No. 108.] 63 



the steam salt. The Kanawha salt is universally preferred in the 

 west to any other description of domestic salt for preserving meats — 

 it is believed mainly from the fact of its almost entire freedom from 

 lime in any combination. 



" When the wells were first bored to the depth of three to four 

 hundred feet, many of them produced petroleum in large quantities; 

 but that substance has long since entirely disappeared. 



" Bituminous coal is the fuel exclusively used for twenty years 

 past in salt making here. It is found abundantly in the adjacent 

 mountains, embedded in horizontal strata of three to six feet in the 

 stratafied shales and sandstones of the country. 



" No lime, plaster or slate has as yet been detected in the borings 

 of our wells. White, grey and yellow sand rock, shales and pit 

 coal, are the prevailing substances passed in boring. 



" The strength of our brine is not known to be affected in our 

 deep wells by the changes in quantity of superficial waters; although 

 it was formerly imagined that at the depth of three or four hundred 

 feet, high water in the river increased the strength and volume of 

 salt water. 



" I will add, that from one and a half to two million bushels of 

 salt, of 50 lbs. weight, are annually made here, and vended in the 

 west and southwest. The price at Cincinnati, by the cargo, is now 

 25 cents per bushel. We could produce, it is believed, five millions, 

 if the markets would require so much. 



" Our coarse salt, when made with care, has a translucent crystal 

 resembling alum. I have no doubt myself that alum salt can be 

 made here of unequalled purity to very great advantage, and would 

 be, should Congress give us a reasonable protective duty, and could 

 the requisite capital be commanded, which I doubt whether our own 

 people at present can furnish. In boring, recently, two salt wells in 

 the neighborhood, to the unusual depth of eight hundred and fifty 

 to nine hundred and fifty feet, good brine has been found, which is 

 forced up by streams of gas to the height to which it is usually 

 forced by pumps, say seventy feet above the surface of the river, in 

 a constant supply. After doing this work, the gas is set on fire at 

 night, and illuminates the whole surrounding valley. The owner of 

 one of the wells is preparing to burn this gas in his furnaces, to aid 

 in making salt." 



The United States salines near Shawneetown, Illinois, were many 

 years ago very important to that section of the country. In 1S13, 

 they were leased from the government by Charles Wilkins, Esq. of 

 Lexington, and his associates. 



In 1814, when I was at these salines, the shakes of earthquakes 

 were quite frequent. In 1811 and 1812, at the time of the disaster 

 at New Madrid, these shakes were very severe. 



In a letter recently received from my correspondent, E. Mills, 

 Esq. of Shawneetown, 111., he remarks: " The shakes, as they are 

 called, are not unfrequent at these salines. The wells average about 

 one hundred and thirty feet in depth, and are sixteen in number. 

 One hundred gallons of the water make one bushel of salt. Iron ore 



