226 Ten Days in Ohio. 
posure to the vicissitudes of the weather—then sandstone of a slaty 
structure—then bituminous shale, with thin layers of stone coal—at . 
one hundred and ten feet, numerous geodes, coated with shale, were 
found, containing bivalve shells; below these, impressions of Palm 
leaves between the seams in the slatestone. I have now in my pos- 
session several specimens of the rock strata, from one hundred and 
ten feet to one hundred and forty feet ; one of these isa fine grained, 
dark clayslaté, from the extremity of the drift, where the operations 
ended--at one hundred and twenty feet they struck a bed of grey 
flint rock, six or eight feet in thickness; at this depth the object of 
their search was expected to be found, but no silver yet greeted the 
eyes of the anxious miners, although every fragment was examined 
with minute attention. Beneath the flint rock was a stratum of dark 
argillaceous slate, so compact that no water, after passing the flint 
stratum, penetrated the walls of the shaft. The shaft was continued 
twenty feet further in the slate rock, making one hundred and forty 
feet from the surface; a drift wasthen commenced and earried for- 
ward forty feet, until it struck the salt well; this the miners had pre- 
viously plugged with great care, below the principal salt spring. No 
silver, as yet appearing, an examination was. made by digging down’ 
the sides of the salt well in the floor of the drift, and a bed of very 
fine bituminous coal seven feet in thickness was found. But as coal 
was not the object of search, the miners made an attempt to reach 
the spot, where the silver was brought up by the scraper, now about 
fifteen feet above the roof of the drift. In this attempt, some un- 
lucky blow, or the concussion of a blast, set loose the plug in the salt 
well over their heads; when the water came rushing down with such 
violence, that they barely escaped drowning before reaching the buck- 
ets, and were immediately drawn up; the water following them rap+ 
idly to within forty feet of the surface of the earth. So sudden and 
unexpected was the rush of water, that their tools were all left be- 
hind ; and the cast iron pump, valued at more than one thousand 
dollars, still remains in the mine; a lasting memorial of the enter- 
terprise of the citizens of Ohio. To prevent accidents, the shaft 
has been since filled up with earth and old logs. The expenditures 
of the company amounted to about $11,000, several hundred dollars 
being recovered from thenr in damages, for ruining the salt well. 
As the shaft approached near the supposed silver deposit, the stock 
rose very rapidly in value; a share on which fifty dollars had been 
paid, selling for two hundred and fifty ; as it had been deemed very 
