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The act of Congress dated May• 29, 1908 (35 Stat. L., 460-462), providing for the sale and disposition of the surplus and unallotted lands in the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Indian reservations in South and North Dakota, co:r;1tains the following provision:Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to cause to be surveyed all the lands embraced within said reservations and to cause an examination to be made of the lands by experts of the Geological Survey and, if there be found any lands bearing t:!oal, the said Secretary is hereby authorized to reserve them from allotment or disposition until further action by Con• gress.In accordance with the provisions of this act three parties of the Geological Survey made an examination of the Standing Rock and Cheyenne R!ver Indian reservations in 1909 to ascertain whether or not any lands therein had value for coal. The reports of previous reconnaissance examinations show that a geologic formation, locally coal bearing elsewhere, occupies the western part of the reservations. To ascertain definitely the coal resources of the area, field plans provided for two parties in the possible coal-bearing district and a third party in the larger probably non coal-bearing area adjoining on the east. One party, in charge of A. L. Beekly, withE. F. Schramm and R. L. Nelson as assistants, examined the area included between Cedar Creek and Grand River. (See Pl. I.) The second party, consisting of M.A. Pishel, F. C. Greene, and J. F. Hunter, examined the area between Grand and Owl rivers. The remainder of the reservation was examined mainly by V. H. Barnett, assisted by J. R. Hoats. General supervision over the three parties was exercised by W. R. Calvert, senior author of this paper.This report is a compilation of the information obtained by Mr. Calvert in his many trips across the reservations and by the three parties specified above. The part of the paper treating of the general features of the field has been prepared by Messrs. Calvert and Barnett, 5

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The Fort Union coal region, in eastern Montana, constitutes one of the largest fuel-bearing areas in the world. The presence of lignite throughout this region has been known since the earliest explorations of those main arteries of travel Missouri and Yellowstone rivers yet until 1910 the facts concerning such resources were gathered either by hasty reconnaissance or by more detailed study of only small and isolated districts. The low-grade character of the fuel together with the almost unlimited supply were among the reasons for the lack of careful study such as has been accorded to many other Western fields. In 1907 A. G. Leonard and Carl D. Smith examined an area lying mainly in North Dakota, in the vicinity of Medora, but including also six townships in Montana. The published results1 of this examination and a report by A. J. Collier 2 relating to lignite in the vicinity of Miles City, constitute the only detailed statements available regarding the fuel resources of eastern Montana. General information concerning the lignite of this region is contained in a report 3 by A. G. Leonard. The chief reason, however, why broad detailed investigations of Montana lignites were not undertaken till 1910 is that prior to that year the region was not included in coal-land withdrawals, such as since 1906 had embraced large areas in western public-land States. Before the passage of the act of June 22, 1910, it was difficult if not impossible for the agricultural claimant to obtain title to lands so withdrawn, and the limitations imposed by the withdrawals were removed only by a noncoal classification. The act referred to, however, effected a separation of surface and underground rights, so that subsequent to its passage withdrawn or classified coal lands have been

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