GREGG COUNTY. 171 



tons were mined and used as fuel on the Texas, Sabine Valley and North- 

 western Railway. No satisfactory tests were made, as this fuel was abandoned 

 on economical grounds, lignite having been found a more expensive fuel than 

 wood. The pits were deserted and are now filled up with sand and water. 



Where the International and Great Northern Railway crosses the Sabine 

 River the northern bank shows a section of thirty feet of sands, lignites, and 

 clays, capped by about twenty feet of ferruginous and siliceous gravel, sand, 

 and small nodules of iron ore. 



The following is a section at this place: 



1. Brown ferruginous sands and gravels 20 feet. 



2. Dark greenish gray micaceous sands 15 feet. 



3. Thin seams of earthy lignite, with alternate strata of dark colored sand, the 



main seam of lignite one foot thick 5 feet. 



4. Bluish colored sandy clay to water . 8 feet. 



48 feet. 



The bluff at Iron Bridge Postoffice is made up chiefly of alternate strata of 

 sand and soft yellowish brown sandstones or altered greensand. No lignites 

 appear in this section. 



Lignite is reported as being visible at different points along the river at 

 low water. 



BUILDING STONES. 



The yellowish brown and dark brown sandstones or altered greensand s 

 found in the bluff at the Iron Bridge Postoffice, and scattered in profusion in 

 the form of large blocks on the F. Thorn headright, have been used as a 

 building material with considerable success. These sandstones, although soft 

 when first quarried, have a tendency to harden when exposed to the action 

 of the weather. They cut square and make a good joint, but will not admit 

 of any great degree of fineness in dressing. The durability of these sand- 

 stones is very great. 



The ferruginous sandstones accompanying the small deposit of laminated 

 ore on the Hamilton McNutt headright have been used to a considerable 

 extent for building purposes in the town of Longview, and as foundation 

 material for houses and bridges along the lines of the Texas and Pacific and 

 International and Great Northern Railways. These stones are obtained in 

 irregularly shaped blocks of various sizes, and require considerable work be- 

 fore being fit for use. The ferruginous sandstones found on the H. H. Ed- 

 wards headright may be used for building purposes in any position where 

 not in immediate contact with heat or where fine dressing is required. 



