The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1890-09-12

them. What better combination can be
desiredy Who can doubt the future OF
Big Stone Gap?
1t has been justly. held that the re-
sources of this country were not fully
known, and some recent finds confirm this
belief. While prospecting in the Virginia
Coal 4 Iron Company's coal lands on
Preacher creek. recently, Mr.. j. h. Tag.
CART, the company's manager, discovered
a new bed of coking coal, the existence OF
which hud never before been limited at by
anv one. A drift is now being pushed
into this bed, which has revealed a seam
of coal seven feet four inches thick, with
GU, a single parting. The whole OF II is
clean, bright coking coal, resembling
exactly in appearance the lmboden coal,
which lies some 400 feet underneath this
new bed, which we now christen the
3" Taggart scam.
The existence of this bed Of coal prac-
tically doubles the quanty of coking coal
in the Big Stone Gap area, and is beyond
question of great Importance.
On Caliahan's creek the drifts in the
I'm bodcn bed have now been sent some
200 feet into tho hill. The mining here
has made apparent two features of the
coal aroa heretofore unknown. Every
parting shown OH the outcrop of the coal
disappears within from twenty to thirty
feet of the surface, leaving bed of from
six to nine feet of absolutely pure coal,
and the coal often dipping slightly down
ward for short distance, thus insuring
natural drainage for many thousand acres
of this bed.
THE TIMBER INTEREST.
In recent interview with an expert
timber dealer who has been in the bust
ness for % wears, he informed reporter
Of tho Posr, that the oak in this section is
far tougher and better adapted for the
of wagons and other vehicles,
as we'll us for the construction Of ships,
and for other purposes than any oak he
had over seen He SAYS the manuinc
turcrs of the "Old Hickory" and Of the
Tennessee wagons would find it very
profitable to move their plants here, or to
secure this oak in preference to that they
have been using While tho wagons arc
well mado, they are nothing like SO dura-
Bile as they would be wero this timber
used The oak through southern Ken
tuck wand the portions Of Tennessee, from
which they have drawn their supplies, is
much more brittle and far less durable.
There is hardly place in the United
States. or for tho matter of that, in the
world, better adapted for tho establish
mcnt of Il factory to mako axe handles,
spokcs or hubs, and oven furniture, than
Big Stone Cup. The hard woods that
grow on tho northern sides Of the noun
tains arc unsurpassed in quality by any
timber north of the Tropics. 1t is easily ac
ccssiblo, and any factory of the kind would
DO ablo to get its pick of the market.
The Posi- contained Il calculation last
week which showed that the timber to be
cut from the coal lands Of the Virginia
Coal & Iron Company alone would put
81 SOC, 900 per year in circulation at Big
Stone Gap, for period of ten years. In
this connection the following is instruc-
tive:
Professor Sargent, of Harvard College,
special export on forests for the tenth
census, says in his report Oh " Forests of
the United States" page 400;
The extinction Of the forests OF the lake region
NAV be expected TO seriously affect the growth Of
population u tue central portion uf the continent.
New centers Of distribution must soon suppant Chi
cago AZ timber market, and new transportation
routes take the place OF those built TO move the pine
grown upon the shores OF the Great Lakes. The
pine which ouce covered New England and New FORK
las already disappeared; Pennsylvania Is nearly
stripped Of her pits, which once appeared inexha's-
tible The great Northwestern pinrries are not YET
exhausted, and with newly introduced methods,
by which logs supposed inaccessible arc now
Jroably brought 10 the mills, they may be expected
10 Increase the volume OF their annual product for
few years longer, in response to the growing demands
Of The great agricultural population fast covering the
treeless md-con,incntal plateau. The area Of pine
however remaining in the great pinc-produ-
cling States OF Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota is
small In proportion 10 the couutrys con-
sumption Of white piue lumber, und the entire
Of these forests in comparatively short
time, Ia certsin.
After reference to tho pine belt of the
South Atlantic region, of which he says
the timber is uncqualcd for all purposes
of construction" Professor Sargent SAYS,
with reference to the hardwood forests:
THE mos, important Of these forests covers the
region occupied by the South Allegheny Mountain
sys,e,a, embracing Southwestern Virginia, West
North aud South Carolina, aid Eastern Kentucky ana
Tennessee. Here oak uneQualed In quality ubounds
w Sluut is still not rare, although not found in ANY
very large continuous bodies and caerry, yellow
poplar, aud other woods Of commercial Importance
are COMMON
The great volume of money being
brought into the region of which Big
Stone Gap is the center, by the products
of the forests, will form the basis OF Il
prosperity.
Mr.. Charles r. Ballard, Of Louisville,
president of the Interstate Investment
Company. which OWNS large amount of
cokng coal lands near here, has had two
from parties i'll Shamokin,
Pa, to lease tracts for opening coal mines
and making coke. When all these things
get going, we will have business without
end
One OF the largest real estate dealers in
where they claim great
deal of activity in business and So on,
saws that he has made only about six sales
this summer People naturally do rs little
business as possible during the warm
weather, but the rush comes with the
autumn.
The engineers in charge Of the work on
the Louisville & Nashville railroad here
have been ordered to put on night forces
wherever the work is behind, that it may
be pushed so as to have MI the grading
ut tho same time, leaving moth
ing to prevent the laying of track. Major
O'Brion is irving to get through by tho