xt7hdr2p614w https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7hdr2p614w/data/mets.xml Moore, Philip North, b. 1849. 1878  books b96-13-34908569 English Stereotyped for the Survey by Major, Johnston & Barrett, Yeoman Press, : Frankfort, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Geology Kentucky. Coal Kentucky. Report on the geology of a section from near Campton, Wolfe County, to the mouth of Troublesome Creek, Breathitt County  / by P.N. Moore. text Report on the geology of a section from near Campton, Wolfe County, to the mouth of Troublesome Creek, Breathitt County  / by P.N. Moore. 1878 2002 true xt7hdr2p614w section xt7hdr2p614w 












GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KENTUCKY.
          N. S. SHALER, DIRECTOR.



REPORT
   ON THE



GEOLOGY



OF A SECTION



FROM



NEAR CAMPTON, WOLFE COUNTY, TO THE MOUTH OF
   TROUBLESOME CREEK, BREATHITT COUNTY.


           BY P. N. MOORE.

     PART VI. VOL. IV. SECOND SERIES.



3RI37rY12D  O- E SUR-K-  m  MAJOR, OIUOR & RaRRtr, A as.  ADZ T os, a.
                                  255 & 256

 This page in the original text is blank.

 





REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF A SECTION FROM
     NEAR CAMPTON, WOLFE COUNTY, TO
        THE MOUTH OF TROUBLESOME
           CREEK, BREATHITT COUNTY.


  The examination upon which this report is based was made
late in the fall of 1875, for the purpose of determining some-
thing of the number and character of the coals which would
be reached by a projected line of railroad, from the central
part of the State, to the coal fields of the Kentucky river in
Breathitt county. Owing to the lateness of the season, and
the lack of time, as well as to the fact that there is no map of
this region by which observations can be located with any ex-
actness, the examination was only little more than a detailed
reconnoissance. It is, therefore, highly probable, when the
region comes to be examined in detail, that corrections will
have to be made in the following report and the accompany-
ing section, though it is believed that, in their general features,
they are essentially correct.
  As there are several different routes for the projected
railroad under advisement-all, however, crossing the divide
between the Red and Kentucky rivers, and subsequently the
Kentucky river itself-a section of the rocks was made along
this divide, from the head of Chimney Top Branch of Red
river to Frozen creek; thence across the Kentucky river, and
tip on the south side to the mouth of Troublesome creek, which
enters from the opposite side.
  With the comparative merits of the different lines from an
engineering stand-point this report does not deal. They will
all encounter more or less difficulty in surmounting the divid-
ing ridges between the streams. They all will reach substan-
tially the same coal-beds, but they differ somewhat as to the
    VOL. IV.-17                                        257

 


GEOLOGY OF A SECTION FROM NEAR CAMPTON



distances at which they will first strike the outcrops of the
coals.
  Each of the lines encounters the coals below the Conglom-
erate sandstone, long before those above the Conglomerate are
reached. There are several of the Sub-conglomerate coals,
usually of excellent quality, but, with the exception of one,
not often of workable thickness. This coal is fully described
by Mr. A. R. Crandall, in his report on the geology of Menifee
county.
  It is in quality good, but it varies from twenty-two to forty
inches in thickness, with an average of perhaps thirty. The
area underlaid by it is very large, and it is capable of produc-
ing a large amount of coal; but from its thinness and irregu-
larity, it cannot be mined so cheaply as the thicker coals above
the Conglomerate. These Sub-conglomerate coals of the Red
river, Slate, and Beaver Creek valleys, having been examined
and described in the report of Mr. Crandall, no further men-
tion of them will be made here.
  The examination for this report began at the top of the
Conglomerate, at the head of Chimney Top creek, and ex-
tended in a southeasterly direction to the mouth of Trouble-
some creek.

                        TOPOGRAPHY.
  The country between the Red and Kentucky rivers has its
topography determined for the greater portion of its area-all
of it, at least, except that near the head of Red river-by the
Conglomerate sandstone.
  In its western extension, from the Middle Fork of Red river
westward, the dividing ridge is narrow, high, and precipitous,
as the sandstone, in its resistance to erosion, forms bold and
massive cliffs, often extremely picturesque in outline. The
ridge grows higher and narrower to the west as the deter-
mining rock, the Conglomerate, rises in conformity with the
general rise in the rock formations of the country; while to
the east, toward the head of Red river, as the Conglomerate
descends, and is covered by an increasing thickness of over-
.58

 


TO THE MOUTH OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.



lying shales and shaly sandstones, the surface of the country
becomes more even, the hills lower, and with more gentle
slopes, while only that portion of the country bordering closely
on the main streams shows the cliff topography.
  From the head of Middle Fork of Red river eastward, for
several miles, the dividing ridge is narrow, and the thickness
of rock above the Conglomerate slight. After passing Chim-
ney Top and Lower Devil creeks, the surface of the country
becomes more even, the hills low, not usually extending more
than one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet above the
branches of the main creek, while the slopes of the hills are
so gentle that they can be, and in many cases now are, cul-
tivated clear to the tops. It is one of the best agricultural
regions in Eastern Kentucky. In the ridge there are numer-
ous low gaps, leading from one stream to another, offering a
comparatively easy passage for a railroad line.
  The topography is of this character on both sides of the
dividing ridge, at and near the heads of Upper Devil, Swift's
Camp, Stillwater, and Holly creeks; but along the Red and
Kentucky rivers, as well as on the lower part of the creeks
just mentioned, the country is still rocky and broken by the
Conglomerate cliffs.
  As we proceed southeastward from Holly creek, another
change takes place in the topography, which is here deter-
mined by the alternated coarse and shaly sandstones which
occur above the Conglomerate.
  After the Conglomerate passes beneath the drainage, there
is no one member of the rock series which alone determines
the topography. On the contrary, we have the hills, showing
the resultant of the different resistance to erosion of massive
sandstones and shales or shaly sandstones. The hills rise
from four hundred and fifty to six hundred feet above the
river, and present a much steeper slope, extending in about
the same degree from top to bottom; but when it comes to
be examined in detail, it is seen to be made up of a series
of terraces, steep, and often precipitous, where the heavy,
coarse standstones occur, and more gently sloping over the
                                                        259



5

 



6       GEOLOGY OF A SECTION FROM NEAR CAMPrON

shales and shaly sandstones. The coarse sandstones, from
the way they resist erosive agencies, are more often exposed
than the shaly beds, and they are seen in proportion to their
thickness. The shales and shaly sandstones are usually cov-
ered by the talus from the overlying coarse sandstones, and
good exposures are more rare.
  This character of topography begins above the mouth of
Holly creek, and extends as far as the field covered by this
report. Above Jackson, in the dividing ridge between the
river, or the short branches emptying immediately into the
river and Cane creek, a heavy sandstone, about fifty feet in
thickness, caps the hills, which there rise to a greater height
above the river than at any place before noted.

                          GEOLOGY.
  In the description of the topography, or the surface config-
uration of the country under discussion, the character of the
geology has been roughly outlined, for it is the rock structure
which determines the contour of the surface of any region,
and no intelligible description of the topography can well be
made without reference to the determining rocks.
  There are in this region only the rocks of the Carbonifer-
ous formation. West and northwest, beyond the head of
Middle Fork of Red river, are found rocks lower down in
the geological series; but, for a description of their position,
order, thickness, etc., the reader is referred to the report of
Mr. A. R. Crandall, before referred to.
  As may be inferred from what has already been said, the
Conglomerate sandstone is by far the most prominent mem-
ber of the rock series of this region, and has exerted a
greater influence upon the formation of the topography than
any other. It forms the rocky wall which fences in Eastern
Kentucky from ready communication with other portions of
the State, and, with its frowning cliffs, guards its stores of
mineral wealth. It has been the most serious obstacle to the
development, both material and social, of Eastern Kentucky,
260

 


TO THE MOUTH OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.



for it has prevented that necessity of modern civilization,
quick and cheap transportation.
  From whatever point a railroad is projected to enter East-
ern Kentucky, it must encounter the serious difficulty of sur-
mounting the Conglomerate sandstone, if it would penetrate
to the heart of the coal fields, where the best and thickest
coals are found in such abundance that they can furnish an
ample supply for generations to come-a supply upon which
can be based permanent mining enterprises.
The Conglomerate is often found in two members, with a
series of shales containing coal, between. The lower member
is uncertain and irregular, both in occurrence and thickness;
but the upper member is present all through this region,
although varying somewhat in thickness. It is the most
important, and is the one referred to as the Conglomerate.
In thickness it is here from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred feet. In character it is a coarse, massive sandstone,
at places full of pebbles, and usually showing prominent
cross-stratification lines. The pebbles are most abundant in
the lower part of the sandstone, decreasing towards the top;
and as we go to the southeast, where the greater portion of
it has passed below the drainage line, and the top only is
exposed, they disappear almost altogether; so that it be-
comes difficult to distinguish the Conglomerate from some
other coarse sandstones which occur above it.
The thickness of rock above the Conglomerate at the
western end of this section is small, ranging from fifty to one
hundred feet, and this only in detached knobs at the heads of
the small streams, while out on the points the top of the Con-
glomerate is often bare. This thickness increases rapidly
towards the southeast, until, between Swift's Camp and Up-
per Devil creeks, in the neighborhood of Campton, it ranges
from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and seven-
ty-five feet.
  In the dividing ridge at the heads of Holly and Stillwater
creeks this thickness increases to two hundred feet and more;
but along the lower portion of these streams it is usually less.
                                                         261



7

 


8       GEOLOGY OF A SECTION FROM NEAR CAMPTON

Above Holly creek the hills rise rapidly to twice their former
elevation above the Conglomerate, in consequence of a change
in the character of the prevalent rock from shaly to coarse
sandstone. At the western end of the section, from the head
of the Middle Fork of Red river to Swift's Camp creek, the
rocks above the Conglomerate are almost entirely shales or
shaly sandstones, wherever seen.
  In passing above Swift's Camp creek thicker and coarser
sandstones begin to be seen, which increase in frequency until
they form the greater portion of the rocks.
  The Conglomerate passes beneath the drainage near the
mouth of Frozen creek. From this point to the mouth of
Troublesome creek, coarse, massive sandstones, ranging from
ten to fifty feet in thickness, are the most prominent features
in the section. These sandstones are frequently exposed in
cliffs on the hillsides; but, with few exceptions, they do not
hold their character and position over large areas, as they
frequently give place to shaly sandstones and others, which
before had been shaly, become coarse and massive.
  Of bituminous and clay shales, there is not in this region
any great thickness. Occasional outcrops are found, but, in
comparison with the great mass of shaly and coarse sand.
stones, they are rare; nor do they hold any great extent in
area; on the contrary, they seem to be quite local, and when
the attempt is made to trace them for any distance, they
are usually found becoming more and more sandy, until they
change insensibly to shaly sandstone.
  After passing the Sub-carboniferous limestone, which lies
below the Conglomerate, there is no pure limestone of any
thickness found in this region. Numerous bands of dark,
very silicious limestone or calcareous sandstone are found,
but they are usually thin; not in any case more than four feet
in thickness. In many places they do not form regular strata,
but occur in large lenticular or kidney-shaped masses, lying
in sandstone or shale. These kidneys are usually more sili-
cious than the beds or strata of impure limestone. In places,
some of these bands of limestone become fossiliferous, but
262

 


TO THE MOUTH OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.



these cases are exceptional.  So far as seen, they do not
occur at regular, well-marked intervals, nor do they have any
great horizonal range.
  The limestones, so pure in quality and so persistent in
position, which often serve as guides in the identification of
coal seams near the Ohio river, seem to be entirely wanting
here, and we have in their places these numerous, erratic, and
untrustworthy bands of impure limestone, which are of almost
no value whatever for use in geological identification.
  The absence of these limestones, and the frequency with
which the sandstones and shales change character, render the
construction of an accurate section, and the identification of
coal seams across any great interval, a matter of considerable
difficulty. The absence of limestone and fine shales, as well
as the character of the prevailing rock, which is a coarse me-
chanical sediment for the most part, indicates the prevalence
throughout this region, during its deposition, of shallow waters
much disturbed by currents, accompanied by frequent changes
of level. There was no subsidence deep enough or long
enough continued to allow the formation of pure limestones,
nor were the waters quiet and land-locked lagoons, in which
the fine mud could settle undisturbed, to be afterwards com-
pacted into shale beds.
  It is worthy of notice, that the Sub-carboniferous limestone,
which in Ohio is thin and frequently wanting altogether,
thickens from the Ohio river to the southwestward, while
the limestones of the coal measures, several of which are
found in Ohio, disappear soon after crossing into Kentucky.

                          SECTION.
  Accompanying this report will be found a horizontal section
showing the principal features of the geology,from the dividing
ridge west of Campton to the Kentucky river,at the mouth of
Troublesome creek. This section is by no means complete,
and it is not offered as such. On the contrary, as already
stated, it will probably be found to need considerable correc-
tion when the country comes to be examined in detail; and it
                                                         263



9

 


10      GEOLOGY OF A SECTION FROM NEAR CAMPTON

is not at all impossible that, especially in the southeastern end
of the section, some of the connections between the coals
may be found to be incorrect. It is believed, however, that
the greater portion of the section is correct. The measure-
ments for elevation were made with an aneroid barometer,
without any correction from a check barometer, at a time
of the year when atmospheric variations are often sudden and
great, so that there is a liability to error from this cause.
On the other hand, the measurements for level were usually
made with the Kentucky river as a base, the level of this
being known from actual survey, and the variations were
checked as often as possible by returning to the river. The
measurements for distance will probably need some correc-
tion, as they were not obtained from the most reliable sources,
the existing maps of this region being very imperfect. The
section is given as the best that could be accomplished with
the time and means at command, and it serves very well to
show the principal features of the geology of this region.
  It will be seen that there is a total thickness of seven hund-
red and fifty feet of strata above the top of the Conglomerate
included in the accompanying section. This, with the three
hundred and twenty-five feet of Conglomerate and Sub-con-
glomerate beds, makes a total thickness of one thousand and
seventy-five feet of Carboniferous rocks above the Sub-car-
boniferous limestone, from the river at the mouth of Trouble-
some creek to the edge of the coal measures.

                            COAL.
  The coals of this region are numerous and of excellent qual-
ity, and, taken as a whole, will bear comparison with those found
in any other portion of the State in quality or thickness. They
are all classed as bituminous coals; but they show all the vari-
eties of this class, known as dry-burning, caking, and cannel
coals. The principal coals are of the dry or free-burning va-
riety, while the caking or fat coals are comparatively rare.
Cannel coals are abundant and of excellent quality; certain of
them having a reputation second to none in the State.
264

 


TO THE MOUTH OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.



  As yet, this region is almost entirely undeveloped, so that it
is difficult or impossible, without the most detailed and careful
study, to obtain a complete section, showing the thickness and
position of all of the coal seams-a study which has, as yet,
not been given to it. There are numerous mines along the
Kentucky river, where coal has been mined for shipment in
boats down the river; but none of them are extensive, and
the majority are now abandoned and have fallen in.
  The practice is to open a drift from which a few boat-loads
of coal are taken, when, as soon as it is far enough under-
ground to render it a matter of some labor to get the coal
to the mouth of the drift, it is abandoned, and another one
opened.  The so-called mines are, therefore, but a series
of shallow pits.
  Of late years, owing to the low price of coal in the lower
markets, coal mining has not been as profitable as formerly,
and but little is now mined in this region, except of the finer
grades of cannel coal, which bring a higher price, and can,
therefore, yet be mined and transported at a profit.
  The cause of this stagnation in the mining industry is the
excessive cost of transportation; due entirely to the uncer-
tainty and danger of the river navigation. Coal-boats draw-
ing five feet of water can only be run during high water,
which can be expected but for a very small part of the year.
This, therefore, necessitates the storage of large quantities
of coal, often for months after it is mined, while waiting for a
rise in the river sufficient to carry it off. This storage is of
great detriment to the coal, as it is injured by exposure to the
weather. In addition to the injury and loss by exposure, an
extra cost is involved through the loss of capital lying idle for
so long a time.
  The boats used to carry the coal down the river can never
be returned, and they are, therefore,, usually sold at a great
loss. The river is so difficult of navigation, that from three
to five men are required to manage each boat, or one man
to about each thousand bushels of coal; the boats usually
holding from three to five thousand bushels of coal each.
                                                           265



I I

 


12      GEOLOGY OF A SECTION FROM NEAR CAMPTON



  In addition to these necessary and inevitable expenses, there
is great risk involved in the navigation of the river, a large
proportion of the boats never reaching their destination.
  These combined causes make the cost of coal, at the mar-
kets along the lower river, so great, that Pennsylvania coal is
brought down the Ohio river, up the Kentucky, and sold at a
less price in Frankfort than the coal from this region. TIhus,
the work which has been done by the State in improving the
navigation of the Kentucky river, for a part of its course only,
actually operates against the interests of Kentucky coal miners,
instead of furthering them, for it enables Pennsylvania coal to
compete with them in their own markets, without assisting
them in any degree. Were Kentucky river slack-watered to
the mines, so that coal could be shipped at nearly all seasons
of the year, and the empty barges returned cheaply, this
region could supply coal to the whole of that part of the
State bordering the river, at prices which would drive all
foreign coal from the market; and it could even do a large
business on the Ohio river in the fine cannel coals in which it
abounds.
  Until improved means of transportation are furnished this
region, either by slack-water or railroad, there can be no
extensive and regularly conducted mining enterprises. The
fine-grade cannel coals will probably continue to be mined
in a precarious and haphazard way, as they commonly bring
a price sufficient to pay a small profit over the risk and
expense of transportation; but, with this exception, the great
body of coal will remain untouched.
  The lowest coal mines on the Kentucky river are near the
mouth of the South Fork, at Beattyville and Proctor, where
one of the Sub-conglomerate coals of excellent quality is
mined. There are few mines above this for about twenty-five
to thirty miles along the river, until near the mouth of Holly
creek. Between these places the river runs through "the
narrows," a gorge or canion which it has cut through the
Conglomerate. For most of this distance the Sub-conglom-
erate coals are beneath the level of the river, while the hills
z66

 



TO THE MOUTH OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.



do not rise sufficiently high over the Conglomerate, until
some distance back from the river, to hold the coals which
have been mined further up.
  Above Holly creek, banks have been opened every few
miles, until the last are reached about five miles above Haz-
ard, in Perry county. Most of these, as already stated, are
abandoned, and have fallen in, so that exposures of the coal
that can be measured are rare. Back from the river, openings
or exposures of the coals are very few, as there has been no
inducement to mine coal while wood is still the most common
household fuel in use. In studying the geology of this coun-
try, therefore, reliance has to be placed mainly on natural
exposures or outcrops of coal; so that it is a matter of con-
siderable difficulty to obtain a complete section, showing the
position of all the coals.
  In the accompanying section the position of the coals shown
is well ascertained; but, from the reasons just given, the
thickness has not been accurately determined in every case.
  The change in the general character of the rocks from that
of the region nearer the Ohio river, which has been referred
to before, is accompanied, to a certain extent, with a change
in the coals; but the region has not yet been examined over
a sufficiently large area to enable a generalization as to the
number and equivalency of the coal seams. The section
bears in its lower part a resemblance to that of the country
near the Ohio river; but, after the first two hundred and
fifty feet above the Conglomerate is passed, the resemblance
is not so great. There seem to behere,greater changes be-
tween coals, within short distances, than are common farther
north.
  In the section accompanying this report are shown eight
coal seams above the Conglomerate.  From the detailed
vertical sections given in the horizontal section, the evidence
upon which this identification is based can be seen. The
dotted lines connecting the coals in the section indicate the
probable connection between them; but it must be distinctly
                                                         267



13

 



14     GEOLOGY OF A SECTION FROM NEAR CAMPTON

understood that this is not positively asserted. It is only the
connection which seems the most probable, with our present
knowledge.
  The first coal of the section, the equivalent of coal No. I
of the Greenup County section, and of Ohio Geological Re-
ports, occurs from twenty to fifty feet above the top of the
Conglomerate. It is first opened near Campton, on Swift's
Camp creek, and also on Bear Pen Branch of Upper Devil
creek. Its position, here, is about twenty-five feet above the
top of the Conglomerate. Its thickness is from twenty-four to
thirty inches. It is a fat or caking coal, of very good quality,
especially the lower portion of it. In this respect it differs
from the No. X coal further north, which is there a typical
dry-burning or furnace coal. It is the famous Jackson and
Briar Hill coal, with which over half of the iron made in
Ohio is smelted. The per centage of sulphur present varies
considerably, but is usually low. It is seen at a number of
places along the river, holding an average thickness of thirty
inches. Below the mouth of Frozen creek, near Mr. Nathan
Day's, is an old mine, now fallen in, where the coal is said to
be thirty-six inches thick in some of the rooms. Below the
mouth of Holly creek, on the Holland place, is an exposure
where it measured thirty-four inches; but this includes a shale
parting of several inchlfs in thickness. On Frozen creek it is
seen at a number of places near the mouth, usually about
twenty-eight inches thick; but above this stream it has not
been seen by the writer. A coal, which is probably this one,
is reported on the old Cockrill farm. It probably goes under
the river not far above. This coal is an excellent blacksmith
fuel, and would doubtless make a firm, hard coke. Coal of
this quality is rare in this part of the State, as the majority
of the coals are of the soft, free-burning, non-coking charac-
ter; and although this is thin, it will doubtless eventually be-
come valuable.
  The following analyses by Dr. Peter and Mr. Talbutt, show
something of the character of this coal in this region:
268

 



TO THE MOUTH OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.



                                                 I       2

Moistre... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .    3.74    2.50
Volatile combustible matter  . .......... .     35.52   41.10
Fixc carbon............ .           . .. .  .    52.64   49.22
Ash                            ....... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .    8io.18
Total. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..   loo.oo   loo.oo

Coke.... .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .   60.74    56.4o
Sulphur....... ....... . ......                 2.466    0.818
Specificgravity..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .   1.336    1.300

  No. i is an average sample by Mr. A. R. Crandall, from
C. M. Hanks' bank, at Campton, Wolfe county.
  No. 2 is an average sample, by the writer, of coal from
an opening above Wm. Day's, on Frozen creek, Breathitt
county.

                        COAL NO. 2.
  About seventy-five feet above the coal just described, has
been found at a few places, another coal seam, which is prob-
ably the equivalent of coal No. 2 of the Greenup section.
Like that, it is usually thin, not having been seen more than
twenty inches thick.  At other places it is less, not more than
twelve inches. It is not mined at any place, and, consequently,
no samples were procured for analysis. It is best shown on
the branches of Swift's Camp creek, above Campton.

                        COAL NO. 3.
  At a distance ranging from one hundred and forty to one
hundred and ninety feet above the Conglomerate is found a
coal, which, from its character and position, seems to be the
equivalent of coal No. 3 of the Greenup section.
  It is better known than any other coal of this region, for the
reason that it has been most extensively worked. The mines
on the Kentucky river, from Holly to Ouicksand creek, are all
in this coal, with the single exception of the entry in the No.  
coal already noted. On this account, also, better opportunities
for sampling the coal are given.
                                                          39



Is

 



i6     GEOLOGY OF A SECTION FROM NEAR CAMPTON



  From our present knowledge, this coal seems to be one of
the most regular and trustworthy of any in this region, which
characteristics it holds all through Eastern Kentucky, as far
as we now know it. Along the ridge, between the Red and
Kentucky rivers, it is first opened at the head of one branch
of Upper Devil creek, about four and a half miles from Camp-
ton, at the Hobbs bank.
  The coal here consists of three members or divisions, sepa-
rated by thin shale partings. The following is the section of
the coal at this place:
Coal. g                                           2
Shale parting..                                      3
Coal .z............................................ ' 8"
Shale parting......... ...................... .      8"
Coal ......... ........................ . so 3I
  Giving us a total thickness of four feet eleven inches of
coal. The quality of the coal here is excellent, as will be
shown further along. It is somewhat sulphurous in appear-
ance; but the pyrites is in small flakes, which hardly form an
appreciable per centage of the whole. This splendid coal is
the first of a thickness greater than three feet, which would
be reached by a railroad, after crossing Red river.
  On the Kentucky river, the first opening of this coal is at
the Holland mine, below the mouth of Holly creek. The coal
is here about three feet in thickness, or a little less. Along
the river,the thickness varies from three to three and one half
feet of coal. The thickness, including parting, is usually much
more, as there is commonly a slate parting, which varies from
three to twelve inches. This is usually measured with the
coal; hence it is commonly called four feet thick.
  At the Hobbs bank, this coal is about four hundred feet
above the river. It rapidly descends to the southeast, until,
at the Holland bank, it is only a little over three hundred feet
above. At Jackson it is only one hundred feet, while above
this it descends still more rapidly, until, at the mouth of Quick-
sand creek, it is at the level of low water in the river. From
this point to the end of the section the dip changes, and the
rocks are horizontal, or nearly so. From some observations
270

 



TO THE MOUTH OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.



made above the mouth of Troublesome creek, it seems prob-
able that the coal,there, dips in the opposite direction, and that
it rises more rapidly than the rise in the level of the river.
'I'his conclusion is based upon an identification of a coal on
\\Volf creek, which is not as yet supported by sufficient strati-
,raphical evidence to be by any means certain, as the exam-
niations in that region have not yet been detailed. The coal
on Wolf creek resembles the No. 3 very closely in physical
character and chemical constitution, as will be seen by the
analyses appended. It is thicker here than it is known to be
at any other locality below. It is reported, On good authority,
to be seven feet in thickness. When visited by the writer,
the drift had caved in, so that the whole thickness could not
be seen; but satisfactory evidence was obtained, by meas-
uring some of the timbers which had been cut to support the
roof of the drift, that the-coal is more than six feet thick.
  Below Jackson, at Spencer's mine, this coal, with a total
thickness of about four feet, including partings, shows a little
less than three and one half feet of coal. At Cardwell's bank,
near Jackson, it is nearly the same. Along the river, oppo-
site and above Jackson, this coal has been mined at many
places, none of which are now open, so that it can be exam-
ined. It is stated that the shale parting grows gradually
thicker and the coal thinner further up stream. This state-
ment is corroborated by the following section, at a natural
exposure of the coal in the bank of the river at the mouth of
Stray branch:
Coal.I......... ..