SHERIDAN   COAL  FIELD,   WYOMING.  149 
driven  on  coal  bed  No.  2  in  Dietz  and  a  drift  on  the  same  bed  1^  miles 
north  of  Dietz,  with  adequate  equipments,  as  mines  Nos.  4  and  5, 
respectively.  These  mines  at  and  near  Dietz,  operated  by  the 
Sheridan  Coal  Company,  employ  at  the  present  time  about  800  men 
and  support  a  population  of  about  2,000  persons. 
A  slope  mine  was  opened  in  1904  by  the  Wyoming  Coal  Mining 
Company  on  the  Monarch  bed  at  the  west  side  of  sec.  19,  T.  57  N., 
R.  84  W.,  and  a  complete  modern  equipment  for  extensive  mining, 
including  electric  power,  was  installed.  This  plant  employs  about 
325  men  and  the  town  of  Monarch,  established  here,  has  a  population 
of  nearly  700.  Recently  a  shaft  has  been  sunk  at  the  Monarch  mine 
86  feet  to  the  Carney  coal  bed.  Both  the  Monarch  and  Carney  beds, 
with  an  aggregate  of  at  least  34  feet  of  clear  coal,  will  be  exploited  at 
this  plant. 
The  Carney  Coal  Company  opened  mines  on  the  Carney  coal  bed 
on  the  north  side  of  Tongue  River,  near  the  southeast  corner  of 
sec.  17,  T.  57  N.,  R.  84  W.,  in  the  latter  half  of  1904.  A  modern 
equipment  for  mining,  hauling,  hoisting,  and  loading  coal,  including 
an  electric  plant,  was  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  The 
mine  is  driven  north  of  west  on  the  rise  of  the  coal  bed.  Later  a 
second  mine  was  opened  adjoining  the  first  on  the  same  bed,  in  the 
SW.  J  SW.  J  sec.  16,  and  recently  a  second  tipple  was  erected  to 
accommodate  the  increased  output.  The  mining  town  of  Carneyville 
has  a  population  of  approximately  1,400,  and  the  company  employs 
about  500  men. 
The  mining  town  of  Kooi  was  established  in  the  N.  \  sec.  23, 
T.  57  N.,  R.  85  W.,  during  1907,  and  a  slope  mine  was  driven  on 
the  Monarch  coal  southward  from  the  outcrop.  The  village  is 
reported  to  contain  100  inhabitants,  with  about  75  men  employed 
in  mining  operations.  A  spur  connects  the  mine  with  the  Chicago, 
Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad  on  the  north  side  of  Tongue  River. 
Late  in  the  season  of  1907  the  Riverside  Coal  Company  began 
operations  on  the  Upper  Masters  coal  bed  in  sec.  14,  T.  57  N.,  R.  85  W., 
but  the  extent  of  the  development  is  not  reported.  A  mining  plant 
was  in  process  of  construction  at  Kendrick  station,  in  sec.  25,  T.  55  N., 
R.  78  W.,  by  the  Wyoming  Smokeless  Coal  Company,  for  the 
exploitation  of  a  12-foot  coal  bed. 
UTILIZATION  AND  MARKET. 
Prior  to  1900  the  Sheridan  coals  were  used  principally  for  domestic 
fuel.  They  were  not  regarded  as  successful  for  steaming  purposes, 
especially  where  strong  drafts  and  small  fire  spaces  were  used.  The 
difficulties  with  the  use  of  this  coal  for  steaming,  especially  in 
locomotives,  seemed  to  be  due  to  the  decrepitation  of  the  fuel  when 
