Omaha daily bee., 1888-04-19
ouARRlrs oE COLORADO.
The Immense Granite and Sandstone
Output.

OF COLORADO stone Tor building paving
and curbing purposes, combined with
the demand for this stone coming from
Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, in
duced the Denver News to interview
Mr.. James O'Reilly, assistant superin-
tendent OF the Union Pacific stone de-
p%artment, for the purpose of ascertain
ing the magnitude of shipments I0r the
year past and to secure an estimate OF
shipments for tho year to come. Mr.,
O'Reilly was found at his desk at the
Union depot, busily reading a telegram
from Lincoln, Neb., making inquiries
with reference to Dimensions and prices
OF 10000 feet Of paving and curbing
stone, upon which the author OF the
telegram, an extensive contractor, de-
sired estimates and prices.
81 have been in the business ever
since l was sixteen years old, and l am
now sixty-six years of age" said Mr..
O'Reilly. However, my experience
with Colorado quarries is confined to a
very limited period, having come to
Denver to assume the duties Of assist
ant, under Superintendent A. G. Beck
with, early in March last. Therefore,
| am not in a position TO give the News
u great deal OF specific information in
the absence of Superintendent Beck
with, who is now in Wyoming. My ex-
%perience of fifty years in this branch Of
business induces the statement, how
ever, that the shipment of stone from
the Colorado quarries is as yet in its
early infancy. In ten years from the
present it will have reached a magni-
tude far beyond the expectations of any
IL not thoroughly acquainted with the
rare good and enduring qualities of
Colorado sandstone and granite.
YET TO BE DISCOVERED.
when l say the business is yet in its
infancy | mean to be understood as
affirming that there is an empire of
wealth Of u still better quality of stone
yet concealed in the rock-ribbed noun
tains. There is stone there that will
Withstand the mutations of any climate
and endure through ages. When it is
discovered and adequate facilities given
for its shipment, | believe it is within
easy range of the possible for Colorado
to supply st. Louis and even Chicago
with the best grade of building stone at
rates that will displace the native stone
| of Missouri and Illinois from extensive
use. The building stone of these states
| gradually yields to climatic influences,
and it is especially susceptible to the
| effects of frost and intense cold. Colo
RADIO stone is of a composition that deiies
the c%orroding influences of time and
climate, and there is practically al III
limited field for its use for building
material, paving and curbing, in the
states OF Kansas and Nebraska, neither
of which states possess any adequate
stone supply for the purposes indicated.
QUARHIEs.
"The Union Pacific quarries are loca-
ted at Buckhorn and Stout, in Laramie
county. The company is at present Civ
ing employment to 800 men, but this
force will soon be increased to 500 or 600,
| since we are in receipt of extensive or
ders every day from Omaha, Kansas
| City and Topeka. You see the Colo
RADIO quarries enjoy some advantages
over those of Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.
In the latter states work can be prose-
cuted only five or six months in the
year. When cold weather approaches
| the quarries have to be flooded in order
to protect the exposed strata from frost.
This involves a large extra cost, which
is seriously augmented by the expense
of pumping this water out in the spring.
In the Colorado quarries work can pro-
gress all winter without cessation, ow-
ing to the mild climate. Notwithstand-
ing these great advantages we are far
behind in filing our orders for last
year. Why, the demand from Omaha
was of such magnitude that we are &c.
900 cubic yards behind in our orders
from that point on the demand for last
season, and here is a telegram from the
/ same parties calling for an additional
supply of 10000 cubic feet. The great
bulk of our present shipments are to
| Kansas in general and Topeka in par
ticular. The demand from this source
is so urgent and extensive that we find
it impossible to fill Kansas City orders.
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED.
"While the stripping at our quarries
is comparatively light, averaging about
three feet of dirt, violent upheavals of
nature and probable volcanic action has
| forced the strata of the mountains out
of horizontal position and left the lay
ers resting on an incline that makes
quarrying quite difficult. The stone
taken out at BuckhOrn and Stout varies
from four to thirty inches in thickness.
| We avoid blasting as much rs possible,
preferring TO use the drill and wedge.
| BY the latter method IL great deal of
waste is avoided and, again, it assures
| getting the stone out in better condi-
ton. 1t comes out solid and square, IN
stead of shattered and cracked, as
would naturally ensue from blasting.
AS a general rule the lodges run into
the mountain in wen %stratas, but oc-
casionally we find places where, in ages
long gone by, volcanic action has
SCARED, cracked and broken the ledge.
until they have beer seriously impaired
This is the exception and not the rule.
SHIPPING FACILITIES.
"We enjoy the best of facilities for
| getting this stone to market. The road
runs directly to the quarries, about
seventy miles distant. Two trains are
kept constantly in this service, and as
the grades are easy an ordinary engine
of forty tons weight can easily haul if-
teen to eighteen loaded fiat cars to
Denver. The aggregate value of our
shipments last year? Let me look mt
the books" After a pause: "Well, we
keep the record by months, and | have
not the time to make an accurate exam
i%nation, but taking several monthly ag-
gregates and making a rough esti-
mate, / will place the value of
shipments last year at 1919 900.
The supply2 There is enough
building and paving stone in
Colorado to supply the world for centu
ries yet to come. The wealth Of her
stone product is equal to that of her
gold and silver mines. Vast quantities
of this stone are used in the construction
of our state capitol building and Denver
school houses. The demand this sum