COAL   NEAR   CRAZY   MOUNTAINS,   MONTANA.  79 
sioral  load  of  coal,  get  it  by  stripping  beds  from  5  to  14  inches  thick. 
In  the  ridges  between  Potter  Creek  and  Shields  River,  15  miles  south- 
east of  Dorsey,  there  is  a  bed  3  to  7  feet  thick,  but  clay  partings  are 
numerous  and  crushing  has  reduced  a  large  part  of  the  coal  to  slack, 
so  that  it  is  of  little  value  and  as  yet  has  not  been  mined  successfully, 
even  on  a  very  small  scale.  The  economic  result  of  the  summer's 
work,  then,  was  to  disprove  the  presence  of  a  coal  field  in  this  part  of 
Montana. 
The  writer  was  assisted  in  the  mapping  by  M.  I.  Goldman,  J.  H. 
Cather,  and  F.  D.  Morrison. 
GEOGRAPHY. 
The  area  here  to  be  described  is  L-shaped,  and  lies  in  Meagher, 
Sweetgrass,  Park,  and  Gallatin  counties.  It  extends  from  Shawmut 
on  the  east  to  Dorsey  on  the  west,  a  distance  of  60  miles,  and  the 
north-south  extent  of  the  western  limb  of  the  field  is  40  miles.  '  Work 
was  begun  at  Shawmut,  below  Harlowton  on  Musselshell  River,  and 
progressed  westward  between  the  Crazy  Mountains  and  the  river. 
At  the  divide  between  the  Missouri  and  Yellowstone  River  drainage 
the  course  was  turned  southward  down  Potter  Creek  and  Shields 
River  to  Clyde  Park,  where  the  season's  work  ended. 
Relatively,  the  topography  of  the  area  is  gentle,  being  of  low  relief 
with  but  few  salient  features.  It  is  flanked,  however,  by  mountains 
several  thousand  feet  high.  Aside  from  the  mountain  bases  the  most 
prominent  topographic  features  are  Coffin  Butte  and  Gordon  Butte, 
both  of  which  rise  several  hundred  feet  above  the  surrounding  more 
or  less  level  country.  Although  some  of  the  streams  are  deeply 
incised  in  their  upper  courses,  the  valleys  for  the  most  part  are  open, 
and  it  is  possible  to  drive  over  the  greater  part  of  the  area  regardless 
of  roads.     The  country  is  not  closely  fenced. 
Musselshell  River  is  the  northern  boundary  of  the  area  examined 
as  far  west  as  Martinsdale.  Fish  Creek,  American  Fork,  and  Lebo 
Creek  are  its  principal  tributaries  from  the  south.  The  south  fork 
of  Musselshell  River,  Potter  Creek,  and  a  part  of  Shields  River  are 
the  main  watercourses  in  the  western  part  of  the  field.  All  these 
streams  except  Musselshell  River  can  be  forded  easily. 
The  region  is  devoted  largely  to  grazing,  and  settlement  is  scanty. 
Naturally,  most  of  the  people  live  along  the  main  streams  or  routes 
of  travel.  Harlowton,  with  a  population  of  500,  is  the  largesl 
village.  The  Montana  Railroad,  which  runs  from  Lombard  to 
Lewistown,  crosses  this  area  from  Dorsey  to  Harlowton.  This  line 
was  recently  acquired  by  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul 
Railway  Company,  which  has  built  a  new  main  line  up  Musselshell 
River  connecting  with  the  old  line  at  Harlowton. 
