The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-09-12
GENERAL NEWS
OF INDUSTRIES

UF lMUU0Inl[0
In the village of Tempe, about twelve
miles from Phoenix. the capital OF Ari-
xons territory, lie the ruins OF the
ancient city which Frank H. Cushing
discovered some years ago and in which
conclusive evidence was found proving
the existence of pre- Columbian civil
lzation, belonging to race known as
the Toltecs. One of the supreme mys-
teries OF these ancients lies In the dis
covery within the last few weeks Of
true anthracite coal within the boun-
dariss OF one of the ruined cities. 1t
created decided excitement among
the few in Phoenix who were admitted
to the secret of the discovery, writes
correspondent Of the San Francisco
Chronicle. An option was secured
upon the land, which lay three
miles northwest Of Los Muertos.
and work was begun at once oh the de-
velopment Of what was thought to be
the main cropping of coal ledge. its
black stain being traced in the granitic'
country rock for fully mile. But the
lead was soon exhausted and the min.
ers we're amazed to find that they had
been cleaning out the contents Of
gigantic ola, an urn buried to its lip
in the earth. The coal to the amount
OF over three tons was contained in O
cornucopia In the center Of the jar, the
termination OF the cornucopia being
filled with clean charcoal Around and
supporting the coal and the charcoal
the ola was filled with dry earth Of a
Limestone character.
The ola had been made of a cement,
the main ingredient of which was
plainly the hydraulic lime of the re-
gion. Through such a combination
needs no hardening from fire, the lip Of
the urn, in its briek-red color, showed
the effect Of intense hest The ola was
found to be about twelve feet, nine
inches across the mouth and materially
wider at half the depth-in nowise diff
ferent in form from the drinking jars
OF that region today The wall tapered
in thickness from about eight inches at
the lip to maxium of eighteen inches
near ths bottom. The material was
readily distiuguishable from the
decomposed granite into which the
urn had been built. The coal found is
genuine anthracite, on the authority
Of several Of the best mineralogists OF
the coast, and sustains every test Of
the assayer. 1t was found closely
packed, though far from solid, and
HIxY ot
true coal blanket. In straight line to
the southeast, paralleling at a short
distance the course OF an ancient canal,
bits Of coal were found strewn upon
the ground and, following this 'lsad."
five other ollas were discov cred, much
smaller, but in every way sim liar in
construction and contents to that first
explored. One was not over three feet
in depth, yet 1t contained the cone of
coal, Without doubt careful search
along this line would develop many
more such pits.
The diseoverers, after secretly using
every effort to locate coal in the nearby
mountains. at last confessed entire in
ability to solve the puzzle. The forma-
tion for miles around is much the same,
changing from porphyry to granite and
then to sandstone. with occasional gold.
bearing veins OF copper and iron-tinged
quartz, region where the geologist
would scout the existence of a de-
posit from the earboniferous age.
A hundred miles to the northeast
is the nearest coal. sulphurous
~ eit sacthst in places may be |
outh oEnous. In fact. this "potted
patriotic Sslt River Valley is the
the fte ever found west of the
applaudsd The ollas lie within one
speech ot6 pueblos A few hundred
bn was sutthe largest are the ruins Of
nted fortRle, the walls Of which were
ss Sby the work OF the Heming- |
way expedition. Under the circu m
stances the question is natural, Can
this coal he an artificial product. made |
by these Totscs?"
Modern science can take wood and |
by heat and pressure and at great ex.
pence produce Ignite. Charcoal, q
pure carbon, is. of course. easy to OBJ
tain, but the production Of anthracite.
with its baser percentage Of earthly
matter, is beyond the skill of the
modern experimentalist II manu-
factured by the Toltecs 1t is probable
that 1t was made in the great retorts
where found, though not sign of an
air blast hole could be detected nor an
implement that would aid in lucid
explanation. Fragments Of pottery
fairly covered the ground nearby, all
marked with the common Toltec orna-
mentation Of terraces, lightning flashes
and wave lines, but in no manner do
they throw light upon the subJeet.
There seems to be no logical or plausl-
bic theory to offer. The anthracite Is
there. let him who can read the riddle.
MINOR INDUSTRIAL NOTES:
All Of the collieries Of the Cross Creek
Coal company worked full time last week.
The Tresckow washery has drawn the
dead line on non-English-s for
eiguers.
The New York, Susquehanna aud West
ern directors will probably meet for or
ganization today.
The other day the Beaver Brook colliery
prepared and dumped 667 mine cars in
nine hours, breaking the colliery's record
Kuyle Bros, who some time ago received
contract to strip a large piece Of coal land
at Eckley, for the Cross Creek Coal COM
pany, began operations Saturday. The
stripping will give employment to about
300 men.
A. Pardee & Co.'s No. colliery was last
Friday shut down for an indefinite period.
The foreman and superintendent were
transferred to other operations, and indi-
that plant.