118 GEOLOGICAL RECONNOISSANCE 



to be examined hereafter for such ores, when the survey of "Washington 

 is made in detail. 



Samples of the red upland soil of this county were collected, for future 

 chemical analysis, from John Rieffs' farm, on section 31, township 16 

 north, range 30 west, where the growth is white oak, hickory, overcup oak, 

 hackberry, walnut, box-elder, slippery elm, black ash, dogwood, and black 

 locust, with an undergrowth of papaw, spice, and large grape vines. 



This soil is a good sample of the red uplands of the centre of Wash- 

 ington county ; it resembles the Cane hill land, but is less siliceous ; it 

 overlies, and has been mostly derived from, the Archimedes limestone and 

 its associate shales. 



The ridge that divides the waters of the West fork of White river from 

 those of the Illinois river, is composed of the same series of shales, lime- 

 stone, and sandstone, as already described, at Orion Rieffs', on Wood's 

 branch. Here, however, the junction of the shale with the limestone can 

 be seen better than at that locality. 



Near the bed of the branch that runs by Bryant's house, a pyritiferous 

 dark limestone is interstratified in the shale, similar to that on Wood's 

 branch. Twenty feet over this is the base of the limestone, which is about 

 25 feet in thickness. Eighty feet higher is the top of the sandstone, but 

 this level does not represent its true thickness, since the limestone rises so 

 rapidly to the north-west that it reaches the surface under John Tenny- 

 son's farm on the top of the hill, not half a mile from Bryant's. 



A bed of coal of six to seven inches, is reported by Bryant, on the 

 Davis place, on the waters of the Illinois ; one a foot thick, at J. Phillips', 

 on the waters of the West fork ; a bed of 1 foot to 18 inches on the west 

 side of the Davis ridge, south of Henry Ross's, and also on Morrison's 

 place ; and a 6 to 8 inches seam at Curlis's, low down in the Boston range 

 of mountains. The outcrop on the Morrison place is generally considered 

 the best coal for blacksmiths' use in this part of Washington county. 



Some of the upper layers of limestone, at A. Bryant's, contain a 

 considerable per centage of oxide of iron, and might come under the 

 denomination of Eisenkalkstein of the Germans. A black bed of lime- 

 stone is also interstratified in the mass of limestones, besides the band 

 included in the underlying shale. 



Near the line between township 15 and 16, where the Cane hill road 

 crosses the head of a branch, a locality was pointed out to me where 

 copper ore has been supposed to exist. I could see no surface indications 

 to corroborate this opinion, neither do I consider the rock which forms the 

 surface, at all favorable for metalliferous veins. A much more likely 

 thing to be discovered in the rocks of this part of Washington county, 



