Some Montana Coal Fields. — Roive. 379 
Outcrops of lignite may be seen all along the bank of the 
Yellowstone river, both above and below Miles City. The 
seams are six to eight feet thick above the town, on Coal and 
Lignite creeks, but thin out to the eastward. Lignite is also 
very abundant in the southern part of this county. Twenty- 
one miles south and west of Wibaux, on the west bank of Beav- 
er creek, is an outcrop te,n feet thick. Also near Ekalaka and 
Powderville lignite is very plentiful, some of the seams meas- 
uring from fifteen to twenty-five feet in thickness. All of these 
beds belong to the Laramie and furnish a good fuel at a very 
low price. 
Dazcson County. 
From Custer county, north and east, the lignite passes into 
Dawson county. But little lignite is found between Conlon and 
( ilendive. however, there are many good outcrops east of Glen- 
dive. The Electric Light plant at Glendive uses the near-by 
lignite entirely for their work, as do also many other establish- 
ments of the city. There are some very good outcrops of coal 
from Glendive to Wibaux, on either side of the Northern Pacific 
railroad, and the citizens of the latter place use lignite that is 
found within three miles of town almost exclusively. There are 
several good mines three or four miles both north and south of 
Wibaux, but the best ones near, are found on ("ilendive creek, 
about eleven miles south and east of town. At the latter place 
the lignite is over twenty feet thick and of a good grade. All 
of the beds examined in this comity belong to the Laramie 
formation. 
Rosebud County. 
Lignite is found in many places in this county and the peo- 
ple outside the towns use it almost entirely as a fuel. Among 
the best beds visited are those near Forsyth, the count] 
of this countw These beds are located seven miles south of 
Forsyth, at the head of Smith creek, a dry branch of the Yel- 
lowstone river. This mine is operated to some extent and fur- 
nishes considerable fuel for the citizens of Forsyth. The qual- 
ity of this lignite is among the best examined in the state. The 
seams range from four feet, eight inches to eight or ten feet 
thick and cover a large area. Some of the seams have a coarse 
conglomerate for a capping, while others are capped by sand- 
