The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-06-06
SAND COUlEE AND ITS MINE.
One of M%Ontana's Most Thriving
Camps-a Coulee Filled With
Pretty Cottages and
Happy Homes.
A Visit to the Great Coal Mine aud a
Day spent With One of the
Cataract City's Lively
Ncighbors.

One of the very best of Great Fails
friends and neighbors is Sand Coulce.
Though young and dependent on one
great industry, her merchants seem pros
porous and her laboring class thriving
and contcntcd. The young village, or
rather camp, is most appropriately named
with large hills rising on each side.
Through the middle of the c0ulce, ar
ranged in regular rows. are the houses,
seventy six in number. These are all Of
a similar pattern and belong to the Sand
Coulee Coal company, which rents them
to its employees at six and eight dollars
per month. The cottages are neatly
painted story and a half dwellings, and
have a very commodious, homc-likc ap-
~pearance.
Sand Couloe has immediate railway
communication with Great Falls. The
Great Northern train leaves III the nor
ing at 7:1J. being formed wholly OF empty
coal cars. 1t returns about Don or later
with loaded cars and frequently makes Il
second trip.
Three stores do business in the camp.
The company has a large grocery store
and meat market. Their business is M
on the coupon system. I'm employe who
has money coming can procure Il book of
coupons and on these secure money at
the store. The Boston clothing store
also has an c%nterprising branch, in the
camp. The Bank OF Sand toulce is Il
private bank controlled largely by Great
Falls capital. Its affairs are very ably
attended to by Mr.. II. j. Skinner. form
erly of Great Falls. The public school
now has an attendance Of seventy four.
1t is under the superintendent u Prof.
Ct. y. Graham. who. in addition to the
branches, in which the young idea com
monty shoots, is instructing Il class IN
bookkeeping. On the opening of the
ensuing term the school will become d
graded one. and several teachers be ON
ploycd. The present term closes on
July 9th.
Of course, though, the great feature
of Sand Coulce is its Oal NINE. -Four
hundred feet under Il high hill, above
the camp. extending into its rocky sides
fully a mile. employing 400 sons OF
labor, paying out monthly from s2o.oU
to $4,000. by its own magnitude 1t
makes Il camp Of about LOCO souls.
Through the courtesy of Mr. II. Burril,
the local manager of the company, a rep
rcsentative of The TRIBUNE was shown
through the mine. The entry seems
very minute, situated on the side of a
large hill. Proceeding inward the day.
light grows fainter and more faint. 1t is
soon left far behind and II is developed
in the very blacklist darkness. The
slope which leads into the mine is
scarcely seven feet high and as ones eyes
become used to the darkness it becomes
dimly apparent. On either side and
above is rock, the coal vein being about
six feet in depth. Pulled 10y a team OF
mules. the empty car in which one rides
goes farther and farther into the mine
1t passes numerous abandoned cham
bers. many side passages, and DC
c~asionally a miner making his
way to the exit. AS the cal
draws nearer the interior of the mine the
minute lamps which the miners wear in
their caps may be seen shining almost
timidly through the darkness. Present
" the car stops and the driver invites his
passenger to alight and enter n Of the
chambers. These chambers or "rOOms
are distributed at intervals along tho
p~assapes. About four feet Of coal is left
between each. Two and sometimes three
men work in a chamber. Reclining on
their sides the miners first attack the
lower part of The vein. This must be
dug out or mined for about five feet. y
hole is then drilled near the middle OF
the vein, a charge of dynamite inserted
and from four to five tons Of coal secured
at a single blast. Ordinarily two miners
will make three aud often four blasts II
two DAYS. II is, however, a tedious oc
~cupation, rs il must constantly be pur
sued while in Il crampcd and mcomfort
able position. After il is mined the Goa
is loaded into cars holding one and one
half tons each. These are drawn to tn,
exit and OH into a building, from whirI
their contents are dumped, through ;
chute. into Il freight car placed below
The ompan is now using Il machine
which greatly facilitates the loading. !
is n steam scattcrrr placed in the middle
of fine car. which by its rapid evolution
throws The coal To the opposite ends %
the cars as fast as it leaves the chute,
ABOUT fourteen passages run into TN
mine, branching off from two main en-
tries. Two transfers traverse each u
these, one bringing TO the exit the coa
cars already filled. the other rc~turnln!
with the empty ones In this way. whel
a full force is working, about LOO ton
are mined daily. A great deal of tii
amount is used by the Great Northern
and Montana Central railways. both o
which receive their supplies from TIN
mine.
Including miners, tcamstcrs and othc
laborers, the company employ about IN
men. On payday, which comes the IN
of each month. from $4,000 to s't1on
paid out. The miners receive a dollar
ton, and frequently make four and lily
dollars a day. The tcamstcrs are .paI'
50. Naturally the foreign element pre-
dominates in the camp. The hardy son
of Norway, Sweden and Finland constr
tuto a large portion of the force
Their sturdy shoulders and larg
physique, so inscnsible to IA
II. tl,n, ,A.lhnrl