242 



The Coal Measures. 



This series occurs on the north-eastern shore of the county ; from 

 Ballycastle to Murlogh Bay it is somewhat above four miles long, and 

 its average breadth from the shore southward is a mile and a half. It 

 contains about 4300 acres. 



The different groups of the coal measures of this district are vari- 

 able, and unlike each other in different places. The same may be con- 

 veniently divided into three subdivisions. The first lies along the sea 

 shore from Bally castle to Carrickmore dyke ; the second from Carrick- 

 more dyke, by Fair Head, to Murlogh Bay ; the third the southern 

 border of the district, in the vicinity of Carey river. 



At Ballycastle the coal measures are best seen in the magnificent 

 cliff, which stretches from near the town at Bath Lodge, eastward, 

 along the shore to Carrickmore dyke, about two miles. 



This cliff ranges from 200 to 300 feet high, and exposes a fine 

 section of the Coal rocks, the whole way, about three-fourths of the 

 volume of which is white or yellowish sandstone. The cliff along the 

 shore is divided into parts by whin dykes, or sometimes clay dykes, 

 which, as a general rule, have a direction to the north, and cut the sand- 

 stone rocks vertically, separating the cliff into blocks, each of which is 

 heaved up, or thrown down from the adjacent blocks, at the dyke or 

 joint. All the beds have a general dip south-east, varying from 5° to 

 10° and sometimes more; and the outcrops of 200 to 300 feet thick of 

 them are visible, and among the rest the Coal, a bed four feet thick 

 here, accompanied by about twenty feet thick of black shale and other 

 soft rocks which underlie it. This black band appears as a conspicu- 

 ous object in the cliff, in some of the divisions high up near the top, in 

 some towards the middle, and in some low down. The blocks or 

 divisions made by the dykes are each a separate colliery, the mode of 

 working in which was regulated by the height of the out crop of the 

 coal in the cliff, for when the coal was high up, the usual way was to 

 sink pits at the top, a little inland, which soon came upon the desired 

 treasure. "When the coal was low down, levels or adits were driven 

 horizontally into the face of the cliff, a little above high- water, by which 

 the coal was soonest reached. In this manner, where the out crop of 

 the coal was high or low, pits above or levels below were the main 

 features of the principle by which the working of the several collieries 

 was regulated. 



Writing in 1784, Dr. Bobinson says, " about twelve years ago 

 (1772) the workmen, in pushing forward a new adit towards the coal, 

 unexpectedly broke through the rock into a cavern. The hole which 

 they opened was not very large, and two young lads were made to 

 creep in, with candles, to explore this new region. They accordingly 

 went forward, and entered an extensive labyrinth branching off into 

 numerous apartments, in the mazes and windings of which they were 

 at last completely lost. After various vain attempts to return, their 

 lights were extinguished, and they sat down together in utter despair 



