the banks of the stream, and manufactured on the spot. As the salt intended for transportation by water is always packed in barrels, an immense coopering establishment is the characteristic adjunct of the lower salt-works. The eastern trade was formerly carried on by wagoning to Buchanan and Lynchburg; but this mode has been lately superseded by the railroad, and crowds of burly teamsters no longer enliven Saltville with their rows. Having passed a pleasant and profitable day in the examination of these localities, our travelers accepted an invitation from the proprietor to pass the night at his house, and next morning, under the guidance of their accomplished host, they visited various other points of interest within his princely domain. From a sharp, conical peak near the mansion they had a fine bird's-eye view of the valley, and while descending, quenched their thirst at a delicious fountain which bursts out about midway of the hill, from a bed of moss-covered rocks. The cold, crystal water is in sufficient volume to turn a mill at the base of the peak, from whence it winds through the grassy meadows and discharges itself into the Holston, near the lower salt-works. Near the centre of the low grounds, in another direction, is a plateau elevated considerably above the surrounding fields, which was evidently at one time the site of an Indian town. Bits of broken pottery and remnants of domestic utensils may still be found, although the traces of their houses, which were formerly distinctly visible, are now oblit- | Spring Station. As the wheezing, puffing loerated. At three o'clock in the afternoon our friends seated themselves cozily in the train on a heap of plethoric salt-sacks, and started for the Glade comotive wound its way out of the valley, Bob Larkin fell into a sentimental strain. a place of the same extent that combined so-never to be diminished or obscured. The many elements of beauty." "And of utility, Bob," replied the Squire. "Besides its fossil wealth, look at those broad corn-fields, those herds of superb cattle wading knee-deep in the grass of those level meadows-" "And," cried Bob, "the river stocked with fish and the mountains with game-what cheery sport to give zest to books and pencils!" and here the artist heaved a sigh. "Indeed!" sighed the Squire, "one might spend a lifetime in such a place and never wish to roam." And both gentlemen fell into silent musings. Perhaps the artist's fervid fancy busied itself in painting a picture of a vine-covered cottage at the foot of the Sugar-Loaf, near that cool, bubbling fountain, "with one fair spirit for its minister;" but whether her eyes were black or blue the curious world may not yet know. Possibly, too, the Squire, although not given to castle-building, may have been occupied in locating an El Dorado in that happy valley-a little world, where there should be wealth without arrogance, poverty without envy, justice without lawyers, and freedom without politicians. Their arrival at the station terminated these pleasing dreams, and in an hour after they joined their expectant friends in Abingdon. "Ladies, pack your trunks, for by to-morrow COAL, AND THE COAL-MINES OF THERE an steamship and the steam horse alike are impelled onward by its fiery lungs; the night is turned into day by its illuminating breath; and the gaudy chandeliers of the fashionable saloon give lustre to the eyes of beauty only by its brilliant jets. Although coal is usually plain and unpretending in its physical aspect, it can, nevertheless, claim relation with a celebrated "noble stone"-a member of the higher order of mineral aristocracy. We refer to the diamond, whose beauty can not easily be exaggerated; but, unlike coal, it contributes to our vanity rather than to our comfort and actual necessities. Both members of the carboniferous family, and almost identical in composition, they are yet wholly dissimilar in appearance, in geographical distribution, and in the characters which they have to play in the domestic economy of man. As between the two, we venture to say that coal commends itself more warmly to our favor, and having impressed its stamp very conspicuously upon the age in which we figure, must be invested with some points of interest beyond the mere statistics of commercial value. Its origin, its history, and the circumstances of its benevolent mission, certainly deserve to be known. In the year 1791, there lived on the eastern slope of the mountains drained by the Lehigh River, in Pennsylvania, a hunter, named Philip Ginther. The country, for many miles around, abounded in game, and was clothed in dense primitive forest. On the occasion to which we are now referring, Ginther had spent the whole day in the woods without meeting the least success. He had left with anxious solicitude in the morning the cabin which sheltered his wife anthra- and children, for the scanty breakfast had imcite fire; of- pressed him with the necessity of replenishing ten has the the culinary department. As the shades of social bowl evening gathered around, he found himself on been emp- the summit of Sharp Mountain, several miles tied; many distant from his home. A storm of rain was a pleasant, advancing, and had already spent a few drops, jocund story when he began to quicken his pace. Running has been re- along at a brisk gait through the woods, he lated; many stumbled over the roots of a tree which had retender vows cently fallen, and threw before him a large, been made black stone-to recognize which, and the black and sealed aspect of the spot around the roots, there was before the flaming yet remaining sufficient light. He had heard minister upon the persons speak of stone coal as existing in these hearth. But it is mountains, and concluded that this must be a on a cold winter's specimen. He therefore took it with him, and night, when we a few days after gave it to Colonel Jacob Weiss, hear the snow and then living near the present site of Mauch sleet all "pitiless Chunk. Unable to determine its real characpour," and the wind fret and howl around us, ter, the specimen was forwarded to Philadelthat we realize in a more grateful sense the phia, where, after undergoing the scrutiny of glowing qualities of our friend. It is then, sundry mineralogists and learned savans, it rapt in silent contemplation, that we trace its finally came into the hands of Mr. Charles Cist, useful presence throughout the whole range of a printer. Printers are popularly supposed to both social and industrious life, and find it often know every thing, and from their liberality of associated with our national strength and glory sentiment are disposed to take a "compliment ary notice" of almost any thing; so, true to his calling, Mr. Cist promptly pronounced the thing anthracite coal, and sent a request to Colonel Weiss to reward the discoverer, and make immediate arrangements for securing the land. As the entire region of country from the Blue Mountain to the Susquehanna River was an unbroken, savage wilderness, the land had but little value. Weiss had no difficulty in obtaining, through the usual process of the Land Office, several thousand acres; and early in the following year organized an association, called the "Lehigh Coal-mine Company." Among its prominent members were Robert Morris (the celebrated financier), John Nicholson, Charles Cist, J. Anthony Morris, and others, some of whom owned large estates, especially Morris and Nicholson. In the month of May an expedition was fitted out to open and work the mine. The force consisted of four laborers, with one of the members of the Company acting as mining engineer. The geological position of the coal was plain; it required but a small amount of scientific acumen to comprehend the whole problem. As the roots of the fallen tree had revealed the exact situation of the coal, and but a thin stratum of soil intervening between it and the daylight, a little perpendicular digging was only necessary to get at it. A few pits were accordingly sunk down, and several tons of the mineral quarried, when the great question presented itself to our enterprising Company"What are we going to do with it?" There was the coal-there it was in unmistakable quantity-and the only thing that now remained to secure the most triumphant success was a market. Standing upon their seam of coal on the summit of Sharp Mountain, seventeen hundred feet above tide-water, the "Lehigh Coalmine Company" looked wistfully over the vast expanse of mountain, valley, and plain, and up to the arching firmament, for a market. Nothing of the kind could be seen; not the slightest glimmer of encouragement was visiblearound, above, or below; and they were forced to draw large drafts on a kindly-disposed imagination, which afforded an occasional beam of hope in the obscure vista of the distant future. The surrounding country was every where covered with timber; and what with the abundance and low price of cord-wood and charcoal, the want of wagon-roads and navigable streams, there was no demand for stonecoal, near or remote. After a few weeks' labor at the mine, the men were discharged and operations suspended. But Colonel Weiss, notwithstanding the inauspicious circumstances which involved the Company, determined that the coal should, at least, be introduced to the acquaintance of the public. He filled his saddle-bags from time to time, and rode around among the blacksmiths of the lower country, earnestly soliciting them to "try it." A few accepted the proffered supplies, and used it with partial success; but the truth is, our wise fathers almost unanimously regarded the mineral staple of the "Lehigh Coal-mine Company" as nothing more nor less than common stones, while the enthusiastic shareholders were regarded as unpractical and visionary theorists. It was this ill-timed and foolish prejudice against a mineral whose peculiar properties they did not happen to understand that overwhelmed the Company with popular ridicule, and thereby seriously embarrassed its objects and movements. Had the parties themselves been men of no more than ordinary character, the enterprise never could have been initiated at all, but they were like "Calthus, the seer, whose comprehensive view The Past, the Present, and the Future knew;" and the ridicule of the ignorant public, no doubt, only served to stimulate them into premature activity. In 1798 the Legislature of Pennsylvania chartered a joint-stock company to improve the navigation of the Lehigh River, and although the Coal Company had in the mean time relaxed all efforts, and was then upon the verge of dissolution, the prospect which now opened of rendering that stream navigable for the descent of the lumber and coal on its head waters, infused new spirit into some of its members, and they again went to work. Thirty thousand dollars had been expended in constructing wing-dams and removing obstructions; and upon the completion of the work, in 1802, a committee was appointed to examine and report its condition. It consisted of five persons, most of whom were also interested in the Coal Company. A large canoe was launched, and the party glided gracefully over the water. Every thing augured a favorable report; but they had not proceeded far in their investigations before the canoe capsized, and most unceremoniously precipitated the official representatives of the Navigation Company into the stream! Two of them were nearly drowned, but the others effected an easy escape to the shore. They subsequently adjourned to the nearest inn, refreshed the "inner" and the outer man," laughed heartily over the adventure, and then quietly sought their respective homes. 66 Whatever may have been the opinion of the Committee concerning the improved navigation of the river, after the practical exemplification of its capacities which they had thus received, it is certain that their report did not dampen the ardor of the Coal Company. They had again resumed operations at the mine, and under the directions of Mr. Cist, were then preparing a fleet of arks to be dispatched at the earliest freshet, via the Lehigh and Delaware rivers, for the city of Philadelphia. The coal was hauled to the banks of the river by horses, and in the spring of 1803 six arks, containing one hundred tons of coal each, were ready for the voyage. The descent of the river, for the first fifteen miles from Mauch Chunk, was exceedingly rapid, the fall being some three hundred feet. It was a bright and cheerful morning, after the |