The Columbus journal., 1884-12-17
Anthracite Coal.
Few of the consumers of anthracite

VI
coal have any idea of what it is more
than utility, where it comes from, or
how it is obtained. Again, some who
are conversant with the mining of BIZ
luminous coal suppose that il IS all tho
same, and so pass the subject by. May
not then call attention to some OF the
more pleasing features of its compost
ton with rock and hill to form the
mountains of Eastern Pennsylvania and
of its production in its familiar forms?
"Lackawanna" coal is known all over
the United States, and the word is the
same kind of trade mark to coal that
"No. hard is to the Northwestern
wheat. On leaving the Erie Railway
at Susquehanna for the coal region, one
notices first the sandstone of the hills
through which the road lies. Railway
cuts disclose q varying rock, sometimes
solid bu. often scaly and broken. This
being the kind of rock lying next the
coal we naturally look for outcroppings
of it, but tho dip of the strata is about
500 or $50 toward the south. A
harder rock Is seen in the next layer
above that seems to be almost granite.
The soil is good, producing maple and
beech timber. hemlock only growing in
the scant soil of the sandstone hills.
This passed, the rock ON which the
great coal deposits of Pennsylvania
rest, with about the same dip, slowly
hides itself in the hills toward the south.
At Carbondale but little till has to be
removed to reach the coal. At Forest,
three miles north, the vein '.starts'' or
crops out, and is lightly worked. At
Archibald, the little town lies within a
great horseshoe, the open part being
toward the north, the deposit lying all
around but not under it. One of the
most remarkable "potholes" in tho
world was recently opened here. 1t is
very like those near LuZerne, Switzer-
land, but is larger. The upper stratum
of coal is about ten feet in depth, be-
meath which is thirty feet of sand rock
which lies upon the vein we first notice
ut Forest. This ''pot'' has its run in
the surface rock. and is more than
twenty feet in diameter. Being forty
five feet deep. it extends nearly to tho
second vein of coal. 1t is hardly funnel
shaped, the sides are too nearly per-
pendicular, but it is rather smaller
toward the bottom. When found it is
full of fine sand, water-wOrn stones,
some of which were of tlinty char
acter, but round and highly polished.
Many of these are now on exhibition at
at the company's office. The pot is
soon to be opened for an air shaft.
Further down this road to Scranton and
we are in the Lackawanna Valley.
Pittston, Wilkesbarre, and down the
river to Mauch Chunk. and we have
passed through the heart of the anthra-
cite region.
There are large number of private
mines, but most of the coal is produced
by the large corporations and railroad
companies. Comparatively few of the
mines employ the ''shaft'' except for
ventilation, bringing the product of the
mine out on a slope or inclined plane.
At the outer terminus is the hosting
machinery together with the ''breaker."
This is the part of the mining work that
any one may visit and not incur the
danger or Inconvenience of descent
into the dampness of the pit" The
breaker is large frame building COW
ering an area varying from five hundred
to fifteen hundred square feet, and is
usually about sixty feet high. AS the
coal comes from the mouth of the slope
it is hoisted to the top of the building
and thrown into the breaking or crush
ing machinery. This is series of i'm
mense rollers having short, strong teeth
which work freely between each other
as the machinery moves. The rollers
may be ad justed so as to break the coal
tn. s.iz l., -,
of ten or twelve pounds each. This
larger size is consumed by the gas COM
panIes. After passing the crushers the
coal is dropped upon the screens, which
are immense sieves standing at an angle
of forty or forty-five degrees, so placed
one below another-the finest beneath
and the coarSest at the top-that as it
fails to 60 through the first it readily
rattles off into the "dump." which is
true of all the others as well. 1t is still
considerable distance from the
ground, and this facilitates loading the
cars, which are run under the dumps
to receive the different grades as they
have been separated above. A car can
be loaded in from six to nine minutes.
Trains of from one hundred and thirty
to one hundred and fifty cars follow one
another out of this region with their
thousands of tons OF the shining Goals.
More than two thousand car loads are
mined and shipped daily from the
Wilkesbarre region. The Scranton re-
glOn sends out rs much more, and this
does not include near all of the mining
interests in the anthracite region.
Now, since these cars carry from five
to twelve tons each, putting the esti-
mated number of cars ut six thousand.
and we have apprOximated very nearly
to the amount mined per day-jO0, 900
tons. Some people fear that the sup
ply may be exhausted and cry ..hOldn'
There are many tons wasted every day,
but it is like 4 few heads of grain left
i'm the harvest field. too small an
to consider. Then, am told,
the greatest deposits remain I'M
wholly below the veins now
worked. and of an equally good quality.
The veins now worked are probably but |
q per cent. of what lies untouched be- |
low. The mining proper is let in con-
tracts, and the men who drill and blast |
and get the coal loose. so that it may
be loaded. rarely work more than half |
a day. They hire common labOrers to
load their cars-a certain number of |
ears being allowed to each contractor.
What is called ''top coar' is often the
best in the mine, but is not removed
until the ''chamber' is '.worked." 1t
lies next to the rock overhead and is
safer than the bare rock as a roof, since
the latter often comes down without
the miners, and the former
never does, always cracking and settling
slowly The chambers are s.run'' from
he mai;. artery or excavation through
he vein at distances of about fifteen
ieet apart and are from TWENTY-FIVE to
.hirty-five feet broad. For the better
circulation of air these chamber walls
ire cut through at regular distances, so
hat the whole is 4 mighty labyrinth.
When the chamber is worked, the top
,oai and the '.pillars' e., what is
eft between the chambers is removed
Is far rs possible, but is often results in
oss of life or limb. Miners make fair
!