NOBODY WANTED IT. A Hundred Years Ago Anthracite Coal Went Begging. Blnn Who FlrM llrotiKl)t It to I'liil mlellihin \\ n* Ilenomicetf an au ImpoMtor by lll** U iin'nl (tuakerw. < [Special Washington Letter.] Til KKE lias been a great deal said and written about anthracite coal, during the past year, but nobody lias told anything interesting about where it comes from. There lives in Philadelphia a vet eran newspaper correspondent, well known to the writer, who is now about 65 years young; and he has been ail over tlic region lately, with his nose for news and his accurate descriptive methods, lie writes: "Similar to the electric telegraph, the type-setting machine, the graphophone, telephone and all other newly-discovered facts or laws of nature, coal had a hard time 'winning its way' with the people." There is a local author named Wat- Bun, full name not given, from whose writing, of 1557, is quoted the follow ing: "The Mount Carbon coal was known to exist in the neighborhood more than 50 years ago (about bsOO), and some search was made, liut the coal found being so very different from any which was previously i.nown, it was not thought to be of any value, and the search was abandoned." This means that more than 100 years ago people were digging beneath the soil for their fuel, but were not satis fied with the product found. The mountains were covered with bound less forests, and so the average labor er or business man, pointing to the trees, inquired: "Why dig?" "It is supposed to be 107 years," Bays Watson, "since a blacksmith of the name of Whetstone found coal and used it in his sriithshop. At a very early period a Judge Cooper declared his belief of the existence of coal in the district, and Messrs. I'otts ex plored various places along the old Sunbury road, but success did not at tend their operations. A Mr. William Morris afterwards became the pro prietor of most of the coal lands at the head of the canal; he found coal and took some quantity to Philadel phia about the year 1800, but all his efforts to bring it into use failed and lie abandoned the project and sold his lands to their late proprietor, Mr. Potts. "It does not appear that much no tice was taken of the coal from the time of Whetstone, and the search made by Messrs. I'otts, until about 1829, when a person of the name of Peter Hastrus, a blue dyer, in build ing the valley forge, found coal in the tailrace. About the same time a Mr. David Berlin, a blacksmith in that neighborhood. permanently com menced and introduced the use of stone in the smith's forge, and con tinued to use and instruct others in its use many years afterwards. Put old habits again became victorious, and appear to have held undisputed sway until Mr. George Shoemaker, an innkeeper at Pottsville, and Nicholas Allen discovered co»l on a piece of land they had purchased, now called Ccntreville. Allen soon became dis heartened and gave up the concern to Shoemaker, w ho, receiving encourage ment from some gentleman in Phila delphia, got out a quantity of coal and CALLED SHOEMAKER AX IMPOSTOR brought nine wapon loads to Philudcl phia, where again it met with a host of oj>|josil inn. "On two wagon loads Mr. Shoemak er got the carriage paid; the others lie #a\e away to pergonal who would at tempt to use them. The result wan ainst the coal; those who tried them pronounced them stone and not coal, good for nothing, and Shoemaker an impostor. "At length, after a multitude of dis appoint uients, and when Shoemaker wii about to nliandou the eoal and re. turn home, Messrs. Mellon anil I'.ishop of Delaware county, made an f\pcrj Un lit with some of tin- coal in theii rolling mill, and found it to kiiccti-ij beyond expectation, and 10 lieu high ly \alualde and usi ftil fin I. lie re mil of their experiments \vn pub lihhed at the time in all tin' I'hiludel |>hiu paper*. Some experiments u,t| the eoal w« re made in the wnrksut tin fall of Schuylkill, bill without sin I'i'h Mr. \N eritwuy, the manager oi thr I'hoenix work*, at I'reinli I reek nlho made a trial of the eoal, ant found ii eminently useful. I i out thai time forward the use of ihc t'oii ► pi l .id rapid) • , and it lieentu* a mo ; liaiporl.iiit and lalunlile Inuuch ol li <li k 'ilir hutory of the L< I. , h i.wtj company—which appears to have been (he first corporation 1o traflic in the newly-discovered fuel —is a singular exemplification of tb«> wonderful growth and the small beginning of what is now the basis of the chief in dustries of our country, it was orig inated in 1773, on a very small scale, and began Its career by purchasing a tract of land from one Jacob Weiss, on Summit hill, nine miles beyond Maueh Chuuk, where the company made a large open ing. Thedi fliculty and expense of transportation, however, disheartened the stockholders, and the property was permitted to lie idle for some years What are now known as the first and second coal regions weu* then undiscove ed. Coal had only been found on the Summit hill SOME FOREIGN-BORN MINERS. and at the Beaver meadows, but even there they had no occupation of any continuous strata for miles. Indeed, the coal company had offered a bonus of S2OO to anyone who should discov er coal on their lands nearer to the Lehigh than the Summit mine; but there were no claims for discovery. In the meantime, however, coal was used for the forge fires of the black smiths in the neighborhood, and also in some of the bar-rooms in the tav erns along the roadr. not distant. In 1807 the company, for the pur pose of bringing their coal into notice, gave a lease of 21 years of one of their coal veins to Rowland and Rutland, gratis, for the manufacture of iron, from the ore and coal to be dug. It j failed of success. In 1813 the coal company gave a lease of ten years of j their lands to Messrs. Cist and Robin- j son, conditioned that they should take J to market annually 10.000 bushels of 1 coal to their own profit. Five arks I were dispatched. Three of them were ! wrecked in the Lehigh, two reached I Philadelphia and the business was i abandoned. White and Hazard gave ' S2O a ton for that coal for their wire manufactory, and yet it was not enough to meet the costs of mining. That attempt, however, leW to fu ture results of permanent good for in 1817 White and Hazard, from the need of such coal, were induced to visit ihe Lehigh with George Kauts, and there the three contracted with the coal company on a lease for 20 years, on j condition that they should take 40,- 000 tons of coal annually for their own benefit. In 1818 they procured a legislative grant to improve the navigation of the Lehigh—a measure deemed almost chimerical by many. After some time they procured a stock association and went on from year to year expanding and improving—taking, however, but little coal to market until the year 1820—when they got to Philadelphia 365 tons "as the first fruits of the con cern." Little as that was, it com pletely ockcd the market, and was ' sold with difficulty. It increased each subsequent year up to 1824—making it that year a delivery of 0,541 tons. In 1825 it ran up to 28,393 tons, and kept along at nearly that rate Until ] 1832, when it delivered 70,000 tons. I From that time it went on regularly | increasing, until 1839, when it had de livered 221,850 tons. "And now that it has got its momentum," wrote Wat- i son. "who can guess where it will ! end ?" At the time of the hi torian's writ ing no one would have had the audae- ! ity to guess anywhere near the real figures of the anthracite coal produc tion of Pennsylvania at the present day. From the output of a trifle ove. 200,000 tons in 1830 the industry grew until, in 1901, the coal fields of the counties of Carbon, Columbia, I)au- | phin, Lackawanna, Luzerne, North- 1 umberland, Schuylkill and Susquehan- j mi, comprising the Schuylkill. Lehigh and Wyoming regions, made ship ments of anthracite coal amounting to over 45,000,000 tons. For reasons inscrutable and incom- i prchensible toman, the tremendous! furnaces of nature fused the limitless; copper supply and deposited it in' \rizona, where it is grudgingly to-I day yielding to man's demands. For < like unknowable reasons this great in- ] exhaustible anthracite deposit was made and wedged into these uiouii. tains near tidewater. The deeper the diggings, the heavier the blasts, the grcuter the tonnage product, the wid er and more inexhaustible seem tho pn -Utilities of this immensity of fuel. With all of In l»esl appliances man could not expect to di -p<> c of all of the anthracite in a thousand years. The investigator says that this long-de pi>"d fuel which now mown all ol I lie locomotives, train-, ships, engines urn! machinery of a ontinent, pru'. tic al-n coinf'irtable anil luippjr In,me for more than half a million people iii the euiit IK noli region. HMITIt U. Kit*. I Htm Itanurctl Ills \ tiler. A lii lull Idiot at W i aw has In 1 turn! his *oi«v lor >u rubles. CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1902. - THE GOOD DIRT ROAD. It Canuiit lCxixt Win-re Surface au* SubMurfucc Ural Are .Nut Complete. The first and most important es sential for a good dirt road is thor ough drainage. Drainage to be thor ough must not only take off the sur face water but also the sub-surface moisture. To have a dry and solid surface on a dirt road there must be beneath i the surface a subsoil that is not sat urated with water. So matter how well the roadbed be graded up, un less ample provision is made for thoroughly and speedily draining out the subsurface moisture the road will become "muddy" after every heavy rain—if the rains continue such roads become impassable. While open ditches at the sides of the road will carry off the surface j water, they will not drain the road- I bed speedily enough to prevent mud and preclude sponginess, the condi tion so wearying to draft animals and detrimental to heavy hauling. To afVord quick and effective drain age a line of six-inch lile should be laid in the center of the road below the reach of frost. In the level land where the soil is loose and porous such a tile so laid in a graded roadbed would drain a track 40 feet wide. As open "side ditches, constructed so as to give a continuous and unobstructed flow of water, will not only carry off the sur face water but also aid in draining off subsurface moisture, the addition of the six-incli tile as here suggested will speedily and thoroughly drain the roadbed. The distance which such a tile drain can lie run without Outlet will depend upon the lay and character of the land, varying from 30 to 00 rods. In very flat land, where not convenient to obtain frequent out lets, tw/i six-inch tiles may be laid side and side of each other, which will permit a longer distant be tween outlets; but the outlets should ! be sufficiently numerous to rapidly ! drain out all subsurface water, j A roadbed cannot be thoroughly | drained when the side ditches are so I small that the water stands in pools lor sink holes and only escapes by | absorption or evaporation, j Where surface and subsurface ; drainage are complete, good dirt | roads may be had. Where they are not good it is impossible to have [food dirt roads.—Farmers' Voice. EXCELLENT ROOT PIT. Ita Dolbut ( onNlilcm Tt intllftpen iinhie for tlie Sueep**ful \\ in ter) tiof Hoot Cropa. Last winter my beets, turnips and carrots were for the lirst time pre served in a pit; results were wholly sat isfactory. The root did not shrink and grow wilty as thej' will in a cellar that DESIRABLE FORM OF ROOT PIT. Ib too dry and warm. The pit was 2x4xß foot. The roots were thrown in I mixed just as happened, spaces be- J tween the roots being - filled with the sandy subsoil. The sand filling (lows much to preserve firmness and quality, j The heap was covered with three | inches of straw, then a layer of boards, then more straw, and finally with six ito eight inches of soil.—G. 1!. l'iske, iu i Farm and Home. farowlnif Onion* I drier lilnxa. The Farm and Fireside says that ; there is a chance for profitable work in some sections growing the I'ri/.e- ] taker or other Spanish onions under glass, and selling the young plants j I by the hundred or by the thousand ; to those who want them to set out j in the spring, and yet do not want i | to bother with a hotbed or have no ] greenhouses. This method of start--] ing onion plants under glass and I transplanting them seems to grow j more popular each year, as it gets j well-ripened onions into market j much tarlier than when they are grown from the seed, and the Span ish onions seem to be bc-t adapted to that plan where they can hardly j be grown out of doors. | Cure nf Wnacnn lluira, ft pays to have a good bottom in the wagoti lx.* and it al"i pajs to have a hired man who will not throw a chunk ' of rock salt or coal a» lnr>;e u» a cook I stove 112 roiu a cii r iat ii t he m agi u. break- I Ins? a hide in the bottom large rDdiigh to throw a cat through. A man who w 111 do thi, ought to be made to fur »l»h enough coal for one fciu\e all win ter I al* of the opinion that iodii kind <>f -1 • : i i ■« mi the hnlsterk .112 tin- | waK"H would 'tne the bottoms of the bi \i ami I know that It is nrei ».ary I to |t:n eu v < 1 plate > n the t i r where J the In it wheel eta opt in lUTMiif NefltHtlli if (hi* ii. tan- a new buk ki uie : I uisu. !bf Wa« Wot Rnper«tltlo«». During a marriage ceremony at Northeast Harbor, a week ago, the long veil of tHe bride in some unaccountable way became loosened, and fell. A superstitious bride would have been horror-stricken at such an occurrence—perhaps would have fainted, perhaps postponed the event. Not so this Viride. She just stopped the proceedings long enough to readjust the refractory adornment, glanced smilingly at the groom, and then, with a let-the procession-move look toward the minister, resumed her po sition at the altar. The reverend gentleman proceeded, and it was noticed that he pave an extra tug at the nuptial knot.—Kennebec Journal. Southwest Colonial Excursion*. Low one-way and round trip rates to Kan sas, Indian Territory, Oklahoma and Texas, on the Ist and 3d Tuesdays of each month. Write for particulars «nd literature. .lames Barker, Gen'l Pass. Agent, M. K. & T. Ry., 501 Wainwright Bldg., St. Louis. At n llronklyn lloardiiiK Ihime. Mrs. Oldbird (sweetly)— Mr. Choosey, will you pass the butter? Mr. Choosey (emphatically- You bet your life —if it's no better than usual. —Judge. Many of us might be happy if we did not suffer from disorders of the liver. 'Then we ought to use Dr. August Koenig's Hamburg Drops, which cure the disorders and bring the whole system to a healthy condition. "De man dat's alius tryin' to git sumpin' foh nuffin'," said Uncle Eben, "is putty li'ble to wind up by bein' one o'de people dat giu nuftin' foh sumpin'."—Washington Star. Pii-o's Cure for Consumption i - an in/alli ble medicine for coughs and colds. —N. W. Samuel, Ocean Grove. X. J., Feb. 17, 1900. Schoolmaster—"Now, let us have 'Little Drops of Water' again, and do, please, put a little spirit into it." —Glasgow Evening Times. Stop* the f'oiiKh and works off the cold. Laxative Bromo Quinine Tablets. Price 25 cents. Self-trust is tlie essence of heroism.— Emerson. Carpets can be colored on the floor with Putnam Fadeless Dyes. A clean youth makes a clear old age.— Ram's lioru. Tact teaches men when to be silent.— Chicago Daily News. • Right ends are never furthered by wrong agencies.—Ram's Horn. Necessity knows no law; therefore it is the mother of invention.—Judge. • • Some people mistake spectacular effect for success.—Chicago Daily News. Experience with many people is merely the raw material for conversation. —Judge. It is perhaps because art is long that so many artists are short.—Chicago Journal. German Instructor (to usually late stu dent) —"I see you are early of late; you used to be behind before, and now you are first at last." —Harvard Lampoon. e "Dar is two kin's o' friends," said Uncle Eben; "dein dat wants to do you favors and em dat expects you to do favors foh dem. 1 kin tell you in one guess which kin' you has de inos' of." —Washington Star. Putting It Delicately.—"There are just as good fish in the sea as ever were caught," asserted the maiden lady of uncertain age. "But you never eared much for fish, did you?" returned the pert young thing, with delicate significance.—Chicago Post. • Merchant —"Yes. I've lost my entire for tune. Our most trusted employe robbea us of enough to force my company into bankruptcy. Friend—"But you surely saved something from the wreck." Mer chant- —"No. We found the receiver as bad as the thief."—Philadelphia Press. * A One-Sided Contract.—Bilks—"Yes; my wife and I have agreed that whenever I make a mistake I ain to acknowledge the fault at once." Jinks—"But when she is in error, you will call her attention to the fact?" Hilk> "Well, hardly. That would simply be another one for me to acknow ledge."—Detroit Free Press. waooaooaoaaaoaoaQQQaowoa ! ST. JACOBS I a a 1 OIL | | POSITIVELY CURES § Rheumatism Neuralgia Backache Headache 8 Feetache All Bodily Aches § AND 1 CONQUERS P I PAIN. 1 OOOOOOiKOOCKiOtXiOOOOOOOOOOO : For Hums and Scalds 1/se \ LINIMENT K THE BEST LINIMENT MADE FOR. MAN OK BEAST, \ V THERE IS NO TEST LIKE THE TEST OF TIME AND USE ii ■Tn—mm— i ——— milk Sme& " DEAR Mits. PINKHAM :—lt is with thankfulness I write that Lj-dia E. Pink ham's Vegetable Compound has been of the greatest help to me. My work keeps me standing on iny feet all day and the hours are long. Some months ago it didn't seem as though I could stand it. I would get so dreadfully tired and my back ached so I wanted to scream with the pain. When I got home at night I was so worn out I had to go right to bed, and I was terribly blue and downhearted. I was irregu lar and the flow was scanty, and I was pale and had no appetite. I told a girl friend who was taking your medicine how I felt, and she said I ought to take it too. So I got a bottle of Lydia E. Pinkliani's Vege table Compound and commenced to take it. It helped me right otf. AftCr the first few doses menstruation started and was fuller than for some time. It seemed to lift a load off me. My back stopped aching and I felt brighter than I had for months. I took three bottles in all. Now I never have an ache or pain, and I go out after work and have a good time. lam regular and strong and am thankful to you for the change. "I recommend Lydia E. Pinkliani's Vegetable Compound when ever I hear of a girl suffering, for I know how hard it is to work when, you feel so sick." Miss MAMIE KEIRNS, 553 9th Ave., New York City. Women should not fail to profit by the experiences of these women; just as surely as they were cured of the troubles enu merated In their letters, just so certainly will Lydia E. Pinkliani's Vegetable Compound cure others who suffer from womb trou bles, inflammation of the ovaries, kidney troubles, irregular and painful menstruation, nervous excitability, and nervous prostra tion; remember that it is Lydia E. Pinkliani's Vegetable Com pound that is curing women, and don't allow any druggist to sell you anything else in its place. Miss Amanda T. Pctterson, Box 131, Atrwater, Minn., says: f"DEAIT MRS. PINKIIAM. — I hope that you 11 publish this testimonial so that it may ach others and let them know about your underfill medicine. " Before taking Lydia E. Pinkliani's egetablc Compound I was troubled with e worst kind of fainting spells. The blood. ;mld rush to my head, was very nervous and ways felt tired, had dark circles around eyes. "I have now taken several bottles of Lydia E. Pinkliani's Vegetable Com pound and am entirely cured. I had taken doctor's medicine for many years but it did mo no good. " Please accept my thanks for this most excellent medicine which is able to restore • i i health to suffering women." No other female medicine in the world lias received such widespread and unqualified endorsement. No other medicine has sucli a record of cures of female troubles. Those women who refuse to accept anything else are re warded a hundred thousand times, for they get what they want a t >urc. Sold by Druggists everywhere. Refuse all substitutes. A|> Ann FORFEIT if we cannot forthwith produce the original lotters and signatures ot \HIII 111 above testimonials, which will prove their absolute Kemiineness. OJwWU Lydia K. I'inkhuiu Medicine Co., Lynn, Mais. WESTERN CANADA The Vast Areas of This Remarkable Agricultural Country ■PMMfnHMgyjgMPn Are attiactiug more attention I than any other District in the I World. ••The Wrunary of the Worlil." ••The l.uml of ?"k K li'lS'O OrwnidV'for NT(H K. Area under Crop rwi-tfl in luose I,IMU.U;H» A( KKN. VII I.I) 1 »0« 1 17,1»y<,?.'»l lliißhela. Abundance of Water, Fuel, Plentiful. Cheap Building Material, Good Grass for pasture* and Ilay, a fertile soli, a suf flcient rainfall.and a climategiving an nssured and adequate season of growth. Homestead Lund.Hof WO Acres Free. Close to Churches. Schools, etc. Hallways tap all settled districts. Send for Atlas and other literal ore to Super tut c intent of 1111 mi gration, Ottuwu* < Ituadu, or JosL'l'll VoiMi, .d'ii State Street. Kast Columbus. Ohio; 11. M. WILLIAMS, lit) Law jiidg.. Toledo, Ohio; Canadian (iovernnient Agents w ho will supply you with cer tificate Hiving you reduced railway rates, etc. FREE TO WOMEN RrXffTa To prove the healing and 11 Bkl cleansing power of I'axtinc Tullct .% nllfcc |>tl<- we will ÜbUH mail a largo trial package W with book of instructions ! absolutely I'ree. This is II /jjfc*Srw> not ti tiny sample, but a large ® Jmr enough to convince Jl anyone of its value. Women Mi all over the country are S 1 praising l*axtine for what it , has done in local treat ' ment of female 111%, cur ing all inflammation and discharges, wonderful as a cleansing vaginal douche, for sore throat, nasal catarrh, as a mouth wash, and to remove tartar and whiten the teeth. Send to-day; a postal card will do. Hold l» v tlniirulniiui' aenl pnntpiild t»y u«. > r >D eeulu, larife lioi. Sutl»f u< ilun giiita-ituteed. 'J'HK IC. I'A X I ON Ml., SOI < olumhua A*., It oft to it, Mumm. OS Via Dubuque, Waterloo and Albert Lea. Fast Vestibule Night train with through Sleeping Car, IJuffet-Library Car and Free Recliuing Chair Car. Dining Car Service en route. Tickets of agents of I. C. K. K. and connecting lines. J A. H. HANSON, 0. P. A.. CHICAGO. ( BLAIR'S DIGESTIVE TABLETS Cure Indiwfction, flatulence. heartburn, nr. llr mail on receipt ».r In «tatmi». lIKNUT C. lil.AllC, totli and Walnut Mrects, riiiliidclphia. c| liett Ctmgh Hyrupk Ta*te» (Jood. I'w A. N. K. C 194H DROPSY Hook • 112 dniiixl IO l».i \ •' i -• IrfC, nr. 11. 11. faUUKVb hOM», ilui Ui. 7
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers