The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-06-04

o the breaking up u ths glacial pefiod =
vesams Of water. of which vs have not ~
ss'nsest CONGESTION. rushed with hereu-
sesu energy from the Columbia river dis-
u'es over the great plains Of the basin az
Ioees sound. securing In thsir serrifse
sosces tina deep channels Of Hucs strait
ana al the inlets. oays and canals. ana
psnnS up the water borne coupoeite AZ
clay. sand. gravel and boulder. which
form al tas Islands aud shores Of Pue,<
souno. This gigantic work il iilustrnte
on . oiniSnustvs scale BY every freshet
vnicn ocears Ia rivers, brooks and brook
Iets. When the water subsides the asme
isiands, psninsulas. rocks. gravel and
neors, ara shown in miniature. The aim.
PIE rule that . cost seam shrouehout its
wnoie extent 10 attended both above and
oeaow ~ the same strata would render
sne idensihcation OF the coal seam, and
sne tracing OF them across valleys from
hillside e hillside, . matter Of little din.
eaity were Il not for dis.ocasion Of the
strata, producing what are called faults.
shpe, or sroubies. This 10 not conspicu-
ous on she surface. beesuss eli has been
Gus oown 10 one level by aqueous agencies.
4ness saoifs occur very often In coal zelda.
ana are . source Of serious annoyance 20
the miner
THE rHIcKxEss or COAL ssAus.
Inc thickness Of coal seams varies from
iew lines to many feet: sometimes they
exist - sheets ~ thin - paper, in others
- masses thirty or forty feet thick. A
single scam Of pure coal, however, 10 eel.
dom more than six or eight feet thick. Il
- true that in France and In the anthra-
cite region Of Pennsyivania they are said
TO occur ixty or seventy feet thick or even
more. but upon close examination such
mammoth seams Will Be found 20 consist
OF two or more seams separated by thin
lamin1 OF slate. too thin, however, to
form . root, and, therefore, the several
seams arr wrought together a. one.
HE number Of seams occurring In one
locality and separated by interssratified
sandstone and shaic 10 sometimes a great
- l0O. ana their aggregate thickness $50
teet. Enormous - 10 this mass Of car
bonaceous matter IL II bat . small fraction
Of the entire mass of the coal strata. The
thicksst and purest seams are generally
near the middle Of the series, q il the con.
ditions necessary for the formation Of
coal had gradually come into existence and
had - gradual y disappeared: that there
were two poles and an equator belonging
70 this time worid-a morning, noon and
evening 70 this geological day.
Aimopt all the truc coal of the world 10
found in the north temperate zone. Thus.
the climates which are most congeniai TO
iaborious occupations, the latithdes best
adapted 70 the vigorous growth Of indus
trial civilization are precisely those where
BY deliberate providensiai design have
been placed the materials OF labor, the
aliment OF industry. We have here the
sublime illustration of that all-compre-
hensive fore-knowledge which foresees
and designs the end from the beginning:
Of that immutability which changes not,
but only unfolds ils eternal plans Of the
entire unity in the system Of time worlds,
our own epoch being the sun and center.
THEORIES or THE COAL.
There 10 no point connected with the
coal which has been the subject Of 90
much discussion as the manner OF its ac-
emulation. At first view existing ma
ture seems to offer no analogy to guide u
in our attempts to account tor such enor-
nous accu,nulations of carbonaceous mat
ter. 1t 10 admitted. however, believe. on
all hands. that tho deposit must have
taken place in water. The perfect prescr-
walton Of the carbon OF the plants. and
often Of the external forms and structure,
which must have suffered complete oxyda-
ton and disintegration if exposed to air,
the fact that the plants were most or Gil Of
them swamp plants. and. moro than oil.
the alienation Of coal seams with sedi.
mentary deposits of clay AND SANDAL
seem To point Enthusiastically to water a.
| the preserving agent. There is still an
| other evidence which | think has gener-
/ ally been overlooked. In the midst of the
| more structurcless bituminous matter of
the coal arc often found Embedded wedge
| shaped masses Of vascular tissue called
native carbon. No one who attentive,y
! examines these wedges can fail to perceive
| that they are the wooden wedges Of exo-
| gems separated by the decomposition OF
| the softer cellular tissue OF tho intervening
| medullary rays while they fioascd a. logs
upon the water and finally became Inn
hedded in the carbonaceous mud below.
Thus far. I believe, all theorists agree.
But from shis point opinions, dive &c /;
some biologists holding that the coat was
deposited en- the spot where the plants
grew. others that the plants were drifted
| In the form If RATS to great distance and
deposited At the mouths Of rivers: the
former, that tho coal basin IL the site Of an
ancient peat bog; the latter. that II Is the
position Of an ancient estuary or delta.
The former Is called the peat bog theory,
the latter the estuary theory.
| PEAT 200 THEORY.
| In many countries. particularly in moist,
| cool climates aud damp low grounds. GER
| tain plants. such rs ferns. MOSES. etc, as
| we'll a trees which grow in moist places.
| IL allowed 20 grow undisturbcd from gen.
| Grafton 10 generation will by their decay
| accumulate enormous masses Of corbona-
| ceous MATES. Such a spo, is called peat
| bog The theory OF this accumulation is
| as follows: Fiants derive all their carbon
| from the atmosphere. The fall of fie leaf
| and the death Of the plan, returns 10 the
| earth the whole of the carbon thu, ST.
icnsly extracted from the air. Cndis-
TURNED vegetation. therefore, constantly
enriches the soil by adding TO IL what has
been taken from the AIR. BY decomposi-
ton the organic matter 10 returned 10 the
atmosphere az fast as IL aceumuiates
But IL by any means this decomposition is
prevented tina organic matter aceamulates
indefinitely. This il precisely what taxes
place in peat bogs The presence of water
in great measure prevents the oxyaation
of the earho;a. This deposit continues for
generations until pure earbonaceons mat
ter may in time accumulate to the depth
Of thirty or forty feet. Such q mass of
carhonaeeous matter deprived Of its water