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

I
other common things, that our heritage Is
vastly richer than that oil the people who
can number the precious metals among
their Inheritance.
WHAT We DO HAVE.
What We do have are these: Coal, In
greater tIty.ardvarisIy than any other
State In tho Union; fire. aud pottery clGys
unexcelled; limestone In great abundance
and puity; building stones oil most ex-
cellent quAity, and tnexhauatible guam
tity; petroleum and natural gas, the
modern fuel; iron ores We have In con-
siderable quantity, and Rlass sands In
crest plenty. These, with some man
ganCse, and one or two others Of small inn
portGnce, make up the list up our RvailA'
BILE minerals. To some 1t may look disap'
pointing, especially II they have bsen &C.
cumotomed 10 look upon our hills and
mountains az vast ttorehouses Of the pre-.
Cious metals, and every other form oil
mineral wealth that has ever been dis
covered, but indeed 1t should not be 90;
for II wO had nothing but our coal, We
would still possess mineral wealth oil
greater value than any other State; oil
greater value than all the gold and silver
depoeitB oil the PAcinc COAST.
Few realize the immense value OF the
coal fields oil our State. Coal Is euCh q
common and abundant mineral that most
people when thinking Of valuable min.
erals, generally do not count it at all. But
q short time since, and many people cup
posed coal WRs soon 10 be- thing Of the
pact; tina. natural gas would entirely sup.
plant II, and render coal lands yalnelesa.
No greater mistake could be made. No
ono can forecast with certainly Just how
long the natural gAs zelda will continue 10
hold out, but nothing is suror than that
they can and will DO pfRCt!c.
ally exhausted within the lie
time oil the present generation. Both
experiences and theory unite In testiiyiDg
10 the ephemerAl character Of this mater
iAl. Wheeling hiss seen one natural RAs
field (Wellaburg's), come 10 an end near
her gates, and unleeH the writer miHlnter'
prets tho 'bigns Of the times" she will
ses another ono 70 out, 20 far ~ maniac
turing purposes are concerned, within the
next decade. As one writer has put the
case, Natural gaa WAS only intended TO
teach man that he has been burning coal
IN q crude and bAlbsr0uB fashion, and
having introduced the age Of gaseous fuel,
il will pass OF the etsEs as wood for fuel
has already DONE" VI course some gas
felds will last longer than otbep, and
who're only one or two wells have been
drilled the flow may continue for centu.
rieg, but Its fleeing nature, Rs compared
with coal, can hardly DO questioned. All
this, Of course, hut emphasizes the value
| Of our inheritance in coal, sincs processes
have even now been discovered Of manu-
featuring iuel gas from coal 90 cheaply 10
almost 10 rival tho cost OF natural gas
Thentoo, RapTosperity in one industry but
stimulates another, 20 too the immense
Weld Of the natural gas wells Of the past
year has been accompanied by a greater
output OF coal In our county than was
over known before. And thus 1t happend
that even II natural gas should dlBAppolnt
the opinions oil the eayants, and prove to
be permanent, its influence would only
increRse the value and stimulate the pro-
ductioI Of coal, simply because the areas
in which 1t can be found In large quantity
are 60 small and restricted, compared with
the immense extent Of the regions that
can never hope to get It.
LARGEST COAL FIELD IN THE WORLD.
To the largest and most valuable coal
field In the world, RsoloEists have given
.he name Appalachian. 1t covers IN area
Of nearly 6OO00 tquAIs miles, and DO.
ginning nosr the northern line Of Penn.
sylvaniG extends southwest.wRrd across
that state. and taking In nearly the whole
Of West Virginia, aud broad strip from
the southern part Of Ohio, pAssss on
through eAstcrn KCntucky and Tennessee
TO end in Alabama, nearly 900 miles from
It's northern terminus. The shape Of this
great field Ia roughly that Of q canoe, and
West Virginia lies within the I1ne Of Ia
brosdest and richest portion.
In only Beven oil the filty.iouT counties
Ia West Virginia Ia 1t impossible 10 find
bltumiuous coal, viz: Jefferson, Berkeley,
Moran, Hampshire, Hardy, Pendlelon
, and Monroe.
The column Of rock which holds the
coal beds In the Appalachian fold hat
been Bubdivlded into several Hroups, and
"A these come TO the suTiGcs in different
J portions Of the State, and contain Goals o.
distinctly different quality, l shall briefly
describe each, and trace the lines oil thelI
oulCrop5 acrcss the State.
At the base Of the series, Rad therefore
: the lowest group oil the tru8 coal measure
rocks, We have what ia usually termed the
I,soppiomnFats meAauFea, because the great
lhnndatopes which are there inteTltTAlhed
With the beds OF coal and slate often con
lain pebbles Of quarts and other hare
reclaim great abundance. The group hal
.lSo received several other names, anon
which may be mentioned No. u con
Slomerate, Pottsvills conglomerAte, sora
! leopPlomerate and the milestone grit o
Inc English geologlstS. The group oil COO
beds which these rocks contain have beel
TERMED the New river coal series from thA
region OF our own State whore the beds q
c A whole have their gTAndelt development
= The Iandstones Of this series are note
d for their hardness and consequent poEe
Ia resist the action Of the elements, Bein
composed almost entirely Of quarts pet
bles and grain, they form great sheets {
nrotecllug rock which 10 almost indie
timetable by atmospheric influence, an
inns Il happens that this group Of beds
lie no principal factor In forming the vii
picturegqus scenery Of our MountAi
State, The Wild eorReS and canons Of u
Cheat, the GAuley, the New, the GuyA
dotte, the Big Sandy and other West VI
gInia Tiyeru are all formed by this seri
Of rocks, All Of the ridges and peaks
81 ihe AllsRhAnies are capped and prolecti
by this friendly mantle, Wherever the
TScks come 10 the surface, yildneas, bI
rem soils, and pTeclpitouS slopes provo
. INIT when they dip below the drama
Mt Levels the mountains disappear, and
'cn their stead We ind rounded bills, vi
my Ventler slopes and broader valleys.
y" FORMATION or THE COAL.
. Another popularity Of this EsrisS e 4