The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-01-25

and among them, the McKinleys, be-
lieve lies hidden in the bowels of
Mother Earth around this country.
The McKinleys brought with them an
old miner named Cole, who IS thor
oughly conversant with geological
formations, and is convinced that the
diamond drill will pierce into coal
fields that will surprise this section of
the world.
The leases secured by the McKin-
leys are long documents. They are
all made out to Duncan Mckinley, Sr.,
the father of John and Thomas. He
agrees to pay the land owners 10 cents
per ton for every long ton of 2,24O
pounds mined. and the lease provides
that in two years from date there shall
be removed 1000 tons, and at least
1000 tons each year thereafter. They
are to construct no buildings on the
land and allow no such thing as sa-
loon within the borders of the leased
property. The further consideration
of ST. is paid. They were all acknowl-
edged by Fred L. Warner, who was in
Morton Saturday for the purpose of
taking the acknowledgements of Dun
can Mckinley, Sr.
Way back in the early '7Os was the
discovery of Ignite coal first made.
It then cropped out along the banks
of the Redwood river, on what is now
the Peabody farm. 1t attracted con-
siderable of attention at the time, the
State Geologist came up and looked
at the outcropping, and declared that
it was valueless. Later on another and
more extensive outcropping was dis
covered in the gulley back of the old
Ferrington place, and the State Geol-
ogist came again, merely looked at
the hole, and in scientific disgust de-
clared that there was nothing there.
Then the Redwood Falls Coal Mining
Co. was organized with Capt. Dun
nington, O. B. Turrell, the enthusi-
astic late G.. T. Ward. and others,
among the incorporators. They Sc
cured options on a large amount of
land around the outcroppings, but
aside from working a hole into the
side of the bank on the Peabody farm.
nothing further was done. The matter
was then quietly dropped, with an oc-
casional outburst that attracted but
little attention.
! About three months ago Alfred
Moon,the purchaser of the Ferrington
tract, three miles east of this city ,hav-
ing been among the mines of Ohio,
concluded to make his winters work
in the hole that had been opened way
back in the '7Os. Together with his
son he went to work digging into the
side of the hill, about $50 feet from
the top, and reaching distance of 20
feet into the side, he commenced to
get cut fine quality of what Prof.
Winchell called cretaceous Ignite. on
sample submitted to him by the GA
zErTE. The vein then was just three
and half feet thick. This Ignite
was used by Mr.. Moon for heating
purposes, and his discovery as we'll as
the report thereon by Prof. Winchell
was detailed extensively in these col
umns. Mr.. Moon continued his work.
Better became the quality; larger
grew the vein until the latter reached
a thickness of about four feet; it has
never grown larger. That was when
the workers reached distance of
about so feet into the side of.the hill.
Then force of from six to eight men
was employed, among them practical
miner, and the cretaceous Ignite has
been mined at tbs rate of from three
to four tons per daily, and disposed of
as fast as sold, ever since. Three rooms
have been partitioned of, and the min
ers haYe worked to the east and south.
The veins running east have never
ceased growing smaller, but have kept
about the average thickness all the
way, while the vein extending south
commenced dipping Immediately af-
ter leaving the main shaft, and at one
time was reduced to the discouraging-
u. S. Govt Report.