The Van Buren press., 1878-12-24

Is a most eligible natural mill site, and an olt
mill has been run for mary years, Rich dne
wide h0ttom-lands lie around 1t and it'
hetShooih0ou springs arc frequent anu iht
timber fine; coal shales are disclosed III many
places; 1t Is distant from Van Buren eight
cen miles nofthwafd.
On Lees Greek, still northward from Van
Burcn, IS fine coal bed. of the thickness ol
| tWeniy-eight to tilirtY-twp Inches, Coal has
! been tried by smiths. and BY them termed fine
| 1t Is easily qnalricd and in quantity lt Is
| kDown as the NoOten bank. This coal, like
all the coal in this field, improves IN quality
and thickness as 1t Is penetrated.
Near Robert Sutherlands S on Lees Creek. >.
| u t. II, Il, y il a coal bed, which has been
worked; its thickness we do not know. The
bottom and upands here are fertile. Grapes
abound on the hillsides rs they do elsewhere
In Crawford. The water l. abundant and
good shales occur from this to Joseph Bry-
ants on Lees Greek, at the foot OF Boston
Mountain, y. 20, T,l2, X. 81, with occasional
outcrop of limestone. Great bluffs of sand
stone rise up and are full Of iron, and yield
good building rock. The timber Is excel
lent, white oak being among the prevalent
oaks and pine being absent. a short distance
from Bryant's. from the Boston Mountain,
runs the Blackblirn's Fork of Lees Creek, rich
In coal banks. This Is good, workable coal,
exposed for thirty inehes has been used by
Smiths for years. and into which have been
sunk fourteen pits. This coal, like the great
body of the coal so far used in this valley, is
mi-bitumnous. Coal has also, for years,
been quarried and trans ported from pits on
Cove Greek, a tributary of Lees Creek, in the
north west corner of Crawford; it has been
hauled by smiths forty miles. This coal is
very good Its thickness is about twenty
inches. Boston Mountain Is famous for its
very rich benches, hillslopes and table land,
the soil being enriched by the limestone and
L.
with bottom growth OF timber, such as ash
walnut, pawpaw, oak. rich underground, vine
ane shrub, It's peculiarly adapted for grape,
tubacco and pastures. the numerous springs
aflording plenty OF water. In early times
cane (eeds) grew on their tops; it produces
extraordinarily Of all the grains, corn and
grasses.
In the neighborhood of Shannon's Mill. S.
10, Il. 10, II 30, on Cedar Creek which empties
into Frog Bayou. quartz fragments have been
discovered, and lead also. The water il suili-
cient for the supply Of mills, and the low
lands rich. Coal shales also display in this
tract of the country. There il saline spring
in 5. 80, T. H. X. 80, from which the brine
many years ago, was worked. and the yield
of salt good. Boring, without doubt. would
bring stronger brine and make its boiling
profitable to the salt manufacturer, even in
this close proximity to the eXhaustless saline
waters. springs and deposits of the east Chero-
kee country. In sections 81 and "a are Heard
and Pennywitt Sulphur Springs, from which
ruil health giving waters. and which are fa-
nous in their locality. The precipitates are
white, and were they improved BY digging,
cleansing them out and walled they would
probably equal springs in Virginia and Ken
lucky, and become resort for spring visitors.
There are other sulphur and chaly beate
springs in this county. On Frog Bayou or
Clear Creek, near Frazier's gin, the land is
very fine, as Frog Bayou land all is.
The land is exceedingly fertile, the timber
most excellent. the range unequaled and the
water wholesome = generally obtained for
house use by digging. or in csterns, and
abundance of stock water everywhere There
is no better tract inviting the immigrant,
none better for the occupation to be made by
the laborers on your road"