mine.
To use his own words ''he has been a
these years getting ready"
Mr.. Gilchrist and the company of whic
be is the head, own a nice little steamer
} named after his only daughter Jennie,
and feet of coal barges, and are pro
prietors of the Rapids City Railroad Co
which was incorporated in 1877, wit
$50, 900 capital, and was built expressI
Tor his own use, in loading railroad Cal
with coal, He is also now building
branch of the same to the river to run b
own cars direct to the barges an
next summer will see as large an
fine a store erected on the bar
of the Mississippi as one could wish for.
The capacity OF the single shaft, whiC
is all they have at present, is from 200
400 tons of coal per day, another shat
i which he is preparing aud which will CO
q in the neighborhood of $4,000 he CT
double or treble that amount. The emit
e estimated expenditures of the Mines, Ra
roads & Boats to date will not fall short
$4,000. At present he has only abo
e 80 or 90 miners employed, but can at al
time increase that number to three or 70
Y hundred men.