1867.] 



305 [Hayden. 



During the winter of 1857-58, a conipany of United States soldiers 

 were stationed at this point, and as wood was very scarce and difficult 

 of access in this region, the soldiers erected temporary grates, and 

 used this lignite for fuel all winter with success. 



The following notes in regard to the lignites in this locality, 

 are taken from my journal, recorded on the spot in the winter of 

 1859-60: 



"December 10th, 1859.-Left the bed of the little stream that 

 empties into the Platte River about three or four miles below the 

 Platte Bridge. All of the right side of the Platte River to the foot 

 of the niountains, about eight uiiie.s, is covered with cretaceous forma- 

 tion No. 5. Tiie river then makes a bend up towards Richard's 

 Trading Post and Red Ruttes. At the Platte Bridge, on the left 

 side of the Platte, the river cuts the bank, giving a vertical section, 

 showing the lignite. The following section is expcsed by the river 

 from the water's edge up. The strata have evidently been disturbed, 

 and the cut shows a dip down the Platte eastward of about 5°. 



1st. Steel-gray sands, portions quite ferruginous. About eight 

 feet exposed above water at the upper end of the bluffs. 



2d. A thin layer of indurated carbonaceous sand, six inches; 

 pas.sing up into an indurated carbonaceous clay, eight inches; pass- 

 ing up into a bluish ash-colored clay, ferruginous, but with compara- 

 tively little vegetable matter, twelve inches. 



3d. Thirty feet alternate beds of lignite, clays, and marls, the lio-. 

 nite beds varying from two to four feet in thickness, mostly impure 

 but containing seams four to six inches thick of quite pure li-^nite' 

 with a shining jet fracture; then above dull yellowish, rust-colored 

 concretions, full of fragments of vegetable matter, as portions of 

 leaves, stems, wood, &c. The clays and marls vary much in color 

 from a dark brown to a light yellow. At the summit of the cut' 

 near the upper end of the bluff, is a layer of yellow marl, which a 

 few yards down is changed into a yellow laminated calcareous rock 

 apparently deposited in disturbed waters. Still above are layers of 

 impure lignite and ash-colored clays and marls. 



The above gives a pretty good idea of these bluffs as revealed by 

 the river; but in many places near the Platte Biid-e the soldiers 

 made excavations and were unsuccessful in their .search, findin-only 

 an impure material, but in one excavation they found a layer tbout 

 twelve inches thick, which they appear to have used as fuel success- 

 tally. At the most favorable locality I took the measurement with 



VOL. X. — 2q 



