186 
erected lor this purpose, as well as a high furnace, in which the 
iron ore found in the neighbourhood is smelted. The coal-mines 
are worked under the direction of the Schuylkill Coal Company, 
which has made the Schuylkill navigable at its own expense, in 
order to transport the coal to Philadelphia and New York. A 
bushel of coal, weighing eighty pounds, is sold at Philadelphia 
for twenty-five cents. The river was made navigable only about 
eighteen months ago, and it is only since this time, that they have 
commenced to dig out coal. 
Pottsville consists of a single street, lying in a somewhat narrow 
vale on the right shore of the Schuylkill, and owes its name to a 
Mr. Pott, who commenced the first iron works. The entrances 
of two coal-mines are seen on the shore opposite the place; there 
are some which, however, are not worked on account of scarcity 
of labourers. I became acquainted in our tavern with a Mr. Baker 
from New York, who is one of the chief men in this undertaking, 
as well as with a Mr. Taylor, editor of the paper called the Miner’s 
Journal, which bears a good character. 
I rode with these two gentlemen to the coal-mines, two miles 
and a half from Pottsville, and not far from Norwegian creek. 
The coal appears almost on the surface of the ground, in which 
a certain dark colour denotes its presence. No one thoroughly 
understands the business of coal-mining, and therefore it has 
hitherto been conducted in a very unsystematic and expensive 
manner. Shafts are made wherever it is thought that coal would 
be found, and when a vein is discovered it is worked. The veins 
run from east to west, and then descend in a southern direction 
at an angle of forty-five degrees; between the veins, slate is com¬ 
monly found about twelve feet thick. Under the lower layer of 
slate, coals have been again discovered by boring, but have not 
yet been farther worked. The shafts are not much above twenty 
feet deep; the coals are brought up in buckets by means of two 
windlasses; at one place machinery worked by a horse is em¬ 
ployed for this purpose. One shaft contains water, which, as the 
pumps are not yet in order, must be drawn out in buckets in a 
very tedious and expensive manner. The coal is of a superior 
quality, burns very well, and contains no sulphur. About fifty 
men work in the mines, each of which on an average receives 
monthly fifteen dollars. Hitherto the society has employed thirty 
vessels to transport the coals to Philadelphia. They are brought 
from the mines in large wagons to the head of the navigation, 
and are weighed before unloading. A profit of a certain amount 
is expected to arise from the working of these mines, which, 
however, will only be properly calculated, when the mines are 
worked more systematically. They design to connect the works 
with the river, which certainly would be a considerable saving, 
