110
PARKE, FOUNTAIN, WARREN, OWEN, AND VERMILLION COUNTIES.
In addition to making the survey of Clay and Greene counties, a small portion of the time available for this year's work was taken to ascertain the limits and probable extent of the iron-smelting or "block-coal" seams in the coal field lying to the northward of Clay county, leaving that portion of the basin which lies to the southward and west of those counties to be examined next season, it being found impossible for me to examine both districts in the few months that could be given to field explorations. Having made only a hasty reconnoissance of the counties named at the head of this section, and which are to be hereafter surveyed and reported upon in detail, my present sketch of their geology will necessarily be brief.

PARKE COUNTY.
In the eastern part of Parke county, and spreading over a belt of country from two to six miles in width, and in length extending from Clay county on the south, to Fountain county on the north, there are from one to three beds of "block-coal." In the southeastern part of the county, in Raccoon township, there are, at least, three beds. The position of these coal seams are designated by the letters F, I, and K, on the vertical section of the coals given on page 37, in the report on Clay county. I is the main "block-coal" at Brazil, F is the lower, and K the upper seam.
On the branches of North Otter creek, in Raccoon township, coal I outcrops at a number of places where it is from four to five feet in thickness, being an excellent quality of iron-smelting or "block-coal." As yet but little effort has

111
been made, in this part of the county, to develop the coals; but since the commencement of work on the Indianapolis & St. Louis railroad, which will, when completed, furnish an outlet for mineral fuel, public attention has been called to this locality, and the coal lands are rapidly rising in value.
In parts of this district the lower "block-coal" seam F, which lies from twenty-four to thirty feet below coal I, attains a thickness of four feet, and is also a good quality of "block-coal" for smelting iron.
The "block-coal" belt in Parke county is broken into irregular basins by the conglomerate which crosses the belt along the Big and Little Raccoon creeks, and on Sugar creek. After passing beyond the conglomerate ridges on Big Raccoon creek, coals I and K make their appearance in the northwest corner of Raccoon township, and again after crossing the conglomerate ridge on Little Raccoon creek, they are found on Sand creek, in Washington and Adams townships.
The "block-coal" I, at Mr. Buchanan's mine, on Sand creek, is four feet thick, A specimen for analysis was taken from this mine, and gave the following result:
      Specific gravity, 1.232; a cubic foot will weigh 77 lbs.
                                  { Ash, white,    -    -   2.0
      Coke,    -    -   -  64.5   { Fixed Carbon,     -    62.5   
                                  { Water,     -     -      4.5
      Volatile matter,  -  35.5   { Gas,     -     -    -  31.0
                        _________                        ________
                          100.0                           100.0
The coal is but slightly altered in coking, somewhat swollen, lamellar and semi-lustrous. This coal contains a large amount of fixed carbon, and is well adapted to smelting iron ores.
In Washington township coal K is from thirty to forty inches thick, and, although at most openings a bituminous caking coal, at Mr. Kyles' mine it is a good block-coal. On Sugar creek this seam is sometimes a cannel coal.
The following section will exhibit the position of the

112
coals on Sand and Sugar creeks, in Washington and Sugar Creek townships:
      Soil and drift     -      -    -    -    -    10 feet  0 inches.
      Sandstone and shale        -      -     -      8  "        "  
      Fossiliferous limestone, containing Pro-
        ductus wabashenses, P. cora, P. semi-
        reticulatis, Spirifer cameratus, Athyris 
        subtilita, Chonetes mesoloba, Bellero-
        phon carbonaria, B. percarinatus, Or-
        thoceras rushensis, Cyathaxonia prolif-
        era, large stems of Encrinites and Eu-
        pachyrinus tuberculatus, M. and W.   -       2 feet 10 inches.
(Hon. B. E. Rhoads, to whom I am indebted for the name of this new and interesting crinoid, which has been recently described by Professors Meek and Worthen, informs me that it was found in this limestone, on Sand creek.)
      Pyritiferous shale     -     -     -       -   1 foot  0 inches.     
      Coal K, varying from a bituminous cak-
        ing coal to a "block-coal"     -     -       3 feet  6 inches.
      Fire-clay     -     -      -      -     -      ?
      Gray siliceous shale, with iron-stone   -     20 - 30 feet.
      Coal I, "block-coal    -    3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet 6 inches.
      Fire clay, good quality      -      -      -   3  "   0  "
      Sandstone, building stone, containing
        fucoidal markings that closely resem-
        blethe Fucoides Cauda-Galli   -     -        5  "   0   "
      Siliceous shales, with bands of good
        iron-stone     -     -      -       -    -  20  "   0  "
      Coal F     -       -      -      -      -      0  "   6  "
      Soft, reddish, thick-bedded sandstone,
        conglomerate     -     -     -      -       15  "   0  "
      Bed of Sand creek     -      -      -    -     0  "   0  "
                                                  _________________
                                                   100 feet 4 inches.
A specimen of the caking variety of coal K, taken from Mr. Batty's mine, on Sand creek, gave the following result:

113
      Specific gravity, 1,231.  A cubic foot will weigh 77 lbs.
                                   { Ash, white,    -     -    2.5
       Coke,     -      -    58.5  { Fixed carbon,     -      56.0
                                   { Water,     -      -       3.0
       Volatile matter,   -  41.5  { Good illuminat'g gas,    38.5
                           ________                          ________
                            100.0                            100.0
Cake swollen and porous.
This coal is mined in large cubes, and is a good steam and grate coal. Block-coal, suitable for blast-furnaces, is also found on Sugar creek, and its branches, in Sugar Creek township, ten to twelve miles northeast of Rockville, and the seam is here from thirty to forty inches thick.
In the western part of Parke county the southwesterly dip of the coal strata has brought up the higher beds, which in this county belong to the bituminous caking variety of coal, and are not suited for blast-furnaces.
The mammoth coal L, which is the equivalent of the coal at Lost creek mines, Staunton, Cloverland and Highland, on the Terre Haute & Indianapolis railroad, ranges from five to seven feet in thickness, and is opened and mined at the following places: Roseville (Gen. George K. Steele's mine), on the Evansville and Crawfordville railroad; Rosedale, on Big Raccoon creek; Clinton Locks; Jose Butler's, on section 7, town 15, range 8 west; and on Leatherwood creek, about four miles northwest of Rockville. At Jose Butler's mine the lower part of the bed possesses the quality of a "semi-block-coal." In this part of the county the underlying coal seams will rarely be found thick enough to be mined on a large scale with profit.
Section of the strata at Jose Butler', on section 7, town 15, range 8.
      Soil and drift,    -    -     -     -     -    30 ft.  0 in.
      Concretionary limestone, containing Productus 
        costatus, P. Rogersii,Spirifer cameratus, 
        Athyris subtilita,     -      -               0 ft.  6 in.
      Black sheety shale, splits in thin laminæ       1 ft.  6 in.
S. G. R. -- 8.

114
      Coal M ?     -     -     -     -       -     -  1 ft.  0 in.    
      Fire clay,     -     -    -     -     -     -   3 ft.  0 in.
      Greenish argo. shale,   -   -   -    -     -    4 ft.  0 in.
      Black pyritiferous sheety slate, with fish teeth,
       Petrodus occidentalis, spines and scales, Car-
       dinia fragilis and Aviculopecten 
rectilateraria,             1 ft.  0 in.
            {Upper part containing                  }
            { irregular bands of iron               }
            { pyrites,      -      -     2 ft. 5 in.}
    Coal L,-{Pyritiferous clay part-                }-5 ft.  0 in.
            { ing,     -     -      -    0 ft. 1 in.}
            {Bituminous coal     -       1 ft. 0 in.}
            {Block-coal,     -     -     1 ft. 6 in.}
      Fire clay,      -     -     -    -     -     -  5 ft.  0 in.
      Argillaceous shales,     -     -     -    -     4 ft.  0 in.
      Soft schistose sandstone    -     -     -      10 ft.  0 in.
      Shales, covered,    -     -    -     -     -   21 ft.  0 in.
      Black sheety slate,    -     -    -     -       0 ft.  6 in.
      Coal,     -     -     -     -     -      -      1 ft.  6 in.
      Gray shale,     -    -     -    -     -         8 ft.  0 in.
      Black sheety slate, with fossil shells, of which
        Cardinia fragilis, Orthoceras Rushensis, were
        all that could be recognized,    -    -    -  3 ft.  0 in.
      Coal,     -     -     -     -     -     -       0 ft.  6 in.
      Gray shale,     -     -     -     -     -    -  6 ft.  0 in.
      Black pyritiferous shale, passing into hard gray
        fossiliferous limestone, containing Productus
        cora, P. costatus, P. wabashensis, Spirifer cam-
        eratus, Bellerophon carbonarius, B. Montfort-
        ianus, Orthoceras Rushensis, Chonetes mesolo-
        ba, Cyathaxonia prolifera, and large stems of 
        crinoids,                                     1 ft.  6 in. 
      Bed of branch.
The limestone forming the lower stratum in this section was also seen at Armiesburg, where it is underlaid by a coal bed that may be seen in Big Raccoon creek at low water, which, in my opinion, is coal K.
The Evansville & Crawfordsville railroad runs in a northerly direction through the southern part of Parke county to

115
Rockville. At Roseville this road reaches the outcrop of the caking coal L, which is mined by Gen. George K. Steele, and at Catlin Station passes through a portion of the "block-coal" field. From one and a half to two miles east of this station "block-coal" I (?), from three to three and a half feet thick, and of excellent quality, has been opened on Mr. James Knight's land, section 4, town 14, range 7 west, and on the adjoining land to the west, belonging to Mr. Sunderland; and may be found underlying a broad district of country convenient to this road.
The Indiana & Illinois Central railway is located to run on an east and west line through the county, passing through Rockville and Montezuma. It will cross the "block-coal" field between Little Raccoon creek and Rockville; and the bituminous caking-coal field between Rockville and Montezuma.
Papers of association have recently been filed by the Indianapolis & St. Louis railroad company for the purpose of building a road from Brazil, on the Terre Haute & Indianapolis railroad, to run northward through Carbon, and from thence along the valleys of North Otter and Raccoon creeks to Montezuma, on the Wabash river, where it connects with the Evansville, Terre Haute & Chicago railroad, and with the Indiana & Illinois Central railway, under the name of the Raccoon Valley railroad; thus giving a direct route from the "block-coal" field, in the southern part of Parke, and northern part of Clay counties, to Chicago, on the north, and Decatur, on the west. The company having this road in hand has ample means at their disposal, which gives assurance that it will be built, and, when completed, will afford additional advantages for obtaining iron ores from Lake Superior.
Iron-Stone. -- Where the creeks and branches cut through the shales that underlie the lower beds of coal, several bands of clay-ironstone are exposed to view, and the beds of the streams are, in such places, covered with ore that have been washed from the banks above. Though the quantity of this ore, at any one locality, may not be suffi-

116
cient of itself to supply blast-furnaces, it may nevertheless be obtained in sufficient quantity to form an advantageous mixture with the Iron Mountain or Lake Superior ores.
Building Stone. -- The conglomerate sandstone, which forms high cliffs on Big Raccoon, Little Raccoon and Sugar creeks, may be quarried in blocks of any required dimensions, and will make a handsome and durable building stone. At Mansfield, on Big Raccoon creek, this rock is of a beautiful reddish-brown color, closely resembling in appearance the brown sandstone of which the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, D. C., is built. It has been used in the construction of the abutments to the bridge which crosses the creek at Mansfield, where it has been exposed to the weather for several years, and gives evidence of being a durable stone.
A similar colored sandstone, from the conglomerate bluff on the Little Raccoon creek, was used in the foundation of the large bank building in Rockville, and is highly spoken of as a building stone.

FOUNTAIN COUNTY.
From Parke county on the South, with here and there breaks in the continuity of the strata, the "block-coal" is traced through the central portion of Fountain county, as far north as Big Shawnee creek, in Shawnee township, and is partially opened and worked from outcrops at many places throughout this district.
In Shawnee township the seams of "block-coal" are generally thin, ranging from one and a half to two feet, but the quality is good. The most northerly coal seen in this county is about two and a half miles south of Attica. It lies on the top of the conglomerate sandstone, and is mined by stripping. This coal has not been worked for some time, and the pits from which it was mined by stripping were filled with debris so that I could not see its depth, but was informed that it is about eighteen inches thick. A few pieces of coal were found at the old pits, which

117
served to indicate that it possessed the character of a good "block-coal." In the shales which overlie this coal, there are numerous nodules of earthy carbonate of iron that contain zinc-blende (sulphuret of zinc). A specimen of iron-stone from this locality, collected by the former State Geologist, Prof. Richard Owen, was at his request examined by me, and found to contain a notable quantity of rose-colored cobalt (Remingtonite).
In Van Buren township, on Dry Run, North Fork and East Fork of Coal Creek, "block-coal" has been mined for home consumption at a number of outcrops. The depth of the beds varies from two and a half to four feet, and the quality is equal to that of Clay county for the manufacture of iron.
On Mr. Geo. Lease's land, on the north fork of Coal creek, section 30, town 20, range 7 west, the following section was seen:
      Drift,     -      -      -      -      -      2 ft. 0 in.
      Soft shale,      -      -      -     -    -   0 ft. 6 in.
      Coal,      -      -     -      -     -        1 ft. 6 in.
      Fire-clay,      -      -       -     -    -   1 ft. 0 in.
      Buff and gray argillaceous shale,    -    -   8 ft. 0 in.
      Coal (I ?) good "block-coal,"    -     -      3 ft. 0 in.
      Fire-clay,      -      -       -     -        ?
      Black bituminous shale, with one or two
        inches of coal occasionally mixed
        through it,      -      -      -      -    20 ft. 0 in.
      Bed of creek,              
				                ________________
                                                   36 ft. 0 in.
This coal may be traced for a distance of one and a half miles farther up the creek by outcrops. It appears to occupy the position of the middle "block-coal" bed (I) of Clay county, but my hasty examinations in this county will not enable me, at this time, to decide upon its position in the continuous section of the coals given on pages 37 to 45.

118
Where seen, at Mr. Lease's in the above section, the coal appears to be split up by intercalated shales, and I was shown an opening farther up the creek where the bed is united, and its depth thereby augmented to four and a half feet.
At William Davis' place, on section 31, town 20, range 7, is found: 
      "Block-coal,"    -      -     -     1 ft. 6 in.
      Argo. shale,     -      -     -     1 ft. 0 in.
      Hard, impure limestone,     -       3 ft. 0 in.
On the south side of Mr. Davis' farm, in the face of a low bluff, a bed of good "block-coal," full three feet thick, outcrops at a number of places, and probably lies from six to eight feet below the limestone of the above section which was seen on the north part of the farm.
At Mr. Davis' the coal has a good-sized hill above it, and may be conveniently worked at the outcrop by a drift.
A thin seam, from eighteen to twenty inches, of "block-coal," is seen on Miller's run, in the south edge of Covington, and may be followed for some distance, by outcrops along the line of the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western railroad, which follows that creek. A "block-coal" bed, thirty to thirty-three inches thick, is also seen on Neal's branch, in section 2, town 19, range 9, and on Phoebus branch, in section 12, town 19, range 9, which probably belongs to the same horizon as the thin seams on the south side of Covington.
On Graham's creek, a branch of Coal creek, and on Coal creek, at many places, both in Wabash and Fulton townships, there are from two to three beds of bituminous caking coal. The lower bed is, however, in many localities, a semi-"block-coal." The places of these coals on Coal creek are provisionally given in the following sections:
Section at Mr. Mercer's mine on a branch of Coal creek, on section 30, town 19, range 8 west:

119
      Covered slope to top of hill,    -    20 to 30 feet,  0 inches.
      Black slate,     -      -      -     -       1  "     0  "
      Coal,     -     -      -      -     -        1  "     6  "
      Gray argillaceous shale,     -      -       35  "     0  "
               { Hard, ringing coal, -  2 ft. 2 in.}
      Coal I ? { Semi-"block-coal," -        10 in.}-- 4 ft.  0 in.
               {Caking-coal,    -  -    1 ft. 0 in.}
      Fire-clay,     -    -      -     -     -     ? ft.
                                                  ____________________
                                                  71 feet   6 inches.
A section was obtained on the Lafayette company's land, section 1, town 18, range 9, about one mile to the southwest of the former, which shows a middle coal that was not observed there:
      Drift,     -     -      -     -      -    4 feet  0 inches.
      Shale,      -       -       -     -       ?  "        "
      Black slate,    -      -      -      -    1  "    0   "
      Coal,    -      -      -      -     -     1  "    6   "
      Shale,    -       -      -       -        8  "    0   "
      Coal K ?     -       -      -      -      3  "    6   "
      Shale,    -      -      -     -     -    14  "    0   "
      Coal I ?    -      -      -      - 4.8 to 5  "    0   "
      Covered slope to branch,   -      -      10  "    "   "
                                             ________________________
                                               47 feet  0 inches.
On the Wallace place, in Fulton township, close to the Parke county line, in section 36, town 18, range 9, on Coal creek, the following section was seen:
      Drift and covered slope,      -      -    20 feet  0 inches.
      Flaggy sandstone,     -      -      -      6  "    0   "
      Black sheety shale,     -      -     -     8  "    0   "
      Limestone,     -     -      -     -        2  "    0   "
      Semi-"block-coal," K ? (which thickens up
       to four feet on the place of Jno. and Jas.
       Allen, on the opposite side of the hill,) 1  "    8   "
      Fire-clay, (good potters-clay,)     -      2  "    0   "

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      Shale with covered space,     -     -     16 feet  0 inches.
      Sandstone,     -      -      -      -      1  "    0   "
      Coal I ?     -      -      -      -        5  "    0   "
                                             ______________________
                                                62 feet  8 onches.
Close to Mr. Norman [should read: Norborne] Thomas' house, on Silver Island, in the southwest corner of Fountain county, there is a high bluff, which faces the Wabash river, and presents a fine exposure of the coal measure strata. The following section was furnished by Mr. John Collett, of Eugene:
      Drift,      -      -      -     -   20 to 30 feet  0 inches.
      Gray argo. shales,     -     -     - 2 to  3  "    0   "
      Coarse, black sheety slate,     -    4 to  5  "    0   "
      Coal, brash,     -      -      -      -    0  "    8   "
      Clay shale, place of quarry-rock,     -    6  "    0   "
      Ferruginous, fossiliferous limestone,      0  "    6   "
      Black bituminous sheety slate,     -       1  "   10   "
      Coal,      -      -      -      -     -    1  "    6   "
      White fire-clay,      -      -      -      3  "    6   "
      Arenaceous shale with ironstone,     -     8  "    0   "
      Band of nodular ironstone,     -      -    0  "    6   "
      Black bituminous shale,     -      -       2  "    0   "
      Fatty-coal,      -      -      -     -     1  "    6   "
      Siliceous fire-clay,     -      -     -    2  "    6   "
      Clay shale, with siliceous ironstone,      5  "    0   "
      Gray argo. shale, with bands of ironstone, 4  "    8   "
      Black band ironstone,     -     -     -    0  "    4   "
      Cannel coal (?) slate,     -      -        0  "    8   "
      Black sheety slate, with fish remains,     1  "    0   "
      Coal (choice caking-coal),     -     -     1  "    8   "
      Fire-clay,      -       -      -      -    6  "    0   "
      Clay-shale, with ironstone,     -     -    2  "    0   "
      Bituminous, fossiliferous limestone,   -   4  "   10   "
      Coal K (?),      -      -      -     -     4  "    0   "
      Fire-clay,      -      -      -       4 to 5  "    0   "
      Soft sandstone,    -      -      -         2  "    0   "
      Siliceous ironstone,      -    8 inches to 1  "    2   "

121
      Flaggy sandstone,     -      -      -      6 feet  0 inches.
      Coal I (?), semi-"block-coal,"     -       3  "    0   "
      Sandstone in river bed.               ________________________
                                               113 feet 10 inches.
It is my opinion that the second coal from the bottom in this section is coal K, and the mammoth bed L, which lies from ten to fifty feet above it, is here split up and represented by thin coals and beds of black bituminous slate.
The lower coal lies in the river bed, and occupies the positon of the middle "block-coal" seam I.
Near the Wabash and Erie Canal, on the east side of Silver Island, (in which direction the county gradually slopes from the river bluff to the bottoms of Coal creek), Mr. Thomas has sunk a shaft to coal K (?), which passes through:
      Soil and drift,     -      -     -      -   10 feet 0 inches.
      Argillaceous shale, with ironstone,   -      1  "   0   "
      Limestone,      -      -      -      -       1  "   0   "
      Calcareous shale,      -      -     -        4  "   0   "
      Coal K (?).     -      -     -      -        4  "   8   "
                                               ______________________
                                                  20 feet 8 inches.
A few yards farther to the east the coal is mined from the outcrop, and has above it:
      Fossiliferous limestone containing Productus
       wabashensis, P. punctatus, Spirifer camera-
       tus, Bellerophon carbonarius, Chonotes me-
       soloba, Athyris subtilita, and a variety of 
       other coal measure fossils,    -         -     4 ft.  0 in.
      Bluish-gray shale,     -      -      -      -   0 ft.  6 in.
      Cannel coal, local,     -     - 0 ft.  4 in. }
      "Semi-block-coal,"     -     -  3 ft.  6 in. }
      Streak of iron pyrites,     -   0 ft. 01/8 in}-4 ft.  8 in.
      "Block-coal," good,     -    -  0 ft. 4 in.  } 
      Streak of iron pyrites,    -    0 ft. 01/8 in} 
      Caking coal,     -     -   -    0 ft. 6 in.  }

122
I was informed by Mr. Thomas that there is another seam of coal, about twenty feet below this, which corresponds to the bed of coal in the Wabash river at the bluff. Half a mile east of Thomas' mine, on the west bank of Coal creek, in section 36, town 18, range 8, the Wabash Petroleum and Mining Company are mining the same seam of coal, by stripping off the clay roof, where the stratum lies near the surface. The same coal also outcrops in the hills on the east side of Coal creek, and underlies a large area of country.
On Prairie branch of Coal Creek, at Thomas Arrowhood's, on section 4, town 18, range 8, these two seams of coal, K (?) and I (?), come close together, being separated by only two feet of fire-clay, and, at one exposure which I saw, show a combined depth of ten feet. About one and a half miles northeast of Arrowhood's, at the crossing of Coal creek, near Cooper's mill, the conglomerate sandstone forms a conspicuous bluff. The position in the coal measures and the synchronism of the Arrowhood coals with the two lower coals at Silver Island is well established by deep bores that have been made close by the coals at each locality. The artesian well at Lodi, a condensed section of which is given on page 31, is situated about two hundred yards southeast of Thomas' mine, and commenced in the bottom land below the coal, consequently no coal was passed in this bore. As a more detailed account of the strata passed through in this bore may be of interest, it is given as follows:
      Drift,     -     -     -     -     -     5 feet  0 inches.
      Soapstone, with iron nodules     -       5  "    6   "
      Limestone,      -       -      -    -    2  "    0   "
      Shale,      -      -      -     -        8  "    0   "
      Coal,      -      -      -      -   -    1  "    0   "
      White clay,      -      -      -     -   3  "    0   "
      Coal,      -      -      -      -        1  "    0   "
      Soapstone, with iron nodules,      -     1  "    6   "
      White sandstone,      -      -      -   12  "    6   "
      Fossiliferous limestone, with iron
        nodules,      -     -      -      -    7  "    6   "

123
      Sandstone, with cannel coal, bitu-
        minous coal, charcoal, and an
        oily substance,    -    -     -    -  10 feet  0 inches.
      Argillaceous sandstone,     -      -     8  "    0   "
      Argillaceous sandstone, with iron
        nodules,      -      -            -   16  "    9   "
      Sandstone and soapstone,     -     -    12  "    7   "
      Dark clay,      -      -     -      -    2  "    5   "
      Soapstone, with coal,      -     -       3  "    7   "
      Dark sandstone,      -      -     -      4  "    0   "
      Shale,      -      -     -    -    -     4  "    3   "
      Argillaceous sandstone, with mica,   -   2  "   10   "
      Sandstone, fine-grained,      -     -    5  "    0   "
      White sandstone,      -      -    -     15  "    0   "
      Bituminous shale, with "oil bloom,"      5  "   10   "
      Shale and coal,      -     -      -      6  "    3   "
      Black shale,      -      -     -     -   9  "    0   "
      White soapstone,      -     -      -    19  "    6   "
      Sandstone, (base of conglomerate?)      31  "   11   "
      Shale and soapstone, with thin
        seams of sandstone, (brackish
        water),          -       -            39  "    8   "
      Shale,      -      -      -      -      15  "    3   "
      Hard sandstone,      -      -      -     2  "    3   "
      Sandy shale and soapstone,     -    -   62  "    5   "
      Sandstone, fine-grained,      -   -     46  "    5   "
      Soapstone with grit,     -      -       19  "    2   "
      Hard-cap and shale,    -     -     -    12  "    3   "
      Gritty soapstone, with shale,     -     53  "    7   "
      Hard sandstone, with "oil bloom,"   -   10  "    4   "
      Gritty shale, with salt water,     -   102  "    4   "
      Sandstone and flint,      -      -       8  "    2   "
      Soapstone, with iron pyrites,    -      44  "   11   "
      (Salt water 5° Baume),
        Compact, coarse sand-rock,   -     -  64  "   10   "
      Unctuous clay,      -      -     -       8  "    8   "
      Soapstone, with fine grit,     -     -  65  "    5   "
      Flint,      -      -      -     -        1  "    0   "

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      Gritty soapstone,      -      -     -   32 feet  4   "
      (Salt water 6.5° Baume),
      Sandstone,       -      -      -    -   58  "    1   "
      Soapstone, with unctuous shale,     -   65  "    7   "
      (Lowest salt water 7.5°),
      Brown bituminous shale, which
       burns freely, and contains specks
       of iron pyrites, (Marcellus shale),    60  "    9   "
      Blue soapstone and sandstone,     -     20  "    5   "
      Red bituminous shale,      -     -      25  "   11   "
      (Oily matter,) hard, coarse-grained
        sandstone,      -      -     -        22  "    1   "
      White limestone, with coral and
        shells (Devonian),    -       -       12  "    0   "
      Magnesian limestone,      -     -       18  "    8   "
      Sand rock, very hard,      -     -      22  "    0   "
      Limestone,     -      -      -     -    23  "    0   "
                                             ______________________
                                           1,118 feet  9 inches.

The above well was bored on property owned by the Wabash Petroleum & Coal Mining Company. A quantity of water from this well was sent to Dr. Pohle, of New York, for analysis, and the result obtained shows that it is one of the most valuable medicinal waters in the country. An account of this analysis was given to me for publication, by one of the proprietors of the well, Mr. Nye, of Rockville, Indiana:
   "It was found to yield the following dry, saline, and other constituents
from the gallon, United States standard:

      "Chloride of sodium,      -      -    502.464 grains.
      "Chloride of calcium,      -      -    47.928   "
      "Chloride of magnesium,      -     -   53.540   "
      "Sulphate of lime,      -      -   -   55.553   "
      "Sulphate of potassa,      -     -       .804   "
      "Sulphate of magnesia,      -      -    3.260   "
      "Sulphate of soda,      -      -     -  2.135   "
      "Bicarbonate of lime,      -      -     2.904   "
      "Bicarbonate of magnesia,     -     -   1.104   "
      "Bromide of magnesium,      -      -     .880   "

125
      "Iodide of magnesium,      -      -     trace.
      "Silicic acid,      -      -      -      .520 grains.
      "Phosphate of lime,      -      -    -  1.200   "
      "Sulphur, mechanically suspended,   -    .500   "
      "Nitrogenous organic matter,     -       .800   "
                                       ___________________
            "Total solid matter,      -     673.937 grains.
   "It has a pleasant saline and sulphurous taste, and emits the odor of
sulphuretted hydrogen.
      "Specific gravity at 60° F., 1.0112.
      "Gaseous matter in one gallon:
      "Sulphide of hydrogen, - 7.94 cubic inches.
      "Carbonic acid gas, - undetermined.
      "Nitrogen and oxygen, - undetermined."
About one quarter of a mile west of Thomas Arrowhood's mine, a well was bored for salt to the depth of seven hundred feet, and passed through five feet of coal (the lower bed) at the depth of twelve feet, and no other coal was found in the well.
South-east of Thomas Arrowhood's, on the same section, the upper part of his great bed -- which is generally overlaid by limestone -- is seen where it is about four feet thick, and entirely disconnected from the lower bed.
Some of the best bituminous caking-coals in the State are to be found on Coal creek, and when rendered accessible to market by the railroads that are now being built, they will be eagerly sought after for fuel and gas purposes.
The Thomas' coal, K ? is for the most part a semi "block coal," and in my opinion will answer as fuel in the raw state, to manufacture pig-iron. A specimen was analyzed, and gave the following result:
      Specific gravity, 1,277; a cubic foot weighs 77 lbs.
                              { Ash, dark brown,   -    -   4.5
      Coke,      -     64.3   { Fixed carbon,     -     -  59.8
                              { Water,     -      -         3.0
      Volatile matter, 35.7   { Gas,      -      -      -  32.7
                   __________                           _________
                       100.0                              100.0

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The coke is light, porous, much swollen, and without lustre.
It is at present mined by a company who pay Mr. Thomas a royalty of a half cent. per bushel. They ship, by the canal, about ten tons daily to Lafayette, where it has a high reputation as a steam and grate coal.
A trial of the relative heating value, and capacity for generating steam, was made of the Danville, Illinois coal, and Thomas' "Silver Island" coal, in a steam mill at Lafayette, last July (1869), with the following result:
4,210 pounds of Silver Island coal kept steam up to full 60 pounds, for seven hours and forty-five minutes, while 4,260 pounds of Danville coal would only sustain the same pressure of steam for five hours and twenty-five minutes. This test shows a gain of 42.8 per cent. of heating capacity for the former coal; or, in other words, seventy bushels of Silver Island coal are equal to one hundred bushels of Danville coal.
Iron-ore. -- In the shale above and below the coal seams on Coal creek, there are to be found numerous bands of ironstone (earthy carbonate of iron), that will go a great ways toward supplying blast-furnaces. In the bluff facing the Wabash river at Mr. Thomas', the bands of iron-stone will, in the aggregate, amount to more than two and a half feet in depth; and similar beds are to be seen on Coal creek.
Salt-Brine. -- Good strong brine may be obtained anywhere in the vicinity of Coal creek or its branches, in Fulton and Wabash townships, and in the southern part of Troy township, by wells, at the depth of six hundred to one thousand feet.
Three wells have been bored for salt and oil in the above named district, and they all passed through several veins of brine, varying in strength from 6.5° to 9.5° Baume. The horizon of these brines may be seen by reference to the section of the bore made near Lodi, given on page 37. It

127
will require from sixty-five to seventy gallons of the best brine to make a bushel (50 lbs) of salt, which is fully as strong as the brine on the Kanawha river in Western Virginia.
Mr. Norman Thomas, of Silver Island, made salt for many years, in this county, from a brine obtained from a well which he bored on Coal creek, and only suspended operations in consequence of not having sufficient manufacturing facilities to compete with the salt works of Michigan and New York, which, at that time, were sending salt to northern Indiana at an extremely low rate of freight by means of the Wabash and Erie Canal.
Some years ago I made an analysis of the brine from the "Thomas salt-well," that was published by Prof. Richard Owen in a report that he made to the Wabash Petroleum and Coal Mining Company, which is reproduced here, together with the remarks made by Prof. Owen in relation thereto: --
"By Baume's scale, the brine sent by you indicated 8 1/3°,
"(distilled water at 60° F. being zero,) every degree denot-
"ing one per cent. of salt, and 36½ being the greatest
"amount that water at any temperature can take up. The
"specific gravity of the same brine (distilled water at 62°
"F. being 1000,) was found to be 1060. To render the
"above more intelligible to salt boilers, I may add that the
"brine you sent floats an egg, with a portion appearing
"above the water. Salt makers are in the habit of saying
"that, under ordinary circumstances of cheap fuel and
"proximity to market, any brine will pay in which an egg
"will float. But as this is a very indefinite standard, the
"egg floating higher or lower in different brines, I have com-
"pared the egg test with the salt hydrometer of Baume, and
"here give the result. In water containing 8 1/3 to 9 parts of
"salt in 100 (hence indicating 8 1/3 to 9° Baume) a fresh egg
"will float, but be nearly covered. At anything below 8°
"it sinks, but at 10° to 10½° B., (or specific gravity 1075 to
"1080,) and in all brines above that strength, an egg will
"float high.

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"The brine from your 'Thomas well' gave of solid mat-
"ter 84.82616 parts in 1000. That solid matter consisted
"of the materials given below:
     "Carbonic acid (free),      -      -      -  0.01615.
     "Oxide of iron and silica,      -      -     0.02880.
     "Carbonate of lime,      -      -      -     1.83850.
     "Sulphate of lime,      -      -      -      0.04991.
     "Chloride of magnesium,     -     -     -    0.90823.
     "Chloride of calcium,     -      -      -    3.68225.
     "Chloride of sodium (pure salt,)     -      78.30232.
     "Water, and trace of organic matter,    -  915.17384.
                                               ____________
       "Total solid matter in 1000 grains,  -    84.82616.
"Your well requires 72.4 gallons of water to produce a
"bushel (fifty pounds) of pure salt."

I also copy, from Kane's Chemistry, the following "Table showing the number of gallons of Salt Water producing a bushel of salt, in different parts of the United States:
     Nantucket Salt Water,     -      -      -      350
     Boon's Lick, Missouri,      -      -     -     450
     Conemaugh, Pennsylvania,      -      -     -   300
     Shawneetown, Illinois,     -     -     -       280
     Jackson, Ohio,      -      -     -     -       213
     Lockhart, Mississippi,      -      -     -     180
     Shawneetown, 2d Saline,     -      -     -     123*
     St. Catharine, Upper Canada,     -      -      120
     Zanesville, Ohio,     -     -      -     -      95
     Kanawah, West Virginia,      -      -     -     75
     Grand River, Arkansas,      -      -      -     80
     Illinois River,      -      -      -      -     80
     Montezuma, N. Y. (old wells),     -     -       70
     Grand Rapids, Michigan,    -     -     -  50 to 60
     Muskingum, Ohio,      -      -     -       -    50
     Montezuma, N. Y. (new well),      -      -      50
_______________________________________________________________
* New Saline, 75 gallons.

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     Onondaga, N. Y. (old wells),      -       40 to 45
     Onondaga, N. Y. (new well), 
     Syracuse  -   -     -     -     -    -    30 to 45

The "Thomas Well" still produces a good flow of brine, which, at the time of my visit, was pumped by hand, and made into salt on a limited scale by a man who was permitted to use the Company's kettles, nine in number, free of charge. He collected the fuel used under the kettles from the fallen forest trees, and carried it to the works upon his shoulders, pumped the water, and in fact did all the work about the establishment himself, and was making about one barrel of good white salt per day. I had no means of testing the strength of this brine at the well, and the small bottle of brine collected for examination at the laboratory, was broken in transit.
The saliferous strata in this State are reached in the subcarboniferous sandstone formation, which underlies the limestone, and is co-extensive with the coal measures.
Building Stone. -- The conglomerate sandstone in this county furnishes an abundance of good freestone for building purposes. In color it ranges from whitish-gray to a brownish-red.
Quarries of this stone have been opened near Attica, on the Toledo, Wabash and Western railroad, in Logan township, and afford a coarse-grained, grayish-brown, durable sandstone, that can be quarried in blocks from one to four feet or more in thickness, and of any required length and width. Other quarries have also been opened at Portland, on the Wabash and Erie canal, where a stone similar to that from Attica is obtained.

WARREN COUNTY.
My examinations in this county were very limited, being made solely with a view of determining the character of the coal-beds on the northern limits of the Indiana coal-field.

S. G. R. -- 9.

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The stratified rocks of this county belong, for the most part, to the millstone grit epoch; the prominent feature of this formation being a heavy bedded sandstone, that occupies the geological position of the conglomerate sandstone; but here it contains no quartz pebbles. It is a coarse-grained, durable building-stone, and in color it varies from grayish-brown to reddish-brown. The jail at Williamsport is constructed of rock quarried from this member of the series which forms the Williamsport falls, sixty to seventy feet high, and outcrops in all the hills around the town.
In the road, on the north edge of Williamsport, there is an outcrop of subcarboniferous limestone, of a few feet in thickness, which contains a few fossils characteristic of the Keokuk beds. Half a mine south of the town there is a very good spring of cool chalybeate water, that breaks out from the base of the conglomerate sandstone, from which is deposited a large quantity of calcareous tufa and ferruginous matter.
A qualitative chemical examination of this water was made in the laboratory after my return home, and its principal constituents are:
    Sulphate of protoxide of iron.
    Carbonate of protoxide of iron.
    Bicarbonate of lime.
    Bicarbonate of magnesia.
    Chloride of sodium (common salt).
    Sulphate of soda (Glauber salts), small quantity.
    Sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salts), small quantity.
    Free carbonic acid.
This is properly a saline chalybeate water, and its medicinal properties are tonic and aperient.
The coal-measure strata which make their appearance in Pine township, contain at least two seams of good "block-coal," from two and a half to four feet thick. The principal mine visited was on a branch of Pine creek, and

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was opened and worked to a considerable extent by Alexander A. Rice, of Attica, on section 19, town 23, range 8. The section at this mine is as follows:
      Drift,      -      -      -      -      -      10 feet.
      Buff siliceous shale,      -      -      -      2  "
      Coal I ? good "block-coal,"      -      -       4  "
      Fire-clay,      -      -      -     -      -    2  "
      Gray shale,      -      -      -     -    -    18  "
      Shale, with bands of sandstone,      -    -     8  "
      Blue argillaceous shale, with bands of
       ironstone,      -      -      -     -      -   6  "
      Bed of creek,      -      -      -      -    ____________
                                                     50 feet.
At Dicks's mill, on Pine creek, the following section was seen, which underlies the section obtained at the coal-mine:
      Drift,      -      -      -      -      10 (?) feet.
      Bluish argillaceous shale, with bands
        of iron-stone,      -      -      -   60 (?)  "
    (The lower band of iron-stone is fully
       six inches thick.)
      Rough, false-bedded sandstone, with 
        stems of plants much broken,    -   -  8      "
      Bed of Pine creek.
      This section underlies all the coal.
Coal has been mined at a number of other places in Pine township, which I did not have time to visit; but, as the county is to be surveyed in detail hereafter, and the object of my visit having been accomplished in tracing the iron-smelting or "block-coal" to the northern limits of the coal basin in Indiana, further examination was not deemed necessary at this time.

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OWEN COUNTY.
My examinations in this county were confined to a very narrow strip along the southwestern border of the county, in Marion and Jefferson townships. In these townships the "block-coal" seam I ranges from three-and-a-half to five feet in thickness, and, in quality, is equal to any in Clay county for manufacturing iron. All that is needed to bring the coals of this district into market and induce the building of blast-furnaces, is the establishment of railroad facilities.

VERMILLION COUNTY.
The survey of this county was made by my assistant, Prof. Frank H. Bradley, whose able and interesting report will be found in this volume, page 136. It only remains, therefore for me to add a few remarks embracing an account of the result of my own observations, made subsequent to the survey of Prof. Bradley, and during a trip hastily undertaken, at the request of a number of the leading citizens of the county.
Previous to my personal examinations in this county, it was not known that "block-coal" could be found within its borders, and its discovery was first made public through the newspapers, immediately after my return to Indianapolis, on the 15th of November, 1869.
The "block-coal" of Vermillion county, so far as known at present, underlies all the ridge land between Highland, on the south, and Newport, on the north. But it is my decided opinion that it will be found still farther to the south, as the same seam underlies the greater part of the county from the Indiana blast-furnace, on the south, to the Horseshoe on the Little Vermillion river, on the north.
Owing to the inclemency of the weather and the want of time, I was unable to determine the width of the field.
The total thickness of the bed ranges from five to seven feet, and is separated into two or more seams by thin partings of shale or fire-clay. The lower part of the bed (from

133
thirty to thirty-six inches) is good "block-coal," and the upper two to three feet above the clay parting is caking-coal.
On the map of Vermillion county which accompanies this volume, and in Prof. Bradley's report, this bed of coal is marked No. 6, and is, in my opinion, equivalent to the mammoth coal L of the connected section of Clay county coals, given on pages 37 to 45.
I am led to this conclusion not only from stratigraphical investigations, but from the fact that coal L, on the Terre Haute & Indianapolis railroad, in Clay county, and still further south, in Greene county, contains in its lower portion more or less "block-coal." This character of the mammoth seam is also apparent in General Steele's mine at Roseville, in Parke county, and quite marked at Jose Butler's, in the same county, a few miles southeast of Highland. At Mrs. Leatherman's, on section 27, town 16, range 9, and at Mr. Furman's mine, and the Groves' or Mill bank, south of Newport, from thirty to thirty-six inches of the seam is good "block-coal." A sample from the Mill bank was subjected to approximate analysis, and gave the following result:
      Specific gravity, 1.289; a cubic foot weighs 80.5 lbs.
                               { Ash, white,     -      4.5.
       Coke,     -    -  52.2. { Fixed carbon,     -   47.7.
                               { Water,     -     -     3.5.
       Volatile matter,  47.8. { Gas, good illumint'g, 44.3.
                      ________                       _________
                        100.0.                        100.0.
This is a free-burning, non-caking, white ash coal, contains a small quantity of water, and has a larger quantity of gas than Pittsburg coal. It appears to be free from sulphur, and will undoubtedly make a good blast-furnace coal.
The Evansville, Terre Haute & Chicago railroad, which crosses the Wabash river at Clinton, and rus through the entire length of this "block-coal" field, will afford excellent facilities along its line for the location of blast-furnaces. As this railroad connects at Danville with another railroad run-

134
ning direct to Chicago, and is crossed at Highland by the Indiana & Illinois Central railway, running west to Decatur, in Illinois, no location in the "block-coal" region of the State can be more favorable for manufacturing iron, and for obtaining the Lake Superior iron ores at a low rate of freightage.
In close proximity to the "block-coal," large quantities of earthy carbonate of iron can be obtained from the shale-beds which underlie it. Bands of this character of iron-stone, that have a total thickness of from six to ten inches, or more, may be seen near the "Mill-bank," where the subordinate shales have been washed bare on the slopes of the ridges, and in the deep cuts made through the strata by the small creeks and branches.
Prof. Bradley, in his report, mentions a number of localities where iron-ore in considerabel quantity can be obtained, and there are, no doubt, many others that have not yet been discovered.
The Indiana Blast-furnace, in the southwest part of the county, obtained its ore from this geological horizon, and experienced no difficulty in finding an abundant supply, though it was in blast for a number of years, and consumed daily from thirty to forty tons of ore.
At the time of my visit to the Indiana Blast-furnace, Mr. Sparks, who lives on the property, and is one of the owners, was absent from home, consequently I was unable to learn anything definite regarding its history; and, as yet, no answer has been received to a note which I left at his residence asking for information on this subject. It is reported, however, that it went out of blast soon after the breaking out of the rebellion; and owing to its distance from railroad facilities, and the growing scarcity of timber for charcoal, it has not since been put in blast, but not from any want of ore.
The outer wall of the stack is built of sandstone, and I should judge it to be about forty-feet high, and nine feet across the boshes. It was arranged for hot-blast, and used charcoal for fuel. The daily make of metal would be about

135
nine tons. The boilers, engine, and blowing cylinders appeared to be in good order.
I had but little opportunity to examine the character of the coal beds in the neighborhood of this furnace, but fully believe that a seam equivalent to the Leatherman and Mill bank coals may be found here of a quality that it will also answer for smelting iron ores; in which case the Indiana furnace may be again put in blast, and run with profit, if placed under proper management.
The pig-iron, which is still to be seen at this furnace, bears testimony that the ores yield an excellent quality of metal. As many as three thick seams of coal, with a total depth of twelve to sixteen feet, are found over a large area of this county, and the quality will compare favorably with that of any other coals in the State.

1869 Table of Contents

Geology Library, Indiana University, Bloomington