1884.1 143 [Stevenson. 



50 degrees, the rate increasing as Bruslij' mountain is approached. The 

 pilte folh:>ws the river to the Broad ford, six miles from Saltville. The river 

 cuts into the Vespertine shales at somewhat more than four miles from 

 Saltville and there exposes in the upper division a coal bed about 3 inches 

 thick. The hard gray sandstone underlies these shales. A coal bed was 

 once opened above this sandstone on the run passing by Dr. Watson's resi- 

 dence about five miles from Saltville ; its thickness is not known with any 

 degree of certainty, but is believed to be somewhat more than one foot. 

 That a coal bed exists in the lower shales is thought to be probable, as 

 fragments of coal have been obtained in tlie run behind the sandstone 

 ridge. For the greater part of the distance between Dr. Watson's resi- 

 dence and the Broadford, the road lies in Vespertine shales, and at one 

 place a side-cutting exposes two streaks of coal. 



Beyond the Broadford the road passes into the limestones and does not 

 return to the shales until very near Laurel fork. There the Vespertine 

 beds with sandstone nearly midway are shown with dip of 20 degrees in 

 direction of the stream and having a thickness of not far from 500 feet. 

 The sandstone is between 15 and 20 feet tliick, the estimate being made 

 from a somewhat imperfect exposure. The shales rest on a conglomerate 

 sandstone separated by a few feet from reddish brown or bluish brown 

 sandstones of the Chemung, occuring in flags 2 to 8 inches thick, fine 

 grained, with a somewhat c»nchoidal fracture and exposed along the 

 stream above the mill dam with a dip of nearly 25 degrees. The sand- 

 stone witli conglomerate layers, contains much Spirophyton, but no fossils 

 were observed in the fragments of the main body of sandstone. This rock 

 is the clift which forms the crest of Brushy mountain from near Mendota 

 to beyond the line of Bland county. 



Debris from this cliflf efFcctually conceals everything on the northerly 

 side of Brusliy mountain except at one place, say two miles above the gap. 

 where, however, the wall is precipitous, so that detailed examinations can- 

 not be made. At the same time the sequence of Clinton, Hamilton and 

 Chemung can be made out very clearly. Clinton shales are exposed at the 

 crossing of Laurel fork in Poor valley two miles from the gap, and there 

 one begins to ascend the Poor Valley or Flat Top mountain which marks 

 the course of the Burk's Garden anticlinal and divides the Poor valley. 

 The lowest beds of the Clinton cross the anticlinal here and fragments of 

 fossil ore are abundant at many places on the southerly side of the moun- 

 tain ; the lowest shales are very black. The Flat Top mountain ends at 

 a few miles east from the pike in a clumsy mass known as Bear town. The 

 axis of the fold passes very near to the crest of Flat Top, for at a few rods 

 beyond ihe summit, the rocks are dipping north-westwardlj^at 15 degrees. 

 The rate increases lower down the mountain side, where a subordinate 

 fold is shown with dip of 60 degrees on its northerly side. 



Clinton shales are well exhibited on the southerly side of Clinch moun- 

 tain, where two minor folds were seen, one of them overturned. The dip 

 is from 30 to 50 degrees southeastward. Fragments of fossil ore are 



