Fueling the Furnaces
By Bob Wirt
Throughout the history of Cinnabar mining operations in the Terlingua and Study Butte areas, the mines relied heavily on wood as fuel for processing the ore to produce Mercury. In the mid 1920’s the Chisos Mining Company began using a gas produced by blowing steam and air through a bed of burning coal. However, this gas never fully replaced wood as fuel, and apparently was used only at Chisos.
It is well known that large amounts of wood were required for the processing of Mercury, and that the harvesting of this wood had a significant environmental impact on the area. But other than occasional piecemeal reports, specific information was not available on the amount of wood used. However, recently a detailed account of fuel wood and other wood and timber purchases by the Study Butte Mining Company were found in the Archives of the Big Bend at Sul Ross State University in Alpine (a). These records cover the period September 1916 through March 1919 and are summarized below.
During the 31-month period covered by these records, the company purchased 2522.5 cords, or 332,961 cubic feet of fuel wood, an average of 81.5 cords per month. If placed in a stack 4 feet wide by 4 feet high, it would have been 3.81 miles long. Most of the wood was purchased from individuals known to have been living in the local area. The purchase price ranged from $4.50 per cord at the beginning of the period to $10.00 per cord by June 1918. The areas from which this wood was harvested are not shown in the records, but nearly 22% (555 cords) was purchased from individuals known to have lived in the communities of Castolon, La Coyota and Terlingua de Abajo, in the southwestern part of what is now Big Bend National Park.
In addition to fuel wood, the Study Butte Mining Company also purchased significant amounts of other wood and timber from local residents:
1663 mine stulls at 15 cents each.
1121 “telephone” or “commissary” poles at 25 to 30 cents each.
440 cross ties at 10 to 13 cents each.
Nearly 20 cords of “timber” at up to $20.00 per cord.
Again, the area from which this material was harvested was not indicated, but one of the regular sellers was Gilberto Luna, who is known to have cut timber in the Chisos Mountains (b).
(a). W. Keesey collection
(b) Big Bend National Park Oral History Program, interview with Simon Franco.
It is well known that large amounts of wood were required for the processing of Mercury, and that the harvesting of this wood had a significant environmental impact on the area. But other than occasional piecemeal reports, specific information was not available on the amount of wood used. However, recently a detailed account of fuel wood and other wood and timber purchases by the Study Butte Mining Company were found in the Archives of the Big Bend at Sul Ross State University in Alpine (a). These records cover the period September 1916 through March 1919 and are summarized below.
During the 31-month period covered by these records, the company purchased 2522.5 cords, or 332,961 cubic feet of fuel wood, an average of 81.5 cords per month. If placed in a stack 4 feet wide by 4 feet high, it would have been 3.81 miles long. Most of the wood was purchased from individuals known to have been living in the local area. The purchase price ranged from $4.50 per cord at the beginning of the period to $10.00 per cord by June 1918. The areas from which this wood was harvested are not shown in the records, but nearly 22% (555 cords) was purchased from individuals known to have lived in the communities of Castolon, La Coyota and Terlingua de Abajo, in the southwestern part of what is now Big Bend National Park.
In addition to fuel wood, the Study Butte Mining Company also purchased significant amounts of other wood and timber from local residents:
1663 mine stulls at 15 cents each.
1121 “telephone” or “commissary” poles at 25 to 30 cents each.
440 cross ties at 10 to 13 cents each.
Nearly 20 cords of “timber” at up to $20.00 per cord.
Again, the area from which this material was harvested was not indicated, but one of the regular sellers was Gilberto Luna, who is known to have cut timber in the Chisos Mountains (b).
(a). W. Keesey collection
(b) Big Bend National Park Oral History Program, interview with Simon Franco.