The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-01-20

=
est. First half mile below the can
a in the railroad cut, occurs nodules ar
" pockets of a very pure silica and fin
= = which might be utilized in the ma
= ing of glass and porcelain. End, ne;
), nortbward is fnnnd the great sandsto,
: deposit, which is, l suppose, peculiar1
the McEnery Quarry, commencing
Deloache's bluff on Red river, it is sal
= to extend about seven miles in a sout
westernly direction, and one mile
n width. We saw about half of it, til;
n is from the river to the sulphur sprins
Adding together the various points {
which the layers are more or less es
, posed, | think may safely say, l hav
seen so or 80 feet of it;-and thong
:: my data are not perfectly satisfactor,
l believe it safe to say that this grea
, mass of clays, sands and sandstones
belongs to what Prof. Hilgard call
the grand gulf group. l say my oh
servatlons are not perfectly satisfacto
ry, tor.the reason that, as in almos
every portion of the formation in Mis-
slss'pl and Alabama, there are no fos
sils as yet discovered. Now two mile
north ef the Quarry lies considerabl,
development of an iudurated mari
highly calcareous, and filled will
shells and casts of shells. On accoun
OF the high water, it was not practica
BILE to reach the spot, but the fore
thought of Mr. Goodwin, in part rem
edled, in part remedied the defect, by
having had a few specimens collected
Will not undertake from this defec.
tive collection pronounce upon tho ex-
act horizon of these shells; but it is
enough to say that certainly they be-
long to a lower and much older for
nation than the grand gulf.
Reporter What is the quantity,
and to what uses could it be put
Professor-Returniug to the stone
deposits within the grand gulf group
and within the territory of the Meme
ry Quarry, it is evident that the guam
THY of stone is very great. Beginning
at the bottom, the rock seen at De.
loach's Bluff and constituting its bed.
now mostly covered with water, is evi.
IDENTITY part of it, though it must be
OF little valne except at very low wa
ter. Overlying this are 80 or 40 feet
OF green1sh sandy clay; next above
the clay and belonging to its upper
LAYERS, comes soft sandy stone 4 feet
thick. This is we'll seen on Bayou
Nerand. at the falls from Cypress lake,
where it might be quarried to any ex
tent. 1t stands fire very we'll, and
would be we'll suited for chimnevs and
the structure OF wells not much expos
ed to the weather. Twenty feet above
this lie the rocks of the quarry special
ly. These consist of many layers of
varied quality, filling the grand gulf
rlayey sands depth of 20 feet. But
little OF this has been exploited 50 as
10 be actually seen, the lowermost of
hem not atall. Descending, as work
ed in few spots, three or four of the
upper layers may be examined. The
very topmost, about six inches. is a
ight gray sand stone easily worked,
md got ont in blocks or slabs of that
thickness and. of any length and
breadth. The next layer, some ten
inches, is jointed, is more compact and
lurahle, but consequently not so easily
rot out. The next reached at the rock
nt is about twenty inches thick, very
'ard, of fine grain and almost blue, or
steel gray. The next layer seen in
mother place Off not the same) is fonr
Get thick, and in other particulars ex-
city similar to the preceding. Be-
cath these lies another bed rock, no.
here qnarried Or exposed so as to de- .
cribe it, though it occurs in the hill, :
Ugh up, and could also be easily quar- ;
ed. AS to your next question on the I
alter part of this one, l must decline
} speculate. | suppose it could be 4
ut to any use that hard sand stone
'uld be used for. 1t breaks easily f,
nough under the hammer, but from its
ne quastzitic structure would be diff
ut to dress. Not being stone cut
#, a builder or professional engineer,
am unable to express an opinion.
Reporter-Can it be quarried at
oderate cost?
Professor-The cost of quarrying? n
his is another question cannot an
yer, for am not an experienced mi
IT. AS to the structure of the soil
I'd hills however, l must say, l can.
1t see why there should be much diff
'ulty. But little earth lies on top of
9 rock anywhere, and the whole of
is much above the bottoms and ba-
JUS. Drainage from the bottom of re
e lowest layers could be effected ca
y, and its contiguity to trAnsporta-
IN by both river and railroad gives
peculiar advantages. 10
Reporter-Isit suitable for building r.
Hast or macadam purposes?
Professor-Not being an expert in A
ese matters, l must be excused from
wing opinions. From what | have
IN on the streets of Shreveport and
e railroad track, | must say however