GEOLOGICAL REPORT. 29 



In Dent county, in Sees. 2, 3, 10 and 11, of T. 35, R. 4 W., 

 is one of the most valuable and extensive deposits of the spec- 

 ular oxide of iron, near the line of the South-west Branch. 

 The ore is rich and pure, and will yield a very large per cent, 

 of the very best iron. In appearance the ore is intermediate 

 between that of the Iron Mountain and that at the Pilot Knob ; 

 but in quality it is not surpassed by either. These beds must 

 become very valuable as the county settles up and the demand 

 for iron, in that part of the State, is greatly increased. 



Brown hematite was observed in many localities in La Clede 

 county. Mr. Engelmann examined large masses of it near 

 Bear creek, in Sec. 25, T. 36, R. 14. The Meramec Ore Beds, 

 in Phelps county, is a valuable deposit of compact specular 

 ore, which has been wrought since 1829. In Sec. 32, T. 37, 

 R. 8, there is another extensive bed of the same ore. Iron ore 

 is also reported in Sec. 27, T. 36, R. 7 ; Sec. 11, T. 39, R. 8, 

 and in Sec. 13, T. 37, R. 7. 



In Crawford county there are many very important localities 

 of iron ore, as shown by the following abstract of Dr. Shu- 

 mar d's report on that county : 



" Iron ore of excellent quality has been found at a number of 

 localities in this county, generally associated with the 2d Sand- 

 stone and the cherty parts of the 3d Magnesian Limestone. 

 The varieties observed are the brown hematite, specular oxide, 

 and sulphuret. Brown hematite and the specular oxide are 

 found in S.E. of N.E. qr. Sec. 5, T. 37, R. 4 W. It is thickly 

 strewn over the surface, and probably exists in workable quan- 

 tity. 



"Brown hematite occurs at a number of points in T. 36, 

 R. 3 W. In Sees. 15 and 36 it is most abundant, commingled 

 with pseudomorphous crystals of pyrites, chert and crystallized 

 quartz. At Bleeding Hill, according to Mr. Engelmann, there 

 seems to be a rich deposit of specular ore of excellent quality. 

 Two shafts have been sunk here, one of them through thirty- 

 seven feet of red clay and comminuted chert. In this shaft 

 the miners encountered a four-foot bed of soft, purple iron ore, 

 greasy to the touch, like the paint ore at the Meramec Iron 

 Works. 



" In S.E. of S.E. qr. Sec. 2, T. 38, R. 6, and Sec. 1, T. 38, 

 R. 3, are workable. beds of iron ore. 



