The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1901-03-20
the undertaking Of Gen. Washburn

Inc undefJak1ng OF Zen. WaSnDufn
and the method and success with
which it is being carried on.
To buy lie, 600 acres of land with
the purpose Of building a railroad
from Bismark to Washburn, Coal
Harbor and Great Falls, designing
to sell the lands and at the same
time open up the country to settle
ment, was of itself a big piece of
work requiring a large capital and
great executive ability. There was
also side issue an attempt to de-
Iyelop the vast beds of lignite known
to exist in that part of the State.
And so the onlooker would have
seen, as early as May of 1900. ex-
periments being made to discover
/ Ignite of a superior quality and in
paying quantities. Expert pros
pectors were brought out from the
east, and after many tests deposit
was found, at depth of 60 feet, IL
to Is feet thick.
The find was about mile east of
Wilton and under what on the sur
face seemed simply an ordinary
rolling prairie. AS far as tested
the present deposit is a mile wide
and over two miles long.
The portion of the plant above
ground consists Of a power house,
125 horse engine that develops cleo
tricity for the lighting and opera
! tions of the niue and for lighting
Wilton mile away, a hosting en-
CINE, water tank, boarding house
for Is men, and dock and switch
for the loading of cars
Having taken note of the coal
plant above ground, the writer, I'M
der the courteous guidance of Mr..
Nelson, a member of the Office force,
started down an incline of nearly
300 feet to the mine level. The in
cline is heavily timbered aud made
perfectly secure. There is track
laid down the incline and over it
! the loaded cars, holding one and a
half tons are drawn up by a wire
cable. When the level is reached a
scene new and novel to the new
conner meets the eye. The mine is
! lighted by electricity, and here and
there in the channels cut into the
black rock. far away, one sees men
moving about with lamps on their
hats. Coming from the daylight
!, the scene is wierd and uncanny.
The galleries opened seemed of in
! terminable length, comprising near
ly two miles, all laid with track.
Finally, at the end of one of the
galleries, we saw the mining of the
coal in progress. It is all done by
!, machines and drills run by cleo
tricity The cutting machine backs
up against the wall to be opened
and projects a pair of arms four
feet apart against the mass. The
arms carry a chain, which looks
like the driving sprocket chain in a
self binder, to which teeth are at
tached that cut out seam four in
ches thick by six feet deep. The
machine is then set over, and an
other four foot cutting is made
Holes are then drilled near the roof
and charged with dynamite, the
workmen retire, explode the charge
and a great mass of coal comes down
with heavy thud.
The time necessary to do all this
and load car with coal ready for
the market is SO short as to seem
incredible. There are three cutters
and two drills at work. The mil e
is provided with a ventilating shaft
and fans run by electricity keep a
constant supply of fresh air. Drains
run to center and the water is
pumped out.
Work on the plant was commenced
last August, since which time the
enterprising management has not
only put the works into operation
but found a market for the product,
until at the present time 275 tons a
day are taken out. The coal finds a
ready market. Wilton and Bismark
use it exclusively, and points on the
| Northern Pacific in Dakota are gen
orally giving it the preference over
other Goals. That it will in the
| near future be used LARGELY cannot