MrDOXOUGH COUNTY. 259 



level of the prairie. Xo. 3, if developed anywhere in the county, will 

 probably be found in the eastern range of townships, and would be the 

 tirst seam readied in sinking a shaft or boring from the prairie level. 



At Bushnell, a boring for coal at the steam mill passed through the 

 following beds, as represented by those in charge of the work: 



1. Soil 2 feet. 



2. Yellow clay 12 



3. Saud 2 



4. Blue clay with boulders 61 



5. Blue and yellow sand 35 



6. Sandstone 5 



7. ^ Clay shale H " 



8.* Black shale J " 



9. Gray shale 34 " 



10. Limestone 9 " 



11. Shale 1 " 



163 



The beds numbered 1 to 5 inclusive belong to the drift, and show an 

 aggregate fhickness of 112 feet, indicating the existence of an old valley 

 here, in which the Coal Measures have been cut away down to a point 

 below the horizon of the Colchester coal, and which was subsequently 

 tilled with drift deposits, and consequently that coal which should have 

 been found at a depth of 50 to 70 feet below the surface at this point, was 

 not met with at all. The limestone Xo. 10 of the above section is probably 

 the bed overlaying the Seaville coal. The extent and direction of this 

 old valley we have no data for determining at the present time, but it is 

 probably a lateral arm of the Spoon river valley, and most probably 

 trends south-eastwardly into the valley of that stream. 



At Prairie City a boring was carried down to the depth of 222 feet, 

 passing through the following beds, as reported by Mr. T. L. Magee : 



1. Soil and drift clays 36 feet. 



2. Clay shale or "soapstone." 16 " 



3. Black shale , i " 



4. CoalKo. 2 1J " 



5. Fire-clay ". . 4 " 



6. Shale and sandstone 12 " 



7. Clay shale 38 " 



*. Hard rock (limestone ?) 11 



9. Shale 4 



10. White flint 1 



11. Shale 10 



12 CoalXo. 1 3 



13. Fire-clay 6J 



14. Hard rock 5 



15. Clay shale 8 



16. Sandstone 4 



17. Dark-gray shale 8 



18. Clay shale (light colored) 14 



19. Limestone (St. Louis beds) 44| 



