loi.uKR.l COAL OF CAPE LTSBURNE REGION. 181 
ng fleet the ships steamed up and anchored, sending their crews 
jishore to mine coal. The coal was dug from the croppings wherever 
|t was convenient. Everything black was sacked up and sent on 
board. In 1900 and 1901 the Arctic Development Company and the 
porwin Trading Company attempted to mine a little more systemat- 
cally, but as the work was largely done by Eskimos and directed by 
nen inexperienced in coal mining it is doubtful if the product was a 
lair indication of what the mines would produce if properly devel- 
oped. Since 1900 a few white men remaining at Corwin Bluff have 
ittempted to mine coal during the winter by short tunnels driven in 
Prom the face of the sea cliff. 
The results have been unsatisfactory, since the sacked coal piled on 
the cliff was covered by snowdrifts, which turned to ice, making the 
?oal inaccessible when the ships arrived in the summer. The develop- 
ment of the coal beds from some point back of the cliffs would not be 
iifficult, because of their perfect regularity. If they were properly 
opened, there is no reason why the mines could not be worked all 
winter. One obstacle to such development is the absence of timber, 
but by leaving large pillars this difficulty could be partly overcome. 
Coal mined and sacked in winter would be available for shipment 
in summer if piled at places where the snowdrifts do not form. ,Dur- 
ing the summer months only calm days can be used for boating coal 
off to the ships. Strong north or northeast winds make landings impos- 
sible, and strong south winds also make the work difficult. During 
thity days, from July 22 to August 22, 1094, there were thirteen days on 
which the surf was too high for landing, and several more when strong 
south winds would make the use of a line necessary. A limited amount 
of coal mined here would probably find a ready sale to whaling ships, 
and a larger amount could be disposed of in the mining camps about 
Kotzebue Sound. 
PALEOZOIC COAL FIELDS. 
Location. — The Paleozoic coal-bearing formation outcrops in several 
small areas along the coast south of Cape Lisburne, on the Kukpuk 
River, about 15 miles from the coast, and on the coast at Cape Thomp- 
son. The inland extensions and outlines of these areas have not been 
determined, owing to the short time available for stud3 r ing them. 
These coal beds were not reported by any of the early explorers, and 
they have not been worked to any extent by whalemen. They were 
first recognized as distinct from the Mesozoic coals by A. G. Maddren, 
who visited one of the localities in 1900. a Small amounts of the coal 
have been tested in galley stoves, and a few tons have been mined for 
use at the Point Hope Whaling Station, but no large amounts have 
been mined and no analyses have been made. 
a Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 20, p. L13. 
