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Art. Xr. ExPLOuATioxs in thk Pictou Coal Field. 
 
 IW li. (jr. UaLIIJLHTON', l'. S. A., F. It. 8. \. A. 
 
 FJiOM the di.s(!(>vcry by Mr. French, in 1 8(5,5, of the Albion 
 xVIiues main ,sc:ini scvenil miles i'urtlior west than it was suj)- 
 posed to exist, 1 was led to take np extensive niinin;L:f rights in 
 the vieinity of the Pieton Coal Alines. Mr. French, to whom 
 this province is under great obligations, had proved that com- 
 paratively little was known oi' the extent of the productive 
 measures, and that similar discoveries mnst soon be made in 
 other directions. The explorations, whieh are the subject of 
 this paper, were personally superintended by myself, and ^vere 
 cojiducted by the aid of a mining engineer on the following 
 properties: — Xo. I., situated on the south western side of the 
 coal basin, on an area known as " the Culton properly,'' and 
 adjoining the colliejy of the Intercolonial Company: No. 2, 
 on the south eastern extremity of the l)asin, on tlie \si'st llaidi 
 of McLennan's Alountain. Xo. ;), iit the eastern end of the 
 basin near the waters of Alerigomish, on a properly called the 
 St. Lawrence area. No. 4, on a pro})erty on the northern side 
 of the basin purchased from Messrs. McDonald, AlciCay and 
 Known, on the East River colliery. No. 5, on an adjoin- 
 ing i)roperty, jiurchased from Messrs. Beal and How, and 
 now belonging to the Montreal and Pictou Coal Company. 
 These explorations, therefore, arc the most extensive that have 
 hitherto been conducted in that county, and though imdertakeu 
 for the practical purpose of discovering and developing coal 
 mines, have incidentally thrown some light on the Pictou coal 
 fields, which may be interesting to geologists and to the public. 
 I shall first select those explorations on the northern side of the 
 basin, on the East River and Montreal and Pictou properties, as 
 they are in the immediate vicinity of New Glasgow and in a 
 district which had been previously fully described and some- 
 what misunderstood. 
 
 I O-i 
 
 
l)i'. Dawson, wliu,st! iiivostii^iitioiis have tliiown so inuoli li<ilit 
 on till,' slructnre and lornialioii of coi\\, anil whosi- ^t'ologicul 
 laboi.r^ have rcllecUHl so nnicli ercilit on lii.s nalivo province, 
 lias lu'on (or many years almost tlic only antliority on tiie IMctou 
 (!oal tickl, ami his inlbrcnci's were based on llie linntoil inl'or- 
 niatiini iiiut was derived from the woi'ks of the (jenerai Mining 
 Association, wliicli were conlined to the sonthern cro[) ot the 
 basin. Mr. Ivichard Smith, a former sn[)erinten(lcnt of that 
 colliery, snspected, as I am informed, that there was a coal basin 
 between New Glasgow and the All)ion Mines pits, but this 
 impression seemed to have been lost sight of, and the conclusion, 
 ■was, many years ago, somewhat hastily arrived at, that New 
 Glasgow was situated on the southern rise of the basin, and that 
 the coal which was supposed to be at an innnense depth, was 
 uhrown down by a great down throw fault ; the large seams not 
 re-appearing to the northward. It was evidently assumed that 
 the town of Pictou was situated on the northern rise of the 
 basin, which would make it from t(Mi to lifteen miles in breadth. 
 Dr. Dawson, in his examination before the Mines' Conmiittee of 
 the House of Assem))ly, states as follows : — 
 
 " The outcrop of this bed is four miles in length. It is 
 broken by a fault at Xew Glasgow where //y(^//« (/o^/';i .sciY^y-ai^ 
 thousand feet, It has not been found again in the county of 
 Pictou. The other outcrop is about a mile to the 8. E. of the 
 mines. 
 
 " At New Glasgow the coal i,s half a mile deep at least below 
 the surface.'' — Journ. 11. A., 1845, App. 1!J. 
 
 This view, as to the innnense^ depth of the seams at New 
 
 Glasgow, was adopted by the General Mining Association and 
 
 by the public generally, and all the explorations at New Ghis 
 
 gow were considered as useless. In his Acadian Geology Dr. 
 
 Dawson still partially adhered to his previous views, though he 
 
 was evidently scnrewhat doubtful on the subject, which is evi- 
 
 derrt from the vagueness of his language. The southerly dip 
 
 near New Glasgow, which he had supposed Avas caused by a 
 
 downthrow iiiult, he still attributes to a line of disturbance, aud 
 
 he speaks of the coal being " cut off " by a fault. Explorers 
 
 arrd miners have been a good deal puzzled to ascertain whether 
 
 he meant an " upthrow" or a ^' downthrow fault," as he does 
 
 thei 
 
 ut 
 
 stil 
 
 coil 
 
 mc 
 
 wlj 
 
 exj 
 
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 m 
 
 dil 
 of 
 
 C(l 
 
 J 
 
3 
 
 not slate wliicli it is, Imt the cxlracl iVoiii liis [)i'ovious btatcnu'iit 
 Itolbrc tli(! Mines* Coinniiltee shows wliat liis vi(!\vs on tills point 
 wore. Assumini.'" tliein fo ho eorroct, the Ihicknoss of the 
 Pictou r.oii\ measures would he iininenso, as wo should liavo a 
 succession of coal measures overlying the Alhion Mines seams, 
 dij)[)iiig at a heavy angle northerly for several miles until we 
 ivaeh the northern rise as we approach the town of Piclou. 
 
 In the section given hy Dr. Dawson ([). 241 ) ho eommeiicos 
 with tlu^ liniostones and gypsums of Si)ringville and the lower 
 carhonifcrous strata overlying, prooooding, in ascending ordoi', 
 until ho comes to the Alhion Mines seams dip[)ing nearly due 
 north. lie here roaches the southern crop or 1)asset edge of the 
 Pictou coal hasin. ![(; adds in his description of these mea- 
 sures, " th(( main seam has hocn very extensively worked, and 
 its outcrop has hoon traced for several miles : hut it is remarkahle 
 i that it i)roservos its character as a good seam only for a limited 
 
 distance. Both in the nortli-Avcst and south-cast extension it 
 lx;comos very impure and intermixed with slate, indicating that 
 thouii'h a'reat in thickness it is vorv limited in horizontal extent. 
 The measures also air ciif off' la tJie nortliwavd hi/ a line of 
 diMurhance runniuir along the south side oi' an enormous hod of 
 conglomerate which succeeds iliene rocks hi ascendivfj order, 
 or" he prudently adds with prohahly some misgiving, " appa- 
 rently so." 
 
 His section is consistent with his previous statement hcfore 
 the Minos Committee, that the coal scams are half a mile deep 
 at New Glasgow ; and there can he no douht that if they Ijocome 
 still deeper heyond New Glasgow through a downthrow lault, the 
 conglomerate must not only overlie them half a mile, hut even 
 more, according to the extent of the supposed downthrow fault, 
 which he assumes runs along its southern edge. Practical 
 explorations have ontirel}" disproved this assumption, and have 
 estahlished that the Pictou coal measures are not more than one 
 third as thick as Dr. Dawson infers, and that a pit twelve hun 
 dred feet deep would reach the lower scams in the very centre 
 of the hasin. They have also proved that the so called I'ictou 
 coal hasin really constitutes two distinct hasins, the one, Avhich 
 1 mav call the southern or Alhion basin. Iving to the southAvard, 
 
 , ^-^ v.»rtiMM» 
 
4 
 
 :uhI llic <.lli.M- to ihe iioithwiiid of Ihe coiiglonicmto whidi 
 iimlf rlics Die pimliidivc measures. It is iimiiiiest thai it the 
 euiigUmierate were an iii)iieaval since the coal m'Us Ibrined, wc 
 should iiave the Albion Mines recun-ing t(» the northward unless 
 the>- hnc' been allected by subsequent denudation, lint so far 
 we have no equivalents of the southern coal measures in the 
 northern basin, and nmst assuine that they were always distinct 
 basins, and now ditler, from their measures having- l)cen formed 
 under different circumstances, 
 
 [n October ISfio operations were conuneiu;ed on the East 
 River colliery, which was purcliased for the jjurpose of working 
 some upper seams of excellent (]uality which had already been 
 tested. Finding while I Avas proving a small seam Icnown as 
 «' the Richardson seam," near New Glasgow, that it dijiped 
 almost the reverse Avay to those of the Albion Mines, and that 
 its underlying strata rested on the conglomerate, and that the 
 conglomerate itself neai* New Glasgow dipped to the southward, 
 and various dips on the west side of East River having indicatcl 
 that the coal measures must come to the sni'face or crop near 
 New Glasgow, I prepared the plan now exhibited, showing the 
 supposed course of the northern ero]) of the main seain at the 
 town of New Glasgow, and also on the west side of the river. 
 Wc felt so assui-ed of the fa<,'t that the Albion seams, instead 
 of being half a mile deep at Xcw Glasgow, must come to tlie 
 surface, that we purchased the bed of the river and the property 
 to the westward, and commenccid explorations on the sn})posed 
 line of crop. The first trial ])it on the edge of the river was 
 successful, as it struck the cro]) of tlie main seam, which was 
 foimd lying at a heavy angle. Following the course indicated 
 by the plan, we sunk a trial {)it nearly half a mile to thc^ south- 
 westward, where "\ve again struck the same outcrop. A working 
 shaft was then sunk, and the results arc thus described in the 
 official repoit of the go\ernmcnt Inspector of Mines : — 
 
 " A company has been formed with the title of the Mo.^a'cal 
 and rictou Company, to work the seam which has recently been 
 opened by II. G. Malil>urton, Esq.. on the west side of lOast 
 river, and adjoining the Ali)ioii mines on the north. A shaft 
 has been sunk through .-several beds vi' coal, varying in thick- 
 
 
lics,*^ iVom if'j;' lo !.»'.<; '. ;iii(l sci)ai';it('(l l)V IkmIs ol" lire cJay (Voin 
 7 to 10 {'itct thick. I'liov (lip to the soiiih-cast at an aii<j:lo (55". 
 Altlioiiiiii these Ix'ds arc so far apart :is to l»o pi'aclically distinct 
 sciims, llici'o arc i)()iiits of rescnihlaiioc and otlici-circnnistances, 
 whii'h lead to tli<; iK^licf that tiicy vcprosont tho miiin scan of 
 the Albion mines, und that this colliery is on'the nortliorn oop 
 of that seam. Th(! shaft has heen snnk ]. so feet and di-iftinir 
 commenced at a depth of KJA feet.* 
 
 " The discovery of coal on this area lias tulded to the impor- 
 tance of the Picton coal held in a I'cniai'kahle dei^ree. It has 
 given to it a conformation Avhich apjx'ars to have been entirely 
 unsnspected, and by which a larui; (piantity of coal is placed 
 Avithin easy reach. The same seani has Ix'cn discovered l)y Mr. 
 Kiri)y on tht^ east side of East river, and to the noi'th-east of 
 .N\nv Glasgow. This extension of the knowledge of this portion 
 of the coal tield will donbtless lead to further e.\ploi'atio)is, the 
 l)rogress of Avhich v.ill be watched Avith interest.'" 
 
 CiJLTOX Area. — Explorations Avcrc connnenced on this pro- 
 l)erty in LS()5, Avith a view to discovering the Cam})bell seam, 
 Avhich liad beem identilied b}^ Mr. Poole Avith the Cnlton seam 
 fonnd on this proi)erty, and Avorked by Mr. Culton. The adit 
 driA'on bv him is situated on JJear l)i()ol<, al)0Ht a mile and a 
 quarter from the Provincial railw:iy. Exi)lorations Avcre com- 
 menced from a i)oint near the centre of the Intercolonial com- 
 ])any's property, known as the Ciimpbell area — and not less than 
 sixty boj'c holes and trial pits were sunk. .V small overlying seam 
 was discovered Avith a strike S. 12'-^ W. It lay at a hea\'y angle, 
 indicating either tliat the measures turn there rapidly to the 
 Avcst, or that tlieic arc traces there of the series of doAvnthroAvs 
 to the south-Avest, Avhich the Acadia company found on the 
 Eraser area, as they approached the eastern boundaries of the 
 Carmichael and Campbell areas, our pit on the small seam being 
 in the Une of disturbance Avhicli the direction of those doAvn- 
 throAvs would take. Erom this point a series of bore holes and 
 trial pits Avere sunk to the Culton i)it, over nearl}' three quarters 
 of a mile of country, and Avhcrever the strata Avere reached, we 
 
 *Siiice tlic piihlii'iUioi) of tJiis report a level liiis been driven 100 yards to tlic west- 
 wiird on the up])ci- hencli, wliicli lias increased to 25 ft. from roof to floor. Tlie partin;;R 
 have api)arently lu'cn only local, and caused by a bend in the strata, and have. i;iven out, 
 leavin};- the .-leaiii without any partings. On the noitiicrn side of the hasin therefore, 
 the main seam nior-:- nearly re.icndjles the same seam at Middle river, than at the Albion 
 Minc^. The coal was found to improve rapidly iu quality to the west, and the measures 
 to he andistiirbcd in our west level 
 
foiiiRl the s;mic iuet:i!>, which coiisislcd of shiik'?.. The >.iii'l;ico 
 drift, Avhich was very dcei), eoiitaiiied pai-ticles of eojil. The 
 search Avas unsuccessful, as the explorations were evidently in 
 the centre of the basin. 
 
 The Albion mines shales are a distinguishing feature of the 
 liasin. Their enormous thickness is Avithont a parallel, and as 
 I hey overlie the large seams, they arc a sure indication that the 
 crops of the seams must be sought * to the rise.' These shales 
 serve to identify the ('ami)bell or Culton seams with ' the main 
 seam' of the Albion mines. To the south-west of the Culton 
 l)it the measures were found to assume a north-Avesterly dip, 
 while near Oliver's mill, a mile farther Avest, the measures Avcre 
 found to dip in the reverse Avay, shoAving that the coal basin 
 must SAveep off m that direction and l)etwcen the two points in 
 question. More; than a uiile to the south of the Campbell area 
 coal and tire-clays have been found by us, Avhile the existence of 
 the light sandstones of tluf Pictou coal fields still farther south, 
 established the fact that the coal basin must turn in that direc- 
 tion. For two seasons this property has been explored by us, 
 and as Ave are the only persons by whom it has been examined, 
 the results of our explorations Avill have more Aveight than theo- 
 ries, hoAvever ini^cnious, bv others Avho have never examined the 
 locality. The extension of the coal field in this direction is 
 most important, not only from the very superior (quality of the 
 coal, but also because it is found at so short a distance from the 
 provincial raihvay. A leA-el Avas driven by us a short distance 
 on this seam, Avhich Avas found to lie at an easy angle, the mea- 
 sures on this area being Hatter than in any other part of the 
 Pictou basin, excepting Avhere the upper seams occur, Avhich 
 generally lie at a slight angle, and are consequently as to their 
 angle of dip and their out-cro[), unc()nformal)l<' Avith the larger 
 and lower seams. The seam, Avhen folloAved in from the out- 
 crop, increased, in a fcAv yards distance, from two feet to between 
 three and four feet, and a bore hole a few^ feet farther to the di}) 
 went through six feet of coal. ShoAving that at a moderate depth 
 we may expect to find it assume its full size. It AA^as overlaid by 
 oil shales similar to those over the main seam near INIiddle and 
 East rivers, and in the overlying shales Avere found fossils similar 
 to those above the main scan near Middle river. 
 
 SMi 
 
\x 
 
 St. Lawuknci': Area. — On tliis area which is near Mori*;-oiui.sJi 
 harbour, and is the casteni t.'xti'cnuty of the basin, oxi)lorations 
 were carried on from Fe))rnarv lyGO until February 18(17, under 
 tile charge of a mining engineer and of a veiy competent 
 oreman. The outcro}) of the seam had been tirst struck by- 
 others ; a pit Avas sunk (;ne hundred feet deep, and kneels driven 
 from it. There ap[)eared to be what miners call a ' saddle-back' 
 where we stiuk. The dip was over G0°, l)ut flattened greatly at 
 a few hundred feet distance to the dip, and varied from S. W. 
 to S. E. To the eastward the measures dip in a sonth-easterlv 
 direction, and lie at a very '"isy angle. The seam Hrst found 
 proved at a depth of one hundred feet to ))e fourteen feet from 
 roof to floor, though near Uie (Uitcrop it had not been as many 
 mclics thick. It was intended to have ouened a collierv at this 
 pit, as it is some miles nearer deep water than any other, but 
 the disturbance at the spot selected will render it necessary to 
 sink a new working shaft. The one now sunk will answer for a 
 ventilating shaft. Numerous pits and bore holes have been suuk 
 on the property in order to prepare for opening a colliery. A 
 few feet from the last naiucd seam another was found eight feet 
 thick of ver}^ good coal. It has not been tested to the dip, 
 and pro])ably will prove to l)e an underlying bejich of the 
 other seam. 
 
 The explorations on the McBean area adjacent, show that 
 the seams found on it must be found also on the St. Lawrence 
 area, which is probably on the northern side of the basin. A large 
 amount of shales was foimd to overlie the scam proved l)y us. 
 A few yards from the pit we found a reddish sandstone which 
 occurs in great abimdance along Sutherland's r iver, and dips 
 generally at a very slight angle. It is proljable that reddish 
 sandstones on the Culton area are identical Avith those found en 
 this area. The occurrence of sandstones in difl'erent localities 
 cannot be counted upon, as the Albion mines, in sinking their 
 Dalhousie pit passed through nothing ])ut an immense mass of 
 shales, Avhilc further west to their surprise they came down 
 upon a light sandstone in sinking a shaft, and for a time at least 
 abandoned it, supposing that the coal must have run out, and 
 that the sandstone l)elonged to measures underlying the main 
 
8 
 
 scam. The same saiid.stoiic has been luuiid in the oveilyuig 
 shales at New Glasgow and at Middle ri^er. 
 
 I am disposed to think that the lower measures at Sutherland's 
 river bridge are the equivalent of the New Glasgow conglome- 
 rate, and like it, are the boundary between the southern and 
 northern basins, or as I have termed them, the Albion and the 
 Pictou basins. The southern basin narrows and terminates a 
 short distance to tlie eastward of Sutherland's river. I have 
 found coal at its eastern extremity, and also have seen caunel 
 coal discovered there. The explorations east of the river were 
 merely superlieial, being confined to examining exposures of 
 strata*^ and indications of coal. I speak therefore with some 
 hesitation as to the country east of Sutherland's river. That 
 there is coal there, may be safely assumed ; but the extent of it 
 must be settled by the miiier's pick, and bore rod. No intuition 
 can dispense with the drudgery and expense of practical explo- 
 rations, which require a very .mall amount of science, and a 
 very liberal expenditure of money. 
 
 The accompanying map of the Pictou coal district gives the 
 boundaries of leases, &c., accordhig to maps of the Mines 
 Office. 
 
 \^ 
 
 ■A-