SALINE COUNTY. 229 



The section obtained on the Little Saline river is here given : 



Ft. In. 



Soil - 2 



Drift, yellowish clay with gravel 10 



Ferruginous schistose sandstone 8 



Coal 1 6 



Fire-clay 2 



Coal 1 1 2 



Low water of the river 



24 8 



The Little Saline river, after cutting its way through the Conglomer- 

 ate ridge at the old fort, as before mentioned, runs through a low bottom 

 until it reaches the above mill site, and forms its junction with the 

 South Fork of the Saline river a quarter of a mile beyond. 



In the south-east part of Saline county and on the south side of 

 Prospect Hill, 'No. 7 coal outcrops at several places and has also been 

 struck in digging wells. As yet no effort has been made to open mines 

 in this part of the county, consequently it is difficult to determine defi- 

 nitely in all cases the synchronism of the seams. At Mr. Mcomb's 

 pottery, on sec. 14, T. 10, E. 7, there are two seams of coal partially 

 exposed in the face of a bluff bank of a creek, one of the head waters 

 of Eagle creek. The lower of these lies in the bed of the creek, sepa- 

 rated from the upper seam by eleven and one-half feet of argillaceous 

 shale and three and one half feet of good fireclay. An opening which 

 had been made to test the thickness and quality of the lower bed is now 

 filled up by the caving in of the bank and washings of the creek ; 

 therefore no opportunity was afforded of seeing or measuring it myself. 

 Mr. Nicomb, however, who made the opening and mined the coal for 

 burning at the pottery, informed me that it was two and a half feet 

 thick. From the marked appearance of there having been a slide in 

 the bluff I was, at first, rather disposed to believe that the lower coal 

 was in fact only a portion of the seam above, broken off and brought 

 down by the sliding of the shale ; but Mr. Nicomb is confident that this 

 cannot be so, as they neither agree in thickness or quality, the lower 

 seam being as he says a good burning coal, and has beneath it a very 

 dark colored fire-clay that cannot be used at the pottery ; whereas the 

 fire-clay beneath the upper seam is light colored, works well and not 

 only makes good stone ware, but is, likewise, excellent for fire-brick ; in 

 fact he considers it the best potters' clay in this part of the coal basin. 

 The coal is only about one foot thick, of inferior quality and resembles 

 the coal at the village of Stone Fort, being composed principally of car- 

 bonaceous shale, alternating with thin bands of bituminous coal. 

 Without being fully satisfied, from the want of further evidence, as to 

 the truth of the conclusion arrived at, I am nevertheless inclined to 



