Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-06-12
A GIGANTIC COAL SUIT.
G. B. MARKLE & co. SUED FOR
HALF A MILLION.

Another Case Which Originated from the
Flooding of HarIeigh and EbervaIe
Collieries-K emmerer & Co. Claim Big
Damages for Their Losses.
The most important coal suit ever tried
in Luzerne county, and one of the great
est in Pennsylvania, will come up in
court next Thursday. The case involves
$5CO, 200, and the action for this amount
of damages was brought by Mahlon S.
Kemmerer, coal operator of Mauch
Chunk, against G. B. Maakle & Co.,
owners and operators of the Jeddo col
lieres.
The attorneys for the plaintiff are G.
l.. Halsey, of White Haven, and Con-
gresham S. P. Wolverton, of Blooms
burg. The defendants will be represent
ed by John G. johnson, of Philadelphia,
ex-Attorney General II. w. Palmer,
John I. Lenahan and the firm of Whea-
ton, Darling & Woodward, of Wilkes
Barre.
This suit on the part of Mr.. Kemmerer
81" Oub Va thC lOooCo W hlCl, 40 lC5StC,
he alleges he sustained by the Harleigh
mines being flooded and utterly ruined
in December, 1885, and January, 1886.
1t is alleged that the channel of the
Black creek, which was directly over
the basin of the Mamouth vein on the
Harleigh and Ebervale tracts, had be-
come filled with large accumulations of
culm washed down the stream from the
co!lieries of Markle & Co. The culm
formed a bar near the west end of the
exit of canal previously constructed by
the land company to convey the creek
away from the outcrop of the vein.
During heavy freshet on January %,
1886, the barrier of culm caused the
water from the canal to back up into the
former channel of the creek and wash
into the mines through a crop hole on
the surface, where the creek had broken
through on the morning of December 10.
1t was estimated that 100000, 900
of water entered the break, filling all
the underground workings of both Har-
leigh and Eberyale collieries to the sur
face, thus entailing loss to the lessees
of at least half q million dollars.
James E. Roderick was mine inspector
of this district then and offered to pump
out the water for $240,000. He said it
would require 367 days, and 1000, 100000
gallons of water would have to be han
died. His offer was rejected In 1890
new plan was suggested to dig a five
mile tunnel through Buck Mountain and
drain the water into Nescopeck creek.
A company for this purpose, known
as the Jeddo Tunnel Company, was Or
ganized.
Among those in the company are John
Markle, E. P Wilbur, president of the
Lehigh Valley Railroad, and Congress-
man W. H. Lilly, of Mauch Chunk.
The tunnel was begun, but it will prob
ably not be finished before 1895. Its.
greatest depth under Buck Mountain is
700 feet. The tunnel varies in height
and width, but the main portion is eight
feet high and eight feet wide.
In 1890 the Big Black Creek Improve
ment Company sold the Harleigh tract
and all the coal underlying it, together
with all the rights and remedies con-
tanned in Kemmerer's lease to G. B.
Markle & Co. for $150000 without the
knowledge of Mr.. Kemmerer At this
time he was paying royalty of 25 cents
ton and was bound, according to the
terms of his lease, to mine minimum
amount of at least 10000 tons per year.
This he continued to pay until compelled
to abandon further mining operations
owing to the flooding of the mines, for
which disaster the land owners, Markle
& Co., and the Big Black Creek I'm
provement Company, as already shown,
are alleged to be responsible.
In his pending suit against Markle &
Co. Mr.. Kemmerer will endeavor to
prove that there is at present upwards
of 100000 tons of coal in the Harleigh
mines which he was prevented from
shipping to market on account of the
flood.