JEFP-ERSON COUNTY. 775 



8 is so high up in the hills that it is found usually in patches of from 

 fifty to one hundred acres, only in a few instances much larger than the 

 latter. North from the railroad the surface is elevated and broadly 

 rolling, so that, excepting near the eastern portion of the township, the 

 distance which one must pass through inferior or " crop " coal is so great 

 that the expense deters many from opening banks. This cost of run- 

 ning a long adit could easily be saved in many instances, by sinking a 

 shaft fifty or one hundred feet, as the case may be, from the outcrop, and 

 thus reaching sound coal at once. In the great majority of cases the 

 depth of such a shaft would not exceed fifteen feet, and the amount of 

 water would be so small, that the increased cost of mining would be 

 very slight. The area in which the coal is available does not extend far 

 north from the road leading through the middle of the township from 

 Smithfield Station to Steubenville. The exact limit cannot well be de- 

 termined owing to the general character of the surface which is buried 

 under debris, but there is reason to believe that only widely separated 

 patches are found as far north as the road from Cross Creek Station to 

 Steubenville. Along the other road the coal is usually seen at about 

 sixty feet below the tops of the higher hills, there being only two in- 

 stances of deeper covering. The section along this road is very clear, 

 -and can be verified at several localities, especially near the brick church 

 and school house. Near the latter, where the highest ground is reached 

 the section is as follows : 



FT. IN'. 



1. Shaly limestone with some flaggy limestone 40 



2. CoaZ ift). 10, worthless 1 6 



3. Sandstone and arenaceous shale 60 



4. Coal No. B ■ 5 



5. Shale argillaceous, variegated 35 



6. Limestone, conglomerate 2 



The distance between 8 and 10 is the same as that near Unionport. 

 The limestone immediately underlying 8 elsewhere toward the south, is 

 missing here, and at every other exposure along this line to Steubenville. 



In this portion of the township there are many deserted banks, nearly 

 all of which seem to have been abandoned because of the difficulty of 

 drainage. The only one in operation is that belonging to the England 

 heirs, which is situated very near the eastern line of the township. The 

 full section of the coal here is — 



1. Eoof coal 1 footainches. 



2. Clay 8tol2inches. 



3. Coal 1 foot 6 inches. 



4. Parting i inch. 



5. Goal lOfeet. 



