22 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



tbe Upper Coal-Measnres, w^hich give a remarkable uniformity of char- 

 acter to its surface. These rocks are composed of alternate beds of 

 clays, sandstones, and limestones, with some thin beds of coal. Al- 

 though no seams of coal were observed in Eichardson County at any dis- 

 tance from the Missouri Elver, yet soon after reaching the limits of 

 Pawnee County a bed of coal appears, which is creating some excite- 

 ment among the people. It has not yet been observed along the Ne- 

 maha Eiver itself, but on its small branches ; but I suppose the reason 

 of this is the great erosion of the underlying rocks in the river valley, 

 and the subsequent deposition of a vast thickness of alluvial material, 

 effectually concealing all the outcroppings. The first locality where the 

 coal appears is about fifteen miles west of Salem, on Turner's Branch, 

 on school-section township 1, range 12, one and a half miles northeast 

 of Frieze's mill. The following section of the beds is given in descend- 

 ing order: 



4. Limestone, somewhat irregular in cleavage at top, but rather mas- 

 sive at base, four to eight feet thick. 



3. Bluish-black indurated clay, some portion slaty, and filled with fos- 

 sils, three to four feet thick. 



2. Eather pure coal, ten to sixteen inches thick. 



,1. Yellow plaster clay, passing up into a hard blue clay, upon which 

 the coal lies as if pressed down, twenty feet thick. 



No rocks below bed 1 are seen in this immediate vicinity. The coal 

 seemed to be packed closely down on to the clay beneath,, like masses of 

 flat rock, as if it had been originally deposited there like a layer of clay 

 or sand. The clay below is quite hard and filled with fragments of fern- 

 leaves, stems of the rush-like calamites, like the clay underneath the 

 coal-seams in Ohio or Pennsylvania. The under surface of the coal 

 seems to be comj)osed of stems, like grasses, as if the vegetable debris 

 began upon a densely grass-covered surface. The vegetable impressions 

 do not go down into the clay more than an inch or two, and above the 

 seam, where the coal ceases, all traces of vegetable matter disappear 

 and the clay is charged with a variety of molluscous remains. The clay 

 above the coal is very hard, aad yields with difi&cultytothepick, and the 

 coal is extracted with great labor. Several hundred bushels have been 

 taken out and sold, and the bank of the creek reveals fifteen or twenty 

 openings like that shown by the illustration. This shows the coal-seam 

 at the base, the bed of indurated clay above, which is generally three 

 to four feet thick, all of which has to be removed, and the heavy-bedded 

 limestone forms an excellent cap-rock above. At Frieze's mill, still 

 farther on, this same bed of coal is again wrought with some success. 



On Mr. Boston's farm, tov/nship 1, range 12, section 34, several open- 

 ings have been made ; and here the coal-seam increases in thickness to 

 sixteen inches. Mr. B. has taken out nine hundred bushels of coal here. 

 He finds a ready market for it at the mine at thirty cents per bushel.' 

 This coal-seam averages a bushel of coal to a square foot of surface. I 

 have collected abundant specimens of this coal at different localities, 

 and they will be properly investigated for the final report. 



This seam is also worked on Lee's Branch and on Miner's Creek, so 

 that it is now wrought, more or less, over an area of ten miles square, 

 at least. The coal seems to have been worked with more system, in- 

 dustry, and success than in any other portion of the State. 



Near Pawnee City there is another small seam of coal holding a higher 

 geological position, which has attracted some attention. I made a care- 

 ful examination of all the localities, and found it not more than four 

 inches in thickness generally. On Mr. Jordan's farm, at the water-level 



