338  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,   1903.  [bull.  225. 
Mr.  Griffith  examined  the  coal  in  this  shaft  and  reports  as  follows: a 
The  writer  *  *  *  found  the  coal  bed — which  was  supposed  to  be  about  10  feet 
thick  much  crushed  and  faulty  *  *  *  and  practically  worthless.  Near  the 
bottom  of  the  shaft  the  bed  seemed  to  be  parted  by  layers  of  fire  clay  or  slate  and 
in  worse  condition  than  the  top. 
The  history  of  the  attempt  to  develop  this  part  of  the  basin  is  inter- 
est in^.  as  it  shows  how  important  is  a  knowledge  of  the  geologic  struc- 
ture and  what  wasteful  expenditures  may  be  made  where  such  a  knowl- 
edge is  wanting.  After  sinking  the  Shepperd  shaft  60  to  70  feet  on 
this  vertical  coal  bed,  it  occurred  to  the  prospector  that  it  would  be 
much  more  economical  to  drift  in  horizontally  from  near  the  base  of 
the  mountain  and  cut  the  coal  bed  at  a  lower  level.  It  seems  to  have 
been  assumed  that  the  coal  extended  down  indefinitely  and  all  that  was 
necessary  was  to  drive  in  until  it  was  reached.  Accordingly  a  drift 
was  run  several  hundred  feet  and  then  a  diamond  drill  was  procured 
and  the  hole  extended  to  a  total  distance  of  about  700  feet  without 
finding  any  sign  of  coal.  At  this  point  the  work  was  abandoned.  If 
the  operator  had  crossed  the  next  ravine  south  of  the  shaft  he  might 
have  seen  the  rocks  forming  a  V-shaped  trough  with  the  eastern  side 
of  the  V  standing  vertical  and  the  whole  extending  down  a  little  more 
than  100  feet.  The  tunnel  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  passed  entirely 
below  the  coal  and  presumably  was  in  Devonian  rocks  throughout  its 
whole  course. 
Another  equally  wasteful  expenditure  was  once  made  in  drilling  a 
deep  hole  on  the  crest  of  the  mountain  at  the  south  end  where  it  is 
crossed  by  the  Romney  and  Martinsburg  road.  This  well  was  located 
on  the  crest  of  the  anticlinal  fold  forming  Locust  Ridge,  on  the  out- 
crop of  the  lowest  bed  of  coal.  Of  course  no  other  coal  beds  were 
discovered,  and  the  drill  was  in  Devonian  rocks  for  almost  the  entire 
distance,  some  800  feet. 
Wihiser  shaft. — This  shaft  is  located  on  the  southeastern  limb  of  the 
syncline,  about  2  miles  north  of  Pinkerton  Knob,  at  the  point  marked 
"  N"  on  the  map.  The  rocks  dip  to  the  southeast  about  70°,  and  the 
shaft  was  sunk  to  a  depth  of  108  feet.  At  this  depth,  according  to 
Mr.  Hunter,  it  had  passed  through  the  following  section  of  coal: 
Section  of  coal  bed  in  Nihiser  shaft. 
Coal. 
Slate 
Coal. 
Slate 
Coal. 
Total 13 
Ft. 
In. 
4 
4 
1 
4 
4 
0 
1 
7 
2 
0 
a  Griffith,  William,  Jour.  Franklin  Inst.,  vol.  154,  1902,  p.  436. 
