USA > Illinois > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Illinois > Part 12
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IIISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
great limestone formations of the globe con- sist mostly of animal remains, cemented by the infusion of animal matter. A large part of the soil spread over the earth's surface has been elaborated in animal organisms. First, as nourishment, it enters into the structure of plants, and forms vegetable tissue; passing thence, as food, into the animal, it becomes endowed with life, and when death occurs it returns into the soil and imparts to it addi- tional elements of fertility.
The realization of great defects in the edu- cation of our young farmers and of their losses and disappointments, and even disas- ters, in the pursuit of their occupation of till- ing the earth, that come of their neglect in early education and training, prompts us to present a subject that many of our readers will consider dry and uninterest- ing. The views of the writer are not vis- ionary, or mere theories drawn from books. Born and reared on a farm, with nearly a quarter of a century's experience in tilling the soil, qualifies him to tell, with as much facility as Horace Greeley, what "he knows about farming." The most important subject to all mankind to-day is how to get for the young people the best education; how to fit our youths for the life struggle before them. Agassiz was once appealed to by some New England horse-breeders in regard to develop- ing horses, and told them it was not a ques- tion of equestrianism, but one of rocks. To most men the reply would have been almost meaningless, yet it was full of wisdom. It signified that certain rock formations that un. derlie the soil would insure a certain growth of grasses and water, and the secret of the perfect horse lay here.
That the reader may gather here lessons in the knowledge of the rocks that are spread ont over the earth, we give in their order the different groups and systems in the simplest
form we can present them, as gathered from the geologists. We only deem it necessary to explain that all rocks are either igneous or stratified; the former meaning melted by fire, and the latter, sediment deposited in wa- ter. Their order, commencing with the lowest stratified rocks and ascending, are as follows:
The Laurentian system is the lowest and oldest of the stratified rocks. From the effects of great heat, it has assumed, to some extent, the character of the igneous rocks below, but still retains its original lines of stratifica- tion. A principal effect of the great heat to which its rocks were exposed is crystal- lization, The Laurentian system was formerly believed to be destitute of organic remains, but recent investigations have led to the discovery of animals, so low in the scale of organization as to be regarded as the first appearance of sentient existence. This dis- covery, as it extends the origin of life back- ward through 30,000 feet of strata, may be regarded as one of the most important ad- vances made in American geology.
The Huronian system, like the one that precedes it, and on which it rests, is highly crystalline. Although fossils have not been found in it, yet from its position, the infer- ence is they once existed. and if they do not now, the great transforming power of heat has caused their obliteration. This, and the subjacent system, extend from Labra- dor southwesterly to the great lakes, and thence northwesterly toward the Arctic Ocean. They derive their names from the St. Lawrence and Lake Huron, on the banks of which are found their principal outcrops. Their emergence from the ocean was the birth of the North American Continent. One face of the uplift looked toward the Atlantic and the other toward the Pacific, thus prefigur- ing the future shores of this great divison of the globe of which they are the germ.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
The Silurian age, compared with the more stable formations of subsequent times, was one of commotion, in which fire and water played a conspicuous part. Earthquakes and volca- noes furrowed the yielding crust with ridges, and threw up islands whose craggy summits, here and there, stood like sentinels above the murky deep which dashed against their shores. The present diversities of climate did not exist, as the temperature was mostly due to the escape of internal heat, which was the same over every part of the surface. As the radiation of heat, in future ages, de- clined, the sun became the controlling power, and zones of climate appeared as the result of solar domination. Uniform thermal con- ditions imparted a corresponding character to vegetable and animal life, and one univer- sal fauna and flora extended from the equa- tor to the poles. During the Silurian age, North America, like its inhabitants, was mostly submarine, as proved by wave lines on the emerging lands.
The Devonian age is distinguished for the introduction of vertebrates, or the fourth sub- kingdom of animal life, and the beginning of terrestrial vegetation. The latter appeared in two classes, the highest of the flowerless and the lowest of the flowering plants. The Lepidodendron, a noted instance of the for- mer, was a majestic, upland forest tree, which, during the coal period, grew to a height of eighty feet, and had a base of more than three feet in diameter. Its description is quite poetical, and is as follows: Beau- tiful spiral flutings, coiling in opposite direc- tions and crossing each other at fixed angles, carved the trunks and branches into rhom- boidal eminences, each of which was scarred with the mark of a falling leaf. At an alti- tude of sixty feet, it sent off arms, each sep- arating into branchlets, covered with a needle-like foliage destitute of flowers. It
grew, not by internal or external accretions, as plants of the present day, but, like the building of a monument, by additions to the top of its trunk. Mosses, rushes and other diminutive flowerless plants are now the only representatives of this cryptogamic vegeta- tion, which so largely predominated in the early botany of the globe. Floral beauty and fragrance were not characteristic of the old Devonian woods. No bird existed to enliven their silent groves with song; no ser- pent to hiss in the fenny brakes, nor beast to pursue, with hideous yells, its panting prey.
The vertebrates consisted of fishes, of which the Ganoids and Placoids were the principal groups. The former were the forerunners of the reptile, which in many respects they closely resemble. They embraced a large number of species, many of which grew to a gigantic size; but, with the exception of the gar and sturgeon, they have no living repre- sentative. The Placoids, structurally formed for advancement, still remain among the highest types of the present seas. The shark, a noted instance, judging from its fossil re- mains, must have attained 100 feet in length. Both groups lived in the sea, and if any fresh water animals existed, their remains have either perished or not been found. So numerous were the inhabitants of the ocean, that the Devonian has been styled the age of fishes. In their anatomical structure was foreshadowed the organization of man; rep- tiles, birds and mammals being the inter- mediate gradations.
The Carboniferous age opened with the deposition of widely extended marine forma- tions. Added to the strata previously de. posited, the entire thickness in the region of the Alleghanics, now partially elevated, amounted to seven miles. The most promi- nent feature of the Carboniferous age was the
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
formation of coal. Being carbonized vege- table tissue, the material furnished for this purpose was the vast forest accumulation pe- culiar to the period. The coal-fields of Eu- rope are estimated at 18,000 square miles, those of the United States at 150,000. In Illinois, three-fourths of the surface are un- derlaid by beds of coal, and the State, conse- quently, has a greater area than any other member of the Union. The entire carbon- iferous system, including the coal beds and the intervening strata, in Southern Illinois, is 27.000 feet in thickness and in the north- ern part only 500 feet.
The Reptilian age came next, and is distin- guished for changes in the continental bor- ders. which generally ran withiu their pres- ent limits.
The Mammalian age witnessed the increase of the mass of the earth above the ocean's level threefold, and next in regular succes- sion was the age of Man, which commenced with the present geological conditions. These are the order of the earth's formation, sim- ply given, to the time of the coming of man. Though the absolute time of his coming can- not be determined, he was doubtless an in- habitant of the earth many thousands of years before he was sufficiently intelligent to preserve the records of his own history.
The present age still retains, in a dimin- ished degree of activity. the geological action we have briefly sketched. The oscillations of the earth's crust are still going on, perhaps as they ever have. As an evidence of this, it is a well-known fact that the coast of Green- land, on the western side, for a distance of 600 miles, has been slowly sinking for the past four hundred years. Thus constantly have the bottoms of the oceans been lifted above the waters and the mountains sunk and became the beds of the sea. In the science of geology, this solid old earth and its fixed
and eternal mountains are as unstable as the floating waves of the water.
Jefferson County is situated southeast of the intersection of the Ohio & Mississippi and the Illinois Central Railroads, and is bounded on the north by Marion County, on the east by Wayne and Hamilton, on the south by Franklin, on the west by Perry and Washington, and has an area of 576 square miles. It is estimated that at least four fifths of this territory is timbered land, while only about one-fifth is prairie. The prairies invar- iably occupy the more or less elevated lands between the water-courses, and have generally a considerable depth of quaternary deposits, sometimes underlaid with shales. It is sel- dom that rocks are found in the prairies, even by digging to some depth, though at some places timbered hills occur in the prairie, which are underlaid with solid rocky strata, and rise above the level of the prairie either within its bounds or at its edge. Knob Prairie has its name from such a hill or knob. The timbered portion of the county is partly flat, but most of it is undulating or broken, in consequence of the numerous water-courses which traverse the county in every direction. It has some post-oak flats, also some wet flats at the edge of prairies, in which water-oak predominates, but more oak barrens, with a growth of black oak, white oak, post oak, hickory, etc. The timber in the creek bot- toms is generally quite heavy, and consists of swamp white oak, water oak, sugar maple, sycamore, black walnut, white walnut, etc. In the extreme southeast part of the county, however, are occasional trees of more south- ern affinity, such as the sweet gum.
The county is well supplied with running water, principally by the branches of Big Muddy River, which head near the north line of the county and traverse it in a southerly direction, with many smaller creeks which
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
empty into them, both from the west and east. The main branch of Big Muddy River heads near the northwest corner of the coun- ty, some miles southeast of Centralia, while some other ravines near by run westward to- ward Crooked Creek and the Kaskaskia River. The Little Muddy River passes through the southwest corner of the county. In the northeast part of the county is Horse Creek, a tributary of the Little Wa- bash River, and all the branches on the east line of the county take their course east- ward, toward the Little Wabash.
The geological formation of Jefferson County, like those of all the adjoining coun- ties, are members of the coal formation. All over the county, with the exception of a limited area in the southwest corner, is found the same strata traced all over the county of Marion-a subdivision of the upper coal measures, including a coal seam which varies from six to twenty-four inches in thickness. At a greater depth may be found the Du Quoin coal bed, and the sandstones overlying this coal and its associated limestones, have been traced over a large area east of the out- crop of the coal, and attain a considerable but variable thickness, sometimes amounting to more than two hundred feet, and appear to pass across the extreme southeast corner of this county .*
The Shoal Creek limestone has no great thickness. It varies between seven and fif- teen feet; but being the only prominent limestone between two heavy bodies of sand- stone, it forms a well marked horizon, and can be readily traced over a long distance. In Perry County, only a quarter of a mile from the Jefferson County line, on Little Muddy River, just before it enters the latter county, is an outcrop of evidently the same
limestone. Here five feet of it are exposed, covered with soil. It rests on one foot of shales and three feet of black, laminated slates, which reach to the water level. Coal, probably fifteen inches thick, has been dug from the bed of the creek. From this point, the Shoal Creek limestone must pass into Jefferson County; but the county is mostly covered with heavy quaternary deposits, and is thinly settled, so that artificial de- posits are wanting. Higher up these creeks and in the barrens, sandstones crop out at a few points. The rest of the county is occu- pied by the higher sandstone formation, the same which covers the whole of Marion County. Almost everywhere single layers of the sandstone can be found of sufficient hard- ness for building purposes. This formation being part of the coal measure system, it may be expected to contain some stone coal, but it is not rich in this mineral. It is found at numerous points, however, throughout Jefferson and Marion Counties, and it un- doubtedly extends much further. It is of considerable local importance, being used ex- tensively in this district, and has been opened at numerous points. At some places, this coal is quite pure and free from sulphur, but at others it contains much sulphuret of iron.
The slaty, fossiliferous limestone, which is a certain indication of the coal, has been noticed north of the " Limestone Branch." In Jordan's Prairie, at Rome, the coal is struck in every well, only ten feet below the surface, and is probably ten inches thick. At the edge of the prairie southeast from Rome, the coal has been mined to some ex- tent, especially in the southwest part of Sec- tion 18. At that point the bed is fourteen inches thick, of which at least ten is good coal. The coal has likewise been found near the middle of the north line of the northeast
* Most of the local geology, and the facts pertaining to it, are compiled from the official survey of the State.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
quarter of Section 24 and farther east, and at other points in this portion of the county. In all places it was from ten to twelve inches thick, and accompanied with shales, the cal- careous slate and sandstone.
The official survey, and a description of all the noteworthy discoveries in the county leads to the conclusion that all the coal which is near the surface in the county, with the exception of that in the south- west corner, belongs to one stratum. which, is in some places divided in two by a parting of shale, and which is the same that extends all over the adjoining county of Marion. The stratum, at a few points, exceeds one and a half feet in thickness of good coal, and is frequently thinner. Where it is thicker. it generally contains impure portions. It is at many points of a very good quality, and. as the country is broken, it can be profitably worked in numerous localities by stripping along the outcropping edges. It is. there- fore, well adapted to supply the local de- mand for coal throughout the county at a very moderate cost. The coal and accom- panying strata are neither horizontal nor dipping in one direction, but they form waves which follow more or less the surface configuration of the country. A question arises whether there is a lower coal bed, of greater thickness, at an available depth. The next lower coal seam is that underneath the Shoal Creek limestone; but this coal, where it is known on Little Muddy River, near the west line of the county, is too thin to pay the expenses of deep mining. This seam may become of some local importance in the southwest corner of the county, where it can be worked by stripping along its outerop on a limited area, but further on it is covered by a considerable thickness of the higher strata. The only remaining coal bed of good prom . ise is, then. the one worked in the coal shaft
at Tamaroa, on the Illinois Central Railroad. at a depth of about two hundred feet below the surface, which is the Du Quoin coal. Tamaroa is a little over four miles west of the southwest corner of the county. and it would seem, therefore, as if this coal bed. in the nearest part of the county, could not be much. if any, deeper. From the same for- mations, however, in the adjoining counties. it is believed that this coal dips rapidly downward from Tamaroa, and in most parts of Jefferson County lies at a considerable depth. It would probably be found at the least depth in the southwest corner of the county, but even there it would hardly be reached under several hundred feet.
The coal near the surface in this county is the same as the vein near the surface at Cen- tral City. If a great demand for coal should arise, this lower coal bed might supply it. Its depth, at least, would not be greater than that of many coal pits in other countries. and the only question would be as to its thickness, which at Tamaroa amounts to five feet eight inches.
The shales accompanying the coal bed con- tain generally much kidney-iron ore-an im- pure carbonate of iron in sub-globular con- cretions, or in flat bodies or sheets. The ag- gregate quantity of this ore is large, but it is probably not concentrated at any one point in sufficient quantity and of sufficient purity to be. for the present. of practical value for the production of iron. Some pieces of galena have been found scattered over the country, such as occur in the drift in many other counties of the State. The water in some parts of the county is impregnated with salts, originating principally from the decomposi- tion of the sulphate of iron contained in the coal or shales, and from the action of the sulphate of iron thus produced upon the strata which it percolates. Thus.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
other and more complex combinations of salts are formed, such as magnesia salts, alums, etc. As the coal seam is near the surface in many neighborhoods, wells are frequently sunk down to it or the accompanying strata, and this well-water contains these salts in variable quantities, which are often sufficient- ly large to prevent the use of the water for household purposes. Thus it is at Mount Vernon, at Rome, in some parts of Horse Prairie, especially at the Stone-Coal branch, and at other places.
The strongest mineral water, probably, in the county is the springs of Dr. William Duff Green, in the southeastern part of the city of Mount Vernon. There are several of these springs. They issue from the side of a shal- low ravine, at the same level, a few feet from each other, from a highly ferruginous stratum, which is apparently the slaty shale, with the iron ore above the coal seam here changed beyond recognition by the long-con- tinned influence of the mineral water. These springs all contain a considerable quantity of iron combined with other salts. A re- markable fact is that the water of all of them is not quite the same. The difference con. sists. however, principally in the relative quantity of the salts. The springs evidently emanate from the same stratum, but, passing through different portions of the rock, the water may come in contact with slightly dif- ferent mineral substances.
The temperature of the running springs is the mean temperature of the earth in this latitude, or, what is the same, that of a deep, cool cellar; but one spring, which is by Dr. Green called "Tepid Spring," differs from the others in various respects. It is warmer than the others, at least in summer. because, not running as freely as they do, its water is stationary. and assumes the temperature of the air. It does not freeze in winter. which
is, apparently, not a consequence of intrinsic heat, but of its saline character. Its water has a milky hue, because the iron salts which it contains begin to decompose in the orifice of the spring, where they are long exposed to the oxidizing influence of the air, without being discharged. Such is the simple ex- planation, based on the teaching of science, of some facts which have been regarded as wonderful mysteries. Nature's works seem mysterious. but all conform to definite laws, which, when the principles are once under- stood, appear clear and plain as daylight. A small quantity of gas is devolved in the springs, either through the action of sulphates upon carbonates in the strata or perhaps al- together by a vegetation of a low order, which rapidly grows and coats the orifice of the springs, and. under the direct action of the sun's rays, exhales oxygen. Although originally similar, the waters of these ditfer- ent springs now. very probably, have a differ- ent medicinal effect upon the system.
Building material is found in the county in large quantities. Sandstone, for founda- tions. the walling of wells and for all ordi- nary and heavy masonry, can be readily ob- tained in nearly all parts of the county. Good quarries are already known in large numbers, and with little labor many new ones might be opened in convenient loca- tions, as sandstones form the principal sub- strata of the county. The limestone is gen- erally impure, siliceous or argillaceous. At some points it can be burnt and used for making mortar, and if the demand were sufficient, better quarries might be opened. and a better article might be obtained. The fossiliferous, slaty limestone, or calcareous slate, is undoubtedly a superior fertilizer, but has not yet been used as such. Its wide dis- tribution over the county will render it valu- able in future times. Brick may be manu-
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
factured wherever needed; and of fine timber of various kinds-white oak, black oak, post oak, black walnut, etc. - there is an ex- cellent supply.
The agricultural excellence of the county, which is fully up to the standard of any of the counties in this portion of the State, will be treated of further along in this work.
CHAPTER II .*
THE PRE-HISTORIC RACES-MOUND-BUILDERS-THEIR OCCUPATION OF THE COUNTRY-RELICS LEFT BY THEM-THE INDIANS-SPECULATIONS AS TO THEIR ORIGIN-ULTIMATE EXTINCTION OF THE RACE-SOMETHING OF THE TRIBES OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS-WHAT BECAME OF THEM-LOCAL TRADITIONS AND INCIDENTS-THE BLACK HAWK WAR, ETC., ETC.
"Wrapped in clouds and darkness, and defying historic scrutiny."
THROUGHOUT the Ohio and Mississippi - Valleys, as well as many portions of North America, and extending into South America, are found the remains of a former race of inhabitants, of whose origin and his- tory we have no record, and who are only known to us by the relics that are found in the tumuli which they have left. The Mound- Builders were a numerous people, entirely distinct from the North American Indians, and they lived so long before the latter that they are not known to them by tradition. They were evidently industrious and domes- tie in their habits, and the finding of large sea shells in the Illinois mounds, which must have been brought from the Gulf of Mexico, if not from more distant shores, proves that they had communication and trade with other tribes. Perhaps the most interesting fact connected with this ancient people is that they had a written language. This is proved by some inscribed tablets that have been discovered in the mounds, the most im- portant of which belong to the Davenport Academy of Sciences. These tablets have
attracted great attention from archæologists, and it is thought they will some time prove of great value as records of the people who wrote them. It is still uncertain whether the language was generally understood by the Mound-Builders, or whether it was confined to a few persons of high rank. In the mound where two of these tablets were dis- covered, the bones of a child were found, par- tially preserved by contact with a large number of copper beads, and as copper was a rare and precious metal with them, it would seem that the mound in question was used for burial of persons of high rank. The in- scriptions have not been deciphered, for no key to them has yet been found; we are to- tally ignorant of the derivation of the lan- guage, or its affinities with other written languages.
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