Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1883-10-13
IN THE MOUNTAINS.
l-uc DISCOVERY OF COAL IN
hHARP MOUNTAIN-.A VISIT
TO GLEN ONOKO.

Before proceeding to givea descrip
tiop of Glen Onoko, 1t may not be on
NJ Mace to refer to the discovery Of Goa
IN this region, az 1t was through thii
that the many miles of railroad vert
constructed, and the Lehigh cana
mIt. The discovery was, like many
abers, the result Of accident, and was
made In the following manner The
Mace that ID now the site of Summit
Hll. was In 1891 the home Of a hunter
named Philip Ginter, who had built fol
himself rough cabin In the then wild
forest, and supported his family by his
rae Ginter was in every sense of the
word backwood's hunter the game
he shot including deers and bears, he
carried TO the nearest stores which were
At that time nine miles distant, and ex
changed them for the other nscsssaries
Of lie.
once he was entirely without food for
bis family, and after being out all day
with his gun in quest of 1t, was return
Inc toward evening over Mauch Chunk
Moratain, entirely unsuccessful and
dispried. To add to his discontinue,
A cold drizzling rain commenced to fall,
and as the dusky, cheerless night ap-
preached, he bent his course home
ward, feeling that he was one Of the
most unfortunate beings in the world.
As he walked slowly along, his foot
struck stone cf some kind, and, as he
noticed in the fading light that it was
black, he picked it up, ard remember
ng the traditions of the country, Of the
existence of coal in the vicinity, it oc.
Cured to him that this might possibly
be piece of that substance OF which
be had heard. He took it home to his
cabin, and the next day carried 1t to
Colonel Jacob Weiss, who resided at
What was then known as Fort Allen,
bu, is now Weissport.
The Colonel examined 1t, but as he
was unable to determine its true char
sctpr, took it to Philadelphia and sub
nittpd 1t to the scrutiny of number
pf pfmineralogists, but so little was then
known Of what Is now one of the ne.
cesslries of life, that even they were
lnab' to state with certainty whether
pr hot it was coal. 1t finally fell into
b. hands ofa printer named Charles
Cs, who had given the subject con-
kulrmblc attention, and he not only pro-
LOrlcrd it stone coal, but instructed
Colonel Weiss to pay Ginter sum of
nyLry, upon his pointing out the pre-
e,~ SPOT where he had found 1t. This
va, done, and in 1892, Hilgate, Cist,
Wt~, and others, formed themselves
|n'p shat was called the Lehigh Coal
Mine Company, but without a charter
rafof Incorporation, and took up
ign or ten thousand acres of what
Ma, then INDICATED land, including the
Sharp Mountains.
SNal quantities Of coal were mined
0n time to time, and taker to the city
c1nastoga wagons, as railroad We're
Unknown, but owing to the limited
knowledge as tn how it should be use
a fuel, the mines were not worked TO
bny extent unit after the commence
mept ofh war in 1872 In that year
Mess, " bite and Hazard, who were
lanutacturing wire at the falls OF
FChuylkill, satisfied themselves that the
Goa would burn, and then joined the
Nhero, who appliei to the Legislature
for an act of Incorporation, with authori-
y to improve the head waters of the
chnylkill river as a means of trans
PORTING the coal part Of the way to the
Fty.
lu December, 1873, the Company exc.
Cl'ed a lease Of their lands to Messrs.
Miner, Cist and Robinson, In consider
atiou Of their agreeing to Introduce into
he city of Philadelphia ten Thousand
bushels of coal annually, and the next
Eprng five ark loads were started from
Aalch Chunk for the city, but were
oytE'aken by freshet, and three OF
Them wrecked.
iii" remaining two ark loads were
to!A 10 White and Hazard, at twenty
one dollars per ton, but even this price
DID not pay the lessees, and they were
compelled to abandon the work, and
'hr mines remained idle until 1917,
'Slr' the Company leased them TO
Ae'sr, White, Hauto and Hazard for
Ntn'y Years, on condition that they
AVlId deliver for their own benefit at
least forty thousand bushels of coal an
lOaIIy IN Philadelphia, and for the
lghtto the mines, should, upon demand,
@S 'he Company each year one ear of
9ri as rent
The object of the owners in thus CIV
as away the rights Of their mines, was
@A'roduce stone coal into general use.
A's soon as these gentlemen obtained
,lr LEAST, they applied to the Legisla-
'l'r ioF he passage of an act to i'm.
l'0Tt the Lehigh river, which was
ps'"e in March, 1873, and few months
Stewards the Lehigh Navigation Com
paassy was formed, stock to the amount
.WIS",Oyo having been subscribed, and
,ue work Of improving the navigation
was commrnced.
~ October of the same year the
.tllgh Coal Company was formed, with
scapIlaI Of $4,000, for the purpose Of
IahiNs a road from the mines to the
Nv, ,MNei, and bringing coal to market by
~e ne" navigation. This road, which
avw Tor nine miles constitutes the
gaming E' of the railroad to the Summit
s.I a'Ies, was laid out in the fall Of 1918,
s' suo finished in 1873. and was intended
wi aralIroad, as soon as the business
,,i,' rGuIu warrant the expense of placing
a''s Ss upon it Horses we're then used
sa WI .iIaansporting the coal, and one paiI
;ro.'u bring down from four to six tons
So s"o wagons The two companies
n. "s'e IN 1920 consolidated under the
c",i u"ie OF the Lehigh Navigation and
tb"i. %, Company, and added $40, 600 tt
'lelF M capital
,,1n 1na, year the navigation was i'm
a., ss,v'ea and three hundred and sixty
n'H nho IONS of coal were sent to Philadel
,uaa, ,"'a, and the project was considered 8
,s,Uess rsna Unfortunately for the Com
ms.,, rrny, thls large amount stocked thu
nihe1' s;,h '' and it was only disposed o
t,s,, tbsu the greatest difficulty. Thus thu
WIN ''''e's went on from year to veal
i h',li II varying success until 1929, whe1
mn,;4 ,io" started to increase and ha
sbnnllai b,,laed until the Company last yea
'upped H3S, ,S13 tons.
VIII, Im, present the Company own land
th," are estimated to contain not less
ma ~ NIX hundred million tons Of coal
strun,i U Increasing demand caused the con
ouc'ion pow in Of the railroad in 1874, ant
Ne a. hH1,lost endless trains, loaded will
jns as v'ack mck diamonds, are hourly pass
q 4 ssnrI through the valley, while hundreds