Jollier.] COAL OF CAPE LISBURNE REGION. 185 
Ave re mined and sold at Nome for from $18 to $25 a ton in competition 
|vith Washington and British Columbia coals. The coal obtained has 
Inot given satisfaction as compared with coals from Washington and 
British Columbia. While it produces steam rapidly it is not lasting 
Ind leaves too large a percentage of clinker and ash. These defects are 
perhaps partially remediable by better mining methods. A limited 
kmount of coal from Corwin Bluff, if its delivery could be relied on, 
Ivould find read}^ sale to whalemen and vessels of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service at not less than $10 a ton delivered on the beach. At the 
^resent time these coals can not compete at Nome with the outside 
joals, but in the mining camps of the northern portion of Seward 
Peninsula outside coal rarety sells for less than $30 a ton, and probably 
ibout 1,000 tons of this coal could be easily disposed of each year. 
Should future development of Alaska or of the commercial activities 
)f the world create such a demand for coal of this character as to 
ustify the building* of a railroad to the region the supply of coal will 
probably be found sufficient for many years' demands. 
The Paleozoic coals are also undeveloped. They occur in limited 
ireas and the beds are very much crumpled and broken, so that mining 
vill be difficult and expensive. The largest beds seen are less than 5 
! eet thick. On the other hand the coal, a semibituminous of good 
quality, will compare favorably as a heat producer with any coal used 
>n the Pacific coast, and will probably be suitable for man}^ such 
special purposes as blacksmithing and metallurgy. The anchorage 
for vessels near these deposits is protected from northeast gales and 
partially protected from south winds also, so that the coal can be more 
Easily lightered than that at the Corwin bluffs. Marryat Inlet, which 
could be reached by a short railroad from the coal fields, affords a good 
harbor for schooners drawing not over 10 feet, where permanent docks 
and coal bunkers can be easily maintained. 
