The Elk Mountain pilot., 1882-02-16
THE ANTHRACITE COAL.

THE AW1HR4 CITE COAL.
cit seems probable, says the Philadel-
phia North american, that the demand
for anthracite will be fully up to the
capacities of production for good
while to come, as production will be
irregularly curtailed by the necessities
for repairs and Improvements in a
good many collieries. Some of the
best informed men say that over-Pro-
duction would never be complained
of again if they could get all the rail-
road facilities they wanted to the
rapidly growing regions Of the north
west and they anticipatethe prospec-
tive connection of the Reading with
the Lake Shore with anything but
feelings Of dismay. Along the line Of
the Northern Pacific Railroad anthra-
cite is bringing thirteen dollars ton
easily, with nothing like as large
volume OF of trade in it ac could be
fostercd in a short time. There is
some hard coal found in Colorado
which is called anthracite by the
natives, for no better reason than that
it is much harder than the soft Ignite
stuff they have in larger quantities
but there is nothing in the West as
hard as Schuylkill coal, and nothing
that could compete with it in the mar
kets from which the bonanza kings OF
the mining and wheat regions get
their supplies, if it could be shipped
to them at less than prohlbItory freight
rates by more than two or three select
syndicatcs." "
Our staid old antiQuated contem-
porary Of the City of Brotherly Love
may Justly have fears Of an ovcrpro-
duction Of their anthracite coal, for
it will be only short time hence be
fore they will have no market for their
product west of the Missouri river,
for lust so soon as we have railroad
facilities the "stuiT' that the ma
tives Of Colorado have found. which
they call anthracite, will take the
place of the Schuylkil product. 1t
will not only take its place, but will
compete with it in point of quality,
and surpass it as to quantity, and while
we place our market limltsto the Mis-
souri, river, the time may come, in the
course of human events, when this
country may supply the Atlantic sea-
board in case the Pennsylvania colliers
ever become exhausted. This may
seem like fanatical statement, but
nevertheless some of our 9 natives"
will coincide with US in this statement
inasmuch as it may be bare posi-
bility. 1t is perfectly absurd to think
that Penns, lvanians will not believe
or admit that we have anthracite coal
here, when analysis have been made
right in Plttsburg, showing our coal
to be of a superior quality to that Of
the Keystone state. Another thing
we seriously objectto to is to being called
"natives. The ". Il. should define
itselt-whether it means the Utes or
Gus white folks" who have evicted
the red skins from their familiar hunt
ing ground, so that we might extract
the precious from beneath the
snow-capped peaks of the towering
mountains. Us white folks" all
migrated some time or other from the
estates" though what our names were
before leaving is a very delicate sub
jcct and is therefore very rarely dis
cussed. As rule almost every state
and country IN the universe is repre-
sented in mining camp, even the
writer at one time had the pleasure of
manipulating babbit metal with lot
of old patriarchs on the above paper,
which, by the way, is the Oldest daily
in the United States.
.AN INTERESTING LETTER.