The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-08-12
A MINING TOWN.


f-oe1aEF rAe majority O. f1e rE1te-S q
she FesF-IsTELLssESCER have never in
sre<se1 = eo4s EH5ae o. visited town
where eosz mining Eas the exclusive in
szzszsy. They have. tAerefore. necexxz-;iy
tszt al irzperfxet knswle~zre Of = large aud
very ezcess<at class 81 tie working ToSrlA-
ton q shsS te--sssry, and especially At King
coE3fy. 4 representative u this rsrer
visited F-zaklsn. IN this county. s.ay or
fEo zro and made sar.e oks<sTxss0ns
which nay he Of general interest
AeesrliinE 10 Governor S<nPsess last re-
pogz 70 the secretary OF the snserior, dated
fefosser Il iss-. this Comfy. eor-afns no
less than - aoo 4c-zx OF coal s2a1s thai i.
lands which are more FsirRble fo- ccai
TAa3 for agricultural purposes. THIS =
nearly ane-ths-sl Of the total area of enal
lands IN the territory and considerably
Hlnre than ely other county has. Not unly
i THIS the tact tut King eoanty has the
largest nuraAxr Of sscH raiRes in operation
aad employs the Erestess n1H-be- al men
F0r these reasons desert ptlon Of one Of
the representative mining towns 81 Wash
iagTon. namely, FraakIfu, King eo1nsy.
vii prassably be Of interest
THE FoES o. FxAxKLIs,
The r0za i . miles southeast OF Seattle.
On the Cedar river extension Of the Column
bia x Puget S1zz1d railroad n i situated
"a \ t4l1atI elt--p Asl&i t3l<t. on tEc rl-1t
bank Of Grren river, the main portion OF
the t5wn hSing {5s feet above the river.
which u herr SCANNED by fac caafilSver
bridge. recently completed by the county
al an expense Of about $1eoue or >12es5
This bridge Is about - feet above the bed
of the strsam- near which 5 a beautiful
waterfall 20 feet in height. The bills, or
rather mountains, by which Franklin is
almost surrounded are, like most Of West
erH Washington, densely covered with FOR
esas OF evergreen timber, that on the bill
overshadowsng The town being well
adapted for 'iegglng." tina, is. timber used
IN the sides Of the mines. The situation
Is most picturesque. Below is the beauti.
tul river. the noise Of whose pGSsagc over
its rocky bed may he heard bali a Iailc dis
tani. Glose BY and almost oyershadowing
the town to the west l. the mountain
whose side has been pierced in three places
for the precious black diamondsH II
rises shove the town TO q height of 30 or
400 feet Its trees are q second growth,
following = very destructive forest FIRE OF
y or 40 years ago.
Al distances OF say Ave TO thirty or forty
miles. are CHER ranges of hills and mount.
aims. some dark green. others simply dark
and inaistinct Is to color, while further Ufs
yet are the dim blue Cascades proper,
among which grand old Rainier glands ont
boldly and masnidcentiy conspicuous,
thirty or thirty Eve miles away. The town
Is not II all soznbre or oyershacewed by
the proximity of the adjacent hills, for il
the weather j. fine. Old soils daily path is
over the lower rather than the higher hills. I
The river abounds in fine mountain trout 4
eighteen OF the speekled beauties which 4
were caught by one Of his miner friends /
day before Yesterday IN an hour or two's .
fishing. They ranged from eight 10 four 4
teen inches in length.
GROWTH OF FRANKLIN
Franklin was founded about three years !
ago. the frst coal-two eGrioads-haging
been shipped froIa there July n. lsS5. Now /
II has about 100 inhabitants, some 40 Of
whom are employed in and about the .
mines one year ago there were less than
20 children in the school district. now The I
number Is 20. Eighteen months ago there I
Was no; house, properly speaking. in the .
plaee-nothing but few log cabins. Now
there are forty or fifty modern dwellings. (
with perhaps as many e-looking
log houses and dozen or fifteen large wall Z
tents. Besides these there are the compa-
ny 5 buildings, one of which contains =
large general merchandise store and Offices
another the splendid new engines and ma
ehinery used for hosting purposes. The
eompany's other buildings are boarding
house, blacksmith shop, tool house,
coal bankefs. etc. There are also a church
Congregational, a public schoolhouse, =
meat market and two saloons. There Il
az least in the newer rart. near the slope
and Tunnel Nc. L. for which the min
ing machinery aforesaid was lately gut in.
This comprises pair OF powerful station
AIRY engines with cylinders = inches IN di-
ameier and having 72ineh stroke; con
teal drum u feet in diameter az enc end
aad b feet al the other, round which Is
wound a wire cable II, inches in diameter
The engines are used in hauling UP the
coal from the slope. which has an inciina
ton Of rs degrees and extends into the
hill sI7 feet The load thus hauled up con
sists Of four carloads, each carload being
two and half tons There Is also by
draulie arrangement for raising the empty
cars few feet above the level OF the yard,
preparatory TO their entering the slope.
The engines also supply The power that
operates the fans-one of Il. the other of
20 feet diameter-for veu;ilating the mine.
There is a double track extending into the
slope the rails of which are OF the 7 pat
tern and weigh 10 rs 10 the yard This
track is perfectly straight and OF uniform
graae. Alongside the tracks IS good
travelling stairway for the use Of the men
as they 20 to and come from their work.
II j. pariiti0ued OF from the coal depart
ments so a. 20 afford safety 10 the men.
The slope is ;imbered from top 10 bottom
Z with timbcrs ie inches square, and the
/ tagging al the sides Is Eve 70 six inches
/ In diameter,
. Tar MN WHO Dc TaE WORK
The men are paid BY the carload. an,.
average In wages from s. To 81 per day. net
T The miners are Chiefly natives OF Wales,
scotland ard England. though there Is a