eet A aa i AN Ri UY Ry Library 4] o fads : ‘ a . 2 a at GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ILLINOIS. A. H. WORTHEN, Director. WOE WIS) ts GEOLOGY AND PALHONTOLOGY. CoE. © On Gv By A. H. WORTHEN, and Ass’ts G. C. BROADHEAD and E. T. COX. PALAONTOLOGY, By ORESTES St. JOHN, 4. H. WORTHEN and F. B, MEEK. ILLUSTRATED BY JULIUS MAYER & CO., BOSTON, MASS. L, ED BY AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATURE OF ILLINOIS. Si OF TO THE HON. JOHN L. BEVERIDGE, GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS. Sir: The sixth volume of my report on the Geological Survey of Illinois, the publication of which was provided for by the 28th General Assem- bly, is herewith submitted. Its appearance has been delayed by causes beyond my control, and mainly by the length of time required to engrave the plates and map accompanying this volume, the work in this instance being assigned exclusively to one engraving establishment instead of being divided between two or more, as was done with the preceding volume. Although the Paleontology of the State is by no means completed, and some departments, especially those of the corals and bryozoans, remain almost untouched, while many of our most common fossils have never been fully illustrated, and the descriptions even have not been published in any work now accessible to the general student, yet, in consequence of the manifest desire on the part of the law-making power to cut off all appropriations not deemed by them as absolutely neces- sary, I have not thought it advisable to make any provision for contin- uing the work beyond the publication of this volume, which includes the geology of all the counties in the State not heretofore reported on. Moreover, important facts are constantly being developed in regard to our coal resources, by experiments with the drill, and by shafts sunk in various portions of the Illinois coal field, which should be collated and made available for the information of the public; for it is quite impossible that a State survey covering so large an area as that pos- sessed by the State of Illinois, could be carried on with the detailed accuracy with which such work is prosecuted in the older countries of 1\/ LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR. Europe, without an expenditure of means far beyond any sum hitherto appropriated for scientific purposes in this State; and, consequently, very much yet remains to be learned in regard to the distribution of our coals and other economical deposits. The large collection of geclogical specimens accumulated by the Sur- vey reniains in the condition it was left by the fire in the Masonic Hall building, where it was formerly kept, no proper place having as yet been provided for its reception, and no provision made for its preserva- tion as a State collection. Some disposition should be made of this col- lection, either to preserve it as the nucleus of a State Cabinet of Natural History, or to dispose of it to some scientific institution where it would be appreciated and properly cared for. In the prosecution of the work I have kept in view two objects that seemed to me of paramount importance, to-wit: First, the development of the material resources of the State, so far as was possible, by mak- ing known whatever matters of economical importance the field explo- rations should bring to light; and secondly, to bring out such scientific results as this rich and comparatively unexplored field made possibie, so that the State of Illinois, through its geological survey, might con- tribute something towards the general stock of scientific knowledge. Although the scientific results brought out by the survey may not be, and probably are not appreciated by our own people, nevertheless I have the satisfaction of knowing that they are elsewhere, and that the Illinois Reports are esteemed a desirable acquisition to all scientific libraries, both public and private, and the applications for this work since the distribution of the first three volumes, coming mainly from individuals and institutions directly interested in scientific pursuits, would have consumed the entire edition published. As the alleged reasons for withholding further appropriations to con- tinue the work were based on the necessity of economy, and lest it might therefore be supposed, by those unacquainted with the facts, that there has been an unnecessary expenditure of money in the prosecution of this work, I deem it but just to myself to state in this connection pre- cisely the amount that has been placed at my disposal for carrying on the Geological Survey of the State since it has been under my direc- tion. LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR. W When the survey came under my control, in March, 1858, the annual appropration was $5000 per annum, with an additional sum of $500 per annum for topographical work. As the latter amount was entirely inadequate to the accomplishment of any practical results in topo- graphy, it was expended mainly in the construction of the State map accompanying this volume, and in drawing such county maps as the prosecution of the work rendered necessary, so that the first named sum was all the available means at command to pay the salaries of myself and my assistants in geology and paleontology, for chemical work and chemicals, and the traveling and incidental expenses of the survey. This appropriation continued until the adoption of the new constitution in 1872, when by a provision in that instrument it was abolished. In addition to this annual appropriation, the twenty-fifth General Assembly made a special appropriation of $10,000 per annum for two years to complete the field work, and five or six additional assistants were employed for that time, and the sum so appropriated was exclusively devoted to this department of the survey. After the expiration of the regular annual appropriation in 1872; by the constitutional provision above referred to, the twenty-seventh Gen- eral Assembly appropriated the sum of $2000 to defray the entire expense of the Survey for one year, and the succeeding General Assem- bly appropriated the sum of $3600 per annum for two years to defray the salary of myself and assistant including office and traveling expenses, and $1500 to pay the cost of the drawings required to illus. trate this volume. This appropriation expired on the 30th day of June, last. The two first volumes of my report were published in 1866, the third in 1868, the fourth in 1870, the fifth in 1872, and the sixth in 1875, this latter volume having been delayed nearly a year by causes already alluded to. These six volumes, averaging about 550 pages each and con- taining 175 fall page plates besides numerous wood cuts, were brought out in about nine years on the appropriations above specified. From these facts and figures those best qualified to judge can determine, for themselves, whether or not the Geological Survey of Illinois has been conducted with due regard to economy. In taking leave of a work which I have had so long in charge, and to which I have devoted the best years of my life, I can but express my \AL LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR. grateful acknowledgments to the many good and true friends of the Survey in various portions of the State, through whose influence and encouragement the work has been brought so near to a final completion, and more especially to thoseeminent eastern scientists, Prof. HENRY, of the Smithsonian Institution, Prof. DANA, of New Haven, and the lamented AGASSIZ, for the loan of rare scientific books from the exten- sive libraries under their control, and for their personal influence and assistance freely manifested in various ways, by which the best interests of the Survey have been greatly promoted. I have the honor to be Your obedient servant, A. H. WORTHEN. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., Sept., 1875. TABLE OF CONTENTS. BETTERIUTOMHETH ON OHN#I) DEVE RIDGE seme see cee sce tecicenacececianeseceece cic ccctiecriccicecicce Page M1 CHAPTER I. COAL MEASURES. IBypAe Hea WViOrtnen sentase ae eree ne me neers cee salsere aaion ace amae ec isrie me ee ce ceciseecne sre ceics Pages J-8 CHAPTER I. GEOLOGY OF CLARK COUNTY. IBYpA PH saVW OLEN CN ean ence neca teen eats mat sate aneeaa saan eecctniccie anecccseceecacareren Pages 9-21 CHAPTER III. GEOLOGY OF CRAWFORD AND JASPER COUNTIES. Bypass Hoa OLENON Seemann nae man eae ne enemas nem atneasiinfeseaeneene aattee ciinisanac cece Pages 22-36 CHAPTER IV. GEOLOGY OF LAWRENCE AND RICHLAND COUNTIES. Ta AL TWO ec eoonesacoScenincinbcen acs non cooSd6oS cso nUOOUT Ba dtaaanbdconceodocosadsan de Pages 37-50 CHAPTER V. GEOLOGY OF WABASH AND EDWARDS COUNTIES. Bay Ale T3G WGAUIEN G-coccccosacocondctor ena conSoonaD coocHoacadoo cocdeoccEadEoponaSHconatscaas Pages 51-65 CHAPTER VI. GEOLOGY OF WHITE AND HAMILTON COUNTIES. HEPA IEE VG INE Ne cane scenscecs SopecodosoaduasabassdesooosonHOtoUEonEoSoopeconduSdEsboes Pages 66-81 CHAPTER VII. GEOLOGY OF WAYNE AND CLAY COUNTIES. PAPEL IES WA oe sek pec a cede ep pH OTERO BOOED ECO BOS ABE OLES HORS BeDaboSdddoonpoeBcodooudO 16 Pages 82-97 CHAPTER VIII. GEOLOGY OF CUMBERLAND, COLES AND DOUGLAS COUNTIES. Pip Rode VW WHIGH beceencoocnoccsecceCne pero DciInUcICBeCOROEetaoteHHocaRnedaqosuDEGaEBOBeod Pages 98-111 CHAPTER IX. GEOLOGY OF WILLIAMSON AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES. 57 Lig LEE WOW eee ener cece CCC CORED CAO OCI OO OCR SST HUG HIC ISSR SCRE ROG OCORNQOCOUG0ODE Pages 112-127 By G. CHAPTER X. GEOLOGY OF BOND COUNTY. GEISER ONCE Ae ericeereaEnnctOOanECoOl ECEDODOSCOLO Dea aDboonE cacducopoacboanousKonds Pages 128-134 vu TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. GEOLOGY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. IByAG CNBroad headee ec aces ceceeme cee sees assiaee sent eee ema eneote ee meres Pages 135-148 CHAPTER XII. GEOLOGY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY. By G2 Ch Broadheadss, 2-2 ee so ccs cos ten ccc coe ness cetecens cesses note seen eon ee noes Pages 149-155 CHAPTER XIII. GEOLOGY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY. By GG: Broadhead: so2--2-sa20 > wae cn oc acco coe senate coed en ane nee econ een ee eneseee Pages 156-162 CHAPTER XIV. GEOLOGY OF SHELBY COUNTY. ByGuGsBroadheadeeeste- sae ee RON ely ns hs Oi ae pe se as Pages 163-174 CHAPTER XV. GEOLOGY OF EFFINGHAM COUNTY. By G.jC. Broadhead cseiecresmee nee 5 No. 90. Gray sandstones and sandy shales.......-..---2+..--+2----2--- etctesisee te eee ceaene nee 26 IN OBO See Ch intcoalecessciecesesasscenenserensencteramancane sence tarnsenasesnmatememeseemes 6 ANOS GE nA) OE Ws cocoa doco eSdapSCHSAUS CBSSHS CORO DOH ECodSCHOaHOSSseCENnS ReESdSSsdooCKoHOScEODS 5 No. 87. Buff sandstone No. 86. Clay shale with bands-of fossiliferous iron ore containing Leda bella-striata, Astartella vera, Nucula ventricosa, Spirifer plano-convexus, Chonetes Flemingii, Myalina sub- quadrata, Macrocheilus inhabilis, Pleurotomaria Grayvillensis, Bellerophon Mont- JSortianus, B. carbonarius, and Orthoceras Rushensis...-....--+++-+-------++-------- gH) No. 85. Bituminous shales and pyritiferous limestone with argillaceous shales containing SiliClOUS WOO Cea tecrenisacies aieiaeie ciclsare etal= ate a miata a slolei= Serene ware ee atetate esata ateleteeee 9 No.4. “Gray pyritiferousisandstone =2a.0s sees cee -aneceen = anes eareteecioseeasies settee 30 to 40 Nong3s.Shaleaiwith fucdids)-sesssec~ sneer nesses cesceciciecececissoeaeinesometiorteeessceerarcenes 40 No. 82. Gray limestone with Fusulina cylindrica? Athyris subtilita, Spirifer cameratus, S. (PLOMO=CONVEDUS! OLE fmeeemiemininw's ciel erin annin ew eiwie mein ee wie alae emmerema elalsioe atest 4 toe No. 81. Calcareous shales with Orthis carbonaria and Productus longispinus very abundant .. 1 6 No. 80. Coal No..16,°Nelson’s coal in Effingham, and the coal on the Embarras. in Coles Co..1 to 3 EN On 9 PR ITOEC AYin= sermcieictee aa slew rissa lov asinininine sis slo sinisicies delssinslace mesic ccisetinerteeeeaeeren 1 to3 ‘No. 78. Sandstone and shales... --80 to 90 Nos. eBituminous|shale-<: 5.22. -cec-sssescce ree ceseee ne sieaceccsecccaenen ane conse een eeene P} INOs:76.) = CoalpNow1o, Shelbyicoal isc con oo oceoeesicnnacnicaseee ces ece cee sete eee eter 1to3 INOS fore Bre Clayscccnccecacceeceacacinesiqnorcissccachasesceencesicasescestsecem cites acaccee 2to5 Noni 4:, eBuftilimestoneycoce=acecneaccccs saacacne sector ssnneiseseciciccssincieee se eeimacermeeeien 4 No. 73. Sandstone and shales----. --15 to 50 INo=/2)-Shalesi partly: calcareous 5.---sasc~ [cere cen e penins peers eee eee nate ee tee eee eee 10 to 15 No. 71. Caleareo-bituminous shales passing into shelly bituminous limestone, fossils abun- dant, Huomphalus sub-rugosus, Chonetes Flemingii, Productus costatus, P. longis- pinus, Hemipronites crassus, Retzia punctulifera, Lophophyllum proliferum, Ortho- ceras Rushensis, Erisocrinus typicus, Zeacrinus? mucrospinus, and Peripristis SCMNMUCUCULATIS seanecnencieces celoeee macs canes come slesee seme ee enee ene 2to4 No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. 62 No. No. A iA o°9o . 53. . 1. . 48. . 47. . 46. 45. . 44. 0. 43. - 42 Al. o. 40. 0. 39. COAL MEASURES. Ft. CosleNoml4ePanaxcoahiumecssceusecseccesssericencecsescenestocemoccecmesece obonbboode 1 Hire: clayandaclayesShale asec eee ae ee merle oeweeecisece site soc ces ances sce secemsenes 3 to5 ~ Calcareous sandstone -- ---2to05 Sandstone and sandy shale..-.......-----..---. RERCOQSeSHOgoG 50 Shaly limestone with fossils similar to those of the bed below.-.----.----------------- 4 Hard gray limestone containing Syntrielasma hemiplicata, Meeckella striato-costata, Spirifer cameratus, S. lineatus, Spiriferina Kentuckensis, Athyris subtilita, Tere- bratula bovidens, Hemipronites crassus, Productus longispinus, P. costatus, Stenopora lepidodendroides, Lophophyllum proliferum, Polypora, Synocladia, etc.....----- 5 to 25 BLA ES) once che nanacocncnadca accor addaccasaanaacdasesuososnoucnnaccupaussosgucaacongadoss 6 COoaliN ofp 3 deme = sete ee en nee ea are se wante Som maine ne nent nie sec ceneasteceees 1tol Bituminous and argillaceous shales locally fossiliferous, containing Plewrotomaria spherulata, P. tabulata, P. Grayvillensis, Macrochetlus inhabilis. Goniatites globulo- sus, Orthoceras Rushensts, Bellerophon carbonarius, Leda bella-striata, L. Oweni, Nu- cula ventricosa, Astartella vera, Euomphalus sub-rugosus, Polyphemopsts per-acuta and Conularia.--...-..----- : ---6 to 8 Sandstonesiandisandyshales sees esos nore sea eee ee nesaiecnivis cine steleieiceicnwicciale 75 to 85 Dark shaly limestone and calcareous shales with Hemipronites crassus, Athyris sub- tilita, Spirifer cameratus, Spiriferina Kentuckensis, Synocladia biserialis, Productus punetatus, P. Pratlenianus, P. costatus, P. longispinus, CLC ee caeset eee eos 2to4 Coal No. 12 BITEIGS co-ceecendce dacs asnocnasesasqutoocsoonanonoanccbecuenaneasndccsgucacdaupneode 10 Gray or buff limestone, partly shaly, with Productus Nebrascensis, P. longispinus, Spirifer cameratus, Spiriferina Kentuckensis, Synocladia bierialis, Polypora, ete.5 to 20 Bituminous shale, locally fossiliferous Coal No. 11 Arenaceous and argillaceous shales. ....- Caleareo-bituminous shales containing eereninn carbonarius, Pleurotomaria sphe- rulata, Productus longispinus, Chonetes Verneuilianus, and’ Lophophyllum prolif- Band of cone in cone replaced in White county at,Carmi by a band of brown iron ore filled with a minute bivalve shell, probably a Posidonia........----0---+--+----++5 Argillaceous shales with flattened iron stones.------------------+------------+-2e--+ 20 Dark ash-gray or chocolate colored calcareous sandstones with Aviculopecten occiden- talis, Productus Nebrascensis, P. Prattenianus, Myalina sub-quadrata, M. Swallovi, Evomphalus sub-rugosus, Pinna per-acuta, Avicula longispina, Meekella striato-cos- tata, Bellerophon crassus, CtC..-------- 000002 eee ence eee ene e renee nee nen e reece eee 2to5 This bed outcrops in the bed of the creek in the south part of the town of Carmi, in White county, and also a mile and a half north of New Haven, at Mr. Murphy’s place in the south-east part of Clark county,at the old Joliff mill site on Crooked creek in Clinton county, and was penetrated in the shaft at Centralia, at a depth of abont a hundred feet;from the surface. Sandy shales and sandstone..-------------------+-- 2-22 e eee cere eer rteee esc eeess 30 to 60 Hard brownish-gray limestone of Shoal creek, Carlinville and New Haven, and the recognized boundary line between the upper and lower measures. ° Lacally the upper layers are shaly and contain numerous fossils, among which are Productus longispinus, Spirifer cumeratus, Sp. lineatus, Sp. plano-convexus, Terebratula bovi- dens, Rhynchonella osagensis, Retzia punctulifera, Athyris subtilita, Ohonetes vario- lata? Hemipronites crassus, Platyostoma Peoriense, Ohonophyllum, etc..-------- 4to7 Greenish-drab and blue shales : Sancdnanbsaqdacs -4to 6 _ Bituminous shale.......-------0---22--- nee neers ene renen cere ce ecen seer ecer err scesc ce: 2 Blue shale, with flattened concretions of iron..-... ---8 to 10 Coal, No. 9.--22- -2-- 20 nnne cece ccc en mene rene cceenecreenne rece reernessecs ---4to 2 Fire-clay. .---2--2-22-- 2002 ener enncenneeennceen renee nmermnnccecccercene A Sandy shales and sandstone......------+-+++++----+ seatieeeiaseesissici == sie eoeeee----39 £0 65 a No. No. . 38. 2 Bde COAL MEASURES. Ft. Calcareo-bituminons shale, passing locally into an argillaceous limestone abounding in fussils, among which the following are the most common: eda bella-striata, Nuculu ventricosa, Astartella vera, A. varica, Bellerophon carbonarius, B. Montforti- anus, B. per-carinatus, Macrocheilus inhabilis, M. primigenius, M. ventricosus, Pleurotomaria spherulata, P. Grayvillensis, Productus longispinus, P. Nebrascensis, P. Prattenianus, Phillipsia Sangamoensis, P. scitula, Polyphemopsis per-acuta, Orthoceras Rushensis, Zeacrinus ? mucrospinus, Erisocrinus typicus, Lophophyllum TERED TTA) CO BERS RSIS O OSE ECU BOO SOU OSS SS SOROS GEGOE DOC RESHORBHCHORSESSS 3 CoallQNOn 8 Secs neal aoa onan na ann asain = ene see sa nee ee eee 2 Dark ash-gray fire-clay 3 Nodular shale passing locally into a hard silicious limestone ...................-. 3to 4 Sandy shales and sandstone ---40 to 75 Dark ash-gray silicious limestone containing Athyris subtilita. Spirifer cameratus, Chonetes mesoloba, joints of Orinoidea, etc........-...-...-------------- soealiry 7 (Bituminous! Shale es ses acces sa csies amen ineee cece nents -lto 3 CoaltNontteccs 2to 9 Hin-Clayy) Green; blugiand red clay (shales s-secces << cee o-sern ec cccce soe ermseeennemcerier sense 10 to 12 No. 35. Sandstone .........--.-----.----- -12 to 15 No. 36 Argillaceous and sandy shales... No. 37. Bituminons shale.........--..-.- 5 tp BS8 CURT TeodeastacacScdatonet baschecesa decd seb oneCoooaeoocasacHododospobodagasoarien 5 The coal afforded by this seam is a rather soft, fat, caking coal, of fair average quality. The lower part of the seam contains two or three partings of shale. This seam would be the first workable coal that could be reached anywhere in Clark county, and its approximate depth at any point where it was desirable to bore for it may be determined by reference to the foregoing general section. From the horizon of the Quarry creek limestone to this coal it would be from 350 to 400 feet, and from the horizon of the Livingston limestone from 250 to 300 feet. In the north-west part of this county several borings were made for oil during the oil excitement, some of which were reported to be over 900 feet in depth; but as no accurate record seems to have been kept, the expenditure resulted in no general benefit further than to determine that no deposit of oil of any value existed in the vicinity to the depth penetrated. The following record of the ‘Old Well,” or “'T. R. Young well,” was furnished to Prof. Cox by Mr. LINDSEY : 12 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. ' Clay shale (soapstone so-called).......---------------+--+ +222 20+ -e- SacoRESoocaSDO CoE ase SS oHSeHaEsOs ¥ 3 Black shalotscsososck foe wie oo eek a be Se Sect ses ee Sowa ne De Tae Jae See Soe eeecee eae eee eee 9 Sandstonesacs ae sa aechen soo aceocee coe a cess Sele Sere ccince aa seine seean ace nessa asses Se eee 12 (OS EB peep coSce SE EESSo LSD SUSE Rabo BSHOCOD OOo sacoopasouesosesSogpanthpscucancrecessescorestestoee 1 Sandstones-c- ae seen ia ec wked conse cones nes cece bonaeetene does seas see ace senate ashe eee ee 90 MMuditstone ¢*ss-cacecoccace cease ececesnecac cee ccceeericce es lesencale see ee ee seat e nee eee eee 2 TEU Gana agg apo c od SaG CHECK E Se ESB Da CE BOCO RECS URS ScconnEHoodsaaoomocdchichonscandsecacodsoreascc 1 Sandstone sesseeseneseeneee cece ener sa cena een cen eeer eee saeemecinan maaan eens Sod ee eee 52 314 The upper part of this boring corresponds very well with our general section, except in the absence of the Quarry creek limestone, which should have been found where they report 20 feet of “mud stone,” but whatever that may have been, it seems hardly probable that such a term would be used to designate a hard and tolerably pure limestone. This well was tubed with gas pipe for some 8 or 10 feet above the surface, and water, gas and about a half gallon of oil per day was discharged. All the wells, so far as I could learn, discharged water at the surface, showing that artesian water could be readily obtained here, but it was all more or less impregnated with mineral matters and oil, sufficient to render it unfit for common use. The 900 foot well must have been carried quite through the Coal Measures, and, if an accurate journal had been kept, the information it would have afforded would have been of great value to the people of this, as well as the adjacent counties. It would have gone far towards settling the question as to the number and thickness of the workable coals for all this portion of the State, and the depth at which they could be reached from certain specified horizons, as for instance, from the base of the Quarry creek or Livingston limestones, or from either one of the thin coals of the upper measures that were passed through in this boring. As itis, the expendi- ture was an utter waste of capital, except in so far as it may have taught those directly engaged in the operation the folly of boring for oil where there was no reasonable expectation of finding it in quantities sufficient to justify such an expenditure of time and money. The beds forming the upper part of the general section in this county are exposed on Quarry creek south of Casey and one mile and a half east of Martinsville, on the upper course of Hurricane creek, and the Blackburn branch south-east of Parker prairie. At the quarry a mile and a half east of Martinsville, the limestone is heavy bedded, and has been extensively quarried for bridge abutments, culverts, etc., on the old National road. The bed is not fully exposed here, and seems to be somewhat thinner than at Quarry creek, where it probably attains its maximum thickness, but thins out both to the north-east and south-west from that point. The upper part of the bed is generally quite massive, affording beds 2 feet or more in thickness, while the lower beds are thinner, and at the base it becomes shaly and locally passes into a green CLARK COUNTY. 13 clay shale with thin plates and nodules of limestone. These shaly layers afford many fine fossils in a very perfect state of preservation, though they are neither as numerous or as well preserved here as at the outcrops of this limestone in Edgar county. The most character- istic fossils of this formation are Meekella striato-costata, Pleurotomaria turbiniformis, and Platyceras Nebrascensis, associated with Athyris subti- lita, Spirifer cameratus, 8. lineatus, Spiriferina Kentuckensis, Orthis carbonaria, Platyostoma Peoriense, Terebratula bovidens, Chonetes Ver- neuilanus, numerous corals like Heliophyllum, and large joints of Crinvidea. Possibly the apparent thinning out of this limestone to the northward in this county may be due to surface erosion, as we nowhere saw the overlaying sandstone in situ, and Prof. BRADLEY gives the thickness of this bed in Edgar county as about 25 feet, which does not indicate a very decided diminution of its thickness in a north-east- wardly direction. Below this limestone, in the vicinity of Martinsville, there are partial outcrops of shale and thin bedded sandstone, with a thin coal, probably No. 4 of the preceding section, and south-west of the town, and about three-quarters of a mile from it, there is a partial outcrop of the lower portion of the limestone in the bluff on the east side of the North Fork valley, where we obtained numerous fossils belonging to this horizon. West and north-west of Martinsville no rocks are exposed in the bluffs of the creek for some distance, but higher up partial outcrops of a sand- stone, probably overlaying the Quarry creek limestone, may be found. At Quarry creek, about a mile and a half south of Casey, on sec. 28, T. 10, R. 14, this limestone appears in full force, and has been exten- sively quarried both for building stone and the manufacture of quick- lime. It is here a mottled gray, compact limestone, locally brecciated, and partly in regular beds from six inches to two feet or more in thickness. At least 25 to 30 feet of limestone is exposed here, and as the overlaying sandstone is not seen, its aggregate thickness may be even more than the above estimate. At its base the limestone becomes thin bedded and shaly, passing into a greenish calcareous shale with thin plates and nodules of limestone, abounding in the characteristic fossils of this horizon. At one point on this creek a bed of green shale, about two feet in thickness, was found intercalated in the limestone. A large amount of this stone was quarried here for lime, for macada- mizing material and for bridge abutments on the old National road, and this locality still furnishes the needed supply of lime and building stone for the surrounding country. At the base of thé limestone here there is a partial exposure of bituminous shale and a thin coal, probably representing the horizon of No. 4 of the preceding section, below which some ten or twelve feet of sandy shale was seen. 14 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. At Wm. Howe's place, on sec. 3, T. 9, R. 14, we found the following beds exposed below the Quarry creek limestone : Ft. Clayishalessnesce senses esac etre anata oe ace males se else nies aaa seeacntee a maisisrattaseteea setae ateme eet 4to 6 BILMMINOUS ANAlO san cea acento meee meses eeeenecacicas= eecine en ccees cleacineas snore aaseac eer 2 Goalie mecciiseciesceetec a cebsiscieitecninesnencios scincene sence sine cmeiieemcninec sina cnanememscinetta samme aera 1 Shalysfire-clayrecscon seco ses cece ieee seer emee scenes cer eer ene ete anata nce rece aee eee ae see ae 2 Sandstone and shale with bands of carb. of iron....-....22--2.2-22 222-2222 eee een ee eee een ee eens 20 SOTEO=206 I} COVE? GLE Ge pe eag anc OS HES OS UOMO ROSCOE SE CHOSE OSI SS IOS SEE SOO DS OOOO SE CESHE DOBRO HOS OSSETO ODO 3to 6 Gompactibrownish-cray limestones ---5- << --se rinse naneeccecceecsaicer sere este cceciceecceceoesose 3to 5 Black shale and fire-clay partially exposed..---.------ 222225. 22. son conn en seencenemnneseccnns one 2to 3 Sandy shaleand:sandstone.-- ccc cen = sees seen so saaee cen ecnese mee ee ee ene en seat ee eae 25 to 30 Both the coals in the above section have been worked here, mostly, by stripping in the bed of a small branch. The quality of the coal is good, but, unfortunately theseams are too thin to be successfully worked in aregular way. They are the equivalents of the two upper coals in the general section of the rocks of this county. At Mrs. BRANT’S place, on sec. 10 of the same township, we found the following section, which varies but little from that above given: Ft. In ITE) GN Oke escape ade ShG Qo SCS ECHO AT OOO SCOTIBC AOSD ESS ad aa Sat aoonoSdo DSSS CaS SeHaaadeaeSSse6 10 ‘Ritaminous Shalessscs=stemesesenecaseresccceme aces terscree wee sete se eeerans seas amenen see 1 3 (OE Ce ononesasaHdcaS nus cogSsecdocan a AddoScoSceBd psbaTogo Sha CesObacoSscH cddudanbadoceoSdasaande 1 LOTTE ER 7b pci aod COB HOE CE HIOHE GEO COS CERISE ES CS OOCOS OO COCHISE Aa SECHI SOS EOSESOERORES HGRSHSES 2 Shalejand|sandst0n@s-cecccccasecseeasenneean sa ae sere nensiaceonemaseeanacceeaneceeteeaeeeetacaete 20 Bituminous shale..... FOSS trad ON Te Noro 2 Sane et Coe Se 1 (OO Lone cosa pend Oo RH RSb qo SSB aS CaS SR SCO QSOS OCHOS ROSSA USES AIC FOBASECESRAOROCOatOO a Sodsaqaa 1 3 HELE Rp ono ack dea cena n SS EO SUU SHI SO UCD ORSOOIUDSCHECROORGECEO ScoscodeseSoncasacesandaceos 6 BLOWN MeStONnGsemeccsececaas sas ccetesesteeccocancerseosceacccsesoce nosSunoacacbadccnaécencsds 3 Shalejandisandstoneen--senssanec sce seems nsececsteoroseee tenements a sere ate ee aaa 25 BitumMOUS|ShalOsscasseasosescec cesar ncese sess eaece te eesaeoe cmon eee cee mee Ree nee eee 3to 4 (Ott a Se sR ao oubes Sad ase SoOaHisadonados Hasabeasoadtdosd nocsoboodsaococtdcBsbdbsacsonaseadcdasss Q 9 Sand yjshaleiand sandstone... -ssecese oo ene ese teens arsesricconacocesceeacaens eeeeeaaeaee 3C to 40 Tumbling masses of the Quarry creek limestone were found here as well as at Mr. Howe’s place, immediately above the blue shale, at the top of the foregoing sections, and there is probably only a few feet of sandy shale or sandstone intervening between the limestone and the upper shales of these sections. Considerable coal has been mined at Mrs. BRANT’s place, and these two seams formerly furnished the greater portion of the coal used by the neighboring blacksmiths. It is a true splint coal breaking freely into cuboidal blocks two or three inches in thickness, and free from pyrite. At Mr. JOSEPH HOWE’s dwelling house the limestone was found at the bottom of his well, not more than ten to fifteen feet above the upper coal which crops out near by. On Hurricane branch, commencing on sec. 14, T. 10, R. 13, and extending down the creek for a distance of two miles or more, there are continuous outcrops of sandstone and sandy shales, No. 12 of the county section. The upper portion is shaly with some thin bedded sandstone, passing downward into a massive, partly concretionary sand- CLARK COUNTY. 15 stone that forms bold cliffs along the banks of the stream from 20 to 30 feet in hight. At the base of this sandstone there is a band of pebbly conglomerate from one to three feet in thickness, containing fragments of fossil wood in a partially carbonized condition, and mineral charcoal. The regularly bedded layers of this sandstone have been extensively quarried on this creek for the construction of culverts and bridge abut- ments in this vicinity, and the rock is found to harden on exposure and proves to be a valuable stone for such uses. Some of the layers are of the proper thickness for flag-stones, and from their even bedding can be readily quarried of the required size and thickness. This sandstone is underlaid by an argillaceous shale, anda black slate which, where first observed, was only two or three inches thick, but gradually increased down stream to a thickness of about fifteen inches. The blue shale above it contains concretions of argillaceous limestone with numerous fossils, among which were Plewrotomaria spherulata, P. Grayvillensis, Astartella vera, Nucula ventricosa, Rhyn- chonella Eatoniceformis, Orthis carbonaria, and Lophophyllum proliferum. These fossils indicate the horizon of No. 13 coal, and in Lawrence, White and Wabash counties we find a well defined coal seam associated with a similar shale containing the same group of fossils, but possibly belonging to a somewhat lower horizon. On Blackburn branch, commencing on sec. 24 in the same township, and following down the stream for a mile and a half, we have a repeti- tion of the same beds of shale and sandstone seen on Hurricane creek, underlaid by the clay shale and black slate, Nos. 13 and 14 of the county section. Near the center of section 4, T. 9, R. 12, the following beds were found on Joe’s Fork, above the site of the old Anderson mill: Massive sandstone, the same seen on Hurricane creek..-.......---.----- 2 ene ne ence eee ence e ee en eee z Be Dark shales with nodules of arg. limestone -....-------- 2-3-0. scece- eee cence ee cece ee nen ncoencee- 5to 8 Blacks Bla Gms aeeeee sean scene nected eae eae mete c nce ne ceo n teeter eee a corencce steno eoencee lto 2 Sandy shale and evenly bedded sandstone...---...-.-- SepoeconemoquacaabconuaccnaanonbSasosasdes 20 to 25 Greenish) colored|sandy/and) arg: shales: --- << - emcee teccEe AnDe ED SEE Bane ROUSSE SEE CE BGaEC IOGICan oonanebdonsacoauaS 5 Ip Hees AN CS) pre ceermecemecete CRECO BRECON CEO IE PO HCA CER Oar CaEab He soasoSbbuSdouEdeDeE 2 ign pep ecete ce RARE Ren CoC eC cE CSO RCCHOD RE ALDER UBEBSEHEocS eEOnopedeOd pacondbocevocEooTedace ) > 48 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. The shale over the coal was filled with fossil shells, corals, ete. The limestone over this coal was alsd seen three miles north-west of LAw’s place, where it was formerly quarried and burned for lime. A quarter of a mile below the Big Creek bridge, south of Oluey, found the following section: Ft. Soilland drifts see seas eee se sens ee cee cece necls te eee ae cece acca set eee taeeee ae amae ene aanaee 15 Coarse irrecularly beddedisandstone een acm oslo ee cle oe ai iniwiaielnwlninl= 2 =[= e aleelniriielale alee ctnlets eines aie 15 Blacksmarly/shal@jessseee sea aee ees oicee eee meena eae semen seater ae eee saa eee cee ee eee 13 The lower part of the black shale was slaty and contained numerous fossils, Pleurotomaria tabulata, P. Grayvillensis, Bellerophon percarinatus, B. Montfortianus, B. carbonarius, Athyris subtilita, Productus longispinus, Nucula ventricosa, Orthoceras Rushensis, and Lophophyllum proliferum. At JAMES C. STEWAR1’S place, four and a half miles south-west of Olney, a black shale outcrops in the banks of Sugar creek about five feet thick, underlaid by a thin coal. A quarter of a mile below at the bridge saw the same conglomerate sandstone that occurs on Big creek, underlaid by the same black shale, which was sometimes marly and contained the fossils mentioned above. It also contains large uodules of impure limestone.” This bituminous shale and thin coal probably represents coal No. 13 of the general section, and this same group of fossils occurs in connec- tion with this coal on the East fork of Shoal creek in Montgomery county. Economical Geology. Building Stone—Sandstone of a fair quality for ordinary use is quite abundant, and there is probably not a township in the county where good quarries could not be opened at a moderate expense. Many of these localities have been mentioned in the preceding pages, and but little needs to be said farther in regard to them. The quarries south of Clermont, belonging to the O. and M. railroad, afford a very hard and durable rock, and although the bed is only about six feet in average thickness, it is, fortunately, so situated as to require no great expendi- ture in stripping, and the rock has already been removed over a surface of several acres in extent. The rock is a very hard, gray, micaceous sandstone and seems to be but little affected by long exposure, and hence affords a desirable material for culverts, bridge abutments, ete. The sandstones in the northern and western portions of the county are for the most part rather soft, but locally they afford some very good build- ing stone, as at Mr. Heap’s quarry northeast of Olney, and at Darling’s quarry two miles west of that town. The stratum of hard, silicious limestone outcropping on Big creek two miles and a half south of Olney is a durable stone, but is not to be obtained in sufficient quantity to be of much importance as a building stone. RICHLAND COUNTY. AY Coal—There are two coal seams cropping out in this county that promise to be of some value in supplying the local demand for fuel, and the upper one, if its thickness at the outcrop should be found persistent over any considerable area, will furnish all needed supplies for the county for many years to come. The lower seam, which outcrops on the head waters of the Bonpass in the south-eastern portion of the county, and has been referred to No. 12 of the general section, ranges from six- teen to twenty inches in thickness, and has only been worked by strip- ping in the creek valleys where it outcrops. It affords a coal of good quality, but unfortunately is generally too thin to be mined profitably in a systematic way The other seam, five miles north-west of Olney, is about three feet in thickness, and an inclined tunnel has been carried down to it, and preparations made for working it systematically for the supply of the Olney market. This is probably the Shelbyville seam, No. 15 of the general section, which is the thickest seam in the upper Coal Measures, and usually quite persistent in its development. In Shelby county this seam affords a semi-block coal of fair quality, hard enough to be handled without much waste, and tolerably free from sul- phuret of iron, but showing thin partings of selenite on transverse cleavage. The thickness of the sandstones, shales, ete., intervening between coals 12 and 15 in the valley of the Okaw is about 235 feet, but in this county it is probably somewhat less, though this point could only be determined approximately from the lack of continuous outcrops of the intervening strata. The main coals of the lower Coal Measures are probably from six hundred to a thousand feet below the surface at Olney, and it would require an expenditure of capital to open and work them that the present demand for coal would not justify. If the seam north- east of Olney should be found to retain an average thickness of three feet over any considerable area, it will furnish an abundant supply for all the present demands for coal in this county. Lime.—No limestone was seen in this county that seemed well adapted for use in the lime kiln, though some attempts have been made to use the rock overlying coal No. 12 on the Bonpass for that purpose. It is usually too argillaceous to slack freely when burned, and at best would only produce a very inferior quality of lime. Soil and Agriculture.—The agricultural facilities in this county are similar to those of the counties adjoining, and do not require any extended notice in this place. The ‘surface is generally rolling and pretty equally divided into timber and prairie land. The prairies are usually small, and possess a rich, productive clay-loam soil, that will never require manuring if properly cultivated with a judicious system of rotation of crops. The soil on the timbered lands is less uniform in quality than on the prairies, and its character is generally well indicated —8 50 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. by the growth of timber. Where this is mainly composed of two or three varieties of oak and hickory, the soil is thin and poor, and will require frequent applications of manure or other fertilizers to keep it up to the ordinary standard of productiveness for western lands. But where the timber growth is largely interspersed with elm, black walnut, linden, wild cherry, persimmon, honey locust, ete., the soil is good, and will rank favorably with the best prairie lands in its productive qualities. A large portion of the timbered land in the county is of this quality, aud when cleared and brought under cultivation, it produces nearly or quite as well as the best prairie land. I am indebted to Mr. J. B. Wor, of Olney, former county surveyor, for much valuable information, and for personal attention and assist- ance while at work in the county. CHAPTER V. WABASH AND EDWARDS _ COUNTIES, Wabash and Edwards are two of the smallest counties in the State, and laying contiguous to each other on its south-western borders, they may very properly be described together. Their aggregate area is about four hundred and twenty-five square miles, and their boundaries are as follows: Wabash is bounded on the north by Lawrence and Richland counties, on the east and south by the Wabash river, and. on the west by the Bonpass creek. Edwards county is bounded on the north by Richland county, on the east by Bonpass creek, on the south by White county, and on the west by Wayne. The only streams of any importance are those forming in part their respective boundaries, the Wabash river, by a south-westerly course, bounding Wabash county on the east and south, and the Boupass creek, with a course nearly due south, forming the dividing line between them. The latter stream winds its sluggish course through a broad alluvial valley showing no outcrops of the underlaying rock formations except at rare intervals. Along the Wabash, exposures of the rocky strata are more numerous, but as the course of the river is nearly on the trend of the underlaying formations, but a limited thickness of strata can be seen along the bluffs of this stream. The surface of the uplands is generally quite rolling, but there are some limited areas of rather flat timbered lands above the level of the river bottoms, and forming what may properly be termed terrace lamls. Both counties are heavily timbered, though there are some small prairies within their limits. A complete list of the trees and shrubs indigenous to Wabash county has been furnished for this report by Dr. J. Scarnck, of Mt. Carmel, which will be found further on. It is peculiarly interesting because it shows the presence here of some species hitherto supposed to belong exclusively to a more southern latitude. The geological formations to be seen in this county belong to the Quaternary and the upper Coal Measures. The former is more fully developed along the bluffs of the Wabash than elsewhere, and consist of the buff aud yellow marly sands and clays of the loess, and a mod- erate thickness of the gravelly clays of the drift- formation. 52 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. On the lower course of the Bonpass, in the vicinity of Grayville, and in some of the valleys of the smaller streams, stratified clays are found at the lowest levels seen, which may belong to an older deposit than the drift, and a heavy bed of this kind is reported to have been passed through in the boring south-west of Mount Carmel, but as it was over- laid by sandstone, and no rock of this kind is known in this county of more recent age than the Coal Measures, I am inclined to doubt the correctness of the report. However it is by no means improbable that there are old valleys along the Wabash, as well as the Mississippi and Ohio, that were filled originally with Tertiary or Cretaceous deposits, some of which still remain, and are now hidden by the subsequent accumulations of loess and drift. Indications of the existence of such beds have been found on the Ohio as far north as Louisville, and on the Mississippi for more than two hundred miles above St. Louis, the evi- dences being well preserved shark’s teeth found at various points within the region specified, some of which are too fragile and delicate to have been transported for long distances by drift agencies without destrue- tion. The reported sandstone above the clay in the boring is most probably a Coal Measure bed, and the reported clay beneath it may be a soft clay shale of the same age, such as is frequently met with in the coal-bearing formations. At Mount Carmel the loess and drift clays are about thirty feet in thickness, which is probably about the average in the vicinity of the river bluffs, while on the uplands, remote from the river, their average thickness is not more than fifteen to twenty feet, and at many points much less. In Edwards county the Quaternary beds present the same general character, and are considerably thicker in the bluffs on the lower course of the Bonpass than in the central and western portions of the county, where we only find from ten to twenty feet of buff or brownish gravelly clays overlaying the bed rock. Near Grayville the creek banks show outcrops of five to ten feet or more of stratified clays, variously colored, and seemingly derived from the decomposition of the clay shales of the Coal Measures, and above these we find from twenty to thirty feet of loess possibly covering a nucleus of gravelly drift clay. To the north and west the loess is not conspicuous, and in digging wells the bed-rock is usually reached after passing through ten or fifteen feet of brown drift clays. Coal Measures. In the bluffs of the Wabash river, at Mount Carmel, there is an out- crop of sandstone forming the lower portion of the bluff, underlaid by a blue clay shale but partially exposed. WABASH AND EDWARDS COUNTIES. 53 The following is a section of the bluff at this point: TIDES SET CHAE EY BloocondeconsncosSccosaucquesa Seg andosgsanddosbossasoubcnuHeqcac0qbDacSDUnHOCOSCEnSS ¢ Soft, shaly, micaceous sandstone.-.....-....-...------ Massive sandstone, partly concretionary ae iBlueiclayishale—partialiexpoOsureOfsekecsaaneeeenaeeamnc sence ee secs inee teeeccree tsetse Springs of water issue from the base of this sandstone, indicating the impervious character of the underlaying beds, even where there is no outerop of the shales. Locally the concretionary sandstone contains geodes of oxyd of iron, filled with a greenish or buff co'ored clay. The base of the above section is some fifteen or twenty feet above the low water level of the river, and the intervening beds which are probably shales are not exposed. A boring was made here for coal under the direction of Mr. J. ZOMLERMAN, to whom I am indebted for the follow- ing section of the beds passed through, and as the work was done with a hollow drill and prosecuted very carefully, the section is probably a very correct one. The bore was commenced just above the low water level of the river, and something like fifteen feet below the base of the foregoing section, and passed through the following beds: Ft. In Gs, Ue RAG cocecacessenscocccnnessscte coc nenbocoDacqUaSTNOus: HedsEeqooHoNoHBOsacoconoacabds 2 IG, 84 SEYGROTD coscnocctocs ssenco sok cess cosungad conadatodoscosodeaqHndocdTodccobpaDSgTS 2 tit Sb (GUNT GIBI On onceccccoccmascansoae cancascoccopacgnoaconsbdnooDaquasonsdeaodoonouNagnagan 4 No. 4. Sandstone 35 No. 5. Micaceous sandstone 0 10 No. 6. Hard, fine sandstone 4 BNOsm me ine-Clayitin ene taae ona cielse tea oem 1 No. 8. Coal and bituminous shale 0 4 Witte fo IRE EN poncecosecoesecconatactabassod ae 2) No. 10. Argillaceous sandstone.....-...-.------ soe 2 Wop iti, THUG IC cece caacssacéchdesccecoaoray 1 4 No. 12. Fire-clay -.-.--.-.- ee B ROACH OS ORE BO OI 5 8h 0 No. 13. Calc. shale and sandstone 32 Nos Calcwshalenwith Dlackispreaks ates ee cinecleee tiem ete isin ee einen ence comes inicieeeisee 20 . No. 15. Blue clay shale No. 16. Blue fire-clay-- 2 No. 17. Coal.....-.- 7 Nous) Eireiclay->------------ INO SaeAr ei laceonaplim CstLONG pees aa cen = cialan ema clsieleetelele.ereie a eal inniaeminin = alamlninintselieralelclaatel= 5 INO: 20° Hard ’sandstone) parting. = co -- = coe - meme wn nn elma annie ewinan imeem snlnnlniel “=n == 0 1 No 21. Hard gray limestone .-- 2 2 RtePeh LER ey COG ee ceos: cecsackecooncHecsecuocccqoceesansosepeacs Umcsyocecnceneadd lf NO, PSE NG EDGING iG a isecencoscecnosocosoccoorosesecoodToudaDoEconuacguenbSesacaoaa 2 No. 24. Calcareous shale -- 1 8 Band of iron stone.. 0 3 Variegated shale... 2 Hard gray limestone. - wu -$3 No. 28. Variegated shale.-..- 0 3 No. 29. Hard gray limestone. 2 4 No. 30. Variegated shale..--- 0 3 No. 31. Hard gray limestone.-..-.---..--2---02-- 2202-200 eee enn ene eee cen nee cee e eee nneees Saas 130 8 This boring was commenced near the horizon of No. 11 coal, and the beds passed through probably extend very nearly to No.7. The 54 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. following is the report of a bore made for oil one mile and a half south- west of the court house, commencing in a creek valley: Ty 1b SITE GES Ciretsso poscaSandoas coo SonconCCBEe nasa nabsnaccadscos secsHocososemecoreececcns Wo. 22 Sandstone.. =. 22. - 256 esc ccnn cs so st dee sea o rene sae ee aes oe pees eee see canes No. 3. Clay ? (probably clay shale) INO: 45.¢Sandstone) ss 25-2252 oe Sc oe ce cee ete e ae eae ee Se Re ee rae aa No. 5. Bituminous shale (probably blue clay shale) --....-.---------------------------+------ 32 EN Of OnmisaNOStON© Ga eereecen tena lee eee eee ene eere ees 1 6 Nowe /-mebibuminous(shalesssecsessseseree sas neea en nee 6 Rts GB RENUS20NG) =< ssescSssassccosatescouuscacocess INO 9S Bituminous shale joa ssae soe eetiaee ane case eee eee WNosl0h ‘Sandstone): <<. -2=--sscce cece nce en hen cee seen oes ae eeeee Now115 -Bitaminous|shaleic--22- os eeree sec eeceee IN OMI2S Sandston@jernce= sce cca te cence ene eee re ee ee eee ee ee eee eee i eeneeeae 4 No. 13. Bituminous shale, showing oily soot.- No. 14. Sandstone No.15. (\Veryjhard:limestones2 2 2ct-scnt-222-= sees ste eee s conse een ee cece a a eee cece eeees 24 Now165>Bituminons)shalesecccenjennce-eeesesen ee ese seeeneecees No. 17, “Sandstone --..05------ +> o-oo eseeececee No. 18g CoalNon9 ccs -ccscene sec eeecoecee seeeee iINo-19;7 eLimestone cee =~ see ea neee eee eeee ies) Non2 lee Sandstone ress ase ese see nee ene en ae No. 22. Mixture of sand and limestone ..-....-- ccs INo./23, “Yellow shale: 22-22 — <2 325 Locos sce c cic cess cs sec sae nose ceese ce secs cece oo cee cece reer eroeee IN0.}24> | Sandstone) -< 220 oe c= cates ce secon cee oases cee Soe e re eee ee ne hee eee eee eee 12 No. 25. Clay shale, with pyrites - IN ORDER Sandstone tc sea = sae oo e eee ere eens eee eee eee eae ae ateere eae eens Ow w ow ww ry No. 28. Sandy shale INO: 29:3 Sandstone -2--- ss. eon doeeoes cee No. 32. Bituminous shale --- No. 34. Compact limestone - 8 Noj3o; sBLUUMINOUS SNAlOt sees case seas eee ne oe eae sen Se eee ee eee eee eee ane ene 7 No N39 eLimejand (sandstone ic. a- = sea eres ees aaa a cre aa eee ee rea a ree nee aan nee 2 No: 40; (Bituminons|shale7osecs ana ce aces sas seas serene See a ran ee ne nee eee ae cleaee naar 5 It is hardly possible that the beds reported as bituminous shale in this bore could be anything more than ordinary blue clay shales, and as a rule I believe that but little dependence can be placed in the reported sections of oil well borings made in this State. By comparing this section with that made for coal it will be seen that there is a wide dis- crepancy in the descriptions given of the strata passed through in each, and although the oil well boring was carried down to the depth of about seven hundred feet, yet no coal was reported below the three feet seam found at the depth of four hundred and fifty-five feet, which probably represents coal No. 7 or 8 of the general section. The sandstone No. 2 of the oil well boring may be the same as No. 4 in the other, but there is very little correspondence in the lower strata, considering that the distance between the points where the borings were made is scarcely two miles in a direct line. WABASH AND EDWARDS COUNTIES. 55 In the bed of the river at low water there is an outcrop of micaceous sandstone No. 2, of the first boring, which contains iron nodules, some of which inclose fossil ferns, and one was found containing Leaia trica- rinata. In the bed of the river, a little further down, an impure argil- laceous limestone has been found below the river level. At Hanging-rock bluff, about three miles north-east of Mt. Carmel, there is an outcrop of massive sandstone similar to that at the town, which projects into the bed of the river at low-water, and rises above it to the hight of 30 to 35 feet. Three quarters of a mile nearly west of Hanging-rock, at Mr. REEL’s place, there is an exposure of the beds above the sandstone showing the following section: Ft. In. ROR ORO rat SIRI GE concn sesonsecticoossocssondecuoEadcoouoouaadesnasoersapauacoosaduesancdo 4to 6 TFT OPE (GLEE) comme coce nase oc Sen O SSeS ee HOBecHce orcas cE eacOcOCEReCO QU eSOSeCUeOSCaan lto 3 Wark hardibituminous limestoue=------s----+- = weeee == eee eae octane secineenseecmecine cs 3 Coal==NOsdO tern sence ernie en wc case eee tee tne eae eee sac ce cee s else weniniacitsicie 16 Cla yrshal @eemeree nace rere ee meee eee ee eee ns oe nie ee cleinnis saiceiere sineteceae ito 2 Massive SANOStONG sae see ieee see ine ete teelata cee eterna cetersleceiee steer seiroeaetstescciecyasncis 30 to 35 The limestone here is a steel-gray, passing into black, and weathering to an olive-brown, and filled with crushed shells of small size, among which AKhynchonella Osagensis seemed to be most conspicuous. It is possible that the sandstone at Hanging-rock belongs below that at Mt. - Carmel, as the beds seemed to rise to the northward, so far as we could find the rocks exposed, and this sandstone may be the bed No. 4 in the boring made at the river bank. This seems the more probable from the fact that no trace of the limestone or coal has been found above the Mt. Carmel sandstone, where it should appear if these sandstones are identical. Furthermore the outcrop at Hanging-rock is about a mile to the eastward of the Mt. Carmel bluff, and the general western dip of the strata would naturally bring up the lower beds in this direc- tion. Furthermore the rock seemed harder and appeared to be less affected by atmospheric influences at the former locality than at Mount Carmel. If the sandstone is the same at these localities, the limestone and coal at REEL’s place must be a mere local deposit; but I believe this limestone to be identical with that at Rochester mills in the river bank, which represents the horizon of No. 10 coal. On Coffee creek there is a good exposure of the beds overlaying this limestone, and the following section, commencing in the bed of the river at low-water mark, and extending up the creek for about a mile, shows the general charac- ter and relative position of the rocks in this vicinity : No. 1. Coal, hard and splinty—No. 13? Way Fp BRECON IIRGHL cocceeeacassHoconCecnic Sac r RCRD DES CSOacUnEOCHOSSodoceEDSDOnoEAD EN Osa o-me DROW Il) Sal pemeee eel eisa seen sanefet cs iaaeinele iocnineitacteciem tes snacioraciscicen ceeiats Noms shaly impure: Limestone y-sop- sesso sosenena nse cee aces sa eee nce amese mess NG oe Clayashial6s-sss-5 fo ease at core ete oe sane toca eaten ares hy (ip THEO MIE Ree cecorcce eee peleCe CCE CREED SO CCHOCOCE OE HSOOOEEC Ite Th CABS 1h I rece en REE ICC HED IO CIEL RIOCR CCE RICCO ORD OL COICO CID OSEROCCODIENOOS 56 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. No. 12. Clay shale...-... scteoussccca na cote ooo --15 to 18 -2to 3 1 No. 14. Dark shaly limestone INS Te: COSI Gy Th sobcccoseasscanboococbse: souncosdosooadaqSosocEcosasesacécchosadstade ° 0 NOG Clayishalonceseaesosseeee eee ase ieee Deon ROS ancacScaasasossane -- 3to 4 No. 17. Hard, nodular, dove-colored limestone... 550 SOLS SROCESOCES : 2 NOs See SOLUSHALCS yaane sees eats nsec eee ee eceee seat a ce maae l= seco sesaa el ORUON2O, No. 19. Hard, bituminous limestone. - memacao QSOS CO SOT a anooaSedone ae bam) 8} DSUs, COGAN GS To 8 So ea Has epee sae HES OSE CER OS RECO ReSaSU cEBOROOSHERHSHEEGaeoS 1 No. 21. Sandy shale, and sandstone in the river bed..............--..-.----------------- 8 The limestone No. 19 of the above section I believe to be identical with that at REEL’s place, and the sandy shale and sandstone in the river bed at Rochester mills to be the upper part of the Hanging-rock sandstone, and the. sandstone at Mount Carmel is probably the equiva- . lent of No. LL of the foregoing section. The upper coal on Coffee creek, No. 1 of the above section, is probably the same formerly worked by Mr. Smonps and others south-west of Mount Carmel, and is either a merely local seam, or a division of No. 12, as there is a heavy bed of - sandstone, usually from sixty to eighty feet in thickness, intervening between coals 12 and 13, of which there was no trace here, the covered space represented by No. 2 of the section not exceeding 8 to 10 feet in thickness. It is possible that the outcrop of No.1, which was only some two or three hundred yards from the outcrop of Nos. 7, 8 and 9, may be only a thickening and reappearing of the same seam at a little higher level. The outcrop at the highest exposure was in the bed of the creek, and no roof but sand and gravel was found above the coal. The shaly brown limestone No. 4 of this section contained a few fossils, among which I noticed Spirifer cameratus, Lophophyllum proliferum and joints of Crinoide. The hard, dove-colored limestone contained numer- ous examples of Productus Prattenianus, Aviculopecten Clevelandicus, and a small branching coral. The old coal shaft on Mr. Smronps’ place, about three miles south- west of Mount Carmel, has been abandoned for some time, and the sides have fallen in, so that nothing could be learned when I was there in regard to the thickness or quality of the coal, except from those who had worked in the mine when it was in operation. The seam is said to average about three feet in thickness, and lays from 30 to 35 feet below the surface. Section of Simonds’ coal shaft: 10 In. Drift:clay‘and! soil... so oe occ w cnn ccccceescccsccewsccasse seen s cease arama cee e eater 6 Argillaceous shale. -- ze Limestone....-.. 6 WABASH AND EDWARDS COUNTIES. 57 This seam has been opened by several parties in this neighborhood, but the shafts have all been abandoned. This coal probably corre- sponds to coal 11 or 12 of the general section. At HERSHEY’s old mill, on Raccoon creek, there is an outcrop of the same fossiliferous shales found at Lawrencevilie and Grayville, asso-_ ciated with coal No. 11. The section here shows the following beds outcropping in the bluffs of the creek : No: 1. Brown sandy shalesiand sandstone. .-- 2-2 ee nn ne ewe en ee mere encesence- No. 2. Blue and gray shales, the lower part argillaceous. - No. 3. Blue fossiliferous shale, with iron nodules...............--------------2e--- eee neon eee iINGssameBlackgiaminat ed: sialossameaeese eee eee ar sacar ese aeaecie atessscereetiesceren aes No. 5. Dark, bituminous limestone No woseBlacklaminatedsshal@senas aes seseeacese coon sedsesrecsc oe casescmceceeccieciecenasecweesis Wie Te UG) GEN) GAG ea ees soo coaster crea oneSacdeSocecooasegnonodscescassenacscs The argillaceous shales No. 2 of the above section contain numerous bands of argillaceous iron ore, which are more numerous in No. 3, and contain the same species of fossils that occur in the shale. I obtained here the following species: Plewrotomaria tabulata, P. spherulata, P. Grayvillensis, Bellerophon carbonarius, B. per-carinatus, Polyphemopsis per-acuta, Lophophyllum proliferum, Dentalium obsoletum, Orthoceras Rushensis, and Macrodon carbonaria. At Allendale this fossiliferous shale was found in a well sunk near the railroad, overlaid, as at HERSHEY’s mill, by sandy shales and sand- stone, which is found in sinking wells in the higher portions of the town. In one well near the summit level a thin coal 8 inches thick was passed through, with 2 feet of clay shale above it, and about the same thickness of fire-clay below. In the vicinity of Oriole the sandstone above this thin coal is found at several places, and quarries have been opened in it for building stone, flag-stones, ete. It probably underlays all the highlands in the north-west portion of the county. At JAMES McNAtR’s well, one mile and a quarter north of Friends- ville, the following beds were reported from memoranda furnished by Mr. J. ZOOMERMAN : In. SLEN GG EY ot ce Sats eccOnC COREE ICI CODEECOCE CE COED O REUSCH HED BOGE OC GEOOSHOCL OOO SIEAESCHSDEOIodS Impure coal, (probably bituminous shale)......-....---.--- Clay shale, with iron nodules......-..---.--.----..-------- Hard sandstone Gray sandstone, in even beds, 4 to 8 inches thick...--...... Sandyjahialesseeees- cca se seese sine eee cine cae wel wleciee'e Hard sandstone in two layers....-..--------2--0+-- eee neeeene=> 8 MAW Iban ODE REC cm cemcceceCnCOdEeMOCOle: OG HONC RUD OH SE COR BADD OREO OEHUDIUNU BOODCCOEEeHa (Sapte GOGH ALS) GT cececdccccotedec COST CECOSL EH NEO CHODODaDpSocHsScEocoODbeRpoEELaccabenEOd Q 57 4 At Mr. GILKERSONW’S well, in the same neighborhood, after reaching the coal found at the bottom of McNAtr’s well, a boring was made to the depth of 9 feet below the coal. The material obtained from the boring was a milk-white substance resembling fire-clay. —9 58 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. At Hamiker’s old mill on the Bonpass, a little north of west from Allendale, a bed of bituminous shale outcrops at the base of the bluff, overlaid by a conglomerate of ferruginous pebbles and a rather soft, thin-bedded sandstone. The section here is as follows: Ft. Shft-sthinibedded sandstone andishalo!s.sss-s-snse= ss see ceee sores see eee ane en eee eee 15 ernucinous.conglomeraten-- sa. see eas sacs sees eenceeee sane cines eetio ne asiece see emeeeenecineceae 3to 4 Hardiblackishal@seecsscise ce asco eee sae eee ie cine cee neces eee eine Se eceer te roeaeeee eee cece 2to 3 The black shale extended below the bed of the creek, and I could not learn that any coal had been found underneath it here. These beds resemble the outcrop at the iron bridge on the Little Wabash, between Albion and Fairfield. Prof. Cox reports the following sections at points I did not visit: “On sec. 5, T. 10, R. 12, there is a bed of light-blue clay, very plastic, exposed in the bank of Crawfish creek, as shown in the following section: Ft. In. Soilcalcareous'shaleand'limestone!=-- os 12 - on ner one in a nee eearae one ene enn ee ee eeenee en eee 16 (OGY) cas sbodeneeocodenanedadeséesoscands onc BacSReeaon Gas oSonooE Sa con ObeS so dactnacuscacHaasoNs 0 8 THING) Bhy She sen oon enacene ceo CSO ceSe CSE COSEO SOBRE SHOSD EGU aSOnAaSsags adoascacodedansessHedaectisdo 4 Sandstone in'thejbediof) the creek. < 22 < os -cnc nope tase nerwene eee emeceeen re seeeeeecoe tase stesee The caleareous shale above the coal contains the same species of fossils enumerated from the locality on Raccoon creek at Hamiker’s old mill, indicating the horizon of coal No. 11. “At EMANUEL REEL’Ss place, on sec. 8, T.1S., R. 12, blue limestone at the foot of the hill one foot thick, underlaid by a thin coal. Bluish shale and sandstone in the hill forty feet above. The well at the house went through soil and drift 10 feet, clay shale 4 feet, sandstone 29 feet. At Little Rock, on the Wabash river, sec. 19, T. 1 N., R. 11 W.: Ft. Shalejandtcowerod(slopes-ssecscessoascetetseene sence smaes aa senaamaes een ae eee sen ae neat ete 80 Sandstone inisolid\ bed s2-2 2 2. ccccs fae oeu cen) ae as ooa sca as se eane eee mnie soa nee eee cee eere eee 30” This hill forms a conspicuous land-mark on the river, and the sand- stone at the base is probably the same as that found at St. Francisville, a little higher up the river, in Lawrence county. EDWARDS County. The outcrops of rock in this county are few and widely separated, and no continuous section of the beds could possibly be nade from surface exposures only. The sandstones and shales inter- vening between coals No. 11 and 13 are probably the prevailing rocks. The following beds may be seen in the vicinity of Albion, in the rail- road cut and on the small creek that intersects the town: Ft. In Shale and shaly sandstone with a pebbly bed at the bottom..------..----..----.----------- 20 to 25 Sandstone, locally hard and concretionary....--..---------------------+-----+-------------- 8 to 12 Streak of Di tuminous SlalO asec esse sere ae cia = maaan ee ae eler= ame anne ame nr 0 3 Hardimadulanilim estone.--~- <1 —ns=— os ance e sae aw aes aoe a a P3 Shale with bands of argillaceous iron ore. ...-.-.-------------------------------------------- 4to6 Hard shaly sandstone. --.----..-..------- 2-2 nn nn nnn wn nn nnn nen nena Bto4d WABASH AND EDWARDS COUNTIES. 59 The conecretionary sandstone is their main quarry rock here, and it is sometimes quite hard and affords a very durable material for founda- tion walls. Above this there are some layers of even-bedded sandstone that, although rather soft when first quarried, become harder after exposure and make a fair building stone. At Dr. SmirH’s place, four miles north of Grayville on the west bank of the Bonpass creek, the hill rises to an elevation of about a hundred feet, but the beds forming its upper portion are hidden beneath a cov- ered slope. A thin coal is found in this hill at an elevation of thirty- six feet above the bed of the creek, which is underlaid by sandy shales and sandstones that form a precipitous cliff to the creek bed. The coal is about 8 inches thick and of good quality, aud is underlaid by a light- gray fire-clay. The sandstone and shale below this coal are the equiva- lents of the beds above the fossiliferous shale in the Grayville section, and the fossil bed of that locality would no doubt be found here a little below the creek bed. The thin coal found here has also been met with in sinking wells at Grayville in the upper part of the town. About half a mile above this, on the same side of the Bonpass, the same beds outcrop again where an old mill was formerly located. At the base of the bluff here there is from ten to twelve feet of blue shales partly argillaceous, and. passing upward into a sandy shale and sandstone twenty feet or more in thickness, with a partial outcrop of the thin coal and bituminous shale still higher up. This coal probably corresponds to the ten-inch seam No. 15 of the Coffee creek section. At Mr. NaAtLor’s place, six miles north west of Grayville, a coalseam was opened many years since and successfully worked for a time to supply the local demand for coal. It is probably the same seam worked by Simonds and others south-west of Mount Carmel. The seam is said to be about thirty inches thick and the coal hard and splinty, partaking of the block character. At the ford on the Little Wabash, eight miles north-west of Albion, on the S. W. qr. of sec. 7,T.158., R. 10 E., there is an outcrop of a thin coal associated with the following beds: 2 Ft. In. ie brown terrupinousiclaysnaleses ss. ess eee tem ce or ciercleeesninesecocecenececencesesccee 10 to 12 Pee SUITE beret ceoc ncn osab ee SHEL EA CCODDS CEBI IOC RSPB CSBIOROST CnS ROS CUROCODENOSNeyECBBODSSSD 0 10 BE. CQEN IETS oceereconcpcOncto HO ECeC ne DCD EDOL SICA ECHOES EOE OOTCOOTEA0B00 CEC He EE errr PEE EerE On 58 Gi UG COB eco nc ccd USES CECH ACSI CIE COR OCRECBOCG 9aL ICU LEBEN ETecnocEaSndCHeNSEHaRAEseaS 0 10 5. Shale with numerous bands of iron OTe ...-.-.---. 2-20-02 e enc cnn anne nn ccn cece csececenacens 4 Ga Giayssan dy sSualo seers ee ease = aeeeiccecselencseees seers cllestceetsnscis'= ce snicessccicl- 6 We ILLOMcONnClOMETALG UM Viner DEM ee iclelee ste a ale a slars efersiclei=(n\e=leleja'elare'sl=\oeia)7T.38., R.10 E., the bluff consists of sandstone and sandy shale, inclosing a bituminous shale and thin coal. The section here is as fol- lows: Feet. ° In Evenly bedded sandstone and sandy shale.............-.--..-------+---------------eee-- 30 to 40 Bituminousishale|and thin’ coal eee ee soe alas anemones qeinicteea sce ene ene eeneeaes eas 6, Clay shale. --..-.-- SESS COSI SCRE SOA CEES SO St SRI BOSRO SSSR ALS SEAS eSadcaceat atone 5 to 8 Massive sandstone, partly concretionary...-.. <2 22. ce acwerince see sameeren eae saa senate senae stasis saci aasisclesceernemess 20 to 30 Drift, with pebbles and small granite bowlders...........-..22---- eee sence eee eee eee eee eee 35 Silicious'shale Meccesenie sie =ccces cere etc ecsstececisestecsase secs sesesacite sescnseese see emmee eet 10 Sandstonete ac esccecoe alse ace oss e se acinoe ses stclecis se eeeci cat eriacacneineeesee emcee ese ase 2 Argillaceous'shale.cc--s«see<<-Sasneasaceesesaanamcnneceaesenecana saan seem sea= aaa see nace 10 Calcarcous fossil bandice cee ssoceeweeesecesesnessecenceemeee ences menace neenae seen e ee eenaete 3 TES) Eh ee pep cece nS COD ODS 0c GSES CRO UGE SOF CORUIKD OPE SSnenanEEcoDt teccdonseadoccanedecacccones 1 Mhin‘ooaliandifire-clayz-wasta-sssciscanaes cee stsdsnccesee ease samen eee nese e nest eaaneee ee ceeat 5 133 3 About a quarter of a mile south-west of this the sandstone of the above section is ten feet thick without seams. It is micaceous and soft when first quarried, but hardens on exposure and makes a good durable WHITE COUNTY. 73 building stone. Two and a half miles south-west of Phillipstown this same ledge of sandstone forms a low cliff along the eastern face of the ridge and in places is weathered into caves, locally called rock houses. On the road to Carmi the loess is replaced by a loose yellow sand, that forms a bluff on the eastern border of a prairie, which is succeeded by a shallow slough or swamp that was probably once the bed of an arm if pot the main stream of the Little Wabash. Section on Seven-mile creek, on the Mt. Vernon road and near the ferry on Skillet Fork, sec. 30, T. 4, R. 9 E.: Ft. In. LD la GES? ander ce rete cade CBee SOE CORES ERB EES SOOEEO HESHHOOSEECCOSSDS ceCeasSsedcadoncnNES 5 to 6 Arron ACGOUS SUG memee encneee seen eneee nanan elee se eeleaawas secatiamae cis stn eteiesme iat smisiameines sies 20 BESS GRATER ET Ue SS} 55 ELA DL AG Raa nem lat alent oc ef aateistetat ele =ie T= etat alata ciate 10 Coal ee ane ae core cee ca an swe mce cw ale ceisisinseatece ce noaciceds shoes cee en cee scnesceeaeee 1 TERRA BA Wo ceaccesecocorecetic Soe cease osod anor ceHaSU Do des Secs aac DDSoSEooedeSoas EE csnSSScNnEogaS 3 The black shale contained some poorly preserved specimens of Poly- phemopsis, Aviculopecten and Nucula ventricosa. The argillaceous shale twenty feet or more in thickness appears again on the creek a short distance below the opening to thecoal. _ On Limestone creek north of Enfield, 1.4 5., R. 8 E., there is an earthy limestone two feet thick passing down into hard silicious fire-clay. No fossils in the upper part, but the lower part contains rootlets of Stig- maria. This rock has been burned for lime, and hence the name of the creek. A thin coal is found at the following localities in this county not -already mentioned: Sections 16 and 18, T. 4, R. 8; sec. 8, T. 5, R. 10; sec. 30, T. 4, R. 9; sec. 21, T. 6, R. 8; sec. 3, T. 6, R. 10; and sec. 19, Abe Gin dite OY Economical Geology. Building Stone—Sandstone of a fair quality for building purposes is found at a number of localities in this county, as noted in the sections already given in the preceding pages. At Carmi the brown sandstone that forms the bed rock in the south-east part of the town is an even* bedded ferruginous rock, that hardens on exposure and makes a very good building stone. On Grindstone creek, six or seven miles south of Carmi, on the New Haven road, a bed of gray sandstone is quarried for building stone, and affords a durable stone for all ordinary purposes. Near Gossett station an excellent flagstone may be obtained as well as heavier bedded sandstone for other purposes. This rock is: micaceous and cuts freely, and could be cheaply wrought into door sills, liutels, window caps and sills, ete. The sandstone outcropping in the bluffs of the Wabash river from -Phillipstown to Grayville affords good building stone at many points, —i1L 74 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. as does that also that outcrops farther south at Grand Chain. In the bluffs of the Little Wabash, near the north line of the county, there is from thirty to forty feet of sandstone, nearly all of which might be used for building purposes, and the upper beds are in even layers of moderate thickness, that could be cheaply quarried. Coal.—No coal seam thick enough to be worked advantageously was found outcropping in the county, and the only resource of this county in that direction is in the main coals of the lower measures. ‘These coals may be found here, in my opinion, at a depth of two to four hun- dred feet in any part of the county. At Carmi, and along the Wabash south of Grayville, coal No. 7 ought to be found not more than one hun- dred and fifty feet below the river level, and if that should be found too thin to be worked to advantage, about a hundred feet more would reach No. 5, one of the most persistent seams that we have in the Illinois coal basin. Situated as Carmi is at the junction of two important railroads, the citizens could well afford to make a test experiment with the drill, in order to determine whether they have coal beneath the surface at areasonable depth and of sufficient thickness to justify the sinking of a shaft. This is a matter of public interest, and so far as the test experiment is concerned, the expense should be shared by the property holders of the town, and when this point is settled private enterprise will do the rest. Brick materials.—Sand and clay suitable for brick making may be found iu every neighborhood, and on the uplands on nearly every farm. Sand for mortar and cement is also abundant at some localities, as between Carmi and Phillipstown, where a bed of clean yellow sand is found replacing the loess. Soil and Agriculture—The soil of this county includes three quite distinct varieties, to-wit: The low alluvial bottoms skirting the main water courses, and subject to annual overflow; the higher alluvial lands south-east of Carmi, between the Little Wabash and the chain of ponds already referred to as indicating an ancient river channel, which are mostly above high water; and the rolling uplands forming the northern and western portions of the county. There is a small prairie on this second or higher bottom between Carmi and Phillipstown, about five miles in length by two in breadth, and also two small prairies on the northern border of the county and partially within its limits, but the remainder of its surface was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber. On the low bottoms between the Fox river and the Wabash, cane-brakes are frequently met with, the canes usually ranging from three to six feet in hight. This is the most northerly point that we have observed this shrub growing in Illinois. The soil on the low river bottoms is exceedingly productive, and especially adapted to the growth HAMILTON COUNTY. 15; of corn, ang were it not for the annual river floods would be the most valuable land in the county. The higher alluvial land skirting the Little Wabash south of Carmi has a sandy soil, not quite so productive as that on the low river bottoms but yielding fair crops of corn, wheat oats and grass, and easily cultivated. On the uplands the soil is gener- ally a clay loam, similar to that of Wayne and Edwards, but more variable in its productive capacities, in consequence of the inequalities of the surface. On the oak ridges the soil is thin and yields only light crops of corn, but is better adapted to small grains and grass, while the valleys and the level stretches of land between them have a deep loamy soil that is very productive, yielding good crops of all the cereals usually grown in this portion of the State. For a list of the trees of this county the reader is referred to that already given in the report on Wabash county. HAMILTON CoUNTY embraces an area of four hundred and twenty- three square miles, and is bounded on the north by Wayne county, on the east by White, on the south by Saline and on the west by Franklin and Jefferson counties. There are no streams of any considerable size in the county. The northern portion however is drained by the tributa- ries of Skillet Fork, the main stream intersecting the north-east corner of the county, and the southern by the North fork of Saline, several branches of which take their rise near the center of the county and coalesce near the south line to form the main stream. The surface is generally rolling, and was originally mainly covered with timber, though there are two or three small prairies within is borders. Superficial Deposits—The alluvial deposits in this county are limited to the valleys of the small streams mainly tributary to the North fork of Saline, and are seldom more than a mile in width. They are very heavily timbered with several varieties of oak, hickory, elm, linden, ash hackberry, black and white walnut, poplar, sugar maple, ete. The drift deposits on the uplands range from ten to thirty feet in thickness and consist of yellow and buff gravelly clays, with small bowlders of northern origin varying in size from a few inches to a foot or more in diameter. Branches of trees and sometimes the stems also, of consider- able size, are met with in sinking wells through the drift in this county, as well as nearly every other portion of the State, and very frequently the ancient soil in which they grew remains in situ beneath the gravelly clays.and hard pan of the drift. Stratified Rocks.—The rock formations of this county belong to the upper Coal Measures, ranging from the horizon of coal No. 10 to coal No. 13, and including a total thickness of one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet of rock strata, but affording but little coal thick enough to be worked to advantage. 76 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. About a mile a little south of west from McLeansboro, at Mr. JAMES McGILLEY’s place, sandstone is quarried to supply the demand for - building stone in this vicinity. The stone is of a good quality, very evenly bedded, and can be quarried in slabs of any desirable size, and varying in thickness from two or three inches to two feet. The bed is from five to six feet thick at this quarry, and it affords most of the building stone used in McLeansboro and the adjoining neighborhood. The rock dresses easily and hardens on exposure, and can be cheaply cut for window caps and sills, ashlars, ete. The sandstone is underlaid at the quarry by about three feet of shale which farther down the branch thickens to ten or twelve feet, when the banks of the stream become alluvial and no further outcrop is seen for some distance. Above the quarry rock there is a partial outcrop of ten to fifteen feet of sandy shale, with a few thin layers of sandstone intercalated therein, from two to eight inches thick. At Mr. Rice’s place, about a mile north of McGilley’s quarry, there is a band of hard argillaceous limestone from a foot to eighteen inches in thickness, outcropping at_a considerable higher level than the sand- stone at McGilley’s. The limestone is overlaid by fire-clay and a thin seam of coal, which has been worked in a small way by stripping at several places hereabouts. The limestone has been burned for lime, but is evidently too impure to slack freely, and moreover, the bed is too thin to be profitably quarried for any purpose. It contains no fossils. On the north side of the ridge about a quarter of a mile from Rice’s, there is another outcrop of the limestone where lime has been burned, and here it is overlaid by a black shale containing concretions of black — limestone or septaria. At Mr. BARNET’s place, on Hog prairie, the coal overlaying the lime- stone is from eight to twelve inches thick, with from one to two feet of fire clay between. In the early settlement of the country this coal was worked by stripping to supply the neighboring blacksmiths, but since the opening of the heavy beds in Saline county the work here has been abandoned. ‘This limestone is probably somewhere from thirty to forty feet above the highest beds seen at McGilley’s quarry, and the follow- ing section will show the general relation of the strata seen between Hog prairie and McLeansboro: Ft. In. Mellow ferruginousishale soem cece ncisanen ree nv e ance names tee men scence eaten ee tale ee ; 10 Black, or/dark-blue}bituminous ehalesssessscss= soso senate ae ne se ee en 2to 3 COU Baap ase aSS coo Dosa Saeb no soStiaspoonoonbs Saabanocoaasog Scucenasondetoapecancncebusescacs 3to L TOTEE Ph (enone pO c HOE BE SeCC6 Aas Sona HEHE naa eS Enea SS BBE HSS Ro RE Re SCAR aauanSbssaccebosobesces 1to 2 ILiIMCStON Gl -eec ae ces esse tease eee ne eee eee ae nee aa ea eee ae eae ee lto 1 6 Spacemnexposed, estimatediat)=----co--- 2) eco ae sees rors eee tease ee een ee eee 30 to 40 Shalejandithin’ beddedisandstone.----.---s--esea nee ee ae es soe ae eee ne eee eee eee 10 to 12 Evenly bedded'sandstoneat McGilley's\- ==). --- -se ncaa aamewe sansa e cman = eee selene ee 5 Nand yshalesicccccc co scsesccccencseasceeesone ses eee eset ates ea aeaea nea ee ese eee = eee 8 to 10 HAMILTON COUNTY. 7 This coal seam is probably nowhere more than twelve to fifteen inches thick in this part of the county, and the coal is rather soft and slaty, but quite free from pyrite, and is a very fair blacksmith’s coal. The limestone is a hard fine grained grayish rock, weathering to a yellowish- drab, and when thoroughly burned is said to yield a strong dark colored lime. To the westward of Hog prairie Sandstone and sandy shales outcrop at intervals in the small branches and in the hill sides to the Jefferson county line, just beyond which the following beds were seen, and as they probably underlay the north-west part of Hamilton county from the prevailing north-easterly dip of the strata, I deem it. proper to give a description of them in this place. At Dr. WILKEY’s place on sec. 36, T.48., R. 4 E., the following section was seen: Ft. Shales, sandy at the top bnt passing into blue clay shales below ....---------------0+-ee+2+-2- 18 to 20 Calcareo-bituminons shale with fossils, the upper part passing locally into shaly bituminous ESAT cocina sce ccoase sc noccem ne cecmoneceocdeccose sacasondarooppaasdadononadsosesetesices 4 to 6 (CORE cme coe sdecéccscoccneoteascetoddbsoro nose cocdaccuabosagasecbdandcagednodsaSearsacosacnodeaca lk to 3 AC TER Ecc scan Satter re escc coc noEntccandentie pc edbornussoouconooanaSasepddasdadoacaasod 2 Shaly micaceous sandstone with fragments of plants....-...--...---.--.-20-22222-0-eee eee eee 8 to 10 Among the fossils found here I recognize the following species: Orthoceras Rushensis, Bellerophon carbonarius, B. Montfortianus, Euom- phalus subrugosus, Nucula ventricosa, Astartella vera, Leda Oweni, Macro- don carbonaria, Spirifer plano-convecus, Chonetes Flemingii, Synocladia biserialis, Lophophyllum proliferum, and plates and spines of Hupachy- crinus. About a mile north of Dr. WILKEY’s on Mr. JINES’ place another coal seam is found where the coal is about eighteen inches thick, and over- laid by a few inches of bituminous shale without fossils, passing upward into a chocolate-colored shale, of which about two feet in thickness is exposed on the branch in stripping the coal. This seam is opened on a small branch running north-eastward into a tributary of Skillet fork, and the coal dips in the same direction about with the fall of the creek, while the outcrop at Dr. WILKerY’s is on one of the branches of the Middle fork of Big Muddy, which runs to the south and south-west- ward. The coal at Mr. JINES’ mine seemed to be harder than that at Dr. WILKEY’S, and while at the latter locality the coal was quite varia- ble in thickness, ranging from eighteen inches to nearly or quite three feet; at the former it varies but little from eighteen inches. I have no doubt but these outcrops are on two distinct seams, probably the equiva- lents of Nos. 10 and 11 of the general section. In the vicinity of McLeansboro the strata seem to be nearly horizontal, no continuous dip in any direction being perceptible, but to the westward between Hog prairie and the county line there appeared to be a decided dip to 718 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. the north-eastward. These two coals, and possibly a still higher seam, No. 12 of the general section, must underlay the north-west corner of Hamilton county, and where there is no outcrop they will probably be found at a depth of less than a hundred feet from the surface. Five miles south-west of McLeansboro, on the old Lockwoop estate, there is a thin coal from six to fifteen inches in thickness, overlaid by bituminous shale, which passes upward into gray silicious shale and sandstone, the latter but partially exposed. The coal is rather slaty, and has only been worked to a limited extent by stripping at the out- cfop in the banks of a small branch. Neither the quality nor thickness of the coal would justify any attempts at systematic mining here. On Esq. Twiees’ land, about three miles west of Rectorsville station, a thin coal was found in sinking a shallow well near a sandstone quarry. The coal and a few inches of bituminous shale forming its roof lies immediately below the sandstone, but no outcrop of it could be found. It is probably too thin to be of any practical value. The sandstone quarry shows a space of about three feet in thickness of soft micaceous evenly bedded rock in layers from one to six inches thick, and contains fragments of plants and numerous casts of Aviculopecten rectilaterarius. Quarries have been opened at several places in this vicinity in this sand- stone, and the coal has been found in several wells, but always too thin to be of any practical value for mining purposes. At Hood’s old mill on the North Fork, about two miles and a half south-east of Rectorsville station, the folowing beds outcrop in the blutfs of the stream: Ft. Brown: 'shal 65. 3.essceece ser esc ose cee ceecsose se ecs sgoneseccsestee sees Soee sere wece emcee seer eee re 2 Hard'chocolate-brown; shaly, micaceous sandstone: ----.- 2-2 cee cesece ee cec cer osc oe cece ce se cioee ce 55 Sand yemicaceous| Shale roe jae cmc ccleaner ele wee eles lola ce siete seal caste se laleine aie eee ieee ae eae 14 The chocolate-colored sandstone at this locality resembles somewhat the brown calcareous sandstone found in the bed of the creek at Carmi, but it is less calcareous here if they are equivalent strata, and contains ‘but few fossils, and none of the species most characteristic of that bed in White county. The fossils observed in it here were Productus Prat- tenianus, P. Nebrascensis, Terebratula bovidens, Bellerophon, Fenestella, and joints of Crinoidea. Hand specimens of this sandstone, which is here ferruginous and perhaps slightly calcareous, very closely resemble those from the White county localities, and it is quite possible they may represent equivalent strata, and if so this is probably about the lowest bed ontcropping in this county. The following outcrops are reported by Prof. Cox: “On sec. 23, T. 5, R. 5, on Knight’s prairie, coal is found reported to be eighteen inches thick, overlaid by argillaceous and silicious shale. At J. M. McDaAnrev’s well on sec. 5, T. 5, R. 6, passed through eighteen HAMILTON COUNTY. ao, feet of sandstone and two feet of blueshale. Mr. JoHN HALL, in digging a well on Knight’s prairie, struck coal at the depth of seventeen feet. Earthy limestone one foot thick exposed at S. LANg’s, also at PLATT STEPHENS’ on sec. 16, T. 5, R. 7, where it is exposed in the bed of a branch overlaid by ten feet of silicious shale. A thin coal is found on sections 14 and 23, T. 5, R. 7.” These isolated sections give the general character of the outcrops to be seen in this county, but they afford no data on which to construct a connected section of the several beds that outcrop within its borders. It is probable the total thickness of the strata that appear in natural outcrops within the county do not exceed one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet, and include no important limestones, and no coal seams above fifteen to eighteen inches in thickness except in the north-west corner of the couuty, where coals Nos. 10 or 11 may perhaps be found from two to two and a half feet thick. Economical Geology. Building Stone-—Sandstone of a fair quality for building purposes may be obtained at several places in this county, and the quarry at McGILLEY’s, one mile south-west of McLeansboro, furnishes a good material for flagging and for cut stone, as well as foundation walls, ete. This quarry furnishes most of the stone used at McLeansboro and in the adjoining neighborhood. A similar sandstone is found outeropping on a branch about three miles north-west of McLeansboro, a tributary of the Skillet Fork, and several quarries have been opened in the bluffs of the stream. In the southern part of the county the supply of good stone is not abundant, but the bed of micaceous sandstone near ’Squire Twices’ place, three i.iles west of Rectorsville station, affords a soft rock in thin beds that is used for walling wells, for foundations, ete. The hard chocolate-colored micaceous sandstone at Hood’s old mill, on the North Fork, near the south line of the county, affords a very dura- ble stone, but is too thin bedded for heavy masonry. The only bed of limestone seen in the county is too thin to be of_any practical value for building purposes, and is unevenly bedded and nodular in structure. Coal.—The coal seams appearing above the surface in this county are mostly too thin to be worked systematically, and no coal is mined in the county at the present time except by stripping. The coal at Dr. WILKIE’S, just over the line in Jefferson county, attains locally a thick- ness of about two feet and a half, and if that thickness should prove persistent it might be worked to advantage in the usual way by a tunnel or a shallow shaft. This seam probably underlays the north-west corner of Hamilton county, aud would be found at a depth of fifty 80 2 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. to a hundred feet below the surface. The seam above it worked by Mr. JINES, north of WILK1#’s, affords a harder coal, but it seldom excceds a thickness of about eighteen inches, aud can only be worked by strip- ping. The coal on Hog prairie ranges from eight to fifteen inches in thickness, and is not much worked at the present time. The main coals lay at a considerable depth in this county, and may be reached by deep shatts whenever the demand for coal shall be such as to justify extensive mining operations. The approximate depth to No. 7 coal would proba- bly not be more than two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet in the south part of the county, and from three huudred and fifty to four hundred in the northern portion, aud No.5 may be found about a hundred feet below No. 7. These depths will prove to be no serious obstacle in the way of coal mining whenever the demand for a large amount of coal shall arise. Time.—The thin band of limestone below the coal on Hog prairie has been burned for lime, but the bed is too thin to furnish an adequate supply for the wants of the county, and the quality is inferior to that obtained from St. Louis. Clay and Sand.—Olay suitable for brick making is abundant in every neighborhood, and may be obtained from the subsoil of the upland alinost anywhere that it is required, and sand suitable for mortar and cement is also abundant, ‘ Mineral Springs—There is a Chalybeate spring one and a half mile east of McLeansboro, the water of which is strongly charged with car- bonate of iron. The water in Dr. DEFOr’s well, in McLeansboro, is also highly charged with mineral substances, of which the following qualitative analysis has been furnished by Prof. Cox: Neutral to test paper. Sulphate of lime. Sulphate of protoxyd of iron. Chioride of magnesia. Sulphate of magnesia. Carbonate of lime. Chloride of sodium. Sulphate of alumina. Carbonate of maguesia. Mr. J. M. MCDANIEL’s thineral spring north of town, is a strong, saline, sulphureted water, that would probably prove beneficial in cases of general debility. The water in Dr. DEFOE’s well probably derives its mineral properties from the shale overlaying the thin coal that outcrops on Hog prairie, as that coal and the overlaying shale was passed through in sinking the well, and the two springs above named may derive their mineral ingredients from the same source. Possibly this shale may be the same that imparts its mineral properties to the water at several localities in Wayne county, especially west and north of Fairfield. Soil and Agriculture——On the main branch of North Fork and on some of the smaller streams in this county there are belts of alluvial bottoms of variable width, that were originally covered with a heavy HAMILTON COUNTY. 81 body.of most excellent timber. These lands possess a very rich soil, usually a sandy loam, and when cleared and brought under cultivation they are the most productive lands in the county. The prairies are small, and occupy the highlands forming the water shed between the streams. The soilis a chocolate-colored clay loam of average quality, and produces fair crops of corn, wheat, oats, grass, ete. Some of the best timbered uplands are equally as productive as the prairie, especially those on which the timber growth consists in part of black walnut, elm, linden, sugar maple, wild cherry, etc., in addition to the common varie- ties of oak and hickory. The oak ridges along the breaks of some of the streams have a thin soil with a stiff clay subsoil, and need the fre- quent application of artificial stimulants, in the way of manures, or by fallowing and plowing under green crops, to retain their productive qual- ities. These lands will produce good crops of wheat and clover, and by judicious management may easily be made to repay the labor of the well skilled husbandman. As an agricultural region this county ranks favorably with those adjacent in Southern Illinois, and the completion of the St. Louis and Southeastern railroad gives to the products of the county an easy access to the St. Louis market, or that of the large cities on the Ohio and the Lower Mississippi rivers. —12 CHAPTER VII. WAYNE AND CLAY COUNTIES. Wayne county embraces an area of seven hundred and twenty square miles, and is bounded on the north by Clay and Richland counties, on the east by Richland and Edwards, on the south by White and Hamil- ton, and on the west by Jefferson and Marion. It is located on the southern border of the prairie region, and at least three-quarters of its surface was originally timbered land. The prairies are mostly small, the largest being that in the northern portion of the county between Elm creek and Skillet Fork. The principal streams in the county are the Little Wabash, and Elm creek, its principal western affluent, which drains the eastern division, and Skillet Fork, with its numerous small branches which flow through the south-western part of the county. The surface is generally rolling and elevated from fifty to a hundred feet above the beds of the streams. The bottoms on Skillet Fork and Little Wabash are rather low and flat and heavily timbered. The geological features of this county are very similar to those of Wabash and Edwards, the drift deposits and upper Coal Measures being the only formations exposed. In the southern portion of the county the drift clays seldom exceed a thickness of fifteen to twenty feet, and in sinking wells the bed rock is often found at a depth of ten or twelve feet below the surface. Towards the northern boundary of the couuty they are somewhat heavier, and on Elm creek there are blufts thirty feet or more in hight that seem to be composed entirely of drift. Here the lower portion consists of the bluish-gray hard-pan that has been more particularly described in the report on the more northerly counties, where it is sometimes found from fifty to seventy-five feet or more in thickness. The upper portion of these superficial deposits may be represented along the bluffs of the Little Wabash by a few feet of loess, but generally it consists of yellowish brown gravelly cliys and sand, with numerous rounded pebbles and occasionally bowlders of metamorphic rock of moderate size. Locally the grav. liy clays are tinged a reddish-brown color, with the red oxyd of iron, derived proba- bly from the decomposition of a ferruginous sandstone that forms the bed WAYNE COUNTY. 83 rock in many places in the southern part of the county. The undula- tious of the surface often take the form of long ridges from thirty to forty feet in hight, with a direction nearly parallel with the courses of the streams. These ridges usually have a nucleus of sandstone or shale, but their sides are so gently sloping and the drift clays cover them so evenly, that the bed rock is seldom exposed to view. The streams are sluggish and meander through wide, flat valleys, seldom showing any outerop of the bed rock along their courses. This renders the construction of continuous sections very difficult, and the determin- ation of the true sequence of the strata can only be made in a general way, by the examination of isolated outerops. Coal Measures. At the iron bridge on the Little Wabash, on the stage road from Fairfield to Albion, the following section is,to be seen on the east bank of the stream : Sandstone, partly in regular beds, and partly massive......--.-----------2eeeee ene e renee eee nese Pebbly conglomerate, with fragments of coal and mineral charcoal Black laminated shale, with concretions of bituminous limestone.............----------- = Hove-colored'clay shale; with tossil feruss- =< =e ) Rock with’ a few fossils.c2s 22s conc oe nose ee aetes senses coat ae seee eee oe eee see aes sere 1 945 (Coal; No. 10%. 222s. tse teseen scence een ccecee see ee eso eee cee eoesae eee ea ee eee en 16 Dis at 8 bh en eso eee tae COCRO ES EEOC SCRA ASUS ant AsO aS COST OL Ec canto enous sedsasuabedecrepcsesas 26 26. ‘Sandstone. <2. 22-6 sis cscs cess csres seen swe sees ete eee eee ee een ee sees sane cease ae eee eee 11 6 21; Blue shale. .c222 cscs sscnc tose sack ese cacese se toeeeee eee et eee Sees e eee eee eee eee 4 QBS SANUSLONG Sere nm clea ate meteeie mia ae ee ee 2 CLAY COUNTY. 91 Ft. Tn. PG UY EASA Dom eng Soo scones sa ce COS ERO OSS SERS ODOS OREIEOHIE COCO OCO HENS SS DROS SCHON OS OB OESOSEaaS 15 SUS 1D Tyr 12 en mode nbqnes cab acocascbb ocesoecoaseesoccecnasoucneesccsoucocossssosadsesoce 10 SIs Shel @ ees see Saw ae ne ete eee eae ene Rog Sates eee Waaeeee ase see taca Seen 23 SP FEB RI es oo Sees ACHES RO DO REE E OOO E OOO REE ESSE CO OUC Hee on SoeonenogsEoScsqucs#a5 4 SBt: SN Ce ennn son naokcno actor odnacs na nacsdononaosade sab boocooroespedsseaacoonqceosudedsoscsogs 11 Bub GAIT E = cb SSS ecera Gc Cbd aS SEER EOS Soon CORE ROE DSUR DS cUHCUEU doa baBSBnDSeopoocuSsesudoEda uf 35. Clay shale 36. Sandstone Te UBT ORT Cease ee nerosasc Pac CUR OCOS EROS OOSEnOSSacaaegog 38. Gray sandstone So far as it is possible to correlate this section with what is known of the upper Coal Measure strata of Central Lllinois, I am inclined to believe that the 10-foot bed of hard rock described in the boring as flint - is the limestone of Shoal creek and Carlinville, which is usually a very hard rock, and that the succeeding coals are 10, 11, 12, and 13 of the general section. The small coal outcropping north of Hoag’s quarries about two miles, at JACOB SPIKER’S place, is probably No. 15, and the next succeeding seam would be the Nelson coal of Effingham county, which outcrops in this county about two miles north-west of Louisville, and at several points north-west of there in the bluffs of the Little Wabash and its tributaries, aud will be more particularly described further on in this chapter. One mile north of Xenia a fine evenly bedded freestone is extensively quarried by Mr. Hoae. The rock is a rather fine-grained sandstone in even layers from two inches to two feet in thickness, and can be easily quarried in Jarge slabs. It is partly brown and partly of a bluish-gray color, dresses freely and hardens after being taken from the quarry, and is the best building stone known in this portion of the State. The rock is as evenly bedded as the magnesian limestone of Joliet, and the thin layers make good flagstones, while the heavier beds afford a fine quality of cut stone for ashlars, window caps and sills, lintels, etc. A large quantity of this stone is furnished to the city of St. Louis, where it bears an excellent reputation as a superior building stone. About eight feet in thickness of this freestone is worked in this quarry, the heaviest beds ranging from one foot to thirty inches in thickness. This sandstone is overlaid in the vicinity of this quarry with twenty to twenty-five feet of soft brown shale with numerous bands of iron ore, closely resembling the shales on the waters of Raccoon creek south-west of Flora and described in the report on Wayne county. The water of a well sunk in this shale, about half a mile north of Hoag’s quarry, has the same taste as that at McGannon’s spring near the north line of Wayne county, and I have no doubt the shales are identical. The shale here contains numerous bands of iron ore of good quality, and several points were observed on the small branches north-east of the quarry, aud not more than a mile distant, where from twelve to sixteen inches 92 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. of good ore could be obtained from a vertical thickness of four or five feet of shale. The thin coal at Spiker’s place overlays this shale, and the beds exposed there gave the following section: Ft. In. Bituminous shalesseccesenscoce ees aces a aenere senine Gecaacicesn sce enaasimcememanisee seat e 4 Hard blue limestone (septaria).....--.-- SESS O GEER EOC D EBSD SRpcachoa oo coon acnuabaedeaod 6inchestol. 6 iBlneishnlesesesce soos eecccasee sean = aeminaaten ene SCeOOOSCOSanSCEODeOoscooKSSOnadeDess 1 ft. tol 6 CON Se cnesecsatdasaqde canoe Suan anceEscQeo6 cea NeoHO SoS OREN sda mOadeSSenonEoDassesanages0aS26095 6 ire-clay,andclayShalesscerese tas ssc ae sine secisesweerien cloe steemees set seniee a aatetaaleieecisea ete 2 A few well preserved fossils were found in the septaria over the coal, among which were Nautilus occidentalus, Macrocheilus inhabilis, Productus pertenuis, Spirifer cameratus, Myalina sub-quadrata, Chonetes, joints of Crinoidea, ete. All the beds exposed from Hoag’s quarry to this point are probably above those passed through at the Xenia bore. At Mr. Joun Lamxing’ place about two miles north-west of Louisville, — on the N. W. qr. of sec. 20, T. 4, R. 6, there is an outcrop of gray lime- stone underlaid by a coal seam which ranges from twelve to eighteen inches in thickness, and is worked by Mr. LAMKINS in a limited way, affording a coal of fair quality. The limestone over the coal is a compact, hard, gray rock, ranging from three to four feet in thickness, containing numerous fossils that may be obtained from the calcareous shaly layers associated with the limestone, in a fair state of preservation, The section here is as follows: Mp abe ‘Baffjshaleswaithiirony bandswosssosse secs ce sce se se ese ne ese cee e cn enee ese coe se ecesoeteeences 5 to8 Conipactigrayilimestonele..a-cesescemtiescee accion sseeaccnee as caeeesnaee ates aa -eceseecoeee 3to4 Calcareons}shal @pesecear ssesee ae secre secieenene meee eeces ease eer e ieee eee eee ce eens 2to3 (OTA he echo poe bod SSobcdou nada Gaceca boa eon caUaHbaddnadaouoseansuacenasodscnbenascaacncadaes ltol 6 Claysshaleiontire-clay.c.--ae=222---- =. - 5. an eee Soot Of aa BlaGksahal ater eee omen ene ne eae sees Stae ----8 to 10 Calcareous pyrite band - Soe cocs occ ereeeeet Boseenessuoade 0 3 Blueyah aleve ss eee oo ae as TR a a noes aes a oes Soa ee a Sandstone, thin bedded at the top and heavy bedded below 20 to 30” On another ravine leading to the river he reports the following sec- tion, showing still further changes in the lithological character of the beds above the sandstone: In, SO EM GS LON Ore ene eres roa cinee ace secinan ae cocnaes soneate eae aera cent etecaaenissseccssweree 6 BGUIMINOUS | SURO see mee tee He core e esa ae cae ete eo cass me acecee yi etmccccses bo 8 Gratysslal geese nan eae oct ae see a ea a oe aaa nen een aecoaccen cise sats Decomposin SaNOS LONG eee asmae wees seat e aan aera Goalis==---2 >= 3 Blue clay -----..- 3 Coal tesa. 2-2. vecetewces oe eees By Blue shale, with fossil plants --- Brash) coal nse acc saccceneee 1 Blnearpillaccous shalepe es seaa- nee seceewonnseee er scesacecce ese. ewe cece tjaser-iaena n= Solid sandstone, not measured.” At the old mill on the Pole-cat creek, known as the Whorl mill, the following beds are to be seen : Ft. In. Sandstone, in thin beds, with pebbles in lower layers 10 to 12 TIERONE GER EG ee ep RR ECR CREE CERES CE COIS CODER EEE OREREOnR OSS HECOSanOuaS acc ceceeeeeneee 0 10 Clay shale -----—--- nee. 6 to 8 CGE p ecceecce cd cnccec tener eC CeCe CEC CE RE CUc cece COCS CCOBE RH DUD DOOR CD ACO CHIE ROO NOOUOBOOORHOEHEaSsO0d 0 3 RU GRRE Caner perc can cnScsoC OOD CROCE CONOR COI EO SHEE ROSE CECE HOSOI OSE COE DOGOUOSEHES 2to 3 About two hundred yards to the westward of the mill the sandstone extended below the bed of the creek, showing a decided dip of the strata in that direction. This locality was visited especially on account of the reported occurrence-of silver or some other valuable mineral at this point, but the reputed silver proved to be nothing more than the glit- tering scales of mica which was very abundant in the sandstone. On the Embarras, about a mile and a half or two miles below the mouth of Brush creek, a hard brown argillaceous limestone from eight to ten feet in thickness outcrops above the bed of the stream and over- 108 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. lays a seam of coal that has been worked to a limited extent in this vicinity. This limestone is rather darker colored and more heavily bedded than the Fusulina limestone of Cumberland county, and might be supposed to belong to a higher level, but on comparing hand specimens I found it-resembled its equivalent, the limestone over the Nelson coal in Effingham county, rather more than it did the specimens from Cum- berland. However, these upper Coal Measure limestones are somewhat variable in their litholological characters, and though I did not find the Fusulina cylindrica in it in Coles county, I am still inclined to believe that itis a representative of that limestone. The fossils found here were Spirifer cameratus, S. lineatus, Productus longispinus, Spiriferina Kentuckensis, Athyris subtilita, Platyostoma Peoriense, a delicate coral allied to Cyathowonia, and joints of Crinoidea. The section seen here was as follows: Brownish-gray unevenly bedded limestone Dark shale Higher up stream towards the mouth of Brush creek, some ten or twelve feet of sandy shale with bands of carbonate of iron are seen under the beds in the foregoing section. A shaft was sunk for coal in this vicinity on the S. W. qr. of sec. 21, T. 13, R. 10, near the bank of the Embarras, the following report of which was furnished to Prof. Cox: Drift clay... Clay shalei(soapstone) i= essere en a= neem nens =e eenne 6 nee e meat en ane sees ma seen anne emeeceee 3 Soft blue sandstone 5 Clayeshaletaceceseresecesten = Sandstone ..- Clayishaleiercssecsacqceee ance Hard bluish sandstone. ..-.--- Dark clay shale (soapstone) The foregoing sections on the Embarras river and the boring at Charleston by the Charleston Petroleum and Mining Company, affords the only data for determining the geological features of this county- The following is a correct copy of the record of this boring: Soil'and) drift Clays ns aan ae eee een ee aw we meen anno ener a a eee 55 Yellow sandstone. .-. Hard limestone..--.- Shell rock (shale ?)- Goal: Noocl6°22-se-ee Hard slate (shale ?)...-- Clay shale (soapstone) -------- Aan kwWwwn re COLES COUNTY. 109 Ft. In. Gi TERR EG cease ca sonsdidoupaduecesnoas co boostodnenacebs co acaddcHe an dogoSoadoS pHdESEsoEGen 3 Ds © YTD) SATIN RIT Ose ecg cece Sas DS SSN Sea OSS ISS SUCH OD IE ECO DSOOB COGS RQSSSE GUdSesighqUESeSeHes 12 HOSS Shalelandshalyislateseaneaa saeteee nas anaes ces sem sites acl ass nelmanaleiniaeajemaleteisterasielaataaiieleiseie]-1-10 26 mH eo OTT Bax Rhy g bh} 3 os ae ee SESE ROSE SS CHEERS C IS SERCO CEE SEES SSR Nears ahaa el 2 SD EEE RECH SH AL steer asa aloe ale ieee ole male ceo aet(ajetenoisisianistaiaiane dalareta\siecicte siesta cjaleise 15 IBL (HING GIR E) nek ose Aisne coaneec sosce ceing ASU SO DDE Ses Oo nS USSinde SECC On beRep usSSeseaeeosooUsec0CKE 10 TAS Bites Ines LONG semen see ae ee eee ne eee netomat menace asana san sinertana memes 8 Te: STRAITS cco cocesoseneaadccnecaneccopeppondoSncboSaTSHeDSboncuBcSTESooDSeccCORS 14 TP2. SURAT RING ae he ne GSES oes aOs aS coRSRoScOnoCeAT Ne sSeGOodnCoR oS ScOSPECooSScCenSGs 13 iyi. RRS OER Es cen sao odosedo cons soensadécosdoricssonecoods ceoneuacedsousasascopdoossbsencua 27 31 TEL GTGR NG oooh cag tens tooo S Oc ace TBS CCE Sa COS COSA boSSscaaueseebososcasacéeseonobdedsdsnas The limestone No. 14 of the above section, I believ® to be the Quarry creek bed of Clark county, and the distance between that bed and the limestone of the Embarras, (No. 3 of the section,) which is here only about 93 feet, while at Greenup it is 130 feet or more, shows the same thinning out to the northward of the beds above the Quarry creek lime- stone, that was observed in Clark county in the strata below that rock. Hence, the main coals, if found fully developed here, would be reached at a depth somewhat less than in Cumberland. The total thickness of the outcrops to be seen along the Embarras river, in this county, does not exceed a hundred feet of Coal Measures, and includes the horizon of coal No. 16 of the general section and the thin coal above it. Coal No. 15 should be found underlaying nearly the whole of this county, if it has not been cut out by denuding agencies. It is the thickest of the upper seams, sometimes attaining a thickness of 24 to 3 feet. It has been worked for many years in the vicinity of Shelbyville in shafts and inclined tunnels, and affords a semi-block coal of good quality. Economical Geology. Coal.—No outcrop of a coal bed thick enough to be worked to advan- tage was found in the county, and unless No. 15 may be found beneath the heavy drift deposits in the western part of the county, there is no hope of obtaining an adequate supply of this indispensable article of fuel without sinking to the main seams in the lower part of the Coal Measures. A shaft from six to eight hundred feet in depth might reach No. 7 or the Danville seam, but it would require one more than a thou- sand feet deep to reach the bottom of the Coal Measures in any part of this county. cork Building Stone.—Sandstone of a fair quality for building purposes may be obtained at various points along the bluffs of the Embarras river, and the rock obtained from the quarries near the Westfield road appears to be a durable stone, can be easily quarried, and has been very generally used for the supply of the adjacent region. In the southern portion of the county the rock is comparatively soft, and at the few 110 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. outcrops examined did not promise well as a building stone. The lime- stone which outcrops along the river is thicker bedded than in Cumber- land, and between the railroad bridge and the mouth of Brush creek quarries have been opened in it at several points, where a hard brownish- gray limestone in beds from four to eighteen inches thick has been obtained for building purposes. The western portion of the county is quite destitute of rock of any kind except the drift bowlders found . upon the surface or in the valleys of the small streams. -Lime.—The limestone on the Embarras is too argillaceous to be sue- cessfully used for making quick lime, and as this is the only limestone of any considerable thickness found in the county, some other region must be depended on for a supply of this article. ; Clay and Sand.—Brick clays are easily obtained from the subsoil in almost any portion of the upland, and a potters’ clay of fair quality is found in the drift deposits on the Kickapoo. Sand can be readily obtained either from the beds of the streams, or may be found in many places interstratified with the drift clays. Tron ore.—Banis of carbonate of iron in small quantities were found interstratified in the shales above and below the heavy bed of sand- stone that forms the lower portion of the bluffs on either side of the Kimbarras river. Soil and Timber.—The prairies in this county, which constitute by far the greater portion of its surface, have a deep, black, loamy soil, highly fertile, and ranking among the best prairie lands in the State. On the timbered ridges adjacent to the streams the soil is thinner, but never- theless productive, and especially adapted to the cultivation of wheat and other small grains, clover and fruit. On these ridges oak and hickory is the prevailing timber, but as the surface becomes more level toward the prairie region, we also find elm, linden, hackberry, wild cherry and honey locust, and on the bottom lands along the streams cottonwood, sycamore, ash, red birch, willow, coffeenut, black walnut, ‘ white and sugar maple, etc., ete. DouGuLAs County is bounded on the north by Champaign, on the east by Edgar, on the south by Coles, and on the west by Moultrie and Piatt. It embraces eight full and seven fractional townships, which give it an area of about four hundred and ten square miles. The Okaw or Kaskaskia river drains the western portion, and the Embarras the central and eastern portion of the county. These streams are skirted with timber, but the greater portion of its surface is prairie. The whole area of the county is covered so deeply with drift clays that there is no outcrop of the underlaying Coal Measure strata in the’ county. From the exposures in the adjoining counties it is known that the underlaying beds belong to the upper Coal Measures, and probably COLES COUNTY. 111 include two or three of the upper coals, but the extent to which they are developed here can only be determined with the drill. Itis not probable that any heavy bed of coal will be found short of six to eight hundred feet from the surface, though one of the upper seams, two or three feet thick, might be found at a moderate depth. The drift clays are similar to those described in the counties of Edgar, Coles and Moultrie, but only the upper part of this deposit is to be seen in the natural outcrops in the bluffs of the streams. The soil is mainly a deep, black, vegetable mould, characteristic of the prairie lands throughout the central portions of the State, and is very pro- ductive, yielding annually heavy crops of all the cereals grown in this latitude. CHAPTER IX. WILLIAMSON AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES.* Williamson county embraces a superficial area of twelve full town- ships, or four hundred and thirty-two square miles, and is bounded as follows: on the north by Franklin county, on the east by Saline, on the south by Johnson and Union, and on the west by Jackson. ‘The western portion of the county is drained by the Big Muddy and its tributaries, the main stream intersecting the north-western corner of the county, while Crab Orchard creek, its main southern affluent, traverses the central portion from east to west, passing out of the county near the center of its west line. The eastern and south-eastern portions are drained by the main branches of the middle and south forks of Saline, which have their rise in this county, and with a westerly course discharge their waters into the Ohio, the highlands in the east- ern portion of this and Franklin forming the water-shed that separates the waters of the Ohio from those flowing west into the Mississippi. In the northern part of the county the surface is quite rolling, aid in some portions broken and hilly, while the central part is generally level, and the southern part quite broken, especially near the south line of the county, where the conglomerate and heavy bedded sandstones of the lower Coal Measures are the prevailing formations. There is, however, but little land in the county that is too much broken for cultivation, and as an agricultural region this county ranks among the best in Southern. Illinois. Originally the surface was mostly covered with a heavy growth of timber, the prairie lands covering but a small fraction of its area. Some of the broken lands were originally but thinly tim- bered, forming what is known in the Western States as “ oak openings,” through which one could travel with but little more difficulty than on the open prairie; but now where these lands have not been -brought under cultivation, they are densely covered with a heavy growth of * These two counties and the county of Livingston were assigned to Mr. H. C. FREEMAN in the spring of 1866, and he was paid in full for surveying and reporting on them, but failing to obtain any report from him, though repeatedly promised, and after a delay of eight years waiting for him to fulfil his obligations, I was compelled, when all the rest of the counties had been reported on, and this volume was otherwise ready for the press, to go into these counties myself and make such exami- nations as the limited time and unfavorable season would permit. A. H. WORTHEN. WILLIAMSON AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES. 113 young timber, which was previously kept down by the annual fires that swept over the county previous to its settlement by the dominant race. The principal varieties of timber noticed on the ridges were black, white and black-jack oak and hickory, and on the more level portions of the uplands in additions to these we find elm, linden, black and white walnut, sugar maple, black gum, wild cherry, honey locust, bur and post oak, pa-paw, persimmon, sassafras and poplar, and on the creek bottoms the prevailing varieties are cottonwood, sycamore, red birch, coffeenut, pecan, ash, soft maple, redbud, dogwood, elm and hackberry. The geological formations to be found in this county belong to the Quaternary and lower Coal Measures. The Quaternary is represented by a series of brown and yellow clays, sometimes mixed with gravel and small bowlders, and ranging from twenty to forty feet or more in thickness. These beds are generally pretty uniform both in their depth and general character, and seem to partake largely of the character of the sandstones and sandy shales that form the underlaying bed rock. Locally they become quite gravelly, and contain small bowlders of granite, hornblende, quartzite and trap rock, seldom exceeding six inches to a foot in diameter, though a few were seen in the county of more than twice the size just indicated. Nothing resembling the bluish- gray hard pan that constitutes the lower portion of the drift deposits in the more northerly counties was seen here, but the yellowish sandy and gravelly clays that form the main portion of the deposit here rest directly upon the stratified rocks of the Coal Measures. Coal Measures. All the lower coals are found in this county, the outcrops embracing a part of the conglomerate sandstone that underlays the hilly region along the southern line of the county, and all the succeeding beds up to the horizon of coal No. 10 of the general section. At Bainbridge, three miles south-west of Bolton, in the north-east corner of Johnson county, a seam of coal has been opened about three feet to three and a half in thickness, which is probably coal No. 1 of the general section, and from the trend of the strata, which is to the north of west, this coal must be found in the south-west portion of Williamson county. In the bluff north of Bolton there are two seams that probably represent coals 2 and 3 of the general section. The lower one has been opened at two or three points in the vicinity of the village by tunneling into the hill on the outcrop of the coal, which averages about three feet in thickness, with a roof of bituminous shale. The coal has a parting of clay shale about a foot above the bottom of the seam from three to four inches in —16 114 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. thickness. The upper seam.is from 15 to 18 inches thick, and is under- laid by a sandy fire clay with Stigmaria, passing into a hard nodular sandstone, below which there is a bed of dark steel-gray, tough lime- stone, weathering to a rusty brown color, and closely resembling that underlaying the upper seam. at Murphysboro. It is from eighteen inches to two feet in thickness here, and contains joints of Crinoidea and Spirifer cameratus. The coal is overlaid by a massive sandstone, partly concretionary and partly in regular layers, that is quarried for building stone, for which it seems well adapted. The following is a section of the bluff at this peint: te ine Quartzose sandstone 2). ~ oss occa ense sc cccc sens cones cosicenaibecs soc ce ccencee occa sce oercne 20 to 25 (ODEN Gre cucpodcHsondode ponSSobHinodédasde stb bocdossEcnads onacasonSSocecasasanoTSsdSaDaRooaS 83 Siliclous*fire-claysecccec cece eaten ee nisae e demeeeeisccee seine caine cei eosin ceeinck ssennisisec tie seiems 2 Hardisteel-grayplimbstone saa ence neers eet ee seecinnee ees cee cee mee ecieeeeeae sees ih Slopeiwath)partialioutcrops:ofeshaleyaseccess cc es ne ceceeacoe cee teaeecciestecseese nc eeainel 40 Bituminous shale..........-....---» BS SBOOHESREBoGuobcDodseduedceon 2 COL Ep cceR GOB Sc OgS COCA LEE SCOT Odo SERS dooESsdadnonoHopoasseoosobbgecsbo dadaboossdebanaaaboes 3 Goveredislopestoitheyrailroadloveli-=-2-o-s--0e-s occ etre eoteceee es cece see eeeeeeceeeeeee 20 to 25 The coal obtained from the lower seam here contains a good deal of iron pyrites, and in quality is rather below the average of our Illinois coals, but it answers tolerably well for steam purposes. At the crossing of Sugar creek, about three miles north of Bolton, on the Marion road, a massive sandstone outcrops in the banks of the stream extending to the hight of fifteen to twenty feet above the creek level, overlaid by a thin bedded sandstone, of which about the same thickness could be seen. A coal seam has been opened here beneath the sandstone and some coal taken out for blacksmiths’ use, but it was hidden by the high water when I was there, and hence I could neither determine its thickness nor ascertain the quality of the coal it afforded. This is probably coal No. 4 of the general section. At the water mill on the south fork of Saline river, about two miles below the bridge on the road from Bolton to Marion, another seam of _coal is found associated with the following beds: Ft. In ‘Brownysandy Shalosassmensscsmencesaassecsesceee tees eens ese seme acer ease nee aeseme aes 4to6 Bandjofihardbluish-gray limestone: a~ cs sec ceciecie sc = cisacamemeaceaenerie ssw elsenesieesiess 0 6 BitnMiINoUs|SHalOl cc cccs ose secleiecieeeee ease ewes ees e seca ae eee see misses ene cea 5 COL AIINIG SEE: coddocicoogsacHesoase: a2aaosocoSSSuaubosEdécocS SaddcodooGaSSecbosasScEeoboabenooSes 2 Nodnlariclay shales 22 eco eee ceenc ss cence seein ccinscticen cle seisisee sine cuclecie sees em caren 2 The brown shale at the top of the foregoing section may be seen in a hill side near the mill Where it is about twenty feet thick, and its full thickness is probably as.much as forty to fifty feet. The coal at the mill is rather hard and splinty, but is said to work well in the forge. The upper four inches is a cannel coal. This mill is located on the 8. E. qr. of the N. W. qr. of sec. 4, T.10S., R. 4 EH. At the bridge over the South Fork, two miles above the mill near the old town of Sarahsville, a thin coal outcrops by the side of the road, WILLIAMSON COUNTY. 115 associated with shale and thin bedded sandstone. This is above the section seen at the mill. The following is the section here : Thinihedded sanGs ton Ossscesen esas asas cess oe cease ecco cee eae cas cece ccc on seer wecteneesiessicieas ae 10 BOTA SLES Sacco ce Scastesssercosdtteesadoo cas cebconst Saosnbc boda dodndesabobtecnsesshsoossdad 4to 6 (GaP IN (Tecan nse acnecosdancnacosnasonssosue Gadocdacta coon ocdaqsadhboudasenaasauodatossaacscsH 1 Sandyshales:tothenvater level a= - sae ase cee rene reac eae anon ae scr ericee cee niesceeeeeeon 12 to 15 Davidson’s mine, one mile and a quarter south of Crab Orchard, belongs to a still higher level, and the coal is there five and a half feet in thickness overlaid by bituminous shale and a dark biuish gray impure limestone. A little to the eastward of the coal mine the overlaying sandstone is well exposed in the bed and banks of a shallow ravine, showing a thickness of twenty to twenty-five feet. This sandstone stands exposure well, and when found in beds of sufficient thickness for heavy work furnishes a durable building stone. About three quar- ters of a mile east of Davidson’s mine the thin coal that outcrops at Sarahsville was found in the bed of a small branch, and apparently from forty to fifty feet below Davidson’s coal. A section of the beds seen here show the following order of succession : Et. Brown and buff sandy shale and sandstone....-.-...-----.20---- 2-20 eee n wenn ence nee e cen ereeceee 20 to 25 Warktash-erays lim estou Greys aaa sae toe eae a aca ne le = oe soaee es cins seinen cine sislelnisiacienni== 2to 3 LUT OT EV EEG cece cence conBECOnEC COCeEn Sco nec DCEEIOU DaDoSdonnodgonsSonaoHoaSpoosocedbaDSede lto 3 Coal No. 7 (Davidson's) .-.--- SORCE CC LECECOC ECOG Eten BE RO SH eAoOReCEEHnondadnounaodadsaacuocacnBa 5 to 6 JORRESAP RS eceee Ce ce Keen ccc ec ene eee CRe OAS CHEE Et Heed cansasadocaccossoacadsagubesncuscesosbdaes 2 (BNGSSITE CT bs races cn ce COREE CDOS OC EO CEOICCI CECE ES OCR ES CDOS HEAT HOS Dio bdSEonoRs ecdaqacdosengde0 30 to 40 ISL EGA UE eS se AEE IRD OC ICO OC CES OO SER OEE OBES S DESCOOdaDase 10 (GIN G55 hes kee Caen Sena Se acne ce to cod qsosmcceaDenonaSn Cano csenonoqEadoneappaCabendes 1to 4 Blue sand y:shale, Ox P0sed 2 sc aeesce eee oac nee ee ne cece enone seencemenceac ness cens = ncn =a= mane 1 On Mr. WILEY’s land, two miles and a half southwest of Marion, a thin coal has been found on Crab Orchard creek, which is probably identical with the thin seam in the foregoing section. At Mr. MOTSINGER’S mine, one mile and a half west of Crab Orchard village, the coal is about five feet thick with a roof of bituminous clay shale. The coal is of fair quality, tolerably free from pyrite, and the upper eighteen inches is a good smith’s coal. About a hundred yards to the south of the coal opeuing the hard, dark, ash-gray limestone usually feund above No. 7 coal has been quarried and burned for lime, — though buat poorly adapted to that purpose. The coal here and at Davidson’s is mined by tunneling into the hill side on the outcrop of the seam. On Mr. FRANK ENSMINGER’S place, one mile east of Crab Orchard, the following beds overlaying coal No. 7 were seen : Ft. Hard sandstone ti thins VCO eset tea oe oe al alee alae Salento setae oma alec eieies aininie se =intermctatataaeiniara 8 IG GEUOR VE RICE penn Ano ce mennboncne Ce nOC CEOS EOC OODCE CHING HOM COS ADC DUR BOER COAOUECOCOSUOOHOOOD 4to 6 mBrowu Buale and SaNdOSstOnG sees eer ees coer eae e seen areca tenet ecincecscececines alan ceimel\aclcreie 10 to 12 ING RUBIGE Ses cee ccedect teens datacoss css eednecseetnedeoacecocdcc sEpanospcosagcecodsonna 8 to 10 Cinnamon-colored limestone.. ..--.--- DIME Ho ree setae Jor eee see ean ne ec aoe eee eae see 1 LSU OE eee ees ee tee acer ee SHES e ROC ERIE COCL EDO HEHOOEIE BODE ENO CEOS BEDHEODODEIDOUO 4 to 1 Cal saul LOPE SIX ANCNES LINO keeaacese torsade ssoaecce sea swdesenenecaneaitendscanecscasen=--l== $ 116 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. About a mile and a half north-east of Mr. ENSMINGER’S, on the 8. Ei. qr. of the N. E. qr. of sec. 16, there is an outcrop of the same cinnamon- brown limestone mentioned in the foregoing section, and the coal below it is said to be from two to three feet. thick, and has been mined in a limited way for blacksmiths’ use. This is probably coal No. 8 of the general section, and has been mined by. stripping in the valley of a small creek. Owing to recent heavy rains the holes from which the coal had been taken were full of water, and the thickness of the seam could not be measured. South of Mr. ENSMINGER’S on sec. 32, T. 9, R. 4, coals No. 5, 6 and 7 may all be seen within a short distance. No. 5 is here from two to six feet thick, while No. 7is pinched out to about three feet. The following section was seen here: Ft. %In Dark-gray massive limestone. .-.-. 4to 6 Bitaminous shale...........-.-- 3 to 5 CoaliNonvizees=-ecsee 0to 5 Fire-clay and clay shale. -..-...--- RES == 2) tOer3 Massive sandstone..-...-...-..-- -- 15 to 18 Sandyishales-sscseceeecssseacees -- 10 to 12 BluelandibrowniclayshaleNensecccscs cso memes cise ean ciscecioeas cen mcoeceetee aie 15 to 20 (OG yAIBS (hk Gooch deeboe na cocabonogSceSSoco Sho podon maCcatends Sabo RS SoSRSese aaounessdobaaaooese 1zto 1°10 Brown and blue shales.......-.- -- 20 to 30 Dark steel-gray limestone 1 Bituminous shale with concretions of limestone 4 iBlueshalesswacsece sesseseoseae eee aoe encom ane 8 to 10 CoalkNo.5y(Hnsminger!s;coal)\sese- sen. sae meres esse neo seeeeincen eee ene so eae eee eeeaee 1}to 6 One locality was noticed on the creek where the above section was made, where the massive sandstone beneath coal No. 7 seems to have pinched the coal entirely out, but a half mile to the eastward it comes in again and ranges from two to five feetin thickness. The bituminous shale over Ensminger’s coal contains numerous large concretions of black limestone which weathers blue on exposure, but contain no fossils at this locality. This seam I believe to be the same as that at the water mill on the south fork of the Saline, though it is much thicker here than there, and varies from one and a half to six feet in a distance of less than half a mile. Owing to the limited demand for coal, no syste- . matic mining has yet been attempted here, but an extensive coal mining business could be easily and cheaply carried on whenever this portion of the county is provided with railroad facilities, or manufacturing enterprises shall be established to create a market for the almost inex- haustible supply of coal now hidden beneath the soil. At Dr. Suiru’s old place, south of Corinth, where a shaft was sunk several years since in search of silver, the following section was found: Ft. IBrowNishale)ss- sows sese see ta cere soewae seemecineneeeeasercaseeeer teeta ceereoeee eee eee 10 to 15 ‘Blue/shale; partly bituminous ;2-2-22--s- seco ter ee sana n = ere ese ene ee eee eee eee 8 to 10 CoalioN 0511 0=nn a coceeeee sane nee anata an eese ae eae ne ase enemas See eee a eee % WILLIAMSON COUNTY. 117 Ft. Fire-c’ay, G00d..- ~~~ ---- =~ 22-22 = ee eo ene nee eee ee eee ce eee ee eee eee nce e een e eee 2 to: 3 RSSTURLSTG) a Se eee ate Rag eS EE HESS HOSS UE DB EO SHORE SUORS COB EC DUSOUES SESsc Samo nicnsachocmcsncssc 10 to 15 TAGGIN; GUA) coca cece co ceca ech cg BOL QaHIOnNaUSOOOSS » HeosacasosecaseScassSdsasonenapcaEon 4to 6 Hard brownish gray limestone ..-...--:----------- 2-2-2 ene ee eee teen ee nee nce e eee 6 to 9 TRATES) SUN Gy se Ss ca RSE SE CECE SERN SCC O SIE nO COD OR aDseddu daESconsHSrocecccondecosoesces 2to 4 (QML ISRO cee soos ae see cace nee Teed ONC OSS SOD OOD OER ESS Sona DSHECoSESH SUdsuddnScbqEoSssocbcsandasaS 2 The limestone exposed here I believe to be the same as that at New Haven, on the Wabash, and the equivalent of the Carlinville and Shoal creek bed. The fire-clay above the limestone was only partially exposed, and may be somewhat thicker than above indicated and appeared to be of a suitable quality for pottery or fire brick. About a mile and a quarter north of Corinth, a shaft was sunk some years ago in search of silver ore, which passed through this limestone at the depth of about forty-two feet. I am indebted to Mr. SHAaw, who sunk this shaft, for the fol'owing data, given from memory, of the beds passed through in this shaft: Ft. In. Surfacesoilland|\clays=--.022-- ao -sen econo as necne soe ctcn ewan esse cae cesse cower eles eceaerss Se) SHIGE A On 2. snce ct cechstoeeetonsscecs paastcennoweitccdotermeasseadscaas same oOAEHERCOGHOTdoSEoa 22 CET RITE] GC csccecasesecma ene c moana RISO ECE ERE OE COIR RAO RE AOcaOTionSEanon Bi 18 LS CSO nen saree corner esac ic ce Se ee eon Ene Sona neeSeeOs 9 Bituminous shale iG ~ TAN OIE o