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Q   E 

113 

A3 

1866 

EART 


UC-NRLF 


ON     THK 


GEOLOGY  OF -KANSAS. 


I!.  P.  MUDOK,  A.  M., 


ruuFi.s>oi;  OF  GEOLOGY    AND  NATIKAL  nisroi;\  IN  'MM-:    KAN.>A? 

^TATK     A(ilM(  I  l.i Tl{  \L     <<>LLK(iK,      AND     s  !   \'l  K 
(.K'M, (((.IS'! 


L  A  W  II  K  N  C  K 


.TOLTN 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 


EARTH 

SCIENCES 

LIBRARY 


FIRST  ANNUAL  REPOET 


ON  THE 


GEOLOGY  OF  KANSAS. 


J^CLt*.      V^tOAoClC.          fe»>J\JkXjcl. 


BY 


B.  F.  MUDGE,  A.  M., 


PROFESSOR    OF    GEOLOGY    AND    NATURAL    HISTORY  IN    THB 

KANSAS  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE,   AND 

STATE  GEOLOGIST  FOR  1864. 


LAWRENCE: 

JOHN  SPEBR,   PRINTER   TO   THE   STAT1 
1866. 


r 

EARTH 


i 

To  His  Excellency,  S.  J.  CKAWFOKD,  Governor  of  Kamas: 

Sir:   I  have  the  honor  herewith  to  transmit  to  you  the 
First  Annual  Keport  of  the  progress  of  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey of  the  State  of  Kansas,  for  the  year  1864. 
Yery  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

B.  F.  MUDGE, 

State  Geologist. 


GEOLOGY  OF  KANSAS 


FIRST, 


OENERAL  PRINCIPLES. 

The  area  of  the  State  of  Kansas  is  78,418  square  miles,, 
or  ten  times  that  of  Massachusetts,  one-sixth  larger  than 
Missouri,  and  about  one-third  larger  than  England.  The 
settled  portions  of  the  State,  embraced  within  the  organized 
counties,  cover  25,000  square  miles. 

The  labors  of  the  first  year  of  a  geological  survey,  under 
a  small  appropriation,  and  over  one-third  of  so  large  a  terri- 
tory, could  be  but  little  more  than  a  general  reconnoissance. 
This  allowed  so  short  time  to  each  county  that  no  detailed 
report  of  any  could  be  given.  On  the  other  hand,  the  re- 
markable uniformity  of  the  geological  formations,  extending 
even  to  single  stratification,  enables  us  to  give  the  develop- 
ment of  each  county  with  sufficient  precision  to  delineate  its 
general  geology.  No  marked  disarrangement  of  the  strata 
has  been  seen,  and  from  the  Coal  Measures  to  the  Creta- 
ceous, there  is  apparently  no  unconformability.  This  absence 
of  any  geological  disturbance  accounts,  mainly,  for  the  rolling 
features  of  the  prairies  and  the  almost  entire  absence  of 
either  lakes,  ponds  or  swamps.  The  few  lakes  are  really  but 
the  old  beds  which  the  rivers  have  deserted  in  forming  new 
channels.  Sibley  and  Silver  lakes  are  examples  of  this  feat- 
ure. It  gives  such  excellent  drainage  that  we  have  never 
seen  a  swamp  which  compared  with  those  of  the  East- 
ern States,  deserved  the  name.  Even  the  low  river  bottoms 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS  5 

are  uncomfortably  wet  only  during  the  rainy  periods.  There 
are  no  mountains  in  the  State,  and  no  hills  that  rise  very 
high  above  the  valleys. 

The  general  slope  of  the  country  is  east,  with  a  slight  in- 
clination toward  the  south.  This  is  seen  by  the  course  of 
the  rivers.  The  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river  is  about  850  feet 
above  the  ocean.  The  rise  of  the  land  due  west  to  Manhat- 
tan, 107  miles,  is  very  uniform  and  gradual,  and  is  a  little 
over  two  feet  to  the  mile  ;*  thence  westerly,  the  rise  is  similar 
and  but  little  more  rapid.  This  is  shown  by  the  current  of 
the  Smoky  Hill  river,  which  rises  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State  and  flows  quietly  nearly  due  east,  without  any  import- 
ant rapids  and  but  one  fall,  and  that  only  a  few  feet. 

COAL  MEASURES. 

The  lowest  geological  formation  known  in  Kansas  is.repre- 
sented  by  the  upper  portion  of  the  Coal  Measures.  It  is  a 
continuation  of  the  coal  field  which  covers  the  northeastern 
part  of  Missouri,  and  the  southern  part  of  Iowa,  and  also 
extends  into  the  Indian  Territory  south  of  this  State.  Like 
the  deposits  of  those  States,  the  dip  of  the  strata  here  is  to 
the  northwest,  passing  at  a  low  angle  of  inclination  under 
the  Permian,  Triassic  and  other  later  stratifications.  The 
Coal  Measures  cover  a  larger  area  of  the  State  than  any 
other  formation,  being  nearly  one-third  of  the  whole.  The 
fossils  of  this  epoch  are  formed  over  all  of  the  eastern  part 
of  Kansas,  and  exist  as  far  west  as  Fort  Riley. 

The  line  which  separates  the  Coal  Measures  from  the  Per- 
mian runs  rather  irregularly  in  a  northeasterly  and  south- 
westerly direction.  Considering  Fort  Riley  as  on  the  line  of 
average  extent  westerly,  we  shall  have,  (in  the  width  of  the 
State,)  the  territory  of  the  coal  lands  208  miles  in  length  by 
107  in  average  breadth,  which  gives  an  area  of  22,256  square 
miles.  The  extent  of  the  coal  regions,  in  the  settled  part  of 
the  United  States,  is  estimated  to  embrace  about  140,000 
square  miles.  In  our  calculations  we  include  only  the  Coal 
Measures  proper,  and  not  the  Permian,  although  the  latter 
belongs  to  the  Carboniferous  Age. 

.*  -ee  Appendix. 


6  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 

It  will  thus  appear  that  Kansas  contains  one-seventh  part 
of  all  the  coal  lands  of  the  United  States.  We  do  not,  how- 
ever, intend  to  be  understood  that  the  State  contains  one- 
seventh  part  of  the  coal,  for  Pennsylvania  has  more  numerous 
and  thicker  working  beds.  But  we  shall  show,  under  the 
head  of  coal,  in  Economical  Geology,  that  we  have  one  seam, 
which,  for  all  practical  purposes,  is  inexhaustable.  The  qu  es- 
tion  of  the  area  of  distribution  becomes  more  important  than 
the  quantity  to  each  square  mile,  when  the  latter  is  sufficient 
for  all  our  wants. 

The  Coal  Measures  here  have  undergone  little  change,  and 
lie  nearly  in  their  natural  position.  They  dip  on  the  aver- 
age, as  before  stated,  slightly  to  the  northwest.  In  some 
parts  of  the  State  this  inclination  cannot  be  seen,  and  in  some 
instances  there  is  an  anticlinal  ridge  or  dip  in  the  opposite 
direction.  Thus,  in  Wyandotte  county,  the  strata  are  nearly 
level,  or  have  a  slight  inclination  to  the  southeast.  This  may 
be  seen  by  tracing  any  bed  of  limestone  ten  or  fifteen  miles. 
The  peculiar  shale,  which  is  numbered  22  in  our  section,  i& 
seen  at  the  water's  edge  at  Parkville,  on  the  Missouri  river ; 
but  twelve  miles  westerly,  near  the  State  Penitentiary,  at 
Leavenworth  and  Atchison  it  is  kigher.  Most  of  Jefferson, 
Leavenworth,  Atchison,  and  the  southern  part  of  Doniphan 
counties,  show  little  variation  from  a  level,  and  that  little  is 
an  inclination  to  the  southeast. 

Among  the  greatest  angles  of  dip  which  we  have  noticed, 
is  one  extending  from  Lawrence  to  Lecompton,  where,  in  a 
distance  of  ten  miles,  it  is  over  one  hundred  feet. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  small  disturbance  of  the  strata  is 
very  favorable  to  the  opening  of  coal  shafts.  No  "faults" 
will  be  found  in  the  beds,  and  the  probability  of  reaching 
the  coal  at  reliable  depths  at  any  given  point,  will  be  nearly 
certain.  It  also  gives  us  a  larger  area  of  the  coal  field,  as  a 
higher  angle  of  inclination  would  soon  carry  the  heads  too 
deep  for  mining. 

This  portion  of  the  State  also  shows  a  great  uniformity  ia 
the  thickness  of  the  strata.  About  one-fourth  of  the  whole 
quantity  of  the  deposit  is  limestone.  South  of  the  Kansas 
river,  the  strata  show  an  increase  of  thickness,  particularly  in 


GEOLOGY   OF  KANSAS.  T 

the  shales,  accompanied  with  a  slight  increase  of  dip.  This 
increase  of  thickness  is  very  marked  in  Miami  county,  as  de- 
veloped by  the  oil  and  salt  borings. 

It  is  well  understood  that  the  extreme  upper  portion  of  the 
Coal  Measures  does  not  contain  coal  of  the  first  quality,  or 
seams  of  much  thickness.  Those  peculiar  favorable  con- 
ditions of  climate,  &c.,  which  were  so  important  for  the 
accumulation  of  vast  amount  of  vegetable  matter  had  begun 
to  change,  so  that  the  coal  was  small  in  quantity  and  poor  in 
quality.  A  fine  illustration  of  this  passing  away  of  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  vegetation  of  the  coal  period  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  banks  of  the  Neosho,  about  three  miles  below  Council 
Grove.  It  consists  of  a  stratum  of  shale,  two  feet  in  thick- 
ness, full  of  the  remains  of  the  vegetation  of  the  period,  but 
accompanied  by  a  singular  commingling  of  the  material  with 
other  substances ;  and  the  vegetation  shows  less  of  the  trans- 
formation from  its  original  state  than  that  of  the  true  coal 
beds. 

A  marked  peculiarity  of  our  coal  seams  is  that  while  the 
remains  of  plants  are  abundantly  visible  in  most  every  coal 
stratum,  few  passably  perfect  specimens  can  be  obtained. 
NOT  do  the  shales,  above  and  below  the  coal,  furnish  us  with 
any  better.  Enough  can  be  seen  to  give  the  general  charac- 
teristics of  the  plants,  but  scarcely  ever  can  any  be  found 
which  will  designate  the  species,  and,  consequently,  suffici- 
ently perfect  to  deserve  a  place  in  a  cabinet. 

SECTION. 

The  following  section  of  the  Coal  Measures  in  Leaven- 
worth  county,  including  100  feet  in  the  coal  shaft  and  about 
200  in  the  borings  connected  with  the  same,  will  represent 
very  closely  the  thickness  of  the  strata  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  State,  and  approximately  a  large  extent  south  of 
the  same : 

No.  32. — 10  feet  of  slope,  probably  covering  shale. 

No.  31. — 16  feet  light  gray  to  buff  fossiliferous  limestone, 

sometimes  cherty.    This  is  the  highest  limestone  in 

this  vicinity,  being  the  upper  bed,  near  Fort  Leayen- 

worth,  and  from  which  much  of  the  materials  of  the 


GEOLOGICAL   8UBVEY. 

Government  buildings  have  been  obtained.  This  is 
No.  13  of  the  Missouri  Kiver  Section  of  Prof.  Swal- 
low, and  is  by  him,  on  page  78  of  his  Geological  Sur- 
vey of  Missouri,  erroneously  put  down  as  No.  1.  The 
first  members  of  his  section  are  not  found  in  the  bluffs 
of  the  Missouri  river  in  Kansas,  or  at  Parkville,  Mo. 
No.  30. — 16  feet  variegated  shale,  at  some  places  bituminous, 

varying  somewhat  in  thickness. 

No.  29. — 3  feet  brown,  ferruginous,  fossiliferous  limestone. 
No.  28. — 18  feet  blue  and  variegated  shale. 
No.  27. — 10  feet  blue  and  gray,  coarse  grained,  fragmentary 

limestone. 
No.  26. — 25  feet  blue  and  variegated,  calciferous  shale.   This 

bed  varies  in  thickness  at  different  points. 
No.  25. — 10  feet  shaly  limestone. 
No.  24. — 8  feet  shale  and  sandstone. 

No.  23. — 20  feet  buff  and  gray  limestone,  seen  well  developed 
near  the  landing  at  Fort  Leaven  worth,  also  at  Quindaro 
and  various  places  in  Leavenworth,  Atchison  and 
"Wyandotte  counties,  just  above  high- water  mark. 
No.  22. — 4:  to  6  feet  of  bituminous  shale.  This,  with  the 
limestones  above  and  beneath  it,  forms  a  well  defined 
geological  horizon,  easily  traced  in  numerous  places 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  from  Kansas  river  as 
far  north  as  Doniphan  county. 

No.  21. — 2  feet  hard,  dark  limestone,  furnishing  larger  blocks 
than  any  other  bed  in  the  northeastern  portion  of  the 
State,  and  is  much  used  in  heavy  work.     This  lies  at 
the  water's  edge  at  Leavenworth  and  Quindaro. 
The  above  strata  can  be  seen  in  the  bluffs  near  Leaven- 
worth and  other  places  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  north 
of  the  Kansas  river,  comprising  the  highest  hills  and  descend- 
ing to  the  water's  edge.gBy  the  coal  shaft  at  Leavenworth 
and  its  borings,  sunk  under  the  direction  and  calculations~of 
Prof.^G.  C.  Swallow  and  Major  F.  Hawn^we  have  a  contuv 
nation  of  th«  stratifications' as  low'as  the^six'feet'coalTea^ 
as  follows: 

No.  20. — 77  feet  of  shale,  inclining,  near  the  middle,  to  sand- 
stone. 


GEOLOGY   OF  KANSAS.  V 

]^0<  19. — 4.  feet  hard,  gray  and  blue  limestone. 
No.  18.— 43  feet  blue  shale. 
jfo  17.— 13  feet  limestone. 
No.  lfl.-^4  feet  bituminous  shale. 
No.  15. — 5  feet  limestone. 

]^0.  14. — 13  feet  bituminous  shale  and  coal.     This  is  the  po- 
sition of  the  coal  bed  which  crops  out  on  the  Osage 
river,  near  where  it  crosses  the  State  line,  and  is  there 
about  3  feet  thick,  and  of  good  quality. 
No.  13. — 6  feet  blue  limestone. 
No.  12.— 15  feet  shale. 
No.  11. — :7  feet  hard,  gray  shale. 
No.  10. — 20  feet  blue  and  bituminous  shale,  with  a  thin  seam 

of  coal. 

No.   9.— 2  feet  hard  shale. 
No.    8. — 4:  feet  hard  limestone. 
No.   7. — 6  feet  bituminous  shale,  and  a  little  coal. 
No.    6. — 2  feet  hard,  compact  limestone. 
No.   5. — 7  feet  common  shale. 
No.   4. — 2  feet  hard  shale. 
No.    3.— 6  feet  hard  limestone. 
No.    2.— 15  feet  shale. 
No.   1. — 9£  feet  bituminous  shale  and  coal. 

This,  according  to  all  observations  made  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  Kansas,  as  well  as  in  Missouri,  as  contained  in  Prof. 
Swallow's  Report  of  that  State,  is  the  position  of  the  thickest 
and  best  seam  of  coal  in  the  State.  It  varies  in  thickness 
from  five  feet  to  six  feet  nine  inches.  The  coal  shaft  at  Leav- 
en worth  was  commenced  in  1863  or  '64  to  reach  this  coal 
bed.  To  test  the  situation  of  the  underlying  rocks  at  Leaven- 
worth,  boring  was  first  instituted,  which  verified  the  geological 
calculations  so  closely  that  an  open  shaft,  eight  feet  in  diame- 
ter, was  immediately  commenced,  and  by  August,  1864,  was 
sunk  100  feet.  The  labor  was  then  discontinued  till  Septem- 
ber, 1865,  and  is  now  renewed. 

This  Section  is  a  guide  to  all  the  northern  and  eastern  part 
of  the  State,  wherever  it  may  be  desirous  to  sink  a  shaft  for 
coal.  Nos.  21,  22  and  23  can  easily  be  traced,  near  the  water- 
line  of  the  Missouri  river,  and  in  the  low  ravines  twenty  miles 


10  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 

west  of  it ;  and  from  them  the  position  of  the  higher  strata 
of  limestone  can  be  obtained  without  much  trouble.  As  we 
pass  south  of  Johnson  and  Douglas  counties  the  strata  are 
found  to  thicken,  So  that,  at  the  same  geological  horizon,  the 
depth  of  the  coal  seam  ~No.  1  will  be  greater,  the  farther  soutk 
any  shaft  may  be  sunk. 

For  the  present  wants  of  the  greater  portion  of  our  popu- 
lation, coal  shafts  at  Atchison,  Leavenworth  and  Lawrence,  by 
the  aid  of  our  various  railroads,  will  yield  a  ready  and  cheap 
supply  of  fuel.  But  as  population  and  the  consumption  of 
coal  increases,  coal  mines  will  probably  be  sunk  in  all  parts 
of  the  22,000  square  miles  of  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  State. 

PERMIAN. 

This  formation,  so  little  represented  in  North  America,  is 
found  well  and  clearly  identified  in  Kansas.  The  character- 
istic fossils  have  been  described  by  Meak,  and  Hayden,  and 
Pjof.  G.  C.  Swallow.  The  extent  of  the  area  of  this  epoch, 
however,  has  not  yet  been  clearly  marked  out,  but  is  quite 
extensive ;  and  future  labors  are  necessary  to  obtain  a  full 
knowledge  of  its  character,  or  the  territory  covered  by  it.  The 
thickness  of  the  Permian  was  placed,  by  Prof.  Swallow,  from 
observations  made  during  our  survey  in  the  valley  of  Blue 
river,  at  567  feet.  Farther  west,  Major  F.  Hawn  found  it  to 
be  greater,  placing  it,  according  to  his  section,  made  in  the 
Smoky  Hill  valley,  820  feet.  See  Kocks  of  Kansas,  p.  5. 

It  consists  mostly  of  calcarious  and  arenaceous  shales  and 
beds  of  limestone.  The  latter  are  frequently  quite  impure, 
but,  sometimes,  massive  magnesian  limestone  is  found,  which 
furnishes  an  excellent  building  material. 

TRIASSIC. 

This  epoch,  and  probably  the  Jurassic,  are  represented  by 
a  belt  of  territory  crossing  the  Kepublican  and  Smoky  Hill 
valleys,  the  extent  of  which  is  not  fully  known.  The  fossils, 
within  it,  are  very  scarce  and  poorly  preserved,  which  ren- 
ders it  difficult  to  trace  the  outlines  of  the  formations.  The 
most  important  indications  of  animal  life  which  have  beeo 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS.  11 

ibund  are  Ornithichnites,  or  foot-prints  of  birds  in  sandstone. 
We  found  but  one  slab,  and  that  contained  only  four  impres- 
sions. The  locality  from  which  it  was  obtained  was  about 
fifty  miles  northwest  of  Fort  Kiley,  in  T.  6,  E.  1,  east  of  the 
sixth  principal  meridian,  on  the  top  of  a  sandstone  bluff, 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  above  the  Republican 
river.  The  slab  was  much  weathered,  which  injures  the  dis- 
tinctness of  the  minor  markings.  There  are  two  species,  both 
three-toed  and  liptodactylous,  and  new.  They  belong  to  the 
long-legged  waders,  the  foot-prints  of  which  have  been  so  fre- 
quently found  by  Hitchcock,  in  the  Connecticut  sandstones. 
The  length  of  the  tracks  are :  the  larger,  five  and  a  half 
inches,  and  the  smaller,  three.and  three-fourths.  Those  inter- 
ested in  a  detailed  scientific  description,  will  find  it  in  an  arti- 
cle published  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts, 
Vol.  XLL,  No.  122.  We  could  find  no  other  tracks  in  the 
vicinity,  yet  it  is  most  probable  that  they  will  be  found  in  other 
places,  as  the  deposit  has  a  long  extent  in  a  northeasterly  and 
southwesterly  direction. 

We  cannot  speak  with  confidence  in  relation  to  the  geolog- 
ical age  of  the  strata  which  contained  the  foot-prints,  as  we 
found  no  other  fossils  near  the  locality,  except  silicious  wood. 
A  few  miles  distant  we  discovered  some  impressions  of  exoge- 
nous leaves,  which  we  suspected  were  in  the  same  geological 
horizon  as  the  tracks,  but  were  unable,  at  the  time,  to  verify 
it  We  are  inclined  to  place  the  deposit  as  high  up  as  the 
Lias. 

The  beds  of  sandstone  were  much  changed  from  their  nor- 
mal condition,  principally  caused  by  the  presence  of  oxyde 
of  iron.  The  stratification  is  not  regular,  much  of  it  showing 
an  oblique  deposit,  with  other  indications  of  shoal-water,  at 
the  time  the  tracks  were  made.  When  other  foot-prints  are 
found,  it  will  become  interesting  to  institute  a  comparison  be- 
tween the  age  of  the  Connecticut  valley  deposit  and  that  in 
which  these  are  found.  It  will  throw  light  on  both. 

CRETACEOUS. 

The  Cretaceous  Formation  is  represented  rather  largely,  but 


12  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

no  definite  examination  has  been  made  to  show  its  extent,  as 
it  lies  mostly  beyond  the  settlements.  Chalk  is  said  to  have 
been  found  within  it.  In  fact,  one  specimen  was  shown  us, 
obtained  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Solomon,  which  had  all 
the  fine,  loosely-grained  texture  of  true  chalk,  and  we  have 
good  reason  to  believe  that  an  abundance  of  the  article  will 
be  found.  So  far  as  our  knowledge  extends,  there  appears  to 
be  a  closer  resemblance  between  our  Cretaceous  and  the 
English  than  any  other  in  the  United  States. 

DRIFT. 

The  materials  of  the  Drift  epoch,  in  this  State,  consist  of 
stones,  gravel  and  sand,  usual  in  other  parts  of  the  United 
States,  but  in  less  abundance.  The  larger  stones  attain  the 
size  of  true  boulders,  being  sometimes  ten  feet  in  length,  and 
weighing  ten  or  twelve  tons.  The  most  frequent  are  a  meta- 
morphic,  stratified,  quartzite  rock.  The  metamorphic  action 
has  been  very  thorough,  giving  the  boulders  a  hardness  equal 
to  common  quartz,  and  on  that  account  they  are  frequently 
known  under  the  name  of  "  hard-heads."  They  cannot  fail  to 
attract  the  notice  of  most  persons,  as  they  are  so  unlike  any 
other  rock  that  may  be  found  in  ledges,  or  in  the  stratified  d#- 
posits  of  Kansas.  The  original  stratification  of  these  rneta- 
morphic  boulders,  is  shown  in  the  various  shades  of  pink  and 
purple  bands,  which  give  many  of  them  a  neat,  ribboned  ap- 
pearance. The  characteristics  of  the  stratification  are  so 
much  destroyed  that  no  clevage  exists  in  the  course  of  tlie 
layers.  Sometimes  they  are  dotted  with  white  quartzy  peb- 
bles, which  were  rounded  and  water-worn  before  the  origiaajl 
stratification.  The  large  boulders  are  usually  angular,  and 
not  much  worn  by  water.  In  this  respect  there  is  a  strong 
contrast  between  them  and  the  small  pebbles,  indicating  dif- 
ferent starting  points  at  the  time  the  Drift  agency  commenced. 
The  pebbles,  usually,  are  also  of  different  materials. 

Next  to  the  quartz  rock,  boulders  of  green-stone  are  the 
most  frequently  found.  A  few  of  granite  and  sienite  are  also 
seen,  but  seldom  as  large  as  those  of  metamorphic  quartz  or 
green-stone.  They  are  also  more  water- worn  and  less  angular. 

Associated  minerals  are  rather  rare  in  the  Drift,  though 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS. 


13 


cornelian,  hornblende,  feldspar,  and,  sometimes,  agate  are 
found.  The  deposit  is  not  deep,  seldom  being  seen  over  two 
feet,  and  more  frequently  only  a  few  inches.  The  large 
boulders  are  found  as  far  south  as  38  deg.  and  50  min.,  or  ten 
miles  south  of  the  Kansas  river,  while  the  small  pebbles  may 
be  seen  twenty-five  miles  farther,  as  low  as  38  deg.  and  30 
min.  of  latitude.  The  large  boulders  are  found  quite  numer- 
ous in  the  Potawatomie  reserve,  on  both  sides  of  the  Kansas, 
frequently  numbering  fifty  to  the  acre.  They  lie  on  the  tops 
of  the  bluffs  and  high  prairies,  more  frequently  than  in  the 
lower  lands.  We  noticed  one  near  Mill  creek,  in  Wabaunsee 
county,  on  a  high  bluff  about  two  hundred  feet  above  the 
valley,  which  weighed  fully  eight  tons.  Some  still  larger,  in- 
cluding one  of  green-stone,  are  to  be  found  near  Oskaloosa. 
They  are  found,  more  or  less  abundantly,  in  all  parts  of  the 
State  above  the  latitude  named. 

The  original  deposit  from  which  these  metamorphic  bould- 
ers were  brought,  in  the  great  Northern  Drift  period,  is  un- 
known ;  but  their  marked  appearance  is  so  peculiar,  that  when 
the  country  to  the  north  shall  be  examined  by  any  geologist 
who  has  seen  them  here,  they  can  be  easily  identified.  Owen, 
in  his  Geological  Report  of  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and  Minnesota, 
has  identified  the  nearest  metamorphic  rock,  on  St.  Peter's 
river,  Wisconsin,  four  hundred  miles  from  the  most  southern 
boulders  in  our  State.  Also,  on  the  western  shore  of  Lake 
Superior,  and  Lake  of  the  Woods,  from  seven  to  nine  hun- 
dred miles  distant.  In  Europe,  larger  boulders  than  these 
have  been  transported,  by  drift  agencies,  over  more  distant 
points  than  a  journey  from  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  Kansas 
river. 

No  marks  of  grooving,  stria,  or  other  glacial  action  has  been 
seen  by  us  on  any  ledge  in  the  State.  The  limestones,  which 
crop  out  in  every  county,  show  no  disturbance  such  as  a  gla- 
cier would  make.  The  fragments  of  the  strata  in  the  bluffs 
or  hillside  always  lay  so  uniform  as  to  show  that  nothing  but 
the  present  quiet  agents  has  aided  to  drop  them  even  a  few 
feet  from  their  original  position.  Only  in  one  instance  have 
we  noticed  a  boulder  with  the  marks  of  stria  upon  its  surface, 
and  that  was  under  such  circumstances  as  showed  that  they 


14:  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 

must  have  been  made  before  it  left  its  northern  home.  The 
whole  circumstances  show  that  however  strong  may  have  been 
the  action  of  glaciers  in  drifting  these  eratics  across  the  coun- 
try in  other  places,  they  could  have  owed  their  present  posi- 
tion in  Kansas  only  to  icebergs. 

LOESS,  OR  BLUFF. 

This  is  well  represented  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State, 
particularly  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri.  At  "Wyandotte, 
south  of  the  city,  it  is  nearly  one  hundred  feet  in  thickness. 
Extending  westward,  it  grows  thinner,  and  at  fifty  miles  the 
deepest  deposits  are  not  over  thirty  feet.  Still  farther  west, 
It  almost  entirely  disappears.  It  is  the  same  formation  so  ex- 
tensively seen  in  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi  valleys.  Sir 
Charles  Lyell,  in  his  visit  to  the  United  States,  decided  that 
it  was  the  same  as  the  Loess  of  the  Rhine,  but  the  fossils  do 
not  show  a  perfect  identity  between  the  two  formations. 

It  consists  of  thick  beds  of  fine,  brown  marl,  often  heavily 
intermingled  with  clay,  so  much  so  as  to  be  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  brick.  Its  color  is  owing  to  the  presence  of  per- 
oxyde  of  iron.  Mingled  with  the  more  recent  vegetable 
mould,  it  forms  a  rich  soil. 

To  this  formation  belongs  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  bones  of 
the  Mastodon,  which  have  been  frequently  found  in  the  State. 
A  few  years  ago  a  part  of  a  large  jaw  bone,  containing  three 
teeth,  was  fished  from  a  stream  near  Osawatomie.  It  was 
sent  to  Ohio,  and  all  trace  of  it  is  lost ;  but  from  the  verbal 
description  of  those  who  saw  it,  the  bones  must  have  belonged 
to  the  Mastodon.  A  large  tooth  was  shown  us,  which  was 
found  near  Emporia.  It  was  the  sixth  molar  tooth  from  the 
lower  jaw  of  the  Mastodon  giganteus,  and  belonged  to  a  large 
and  old  individual.  The  three  anterior  ridges  were  worn 
through  the  enamel,  and  the  last  down  to  its  base.  The  os 
femoris  of  another,  found  near  Manhattan,  is  in  the  cabinet  of 
tlie  State  Agricultural  College.  The  smallest  circumference 
of  the  shaft  measures  fourteen  inches.  Both  extremities  of 
the  bone  are  gone,  but  it  still  measures  thirty-three  inches  in 
length.  Originally,  it  could  not  have  been  less  than  thirty- 
eisrht  or  nine  inches,  which  would  indicate  that  the  entire  skcl- 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS.  15 

eton  measured  about  eighteen  feet  in  length  and  twelve  feet 
in  height. 

We  hear  of  several  other  instances  of  portions  of  the  skel- 
etons being  found,  especially  in  the  western  part  of  the  State. 
This  animal,  with  the  elephant,  must  formerly  have  been  a 
common  tenant  of  our  valleys. 

ALLUVIAL. 

The  Alluvial  deposits  in  Kansas  are  so  similar  to  those  of 
ihe  other  Western  States,  that  no  particular  description  be- 
comes necessary. 

The  river  bottoms  are  usually  broad  and  level,  but  well 
drained.  The  thickness  varies  from  five  to  fifty  feet.  In 
raripus  places  in  the  valley  of  the  Neosho,  unaltered  wood 
lias  been  found  at  the  latter  depth,  in  the  sinking  of  wells. 
The  material  of  this  alluvium,  on  the  surface,  is  very  rich  in 
vegetable  matter,  and,  in  many  places,  furnishes  a  nourishing 
soil  throughout  its  whole  thickness.  In  some  cases 'it  is,  in 
part,  composed  of  modified  drift.  At  the  salt  well  in  Brown 
eounty,  a  metamorphic  boulder  was  found  fifty-two  feet  below 
the  surface. 

The  humus  or  vegetable  mould  of  the  high  prairies  is  from 
one  to  three  feet  in  depth.  It  is  the  usual  development  of  the 
prairie  features,  so  common  in  the  other  Western  States.  It 
is  the  same  fine,  black,  rich  loam,  which  has  become  noted  as 
the  most  fertile  soil  in  the  world.  No  better  exposition  of  its 
richness,  in  Kansas,  can  be  given  than  to  refer  to  the  Agricul- 
tural Report  of  the  Patent  Office,  since  Kansas  became  a 
State.  According  to  that  high  authority,  in  1865  it  was  the 
fourth  of  the  Western  States  in  the  production  of  wheat  to  the 
acre.  In  1863  it  stood  with  Missouri  at  the  head  of  the  list, 
and  in  1862  and  1864:  it  ranked  entirely  at  the  top  of  the  list. 
This  shows  the  character  of  this  Alluvial  better  than  any  de- 
scription. 


ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY. 


COAL. 

In  a  State  where,  to  a  great  extent,  prairie  covers  the  sur- 
I'ace  of  the  country,  the  question  of  fuel  becomes  of  the  first 
importance.  Not  only  is  a  cheap  and  abundant  supply  mate- 
rial for  domestic  purposes,  but  it  is  equally  necessary  to  drive 
the  steam  engine  for  the  manufacture  of  the  hundreds  of  arti- 
cles in  daily  use.  In  this  respect  Kansas  is  amply  supplied. 
In  almost  every  settled  county,  coal,  of  varied  quality,  is  found 
near  the  surface ;  and,  as  we  have  already  shown,  the  Coal 
Measures,  with  good  workable  seams,  underlie  about  22,000 
square  miles  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State.  As  much  of 
our  coal  field  is  the  cropping  of  the  upper  measures,  it  follows 
that  most  of  the  surface  coal,  in  all  but  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  State,  will  lie  in  thin  seams  and  be  of  an  inferior 
quality. 

A  notice  of  the  surface  coal,  as  it  is  found  in  various  places, 
will  illustrate  this  subject.  In  Republic  county,  the  highest, 
geologically,  being  above  the  true  Coal  Measures,  we  find  the 
lignite  variety.  The  thickest  seam  which  came  under  our 
observation  measured  twenty-eight  inches ;  but  the  middle 

portion  was  much  mingled  with  a  clay  shale,  and  the  upper 

3 


20  GEOLOGICAL   SUBVEY. 

nish  a  cheap  article,  at  fair  profits,  should  be  at  least  four 
feet  in  thickness. 

There  are  two  seams  of  coal  in  our  State  which  combine 
a  uniformity  in  quality  and  thickness  over  all  those  mention- 
ed. The  first  is  seen  cropping  out  on  the  banks  of  the  Little 
Osage,  in  Linn  and  Bourbon  counties,  near  the  Kansas  and 
Missouri  State  line ;  and  thence  in  various  places  in  a  south- 
westerly direction  across  the  State  into  the  Indian  Territory. 
It  also  crosses  Missouri  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  and  is 
mined  at  Lexington,  on  the  Missouri  river.  It  is  a  good 
article  of  bituminous  coal,  better,  on  the  average,  than  the 
other  seams  described.  Above  the  strata  of  coal  is  about  two 
feet  of  shale,  which  is  overlaid  by  a  bed  of  hard  limestone  that 
affords  an  excellent  roofing  for  the  mine.  The  other,  and  in 
all  respects  the  most  important  coal  bed,  crops  out  in  the 
center  of  Cherokee  county,  crossing  Cow  creek  near  its  prin- 
cipal forks,  and  thence  running  at  the  surface  in  a  southwest- 
erly direction  across  the  State  into  the  Indian  Territory.  It 
measures,  in  several  places  where  it  has  been  slightly  worked, 
five  feet  six  inches  to  six  feet  nine  inches  in  thickness,  and 
averages  about  six  feet.  The  coal,  I  am  informed,  has  been 
taken  from  Cherokee  county  to  Granby,  and  other  places  in 
Missouri.  The  bed  extends  in  a  northeasterly  direction 
across  Missouri,  to  the  northern  part  of  that  State.  The 
seam  is  the  same  that  is  wrought  at  Boonville  and  near  Hud- 
son, on  the  Chariton,  and  at  both  places  is  about  six  feet  in 
thickness."--  In  this  State,  as  in  most  places  in  Missouri,  it  is 
of  excellent  quality.  In  Cherokee  county  it  appears  in  the 
open  prairie,  where  there  is  but  little  overlaying  soil.  This 
is  first  removed,  and  the  mining  is  in  the  open  air.  Where 
it  is  so  deep  beneath  the  surface  as  to  require  drifting,  it  is 
overlaid  by  shale  sufficiently  hard  to  afford  a  fair  roofing. 

The  last  two  seams  are  the  best  in  quality  and  most  per- 
sistent in  thickness  and  uniformity  of  character  of  any  in  the 
State.  These,  with  all  the  strata  of  the  Coal  Formation  in 
Kansas,  dip  on  an  average  of  about  three  feet  to  the  mile 
toward  the  northwest,  and  are  seen  as  far  west  as  Manhattan 
and  Fort  Riley,  where  they  disappear  under  the  more  recent 

*See  Missouri  Report,  by  Swallow. 


GEOLOGY   OF  KANSAS.  21 

formations.  Consequently,  these  coal  seams  underlie  the 
whole  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  to  that  extent.  In 
fact,  every  geological  indication  shows  that  they  lie,  conform- 
ably, farther  west,  in  a  position  nearer  to  the  surface  than 
many  of  the  coal  beds  in  England,  which  are  there  wrought 
to  supply  that  country  with  fuel.  These  two  seams,  we  hes- 
itate not  to  say,  will  hereafter  supply  the  State  with  coal  to 
the  neglect  of  all  others;  and  perhaps  the  Osage  searn  will 
be  ultimately  disregarded,  and  only  the  thick  Cherokee  bed 
worked.  They  are  but  a  little  over  one  hundred  feet  apart, 
in  a  vertical  position ;  and  when  once  a  shaft  from  the  sur- 
face has  penetrated  the  strata  to  the  former,  the  economical 
inducements  will  be  strong  to  go  an  additional  hundred  feet 
to  the  latter,  and  work  in  a  bed  of  coal  six  feet  in  thickness, 
instead  of  one-half  as  much.  The  advantages  of  working  in 
a  thick  seam,  instead  of  one  that  is  thin,  is  very  apparent. 
On  a  vein  that  is  twenty  inches  thick,  in  drifting,  a  man  does 
well  to  obtain  twenty  bushels  a  day.  On  one  thirty-six 
inches,  he  can  procure  sixty  to  seventy  bushels,  and  if  it  is 
six  feet  he  can  obtain  two  hundred  bushels.  Where  the  bed 
is  less  than  four  feet,  he  must  spend  a  portion  of  his  time  in 
removing  the  shale  above  or  below,  in  order  to  make  space 
sufficient  to  mine  the  coal,  and  the  removal  of  this  shale 
is  more  than  his  labor  on  the  bed.  In  addition,  the 
machinery  recently  invented  for  mining  coal  cannot  be  used 
to  advantage  unless  the  coal  is  over  four  feet  in  thickness. 

The  objections  to  deep  mining,  after  the  shaft  is  once  open- 
ed, is  more  apparent  than  real.  A  man  can  work  as  com- 
fortably three  hundred  feet  below  the  surface  as  at  thirty. 
The  cost  of  raising  the  coal  three  or  five  hundred  feet  is  very 
small  on  each  ton.  The  greatest  apparent  objection  is  the 
trouble  which  may  occur  from  the  influx  of  water.  This, 
however,  is  not  so  great  as  in  many  other  States.  About  one- 
fourth  of  the  total  thickness  is  limestone,  and  the  other  three- 
fourths  are  shales.  The  great  proportion  of  the  latter  is 
composed  of 'day,*  which  does  not  allow  water  to  penetrate 
freely.  Those  who  have  been  obliged  to  dig  deep  wells  in  Kan- 

*  These  clay  shales  are  frequently  improperly  called  eoapstone.    The  latter  sub- 
alt*  ,ae  is  Dot  found  in  the  State. 


22  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 

sas  know  how  slowly  the  water  percolates  these  blue  shales, 
and  how  moderate  is  the  supply  in  artesian  borings.  This 
feature,  which  is  objectionable  in  wells  is  favorable  in  mining. 
Should  any  seam  of  sandy  shale  allow  a  free  flow  of  water, 
it  can  be  closed  around  the  shaft  by  cement  masonry  without 
much  expense. 

The  first  cost  of  the  shaft  is  the  only  serious  item.  The 
price  at  Leavenworth,  by  the  first  contract,  was  $10  per  foot, 
or  $1,000  for  one  hundred  feet  of  vertical  depth.  The  high 
price  of  labor  in  1864,  made  this  a  loosing  business  for  the 
contractor.  The  latter  contract  is  about  $17  per  foot. 

To  supply  a  population  of  only  5,000  with  fuel,  it  will  be 
cheaper  to  expend  $10,000,  or  even  $15,000  in  shafting  and 
machinery  to  mine  a  six  foot  seam  of  coal,  than  to  work  a 
thin  one  at  the  surface.  Few  are  aware  of  the  immense 
quantity  of  coal  in  a  bed  of  this  thickness.  A  few  figures 
will  explain  it.  A  seam  of  coal  six  feet  thick  and  one  mile 
square,  contains  6,000,000  tons  of  coal,  of  twenty-eight  bush- 
els to  the  ton.  In  other  words,  every  farm  of  a  quarter-sec- 
tion, in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  has  under  it,  in  this 
coal  seam,  1,500,000  tons.  If  we  compare  the  relative  value 
of  coal  and  wood,  the  result  is  quite  interesting.  One  ton  of 
coal  has  been  variously  estimated  as  equaling  from  one  and 
a  half  to  two  cords  of  good  dry,  hard  wood  for  heating  pur- 
poses. Take  the  former  figure ;  then  6,000,000  tons  of  coal 
are  equal  to  9,000,000  cords  of  wood,  or  an  acre  of  this  coal 
seam  is  equal  to  14,062  cords  of  wood.  We  thus  find,  if  all 
Kansas,  (78,000  square  miles,)  were  covered  by  a  forest  afford- 
ing one  hundred  cords  of  wood  to  the  acre,  that  557  square 
miles,  or  less  than  sixteen  townships  of  the  six  foot  coal 
seam,  would  equal  the  whole  forests  of  the  State.  Who  can 
say  that  our  State  is  deficient  in  fuel  ? 

It  has  been  found,  from  statistics,  that  the  consumption  of 
fuel,  (aside  from  that  used  in  manufactories  and  by  steam 
engines,)  is  equal  to  one  ton  to  each  inhabitant.  On  this 
basis,  Leavenworth  would  require  less  than  25,000  tons  per 
annum.  Allow  the  city  to  cover  four  square  miles  of  terri- 
tory, and  this  coal  seam  at  six  feet  in  thickness  will  supply 
24.060.000  tons  of  coal  from  under  its  sfrftets  and  lots,  so 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS.  23 

that  the  supply,  for  all  practical  purposes,  is  inexhaustable, 
"We  must  recollect,  too,  that  rivers  do  not  affect  the  strata  be- 
low, and  that  the  coal  may  be  mined  under  the  Missouri 
river  as  easily  and  safely  as  anywhere  else. 

Considering  the  quality  and  abundant  quantity  contained 
in  this  heavy  seam  of  coal,  we  cannot  too  strongly  urge  all 
capitalists  not  to  waste  their  money  in  endeavoring  to  procure 
coal  from  the  thin  surface  seams.  .None  of  them  can  supply 
a  cheap  fuel.  Let  companies  be  formed  in  all  the  large  cities 
to  open  a  shaft  at  each  important  point.  It  will  not  only  sup- 
ply as  cheap  fuel  for  domestic  purposes,  but  steam  engines 
can  be  supplied  at  so  low  a  rate  that  manufactures  would 
soon  spring  up  among  us.  Coal  ought  not,  when  capital  and 
competition  engage  in  this  enterprise,  to  sell  in  our  towns  for 
more  than  a  dime  per  bushel. 

We  are  informed  by  several  gentlemen  of  reliability,  that 
there  is  an  extensive  bed  of  lignite  coal  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State,  about  125  miles  from  Fort  Riley.  It  is  of  the 
kind  found  near  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  was  there  mined, 
during  the  rebellion,  to  over  a  thousand  feet.  It  crops  out 
in  a  northeasterly  and  southwesterly  course,  across  the  Re- 
publican, Solomon,  Saline  and  Smoky  Hill  rivers,  and  is  rep- 
resented as  being  formed  in  a  heavier  bed  than  those  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State.  Future  geological  investigations 
are  necessary  to  determine  the  extent  and  value  of  this  de- 
posit of  coal.  But  enough  is  known  to  settle  the  question 
that  that  portion  of  the  State  is  not  deficient  in  fuel. 

LIME. 

Good  'lime  is  furnished  from  beds  in  various  parts  of  the 
State,  and  is  so  common  that  no  particular  notice  is  necessary. 
"We  believe  every  county  in  the  State  is  furnished  with  an 
abundance  of  this  most  useful  article.  The  numerous  stone 
houses  built  from  limestone,  which  may  be  seen  in  every 
town  and  city,  show  the  'quantity  and  quality  of  the  material. 
The  sections  taken  in  the  various  portions  of  Kansas,  show 
that  nearly  one-fourth  part  of  the  strata  of  the  Coal  Measures 
is  made  up  by  this  stone. 


'24  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

MARBLE. 

Marble  is  but  a  nice  variety  of  limestone,  which  has  a  fine, 
soft,  uniform  grain,  and,  is  susceptible  of  a  higher  polish  than 
the  common  variety.  The  best  marble  is  found  either  in  the 
older  formations  or  in  that  portion  of  the  more  recent  which 
has  Leen  subject  to  igneous  action.  Our  lime  strata  which 
farnish  the  best  marble,  do  not  yield  Jarge  blocks.  But,  in 
many  cases,  slabs  may  be  obtained  for  all  purposes  ordinari- 
ly required  for  internal  uses  or  ornaments.  They  take  as 
high  a  polish  as  most  of  the  American  marbles,  which  are 
found  in  the  markets  of  our  large  cities.  We  have  seen  spec- 
imens irom  Fort  Scott,  Mapleton,  Garnett,  Eurlingame,  Law- 
rence, Doniphan  county,  and  other  places,  which  compare 
favorably  with  the  same  article  from  New  England  arid  New 
York.  They  are  of  various  dark  shades,  seldom  either  white 
or  black.  The  best  which  we  have  seen  polished  was  from 
the  hydraulic  lime  stratum  near  Lawrence.  This  is  of  various 
shades  of  buff,  sometimes  inclined  to  brown,  often  taking  a 
fine  mellow  tinge  which  is  truly  beautiful.  No  attempt  has 
yet  been  made  to  work  these  various  beds,  but  there  is  good 
reason  to  conclude  that,  practically,  the  marble  may  be  applied 
to  any  purpose  in  which  the  article  is  used.  Undoubtedly, 
there  are  many  other  places  in  the  State  where  as  good  mar- 
ble can  be  found  as  at  those  named.  As  the  wealth  of  our 
population  increases,  there  will  be  a  growing  demand,  which 
our  home  quarries  can  easily  supply,  without  sending  beyond 
the  bounds  of  the  State. 

HYDRAULIC   LIMESTONE. 

. 

Hydraulic  cement,  "cement,"  or  "water  lime,*'  is  much 
used 'in  our  State.  "Eoman  cement"  is  a  nice  variety  of  the 
same  article.  Hydraulic  limestone,  or  that  kind  of  limestone 
which  contains  the  usual  elements  necessary  to  make  good 
cement,  is  found  in  various  parts  of  the  State.  The  English 
Boman  cement  is  made  from  nodules  of  naagnesian  limestone 
called  Septaria,  which  are  found  disseminated  through  the 
London  clays.  These  Septaria,  like  the  magnesian  limestone, 
are  composed  mainly  of  lime,  magnesia,  silica  and  alumina. 


OEOLOQY    OF    KANSAS  25 

In  Kansas  they  are  found  in  numerous  places.  We  noticed 
many  on  the  banks  of  the  JVIarais  des  Cygnes,  in  Linn  county, 
in  Douglas  and  Wyandotte  counties,  &c.  The  purest  which 
came  under  our  observation  were  at  Burlingame,  and  at  Grass- 
hopper Falls,  about  three  miles  northwest  of  the  town.  They 
are  usually  dark  brown  and  of  uniform  texture,  but  in  a  few 
from  Burlingame  and  Douglas  we  found  the  sulphuret '::~  of  lead 
and  zinc.  They  are  usually  small,  weighing  from  two  to  ten 
pounds,  but  those  in  Linn  county  measured  thirty  inches  in 
diameter.  In  all  the  localities  they  originated  in  the  clay 
shales.  Strata  of  hydraulic  lime  are,  however,  found  so  fre- 
quently in  our  State,  and  more  easily  obtained  and  worked, 
that  it  is  not  probable  that  these  Septaria  will  be  used,  un- 
less their  quality  should  be  found  superior  to  the  other  hy- 
draulic limes. 

A  bed  of  brown  hydraulic  limestone  was  worked,  about 
eight  or  ten  years  ago,  by  the  late  Dr.  F.  Barker,  at  his  farm 
four  miles  northwest  of  Lawrence.  Not  being  familiar  with 
the  manufacture  of  the  article,  he  probably  did  not  succeed 
as  well  as  a  person  of  experience.  Still  he  made  a  good  ce- 
ment, which  was  used  by  various  builders  at  Lawrence,  for 
cisterns  and  other  similar  purposes.  Many  of  the  cisterns 
are  still  in  use,  with  the  cement  in  good  condition.  They 
show  a  durability  which  compares  favorably  with  the  best 
Kentucky  cements  now  sold  in  our  State.  Dr.  Barker  was 
intending  to  pursue  the  business  more  systematically  and  ex- 
tensively, when  his  death  closed  the  operations.  No  one  has 
worked  the  bed  since  his  decease.  His  experiment,  so  far  as 
it  was  tried,  was  perfectly  satisfactory,  and  the  stratum  has  all 
the  qualities  of  a  good  hydraulic  cement.  Should  capitalists 
develop  this  branch  of  our  resources,  it  would  undoubtedly 
be  a  source  of  profit  to  them,  as  well  as  a  benefit  to  the  State. 
We  are  now  using  cement  brought  from  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
a  distance,  by  water,  of  750  miles,  when  as  good  an  article 
can  be  manufactured  as  cheaply  here,  and  the  cost  of  trans- 
portation, a  large  item,  could  be  saved.  An  additional  ad- 
vantage would  also  be  gained  in  having  the  cement  ready  for 
utse  .as  soon  as  it  is  made,  as  it  is  well  known  that  it  loses  its 

*  Sulphides. 


26  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

best  qualities  rapidly  after  leaving  the  kiln.  Vicat,  the  best 
authority  on  hydraulic  lime,  says  that  a  larger  stock  should 
never  be  made  than  is  wanted  for  immediate  consumption ; 
otherwise  it  soon  becomes  an  inferior  article. 

This  stratum  is  quarried  near  the  top  of  the  bluffs  west  of 
Lawrence,  for  building  stone.  It  yields  slowly  to  the  crum- 
bling influence  of  the  atmosphere,  and  we  think  will  not  be 
found  a  first  class  stone  for  external  purposes.  It  takes  a 
good  polish,  and  makes  a  pretty  marble  for  mantle-pieces  and 
other  ornamented  articles.  Its  color  varies  from  buff  to 
brown,  and  in  many  cases  gives  a  fine,  mellow  shading,  equal 
to  the  buff  Italian. 

This  bed  of  hydraulic  limestone  extends  across  the  country 
over  Leavenworth  and  Atchison  counties,  and  also  southwest- 
erly, nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the  southerly  bounds  of  the  State, 
and  probably  it  will  be  found  to  retain  good  cement  proper- 
ties in  the  whole  of  that  extensive  area. 

The  analysis  of  various  limes  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
cements,  shows  quite  a  difference  in  the  relative  proportions 
of  the  elements,  though  producing  an  equally  good  article. 
As  the  art  now  exists,  a  practical  test  in  the  kiln  and  cistern 
is  of  far  more  importance  than  the  analysis,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  subject  will  be  thoroughly  tested  on  this  bed 
in  various  places,  so  that  all  our  large  cities  may  be  supplied) 
from  their  immediate  deposits,  without  loss  or  cost  from  trans- 
portation. A  very  fair,  but  not  critical,  test  may  be  made  bj 
placing  the  hydraulic  limestone  in  the  upper  part  of  a  com- 
mon lime  kiln,  and  giving  it  a  imiform  but  lower  degree  of 
heat  than  in  the  burning  of  the  common  limes. 

GYPSUM. 

Gypsum,  or  sulphate  of  lime,  commonly  called  plaster  of 
Paris,  or  "  plaster,"  is  found  in  numerous  places  in  the  State. 
A  bed  from  four  to  ten  feet  in  thickness  crosses  the  valleys  of 
the  Big  Blue  and  Little  Blue  rivers,  from  four  to  seven  miles 
above  their  junction.  It  is  seen  in  the  banks  of  both  streamy 
and  has  been  struck,  by  sinking  wells,  at  various  points  be- 
tween the  two  rivers.  It  is  of  uniform  grain  and  purity,  and 
much  resembles  the  best  of  the  Nova  Scotia  gypsum  that  fe 


GEOLOOY   OF   KANSAS.  27 

imported  into  the  ports  of  New  England,  and  used  by  the 
farmers  of  those  States.  It  has  been  used  in  the  internal 
finish  of  several  houses  in  Marysville,  and  was  found  to  oper- 
ate as  well  as  the  Eastern  plaster,  making  a  nice,  white  "hard 
finish  "  to  the  walls.  When  carefully  prepared,  this  coating 
is  very  smooth,  and  may  be  washed  as  easily  as  marble,  which 
it  much  resembles. 

Another  bed  was  traced  from  near  the  mouth  of  the  Saline 
river,  on  the  southerly  side  of  the  Smoky  Hill,  in  an  easterly 
direction,  more  than  ten  miles.  At  the  point  first  named,  it 
consists  of  several  strata,  from  a  few  inches  to  two  feet  in 
thickness,  interstratified  with  clay  shales.  Some  of  these 
seams  consist  of  beautiful  fibrous  gypsum,  varying  from  white 
to  pink,  and  quite  pure.  At  Gypsum  creek  the  bed  is  mass 
ive,  amounting  to  sixteen  feet  in  thickness.  Some  of  it  as- 
sumes the  selenite  variety,  and  other  portions  contain  imper- 
fect imbedded  crystals.  This  deposit  is  a  portion  of  Nos.  6 
and  7  of  Meak  and  Hayden's  section  of  this  part  of  the  State. 

We  are  informed  that  the  same  deposit  is  found  at  other 
points  within  twenty  miles,  even  thicker  than  at  the  localities 
named.  Gypsum  is  also  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  salt  de- 
posits, on  the  Solomon,  Saline  and  Smoky  Hill  rivers. 

In  the  arts,  gypsum  is  applied  to  a  hundred  purposes,  par- 
ticularly in  taking  casts,  in  stucco  work  and  other  ornamental 
designs  for  furnishing  nice  buildings.  But  more  practically 
it  is  used  by  the  farmer  as  a  fertilizer,  and  in  this  respect  it 
will  be  invaluable.  While  it  is  excellent  for  crops  in  various 
ways,  its  great  worth,  to  the  Kansas  soil,  consists  in  its  hy- 
grometic  quality,  or  virtue  as  an  absorbant  and  fixer  of  cer- 
tain volatile  matters  which  are  useful  in  plants ;  and  particu- 
larly in  retaining  moisture  in  a  condition  that  renders  it  avail- 
able to  the  roots  of  plants ;  and  thus  counteracting  the  drying 
and  evaporating  effect  of  the  sun  and  winds.  This  is  an  im- 
portant quality,  which  our  farmers  will  readily  appreciate,  es- 
pecially in  those  portions  of  the  State  which  are  liable  to 
drouth.  It  retains  the  moisture  to  such  a  degree  that  a  crop, 
particularly  of  roots,  manured  with  it,  will  sometimes  be  saved 
when  an  adjoining  field  will  be  dried  up.  Even  a  single 
bushel  of  the  powder,  on  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  land,  will 


28  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

show  a  decided  improvement  in  the  crop.     Its  effect  can  usu- 
ally be  seen  for  several  years  after  it  is  used. 

ALUM. 

We  have  noticed  the  presence  of  alum  in  quite  a  number 
of  places  in  the  State.  At  Zeandale  it  is  found  in  small  crys- 
tals ;  also,  at  several  points  on  Mill  creek,  in  Wabaunseo 
county.  In  the  eastern  part  of  T.  4,  K.  10,  west,  it  is  found 
in  connection  with  a  seam  of  lignite  coal.  It  is  associated 
with  native  sulphur.  'A  similar  deposit  is  seen  on  Chapman 
creek,  in  T.  11,  R  2,  east,  about  twenty  miles  west  of  Fort 
Riley,  with  the  additional  associate  of  salt-petre  or  nitrate  of 
^potash.  It  is  also  found  in  various  places  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  Smoky  Hill,  from  Salina  eastward,  over  a  tract  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  in  extent.  It  exists  in  a  sufficient 
quantity  to  make  a  commercial  commodity,  whenever  capital 
and  labor  shall  become  more  abundant  in  our  State. 

In  England,  alum  is  manufactured  from  alum  slate  and  an- 
alogous minerals,  in  which  it  becomes  necessary  fe>  calcine 
and  pulverize  the  material  before  the  alum  can  be  extracted. 
But  in  our  deposits  the  article  is  so  free  that  the  manufacture 
will  be  much  more  easy  and  economical. 

FREESTONE,  OR  SANDSTONE. 

Tjiis  is  found  in  various  beds  scattered  in  most  every  coun- 
ty. The  buildings  in  Leavenworth,  Lawrence  and  other 
places  attest  to  its  neatness  and  uniformity  of  grain.  The 
synagogue,  at  the  former  place,  shows  its  good  qualities  for 
ornamental  carvings. 

Aside  from  its  uses  as  a  building  material,  its  adaptation  to 
other  domestic  articles  makes  it  important.  We  have  seen 
numerous  grindstones  made  of  it,  which  gave  a  good,  sharp 
grit.  There  is  such  a  great  diversity  in  its  characteristics  in 
this  respect,  that  great  care  should  be  taken  in  selecting  the 
best ;  but,  when  this  is  done,  as  good  whetstones  and  grind- 
stones can  be  made  here  as  are  brought  by  our  merchants 
St.  Louis. 


GEOLOGY    OF    KANSAS. 
METALS. 

So  far  as  we  have  examined  the  area  of  Kansas,  the  pros- 
are  not  flattering  that  it  will  ever  become  a  mining 
State.  The  geological  character  of  its  formations  is  not  favor- 
able for  metalic  products.  But  as  all  our  observations  have 
been  confined  to  the  eastern  half,  future  investigations  on  the 
western  frontier  may  prove  more  favorable. 

Iron. — This  metal  is  found  in  most  all  geological  forma- 
tions ;  but  in  Kansas,  so  far  as  our  examinations  have  ex- 
tended, the  quantity  is  limited.  At  a  few  points  some  ore 
lias  been  found.  About  four  miles  southwest  from  Garaett, 
in  Anderson  county,  is  rather  a  singular  deposit  of  iron  ore. 
It  lies  above  the  lime  strata,  in  the  open  prairie,  and  is  a  good 
article,  and  of  a  fair  degree  of  purity.  Ko  attempt  has  been 
made  to  develop  its  extent. 

The  range  of  sand  rock  bluff,  two  miles  west  of  Olifton, 
near  the  borders  of  Clay  and  Washington  counties,  furnishes 
a  large  quantity  of  iron  ore.  Some  portions  of  the  ledge 
contained  but  a  small  percentage,  while  at  other  points  large 
quantities  contained  from  twenty  to  thirty  percentage  of  iron. 
It  is  easy  of  access  and  mining,  masses  of  it  laying  loosely  on 
the  surface.  But  the  great  obstacle  in  its  practical  use,  is  the 
scarcity  of  fuel  in  that  vicinity.  Timber  is  not  abundant,  and 
the  surface  coal  is  of  an  inferior  quality.  The  iron  ore,  con- 
sequently, cannot  be  considered  as  of  much  practical  value, 

We  have  been  shown  a  specimen  of  the  brown  hematite 
iron  ore,  from  the  western  part  of  the  State,  of  very  superior 
quality,  and  containing  nearly  sixty  per  cent,  of  iron.  Should 
the  deposit  prove  extensive  and  easy  of  access  from  our  pro- 
posed railroad,  it  would  be  valuable,  even  were  it  necessary  to 
transport  fuel  to  the  locality. 

Lead. — The  usual  ore  of  lead,  from,  which  most  of  the  lead 
of  commerce  is  obtained,  is  the  sulphuret  or  sulphide.  It 
occurs  most  abundantly  in  the  Silurian  formation.  The  prin- 
cipal deposits  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  are  found 
in  it.  In  Missouri,  lead  exists  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Coal 
Measures.  As  all  the  territory  of  Kansas  thus  far  explored 


30  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

by  any  geologist  shows  no  rocks  so  old,  the  prospect  for  any 
paying  quantity  of  this  metal  in  the  State  is  small. 

The  indications  of  lead  in  the  vicinity  of  Potosi,  in  Linn 
county,  however,  deserve  a  passing  notice.  Lead  has  been 
known,  for  more  than  twenty  years,  to  exist  there.  At  Mine 
creek  may  be  seen  excavations  which  are  said  to  have  been 
made  in  mining  for  this  ore.  Judging  from  the  trees  that 
have  grown  over  the  debris  thrown  out  from  these  excava- 
tions, it  is  probable  that  the  operations  were  carried  on  about 
twenty-five  years  ago.  "  Tiff"  (calc  spar)  oxide  of  manganese, 
zinc  blende  and  small  cubes  of  sulphuret  of  lead,  are  found 
in  the  vicinity.  We  examined  the  location  carefully  in  the 
spring  of  1864,  and  were  compelled  to  arrive  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  appearance  of  the  deposit  was  against  the  prob- 
ability of  lead  being  found  in  paying  quantities.  Since  that 
time  some  small  shafts  have  been  sunk,  with  no  profitable  re- 
sult, although  some  lead  was  obtained. 

Gold,  Sil/ver,  &c. — The  origin  of  gold  and  silver  lies  in  the 
Igneous  rocks,  and  are  only  found  in  the  stratified  deposits 
when  they  have  undergone  changes  consequent  upon  subter- 
ranean heats.  As  we  have  yet  found  no  changes  of  this  kind 
in  Kansas,  it  is  useless  to  expect  to  find  the  precious  metals  in 
our  State.  What  the  western  portions' will  develop  we  can- 
not say ;  but  we  are  sure  that  the  eastern,  or  settled  parts, 
contain  no  gold  or  silver  bearing  rocks.  This  is  a  sufficient 
answer  to  all  inquiries  from  those  who  think  they  have  found 
traces  of  these  metals  in  Kansas. 

Tin. — Frequent  reports  have  been  in  circulation  that  this, 
usually  rare  mineral,  is  found  here.  Several  fine  specimens 
of  rich  proxide  of  tin  have  been,  on  several  occasions,  pro- 
.4nced  by  the  Indians.  As  their  statements  concerning  them 
were,  in  some  cases,  not  true,  it  still  remains  an  unsettled 
question  whether  they  originated  in  the  State.  A  specimen 
was  presented  to  Gen.  HughMcGee,  of  Leaven  worth,  which, 
on  analysis,  proved  to  be  a  proxide,  containing  76  per  cent. 
It  was  said  to  have  been  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Smoky 
Hill  river. 

The  geological  locality  of  tin  is  similar  to  that  of  the  pre- 
clons  metals,  but  more  restricted  in  its  range.  It  has  been 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS.  31 

found  mostly  in  veins  traversing  granite,  gneiss,  mica-slate 
and  other  metamorphic  rocks.  Until  we  find  these,  or  some 
eruptive  rocks  breaking  through  the  recent  strata,  we  must 
conclude  that  it  is  not  native  to  Kansas.  The  western  portion 
of  the  State,  however,  is  so  far  a  geological  terra-incognita 
that  it  is  possible  that  some  local  igneous  action  may  have 
brought  tin  to  the  surface.  The  question  is  the  more  import- 
ant, as  none  is  now  found  in  the  United  States  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  pay  for  working. 

PETROLEUM. 

Petroleum,  or  mineral  oil,  is  seen  in  numerous  places  in  the 
State.  The  Indians  have  long  been  in  the  habit  of  collecting 
it  from  the  surface  of  springs,  and  using  it  for  medicinal  pur- 
poses. It  is  found  most  abundantly  in  Wyandotte  county, 
and  the  border  counties  southward  as  far  as  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory. At  Baxter  Springs,  in  the  south  part  of  Cherokee 
county,  it  is  said  to  be  found  in  considerable  quantities.  At 
no  point  in  the  counties  named  is  it  seen  in  more  than  a  thin 
film  on  the  surface,  but  it  is  found  at  so  many  different  places, 
that  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  large  body  may  exist 
below.  The  nature  of  the  clay  shales  which  compose  a  large 
portion  of  the  deposits  for  seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  below 
the  surface,  would  not  readily  allow  it  to  come  up,  if  it  were 
there.  Should  it  be  found  in  paying  quantities  it  is  probable 
that  it  will  be  below  the  Coal  Measures. 

The  oil  that  is  %und  on  the  surface  of  the  springs  is  no  cri- 
terion of  its  character  in  the  fountains  far  below ;  for  the 
lighter  and  best  products  evaporate  rapidly  as  it  comes  to  the 
influence  of  sun  and  air.  In  a  short  time,  only  the  heavier 
elements  and  impurities  remain.  This  will  account  for  the 
bitumin  ("  pitch")  found  in  many  places,  particularly  in  Miami 
county. 

It  is  seen  in  many  places  in  the  State,  but  not  so  often  as  in 
the  border  counties  named.  We  have  noticed  it  in  Brown, 
Atchison,  Leavenworth  and  Riley  counties,  and  in  the  salt 
territory. 

Every  one  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  oil  btisiness  is 


4%  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

aware  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  results  in  boring  for  petroleum. 
Not  one  well  in  ten,  even  in  Pennsylvania,  has  proved  a  suc- 
cess. Yet  the  rich  returns  of  the  fortunate  wells  fully  com- 
pensate for  the  loss  on  the  others,  and  the  balance  of  the  en- 
terprise is  favorable  to  the  public,  although  some  individuals 
lose  by  the  operation. 

The  result  of  our  observations  in  Kansas  is,  that  the  indi- 
cations are  sufficiently  strong  to  justify  the  expenditure  of 
capital  to  test  the  quality  of  the  oil,  which  certainly  does  exist 
to  some  extent.  No  one  should  invest  in  the  business  more 
than  he  could  afford  to  lose  without  embarrassment.  The 
question  cannot  be  considered  as  settled  without  numerous 
borings  to  a  depth  of  eight  hundred  or  one  thousand  feet. 

SALT. 

While  Kansas  is  relying  for  its  supply  of  salt  on  New  York, 
Michigan  and  Saginaw,  there  is  an  abundance  of  that  article 
within  the  State,  sufficient,  if  well  developed,  to  supply  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  even  were  its  population  ten 
fold  greater  than  at  present. 

The  "  buffalo  licks  "  or  "tramps"  so  common  in  most  every 
county  of  the  State,  in  most  cases  owe  their  origin  to  the 
presence  of  the  salt  brine,  even  when  it  does  not  appear  in 
the  shape  of  springs  at  the  surface.  Numerous  wells  in  va- 
rious counties,  sunk  for  fresh  water,  have  produced  only  salt. 
These  cases  have  occurred  at  Mound  City,  Marmaton  and 
Emporia,  as  well  as  frequently  among  the  |irmers  on  the  prai- 
ries. At  Osawatomie  a  case  of  this  kind  has  been  turned  to 
practical  benefit,  producing  an  excellent  article  of  salt.  The 
brine,  in  this  instance,  was  met  at  a  little  over  100  feet  from 
the  surface.  So  satisfactory  has  been  the  result  of  the  well, 
that  a  new  company  has  been  formed,  which  is  sinking  a  larger 
artesian  bore,  hoping  to  obtain  a  larger  supply  of  brine. 

The  valleys  of  the  Verdigris  and  Fall  rivers  have  salt 
springs  which  supply  part  of  the  local  demand,  though  no 
exertions  have  been  made  to  develop  the  supply.  The  water 
from  open  springs  or  wells  only  being  used,  which  is  much 
diluted  Ity  the  surface  streams.  No  attempt  has  been  made 


GEOLOGY   OF  KANSAS.  38 

to  test  the  full  strength  or  supply  found  at  any  considerable 
depth.  So  numerous  are  the  indications  of  brine  at  various 
places,  that  future  efforts  will  undoubtedly  furnish  a  large 
quantity  of  salt  from  that  part  of  the  State. 

At  Walnut  creek,  in  Brown  county,  is  a  large  and  good 
spring,  which  is  now  occupied  by  the  Leavenworth  Salt  and 
Coal  Oil  Company,  and  promises  to  be  the  most  productive 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  From  a  series  of  pumpings 
made  in  our  presence,  we  found  the  supply  of  brine  sufficient 
to  manufacture  one  hundred  bushels  of  salt  every  twenty-four 
hours.  The  spring  is  an  open  well  about  fifty  feet  deep,  and 
evidently  much  diluted  with  surface  water.  The  strength  of 
water  was  about  double  that  of  the  ocean,  yielding  one  bushel 
of  salt  from  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  gallons  of  brine. 
The  company  are  now  sinking  an  artesian  boring,  to  go  below 
the  influence  of  surface  water. 

A  very  large  deposit  of  crystalized  salt  exists  south  of  the 
great  bend  of  the  Arkansas  river,  in  .which  it  lies  in  beds 
from  six  to  twenty-eight  inches  in  depth.  In  one  instance,  two 
Government  wagons  were  filled  in  a  few  minutes,  without  be_ 
ing  moved.  The  salt,  is  30  compact  as  to  require  a  hatchet  to 
cut  it.  These  deposits  are  undoubtedly  caused  by  the  drying 
up  of  salt  ponds  or  salt  branches  ot  the  Cimmaron  river. 
But  this  is  situated  so  far  from  the  settled  portions  of  the 
State,  or  any  regular  route  of  transportation,  that  at  present  it 
is  of  no  practical  value.  A  railroad  toward  that  region  would 
make  it  of  vast  commercial  importance. 

The  great  supply  of  salt  which  is  to  meet  the  demand  for 
Kansas  and  the  neighboring  States,  lies  at  various  points  in  a 
tract  of  country  about  thirty-five  miles  wide  and  eighty  long 
crossing  the  Kepublican,  .Solomon  and  Saline  valleys.  The 
signs  of  the  deposit  are  seen  in  numerous  springs,  but  more 
frequently  in  extensive  salt  marshes.  • 

A  description  of  one  of  these  marshes  will  be  good  for 
large  numbers  of  them,  as  they  are  very  similar  in  their  for- 
mation and  appearance.  Take  that  in  T.  4r,  K.  2,  west  of  the 
sixth  principal  meridian,  in  the  Kepublican  valley,  about  sev- 
enty-five miles  northwest  of  Fort  Kiley.  It  is  sometimes 
called  the  Tuthill  marsh.  The  valley  here  is  wide,  gradually 


34  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

rising  to  the  high  prairies,  so  common  in  that  part  of  the 
State.  The  marsh  covers  nearly  one  thousand  acres,  more 
or  less  impregnated  with  saline  matter.  About  one-third  is 
entirely  void  of  vegetation,  which  the  brine  will  not  allow  to 
grow.  It  is  perfectly  level,  and  at  the  time  of  our  first  visit 
was  as  white  as  a  wintry  snow  field,  with  a  crust  of  crystalized 
salt.  The  marsh  is  of  recent  Alluvial  formation,  composed 
of  sand  and  loam,  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  thickness, 
brought  down  by  the  wash  from  the  high  prairies,  which  rise 
gradually  on  three  sides.  In  this  alluvium,  at  various  depths, 
are  found  the  bones  of  buffalo,  deer  and  antelope,  who  have 
probably  made  this  a  resort  for  salt  for  long  ages  past,  as  they 
are  seen  to  do  at  the  present  time.  Underlying  this  is  the 
Triassic  rock,  which  in  Europe  furnishes  so  much  salt  that  it 
is  termed  the  Saliferous  system. 

The  incrustation  of  salt  is  frequently  three-eighths  of  an 
inch  in  thickness.     This  is  scraped  up  and  used,  in  its  natural 
state,  for  salting  cattle,  &c.;  but,  for  domestic  purposes,  it  is 
melted  by  being  mixed  with  about  twenty  gallons  of  water  to 
a  bushel  of  salt,  when  the  mechanical  impurities,  sand,  &c., 
readily  settle.     The  salt  is  again  returned  to  a  solid  state  by 
evaporation.     The  marsh,  after  scraping,  produces  a  second 
crop  of  salt  in  from  five  to  seven  days  of  dry  weather,  and 
after  repeated  scrapings  during  the  past  three  years,  yields  as 
full  a  supply  as  at  first.     The  brine  exists  in  nearly  equal 
quantities  and  strength  in  ah1  parts  of  the  marsh,  and  can  be 
obtained  by  boring  a  few  feet,  or  digging  pits.     No  definite 
salt  spring  shows  itself  at  the  surface,  but  the  supply  must 
come  from  numerous  points  below,  though  coming  from  one 
great  central  reservoir  or  salt  bed.     According  to  the  observa- 
tions of  Mr.  J.  G.  Tuthill,  who  lives  near,  and  has  made  bor- 
ings in  over  one  hundred  different  places,  to  a  depth  of  twenty 
or  thirty  feet,  there  is  a  very  uniform  supply  and  strength  of 
brine.     The  water  preseved  for  analysis  was  obtained  by  me 
by  a  boring  made  at  random.     It  was  found  at  four  feet  from 
the  surface.     The  density,  by  the  salometer,  wras  24  deg.,  (6.16 
Baume,  or  specific  gravity  of  1.0421,)  with  the  thermometer 
at  60  deg.     This  should  give  a  bushel  of  salt  for  one  hundred 
and  thirty  gallons  of  the  water,  (not  counting  the  impurities,) 


GEOLOOY   OF   KANSAS  35 

which  is  three  times  the  strength  of  the  ocean.  It  was  taken 
at  our  second  visit,  immediately  after  a  heavy  rain,  which  must 
have  diluted  the  brine. 

The  marsh  receives  the  drainage  of  the  valley  slope,  about 
two  miles  in  width  and  five  miles  from  the  north,  and,  conse- 
quently, the  brine  as  it  comes  from  the  source  below,  must  be 
constantly  weakened  by  so  large  a  body  of  surface  water, 
That  from  the  north  comes  down  in  a  stream  ten  or  fifteer 
feet  wide,  and  about  a  foot  in  depth,  in  a  sluggish  current 
and,  when  near  a  clump  of  trees  at  the  north  end  of  the  marsh 
suddenly  disappears,  and  is  not  again  seen  till  it  reappear* 
below  the  opposite  part  of  the  valley,  toward  the  Republicar 
river.  A  part  of  this  stream,  in  its  subterranean  course,  maj 
pass  unmingled  with  the  salt  water ;  but  a  large  portion  musl 
percolate  into  the  loose  soil  occupied  by  the  brine,  and  help 
to  dilute  what  would  otherwise  be  a  very  strong  solution 
Every  indication  tends  to  the  conclusion  that  by  an  artesiar 
boring  brine  can  be  obtained  equal  to  the  strongest  now  usec 
in  any  part  of  the  United  States.  Scarcely  any  other  spring 
east  of  the  Mississippi  gives  so  strong  a  brine  at  the  surface 
The  extent  of  the  marsh  also  shows  that  the  main  source  ol 
the  salt  cannot  lie  far  below.  It  is  a  fair  inference  that  tkc 
strength  of  the  brine  is  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  grounc 
affected. 

The  soil  of  this  and  the  adjoining  valleys  affords  excellent 
farming  land,  and  good  fresh  water  is  obtained  as  soon  as  the 
borders  of  the  marsh  are  passed. 

The  other  salt  deposits  on  the  Republican  and  Solomon 
rivers  and  their  tributaries,  are  similar  to  that  above  de- 
scribed ;  extending  across  the  country  in  a  southwesterly  di- 
rection. The  Indian  troubles  prevented  us  from  visiting  those 
on  the  Saline  river,  but  from  reliable  information,  from  various 
quarters,  they  must  be  as  good  as  any  we  have  visited. 

The  large  quantity  of  salt,  within  the  tract  designated,  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  the  waters  of  the  Solomon  and  Sa- 
line are  so  impregnated  as  to  have  a  saline  taste  from  points 
eighty  miles  above  their  entrance  into  the  Smoky  Hill  river. 
The  waters  of  the  latter,  when  the  stream  runs  low,  also  shows 
the  presence  of  the  brine.  The  supply  of  salt  sufficient  to 


36  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

meet  this  daily  and  hourly  amount  thug  carried  down  must  be 
immense. 

STATE  SALT  SPRINGS 

The  twelve  State  springs  lie  in  this  territory,  and  call  for  a 
brief  notice. 

Spring  "NTo.  1  is  in  S.  — ,  T.  10,  R.  6,  West  of  the  sixth 
principal  meridian,  and  covers  several  springs  hi  the  valley 
of  Salt  creek,  a  branch  of  the  Solomon.  The  indications  are 
not  so  good  as  in  other  places  within  four  miles.  The  location 
is  so  far  from  any  great  traveled  route  that  the  spring  cannot 
be  of  practical  benefit  for  many  years.  Springs  ISTos,  2?  3 
and  6  are  good,  but  are  located  on  Salt  creek,  above  No.  1, 
and  farther  from  the  settlements ;  and  for  that  reason  cannot 
at  present  be  made  available.  They  are  in  T.  8  and  9,  of  E. 
8.  Springs  JSTos.  4  and  5  are  in  T.  13,  of  R  1  and  3.  By 
some  singular  oversight  in  the  location,  neither  of  the  two 
contain  any  salt  spring,  or  salt  deposit  of  any  kind. 

Springs  ~Nos.  7,  8,  9  and  10  are  all  in  one  large  salt  marsh, 
in  S.  20,  29,  30,  31  and  32,  T.  4,  E.  5,  and  S.  5,  6,  7  and  8, 

T.  5,  R.  5.     The  marsh '  covers  about  three  thousand  acres, 

.         .  .  .  ' 

and  is  so  similar  to  the  Tuthill  marsh,  first  described,  that  no 

further  description  is  necessary.  The  brine  is  found  in  all 
parts  of  the  marsh  at  a  few  feet  below  the  surface,  with  equal 
indications  of  quantity  and  strength.  They  are  about  seven 
miles  from  the  Republican  river,  arid  nine  miles  from  the 
projected  route  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway.  Eastern  Divi- 
sion. The  location  is  excellent,  and  springs  are  valuable. 
About  six  miles  east  of  these  are  Springs  .Nos.  11  and  12,  oc- 
cupying a  salt  marsh  in  S.  7,  8,  17  and  18,  T.  5,  R.  4,  and 
cover  an  area  of  three  hundred  acres,  which,  like  the  other 
marshes,  is  void  of  vegetation.  It  ,is,  in  nearly  every  respect 
like  the  Tuthill  marsh,  with  every  indication  of  a  large  sup- 
ply of  brine.  The  nearest  point  of  the  Republican  is  one 
mile,  and  the  line  of  the  proposed  railroad  is  within  four 
miles. 

These  springs  are  all  leased  by  the  State,  and  the  six  last 
named  will  soon  be  in  operation.  Could  those  first  named  be 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS.  37 

re-located  it  would  be  an  important  gain  to  the  State.  At  the 
time  of  their  location,  the  commissioners  were  not  allowed  to 
select  springs  beyond  the  first  guide  meridian  west  of  the 
sixth  principal  merdian,  as  the  public  lands  were  not  surveyed 
west  of  that  line ;  while  one-half  of  the  salt  territory  lies 
there.  The  whole  of  that  region  is  now  surveyed,  and  could 
Congress  be  induced  to  allow  these  springs  to  be  re-located, 
they  could  be  selected  in  the  Saline  valley,  within  ten  miles 
of  the  proposed  railroad  and  the  road  of  the  present  overland 
express.  This  is  the  more  important,  as  salt  is  now  carried 
over  this  route  to  Denver,  and  the  manufacture  would  be  on 
the  nearest  point  to  that  market. 

The  geological  position  of  the  salt  deposits  of  the  world,  In 
this  connection,  becomes  important.  It  has  been  found  IE 
the  Tertiary  formation  in  Lower  California,  on  the  Colorado 
river,  Greece  and  "Western  Asia.  In  the  Permian,  in  parts  of 
England,  Ireland  and  Russia.  In  the  Coal  Measures,  in  Kan- 
sas, Valley  of  the  Kanawha,  Western  Virginia,  and  at  some 
places  in  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  Michigan.  In  the  Devonian, 
in  Russia,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  In  the  Upper  Silurian,  in 
the  celebrated  Onondaga  Salt  Group,  New  York.  But  the  \ 
greatest  deposits^are  in  the  Triassic,  the  most  of  the  beds  of 
rock  salt  being  found  in  this  formation.  In  Germany  it  oc- 
curs in  the  Muschelkalk,  or  middle  of  the  Triassic.  In  Ire- 
land, England  and  France  in  the  Upper  Triassic.  The  cele- 
brated salt  mines  near  Cracow,  in  Poland,  are  in  the  Triassic. 
This  bed  has  been  penetrated  over  1,200  feet,  and  is  twenty 
miles  wide  and  over  five  hundred  miles  long.*  The  bed  in 
Cheshire  (Triassic)  supplies  most  of  England  with  salt,  and  a 
large  quantity  is  sent  to  the  United  States.  The  following 
section  at  this  mine  is  interesting : 

No.  1.— 2  feet  of  soil. 

No.  2. — 3  feet  of  hard-pan. 

No.  3. — 36  feet  of  marl  and  indurated  clay. 

No.  4. — 7  feet  of  open  grarel. 

No.  5. — 90  feet  of  marly  earth,  with  seams  of  crystalized  gypsum. 

No.  6.— 75  feet  of  rock  salt. 

No.  7. — 30  feet  of  stone,  containing  veins  of  red  rock  salt. 

No.  8.— 75  feet  of  rock  salt. 

*  i  ..aon's  Chemical  Technology,  u.  iM8.  vol.  I. 


38  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 

No.  9. — 15  feet  of  rock  salt.    This  layer  contains  less  earthy  matter 
than  those  above  or  below  it,  and  is  the  only  one  worked] 
No.  10. — 180  feet  rock  salt.    A  shaft  has  been  sunk  to  thig  depth  with- 
out passing  through  the  strata. 

168  feet  of  rock  and  earth. 
345  feet  of  rock  salt. 

573  feet  total. 

The  immense  beds  of  Cheshire  and  Poland  become  more 
interesting  to  us  when  we  consider  that  our  main  salt  territory 
is  in  the  same  geological  formation. 

The  purity  of  rock  salt  is  exceedingly  various.  While  the 
crystals  are  sometimes  entirely  pure,  the  beds  are  so  mingled 
with  foreign  substances  as  to  be  of  no  value  until  the  salt  is 
dissolved  and  purified,  and  then  returned  to  a  solid  form,  la 
many  instances  fossil  infusoria  enter  abundantly  into  its  com- 
position. 

"We  are  not  aware  that  rock  salt  is  found  in  paying  quanti- 
ties in  any  part  of  the  United  States  except  at  Holston,  Ya. 

The  number  of  gallons  of  brine  requisite  to  make  a  bushel 
of  salt,  from  springs  at  the  surface,  can  be  seen  by  the  follow- 
ing table : 

Kanawha,  Virginia,  -       350 

Montezuma,  New  York,  600 

Conemaugh,  Pennsylvania,  -      300 

Sciota,  Jackson  county,  Ohio,    -  700 

Shawneetown,  Illinois,        -  -      280 

Harris's  Springs,  Missouri.        -            -  265 

Blythes's  Springs,  Missouri,           -  -       340 
East  Saginaw  Salt  Company,  Michigan,  at  70  feet,      -         2,600 

Scribner's,  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  -      392 

Sea  water,  Nantucket,    -  350 

Great  Salt  Lake,      -  -        30 

Brown  county,  Kansas,  about  200 

Taylor's  Spring,  Verdigris,  Kansas,  •  200 

Tuthill  Salt  Marsh,  Kansas,      -  130 
Wells  after  boring  from  100  to  1,500  feet : 

Kanawha,  average,  -       77 

do         best,     -  -            32 

Onondaga,  average,  -       34 

do           best,                           -  30 

East  Saginaw  Salt  Company,                                     •  30 

Montezuma,  N.  Y.,  50 

7s»npavillp     Ohm  On 


GEOLOGY    OF   KANSAS.  39 

Grand  River,  Arkansas    -  80 

Muskingum,  Ohio,     -  50 

Pomeroy,  Ohio,  at  1,200  feet,      -  -                         56 

Prussian  Minden,  at  2,515  feet,        -  -                         .     165 

Rodenberg,  Germany,       -  130 

Schonebeck,  Germany,  ...     H2 

Cheshire,  England,  -            -  25  to  22 

MANUFACTURE  OF  SALT. 

The  most  usual  method  of  making  salt,  in  this  country,  is 
by  boiling  the  brine  in  iron  kettles,  holding  from  eighty  to 
one  hundred  gallons  each.  A  "  block,'5  consisting  of  about 
sixty,  connected  so  that  the  brine  can  flow  from  those  nearest 
the  fire-grate  to  those  more  distant,  placed  in  two  rows,  is  the 
usual  arrangement  at  Onondaga,  New  York.  One  fire-grate 
is  sufficient  for  thirty  kettles.  After  being  settled  in  large 
cisterns,  the  water  is  run  into  the  kettles  over  the  fire,  and 
then  flows  from  one  to  another,  as  it  becomes  boiled  down, 
till  saturation  and  crystalization  take  place  in  those  nearest 
the  smoke-stack.  In  the  early  part  of  the  process  the  impu- 
rities settle  in  the  bottom  of  the  kettles,  and  form  a  "pan." 
so  solid  that  a  cold-chisel  is  required  to  remove  it.  Formerly 
it  was  the  custom  to  allow  the  fires  to  go  out  once  a  week,  in 
order  to  remove  this  solid  mass,  which  would  become  an  inch 
thick.  This  is  called  bittern.  To  obviate  this,  a  false  bot- 
tom or  loose  inner  lining  is  placed  in  the  kettle,  with  a  handle 
rising  in  the  center.  As  the  impurities  settle,  the  false  bot- 
tom is  taken  out  and  the  "  pan  "  is  easily  removed  without 
stopping  the  fire.  In  the  kettles  nearest  the  fire  the  bittern 
settles  most  freely. 

As  the  brine  passes  into  the  kettles  most  distant  from  the 
fire,  it  ceases  to  boil,  till,  in  the  last,  the  temperature  falls  to 
190  and  even  160  deg.  As' it  crystalizes,  it  is  taken  out  and 
allowed  to  drain  thoroughly,  when  it  is  ready  for  the  market. 
A  block  at  Onondaga  yields  forty-five  bushels  of  salt  to  a  cord 
of  good  wood.  But  this  is  when  the  brine  is  very  strong,  re- 
quiring the  evaporation  of  but  thirty-five  gallons  of  water  to 
the  bushel.  Where  coal  is  cheap,  as  in  Kanawha  valley,  the 
process  by  boiling  is  carried  on  to  great  advantage.  In  that 
valley,  when  borings  were  made,  in  some  instances  so  copious 


40  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

a  supply  of  gas  rushed  up  that  a  simple  contrivance  was 
made  to  convey  the  jet  under  the  boilers,  and  that  saved,  in  a 
great  degree,  the  expense  of  fuel.  As  some  accidents  occur- 
red in  its  use,  and  fuel  is  abundant,  the  use  of  the  gas  has  been 
nearly  discontinued. 

Another  method  of  manufacturing  salt  is  by  graduation. 
In  this  case,  high,  narrow  frames  are  erected,  and  the  spaces 
between  the  open  walls  filled  with  thorn  bushes  or  other  fag- 
ots. The  brine  is  pumped  into  cisterns  placed  on  the  top  of 
the  frames,  and  allowed  to  trickle  slowly  down  over  the  fag- 
ots, which  thus  give  a  large  evaporating  surface.  The  brine 
is  allowed  to  fall  five,  six  or  even  eight  times,  according  to  its 
strength.  As  the  graduation  houses  are  from  thirty  to  fifty 
feet  high,  this  operation  requires  much  labor  or  steam  power. 
A  loss,  too,  occurs  (about  12  per  cent.)  from  small  drops  of 
brine  being  blown  away.  At  Nauheim,  a  glass  placed  six 
hundred  feet  distant  was  found  incrusted  with  salt.  As  Kan- 
sag  is  liable  to  strong  winds,  this  method  will  not  be  found  ad- 
vantageous. Should  any  one  desire  to  try  it,  he  will  find  it 
more  fully  described,  with  plans  and  diagrams,  in  the  Patent 
Office  Keport  for  1857,  in  Knapp's  Chemical  Technology, 
Yol.  I.,  and  lire's  Dictionary  of  Arts,  Manufactures  and 
Mines,  Yol.  II.,  either  of  which  will  give  the  reader  a  full 
idea  of  the  details  of  the  method. 

But  the  best  method  of  manufacturing  salt,  particularly  for 
Kansas,  is  by  solar  evaporation.  In  this  process,  the  brine 
is  first  placed  in  large  and  rather  deep  vats  and  allowed  to 
settle.  The  mechanical  impurities  are  thus  readily  precipi- 
tated. The  water  is  then  drawn  into  shallow  vats,  and  as  the 
process  of  evaporation  goes  on,  portions  of  the  chemical  im- 
purities are  precipitated.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  sul- 
phate of  lime,  and  some  other  substances,  are  held  in  solution 
more  firmly  and  in  larger  quantities,  in  weak  brine  than  in 
strong.  In  this  way  frequently  three-fourths  of  the  impuri- 
ties of  weak  brines  are  thrown  down  before  the  salt  begins  to 
assume  a  solid  form.  The  brine  is  next  drawn  into  crystal- 
izing  vats,  where  it  takes  the  solid  form,  but  in  coarser  crys- 
tals than  in  boiling,  and  is,  at  Onondaga,  for  that  reason,  called 


GEOLOGY    OF   KANSAS.  41 

"coarse  salt,5'  and  the  boiled  called  "fine."     For  table  and 
dairy  purposes^  it  is  first  ground. 

This  method  of  making  salt  is  extensively  used  in  the  south 
of  Prance,  the  West  Indies,  and  on  the  coast  of  the  United 
States.  At  the  salt  works  of  New  York,  about  one-sixth  part 
is  made  by  solar  evaporation.  It  always  makes  a  bette)^  arti- 
ole^  and  at  Onondaga  commands  from  five  to  twenty  per  cent, 
higher  price.  The  objection  to  it  is  that  it  requires  more,  cap- 
ital and  more  time.  But,  notwithstanding  these  disadvan- 
tages, the  cost  of  making  at  New  York  and  at  Saginaw,  Mich- 
igan, is  not  over  two-thirds  as  great  for  solar  as  for  boiled 
salt.  If  solar  evaporation  is  the  most  economical  method  in 
New  York,  where  fuel  is  cheap  and  the  climate  cool  and 
moist,  our  climate  must  contribute  a  decided  advantage  over 
Eastern  manufactories.  At  Onondaga,  the  number  of 
days  in  the  year  on  which  rain  falls  is  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-two, while  the  records  at  Fort  Biley  show  only  sixty-eight. 
The  salt  territory  is  even  dryer  than  at  Fort  Eiley.  Again, 
Onondaga  and  Saginaw  are  situated  about  three  degrees  of 
latitude  farther  north,  giving  a  long  winter,  during  which  no 
solar  salt  can  be  made,  and  but  little  except  during  the  sum- 
mer months.  While  here,  owing  to  our  well  known  dry  and 
mild  climate,  evaporation  goes  on  during  most  of  the  year. 
Blodgett,  in  his  Climatology  of  the  United  States,  says  that 
the  amount  of  rain  in  our  salt  territory  is  about  three-fourths 
that  of  New  York.  But  a  very  great  advantage  in  evaporation 
is  gained  in  the  peculiar  dryness  of  our  winds,  which  can  be 
fully  appreciated  only  by  those  who  have  traveled  in  that 
part  of  the  State.  Buffalo  meat,  when  hung  in  the  summer 
air,  will  readily  cure  without  salt.  All  these  causes  combined 
will  undoubtedly  give  an  evaporating  power  three  tunes 
greater  than  New  York ;  or,  in  other  words,  an  ordinary  vat 
or  "cover,"  16x18  feet,  which  at  Onondaga  gives  fifty  bushels 
of  salt  a  year,  will  give  us  one  hundred  and  fifty.  Solar 
evaporation  must  then  be  the  most  profitable  method  of  man- 
ufacturing salt  in  Kansas.  One  objection  which  is  raised  to 
solar  evaporation  is  that  chloride  of  calcium  will  penetrate  the 
wooden  vats,  even  when  no  crack  is  visible,  and  carry  with  it 
a  portion  of  salt.  It  will  even  penetrate  through  many  kinds 


4:2  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 

of  earthenware.  As  this,  however,  has  a  tendency  to  purify 
the  salt,  it  nearly  compensates  for  the  loss.  But  the  chloride 
of  calcium,  by  the  analysis  of  the  salt,  is  not  found  at  the 
Tuthill  marsh,  and,  if  found  at  other  points,  exists  in  very 
small  quantities;  so  the  objection  does  not  have  much  weight 
when  applied  to  the  manufacture  of  salt  in  Kansas. 

A  large  portion  of  the  cost  of  the  vats  in  New  York  and 
Michigan  is  in  the  sliding  covers  which  are  used  to  protect 
the  brine  from  rain.  At  Turk's  Island,  the  south  of  France 
and  many  other  places,  where  solar  evaporation  is  the  method 
employed,  no  covers  are  used,  as  the  loss  from  an  occasional 
rain  is  not  equivalent  to  the  additional  cost  of  preparing  the 
roofs.  The  amount  of  rain  in  our  salt  territory  is  only  three- 
fourths  as  much  as  at  Onondaga,  and  it  may  be  found  to  be 
economy  to  use  open  vats  only. 

The  number  of  "covers"  in  New  York,  in  1864,  was 
43,200,  spread  over  an  area  of  several  hundred  acres.  Should 
it  be  found  unnecessary  to  employ  them  here,  a  large  reduc- 
tion of  capital  in  carrying  on  the  business  will  take  place. 
This  reduction  would  probably  be  sufficient  to  bring  the  cap- 
ital employed  in  solar  evaporation  on  an  equality  with  that 
used  in  the  manufacture  by  boiling. 

All  brines  and  salt  contain  more  or  less  impurities,*  such 
as  corbonate  of  lime,  sulphate  of  lime,  sulphate  of  soda, 
chloride  of  magnesium,  chloride  of  calcium,  &c.  One  great 
object  in  the  manufacture  of  salt  is  to  free  it  (or  the  brine) 
from  these  ingredients. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  percentage  of  impurities 
in  the  water  of  various  springs  before  boiling,  and  of  the  salt 
after  boiling: 


Water. 

Salt. 

Tuthill  Marsh,  Kansas,            .         . 

17.09 

2.55 

East  Saginaw  Salt  Company,  Mich., 

.     23.80 

do        do       do        do            do      2d  well,     . 

18.66 

Great  Salt  Lake,           

.       9.36 

1.11 

Warm  Spring,  near  Great  Salt  Lake, 

20.17 

7.05 

Sea  Water,  average  about, 

.     23.00 

4.00 

Onondaga,  average  of  five  wells, 

5.51 

*In  all  cases  where  this  word  is  aged,  it  is  intended  to  include  all  solid substances 
other  than  salt  or  chloride  of  sodium. 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS.  4:3 

Kanawha,        do         three  wells,       .         .        .     21.55        3.15 

Sehonebech,  Prussia, 7.07        2.19 

Dieuye,  France, 15.13        1.91 

By  comparing  these  results,  it  will  be  seen  that  while  all 
brines,  during  evaporation,  precipitate  a  portion  of  their  in- 
gredients before  they  do  the  salt,  and  thus  aid  its  purity,  dif- 
ferent springs  vary  in  this  most  important  characteristic. 
Other  things  being  equal,  weak  brines  precipitate  a  larger  pro- 
portion than  strong. 

Different  substances  have  a  different  point  of  solubility, 
according  to  the  strength  of  the  brine,  being  usually  more 
soluable  in  weak.  But  their  proportion  is  a  constantly  vaty- 
ing  ratio,  dependent  on  the  combinations.  Thus,  sulphate  of 
lime  (gypsum)  is  most  soluble  in  brine,  standing  at  12  deg. 
of  the  salometer,  but  combined  with  other  substances  may  be 
equally  soluble  when  it  is  stronger.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
brine  from  the  salt  marsh  precepitates  83  per  cent,  of  its  im- 
purities by  evaporation. 

Various  methods  have  been  practiced  to  remove  these  im- 
purities. Lime  was  formerly  used,  in  small  quantities,  in 
settling  the  brine,  but  as  this  has  a  tendency  to  unite  with 
the  chlorine  of  the  salt,  and  form  chloride  of  calcium,  (one  of 
the  worst  and  most  unhealthy  impurities,)  it  has  now  nearly 
fallen  into  disuse.  Alum,  in  small  quantities,  is  also  some" 
times  used,  and  found  to  be  far  better,  for  while  "limed"  salt 
and  "  alumed"  salt  were  placed  side  by  side  in  the  same  store 
house,  the  former  would  absorb  water  from  the  atmosphere, 
and  become  caked  almost  as  hard  as  stone,  while  the  latter 
would  remain  dry  and  uncaked.  This  ability  to  remain  dry 
and  loose  is  one  of  the  best  practical  tests  of  the  purity  of 
salt ;  for  while  pure  salt  does  not  absorb  water  from  the  air, 
but  remains  dry,  impure  salt  absorbs  moisture  freely,  which, 
in  its  turn,  attracts  dust  and  any  light  particles  of  matter. 
This  absorbent  power  is  owing  to  the  presence  of  the  chlo- 
rides of  magnesium  and  calcium,  which  are  both  remarkably 
deliquescent.  There  is  another  method  of  purifying  salt, 
considered  as  good  as  by  the  alum  process,  and  as  possessing 
some  advantage  over  it.  This  is  to  mix  a  small  amount  of 
common  clay  with  the  brine  in  the  settling  tanks.  This  car- 


44  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 

ries  a  portion  of  the  impurities  to  the  bottom  without  any 
chemical  union,  and  in  this  respect  it  is  preferable  to  all  other 
purifiers.  These  three  methods  have  all  been  thoroughly 
tested  at  Onoudaga,  and  so  fully  has  the  experience  settled 
the  question,  that  the  superintendent,  for  1852,  says  that  "the 
public  interests  would  be  promoted  by  the  entire  prohibition 
of  the  use  of  lime.''  He  adds,  also,  the  following  significant 
remarks:  "  It  has  long  been  known  that  if  brine  is  allowed 
to  stand  exposed  to  the  air  for  some  days,  it  needs  no  other 
preparation."  Large  reservoirs,  for  the  latter  purpose,  could 
be  made  at  small  cost,  of  clay,  which  is  abundant  near  all  our 
springs  and  marshes. 

No  refining  processes  used  at  Turk's  Island,  or  most  of  the 
West  India  Islands. 

The  cost  of  making  the  salt,  per  bushel,  and  presenting  it 
to  the  market  at  various  points, is  interesting  to  manufacturers: 

At  Valencia,  Spain,  .         .         .  ^     ..-.'.         .         .04 

At  Berre,  France,          .....         .^       ..     .05 

In  the  West  Indies, 08  to  .12 

At  Mazatlan,  Mexico,  12 

The  above  are  by  solar  evaporation. 
Kanawha,  Va., 17 

The  Saginaw,  Michigan,  enterprise  gives  the  following 
items  as  the  cost,  at  that  place,  per  barrel,  by  artificial  heat, 
in  1863: 

Labor,       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .20   .^ 

Wood,  ....  .       .35 

Barrel,      .  .  .  :  .  -  .35 

Packing,        .  .  4* 

Nails,  Ac.,  .  -  -02 

National  tax,  .  .  .       .11 

Total, $1.08 

Or,  per  bushel, .22 

Or,  per  bushel,  without  barrels,  .         .         .         .         .     .15 

Cost,  by  solar  method,  for  2,000  barrels : 

Labor, $2,000 

Barrels, 6,000 

Packing,  &c., .         .  1,500 

Interest  on  capital,  at  7  per  cent.,    .....  3,080 

Total,          .         .         , $14,580 

Per  barrel,      .....  .78 

Per  bushel,         ........         .15 


GEOLOGY   OF   KANSAS.  45 

Per  bushel,  without  barrel, .08^ 

We  are  informed  that  this  was  more  than  the  cost  at  Onon- 
daga  at  that  time ;  yet  salt,  at  this  time,  is  selling  for  $2  pel- 
bushel  in  many  parts  of  Kansas. 

"We  are  frequently  asked,  when  a  weak  salt  spring  is  found 
at  the  surface,  how  far  it  will  be  necessary  to  penetrate  into 
the  earth  to  obtain  strong,  paying  brine.  There  is  no  definite 
rule  on  this  subject,  except  what  is  applicable  to  particular 
localities.  Even  in  the  same  locality,  various  wells  meet  with 
brine  of  different  density  at  the  same  depth.  In  most  cases 
stronger  brine  can  be  obtained  by  boring,  provided  the  sup- 
ply is  reached  at  a  lower  level.  But  a  spring  at  the  surface 
may  approach  in  an  oblique  direction  from  a  distance,  and  the 
boring  pass  through  the  upper  or  diluted  portion,  and  then 
obtain  only  fresh  water.  At  Prussian  Minden,  a  very  weak 
brine  at  the  surface,  furnished,  at  2,515  feet,  a  bushel  of  salt 
to  165  gallons  of  water.  A  well  in  the  Muskinguui  valley, 
Ohio,  which  yielded  a  brine  containing  a  bushel  of  salt  to  600 
gallons  at  the  surface,  gave  a  bushel  to  50  gallons  at  1,000 
feet.  In  the  Kanawha  valley,  springs  at  the  surface  giving  a 
bushel  of  salt  to  350  gallons  of  water,  at  750  feet  gave  a  brine 
yielding  a  bushel  to  every  32  gallons,  while  in  the  same  bor- 
ing, at  a  depth  of  about  1,500  feet  there  was  no  increase  of 
strength.  A  boring  at  East  Saginaw,  gave  a  brine  at  70  feet 
which  required  2,600  gallons  to  make  a  bushel  of  salt;  but 
at  639  feet  gave  a  bushel  for  every  30  gallons  of  water,  the 
brine  standing  at  1  deg.  in  the  former,  and  90  deg.  in  the  lat- 
ter case.  The  Bay  City  well,  at  the  same  place,  gave  an 
equally  strong  brine  at  513  feet.  The  brine  at  Saginaw  is 
usually  strongest  at  from  500  to  650  feet,  beyond  which  it 
grows  weaker.  At  Onondaga,  ISTew  York,  the  brine  aver- 
aging 72  deg.  by  the  salometer  (35  gallons  to  a  bushel  of  salt) 
is  found  at  3 10  feet,  and  after  that  depth  is  passed  the  brine 
grows  weaker.  At  Liverpool,  N.  Y.,  the  well  is  but  100  feet 
deep.  At  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  at  1,200  feet,  the  brine  gives  a 
bushel  to  56  gallons. 

The  most  regular  increase  in  boring  which  has  come  under 
our  notice,  was  that  of  the  East  Saginaw  'Company,  at  a  well 


4:6  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 

about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  northeast  of  the  village,  on  the 
banks  of  the  river.    It  was  as  follows,  viz : 

At  90  feet  the  brine  stood  at  1°  salometer .    At  531  ft.  the  briue  stood  at  44°  ealometcr. 


At  102 
At  211 

At  293 
At  487 
At  516 


2° 
10° 
14° 
26° 
40° 


At  559  "  "  "   60° 

At  569  "  "  "   64° 

At  606  "  "  "86° 

At  639'  "  «  «   90° 


By  these  examples  from  various  places  it  will  be  seen  that 
no  rule  exists  by  which  the  strength  of  the  brine  can  be  esti- 
mated prior  to  actual  test  by  boring.  In  the  eastern  part  of 
Kansas,  in  the  Coal  Measures,  though  good  and  profitable 
wells  may  be  found,  we  cannot  expect  that  any  two  wells  will 
give  brine  of  the  same  strength  at  the  same  depth.  The  ex- 
tensive deposits  of  the  salt  group  on  the  Solomon,  Republican 
and  Saline  rivers,  however,  give  the  best  reasons  to  believe 
that  a  fixed  rule  rnay^be  found  for  that  geological  deposit,  sim- 
ilar to  that  at  the  Onondaga  system.  Or,  full  as  probably,  a 
bed  of  rock  salt  may  be  penetrated,  to  which  a  shaft  may  be 
sunk,  and  the  dry  salt  mined  like  coal.  This  idea  is  favored 
by  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  large  deposits  of  rock  salt  are 
found  in  the  same  geological  formation,  viz :  the  Triassic.  The 
analysis  of  the  salt  from  the  Tuthill  marsh  shows  the  entire 
absence  of  chloride  of  calcium,  which  is  one  of  the  peculiari- 
ties of  rock  salt. 

THEORY  OF   SALT  SPRINGS. 

The  theory  of  salt  springs  is  this :  Below  the  surface,  at 
various  depths,  are  deposits  of  salt,  either  in  the  form  of  rock 
salt  or  saliferous  shales  or  sandstone,  in  which  the  article  is 
more  or  less  disseminated.  The  surface  and  subterranean 
streams  of  fresh  water  come  in  contact  with  the  salt,  and  are 
changed  to  brine.  This  brine  either  directly  or  indirectly  rises 
to  the  surface.  In  its  course  upward  it  mingles  with  surface 
streams  or  other  fresh  water,  and  becomes  diluted.  On  this 
account  the  brine,  when  it  issues  as  a  spring,  is  seldom  suffi- 
ciently strong  for  profitable  use  in  salt  manufacture.  We 
know  of  none  in  the  United  States  which,  for  anything  more 
than  a  small  local  demand,  are  used  in  their  natural  state,  or 
as  they  are  found  at  the  surface.  If  we  can,  by  any  means, 


GEOLOGY    OF   KANSAS.  4:7 

bring  this  saturated  brine,  before  its  dilution,  to  our  tanks,  we 
can  manufacture  a  bushel  of  salt  from  less  than  25  gallons. 

This  is  attempted,  and  frequently  with  great  success,  by 
boring  down  below  the  influence  of  surface  water.  The  fresh 
water  is  kept  from  flowing  in,  by  tubing,  and  the-  brine  rises 
almost  to  the  top  of  the  well. 

PURITY  OF  THE  SALT. 

An  item  not  to  be  overlooked  in  considering  the  character 
and  value  of  the  Kansas  salt,  is  its  relative  purity.  The  an- 
alysis of  the  salt  from  Osawatomie,  made  by  Dr.  C.  T.  Jack- 
son, of  Boston,  is  as  follows,  as  contained  in  his  letter: 

BOSTON,  June  28,  1862. 

DEAR  SIR  : — I  have  made  a  chemical  analysis  of  the  sample  of  salt  sent  me  by 
Mr.  Chestnut,  of  Osawatomie,  Kansas,  and  find  it  consists  of— 

Chloride  of  Sodium  (pure  salt) 97.947 

Chloride  of  Magnesium  (Muriate  of  Magnesia) 0-482 

Chloride  of  Calcium  (Muriate  of  Lime) 0.706 

Oxide  of  Iron 0  500 

sSuJphate  of  Soda 0 .365 

100.000 

The  saline  spring  is  uncommonly  strong,  and  with  proper  methods  of  manufac- 
ture will  give  an  abundance  of  excellent  salt.  I  remain, 

Tour  obedient  servant,  Ac., 

CHAS.  T.  JACKSON, 

State  Assayer. 
All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted, 

WM.  CHESTNUT,  President. 
HENRY  D.  GILLETT,  Vice-Pres't. 
A.  GOVE,  Secretary. 

S.  N.  JORDAN,     ) 
CHARLES  GALE,    > Directors. 
HENRY  NEWMAN,  ) 

This  gives  .about  2  per  cent,  only  of  impurities. 

The  analysis  of  the  salt  and  brine  from  the  Tuthill  marsh, 
made  by  Prof.  C.  F.  Chandler,  of  the  School  of  Mines,  Co- 
lumbia College,  N.  Y.,  is  as  follows: 


Chloride  of  Sodium 

Cnif      Brine,    Brine,  1 
alt<    lOOpts.    U.  S.gal. 

y  96  689      4  70S      2  861  20 

Sulphate  of  Soda 

1  969      0  573         348  23 

Sulphate  of  Lime              

0  216      0  157           95  41 

Chloride  of  Magnesium  
Oxide  of  Iron 

0.300      0.231         140.39 
trace         trace 

Sand  and  Clay 

0  050     0  010            0  61 

Water  

0.786    94.221    57,327.35 

100.000    99.900    60,773.19 
Density  of  brine,  1.0421—6.16  Baume. 
Total  saline  matter  in  brine,  5.779. 
Chloride  of  Sodium  per  U.  S.  gallon  of  231  cubic  inches  6. 53  oz. 


48  OEOLO&ICAL  mm  VET. 

This  gives  one  bushel  of  solid  matter  to  11$  gallons,  or  one 
bushel  of  pure  salt  to  130  gallons  of  brine.  The  water  was 
taken  by  me  from  a  boring,  within  four  feet  of  the  surface. 
The  salt,  I  took  from  one  of  fifty  holknv  logs,  in  which  it  was 
being  made.  The  percentage  of  solid  impurities  is  2.55,  and 
contains  no  chloride  of  calcium.  No  attempt  was  made  to 
purify  the  salt,  as  the  parties  making  it  had  no  previous 
knowledge  of  the  business.  The  ordinary  market  salts  of  the 
United  States  contain  from  two  to  six  percentage  of  impuri- 
ties ;  a  larger  portion  being  nearer  the  latter  than  the  former 
standard. 

By  a  recently  patented  method,  a  very  superior  "medicated 
salt  is  manufactured  at  Onondaga,  and  sold  at  high  prices, 
under  the  name  of  factory  fUed^  for  table  use  and  dairy  pur- 
poses. We  copy  from  the  report  of  the  Onondaga  Salt 
Springs  the  analysis  : 

Chloride  of  Sodium  .........  .........  ...............  .  .  ......  .....  ...........  97.600 

Sulphate  of  Lime  (combined)  .......  ........................................  1.  124 

"      (free)  .....................................................  0  .227 

Sulphate  of  Magnesia  ...........................  •  ............................  0.077 

Carbonate  of  Lime  ...............  v  ...........................................  0.  162 

.  .  0.  810 


100.00 

This  gives  but  1.60  per  cent,  of  solid  impurities.  The  cel- 
ebrated "  Stoved  Ashton  salt,"  of  England,  contains  about  the 
same  quantity.  They  are  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  salts 
in  the  world,  and  are  prepared  with  great  care.  It  will  be 
seen  that  our  unrefined  salts  are  not  far  inferior. 

We  give  below  a  statement  of  the  impurities  of  various 
commercial  salts  : 

Foreign.  Percent. 

Salz  ............................  ....  .......  ........  ,  .........  ,  ................  3.12 

Chateau  Salins,   France  ......................................................  2.12 

Sea  Salt  of  St.  Malo  ..........................................................  4.00 

4  'Common  Scottish'  '  ......  ......................  .  ...........................  6.45 

£t.  Ubes,  best  .......  ........  ...  ............................................  2.36 

2d  quality  .........................................................  7.21 

3d  quality  ...........................................  .  .............  11.04 

Droitwich,  England  .........................................................  3.17 

Domestic. 
Kanawha,  best  of  six  analysis  ...................................  '  ............  1.85 

'  '          poorest  of  six  analysis  ...........................................  6.07 

'  '  average  of  six  analysis  ...........................................  3.15 

Great  Salt  Lake,    (G.  II.  Cook)  .........................  .....................  *  1.11 

Onondaga,   average  .......................  '...'.  ...................  ............  2.59 


OF    KJLNTSAi. 

Salt  Marsh,   Kan*a»* « 2.6* 

Osawatomie,      "      ».0i 

Those  who  are  interested  in  the  analysis  of  salt  will  find 
in  the  New  American  Cyclopaedia,  and  in  the  Annual  Report 
of  the  Superintendent  of  the  Onondaga  Salt  Spring,  state- 
ments of  the  ingredients  found  in  the  salts  of  the  principal 
sources  of  the  supplies  of  the  world.  The  reader  will  be 
struck  with  the  remarkable  purity  of  all  or  nearly  all  of  the 
specimens  examined.  This  is  so  strongly  apparent  that  the 
conclusion  is  irresistible  that  they  are  choice  selections,  and 
not  fair  samples  of  the  ordinary  commercial  article  sent  to 
market  from  the  various  places  named.  Thus,  fourteen  sam- 
ples of  foreign  salt,  from  Yic,  France,  Cheshire,  England, 
("  fine  common,"  British  bay,  fishery,  rock  salt,  "  common,") 
from  Holland,  Auguilla,  Curacao,  St.  Kitts  and  St.  Martins, 
are  found  to  contain  less  than  1  per  cent,  of*  impurities,  and 
ten  of  them  having  no  chloride  of  calcium,  and  the  other 
four  only  a  trace.  Cheshire  "  extra  rough  common"  has  but 
1. 48  per  cent.  only.  And  among  the  most  impure  are  the 
stoved salts,  viz:  Ashton's,  1.71 ;  Noak's,  3.07 ;  and  Garston's, 
1.59  per  cent.  If  such  were  the  common  articles  from  those 
places,  and  at  the  lowest  prices,  would  the  stoved  salt  be  sent 
out  at  high  prices,  and  find  ready  sale  as  a  very  superior  arti- 
cle ?  Nine  analyses  of  American  salt,  from  Pittsburg,  Onon- 
daga, Saltville,  Pa.,  Texas,  Holton,  Ya.,  are  also  found  to  con- 
tain less  than  1  per  cent.  And  seven  samples  from  Ononda- 
ga are  marked  as  less  than  1.65  per  cent.  If  these  were  an 
average,  or  fair  samples,  would  it  pay  to  refine  salt,  by  a  chem- 
ical process,  at  several  times  the  cost  of  the  ordinary  but  bet- 
ter article,  as  is  done  in  making  the  "factory  filled?"  Men 
do  not  pay  a  high  price,  when  they  can  get  a  better  commod- 
ity for  less  money.  We  are  therefore  compelled  to  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  cases  quoted  are  to  be  considered  as 
choice  selections,  and  not  average  samples  of  commercial  salt. 
"We  are  satisfied  that  the  ordinary  article  found  in  the  Kansas 
market  seldom  contains  less  than  3  percentage  of  impurities. 

*  The" company  at  Brown  county,  Kansas,  claim  that  their  salt  has  butl  per  cent, 
of  impurities,  but  we  da  not  think  that  statement  reliable. 


*A 

§0  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 

STATISTICS  OF  SALT. 

The  ainonnt  of  salt  consumed  in  the  United  States,  in  1860, 
was  about  30,000,000  bushels,  or  nearly  one  bushel  to  every 
inhabitant.  A  larger  quantity  per  head  was  used  at  the 
North  than  at  the  South,  so  that  our  Western  States  consume 
fully  one  bushel  to  each  individual.'  As  civilization  and  the 
arts  increase,  this  per  capita  is  found  to  increase  in  a  larger 
ratio.  One-half  of  our  national  consumption  is  imported, 
and,  of  the  domestic  product,  New  York  furnishes  nearly  one- 
half.  During  the  four  years  from  1861  to  '64,  inclusive,  she 
made,  on  an  average,  7,803,870  bushels  per  annum.  New 
York  salt  stands  first  in  the  market,  which  arises  principally 
from  its  uniform  character,  and  this  uniformity  comes  from 
the  rigid  systenrof  State  inspection,  which  Michigan  and  other 
States  would  do  well  to  copy. 

Michigan,  stimulated  by  a  bonus  of  ten  cents  per  bustiel- 
comrnenced  the  salt  manufacture  by  making  20,000  bushels 
in  1860,  which  increased  to  2,331,780  bushels;  and  in  1864 
replaced  New  York  salt  in  the  port  of  Chicago  alone  to  the 
extent  of  1,700,000  bushels.  Very  little  salt  is  made  west  of 
the  States  of  Ohio  and  Michigan,  and  Kansas  should  not  only 
replace  the  salt  from  those  States,  but  also  in  the  St.  Louis 
market.  We  have  the  natural  supply,  and  the  railroad  facil 
ities  for  doing  it.  The  Union  Pacific  Eailway  will  be  com- 
pleted to  our  salt  territory  as  soon  as  the  works  can  be  built, 
and  then  the  Eastern  salts  should  be  met  half  way  in  trans- 
portation. The  present  consumption  in  Kansas  is  nearly 
200,000  bushels  per  annum,  saying  nothing  about  the  Denver 
market,  which  receives  its  supply  from  the  East.  Missouri, 
Iowa,,  Kansas,  and  the  adjoining  territory,  are  estimated  to 
consume  2,500,000  bushels  yearly,  and  the  amount  is  rapidly 
increasing.  We  can  supply  all  this  and  more,  and  thus  add 
millions  of  wealth  to  our  State.  We  predict  that  ere  many 
years  Kansas  will  become  one  of  the  first  salt-producing  States 
in  the  Union.  Our  salt  resources  appear  to  be  perfectly  in- 
exhaustible. 

The  abundant  supply,  our  dry  climate,  and  the  good  market, 


GEOLOGY  OF  KANSAS.  51 

ofter  an  extra  inducement  for  capitalists  to  develop  this  article 
of  daily  and  hourly  consumption. 

For  an  easy  and  convenient  method  of  finding  the  strength 
of  brine,  instruments  are  used  called  hydrometers  and  salome- 
ters.  The  former,  by  Beaume,  is  in  common  use  among  scien- 
tific men.  By  simply  putting  it  in  any  liquid,  it  shows  by  a 
tube  graduated  from  0  to  100  deg.:  the  density,  compared  with 
pure  distilled  water.  By  Beaume,  saturated  brine  stands  at 
26  deg.*  The  salometer  also  takes  pure  water  as  its  standard 
or  0  point,  and  pure  saturated  brine  as  100  deg.  Consequent- 
ly, the  instrument  sinks  from  0  to  100  deg.,  according  as  the 
quantity  of  salt  approaches  full  strength.  Thus,  brine  at  10 
deg.  by  the  salometer  will  give  a  bushel  of  salt  for  every  25 G 
gallons. 

The  following  table,  calculated  for  Beaume's  hydrometer, 
the  salometer,  percentage  of  salt  and  specific  gravity,  we  take 
the  liberty  of  copying  from  the  Geological  Survey  of  Michi- 
gan, (1861)  by  Winchell.  It  is  at  the  same  time  scientific, 
practical  and  reliable: 

*  The  specific  gravity  of  pure  saturated  brine  is  1^J04€,  or  about  cac-flftb  part 
heavier  than  water. 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY. 


T  A.  B  LE  , 

Gwing  a  comparison  of  different  oppressions  for  tfo  strength 
of  Brine,  from  zero  to  saturation. 


1 

S1 

If 

cct^ 

£s 

*C>  £) 

go 

|  | 

W 
P 

(Kg 

""IT 

P  53 

fc 
i 

1 

f 

•*3  G 

- 

B| 

$ 

II 

•   00 

1 

* 

1 

:  g 
:  ° 

!  t-a 

Ions  to  1 
tiel  

0 

0 

1.000 

0 

0 

nfinie 

51 

13.26 

1.095 

13.11 

1047 

46.6 

1 

.26 

1.002 

.26 

19 

2599 

52 

13.52 

1.097 

13.36 

1070 

45.6 

2 

.52 

1.003 

.51 

38 

1297 

j  53 

13.78 

1.100 

13.62 

1092 

44.7 

3 

.78 

1.005 

.77 

56 

863 

54 

14.04 

1.102 

13.88 

1115 

43.8 

4 

1.04 

1.007 

1.03 

75 

647 

55 

14.30 

1.104 

14.13 

1137 

42.9 

5 

1.30 

1.009 

1.28 

94 

516 

66 

14.56 

1.106 

14.39 

1160 

42.0 

6 

1.56 

1.010 

1.54 

114 

430 

57 

14.82 

1.108 

14.65 

1183 

41.2 

7 

1.82 

1.012 

1.80 

133 

368 

58 

15.08 

1.110 

14.91 

1206 

40.4 

8 

2.08 

1.014 

2.06 

152 

321 

69 

15.34 

1.112 

15.16 

1229 

39.7 

9 

2.84 

1.016 

2.31 

171 

285 

60 

15.60 

1.114 

15.42 

1252 

38.9 

10 

2.60 

1.017 

2.57 

191 

256 

!  61 

15.86 

1.116 

15.68 

1276 

38.2 

11 

2.86 

1.019 

2.83 

210 

232 

62 

16.12 

1.118 

15.93 

1299 

37.5 

12 

3.12 

1.021 

3.08 

229 

213 

63 

16.38 

1.121 

16.19 

1322 

36.  y 

13 

3.38 

1.023 

3.34 

249 

196 

64 

16.64 

1.123 

16.45 

1346 

36.* 

14 

8.64 

1.025 

3.60 

269 

182 

I  65 

16.90 

1.125 

16.70 

1370 

35.6 

13 

3.90 

1.026 

3.85 

288 

169 

!  66 

17.16 

1.127 

16.96 

1393 

35.0 

16 

4.16 

1.028 

4.11 

308 

158 

67 

17.42 

1.129 

17.22 

1417 

34.4 

17 

4.42 

1.030 

4.37 

328 

149 

68 

17.68 

1.131 

17.48 

1441 

33.9 

18 

4.68 

1.032 

4.63 

348 

140 

69 

17.94 

1.133 

17.73 

1465 

33.3 

19 

4.94 

1.034 

4.88 

368 

133 

70 

18.20 

1.136 

17.99 

1489 

32.7 

20 

5.20 

1.035 

5.14 

388 

120 

71 

18.46 

1.138 

18.25 

1513 

32.  '2 

21 

5.46 

1.037 

5.40 

408 

120 

72 

18.72 

1.140 

18.50 

1538 

31.7 

22 

5.72 

1.039 

5.65 

428 

114 

73 

18.98 

1.142 

18.76 

1562 

31.2 

23 

5.98 

1.041 

5.91 

448 

109 

74 

19.24 

1.144 

19.02 

1587 

30.1 

24 

6.24 

1.043 

6.17 

469 

104 

75 

19.50 

1.147 

19.27 

1611 

30.3 

25 

6.50 

1.045 

6.42 

489 

99.7 

76 

19.76 

1.149 

19.53 

1636 

29.8 

28 

6.76 

1.046 

6.68 

510 

95.7 

77 

20.02 

1.151 

19.79 

1661 

29.4 

27 

7.02 

1.048 

6.94 

530 

92.0 

78 

20.28 

1.154 

20.05 

1686 

28.9 

28 

7.28 

1.050 

7.20 

551 

89.5 

79 

20.54 

1.156 

20.30 

1710 

28.5 

29 

7.54 

1.052 

7.45 

572 

85.3 

80 

20.80 

1.158 

20.56 

1736 

28.1 

30 

7.80 

1.05* 

7.71 

592 

82.3 

81 

21.06 

1.160 

20.82 

1761 

27.7 

31 

8.06 

1.056 

7.97 

613 

79.5 

82 

21.32 

1.163 

21.07 

1786 

27.3 

32 

8.32 

1.058 

8.22 

634 

76.9 

83 

21.58 

1.165 

21.33 

1811 

26.9 

33 

8.58 

1.059 

8.48 

655 

74.5 

84 

21.84 

1.167 

21.59 

1837 

26.5 

34 

8.84 

1.061 

8.74 

676 

72.1 

85 

22.10 

1.170 

21.84 

1862 

26.2 

35 

9.10 

1.063 

8.99 

697 

69-9 

86 

22.36 

1.172 

22.10 

1888 

25.8 

36 

9.36 

1.065 

9.25 

719 

67.9 

87 

22.62 

1.175 

22.36 

1914 

25.5 

37 

9.62 

1.067 

9.51 

740 

65-9 

88 

22,88 

1.177 

22.62 

1940 

25.1 

38 

9.88 

1.069 

9.77 

761 

64.1 

89 

23.14 

1.179 

22.87 

1966 

24.8 

39 

10.14 

1.071 

10.02 

783 

62-3 

90 

23.40 

1.182 

23.13 

1992 

24.5 

40 

10.40 

1.073 

10.28 

804 

60.6 

91 

23.66 

1.184 

23.39 

2018 

24.2 

41 

10.66 

1.075 

10.54 

826 

59.1 

92 

23.92 

1.186 

23.64 

2045 

23.8 

42 

10.92 

1.077 

10.79 

848 

57.6 

93 

24.18 

1.189 

23.90 

2072 

23.  5 

43 

11.18 

1.079 

11.05 

869 

56.1 

94 

24.44 

1.191 

24.16 

2098 

23.3 

44 

11.44 

1.081 

11.31 

891 

54.7 

95 

24.70 

1.194 

24.41 

2124 

23.0 

45 

11.70 

1.083 

11.56 

913 

53.4 

96 

24.96 

1.196 

24.67 

2151 

22.7 

46 

11.98 

1.085 

11.82 

935 

52.2 

97 

25.22 

1.198 

24.93 

2178 

22.4 

47 

12.22 

1.087 

12.08 

957 

50.9 

98 

25.48 

1.201 

25.19 

2205 

22.1 

48 

12.48 

1.089 

12.34 

979 

49.8 

99 

25.74 

1.203 

25.44 

2232 

21.8 

49 

12.74 

1.091 

12.59 

1002 

48.7 

100 

26.00 

1.205 

25.70 

2259 

21.6 

80 

13.00 

1.093 

12.85 

1024 

47.6 

*'  From  this  table  the  properties  and  capabilities  of  any  brine  may  be 
ascertained  by  knowing  its  strength  as  shown  by  the  salometer.  Suppose, 
for  instance,  the  salometer  shows  58  degrees.  The  table  shows  at  a  glance 
that  this  corresponds  to  18.78  degrees  of  Beaume's  hydrometer,  a  specific 
gravity  of  1.100,  and  a  percentage  of  13.62;  while  a  wine  pint  of  the 
ferine  would  furnish  1092  g*nin«  of  solid  residue,  and  44.7  gallons  would 
produce  a  bushel." 


GEOLOGY   OF  KANSAS.  53 

This  table  is  calculated  for  pure  solutions  of  salt.  When 
the  strength  of  the  brine  is  taken  by  the  salometer,  the  per- 
centage of  impurities  must  be  added.  Thus,  the  instrument 
in  the  brine  at  Tuthill's  marsh,  stood  at  23  deg.,  which  gives 
one  bushel  to  109  gallons ;  but,  adding  17  per  cent,  for  im- 
purities, shows  one  bushel  of  pure  salt  to  every  128  gallons, 
nearly. 


APPENDIX. 


The  following  letter  from  O.  B.  Gunii,  Esq.,  who,  as  Chief 
Engineer,  made  the  first  survey  for  the  railroad  in  the  Kan- 
sas Yalley,  is  valuable  in  showing  the  relative  heights  of 
various  places  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State : 

ATCHISON,  KANSAS,  Feb.  11,  1865. 

Prof.  B.  F.  Mudye — Dear  Sir :  Your  favor  came  duly  to  hand.  *  *  * 
The  rise  from  Wyandotte  to  Fort  Riley  is  as  follows,  starting  from  low 
water  in  the  Missouri  river  at  Wyandotte  : 

Wyandotte  to  Lawrence,  39  miles,  rise  02.022  feet;  average,  1.C6  feet. 

Lawrence  to  Topeka,  26  miles,  rise  60.04  feet;  average,  2.03  feet. 

Topeka  to  Manhattan,  50  miles,  rise  120.06  feet ;  average  2.04  feet. 

Manhattan  to  Fort  Riley,  17  miles,  rise  54.03  feet;  average  3.02  feet. 

Total  distance,  132  miles;  total  rise,  297.052  feet;  average  per  mile 
.2.250  feet. 

The  foregoing  elevations  are  the  surface  of  the  water  in  each  case. 
The  distances  are  by  railroad  surveys,  and  are,  probably,  not  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  distance  which  the  water  actually  travels. 

Starting  from  low  water  in  the  Missouri  river  at  Atchison,  the  eleva- 
tions are  as  follows : 

Water  in  Grasshopper  at  Muscotah,  164  feet  above  the  Missouri  river. 

Water  in  Big  Blue  at  Irving,  317  feet  above  the  Missouri  river. 

It  is  about  60  miles  from  Atchison  to  Wyandotte,  by  water.  Assuming 
that  the  Missouri  river  falls  one  foot  per  mile,  which  is  not  far  from  the 
mark,  it  brings  the  elevation  of  Atchison,  when  reduced  to  the  base  of 
the  Wyandotte  levels,  to  an  elevation  of  60  feet ;  Grasshopper  at  Mus"co- 
tah,  (same  base,)  224  feet;  Big  Blue  at  Irving,  (same  base,)  377  feet: 
elevation  of  Big  Blue  at  Manhattan,  (same  base),  242.022  ;  rise  from 
Manhattan  to  Irving,  134.078.  * 

Yours  truly,  0.  B.  GUNN. 

The  following  elevations  are  from  explorations  and  surveys 
for  a  railroad  route  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean — Vol.  XI.  They  are  barometrical'  measurements, 


I 

56    •   ,  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

taken  at  camps,  and  therefore  are  not  so  accurate  as  those 
given  by  Mr.  Gunn,  but  are  sufficiently  so  as  to  jw  the 
total  rise  in  crossing  the  State  westerly,  and  to  Tv  the 
gradual  increase  of  height.  The  elevation  of  the  camp  above 
the  surface  of  water  is  not  given.  The  mouth  of  the  Kansas 
is  about  850  feet  above  the  ocean. 

Near  Shawnee  Mission,  Johnson  Co.,  long.  94°  30'  above  sea,  991  feet. 

Cedar  Creek,  near  Olathe,       -        -             1  •{  j     -  "  "  1,047  feet. 

Tecumseh,  «  »  1,234  feet. 

Ten  miles  west  of  Fort  Riley,                                     -  "  "  1,459  feet. 

Mouth  of  Saline  river,  long.  97°  40'  "  "  1,592  feet. 

Mouth  of  Walnut  creek,  on  Arkansas  river,  "  "  1,872  feet. 

Near  Arkansas  river,  long.  99°  35'  "  2,004  feet. 

Fort  Atkinson,*  long.  100°  "  "  2,330  feet, 

Santa  Fe  crossing  of  Arkansas,;iong.  100°  40'      -  "  "  2,431  feet. 

Near  Arkansas  "river,  long.  101°  20'         -  "  "  2,692  feet. 

Near  Arkansas  river,  west  line  of  State,  long.  102°  "  "  3,047  feet. 

The  result  of  all  the  elevations  shows  a  rise  for  the  first 
hundred  miles  of  a  little  over  two  feet  to  the  mile.  For  the 
second  and  third  hundred  miles,  about  six  feet  to  the  mile, 
and  for  the  last  hundred  miles,  about  seven  feet,  or  a  total 
rise  of  2,200  feet  in  400  miles.  This  shows  a  very  easy  grade 
for  a  railroad  route.  Elevation  of  Fort  Scott,f  1,000  feet ; 
elevation  of  Fort  Leaven  worth,  896  feet. 

*From  records  of  the  Fort. 
fFrom  the  Fort  records. 


•  .fc 

•  wroii 


•>M,< 

/oiia  c 


Page  5  line  17,  for  «  northeastern,"  read  "northwestern  » 
Page  80,  lines  36  and  35,  for  "  proxide,"  read  "eroxid." 


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