48 GEOLOGICAL SURNEY OF ALABAMA. 



solid ore, of low grade, only one foot thick. Some doubt is 

 entertained about the identity of this bed, the surface meas- 

 urement showed it to be near the normal place of the 3rd 

 bed, but the ore resembled the 4th bed, and did not corres- 

 pond in texture with any other portion of the 3rd, which has 

 been examined. Yet neither could it be classed as the 4th y 

 because the exposed strata showed that it did not occupy 

 the proper position. A short distance beneath the usual 

 position of the 4th bed was seen a bed of iron limestone 18 

 inches thick, but carrying very little iron. Immediately 

 beneath this iron limestone comes the hard, massive sand 

 rock, heretofore described. It shows here a mural face 12 

 to 15 feet thick, with thinner members extending down to 

 the Trenton. It is evident that no beds of iron exist in, or 

 beneath this rock. This is the equivalent of the lower yel- 

 lowish gnarly sand rock near the base of the Clinton. But 

 instead of being 15 to 25 feet thick, as it usually is, it -is 

 here, and for several miles above, and below this place over 

 40 feet thick. It is a matter of surprise that here, for a 

 space of 12 miles (from S. 21, T. 11, R. 3 E., to S. 36, T. 12 r 

 R. 1 E.), only the upper half of the Clinton carries iron ore, 

 while the lower part, not only carries no iron, but is com- 

 posed of abnormally hard, massive rocks, often pebbly, or 

 conglomerate, and hence more resembling the rocks of the 

 missing Medina, or Oneida, than those of the Clinton forma- 

 tion. It is one of the many unaccountable changes that 

 occur in thin "protean group" as it still might well be called. 

 If any bed remains unopened here, it must lie beneath the 

 third opening and the iron limestone. It is barely possible 

 that a bed may exist there, though none is indicated on the 

 surface. The Clinton is thicker than usual at this place, and 

 would therefore have been expected to carry more iron than 

 is yet seen. A little further to the S. W., N. E. part of S. 16, 

 and near the rim, other openings had been made to further 

 test the ore beds. No. 1 showed a little improvement in 

 quality, though still spathic in appearance, a carbonate of 

 iron and heavily charged with silica. The bf d classed here, 

 as No. 3 had materially charged; it was here 18 inches thick, 

 soft and shaly and sandy ; its purple color had charged to a 



