116 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 



Aboriginal Inscriptions. — In connection with the description of the 

 isouth-eastern portion of Columbiana county, I venfure to call attention 

 to some remarkable inscriptions made on the sandstone rocks in the bed 

 of the Ohio River, just above Smith's Ferry. These figures and hiero- 

 glyphics cover a surface of six hundred feet along the river, and from 

 fifty to one hundred feet wide. They can only be seen when the river 

 is unusually low. In the summer of 1871, after a long interval of drouth^ 

 the water of the Ohio had fallen far below its average level, and these 

 markings were better shown than they had been since this section of the 

 country was occupied by the whites. At this time I had some of the 

 most interesting of these figures carefully copied, and they are repro- 

 duced on the accompanying lithograph. At the present time these in- 

 scriptions are rarely visible, and it would seem as though they had been 

 made when the Ohio was running at a lower level than at present — -a 

 matter to which I have referred in another portion of our report. As 

 most of these inscriptions lie beyond the Pennsylvania line, I should be 

 hardly justified in occupying the limited space which is alloted to this 

 report in further notice of them, but it has seemed to me desirable that 

 the fact of the existence of such inscriptions should be placed on record, 

 and it is hoped that this notice will prompt more thorough and careful 

 investigation of this interesting subject. 



Salt Wells. — Quite a number of wells have been bored for salt in the 

 region between East Liverpool and Wellsville. In several of these salt 

 water has been found in sufficient quantity and of sufficient strength to 

 make it practicable to obtain salt from it. The brine will not compare 

 in strength with that obtained on the Kanawha, at Grand Rapids, or at 

 Syracuse; but from most of the wells so large a quantity of gas issues as 

 to furnish a fuel for evaporating the brine and driving the machinery. 

 This has reduced the cost of production to a minimum, but the industry 

 now languishes, from the failure of the gas in some of the wells, and the 

 cheapness with which salt is furnished to this market from other sources. 

 Mr. James Dickey, of East Liverpool, who has been concerned in the 

 boring of several of these salt wells, has kindly furnished me the follow- 

 ing notes : 



"I give you herewith the record of one' well, which will answer for all in this neigh- 

 borhoocl. 



FT. 



1. Excavation to rock 31 



2. Hard sandstone 'Z 



3. Kock (argillaceous shale), with three or four streaks of black slate 81 



4. Slate and coal, mixed 5 



5. Soft white sandstone 14 



C. Hard blue rock ^ 3 



7. Clay shale, with streaks of coarse white sandstone 221 



