116 GEOLOGICAL KECONNOISSANCE 



On section 18, township 15 north, range 29 west, 30 to 35 feet of shale 

 are exposed, on the banks of Wood's branch, near Orion Rieffs' house. 

 In this shale, and 11 to 12 feet above the bed of the creek," a band of dark 

 grey fossiliferous limestone occurs, in which a greyish yellow iron pyrites 

 is disseminated, that has attracted no small attention in the neighborhood, 

 and has been' quarried to some extent, in the hopes that it might prove to 

 be an ore of silver. Those who had taken the trouble and labor to extract 

 this ore, were much disappointed that I could give them no encourage- 

 ment to prosecute further their silver-mining operations. The "Wood's 

 branch shale underlies the Archimedes cavernous limestone of the adja- 

 cent ridges, with, perhaps, some interstratified layers of sandstone, and 

 occupies, in all probability, a geological position corresponding to that of 

 the shale in the Town branch, and at the Lick, one mile west of Fayette- 

 ville. 



The dark grey, pyritifcrous, fossiliferous limestone, contains bellerophon, 

 Productus corn; also a nucula and euomphalus, the species of which have 

 not yet been determined. This rock would take a polish, but from the 

 large quantity of sulphuret and protoxide of iron which it contains, would 

 be liable to rust and stain, if exposed to atmospheric agencies. 



The succession on Wood's branch of the Middle fork of White river, 

 on township 15 north, range 29 west, is as follows : 



1. Brown sandstone with amygdaloidal cavities. 



2. Space concealed with shales ? 



3. Archimedes cavernous limestone. 



4. Grey and black shales, with perhaps some interstratified sandstone, 

 and including, near its base, a band of dark, fossiliferous, pyritiferous 

 limestone, and segregations of carbonate of iron. 



The carbonate of iron is quite abundant in the lower part of this shale, 

 in the sections both of the Middle and West fork of White river, so 

 much so, that I believe sufficient ore can be obtained from the various 

 localities of its outcrop, to supply a furnace, in connection with ores of 

 the limonite variety, which can, probably, be found higher up over the 

 limestone. 



The caverns in the vicinity of Orion Rieft's' have been formed by the 

 disintegration of the concretionary beds of the Archimedes limestone. 

 They are low and difficult of access. From one of these caverns, some 

 earth was collected for the purpose of examining it for nitre ; time has not 

 yet permitted an analysis of this earth, but its appearance does not indi- 

 cate a large per ceutage of saltpetre. 



