APPENDIX. SECTION I. ARTESIAN WELLS [Extract from a geological reconnoissance of Arkansas, by David Dale Owen, in 1859'-'60.] It may be useful and interesting in this place to say a few words in regard to a few indiidual artesian wells of particular interest, either on account of their great depth, their large diameter, or the great volume of water which they afford. One of the most interesting artesian wells bored in the valley of the Ohio is that sunk by Messrs. C. J. and A. B. Dupont, in the city of Louisville, This well is three inches in the bore, and 2,086 feet deep. The water flows from this well at the rate of 330,000 gallons in 24 hours, or 264 gallons per minute, with a mechanical force equal to a 10-horse power steam engine. The water rises by its own pressure, when confined in tubes, 170 feet above the surface. When the whole force of the water is allowed to expend itself on the central jet, i' is projected 100 feet, settling down to a steady flow of a stream 60 feet high at the above rat of 330,000 gallons in the 24 hours. The water is perfectly clear of a temperature of 70Fahrenheit, the year round. It is highly charged with mineral properties, being a strong saline, sulphuretted water, similar in its composition and medical properties to the celebrated Kissinger waters of Bavaria, and the Blue Licks of Kentucky. This well was commenced in April, 1857, and completed in 16 months. The well bored by Mr. William II. Belcher, of St. Louis, was commenced in 1849, and in 1853 was 1,590 feet deep, at which depth a copious stream of "sulphur water issues," which is said to be similar in its properties to the Blue Lick water of Kentucky. This well was commenced as a cistern, at the surface of the ground, 14 feet diameter; at 30 feet deep, 6 feet diameter; thence it diminishes to 16 inches diameter, at 78 feet deep, The bore is then 9 inches, and this diameter is continued to 457 feet; thence to the depth of 1,509 feet it is 34 inches. At 550 feet, at the top of a limestone, the water became salty; 200 feet below this, in a layer of shale, the water contained 13 per cent. of salt. At 965 feet, below a bed of bitumin ous marl, the water contained 24 per cent. of salt. The hardest rock was a bed of chert, at s depth of 1,179 feet, and 62 feet thick. In this rock the water contained 3 per cent. of salt. This well was commenced in the spring of 1849, and reached its depth of 2,199 feet on the 12th of March, 1854. During these five years the work was at times intermitted for months, so that the time actually employed was only 33 months, and cost about $10,000. There is a constant flow of water from this well of 75 gallons per minute. Three artesian wells have been bored at Columbus, Ohio. The first was carried 110 feet: but not reaching the rock, was abandoned, the quicksand coming in in such quantities tha: they could not exclude it by tubing. The second well was tubed down 54 feet, with cast-iron piping, six inches interior diameter. The boring was then continued to the rock, 122 feet. Wrought-iron pipes of smaller size were forced down, but broke at the second joint from the lower end. The pipe was with drawn, and a pump let down, when the well was found to be cleared of obstructions to the rock. The reamer was then sent down, and went freely till at the depth of 100 feet it began to rub. The pump was then sent down; the well had become filled with sand and gravel 66 feet, and after prolonged labor, it was ascertained that the sand ran into the well as fast as it could be taken out. Various contrivances were resorted to to stop this obstruction, but without effect; so that, on the 4th of November, 1857, this boring was also abandoned. A contract was now made on the 4th of November with Mr. Fleming Spangler to bore a new well, with the understanding that he was to tube it into the rock within 18 or 20 days, a receive no pay. The new well was commenced by sinking a pit, and cribbing it down with circular eribbing, which, on the 16th day of November, reached the depth of 29 feet. After considerable labor, by alternate boring and tubing, Mr. Spangler finally succeeded on the 31st of January, 1858, in penetrating the limestone rock 248 feet, at a depth of 371 feet from the surface. He then contracted to bore to the depth of 1,000 feet from the surface for $1 50 per foot. having thus far averaged about five to six feet in the rock-borings per day. A vein of sulphur water was struck at 180 feet on the 22d of December, 1857. The borings were continued, with occasional cessation of labor, up to the 11th of December, having then reached a depth of 1,858 feet, without, however, up to that date having reached any consid erable body of artesian water, and it is probable from the details of the borings that they will have to go from 300 to 500 feet more through blue limestones, marly shales, and Kentucky river marble-rock, before reaching the porous sandstones, in which there is the best chance of obtaining a body of water. In the valley of the Ohio, the two great reservoirs of artesian water are the two great porous sandstones, alternating with and resting on the shales, which form the impervious layers that hold up the water. One of these great sandstone series constitutes the mill-stone grit at the base of the coal measures; the other, the lowest fossiliferous sandstones and calciferous sand-rock, subordinate to the blue limestone and Kentucky river marble-rock of the west. The water obtained in the first of these reservoirs is almost invariably a strong brine; in the latter, so far as experience goes it is a mineral water, strongly charged with a variety of saline substances, and impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen gas; hence, though the two first artesian borings, cited above, were eminently successful, as far as obtaining a large body of mineral water was concerned, yet they may be considered entire failures, as far as obtaining a body of pure water fit for manufacturing purposes, or domestic use. Both these water horizons exist in Arkansas; in fact, the millstone grit, as already stated, has a most extraordinary development in that State, and many localities have been, and will hereafter be recorded, where profitable brines might be obtained in this geological formation, by a judicious selection of locality, and well conducted, systematic borings. There are also other water horizons in the southern counties of Arkansas, which can be reached by borings through the tertiary and cretaceous formations; but, so far as experience goes, artesian waters obtained therefrom will be more or less charged with mineral matter. As we have some of the records of an artesian well sunk through equivalent formations at Charleston, South Carolina, it may be well in this place to give a few of the statistics of this boring. Few wells have presented as many difficuties, or called for greater skill and perseverance in the engineer. The surface soil is loose sand for 20 feet, the lower half of which is saturated with water; next a stiff, compact clay, about 40 feet thick, also water-bearing. At 60 feet, firm marl commences, alternating with some rock more or less indurated, in all 150 feet thick. Below this occur the cretaceous strata, differing but little lithologically from the layers of the tertiary formation above; both formations being alternations of firm marl, sandstone, and loose sands, alternating with layers of hard limestone, seldom containing less than 20 per cent. of carbonate of lime. Fifty-four rocks, varying from 2 to 10 feet each, and measuring in the aggregate 250 feet, were penetrated by the boring. Cast-iron tubes, six feet interior diameter, were sunk 80 feet to exclude superficial sands: but these gradually worked their way down, and continued to flow under the bottom of the tube. Finally, however, the solid rock was reached at 230 feet. But even here the difficulties did not end; for, under each solid rock, quick or loose sand generally occurred, and flowed into the well, so as often to fill it up, and sometimes almost instantly, 60 to 100 feet. Large chambers were thus formed under many of the rock strata. Sometimes, in the morning, the well would be found filled 50 to 100 feet, and even 140 feet, with sand. At 700 feet, so much sand continued to flow in as to render it impossible to proceed, and there was no resource but to tube down into it and through it, and to do this the well had to be reamed out to a larger size, thus taxing the ingenuity of the engineer severely to overcome all the various obstacles to success. At 1,020 feet the sands again came in, so as frequently to fill up the well 100 feet; but the difficulty was finally overcome by retubing with larger wrought-iron tubes, which were sunk to 1,102 feet, and the boring continued 43 feet lower, or 1,145 feet. The temperature at 900 feet was 824° Fahrenheit. Subsequent to this date, the Charleston well was sunk to the depth of 1,250 feet, and yields 30,000 gallons of water in 24 hours, which rises 10 feet above the surface. Another has now been commenced at the same place, 12 inches in diameter, and has already reached the depth of 1,000 feet. On the 22d of April, 1857, an artesian well was commenced at Lafayette, Indiana, and, after sinking to the depth of 216 feet, a vein of water finally overflowed the well on the 18th of February, 1858. The boring was then continued to the depth of 230 feet. Great delay and an unnecessary cost of $1,000 were incurred, in consequence of one of the cast-iron pipes breaking in being forced into its place. This well delivered on the 3d of September one wine gallon of mineral water in 15. 8 seconds, which is equal to a discharge of 1,468 gallons in 24 hours, sufficient, if the surplus water be properly saved, for all the purposes of a first-class watering place. This mineral water contains, according to Dr. C. M. Wetherill, 400 grains of solid matter to the gallon. For an analysis of this water, I refer the reader to the report on this well, made by C. M. Wetherill, Ph. D., M. D. The well from which the name Artesian was originally derived was bored more than a century ago at Aire, in Artois, in France, and has flowed steadily ever since. The water rises 11 feet above the ground, and supplies nearly 250 gallons per minute. The Grenelle well, at Paris, was commenced in 1834 and completed in 1841, at which time the rod suddenly descended several feet, and shortly after the water rose to the surface in vast quantities. For the first 50 feet the boring was 12 inches in diameter, which was reduced to nine inches, and then carried to a depth of 1,100 feet; a further reduction was made to seven and a half inches, until the depth of 1,300 feet was reached; and a final diminution to six inches, till the termination of the well at 1,806 feet. From the completion of the well to the present time there has been a steady flow of over 500,000 gallons in 24 hours, of a temperature of 81° Fahrenheit. The Kissinger well in Bavaria is 1,878 feet; the last 138 feet the boring passes through rock salt. From this well 100 cubic feet of water gushes forth every minute. The water contains 3 per cent. of salt. The artesian well at the Bois de Boulogne is over 39 inches in diameter. This well was bored by a peculiar drill, weighing about 3,500 pounds, managed by a grapple, which opens as it descends, and then closes, when it is raised by means of a parallelogram connected at the angles with two cords reaching up to the top of the well, where they may be managed with the hand, or by means of machinery. The drill below is constructed with seven teeth of cast steel, fitted to drive into the bed of rock, or abrade it. The drill has a shank by which it may be seized and lifted. The whole is worked by a 24 to 30 horse-power engine. The grapple closes at the bottom, seizing the handle of the drill, then rises with the drill several feet, opens, and lets the drill fall. Thus the drill rises and falls 20 or 30 times a minute. After working 12 hours, the rods are taken out, the sand pump let down, and the sand and mud withdrawn, and the rods, grapple, and drill again let down and set to work. To work this apparatus requires only six men, and the cost of working is about $3 per foot. In 1857, this well had reached a depth of 1,427 feet, and they hoped in October to reach the main source of water below the chalk. In the month of May, 1858, the French engineer, M. Jus, commenced boring an artesian well in the Sahara desert, Africa, in the province of Constantine; and on the 19th of June a jet of water of about 1,000 gallons per minute flowed from the bowels of the earth, at a temperature of 61°. 24 Fahrenheit. The joy of the inhabitants was unbounded when they witnessed this extraordinary spectacle, and caused them to regard a people who could bring about such a marvel as to cause water to gush forth from the arid desert as truly beings of a superior race. Subsequently four other wells were bored in the desert: one at Temakin, yielding eight gallons per minute; one in the oasis of Tamelhat, which gave 120 litres of water per minute; one in the oasis of Sidi Nached, yielding 4,300 litres of water from the depth of 54 metres, the oasis having been completely ruined by drought; one also in Oum Thier, which yields 108 litres of water per minute; and a sixth well has been sunk at Shegga. A remarkable artesian well was bored at Bourne, in England. The borings passed through two strata of limestone, with other intervening strata, to the depth of only 92 feet. The bore is only four inches, and this supplies the town through mains and smaller pipes and plugs for fires, the pressure being sufficient to throw water over the buildings. It delivers 557,000 gallons per day. It rises at the town hall 39 feet 9 inches. These are a few of the statistics of some of the most interesting artesian wells both in this country and in Europe; they give some details of the cost, mode of boring, and difficulties to be encountered, that will be interesting and useful to the readers of this report. The conditions necessary to the successful boring of an artesian well are: First. A fountain head more elevated than the locality where the boring is to be undertaken. Second. A gentle inclination or moderate dip from the fountain head towards the locality of the well. Third. Alternations of porous and impervious strata, beneath the drainage of the country. The fountain head need not be in the immediate vicinity; on the contrary, it is often far distant-40 to 100 miles or more. If it forms the elevated rim of a large basin, from which the strata dip in all directions towards its centre, it. is all the more favorable for artesian borings within that basin. If the geological formations form a synclinal fold or trough, the fountain head being on the anticlinals of the ridges more or less parallel, this is also a favorable position for artesian borings. The flow of water from the fountain head, held up by the impervious strata beneath, and permeating the porous superincumbent layers, may be arrested, however, even without such a structure of the country, by being dammed up by local barriers, which may either be impervious fissures, cutting the strata more or less at right angles, or extensive faults filled up with clay, which is a very common occurrence. A steep or high angle of inclination of dip is always an unfavorable structure of country, because in such situations the water flows away beyond the reach of artesian borings, which must necessarily cut the strata at such an acute angle as to pass through only a few layers of rock. Without a knowledge of the internal structure of the geological formations which lie deep-seated, very little clue can be obtained to the selection of a favorable locality by a simple inspection of the physical condition of the surface of the country. For instance, a perfectly level plain, with no hills in sight, may be more favorable for artesian wells than an undulating country, simply from the fact of its having a higher fountain head. The third condition mentioned above, namely, alternation of porous and impervious strata, is almost everywhere to be met with. SECTION II. LIGNITES OF THE WEST. [Abstract from report of F. V. Hayden, United States geologist for Nebraska, to Commissioner of General Land Office, from Silliman's Journal of March, 1868.] The construction of the Pacific railroads across the continent is bringing about the dawn of a new era in the progress of the west. Already has the Union Pacific railroad, from Omaha, struck the first range of the Rocky mountains, more than 525 miles west of the Missouri river. The earth is now called upon more earnestly than ever before to yield up her treasures of gold, silver, copper, iron, and mineral fuel, and the existence of the last two minerals in the west, in workable quantities, is one of the most important practical questions of the day. It is my purpose in this article merely to state briefly some observations made last autumn in regard to the lignite deposits of Colorado and Dakota Territories. The details will be given more fully in the final report of the geological survey of Nebraska, now in progress of preparation. The discovery that large deposits of "stone coal," as it is often called by travellers, existed in various portions of the west is by no means a new one at the present time. The lignite beds of the upper Missouri were noticed by Lewis and Clark, 1803 and 1804, those of Laramie plains by Fremont, 1842, and those of the Raton mountain region by General Emory as far back as 1848. But the intense interest with which they are regarded now, as a source of fuel to the vast stretch of fertile but almost treeless plains, has been created anew by the advancing westward wave brought about by the construction of those great national highways. The fact, also, that the coal deposits of Iowa and Missouri are restricted in area, and the coal limited in quantity, and in most cases inferior in quality, and that west of these States it may be said that there is no true coal at all, renders any source of fuel in the far west a matter of the greatest importance. In the valley of the Missouri river and the Yellowstone there are numerous beds of tertiary lignite, varying from a few inches to seven feet in thickness. These formations have been described many times, and until the Northern Pacific railroad is carried through that region they will remain of little practical importance. But the Union Pacific railroad is now in progress of construction through the lignite deposits of the Laramie plains, and the Union Pacific railway, eastern division, and the branch from Denver to Cheyenne City, will pass through those of Colorado, so that if the lignite beds and iron mines of this region are of such a character as to be of economical use, the time for their demand has already come. My examination of the geology of the State of Nebraska, during the past season, failed to develop any workable beds of coal within the limits of that State. My attention was then directed to the great lignite deposits of the Laramie plains. I found the lignite of excellent quality in beds from 5 to 11 feet thick, and I estimated the area occupied by this basin at 5,000 square miles. Its most eastern limit is about 10 miles east of Rock creek, a branch of the Medicine Bow river. Outcroppings have been seen all along Rock creek, Medicine Bow, oa Rattlesnake Hills, on the North Platte, Muddy creek, all along Bitter creek, Ham's Fork, Echo Cañon, and all along Weber river, nearly to Great Salt lake, showing that one connected series of deposits covers this whole area. The lignite taken from the beds on Rock creek is from the outcroppings, yet it burns with a bright red flame, giving out a good degree of heat, leaving scarcely any ash, and is quite as desirable fuel for domestic purposes as any wood. It is non-bituminous, exhibits just a trace of sulphuret of iron, which, decomposing, gives a rusty reddish appearance to the outcrops, and there are seams of jet, 1 to 12 inches in thickness, which looks much like cannel coal, and is thus termed by the miners. The Union Pacific railroad will pass directly through these great coal fields, and as most of the freight will go westward for many years, the cars on their return can be loaded with this lignite, thus to be distributed through Nebraska at a cost much less than that of wood at the present time. There are also indications of an abundance of iron ore in the vicinity of these deposits, and the Union Pacific Railroad Company contemplate establishing rolling mills in the Laramie plains at no distant period. The next point visited was South Boulder creek, the Marshall mines, which are probably the most valuable in the west. I made a pretty careful examination of these mines, as they have been wrought for four or five years. An average of 50 tons is taken from this place daily and sold at Denver, at prices varying from $12 to $15 per ton. The beds are at the foot of the mountains, and dip to such an extent as to expose the whole series, 11 in number, varying from 5 to 13 feet in thickness, so that we have from 30 to 50 feet at least of solid lignite. This is the most favorable locality for studying the strata enclosing the lignite that I have ever met with in the west, and this is due to several causes, the principal of which is their proximity to the base of the mountains, by which they are elevated at a moderate angle. The following somewhat remarkable section is approximately correct, at least: 45. Sandstone, gray and rather coarse grained. || 22. Drab clay, 5 feet. 44. Drab clay. 43. Lignite. 36. Drab clay. 35. Sandstone. 21. Sandstone, 20 feet 12. Drab clay. 11. Lignite. 8. Drab clay. 7. Lignite, 5 feet. 6. Drab clay. 5. Gray and yellowish gray sandstone. 4. Drab clay, 3 feet. 3. Lignite, 11 to 13 feet. 2. Drab clay, 4 feet. 1. Fine yellowish grit indurated cretaceous beds, 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. The thickness of the beds is given when it could be obtained with any degree of accuracy. It is barely possible that beds 6 to 13 feet inclusive have been broken down from the summit of the upheaval just beyond and thus displaced. The inclination of the strata from 1 to 16 inclusive is 8° east, and the cleavage of the beds of lignite is vertical and exactly parallel with the dip. From 13 to 29, inclination is 40°, and the remainder 35°. Lignite beds 3 and 42 have not yet been tested, and very little is known of them. They have been exposed in the search for iron ore. The summit of the hills above all these beds in the section is covered with a large thickness of superficial drift material, which undoubtedly conceals many other beds which properly belong to the section. Mines have been opened on Cos creek, three miles south of Marshall's mines, but they have been abandoned for the present Another has been opened about 20 miles south of Cheyenne City, on Pole creek. The dri began with an outcropping of about four feet eight inches in thickness, inclination 12 east The lignite grows better in quality as it is wrought further into the earth, and the bed, by following the dip 200 feet, is found to be five feet four inches thick, and the lignite is sol readily at Cheyenne City for $25 per ton. The beds are so concealed by a superficial dri deposit that it is difficult to obtain a clearly connected section of the rocks. A section across the inclined edges of the beds eastward from the mountains is as follows: 7. Drab clay passing up into areno-calcareous grit composed of an aggregation of oyste shells, ostreasubtrigonalis. 6. Lignite, 5 to 6 feet. 5. Drab clay, 4 to 6 feet. 4. Reddish rusty sandstone in thin lamiuæ, 20 feet. 3. Drab arenaceous clay, indurated. 2. Massive sandstone, 50 feet. 1. No. 5 cretaceous, apparently passing up into a yellowish sandstone. The summit of the hills near this bed of lignite is covered with loose oyster shells, and there must have been a thickness of four feet or more almost entirely composed of them The species seems to be identical with the one found in a similar geological position in the lower lignite beds of the upper Missouri, near Fort Clark, and at the mouth of the Judith river, and doubtless was an inhabitant of the brackish waters which must have existed about the dawn of the tertiary period in the west. No other shells were found in connection with these in Colorado, but on the upper Missouri well-known fresh-water types exist in close proximity, showing that if it proves anything it rather affirms the eocene age of these lower lignite beds. These lignite beds are exposed in many localities all along the eastern base of the mountains, and from the best information I can secure I have estimated the area occu pied by them north of the Arkansas river at 5,000 square miles. According to the explora tions of Dr. John L. Le Conte during the past season, which are of great interest, these same lignite formations extend far southward into New Mexico, on both sides of the Rocky mountains. Specimens of lignite brought from the Raton mountains by Dr. Le Conte resem ble very closely in appearance and color the anthracites of Pennsylvania. It is probabie that no true coal will ever be found west of longitude 96o, and it becomes, therefore, a most important question to ascertain the real value of these vast deposits of lignite for fuel and other economical purposes. Can these lignites be employed for generating steam and smelting ores? In regard to the lignites in the Laramie plains I have as yet seen no analysis, but specimens are now in the hands of Dr. Torrey, of New York, for that purpose. Speci |