R. T. Brown (1854) - Geological Survey of the State of Indiana

FROM: Third Annual Report of the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, for the year 1853. Indianapolis, Austin H. Brown, State Printer. 1854. p.299-332
[Spellings and typographic errors are reproduced as found in the text]

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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
of the
STATE OF INDIANA.

Letter from Dr. Brown.

Gov. Joseph A. Wright,

 	    President of the State Board of Agriculture:

Dear Sir: -- In consenting to serve the State Board of Agriculture, in the capacity of Geological Agent, I have done so without any very definite idea of what the precise duties were which the Board expected of me. My instructions are very general in their character, and, if I rightly understand them, leave a wide margin to my discretion.

With the limited means at the disposal of the Board, I suppose it was not their intention to undertake, at present, anything like a systematic survey, and mapping of the State by sections; but merely to institute such local examinations as will, with the least labor, develop the largest amount of facts in relation to the resources of the State, not only in mineral wealth, but also in regard to building material, including stone, lime and timber -- and whatever else may tend to call attention to, and invite the investment of active capital in Indiana.

The labors of Dr. OWEN, some years ago, have furnished us with an outline map of the Geology of the State, so that the lines of outcrop of the several formations are pretty accurately defined. There will be, therefore, no loss of time necessary in defining the

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boundaries of the different strata, and their associated mineral treasures.

Before proceeding to the details of the Geology of Indiana, a few general remarks on the geological positions of the different portions of the State, will be necessary to a correct understanding of those details. Rocks seldom lie perfectly level, but generally have an inclination to the horizon in some uniform direction. In Indiana the general direction of the inclination or 'dip,' as it is technically called, is from the East toward the West. Hence the older or lower formations will be found cropping out along the Eastern boundary of the State, and as we proceed Westward, losing themselves by dipping under the higher members in the geological scale, which, in turn, are lost in the same manner. A line, therefore, crossing the State from East to West, would traverse: 1st, The lower Silurian, or blue shell limestone of Cincinnati, which is the lowest rock exposed on the surface anywhere between the Allegheny mountains and the Mississippi river. 2d, The "Cliff Rock" of the Ohio Geologists, the equivalent of the Niagara limestone of New York, and perhaps the "upper silurian" of the English authors. 3d. A soft, earthy sandstone, which I regard as identical with the "Chemung sandstone" of New York and the American representative of the great Devonian, or "Old red sandstone" formation of Europe. I have approached this latter conclusion with great caution, and some misgivings as to its correctness, as it is a question on which the most eminent geologists are far from unanimity, whether that formation has any representative in the Missippi valley. I have, however, in my possession, characteristic fossils from this formation, which, taken in connection with its position in relation to the formations above and below it, are sufficient to satisfy my mind of the correctness of the above statement. 4th, The carboniferous group; embracing a floor of mountain limestone in heavy strata, resting on which we have a coarse grained sandstone -- "the new red sandstone" of the writers, interstratified with shale, coal, iron ore, bituminous limestone, &c. In addition to these regular formations, we have, spread out over a great part of the middle and northern portion of the State, a promiscuous mass of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders; the latter consisting of fragments of granite, gneiss, basalt, &c., all water worn and their angles ground off by friction against each other. This is called the Diluvial or Drift formation, or simply "The Drift."

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The important relation which this formation sustains to the Agricultural interests of Indiana, as the source from which is derived most of the soil of the State, will demand for it a more extended notice than would be proper in this place. We therefore pass it for the present, and promise to devote to its consideration an ample space at the proper time.

To define the out crop, or appearance on the surface of these several formations, take a map of the State and draw a line from the mouth of Indian Kentucky, a few miles above Madison on the Ohio river, in a northerly direction, passing near Versailles and a little east of Napoleon in Ripley county; continuing this line on through the western portions of Franklin and Fayette counties, until you have reached the central part of the Western line of Wayne county where the strata loses itself under the drift; and you will have defined the eastern margin of the "Cliff rock," and the western boundary of the lower silurian.

To the westward of this line the cliff rock extends to a line drawn from the Falls of Ohio by Columbus, Indianapolis, and Delphi, to Monticello, in White county. Immediately west of this line, and forming the lower member of the "Chemung sandstone" formation, we have running in a narrow band across the State, a black, aluminous slate. The out crop of this is seen at low water immediately below the falls of the Ohio, overlapping and resting upon the corniferous or upper member of the Cliff rock group -- it is seen in several places along Silver creek, in Floyd county, at Slate-ford on the Muscatatack, and on a few of the most easterly branches of Salt Creek -- indications of it appear above the bluffs of White river, where it disappears under the heavy drift, but again makes a bold out crop in perpendicular escapements along the Wabash, near Delphi, and finally disappear near the mouth of the Monon in White county. This slate always contains sulphur, and sometimes bitumen enough to make it burn, which circumstances have misled persons unacquainted with its geological position, to suppose that coal would be found connected with it, and considerable expenditures have been made in fruitless search for it. It lies at least 1000 feet too low for coal, and is only valuable for the manufacture of alum, for which purpose it may some day be turned to a good account.

To the west of this Slate, lies the "Chemung sandstone," occasionally interstratified with beds of encrinitial limestone. It is of

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this formation that the knobs near New Albany are built up. It stretches from thence in a northerly direction to a point about six miles east of Salem, where the line makes a detour to the west, crosses the east branch of White river a few miles above Bedford, appears in the deep valley of Salt creek on the line of the New Albany and Salem Railroad, passes a few miles to the east of Bloomington, is seen at Gosport, and on the Walnut fork of Eel river, near Bainbridge in Putnam county; occupies the western portion of Montgomery county, and finally crosses the Wabash near Attica and is lost beneath the drift to the north.

Next succeeds to this the mountain limestone, which has always been classed by Geologists among the carboniferous or coal bearing rock; the coal is seldom or never found among it, but always above it in Indiana.

In tracing the limits of these several formations, the lines dividing the formations will necessarily be zig-zag, the result of surface inequality. For example, the Cliff rock appears on the summit of the hills four miles above Madison, yet the lower Silurian does not disappear under the bed of the Ohio until we have passed Marble Hill, several miles below Madison. The rule governing this phenomenon is, the more westerly formations are first seen on the highest summits, while the more easterly ones are last seen in the deepest valleys.

THE SILURIAN.

The Silurian, the lowest, and consequently the most eastern of these formations will demand but a passing notice. There is no mineral treasures associated with it, and its value as furnishing a building material, is principally limited to rough masonry. Exceptions to this rule, however,occur in a few localities, in the silurian region. At several points in the White Water Valley, varieties of the Silurian limestone are found of sufficient thickness and solidity to admit of being cut, and some of these specimens from the innumerable fossils they contain, are finely variegated, and from their hardness susceptible of receiving a high polish, thus furnishing a beautiful and durable marble. These quarries, however, are not being worked to any considerable extent, except at Marble Hill, 12 miles below Madison. At this point the Messrs. Deans have opened a quarry and are preparing to work it very extensively. This

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rock, though it is evidently the upper member of the silurian formation, yet in its lithological character, it has little or no resemblance to the ordinary blue limestone of this region. It is made up of a mass of very small shells, principally univalves, with the interstices filled with a very light colored calc spar which gives it a very rich appearance when polished. It is at once a very compact, durable and beautiful marble, and may be procured in blocks of any desirable size. In a few specimens I observed that the spaces between the shells were not fully filled, giving it the appearance o worm eaten wood. With proper care these defective specimens may be avoided, and in pilasters, columns, and other hammer dressed work, this defect would not be a serious objection. Next in succession, above and westward of the silurian, we have

THE CLIFF ROCK.

This formation extends along the Ohio river from the base of the falls at New Albany, to the summit of the hills above Madison, and stretches across the State to the northern Wabash, stamping its peculiar feature on that stream from Delphi to Huntington. And underlies, really, more than half the territory of the State. Much of the interior of the State, however, is so deeply covered with the drift formation, as to entirely conceal the underlying rock. Along the Ohio river, and its immediate tributaries in Clark, Scott, and Jefferson counties; on the Muscatatack in Jennings and Ripley; and on Sand creek, Clifty and Flat-rock, in Decatur and Rush counties, the bold escarpments of the Cliff rock wall in the water courses, and diversify the otherwise tame scenery of much of this country. At Pendleton, on Fall creek, a local out-crop of this rock rises above the drift, and indications of it are occasionally observed in the bed of White river, between Andersontown and Muncietown. The general character and appearance of this rock is that of a very compact, fine grained limestone, varying from a cream white to a dark ash gray color, occasionally marked with dark colored bands running parallel to the lines of stratification. It is generally a very pure carbonate of lime, though a few of the lower members of this formation contain so much clay as to effect very materially their reliability as a building stone. Blocks from this argillacious strata were used in the construction of some of the locks on the Wabash and Erie Canal, and in consequence the work required repairing in a few years; the combined action of air and

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water in the summer, and frost in the winter having completely broken down and dissolved the stone.

Occasionally we meet with a variety of this family of rocks that contain from 10 to 20 per cent. of magnesia. It sometimes has a slight tinge of yellow, but more frequently is of a light buff color, from the presence of per oxyde of iron. It is very soft when first exposed in the quarry, and can be cut with great facility into almost any required shape. By the loss of its quarry moisture, and the action of the atmosphere, its hardness greatly increases, and when placed in situations not much exposed, it will be found in point of durability a fair building rock. In positions where stone is required to resist a great pressure, it should never be trusted; nor should it be used in the corners of buildings or other exposed situations where its tendency to weather rapidly would be an objection.

This variety of stone occurs in the vicinity of Logansport and Peru. At the latter place it is variegated, and had it compactness enough to receive a polish, would make a beautiful marble.

The Court House in Louisville, Kentucky, is built of this magnesian variety of cliff rock -- a much more compact and harder article, however, than the specimens from the Wabash, which have just been referred to.

The upper members of this formation, and consequently those cropping out farthest west, answer both in position and lithological character, as well as in the character of their fossils, to the "corniferous limestone" of the New York geologists.

This rock is much used for building purposes in the city of Lafayette, and at other points below, on the canal. Many specimens of this stone present the appearance of having been fractured into small angular fragments, and afterwards cemented together by the deposition of calcarious matter. When this union is imperfect, which is frequently the case, the exposure to rain and freezing is liable to fracture the stone anew or open the old fissures so as to impair, to a considerable extent, its value for architectural purposes. It is from this rock that the Louisville Lime, (manufactured near Utica, in Indiana, however,) so justly celebrated along the Ohio and Mississippi as a building cement, is made. The manufacture of this indispensable building material is becoming quite an item along the line of the Wabash Canal, and might be profitably increased to an almost indefinite extent. Between three and four

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per cent. of alumina and iron, which this rock contains, adds much to the hardness of the cement formed from its lime, while the magnesia renders it easier spread, without injuring the strength or durability of the cement in any appreciable degree.

The southern section of the cliff rock can be reached for purposes of transportation by the Ohio river, or by the Cincinnati and St. Louis, the Madison and Indianapolis, and Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railroads. Its northern section is traversed by the Wabash and Erie Canal, the Wabash Valley and the Indianapolis and Peru Railroads.

The quarries near Vernon are extensively worked, and furnish an excellent variety of stone for all ordinary purposes. The strata, in this locality, are thicker than at any point further north, and consequently facilities are afforded for procuring larger blocks than can be readily obtained from either the Sand Creek, Flat-rock, or Wabash quarries. The Vernon stone, however, contains more insoluble, earthy matter than the varieties obtained at the Sand Creek quarries, near Greensburgh, or the quarries in the vicinity of St. Omar, on Flat-rock. It is, therefore, not as crystaline in its character, nor is it susceptible of as high a polish as these last named, but it will be less liable to break by vicissitudes of temperature, and will require a great weight to crush it. It is a stone well adapted to purposes of heavy architecture, such as bridge building, &c. Substantially, the same variety of stone may be obtained at several points on the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, between Sand Creek and North Madison. The rapidly increasing demand for stone throughout the central portions of the State, where the deep drift has covered the rock so as to render it entirely inaccessible, will give to these quarries, along the line of this and other railroads, a value which the present proprietors have no conception of.

A very compact, fine grained variety of this stone is worked into tomb-stones, monuments, &c., at Greensburgh. It is susceptible of a very high polish, and some specimens are finely variegated, making indeed a very pretty marble. The great drawback on its extensive use is, that the strata are too thin to afford blocks of sufficient size for heavy work.

Substantially the same variety of marble may be obtained in strata from 12 to 15 inches in thickness, in the vicinity of the village of Milford about four miles south west of the Lawrenceburgh

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Railroad. This quarry has never been worked, but promises fair to be of great value.

The quarries of Sand Creek, Clifty, and Flat-rock afford flagstones for pavements, of almost any required dimensions, and in quantities that cannot be exhausted for ages. To this fact, I wish to call the especial attention of the many flourishing villages in the interior of the State, whose muddy sidewalks demand that a draft should be made on these Banks immediately.

THE ARGILLACIOUS OR CHEMUNG SANDSTONE.

The best point for observing the successive strata of this formation is afforded by the "Knobs," in the vicinity of New Albany. Immediately westward of this city these Knobs are found resting on a base of Aluminous slate, over which lies a single stratum of from 10 to 15 inches in thickness, of a very compact silicious limestone, colored green in spots by the presence of silicate of iron.

Above this lies about 100 feet of a blueish grey sandstone containing a large amount of clay. On exposure to the weather it splits into thin, slate-like lamina, and crumbles down to a sandy clay. This is overlayed by a single stratum three feet 4 inches in thickness. It is a fine grained compact sandstone highly colored with iron. It is a durable stone, and if not injured by nodules of iron, which occasionally appear in it, will prove a valuable building material, being nearly the color of the New Jersey freestone so much used in New York city. To this succeeds about 150 feet of soft, crumbling, muddy sandstone, filled with nodular masses of iron ore. This ore is so scattered through a mass of decaying stone that to collect it would require a heavy labor, otherwise it might be profitably worked. The next 50 feet is occasionally interstratified with a hard ferruginous sandstone containing too much iron to dress, or be reliable in practical use. This is succeeded by 40 feet of buff colored sandstone, in regular strata from two to four feet in thickness. It weathers well and becomes harder on exposure, and is not inclined to spawl with frost. For all architectural purposes when stone is not required to sustain a great weight, I regard it as a valuable building material. The New Albany Branch of the State Bank of Indiana, built their banking house of this material nearly 20 years ago, and had a little more judgment been exercised in selecting blocks for exposed situations, the building would have exhibited no sign of decay. Next above this lies 8 feet of compact,

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ash colored limestone in two strata. Heretofore this has been much used as a building material in New Albany and the neighboring cities, but since the N. A. & S. Railroad has brought the White river stone in competition with it, the demand has materially declined. The quarries, however, are yet being worked, and many fine blocks were on hand ready for transportation.

To ascertain the exact position which this rock should occupy in the geological scale, is rather a difficult matter on account of the almost entire absence of fossils. A few bi-valves of the Orthis & Spirifer families and a single specimen of the Cyathophyllum cæspitosum were all the fossils which, after some hours search, I was able to find. From the fact that sandstone occurs immediately above it and continues in uninterrupted strata to the summit, which rises 550 feet above low water at the foot of the falls, as well as from the character of the few fossils I observed, I am disposed to doubt the opinion that has been generally entertained, that this rock belongs to the carboniferous formation; and place it as a member of the great Devonian family of rocks. But be that as it may it is a valuable building rock and works freely under the hammer and chisel. A remarkable peculiarity of this region is that everything in and around the knobs is impregnated with iron.

The plain extending northwardly from the Falls is a remarkable phenomenon in the topography of this region. From the elevated lands of Clark and Scott counties the surface descends with the westward dip of the underlying Cliff rock until it reaches the base of the bold escarpment of the Chemung sandstone, which rises in an almost perpendicular front to an elevation of more than 500 feet. This line of knobs on the west, with a broad valley on the east, extends in a direction nearly north, for a distance of more than 20 miles, or indeed, until the surface of the valley by its almost imperceptible ascent has gained the elevation of the knobs. I can only account for the strange arrangement by supposing that the slate originally cropped out in Clark county, at the summit of the great western slope; but at the "Drift period" the whole surface being subjected to the denudined influence of mighty currents of water, the fragile slate was carried away, laying bare the rock beneath and undermining the sandstone above, until by the descent of the dip this latter rock presented a barrier in its escarpment that effectually resisted further encroachment in this direction. This valley affords the best opportunity of approaching the Ohio river

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from the interior of the State, by railroad, that occurs anywhere on our river boundary.

This belt of sandstone, in its course across the State, ranges from 10 to 20 miles in width. A line drawn from the Sugar Creek bridge on the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, in the direction of Gosport, will cross this formation at its widest point in this State. On the line from New Albany, in the direction of Corydon, the sandstone region is about 12 miles wide; but following the meanders of the Ohio river, its width is much greater. On a careful examination, I am convinced that this series will, with proper care in the selections, furnish much valuable building material. The ease with which it can be quarried and cut into any desirable shape, will always make it cheap, where the transportation is not too heavy an item of expense. The varieties of this stone which are blue or lead colored, though much harder when first quarried, that the buff or drab, are not to be trusted. They will disintegrate by atmospheric influences, and in a few years entirely crumble down to a mass of sandy clay, while the other varieties will harden on exposure and when placed in a wall will be very durable. The Portsmouth stone, so much used about Cincinnati, and the Nova Scotia stone, frequently met with along the Atlantic coast from Boston to St. Johns, are but varieties of this sandstone.

The Jeffersonville and Indianapolis, and the New Albany and Salem Railroads have advantageously availed themselves of this natural inclined plane to reach the elevation of the table lands of the interior.

Westward of this we find

THE MOUNTAIN LIMESTONE
Fully developed. Along the Ohio river, it frequently rises in bold and precipitous walls to the hight of one or two hundred feet, adding much of the picturesque and romantic to the river scenery of this region. I was surprised to find a building material of such great value lying in a position where it can be lifted from the quarry on to boats that will float it to all the region south-west of this, and yet but a single quarry is being worked along a shore of more than 40 miles. To saw this stone by steam power, into blocks proper for building purposes, and introduce it into cities of the lower Mississippi, would be a business that, I think, would most certainly pay well.

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A characteristic feature in the topography of the country, underlaid by the Mountain Limestone, is the frequent occurrence of what, in the common language of the country, are denominated "sink holes." They are inverted cones, or funnel-shaped concavities, sometimes irregular in their outlines, but most generally approaching to a circular form. At the bottom there is always an opening, communicating with subterranean passages, through which the surface water, in times of heavy rains, is conducted downward to supply the great reservoirs, which discharge themselves at the large springs peculiar to this formation.

The principle on which these excavations are made is a very simple one. At first, a mere fissure exists in the stone beneath, through which the rain-water from the surface, fully saturated with carbonic acid, finds it way downward. But water charged with free carbonic acid, is a rapid solvent of limestone. By this process the exposed surfaces of the fissure are dissolved and carried away, thus at once saturating all the spring water with carbonate of lime, and widening the fissure, until the aperture becomes so large that the incumbent earth begins to fall into it, which in turn is borne away by the increased volume of water collected by the funnel-shaped depression on the surface thus produced, until the face of the country becomes dotted over with these "sink holes," and subterranean caverns abound.

It is in this formation, and induced by these processes no doubt, that the great Mammoth Cave of Kentucky is found. Numerous caves are known to exist in the counties of Crawford, Harrison, and Orange. Many of these remain but partially explored, yet enough is known of some of them to warrant the assertion, that in them the great Kentucky cavern will, at some day not very far distant, find a formidable rival.

On a recent tour through this section, we had the pleasure of spending a day in Wyandotte cave, situated in Crawford county, about five miles N. E. from Leavenworth, on the Ohio river.

A minute description of this great subterranean world would, perhaps, be out of place in this report. Suffice it to say, that the extreme distance attained, from the most southwardly to the most northwardly point, is seven miles. The passage is generally wide and lofty. In but two or three places were we compelled to stoop, and in but a single instance is the explorer brought to the creeping position. We passed several magnificent chambers whose ample

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proportions and lofty domes, decorated with the most fanciful fretwork of stalactites, sometimes beautifully variegated, but commonly of the purest white, were indeed sublimely beautiful. We will give the dimensions of one of these chambers as we received it from our guide, Mr. Rothrock, the owner of the cave. It is called the "Grand Dome and Monument Mountain." It is a rotunda, or circular room, 296 feet in diameter, with a dome shaped ceiling rising in the center to the hight of 245 feet. A pyramid of rough stone, 200 feet high, stands in the center, and occupies with its base nearly the whole area. On the dizzy summit of this mountain, stands three stalagmites, of the hights of six, five, and three feet. The highest one, which occupies the center of the group, is colored brown by the presence of iron in the dripping water, while the other two are of the purest white. Viewed from below by the dim light of our candles, it required but little aid from the imagination to make of these a family group, consisting of a man dressed in colored clothes, and a woman and child in white.

A lizzard, about three inches long, and without eyes, was the only living inhabitant that we found in this great underground city. He was occupying a niche in the rock, about two miles from the entrance. How he came there, what his business was, and on what he subsisted, were questions that we were permitted to depart without solving. The number of avenues branching off from the main entrance, is 21, most of which have been explored to their termination. The whole number of miles of explored cave is 19½. The uniform temperature of the cave is 53 deg. Fahrenheit. The rock in which the cave is excavated is the upper members of the Mountain Limestone, as the summit of the hill above the entrance is crowned with the New Red Sandstone. The rock, in many places, presents the lithological character of a true Ooalite, and is highly magnesian. These circumstances have produced a large deposit of sulphate of magnesia (epsom salts) in the upper part of the cave. The former proprietor, Dr. Adams, of Corydon, once drove a thriving business at the manufacture of epsom salts and salt petre, at this place.

To the curious and the lovers of the profoundly sublime, we would recommend a visit to Wyandotte Cave -- it will amply repay the time, labor, and expense of a visit.

The line of the New Albany and Salem Railroad traverses this o rmation from a point six miles below Salem to the northern part

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of Putnam county, and in its deep cuts affords an excellent opportunity for examining the exposed strata. At Harristown the railroad exposes a section of 20 feet in depth. Eight feet of the lower portion of this is a fine grained compact limestone, of a light ash color, with lead colored bands running parallel with the lines of stratification. As a modification of this rock often occurs among the mountain limestone of this region, it will be proper here, on introducing it to say that however firm and compact it may appear in the quarry, it should never be trusted as a building material. On exposure to the weather it is very liable to break, and even where it does not fracture, it weathers badly. This variety of stone, both as it occurs here and elsewhere in this formation, will afford an excellent article of water lime. Care will be necessary however, in selecting the varieties of this rock, as there are many specimens which contain too much clay to be economically used for this purpose. Above this lies a single stratum of coarse grained grey limestone, 12 feet in thickness. From this quarry blocks of building stone, shafts of columns, pilasters, &c., may be obtained of any desirable dimensions or shape. It splits readily both horizontally and vertically; is easily cut when fresh from the quarry and will endure well the vicissitudes of weather. At a higher elevation, a little to the west of the road a variety of this stone occurs, disposed in strata from 6 to 12 inches thick. For cellar walling, foundations of houses and other common building purposes these quarries will furnish material at a less expense than the heavy stratum on the road.

Portions of this stone seem to be composed almost entirely of minute fossils, so firmly imbeded in the rock that it is almost impossible to separate them. Among them I observed several varieties of corals, and especially I noticed in great profusion the cyathocrinites planus associated with the Bellerophon and Euomphalus; thus demonstrating that we are now on the mountain limestone which underlies the great coal field of the west.

From Harristown to a point some ten miles west of Salem the stone is very similar to that just described and is very abundantly supplied. Beyond this, along the line of the road, but little stone appears until we approach the east branch of White river where some excellent quarries are being worked. From White river to Bedford, the railroad exposes the following section:

1. A soft clay stone, unknown thickness.

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2. A compact blue limestone, 4 feet.

3. Rough nodular limestone, 15 feet.

4. Compact grey limestone, 8 feet.

5. Hard blue, (1 strata) 4 feet.

6. Coarse grained limestone, 12 feet.

7. Light grey, (2 ft. strata) 10 feet.

8. Fine grained, (water lime) 18 feet.

9. Cac spar marble, 3 feet.

10. Soft clay stone, 10 feet.

Number 6 and 7 of the above section are being worked by Mr. Erving who has engaged to furnish the stone for the construction of the United States Custom House at Louisville.

Blocks, squared and ready for delivery were lying at the quarry, some of which were 3 feet on the surface and 14 feet long. The present face of the quarry, besides several thinner strata exposes one stratum of 8 feet in thickness without a seam, or the slightest fault. By means of wedges blocks may be split, the whole thickness and of any desirable length. The accuracy and ease with which it may be split, its softness when fresh from the quarry, its beautiful whiteness when dry, its durability and great strength renders it all that could be desired as a stone for building purposes. The same rock, with slight local variations, extends to Gosport; occupying a band of country about ten miles in width traversed in its whole length by the N. A. & S. Railroad. At Mount Tabor near Gosport a variety of this stone is now being worked which receives a high polish, and presents a finely variegated appearance, being indeed an excellent and beautiful marble. Large amounts of stone from this region, under the name of "White River Stone" now transported over the railroad and used at New Albany, Louisville and Jeffersonville; and the demand is rapidly increasing as the excellent qualities of the material become more extensively known. As soon as the N. A. & S. Railroad shall be connected through to the lake and its Indianapolis branch completed, or the Evansville, Indianapolis and Cleveland road constructed and the Cin. and St. Louis road completed, the demand for this rock must be immense. For range work in foundations for columns in public buildings, for pillars and lintels in open front business houses, and for window and door caps and sills, no better material can be desired. A test of its durability is furnished in the foundation of the court house in Bloomington where the stone after an exposure

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of more than 30 years preserves its corners as sharp and well defined as if they had come from under the hammer but yesterday.

From Gosport to Greencastle the same mountain limestone underlies the whole country and crops out on every hill-side and in the valley of every stream. The stone, however, is finer grained and harder in general than the varieties occuring between the White rivers. Though it may require a little more labor to dress it, yet the stone at Cloverdale, Putnamville and Greencastle is not inferior to any stone in the State for beauty and durability. North of Greencastle this formation begins to thin out, and on reaching the Wabash river at Williamsport it presents but a single stratum separating the clay sandstone beneath from the coal shale and "New Red Sandstone" above. Beyond this it gains in thickness, forming the heavy masses of rock at Beaver lake and the rapids of the Kankakee.

Having thus traced the mountain limestone across the State, and having observed much that is important both in an economical and scientific point of view, we have defined the eastern margin of the coal field. All search for coal east of this line must of necessity be fruitless.

On this line, between Gosport and Greencastle, a point worthy of note, is the Falls of Eel river. The lovers of the romantic and picturesque in nature will find at the Falls much to interest them -- much to admire; while the mere utilitarian will see in the rich resources of the spot the elements of great wealth.

Eel river, a durable stream about 50 yards wide, descends in two falls, half a mile apart, the distance of 95 feet. The upper fall is 45 feet: 23 of which is a perpendicular cascade. A descent of 10 feet on the rapids between the falls brings us to the lower fall of 40 feet, 32 of which it makes at a single leap. The upper fall is composed at the top, of a hard, conglomerate limestone, two or three strata of which will admit of a fine polish and will indeed be a valuable marble. The lower portion of it is a fine grained, buff colored sandstone with a sharp grit and might be used for grindstones with economy. This sandstone rests on a dark drab colored water lime rock. The lower falls is over a ledge of mountain limestone, in heavy strata. About a mile from the falls there occurs a 30 inch seam of coal of an excellent quality and near it indications of a heavy bed of iron ore.

The land in the vicinity of the falls is covered with a heavy

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forest, which by the aid of the immense water power at the falls, might be made to furnish a large supply of valuable oak and poplar lumber. Indeed I know of no place which combines greater advantages for manufacturing than the Falls of Eel river. The location is 6 miles southwest of the railroad, but a single lock of a 6 feet lift in a mill dam at Millgrove will connect the falls with the railroad by slack water. The present proprietor has a flouring mill and a saw mill at the upper fall, but he uses but a small portion of the power, while the lower fall is entirely unoccupied. This location should be in the hands of a manufacturing company with capital sufficient to use all the power afforded.

THE COAL FIELD.

In exploring the coal fields of Indiana, my first object was to ascertain whether there is any order or uniformity in the succession of coal seams in this region, and if so, what that order is. In prosecuting this design, I selected as a favorable point of observation the vicinity of Lodi, situated on the east bank of the Wabash river, at the mouth of Coal creek, and near the line between Fountain and Parke counties.

The table lands east of Coal creek rise to an elevation of about 200 feet above the Wabash river, and the strata at this point has been penetrated by a boring for salt water the depth of 700 feet, which gives us a vertical section of 900 feet, which is the best exposure anywhere in the State. The notes of the boring show but one coal seam, and this occurs about 60 feet from the surface and is reported to be 12 feet in thickness. Of this there is some uncertainty, as the bituminous shale often overlying coal can hardly be distinguished, in a boring, from coal. Below this, variously colored strata of sandstone with bands of iron ore and an occasional stratum of compact limestone were penetrated.

Immediately above the surface of the water in the Wabash occurs coal seam No. 2. This is about 4 feet in thickness and is covered with 4 feet 10 inches of bituminous limestone. This characteristic accompanies No. 2 wherever it occurs in this region. Above this lies fire clay and nodular iron ore 15 feet, followed by coal seam No. 3. The distinguishing peculiarity of this stratum is, that it is almost invariably accompanied by an 8 inch seam of cannel coal above and separated from the bituminous coal by about 12 inches of shale. At Lodi this seam is about 20 inches in

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thickness, though it often occurs elsewhere from 12 to 16 inches thick; but the overlying cannel coal is very persistant and uniformly about 8 inches in thickness. In quality it is inferior to the Kanawha cannel coal, and perhaps to most varieties of the English. It burns with a bright flame and with but very little odor, and is in a great measure free from the propensity to "snap," so commonly an objection to this variety of coal. It will leave in the grate more ash than either the English or Virginia cannel coals, and this will be the principal, indeed the only objection to its use as a fuel. For furniture and ornamental purposes it may, and I think will be extensively used. It admits of a fine polish, is hard enough not to be scratched by any ordinary usage, will not soil the whitest linen, and may be procured in slabs of any desirable size for table tops, &c. It splits with ease and great regularity into pieces of from one to two inches in thickness, and is not easily broken either by a blow or by pressure. I suppose that it will resist a heavier stroke than the best marble of the same thickness and unlike marble is not liable to be stained or corroded by acids. The people living in the vicinity of this article have no idea of its economical value. Occasionally we see it used as a material for pavements, to which purpose it seems to be admirably adapted; and a few have tried it as a fuel in grates with entire satisfaction. Curious and even laughable stories are told by the "old settlers," of blunders committed in early times in the use of this article. One man procured some beautiful slabs of it to lay a hearth in his new cabin, and to set up as "jams" in the sides of his broad fireplace. But his first fire made sad havoc with his new and beautiful arrangement, leaving nothing but the backwoodsman's astonishment at this strange country where "even the stones would burn."

No. 4 is a 22 inch seam, and is generally known as the "blacksmith coal," from its greater purity and freedom from sulphur than most of the other seams. In some localities, No. 4 attains the thickness of 2 feet, but uniformly maintains its hard bituminous character, and its shining, jetty fracture frequently assuming the prismatic colors, and is familiarly known by the workmen as "peacock coal" The next coal occuring above this is a seam, which at Lodi is but 18 inches thick, but elsewhere often attaining the thickness of 3 feet. This is No. 5, and is distinguished by its uniform roof of clay, which renders it a difficult seam to mine.

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No. 6, a 20 inch seam, is the highest coal that occurs in the Lodi section, and indeed the highest that I have yet observed in the Wabash portion of our coal field. What new members may be added by pushing our lines of examination southward remains yet to be demonstrated. It will be proper to remark in this place that Nos. 4, 5 and 6 frequently occur as a compound seam of about 7 feet in thickness, though always preserving visible lines that distinguish its three original members.

The subjoined section exhibits the succession of strata as they occur near the residence of Mr. Thomas, on the bank of the Wabash, a mile west of the village of Lodi, which we select as a basis of our future observations, at least of the Wabash section of our coal field.

The iron ore which abounds in the vicinity of Lodi, and extends several miles east and north of that point, is of two varieties. The first or most extensive and widely diffused variety is the nodular ore, known by the workmen as "kidney ore." This is a per oxyd of iron with clay impurities. It is found in detached masses of all sizes from an ounce to several hundred pounds weight, but generally of a round or oval shape. It is imbedded in shale or clay, and occasionally in loose friable sandstone. Its per cent. of iron may be less than other varieties of ore, but its general freedom from sand or silicious impurities and phosphates render it easier worked and consequently more valuable than richer ores.

The other variety, marked as "compact iron ore" in the foregoing section, is a sesqui-oxyd of iron and is what iron workers call the "stone ore." I have not had time as yet to subject it to a quantative analysis, but suppose from its appearance and weight that it will yield between 40 and 50 per cent. of iron. It contains less sulphur than most ores of this variety, and may be worked with facility. The country in the vicinity is covered with a heavy forest, which will furnish the charcoal necessary for the smelting process for years to come, while bituminous coal of as good a variety as any found on the Wabash exists in the greatest abundance on the same spot that furnishes the ore. The facilities for transporting the mineral wealth of this region to market are the Wabash river and the Wabash and Erie Canal. Perhaps it might not be out of place here to say, that the topography of the region about the mouth of Coal creek is more favorable to the construction of a railroad from the northeast towards the southwest than any

Geological Section on the Wabash River, near Lodi,
 Fountain County Indiana


.......... Drift


.......... Clay slate, 4 feet
.......... Coal No. 6, 20 inches

.......... Loose Sandstone, 8 feet


.......... Shale, 12 inches
.......... Coal No. 5, 18 inches
.......... Fire Clay, with Iron Nodules, 8 feet

.......... Coal No. 4, 22 inches 
.......... Sandstone, 3½ feet

.......... Compact Iron Ore, 5 feet
.......... Cannel Coal, 8 inches
.......... Shale, 12 inches
.......... Coal No. 3, 20 inches

.......... Fire Clay, 5 feet
.......... Argillacious Iron Ore, 3 feet

.......... Limestone, 5 feet

.......... Coal No.2, 4 feet
Level of the Wabash River








.......... Sandstone, with Iron Nodules, 60 feet















.......... Coal No. 1, 12 fet



.......... Sandstone, Iron Nodules, &c. 





          Follows folio 316, sig.21.

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other point that I have observed on the lower Wabash. A road approaching in that direction would occupy the line of water-shed between the tributaries of Coal creek on the right and Sugar creek on the left, and would avoid those abrupt bluffs and deep ravines so troublesome in other localities, and would traverse a country nearly level and abounding in timber of an excellent quality and in almost inexhaustible quantities. West of the Wabash the valley of Little Vermillion offers excellent facilities for reaching the elevation of the Grand Prairie, in the direction of Decatur, Illinois, which seems now destined to be one of the great railroad centers of the West. Railroad financiering in no part of my business, but the great mineral resources of this region must at no very distant day afford a heavy item of freight. On the bank of Coal creek, about a mile from its mouth, in the year 1837, Messrs. Thomas & Co. made an experimental boring for salt water to the depth of 700 feet, A tolerable supply of brine of an excellent quality was obtained, and salt was manufactured from it for several years.

The opening of the canal brought the Onondaga salt in competition and suspended for the present the enterprize. The geological position of this point is very similar to that of the Kanawha and Muskingum salt regions, and I see no reason why the manufacture of this indispensable article of commerce and use should not be made as economically here as elsewhere. I have no hesitancy in saying, that if borings were made at any point along the Wabash, from Perrysville to Montezuma, to the depth of those now used at Kanawha, (from 15 to 18 hundred feet,) that an ample supply of brine could be obtained; and by introducing the late improvements in evaporating by steam, the salt manufacture could fairly compete with the transported supplies and leave a fair margin for profits. The abundant supply of coal along the line of this salt locality is favorable to the project of adding this important branch of manufacture to the productions of our State. The quality of the salt is very similar to that made at Kanawha, the crystals being large and distinct, and consequently well adapted to the pork and beef packing business.

On tracing the coal seams eastward from Lodi, we observed the strata to rise at the rate of between 30 and 40 feet to the mile, which may be regarded as the range of the uniform dip of the geological formations along the Wabash, at least in its middle sections. At some points we discovered disturbances of the strata

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occasioning local dips in various directions, sometimes even in the opposite course to the general dip. But these disturbances are comparatively rare, and are not of sufficient extent to materially interfere with calculations based on a uniform dip of 35 feet to the mile. West of the Wabash the disturbing causes seem to have operated with more force and more generally. At one point on the Little Vermillion I observed the strata tilted so as to dip westward at an angle of 30 or 40 degrees for several rods when immediately the dip was reversed. From indications observed in the western part of Vermillion county, near the State line, I am disposed to believe we are there at or near a synclinal axis, and that from thence westward the dip will be found reversed. In Vermillion county coal seams Nos. 1 and 2 nowhere appear on the surface, though No. 2 might be readily reached by a shaft at Eugene, as the overlying limestone may be seen at low water in the bed of the stream opposite the town, and the coal might be reached with much certainty by blasting through it.

No. 3, with its accompanying seam of cannel coal and roof of slate, crops out in the bank of the big Vermillion, and may be traced some two or three miles along the stream before it disappears under its bed. Farther up the stream Nos. 4 and 5 occur, and in the vicinity of Danville, Illinois, a compound seam composed of Nos. 4, 5, and 6, of our section occurs. Between the big and little Vermillion No. 3 shows itself in several places, and at other points it has been penetrated by digging wells, &c. We may therefore safely infer that this seam can be reached by a shaft any where between these streams and west of the bottom lands of the Wabash. Between Newport and Highland the compound coal seam before alluded to makes its appearance near the summits of the highest hills, and may be detected cropping out on the surface in various places, in but one of which, however, has it been opened so as to expose a vertical section, giving an opportunity of ascertaining its thickness. At this point it is about 6 feet 10 inches, the upper and lower portions being very pure hard coal, while the middle section is rather slaty. At Highland, opposite Montezuma, we reach the line of the Indiana and Illinois Central Railroad, which is now in process of construction. In the vicinity of this line, coal will be found to be very abundant; the compound or 7 foot seam occuring whenever the land reaches a sufficient elevation, while No.3 is found in the deep ravines very uniformly.

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On the east side of the river, in the vicinity of Montezuma, an out-crop of coal, occurs, and may be traced for several miles along the side hill facing the river, and extending through to the valley of Leatherwood creek, where it appears at several points. I observed the same seam at the mouth of Raccoon creek in an excavation recently made for the abutment of a bridge. Five miles above this, at McCune's factory, I found Nos. 3, 4, and 5, occurring at proper elevations, and preserving in a remarkable degree the characteristics of each, as observed in the section at Lodi.

East of Rockville, on Williams' creek, No. 1 may be reached, as the surface of it, or at least its overlying shale, appears in several places in the bed of the stream. Three miles northeast of this, on Sand creek, No. 2 has been worked in several places for a number of years, supplying Rockville, as well as much of the country north and east, with most of the coal consumed. It is here, as at Lodi, covered with the same heavy roofing of limestone. Further up on the creek No. 1 appears at the base of the hills, while No. 2 is still found near their summits. No. 1 at this point shows a great irregularity, both in dip and thickness of seam. At some points it measures over six feet, while at others near by, it does not exceed 2, and in one instance I noticed the singular phenomenon of a coal seam losing itself by branching off among the overlying sandstone, and each branch entirely thinning out in the distance of a few rods.

This Sand creek locality is perhaps as important a coal deposit as is to be found anywhere in the State, it being traversed by the lines of the Indiana and Illinois Central, and the Evansville, Vincennes and Crawfordsville railroads. The supply of coal is ample; the facilities for mining it all that could be desired, and the quality of the coal superior to most of mines in western Indiana.

In tracing the line of the Central railroad, between Little and Big Raccoon creeks, I discovered No. 1 occuring near the summit of the elevated lands between the streams. It is here about 6 feet in thickness, without any roofing of stone visible in the banks where I observed its out-crop. If this feature should obtain, on working into the hill, it will render the mining of it difficult.

I have visited the coal field of Clay county, or at least that portion of it bordering on the line of the Terre Haute railroad; but, owing to the heavy rains and high waters, I was unable to make

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satisfactory examinations of that very important coal deposit. I propose to revisit that section, that I may be able to correct my former observations and make a more accurate report.

The quality and general character of the Indiana coal, as well as the relative value of the several varieties of coal found in different localities, I propose to defer for the present, and at some future time make this the subject of separate communication.

From the early settlement of the Vermillion country there has existed a tradition of lead mines, somewhere in this region. This tradition is said to have been derived from the Kickapoo Indians, whose principal town was situated a little south of Eugene. After examing with some care this locality, I am disposed to believe that the prospects of discovering lead, in any reliable quantities in this vicinity, is very slight. Valuable deposits of lead ore are seldom or never found in the carboniferous formation. A few specimens of "zinc blende" (sulphuret of zinc) were picked up on the Little Vermillion, but there is only a very remote prospect of a workable vein of that metal being found in this vicinity.

Having thus obtained a section of the Northern portion of the coal field, my next object was to compare the Southern portion with this section. For this purpose I made a line of observations passing down the Ohio river. Immediately below the mouth of Blue River, the higher summits begin to show the carboniferous sandstone, and a light seam of coal may be traced along the crest of the hills in the rear of Leavenworth. This is the most eastern out crop of coal on the Ohio river. It is not probable, however, that a workable seam will be found above Little Blue river, perhaps not above Oil Creek. Immediately below this lies the great Cannelton coal deposit. At this point coal is being mined more extensively than at any other place we have visited in the State. An able and energetic company under the title of the "American Cannel Coal Company," has possession of about 7,000 acres of coal lands on the immediate bank of the Ohio river. About 500,000 bushels of coal are mined annually at this point, the greater part of which is consumed by steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In the proximity to an infallible market, and in the energy and ample capital of the company, consists the main advantage of Cannelton as a mining locality. The principal, and, indeed, the only workable seam of coal, is the equivalent of No. 3 in my Lodi section -- Nos. 1 and 2 being lost in this section of the coal field.

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It varies in thickness from 20 to 45 inches -- has usually a slate roof which in some mines exhibits distinctly the eight inch seam of Cannel coal as reported on the Wabash. This is more fully developed at Hawesville, on the opposite side of the river. With, perhaps, an occasional fault, this coal bed underlies not only the 7,000 acres belonging to the company, but an indefinite region lying to the north and west, for the same seam is seen in the valley of one of the forks of Anderson river, some ten miles in the interior. Now, each section or square mile of this coal seam will yield about one hundred millions of bushels! Cincinnati with her 150,000 inhabitants and extensive manufactories, consumes less than ten millions of bushels per annum. Each section, therefore, of this field would furnish fuel for the city of Cincinnati for at least ten years. And yet this Cannelton field has not, by any means, the largest supply in the State. Other localities have at least three workable seams lying one above another, making an aggregate of from 12 to 15 feet of coal, or more than three hundred millions of bushels per square mile.

For common purposes of fuel, for making steam, and, indeed, for all uses except the working of metals, there are few better coals anywhere than the Cannelton variety. And yet I predict that when Nos. 1 and 3 are extensively worked on the Wabash, they will furnish an article no way inferior to the Cannelton. But until extensive manufactories shall have created a demand for these, Cannelton will have the advantage of a ready market on the Ohio river. The price of Coal, delivered on boat at Cannelton, is seven cents per bushel, or $ 1.96 per tun.

The factory at that place pays but about four cents per bushel by contract. But coal is now selling at seven cents on the Wabash and Erie Canal, above Montezuma, and the demand greatly exceeds the supply.

The enterprise -- the experiment, perhaps, some would call it -- of establishing extensive manufactories on our great western coal field, is now in full tide of successful operation. "The Cannelton Cotton Mill Company" have the honor of having first demonstrated that the cheap fuel, cheap transportation, and cheap living in the west, can fairly compete with manufactories anywhere. The mill is now running 10,800 spindles, and 378 power looms, making about 600 tuns per annum, or two tun per day of brown sheetings.

The factory is four stories high, with an attic -- is 287 feet long,

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and 65 feet wide, with two towers in front, each 106 feet high. It is built of new Red Sandstone of the Coal formations.

In the construction of this building, the company has conferred a great favor on all who shall hereafter have occasion to construct either public or private edifices in the coal fields of the west. They have demonstrated that, notwithstanding its loose texture and its softness when first raised from the quarry, New Red Sandstone may safely be depended on as a building material. This edifice was erected in 1849, and on careful inspection not a single stone shows the least evidence of fault or decay. Exposure to the atmosphere has hardened the surface of the blocks, and I think that time will make but little impression on that surface. Many private residences in and about Cannelton, have been built of the same material lately, and it is found to be cheaper than brick or even wood, when the stone is procured near the site of the building. This fact once known will enable the towns of the south-western portion of the State to change their style of building to a great advantage, both in appearance and real value.

A variety of this sandstone occurs on Sugar Creek a short distance above the feeder dam in Parke county. In appearance and composition, it is very similar to the brown sandstone of the Connecticut river, and highly prized as a building stone in the eastern cities. This quarry is accessible from the canal, and would furnish stone enough to build a city. An excellent variety of this stone may be procured on the line of the Indiana and Illinois Central road, near Montezuma, and when that road is completed may readily be transported to Indianapolis and other interior towns.

I have elsewhere said that the line of the coal formation crosses the Wabash river at or near Attica, in Fountain county. Three miles below this, at Williamsport in Warren county, the Argillacious Sandstone forms the bed of the river and is very rich in fossils, principally of the crinoid and other coraline families. Above this, and immediately underlying the town, occurs a single stratum of Limestone, with fossils that mark it as the represculative of the Mountain Limestone so largely developed in the more southerly counties on this line. The hill in the rear of the village, rising to an elevation of 150 feet, is formed of the coarse grained, carboniferous Sandstone, interstratified with shale containing nodules of Iron ore. The Sandstone in the vicinity of Williamsport is worthy of more attention than it has hitherto re-

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ceived. Half a mile west of the town is a cascade, which for wild and picturesque scenery has but few rivals in the State. At usu a spring stage, a sheet of water about 25 feet in width leaps from an overhanging precipice, a distance of 64 feet, into a deep narrow chasm, from which the sunlight is excluded at all seasons by canopy of fine trees which cling along the margin of the precipice above.

At this point an inexhaustible supply of Stone of excellent quality and easily worked may be obtained, convenient to the river and canal. No coal is found east of the Wabash river above Covington, and I do not think it would compensate for the search above that point. Thin seams of coal may be discovered on the most elevated ground between Chambersburg and the Wabash, but they will not probably be workable at the present price of coal and labor. Ascending Coal creek from its junction with the Wabash at Lodi, we find Nos. 4, 5, and 6 of our section at that point, soon losing themselves by outcrop on the highest summits. No. 1, which by the boring at Lodi is ascertained to be 60 feet below the stream, reaches the surface at Brown & Co.'s "Bank," about 8 miles above the mouth of Coal creek; while No. 3 is found, with its uniform roof of Cannel coal, near the summit of the hills. The Limestone which elsewhere forms the roof of No. 2, is seen at Perrysville, and several other places in that vicinity, but the coal is replaced by a highly bituminous shale. No. 1, which is being extensively worked by the company before alluded to, is at this point about 6 feet in thickness and has a staly shale roof about the same depth. The coal from this seam, wherever I have observed it from Cannelton to this point, is very uniform in character. It is laminated in its structure, resembling what the English miners call "Splint Coal." On exposure to the weather it is disposed to split into leaves from ¼ to ½ an inch in thickness.

When fresh from the mine this tendency is scarcely observable, the coal coming out in large blocks with very black, shining surfaces. The specific gravity of the coal from this seam is greater than that from the upper seams, and it is much freer from sulphur, though it probably contains more slaty matter and consequently will leave more ash when burnt. It contains too much volatile matter to be a very economical coal in working metals, but for making steam and other fuel purposes it is a coal of great value. It ignites more readily that the coal from Pennsylvania, burns

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with more flame but is less durable. Prof. Johnson, under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy, in 1841, submitted forty-four varieties of English and American coals to the test, to ascertain the number of cubic feet of water per hour a given quantity of each variety of coal would evaporate. The following extract from Prof. Johnson's Table, shows the value of the Cannelton coal when compared with the most popular varieties of English and American bituminous coal:

      Liverpool (Eng.)evaporated per hour ......... 13.43
      Pittsburg (Amer.)  "        "   "   ......... 10.56
      Cannelton  "       "        "   "   ......... 15.05

The Cannelton coal, as I have elsewhere said, is from No. 1, and is essentially identical with that seam throughout the State, wherever it is worked under favorable local circumstances. It being the lowest stratum, is consequently the first coal we encounter on entering the coal field. Near the rim of the basin it frequently thins out, so that the seam is but a few inches thick, and the quality of the coal, from exposure to atmospheric influences and other causes, is materially impaired. It is only where this seam is reached at the base of high hills, as at Cannelton, on Coal creek, &c., or where the incumbent strata are penetrated by a shaft as at Brazil in Clay county, that the quality of the coal is fairly indicated.

I have expressed the opinion, to persons interested, that coal seam No. 1 may be advantageously mined by a shaft at any point along the line of the Wabash and Erie canal, between Perrysville and Montezuma. If there be an exception, it is in the vicinity of the mouth of Sugar creek, where the strata is more irregular and disturbed that at any other place I have observed in the State.

It is true, a shaft will require an engine and a pump, to clear it of water and to raise the coal; but experiment has demonstrated that the cost of a shaft and an engine is less that the expense of a mile of railroad switch, and its fixtures, teams, &c.

Westward of Perrysville, in Vermillion county, an outcrop of No. 4 occurs at Coal branch, and near the State line on the Big Vermillion and south of it on Grape creek, Nos. 4, 5, and 6, occurs, as a compound seam of about 7 feet thick. Some portions of this seam furnishes an excellent variety of coal, but other portions are so vitiated with sulphuret of Iron as to be of but little value except as a material for the manufacture of coperas. A line of observation extended some 15 miles into the State of Illinois

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confirms the opinion before expressed by me that a synclinal axis exists near the State line; at which point the strata will be found nearly horizontal and beyond it the dip will be from the west toward the east.

Between Coal creek and Sugar creek, along the line dividing Fountain county from Parke, several outcrops of No. 1 may be observed; enough, indeed, to warrant the conclusion that, excepting local faults, the whole territory south-west of Jacksonville, and between the streams named, is underlayed with at least a six foot seam of coal, and the lower portion of this section has in many places five other seams varying from one to four feet thick.

At several points on Prairie creek, Lick creek, and both the Mill creeks, coal is visible in the banks of those streams and their tributaries, yet if we except a few places on the canal, the mines have not been opened and but little value is attached to it.

From the Narrows of Sugar creek to the mouth, great disturbance of the strata prevails and the coal seams are frequently displaced and sometimes entirely wanting. At the feeder dam we have the overlying Cannel coal belonging to No. 3, but the coal seam itself is wanting; while above it lies an irregular seam varying from six inches to four feet in thickness, and of a quality of coal I have observed no where else in the State. It is a soft, jet black coal, not laminated and breaking readily into cubes with conchoidal faces, remarkably free from sulphur and containing separate nodules of very hard compact coal in appearance approaching to anthracite. It is local, -- disappearing in a few miles and does not conform in position or character to either of the general seams of this portion of the coal field.

The streams discharging themselves from the east into Sugar creek, in the neighborhood of the Narrows, exhibit No. 3 with its accompanying Cannel coal in a better state of development than I have observed at any other locality. The Cannel coal is about 15 inches thick and very compact, resembling very nearly the Kanhawa Cannel coal, while the bituminous coal below reaches the thickness of twenty-four inches and is of a superior quality for smithing purposes, and I think would coke well. Immediately above, and in connection with this seam is a large deposit of compact Iron ore of an excellent quality, being very free from sulphur and silex. Except Lodi, I have seen no place in the State better adapted to the iron manufacture than the vicinity of the Narrows of Sugar creek in Parke county.

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Near the village of Annapolis in this neighborhood, there occurs a very compact, highly crystaline Limestone of an intensely black color and susceptible of a very high polish, furnishing an article very much resembling the Kilkenny marble in Ireland. Its position indicates that it is the roof of coal seam No. 2, though the coal is replaced below it, with shale as at Perrysville.

For furniture, mantles and other in-door uses, it will not be surpassed in beauty by any marble in the west, perhaps not by any on the continent.

The lovers of the wild and romantic in scenery are especially invited to examine Sugar creek from the mouth of Indian creek to its junction with the Wabash. No region in the State furnishes so many frightful precipices, rugged cliffs and deep twilight gorges as Sugar creek, in the neighborhood of the Narrows.

The black aluminous slate is observed forming bold escarpments along the line of the canal for several miles below the town of Delphi. At this point we observe the upper member of the "cliff rock" dipping under the slate toward the southwest. The local position being the same as at the falls of the Ohio, the character of the overlying slate, or the limestone below, differs but little from the same rocks at that remarkable point. At Delphi there are fewer fossils of the great coral family than at the falls, but those observed were identical, leaving now no doubt in my mind, that there is a continuous line of similar formation extending from one of those points to the other, although the intervening drift has covered it to an unknown depth for most of the distance. This line of the overlap of the slate on the limestone must pass very near to Indianapolis. An artesian boring at that point, penetrating the solid strata, would most likely furnish a supply of excellent water, rising to the surface in a full stream. Such a hydrant would be a very convenient appendage to our public Asylums in the city, besides ascertaining the depth of the drift, which is a matter of some scientific importance.

Between Delphi and Logansport there is much good building stone crossing out at various points on both sides of the river; but the principal quarry now being worked is near Georgetown, on the canal. Most of the stone and lime used at Lafayette are from this point. The stone here answers, both in geological position and lithological character, to the Corniferous Limestone of the New York geologists. This whole series exhibits the appearance of

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having been fractured into angular fragments and afterwards, without displacement, united again by deposition of calkspar in the fissures. This gives the appearance of coarse bracchaoid marble. This arrangement interferes, however, very much with the breaking of it into desirable shapes in the quarry, and makes it spawl badly in dressing. It is, however, when dressed, a very reliable and rather pretty building material.

There occurs at Logansport a pale, buff colored, magnesian limestone, before alluded to, containing a large per cent of clay, with some silicious matter. When first taken from the quarry it is very soft, and may with great facility be cut into any desirable shape. On losing its quarry moisture, it hardens sufficiently to form a very substantial wall. The court house, several churches and many private residences in Logansport are built of this material. On examination of the oldest of these buildings, I found it weathering much better than the quarry character of the rock would have led me to suppose. If it continues to harden by age, which it most probably will, it will prove a very valuable building material. The tendency to harden on exposure depends, I think, on the presence of per oxyde of Iron, which gives the buff color to the stone; and consequently the specimens of the highest color would ultimately become the hardest, other things being equal.

In the vicinity of Peru, a variety of argillacious limestone occurs, very finely variegated with dark clouds. Had it sufficient solidity and firmness of structure to receive a polish, it would make an elegant marble. In cutting it, I observed that the chisel occasionally encountered points of sulphuret of iron, greatly to the detriment of the tool, as well as injury to the stone in point of durability; for the sulphuret on exposure will certainly be decomposed and crumble out. Above Peru, the first considerable quarry being worked, is at Stearns Fisher's, about four miles below the town of Wabash. In this quarry there are several stratas that will furnish range work from twelve to fifteen inches thick. This is the best quarry yet opened on the line of the canal, though there are many other localities that, if worked with the same skill, science, and perseverance, would no doubt turn out equally as well. The upper portion of this quarry affords a beautiful article of flagging stone, which, indeed, continues without interruption from thence to the town, where it forms the sub-stratum on which that portion of Wabash situated on the hill is built. The Mississinewa and

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Salamone, on the south of the Wabash, furnish many quarries of excellent building stone.

From Wabash to Huntington, the strata has been very much disturbed. Indeed there is evidence of more local disturbance in this section of the Wabash country than in any other region in the State which I have yet seen. Frequently the strata for the distance of several hundred feet will be tilted so as to exhibit a local dip of 25 or 30 degrees, and this frequently occurs in places where it cannot be attributed to land slides or such like causes.

At Wabash, and for some distance above and below, there occurs a heavy mass of buff or lead colored argillacious limestone, with very imperfect lines of stratification, and disposed to fracture and crumble down on exposure to atmospheric influences. With the addition of about ten per cent. of lime it furnishes a very good hydraulic cement. In the vicinity of Huntington the limestone is strangely intermixed with nodules of flint that greatly impairs its value as a building material.

From a point a few miles above Huntington, on Little river, no stone is seen above the drift until we reach the vicinity of "Junction," in Ohio. On its appearance east of the deep drift of the Allen county summit, the stone is the same "cliff rock," and continues without any very marked variations as far east as Sandusky Bay. I am now able to make an important correction in my "Outlines of Indiana Geology." The great silurian basin of Kentucky, sweeps the line of its northern rim across the Ohio at or near Madison, and describing the segment of an irregular circle, includes about seven counties in the southeastern corner of Indiana, and about as many in the southwestern of Ohio. The line dividing between the "silurian" and the "cliff rock" formations, entering the State at the point before indicated, sweeps a curve at the eastward, and crossing the State line in the northern part of Wayne county, leaves our borders. This will, therefore, give to the territory of the cliff rock more than half the surface of Indiana; though often so deeply covered with drift as to be invisible for whole counties together.

In the county of Putnam, coal seam No. 1 will be found cropping out about three miles west of Greencastle, where it presents a very favorable appearance, and I think, might be profitably worked, though it has hitherto attracted but little attention. Indications of coal are found in the vicity of Pleasant Garden, and a thinning

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out of No. 1 may be seen on the National road about two miles west of Putnamville, and at several other points on the highest summits between this and the falls of Eel river; none of which however, promise to be of sufficient thickness to justify mining to any considerable extent, at the present prices of coal. A few miles west of this line I think, workable seams will, without doubt be obtained.

At Croys creek, near the line, between Putnam and Clay counties, there is a very favorable prospect of valuable coal workings.

At Brazil, a few miles west of this last named location, an enterprising company have sunk a shaft to the depth of about sixty feet, and penetrated at that depth, coal seam No. 1. The seam has its usual thickness of about six feet, and the coal presents that same laminated appearance which is characteristic of this seam every where as far as my observation has extended. The shaft requires an engine to clear it of water, to raise the coal, &c. But even this is found to be less expensive than the usual horse-power railroad tracks and the team &c., necessary to work them. I hope that the shaft experiment at Brazil may prove successful, and that the example may be profitably followed elsewhere.

In the vicinity of Highland, about six miles west of Brazil, No. four, five and six, appear as a compound seam, and is being successfully worked by several companies at a number of points. The medium thickness of the seam is about seven feet and exhibits here the peculiarity of a sandstone roof without any interposed slate or shale. The lines dividing the three original members, as well as the distinctive quality of coal in each, are well preserved. The "Highland Coal Company," the "Indianapolis Coal Company" and several other companies in this vicinity, are working very successfully, this heavy seam, and throwing into market annually, a heavy amount of coal.

If, in mining, a little more care were taken to separate the sulphurate of iron, an excellent article of coal for all fuel purposes might be obtained from this locality. At the works of the Highland company I observed No. 3 with its accompanying cannel coal making its appearance about fifteen feet below the main seam. It exhibits at this place, as at Lodi, the overlying seam of iron ore, though here it is but about twenty inches in thickness. In this vicinity may be procured the best specimens of fire clay that I have observed any where in the State. The manufacture of fire

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brick in this neighborhood would be a profitable business. The counties lying south of this, to the line of observations along the Ohio river, I have not yet been able to visit, but I doubt not, as their geological position indicates, that they will be found rich in in iron and coal. I hope to be able to extend some observations in this direction before the close of my year.

IRON ORE.

Incidentally I have frequently in the preceeding pages alluded to the existence of Iron ore in several localities. The workable Iron ore of Indiana is confined chiefly to the coal fields, (the carboniferous formations) or to the northern portion of the State where it occurs in the form of bog ore.

Iron is found in three forms in this State, and I prefer, for the sake of being more generally understood, to call them, at present, by the more familiar names of the miners, rather than use the scientific terms of the mineralogist. These are:

1st. The Kidney Ore -- This class will furnish the richest specimens of ore in our State, we having no specular or magnetic ores in place. The Kidney ore is generally found associated with, or imbedded in shale, fire clay, or soft slate. It rarely or never is found in a continuous seam, but generally in detached masses of an oval or kidney shape, scattered more or less plentifully through the matrix in which it is imbedded. On breaking these "kidneys" they generally presented the appearance internally, of having been fractured into a number of irregular fragments and cemented again by carbonate of lime. Sometimes, however, this cementing matter is silicious, (flinty) in which event it is rejected by the workmen as unfit to work. It is an ore that generally works kindly and produces a fair quality of "blooms." The only difficulty with this ore is to determine the reliability of the supply to justify the expenditure necessary to a successful working of the ore. This is the quality of ore being worked at the Indiana Furnace in Vermillion county, and at Richland Furnace in Greene county. It is generally pretty free from sulphur, though it sometimes contains phosphorus or arsenic, either of which materially impairs its value. Detached nodules, or kidneys of this form of ore are frequently found in any clay strongly impregnated with iron, even beyond the coal formations, but rarely, or never, in workable quantities.

2d. Associated with this last described ore, and circumscribed

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by nearly the same limits, we have the "stone ore" of the American workmen, or the clay iron stone of the European miners. This frequently lies in compact stratified masses, several feet in thickness. It varies, however, very much in value from the widely differing per centnm of metal, different specimens, even from the same vein, may contain, but more from impurities frequently combined with it, such as sulphur, phosphorus, &c. This is the form of ore out of which most of the Pennsylvania iron is made, and a variety of "clay iron stone," containing rarely as much as 20 per centum of metal, is said to furnish the apparently inexhaustible supply of Welsh iron that is ribbing the earth with Railroads. This form of ore will be found very widely diffused among the coal measures. To point out the special localities where it occurs in quantity and quality that will justify the investment of capital in working it, will require an accurate sectional survey of that portion of the State. I am prepared to say that at Lodi, at the narrows of Sugar creek and at the Falls of Eel river, favorable prospects of unoccupied sites for the manufacture of iron present themselves.

The bog ore is a recent formation -- a decomposition of iron from water holding it in solution. It is therefore never found regularly stratified, nor associated with any particular geological formation, but is always found near the surface of the earth and generally in or about marshes, wet prairies, or bogs. It has no definite form, nor fixed value in the per centum of metal contained. Sometimes it is found quite compact and hard, -- frequently it assumes the form of a fine red sand, but its most common appearance is that of rough shapeless masses of a dark iron-rust color, and with a hardness something like frozen earth. Its great excellency consists in its freedom from sulphur and other noxious impurities. From this cause it is much more easily reduced than the other ores, and the metal is purer when obtained.

The Swede Iron, celebrated for its excellent qualities, is a production from bog ore. Iron of a quality not surpassed by any made in the United States has been produced at Logansport, Rochester, and Mishwaka, but neither of those furnaces have employed capital enough to render the business profitable, or supply the home demands of their immediate vicinities. In much of the bog ore region, a serious draw back on the manufacture is the absence of mineral coal and the scarcity of timber for charcoal. These

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defects can be best remedied by transporting the ore to our heavy timbered coal fields, where coke and charcoal can be readily supplied. As I have already intimated, the locality of this ore is not indicated by any geological law; its presence can only be ascertained by examination extending over the whole region where the topography is favorable. Enough is known already to justify me in saying that almost every county north of the upper Wabash, contains valuable beds of this ore. The quality, indeed, for all practical purposes may be considered inexhaustible.

I have collected specimens of this and the other ores of iron from different parts of the State, which I hope to be able to submit to analysis soon, the result of which I will make the subject of a future communication.

Yours,

R. T. BROWN.

[END]

Geology Library, Indiana University Bloomington