[Sidenote: The Seattle railway passes five coal fields.]
I have, under the head of Economic Geology, described so fully the coal
deposits of Washington Territory, especially the beds along the line of
the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, that it remains only to
show the application of these facts to the interests of this railway.
The road passes five, if not six, separate coal fields between Seattle
and the Columbia River, namely, the Squak or Gilman mines, 40 miles from
Seattle; the Washington mines, 43 miles; the Raging River, 46 to 50
miles; the Snoqualmie Mountain, 56 miles; the Yakima (or Roslyn), 75
miles; and perhaps the Wenatchie, 140 miles.
So far as appears at present, the Seattle railway will have a monopoly
of all these fields except the Yakima or Roslyn. This it will share
with the Northern Pacific; but it will have exclusive control of the
market between the Yakima and Spokane Falls, which will be almost wholly
dependent upon coal for fuel. Also, it will furnish whatever of this
coal may be wanted by the mining country north of the Columbia. And in
the Spokane Falls market it will have the advantage of bringing the coal
by a route fifty miles shorter.
The coal on the west side of the Cascade Mountains will go to Seattle
for consumption and shipment, except so much as may be wanted for iron
making, and other manufacturing purposes along the line of the road.
Coke will be in demand for furnaces, foundries, engines, etc., in
Seattle, Spokane Falls, and many other places. But its largest
consumption will be in iron furnaces which will be erected for smelting
the ores of the Cascade Mountains.
[Sidenote: Largest shipments from the Gilman Mines.]
[Sidenote: Superior mining advantages of the Gilman Mines.]
The largest shipments will be from the Gilman Mines for domestic and
steam-boiler purposes. The coal must, of course, come in competition
with other coals which are mined within the basin of Puget Sound, but it
has an advantage over all competitors in the ease, safety, and cheapness
with which it can be mined. This will not, of course, be realized for
the first few months whilst driving the entries, but when the mines
shall have been fully opened I think it will be without rival in the
cost of production. This will be evident from the following report made
to me by Mr. Whitworth, showing the disadvantages in the mode of working
the other mines of the Territory. The terrible explosion which has
lately occurred in the deep mines of Vancouver's Island shows that the
Canadians are also working at a disadvantage.