488 THE GEOLOGY OF MINNESOTA. 



[Well,. 



Frederick Ilulsemann; N. W. '..see. 12: well dug 18 feet, and bored 25 feet; soil, 2; yel- 

 low till, spaded, 10; harder blue till, 31 feet; at 43 feet from the surface the auger suddenly fell 

 six inches, and water rose to be eleven feet deep in the dug poition of the well in five minutes, 

 and in two hours or less reached its permanent level, two feet below the top of the well. This 

 water at first was dark, as if siained, and its taste and smell were offensive; but after a few 

 months it became good water, and had continued so three years, being regarded at the time of this 

 information, in 1880, as good as any in this region. Another well, fifteen rods northwest from 

 the foregoing and on land ten feet higher, was yet only 18 feet deep, being soil, 2 feet; yellow 

 till, 14 feet, with streaks of sand; and dark gray, very compact "hardpan, : ' picked, and holding 

 together in masses of a hundred pounds' weight, about 2 feet. During excavation the water 

 broke through this hardpan,and rose to seven feet below the top very suddenly, bringing up large 

 quantities of dark gray quicksand. This well caved in after two weeks Numerous pieces of 

 lignite were found in both these wells. 



A large chalybeate spring, of reputed medicinal virtue, occurs in the N. E. } of sec. 2, at 

 the south side of Lily creek, which is the outlet of Fox lake at high water. 



Railroad well at Sherburne, in the 8. W. \ of sec. 7: 113 feet deep; dug seven feet square 

 to a depth of 76 feet, and bored six inches in diameter below ; soil, 3 feet ; yellow till, 7 feet ; 

 from gravelly streaks in this till eight feet below the surface, water came in large amount, fill- 

 ing the well eight feet deep in twelve hours (probably at a wet season, not considered sufficient 

 for the requirements of the railroad); blue till, much harder, 90 feet; gravel, 2 feet, with consid- 

 erable water, which rose forty feet, or more, but was not supposed to be a large enough supply, 

 blue till, still harder than before, 6 feet; gravel, also yielding water, 2 feet; dark bluish "hard- 

 pan," exceedingly hard, 2 feet; and gravel, 1 foot, reaching lower. The water that had come 

 into the well from the gravel at 100 to 102 feet, was shut off by the tubing; and when the last 

 stratum of gravel was struck, the water that came at the depth of eight feet from the yellow till 

 was drained away into this lowest gravel, from which gas rose with a loud roaring and filled the 

 well. This appears to have been choke-damp, or carbonic acid. At this juncture, some imple- 

 ment having been accidentally dropped into the well, the foreman of the work commanded one of 

 his men to go down for it, and, being angry at his refusal, himself rashly descended and was im- 

 mediately killed by this gas, after it had been ascertained that fire was extinguished by it. The 

 water from the yellow till continued to sink into this gravel during several weeks, at the close 

 of which the pipe became clogged and the well has since been full of water. 



Jay. In the S. E. } of sec. 12, a half mile west of Sherburne, a second railroad well, 90 feet 

 deep, was soil and yellow till, 10 feet; and blue till, with occasional gravelly-streaks, yielding 

 some water but not enough, 80 feet, and extending below. The water-tank at this place draws 

 from a lake. 



Besides the well reported ou page 477, another on Cargill, Van & Co.'s farm, in sec. 14, 

 thirty rods south from that well, is till, to gravel and sand at 50 feet, from which water rose 

 twenty-six feet in fifteen minutes. The water of this is a larger supply and better in quality than 

 that of the deep well, which is much harder, having more of the carbonates of lime and magnesia 

 in solution, and consequently objectionable for use in steam-boilers, because of its greater amount 

 of mineral residue, forming scale. 



Fox Lake. Henry Miller; S. E. } of sec. 26: well, dug 24 feet and bored 15 feet; soil, 2 feet; 

 yellow till, spaded, 12; sand, 3 feet; yellow sand and clay, with gravelly streaks, mainly very fine 

 and dry, very hard, 3 feet; iron-rusted gravel, interbedded with while gravel, 4 feet, containing 

 many fragments of lignite up to six or eight inches in length, mostly in the white layers: gravel, 

 sand, and clay, interstratified, mostly gray or yellowish, mainly hatd, but with some very soft 

 layers, 15 feet, to the bottom of the boring, where the auger became immoveable, and was left, 

 in either a log of wood or a mass or bed of lignite. This well is used, being supplied by seeping 

 water, which, like nearly all the wells of this region, is of excellent quality. 



MATERIAL RESOURCES. 



The fitness of Watonwan and Martin counties for farming and herding 

 is their chief source of wealth; and by this they are capable of supporting 



