The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-01-03
PRODUCTION OF COAL.
THE YEAR SHOWS A HANDSOME
INCREASE OVER 1895
Washington Leads fhe Pacific states
ton-The Various Mines. Their
Development and Production
Washington Coal for Use In the
Navy.

There Is an endeavor every once n a
While 20 raise a scare THAI rhe coal BEDS OF
the world VII ali be exhausted in Ger
zzia number CT years, and some uiaths-
rsaticlans vii readily prove 20 you mat
the beds OF a cersa.n district can o<lly last
a CERTAIN length Of me before they are
mined cut. so far as these calculations
may bear reference 20 the mines or tbs
country, Il Il q consolation 20 know taaE.
when the coIIler3ss Of the East become ex-
Eaussea, they can look 70 the state or
washington 10 supply the whole country
No state Ea tire country possesses ether q
greater abundance or 80 great a variety OF
coal There has already been found coal
from the lowest grade Of Ignite 20 Sne
h4gEesI grade Of anthracite, and hardly
NORTH passes but some new discoveries
are made, and some of them are consid-
cred valuable. These discoveries. too, have
Desl ETsade at various points al the state
and great distances apart
In the western portion Of the state the
VEINS exposed show scarcely anything but
woody matter. but proceeding east toward
the Cascade mountains the coal increases
IN richness UP 10 q very fine qualify OF an
taraclte. But the strata become more -
regular and IN all the btrum@noCs d3strscts
Il = mora or less broken Up by antsciAnals
and synclinals East OF the mountains the
veins run more regularly and the angle Of
the DIP IS not so great
The states Coal Area.
Tho combined coal fields Of the state
cover an area OF Leo square miles. so far
as at present known. and such boantiful
supply as this area VIII give cannot be ex-
hausted for several hundreds OF years.
Yet he,
PIE OF Washington. at any rate. T. b.
Corey. an authority on coal mining. gave
the number Ct coal mines Ia operation in
the state in 1876 as thirty. and the number
Of men employed as $500. Owing 10 The
money ssriagency IN the East the devel-
opment Of coal mining in this state has not
been as rapid as either the supply or the
demand wouid justify. This year. how
ever, VIII probably see an extension or
this industry and more mines discovered
and opened up. From % mines actual
returns have been received. These show
that during the past year there were en-
pioyed at these mines an average Of 3i03
men, and that the total output Of coal was
I2l45sl tons Further particulars Of the
operations OF these mines follow.
The Northwestern Beds.
The northwestern part OF the state has
three or four seams OF hsgh grade b.tumIn-
measures and unlerlald WIN clay sch.sts
and meiamorph.e states. The seams near
est the sch.sts. which is sometimes only
two or three feet from them. are richest n
carbon and lowest ia moisture. the higher
ones gradually losing carbon as they re-
cede from the schisis. Those on the Skag.t
river. for instance. yield a coke equal 10
any made in the United states.
King County Leads.
The largest and most De veloped coal fed
OF the state IS n King county. Which HIS
two classes OF coal, one a h.gh-gcade OF
ignite, which has an area OF about 1O
square miles. the other a bitumlaous. COW
eripg about $50 square mics. The regu-
lariCy Of the b-tumlnous seams IS destroyed
as they approach the mountains, but the
quality is improve and is often good Tor
oolz.ng. The lIgnites differ from those OF
other regions IN that they have great heat
ing qualities. The general dip Of the hg
mite seams Is apparently 70 fhe north, then
aga.n a httle west of north. In t1e bitu-
m.nous districts there IS little or no regu-
larliy.
No better place IN the state can be found
where the measures are so exposed as 10
show the pecullaTaties OF contracted strata
than In the Green river canyon OF King
county Above the seam $ seen emerging
from the river and rising INTO the exposed
SIDE OF the bank; then Il turns again and
disappears IN the river IN an opposite d.
rectOn, all n distance Of iistle over 100
feet. A. the point whore X turns over, n
the assures Qf the top OF the seam and by
the squeezed and contracted condition OF
the bottom, can be distinctly seen the con-
dsti0n u has been subjected TO.
Nearly the whole Of King county IS COW
cred with drift carried down by glaciers
from the Cascade mountains in the quar-
teruary period. covering the ground in
some Instances to a depth of $50 feet Thus
were Il not FOR the rivers and water
courses. bedrock would rarely 5e seen.
Nearer the mounta' rs the erIDtive rock
becomes plentiful ana the coal measures
dsappear 10 be seen again in isolated
patches.
King County's Thousand Men.
Among the mines IN King county now
operated are several that are large ship
pears 20 san Francisco and other points.
and in all the mines OF the county there are
over a thousand men employed Al ISsa-
quah A. niles from Seattle by rail and Is
in a straight l.ne. the Gilman mines have
five seams or iignite coal. varying IN thick
hess from three 20 eig-st feet. dipping al
an angle OF about s. degrees. West OF That
four miles is Newcastle. where four ignite
veins are being worked Of an average Of
FIVE feet 81 thickness. Reuton. five miles 20
thu southwest. mas a colllery cl1at Ia work
ing one vein OF ignite about seven feet n
/ thickness Tbs dips L degrees east This
mine started IN lSe5 after A shutdown Of
some years Cedar Mountain mine also
1 which - SIX niles east OF Rautcn. og,e7ed
up aga}n in 1875 after an ts1eness Of three
years. ara now ss making large otrtpsrt
THIS = ignite coai also. and the vein Is z
/ feet thick
Then come the tjfumjncus coal meas
ures whieh berin. 50 far as discovered.
- the south and west OF Nsria Valley
soma miles from Hlack Diamond Tfera
there are fhree workable bituminous veins
az Eve six and seven feet In thickness
Tares miles - the south the Denny CLAY
Company. 90 Seattle. IS working q siy-foot
vein - similar coal near the banks OF the
Green river.
The Palmer District.
A. Palmer about twenty miles south %
this. and also on the Green river. IS an
other large ae.a OF hituulinous coal. ore
vein o. three feet one ~ SIX and one q
1 forty feet This latter is only worked 10
3 sman extent. The product OF the three
I mines IS an excellent steam coal ana
10ds q very large market iu san Fran
cisco ON the Green river branch OF the
$3~thevn Pacific. some three miles from
Palmer are SIX o- seven weiss % coal
ranging fn thickness from one 10 ten Feet
The most notable mine IN en- ration here
Sc the ksnRley where great amount q
development has been done. and the long
~Ft slope Sc Western Washington. about
go feet SIS to ba seer AHout ga trser
sksa~s . ~a "a vrrs-7s f.r~ - svssaw ~ff~sE ana