The original company, composed of Robert Morris (the celebrated finan tier), J. Anthony Morris, Cist, Weiss, Ilillegas, and others, organized an expedition in May, 1792, to open the mines. Four miners and one of the company formed the mining force. The coal was soon found without limit, and several tons were dug up. There was plenty of coal, and but little trouble to mine or quarry it. But what to do with it was the question. The coal existed in the midst of a wild and mountainous region, surrounded by unbroken, primitive forests, only traversed by the war-paths of the Indians or the courses of the hunters. The nearest market was at Philadelphia, over a hundred miles distant; and even that was a doubtful dependence, since mineral coal of any kind was but little used, and anthracite or stone coal was then a novelty.
On becoming satisfied of the value and extent of the coal deposits, the company suspended operations at the mines, and commenced to operate on public opinion and create an interest and a market.
Col. Weiss always carried samples in his saddle-bags, and never lost an opportunity to introduce his stone-coal to notice, or passed a blacksmith without urging on him the value and uses of the new fuel.
But the public generally are always doubtful, and in this case the " black rocks" of the Lehigh Coal Mine Company were a subject of much suspicion and ridicule.
In 1798 the Legislature chartered a joint-stock company to improve the navigation of the Lehigh, and some $30,000 were expended in clearing the rocks from the shoals and constructing wing dams. In 1803 the Lehigh Coal Mine Company again resumed operations at their mines, and six arks were built at Lausanne, on the river, above Mauch Chunk, ready for the first freshet to float them to Philadelphia via the Lehigh and Dela ware Rivers.
The coal was hauled from the mines to the river, some nine miles, by horses, and the arks duly started with about one hundred tons each, and manned respectively with six men to the float.
For the first 15 miles the river is very rapid, the fall being about 20 feet to the mile, but not equally distributed, the descent being concentrated at the rapids or shoals. Those familiar with the rafting of timber down the rivers of Maine, or our own Susquehanna, or even the mode which has been practised for the last 20 years on the Coosa in Alabama, may form some faint conception of the perils and excitement attending this early navigation of the Lehigh.
Of the six arks thus started on their perilous trip, only two reached Philadelphia, with less than two hundred tons of coal. But the difficulties
of finding purchasers were equal to the difficulties of reaching the market. No one wanted it, and none cared to experiment. At length the city authorities purchased the coal for the purpose of working a steam-engine which was then located in Broad Street to pump water for the supply of the city. The trial was a failure. The stone-coal could not be made to burn ; it was rejected as worthless rocks, and broken up to gravel the foot walks of the grounds.
This experiment dampened the ardor and disappointed the hopes of the coal company, and for the next seventeen years ensuing they did not meddle with stone-coal on their own responsibility; but several leases were granted to sanguine individuals whose faith remained unshaken.
William. Trumbull, Esq. had an ark-load of anthracite brought to the city of Philadelphia, in 1806, but with no better success.
In 1813 the Hon. Charles Miner, Jacob Cist (son of Charles Cist), and Mr. Robinson, all of Wilkesbarre, leased the mines of the Lehigh Coal Mine Company, and commenced their operations ; but before they were ready to ship coal, Mr. Robinson withdrew from the enterprise. At length, how ever, in the spring of 1814, they started five ark-loads of coal down the Lehigh ; only two reached Philadelphia, but the coal they contained was sold, at 21 dollars per ton, to Messrs. White and Hazzard, who were manu facturing wire at the Falls of the Schuylkill.
This cargo of coal had been preceded by a few wagon-loads from Schuyl kill County, which were taken to Philadelphia, by Col. George Shoemaker, early in 1812, and which was the first anthracite or stone coal successfully burned for practical purposes in that city.
The secret or mystery of burning anthracite had been discovered by acci dent. It was found that closing the furnace doors and leaving the coal alone were the simple remedies ; that draft, and the passage of the air through the heated mass, creating a natural hot blast, were essential to the economical combustion of anthracite. But this incident will be related more at large in connection with the history and development of the Sck uyl k ill region.
Messrs. Miner and Cist found, on counting the cost, that coal-mining at that early day, arid under the circumstances,, was a losing business, and if continued would be ruinous ; and, consequently, they abandoned the enter prise, after sinking considerable capital in the Lehigh coal trade.