The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-04-25
ALONG THE BANKS
OF The C0NGAREE.
Student Biologists Maks an
Interesting Trip.

Student G6OIOglStS MaAs du
Interesting Trip.
The class in geology at the South
Carolina college, under DR. Glenn,
takes from time to time excursions
into the field to study in practical
way the geology and physiograghy
of the region around Columbia
Special rates have been secured from
the railroads for these trips and last
Saturday the class spent tie day
studying parts of Rlchland, Orange
burg aud Sumter counties
The early Charleston train was
taken to Congaree, where the first stop
was made To the right there tow
wered near by the almost preclpltous
vet we'll wooded bluffs that rise near.
| " $50 feet above the river swamp
and overlooked for miles the Conga
rec which in numerous places is seen
| to be cutting the bluffs away and
carving the materials down stream
to deposit them in the swamp lower
down or carry them to the sea to be
dropped near it's mouth AID build
up deposits that may some day be
lifted above the waves and joined to
the seaward margin of our State as
new. born land.
A few huDdred yards up the track
the the railroad cuts across the nose
of a bill and in this Cut the class
found a good section for study
Rising into view near one end,
reaching considerable height Of
sight toward the other end of the
cut was seen a formation to which
geologists have given the name Po.
tomac. 1t is made up Of beds OF
coarse mealy-lookirg sand separated
by beds of tough, compact clays
often times brilliantly colored: Into
these beds of sand abundant water
enters where they are exposed as in
this case st the surface of the
ground. These beds lie Oh the
granite or other ancient rocks and
sink further beneath the surface as
they 60 toward the sea so that
while they are found in Orangeburg
at the surface several hundred feet
above the sea, they ere reached in
the Charleston ar.eslap wells
at nearly 1000 feet beneath
sea level Their position and
character are OF great Importance
to the people Of ali the low country,
since their sandy strata are water
bearing aud when bored into give
artesian wells
In this cut there rested on the Po.
tomac some feet of red sands to
which the name Lafayette is given
This usually reddish and usually
sandy formation forms the surface OF
large part of tbs low country OF
South Carolina and is spread over
the underlying formations in thin
sheet that wraps both hill and valley
If this thin veneer could be stripped
off the low country the surface with
its hills and valleys along and near
the rivers would not be much differ
ent from what it is now
Along the line separating the 70.
tomac and the Lafayette were found
many we'll rounded quartz pebbles
usually cemented by iron into
crust of ironstone With these peb-
bles were found numerous partly
rounded masses composed OF innum-
erable small shells and shell ffag
ments These shells belong to
species that lived only during Eocene
time and show that when the sea
rolled inward over the low country
at the beginning of Lafayette time,
the waves along the shore beat
against Eocene she'll limestone some
where near this spot and tore OF
fragments to roll and round in the
surf and deposit with the sands form
ing the Lafayette Thus in imaglna-
ton one catches glimpse of the
breakers of the sea of that distant
tine and hears them thunder as they
break along the shore
The class climbed from this point
to the top of the hill to blend the his
toric with the scientific in visiting
the site of Fl Motto of Revolutionary
fame The mound thrown up by
Maricn and Lee when besiegiDg it.,
was seen and on the crest of the bill
small Pile of brick and stone alone
mark the site of the chimney of Mrs
Notes house around which the
British fett was bui!t-a fiji site for .
memorial shaft
From this point magnificent view
was bad up and down the Congaree
and across in Sumter The line Of
bold hills overlooking the Congaree