114         CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,   1907,   PAET   II. 
As  exposed  near  Utica  the  coal  outcrop  shows  that  there  are  three 
coal  beds  about  equally  separated  in  a  vertical  range  of  35  feet,  the 
middle  bed  being  the  only  one  in  which  workable  coal  occurs.  A 
section  of  this  middle  coal  bed  is  as  follows: 
Section  of  middle  coal  bed  at   Utica,   Mont. 
Shale.                                                                                                            Ft.  in. 
Coal....* 1  6 
Shale,  carbonaceous 1  3 
Coal,  impure 8 
Shale 10 
Coal,  upper  6  inches  bony 2  2 
Shale. 
6  5 
The  coal  of  both  lower  and  upper  benches  is  soft  and  slacks  readily 
on  exposure  to  the  air.  Small  nodules  and  lenses  of  iron  sulphide  are 
present  in  the  coal. 
Development. — There  is  only  one  mine  in  the  part  of  the  district 
here  considered.  This  is  owned  and  operated  by  M.  A.  and  H:A. 
Showan.  The  mine  was  first  opened  about  twenty  years  ago,  and 
coal  was  taken  out  desultorily  for  several  years;  the  mine  was  then 
abandoned,  and  finally  reopened  by  the'Showans  in  the  fall  of  1906. 
Only  a  small  amount  of  coal  is  mined  for  local  use,  the  greater  part 
of  the  fuel  supply  for  Utica  and  vicinity  coming  from  the  Sage  Creek 
mines  to  the  northwest. 
BUFFALO    CREEK    DISTRICT. 
General  conditions. — The  Buffalo  Creek  coal  district  *is  situated  in 
T.  12  N.,  R.  14  E.,  and  includes  the  area  between  Buffalo  Creek  and 
the  Little  Belt  Mountains  along  either  side  of  Saager  Canyon.  The 
district  is  limited  on  the  south  by  the  coal  outcrop  which  lies  along 
the  base  of  the  Little  Belt  Range,  and  along  Buffalo  Creek  steep 
dips  carry  the  coal  too  deep  for  practical  working;  west  of  Saager 
Canyon  the  coal  thins,  and  to  the  east  it  is  deeply  covered  by  overlying 
formations. 
The  workable  coal  in  this  district  ranges  from  30  to  48  inches  in 
thickness.  It  is  underlain  by  sandstone  and  overlain  by  dark  bone. 
Forty  feet  above  this  bed  occurs  another  coal  which,  although  of 
good  quality,  is  too  thin  to  work. 
Development. — At  present  two  small  mines  are  in  operation  in 
Buffalo  Creek  district,  both  in  Saager  Canyon.  One,  known  as  the 
Williams  mine,  located  in  the  NE.  J  sec.  20,  was  opened  in  the  fall 
of  1906,  and  the  other,  which  has  been  opened  recently,  is  situated 
in  the  NW.  \  sec.  28.  It  is  operated  by  a  company  of  which  the 
members  are  J.  F.  Lester,  J.  D.  Kipe,  E.  E.  Pearl,  and  William 
Gordon.     These  two  mines  supply  "a  small  amount  of  coal  to  near-by 
