The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1890-01-23

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common ground for the purifica-
ton of elections and the protec-
ton of the ballot.
THE GUYANDOTTE VALLEY.
There is no valley in the State
OF West Virginia, or probably in
the Union, that is of more impor-
lance than the valley Of the Guy
andottc. The Guyandottc river
with its head waters in the coun-
ties of Mercer, Raleigh and Nc
Bowel, flows in north westward
~ direction through the counties
of Wyoming, Logan, Lincoln and
'Cabell. until it mingles its waters.
with the Ohio at the thriving little
town ~Guyandotte. The valley
on both sides ofN the river is in
habited by people known for
their hospitality and integrity,
and is dotted with happy homes
and fertile farms, and is blest
with a climate.
Ivy here Spring =earliest:Si sits=pay,z
And parting Summers lingering blooms
delay -.
But it is not of those homes, or
Of the hospitality Of its people
that We would speak. We desire
rlther to call the attention of the
outside wcrld to its yet undevel-
opeds and untold wealth of coal
and timber, and to advance, if we
can, the material interests of a
country, for which nature has
done so much
SIN the matter Of timber and
coal there is no other part of the
State that can compare with the
Guyandottc valley, and when the
wealth which crowns its noun
tains, and that which is hidden in
their deep recesses shall be fully
understood and justly appreeiat-
ed, the magic. wand of capital
will be attracted, and much that
is now considered worthless will
be by its talismanic rod convert
ed into living beauty.
Our river is fed for one hun
drcl and fifty miles on both sides
with large creeks. some of which
are from Is to 20 miles il. length,
and the finest of walnut, ash, pop
lar, maple, hemlock, oak, hickory.
beech and sycamore are overshad-
owing those streams awaiting the
woodlands axe, and the improve
ment Of our river. But as rich as
are our timber fields, we are even
richer in our coal deposits. The
Guyandotte valley is the centre
Of the great appalachian coal
field which extends from Penn
sylvania to- Alabama.
After passing the Coal River ON
the north OF ns. and the Tug fork
of Sandy on the South of as, we
find marked decrease both in
the quantity and quality of the
coal deposits, as we'll as in the adj
svantages of working the mines.
Here we have camel, splint, bit
luminous and all the varieties of
cooking Goals, all of which are
above the water level, dispensing
with the necessity of boreing and
pumping, which entails a large
cost in all other sections. The
veins lie over each other in vari-
Qua thickness, from three to twen-
ty-two, feet, until the veins sum
up totM thickness of more than
fifty feet, which gives us 5000
square miles of coal in easy dis,
lance of the river Of more than
fifty feet in thickness, and all of
it in dry and workable VEINS.
Nothing has, as yet, been done to
develop our coal, but our timber
has been partially developed, but
with considerable loss on account
of the present condition Of our
river. 1t is estimated that 81 ,O0O,-
600 worth of. timber went out of
our river in the year 1889. about
zone fifth of which was lost by the
rocks, bars and snags which OBJ
structs the channel of its upper
waters Our output of timber
would be fourfold if orr river was
properly improved, and that al
most without any loss:
These coal and timbey fields
commence at q point less than 50
miles from Gnyandotte, a town
situated on the Ohioriver at the
head Of reliable water navigation,
l34() miles bplow pittshurr. 40