Nebraska advertiser., 1869-03-04
Coal ln Nehras1ka.

5. lsetasOf Advertiser during my so
journ at Lincoln, I examined all ofthe
works on Geology, that there is in the
State Library, in order to form an
opinion as to whether we can reason
ably hope to find coal in paying guam
titles In this portion of Nebraska.
From all the information I could
get, I am Of the opinion that there is
coal here, but that it is two hundred
or more feet below the level ofthes sur
face Of ihe Missouri river.
Thegeneral dip of the rocks in north
western Missouri, in Kansas and Ne
braska, is to the north and west.
At TT. Scott and other places in
southern Kansas, there is an out-crop
Of coal several feet thick. This strata
sinks as we come north, and near the
Ssnses river there is another vein
crops out of less thickness. I under
derstand this last vein TO be identical
with the vein at Lexington and else
where in Missouri.
The State Geologist of Kansas esti-
mates that this last vein is about one
hundred and forty feet below the level
ofthe Missouri river at Leavenworth.
David Dale Owen, in his geological
reconnaissance of this country in 1910,
came TO the Missouri river at Council
Bluffs, and descended the river to its
mouth. He says: "The base of the
hills under this mari is gravel and
drift, the whole resting on carbonifer-
Gus strata" This was at Council
Bluffs.
Again: 'iThe first locality where
had an opportunity of inspecting the
carbOniferous rock in place, on the
Missouri was at Bellvue."
At this place the rock was ten or
twelve feet above the water, but at
Key creek or Rock Bluffs, it was one
hundred feet, and a few miles further
down the same rock was forty feet
above the water. Showing that there
Is a wave in the strata, the summit of
which is at Rock Bluffs.
HAbOve Fair Sun Island" this is
evidently Sonora Island, "micaeeous
sandstones are seen at the heighth of
from thirty to forty feet, with some
calcarreous intercalatious, underlaid
by black bituminous shale, and brown
encrinital limestone"
This is the first place where shale is
seen, but from there down, itcrops out
in many places. Again he writes:
"The first workable bed of coal
which I encountered in my descent of
the. Missouri, was at Wellington. It
is a few feet above the level of the
river. At Lexington it is fifty feet
above the river"
At Lexington he was assured there
was another vein below the surface of
the river, which believe to be the
same as the Ft. Scott vein.
We all know, that at Nebraska City,
and at various places in Johnson, Paw
nee and Richardson counties, there is
a vein of coal, variously stated to be,
from twelve to twenty-five inches
thick. The question naturally arises:
Is this the same vein that crops outat
Lexington, Missouri, and in Kansas,
near the Kansas river? 1 think not,
and base my belief on the. fact, that
the general dip of the rocks is to the
north and west, and as the State. Geol-
Ogist of Kansas estimates that vein to
be one hundred and forty feet below
the surface of the river at Leaven-
worth. 1 assume it to be at least two
hundred feet below the riverat Brown
vile.
That we are in the upper part of the
carboniferous series, I am confident.
The Magnetism limestOnes are above
the coal measures, and as we go north
and west, we come to this kind of
and in northern and central
Nebraska we find the chalk fomatiOn.
I have now given "the reason for
the faith that is in me-" if any person
can throw any additional light on this
I, for one, viii be glad to hear
from them.
There is a man at Nebraska City,
who has a patent borer. I am told
that he will bore in a nine inch hole,
one thousand feet deep for fifteen
hundred dollars.
do not think it would be necessary
to bore over five hundred feet at this
place, and If coal can be found at less
than that depth, it will not cost as
much to mine it, as it would to strip
off eight feet of earth at the surface.
w. A. P.