264 /. C. BRANNER 



from 1 87 1 till 1874/ it is somewhat remarkable that the baux- 

 ite deposits were not sooner discovered. The rocks were seen 

 and mentioned by two geologists, but their true character and 

 importance were not suspected. As long ago as 1842 Dr. W. 

 Byrd Powell published a brief paper on the geology of Fourche 

 Cove, near Little Rock, in which he says:^ "There is an exten- 

 sive amygdaloid formation within the cove, and also upon the 

 eastern side of it (page 1 1 j . . . . The amygdaloid proper is of 

 a light brick color. In some localities it is darker, and in others 

 lighter .... At one locality the amygaloids are small, resem- 

 bling a mass of peas, .... but each amygaloid, or pea-like 

 body, is hollow, having a shell not thicker than that of an ^^^. 

 At another the amygdaloids are filled, but they, as well as the 

 cement or gangue, are earthy and more or less friable." There 

 can be no doubt that some of these so-called amygdaloids are 

 the bauxites. 



It is evident, however, that some of the tertiary conglomer- 

 ate beds were regarded by Dr. Powell as variations of these 

 "amygdaloids," for he says that some of them consist of jasper 

 (p. 12). 



Owen also mentions this "ferruginous amygdaloid of rather 

 a peculiar character," and says that "the amygdules are very 

 globular, so that the rock has much the appearance of peastone, 

 the cavities being mostly empty." ^ The description of the rock 

 and the locality given make it clear that the bauxite rock is 

 here referred to, and yet there is no word to show that either 

 Powell or Owen knew or suspected the true nature of the 

 material. 



That these observers did not recognize this mineral is prob- 

 ably due to the fact that bauxite was, at that time, but little 



'See the Geological Surveys of Arkansas, by J. C. Branner. Jour, of Geol. 

 II, November-December 1894, 826-836. 



^A geological report upon the Fourche Cove and its„immediate vicinity, by W. 

 Byrd Powell, M.D., Little Rock, 1842, 11-13. This is a very rare pamphlet; I 

 knowf of but one copy of it, and that is in the library of the U. S. Geological Survey. 



3 Second report of a geological reconnoissance of Arkansas. By David Dale 

 Owen, Philadelphia, i860, 70. 



