240 CENTRAL MINERAL REGION OF TEXAS. 



gleaned from this region have been practically consigned to oblivion, as in 

 the unpublished, and probably obliterated, notes of Dr. B. F. Shumard, as 

 well as the manuscript notes of Mr. J. W. Glenn, which are obliged to as- 

 sume chronological position much later than they deserve, owing to their 

 being heretofore buried among the archives of the State at Austin. 



Diligent search has failed to discover any mention in print of the earlier 

 rocks in Central Texas, prior to the publication of two little works in 1836,* 

 both of which refer to the existence of "iron, lead, and mineral coal" in that 

 region. For the reason that at the date mentioned all coal was usually re- 

 garded as of the Carboniferous period, courtesy may give these authors the 

 credit of having first announced the occurrence of pre-Cretaceous strata 

 within this area. But such simple statements as theirs are not to be regarded 

 as in any degree scientifically accurate. Somewhat more definite, though 

 still lacking in precision, is the report made in 1840 by Col. Stiff, in his 

 Guide Book of Texas, f 



This contains a chapter on Geology, in which he incidentally remarks that 

 u bituminous coal in great quantities is known to be embedded in the roman- 

 tic hills that border the upper Colorado." But the character of his conclu- 

 sions and other statements in the work leave no doubt that this author had 

 no understanding of this part of his subject, and it is not proper to give him 

 the credit of the discovery of the general geologic era of the rocks referred 

 to. The claim made for Mr. Kennedy, J by Mr. Robert T. Hill. § rests upon 

 somewhat more substantial grounds, for Kennedy remarks: || 



Advancing from the coast to the interior, the more recent beds give way to beds of slate, 

 shale, and sandstone, which are succeeded by those of the argillaceous oxide of iron and 

 bituminous coal; still farther to the west, the appearance of transition, slates, and limestone, 

 with trilobite enclosed, indicates the approach to the regions of mineral wealth and veget- 

 able sterility. 



*The History of Texas; or the Emigrant's, Farmer's, and Politician's G-uide to the Char- 

 acter, Climate, Soil, and Productions of that Country, geographically arranged from personal 

 observation and experience. By David B. Edward. Cincinnati, 1836. 



Texas. By Mrs. Mary Austin Holley, Lexington, Ky., 1836. 



(The former work is given precedence simply because its author mentions having person- 

 ally seen evidences of coal in the San Saba district, whereas Mrs. Holley, without having 

 seen it, reports the discovery in almost the identical words used by Mr. Edward.) 



f The Texan Emigrant. By Col. Edward Stiff. Cincinnati, Ohio. Published by George 

 Conclin, 1840. 



| Texas: The Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas. By Wm. Ken- 

 nedy, Esq. London, 1841, 2 vols., 8vo. 



§ Present Condition of Knowledge of the Geology of Texas. Bulletin United States Geo- 

 logical Survey, No. 45. Washington, 1887, pp. 14, 55. (Vol. VII. pp. 392, 433.) The 

 writer freely acknowledges his dependence upon this paper for by far the greater portion of 

 the facts presented here, but the references given herein have all been verified anew. 



\\Loc. tit., vol. I, page 115 (here quoted exactly as printed). 



