COAL    OF    NORTHEAST    SIDE    OF    BIGHORN     BASIN,    WTO.         199 
Labor  conditions  arc  similar  to  those  in  the  other  camps  in  Mon- 
tana and  Wyoming.  The  miners  are  mostly  foreigners,  largely  Rou- 
manians  and  Cornishmen.  They  receive  from  75  cents  to  $1  per  ton 
for  hand  mining,  the  higher  prices  prevailing  in  mines  that  work  the 
Eagle  coal.  The  miners  make  from  $4  to  $6  per  day.  Machines  were 
formerly  used  in  the  mines  near  Fromberg,  but  after  a  strike  in  1907 
they  were  taken  out  on  demand  of  the  miners.  The  workmen  are 
well  organized  in  unions  under  the  control  of  the  Western  Federation 
of  Miners. 
TRANSPORTATION. 
The  mines  in  the  Bridger  and  Garland  coal  fields  are  close  to  rail- 
roads. The  Northern  Pacific  Railway  carries  the  product  of  the  for- 
mer field,  and  the  Cody  branch  of  the  Burlington  Railroad  will  be  the 
carrier  for  the  Garland  field  when  its  coal  is  shipped.  The  Silvertip 
coal  field  could  be  easily  reached  by  a  15-mile  spur  of  gentle  grade, 
built  up  the  valley  of  Silvertip  Creek  from  the  Yellowstone  Park  Rail- 
road near  Belfry,  Mont.  At  present  the  small  output  of  this  field  is 
hauled  by  wagon  about  18  miles  to  Garland  and  neighboring  towns. 
The  best  part  of  the  Basin  coal  field  is  only  1  mile  from  the  Kirby 
extension  of  the  Burlington  Railroad.  At  present  the  output  of  the 
only  productive  mine,  the  Rogers  &  Gapin,  is  hauled  10  miles  by 
wagons,  across  a  ford  in  Bighorn  River,  to  Basin. 
FUTURE  DEVELOPMENT. 
The  Bridger  coal  field  is  now  producing  about  105,000  tons  per  year. 
This  output  can  be  increased  by  the  opening  of  a  few  new  mines. 
Yet  the  present  state  of  development  is  as  high  as  that  of  most  of  the 
western  coal  fields.  None  of  the  mines,  except  the  Bridger,  are 
worked  to  more  than  a  small  part  of  their  capacity. 
The  poor  quality  and  small  amount  of  coal  in  the  Basin  field  make 
extensive  developments  improbable.  Coal  from  Sheridan,  Wyo., 
competes  with  it  successfully  at  Basin,  in  spite  of  the  longer  haul  and 
higher  price.  The  same  statement  will  hold  good  for  the  Garland 
coal  field.  Both  fields  will  probably  be  worked  on  a  small  scale,  and 
only  for  local  use. 
The  Silvertip  field,  on  the  other  hand,  contains  thick  beds  of  good 
coal  in  sufficient  quantity  to  justify  the  building  of  a  railroad  from 
the  vicinity  of  Belfry,  Mont.  Large  mines  will  probably  be  opened 
in  this  field. 
