400 
[Assembly 
the west bank of Bennett's creek, and extends a mile north to Rock 
creek, and were also traced up the latter a mile above the junction. Its 
outcro})ping edges are found in the hills farther north ; but the better 
situations for quarrying are along the banks of the small streams. 
The character of the mass is, however, variable, and its fitness for 
grindstones cannot, in all places, be relied on. At the mouth of Rock 
creek, it is much harder than at the quarry on Rigg's creek. 
The exposed portions of the strata are greyish brown, slightly stain- 
ed with iron, rather porous and soft, and containing scales of mica. 
The rock above and below the grindstone portions is green shale ; this 
below abounds in some places with fossils, as at Rock creek ; Delthyris, 
Leptsena, Pterinea, Orthis, Lingula and Orbicula are here found. Above, 
the green shale, fifty feet thick, is not fossiliferous. It contains some 
thin layers of sandstone, and is succeeded by a stratum of sandstone 
about ten feet thick. This latter contains fossils, while the grindstone 
mass embraces few or none. The upper sandstone is also more coarse 
and hard than that below, and well fitted for building, underpinning and 
ordinary fire stone. This is again succeeded by greenish shale. This 
point is between 400 and 500 feet above the Canisteo, and 1,500 feet 
above tide water. 
The source of Bennett's creek is about 800 feet above the Canisteo, 
and the surrounding hills are several hundred feet higher. On the land 
of Mr. Davis at LaGrange, a salt spring rises in the green shale ; the 
water is turbid and emits bubbles of hydrogen gas. Several years 
since salt was made at this place, and previously by the Indians. 
There are, however, no inducements for digging, for so far as we know,, 
no salt springs of importance are found in this rock, and it is probably 
only such a one as might occur in any marine formation. 
While in this neighborhood, I heard of a vein of lead ore, from which 
the Indians formerly obtained a supply, and lately re-discovered by one 
of the inhabitants. The locality being kept a secret, I obtained of the 
person who was said to have discovered it, a piece of the ore, which 
proved to be a soft talcose rock, the talc in shining scales. This of 
course could have been obtained only from a boulder ; but either from 
ignorance or intention to deceive, it was represented as coming from 
the bed. There are many respectable and intelligent persons in this 
and adjoining counties, who fully believe in the existence of veins of 
lead ore, from the prevalent tradition that the Indians formerly obtained 
