8 10 J. F. NEWSOM 



Examined under the microscope, this mud is seen to be com- 

 posed of an impalpable powder, such as might have been formed 

 by direct precipitation of its constituents from solution. 



ANALYSIS OF THE MUD BLOWN FROM THE CREVICES. 



A. J. Cox, analyst. 



Per Cent 



Lime (CaO) - 13.4 

 Magnesia (MgO) ------- 4.30 



Iron oxide (Fe 2 3 ) ------ 15-45 



Silica and insoluble silicates - - - 49.75 



Carbon dioxide (C0 2 ) ----- 12.10 



Water - 5.6 



Total - . . . 100.6 



When seen by the writer, the principal fissure formed by the 

 explosion (see 1, 2, Fig. 1) was between fifty and one hundred 

 feet long, about five feet wide, and five feet deep. This crevice 

 had evidently been much deeper, but when the gas ceased escap- 

 ing under sufficient pressure to keep it open, loose earth had caved 

 into it and partially filled it. The fissure extended almost east 

 and west, and was along the foot of the slope, between the sec- 

 ond bottom and the lower ground. At its south side was a mass 

 of earth, x—x', from five to ten feet high, that had been blown 

 from the fissure. 



A field of corn was growing south of the main fissure at the 

 time of the explosion. About an acre of this corn, B, B' , C, C, 

 Fig. 1, was burned brown by the heat, while half of this burned 

 portion, B, B, B' , Fig. 1, was blown flat upon the ground, and 

 much of the blown down corn was plastered with mud. The 

 corn was blown over toward the south, showing that the force 

 came from the fissure at the north side. Some of the blown 

 down corn is shown at the right end of Fig. 2. 



At 1 1, Fig. 1, a slice of the gravel bluff was shaken down by 

 the explosion, and some trees were blown up by the roots. 



Irregular openings or craters were blown out at 8, 9, 10, Fig. 

 1, but the explosion was not so violent here as at the east side 

 of the affected area. 



