Grave Creek. — Bituminous Coal.— Wheeling. 3 



Grave CreeJc. — At 11, A.M., we passed the mouth of Grave 

 Creek, a beautiful stream, emptying into the Ohio on the left 

 bank, ten miles below Wheeling. It rises in the high lands be- 

 tween the Monongahela and Ohio, near the great coal deposits 

 found in that region. The name is derived from the great mound, 

 which stands on the second or higher alluvions, not far from the 

 creek. It is said to be nearly seventy feet high, with a proportion- 

 ate base ; and is the largest known on the banks of the Ohio. Sev- 

 eral curious copper relics have been taken from its sides, but noth- 

 ing has yet been discovered which points to the period or the char- 

 acter of its ancient founders. The bottoms at this spot are very 

 wide and rich, and early attracted the notice of the first settlers. 



Bituminous Coal. — The coal in this vicinity is very abundant 

 and fine. Four miles below, or at the mouth of Pipe Creek, the 

 main coal deposit, nearly six feet in thickness, which atWheehngis 

 ninety feet above the bed of the Ohio, dips beneath its surface ; and 

 is seen no more in any considerable deposit, until it appears at 

 Carr's Run, sixteen miles above the mouth of the Big Kenawha^ at 

 what is now called " Pomeroy's Coal Beds." 



Wheeling. — The boat landed at Wheeling at noon. This town 

 is built on elevated ground, in a commanding situation, the land 

 back of it rising abruptly in a bold ridge to the height of one 

 hundred and eighty feet. A large and beautiful island in the Ohio, 

 opposite to the town, adds much to the interest of the scenery as 

 you approach it by water. It is a flourishing commercial, manu- 

 facturing place, with a population of about eight thousand. The 

 leading citizens are noted for their enterprize and activity in busi- 

 ness, having doubtless inherited this characteristic from its first in- 

 habitants, who were amongst the most hardy, brave and active pio- 

 neers of the west. 



Indian Attacks on Wheeling. — The spot of ground where Wheel- 

 ing now stands was explored in the year 1769, by Col. Ebenezer 

 Zane, and his brothers Silas and Jonathan Zane, and permanently 

 settled the following year. They removed here from the " south 

 branch of the Potomac," near to where the town of Morefield now 

 stands. The ancestors of the Zane family came over with William 

 Penn, at the first settlement of Philadelphia. Col. Zane built his 

 first house on an eminence opposite to the island, which spot is now 

 near the center of the town, and is still owned by his descendants. 

 The Swearingens, Shepherds, McCullocks, and John Wetzel, the 



