6>Q2 GEOLOGICAL RECONNOISSANCE 



existence of a vein of gold below. In this belief he was further strength- 

 ened by the fact of the tops of the trees, in the vicinity, being dead. Ac- 

 cordingly, with some of his neighbors, he went to work, and sunk three 

 pits, one of which was thirty feet deep. Unfortunately, when I visited 

 the place, these pits had become filled up with the rubbish and washings 

 from the hill above. 



After the examination of the material thrown from these pits, and aided 

 by the memory of Mr. Payne, 1 was enabled to make out the following 

 succession in the deposits: 



(//) Slope above the shaft, composed of waterworn hornstone 

 and chert gravel, and sand, which are sometimes formed 



into a ferruginous conglomerate of small extent 30 feet. 



(/;) Light colored plastic clay, with small, pure, transparent, len- 

 ticular crystals of selenite imbedded 10 to 15 



(r) Variegated plastic clay, alternating with beds of clay, in all 



about? 15 " 



Bottom of the shaft ° 



GO " 

 The deposits passed through in this shaft, are not such as to afford any 

 hope of finding gold, or other precious metals. The labors of Mr. Payne 

 have disclosed, however, in the member marked (6), of the above section, 

 a material which will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable fertilizer of 

 land, from the large amount of selenite (a transparent variety of gypsum) 

 which it contains. Judging from its external appearance, the selenite 

 forms about one-third of the whole mass composing this member. An 

 earth, so rich in this ingredient, and so easy of access, must be of great 

 value to the farming community. 



The lower bed reached, (c), is a good potter's clay, which, by a proper 

 selection, and washing, will .be applicable for the manufacture of the 

 coarser lands of porcelain. 



The yellow member of this bed, which is sometimes several feet thick, 

 is a variety of yellow ochre that has commercial value as a cheap paint, 

 used for the coarser kinds of work. 



The evidence of the cracking of the earth, at this locality, is still very 

 apparent; and it is probable that such cracks are not uncommon, and 

 may have favored the formation of the selenite, by giving egress to pent- 

 up sulphurous acid or sulphuretted hydrogen gases, which, by oxidation, 

 have been converted into sulphuric acid; this, combining with the lime 

 present in some of the quaternary deposits, has formed the sulphate of 

 lime, (selenite). These cracks may have originated, in part, from the 



