Newspapers / The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, … / Oct. 7, 1897, edition 1 / Page 1
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(She l)ntl)um ftccork ! :- t f ,rt MS II. A. LONDON, EDITOR AND PROPB'-ETOR. rERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION, $1.50 FIR YEAR Strictly in Advance. fiOYAL RANGER RALPH: The Waif of the Western Prairies, DY WELD0N J. COBB. t IIII'I KU IV. T1IK IMMISI'IT. On and on with tho rpnod of tlin wind dashed tin1 twu horses, bearing In flight to safely the intrepid Darrel firpy and the courageous and lovely Inez Trappy. licfnri! them, milii after mile, spread t ho broad, lovel prnlrlo, in places like an emerald carpet elott"d with spangles oT llowors of the rarest hue and beauty, nml airain grown M-h with rank, heavy grass 'J'h ! horses they idle were raiid trav elers, and within an hour, as they glanced tin'.'. ward, they saw no sign of their pursuers. "Your mi inics have either abmi killed the chase, or the long grass hides them," remarket l:irrel, as he rIIowimI the horses to pi fn'ee I morn s'owly and planced over the fair mconlit picture ( spread li roi'i; iliein, and then at the girl a! his side. Darn I l irey hail led an adventurous life and had seen many fair women in many climes hut. lie confessed, as he taed a i. the lovely cieainro who was his ci inpiii'ou hi flight, nono so beautl fill as Ine ; i'l arey. I'eiha; s it was the novelty and Oxclte ineiit i,r the r sitiiaiioir. perhaps it wa h. 'i aiise two earnest, ingenuous spirits had met and recognize I a magnetic con geniality in youth and Ipauty; hut at all events as their ejoc met, love became tniitna! though unexpressed Ine. Traeey found an Interested lis tener in Psi'Ti'l tiley, when she 1 rietlv n lated lie:' past and the events that had culminated i:i 1 1 1 ndveiiiure of the l:i;:h'. In ret inn, pnrrd told her win he was a surveyor sent West on business. Ho had I nine fasi inat -d with a wl'd Western life, nml had for some years I a emailed in th: law and mining business in California. lie was si limit to return Kat In a few Week , it ud unite by aeelilnut had come to tie- Hull, station at. Ten Spot, crossing t hit lier in a sia'-'e eoai h from a mining s-cttVin -lit Incut d in the mountains that day. Marred briefly related the eplsnd of the wound 'd messenger, and mo lestly e fenvil to Ills P'lvent'll'e at th i trestle. 'I'll deep hi ye of Inn Traeey looked iiiln his own, as she listened br aihlessly to his -t iry of th ' attempt ed s:gual l.i the train. "We have heen pro ee'dinu aimlessly, thinking oulv of leading our foes." said I'arri'l. linally. "I am, in a measure, imac inainte I in this locality except at t!ie in in i n it camps in tiie hills." '1 wished tu reach Miner's (iuleli, if possible." said Inez, ' but I urn at a loss to 'm ale it." "Then Mill h ive been here before'.'' ad.ed I in I id. "Yes: I cniiie to see my father about live M ars nun. Since then I have b eu ntschoi! in l a ifnriii:i, which I left hist we-ek when I re eivid a letter directing m to i-mim liei e, and thit u friend of in v deal tath r would meet an 1 care fi r no " . 'And this man whom you call Despard lie is a re a'ive, you .say?" iminirol 1 :i it. I, i nrii tislv. "A m rv ili-i int one of inv father, who le ver lit;, il I iin and warned u o a jninst him l.a-t summer h" met m" at a s iiniiier ii soi i, whither o ir tea hers ha I ta'.cn us for a vvi ck's vaoailo i. 1 hail tin' I b in at my lather's ranch, be youd Miner's (iulch, and I never liked iiim. He iihiuiyel niu with his att. n i mis, and !e l in veiy anitry when I ir.oi el li in, and told him finally tl.a. I i. i I O il vvi-li to i on i in n tlm acquaint ance, fur 1 reieiv d a letter from my father warning m aata list him, and teliiiig tn tli ,t Hyke l'espard was lot tiug again;! him and iiiy-elf. and thit he was a rei ernde and an outla v. An I sine,, num.'" asked Parrel. '1 haw newt- m 't him until to-night, when you heard w hat he said, and know that hn must have some ileep object in pr veiitiuu' my going to tho (iulch." ''Ih. mi he will hr disappointed for once. Misi Traeey. "said llarrcl; "for wo can liinl the p'ai'n by iieu iiing. Oh, It just oeeiirred to UK-: You Hay you e-pc-ted a Irleiel to meet you at tho llepotV "Ye.-; an o'd friend of my father; a man who has been known in this region for years as a .-emit. His name is Hanger Kalph. " "I have heard of hi in. P" yon know 1 1 i in - that is, w ell enough to recognize him from description?" "I base not. -eon him sinci I was n (hild. I do not think 1 would. Why do you HsU','" "Itociiuso I have an idea that thesn lmr-i s belong to him. and that hn Is the man who lo'd me first of thn train wreckers. If this is so, the hor-os prob nl ly caiiu) from Miner's (iulch, and wo will allow them to proceed their own way. They may lead us to the very place to which you desire to go." Parrel loosened the rudely improvised bridle and allowed thn steeds to tako the'r own course. They now began to leave the prairie and linally entered a canyon, fol owing tho course of a littln St I 'M in "There S"ems to hn a regular trail here." said Parrel. "1 believe we are on tho right mad at last, Miss Traeoy." " mi are taking a great deal of trou ble forme." murmured Inez, Br.itef u 1 1 y . . "Wiiail in running away from the outlaw mysdf to a place of safety?" laughed I urrel, hanterliiglv. "No. no; we were partners in peril at the railroad train, iiii'l but for von I might havo re mained and l ecii killed As it Is, as homi as 1 have placed you out of danger, I will return and learn the fate of thoso who were attacked by tho train wrecker-. " As they rode on, however, Parrel wished that such charming companion ship riiuld la-t always. The daw n had come while they wero riding through the ranyon. It was scarcely distinguishable from thn moon light us yet, but Fooii they knew tho full day would break, enabling tbem more accurately t determine tholr where uliouts. Thai the horses were leading them di rect to Miners' (iulch Parrel did not d mbt; but a new discover) soon caused the faithful annuals to como under tho guidance of I arrel again. For at a point where thn canyon divided into several loin' r branches, the girl startled Inui wi'h a low crv ol a'arm. VOL. XX.1 lTlTSliOIiO, CHATHAM "What Is It?" asked Darrel quickly. Look!" He ropoated her own ejaculation of concern, as the advancing daylight show ed an obstacle to their onward progress down tho main canyon. Coming rapidly toward Ihm from the direction In which they were going wero four horsemen. Thoy wero some distance away, bni as Inez shuddered and paled, her escort knew that, like himself, she had rccog iil.ed the leader of the quartette. "It Is Despard and h's men!" she gasi cd, In tones of horror and alarm. "I fear so, Mis?. Tia oy. " "And they are coming straight toward us. On, what shall wo do!" Darrel tirey had taken a revolver from his belt and a determined look came into his face. 'Drive tho horses aroiinl th" rocks yondi r so you will be .sheltered, " lie said, ns ho prepared t dismount. A trembling hand detained his own. "No, not Mr tirey, you must. not. meet, these men, they are armed and desper ate, and four to one " "I seo no way except to meet and repel thnm." Klld Parr. I. stanchly; "lln s' men have not come across us again by accident. " "Jiy design ."' "Kvidenlly. They know !h country and knew we would probably porno this way, and have intercepted us by rea -h-ing the canyon hero in advance of ns." "Are wo discover, d?" "'lliry cannot but have seen us. Miss Traeey, I beg or you to obey me, and leave mo here alone." "Hut your peril for my sake!'' "I will not invite any uiineces-iiry risk. I?ide as rapidly as vou can down one of the side canyons, an I do not. wait fur mo nor delay on my account. I will cover your escape ami, once satisfied you are out of danger of reeai t ire. will rejoin you unless you reach the gulch before 1 do so. " Parrel cut loose the connecting strip of lasso as he s u!;o. Inez cast, an ansious, longing glance at her brave pjoleclor. "Heaven g'ant. you may not, be forced to meet Despard and his men'." she brei'thed fervcntlv. "I'lyl" spoke Pane!, ei itedly. lie could see that tin; horsemen down the canyon were winding in and out the rocks as rapidly as they could, and would soon I', a -h the spot where he was. Parrel dismminle I and led the horse toward tic shelter of a small c limp of high, thick bushes Then he hi I self sele le i a place of espionage and defens behind sour' rocks. The four i iileis came into v iew as he cast a quick glance down the canyon whoip Inez had gone. To his surprise he could observe no trace of her. "She iiiu-t have reached sua e divulg ing gulch and have pursued a new oiir.-e," .e decided. "At all events, she Is not in sight for the bandits to (lis cover " Parrel ie o ved to force no encounter with the latter unless necessity demand ed It; for his single revolver would bo a po.'r match for the full act oiitennenls of his enemies The hoofs of horses rang out sharply on the ch ar morning air. and tho quar tette roundel the las' of tho rinks which had t -lit i orardy shut out a view of the person' th -ought "Nowhere in sight l'espard." spoke one i f the men, "We certain y saw them here," re market Paiiton. "Chen they have taken th side can yons, " spo'.o Despard. I aiiton laughed triumphantly. "They ure our game if they have" lie said " hy s .?" asked mn of tho men. "Itocause every last one of them ends in a blank wall." Darrel tin y, from his place of con cealment, .started violently. "What shall we do. Captain'." (is, d one of the men of Despard "Divide. Here are f. nr of tin-so side canyons Down one of Iliein our peo ple have certainly gone." "Tiny are nowhere In sight." " They could have gone now here else I,pt each man follow one of these side branches, and signal when he discover., them. " "They will bo found, inner fear," said Panton. "They thought to escape, bu:, they are in a trap this time. Hold on, Viiih.0 " Th man he had addressed had starle 1 his horse toward the side canyon down which Inez had ili-appcared a few uhi incuts before. "Win, what's the matter?" "You needn't sear h that pass." "Not si ar. h it'." "No " "Why not?' "It would be no use and dangerous t i yourself. Thai is ijulcksaml (iully. " "I never heard of it before.'1 said Vance. "That's because you don't know the country as I do Thn man who rides into ilie shifting sands at the end ol that, gul y never comes out again." ; The heart of the horrified watcher be hind the rocks stood still. An iippal'ed sense of peril overwhelmed the startled Darrel drey. "ijuicksaiid (iully! (ireat heavens!" he gasped wildly. "Can this he true? The quicksands! Is that Hie meaning of the sudden disappearance of Inez Trace)".'" CHAI'll'.lt V. Till'. V' ll KSAMIS. "Help!" The cry rang out wild and alarmed, hut It met no responsive echo from (he gloomy depths of Quicksand dully. It emanated from the lifsof Inez Tra ppy, and announced precisely the eril to which' Danton had alluded -the quick sands! When Inez had left Darrel (irey she started down the side canyon, satislied that to delay or disobey hr brave pro tector would h i only to enhance her own peril and t obstruct, his movemenls against '.heir euomles. "When he sees I am at n safe distance ho will fol ow me, an I a eonllict with Despard and bis men may be avoided, ' murmured Ine?. hopefully. The horse she rode made rapid prog ress, but. when she came to a point where the read bed of the. gully nar rowed and descended, the animal seemed loath to pro.'eed It. was with dilticulty that she induced the steed to pr. ecd, and. when he did hi, she noticed that h!s footing was in secure and that there seemed no outlet beyond .the narrow cot she had en tered. A little stream seemed to loso its way by a sinuous course around a sharp curve in lu-r path, and, hopeful that beyond that the canyon might widen again, Inez urged the horse over a sandy stretc nif soil. Above her the ledges of rocks frowned down ominously, and she felt a vague M-nse of uneasiness, as once or twlco th h"i'sn came to a dead Mop and Wglied and tremb'ed with a stranjii' terror she could not comprehend. j ji last, no iuru ie-i raiiK o.-cj, o, in.-' sand; ho made a desperate effort t i liffc his hoofs, nud then, stumbling, came io' n second stop, panting with fright and inability to pioeerd. "This is strange," murmured It.ez, 'concernedly. "The horso must Lo Ci lia listed with the long drive." Her face hei-auio white as nrirhlelhu next moment, however. She had ma hi a sudden discovery, so startling and ap palling that a low cry of dread es aped In r lips. "The horse Is sinking." Merciful heavens! I aiiderst ui I now!'' she gas ej. "We are in the quicksands!" For a single moment the thought paralyzed eveiy energy, she saw tin Jmr-e flounder and try to fie him -e f vainly, she lelt. the slut t mg sa ids use , her own feet, and then slio made a des perate effort at escape. A blank despair settled down over her mind lis she did si. I'.ehind and on all 'sides of her the dawning nay showed plain')' the full extent of h rawfiil peril. A sii'l.eaiii'f dread possessed her, and her ees i los. il iii prayer us they fell 'upon the changing mass of sand, to step upon which meant to ensnare herself more deeply in its grasp. "Ilelpl" one single cry for aid. one last prayer to heaven, and Inez Traeey re.-igned herself to a late that seemed Inevitable. Meanwhile, in the main canyon, Des pard and his men were searching every mini and comer in the branch gullies for the missing girl and In r companion. The latter. Parrel (irey, knew but on ) .impulse as ho reca h d th" terrible, words iof ance. Inez Traiev had rode on to peril, per haps to deatli itself, and lie know that 'every moment of delay might, ho fatal to the devoted life of tho Klrl he was fast 'learning to love. lie Kiiiid not. secure tho horso ami h ave Hie spot unpereeived, however, for Pcspar.l and his men wrn in th" vi cinity. Tuere was only one way to gain tho s'tle gully, down which Inez Traeey hud di-appear. d. Tins wa s to crawl along the ground, and, rea bin': tin: dense uudergi owl li which abounded ill the place, reach the e lire of the roadway, ascend thn deep side oT t lie canyon which was not high at this p unt, and drop down on tho other side. This Parrel started to do at once, and sue eded so far that live minutes laf r, with some few bruises, he dropped ini.) (,'u:c!;saud (iully. His gait was a lapid one as he sped down the gully, taking the same cour.-o follow ed by Inez a few moments pro ve. usly. A cry of mingle 1 hope and suspense bro.e from his lips us In- turned a point in the gully which cuah'cd n view of the str. am. Across the trcachToiis sandy bottom of tic gu ly he saw the missn.g girl. The bor e had sunk de-p into th" -hitii'U sands, and held the animal and its rider secure prisoners "Inez! Miss Traeey.'' cried Parrel, in agi'ale I t ines A ula l cry broke from the lips of the imperiled girl. Parrel comprehended the situation at ;i glance, lie knew that to rush towards lu r over the sands would only be to in volve himself in similar peril. He therefore begun to climb the ledge of rocks by the side of the p ace, eag ily scanning the ground as he ilid so 'I hen, with his hunting knife, he cut a long length of heavy trailing vine. Do licit despair," he cried down to In--, as he leaned over the edge of the rocks "I am about to lower a vine to vou, seize it. and hold liriulv" to it." The girl grasped the extended means of escape a minute later. W i tit prodig ious streiigih. nerved by love and cour age, Parrel divy pulled at, the other e d He thrilled with wi'd delight as lie ob served that the effort freed Inez from th" encroaching saud. She clulched at the shrubs on the rocky wall as sh, gan to ascend. "Tli'ink heaven, you are safe!'' If was a wild, eratuful aspiration that es aped Parrel's lips as he lilted Inez over Hie lo Ign. and lelt her toft, clinging touch, and saw the light of love and devotion in her grateful eyes The horse, relieved of the weight, of its rider, made one last effort t i free himself, floundered and turned. Then with a wild neigh of delight at escape the steed . da-hed down the canyi n rea l in t Liu eireclioii whence it had come TO UK ( ONTINITII I'oolistinuMH tiT Sli"ri "No anii aal Hint walks on four leg' is ns li.'i; a fool as a sheep," ways n sheep-riuspr. "Wo hive to watch them every minute, and if vigilance is re'axed for an instant tho entire llock is likely t, practically c.nnmit stiicido. In liiiuiUing most animals some degree of self -help or iutcllihonco can bo re lied on to ai l the owner in saving their lives, 1e.it nheo set deliberately to work to kill themselves. If caught in ,a storm on tho jilains they will drift 'before tho wind anil die of cold and exposure rather than move Kill yards to wiiiilwaid to obtain shelter in their corral. To drive sheep against the wind is absolutely impossible. I oueo 'lod over 1,0110 head becauso I could not drive them to a corral not mill feet away. In the corral they are Mill 'iiiMie foolish. If a storm comes ii they all inovo 'down wind' until Mopped liy the fence. Then begins Hue proceeding to much dreaded b.v sheepmen, known as ' piling.' The ihcep will climb over each other's backs until they are heaped up ton ,feet high. Of course all those nt tin; bottom aro smothered. Not ono has sense enough to seek shelter under the leo of tho fence, as a horso or a dog would do. Again, if a sheep gets intc a quicksand its futo teaches nothing to those that come immediately after, but the wholo (look will follow its leader to distraction. No more exasperatingly stupid brute than a t-heep walks," A'tur York Triliune. Wiikx the time pomes for lis to wake out of the dreams of the world's sleep, why Jiould it tie otherw ise than out ol dreams of the night? Singing of birds, tirst broken nud low, as not to 'dying eyes," but to eyes tujt wake to life, "the casement slowly urows a glimmer ing square," and then the gray, and then the rose of dawn; and last the light, whose going f ji th Is to bo the ends ol the heaven Hnhhi. The difference between an ordinary balloon and a "Hying machine" is that the former d 'es ascend ami the latter tloes not. COUNTY, N. C TJI I'RSDAY, 0(T( )VA 7, 1KH7 9 MINING OUR & BLACK -iA- ( ' r t' -.,' v-' S- .. 0v. w --.. I have .111?', Fjicnt a few days nt the Tinted States geological survey in Washington, writes Frank fi. Carpen ter, looking up facts about coal iniu in;f. The geologists know more about coal th in any ono else. They can tell you put how the world looked when ena! was made, and they describe how there weie ages of luxuriant growth consisting of pine trees, fir trees and nil kinds .if mosses and plants, which, dying dow n year after year, became a great mulled bed of vegetation. They tell yo'i how this bed was bottled tip by being covered up with rocks and bow il linally turned into coal. They can tell you just how this happened ini'l how long it came to pass before Nouh was a baby or Cain killed little Abel outside the (iardeu of IMel). Men lived for thousands of years upon t!u; earth before they knew that coal was good to burn. All the iron nmdj before the days of the middle ages was with charcoal, and a fairy tale i told in liolgittm of how n poor blacksmith discovered the lirst blin k diamonds. lie found that lie cmld not ;ct along, for it took so much time to linike his charcoal for his furnac". lie was just about to commit suicide when a white-bearded old man ap peared at his simp nud told him to to the mountains near by and dig out the black earth nud burn il. He did ho, and was uble to make a horseshoe nt one forging. This is the Hclgiau story of the discovery of coal. The first coal found in America was m ar Ottawa, Illinois, it is mentioned by Father Hennepin, a French explorer, who visited there in l(!7!t. The first mines worked were about llichiuotid, Vil. This coal was discovered by n boy while out fishing. lie was hunting for crabs for bait in a small creek, and thus stumbled upon the niitcroppiugs of tho James llivcr ooal beii. Our anthracite coal field have perhaps paid better than any other coal lields of the world. They were discovered by a, hunter named Nielio Allen, when (ieorgo Washing ton was President. Allen encamped one night in the Schuylkill legions, kindling hi lire upon some black Mimes. He awoke to lind himself al most rousted. Thestones were on lire, nud anthracite was burning for the first time. Shortly after this a com pany was organized to sell anthracite coal, it was taken around to the black smiths, but they did not know how to use it, nud it win very unpopular. Some id' il wnsshipped to Philadelphia by a Colonel Shoemaker and sold there, it was not at all satisfactory, nud n writ was gotten out from the city authorities, denouncing the colonel as a knave and scoundrel for trying to imposed rocks upon them as coal. Still Philadelphia has largely been built up by anthracite coal, ami 430,1100.11111) Ions 'of this coal were taken out of the Pennsylvania lields in Itvhi. Since then some of these coal lands lmve been fadd as hieh as jjlitiil an acre, and tho Philadelphia and Head ing Company in 1871 paid ?IO,"00,(iiMi for loo.iioo 'acres of coal land in this region. As n sample of the amount of business done in anthracite coal, the l)claw are and Hudson Canal Company paid So, 000, 1)00 in one year for mining, un. I their coul sales that year nmoiinted to more than $10,000, inii. It is hard to estimate the enormous amount of money the I'nited Slates makes out of its coal. We get more than three times as much out of our coul iniii'. s us out of our gold mine :, and the silver metal is ted in it v. ilh the iila -k diamonds. There is a little legion in eastern Pennsylvania, about it hundred mid twenty-live miles from Philadelphia and not nmre than two liundrcd miles from New York, which produces every year coal to u greater value than nil the gold mines of the llockies, Canada mid Alaska. It is our anthracite coal fields which turn out between 00,000,000 and 110,000,00:1 tons of anthracite every year. We have in addition to this a hundred nud thirty odd million tons of bituminous coal annually. We have, in short, the biggest and best coal measures on the globe. It is estimated that our coal (uist of the ltocky Mountains covers ',t, 000 square miles, and within the past few years coal has been found in liiaiiy partsol'tlie Far West. Colorado will eventually be a great manufactur ing Slate on account of its coal. I'tah lias large coal lields, and so lmve the States of Montana, Washing ton and Wyoming. We are now get ting something like 20.000.000 tons of coal a year out of Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, and the great Appalach ian tit'DI produces more than lour times this amount. There is more joiod hi::-!:v.ho earth in the Appaluch- JN . AX llNiil.lMl MINI'.. Ian Mountain, than anywhere else in the world. The coul is easy to ged at, the veins are thick, and in some mine's they are almost oil the top of the ground. They are better than any Other coal fields in this respect, w it h ouo single exception. This is the new DIAMONDS. ' t . ' " ' -r f .lt2 ft - ft - ft - ft - ft,..- ft; ft,'- coal Held of Alaska, which, one of the geological survey men tells me, comes right on! over the water, so that the coal can be dug down and abut, it fall into the idiips below. This Alaskan coal will probably bo used to supply th" P.icilie trade, mi'l its importance will be appreciated when it is remem bered Hint the largest lleet that sails the I'a. -ilie is the coal lleet. .Most of the coal from that region comes from Australiiiand Japan. Much Australian c.iiil is brought to San Francisco. 1 lur ing iii v travel-: in Japa'i I visited one coal mine w hich had lii'ty miles of tun nels under the sea, and 1 learned that the Japanese were making a grout deal of money out of their coal. Tiiey were shipping it to China, not withstanding the fact that the geolo gists say that China has some of the largest 'coal fields of the world. I doubt the extent of the Chinese fields. The people are thrifty, mid it is curi ous that tiny do not use the coal if they have it. They are among the liio.-l ei onoinical of people, nml in the different Chiiie.-o. cities coal is so valu irde that it is ground to dust and then mi .ed with dirt, being sold in balls about the si.o of a biscuit. It is in teresting l i know- the coal fields of the world, as edinialc.l by tho geologist-:. Here, they are: Chiiii, 200,11:1.1 square miles; United Slates cast of the K-ickies. 102,001) square miles; Ca'iala, (i 1,0 10 square miles; India. ll-Wlii square, miles; New- South Wales, 2 1,000 squire miles; llu-'sia, 2-t.o 10 square) miles; I'hil -d Kingdom, ll.oiid square miles; Spain. .i'iOii npiave mile-;; Japan, TiOOO s mi. ire miles France, 2'WO square miles; Austria-Hungary, 1700 square miles; (icriuauy, 1770 square miles: P.i U'iimi. ." P square miles. Fnun the above bible it will be seen that tin: Hii"lisii coal urea is small. Still F.uKbuid has for years been t he centre cfihe coal production of the world, and for years it mined more than half the total amount used by the world. The Fnited States is now probably ahead of it, ami we are in creasing our product every year. The F.nglish coal veins are thin. The miners have to lie on their sides to lii.t.oi N mini:i:s. Work many of them. They have dug out the sui fii-'e co.il and they are now working nt great depths. One Knglish vein, loiirtecii and a half inches wide, i'Hilrealy down over twelve hundred feet. Such :l vein would Hot be Worked to any great depth in America. The Newcastle c-ial ! i -1 I . which islhe rich est in Fiiglaii-1, ha : veins from three I i six f. el thick, while the Wales coal veins are less than three feel i:i thick ness. Some of our Pennsylvania an thracite veins run from thirty feet to sixty feet feet in thickness, while the I'll I -bur ;' bituminous coal veins are In. m eilit I i sixteen feci thick. At the present ra'e of mining it i esti mated that all the Foolish coal will be exium ted in 212 years if' it is woiki d down to iono fe-t, nud this w ill be 111! fed deeper than any of tin- Knglish mines now worked. Notwithstanding tho enormous amounts of coal which we have taken out of our anthracite region it is climated thai vve could go on :il the present rate for tip! years. As F.ngland goes further down her coal mining will become more expen sive, mi 1 her iluy.s as a maiiufucliiring Nation are, consequently, numbered. Already we surpass her a great deal in 10:11111!';: -tui nig, and tin re is no 1 1. nil .! thai we, v.iih our vast supplies of coul and iron, are to be the chief luailil I'a. 'luring Nation of the future. Our Appalachian coal fields alone could supply the world with fuel for cciitui i.". They me the largest and richest know II, nud they arc so situated t hat t ho coal can be shipped from them long distances by water. From Pitts burg coal can bo curried f ir eight- ecu thousand miles on navigable streams, and the grate tires of the South bln;-e with the rays from the black diamonds from Pennsylvania. I lie Ohio liivcr is thegrcut coal chute for the Mississippi vallev. I ho coal is earned down it iu great bnrges puslied by little steamers, and so fast ened togetlur that a single steamer will push acres of coal. Loads of twenty thousand tons are taken. A vast amount oi coal is curried oil the canals nud the great lakes form one of the chief highvvavs of the coal traffic. The amount of coal carried on the railroads is almost beyond i 0 icejitioi'. The Philadelphia mid Heading has more than lift v- thousand 0. l cars, which are dragged by niuo luii lred ! yWM;Jt,A lecv :7' AN l:Xl'I.D.siiN. coal locomotives. Tie : e en busy in ciirryiin; aiithraei'e Pennsylvania Jiailroad euij thati seventy thousand en movement of its c in! and c and the Central I hi i Iron-1 of Nov carries about live luilli s aic kept o.d. The oys more for the !;o trad", N. w Jei- 11 tons of More coal anthracite coal every year. is haud'ei! ut New York other nlaee in tho world than at any execot Loll- don, more than fifteen million tons be ing used or transshipped ut that point iuiiiunlly. Oue would think that there would be a lot of iii'iueyin con! for the miners. There is not. and it i a question whether the prcs . -.il strike will materi ally better matters. As far as strikes have gone in the pa-t, Ho y have be. 11 against the working men. Sum ago Carroll l. Wri-dit. the years Fnited figured States Commissioner of F up the profit nnd loss of ten years of j striking in nil branches of labor, lie' e.-tiniated that the employes during, this time lost tiny nine million dob j lars, au average of forty dollars to each striker involved, while the employers lost a little iiiorethau half I he amount. : or thirty million dollars. I The coal miners live a' poorly ns iti.y other class of workmen i:i the country. For the most part tin y are in diitv villages, with narrow streets, their houses blackened by coal smoki In many mining districts the house belong to th" 1 ip.iny owning tl mines, and the miners pay rent f, I hem. so that when a strike ..ccursun they ait- out of in oiry they are given orders to leave Many of the houses have in. thing more than two rooms and a kitchen, nnd in some places tin only stores at which the miners c.i'i trade are the company's stoics. Willi all this the American miners are fur better oil' than the miners of other countries. The coal miners of Japan receive only a f-vv cents 11 day. lioth women nud men work in the mines, 11 11 il the foreign ships, which get coal at Japan are always loaded by v. 11, who puss tho coal Up the sides of t lie shin in baskets. Women are slill used in the cull mines of Hclghim. Tle y di'e s in trousers, just like the m -n. and they do much the mi ee work. 1 hey help load tin' e 1.1I. and in soiu" of the mint's they drag the cars from the tunnels to the'b.dl.ilii of the shaft. L. Siiiiolilli, a Frenchman, from w ho book 0:1 un der 'round life th. illustrations of this letter ii'e taken, des--ribe-of their life in til" mines, t hue : Women w ere 11 sc. I in Fii-laii'l .''i l S.M'.laud not until t .vculv live y. ; tin- horrors For a long in this way and i' was ars a j,.i t liat - -pi 1 - them parliament p.i-sc out. Children ine giiim mines t.i-ils Scotch iis.-d to were taken int 111 :e I nplovo'l v. 'j h" 0 f .r yea iin- mile ? P.ol u n nl ciuht and nine years kept there until they Knglish e 1.1I veins a the tunnel ' III'" led high. These child Leasts of burden, hossed to little cert and h 1 1 b 1 lav. I :i vvilh belli ah ell 1 Were The 1 :i:i 1 va rd up. :y t!ii: than :i Tin v v, en h.'ir Iii I with cal. :i all fours V. 1 1 si .1 chains bet v ecu t lo ir I. the coal carts to the sin fa".1 became deformed by till vv were dressed in trousers is 01 a -ving Women oil.. Tlny nud siiiiis like men. TI learn d (.. I be of I'tc.ht and ci bad lift V toi'V swear like the mei characters. At the a 4" were usually w oru out. voiing women we re e hlph the coal on their back mines. They elrag-.r.-.l Hi foot of the la'lders and ih on their backs, holding II strap aroiin 1 the feirln-.i I climbed up the ladder, to l:i Scotland i d to can v o::: of the cal to the li I sel.-l it there by 11 vv bile t In v e! il to 111" 11 twelve- to d vv mil I elo un 11 v.oiild th" water ml' I'hev vv, .iked fro I'ourt work il hours a elav. ai , it is said, w hi'-ii tin lo. tramping throu-;! not with their h ids of e I. A. or ling to employe. I in our law vvone. anuot b mines. lOV! used.' however, have been hugely Thev drive- the lollie s, and ill the iinthnii-iti' regions the y pick over the coal, taking the slate nud refuse out of it. 'I'hev get from fifty to sixty cents a day for bending over the dusty eml, roasting in the summer niid 11! most freezing in the winter. They are frequently hint, though it is by 110 means as bad with our children a with those of Kuropo a few years ago, when in one investigation it was state'd: "That they seldom slept with a whole skin, and thai their bucks we're cut witii knocking against the. j roof and sides of the tunnels, nnd that I the w alking in the water covered t'leir j feet wilh festering sores," BATES or ADVERTISING Oue nqnare, one insertion $1.00 One B(juire, two insortions. ... 1.60 One equure, ouo mouth - 2.011 For larger advertisements liberal ; coLtractn will he made I lluvo you ever been down in a coal I mine? If so, you can appreciate somo of the dangers of mining. A coal Illino is like a great catacomb. It is a city t underground, tho walls of which i'l i many cases 1110 upheld by timbers, j Now" and then you come to rooms out 1 of which the coal has been cut. Tho ; coal is taken down with blasting pow i der, and there is danger of the wall I falling and of tho miners being crushed. i There is also danger from tire dam', I or (he union of the ga-es of the loino brought together by the light from ' n lamp or candle. This causes 11 great. ; explosion. It comes like it stroke of , lightning, and with a chip of thumb r. 1 As the explosion occurs it rearing; , whirlwind of lla'.ue goes through tho tunnels, pulling down the timbersii'id caving in the walls. It burns every thing within reach. Minora i:re blinded, scorched and sometime! biiPicd to cinders. Hundreds have often been killed at a time by sucii explosions, and by the Hood of cur-bo-iie neid gas which follows them. The statistics show that even in tho I'nited States one miner is killed for everv hundred thousand tons of coal I mined, and those who are injured I number manv time s this propel iioii. : TWO FOWLS WITH SEVEN LEC3. A New Vol her llns 11 Tin I. gi;cil llcios- tis- nnd a "la-eli'iipi-il II111. Two freak fo,v!s are owned byC. Stern, of the Third Street Murk"!. Fast Jiiver, New York City, which are believed to bo unique in their vv ay. They were bought by their owner ill Washington Market. The rooster, which is a rear old, has three legs. if l l:i:.vii row i,s the extra "seratcher" (which, by the way, is useless for that purpose or any otheri sticking out behind, between the- other two. The hi'ii, which is about a year and a half old, can boast of four legs, two which she walks on, being in their na'aral places, the extra tv.-o grow ing out of In r left side. The strange feathered creatures have been seen by hutnlrels of ehieki'li fanciers. . me rli-it's OiM.-.t !:,: I.. Near West Superior, Yis.. on a sievp. rocky bin IV stands one of the ino.-t freakish objects t 1 be found in the world. It consists ed a ledge: of solid granite, which Lear: most gro tesque re.-.ciiiblaui'e to a human head. Its eaveriious mouth is partly open 1111 1 its features are distort.' 1 with 11 hideous grin. This monstrosity is V. " .. - ni:vii. s iii-.Ai. known as "Devil'.s Head." Prospec tors rub a spot above the eyes, which is said to bring them luck. The In dians have a legend concerning the "skull rock" to the ellee-t t tint it is nothing more or less than the petrified head of n great warrior who came from their "happy hunting ground" to pro. te'ct the tribes of the Northwest against extermination by the white s. The largest muss of pure roc!; salt in the world lies under the proviii'-e of (indicia, Hungary. It is known to be loO miles long, twji'tj broad and 2-")0 feet iu thickuuri. 1 1 1 JHC3i H
The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 7, 1897, edition 1
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