xt7tdz02zs8r https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7tdz02zs8r/data/mets.xml Norwood, Charles Joseph, b. 1853. 1876  books b96-12-34876627 English Printed for the Survey by J.P. Morgan & Co., : [Frankfort, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Geology Kentucky. Lead Kentucky. Report of a reconnoissance in the lead region of Livingston, Crittenden, and Caldwell counties  : including a sketch of their general wealth / by Chas. J. Norwood. text Report of a reconnoissance in the lead region of Livingston, Crittenden, and Caldwell counties  : including a sketch of their general wealth / by Chas. J. Norwood. 1876 2002 true xt7tdz02zs8r section xt7tdz02zs8r 












GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KENTUCKY.

          N. S. SHALER, DIRECTOR.



     REPORT OF A RECONNOISSANCE

                   IN' TIME

LEAD REGION OF LIVINNGSTON, CRITTENDEN, AND
           CALDWEIL COUNTIES,

                 INCLUDING A



SKETCH OF THEIR GENERAL WEALTH.

   BY CHAS. J. NORWOOD.

PART VII. VOL. I. SECOND SERIES.



VUL. 1-29



449 1 450

 This page in the original text is blank.

 








INTRODUCTORY LETTER.



Professor N. S. SHALER, Director Kentucky Geological Survey:
  DEAR SIR: According to your instructions, I present you
herewith a report of a reconnaissance of the lead region em-
braced in the counties of Livingston, Crittenden, and Caldwell.
Accompanying it is a preliminary map, incorrect in many par-
ticulars as regards the geography, but better than none.
  As there was much territory to be traversed in a short space
of time, the report does not purport to be an exhaustive or
elaborate one by any means.
  The prime object of the reconnoissance was to obtain a
knowledge of the character of the lead deposits and their
probable worth. It is believed all the time requisite for such a
result was devoted to the work.
  I embrace this opportunity to express my gratitude to all
those who rendered me kindly aid when in their region.
The Survey is under especial obligations to Mr. P. C. Bar-
nett, Col. Callahan, the Messrs. Woods, Mr. Hodge, the
Messrs. Hewlett, Hon. Chas. Webb, Mr. Lemen, Rev. Isaac
McMurray, the Messrs. Glass, and Mr. Wm. Marble.
                       Respectfully,
                               CHAS. J. NORWOOD.
  LEXINGTON, Ky., April 15th, I875.
                                                       451

 





   REPORT OF A RECONNOISSANCE IN THE
     LEAD REGION OF LIVINGSTON, CRIT-
       TENDEN, AND CALDWELL COUN-
         TIES, INCLUDING A SKETCH OF
           THEI-_1R GENERAL WEALTH.


                   LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
  This county is quite irregular in its outlines. Part of it lies
between the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, extending, in
a tongue as it were, up those streams to the i' Narrows." while
the greater portion lies north of the Cumberland, the Ohio
river forming the western boundary. and Crittenden county
joining on the east.
  Taken altogether, the county is a broken country, made up
of high winding ridges, some of which rise to a height of 400
feet above the level. The highest point is, perhaps, between
5oo and 6oo feet above the Ohio river.
  Although the greater portion of the county is ridge land, there
is yet much of it well adapted for farming, embraced in the
rich valleys of the Ohio and Cumberland rivers, and the wide
valleys and table lands north of the Cumberland.
  The county embraces about 295 square miles of territory.

                   GENERAL GEOLOGY.
  The geological formations found in the county are the qua-
ternary and carboniferous.
  The Qieaternary.-This includes in descending order allu-
vium and bluff beds or loess.
  I. Allztizum.-This division is made up of beds of sand.
clay, loam and pebbles, as follows:
  a. Soil and black loam, composed of decayed vegetable
matter, etc., alternating with thin layers of sand.
I These heights are approximated.
452

 


      LIVINGSTON, CRITTENDEN, AND      CALDWELL    COUNTIES.         5

  b. Buff clay.
  c. Red clay, with masses of earthy iron ore.
  d. White and yellow sand, grains very small.
  e. Pebbles. These are usually quite smooth and rounded,
and are mainly of chert and      hard  sandstone.    They    vary  in
size from half an  inch to three inches in diameter.      They are
often cemented by iron, and so consolidated as to form compact
beds of conglomerate.
  These beds are frequently exposed on the tops of the
ridges, and might be mistaken as being of a date older than
here ascribed to them.
  11. Bluf' beds (or Loess).-This is a yellowish to brownish
buff, somewhat sandy, porous clay. When dry it is quite pulveru-
lent. It is developed in the bluffs of the Ohio river especially,
and covers the hills at many places in the vicinity of Smith-
land.'
  Carboni/rous.-Under this head are included rocks of the
coal measures and the lower or sub-carboniferous.
  I. Coal Afeasures.-This formation        is but sparingly   devel-
oped, the only members found being the conglomerate and
accompanying coal beds.
  The conglomerate caps the ridges in many parts of the
county; sometimes attaining a thickness of sixty feet, and
again, represented by a few feet only. It does not always
contain pebbles; on the contrary, it frequently passes abruptly
from a hard, gritty sandstone, quite conglomerated(the pebbles
varying in size from that of a small shot to that of a hen's
egg), to a fine-grained compact rock, entirely desli/tte of pebbles.
At Carrs-ille a few N-iwlders of quartzite, syenite, granite, and hornblendic rock were oh-
-erved. They vary j, size from six inches to two feet in diameter. They are much worn andl
rounded, in this respect having the character of glaial drift; several of them were examined
or evidences of scratches, but none discovered. Their histors is somewhat obscure. It
is not .rolealle, however, that they were transported to tlheir present locatiot, by water, as the
speclmen-occups a circumscribed area, and none are known to occur elsewhere in the county.
'Ihere sea, an Indian burial-ground at Carrs-ille, and perhaps a foctificaio-,, so that the
luwilde"s may possibly been brought for soue 1surpose by the ancient people who built there.
Another fact it regard to them is, that they are arranged in a line one after the other, partially
,ered with earth.
Though doubtful as to their having been brought to their present location by any means other
hn human, no locality in Illino-s, from whence they could have been procured, can be given.
It is possible for them to have been brought from Missouri.
                                                                  453

 


6ON THE LEAD REGION OF



Again, the pebbles are quite small and sparingly distributed;
it presents this character often.
  The pebbles are usually not distributed indiscriminately
throughout the mass, but are in horizontal layers or bands.
  The conglomerate is found in the hills back of Smithland,
on the Dycusburg road, about one mile and a quarter from
Smithland, on the farms of the Messrs. Lemen, near Salem, and
at many other points in the northern portion of the county.
There are really two distinct conglomerates in the county,
with a coal bed between.
  Because of physical differences, the upper one has been
designated the tlwe or superior conglomerate, and the lower
as the inferior conglomerate. The reason for so doing is,
that the upper rock is nearly always abundantly charged with
pebbles, while the lower one is seldom so. It, in fact, rarely
contains any; but as it was occasionally observed with certain
parts conglomerated, it was included under the name cong-lom-
era/e. It seems probable that the superior conglomerate occu-
pies quite a limited area, but that the inferior member occurs
frequently throughout the county.
  Usually, immediately underlying the conglomerates are beds
of argillaceous shales, with a few coal streaks traversing them.
A jointed sandstone, some ten to twenty feet thick, parts the
shales from the lower carboniferous limestones.
  Frequently, however, the conglomerates rest directly on the
limestones.
  The following section of the rocks from Trabue's (the old
Union) coal mines to the Ohio river-distance about half a
mile-exhibits the position the conglomerates hold in regard
to each other, very wvell.
z. Conglomerate......... .. .. .. .. .. .. . ..   .      20  feet.
2. Covered space....... .. . .. .. .. . .. .. ..   .  5
3. Very thin-bedded, slabby sindstone, in layers from one to two inches
    thick. Good for ordinary whetstones ............. .  5
4. Drab argillaceous shale ............... . .. .. .  to 1 "
5. Coal............. . . ..        ... . ....            234
6. Under-clay......... .. .. . .. .. .. . .. ..   .  4
7. Covered space ............ ... .1.0........ .     1
This distinction may be merely locally applicable.
454



6

 

LIVINGSTON, CRrrTENDEN, AND CALDWELL COUNTIES.



8. Sandstone. Hard, coarse-grained, cross-bedded, and in thin layers at
   the top. Markings Of Lpeidodendron at the top ........ .  35 feet.
9. Coveredspace to the river, about........ .. .. ..     ... 100
  At the river the inferior and superior conglomerates are
both seen, standing out in bold escarpments. The former ex-
hibits a thickness of about forty feet; above it the coal is found,
with the true conglomerate still above, and from forty to fifty
feet thick.
  Passing up the river to Carrsville, the true conglomerate be-
comes thinner, and at a point about half a mile below the town is
represented by only five feet of sandstone, while the inferior
conglomerate thickens rapidly, at one place attaining the
thickness of one hundred feet.
  This thickening and thinning of the rocks is truly remark-
able.
  At the point where the last of the true conglomerate is seen,
there is but ten feet space between it and the lower one, which
is about forty feet thick, with lower carboniferous limestone
immediately under it. Passing on to Carrsville the upper con-
glomerate entirely disappears, and the thickness of the lower
one increases, both up and down, until at a certain point it
reaches one hundred feet.
  From this point it thins laterally-that is, both up and down
the river-and a fine-grained buff to grey sandstone, occupying
a position below the superior, but above the inferior conglom-
erate, makes its appearance-showing a thin edge at about
five feet above the lower conglomerate. In passing to Carrs-
ville, this sandstone thickens downward to twenty-five feet, while
the conglomerate thins, from above down, to forty feet, leaving
a space of forty feet between it and the sandstone.  Plate P
illustrates more clearly the various changes presented by the
rocks.
  The only coal examined in the county is at the old Union
mines, now owned by Col. Isaac Trabue. They are located
near Carrsville, and are worked by drifting. The coal meas-
ures 30 inches, but of this only one foot is of good quality;
the rest is soft and brash, and almost worthless.
(Col TsaI ue states that another coal of about eighteen inches occurs just above the superior
congIomerate, abo.ut half a mile from his mines.
                                                              'j55



7

 


ON THE LEAD REGION OF



  In volume IV, page 388, and volume 111, page 531, of
Owen's Geological Reports on Kentucky, Lesquereux iden-
tifies this coal as No. I B. In his description of that coal, he
states that it is the first above the conglomerate; it seems he
did not see the conglomerate which overlies it here, showing
Coal I B to be an in/er-conglomerate coal, provided he was
correct in the number.
  The sandstone, 4o feet thick, mentioned by Dr. Long as
underlying coal three feet thick, at the Trapnel coal bank, in
the vicinity of Caseyville, is doubtless the equivalent of the
inferior conglomerate of Livingston county.
  The coal at Trabue's dips at the angle of 10, course north
35' west, at the entry; this angle, however, does not appear
to be constant. The mines are worked very little, and, con-
sequently, were in such condition that they could not be en-
tered.
  One mile southeast of Smithatnd, -   .Gordon (colored)
(lug for coal in the shales below the conglomerates, but without
success. No coal of importance exists there.
  There seems to be no reason to believe that any extensive
coal beds exist in the county. There may be, however, outliers
of coal (equivalent to the beds at Trabue's) in certain parts of
the county not yet explored for the mineral.
  11. Lower Carboniferous.-Two divisions of the lower car-
boniferous, the Chester and St. Louis Groups. may be distin-
guished in this county. The exact line of division between
the two could not be satisfactorily ascertained, as the time
requisite for such detailed examinations as would have accom-
plished that result could not be spared.
  The Chester Group is made up of an alternating series of
limestones, sandstones, and marly shales. Rocks belonging
to this division are exposed at Smithland and Carrsville, and
pretty generally throughout the county.
  The St. Louis Group is separated from the Chester by a
sandstone.
  Vid- volume IV, Owens Geological Report, page 388.
456



8

 

LIVINGSTON, CRITTENDEN, AND CALDWELL COUNTIES.



  The most abundant fossils are Lithoshiolion Canadense, Pro-
due/us co-ra, Athyr-is suzbquadrata, a YSp/rifei- and Pen/rvmi/es
Konitckiana.  As seen in this county, the beds are crossed in
all directions by veins of calc. spar, some of them two inches
wide. Calcite also occurs in masses throughout the rocks,
(filling cavities), and is quite abundant.
  Fluor-spar is also present in the rocks, but is less common
than the calcite.
  The general color of the limestones is dark drab; some of
the beds, however, are dark blue and bituminous.
  Towards the top of the group, beds of gray to white, beau-
tifully oolitic, limestone occur; capable of being burned into
excellent white lime, and answering admirably for building
purposes.
  The greatest measured thickness of this group, as displayed
in this region, is about one hundred and eighty feet. This,
however, is not the total thickness; it may be twice as great.
  The St. Louis Group is of special interest in the lead region,
as it is in the vicinity of it that most of the lead is obtained.

                      SPECIAL GEOLOGY.
  The Lead Deposits.-The lead deposits have attracted atten-
tion for a number of years, but only in the last ten have any
systematic explorations for the mineral been made.  More
work has been done in the past two years than ever before.
Although a number of shafts and pits have been sunk in vari-
ous parts of the county in search of lead. the returns have
been meagre indeed.
  There have been, however, no deep shafts sunk, the deepest
being one at the Royal mines, mentioned on a succeeding
page. All others range in depth from 10 to 50 feet, rarely, if
ever, more than 5o feet, and seldom exceeding 40 feet in
depth. It cannot be said, therefore, that any extensive opera-
tions have been carried on; on the contrary, under the circum-
stances, the digging has been quite shallow.
A shaft at the Royal mines shows it to be more than two hundred and fifty feet in thick-
ness.
                                                          457



9

 

ON THE LEAD REGION OF



  Mode of Occurrence.-As a general thing the lead occurs as
aggregations of cubic crystals and granules of galena, dissem-
inated through masses of fluor-spar, calc. spar, and limestone,
all mingled together in red or greenish clay, filling a fissure
between two walls of rock dissimilar in character.
  One of the walls is limestone and the other a very hard,
quartzose sandstone, often resembling chert, and striking fire
with steel.
  This silicious rock appears to be a wedge between limestones.
  It always presents the appearance of a rock resting on edge;
both sides are usually well defined, and it is seldom more than
25 feet across; occasionally the width is as great as 50 feet.
It does not stand in a true vertical position, but is inclined at
an angle varying from 60 to 8W0.
  Limestone is frequently exposed on both sides of it, not
always in immediate contact with, but still near to it.
  The strata are tilted on the one side or the other of it, and
lie irregularly, sloping away from it.
  The origin of this wedge-like mass possesses much interest,
for it takes a prominent position in the solution of the problem
concerning the origin of the lead, and, consequently, upon the
question regarding the character of the deposits and their
worth.
  Its present position is evidently due to a dislocation in the
rocks. At first view the rock has much the appearance of
having been forced from below upwards, extending from as
low down in the lower carboniferous series as can be seen, up
to the base of the coal measures.
  At one locality it is found resting against the St. Louis
limestone, while at another it rests against the conglomerate,
apparently cutting through the Chester limestones, etc. Cer-
tain facts connected with it, however, prove conclusively that
a hypothesis that it was forced up from below is untenable.
Although the strata are somewhat tilted on the one side of
the rock, on the other they are horizontal, or dipping with the
sandstone, and not away from it.



I This is illustrated in the plate representing the sub-structure of the region at the Royal mines.
458



to

 

     LIVINGSTON, CRITTENDEN, AND CALDWELL COUNTIES.  I I

  This fact is so well recognized by the miners that they term
the sandstone the hanasging-wall and the limestone thefoot-wall.
Again, the rocks on either side are seldom of the same age.
On the west they may be St. Louis and on the east side Ches-
ter beds; such is the case at the Royal mines.
  These facts, in connection with others made apparent in
the course of the report, can lead to no other conclusion than
that this wedge was originally a horizontal sandstone occupy-
ing a position above the St. Louis (roup, near to if not im-
mediately at the base of the Chester Group. By some such
force as that exerted by an earthquake, it has been torn from
its true position and precipitated in a previously existing
chasm, carrying with it limestone beds belonging to the Ches-
ter Group.
  It is not probable that this sandstone owes its present posi-
tion to one movement of the earth, but to a combination or
successive series of them.
  It seems that at first great breaks were made in the rocks,
caused possibly by the concussions produced by earthquakes,
leaving the strata in a position something as represented in
figure 2, plate ll.
  Subsequently a series of disturbances, resulting from a lat-
eral movement of the earth, crossed the country. The first
movement would dislodge the already disturbed rocks from
their bedding and precipitate the superior ones into the chasm,
while the succeeding one would bring them closer together,
as represented in figure 3, plate Il. The upper beds on one
side would be thrown down, while the lower ones, it seems,
would merely receive an increased angle of inclination.
  On the opposite side the upper beds would retain their posi-
tion, except in the vicinity of another fracture.
  In some instances the entire rocky mass on one side of the
fracture seems to have been depressed, but still retaining a
nearly horizontal position.
  The fractures were of course quite deep, but narrowing all
the while, the deeper in the earth they penetrate, and were at
                                                          459

 


ON THE LEAD REGION OF



least partially filled with extraneous material before the sub-
sequent faulting occurred.
  The quartzose sandstone has nowhere been recognized in
a horizontal position; as it does not always present the same
physical characters, however, it may occur so, and not have
been noticed in my hurried journeyings across the country.
  On the Cumberland river, opposite Smithland, a hard, gritty,
thin-bedded sandstone is exposed, exhibiting a thickness of 5
feet or more. It dips at an angle of from 20 to 25, course
south 6o' east, strike north 30'' east. It is exposed for about
two hundred yards up stream, and then disappears. At its
northern extremity it becomes more quartzose in appearance,
is in thicker beds, and seems to make a curve, the course of
the strike changing to north 40 east. This sandstone is rep-
resented by figure 1, plate 11I.
  At Smithland. above the ferry, ten feet or more of jointed
sandstone, underlaid by blue shale, is exposed in the river
bluff, about 50 feet up from the water. It is quite hard, and
in character much resembles the sandstone just mentioned,
and probably is the same. It is nearly horizontal, though dip-
ping slightly south. 15' or 20 east. If these sandstones are
equivalent, and there is every reason to believe they are, and
one is dipping as much as 25, while the other is nearly hori-
zontal, they give additional evidence towards solving the ques-
tion as to the origin of the sandstone wedge.
  It is a noteworthy fact that the sandstone on the north bank
of the Cumberland river is in a line with, and has about the
same strike of, the quartzose sandstone seen at the Woods'
mines.
  Taking into consideration all the facts collected, the only
reasonable conclusion is, that the masses of sandstone seen in
different parts of the county, jutting up from the ridges and
resembling dykes. are not uplifts but d1otwn-Iliro-vws caused by
a remarkable faulting of the rocks.'  The number of these



i Since the foregoing wa. written it ha. been learned fr iMr. [ Jeph Walton, Superintend
cuot of the  Royal Mine," that in one of the piss there the -andst-ne disappears at the depth
of -,ne hundred and fitty feet, and limestone is exposed -n both side, of the shaft.
This is practical and conclusive proof that the sandstone came from abve.
460



1 2

 

      LIVINGSTON, CRITTENDEN, AND CALDWELL COUNTIES.   13

down-throws necessarily depends on the number of fractures
in the first instance.
  It will be seen from the foregoing that the lead occurs in
masses of fluor-spar and calc. spar, filling fissures following
the line of a series of down-throws.
  CGlaracter and Derivation of the Deposits.-There can be no
reasonable doubt that the fissures, in the upper part of which
the lead is concentrated, have great depth; that they pene-
trate far into the crust of the earth.
  That this must necessarily be the case, is displayed by the
scale on which the rocks are faulted, There must also be some
material filling these fissures, constituting veins; which, extend-
ing the full depth of the fractures, may be denominated trsue
veins.
  The origin of true veins is referred to dislocations of the
rock strata, effected by some great mechanical force, such as is
exerted by earthquakes; they, consequently, traverse a form-
ation independently of its character or stratification, and are
supposed to extend indefinitely downward.
  True veins may be defined, in simple language, as indefi-
nitely deep fissures filled with some material which may or
may not be accompanied by lead or some other metal. But
in passing from one character of rock to another, the vein-
stone or filling matter of the fissure may change materially; it
may be very poor in ore or entiti-;y destitute of it.
  There are, therefore, numbers of true veins, which, if not
absolutely bare of metalliferous deposits, are nearly so.
  There are, in fact, many instances in which a vein is rich in
ore for only a certain depth, beyond which the ore entirely
disappears, or is so lean as to preclude the working of it with
profit.
  There are, also, many true veins that are not metalliferous.
  Consequently, the fact of the veins in question being true
veins does not carry with it the conviction that the lead found
in the upper part is coextensive with the vein. On the con-
trary, having in mind the peculiar derivation of the ore, it is
fair to presume that its depth is limited to the base of the
                                                           461

 

ON THE LEAD REGION OF



lower carboniferous limestones, perhaps not extending below
the St. Louis Group.
  In other words, that the metalliferous matter filling the
upper part of the fissure must be considered as forming a sep-
arate and distinct part of the vein, as it now exists, having no
intimate connection with the matter below.
  The metal orzgina'ly existed either in bedded veins or segre-
gations just at the top or near the top of the St. Louis lime-
stone, or as impregnations in the rocks.
  There are certain circumstances connected with the depos-
its which seem to give some basis for supposing the lead to
have partly been in bedded veins; but I am disposed to consider,
rather, that it occurred as segregations and impregnationzs.
  Whether it was wholly inclosed in the upper beds of the
St. Louis Group, which have been destroyed, or whether it
was most abundant in the lower rocks of the Chester Group,
is a question to be decided when the deposits may be studied
in all their minutia.
  It is probable that the galena was disseminated in greater or
less quantities through the rocks of the St. Louis Group in its
entire vertical extent. My impression is, however, that the
major portion of the metal was in seams and bunches and
impregnations in the upper rocks; which, perhaps, belonged
in part to the Chester, but more particularly to the St. Louis
Group.
  This much is certain: where the veins occur that are rich in
the metal (they are in the blue or geodiferous limestone, as it
is termed in another report), there is at least 75 feet of the
upper division of the St. Louis Group entirely absent.
  It is possible. therefore, that at the time of the faulting of
the rocks, heretofore mentioned, these rocks bearing the metal
were thrown down in the fractures.
  That subsequently waters charged with solvents, possibly
derived from organic matter (vegetable or animal), percolating
through the mass, dissolved out the lead, which was precipi-
tated, assuming the character it now presents.



ISIc report on the region adjacent the Louisville, Paducah and Southwestern Railroad.
462



74

 


      LIVINGSTON, CRITTENDEN, AND CALDWELL COUNTIES.  1 5

  It is not necessary, however, in demonstrating that the lead
came from above, to assume that the rocks should have been
thrown down in the fractures.
  As the strata gradually wasted away under the destructive
influence of chemical agents, and the solvents eliminated the
lead, it would be deposited in the fissures open for its recep-
tion.
  In fact this latter solution of the problem is more in accord-
ance with the present state of the deposits, as they exist in
this and Crittenden counties, than the former.
  From the manner of its distribution through the spar it
would seem that in age, according as they were deposited in
the fissures, the lead is the eldest, then the fluor-spar followed
by calcite.
  The fluor-spar nearly always has a bituminous odor, as have
also some of the limestone beds.
  Instances also occur where hardened bitumen fills cavities in
the material which bears the galena. It would seem as if the
bitumen was closely related to the lead in its deposition, and
had participated to a large extent in the extraction of the
metal and spars from the rocks.
  The lead evidently did not come up from below in heated
vapors, else the structure of the lodes would be more symmet-
rical.
  That it came from above appears; from the irregularity in
the nature and structure of the deposits; from the frequent
occurrence of limestone fragments in the vein matter (some of
them containing galena), and from the fact that at one locality
the galena-bearing fluor-spar was found lying horizontally and
then traced to where it enters a nearly vertical fissure.
  The history of the lead in all its details is certainly of inter-
est. In a general reconnoissance, however, this subject, though
an important one, could not receive that attention necessary
for a clear exposition of the matter.



The nature of certain of the deposits in Crittenden county also tend to verify the statement.
                                                          463

 

ON THE LEAD REGION OF



  That the major portion of the ore came from above seems,
at this date, with what light can be obtained on the subject, to
be the most reasonable conclusion.
  Owing to the peculiar nature and derivation of the deposits,
it is difficult to decide on a proper and descriptive name for
them, in the ordinary classification of metallic deposits. How-
ever, considering them simply as aggregations of fluor-spar
and galena in fissures limited in their depth, they approach
very near to segregated deposits, and may be denominated,
for the present at least, as vertical seo-regalions (or segregated
veins) occupying the upper part of true vein fissures.
  General and Special DescripAion of Deposi/s.-As indicated
on the map, there are at least three faults, and consequently
lodes, so to call them, crossing the county.
  Two of them are nearly parallel, coursing north 300 to 570
east, while the third has a course about north 320 east. The
latter is supposed to be the lode opened at Fair View, Illinois,
which crossing into Kentucky at Carrsville recrosses the river,
back into Illinois, near Bay City.  It is known as the Fair
Viezv, Lode, and is supposed to be the same as that at Rosi-
clare.t Of this, however, I have no personal knowledge.
The other two are known respectively as the La/robe Lode and
the Excelsioor Lode.
  On these two the greatest amount of work has been done.
Each lode may be traced across the country by the immense
masses of quartzose sandstone, standing nearly vertically on
the ridges, and in many instances forming the ridge line.
  The La/robe Lodle is the one on which the shafts at the
Royal mines are located.
  Following the line of the fault, several shallow pits have
been sunk.
  Pits were sunk on the lode on the Donake, Coker, and
Levan farms, all near each other, out of all of which lead and
The supposition that it was all eliminated from the inclosing rocks would not explain the
chracter of the deposits as they are found at a number of points in the lead district, especiaily
in Crittenden county.
f The mines known as the ' Rosiclare Lead Mines " are not immediately at the village, but
to the west of it.
464

 

     LIVINGSTON, CRITENDEN, AND CALDWELL COUNTIES.  17

fluor-spar were obtained. The Donake pit has greater local
celebrity than the others; it has been opened for a longer
period, and more mineral obtained from it.
  On Mrs. Mitchel's old place, now the possession of \lessrs.
Wailer & Co., and on Mrs. Cox's property, near Salem, lead
and fluor-spar have also been obtained. On the former place
the quartzose sandstone forms the eastern and greater part
of a ridge, and stands out in a huge mass with rough outlines,
about 50 feet in width.
  The rock pitches south 550 east, at an angle of from 750 to
8o0, with a strike north 350 east.
  On the west side of the hill, near the base, a pit was dug
many years ago, and lead procured from it.
  Fragments of limestone were found at the mouth of the pit
(which is now almost entirely filled with debris') containing
much fluor-spar.
  The sandstone extends the entire length of the ridge, with
limestone on the west side.
  At Mrs. Cox's place no pit has been dug, but much fluor-
spar and calc. spar occur in the quartzose sandstone. Some
lead was also found in it. More spar was found in it at that
place and on Rev. Collin Hodge's land (at the old ' wash-hole")
than at any other place in the county. At Mr. Hodge's, lime-
stone is exposed on both sides of the sandstone, not imme-
diately in connection with, but near to it. On the northwest
side the limestone approaches within 20 feet of it, while on
the opposite side the limestone is 300 feet away from it.
  The Ercelsior Lode has a general course parallel with the
Latrobe Lode.
  Pits have been sunk on it at Mr. Henry Woods', Mr. Robert
Woods', and Mr. Tisdal's (now deceased); all of these places
are near together, and from three to four miles south of Salem.
Galena was obtained from each shaft sunk.
  The quartzose sandstone forming the hanging wall of this
lode is seen on the south side of the Cumberland river, about
four and a half miles northeast of Smithland. No lead has
yet been found in connection with it south of the river.
    VOL. 1-30                                          465

 


ON THE LEAD REGION OF



  The only place at which any work has been done on the
Faz'r View Lode is at Carrsville, and this will be noticed here-
after. On the farms of the Messrs. Lemen, about two mil