Omaha daily bee., 1882-10-13
OLD KING COAL
Is a Merry Old Soul, and Has
Planted in Iowa Some of
His Richest Black
Diamonds.
Some Glimpses of One OF the Best of
tho Mines.


g. Co., at their coal office on Pearl
street yesterday, The BEE man had his
attention called to the splendid sample
of coal on which the enterprising firm
o first premium at the recent Coun-
Gil Bluffs fair. There was such a
clear cut, fresh, sparkling look to the
coal, that The BEE man suggested
that they must have skirmished around
the country pretty thoroughly to get
such nice specimens for the fair.
"Not much, young man." quickly
quoth the Mayne man of the concern,
there's no pet sample or put up Job
about that, it runs that way-see
here" and he steered the newsman to
the big bins where there we're tons OF
such coal, looking equally bright and
clean.
"That's Iowa coal Iowa Wyoming,
we call it, and a better coal was never
mined. There's no trouble about
selling all of that we can get, and the
demand is on the steady increase"
On asking further about it, THE
BEE man learned some interesting
facts which are worthy the attention
Of the public. This coal m from
the mines of the Eureka coal and
mining company, of Frederic, Iowa,
on the line of the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy railway. The mine is rich
one, and tho facts about it will be q
surprise to those who have never
thought of Iowa being rich in coal.
In this mine the vein is about four
feet thick, and seems to lie in a sort
of a basin, running under about 24O
acres of land. That particular region
seems rich in coal, there being
banks all about there, there
being two or three within two miles,
bnt these have q different quality
Of coal from that of the Eureka mine,
which takes the lead over all. In
fact there is no vein equal to it to be
found in Iowa, or in fact west of the
Mississippi river, except the cele.
brated Wyoming coal, which is 30 near
like this that the difference can scarce
ly be detected, even by an expert.
The coal looked 80 clear and bright
that THE BEE man naturally wanted
to know whether it's merit was all in
its beauty, or whether it's superiority
showed when put to the fire test.
"Burn. How does it burn2 1t
burns up to ashes as fine as that made
by wood, and doen't leave q clinker
or u cinder, and as for lasting, why,
it will actually last twice az long as
any ordinary coal"
There was some of the coal being
used in the office stove, and the good
natured proprietor pulled out the ash
pan, and poked over its content in a
vain hunt for any clinkers. The coal
was burning as brightly and warmly
as one could wish.
GLOW long has the mine been
workedp
"About three years or so, but it
hasn't been worked to the best ad.
vantage, for the facilities for getting
coal to the railway have been poor,
for the mines are about half q mile
from the track. The company are
now building, in fact have about com
pleted, a track from the mines to
the railway, and are getting in
shape to make a big run this winter.
Before this it has been hard work to
get out coal fast enough to fill orders,
but with this new track the coal can
be rolled out whether the roads are
muddy or rough, and taken by rail al
fast as mined.
Some of our Council Bluffs citizens
arc interested largely in these mines,
among them being P. I. Mayne, Of
Mayne d Co., of steam broom factory
fame, and G. f. Mayne, rec entity Of
} this city, and who is now secretary OF
/, the company, and gives his personal
: attention to the business, being loca.
ted at the mines. The Others belong.
ing to the company are A. p. Min
tonye, who is president; @. o. Mon.
roe, superintendent, andH. b. Palmer
Wherever and however the coal il
put to the test it wins it's way, anG
A. FL. Mayne & Co., who are the sole
| agents here, find their sales steadily
and rapidly increasing. Those who
!. use it ono stick to it, aud shout fol-
it, and it promises to be one of the
s best known and most highly price
Goals in the country. The manage
. ment of the mine is enterprising anc
. the agent here no less so, and in their
hands so wonderful a coal cannot Blu
5 be given an acknowledged place in tn,
front rank, and Iowa CAD lay claim t,