398  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1904.         [bull.  260. 
than  1,235,300  tons.  With  the  exception  of  a  sudden  decline  in  the 
production  in  1894  on  account  of  labor  troubles,  there  was  a  gradual 
advance  in  output  from  nearly  394,000  tons  in  1885,  when  the  first 
authentic  record  of  output  was  obtained,  to  1,350,000  tons  in  1897. 
Previous  to  this  time  mining  operations  in  Indian  Territory  were  con- 
trolled by  tribal  laws  and  royalty  was  required  to  be  paid  by  the 
operator  to  both  the  Indian  citizen  holding  the  land  and  to  the  tribal 
government. 
Soon  after  the  publication  of  the  report  on  the  McAlester-Lehigh 
coal  field,  a  branch  of  the  Choctaw,  Oklahoma  and  Gulf  Railroad 
was  extended  from  the  main  line,  2  miles  west  of  Hartshorne,  to  Ard- 
more,  following  the  outcrop  of  the  coal  for  nearly  50  miles.  Several 
important  mines  have  been  opened  along  this  line  and  extended  means 
for  transportation  given  to  the  large  product  from  the  mines  at  Coal- 
gate  and  Lehign.  Also  branches  of  the  Choctaw,  Oklahoma  and 
Gulf  and  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  roads  have  been  extended, 
paralleling  the  coal  outcrop  from  Dow  and  Carbon  to  Wilburton  and 
adding  40  miles  of  line  convenient  for  future  mining  operations. 
As  surveys  progressed,  and  following  the  publication  of  the  report 
on  the  eastern  Choctaw  coal  field,  the  Fort  Smith  and  Western  and 
the  Midland  Valley  railroads  have  been  built  adjacent  to  the  coal  out- 
crops in  the  northern  part  of  the  Choctaw  Nation,  adding  nearly  100 
miles  of  road  accessible  to  present  and  future  development  and  requir- 
ing but  little  additional  track  expense  in  connection  with  mining 
operations.  Both  of  these  roads  are  building  westward,  connecting 
with  through  lines  of  *  the  St.  Louis  and  San  Francisco  and  the 
Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  roads  north  and  south  through 
Oklahoma. 
A  new  branch  of  the  St.  Louis  and  San  Francisco  road  has  been 
constructed  within  the  past  few  years  in  northern  Cherokee  and  west- 
ern Creek  nations  through  the  productive  parts  of  the  Cherokee- 
Creek  coal  field,  inducing  increased  development  of  the  coals  at 
Dawson  and  Henryetta. 
The  large  additional  means  of  transportation,  opening  the  field  to 
new  markets  since  1897,  together  with  improved  regulations  concern- 
ing leasing  and  mining  of  coal,  are  in  a  large  measure  responsible  for 
the  rapid  development  of  the  field.  During  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30,  1904,  fifty  companies  were  operating  117  mines,  producing 
3,320,000  tons  of  coal.  When  the  recently  enacted  law  providing 
for  the  sale  of  the  commercially  valuable  coal  lands  in  the  Choctaw 
and  Chickasaw  nations  is  carried  into  effect  and  the  Territory  is 
organized  into  a  new  State,  still  more  rapid  advance  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  coal  is  to  be  expected. 
