The roundup record., 1909-10-29

were not aware of the immensity o
the industry here, were amazed at
the up-to-date plants which have
been installed.
UNDERGROUND BANQUET
At four o'clock Saturday after
noon the party was taken up to the
Roundup Coal Company's mine,
where they were to 60 thru the most
novel and unique experience Of their
trip. Each visitor was furnished
with a miners cap with lamp at
tached, and they were escorted down
the main slope Of the mine for a
distance of about 1000 feet. Fol-
lowing their leader and guides, and
creeping their way in the narrow
slopes lighted only by the faint
flicker of the miners lamps, the
party suddenly found themselves in
a beautifully Illuminated banquet
hall into which one of the rooms of
the mine had been transformed. An
exclamation Of amazement and
wonder burst from the lips of the
visitors as they gazed upon the daz-
zling scene before them, - tables
artistically decorated and laden with
all kinds of food and drink for the
hungry and thirsty, and innumer-
able red andgreen nincandescent lights
casting their soft glow from above
a veritable utopia in the bowels
of the earth. Waited upon by a
dozen Roundup maidens clad in
white, the guests partook of the re-
past prepared for them with moth
ing but words cf praise for those re-
sponsible for the novel entertain
ment.
J. U. Gridley presided as toast
maste at the intellectual feast which
followed. In his opening speech
he gave a short history Of the Round
up Coal Mining Company, begin
ming with the birth OF the child as
he expressed it, in St. Paul on the
nineteenth day of August, 1908, the
commencing of actual development
work week later and the loading
} of the first car of coal on September
18th, 1908, Just three weeks aftel
active work was started. This, he
claims, is the worlds record for the
opening of coal mine.
DISCOVERY OF ROUNDUP
COAL FIELD
Supt w. w. Taylor was the frs
one to respond to toast, and hi
talk, dealing as it did, with the
discovery of the Roundup coal fiel,
was listened to with profound inter
est, this being, prehaps, the frs
time that the story has been tol,
publicly. He related how he wa
summoned before Pres. Earling o
the C., NJ. Il st. p. Rv and assigne,
the task of finding Il coal field alon
the new coast extension which the
had then Just decided to build. |
was an important assignment an,
Mr.. Taylor left Chicago the sam
night, New Years Eve four year
ago, for Montana, with no particu
; lar destination but bound to fin,
coal II there was any to be found
= Arriving in Billings several day
later, and learning from the Cover
ment Geological Survey Bullet
that there were coal measures o
record in the Bull mountains he er
gagged a. A. Morris, then count
: surveyor Of Yellowstone county 4
= guide and started out on a pro:
], pecting trip. He found numerou
evidences Of coal but Of such qualit
= as to make it unfit for the purpose
it WAS intended for. After spen,
: ing considerable time exploring tn
:. country, and almost disheartene
and ready to give up the quest
;, this section, IA rancher happene
!. to stay over night at the san
,f ranch where Mr.. Taylor was stol
ping on Fattig creek, who, learnir
), that he was looking for coal, told