The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-06-07

4 large number Of seams, Of which eleve
- workable, with 4 tot il thickness OF con
~ Nnsout ninety fvo feet. This coal frol
sne aix seaulA thua far worked 10 Ut GOD
iQuelitsy, thoroughly tented, and the mine
- ~ NUN cisnt extent. ~ prove tho seam
Nh ~ ~ cUnstant. The seams are easii
worked with good ROOF and floor, and th
nlslsnde ct the strata is anch that there
tlSsls ,troahls with watsr or Ras. Fossil Len
remains and uniOs ahow the coal 70 BE- .
Laramie or Fort UAicn age.
vest ot the Rocky Fork coal 6eld, Whicl
Includes shs Western part OF the Crow In
aian reservation within its limits. the con
sin0tsy OF the coal bearing stf alta ID inter
rnptsd BY the rugged and rough, though
NOS lofty. mountains Of she Boulder formst
9! An extensive accumulation OF volcAAi,
sBecta, making rndsly bedded aRRlomesates
West OF the Boulder river ths coal bearing
rocks are again exposed and the stsata oar
30 easily traced 70 the westward, following
tne folds Of b older Strata OF the mount
aims to b Gallatin valley, thencs along
Inc eastsrn ianks or he B,idger RANGE
northward. To this sxtsEslve held tbs
name OF BoxeGan COAL field was frst ap
piled, though ne nams 10 especially appro-
pirate, inasmuch ~ the city OF that naMd
lies wholly outsids VI ths feld and on the
Western side Of the Ysllowstone-M Missouri
divide.
The Bozeman coal 6eld. ~ocoupiea the
1 INV wi AASAty 1VuuA
Bridker range and the east and west range
OF the Snowy aud Boulder mountains and
lies partly in Gsllatin county. Its mines
furnish about half the total output OF the
stats. but a. YET only q very snsil part OF
the field has bean worked, and the present
p oduction could bs.inorsascd tsnfold fram
the present mines il the demand were sufi-
Gent.
Between Livingston and Big Timber the,
field 10 wholly unproda active, indeed the
rrn0A AA ~ - ArE ri - ArrA A~-
! ected, but natural exposures warrant the
belief that the thickness and number of tho
eeams will make this = valuable part of the
field If the quality Of the coal il maintained.
Along the Y~ellcwstone river. where local
folds in the rocks bring mp the coal-bearing
series, there are several openings on varl-
ous seams, but the indications are that the
fuel afforded by these little disturbed beds
IL inferior to that from the highly fsxsd
strata farther west, though as yet no fair
test has been made of these Goals, the opon-
ings being but a few feet deep.
Tbs most important part of the field lies
along the line of the railroad. west OF Liv-
ingston. Eight miles beyond that city q
branch of the Northern Pacific leaves tho
main line and follows up the valley of Coke
creek to the town of Coksdale. At this
point the coal bearing rocks form a ridge
north Of town. the outcropping lodges of
sandstone runniag nearly east and west.
and the beds dipping at so degrees to the
north, or into the slope. The mines are
operated by the Livingston Goa and Coke
company. At present. but one seam ia
worked, but thsre are a number Of other
seams Of good coal underlying the one
worked that await a demand warrantiAR
their development. The company controls
the most accessible and less disturbed parts
Of the local isld, but there are several in
dividual claims in the warped beds, form
ing the divide between the waters OF tbs
Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. Careful
prospecting has hssn done along the out
crop of the seam now worked, but no drill
ing has been done and the nature and value
OF the other seams is largely a matter OF
conjecture. Mining is a. present preseout-
cd ut but one opening. The incline driven
the seam 10 $50 feet deep. and working 10
done on three levels running westward. the
longest being about q mile in length. The
coal 10 hauled on . tramway about a quar-
ter mile to the railroad, whore it is screened
and weighed and the slack sent to the COX
ovens. of which there are ssventh-eight.
The coal dips into the hill at forty-three to
fifty degrees. SO that the limit Of economic
mining will be reached comparatively
quickly. Sections of the seam show three
or four variable but persistent partines of
sandstone and shale dividing the seam into
benches of four feet to seven feet of clear
fuel.
West of Cokedale the rocks are warped
and twisted, but Weld a fuel largely used
on the locomotives of the Northern Pacific
railroad M for = steam coal. The most
workings are at Timberline-just
west OF the divide. The measures are here
upturned and the coal somewhat
broken. The coal will not coke, bun is of
quality and easily mined. Tbs OPEN
ings are made in a steep hillside that forms
the south side of a narrow gulch, in which
tbs town has been built. A narrow a
conveys the coal in the mine cars to
the loading house, some two miles distant,
it is &C eened and loaded into the
ears of the Northern Pacific system.
Beyond Timbsrline the seams have been
opened at Mountain Siding and Chestnut,
ON the line Of the railroad, and by several
lesser mines of small production. on an sx-
Of the field southwark, ON Meadow
and Trail orseks. The only mine worked
on that part of the field at tbs eastern base
of the Bridpsr mountains is in the over
turned beds Of Bridger canyon.
The oeal measures Of the Bozeman field
hold several seams. of which three are
known to have a workable thickness Cat
five fest) and to be of fair quality.
The coal is inclossd by sandstones, gen
orally white and erumbly, yet forming pic
craRs and lodges whore the slope
is steep.