MURPHREE'S VALLEY; ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 63 



It is of medium solidity, or hardness ; hence will be easily 

 mined and handled. 



The third and fourth beds do not exist here. The space 

 where they belong is yet taken up by the iron limestone. 

 It is probable that the 5th bed begins about here, or a little 

 higher up, but as the S. East side of the mountain now has 

 more slope, its position is wholly obscured by talus. It is 

 not seen till near the centre of Sect. 28. 



THE GREAT IRON ORE BED NEAR VILLAGE SPRINGS. 



In Sect. 28, T. 14, R. 1, W., the Red Mountain has been 

 cut in two 1by a fault. Through the gap thus made a public 

 road has run, since the country was settled. On the upper 

 side of this road, and near the base of the mountain, is ex- 

 posed probably the largest mass of red hematite ore that 

 exists in the State. It is the 5th bed the one lowest down 

 in the Clinton. It is based directly on the Trenton limestone, 

 which is here seen slightly cropping out in the wash at its 

 base. Originally no iron ore was seen here ; the talus from 

 the mountain, and detritus from the gap beyond, had covered 

 it over. Gradually, the wearing down of the public road 

 exposed some iron bearing -shales near the top of the bed. 

 These were long considered of no prospective value. To 

 carry off the surface water, a channel was cut on the side of 

 the road. The water soon cut down to the ore, and made a 

 deep channel through the bed. To this its discovery was 

 due. The ore is generally soft, fine grained and dark colored. 

 In shade it runs from a deep brown to dark grey and black. 

 In texture and quality it is not uniform. Near the top and 

 near the middle is a thick belt of rich, coarse graiued ore. 

 Beneath each of these are still broader belts of nearly black 

 ore, fine grained and of inferior quality. The dip of the 

 different parts of the bed is neither regular nor uniform. 

 The dip in different paits varies from 10 to 28<>. Generally 

 near the base of the bed the ore was of lowest grade. The 

 different parts as seen will vary from 35 to 50 per cent, of iron. 



The exact thickness of this bed could not be calculated 



