GEOLOGY. 43 



thing take place, on a small scale, in all northern countries, 

 where the ice adheres to the beds of the rivers, on the re- 

 turn of the spring, when the current breaks up the ice. At 

 its bottom, pebbles adhering to the ice, are borne downwards, 

 by the current, and transported, until the ice is dissolved by 

 the warmth of the sun. So, in polar regions, powerful winds 

 and waves, break up the ices, the rocks at their lower surface 

 adhere to the iceberges, and are borne away, to climes far dis- 

 tant from their native beds. What adds to the evidence, in 

 favor of such a transportation of our primitive rocks, is the 

 fact, that their lower surfaces, show evident marks of having 

 been scratched, raked and injured, by coming in contact with 

 obstacles, on their journey hither. The upper surfaces and 

 sides, have not on them, marks of equal violence. The last 

 revolution or catastrophe of our globe, brought these rocks 

 here, and they moved slowly over the surface of the ocean, 

 then elevated only seven or eight hundred feet, above its pres- 

 ent level. 



If the same catastrophe, at its commencement deposited the 

 round pebbles, in oblong, narrow hills, their ends pointing a lit- 

 tle east of north; our primitive rocks, though brought here by 

 the same current of water, yet it had, by that time, lost nearly 

 all its force, and had settled its surface, five hundred feet, at 

 least, at that time, and, soon afterwards, subsided altogether, 

 and left our present lakes and rivers, to accomplish what they 

 have done since. Lake Erie has settled its surface one hun- 

 dred and seventy feet, since that period, and many of our riv- 

 ers have also lowered their beds, in the same time. These 

 rocks, are Fragments of History, not to be overlooked, by 

 the historian. They speak a language not to be misunder- 

 stood. The masses of rocks, in the hills of our sandstone 

 region, show on their northern ends, and sides, marks of vi- 

 olence ; — ^they are scratched, raked and injured by violence. 

 We have examined these points of rocks, on the northeastern 

 ends and sides of hills, in Scioto, Lawrence, Jackson, Fairfield, 

 Hocking and Meigs counties, and we always found the same 

 evidences, of violence done to their northern extremities. 



