256 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, 



MINING VILLAGE IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



area is contained the richest, and indeed almost the 

 only bed of anthracite coal in the world. " In the 

 beautiful valley of the Wyoming, in the wild and deso- 

 late regions of the Schuylkill and the Lehigh, strewn 

 in great basins, or sometimes 'upheaved to the tops of 

 the mountains, the rich stores of coal have been con- 

 centrated by nature in an unequalled profusion. The 

 supply is at present boundless. Many beds reach to 

 an unknown depth. Some have as yet been only par- 

 tially explored ; and notwithstanding the extraordinary 

 waste practised in getting out the coal, there seems 

 enough to satisfy for generations the wants of the 

 nation." 



Upon this small, but immensely valuable region, the 

 people of the Eastern States are dependent for their 

 supply of fuel. The product of the mines can find its 

 way to market only by the railroads which lead from 



