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issued) and the Desert Land Act of 1377 could not be acted upon until the government had surveyed the lands. The 1332 declaration did not allow Homestead entries on the newly opened lands, but only preemptions, or Cash Entries (Borland 1953:75). Under the Eiomestead Act, title to 160 acres of public domain could be obtained through continuous residence on the land and making improvements to it over afive-year period; under a Cash Entry claim, the residency requirement was reduced to six months and a per-acre charge of$I?5 was assessed. All of the early (I S90s) land patents in and around the study area were Cash Entries. The turn of the century brought changes in patenting policy; not only Cash Entry claims but Homestead and Desert Land Entries were approved as well. The Nortlt Fork valley was pioneered by men such as [nos Flolchkiss and Sam Wade. The early economy here, as elsewhere on the western slope, was based on fniit farms and cattle ranches. The very first sealers brought with them herds of sheep and cattle which they grazed in the valley bottoms and on the vast surrounding uplands. Despite several severe winters and the depressed beef markets of 1336 and I SS7, local ranching operations grew rapidly in the early years (Mehls 1932: 112). Coal liaci been discovered in tltc Somerset area, but was exploited primarily for blacksmitlting purposes. The coal was transported out of the area on horseback and by sled (Vandenbusche and Smith 19S I :136). Early Mining • A priority in the development of the mining of coal in the mountains along the North Fork of the Gunnison was tltc advent of the railroad. By 1382, the narrow gauge Denver R Rio Grande had been extended to nearly all the mining districts in Colorado and had reached Grand Junction via (\~larshall Pass, Gunnison, and Montrose. Witli the knowledge of the rich coal deposits in the Nortli Fork area, The Denver and Rio Grande built a narrow gaage spur Isom its main line that ran between Montrose and Grand Junction in 1903. This caused the rapid development of towns such as Bowie, Oliver and Bardinc. The largest of all these was Somerset, named for a coal camp in Pennsylvania. The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company bought the rights to the coal in the Somerset area and turned it into a company town. It grew from a town of eighty tents and a work force of 75 miners in 1903 to a bustling boom town by 1920. During World War 1, 300 miners produced 1000 to 1200 tons of coal per day. The town of Somerset leas long since seen its hayday because local miners have largely taken up residences in the lower valley. But mining in the Somerset area has taken a big upturn since its low in the 1950's. Today the coal mines between Paonia and Somerset produce thousands of tons of coal every day, and much more is likely to be produced (ibid.). l'Ite low sulfur content in the coal has pttt it in world-wide demand with shipments as far as Japanese markets. Its fine qualities make it useful in the production of steel and in the clean production of electricity. • 17