Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana, Part 15

Author:
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Baskin, Forster & Co.
Number of Pages: 472

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The largi proportion af This actun] untiluminized charcoal gives lo the block eund many of ils piculier properties. It burns nith n hiright orunge-col- KTed Name, und comparalirely but little smoke, until it isabout half ronanmeil, uftvr which the rumbustion resembles, rery closely, the burning uf anthra- eile rantinning mitbunt smuke or flame, Iruring about four per eebl, of ngh mud no clinkers ot cinders of any kind Al no singe of ils combustion is Ileri' nay leudene) lo soßen ur run together inlo cakes , nor do Ihr hlocks hieuh inlo frugments ly hent, lon maintain their original forin until they are entuely coomuured. Il kiuilles very easily And requires bul o small quuntily lagelber, even in an open grato, lo mainluin combustion.

These qualities admirably fit the block coal for the purpray of producing shinto The finnes requires bul little draft und no allenlion from the fire- man, excepl u hal is necessary to keep the proper supply of coal. Actual esperiment luty privrd ils high rulne as s siegt-prodneng fuel, and fully Furmanla the conclusion that the loluna enal field enn furnish a manufactur. ing power ns chenfound ny eunvraient as any in the world

The close resemblance of took coal In churcoal in several of its proper- lies miggestel ils use-without coking or olber preparation-for the pur- pove of smelling ores. Soccessfal experiments io this direction were tuile in Intis, since which hine il hus come into general use in blast furuuces Throughout This srotion of The country. Being usually quile free from sul- phiar or phosphorus, il produers pig iron rlovely resemlding the Truheasee churconl byclal.

When the Inber ond expense of prepairing charcoal is Inken rulo account, er the loss anil cost of reducing bituminuns couts lo erke, the great cronomy mu the use of black coat, in the lunaufnelure of iron, is nupirenl.

'T'he dip of the con] beds ju lodinun tring wrest word, und The boek conl. lying al the use of The cual measures, is found ouleropping along The costern margin of The coal field, but The dip being but slight, aud the coun- Iry generally quite level, this variety of coil can be renched by shefts of wundvrule depth, orvr n teli of country Inenly jailes in hveodib, shirlelnug from the Chia River lo the Illinsus line, Al tho worthwest corner of Warren County-a distance of ahont 160 miles -- ures which uren uf 3,000 square miles, il will ho safe lo eslimente un oreragr aquiloble thickness of four feel of hluck cual

The upper coals of the twimun Geld mo highly bituminous, burning with n brilliant fume und unleh smoke, the con! becoming soft and ilujesed lo ran together and form & miss, or coky. ay il is commonly called. li gruer- ully leares more ush than The block coal, and frequently quile u muss of clinkers, which jeginre the ullenhon of the firemno lo thvir remoral from The furnoce

Nul withsioniling These objectionable fentures, The biluminous coals of Judiuno produce a strong hval, owl ure regarded as n very efficient sleam fuel. Several senmis of this variety of conl are found, will a thickness sang- ing from four lo leu frel carb. This Hurkhiess of the srum renders mining of The conl cumparalively ensy, nud thy forl correspondingly cheap. This Turiety of evil Ime been used, ju several plnees, in the manufacture of ges,

ond Itiongh the quantity yielded is quite satisfactory, yel The illuminating | nearly neross the State, when il sweeps oronmila greal curre nmi runs south, pourer is lois. Il is probable, however, Ibul n beller gas ecal Than any hillerlo experimented ou may yel be found in This series.

Cmnel conl, of a fair quality, is mined in Harjess Connly to a limited oxlenl, and if iby markel ilewond for That ruriety of coal irero ineroused The supply could be correspondingly hugmenlyil Seums of cannel coal ure knouh lo exist in Fountain, Parke, Greene und soverni olher counties, but, airing In the lionled ilemond, these have not been norked. Allogelher, the coal field of Indiana may be regarded as a rush fund of unulyvelopes would.

IRON ORE.

The lower members of tho conl measures ure, in many places, rich miron one of several rurienes, chicity, however, of the class of herniles. 11 is generally found associniel nill heds of shale, either in the form of noitules, or kidneys, as the miners call them, os in hutuils, sometimes forwing beds seremil feel thirk

These ores present quite a wrule range in theis wurkalle value, both ill the per cent. of iron contained aund in the presence or nimence of substances objectjollable in smelting From Thirty lo sixty per cent of iron niny be sinled as The range of these ores in value, The residue being chiefly sitien und alumino, writh n ruriable uraportion of limv. For This class of ores They are comparatirely free from sulphur and phosphorus.

"The byils of richesl ores nro nounlly found lowest in the series. In shales, lying belirerh Thy sulcarboniferous limestone and The tuillelone gril, are often found bands of very rich ore, and the shale nbiter the block coal is frequently rich in nodulor ore. From This locality upunrd the ore diminishes both in quantily nud in richuess, na well ns in purily.

'These ores liare been worked in blast furnnees in Murlin, Greene, Clay mm] Vigo Counlies, and extensive beds are known lo exist in Fountnin, Parke, Lawrence and perhaps other counties, nol inferior in quality lo those being rorked. The iron fuinnees of Indiana are using chiefly the rich spee- ulur ores of Missouri nud Lake Superior, lempering these with the more easily smelleil nutire ores. Besule these ores of the coal field, several uller lorulilies of iron ore are known to exist in The Sinle, which will be of great value when the mannfueture of iron shall be so extended as to create a ile- mond for ore. In Clark County, near lho summil af The Deronian formu- linn, on nbundaul supply of a red benmalile ore is found, of u rolue of frumu Ilurly la forly per cent. of iron. No effort has yet heen made lo nlil- ize this ore. Bug ore is found in abundance in many of the northern roun- lies of The Sinte, especially in Lake, Porter, Insper, Starke, Fullon, SI. Jo. septi and Elkburl Counlies In the early selllement of The Slale, charecal iron uf an excellent quality was made in Fullon ond Elkhart Counties, bul the scarcity of timber in those prairie counties, and the increased farililies for Imusporting by canal and raimond Ibe cheaper products of the Pennsylvania furnnees, destroyed Ibis enrly iron enterprise. Enough, however, was ilone lv demonstrale The practicabilily of making a superior quality of iron from Ihs bog are. These ores may be mined and Ininsported to the coal field and smelled with block coal, either nlone or mixed with richer ores, with u fair profil.

In the mannfarlure of iran in Iniliano, the orealo bo smelled, irhererer They may be foutnl, must be brought to the coal, where Ibe liniestour for flux, The sondslone for furnaces aud the fire-elny for lining Ibem cun be found in near pruximily lo each other.

OTHER MINERALS.

It is nol probable that The ures of any other molal bul iron will be found in irorkuble quanlities in Ibe SIple-with The possible exception of lend. In- dicalions of galena huro bern observed in acieral ploers associated with the Silurinn limestones, ond it is Hol improbable Ibut line will develop ivoik- nble leads of this ore. l'oller's eloy, suitable for Ibe manufacture of sodn- glazed ware (knowu in Ibe markel as yloheware), is found in greul nbun- danre in The coal field, nuil ber erul large rslablishments for this manufacture bire been in successful opieralion for & number of yenrs. Near the line iliriling Laurence and Marlin Counlivs, exlensire beils of kaolin or porce- lam clay have Inlely been discovered. Specimens of uare nnnnfuelured frau Ibis malerio! show that it is ju no respect inferior lo The best nuporled knolio. This muy ke regorded ny a disenrery of Ibe first imporlubce, nol merely lo ludiuno, bul equally to the whole country, us il will open the mads fuelure of the finest Ialle ware from home-furnished malerinls. The supply bring ample lo meel any probabile demand for a century lo come, il will certainly open up a new industry of great value

In The curly years of lindiana, The pioneer selllers made salt for their owu uso from tho woter of sulino springs in soveral paris uf the Slule. Tbe must imprinul of These carly " salt works" uns lucaled near the woulh of Coal Creek, in FuuuInin County. By boring lo The depth of 600 feel, n good supply of brine, of a fair quality, was obtained, from which sall, in qunuli- ljes sufficient to supply the local market, was made, und the furnace sus- pended operulions only when the Wabash & Frie Canal hrougbl inlo rom- prins the chimuper products of solar eraporulion from the Onondaga works in New York. In These early sall works, wood was the only fuel useil for evaporation. Al The Coal Creek furunce, several hundred acres of hears foresl Timber was consumed, while within n feu fret of the month of the france a sealn of excellent coal, four feet Thick, was exposed ; bnt Il never occurred to The sall makers thal conl could ho need os fuel in their business.

Within the last few years, borings, loade for olber purposes, houve re- veiled thy fuel Ibni elrong brive can be allamed by boring from 600 10 1,000 few, orer a large dlistriel in the soulbwe-lern pirl of the Stale. If the manu- facture of salı were undertaken on n large scale nad golur evaporation re- sorled lo, the enterprise would no doubt prine profilalle. Arlesian wells al Lalinyelle, ol Eugene, al Terre Haute nod of Reelsville have each obtained n copious Bow of mineral woler highly churgeil will hydrogen, sulphide and olhier minerals, so that the unter is nearly identical will The While Sulphur Springs of' Virgiam.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The Sinle uf Indiana eunelsis essentially of o continuuns plein, with the Ohio River on the south, depressed lou dejah of about Tuur hundred feet helon jis general level. Lake Michigan, on The north, livy nearly on a level with the cealtul portion of this plain, unil, therefore, receives lhodrainage of lindt a very small part of il A glance id the mop of Indiana will shon the rurions arrangement by which This great plain is drainwl, and will ucenunl salisfactorily for the level surmnie of the centrul and northern portions of the Sinir. The Wabash Rirer nud ils Triluniluries are mule the chuntels of drainage far Ilove- fourths of the Slate, The reminder being dividel lot reen lireel Tribulurirs of the Phio River and of The Illinois, und of Lukes Mirbi- gull and Eric. The Wabash in ils upper course runs from cash lo west

bearing o litllo west Jo the Ohio River ul The extremo southwestern corner. Following ils general direction, this gives the stream u length of nboul Three humired nnil fifty iniles within the Slate. In ils upper course il receires the Tippecanoe and Rel Rivers from the north, and the Mississenaira nul Salu- monje froin the south ; in its loires course White River is ils principal affluent. This arrangement gives all The sirenme in The interior of The Siale a long course lo necomplish Their ilescent Jo The lerel of The Ohio Mirer, and permils thew lo occupy a lorel nenr thy surfaco of the pluin in the central parl of tho Slalo. This is rery apparont in passing from The country thul is Umined direelly into the Ohlo lo that arliery The drainingo is effecteit through The Wabash. In The former, The sirenms, having a short courso, muke a rajijd descent, huil, culling for themiselres ileep channels, leave the country broken up with high and often abrupt hills. In the laller, the sirenms lie nenr lho geueral surface, run with a geulle ourrenl, and, consequently, leary Ibo country cumparalirely lorel. The slight elevation of the general surface, nhovo The derel of The lakes, on The north, gives The wireams running in Thal direction bul lillle descent, and, consequently, they are rarely lor- derrd with hills of any consiileruble olevulion.

Umlor these geneil modifying conditions, the lopography of The severe! sechione of the Stale is lorgely controlled by the charneler of the umterlying rock, irhere this la hol so itvyply corered by the glucial drift os to entirely oliseureils charuel rristic features The Lower Silminn rocks, which fornt The subsiralum of The southeastern counties of The Slalo, being Thinly slralified trith interposeil lieds of olay, are easily cut away by torients of wuler. The hills in This section hare, therefore, n ronudeil nspeel, and, Though often rising lo the level of The interiur Iable land, are seldom ohrupl, and show bul hille lendeney la form cliffs. The hvavy elrala of the Ningarn andl Carnif- erous groups on rhich the eastern oml northern portion of The Stule resta, irhererer the streamus bove ent inta them, exhibit their peculiar features of bald abrupl clitt" and itcep gorges. The Upper Wnbush, and its immediale Tributaries, can hardly be said to have any bulls other than the grailnul slape of The glaciol ilrift lowrard The point where it rereals thu rock on which it resty. The deseval from This point lo the hed of The river, a ilistance of from forly lo sixty feel, is nbrupl, offen perpendicular, and sometimes crer- hanging. The summe is Irite of Flat Rock, Clifty, Sand Creek and Muskninturk, in certain portions of Their course. Thus gives a prenliar topography to Ileso sections of the Stalo. The country nppents lo huven level surface, save only The ylight umlulalione of The ilrift surfuce. The streams lying concealed in deep gorges are invisible until The Irareler is directly on Their margins. While River, in the upper course of its principal branches, runs over these cliff limestones, lai seldom cals through the deep drift sufficiently to rereal Their topographical peculiarity.

The Marshall or Knob sumislone, from u irunt of uniformity in its poirer lo resisi erosion, gires n singularly irregular, brokon coulour lo The country where il forms the underlying rock. The hills of Iloril, Jockann, Brown und Morgan Colinties are fair snmples of this peculiur lopography. Further noih, the drift ileposit is so thick as lo conceal, in a greal mensure, the irregularity of surface, or The erosive forro acled so ns lo plone it ilnie.

The subcarboniferous limestone gires ils choracleristio mounluinous features to Ibe region where il is The surface rock. This consists, however, more in the broken und irregular ebaracler of the hills flinn in their great eleralion, as their summits are seldom more than liro hundred feet nuire the niljneenl sirenws. The lully condition of' The country murks This formation na far ns the northern line of Ouren County. North of this The drift agencies hure operaled lo materially modify the topography peculiur lo this Yurivly of rock olsewhere.

The coal field, in its northern portion is comparatively lovel, though the vicinity of the larger sirenmis often choir deep gorges eul into the heavy sandstone, or somelimes hills, tunre or less abrid, rising lo The height of ono hundred and fifty or lira hundreil frel. The southern purl of the field bordering on The Ohio River is more billy, especially in The eastern srelion, embracing The counties of Crawford, Ferry, Spencer and Worrick. A no point, honerer, ore the hills such as lo reniter the mines inaccessable lo Tensionalion.

The central ond northern portion of the Stale, where The glacial ilrift formus The surfrev, appears lo he n unifurin terol, but o closer inspection shoua loug, gentle slopes, or undulations, sufficient, in most cases, lo securo surface drainage irhen obstructions are removed. Sometimes, houerer, the idrift surface preseuls long, broken ridges, or gravel moruine, rising from lon lo fifty feet lugh. Numerous small lokey form a l'ealine in thal portion of The Siale north of the Upper Wabash. They are usually small und quilo shallow Though some of them otlain a depth of tilly feel, or eren aune. They are usually excarnlions in The lower drift clay-the result of glacial nelion. The ivaler is elenr and cool, even in summer, und most of Item abound in fish

SOILS.

In The southern conulicy of ibe Sinto, the guil is chiefly dlerired from the underlying rocks, and consequvally vuries iu missing from one formation le unother. The Siluriun or blur liniestony of The southeastern conaliry gires a porous elny soil, rich in lime, and much more productive than ils appear- ance would indicale. The Ningara limestone, with its massive Birala and bouy beds of shale, gires a colil, lennoinus olay soil, hint who properly unilerdrained, il ja very relentire of muunews, and may he mmle n rery pro- dnetive soil. The sandsione of The kyjotes of Floyil, Jackson and Brown Counties, gires a light, sandy enil, not rery desirable for grain or grass out- Inre, but ivell adapled to fuul growing, lo which purpose jauch of il is now devoleil. Tho subenrbouiferons limestone gives o sont usuutly rich in all the olemienis of fertility, and where the surfuce is sufheipally level to render culliraliou proclicuble, it is well odapled lo grain farming. Tav hilly and often rocky charneler of the surface, however, will ulways be formidluble obsineley in the way of the plow, bul for grazing jourposes, oml yapecially for sheep forming, these limestone bills are nilmirably nilopled.

In the coul field south of Greeno und Solliran Counties, the snit varies from & light satidy lonm to A compuel, Ivnaoious elny, os the sumulainue or wonles predominale. Where Theso rinracleristies are lileuded, n soil of foir feililily is produced, bul, Ilke soils lerived fromu carboniferous rucks gener- ally, There is n deficiency of lime, which must be supplied, if fertility would be moinlourd.

That portion of the Stale which lies wurth of au eost und west line, forly wiley south of ludiunupulis, is enverel by n heary ileposil of foreign ilrifl, from which Ibu soil is derivedl. This ilrift is formed from The derumposition of almost every conceivable variety of rocks, mwl The soil, purtaking of this variety, has all The mineral elements of ferlilily necessary In a wide moge of cullivolion. This rich supply of ininural olewouts is not confined lo the Hurtaer lonni, but obserrations prove thel varth luken from a depth of Iro or fifteya feel, if exposedl for two or Three years lo ul muspheric influeners, will he neurly ns productive as the surface soil. This demonstraly Ihn almost inexhaustible character of this ilrift soil, minil consequently is great agriculInral value. The granile and Irap rueks of Lake Superior, in their decomposition, suppdy un chuaitance of polash and sode, white The Siluriun lime-lones of lake Michigan, rich in tho remains of uneieul lify, finnish The phosphorus und limy requisite fur lho highest fertility. In this lies The solulioo idf thul juradox-the fertility of the Indinun cund field. Il is u well.ralablished fuel Ilint the rocks of the Carhoinferuns uge me ileficienl in the minvrul elements of Ieriilily, and consequently the sails derived from

201

In the Indiann Geological Report fur IM73, the following account is given of a remarkable prehistorie stone wall enclosure, sitomted on the Ohio Mirer, at the mouth of Fourteen-Mile Creek, in Clark County :

" At the inunth of Fourteen-Mily Creek, and about three miles from Charlestown, the county arnt of Clark County, there is one of the most remarkable stone fortifications which has ever come under my notice. Ac- companied by my assistant, Mr. Borden, and n number of citizens of Charles- town, ! visiled the ' stone fort,' as it is called, for the purpose of making an examination of it. *

" The locality selected for this fort presenls many natural advantages for muking it impregonble to the opposing forces of pre-historie times. It occu- pies the point of an elevated borrow ridge, which faces the Ohio River un the east, and is bordered by Fourteen-Male freck on the west nile. This creek empties into the Ohio n short disinnee below the fort. The top of the ridge is penr-shaped, with the part answering to the neck at the north emul. This parl is not over Iwenty feet wille, und is protected by precipitouy putoral walls of stone. H 15 280 feet above the level of the Ohio, and the slope is rery gradual lo the south. At the upper fieldl it is '240 fret high, and one hundred steps wide. At the lower timber it is 120 feel high. The buttom land at thid foot of the south end is sixty feet above the river. Along The greater part of the Ohio Rirer front there is an abropi escarpment of rock, entirely too steep to be scaled, amit a similar natural barrier exists along a portion of the northwest side of the ridge, facing the creek. This natural wall is joined to the neck of an artificial wall, made by piling up, mason fashion, but without mortar, loose stone, which had evidently been pried up from the Carniferous layers of rock.

" This muude wall, at this point, is ubout 150 feet long. It is built along tho slope of the hill and had in elevation of ahout seventy-five feet above its base, the upper ten feet being vertical. The inside of the wall is protected hy a ilitch.

" The remainder of the hill is protected by an artificial stone wull, built in the enme manner, but nut more than ten feet bigh. The celeration of Ilie siile woll above the ercek bottom is cighly fret. Within the artificial wolls is u string of mounds, which rise to the height of the uall, and are protected from the washing of the hillsides by a diteli tuenty feet wide ond four feet deep.

" The position of the artificial walls, oatural cliffs of bedded stone, na uell os thal ef the ditch nod mounds, are well illustrated by a may ilecom- pouying the report. The top of the enclosed ridge embraces ten or twelve neres, and there are as many as fre mounds thal can be recognized on the fint surface, while no doubt many others existed which linve been obliterated by time and through the ngency of man, in his efforts to cultivate a portiun of the ground." *

.\ trench was cut into one of these mouuds in search of relics. A few fragments of charcoal and decomposed bones, and a large, irregular diamond- shupeil boulder, with a small circular indeulation bear the middle of the upper part, that ivas worn quite smooth by the use to which it had been put, and the small pieces of fossil coral-faronit's goldfusn-comprised all the articles of note which ivero revealed hy the excavation. The earth of which tho wound is made resembles thot seen on the side of the hill, oud was probably, in most part, taken from the ilitch The margin next to the ditch wILS protecled by slobs of stone set on edge, and leaning at an angle corre- sponiling 10 the slope of the mound. This stone shield was two and a half feet wide, and Que foot bigh. At intervals atong the great ditch there are elionnels formed between the mounds flint probably served to carry off the surplus water through openings in the outer wall.

On the top of the enclosed ridge, and near the narrowest port, there is one mound much larger than ony of the others, and so situated as to com- mond an extensive vier up and down the Ohio River, as well as affording on unobstructed vieir casi and ivest. This is designated as " Lookout Mound." There is near it a slight break in the elift of rock which furnished o nilrrow passage wny to the Ohio River.

Though the locality afforded muny natural odvoutages forn fort or strong- hold, one is compelled to admit that much skill was displayed and labor ex- pended in renilering its ilefense as perfect as possible nt all points, Sione OxYs, pestles, arrow heads, spear points, totums, vhartus ond flint Hakes bnre been found iu greet obubilance in plowing the field at the foot of the obl fort.

" While calling attention," says Prof. Cox, "to the remarkable works of The Mound Builders in Clark County, I desire also to say a few words obool another very remarkable lucality, sicusled on the Wabash River about ten mailes above ils mouth, in Posty County. It is called the ' Bone Bank,' on lecount of the many skulls and other humun bones which have byen washed out on the bauk of the rirer, and elieited the attention of navigators from The earliest seltlement of the country to the present time.

" Dr. G. M Levette visited the ' Bone Bank ' lost November | 1971), and unde o map of the locality, which was published in the geological report. It is situated in n bend on the left bank of the river, and the ground is about ten feet abore high water mark, being the vuly loud for many miles along this part of the river thal is not submerged in seasons of high water. The bank slopes grailually back from the river to a slough. This slough now seldom contus water, but no doubt us one time it was an arm of the Wabash River, which flowed aroutil the ' Bone Bank,' and afforded protection to the island heme if Iho Mouad Builders. The Wabash has been changing its bed for many years, leaving a broad extent uf ucily modle land on the right shore, and gradually making inroads on the left shore by cutting away the . Boue Bank.' The stages of growth of lund on the right bank of the river arv Ivell defined by the cotton wood trees, which increase in size as you go back from the river.

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Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana, Part 15

Author: Publication date: 1876 Publisher: Baskin, Forster & Co. Number of Pages: 472

Author:
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Baskin, Forster & Co.
Number of Pages: 472