Seward weekly gateway., 1906-01-06
1FRFST GROWING
 lN MATANUSKA COAL
orts Reach Outside which sring Indiana Expert to Ex.
 anime the Field

Q of the most important industries Onthern Alaska in the near future
 he coal mining on the veins which
 been found to exist so extensively c the MAtanuskA river and to con- , indefinitely into the hills beyond.
 ,ytent of these coal veins is still prtain but they are known to be
 large, and so far as tested, of ts, grade.
 ra'yseS of the Matauuska coal by pmment geologistS show a per
 qr, of fixed carbon of 69.34. Only
 s,f, coal in the United States has
 rherpercentage. Thatis produced
 small district of West Virginia
 rms slightly over 70. When coal ,a.us more than so per cent. of fixed hon r, is classified as anthracite, so ,ts Natanuska coal may readily be .,.r ,a he of extraordinary quality.
 rrr f-rres on coal analyses made by .,v errmert geologiSts of specimens of sf S,g,rerr Alaska coalS, in which the p,rrare of fixed carbon in the Mat
 ,a coal is given at 6g.34, may be
 in one of the reports of the 4Sa geological survey issued by the
 srr department in 1904.
 chapter on "Coal Resources of ssaf western Alaska" was written by Ralblr N. Stone, member of one of ths .., under the direction of Alr I. Brooks. The report in ons oa is bulletin No. 259. It de- .eb the coal as follows:
 h. coal ranges apparently from .'rnitc to birwminous. It is brgu, 5.ack .u color, has couchuiGal fracture. .uti, friable and will not stand severe ,an0ltng. It burns well in am open ire. and Jamme says that he made eN- client coke in 8 miniature oven. A mall specimen in the writer's posses aon is granular, having a crushed .ppe earance, and crumbles easily.'
 Although only experimental develop ns work has been done SD far on the laau,aa veins the fame of the coal
 reached back to the coal regions
 be states and much inquiry has
 male concerning it. In Seward 4the present time k a coal expert, |W. Walker of Terre Haute, lndi- Ma. Nau represents a railroad and bal syndicate which controls large Al mines iu Eastern Illinois and
 sa Indiana, having it's genera, e 1 Chicago.
 M. Walker was sent here Co iuves- '.ga the coal of the Naauu>Na, and T any other locality in Southern Alaska which might seem to Toe worth lttentiou from a h.. syndicate. A- hough he has mot y.. seen .ae Ng,au- lska coal he auum- cha. .... reports Oade concerning lGwa .u. |. .- uu. 't tthC best soft eao.- in taa wom.. E. sp .- ru.. mos. O. ..e -... eaa.- O. 1dhra u. U.a1., average only .t6at -.... ..r. m .y.H carbon. som. !. iii -.. ... -... a .... less. le ..-a .r.. |, therefore nr ,se . u.. ..0... H.w. O. .u.
 .... are. .n.. N..u.. comes.
 .rg. number 0. m.u wo now
 ing upon development O. rMa cu.
 at CUcEa.o.l creek. a branch O..
 Narauu,ka, uIy-Gye mile, from 6n .m The Alaska Ceaua. will
 . .anch up Co the coal ae.d, a.,
 a- |. caches the head oE Eulk
 " which point the branch
 h ... west side of Eenai peninsula
 ..r IOcaIitte, along Cook In- c.. inning on a small scale has
 t. progress for several years and
 .a.u., has always found a local
 ... The coal is no, Of as good a
 y a, that of the l.aranu,Aa but
 . fair heating and ,teomiug coal
 ~a.dovia last summer I25 coal
 were located by a party ot s llr men, who promise Co develop