Omaha daily bee., 1919-12-14
COAL
DEPOSITS TOO
SMALL TO MINE
University Geologist Tells Of
Investigations Made to Dis
cover Natural Fuel In
State.

Are there any natural fuels in Ne
braska is the question that was put
to some Of the biologists Of the uni
4 yersity OF Nebraska. The answer
was yves" with some qualifications.
The natural fuels are coal, peat, ma
,ural gas and oil Natural gas, say
the biologists, has. not been found
at all. Oil has been reported quite
a number Of times but scientific in
vestigation proved each time that
what seemed to be oil was only the
irridescent film on the surface of
pond or stream which indicated
merely the presence of iron rust.
Peat seems to have been discover
, ed and blocks of it have been
brought to the university museum.
The location, however, of the peat
beds is a secret. If anybody knows
he seems sworn to keep still.
Biologists sometimes speak OF
southeastern Nebraska as the car
bohiferous part of the state. Here
some coal has been found. Cues
toned as to this Professor Barbour
consented to speak as follows:
From the days of King and Hay
den it has been the opinion OF al
biologists that the natural fuels
were not likely to be found IN Ne
braska. On the other hand, it has
been insisted upon by the people
at large that excellent beds OF car,
boniferous coal occur to the east OF
us in Iowa and to the south OF US
in Kansas. They are also aware
that excellent Ignite coal OF creta-
ceous age is found to the north o.
4 us and in untold abundance to the
west of US in Colorado and Wyo-
ming. 1t is insisted therefore that
coal must occur in Nebraska. This
popular dictum is correct. The Goals
to the east and south Of us do oc-
cur in Nebraska, but they have
thinned down from eight and 10 feet
to eight or 10 inches. Nearthe Mis-
souri, front some beds have a thick,
ness OF Is or 10 inches and have
been worked commercially. But rs
far west as Lincoln these same beds
have thinned to six inches or less.
A bed of coal less than two feet IN
thickness under ordinary circurn-
stances is counted of no Commercial,
value.
1.-THE brown Ignite beds to the
north of US are not more than Is to
rs inches thick. These have been
mined in a practical way, but the
bed is too thin to be profitable and
work has been abandoned. Deep
webs have been drilled in all parts
Of the state, and as yet show no ma
tive fuels.
"Thc Lincoln test we'll, drilled by
an act of the legislature. was sunk
to depth of 2,465 feet. Several
beds of coal, five to six inches i'll
thickness, were encountered. The
we'll at Nebraska City was sunk to
depth of nearly 5000 feet with like
/. results. Wells at Rulo, Beatrice,
Dannebrog, Hastings, Cambridge
and intermediate points show little
coal, or none at all. The deepest
well in Nebraska was finished last
summer at Harrisburg in Banner
county. This we'll approaches the
limit to which deep wells are sunk.
II reached depth close to 5000
feet. In the northern part of the
state number of wells have been
drilled at Chadron and eastward.
All records from numerous deep
wells distributed widely over the
state confirm the early conviction
of biologists that the native fuels
are not to be expected in Nebraska:
ut is true that one local patch of
coal, Is to 20 acres in extent, IS
inches thick in one place, occurs
near Peru. Neb. This is known as
the Honey Creek coal field.
For years there has been an out
standing bounty offered by this
state for the discovery of workable
beds Of coal or iron. The reward
cffered amounts to $4,000 for So
inch bed of commercial coal or
$4,000 for a workable bed equaling
or exceeding 20 inches. According
liz the bounty of $4,000 was paid to
the owners Of the mine some eight
or ten years ago for the Honey
Creek field.
Unfortunately, work was aban-
dpned in the Honey Greek coal field,
At one time good many tons were
produced and were shipped as far
west as McCook. A considerable
tonnage was supplied at one time
to the normal school at Peru. Mr.
Pepperburg, after making careful
measurements and calculations esti-
mated the average thickness OF the
Honey Creek coal mine at 50 inches.
This requires little over one square
yard to yield a ton OF eoal. Mr..
Pepperburg estimated that there
we're about 100000 tons in the
Honey Greek hill.
"There arc no drainage problems
and no problems of sanitation. The
coal is overlaid and underlain by
shale of good quality. All this could
be utilized. The coal and shalc
could be mined together. The shale,
which could be stripped from the
Bed by steam shovels, could DC
burned into brick. hollow tile. drain
tile. silo tile and the like bv the TN
DERIVING coal. By this means there
would be no waste bv-product.
Roy Y. Pepperburg made a
number of analyses of coal from
several points in Nebraska as fol-
lows g.,
Mois- Volatile Fixed Sui
ture. Matter. Carbon, Ash. phur.
Peru ,. 4.4s 1851 1926 $50 4.09
Cass Co .lS.2s 1855 1904 1921 49,.
!. otoe Co... ITO 2o.52 2s.10 Ss.46 6.sl
Rich. Co... 7.s7 31.52 $685. 1926