MILES    CITY    COAL   FIELD,    MONTANA.  61 
out  by  a  windmill.  During  the  summer  of  1907  five  men  were 
employed  and  the  product  of  the  mine  was  hauled  in  wagons  to 
Miles  City,  where  most  of  it  was  delivered  to  the  electric-light 
company  and  steam  laundry  for  $2.50  and  $2.60  per  ton. 
Preparations  were  being  made  in  1907  for  more  elaborate  operations 
at  the  Hedges  mine,  near  the  site  of  the  old  Comstock  mine.  The 
bed,  which  outcrops  about  50  feet  above  the  river,  is  opened  by  an 
incline  in  order  to  raise  the  coal  to  such  an  elevation  that  it  can  be 
sent  across  the  river  on  a  cable  tramway.  When  visited  late  in  July 
the  deeper  workings  of  the  mine  were  reported  to  be  filled  with  carbon 
dioxide  and  were  not  accessible.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  noted 
that  explosive  gases  have  not  yet  been  encountered  in  any  of  the 
mines  of  this  field  and  that  safety  lamps  have  not  been  required  at 
any  place. 
CONDITION   OF  THE   MARKET. 
The  coal  mined  near  Miles  City  competes  in  the  local  market  with 
that  shipped  in  from  other  regions,  and  more  especially  with  that 
from  Red  Lodge,  Mont.  It  commands  a  lower  price  than  the  Red 
Lodge  coal,  but  during  the  winter  of  1906-7  the  supply  of  the  latter 
was  cut  off  for  lack  of  transportation,  and  the  demand  for  Miles  City 
coal  greatly  increased.  With  the  increase  of  population  which  the 
agricultural  possibilities  of  this  field  warrant,  the  demand  for  and  use 
of  these  fuels  near  at  hand  will  certainly  be  very  much  greater  than 
it  is  now.  Recent  experiments  have  demonstrated  that  coals  of  this 
grade,  when  converted  into  producer  gas  and  used  in  an  internal- 
combustion  gas  engine,  have  an  efficiency  not  less  than  that  of  the 
best  bituminous  coals  under  steam  boilers.  None  of  the  Miles  City 
coal  has  been  tested  in  this  way,  but  should  power  plants  of  this  kind 
be  successfully  installed  here  the  possibilities  of  usefulness  and  the 
value  of  these  coals  would  be  increased  many  times,  and  some  of  the 
beds  now  regarded  as  too  impure  for  mining  could  probably  be 
worked  at  a  profit. 
