The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-06-19

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pastures, and scrambled up rocky ice gor-
ges, INSTRUCTED by tree trunks and debris OF
the railroad, when we came suddenly upon a
collection of log cabins upon southeasterly
slope of Little Walkers mountain. Here
we were welcomed by Mr.. T. ]. Thomas,
the foreman of the mine and Welshman OF
long experience in coal mining, and with
miners lard-oil lamps and water-proofs,
prepared to enter the bowels of the earth.
The entrance, wide enough for double
track, and about seven feet high, was hung
with great icicles like stalactites, but the in
terror was SO dry that the waterproofs were
quite unnecessary. Passing first through a
few feet of sandstone beneath the soil, we
came to a thick stratum Of shale or slate,
hard on top but becoming quite soft towards
the bottom, the lower portion. of which was
crowded with rich variety of fossil coal
plants. Lepidodendrids, slgilaria, calamites,
and sphenopJeres in particular, were there
in great profusion and of large size. The
imprint of one lepidodendron was at least
thirty inches across, without exhibiting eth
er of the edges, and resembled the scaly
skin of some huge python. This giant tree
fern must have lowered to height Of eighty
or ninety feet. Underneath this fossilifer
GUS shale, and about eighty feet from the
entrance, lay coal bed twenty-six feet in
thickness. with about four feet of slate, leav-
ing fully twenty-five feet of solid coal-rath-
er soft and frangi ble, and bearing evident
signs of slipping. Here the gangway forks,
the left one following the big vein for four
switching off to the right again to rejoin the
other. At the latter point the big vein shows
much more solid, harder, plane cleavaged
coal, and will, have no doubt, prove Who'll
ly unexceptionably at greater depth. The
improvement in a short distance is very
marked.
Returning to the right aangway found it
continued to pierce the mountain at right
angles to the strike, cutting through about
ten feet Of hard, black slate; then eighteen
inches of coal overlaid by tire-clay and called
the ''leader;' then thirty feet more Of hard,
black slate, thin stratum of clay, and a
| three feet vein OF coal on bedrock of in
tensely hard, tough, fine grained sandstone.
ION reaching the third coal bed the gangwav
turns and follows it to the left for nearly
seven hundred feet, to where the heading
now is All along it on the right or upper
side are the 'srooms," each ten yards wide
and separated by pillars five yards width.
In front of each room and between the
shutes down which the coal goes to the cars
as it is mined, is left "stub'' six yards
| wide and eight yards in thickness, back OF
which is the air-way. Each room, from the
gangway up to the outcrop is estimated to
yield thousand tons OF coal.
The coal of the leader and lower veins is
very similar in appearance and quality, be-
| ing hard and solid with a good plane cleav,
age, comparatively lustreless, and presenting
| a peculiar sandy fracture l have never OBJ
served in any other coal. The leader vein
possesses this characteristic more strongly
perhaps, than the other. Testing these Goals
| in base burning stove, could distinguish
no difference between them and the best LIE.
high, save that they made more ash, and
that the coal from the big vein was more
frangibe and burned freer... The percentage
OF ash in the latter was greater than in the
otbers-whte, fine and without clinkers.
did not see the analysis, but was told thai
the fixed carbon was stated at eighty six pei
cent. l found the little engine, Cynthia
with fire.box 32x24 inches, and ID inches
deep, burning this coal .aken from pile al
Martins which was surface coal gotten ou
| by Captain Hart nearly two years ago ant
exposed to the weather ever since. The
Philadelphia engineer who came down with
her, Disguised at first at the idea of calling
"that stuff" coal was agreeably disappoint
ed and delighted on burning and practically
testing it. From what saw of its working
1 have little hesitation in pronouncing i
equal to Pennsylvania anthracite, so far as
was able to judge IN the absence of strictl!
scientific tests.
Laden with the specimens Of coal and o
fossils which i hal collected, we at length
returned to daylight, prepared to do justice
to the ample dinner Mrs. Thomas had pre-
pared fer us. Rude as was the exterior o
their humble cabin. the scrupulous neatnes
of the interior, the framed pictures on tn
walls, the presence of numerous books ant
papers, some in English and some in Welsh
the fine, white table linen and napery, ant
much feminine fancy work, all indicated
degree Of taste, education and refiEemen
that would put to shame the residences o
many of greater wealth and pretension. An
the viands with which the table was ladel
were in equally great contrast with the ba
con and corn bread which, throughout tn
year, form the staple food Of the natives G
equal means and income.
The return to Martins down the Trac
fork of Peek Creek and along the narrow
gauge railroad bed, afforded a view OF th
structure OF Tract mountain as we'll as of tn
difficulties. encountered in railroad building
A geological section Of the valley at th
point, across Big and Little Walkers, Trac
and Peek mountaics, is very interesting
showing great faults caused by the tremer
dous downthrow of these four sandston
ridges, amounting in three Of them to tie
thousand feet, between the now erode
limestone valleys.
Big Walkers mountain carries heavy d,
posits of valuable brown hematte iron ore
and oxide Of manganese, which will now b.
come OF great practical importance, as the
can be easily reached by an extension Of tt
Altoona road, and placed beside the fuel Il
their reduction.
Crossing the limestone valley Of Lit
J Walkers creek, we come to Little Walker
mountain. containing the coal beds / have d
lscribed. Dana, in his geology, gives SCI