TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1837-39. 181 



enough is already known to warrant the brightest anticipa- 

 tions for the future. 



As it regards mineral fuel, the American continent 

 appears to be peculiarly distinguished. In one or another 

 of its varieties, that material is found in Nova Scotia, in 

 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, 

 Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and 

 Missouri ; on the Yellow Stone river on the eastern, and 

 and the Columbia on the western side of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains ; in the province of Durango in Mexico ; in the Island 

 of Cuba; 'on the lofty Andes of Peru; at the Cerro di 

 Pasco and Huallanca, bordering on perpetual snow ; and 

 near the level of the sea, at the city of Conception, on the 

 coast of Chili. But in the Central arid Western States of 

 this Union the greatest abundance and variety of this fuel 

 has hitherto been discovered. It is hardly more than thirty 

 years since so little was known of the coal of Pennsylvania, 

 that a wealthy and enterprising citizen, who had caused a 

 wagon load of excellent anthracite to be transported from 

 the valley of Wyoming to Philadelphia, at an expense of 

 fifty dollars a ton, and had parceled it out for trial among 

 his' friends, was soon beset by the latter with rebuke and 

 ridicule, for having, as they alleged, attempted to palm 

 upon them a heap of black stones, under pretence of their 

 being coal, while in fact they could no more ignite them 

 than if they had been so much granite. A fortunate occur- 

 rence at length dissipated their incredulity, and saved the 

 credit of theVorth}' citizen ; and the results of that interest 

 which was thus awakened on the subject have led to a 

 knowledge of the mineral resources of that State, far more 

 accurate than had ever previously existed. 



A view of the map of Pennsylvania presents us with 

 nearly the form of a parallelogram, of which the eastern 

 end is replaced by the irregular line traced by the course of 

 the Delaware river. If lines were drawn parallel to the 

 western boundary of the State, running north and south, 

 one mile apart, so as to divide the whole State into strips 

 one mile wide, proceeding eastward and ending with the 

 first of those lines which should strike the Delaware river, 

 every one of those belts would, it is confidently believed, 

 contain some portion of a coal field ; and if these dividing 

 lines were crossed by others a mile apart, running east and 

 west, dividing the State throughout its whole breadth into 

 similar strips, every one of the latter, except perhaps a few 

 on the northern border, would also contain more or less 

 coal ; and we could scarcely draw, over the surface of that 



