258 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. 



Although we did not find this lower coal des T eloped at any of the ex- 

 posures examined in the vicinity of Colchester, yet it was found by Mr. 

 Horrocks at his tile and fire-brick kiln, not more than a mile frotn the 

 town, and was struck in one of the pits sunk for fire clay. It was found 

 to be about a foot in thickness only, and was associated with an excel- 

 lent fire-clay, and was here about 45 feet below coal No. 2. Below 

 Horrock's brick and tile kilns on the same stream, a band of ferruginous 

 sandstone, or rather a sandy iron ore, was found, about six inches in 

 thickness, filled with fossil shells, among which a large Discina was the 

 most abundant, associated with Hemipronites crenistria, Athyris subtilila, 

 Spirifer opimus, 8. Kentuckensis, and some other undetermined species. 

 This was no doubt a local deposit, and probably represents the band of 

 iron ore occurring in Schuyler and Fulton counties, associated with coal 

 No. 1. This band of iron ore occurs just at the junction of beds num- 

 bered 13 and 14 of the general section of the coal-bearing strata, on a pre- 

 ceding page. 



On section 24, town 5 north, range 4 west, south-west quarter of the 

 section, a coal seam was opened as early as 1853, when we first visited 

 this county, on land then owned by Mr Lowry. The coal was from 

 eighteen inches to two feet in thickness, overlaid by a few feet of shaly 

 sandstone. Below the bed of coal there was about sixteen feet of sand- 

 stone exposed, and a short distance up the creek the concretionary lime- 

 stone is exposed underlaying the sandstone. This I have no doubt is 

 the lower coal (No. 1,) and it will no doubt be found at many points in 

 the county ranging from one to three feet in thickness. 



At this time coal was also dug on Mr. Thompson's place on the north- 

 east quarter of section 16, town 4 north, range 3 west. The seam at this 

 point was thirty inches thick, but was only exposed in the bed of the 

 creek, with no outcrop of the associated beds. This is also, without 

 doubt, the lower seam, as the concretionary member of the St. Louis lime- 

 stone was found outcropping on the creek a short distance below where 

 the coal was found. On the north-west quarter of section 33, town 4 

 north, range 3 west, a coal seam was opened and worked in 1853 on lands 

 then owned by Mr. J. Stonekiug. The coal was worked by "stripping" 

 in the bed of a small creek, and the coal ranged from eighteen to twenty 

 inches in thickness and was overlaid by about two feet of gray shale. 



These two lower seams also outcrop on Job's creek, near Blandensville, 

 and have been worked from the first settlement of the county. They 

 outcrop also on nearly all the tributaries to the east fork of Crooked 

 creek, and probably underlie at least seven-eighths of the entire area of 

 the county. They seldom attain a thickness of three feet, however, in 

 this portion of the State, but they are nowhere more than one hundred 

 to one hundred and seventy-five feet below the surface at the general 



