1887.] *^^ [Stevenson. 



Rich valley widens between Xew river and Newport. The dips in its 

 limestones are from fifty to sixty degrees. The massive beds of the Tren- 

 ton are shown on Gap or Big Walker's mountain with this dip, and 

 Medina at the summit shows a dip of sixty degrees. Exposures are very 

 good on the northerly side of this mountain. 



IV. THE COUNTRY SOUTH FROM WALKER'S MOUNTAIN, EM- 

 BRACING PORTIONS OF WYTHE, PULASKI AND MONT- 

 GOMERY COUNTIES. 



By far the greater part of Wythe county south from the Norfolk and 

 Western railroad shows only rocks belonging to the Knox group, but the 

 Potsdam is brought up along the southern border of the county, as well 

 as at a little way from the railroad, in a bold east and west ridge, known 

 as Lick mountain. In going southward from Wytheville, one finds the 

 Knox limestones so much twisted as to suggest that the Draper mountain 

 fault has not wholly disappeared. The Knox shales are shown within two 

 miles from the railroad, where the road enters Lick mountain and the Pots- 

 dam beds at not many rods further. The sandstones of this great group 

 form the hog-back ridges, of which the mountain is made up, while the 

 shales are exposed in the deep ravines. 'The sandstones are passed at 

 about eight miles from New river, where one comes again to the Knox 

 shales, which are badly distorted. 



On the road leading to the Wythe lead and zinc mine, which is reached 

 at about two miles from Cripple creek, the rocks are concealed for long 

 distances by the thick cover of terrace debris ; but the Knox limestones 

 are well shown in the river blufls, at the Wythe lead and zinc mine, both 

 above and below Thorn's ferry, where the New river cuts a fine anti- 

 clinal. 



The Wythe lead and zinc company have their mine at Austinville, in 

 Wythe county, nearly seventeen miles from Wytheville, or twelve miles 

 from Max Meadows station. The ore was discovered and first utilized not far 

 from 130 years ago, but systematic mining has been prosecuted for barely 

 fifty years. The reduction works have a capacity of between 600 and 700 

 tons per annum, and are of interest, as they were practically the only 

 lead works within the limits of the confederacy and yielded nearly all of 

 the lead employed in the manufacture of bullets for use of the Confeder- 

 ate soldiers. 



The lead and zinc ores occur in an enormous impregnation deposit and 

 are extracted both by open cut and by deep mining. The conditions in 

 the surface workings are approximately as follows : 



1. Gray limestone 25' 



The upper part shows a network of galena ; some excellent 

 blende almost free from galena is found midway ; while 

 lower down both galena and blende occur abundantly. The 

 lower half of the rock, which had been digged extensively, is 

 said to contain a large amount of both blende and galena ; but 

 it was concealed by a slide at the time of examination. 



