Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1880-11-24
The Ponca Journal Of the f6th
inst. has the following sketch Of ~
coal company and facts regarding
the petroleum and coal fields:

It 10 with great plsasufe and satislActioa that
tsfnool. ths ninsre engaged % boriag IT csal.
and ! hsif lei thicE. Tins have IL SaiSissiass,
liscouragemsuts and LAHORE Of ths nonca ca
Company bssa ~sriunphassly sEowasd With ssc-
The ponea Coal conpsny wss orsaaissd 49,
msncsd boring Or coal. and amer mach sxpsusss
e: sS'' ]: 4 e; ( s'p so. Ss 90 . isss ~: ..-s e =. e $50. go.
mcnced to pat down . new hole. 1osfunately,
this time, no accidents cunsA 70 etop tn
work, and nov e : dpth Of 20 ies, they Asss
Ii sinking this SEQ feet hole. the ninsls arss
stfuct roex q : depth Of aooat 100 fest. Anas.
throsgh several layers Of soal. bot none . fthsa
Of sufleisnt thickness 10 BE- Of much vaIne.
When dswu about 43n feet they came 10 Q assR
s Hs,sr so ow.ecdd witt With '1 .ssss i ssss. 10 res. :
pr asnre, indeed, that the hole. hitherto clear
Of water for . greai distance, was hlled nearly
more subterrsnean waisf courses were passe9
higher q the surses. nas i v.s e. wsies
Which .S. th S'I @insrs , ws,s siss; {. 2, mn ~, ,. ssssIfy =
v hen down about $50 feet the mincrs detect
ed the smell Of petroleum, which - the pro.
ceeded on, rapedly become strcngcr; The afiii
BILE was saturated With Il. For two mofninge
before striking coal, the water In the hole was
covered to . depth Of ten inches with 81, p
that II looked very much ~ ihonkh An oil well
would be the result In . yer short time. There
can be no doubt that when down between 51
feet and the four and auc-halI lest cOeA 49,
one OF nore veins q oil = srs tapped. sss wnsin.
told with certainty. Yet Il mast b rsmembssh
= =. ~. ... M. T. NH =. ss n e; e tA 3 tGP 20 e sss
rspid underground streams before Ms4NMSE
and unleks the supply Of oil ct tho fountain
head was great indeed. II 70 wonderful thai ~
Of II was ever able to reach the top st all. We
believe that when they struck oil. 20 - 10 cut
OF the torrent Of water which were s,weeping
across the course ofthe hole for over . funaroa
feet, they would have had q good paying oil we'll.
tendent Of the work, and WAS the belief Of Oth.
Oihers whose experience In the oil regions 81
Pennsylvania. entities their opinions 10 much
respect
Immediately AFTER pass Ing this region Of q oil
the minors, to the Joy Of Aessrs, Slough = We'll
y. the contractors doing the work, and espeet-
ally tothe Joy Of the members OF the compans.
stSsck one Oft b. grandcst coal beds IN the
west. Indeed, It Is the only one Ofany value or
size TINS far discovered 4, IN Nebraska or Southern
Dakota' The specimens OF coal taken out show
an excellen, quality and are to be submitted to
Aughey, the state geologist, together with spec
linens Of the different formations. rocks, etc.
through which The drill passed. Prot. A; has
been sent for and will hkiy b. here the latter
The next edort must be, - . matter Of course,
TO get down 70 the coal with . shat. The dis
lance, $50 feet, 10 not 20 great as to be discour.
aging. Frequently . much thinner vein, q four
tfmcs that depth. has beeA opened and probably
worked. The company has several inousand
acres OF land, with which and the wonaerfui
prospects now opened up, there Will be little
dinlculty in obtaining capital to develop their
discoveries, Allow It 10 cost $4,000 before the
company can commence taking out coal, the
yields 1000 IONS. and that alone will repay the
amount. besides paying for the cost Of mining
II When one considers the Immense demand
admitted that this IL the grandess diecovery
ever made In the etate. Coal si0:k, which q kew
weeks ago wss considered almost worthless, to
rapidly sssumiug . permanent value. and Is be-
ing gathered IN BY those who 80 . god round
sum TO be made ON the epocuyAtion.