Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-10-23
THE COAL FIELDS.
+
Interesting Facts In GEOLOGICAL
Report.
Indians Probably Found Coal Before
: the Whites Came.
now the Product i. Prepared for ~.
- - Market.

me report OF Professor II III
on the Pennsylvania ontbr,ni, ".oeE
renort mace "a part of the annua
vaar 100 'ne theological Survey for tn
'Vo-ol' Is bristling with facts q
present interest ''e's o
J ~" iVe counties anthracite mining +;
iAiht industry, and into sev.,
ING coal measures somewba
th.p broadly speaking, the an.
b.. heid is bounded on the wes
'ne Susquehanna river and On RI.
/ - tne Delaware and Lehiei
ana embraces a Territory ~
'oVo square miles, of which loo,
one h1th is underlaid with work
''ai measures. The productiv.
| POI .ioi' estimated at 4S4 miles. is NOT .
area, but consists of =.
'o''ioer oI detached valleys and basins
""NihS, a length of about 40 nil.
| a'ohs the line from Forest DIV -
Dauphh. and width of thirty n,i,ss
pe.Ween Mauch Chunk and Shi,,,.
| shiny Hnick-
win periodic regularity the news
| pdperS contain accounts of new an
| tht"clte discoveries, but profas.n.
stock says that the geological feature.
oi the region are so marked and &,
wen known that it is Improbable Thai
ne" heids of any extent will he found
ne oeus OF anthracite coal are SIM
p''eu 10 nave been originally blum,
"ous ana deposited at the same TINA
"S the bltuminous coal of western and
c"'i"i fehhSylvania, but subsequently,,
'"'"Seu 10 their present character nv
>oiie process of metamorphosis. An
,hIaclte coal is often described as :,
natural coke, ince it can be used in
making IRON. while bituminous coal has
10 De turned into coke for that mr..
pose.
From the numerous outcronn;,.
beds of this region it is probable th., +
the existence of coal was known ia the
Indians before the coming of.tba
whites. The first authentic date in
connection with anthracite coal is 176,
when Parshall Terry and Il company
OF Connecticut pioneers found coal at
the mouth of Mill Creek. on the hanks
OF the Susquehanna, near the site of
the present city of Wilkesbarre. In
l't?. Obadiah Core. a blacksmith. used
1i13., the proprietary government of
PENNSYLVANIA had coal floated down
the Susquehanna from Wilkesbarre to
Harris Ferry (Harrisburg. whence it
was hauled by wagon to the arsenal ar
carlisle Tor use in the manufacture of
munitions of war. Similar shipments
We're made annually during the Revo-
luton.
Coal was used locally by blacksmiths
in the eighteenth century, and numer-
Gus attempts were made to float coal
laden alks down the Lehigh and Sus-
quehanna, but people would not be
lieve that the black stones would burn
and no progress was made for some
years in the development of a coal
trade. In 1866. John and Abijah
Smith. from Derby. Conn.,. settled in
Plymouth. Pa. bought coal lands. and
Immediately began shipping coal by
arks to points along the lower Sus-
quehanna river. F'ifty-five tons We're
shippedsin 1907 To Columbia. Pa. and
thereafter four hundred to five hun
dred tons yearly to points on the lower
Susquehanna and TO Baltimore. where
$40 per ton was the price. and to New
York. where $l2 was the price. The
Smith brothers accompanied their
arks taking CRATES. which were set up
in public houses to demonstrate the
value of this fuel.
Between 1870 and 1928 the trade
from the Lehigh region was firmly es-
tablished. and about 1925 the Schuyl-
kill region was opened up upon the
completion of water communication
with Philadelphia by the Schuylkiil
Navigation Company. Between 1873
and 1925 the Delaware 4 Hudson Ca
nal compaay was Incorporated, and in
1929 began TO ship coal from Carbon
dale by the canal and the gravity rail-
road.
From this timeSon the trade rapidly
increased canals and gravity roads
were multiplied only to be replaced
by locomotives. One of the first To-
comotives used iii America was the
Stourbridge Lion. imported from Eng
land for use near HoneSdale. Pa. the
rate of development is shown by not
ing the output at the END OF each
twenty years as given in the chrono-
logical tables.
"Run.of-mine" anthracite consists
of lumps of coal of various sizes mixed
with more or less rock and bony coal.
Unlike Luminous coal it cannot te
marketed just as it comes from the
mines. or after very simple screen
ing. Anthracite must be broken. sort
ed to sizes. and have all impurities
picked out. Since economical cohrous-
lion requires the pieces to be OF as
nearly as possipie .,
size. and as there is greatest uen,ai"
for The intermediate sizes OF anthra-
cite. the larger Jumps as they come
from the mines must be broken dovli.
This elaborate preparation greatly IN
| creases the cost to the consumer ooth
ON account of the actual cost of the
| preparation and from the loss inciueh'
| 70 The breaking up of the coal fine
cal will not command as high price as
the intermediate sizes
Anthracite is prepared for market IN
1 a coal breaker. which is a large huiia-
ING USUALLY bnilt of timber. the Goa,
| is broken ~ tocthed rolls and screened
in circular revolving screens OF ~
4 sh,L;no horizontal screens. Inc sidtt