The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-07-12
BORING FOR COAL.
The Operations of the Poi tland Company
at Perry-No Coal Yet, But
Plenty of Freestonc.

1t is an interesting fact that people
still continue in this state to search for
the buried treasures held in the keeping
OF mother nature. The search for coal
has been now kept up for long time,
and will be continued until found, or all
hope of ever indingit is abandoned for
ever.
Operations at Small Point have been
suspended, although every storm still
brings coal ashore, but at Perry, pic
turesque town on the st. Croix, the
worl, is still going forward, number of
Portland gentlemen having formed the
ST. Croix Mining Company, for the pur-
pose of boring for coal and generally de-
veloping the mineral resources of that
section of the state They are John B.
Curtis, F. A. Waldron, j. H. Fletcher,
w. H. Waldron, E. D. Croker, E. C.
Hersey, J. N. Winslow, c. P. Waldron
and W. f. Trask.
They are at work close by the st.
Croix, at a point where Dr. Jackson
years ago found indications of, and where
Professor Hill later on started to bore
for coal. They have had faith enough
IN their ultimate success to cause them
to put iii the most modern machinery, at
cost of over $4,000.
ID. e. Thompson, who is an old coal
miner, is in charge of the work, and
finds satisfactory indications so far. The
diamond drill will cut the rock rapidly,
last Saturday going down is feet in a
few hours, to total depth of $40 feet.
One hydraulic pump forces in the
fresh water for the boiler, while another,
1000 feet distant, sends in the supply of
salt water necessary to keep the drills
cool, and to bring up the dirt.
Steam is sent back to the pump from
the boiler, and in this way an abundance
of water is obtained for drilling purpos-
es. The drill is kept as constantly at
work as possible, and is rapidly getting
down to what may be regarded as the
coal level. The machine owned by the
company will drill down 5000 feet, but
the average of coal is far sooner. reached.
The Nova Scotia coal mines average
from 1500to 1900 feet below the surface,
and there are commonly growing indica-
lions of coal sometime before it is
reached.
The drill 'srods'' or sspoles'' are in Sec
lions, each 80 feet long. Of course very
little can be told regarding the sort of
rock drilled through until the CORE
comes up, and there is always some ex-
element when the time comes for taking
them up, a work of some difficulty. for
they must be well handled.
No one can tell when it will be said
Goal at last and SO the interest be-
comes almost feverish as the last section
is raised, removed from the hole, the
hole covered over, the ''core barrel''
opened, and the ''core'' itself removed.
When Professor Hill was boring at
Perry. he lost the last section of his
drill, and it is still under ground. Such
an accident could hardly occur now, as
there is attached to the machine safety
clamp, the best invention of the sort
ever made in the opinion of MI. Thomp-
son. One jaw of this clamp holds the
rod and prevents it turning, and the 9th
er prevents it from slipping back into
the hole.
DR.. Jackson believed that the coal
formation would be found to extend un-
der the entire st. Croix valley, some
miles in all, topped by hills of freestone
of the best quality.
But while the search will be made for
coal, and the hope Of finding it will not
be siveE up, the members of the compa-
ny will depend for steady BUSINESS in
am case on what is already in sight, the
freestone. As soon as the proper ar
rangements can be made a quarry will
be opened, and it is proposed to try for a
portion of the trade of the great build
ing centres.
The proposed quarry will be at point
where they will he able IT, go up and
down 200 feet without cost for the trans
portation of their quarried stone to the
vessels that will receive it. A tranway
will do the work, and Little River, close
by the St. Croix, will enable large yes
sells to come up to the wharf A few
rods away is the bay of St. Andrew, and
the ocean itself is but seven miles dis
tant
1T is but rs miles from where the Port
land company is trying to find coal to
the coal mines of Nova Scotia, and the
outward indications at both places are
very much the same.
The Fitch Suicide.