USA > Ohio > A history of the state of Ohio, natural and civil > Part 2
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FLINT FAMILY.
We have, perhaps, every species of the flint family, in our sandstone region. In the counties of Licking, Muskingum, Perry, Hocking and Athens, the several species of this family exist in considerable quantities. The nodules of flint, occur in thin layers, between compact limestone, and sandstone. They are so connected with the rocks above and below them, that the flint partakes of the color of the nearest rocks with which it comes in contact. These flint rocks, are some times made up of Zoophitae, or, of the most ancient sea shells, which have now become silicious. They generally lie in horr zontal lines, though sometimes, gently declining, towards the southeast. They are of every colour from a deep red or black
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GEOLOGY.
to a pure white. Some of them are beautifully striped with reddish and whitish streaks.
MARBLE,
Resembling that found near New Haven, Connecticut, exists on Monday creek in Hocking county, in amorphous masses. The texture of this beautiful marble, is fine, but granular. Its colors are grey, or blue, richly variegated with clouds of white, black and green. Green pervades the whole mass, it takes a fine polish and endures the action of heat very well. It contains chromate of iron, magnetic oxide of iron, and ser- pentine. It is a most beautiful marble, and will, one day, become as celebrated as that of Milford hills, Connecticut, which had been used one hundred years, at least, for common stone fences, before its value was discovered and made known by Professor Silliman, many years since.
LIAS.
There is a deposite of this rock near Kingston, in Ross county, near the line, which separates the sandstone from the limestone formation, and east of that line, it underlies the surface of about fifty acres of land, belonging to a Mr. Richie. On being exposed to the atmosphere, it shows reddish stripes. When burned in a hot fire, until it assumes a whitish appear- ance, and then the heat ought to be taken from it. Pound it until it is as fine as common slacked lime, it soon afterwards assumes a dark appearance, and becomes, finally, a deep brown. By mixing it with common slacked lime, in the proportions of twenty eight parts of lime, to one hundred parts of the lias, it hardens in water, almost instantly, and continues to harden, until it is as hard as any limestone in this region. In the burnt and granulated state, as before mentioned, by mixing a certain proportion of salt brine with it, it colors every object with which it comes in contact, a deep brown. Hence it is
B*
3
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
ascertained to be a most valuable ore of manganese, useful to the dyer and clothier.
In the same pulverised state, before described, it is inval- uable as a manure, or stimulant for vegetation, altogether superior to sulphate of lime.
It is composed of silex, lime, sulphur and manganese, and is a new mineral, which we call the
CLINTONITE.
This mineral was subjected to one hundred experiments, by myself, in May and June 1828.
There is a lias, near the Portage summit, which makes an excellent water cement. I know of no salt water in the in- terior of the United States, which does not issue from beneath a lias limestone, and from a great many experiments, tried on specimens of this rock, found in many parts of the secondary region, of the Western states, we are disposed to the belief that our salt water, in the interior, is produced by this rock, from below which, salt brine rises to the surface, wherever the earth has been bored deep enough, to pass below this rock.
Throughout nearly our whole hilly region, equal to ten thou- sand square miles of territory, this lias, is deposited, declining gently towards the southeast. There are about 100 salt works, in the state, employed in the manufacture of salt, about seventy of which, are located along the Muskingum river and its branch- es, in the counties of Muskingum, Morgan and Guernsey. The other salt works are in Athens, Hocking, Meigs and Gallia coun- ties. The declination of this salt rock is ascertained to be at least, thirty feet in a mile, towards the southeast. Many of the salt wells in Morgan county are six hundred feet deep; some of them are two hundred feet deeper. The same declination, is observed along the Ohio river, from the mouth of the Scioto river, to that of the Muskingum, in all the rocks lying in place. It is true, of all the strata in all that region, of iron ore, limestone, sandstone, and clay. So it may be said, of the coal formation. This information is of importance, to the miner and the salt
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GEOLOGY.
manufacturer, and should be always remembered by them, when in search of either ores, or salt water.
IRON ORES,
Are found in quantities, sufficient for every useful purpose, forever, in almost every county in our hilly region, from the summit between the waters of the Ohio, and lake Erie, to the Ohio river itself. In Tuscarawas county, the canal passes through the iron ore, where it lies in inexhaustible beds, within sight of the canal, and very near it. This ore melts easily, and yields a soft malleable iron, suitable for castings and bars. In some places, it is combined with sulphur, from which cop- peras was made, formerly, in considerable quantities at Zanes- ville and Steubenville.
The common red hematite exists in large quantities, in the counties of Tuscarawas, Holmes, Coshocton, Muskingum, Hocking, Athens, Meigs, Lawrence, Scioto, Adams, Ross, High- land, Licking and several other counties in the hilly region. It exists, also, in Kentucky, opposite to Lawrence and Scioto counties, where large quantities of iron are manufactured, by- the Messrs. Trimble, and others. To estimate the value of the iron manufactured in this state, now, is impossible from any data in our possession, though we know that it does amount to, from seven to ten millions of dollars annually. Its value and quantity are rapidly increasing, and will increase, for cen- turies to come, because the quantity of ore is inexhaustible.
CLAYS.
In the counties of Lawrence, Perry and Muskingum, a white clay is found, in abundance, suitable for pots and crucibles, used in glass factories. It stands the heat very well, growing whiter when it is exposed to the greatest heat. It will one day, be used extensively, in the manufacture of Liverpool earthen wares. It contains no iron, and is almost infusible be- fore the blow pipe.
The substances denominated clays, arc mixtures of silex
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
and alumine; and they sometimes, contain other ingredients, which give them various colors. Their hardness is never great. They are easily cut with a knife, and may be polished by the finger nail. When thrown into water they crumble more or less readily, and become minutely divided. Many of our clays, when moistened, yield a peculiar odour, called ar- gilaceous. Some varieties, by a due degree of moisture, and by proper management, are converted into a paste, more or less ductile, and constitute the basis, of several kinds of pot- tery. Other varieties, when immersed in water, are resolved into a fine, loose powder, nearly, or quite, destitute of ductili- ty, and are employed as pigments. Such are found in Law- rence county, where they were formerly used instead of Span- ish whiting.
A few remarks on the uses of clays which are ductile, may not here be out of place. These clays when duly moistened, if they possess unctuosity, ductility and tenacity, are capable of assuming various forms, without breaking. They possess a strong affinity for water, hence their avidity for moisture, and hence, they strongly adhere to the tongue or the lip.
To the existence of clay beneath the surface, we are chief- ly indebted, for all our springs, which rise and flow on the sur- face, because these clays resist the further progress down- wards, of the waters which falling on the surface, settle downwards, until stopped by the clay beneath. They are then compelled to rise in valleys. or run out of the sides of hills, and descend into the valleys below them. They then form rivulets and heads of rivers.
Of all the earthy matters, clays contribute most to the uses of man. They constitute the basis of bricks, with which, our houses are built ;- they constitute too, the basis, of almost ev- ery variety of pottery, from the homely, common earthen ware, up to the beautiful, translucid porcelain. On so exten- sive a subject, a few facts only, will be brought forward, as more, would not be tolerated, by the general reader. Clays are essentially composed of silex and alumine, and this mixture, in any given proportions to each other, is infusible, in any fur-
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GEOLOGY.
nace, whose fire, is supported by atmospheric air only. So, also, pure alumine, or a mixture of alumine and lime, is infu- sible, but, a compound of these three earths, becomes fusible- most easily, when the proportions are, alumine one part, lime one part, and sand three parts. But if the proportions of sand be increased it becomes infusible. .
According to M. ALEXANDRE BROGNIART, Director of the celebrated porcelain factory at Sévres in France, the general process, in all kinds of pottery, made with washed clays, may be reduced to the following six steps: subject to modification, in different varieties.
1. The washing of clays, by agitation in water. The sand subsides, while the finer particles of clay remain suspend- ed in water, which is decanted, and the sandy particles re- main at the bottom, and are thrown away, while the water, in which the finer particles remain, is left to precipitate its clay. Thus the sand is separated from the finer parts of the clay. Having gotten rid of the sand, the next process, is,
2. . The composition of the paste. This paste, is the clay that gives it consistency, when moist, and hardness when bak- ed; but to this clay, is added, either silex or hard baked clay, in a state of powder, to prevent cracks while drying and bak- ing, to give firmness and solidity, and to enable the pottery to resist the frequent changes of temperature. Sometimes a fusible ingredient is added to the paste.
3. This paste, after remaining for a time in water, is beat- en and kneaded, to render it ductile, and of uniform consisten- cy, and, to drive out the air, that may be in it.
4. The forming the several articles on a lathe or in a mould.
5. When the articles are sufficiently dried, they are baked in a furnace or kiln; but, in most instances, they are put in cases of infusible clay. The baking should be conducted slow- ly, and as the heat becomes more intense, the ware becomes more dense and compact, but at the same time, more liable to injury by alternate exposure to heat and cold. In this state,
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
when merely baked, the finer wares are called biscuit, and, in appearance, resemble white marble, or a tobacco pipe.
6. The last step, is the application of a coat of glazing to prevent the ware from soiling, and from absorbing liquids, when the vessels are employed in the arts of life. 'This enamel or glazing is varied and modified, according to the nature of the ware. It generally consists of some oxide, or earth, and in many cases, is vitrified before it is applied to the biscuit. The oxide of lead, is the common ingredient, in these enamels, being easily fusible. But its use is dangerous, when used in large quantities, to the health, in consequence of the action of acids upon it, or even of oils. The enamel is generally applied by immersing the ware, in water, in which, the enamel, reduced to a very fine powder, is suspended. The biscuit rapidly ab- sorbs the water, and thus, a thin coat of enamel is uniformly deposited on its surface. Sometimes the same degree of heat is required, to fuse the enamel and bake the ware. For the benefit of our Zanesville manufacturers of earthen ware, we have been to France, for information, for them, and now, step over to England, on the same errand. In England, they have employed a very ingenious method of applying colored figures to their wares. The figures are first cut on copperplates, the coloring matters, are mixed with a flux, and ground in oil, and applied to the copper plate; an impression is taken on a paper, which is applied to the ware, or biscuit, which is at the proper time, immersed in water, until by a gentle agitation, in the water, the paper falls off, while the impression of the figures, remains on the ware, which is then baked. By looking care- fully at some articles of queensware, we can discover, where the ends of the paper, met, on the article. It is said, that this art of printing figures on ware, was discovered by mere acci- dent. When an article was about to be put into the furnace, to be baked, a printed paper, adhering to a vessel, the potter sup- posing that the fire would burn the paper, and destroy it, let the paper remain on the vessel; but what was his surprise, on seeing every figure and letter of the burnt hand-bill, on the baked ware!
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GEOLOGY.
It ought to be known and remembered by every family, that no article, which is glazed with oxide of lead, can be safely used, in the preparation of food or drink, in which, acids are. contained ;- or, in which, an acid may be produced by fermen- tation. It is at the risk of health, perhaps of life, that pickles,. apple sauce, &c. are put into such vessels. Oils and fat ought never to be put in such vessels, because, they act on the oxide of lead, and endanger the lives of those who use them, in their food.
Bricks and tiles, are usually composed of common feruginous clay, sometimes ground, and but seldom washed. To prevent. absorption of water by bricks exposed to the weather, a glaze may be applied, at a trifling expense, by throwing common salt into the kiln, when at its greatest heat. The ancient Egyptians. and Babylonians dried their bricks in the sun.
The Hessian crucibles, are composed of a refractory clay and sand, moderately fine. Others are made of old pots, or, crucibles reduced to a fine powder, or, a coarse one, in the- place of sand, then black lead is mixed with it.
Manufactories of fine porcelain, have long been established, in Saxony, and, at Sévres in France ;- at Berlin, in Prussia; at Vienna, in Austria, at Naples, and at several towns, in Eng- land. They are, or have been established at Philadelphia, and New York, and may soon be established in Ohio. Why the- manufacture of the common Liverpool ware, should not have been yet established in America, is surprising, but, as we have- all the materials which enter into the composition of this ware,, let us hope, that the ware will soon be made here.
It requires experience and skill, and the first manufacturer may be ruined by undertaking to introduce this art, but it will: certainly be introduced into Ohio, before many years, we feel assured.
COAL,
Occurs in nearly every county east of the Scioto river, in our hilly region, but, is most abundant, in Gallia, Lawrence,
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
Meigs, Scioto, Athens, Hocking, Washington, Morgan, Mus- kingum, Perry, Licking, Coshocton, Guernsey, Belmont, Mon- roe, Jefferson, Harrison, Carroll, Columbiana, and Tuscarawas counties. It is found in Portage county, near the Cuyahoga river.
It burns easily, with a whitish flame, yielding a black smoke, and a bituminous odour. Its color is black, and it soils the fin- gers, when touched. Sometimes, it is combined with sulphur and iron. Some beds, especially, in Licking and Guernsey counties resemble, in appearance and distinctive characters, the canel coal of England.
We find the following minerals connected with our coal, in this state, viz: 1. friable, micaceous and feruginous sandstones, coarse or fine grained. 2. Shale, or argilaceous slate, some- times micaceous, and often bituminous, presenting impressions of leaves and vegetables, sometimes of fishes. 3. Beds of marl and compact limestone, flint rock, and hard clay. 4. Ar- gilaceous iron ore, or pudding stone, cemented by iron ore.
This coal is almost always found in strata, and there are three such strata, extending from Zanesville, to Wheeling, in Vir- ginia. There is one stratum near the surface ;- secondly, an- other stratum, a considerable depth below it, and a third one, a- bout two hundred feet below the upper one. The upper stra- tum, in some places, is washed away, being near the surface. It is a thin one ;- the second one is thicker and better, and the lower stratum is not so good for fuel, as the two strata above it.
On the whole, we may safely conclude, that we have coal enough, and more than enough, to last forever, for all the uses, ' to which, we shall put it, in all ages, yet to come. The coal, iron ore, and salt water, are all abundant in the same region. They form materials sufficient, to support and sustain millions of industrious, healthful, happy human beings, so long as man shall dwell on this earth.
These three articles, furnish sources of wealth, of health and happiness, that will endure, and become, more and more valua- ble and useful, forever.
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GEOLOGY.
PRAIRIES IN OHIO.
There are two species of natural meadow, which in popular language, are called Prairies. The name is derived from the early French travelers; who, in their own language, called them Prairies, or meadows. They are clothed with tall grass and flowering plants in the spring, summer and autumnal months, and on the whole, produce an aspect, in those months, on a first view, very agreeable. It must be confessed though, from their uniformity and sameness, having few or no hills in them, that their beauties soon become tiresome to the weary traveler, who traverses these plains; for such is their uniformity in appear- ance, that after riding all day across them, on looking around us at night, we fancy ourselves exactly where we started in the morning.
WET PRAIRIES, generally, have a rivulet winding its devious way through them. Its waters are of a reddish hue, of a disa- greeable flavor to the taste, and unfit for the use of man. They are sometimes very wet and miry, and it is not uncom- mon for many of them during the winter and spring, to be cov- ered with water to a considerable depth. Lying, as they do, either on almost a dead level, or surrounded by higher grounds, the water which accumulates on their surface, runs off slowly, while the main body of it is left, either to stagnate, or to evapo- rate, under the influence of a summer's sun.
On the north side of Circleville, commences a wet prairie, extending northwardly, several miles. In width from east to west, it averages from half a mile, to one mile. Its descent, towards the south, is about one foot in a mile, as ascertained by a competent engineer, employed for that purpose, by our Canal Commissioners. The Ohio and Lake Erie Grand Canal, passes through it from north to south. A small rivulet winds its way, from near its centre, towards its southwestern corner, where it finds itself in the bottom lands near Hargus's creek; and a sim- ilar rivulet discharges its turbid waters into the Scioto river, near the north western corner of this natural meadow. Near 4 C
.
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
its centre, is its highest elevation, owing to the mouth of " Dry run," being discharged there, from the east. A ridge of land of considerable elevation, in some places, separates this prairie from the Scioto, on the West, the river being from one fourth, to a half mile distant from its western edge. These particulars must supply the absence of an accompany- ing map.
Several years since, for the double purposes of making a fence, and of draining a portion of these wet lands, a ditch was dug in them of considerable length, and from appearance, we should say, it was four feet wide, and as many in depth. ' By examining this ditch, while the digging was going on, as well as the materials excavated from it, we ascertained that this prairie contained a great abundance of peat. We have speci- mens of it, which burn briskly, and produce a good degree of heat. Its quality is of the very best species; it exists in quan- tities entirely sufficient, amply to supply with fuel, the sur- rounding country, for ages yet to come. It is composed of fibres, and is of that species called "compact." Similar peat exists in a prairie through which the main road from this town to Columbus passes, six miles south of the State Capitol. It exists in all the wet prairies, which we examined for it, in this county, and in those of Madison, Champaign, Clark and Mont- gomery. In December, 1814, we found it in the wet prairie, adjoining to, and east of the town of Urbana. While on the same tour, we saw similar peat, in the prairie skirting the Mad river, from near to Springfield, Clark county, almost all the way to Dayton, situate at the confluence of the Mad river, with the Great Miami. The prairie north of Circleville, appears to have been the bed of some considerable stream, the Scioto river perhaps. In some places it is four feet from the present surface, to the ancient one. On the latter, once stood a thick forest of white cedar trees; these trees now lie on the ancient surface, in different stages of decay. Some of them appear to have been broken down by violence, others were turned up with their roots, entire, while others seem to have mouldered away, and died of old age. We have a fragment of one of these
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GEOLOGY.
trees*, which has on it, evident marks of an axe, or of some other sharp edged tool. From its appearance, since the axe was applied to it, this fragment must have lain many, very many centuries in the earth, where it was interred four feet below the present surface. There can be but little doubt, that the axe used, was owned by one of the people, who crected the an- cient works herc. The whole prairie was once a cedar swamp; and from undoubted sources of information, we are satisfied that many of our wet prairies were once cedar swamps also. Near Royalton, in Fairfield county, and in several places in the west- ern part of Pickaway county; and, also in Warren county, sim- ilar proofs of the former existence of cedar groves in wet prai- ries, have been discovered. Time, and the accumulation of a decp soil, on the former surface, have made thesc prairies what they are.
We have seen the bones of deer and other animals reposing on the ancient surface of these natural meadows; and we con- fidently expect to be able to find here, in great numbers, the bones of the great mastodon of CUVIER. The bones of that animal, found near Jackson Court House, in this State, were discovered on the ancient surface of a wet prairie. A tooth in my possession, disinterred in the bank of "Plum run," three miles west of mo, was discovered in a situation exactly similar. Many porsons seem to have adopted the idea, that the mam- moths found in such places, were mired there and thus lost their lives. That individuals of that family, might have thus died, no one will pretend to doubt; but all the remains of that an - mal, discovered in Ohio, so far as we know, secm to have bc- longed to such as died a natural death; their bones having been scattered about in confusion, in a manner entirely similar to those of our domestic animals which die of old age or disease. I know of no skeleton of that animal's being found in this state, though parts of them, especially the teeth, are very often dis- covered. They are washed out of the banks of small streams, passing through wet prairies. The teeth of the animal being
* This specimen was deposited in Letton's Museum. Cincinnati.
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
less destructible than other parts of the skeleton, may be the reason why these are so often found; yet, I suspect, that, by examining the earth around where the teeth are procured, whole skeletons might be discovered-or nearly whole ones. It is true, that teeth of the mastodon are frequently found in and about Pickaway Plains, lying on the present surface of the earth; but these were doubtless brought and left where they are now found, by the Indians. These teeth, thus found, were near the dwelling houses of the aborigines, and no search has been made for the remaining parts of the skeletons.
Where teeth are found in situ, further search ought always to be made, which would doubtless lead to the discovery of other relics, highly valuable. At the time when our wet prai- ries were cedar swamps, and presented almost impenetrable thickets, it is evident enough, that they were frequented by the great mastodon and other wild animals; and that man was here also, then, or very soon afterwards, appears equally evi- dent, from the marks which he has left, of his labor and his art, on the fragment of a tree, above mentioned.
The fear of rendering myself tedious to the reader, admon- ishes me to quit the ancient abode of the mammoth, and describe
THE DRY PRAIRIES .- They are not, as in Kentucky, under- laid with limestone; nor have we, in this part of Ohio, any barrens thus underlaid. Ours are, so far as we know and be- lieve, in appearance like the bottom lands along our streams. The surface is a rich, black, deep loam, underlaid with peb- bles, which are water worn, rounded and smoothed. Many of these natural meadows, lie high above any stream of water, now, or probably ever in existence .- If we have any tracts in Ohio, very properly denominated DILUVIUM, Pickaway Plains, three miles below Circleville, belong to that class of forma- tions. This is a dry prairie, or rather was one not many years since. This prairie is about seven miles long, and near- ly three miles broad. It was in this plain, that a human skel- eton was dug up, which circumstance was mentioned by me in a former volume of Silliman's Journal, to which I refer the
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