Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1852-02-05
From the Indiana State Jomnal.l
DR.. II. L. Browns Lecture on the Geology of
Iud



avoided, or were explained as be comprehended
by all present And this Of itself speaks much for the
Lecturer for it is seldom that the professional for
his scientific requirements when addressing gen.
eral audience. In Geology especially, it is difficult to
avoid technical terms and orms Of expression, BECAUSE
the speaker remarked is the youngest Of the Sci
have not become sufficiently amarized to the intelligent
TO be readily understood even by the oil common
words.
The Dr. divided Geology into three parts: Scientific
Geology; Economic Geology; and Scenic Geology. He
confined his remarks the second of these divisions
better exhibiting the practical utility of the Science.
BY diagram, which he had prepared, he exhibited the
various strata Of rocks those which have no traces oil
vegetable animal remains showing that their iorma-
ton anterior to vegetable life, and those stIAta
which abound in such remains. 1t is by these remains
that the Geoogst the various changes the world
has undergoneirom the period before vegetables exist
ed up to vegetable and animal hle and finally to the
existence of man.
Originally these strata lay in horizontal direction to
the earths surface and had they continued in this posi-
on our knowledge of these rocks would have been
remely limited But by some commissions Of nature,
the lowest stratum, like the granite, upheaved 10
the earths surface, bringing TO view all the superior
strata The position of these existing in Indi-
shown by the diagram, in a manner that words
cannot do. The vicinity Of Cincinnati was point where
the lower strata thrown 10 the surface, and
passed, in a western direction these strata became
deeper and deeper beneath the earhs surface until the
Wabash was reached, when they began rise. From
From Cincinnati Madison the rock found was the blue
arglaceous rock formed of clay which is to be
IN the deep dgglns. FROM tnat point 10 the loot oil
the Falls of the Ohio the sandstone is found and next to
this and extending within a few miles of Canneon is
the mountain limestone AT this latter point il found
COAL and with it iron ore and salt water, which extend
into Illinois, These back different lengths
into Indiana be visible, and in places,
indianapolis they deeply covered with soil
/ to be entirely lost.
The Lecturer then proceeded to comment the val
of these strata for building purposes. The blue argyll
laceOus rock was almost useless This was the kind OF
rock used for the foundation of the capitol Indanapo-
| lis In II uufQr he pflu of
atmosphere and he supposed that in twenty hive years
more it would be destroyed. When first quarried it
very hard and thus deceived the wokmen. This ina
blty TO resist the influence OF the atmosphere arises
from the colorng matter, which is formed by certain
amount OF oxygen combined with iron When exposed
to the atmosphere additional amount of oxygen is
absorbed and the size increased This increase in vol
ume crGmbes the stone, and thus exposes new sur
face TO be In like acted upon by the atmosphere
The yellow sandstone has nothing Of this c,lorng
ter and consequently remains good.
The mountain limestone The NEST durable and
the best Ii was such as the locks of the canal here
are built Of 1t extended through Parke, Putnam Ow-
en-, Monroe, Lawrence, and Washington counties, and
found in layers Of various thicknesses and qualities
This rock differed from the others in its formation. Ii
was crystalzed rock, and endured the extremes of
heat and cold. If il had the cooring matter Of the
argiliaceOus rock, 1t would withstand thr atmospheric
influences. From the termination of this rock, Of
caTbonierOus rUck found, such Shae, coal, sc
The thickness Of the coal varied much, the
center Of the stratum was approached. On the Wabash
he had seen them, Lodi, from u trace in thick
ness nine feet, and had been Informed BY persons
boring Tor salt water that they had passed through
seams eighteen feet in thickness.
This coal bed was perhaps the most extensive in the
/ world Commencing about twenty miles in Kentucky
ton through Indiana and Illinois to Iowa. Its northern
termination had been ascerained but it had been
traced far Fond du Lac Its supposed length was
about 600 miles, and widest bread IN about 200 1t con-
tanned about $4,000 square miles, Of which 1000,
tenth part in Indiana.
This coal different from the Pittsburgh coal in
having more btumen and less coke. The anaiy SIS of
the latter by Prof Johnson showed tina; it had Of fixed
carbon 50 40 bumen 81 90 and of earthly matter 10
Specimens of our coal had been exhibited containing sui
phur, but the Pittsburgh coal contained it also, when
lying near the surface OF the earth. This derived
from the iron but coal had of when taken
from the seams not exposed Our coal preferred
for the manufacture of gas. We had no anthracite coal
his was produced by being subjected to heat that
consumed the bitumen leaving nothing but the COKE
which was pressed, by the weight OF the eath to its
present density.
The lecturer referred to the salt well at Lodi TWAS
as good as found at similar depth the Muskngum
| and Kanawha rivers. AT Lodi the depth of the well
was 600 feet, but the wells those rivers they found
necessary to sink from l2C0 to 1900 feet Here DIR.
Brown explained his theory for the existence
of salt water He maintained that the remains imbed-
ded in the rocks showed that the whole
ed with the ocean, that IN the upheavng of these
the water could find vent, but remains between the
strata following their dip. BY sinking well through
these strata the water is found the DEEPER the greater
the quantity, and the stronger the water. Hence he
concluded that by digging as deep on the Wabash as
on the Muskingum or Kanawha, good and abund-
ant water be found; for the same and equal causes
produce the salt of both dips
The lecturer then noticed tie character of the soil of
Indiana East of the mountains the earth was formed
by the decomposition and destruction of the rocks and
the character of the soil could easily be inferred from
that OF the rock beneath it. But in Indiana the soil was
drIlt which, during former condition of the earth,
had been by the action oil the water brought from the
north. 1t contained remains Of almest every strata
The boulders oil the nork granite and our gravel
and sands furnished specimens Of all kinds of rock thus
showing that our soil contained the greatest combination
OF fertile elements. This drift brought with il remains
OF gold and copper The gold had been dsenga ged from
decomposed quartz rock and deposited in small quant
ties II found in Brown county. He thought thai
this quartz rock existed in the north and when dscov
cred would be another California. The copper he sup
posed had been brought from the vicinity of Lake Supe
ror.
dant in the coal regions. Much of this yielded 40
per cent oil pure ron and seldom less than 40 per cent
Yet our railroads made of iron brought from Wales
where the does yield than 10 per cent He
remarked that he had valuable displaced in ex-
cavang track, and the iron laid upon it brought across
the ocean. Thus great natural We're
dsregarded, and employment given to foreign labor in
stead OF to He was of opinion that il was not
good policy to send our material the East
ern States, Tor the product dearer by the of
transportation both of the material and of the man.
uactured goods Our true policy to bring the
uacturers among to place them by the side of the
agrlcuturst. And that policy demanded thorough |
exploration oil our mineral wealth; its extent and kind
and particular location that the manufacturer in
coming here, would know where to make his location
and how TO conduct his business All the States around
US, even Illinois, making Geological survey
or had already completed it, and Indiaaa enterprise
ought not to be the least among her sister States Her
railroads were furnishing the means of cheap convey
ance through every portion of the State would thus
ald In developing cur mineral resources Had the road
to Terre Hante been completed the city of Indanap polls
could have been supplied with coal this winter for ten
a huQha al II. l. Il