History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families, Part 24

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895
Number of Pages: 1532

USA > Texas > Harris County > Houston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 24
USA > Texas > Galveston County > Galveston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 24

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Smoky Quartz .- The central mineral re- gion produces fine erystals of smoky quartz of deep color. Barringer IIill, Llano county, is one of the best localities.

Rose Quartz .- Beautiful shades of rose quartz are found in Llano and Gillespie counties.

Amethyst .- Gillespie county furnishes some amethysts of fair color, but the deeper- colored ones have so far been found only in the Sierra Blanca or Quitman region.

Thetis Hair Stone .-- This variety of lim- pid quartz, with fine needles of actinolite scattered through it, is found in the northern part of Gillespie county, near Enchanted Roek.

Beryl .-- Some very large, fine erystals of beryl have been found in Gillespie county, and occasionally in Llano county.

Garnets are abundant both in the central mineral district and in trans- Pecos Texas. Fine cabinet specimens showing both large and attractive crystals are in the musemm, but no systematic work has been done in working the deposits. There are several colors -- brown, black, and green -- and they occur in abundance. Among the localities may be mentioned Clear Creek valley on the Burnet and Bluffton road, Babyhead, King mountains, and similar areas in Llano and Gillespie counties, in the Quitinan mountains and other localities in trans-Pecos Texas. In Llano county fine crystals are also found of idoerase, or Vesuvinnite, which is near the garnet in character.

Black tourmaline is abundant in certain granites of Llano connty, and will be useful for all purposes for which it can be em- ployed, although there is no prospeet of specimens of value for cabinet purposes being found.

Chalcedony .- Some fine specimens of chial- eedony have been found in Travis county in the neighborhood of the disturbanees caused by the Pilot Knob ernption. They al. o oceur in Presidio connty and other portions of west Texas.

Carnelians have been found in the vieinity of Van Horn, El Paso county.

Sardonya .- Beantiful specimens of sar- donyx are found in the trans- Pecos region in El Paso or Jeff Davis counties. A number of specimens are now in the State musenm.

Jasper .- In this same region are found handsome varieties of plain and banded jas- per, but, like the other deposits, there has been no attempt at development, and only a few specimens have been collected by per- sons happening on them. Pebbles of jasper are also abundant in the drift as far north as the Staked Plains.

Agate .- The occurrence of this beautiful stone has been mentioned in the former re- ports of this survey. It is found abundantly in several parts of west Texas and occasion- ally in the river drift of the Colorado. In west Texas they are found in a schistose ma- terial and seattered over the surface in large quantities, from fragments to boulders of . considerable size. The colors are rich, and the banded and fortification agates show beautiful bandings and stripes. Mors agates are also plentiful, and there is ample room for the establishment of an industry in this material, even if they are only colloeted for shipment abroad. The average price paid for rough agate for manufacturing purposes

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at Idar, Oldenburg, Germany, one of the principal manufacturing cities of this ma- terial, is about 25 cents per ponud, and the beauty of the varieties occurring in Texas would add materially to that price.

Pudding Stone .-- Of cqual beauty with the agates are some varieties of metamor- phosed padding stones brought from the lower mountains by Prof. Streeruwitz. They take fully us tine a polish, and the variety of color und shape of the inelusions are very pleasing.

Serpentine .-- Some of the serpentines of west Texas will be vnhumble as ornamentul stones. So far no " precious serpentine " has been found, but some of the red and green varieties will come into use as the region is developed. Central Texas also affords varie- ties which may be utilized.

Alubuster .- Alabaster of fine grain and transluceney occurs both among the rocks of the Cretnecons formation and in the gypsum region of the Permian. Its uses in vases and statuary are well known, and material suitable for any of these purposes can be secured in any desired quantity.

Pearls .-- Texas is one of the principal pearl-producing States of the United States. Mr. Kunz, in "Gems and Precious Stones," mentions one from Llano valued at $05, which was sold in New York. The pearls are found in the Unios, or fresh-water mus- sels, which abound in the Colorado, Llano and Coneho rivers, and many other streams in Texas. They have been collected in large numbers, and in colleeting them great oum- bers of the shell fish have been destroyed. In order to avoid this wholesale destruction and leave the animal to propagate more val- nable progony, it is recommended that in- struments similar to those used in Saxony and Bavaria be introduced here. One of

these is a flat iron tool, the other a pair of sharp pointed pliers, both fashioned for the purpose of opening the shells for examina- tion without injury to the animal, which, if no pearl is found, is replaced in the shonl.

Silicified Wood .-- While the greater part of the silicitied wood of the State is not of much value as an ornamental stone, there are certain horizons in the Fayette beds in which the wood has been opalized and presents a pleasant variety of color and banding. These will probably be used quite largely for vari- ous purposes in ornamental work so soon as their beauty is properly shown.

REFRACTORY MATERIALS.

Refractory materials, or those which will stand very high degrees of heat withont in- jury, are of the highest importance in mann- facturing. They enter into the construction of all furnaces for iron, or steel, or pottery, or glass, or the various other products of high temperatures, and are an absolute neces- sity in the proper development of such man- nfactures. Of such substances fire clay is doubtless the most important. The essen- tials for a good fire elay are not so much the proportions of silica and alumina, although the larger the percentage of silica the greater its refractory power scoms to be, but its free- dom from materials such ns lime, soda, pot- aslı, magnesia, or oxide of iron, which could unite with the silica and form a glass, and thus canse fusion.

Fire Clays .-- Of our Texas fire elays only two or three have had any decided or exten- sive trial. These are from the beds found in Ilenderson, Limestone and Fayette counties. The first two are found in connection with the timber-belt bede, the third in the Fayette beds. In use the brick made at Athens from

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

the Henderson county clay have proved to be of excellent quality. They have stood the severe test of the iron furnace nt Rusk and of some of the lime kilns, and are highly recommended for their good qualities. The briek from the beds of Limestone county are also of good quality, and proper care in their mannfacture will make them fully equal to any. The Fayette clays which have come under my notice, which are classed as fire clays, seem to be somewhat high in fluxing constituents, but more careful selection of the clays may entirely obviate this difficulty.

The fire clays are found usually in connee- tion with the lignite beds, and in the central coal field directly underlying the coal seans. They are therefore found scattered over a wide area of the State, but only a few of them have been examined by the geological survey. These are nearly all from eastern Texas, and were collected during one field season. While they have not yet been fully studied, numerons analyses have been made, and it is found that many of them are too "fat," or contain too much alumina for nse in the state in which they are dug, but require a large mixture of sand to correct the excessive shrinkage that would otherwise take place in drying them, amounting in somo specimens to one fourth of their origi- nal balk. Others, however, are of excellent quality, and careful selection of localities for mining will yield very favorable results, and clays be seenred suitable for brick for fur- naees, kilus, ovens, fire-boxes, retorts, saggers, and the many other similar articles.

Graphite, or Plumbago .- In the central mineral region are deposits of limited extent of an impure graphite in shales and schists. In view of the larger deposits of pure ma- terial in other localities it is not probable that this will be of inneh valne.

Soapstone .-- This highly infusible stone, which is used as firestone in stoves, hearths and furnaces, is found in large quantities. One of the best exposures is abont two miles sonth of west from Smoothing-Iron mount- ain, and the most favorable distriets for its further ocenrrence are that between Honse and Smoothing-Iron mountains and the King mountains, and to the west of that area in Llano and Mason counties; also southeast in Llano, Gillespie and Blanco counties. As a lining for furnaces and other purposes which do not require a very firm texture this ma- terial is fully adequate, and it can be ent or sawed into blocks or masses of any desired shape, with a perfectly smooth surface if desired.

Mica .- While mica is a very abundant mineral in both the central and trans-Pecos regions, it is not commonly of such trans- parency and size as to be commercially valu- able. Specimens are in the museum, how- ever, from both localities which combine these requisites, and it is entirely probable that workable deposits may be found. It is nsed in stove fronts, lanterns, ete, also in the mannfacture of wall paper and as a lubricant.

Asbestos .- Asbestos has often been re- ported from the central region, and many specimens have been received boaring that name. Upon examination this is found to be fibrolite, and may answer for many pur. poses for which asbestos is used as refractory material, but not for the finer uses in the manufacture of cloth, etc.

ROAD MATERIALS.

Among the various materials suited for road making are the large gravel deposits which are found in many portions of the State; some of the quartzitic sandstones

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

which occur in the Fayette beds (coast re- gion, from the Sabine to the Rio Grando, and from 40 to 150 miles wide); the eroded flints of the Cretaceous; some of the firmer limestones of the lower divisions of the Cre- taceous and the Carboniferous areas; the basalt of such areas as Pilot Knob in Travis county; some of the sandstones or siliceons iron ores of the iron region of east Texas; the granites and other toagh rocks of the central region are especially valuable, and similar rocks and the quartzites and por- phyries of west Texas will also prove of vale when transportation charges will admit of their nse.

The occurrence of asphaltum in various portions of the State has already been noticed, and its use as paving material is well known.

For the construction of sidowalks, in ad- dition to the material above mentioned, flag- stones are found in various localities.

MATERIALS FOR PAINTS.

Graphite has already been mentioned under refractory substances.

Ochre is a hydrated oxide of iron, usually containing more or less clay or sand and giving various shades of yellow, red and brown, The most valuable is that which on preparation farnishes the color called Indian red. Ochres are found in connection with the geode and nodular ores of east Texas, forming centers of the geodes, and also de- posits of limited extent. It is reported at many localities in the area covered by the timber-belt beds .. In the Cretaceous area good ochres occur in Uvalde and Val Verde counties, in the latter of which one locality has been developed to some extent and the material shipped. Other deposits have been

openel and worked very slightly for local use in different parts of the State.

Barytes is found in Llano connty, but has not been put to any use at all as yet.

OTHER ECONOMIC MATERIALS.

Sulphur .- Specimens of native sulphar of a high degree of parity have been received from Edwards county, but up to the present no detailed examination has been made to ascertain its quantity or the condition of its ocenrrence.

Sult .- Like many of the other valuable de. posits of Texas, the ocenrrence of common salt is widespread. Along the coast to the south- west are lagoons or salt lakes from which large amounts of salt are taken annnally. Besides the lakes along the shore many others occur through western Texas, reaching to the New Mexico line, while northeast of these in the Permian region the constant recurrence of such names as Salt fork, Salt creek, etc., tell of the prevalence of similar conditions. In addition to the lakes and creeks from which salt is secured by solar evaporation we have also extensive beds of rock salt.

That which is at present best developed is located in the vicinity of Colorado City, in Mitchell county. The bed of salt was found by boring at 850 feet, and proved to have a thickness of 140 feet. A vein of water was struck below it which rises to within 150 feet of the surface. This is pumped to the surface and evaporated, and the resulting salt purified for commerce.

In eastern Texas there have long been known low pieces of ground called "salines," at which salt has been manufactured by sink- ing shallow wells and evaporating the water taken from them. At one of these, Grand

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

Saline, in Van Zant county, a well was sunk, and at 225 feet a bed of rock salt was struck, into which they have now dng 300 feet with- ont getting through it. Many other similar salines are known in eastern Texas and west- ern Lonisiana, and the great deposits of rock salt developed at Petit Anse and Van Zandt under practically similar circumstances is certainly warrant enongh for boring at the other salines for similar beds. Some of these localities are in Smith and Anderson counties.

In the Carboniferous area many of the wells yield salt water, sometimes strong enough to render them unfitted for any ordinary purpose, but no attempt has been made at their ntilization. There are also brine wells in limited areas in central Texas.

Alkulies .--- The source from which the salts of potash and soda can be obtained in Texas are: The alkali lakes, where there is a large percentage of sulphate of soda (Glauber salts) deposited by the evaporation of the water. Its impurities consist of some sul- phate of lime, or gypsmm, and common salt.

Nitre, or saltpeter, was made from bat guano during the late war, but, the necessity for its manufacture ending, it was abandoned.

Alum .- The best material for the manu- facture of alnm is found in the clay of the lignitie portion of the timber belt, or Fayotte beds, which contain both pyritos and lignitic matter. Nearly all the material used in the production of alum in this country is im- ported.

Strontia. - Two minerals having this earth as a base (celestite and strontianite) are found in the lower magnesian rocks of the Cretace- ous of central Texas. It is found at Mount Bonnel near Austin, and in the vicinity of Lampasas, and can be expected to occur wherever the proper horizon of the Creta- ceons rocks containing it are found at the sur-

face. It is not only used in the form of nitrate for fireworks, but also in the manu- facture of sugar.

Epromite .- Crystalline masses of Epsom salts are found in the same series of beds that contain the strontianite and celestite. It is extremely doubtful, however, whether it can be made commercially valuable.

THE ARTESIAN WATER CONDITIONS OF TEXAS.

Artesian water is rain water which has fallen on some porous bed or stratum of earth and has followed the sloping course of this bed between other beds, which were sufficiently impervious to confine it until it has found an opening to the surface, either natural or artificial, at a lower level than its original source, through which it rises and flows off. When this opening is a natural one, it is a spring; when artificial, it is an artesian well.

The artesian-water conditions of a region are dependent upon its geology, topography and its rainfall. The geologie conditions are that there shall be a continuous porous stratum enclosed between two strata that are impervious. Topographically it is necessary that the exposed portion of this porous stratum-the " catchment " basin-be at sufficient elovation above that of the mouth of the wells to force a steady flow of water by hydrostatic pressure; and finally the rain- fall must be sufficient within the area cov- ered by the catchmeut basin to secure the steady supply of water. Unless all of these conditions be favorable there can be no con- stant supply of flowing water obtained.

For the purpose of this discussion, Texas is readily separable into three divisions,- the: Gulf Slope (Cenozoic), the Central Basin (Paleozoic) and the Western Mountain system.

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

The area covered by the Gulf Slope in- eludes all the region east and south of the western and northern boundary of the Grand Prairie plateau, which stretches south ward from the Red river to the Colorado, and thence westward to the Rio Grande. In area this comprises fully one-half of the State and by far the most thickly settled portion.

The Central Basin includes all that por- tion of the State west and north of the Grand Prairie, extending to the Gandalope monn- tains on the west.

The Western Mountain System covers the remainder of trans. Pecos Texas.

The Gulf Slope is in a certain degree a continuation of the topographie and geologic features of the States eastward which border upon the Gulf, but in some ways its differ- ences are as pronounced as its resemblances. Thus, with the exception of a little marshy ground in the southeastern corner, there is none along the entire coast. Differences in amount and character of rainfall and of temn- perature have also resulted in the production of a somewhat different topography, especial- ly toward the Rio Grande, and the soils of certain formations are of far greater fertility than those derived from rocks of similar age in the other States, owing to peculiar condi- tions of formation.

The different sediments which now appen covering the surface of this area wore huid down by the waters of a great sea, which in its present restricted basin we call the Gulf of Mexico.

Beginning at the coast in low and almost level prairies the ascent is gradual toward the interior, in'many places not exceeding one foot per mile for the first fifty miles. Through thiscomparatively level plain, which comprises the exposure of the strata em- braced under the general name of " coast

elays, " the streams move sluggishly in tor- tnous channels, and for the most part through an open prairie country, the only timber be ing along such water courses and in scattered motts or islands. As we pass inland this is succeeded by other belts whielt, having been longer subjected to erosion, show a surface more and more undulating as we recede from the gulf. The ascent is also more rapid, and some elevations of as much as 700 feet are found, as at Ghent mountain, Chero- kee county; bnt snch are unusual south of the Grand prairie. This character of country is continuous from the gulf to the western scarp of the Grand prairie, east of the Brazos river. West of the Colorado river the undn- lating country ends at the foot of the south- ern scarp of the Grand prairie, which is a line of elevations known as the Balcones, from the top of which the Grand prairie stretches away north and west to the Rio Grande. The eastern portion of these belts is heavily timbered, but throughout the greater portion-west of the ninety-sixth meridian-the quantity of timber rapidly de- creases and the prairie conditions become almost universal. The general elevation east and sonth of the Grand prairie is less than 500 feet.

The Grand prairie itself is a great platean, preserved in its present extent by the resis- tence to erosion afforded by its capping of limestones, and is a marked topographic fea- ture of the State. Beginning at Red river it extends in a gradually widening belt to the south, until its western border meets the Colorado in Lampasas county, from which point it is contracted rapidly until it finds its narrowest exposure in erossing the river in Travis county north of Austin. From this point west it broadens rapidly, until it is merged into the mountainous trans-Pecos

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

legion. Its height above the country on either side is variable. On its eastern border, from Red river to the Brazos, there is not that abruptness of separation which distin- guishes it at other places from the upper and lower formations. In the northern por- tion this plateau begins with an elevation of from 600 to 1,200 feet above sea level. West of the Colorado its northern edge reaches a height of 2,300 feet in the ridge which forms the divide between the water flowing into the Colorado and that flowing sonth. The south- ern border is, however, hardly ever more than 700 feet in height, and usually not so high. The western and northern edge of the Graud prairie is, generally speaking, topographically higher than the eastern and southern, and the dip of the beds is very gentle toward the sontheast.

The break between the Grand prairie and the Central Basin region is equally as decided as that between the undulating country and " Baleones' country " on the sonth, and were it not for its intimate relations, geologically, with the "Coastal Slope, " the topographic features of the Grand prairie would entitle it to be considered a division by itself.

Both topographically and geologically this area presents a gradnal fall from the interior toward the gulf coast, but the average slope of the surface toward the southeast ie less than the dip of the stenta in the same direc- tion, and as there has been no disturbances of sufficient magnitude to complicate the geology except the uplift which brought up the Bal- cones (and that of Pilot Knob and similar areas if it be later, as it possibly is), we find the outeropping edges of the beds of earliernnd earlier age as we pass from the coast to the interior. These various beds are exposed in bands of less or greater width, which are, in a general way, parallel with the present gulf coast.

The coast elays, which are the most recent of these, and which form a part of the pres- ent floor of the gulf, are very impervions, variously colored, calearoons clays, which often form bluffs along the bay shores and river banks. The level belt of this formation varies from 50 to 100 miles in width.

The Orange sands underlying these are mottled red and white sands which are well exposed below Willis, on the International & Great Northern Railroad, aud at other places. The Fayette beds, which underlie these, are made up also of sands and clays, but of entirely different character and structure. The sand greatly predominates, especially in the center, where great beds of sand and sandstone and millstone grit ocenr.

The clays, instead of being massive, are usually thinly laminated and of very light color wherever exposed to the air, and are fond both underlying and overlying the sands, as well as interbedded with them. They extend along the line of the Houston & Texas Central Railway from Waller to near Giddings. A study of these beds in the vicinity of Ledbetter showed nearly 400 feet of sandy strata included between the two series of clays.

The dip of the strata toward the gulf is not much greater than that of the surface of the country. For this reason the exposure of the sand-bed on the surface is very wide- a ciremmstance of greatest importance, as it gives an immense catchment area for the rain-water.

These Fayette sands form a range of hills and give rise to the most striking topo- graphic feature of the coast region. Every river in its passage to the gulf pays tribute to and is deflected by them. Many smaller streams have their course entirely determined by them, while the coast rivers, of which the

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

San Jacinto and Buffalo are types, have their origin on their southern slope. At Rock- land, in Tyler county, and along the various railroads that cross the area of these sands, as shown upon the map, typical sections can be seen. The base of these beds are sandy clays and sands, with some lignite.

The strata often contain carbonate of lime in appreciable quantities, and sulphur and gypsum are of frequent occurrence.

The timber-belt beds are composed of siliceous and glanconitie sands with white, brown and black elays, and have associated with them lignite beds sometimes as much as twelve feet in thickness; iron pyrites, gypsum and various bituminons materials also oecnr. Carbonate of lime is also widely disseminated throughout the beds, sometimes as limestone, but more often as calcareous concretions or in calcareous sandstones.

The basal clays are, as the name implies, beds of stratified clays and contain masses of concretionary limestone and large quanti- ties of gypsumn.

The Upper Cretaceous is composed in its upper members of great beds of clay some- what similar to the basal clays above, which were doubtless derived from these. This is underlaid by the Austin chalk, below which we find another series of clay shales over- lying the lower eross timbor sands,

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Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895 Number of Pages: 1532

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895
Number of Pages: 1532