MURPHREE'S VALLEY ; ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 47 



and again filled up, it was said to be 4 feet thick, very soft 

 ore. It was not roofed in with rock here, and probably the 

 ore was much decomposed. 



In the N. E i of S. 16, same Tp., several openings had 

 been made in the upper bed, it did not come up to the 

 average here, either in thickness or quality. The mountain 

 here is heavily capped with Lower Siliceous, cherty strata, 

 and the heavy sand rock that caps the upper iron ore bed, 

 is very thick. It seem to be the case, that where this cap 

 rock is unusually thick, the underlying iron ore beds are 

 thin. No reason is apparent why this should be so it is a 

 co-incidence, however, that has been noticed at many places. 

 In the remaining portion of S. 16 that lies N. I<J. of the Gal- 

 vert fork of the Little Warrior, persistent efforts have been 

 made to expose all the beds of iron ore. If any one of them 

 is not fully shown up it is No. 3. The upper bed is nearly 

 three feet thick, composed wholly of concretionary hard ore/ 

 of light brown color, and very much resembling spathic iron 

 ore, or clay iron stone. It is of very low grade, about 30 

 per cent, of iron. No. 2 was not found; it is not believed to 

 exist here nor has it been seen for several miles above this 

 place. Six feet below the normal place of the 2nd bed, is a 

 thin bed of purple colored ore, one foot thick. It is not 

 only peculiarly colored, but -it also carries fossils of 

 Cyathophyllum, and allied corals, and is speckled, and 

 streaked, with crystals of carbonate of lime. This bed has 

 not been seen at any other place. Of course it is not thick 

 enough to be of value, even if the ore were good ; and is only 

 interesting because it is rare and very peculiar. A small 

 bed about the same size as this, is sometimes found between 

 the 1st and 2nd beds. But it is not persistent, only occa- 

 sionally intercalated. This one probably only runs a short 

 distance intercalated between the 2nd and 3rd ; or the 3rd 

 bed may have become divided at this place, this being the 

 upper member, though the former opinion is most probable. 

 The distance between it and the 3rd bed is too great, we 

 think, to justify the latter opinion. 



An opening was also made on the 3rd bed; it carries clean 



