﻿II] 
  General 
  Geology 
  : 
  Economic 
  Products 
  135 
  

  

  borders 
  of 
  a 
  lake 
  in 
  the 
  neighborhood 
  of 
  Natchitoches. 
  This 
  

   article 
  is 
  of 
  use 
  to 
  smiths 
  even 
  at 
  this 
  time." 
  

  

  With 
  the 
  settlement 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  beds 
  of 
  lignite 
  were 
  found 
  

   in 
  many 
  places 
  in 
  the 
  northwestern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  and 
  fruitless 
  

   attempts 
  have 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  open 
  lignite 
  mines. 
  

  

  The 
  best 
  deposits 
  either 
  underlie 
  the 
  Lower 
  Claiborne 
  or 
  occur 
  

   in 
  the 
  territory 
  shown 
  on 
  the 
  map 
  as 
  Lignitic. 
  A 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   lyower 
  Claiborne 
  deposits 
  contain 
  beds 
  of 
  lignite, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  com- 
  

   monly 
  small. 
  Beds 
  of 
  lignite 
  also 
  occur 
  between 
  the 
  Jackson 
  and 
  

   the 
  Vicksburg 
  stages. 
  

  

  Dolet 
  hills. 
  — 
  The 
  most 
  promising 
  deposits 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  are 
  in 
  

   the 
  Dolet 
  hills, 
  in 
  DeSoto 
  parish. 
  The 
  reports 
  of 
  these 
  deposits, 
  

   which 
  have 
  reached 
  us, 
  seem 
  to 
  indicate 
  that 
  a 
  very 
  detailed 
  

   and 
  careful 
  survey 
  of 
  this 
  region 
  should 
  be 
  made 
  ; 
  and 
  a 
  

   report 
  on 
  it 
  may, 
  therefore, 
  be 
  expected 
  in 
  a 
  future 
  annual 
  of 
  this 
  

   survey. 
  None 
  of 
  the 
  geologists 
  who 
  have 
  worked 
  on 
  this 
  region 
  

   seem 
  to 
  have 
  visited 
  the 
  main 
  Dolet 
  hill 
  area. 
  Hilgard 
  skirted 
  

   the 
  edge 
  of 
  it 
  and 
  reported 
  at 
  Granning's 
  ferry 
  on 
  Bayou 
  Pierre, 
  

   a 
  bed 
  of 
  good 
  lignite 
  3 
  or 
  4 
  feet 
  thick. 
  Analyses 
  of 
  the 
  Dolet 
  

   hills 
  lignite, 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  for 
  interested 
  parties 
  at 
  

   Mansfield, 
  have 
  shown 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  of 
  very 
  excellent 
  quality. 
  

  

  Sto7ie 
  coal 
  bluff, 
  Sabine 
  river. 
  — 
  The 
  east 
  bank 
  of 
  the 
  Sabine 
  

   river 
  near 
  the 
  line 
  between 
  T. 
  5 
  and 
  6 
  N., 
  shows 
  at 
  low 
  water 
  a 
  

   platform 
  of 
  lignite 
  about 
  five 
  feet 
  thick 
  and 
  possibly 
  a 
  hundred 
  

   yards 
  long. 
  The 
  name 
  bluff 
  is 
  a 
  misnomer, 
  for 
  the 
  bank 
  here 
  is 
  

   little 
  higher 
  than 
  the 
  bottom-lands. 
  Overlying 
  the 
  lignite 
  is 
  

   about 
  twenty 
  feet 
  of 
  gray 
  sand 
  and 
  clay, 
  evidently 
  alluvial 
  

   deposits. 
  A 
  barge 
  load 
  of 
  lignite 
  was 
  mined 
  here 
  in 
  the 
  seven- 
  

   ties, 
  to 
  be 
  marketed 
  on 
  the 
  lower 
  river, 
  but 
  the 
  barge 
  is 
  reported 
  

   to 
  have 
  parted 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  and 
  sunk. 
  Recently, 
  gentlemen 
  

   from 
  Lake 
  Charles 
  have 
  had 
  a 
  prospect 
  hole 
  drilled 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  

   the 
  bank 
  about 
  200 
  yards 
  from 
  the 
  river. 
  The 
  yielding 
  nature 
  

   of 
  the 
  overlying 
  material 
  will 
  make 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  mining 
  the 
  lignite 
  

   very 
  great 
  in 
  proportion 
  to 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  product. 
  

  

  About 
  a 
  mile 
  from 
  the 
  river 
  in 
  the 
  S. 
  W. 
  one-fourth 
  of 
  Sec. 
  3, 
  

   5 
  N., 
  13 
  W., 
  the 
  same 
  bed 
  is 
  seen 
  with 
  a 
  covering 
  of 
  Tertiary 
  

   clays, 
  which 
  will 
  make 
  a 
  much 
  better 
  roof 
  than 
  the 
  material 
  near 
  

  

  