GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 
Aboriginal Inscriptions—In connection with the description of the 
south-eastern portion of Columbiana county, I venture to call attention 
to some remarkable inscriptions made on the sandstone rocks in the bed 
of the Ohio River, just above Smith’s Ferry. These figures and hiero- 
glyphics cover a surface of six hundred feet along the river, and from 
fifty to one hundred feet wide. They can only be seen when the river 
is unusually low. In the summer of 1871, after a long interval of drouth, 
the water of the Ohio had fallen far blow its average level, and these 
markings were better shown than they had been since this section of the 
country was occupied by the whites. At this time I had some of the 
most interesting of these figures carefully copied, and they are repro- 
duced on the accompanying lithograph. At the present time these in- 
scriptions are rarely visible, and it would seem as though they had been 
made when the Ohio was running at a lower level than at present—a 
matter to which I have referred in another portion of our report. As 
most of these inscriptions lie beyond the Pennsylvania line, I should be 
hardly justified in occupying the limited space which is alloted to this 
report in further notice of them, but it has seemed to me desirable that 
the fact of the existence of such inscriptions should be placed on record, 
and it is hoped that this notice will prompt more thorough and careful 
investigation of this interesting subject. : 
Salt Wells—Quite a number of wells have been bored for salt in the 
region between East Liverpool and Wellsville. In severil of these salt 
water has been found in sufficient quantity and of sufficient strength to 
make it practicable to obtain salt from it. The brine will not compare 
in strength with that obtained on the Kanawha, at Grand Rapids, or at 
Syracuse; but from most of the wells so large a quantity of gas issues as 
to furnish a fuel for evaporating the brine and driving the machinery. 
This has reduced the cost of production to a minimum, but the industry 
now languishes, from the failure of the gas in some of the wells, aad the 
cheapness with which salt is furnished to this market from other sources. 
Mr. James Dickey, of Hast Liverpool, who has been concerned in the 
boring of several of these salt wells, has kindly furnished me the follow- 
ing notes: 
‘“T give you herewith the record of one well, which will answer for all in this neigh- 
borhood. 
IA Excavation tomock 2222 25-= HUE BS RE OdUeuboD Goosen pooboues Conoco soda se 31 
OM Hardisandstone yee OS icine gis Sik ey er Ts Tava ie ag pepe ane ete eee ean is 
3. Rock (argillaceous shale), with three or four streaks of black slate ..... 81 ie 
Ale Slate andicoals maixeds ee Hoe. e ii i pak he RE Cie eve ba encyec mney ai taba tape era iee 5a 
Bo) Sofbiwwbibe SANCStOME oie a oie) Wet ge oi aat ed oa ete NO Se 14 
6aEland | binenrockweee ee pal ia Ani a GRC AY A a RE ay CN CP ae eae ree 3 
7. Clay shale, with streaks of coarse white sandstone ..........---------- 224 
