138         CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,    1907,   PART   II. 
of  86  feet  at  Monarch,  on  the  south  side,  where  extensive  mines  are 
in  operation. 
The  same  coal  bed  is  exposed  in  a  couple  of  prospects  on  the  east 
side  of  Slater  Creek  in  sec.  12,  T.  57  N.,  R.  85  W.  The  one  on  the 
south,  known  as  the  Conable  prospect,  has  an  entry  150  feet  in 
length.  The  lower  bench  is  8  feet  thick  at  the  face  of  the  entry,  as 
shown  by  the  subjoined  section: 
Section  of  Carney  coal  bed  at  Conable  prospect,  in  sec.  12,  T.  57  N.,  R.  85  W. 
Shale,  blue.  Feet. 
Coal 5 
Shale,  blue 1 
Coal 8 
Shale. 
Total  workable  coal 13 
A  coal  believed  to  be  the  Carney  bed  is  14  feet  thick  in  a  gulch  near 
the  southwest  corner  of  sec.  35,  T.  58  N.,  R.  85  W.  Near  the  north- 
east corner  of  sec.  34  a  bed  of  coal,  presumably  the  Carney  bed,  is  7 
feet  thick  but  within  100  feet  thins  out. 
Eeports  by  drillers  prospecting  for  coal  show  that  the  Carney  coal 
bed  is  16  feet  thick  in  sec.  9,  17  feet  in  sec.  15,  16  feet  6  inches  in 
sec.  16,  and  16  feet  in  sec,  17,  T.  57  N.,  R.  84  W. ;  and  15  feet  thick  in 
sec.  25,  T.  57  N.,  R.  85  W. 
MONARCH    COAL    BED. 
The  thickest  coal  in  the  Sheridan  field  is  the  Monarch  bed,  which 
is  nearly  100  feet  above  the  Carney  coal,  and  is  mined  on  a  large  scale 
at  the  town  of  Monarch.  It  usually  occurs,  according  to  reports  of 
mine  operators  and  prospectors,  as  a  double  bed  similar  to  the  Carney 
in  the  same  locality.  Its  thickness  is  such  that  in  mining  a  consid- 
erable part  of  the  bed  is  left  for  roof.  In  the  mine  at  Monarch  the 
lower  and  main  bench  is  massive  coal  from  18  to  20  feet  thick,  and  is 
separated  from  the  upper  bench  by  a  variable  parting  of  shale.  The 
upper  bench  is  not  utilized,  and  is  reported  by  prospectors  to  be  sepa- 
rated into  layers  by  shale.  Unless  care  is  exercised  in  mining,  this 
upper  bench,  together  with  the  portion  of  the  lower  bench  left  for 
roof,  becomes  a  menace,  being  subject  to  spontaneous  ignition  in 
abandoned  and  partially  closed  sections  of  the  workings. 
On  Goose  and  Beaver  creeks  a  thick  coal  bed  is  mined  at  several 
localities  to  supply  local  demands.  The  physical  properties  of  the 
coal  and  the  character  of  the  contact  rocks  seem  to  indicate  that  it 
is  higher  than  the  Carney  and  probably  referable  to  the  Monarch 
coal  bed  as  it  is  known  on  Tongue  River. 
Prospects  made  by  Stewart  Kennedy  on  the  Monarch  bed  in  sec. 
24,  T.  57  N.,  R.  85  W.,  show  a  section  of  coal  nearly  the  same  as  that 
at  Monarch. 
