1921] 



EDWARDS, SULPHUR MINING ON THE GULF COAST. 



59 



with most of the hamlets on the coast and this first impression is greatly 

 heightened by the hotel and the central plaza on which it stands, shown 

 in figure 31. 



The road to the mine leads across a perfectly flat, barren stretch of 

 ground with the buildings of the mine in full view. Even from a dis- 

 tance, the difference between this mine and the ordinary buildings of a 

 mining center is apparent. There is no head-house rising above the 

 shaft, no enormous dump and no refining or crushing plant. Most of 

 the buildings appear like factories and in place of the dumps are large 



Fig. 32. 



-General view of Bryan Mound, showing the sulphur wells and 

 tanks. Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas. 



piles of bright yellow sulphur, shining brightly in the sun. The shafts 

 and head-houses are replaced by derricks exactly like those of any oil- 

 field, and there is no mine in the ordinary sense of the word as may be 

 seen in figure 32. It did not take long for us to realize that the process 

 in use here was entirely distinct from that operating in any other mining 

 district. This is due to the unusual method of occurrence of the deposit 

 and the corresponding peculiar difficulties to be met in the operation. 



The gulf coast sulphur deposits are all of limited extent and are 

 found only in connection with certain domes of salt whose origin has 



