The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-06-07
llnELDs OF MONTANA
heAExtsnt of ths Measures That Ara
Found Ia The Eastern Por-
SA ton.
aeven workable Seams IA tho
Rooky Fork Field, and They
Are Constant

- uossman Measurss Capable Of 0rsa
xreApstisn-Ths Cokedals MeAsures
d aaA Their Developments.
About / week ago The INDEPENDENT pub
Il lish0A "a article written by Walter HArve,
Weed Tor the Engineering and Mining
iournal ON the coal fields OF Montana
Thjs article dealt principally with the Grsat
Falls Asld and those in the National rarl
and Ahe Judith country. Another article
from ~ pen OF Mr.. Weed Ia reproduced
doalinp principally with the coal fields Of
eastern Montana. Mr.. Weed saya in ths
rapid development q mining in AontaAa,
which has placed her in tho front rank a
! producsr 81 ths precious metals, but small
nccount has bssn taken Of her great wealth
~ coal yet the permanent future Of .
scountry IL 70 largely determined by tho full
sppply Of the region and its accessibility
Ahat 10 emphasis ID needed to show its inn
portanos to this state. The treelsss prai-
\ ries cf the eastern half of the state, tho linn.
ited area Of forest land. and the rapidly in-
craasinc consumption of fuel by the grow
ing industries or the state form a combina-
sion Of conditions analogous to those shat
have brought about the rapid developm ant
Of the coal fields of Colorado.
Throughout the eastern part of Montana,
! somewhat breken plains country. monot-
onous in topography, dry and t~resless, but
or great value AS farming land when irri-
gable. and for grazing purposes. the cut
nenks q sns iisois NV 20 "Aa 'A0
bluhs OF bad laHd busses' snow the black
outCrcps Of Ignite beds. These Ignite
peasnres unaerlie 4 large part of the great
ai.;-. r.r,trv Tha roeh. oorai,t AT cc.raa
p..a .1sSS1- 81. .--...s.ssos .h.,.sSs
sanassoas1 VIA i1'sto'uasa sn1ie ahu
holding brown coal seams often burnt ont
~ still burninR along tho outcrop. This
fuel ID only locally mined, its rapid orum-
bling Whsa exposed 70 air rendering it unHt
for transportation Or consumption when
j large stock j. required on hand.
These seams are worked At q few
places 70 supply the local dem and
Tor ! cheap fuel and are available whore
the long haul of coal from the bituminous
regions nakes it tso expensive for ordinary
nee. Yet with the great amount of btu
minous coal available farther west and
nearer the VENTS OF greatest consumption,
these lignitss nust wait the development
IT the Surrounding region before the seams
will be extensively mined. Approaching
ths mosntsins, the lev relief Of this plains
country 10 broken by outlines OF the Rocky
mountain Yangss, and it 10 along the foot
elsrss Of these chains that the great coal
Aslds Of The stats are found. There il good
reason 70 believe that An almost continuous
stretch ct ceal-bsarina strata will DO found
alona the footsloIss Of this. the eastern
front Of the Rocky Mountain Cordillsra.
NI ~ nNHthARArNnAk aAptynN ri thia ha1A -
~ Rocky Fork zeal ns!d, At the base OF
1he Bear Teoth meuntains, some nifty miles
south q Billings. This sxtsndinK west
wards continued BY the Bozeman coal
4sldA, ans this by less extensive fields and
detached basins along the front Of the
range - the Judith basin and the Great
Fall. coal held: From the Missouri river
inG rocks have bseA found, and working be-
gun a Birch Greek basin. This belt Of
coal laAd, forming N almost continuous
coal d0ld. 10 400 miles long to from one and
oas-half t. i've miles wide. Beside this
sxte1siye and almost continuous arsa Of
coal land fronting the mountains there are
: large 11nbsr of valuable fields within
he mountains, moro or less isolated basins,
Of which practically nothing 10 yet known.
although II 10 within these iAtsrmountAin
coal basins that We may expect the very
best ssals Of the state to b found. Recent
explorations OF the country tributary to
FlatAsad Lake shows the existence of .
dsla whose oeal is equal to the best yet DIS
and the little isol atsd eoal field of
Cinnabar, just outside the Yellowstone
park, yields . coal in many respects the
1nest yet obtained within the state.
The Goals Of Montana are all of Creta-
csous age. Approaching the Roslsy noun
tains from the great plains to the eastward.
the nearly horizontal sandstones and shales
Of the plains are foand to rise upward quite
rapidly TO the mountain slopes, and the
eroaed sdgss of the strata are sooa exposed,
forming sharp conbed ridges and hog
backs" Continuing the ascent the strata
are very sharply upturnsd, and the sand
stones are soon rspiaced by the underlying
shalss and limestones of the marine ersta-
ceous, and these by the massive white
'moustain llmsstons' of the carbonlfer-
GUS. II II in the rocks covering these lime
stones that the coal il always found, either
Immediately and at the base Of the creta-
ceous sandstonss, as III the case of the
Great Falls coal field, or in the higher rocks
OF Laramie age, as is the case in the Boze-
man, Cianabar and Rocky Fork fields, In
the descriptions given of these fields,
necessarily brief in ar article of this kind.
the thickness of the strata between the
easily recognizable massive white lime
stones Of the carboniferous and tho coal
seams will be given.
Although 80 large an extent of Montana
IL undsflAid by a workable thickness of
coal. the actual acreage Of coal land worked
10 quits small, A list of the producino coal
mines Of Montana, prepared in 1890 for the
census office. shows the total number of