History of Western Maryland. J. Thomas Scharf
Savage Mountain forms the highest ridge, while on the eastern side Dan's Mountain rises to a somewhat less elevation. Between these the present general surface of the valley drops down to a depth of five hundred feet below the summits of the ridges. In this county, between the Pennsylvania line and the Potomac River, it has a length of about twenty miles and a width of five to six miles. This is the center of Allegany's greatest activity, and along its slopes and swells the miners' houses crop out at frequent intervals, where the rugged surface has been denuded of the forests which once gave shade and moisture to the earth. In the midst of the rocks, on the hard, thin soil, the miner's family lives and manages to raise a few potatoes and some vegetables to eke out the scanty fare which the region supplies. All summer long, and until the icy cold of winter has stopped the canal, he works beneath the ground, cutting out the black mineral for transportation to other and distant places. Square holes in the sides of the mountains and in the ravines, kept open by supports of timber, lead to the beds from which the coal is taken. About twenty-seven square miles of area were originally occupied by the seams of this fuel, of which the main stratum, or great bed, fourteen feet in thickness, is the eighth in the descending order, and rests at a distance of about two hundred and seventy-seven feet below the surface.
Enormous quantities of this important mineral are being removed every year, and the rate of excavation is so rapid as to make it appear likely that this principal bed will be exhausted within the next half-century. The coal is of the semi-bituminous kind, containing from seventy-two to eighty-three per cent, of carbon, is jet-black and glossy, and is taken out in blocks often as large as a man can handle.
The valley is traversed by a number of streams, the principal of which is a fine large one, the George's Creek, that winds and bends in a deep channel from north to south, and empties into the Potomac River. The other streams are chiefly its tributaries, and generally rise on the mountain flanks, both east and west, wearing their way though deep channels in the hard sandstones and shales, until they finally become merged with the creek. Towards the northern end of the valley Jennings' Creek and Braddock's Run have cut their way in deep channels through gaps in Dan's and Will's Mountains, and dashing over broken rocks in the midst of startling scenery, they unite with Will's Creek in the great chasm a few miles from Cumberland. The mountains of this region are all quite massive, have been folded into chains of high, broad domes by the enormous pressure which raised them into the air chiefly after the coal period; but before that time marshes bordering the ancient ocean permitted the growth of a dense and rank vegetation, which supplied the material for the beds of carbonaceous mineral, since proved to be such useful fuel. This part of the country is of little interest as to its agricultural capacities, but it is full of remarkable scenery, and contains an ample store of carbonate of iron in connection with its coal-measures.
Garrett County. — Upon crossing the summit of the great Backbone Mountain, Garrett County is reached. It is the most elevated and compact mountain region in the State; the surface is all greatly elevated, and its outline is that of a broad triangle, whose hypothenuse is on the southeast, and is bounded there by the Potomac River. Its western boundary is a straight line, about forty miles long next to West Virginia; on the north it is equally straight, stands next to Pennsylvania, and is about thirty-two miles long. It has an area of about six hundred and seventy square miles, and is traversed from northeast to southwest by six long chains of mountains and two or three spurs running off from their sides. The country is supplied with great numbers of small brooks, most of which are torrents; and its principal river is the Youghiogheny, a rapid stream that rises at the fork of the Little Savage Mountain, and winding northwest . through Pennsylvania, empties into the Monongahela River. At least two important coal-basins occur in this region, both of which are now being developed. The most easterly lies between Meadow Mountain and Negro Mountain, forming a long triangular trough, whose widest part is on the north, next Pennsylvania, and the narrow end is on the south, intersected by the valley of Deep Creek. It is about seventeen miles long by from two to five wide; and, like the coal-bearing valley of Allegany, is a downward curve of broad and narrow strata of shale, sandstone, coal, limestone, conglomerate, and iron, resting one above the other in a regular series. The same is the case with the deeper and wider coal-basin which occupies the northwestern section of the country between Keyser's Ridge and Briery Mountain. It is an extremely uneven basin, broken into many small divisions by Winding Ridge and various spurs and knobs, and is traversed from south to north by the Youghiogheny River. This valley extends across the boundary lines of both Pennsylvania and West Virginia; but within the limits of Garrett County it varies in width from five to eight miles, while its length is co-extensive with the width of the western boundary of the State.
The former of these valleys is known as the Meadow Mountain coal-field, and the latter derives its name from the Youghiogheny River, which runs through its lowest level. Neither of these basins contains strata of coal at all comparable to the great fourteen-feet bed of the Allegany Valley, and in some parts of each of the former the eroding waters have carried away vast sections of the coal-rocks; but at least four strata of coal have been detected in both, three of which beds average four or more feet in thickness. Besides the coal strata so important to this section, argillaceous iron ore occurs in large quantities. On Bear Creek a good quality of the oxide of manganese is present, apparently in large quantities, and on the western flank of Winding Ridge an extensive deposit of clay contains nodules of the carbonate of iron in connection with a layer of calcareous earth. At the same place may also be found a mineral composed of lime, clay, and the oxide of iron, well adapted for the production of a strong hydraulic cement.
The country is one of great attractiveness, from the fine resorts for health and pleasure which abound everywhere in the midst of fine scenery and pure air and water. Beautiful meadows of fresh green called glades are present almost everywhere along the mountain-tops, and the speckled trout still lives in the limpid streams which course through these uplands. During the warm seasons these glades are decked with a numerous collection of showy and bright flowering plants, which delight the eye and continually attract the attention. Among these the yellow lily, cardinal flower, phlox, asters, and smaller sunflowers may be cited, together with the fine flowering shrubs and trees, such as the cucumber magnolia, collinsonia, senothera, monarda, and rudbeckia. The sugar-maple also flourishes upon the mountain-sides, and yields its annual supply of syrup to the farmers who collect it. Wild beasts were formerly numerous in the rugged, rocky ravines and forests of the mountain-sides, but these have been mostly exterminated; and now in their stead may be occasionally found the red deer, raccoon, opossum, rabbits, and several varieties of squirrels. The wild turkey and pheasant are still tenants of the more secluded woods, and small game is yet to be found in the wilder spots. The glades produce rich grasses in great abundance, upon which the sheep and cattle are fed, and consequently the country is noted for the superiority of its mutton, as it is, also, for the fine quality of its well-named " Glades butter." Rattlesnakes are still to be found in the wild rocky parts of the ravines, and a general list of the reptiles of the region would include most of those common to the Allegany belt at large. But the tops of the highest ridges are tenanted by creatures, although becoming more uncommon, such as the Canada porcupine, the white rabbit, and some mice, which belong properly to the Canadian fauna. The flora also, as represented by its trees, has much the same character, and may be distinguished by the northern spruces, hemlocks, and pines which grow in the exposed woods. Fish formerly abounded, among which the native trout was the most beautiful and desired, but over-fishing and neglect of the rivulets have depleted the streams, so that only small numbers can now be found where formerly the waters were almost overstocked with them. Rye, buckwheat, and oats are leading productions of the farms, and tobacco is raised to some extent on newly-cleared lands. Cattle are raised in large numbers for export, and may be seen grazing in herds on the wide-spreading meadows, while long trains of cars are continually being sent off loaded with well-fattened stock from this county. Thus, with all its peculiarities of surface and soil, built upon and out of the massive rocks which lie but a few feet beneath; with bracing breezes, pure air, good water, and extensive ranges of grandly picturesque scenery along the valleys and across the mountains, joined to its immense mineral resources, Garrett County possesses first-class advantages for attracting and sustaining a large and healthy population, while capable of receiving and providing for the ever-increasing number of summer residents and tourists who crowd thither for health and pleasure.
Potomac River. —