Stevenson.] ot) [March 18, 



proves the presence of Knox beds in that part o'f Pulaski county lying 

 between the Altoona railroad and New river. A good section of this 

 group should be obtained along the Valley pike in "Wythe county beyond 

 Reed creek, beginning near Kent's Mills, where the series is well exposed 

 almost to the fault of Draper mountain. 



Along the southern side of Wythe and Pulaski counties, the Knox beds, 

 more or less dolomitic, carry important deposits of zinc and lead ores, 

 some of which have been utilized. The mine of the "Wythe Lead and 

 Zinc Company will be described in its own place. There the lead ore has 

 been worked for more than a century, but the zinc ore had been neglected 

 until the near approach of the Cripple Creek extension of the Norfolk and 

 Western railroad led to its development and preservation. The zinc ores 

 at the Bertha mine, also in Wythe county, yield a spelter of the finest 

 quality. This strip of zinc and lead ores extends from Smyth county 

 across Wythe and Pulaski, but developments thus far have been confined 

 to Wythe county. 



The brown hematites of tlie Knox limestones in Pulaski and Wythe 

 counties, along the New river and its tributary, Cripple creek, have been 

 well described by Mr. A. S. McCreath,* who examined most of the open- 

 ings and analyzed the ores, using samples collected by himself. The ore 

 lies not far from the lead and zinc, and appears to be present in great quan- 

 tity. Much of it is of excellent quality. 



Manganese oxide and barytes are reported as occurring at several local- 

 ities, but no information was received respecting the quantity. 



The Cambrian. 



Here are placed the Lower Knox shales and the Potsdam. The former 

 are probably equivalent to the Hj^dromica schists of Pennsylvania and the 

 lower part of the Calciferous of New York ; the latter is the Potsdam of 

 New York, vastly increased in thickness. 



The Knox shales are shown in Draper valley, within Wythe and Pulaski; 

 they surround Lick mountain in Wythe and continue for some distance 

 eastward along the anticlinal ; they are continuously exposed within a 

 mile of the southern border of Wythe and Pulaski counties, and are 

 brought up for a little way under an anticlinal lying south from the 

 Wytheville synclinal. 



I'or the most part these shales are reddish, sometimes streaked with 

 white, usually more or less greasy, often talcose-looking on the slipped 

 surfaces. The rock is hard and is used for repairs of the "V^alley pike. An 

 admirable exposure occurs on that pike for some distance east from the 

 Cripple Creek railroad crossing, and one almost equally good is on the road 

 crossing Lick mountain on the way from Wytheville to Brown Hill fur- 

 nace. Streaks of limestone occur in the upper part, but they are wanting 

 below. In the upper part are also some beds of yellow and blue shales, 



* The Mineral Wealth of Virginia tributary to the lines of the Norfolk and Western 

 and Shenandoah Valley Railroad Companies. 1884. 



