106 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
The clay slates seen on the river and coming out from under the Tertiary, higher up, are under- 
laid by mica slate; and about eight miles south of the Court House, strata of talcose slates, enclosing 
beds of soap-stone, come to the surface. The strike of the rocks at this point is N. 60° E. dip S. E. 
40°. Proceeding upwards, a ferruginous gneiss, much disintegrated, is found, upon which these rocks 
repose, and this is again underlaid by a blue, compact, and fine-grained gneiss, standing nearly 
vertical. If this section be pursued still farther and north of the Court House, towards Abbeville, 
we shall find the counterpart of the rocks we have already traced from Hamburg. After passing 
the gneiss and hornblende in the immediate vicinity of the village, clay slate occupies the surface, 
to where Turkey Creek, after encircling the ridge on which the Court House stands, scoops out its 
channel to Stevens’s Creek. On Mountain Creek the micaceous and talcose slates rise into a coni- 
cal hill, above the surrounding surface. A suit of specimens collected at this locality by Dr. 
Barratt shews the hill to be composed of talcose rocks, enclosing beds of soap-stone with tale of a 
variety of colors, sometimes in groups of radiating crystals. At the base of the hill, beds of kaolin 
are found, which result from the disintegration of veins of coarse, feldspathic rocks. 'The slates 
extend across the District, from this point towards the West. 
A strip of talco-micaceous slates, of the gold formation, crosses the north-west corner of the 
District on the Savannah. j 
For the most part, the section of the District drained by Stevens’s Creek is composed of clay 
slates, which may be seen to advantage both on Turkey Creek and at the bridge over the former, 
where it occurs in large angular blocks. It is more silicious and less fissile than is usual with clay 
slates.in other parts of the State. It would make an excellent building material. The strike, at 
this locality, is N. 40° E. dip 80° towards the North. The direction of the joints is east and west; 
and the thin, thread-like veins of quartz, by which the rock is much intersected, have for their 
course a line N. 6° W. 
This whole region is much washed and broken by ravines; and in almost every instance the 
hills are due to the protection afforded by the immense veins of common quartz scattered over their 
surface. 
On Turkey Creek, particularly where Log Creek empties into it, the slates are well exposed, at a 
noted whetstone locality. At this place the rock is fissile and broken up, by joints, into prisms of 
a colvenient size and form for whetstones, which, when selected with care, make good oil-stones, 
for edge togls. I found here specimens of the polishing material known as rotten-stone. It seems 
to result from the partial decomposition of the rock—a portion of the alumina being washed out, 
while the finely divided silica remains cemented by iron and the remaining alumina. 
On the eastern side of the District these slates may be traced from Cloud’s Creek to Half-way 
“Swamp, their edges being raised by the granite on the creek. They dip towards the North. In 
various places throughout this distance there are barren, elevated spots found, upon which scarcely 
any thing will flourish, or even grow. From their whitish color, and other fancied resemblance to 
certain bald places found in the prairies of the West, they have been said to indicate the presence 
of limestone; and their barren aspect is supposed to result from the well-known action of that 
mineral on vegetable matter. After a very careful examination of these localities, | was unable to 
find any thing on which to base a hope that lime would be found any where in that region. 
I also observed numerous excavations made in search of gold, but I am sorry to be obliged to 
