bircharb]     LIGNITES  OF  MIDDLE  AND  UPPER  MISSOURI  VALLEY.      277 
River  has  eroded  the  underlying  Dakota  formation  to  such  a  depth  as 
to  carry  away  the  main  lignite  bed. 
Occurrence.—  Seams  of  lignite  outcropping  in  the  bluffs  near  Ponca, 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  Dixon  County,  and  near  Homer,  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Dakota  County,  have  intermittently  furnished  a 
limited  supply  of  fuel  to  residents  of  those  localities.  The  discovery, 
late  in  1899,  of  lignite  at  a  depth  of  91  feet  in  a  well  being  drilled  on 
the  farm  of  C.  H.  Goodfellow,  in  Dakota  County,  in  sec.  22,  T.  29  N., 
R.  7  Ei.,  together  with  the  careless  report  of  the  drillers  that  it  had  a 
thickness  of  6  feet,  led  to  extensive  prospecting  in  this  vicinity. 
Extent  as  evidenced  by  prospecting. — In  the  summer  of  1900  some 
business  men  of  Jackson,  Nebr.,  sunk  an  80-foot  shaft  in  the  bottom 
of  a  ravine  in  sec.  11,  T.  29  N.,  R.  7  E.,  a  few  rods  back  from  the  river 
flood  plain.  At  the  top  this  shaft  was  65  feet  above  the  mean  level  of 
Missouri  River,  and  it  passed  through  a  bed  of  lignite  at  60  feet, 
reported  to  be  nearly  3  feet  thick.  The  lignite  was  roofed  by  several 
feet  of  light,  sandy  clay,  and  was  underlain  by  8  feet  of  good,  white 
lire  clay.  From  sands  below  the  fire  clay  water  entered  the  shaft  in 
such  volume  that  a  steam  pump  was  necessary  to  keep  the  water  low 
enough  to  enable  the  bed  to  be  worked.  Lignite  obtained  here  was 
burned  in  the  engine  which  operated  the  pump  and  hoist. 
Unforeseen  accidents  and  delays,  caused  by  the  careless  methods  of 
men  inexperienced  in  mining,  soon  permitted  the  water  to  become  too 
difficult  to  control,  and  this,  together  with  other  considerations,  finally 
caused  the  owners  to  abandon  the  prospect.  They  report  that  the  bed 
was  becoming  thicker  and  of  a  better  and  more  uniform  character  as 
they  drifted  under  the  bluff.  At  the  time  this  shaft  was  visited  it  was 
nearly  full  of  water.  The  dump  still  contained  much  lignite  which 
was  identical  with  that  from  other  parts  of  the  county. 
The  next  development  work  was  undertaken  by  business  men  of 
Sioux  City,  Iowa,  incorporated  as  the  Nebraska  Coal  Company.  This 
company  leased  several  sections  of  land  in  the  central  part  of  Dakota 
County,  about  3  miles  north-northwest  of  Jackson,  extending  from 
the  escarpment  into  the  dissected  upland,  and  drilling  was  begun  in 
sees.  22  and  23,  T.  29  N.,  R.  7  E.,  in  March,  1902.  At  least  10  drill 
holes  were  sunk  on  the  Nebraska  Coal  Company  tract,  with  a  range 
in  depth  of  85  to  100  feet.  Many  of  the  drillings  were  located  at  ran- 
dom; no  careful  records  were  kept  at  first,  and  had  the  relative  surface 
elevations  been  ascertained  much  fruitless  drilling  might  have  been 
avoided. 
Sections  of  the  last  five  drill  holes  were  recorded  by  the  writer,  two 
from  personal  observation,  the  others  from  an  examination  of  the 
drillings  and  notes  of  Mr.  Goodfellow.  These  records  indicate  the 
presence  of  lignite  at  three  horizons: 
(1)  A  fragmentary  bed,  6  to  10  inches  thick,  exists  in  places  and  is 
