24 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITOEIES. 



cheaper to hasten the huildiug of raih^oacls and the transportation of 

 fuel from Iowa or other neighboring States. 



Building-stone, limestone, tfcc, are very abundant all over Pawnee 

 County. Thin beds, from six inches to two feet in thickness, crop out 

 from the sides of the hills in many places, and almost every farm has a 

 quarry. 



The best quarry yet worked is located on a farm belonging to Gov- 

 ernor Batler, cropping out near the edge of the hill bordering a small 

 stream, about eight miles west of Pawnee City. It is a soft, cream- 

 colored limestone, full of small cavities caused by the decaying out of a 

 small shell, '•'' Fusulina cyliyidricaP It is a true fusulina liiiiestone, and 

 is a great favorite with masons for building purposes. It is easily 

 wrought in any desirable shape, is very tenacious in texture, and durable. 

 It seems to hold a position about one hundred feet above the water-level 

 of Turkey Creek, and belongs to the age of the " Permo-Carboniferous," 

 or intermediate between the Upper Coal-Measures and the Permian 

 series, the general inclination of the beds being toward the west and 

 northwest. New and more recent beds are continually making their 

 appearance as we proceed toward the west, and this choice bed of lime- 

 stone has made its appearance here for the first time. It will doubtless 

 be found to extend over considerable area in a southeasterly direction. 

 There is still another bed of bluish limestone cropping out of the hills, 

 which, though useful, is not regarded with the favor bestowed on that 

 just mentioned. It does not dress as nicely, is not as handsome for 

 caps or sills ; it is equally durable with the other. There are several 

 beds in the county which are employed, to a greater or less extent, for 

 various economical purposes. 



Potters' clay, fire-clay, brick-materials, &c., are abundant all over the 

 county. 



Peat-beds are fonnd to some extent, sufficient, I think, to attract at- 

 tention in the future. IsTear Table Eock, about six miles northeast of 

 Pawnee City, on Elder Gidding's farm, on the Nemaha bottom, there is 

 a low, flat marsh, covering about one hundred acres or more, which will 

 furnish a peat of good quality, two feet in thickness or more, on an 

 average, over the whole surface. 



Near Pawnee City there is a small peat-bog on which one can stand 

 and jar the ground for a considerable distance. The surface of this bog 

 is about six hundred feet in length and three hundred in width, and the 

 peat is ten to twelve feet in thickness. 



The best peat-beds are those which are formed of the decayed roots 

 and stems of the large rushes and the reed-grasses of the country. 

 These bogs are covered with water a large portion of the year, and are 

 the favorite abode of musk-rats, which pile up the reeds and rushes 

 for their houses like hay-cocks. Very few people seem to know what a 

 peat-bed is ; taut their attention once turned in that direction, they will 

 find them quite abundant in this county. 



No iron-ore of any economical value has been discovered in Nebraska. 

 Even if there were rich beds of ore, the absence of fuel would render 

 them almost valueless. 



There is a great amount of sulphuret of iron — ''iron pyrites" — scat- 

 tered through the county, sometimes presenting some beautiful crystal- 

 line forms, attracting the curiosity, as well as hopes, of many of the 

 settlers, who have frequently mistaken it for gold. 



Mill-sites are numerous along the Nemaha and its larger branches, 

 and some mills are now in process of erection. 



