The Elk Mountain pilot., 1909-10-07

miles away. This method might
have given satisfactory results if
the corners used in triangula.ion
had been accurately located, but
that many of them were not be-
came evident wien locations Of Ger
tain points made from one set of
corners failed to coincide with To-
cations of the same points made
from other corners. Some of the
inaccriracies are tracable TO the
original surveys and 9th ars to the
attempts of local surveyors to rees-
tablish lost corners or to establish
new ones where they supposed the
original corners should be. For
these reasons. although the map is
approximately correct. no final
classification of the land can be
made.
The eastern or Somerset district
includes the coal east of Paonia.
At its west end the coal crops out
in the cliffs about a thousand feet
above North Fork, but at Somerset
it is at river level. Eust OF Mime.
sofa creek it nnderlies the mesa
aud crops out again on Conl creek
which has cut its canyon down to
the coal bearing zone. The beds
are extensively exposed farther
south, or up stream in the Coal
creek canon, but were not examin-
ed south of the Mosley mine.
Coal occurs in both the Paonia
and Bowie shale members Of the
Mestlverde formation in the Somer
set district, as shown in the John
sou section Of the following table.
The upper four beds OF this Sec
tiun are in the Paonis member
There are probably other coal beds
in this member, but none have
been opened anil there are few
natural exposures. the coal being
either burned ON the nntcrop or
covered with brusi, and surfare
debris. The Bowie shale contains
seven beds of coal that have been
prospec,ed, AMI others of which
little is known. The amount of
clinker and nsli in some places in.
dicatss the existence OF unknown
coal beds of considerable thickness
All the mines and nearly all the
prospects of the Somerset district
xre in the Goals of the b vie shale
or marine Mesaverde.
The coal Of the Somerset district
is more abundant better exposed,
more easily accessible, and more
extensively worked than that of
the other districts The average
thickness of workable coal is prob
ably not less than 65 feet. The
productive beds occur at various
horizons throughout the B)wie
shale, aud range in thickness fro m
1 to 25 feet, The lowest coal is
worked at the Conine mine where
the bed, 10 to s inches thick, con-
sists of two benches separnte ed by
| foot 6 inches OF shule. The coal
of the middle and upper parts of
the Bowie shale is worked at the
Cooperative mine where the bed is
10 feet s inches thick; at the new
King mine where it is 12 feet s
inches thick; and at the Somerset
mine. where it is said to be still
thicker on account of the coales-
cence of several beds.
The coal is petter in many ways
than the fresh water coal OF the
Rollins district. 1t is harder, less
liable to slack on exposure to the
weather. stands shipment well, and
some of it is coking coal. 1t is
black. bituminouo, fine grained,
with bright vitieous luster and tex
ture ranging from even to seamy,
and some OF it is conspicuously
banded by alternating layers of
coal that differ in luster. The
coal throughout the district is free
from bone or other foreign matter