25 



dug in the bottom just at the foot of the terrace upon which the city 

 stands, not far from the junction of the Pennsylvania and Mad river 

 railroad. The depth of the well below the surface of the water is 

 nine feet and its diameter fifteen feet. In its construction the utmost 

 difficulty was encountered owing to the rapid inflow of water, two 

 rotary pumps and three steam engines being employed to keep it clear 

 of water while the excavation was going on. Mr. Parrott, the en- 

 gineer of the Water-Works, informs me that in making the "duty 

 test," 2,000,000 gallons were thrown out in twenty-four hours. After 

 pumping two hours, the level of the water had been lowered three 

 feet, but there was no farther sinking during the remainder of the 

 test. 



The whole region of Mad river valley from the line where the 

 Helderberg formation breaks off in the north-eastern part of the county 

 to the first contact of the river with its rocky borders is, in fact, a 

 vast basin occupied in many places with vegetable accumulations sat- 

 urated with moisture. The depth of these accumulations to the under- 

 lying gravel is not many feet, and the width of the basin varies from 

 one-half to three miles. The river itself occupies but an insignificant 

 part of the basin except in seasons of heavy rains, when it runs riot 

 over the whole plain, the sheet of water becoming in some places sev- 

 eral miles in width. It is partly to this erratic tendency and partly to 

 its tortuous channel and rapid flow that the river is commonly sup- 

 posed to owe its name, but I am informed by John H. James, Esq., 

 of Urbana, that its original name was from the Indian tongue, the 

 translation of which is "River of Anger."* 



The hills which here form the borders of the valley are entirely 

 composed of drift materials, nc rock being anywhere exposed, even in 

 the bed of the stream. Indeed, supposing a uniform dip to charac- 

 terize the underlying strata, similar to that exhibited at Springfield, 

 the nearest rock or upper stratum of the Niagara limestone would be 

 85 feet below the surface at the railroad station at Urbana. This 

 theoretical estimate, made by the writer from a comparison of the A. 

 & Gr. W; railroad profiles with the observed dip of the strata, can only 



"This information was communicated to Ool. James by Robert Flemming wlio, when a 

 boy, had been the servant of one McKee, an Indian trader. Before the revolution 

 McKee resided at Fort Pitt, but on the Declaration of Independence he casi his lot with 

 the British and went to reside witli tlie Indians beyond the Ohio, taking the lad Flem- 

 ming with him. Flemming spent many years with the Indians, learning their lan- 

 guage and customs. He stated that the name "River of Anger" was given to this stream 

 because the Indians here brought their captives to be burned. The place where this 

 punishment was executed was near the source of the river in Logan county, on a tract 

 of land formerly belonging to Col. James. 



