216 THE CLAYS OF ARKANSAS. 
lowish brown when dry and exposed for any great length of time. 
At Messrs. Bocquin & Reutzel's old location on the strip of land 
lying between Towson road and Wheeler avenue, Fort Smith, on 
the west side of the SE. \ sec. 17, T. 8 N., R. 32 W., the clay has 
a pale-yellowish, almost gray, color. 
The average thickness of this mixed clay and sand varies con- 
siderably, but averages about 6 feet. A section taken close to the 
line between Oklahoma and Arkansas, near the bank of Poteau 
River, gives the following section: 
Section near Poteau River. 
Feet. 
Reddish-gray sand 2 
Red clay 3-6 
Red sand 6-8 
The bottom of the red sand is not reached in this exposure. 
In the district between Arkansas River and Poteau River, along 
Fourth street in Fort Smith, the red sand and clay have been pene- 
trated to a depth of 12 feet. The sand and clay seem to be overlain 
by a course white river sand. In this district the clay also becomes 
much more sandy. 
Bricks made from the brownish-yellow sandy material are soft 
and will not bear much rough handling. They are readily injured 
by rain and ought to be dried under cover. In the kiln they will 
not stand a heat sufficiently high to make hard bricks without 
fusing. It is no uncommon thing for the arches to fall in, and 
when the kiln is opened the bricks forming the broken arches are 
found to be a fused mass of half-burned clay and dark-greenish 
slag. The result of this tendency to fuse is that the bricks must 
be burned soft and will not bear rough handling or resist the crush- 
ing strain imposed on bricks used in the erection of heavy struc- 
tures. The loss through breakage in handling is also considerable, 
amounting in most yards to 15 or 20 per cent. When burned these 
bricks have a bright-red color, and when re-pressed for front or 
face bricks they are darker and have smooth faces and square cor- 
ners. The color of bricks of this class is uniform and good. 
