Reports of explorations and surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean: Vol. 5, Pt. 2

COAL OF PUGET SOUND AND VANCOUVER' S ISLAND.
coal. This coal produced a large amount of a very fluid slag, and it was necessary to rake the
fires every twenty minutes. It was regarded as inferior to the coal from Vancouver's island,
which was also used on the steamer.
The wharf at the mine on Bellingham Bay was not completed when the steamer left, and it
was necessary to take the coal off to the vessel by lighters. Even these small vessels were
obliged to take advantage of the tides in order to reach and leave the dock. The excavation
into the hill, on the course of the coal-bed, did not extend over twenty feet; a large part of the
coal at that time must, therefore, have been of very inferior quality, in consequence of long
exposure to the weather and the infiltration of impurities.
A block of sandstone obtained from the vicinity of the coal-bearing strata by Lieutenant
Trowbridge very much resembles, in its lithological characters, the sandstone of San Francisco
and its vicinity. The color is nearly the same; and it likewise contains small disseminated
scales, or filcas, of a dark color, very much like those seen in the sandstone from Yerba Buena
and Benicia. It also contains two thin fragments of coal, the remains of coal-plants, and one
round fragment looking like a rounded or water-worn mass. Two well-preserved shells of the
genus Pecten are contained in the same block. The synchronism of the stratum from which
this block was taken with the standstone of San Francisco is more than probable.
COAL AT VANCOUVER'S ISLAND.
Coal is obtained on Vancouver's Island from the port of Nanaimo, about eight or twelve
hours run by steamer from Bellingham Bay. This coal is considered to be of better quality
than that from Bellingham Bay; but it is also objected to on account of the great quantity of
slag, and cinder that is formed during its combustion.
I have seen this coal in use on the Active, and noticed that the amount of slag was unusually
great. It ran down in streams from the gratebars into the ash-pit, and could be drawn out
into threads like glass.
It is probable that the coals from Puget Sound will require a peculiar form of furnace for
their successful combustion. The abundance of the supply, and the convenient proximity of
San Francisco and other ports on the Pacific, render the localities worthy of careful attention
and extensive exploration.'
Cowlitz coal.-A coal of medium quality is obtained from the banks of the Cowlitz River,
and it has been mined to some extent by parties from San Francisco. Professor Dana observes
of this coal, that it contains considerable pyrites, and burns with much smoke-caking completely. The following is an analysis of specimens he obtained, by Professor Benjamin Sillman, jr.: 2
Carbon ------------------------------— 45.56
Volatile ingredients ------------------- 52.08
Ash ------------------------------— 2.36
LIGNITE.
A very peculiar and interesting brown coal, or lignite, is found near the shores of San Francisco Bay, at Santa Clara, several miles south of San Francisco. It is taken out there in large
masses resembling coal, but retaining the grain and structure of wood. The color is a brilliant
1 When the coal from these localities was used on board of the Active, the trip was made from the Columbia River to
San Francisco in fifty-nine hours, and a second trip in sixty-two hours.
2 Report on the Geology of the United States Exploring Expedition, by J. D. Dana, p. 658.
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