mo The American Geologist. November, 1S96 
nation with the aid of Mr. Masternjan's intimate knowledge 
of the district revealed the fact that all the wells and springs 
in a strip of country east of a certain line yielded water that 
was more or less of this nature. 1 visited several and observed 
tliis quality mj^self. Mr. Chapin's well, where the axe was 
found, lies in this tract, though here the taste and the odor 
are slight, perhaps from constant use. A spring at a short 
distance is a markedly sulphur spring. A line running ap- 
proximately north and south through the school house limits 
the sulphur-water region, and to the west of this line chalyb- 
eate water prevails. 
The cause of this difference lies, we may safely conclude, in 
the nature of the strata already referred to. The blue cla3Mn 
or under which the implement was found is heavily charged 
with pyrites, a small lump of which is in my possession, 
brought up by Mr. Masterman during his recent drilling.. 
The well known oxydation of this mineral furnishes a supply 
of sulphuric acid, and if the slate was, as is sometimes the 
case, at all calcareous, the lime would be removed by the ac- 
tion of this acid and the rotten and pitted condition of the 
implement produced. 
On testing the water at the well no trace of free acid Avas 
detected, but a sulphate was abundantly present. This is 
wliat would be expected on the supposition made above. The 
sulphuric acid, produced by oxydation of the pyrites meeting 
with calcareous materials in the ground, would at once be 
couverted into sulphate of lime and as such remain in the wa- 
ter, rendering it permanently hard. 
In this way I would account for the peculiar and, in mv ex- 
perience, unique condition of the axe and at the same time I 
must point out how strong a conlirmation it gives to Mr. 
Masterman's narrative. It would be, I think, absolutely im- 
practicable in any way to produce such a condition artifi- 
cially, and so deep and complete a weathering must be the 
effect, even naturall}', of a very long time. 
It must also be remembered that so abnormal and unusiuil 
a condition would be more likely to lead to suspicion and in- 
vestigation than to ready acceptance and therefore to a greater 
probability of the discovery of fraud, had it been practiced. 
