The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-07-07
CANADIAN TAR SANDS DEPOSIT
May AID GOOD ROADS

after the spring thaw. The scientists
blame a mineral in the clay, which
they call bentonite. When dry. II
packs into hard, chalky substance,
but has the unpleasant property OF
taking twelve times its own weight
of water when wet. Hence the bad
state OF the roads following rain.
Bent0nite Refuses Water
The scientists have found that q
clay-bentonite road, when impreg-
mated with bitumen or bitumen sand,
cannot take up water, and remains
practically unaltered under varying
road conditions, except that the pure
bitumen softens and melts under in
tense heat. Today, It is said to be
just a matter of laboratory expert
ment until the proper application OF
the bitumen or bitumen sand to the
clay-bentonite roads will solve the
traffic problem. not only of Alberta.
but of all the prairie provinces in
addition.
But it is OF "Bitumen Bill himself
rather than of his discovery that this
article treats, for his has been one
of those adventurous pioneer lives
that reads like fiction rather than
cold fact.
The Klondyke gold rush was at its
height when Bill. reading in a New
York paper that one could journey
from Edmonton to the Klondyke by
the overland route for about 5000,
promptly set out for the land of for
tune. Somewhere north of Edmon-
ton, after crossing the Athabasca
river, Bill decided that the New York
newspaper did not tell the truth.
With wardrobe consisting of an old
blanket. one pair of pants, one shirt,
and two moccasins without any feet
to speak OF. the wanderer returned
to Athabasca landing, a boat landing
on the river of that name.
He sold his tattared blanket for
a tumbledown cabin, ten pounds OF
flour and frying pan minus a han
die. stuck up a sign. "Klondyke
Hotel" and sold flapjacks to passing
prospectors. Then the Klondyke
rush ended, and the restaurant bust
ness waned. Bill promptly sold it
to a half-breed for a pony and IS
in cash. The pony ran away two
/ days later, and the IS is yet to BE-
collected, but Bill was a person of
resource. A homesteader. cursing
his luck and bad judgment in having
settled down on land in such a Cod
forsaken place, met Bill and Bill
bought the farm. This was not !.
cash transaction-he traded an old
watch for the farm, contriving by
dint of artful shakings behind his
back to keep the old ticker" rum
ming until the new owner disappear
ed down the trail. Probably both
felt equally satisficd with the deal
| More Barter
| Here Bill commenced growing
vegetables, packing his spuds on foot
to Athabasca landing, where he got
q fair price for them. A passing
freighter offered the resourceful Bill
two heads of cabbage for 81. the
restaurant business was again open.
ed, cabbage soup figuring daily on
i the menu. This again was not cash
deal, the cabbage being exchanged
for one worn suit of underwear. Two
days later Bill sold the farm and the
budding restaurant business for two
cows and entered the ranching bust
ness on large scale.
The cows were q failure. however
so Bill traded them for a bale of furs
and set out on the long trail to Ed
monitor. where he hoped to realize
heavily on his deal. While he was
on the way down the Boer war com.
menced, the price of furs went down
with loud bang, and Bill threw his
bale of furs into the Saskatchewan
river as he entered the city-broke
but still resourceful.
The Canadian Pacific Railway
company at this time wished some
information of the mineral resources
OF the Athabasca country. and this
gave Bill his opportunity. When he
returned he carried with him, in ad.
dition to his other reports, the news
of the immense tar sand beds at Nc,
Murray. The company cared little
for the news, but Bill thought it was
the most important find of the trip
The tar sands have been known as
far back as 1898, when Sir Alexan,
der Mackenzie made his famous voy.
age of exploration through the coun.
try, and the old Hudson's Bay traders
knew of their existence, too, but
thought very little of them as com.
mercial product.
Knowing nothing Of tar sands, but
sensing the immense value of thu
bitumen. and the wider possibilities
of oil, Bill at once set out for Min
nesota, where he Joined an oil vel
drilling gang, and worked from
blacksmith through easy stages al