1897.] DRAKE — THE GEOLOGY OF INDIAN TERRITORY. 411 



with the exception of areas near the Canadian and Arkansas rivers 

 and around the base of Sugar Loaf and Poteau mountains. These 

 latter places were not sufficiently examined to locate the line of out- 

 crop. This coal bed varies in thickness from about one and a 

 half to about four feet. The thickest part of the bed is in the south- 

 west part of the field or about McAlester, Krebs and Alderson. It 

 appears to thin gradually eastward and northward. In the north- 

 ern part of the field it is almost regularly eighteen inches thick. 

 This bed is now, and has been for some time, extensively mined at 

 Alderson, Krebs and McAlester. The coal bed at Alderson and 

 Krebs is about three feet six inches thick. One-half mile south- 

 west of McAlester, at D. Edwards & Son's mine, the coal is four feet 

 thick. The dip of the coal bed from Alderson to McAlester varies 

 from about 6° to 25° ; the gentler dips are at and near Krebs. The 

 outcrop northwest, north and east of McAlester for some distance 

 lies along a faulted area, so that the coal bed occurs in blocks dip- 

 ping irregularly and usually at very steep angles. In this faulted 

 area no place has yet been worked extensively and profitably. Far- 

 ther to the east the coal has not been found sufficiently thick to pay 

 for working. Southeast of Red Oak it is two feet thick and dips 

 20°. North of Red Oak, in Brazil Creek valley, it is about two 

 feet thick and dips very gently. 



At and near Fanshaw the coal is thirty inches thick, dips about 

 25° and was once considerably but unprofitably mined. About 

 five or six miles east of Fanshaw, in Big Caston creek, the 

 coal is twenty-eight inches thick and dips 35°. The coal once 

 mined at the west edge of Poteau seems to be this bed ; it is said to 

 be about two feet thick at that place. 



About two and a half miles southwest of Cameron this coal is 

 eighteen inches thick and dips to the southward 2° to 3°. It is 

 occasionally mined to a limited extent by stripping. At this place 

 there is a shale parting in the bed six inches from the base of the 

 coal. In wells on the farm of Mr. Henry Choate, about four to 

 four and a half miles west of Brazil, this coal is reported to be 

 from two to two and a half feet thick. About three miles south 

 of Milton, in Owl creek, near its mouth, this coal bed is eighteen 

 inches thick ; some six miles further west in Owl creek, one-fourth 

 mile east of Haney Smith's, the coal is only thirteen inches thick; 

 the dip of the bed about 20°. 



Southeast of Sans Bois, along Mountain Fork of Sans Bois creek, 



