The Minei 13 



the coal, and the graywacke, the slate and the coal are all raised on 

 edge ; the strata are in some places vertical, or curved, or waving, and 

 they are broken in two at the upper part and bent in opposite directions. 



Has subterranean fire produced these extraordinary dislocations ? 

 It would seem to favor this view, that the graywacke has, in some 

 places contiguous to the coal, the appearance of having been baked ; 

 it appears indurated ; it is harsh and dry, and it is inflated with vesi- 

 cles, as if gas, produced and rarefied by heat, was struggling to es- 

 cape. The appearance is, in these respects, very similar to that 

 which was described in Vol. XVII. p. 119 of this Journal, as exhibit- 

 ed in connexion with the trap rocks near Hartford, Connecticut, al- 

 though it is less striking. 



It is obvious that whatever causes have produced the peculiar 

 forms of these mountains and of their attendant strata, have given the 

 same form to those of the coal. Some figures will be annexed, 

 sketched on the spot, by Mr. George Jones, from which the order and 

 form of the strata will be easily understood. 



There are rail roads leading through the mine for the purpose of 

 conveying the coal to the main road, by which it is to pass off to the 

 great rail way leading to the river; and the refuse coal rocks and 

 rubbish are also made to descend in cars, by gravity, to the different 

 points by which such materials are discharged down the side of the 

 mountain. These rail ways are continued over the valleys, and the 

 rubbish being thrown down at the end and on both sides has already 

 formed about a dozen artificial hills, shaped like a very steep roof and 

 terminating almost abruptly in a great descent (hundreds of feet) 

 down the mountain. These cars are guided, each, by one man, who 

 at the proper place steps off, knocks open the end of the car, and 

 thus the load falls.* 



Besides the incombustible rubbish, there is small and inferior coal 

 enough here, to supply the fuel of a great city for many years; the 

 pieces are however too small and too much mixed with stone to be 

 worthy of transportation to a distance, but could they be employed in 

 any local manufacture, such as that of bricks or of lime, they would 

 turn to great account. 



We were pleased to observe that in the village of Mauch Chunk 

 they employ the small coal in burning lime ; it does not choke the 



* In some instances the cars have run off from the end of the rail way, and the 

 men who govern them have been thrown down the mountain, but as they fall among 

 loose rubbish the accidents have not proved fatal. 



