The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-03-01

lAAANSe AZ " NnA - kAAas AssANNNAA
lowing countien, beginning NJ tue North
Preston, Mineral, Grant, Tucker, Ran
dolph, Webster, PoCahon;as, GreenbrieT
Nicholas, FAysttc, Raleigh, SummOrs
Mercer, Wyoming Mcdowell and Logan
Until No RelsouthwErd Rslar as Nicho!a
aud Webster, there appears TO be but ont
workable bed Of cOSl in these congloiler
ate measures, AID II lies near tbs potion
Of the series. have observed II at gaverR
localities, however, In Pfestcn, Tucker ant
Randolph, In each Of which the bed II
about three feet thick, and very fair COX
ing coal. But on southwark through
Webster aud Nicholas into Fayette thI
whole group oil rocks increases in thick
mesa very last, and when We CONS 10 thu
New River in FSyetts county, these rcckI
have thickness Of ], 400 feet, and contain
three workable coal bsds, with thickness
GO OF three TO five feet. II Ia IRON thet'
beds that the famous New River coke 4
manufactured, which now cells in thl
market at q higher figure than the Con
nsllsville product.
THE MOST PRODUCTIVE YIELDS.
It ia not, however, till We come.to Mer
Ger, Wyoming aud Mcdowell counties
at the extreme southwestern corner Of the
State, that Es knd tho thickest and moe
productive coal beds in this series o.
rocks; Tor here the great Pocahontas bed
Rttalns thickness OF Elk 10 ten feet over
an ares Of several hundred square miles
while ut many localities two other bedl
may b. found above tho POcAhontas vein
with thickness OF four TO six feet.
The proximity OF this great field OF pure
coking Goals 10 the immense iron ore do
posils Of the South, rendeEe II valuable be-
yond computation, and yet Ito develop.
ment has only jus. begun. Il Ia only
about elk ygara since the first car load OF
coal was shipped from ths Pocahon.as
region, near The line Of Mercer county,
and yet during the past year, one million
tons Of coal and coke have gone 10 market
from this region alone. Lying on top oil
the COnglOmHrAte, or New River Coal
Measures, We find another group Of rocks
with eeyeTal valuable coal beds included,
and to this series hRs been given the name
OF Lower Coal Measures. 10 this gToup
belong the coal beds which have recently
attracted 20 much attention and capital to
ClsGrheld, Jefferson, snd Cambria conn.
ties, Pennsylvania. Within the limits oil
these Measures there are usually dye coal
beds which at one time or another fur.
nish valuable iuel, viz, in descending
order: Upper Freepo't, Lower Frosport,
Upper ktttanniDg, Lower k!itHpninH,
and Clarion Coal bgds.
Thia coal series enters West Virginia
from Pennsylvania in MopoIgSliR and
Preston counties, with Z th.Ckness Of $50
TO 800 leet, and contains two valuable coal
beds, the Upper FreGport and the Lower
KittanuinR, the latter being locally known
as the "Austeu coking" coal and the latter
80 tine "NewburE shalt" seam. These two
beds are separated by an interval Of shRleS
and sandAlones 100 to $50 feet thick, and
they are both easily accessible over q very
largo area In MonoDRRlia and Preston.
They have IN average thickness Of five to
six feet each, and both make splendid
coke. The came two bedH TeappeAr on
the North Potomac, where they undorlle
an immense area along the West Virginia
Central RAiiroSd in Mineral, Tucker and
Grant counties. They are both mined
near Davis, the upper one being called the
Thomas seam" and the loScr one the
"DAvis seam" Both have been success
fully tested for coke in tho Davis region,
urPER AND LOWER SEAMS.
On southward from the Counties al.
ready mentioned, tho ou!crop Of this sc.
ries may be traced through Taylor, Bar
bour, Randolph (Whers the U. Freeport
Is the celebrated "22 loot seam, Upshur,
BrAxton, Webster, Nicholas, Clay, Kama,
VIA, Fayette, RIlCigb, Wyoming, Boone,
Logan, Lincoln and Wayne. These are
the counties along the eastern side Of the
Appalachian field, where the c0als Of thiG
series come up to tho surface, while on
the opposite side Of the field, the only 10,
cAlity where they come up to daylight 10 Ia
Hancock county, and for a short distance
along tho Volcano upliiL In Wood and
Writ. The seriGs, however, uuderlies oil
the other countis5 oil the State, which lie
west from the belt frat mentioned, and
unlike tho CouglomerAte 1eries below,
seems to have valuable coal beds in 1t Al
every locality. This We learn from the
records Of drill holes which nave been
made in nearly every part Of tho Ststs
One OF theOe beds Is now mined at Wells
burg by a shalt 200 feet deep, and thu
drill shows that the came valuable bed
underliea Wheeling at depth Of only 5OC
feet, while at PafkeTAbuTg n good bed o.
coal seven ie9t thick and belonging 10 this
came series wag passed at depth OF | ,l0l
feet. These depths may DO regarded by
some as rendering the coal bodg in ques
ton entirely vAluelees, but such should
remember lhRt the development OF thi!
country hiss only jlst begun, and thai
EpRland raises nearly all Of her immens,
output Of coal from depths Of ! 900 TO 500
feel, ThCee facts are mentioned sim
ply to chow the v8tnesl Of 0u
resources In coal, and the pernAnanCy o
supply Of this "maiu.sprinR Of civllEA
ton, and hence tina. the railroads, cities
and manufactures which may DO bull
within our borders, can dspsnd on al
abundant supply Of fuel Tor many cen
turIes, even from the beds oil coal which
can bo operated IRON tho surface; bu
when these shall have been exhausted
We shall still have 40 Infinite wealth o
these "black diAmondh" which can be cas-
liz obtained by going down a few hundrO,
feet below tho surface. When that tim
comes West Virginia will polses5 mo
uopoly Of coal in the Appalachian field
for It will no practically exhausted from
all Of tho StAtes around us before tina
from our early accessible beds Is usnd ~
These deeply buried beds ara found at
depth OF 500 ieB. b9l3w tho valleys Il
some portions Of the State. In pAsain
fronftho BoFtioFn part OF thu Stats GJutn
gsSlWArd TO the region OF the Great Kan
aEha, the lower coal meAAuTea eEpAn'
. wonderfully In thickness, and instead Q
a rock ssriaa Of $50 TO 800 feet rs In Pres
J ton, and MouongAliR, We got 1000 feet G
Z rock between thu uppeTmost coal bed c
!. the group, and tbs top Of the conglom
y crate series below, Accompanying thi
i expAns!on,oi the measures there 10 gFoI
i change in the character Of the coal In th
D different beds. Instead Of soft cokin
i coal. We hnd camel, aud "bloCk," an
. Nsplint' Goals, which being quite harl
and crumbllng with difficulty, max
d splendid shipping Goals, and the periet
Y ton Of domestic fuel. The lowest be,
3 however, the Clarion, or Eagle sea-
}. makes splendid coke, and the Low
81 KittAnnlnR or CAmpbell's creek scar
2. can also DO cooked successfully In some r
q RionR. Hence the territory along q
e Ell and its tributaries, the Great Kan
ID WhA and its tributaries, a. well Is u
n GuyGndotts, Twelve Pole, and the i
10 Sandy, Abounds In splendid coal beds
n' this lower coal measure seTiea.
!. THE BARREN NRASURE,
Of To the mex. higher group Of rocks &c,
ID ogists have given the name Of Barr
90 Measures, because the coal beds they &C
y tain are usually thin, irregular In thlt
~ ness and poor In quality. Along vi
~ much sandstone, thin limestone aud ott
~ rocks, thIs group Of beds contains 4 grt
." deal Of soft red ShAle, and hence Il NAL
q broad belt Of red soil almost exactly
the central line Of the State, from Mont
lat gala clear through TO Wayne. The thl
ol men Of the series varies usually betWS