MOULTEIE COUNTY. 1S7 



hydrogen occasionally rise to the surface ; no taste of sulphur was per- 

 ceptible, but there was a slight odor of it. The spring is on the land of 

 Daniel Brown, and there are several similar springs near by. 



On the edge of the prairie near the east county line, a half mile south 

 of the river, a well was dug twenty-two feet, through first, yellow clay, 

 lower six or eight feet blue clay, then bored twelve feet through blue 

 clay to a bed of black saud and vegetable mold, in which pleuty of 

 water was obtained. The latter dark material is probably the equiva- 

 lent of No. 3 of section at Brown's, and is also equivalent to a similar 

 bed seen on Big creek, in Macon county. 



On the South fork of Kaskaskia, below the mouth of Whitley's creek, 

 observed as follows : 



Ft 



1. Soi], local drift, etc : ? 



2. Blue clay, with a few pebbles ; at the lower part a very dark stratum of clay 8 



3. Brown sand and small bowlders 5 



4. Blue and brown sand and clay, with some pebbles and bowlders 8 



5. Very comminuted fine sand bed, some of it concretionary 3 



6. Dark purplish-blue sands 4 



7. Talus of above, with fragments of coal, etc ? 



From the appearance of the dark stratum in Nos. 2 aud 7, James W. 

 Loomis & Co. have run in a drift for seventy feet in search of a coal 

 bed : of course they were unsuccessful. The dark stratum at Dan iel 

 Brown's also induced certain parties to dig in search of coal. A little 

 knowledge of geology would have taught them the futility of searching 

 for coal at these places. 



Drift bowlders of various kinds of metaihorphic rocks are often found 

 alone on the prairies, especially in the northern part of the county. 

 Four miles northeast of Sullivan there is a bowlder of granite 10+5+ 

 8 feet, surrounded only by the black prairie soil; how deep it lies 

 beneath is not known. 



Coal Measures . 



I was informed that near Sullivau Mr. John Patterson had dug a we 11 

 200 feet deep, through drift clays, and struck a soft sandstone, into 

 which he bored 43 feet. This is probably equivalent to No. 1 of my 

 general section of the Coal Measure rocks observed in Shelby and 

 adjoining counties. The top of this rock is probably about 140 feet 

 above the Shelby coal (No. 15.) On the South Fork of Kaskaskia, two 

 miles above the junction, I obtained the following section : 



Ft. In. 



1. Long slope of drift, along which are strewn many bowlders of various kinds 50 



2. Drab sandy shale - 5 



3. Bough, chocolate-colored limestone 4 



4. Olive clay..; 2 6 



5 Bed clay 2 



6. Bark olive clay 2 



To low water in the river. 



