The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-04-17
TO Be DEVELOPED.
Immense Tract Of Coal Lands in
Preston County,
TO Be OPENED IMMEDIATELY.
A Connecting Railroad Will BIO Con-
s,ructcd Through Taylor and Pres
ton Counties-Flfy.flve Thousand
Acres Under Lease, Bifteen Thous.
and of Which are Covered With u
Virgin Forest. M
.e,,, nIsnntch.to Inc 1n.elllEeneer

Special Dlspatchto tho lntelilseneer.
MoRGANToWN, W. Va, April 1s.-,
John Shiny, Of Cory, Pa. who has
spen, much OF the past FIVE years In
work preliminary to the development OF
the coal lands OF the Preston County
Coal and Coke Company. soon to begin,
was seen to-day By your correspondent
and asked some questions concerning
The proposed operations. Mr.. Shiny talk
cd freely concerning the Intentions Of
the company, prefacfng 1t with recit-
al Of the company's experiences In
searching for oil In Preston county, OF
which he thinks, there is not drop.
He said that preliminary to the de-
yelopment OF the coal fields q railroad
would be built from Cecil. IN Barbour
county, six and half miles up the
river from Grafton, through Taylor and
Preston counties to RowlesburG. on the
baltimore C Ohio. Il dIstancc;ot thirty
1--WE miles. Two corps Of surveyors VIII
begin work In 4 few days md the road
will be completed before the expiration
OF the year. 1t will traverse the lands
@. the Preston Coal and Coke Company.
II was thought at first that feasible
route could not be found, us an eievt.-
ton OF one thousand feet would have to
be overcome. The first len miles Is on
Il water level. The highest grade Is
less than seventy feet to mile. and
the whole line will not lverage thifty-
five feet to the mile.
The coal lands purchased and G1Ier
lease aggregate $1,000 acres. $4,000 acres
OF which Is virgin forest. Wherever The
land was covered by fine timber 1t was
bought outright. The trart contains
five paying seams Of coal IN the noun
tain above water anl-two below water.
The seams run from seven to twelve
feet In width. There Is n seam of cum
mel four feet wide and above water. All
this coal is accessible and 1900 acres
can be mined IN the cheapest manner
kEown to the American mine-driftlns.
The miners can SO right in with the
drift, which Is tremendous advantage
over the shaft. The lands of the COM
pany cover almost the entire south
western portion ofPreston county.
Mr. Slny is particularly elated over
the undoubted existence OF camel coal
In the land. This is one of the most
valuable OF the different varieties OF
high grade fuel. He said: "As q do
nestle coal Its cheerful flame and easy.
combustion render It particularly suit
able for coy libraries In the dwellings
Of those who can afford to use II. 1t has
lorg sold at high price. owing to its
limited quantities in the American coal
fields, and is still among the list of val
liable imported luNuries, for the privl-
Lao ytElNt
A four-foot seam OF this coal is found
in the hills OF the Preston tract. over
laying almost all of the property. Its
possibilities a. an export and as q gas
enr!cher are difficult to estimate. 1t Is
practically Justices. and its, ashes. al
moSt as white as four are used for fer
tsltzer. Much of this coal Is imported
from England. and now at New Orleans
It sslls for So ton"
Mr.. Sliny stated that the coal gener-
any in the tract is equal il not superior
to the best OF the C6naellsvillc region
OF pennsylvania. J1t/is comparatively
Tree from sulphur and tests show that
II bears up from three hundred to four
hlhdrec more pressure to the square
:Ech. The Jonas Wolf" vein measures
eleven feet in thickness, with nine and
one-half feet OF coal, undisturbed by
faults. slate partings or any impurities,
The average thickness of the Connells-
vile seam Is put at nine feet. The 40
mas Wolf vein, was opened By farmer
o. that name some forty or fifty Years
ago. Local residents came as far ms
twenty-five miles FOR this coal for
olacksnishlns purposes. Wolf develop
ed 1t only In crude way, but he made
several thousands OF dollars out of It.
Inc best Of coke Is made from the coal.
Mr.. Silny says that 4 rough calcuIa-
ton Of the coal secreted in the Presto,
Coal and Coke Company's tract shows
tne enormous total OF 1850 600. 900 tons,
on amount equal to the entire output of
me state OF Pennsylvania. both anthra-
eve and h!tum!nous. during the past
fifteen years. The tract also contains
TOUT grades Of limestone rock.
me Preston Coal and Coke Company
Is Incorporated unde: the laws OF West
Virginia VITA capital of two millions.
~ Is stated that not cent of the stock
IS on the market. for the reason that II
Is not Tor sale. The directors are James
W. GuEey. OF Pittsburgh; Samuel 3,
HueF' of Philadelphia: John Sliny. OF
.ofry, and William ]. Nichols, of Phil
9GelpAia. Mr Nichols is president, Mr.,
nuey secretary and treasurer, and Mr.
SHINY general manager.