Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1917-01-12

stone and for foundations. This firm
ships to Kalispell, Havre, Chinook,
Glasgow and Helena. The front of
the T. G. Power building at Helena
was constructed of this material and
it was used in the construction of the
more substantial government build
ings at Fort Harrison and Fort ASSN
iboine. The cathedral of st. Ann
and the Masonic temple at Great
Falls were also constructed of sand
stone from these Sun river quarries.
The first two floors of the First Ma
tional bank building, the Hottest
sandstone quarried five miles south
of Great Falls. Millions of feet OF
a fine-grained sandstone lie un-
touched in the river bank at the
big falls of the Missouri.
Brick Plants in Larger Cities.
Large quantities of brick are
turned out at plants at Great Falls,
Helena and Havre as we'll as a num-
Der of other towns. Tile and sewer
pipe are also products of the big
yards in Helena. The b%rickyard at
Havre vas opened up only last year
by the firm of Mauer and Young,
who have been unable to keep up
with the demands upon their plant.
At Great Falls is also located a
gypsum mill, the raw product for
which is mined at R~iceville, Monarch
and Kibby. Throughout the state
are vast buttes of gypsum that await
exploitation.
Up near the Sun river irrigation
reservoir there are unlimited deposits
of f~ine-grained limestone which is
almost identical with photographers
stone.
Marble Stone Discovered.
Enormous quantities of cement are
produced at the Red Devil cement
works at Three Forks, and at Lewis
town a big cement plant is being
erected. Another cement plant is
expected to be opened up in Great
Falls this year.
Vast marble fields have been dis
covered in the Sweet Grass hills. The
beds of many of the creeks in that
district are white for the greater part
of their length. So far only the out
groupings have been touched, al
though w. G. Conrad at one time
operated a quarry in the Sweet Grass
country. AS the best marble is far
from the surface and can only be
brought out by extensive quarrying,
it will not be possible for many a
even to approximate the value of
Montana's mountains of marble. In
Gallatin county there is an S0-acre
field of marble that is colored like
onyx, and beautifully patterned with
an iron stain somewhat after the
fashion of the streaks in a piece of
! agate. The field belongs to the es-
tate of the late o. P. Chisholm
Chisholm made of this ornamental
marble a mantel which he exhibited
at the worlds fair at Seattle and
also at the state capitol at Helena.
Q~uarrying of a crude nature only has
been done in this field. Chunks of
the marble have been blasted out
with dynamite instead of being sawed
out as is customary in the great
quarries that are operated on a COM
mercial basis.
Ornamental Stone Found,
Onyx, alabaster and serpentine of
desirable quality are found in the
central part of the state. Near Mel
hart a dike-like formation of ONYX
extends for SO or 60 miles across
Thunder mountain. The CONNER
cial value of this onyx is yet to "a
ascertained. 1t is of a dark, smoky
color.
Among the curiosities of the state
are the mountain of slate, discov-
cred by a %prospector in Meagher
county, and the field of obsidian, or
natural glass, in the Yellowstone Ma
tional park on the Montana side. be-
tween Mammoth hot springs and
Thumb station. In breaking a road
through this obsidian field it was
necessary to heat it and then shat
ter the substance by throwing water
upon it.
This wealth of building material,
structural and ornamental, NAV he
expected to have an important bear
ing upon the "City Beautiful" r
gram in Montana. In Greece the
vast marble quarries constituted an
important factor in the cultivation
of the sense of beauty and the rear
ing of stately temples and monu
ments in cities such as Athens and
Corinth. With marble and granite
close at hand, the cities of Montana
20 or so years hence may be re-
nowned throughout the world for
their stately structures.