The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-01-17

SAS~S iACdNlAS5 QUALITIES, W0llc IHOS0
on the tertiaries are not much better than
brown coal" The general dip of the lig-
mite seams is apparently to the north, then
again little west of north. while in the
oltuminous district there seems to be no
regularity whatever; but the strata are
more or less broken up with anticlinals
and synclinals, and in this part of the field,
as they run into or approach the noun
talns, they become very much distorted;
out the coal becomes much richer
Tin some cases almost coke), yet
SO broken as to almost discour-
age any one from attempting to
utilize it. No better place in the state of
washington can be found where the meas
ures are SO exposed as to show the pecu-
Hart1es of contracted strata than in Sec
ton 8, township q, range east, Green
river canyon. At one point the seam is
seen emerging from the river and risinginto
the exposed side of the river bank, then it
turns over again and disappears in the
river IN the opposite direction, all in dis
tance of little over 100 feet. At the point
where 1t turns over, in the assures at the
top Of the seam and by the squeezed and
contracted condition of the bottom. can be
distinctly seen the crushing it has been
subjected to.
Nearly the whole Of King county is COW
cred with drift carried down by glaciers
from the Cascade mountains during the
glacial epoch Of the Quarternary period,
which has in some instances covered the
| ground to "a depth of 300 feet. Thus were
! 1t not for the rivers and water courses bed
rock would seldom be seen.
In Journeying closer to the mountains
| the eruptive rocks become plentiful and the
| coal measures gradually disappear, only to
| be seen again in small, isolated, barren
| patches.
The mines at Durham and KangIey are
| on the eastern edge of this field
A h
| five seams of coal varying in thickness
| from three feet to eight feet, between walls
| dipping at an angle of about IS degrees.
This coal is a Ignite. The mine is forty
two miles from Seattle by rail and fifteen
| miles in direct line.
| Newcastle is four miles west Of Issauuah:
| is new mine, the old one having been
! abandoned. There are here four Ignite
| veins, which are being worked averaging
| about five feet in thickness. Dips to the
| north about 40 degrees.
| Renton, about five miles southwest, is
| working one vein Qgnite) about seven feet
| in thickness, dipping u degrees east. This
| mine has just been started after a shut
| down of some years. There is also another
mine just being started at this place, but
| as yet coal has not been reached.
| Cedar Mountain, which Is some six miles
| east of Renton, has just been reopened
| after lying idle for three years. There is
| At the next town east of this, which is Ma
| pie Valley, the Danville Coal Company has
begun development work on six-foot
| vein, which bids fair to become a good
| mine.
At Black Diamond, still farther south and
east, there are three workable bituminous
| veins respectively five, six and seven feet
| in thickness.
There is also new slope being sunk to a
f1rst-class vein Of coal.
Three miles south Of this on Green river
is located the Denny mine. 1t Is six-foot
| vein, and is used exclusively by the Denny
Clay Company at Seattle.
Next we come to Franklin, also located
on Green river, where there are three
| mines, one having just been opened. They
have a three and six-foot vein Of bitumi-
nous coal, which are being worked. There
is also here forty-foot vein, which is
worked to a small extent.
The Black Diamond and Franklin coal
Is an excellent steam coal, most of it find
ing market in San Francisco.
Beyond this is Kangley, Cokedale, Alta
and Durham, at which places there are six
or seven veins Of coal ranging in thickness
from three to ten feet; the last three places
named are not working at present. There
has been more development work done at
Kangley than at any of these places Tt
has the longest slope in Western Washing
ton. and is about 1,5o0 feet in length.
Scattered all along from one mile south
of Palmer to as far north as Grand Ridge
are dozens Of holes and tunnels, on some of
which considerable work has been done, es-
pecially so on those at Sherwoods, Raging
Creek and Niblock.
East of Franklin about three miles, on
the Northern Pacific railroad are the
American, Eureka and Navy mines. The
American has from four to five feet of BIZ
luminous coal, which they are working, and
also two or three veins on which some
prospecting has been done. The Eureka
has about the same number of veins. The
Navy mine has four or five workable veins,
which will average about four feet in
thickness. These mines have made con-
siderable Improvement during the last
three or four years.
In Pierce county we find a field small in
area, not over 100 square miles, but rich in
the number and thickness of it's seams. The
coal is of an excellent quality, Of which the
numerous mines situated in the belt ship
large quantities to San Francisco and the
cities of Puget sound, besides the great
amount made into coke at Wilkeson, which
is shipped as far East as Helena, Mont.
This field commences at Burnett and ex-
tends in due south line to the Nisqually
river, distance Of about twenty-six miles
1t is known as the Wilkeson coal field. A
portion of this district is broken up by
dykes. There are nine or ten workable
seams, dipping from So degrees to perpen-
dicular.
Commencing at the southern end Of the
county, the coal is exposed, overlooking
the valley of the Nisqually river. From this
point north to Willxeson 1t is an unbroken
wilderness. The coal crops out from the
tanks of the steep mountain side, dipping
usually to the east at heavy angles. The
ground is covered with a magnificent growth
of pine, fir and cedar trees. Over all stands
Mount Rainier, IA, 444 feet high, and about
twelve miles distant
At the northern end of this field several
of the branches of the Northern Pacific
railroad have been built up to the mines at
Carbonado, Wilkeson, Burnett, Pittsburg
and Acme. Carbonate shows great signs
of disturbance but the seams are so nu-
merous and aggregate so great thickness
of coal that large outputs can easily be
kept up. This is the largest producing mine
in the county, if not in the state.
At Wil1eson there are two mines opened
on the opposite sides of the anticlinal fold.
The Wilkeson coal is used as a standard
by the United States government in making
comparisons Of coal in this Western coun-
try.
At Burnett, which is four miles farther
north, at which place the South Prairie
Coal Company is operating, there are two
or more workable seams, dipping to the
west. This coal is of great value, produc-
ing about 10000 cubic feet Of gas per
ton, and is used extensively at all the Pa
cific coast cities for making gas.
At Pittsburg and Acme, which are far
Their east from Burnett and situated on the
same creek, considerable work has been
done. I think it can be said beyond doubt