.MARSHALL AND Pt'TNAM COUNTIES. 207 



tired ]artial. but tliiu strata of this deleterious substance running 

 through the body of the coal. When properly selected, however, this 

 coal is considered a good steam producer, and it is largely used for that 

 pur]' 



The miners here call this the upper coal seam. About thirty feet 

 below this upper seam, ami a number of feet above the level of the 

 water courses, is another seam, which appears to be nearly as thick. In 

 several places up Gimblet Hollow, we noticed the natural outcrops of 

 this seam, about thirty or thirty-live feet below the mouths of the drifts 

 in the other one. The seam, where examined, was about three feet thick. 

 The coal was soft, with a reddish-brown tinge of color; but the coal ex- 

 amined was at the immediate outcrops. Drifts carried into the hill, 

 would, I think, disclose coal of a better quality, and of workable thick- 

 ness. At no place, however, could I find that this seam had been ex- 

 tensively worked, or even fairly tested, and I am of opinion that in 

 some of the hills immediately west of Sparland, there is a considerable 

 body of good coal in this seam. It exists also up Tinsley's Run, and in 

 every locality I believe where the other is worked. Towards the top of 

 the seam I noticed everywhere two thin, whitish-colored clay partings, 

 each about an inch and a half thick, near each other. The upper one 

 is from six to eight inches from the top of the coal ; the other, about 

 three inches below the upper one. Partial strata of iron pyrites also 

 are found in connection with the clay partings. At a point below 

 Sparland, called Minersville by the coal-workers, some attempt has 

 been made to develop this seam and fully test its value; but the at- 

 tempt has been mostly abandoned, and the experiment, up to the pre- 

 sent time, has not proved successful. These clay partings would seem 

 to indicate that this is the TVataga seam of coal, mined so successfully 

 in Kuox county, west of this locality, being identical with the Middle 

 Peru and LaSalle seam, or Number 5 of the amended coal section of the 

 Illinois river. If so, and I think there can be no doubt of this, the 

 upper seam, above referred to, doubtless, corresponds with the Upper 

 Peru and LaSalle seam, or Number 6, of the same section. 



At Miuersville. traces of a still lower seam have been discovered 

 at a considerable depth below the latter. This is probably coal seam 

 Number 2 : but there is no evidence yet of its development to any large 

 extent in this county. The attempt to make it of economical value 

 will not be seriously undertaken. 



What the coal interests of Marshall county need, is a more extended 

 and scientific working of her upper coal seam, and a thorough examina- 

 tion and proving of the lower one. 



Leaving the coal seams and coming to the associate rocks and deposits, 

 we find nothing worthy of special attention. Both seams of coal have 



