198 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



strongly and drowned out the work. And besides, the 

 ore having to be blasted, at the beginning of the war 

 powder was too dear and work-people scarce ; and so 

 they were compelled to give over this mine, but will 

 now take it up again. 



A reddish fine-grained sand-stone which stands the 

 fire excellently is brought to the high-furnace from 

 beyond the Schuylkill, and is called merely Schuylkill 

 stone. Formerly they tried at a loss the wacke found 

 on the nearest hills ; this split and burst in the fire. 

 The cost of setting up the interior of the furnace, in- 

 cluding the expence of breaking and hauling the stone, 

 amounts always to about 100 Pd. Pensylv. Current ; 

 but the furnace often bears two smeltings. Some 

 10,000 acres of forest are attached to this high-furnace. 

 The oaks on these dry hills are small, to be sure, but 

 there are among them many chesnuts which make the 

 best coals. The furnace consumes 840 bushels of coals 

 in 24 hours, for which 21-22 cords of wood are neces- 

 sary. It is estimated that 400 bushels of coals are used 

 in getting out one ton of bar-iron. A turn of coals, 

 about 100 bushels, costs about 20 shillings, Pensylv. 

 Current. (The guinea at 35 shillings.) Wages for 

 wood-cutting are two shillings three pence the cord. 

 A man chops two and a half to four cords a day, and 

 so can earn 6-g shillings. At present only six men 

 work at the mine ; but they supply more than the 

 furnace can consume. If the work was uninterrupted 

 there could be turned out yearly between 2-300 tons 

 of iron. A hundredweight of the ore worked at this 

 time yields 75 pounds of cold iron. A miner receives 

 40 shillings a month and rations. The furnace men, 

 founders and hammer men, are paid by the ton. For a 



