54 THE PREGLACIAL DRAINAGE OF OHIO. 



put of the dismal swamps bordering Newman's Creek, which 

 seems to open — as a wedge — the coal measure hills of Baugh- 

 man Tp. to drain them. 



Of course I Cannot demonstrate the elevations of the rock 

 floor to these mysterious swamps, for no drillings have been 

 made in these marshes to their bottom, that I am apprised of; 

 but no geologist who has examined them has ever doubted the 

 existence of a preglacial channel here. His only question has 

 been, "To where does it go?" And I think I can prove to you, 

 at least by circumstantial evidence, that the channel proceeds 

 through these swamps north, and after taking in the waters of 

 the Red Run region, goes northwest diagonally across Milton 

 Tp. south of Sterling and east of Creston, where, after reversing 

 or rather doing away with the necessity of a Chippewa Creek, it 

 took up the waters of Killbuck's head from Wayne Tp. and car- 

 ried them to Chippewa Lake to be forwarded to Rocky River. 



One proof of this is found in the fact that two and one-half 

 miles southeast of Sterling, in Milton Tp., an Artesian well, in 

 the line of the channel, has for thirty years filled a three inch 

 pipe with pure water from a depth of 80 feet, and no rock was 

 encountered in its drilling. And second, when the A. & G. 

 W. R. R. was building from Sterling to Creston, some fifty 

 years ago, a section of the track sank out of sight, went down 

 in the night to stay, and they had to change the line and use 

 the wood from an acre of heavy oak timber to steady it in the 

 new place. The third item of proof is that several wells have 

 been sunk in the line of the channel east of Creston to 160 feet 

 and no rock struck. These wells are in valleys some 50 feet 

 lower than Creston village, as I am informed. I am also in- 

 formed by a prominenet member of the U. S. Geological Sur- 

 vey that "a well at Sterling has about 400 feet of drift." I have 

 been unable to locate this well unless it be one situated about 

 one mile northwest of Sterling, near the Medina county line, 

 which reveals great depth of drift, but the exact thickness I 

 could not secure. Yet enough was secured to demonstrate a 

 rock floor very nearly on a level with the surface of Lake Erie, 

 or about the same elevation, as I will show in the Black River 



