MILES    CITY    COAL   FIELD,   MONTANA.  49 
The  mine  is  worked  both  winter  and  summer,  and  the  product  is 
hauled  in  wagons  to  Miles  City,  a  distance  of  approximately  6  miles. 
Northeast  of  the  Kircher  mine  there  are  no  exposures  of  this  bed 
within  the  area  examined,  but  it  is  reported  that  prospect  holes  have 
demonstrated  that  much  of  the  coal  is  of  no  value.  The  same  bed 
has  been  mined  for  many  years  north  of  Yellowstone  River  opposite 
Miles  City,  in  sec.  22,  T.  8  N.,  R.  47  E.,  at  what  was  formerly  known 
as  the  Comstock  mine  but  is  now  called  the  Hedges  mine.  During 
the  summer  of  1907  a  new  opening  was  made  on  the  coal  bed  from 
the  river  bank,  and  it  is  proposed  to  transport  the  coal  from  this 
opening  across  the  river  by  means  of  a  cable  tramway.  A  section  of 
the  coal  bed  measured  here  is  as  follows: 
Section  of  the  Kircher  coal  bed  at  the  Hedges  mine,  in  sec.  22,  T.  8  N.,  R.  47  E. 
Ft.  in. 
Coal 7£ 
Clay I 
Coal 1  9£ 
Clay 1  9 
Coal 1  6 
Total  coal 3  10* 
West  of  the  Hedges  mine  the  outcrop  of  the  coal  is  traceable  along 
the  river  bank  for  several  miles,  but  within  a  short  distance  the  bed 
is  divided  and  contains  partings,  so  that  it  does  not  show  workable 
thickness.  It  has  also  been  traced  along  the  river  bluffs  northeast- 
ward from  the  Hedges  mine,  and  in  this  direction  also  the  parting 
increases  in  thickness  until  at  the  northern  boundary  of  the  area 
examined  it  is  worthless  for  mining.  What  is  regarded  as  the  same 
bed  outcrops*  along  Sunday  Creek,  several  miles  north  of  the  Hedges 
-mine,  where  it  has  been  worked  by  stripping  at  a  number  of  places. 
The  outcrop  is  about  on  a  level  with  the  creek,  and  there  are  few 
good  exposures.  A  section  measured  near  the  forks  of  Sunday  Creek 
showed  about  5  feet  of  workable  coal. 
Section  of  Kircher  coal  bed  in  sec.  13,  T.  8  N.,  R.  46  E. 
Ft.      in. 
Coal 1     9 
Clay i 
Coal 2    5 
Clay  and  bone 4 
Coal,  base  concealed 1     1 
Total  coal 5    3 
A  section  measured  near  the  point  where  Sunday  Creek  crosses  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  area  examined  showed  a  little  over  4  feet 
of  workable  coal. 
71497— Bull.  1541—00 4 
