MIISrJilRAL 'ti(rrcalfnrHl ^eBonrces THE PORTION OF TENNESSEE ALONG THE onati Soothern and Knoxville & Ohio Hailroads, INCLUDING THE COUNTRY BETWEEN THE TWO. BY J. B. KILLEBREW, Commissioner of *Ag.riG%iliure, Statistics Skid Mines. NASHVILLE: 2 2 JT^vjJl,,jEastman & Howell. 1876. § MiXEiLVL nisTKif r Mi:N^EIli^I. AGmCULTURAL RESOURCES OF THE PORTION OF TENNESSEE ALONG THE Cincinnati Soykrn and MA & Oliio Bailfoads, rNCLUDING THE COUNTRY BETWEEN THE TWO. BY J. B. KILLEBREW, Commissioner of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. NASHVTLLK; HC 107 TzK5 12 Ul ^ To His Excellency, Gov. James D. Porter: g I have received from various parts of the United States, 3 and especially from Europe, inquiries about the region traversed by the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. To meet i» this demand for information, and thus "attract capital ^ and labor to the State," I have spent several months in ' studying the country on both sides of the railway, its mineral resources and agricultural capabilities, and have 5 embodied the results of my observations in the accompany- o iug pamphlet. '^ I have the honor to be, :S Very respectfully, y J. B. KILLEBREW. 456709 MINERAL /GRlCniTURAL 1[ES0URCES OF THE POKTION OF TENNESSEE ALONG THE CINCINNATI SOUTHERN RAILROAD. The Cincinnati Southern Railroad has been a* favorite project of leading capitalists, citizens and engineers of Cin- cinnati and central Kentucky, for many years. It was probably first discussed in 1834. In 1837 Colonel W. A. Gunn, the present engineer in charge of surveys on the road, made a partial survey of a road leading from Cincin- nati in the general direction of Chattanooga. It is a re- mai'kable fact, and no small compliment to Colonel Gunn, that his judgment of forty years ago has been substantially approved and adopted as the line of the road now approach- ing completion. In those early days, and ever since, the Hon In the path which has deterred private capital from undertaking this great work, has been the Cumberland Mountain, whose rugged peaks have repelled any but the rudest civilization from an area nearly a hundred miles wide over which the route passes. To link Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Western New York, and Pennsylvania to the great mineral region and rich cotton belt of the South, by a line almost as straight as the bird flies, the iron chain must 6 Resources of Tennessee Along the ' « be dragged through the bowels of the everlasting hills, over dizzy chasms, through a trackless, forbidding wilderness. Much of this region in Southern Kentucky and Northern Tennessee lacks only the Indian, the grizzly and the snows to rival the Sierras of the North as a barrier to engineering skill and a terrifier of railroad investors. To say that Cin- cinnati has shown daring enterprise in the expenditure of $16,000,000 to span this dividing wall between Northern and Southern products, is faintly expressing the truth. No city in the civilized world ever voluntarily made such a venture in behalf of her own commerce and the upbuilding of her interdependent neighbors. Never was such a mag- nificent endowment so skillfully and honestly expended, in the history of American internal improvements. No chan- nel of commerce on the continent connects more important interests, and now has developed more "local" trade, than this will do. The agitation which finally took concrete form in this subject began just after the war — perhaps we might say it was renewed then — by a half dozen enterprising men in Cincinnati, and as many more in Chattanooga. Projects without number were discussed and abandoned. The ob- jective point, however, was kept steadily in view. Gradu- ally all schemes centered in one to build the road by Cin- cinnati for Cincinnati, and in the interests of commerce, as distinguished from the interests of boards of directors. The Constitution of Ohio had to be flanked in the enabling act. That done, the Southern charters were still to pro- cure. The Judiciary Committee in our own House of Rep- resentatives displayed hostility. The committee was voted down. Then a two years' siege was required to carry the works with which powerful interests had circumvallated the Legislature of Kentucky. One by one all these obsta- cles of men's creating gave way before the determined men who were managing the interest of Cincinnati. Meantime Cincinnati Southern Railway. 7 her citizens had voted ten millions of money with which to begin the work. Tiiese gigantic tasks were fairly begun in 1868. It required five years to complete the wordy pre- liminaries, and remove all the hindrances which written , and spoken eloquence could put in the way. The first contract was for boring Kings Mountain tunnel, sections 57 and 58, in Kentucky. It was signed December 12, ]873. Since then the work of grading and otherwise prejDaring the road-bed has been vigorously pushed. The trustees expect to finish the line ready for the cars — except- ing sideings and depots — by June 1, 1877. The road is 336 41-100 miles long. Its general direc- tion is north and south. The northern end bisects the Blue Grass region of Kentucky. The southern end, for about ninety miles, runs through a series of valleys that in fer- tility, beauty of scenery and healthful climate are not sur- passed in Southern France or Italy. The middle section traverses a region rich, beyond the comprehension of the unskilled observer, in latent resources of mineral and agri- cultural products. Millions of acres on either side of the road, from the Kentucky River to Emory Gap, can be bought at merely nominal figures, but they are as good sheep lands, as good for the purposes of the grape culturist or general fruiterer, as any acres the sun shines on; while beneath them lie exhaustless beds of coal and iron in such close proximity as are found nowhere else in the world outside the Southern mineral region. When these dreary knobs are covered with vineyards and orchards and studded with sheep cotes ; when scores of furnaces light up the gloomy ravines and impart their glow to the forbidding palisades, then will the great and enterprising city find that that which deterred all others from undertaking to build her a highway to the South brings her most profit; that these mountain fastnesses were better worth the reaching than the sunny plains beyond, covered with cotton and cane. 8 Resources of Tennessee Along the The principal southern connections of the Cincinnati road at its southern terminus will be the Western and Atlantic from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and connecting thence with Augusta, Macon, Savannah, Columbus, Pensa- cola, Brunswick, Jacksonville; and the Alabama and Chat- tanooga road from Chattanooga to Meridian, Mississippi, and connecting along the line and from its southern termi- nus with Montgomery, Mobile, Selma, Vicksburg, New Orleans, &c. The last mentioned is a natural and very important connection and link of the Southern Pacific Railway, destined to be completed at no distant day. When built, it must place Cincinnati on an equal footing, with reference to commercial intercourse with the Pacific slope, with St. Louis and Chicago. Indeed, she must be more eligibly situated than either of them, for her access will be quite as direct and always available for its highest capacity ^n freight or passenger traffic, whereas the Northern Pacific route, on which her rivals depend, is precarious during four months of the year from deep snows and severe cold. But we can not go into detail here. Let the reader take any map of the United States, and in the absence of the laid down line of the Cincinnati Southern, let him hiy a string or rule from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, and study the strategic advantages gained by the former city m ith her road fin- ished. Let him consider that every point named here has been placed as near to Cincinnati as it is now to Louisville. No thoughtful man can fail to comprehend the splendid field opened to the enterprise which conceived and executed the gigantic undertaking of reaching that field over its own railway. By the construction of a branch railroad, beginning six miles south of the Tennessee and Kentucky State line, so as to connect at Careyville with the Knoxville and Ohio Railroad, now built out twenty-eight miles northward from Knoxville, Knoxville will be within 272 miles of Cincin- Cincmnati Southern llaUway. P nati, instead of 558 miles as now by the shortest railroad route built. Another proposed branch will unite the road with the Cumberland and Ohio, so as to bring Nashville within 291 miles of Cincinnati. For seventy miles the Tennessee River runs parallel with the Cincinnati Southern, which will be a perpetual guarantee against high local freights, through the best part of the agricultural and mineral region through which it passes. The road is probably the best built of any on the conti- nent. The grades are lighter than those of any trunk line in the South. The highest curve permitted is 6°. Sixty- five per cent, of the line is straight. There are two and one-fifth miles of iron bridging, building and to be built, and but a thousand feet of wooden bridging. Three miles of iron viaduct are to be constructed over mountain streams. The tests applied to the iron and steel for the track, and to the iron columns and struts entering into the construction -of bridges and viaducts, are the highest ever attempted in the history of American engineering, and they have been rigorously enforced in every instance. Steel rails are being laid on all the heavier grades. Steel rails only, will be used in the mountains. The iron rails furnished are nearly or quite equal to the ordinary run of steel rails. The heavy character of the mountain grading may be judged of from the fact that in less than 100 miles there are 4 85-100 miles of tunnel, much of it through a shale almost as hard as flint, but too much broken to serve for walls, and there- fore requiring heavy timbering. It is doubtful if, when finished, any equal number of miles of road in the Union will have legitimately cost as much as this. The following table shows the height of some principal points along the line above sea level, and their approximate distances from Chattanooga : 10 Resources of Tennessee Along the Name of Place. Chattaiiontja Smith's X Roads, Tenn Rockwood, Tenn Emory Gnp, Tenn Triplett's (Jap, Tenn Nix Creek, Tenn. (highest point on the line).. Chitwoods, Tenn First Snnunit Cumberland Mountain, Ky Cumberlnnd River. Ky King's Mountain, Ky Danville, Ky Kentucky River, Ky Ije^ington, Ky Ohio River Bridge Above Sea Level. Feet. Distance from Chatt;uiooga. Miles. 685 709 27 854 65 792 75 1209 90 1518 112 . 1320 133 1257 145 745 158 12S7 195 955 235 767 240 9«6 260 537 336 The general importance of the Cincinnati Southern Rail- way consists in the fact that it is part of a great South and North system, now in its infancy, but destined to become, during this century, quite equal in importance to the system connecting the Eastern sea-board with the agricultural re- gion of the West, Already the Louisville and Nashville road and its connections has exploded the postulate that ''none but east and west lines can be made to pay." It and its fellow, connecting the two principal entrepots of trade in the Ohio valley with the cotton, rice and sugar fields of the gulf belt, are a nucleus that will expand into a power destined, at no distant period, to turn the course of commerce and work profound social, political and eco- nomical revolutions. This South and North system, being comparatively short, will solve the Granger's question — "How shall I reach the best market" — by bringing the market to his door. It will do more ; it will create de- mand, as well as supjily that which exists. The population depending on it in the South will increase as rapidly as that of the North-west has in the last four decades under the influence of the East and West system. It is fortunate for Tennessee that she lies in the track of Cincinnati Southern Raihcay. 11 and has within her borders the main termini of the two successful trunk lines connecting the North with the South. The Louisville and Nashville, in its operations, has been worth millions to Middle and West Tennessee. The Cin- cinnati Southern will be equally beneficial to the Eastern and Southern portions of the State. The two lines, when the latter is oompleted (th^e Louisville and Nashville is cap- itali;;ed at ^27,000,000), will wield an actual capital of about $60,000,000! They place Tennessee, relatively, in the position Ohio occupies with reference to the New York Central and Baltimore and Ohio. We are the grand entre- pot for the cotton belt trading to the North, and the dis- tributing point for the North trading to tlie South. Add to this the fact that — the East and North-west having more roads than they can make profitable — railroad building for a quarter of a century will be confined to North and South lines, and it requires no prophetic vision to realize more than all the most enthusiastic friends of the South may predict for her,. as to future development in agricultural and manufacturing progress and increase in wealth and population. The railroad system we have described is des- tined to be the great pacificator, educator, liberalizer and enriching force of the Mississippi Valley. Tennessee starts in the race at least ten years in advance of her Southern sisters. May she be found worthy of her high trust, equal to the realization of her great advantages. Gexeeal View of the Route. Our purpose in this report is to give some account of the resources, so far as Tennessee is concerned, as well as the geological and topographical features, of the country lying on the route. The entire length of the road from Chattauoosra to the: 12 Resources of Tennessee Along the Kentucky State line is 136 miles, eighty miles of which are along one of the minor parallel valleys of the Valley of East Tennessee which lie at the south-eastern foot of the Cumberland Table-land. At Emory Gap the line of the road leaves the Valley of East Tennessee and begins to ascend the mountain, and throughout the remaining fity- six miles the road cuts through the coal formation. The Valley of East Tennessee, which lies between the Unaka range on the south-east and the Cumberland Table-land on the north-west, is made up of a succession of minor ridges and valleys, running in almost unbroken lines in a north- easterly and south-westerly direction. A^iewed from the higher points uf the Unaka range, or from the top of the Cumberland Table-land, the minor ridges melt into a com- mon plain. The average elevation of the Valley of East Tennessee is about 1,000 feet above the sea, while that of the Table-land is 2,000 feet. Prof. Lesley, of Pennsylva- nia, thinks the preservation of our coal-fields is due to a great downthrow fault, by which the whole of our coal- fields were sunk several thousand feet below their original elevation. The sections Avhich retained thoir altitude have been eroded of all their coal measures and of the forma- tions immediately below the coal measures, so that the Upper Sihirian of the valley lies almost in juxtaj)Osition to the coal measures, though separated geologically by an im- mense ])eriod. This theory is rendered probable from the fact that the strata of Walden's Ridge, which runs parallel with the Cumberland Table-land, are highly inclined, in- deed sometimes vertical, or even beyond verticality, making the line of a great fault, caused by the downthrow of the Cumberland Table-land. This geological event is one that has an important bearing upon the value of the mineral region immediately adjacent to the line of railroad. By it the coal and iron are placed side by side, ready for profita- ble working. The fossil iron ore of the Clinton group runs Cincinnati Southern Raihcay. 13'. in almost unbroken lines from Chattanooga to Emory Gap- on the line of road, while the outcrops of coal on the Cum- berland Table^land a few furlongs distant are persistent. Associated in the same group are the carboniferous lime- stones, which form an excellent flux, and at a short distance the Trenton limestones of the Lower Silurian. Besides these, the sandstones of the coal measures are found in many instances, suitable for making furnace hearths. It would be difficult in any State to find more of the materials for the manufacture of iron in such proximity. And as the construction of the railroad will furnish the only thing lacking — transportation — the intelligent prediction of Prof. Lesley in regard to this region will doubtless be realized, when he says: "A thousand collieries will be started in the mountain, and a thousand iron works will be established on the ores at its foot; a thousand villages, towns and cities will grow up in the broad limestone plain before it; a thousand factories and mills will make these towns hum with life, and all this life will base itself on the mountain coal thus wonderfully preserved from destruction by throes of the earth in ancient days, which would have obliterated every trace of human life from the continent, had the divine invention of human life been made." The small valleys lying on the east side of the railroad, numbering from two to three, between the line of the road and the river, rest upon the magnesian limestone of the Knox formation. The ridges between the valleys are composed of the chert and shales of the same formation. The hills have a thin barren soil, covered usually with a small growth of timber, and the soil is not of sufficient fertility to repay the labor of the husbandman. The valleys are usually fertile, gently undulating, and form the only arable land in the vicinity of the road. These valleys will average in width about half a mile. They are thickly settled, and are for the most part cleared up. The timber supply is on the ridges. The 14 Resources of Tennessee Along the raountain slopes supply good lumbering trees, which will be described more in detail hereafter. Between Emory Gap and the Kentucky State line the soil is derived from sandstone, is thin and unproductive of the usual field crop. Not one acre in twenty has been brought into cultivation. The Cumberland Table-land loses much of its plateau charncter in this ])ortion of the State. The surface is usually rugged, with high, sharp- crested ridges and rounded peaks, that soiuotinies rise 1,500 feet above the road-bed. Though rugged, the country is well timl)ered, and on the northern slopes of the ridges the soil is very fertile, and the timber of excellent quality. Deep, canyon-like gorges are cut by the numerous streams deep in the bosom of the mountain. Some of these streams are walled in by perpendicular cliffs of sandstone from 300 to 400 feet high. A few narrow valleys occur between the foot of the superimposed ridges, liut these mountain valleys are not so productive as the northern and western slopes of the ridges. From these high mountain sides many fine chalybeate and other springs break out. Wild grasses spring up in great abundance and sui)ply a rich forage fi)r cattle and sheep. The air is pure and the region healthy. For the growth of apples no region is superior to the country which lies between Eraor}' Gap and the Kentucky State line. They never fail, and they have a plumj)ness and richness of flavor rarely equalled. To sum uj) in bri^f the advantages which the country on this portion of the line aifords, we may say: 1. It is healthy. Consumption is almost unknown here, and malarious diseases seldom occur. In many places there are no doctors within twenty miles. The inhabitants are hardy and long-lived, though living a life of privation and exposure. 2. It has an abundance of coal. Throughout the extent Cincinnati Southern Railway. ■ 15 of the railroad from Emory Gap to the Kentucky State line every cut reveals more or less coal. The seams are sometimes thin and worthless, but often are from three to four feet thick. In the ridges above the road better and thicker seams are met with. 3. It has a great variety of valuable timber. For many miles the line of road traverses forests of the finest white oak. On the mountain slopes are poplar and walnut in great quantity. From Scott and Morgan counties timber enough to supply all the agricultural implement manufac- tories within reach of the road for a century to come, can be obtained. 4. The forests qf chestnut oak which are usually found upon the tops of the ridges are very extensive, and are capable of supplying millions of cords of the very best tan-bark. 5. As a grazing region it is very valuable. The wild grasses are everywhere abundant, and great herds of cattle are fattened upon these wild grasses for the Northern mar- kets. Goats, that thrive upon shrubbery, can be reared at nominal cost. They live throughout tlie winter without any other food than the buds of the native shrubs. Sheep also are very hardy and do well. 6. An excellent situation for extensive apj)le orchards. The apple is the surest crop grown, and the facilities which the road -will afford, together with the small outlay neces- sary to start an orchard, will make this a famous region for the production of apples, and will enable it to compete suc- cessfully with any portion of the United States. 7. As a place for summer resoj-t it must become famous. The salubrity of the air, the excellence of the chalybeate springs, the high elevation, and the grandeur and beauty of the natural scenery, will make it a favorite locality for those accustomed to such rural retreats in summer. 8. For growing all garden vegetables the soil of this 16 Resources of Tennessee Along the sandstone formation is well adapted. Early vegetables can be supplied to the Cincinnati and other markets at a cheaper rate than from any other point. Irish potatoes^ cabbage, onions, and indeed all root crops, grow to great perfection. The Irish potatoes especially are noted for their excellence. Market gardening will doubtless become one of the leading industries of this mountain region. From Chattanooga to North Chicamauga. Such is a general view of the country bordering the Cin- cinnati Southern Railroad. For the purpose of entering into details, we return to Chattanooga, and, crossing the upper ferry, we find a series of low ridges lying on the right, from which the dyestone, or fossil red hematite, has been dug for many years. The place of mining is not more than one mile north-east of Chattanooga, and the ore is found in what is called Stringer's Hill, the third of the series of ridges from Walden's Ridge. Walden's Ridge is an arm of the Cumberland Table-land, and is eight miles across. It is separated from the main plateau by Sequatchee Valley on the west. The mining in Stringer's Hill has been carried on in the head of a decapitated fold, the strata here all dipping to the south-east at an angle of 22 degrees. The iron ore, fifteen inches thick, is found associated with shales, several thin partings being found in the seam. This ore is soft and its value impaired by the commingling shale. The seam can be traced many miles to the north- east, but is finally cut out by the valley of North Chica- mauga. It may be here mentioned that the railroad crosses Tennessee river four miles above Chattanooga, and keeps the valley of North Chicamauga until it reaches the Ten- nessee Valley. This ore is therefore not on the line of the road, but is sufficiently near the river, which serves all purposes of transportation. Crossing a low gap in Mocca- Cincinnati Southern Railway. 17 sins ridge going north, we enter 'Tennessee Valley, which extends as far as Emory Gap, a distance of eighty miles. Bounding this valley on the west is a low ridge known as Shin Bone, which separates the Tennessee Valley from Back Valley, lyine next to the escarpment of Walden's Ridge. Back Valloy and Tennessee Valley become one near the point where Xorth Chicamauga breaks from the mountain. The united valleys are one and a half miles wide, presenting a magnificent farming area. The first coal of importance that presents itself is on Walden's Ridge, eight miles north-west of Chattanooga and quite as far from the railroad, though within three mijes of the Tennessee River. It belongs to the upper coal meas- ures, and outcrops at the foot of a ridge 110 feet high, which rests upon the general level of the Table-land, which is here 1,000 feet high. This ridge extends towards the north several miles and is about half a mile wide, sup- plying a large body of coal. The seam is three and a half feet thick, and an entry has been driven in at the eastern foot for the distance of fifty yards. Some 15,000 bushels of coal have been taken out and hauled in wagons down the mountain to Chattanooga. It is a hard, free-burning coal, though containing some sulphur. Underlying it are several feet of good fire-clay. The roof is of black shale, and is quite solid. All the strata are horizontal. The mine is known as Crow's bank. If proper facilities were afforded lor conveying the coal to the valley below, this mine, owing to its proximity to Chattanooga, would doubt- less prove very valuable. At present the cost of mining and transportation to market is nearly equal to the selling price. Below the bank on the South is the cliffy rampart that makes such a prominent and striking feature in the escarp- ment of the Table-land. Underlying this cliff rock an- other seam appears, three and a half feet thick. The coal 2 18 Resources of Tennessee Along the is very hard. This could be taken out by the river, which is about two and a half miles southr Other seams of un- known thickness are seen along the bluffs, some of them having been worked to a limited extent during the civil war, and the coal taken to Chattanooga on barges. On the opposite side of the river, in Raccoon mountain, are numer- ous seams of coal, which have been worked at the ^Etna and Vulcan mines for many years. A description of these mines is reserved for another part of this work. It has already been stated that Back Valley and the Tennessee Valley become one where the Chicamauga breaks from the mountain. The gulf made by the Chicamauga is deep and wide, forming a chasm much like an inverted roof, though sometimes the bluffs of sandstone rise boldly up for several hundred feet. Rogers' creek, which is u tributary of Chicamauga, makes also a deep chasm in the mountain, parallel with Tennessee Valley, leaving a high, narrow headland between it and the valley, which narrows to a sharp ridge where the waters of Rogers' creek and Chicamauga unite. Each one of these chasms exposes the coal seams and makes them accessible. Branch railroads may be constructed up these gorges, so that the coal may, by chutes, be dumped directly into the cars. Fallingwater, another stream tributary to North Chica- mauga, and south of Rogers' creek, rises upon the plateau of Waldeu's Ridge and flows in an easterly direction, making a gorge of increasing width and depth as it ap- proaches Back Valley. Reaching this it turns north, run- ning about a mile, when it cuts through Back Valley and Shin Bone Ridge, passing in a south-easterly direction through Tennessee Valley into North Chicamauga. The point of its confluence with the latter stream is ten miles (north, 20 degrees east) from Chattanooga. Where Fall- ingwater breaks through Shin Bone Ridge there is a bluff which shows an antilincal fold, the rocks dipping at an Cincinnati Southern Railway. 19 average angle of 32 degrees to the north-west and south- east. In the south-west dip several seams of dyestone ore are seen interstratified with a shale highly calcareous. A section taken at this place, beginning at the lowest exposed strata and ascending, shows : Shale 25 feet. Dyestone ore 9 inches. Shale and flaggy sandstones 1 foot. Dyestone ore 13 inches. Shale 2.6 feet. Dyestone ore 6 inches. Shale 4 feet. Dyestone ore 4 inches. Shale, brownish fi feet. Dyestone ore 6 inches. Shales and sandstones, tliin and flaggy, above. The specimens of iron ore taken from this place show a large amount of siliceous matter. The ore contains but few fossils, and is very hard. It has never been used in any furnace. By the confluence of Fallingwater with North Chica- niauga a sufficient volume of water is obtained to run raa- cliinery. Two mills are in operation between this point and the mouth of North Chicamauga. Ascending the gulf cut by Fallingwater to the mouth of Mill creek, and^turn- ing up the latter stream, several goodj seams of coal are seen. Going to the top of Walden's Ridge and descending, the first outcrop is found two hundred yards on the north side of Mill creek, in the head of a cross ravine, the water from wliich passes down Rogers' creek, a tributary of North Chicamauga. The coal at the outcrop is one foot thick, but increases to eighteen inches by going in twelve feet. The seam is horizontal, with black'^shale below and soft, blue shale above. The coal is hard, lustrous, and cubical, of excellent quality, and free from iron pyrite. It belongs to the upper measures, the conglomerate appearing lower down on the mountain, and may be the equivalent 20 Resources of Tennessee Along the of the Sewanee seam. The distance of this coal from the railroad is two miles. Passing now in our descent from the mountain in a southerly direction over the dividing ridge between the headwaters of Rogers' creek and Mill creek, another seam ninety-five feet below has been opened on the south side of Mill creek. The coal at this place is spurmous and porous, but free from sulphur. The seam dips gently to the south, is two and a half feet thick, with a good hard slate roof and sandstone bottom. The same seam has been opened two hundred yards further down the stream. The differ- ence in level is very slight, as shown by the barometer, not more than four or five feet, which the dip of the strata here will readily account for. The coal at this latter opening (Wilkerson's) is one foot thick at the outcrop, increasing to 2.3 feet at the distance of forty feet, which is as far as the gangway has been driven. Overlying it is a gray slate, and beneath three feet of fire-clay, which rests upon a bed of sandstone. This seam lies included between two layers of conglomerate rock, one 200 feet above and the other 40 feet below. It is doubtless the san r* cpam which is interpo- lated in the lower conglomerate in White county and other places. By far the most interesting development of coal on the waters of Mill Creek is seen a quarter of a mile below "Wilkerson's Bank, on the opposite side of the stream. The coal here appears under the thick sandstone cliff 194 feet below Wilkerson's. The sandstone immediately above the coal is about 60 feet in thickness, with a superimposed back bench of sandstone 80 feet thick. At the outcrop this coal is 21 inches in thickness, with 14 inches of soft, shaly sand- stone below. Still beneath this is a hard white sandstone. The soft bed of sandstone disappears at the distance of 30 yards, and a black bituminous shale takes its place. The coal also increases to 39 inches. The top consists of a hard,. Cincinnati Southern Railway. 21 ferruginous sandstone, with no shale. The surface is in waves, with occasionally heavy swells and flat convexities, giving the coal a variable thickness. Near the termination of the entry, which is 96 feet long, there is a slight uplift in the floor, of a foot, and a much greater one in the roof. The entry dips at the rate of three inches to the yard. This seam unquestionably corresponds with the cliff seam as found on the western side of the Cumberland Table-land. (See Little Sequatchee Coal Field.) The coal taken from the entry presents a singular aspect. It is semi-lustrous and porous. The laminjB are well defined, but are curved and rolled into an infinite number of plications, showing at the same time a fibrous structure undisturbed across the general plane of lamination, very much like ice half melted in the sun, splitting easily across the laminated surface into basaltiform or columnar masses. It comes out in great blocks, and presents a handsome appearance. About 1,000 bushels have been mined at this point, and the product used in the neighboring blacksmith shops, where it is greatly prized for its excellent welding and heating properties. The descent to the line of railroad, one and a half miles distant, is rapid. To the valley below, half a mile, there is a fall of between 700 and 800 feet. From the bottom, just below the mine, to the railroad, the surface is level. To ■convey the coal to the railroad, therefore, an incline would be required to carry it to the foot of the mountain, and from thence by a switch to the main track. One hundred and thirty-two feet below this cliff seam is the outcrop of another seam 14 inches thick. This is capped by 20 feet of siliceous brown and black shales, with two feet of fire clay beneath the coal, resting upon sand- stone. The quality of the coal from this seam can hardly be determined, as only the crumbling outcrop has been taken out. The specimens I saw are not so compact as ithose from the cliff seam above, but resemble the Rockwood 22 Resources of Temiessee Along the coal, being fragile, shelly and soft, showing no columnar structure. Some thin seams of mineral charcoal are found interlaminated with it, and also some specimens exhibiting a beautiful irridescence. The laminee are considerably dis- turbed, and are easily separable, showing a surface which glistens like highly polished leather. It is clean, and com- paratively free from sulphur. The same seam has been worked to a limited extent on the southern side of the creek, where it shows a thickness of 18 inches, with a ten- dency to a greater thickness as the entry is extended. The plateau and slopes of the mountain above are well wooded. Pine, white oak, red oak and chestnut are abun- dant on the plateau, while upon the margin of the streams poplar, hemlock, maple, black gum and holly are seen. The steep slopes to the valley abound with good lumber trees. The soil of the valleys, once very productive, has been much injured by overcropping, and by a want of proper rest, rotation and clovering. Many of the slopes are worn down to the red clay, and their fertility utterly destroyed. These places show with a painful prominence.. Corn, oats, and wheat are the principal crops grown in the valley, but the yield is not more than half as great as when the land was fresh. Thirty bushels per acre are considered a good yield for corn, ten for wheat and twenty-five for oats. With a judicious system of tillage these yields might be largely increased. Corn forms almost the sole article of export, with the exception of dried fruit, eggs, feathers and butter. Ginseng is found in the mountain coves to a limited extent, but the product is yearly diminishing. Feom Noeth Chicamauga to Soddy Creek Mines. Crossing the North Chicamauga near the location of the railroad bridge, and ascending the mountain by a very steep pathway on the Veft, we get first upon a bench about two- Cincinnati Southern JRailway. 23 thirds of the way to the top of the mountain. The surface of this bench is covered with a hixuriant growth of wild grasses in summer, which supply ample forage for great herds of cattle. The woods are open, no underbrush any- where obstructing the view. The overlooking bluffs are of shelving sandstones, where many rock houses are seen — natural shelters for stock against the heats of summer or the chill winds of winter. Keaching the top of the moun- tain, which is here, as measured by the barometer, 1,134 feet above the valley, we find the surface very level and well timbered with chestnut oak. The conglomerate rocks are everywhere displayed, sometimes rising up above the surface in great masses, the erosion curving them into many fantastic shapes. This stretch of level land extends from the gorge of the North Chicamauga to Soddy Creek, about eight miles, with scarcely a break that would interfere with the construction of a railroad. The soil on this plateau is rather better than most of the soil of the Table-land. On Poe's turnpike, which forms the highway from Dunlap in Sequatchee Valley, across Walden's Ridge to the Tennessee Valley, a few farms of moderate fertility are met with. Upon these farms are grown wheat, sorghum, corn, oats, Irish potatoes, beans, cabbage, and garden vegetables gen- erally. The soil, however, is not well adapted to the growth of Indian corn and sorghum. Apple trees flourish, are long-lived, and bear well. Peaches, it is said, do better here than on the western side of the mountain. Herds grass springs up spontaneously, and is the main reliance of farmers for hay. Clover, by the application of a small quantity of gypsum, proves a profitable crop, both as a fer- tilizer and for grazing. Upon clover sod a fair crop of In- dian corn or wheat may be grown. Some good farmers upon the plateau make from twenty to thirty bushels ot corn per acre, thdugh the usual average is not above six or eight. The timber supply is ample. Large white oaks, 24 Resources of Tennessee Along the easily rived, and of a toughness that makes the timber of especial value for the wagon-maker, are numerous. Yellow pines two and a half fpet in diameter are found in clusters. Chestnut, chestnut oak, red oak, black oak, and gum grow everywhere in profusion. Walnut occurs in the coves, and sometimes, though rarely, upon the top of the mountain. Chinquapins and chestnuts are so abundant as to form arti- cles of export. On this charming plateau between North Chicamauga and Soddy a curious lake occurs, not far from the northern bank of the Chicamauga. A ridge, elevated considerably above the general level, overlooks the Chicamauga gulf on the south. Half a mile north of this ridge' there has been a drop in the mountain, exposing a perpendicular sandstone bluff 100 feet high. The lake lies at the foot of this bluff', and is deeply set in the bosom of the mountain. In shape it is elliptical, and resembles a large tureen embedded in the plateau. The water is at least fifty feet below the top of the surrounding bluffs, and the edge of tlie water can be reached only by a -precipitous path on the eastern side. The lake is 100 yards in its longest diameter, and about 75 yards in its shortest. Its depth is unknpwn. No rude ])lummet of the mountaineer has ever been able to fathom its waters, though many attempts have })een made. The water is very cold, and of a sky blue color. • It never becomes muddy, even in a rainy season. It has no perqeptible outlet or inlet. During the dry months in summer the water recedes some two or three feet, leaving exjiosed a narrow rocky beach next to the steep walls that environ it. The surface of these walls is beautifully scolloped by the motion of the water. Viewed from above it appears motionless, and looks as though no wind could ever ruffle its calm, clear surface. No fish disport in its waters, and yet it would seem to be a very paradise for tiie trout, for the rearing of which it will no doubt in time be utilized. Cincinnati Southern Railway. 25 North Chioamauga has several tributaries from the north. Among them are Hog Pen Branch, Four Mile Branch, Yellow Spring, Cooper Creels, Panther Creek, and Cane Creek. These streams have cut deep furrows in the moun- tain which are difficult to pass. They are from one hun- dred to five hundred feet deep. Up near their sources are some level bottoms bordering them, but most generally- their banks are precipitous. Cane Creek, one of the largest tributaries of North Chicamauga, flows in a very deep, nar- row chasm, much like a canyon. The bluffs are of sand- stone, and often overhang their base fifteen or twenty feet. Talus has accumulated at the base of these bluffs so as to give a slope to the water's edge. This talus-slope is fringed by trees forming a green tortuous line in summer, several hundred feet below the general top of the plateau. When once in these gorges, one has to walk oftentimes many miles before any place of ascent can be found. The process of erosion as shown in these bluffs furnishes a curious study. The water trickles down from above and enters the crevices of the rocks where they are often shaded by the jutting layers of sandstone. Here it freezes and acts as w'edges, splitting off great slabs in vertical lines from the mountain mnss. Often the exposed surface is covered with thin incrustations of the carbonate of lime, which has been deposited on the rocks by the trickling waters. From what source the waters become charged with calcareous matter it would be difficult to tell. Coal crops out in many places in the gulf of North Chicamauga, showing three or four seams of workable thickness. At one place on Cane creek, three-quarters of a mile above its mouth, are some interesting objects. The bottom of the stream is covered with immense sandstone boulders, making its ascent exceedingly difficult even when the water is low enough to permit one to jump from rock to rock. At some points the masses of sandstone lie piled 26 Resources of Tenyiessee Along the up in inextricable confusion, mingled with great drifts of dead timber, so as almost to bid defiance to any progress. At the distance from the mouth mentioned, a rock house occurs on the left bank, the floor of which is nearly level with the water. The roof at the outer edge is thirty feet high, but curves down to the floor at the distance of twenty yards or more. In this rock house is a small furnace stack, which the inhabitants say has existed beyond the memory of any person now living on the mountain. A fine cha- lybeate spring breaks out at the back part of this rock house, and traces of coal are met with where the floor and roof unite. The most noticeable feature, however, are the seams of coal interwoven with the conglomerate rock over- head. They run in every conceivaljle direction through the rock, as though boiled up with the sandstune when in a plastic state. Fossils of the lepidodtndron and siggillaria present themselves all over the roof. The thickest coal seam is about one foot, and this runs in a wavy, twisting line through the mass of conglomerate. It has already been mentioned that near the sources of these streams some wide bottoms occur. The soils of these bottoms differ from that of the plateau, in having more clay in their composition. In color these soils are gray; in consistency, waxy; and in constitution, heavy and cold. The timber indicates the difference in soils, being in the bottoms mostly poplar, pine, and the red flowering maple. The grazing privileges of the plateau under considera- tion are very valuable. The earliest mountain grass ap- pears about the 15th of April. This is the mountain sedge, and supplies good grazing until toughened by the heats of July and August. The golden rod, rich weed, wild tea, wild oats, beggars' lice, and some others, supply successive grazing crops until the first of October, when the winter- green, a delicate grass with flat blades, not unlike the blue grass, comes up and keeps green tiiroughout the winter. Cincinnati Southern Railway. 27 It is not affected by the rigor of winter, and to its nutri- tious qualities much of the stock of the Table-land owe their means of surviving the winter. Cattle relish it, and prefer it to any other grass, though it is not so abundant as the mountain sedge. SoDjDY Creek Mines. Soddy creek, a small tributary of the Tennessee river, has two forks, the more southern being called Little Soddy, and the more northern, Soddy, it being considered the main stream. Both of these branches have carved deep notches in the side of the mountain. On the side of the gulf formed by Little Soddy, six hundred yards from its conflu- ence with the main stream, four miles west from the Ten- nessee, eighteen miles north-east of Chattanooga, and within half a mile of the line of raihx rd, the Soddy mines have been opened. The section, as taken here, shows eight seams of coal. Beginning at tlic top of the mountain on the north side of Little Soddy, and overlooking that stream, we have section on next page: 28 Resources of Tennessee Along the Coal. Section. Name of Materials. Thick- ness. ft. Surface., Sandstone.. Shale COAL. Gray Shale. COAL. Fire-clay Sandy Shale. COAL. Sandy Shale. COAL. Fire-clay Sandstone.. Shale COAL. Fire-clay. Black Shale.. COAL. Gray Shale... COAL. Fire-clay. Shaly Sandstone. COAL. Sandstone . Ft. Red Shale Mountain Limestone.. 100 13 2 40: 35 8 40 50 18 523 Oincinnati Southern Raihvay. 2^ The fourth seam from the top is the one now worked, and has a slight dip to the west. Overlying the coal is a hard black shale, which makes a hard, solid and safe roof. The main gangway is about 300 yards long. On the left are two cross entries, one of which extends to the distance of 350 yards, and the second about half as far. On the right there is only one cross entry, which is about 100 yards long. The rooms are worked sixteen yards wide, with road in the center, and slack or "gob" on each side. The general average of the seam is about three feet, making the amount of dead work, caused by taking up a part of the floor for the purpose of heightening the entries, cost about twenty-five cents to the ton of coal. The work is carried on by a system of pillars and rooms, the pillarS being eight yards wide between the main entry and the room, with four yards between each room. The mines are drained by a syphon pipe, 2 J inches in diameter. "When the second entry shall have been driven in to unite with the first, the mines will drain themselves. Ventilation is effected by a furnace and shaft. A second entry has been made about fifty yards north of the main entry, and is eighty yards long. There is only one cross entry in this, ninety-six yards long, with nine rooms. In these rooms the coal will average three and a half feet thick, and some- times reaches four feet or more. For driving main entries, eight feet wide and six feet high, $5.50 per yard is paid; for cross entries, five to seven feet, §3.50 per yard. The number of miners at present (December, 1876) employed in these mines is twenty-one, who raise an average of sixty bushels each per day. Nineteen other persons are employed as drivers, weighers, etc. The wages paid range from one dollar to two and a quarter per day. The amount of coal raised and shipped from September 1, 1875, to September 1, 1876, was 240,655 bushels. The amount for the year 1875 was 177,309; for 1876 to December 223,939. The '30 Resources of Tennessee Along the estimated cost of mining is three cents per bushel, and the cost of getting it to market, in Chattanooga, about the same. The amount of capital invested is $20,000. The -coal is taken down the mountain by an incline two hundred yards long, where it is dumped into a chute, and the larger cars beneath, holding each sixty-five bushels, are loaded. These are drawn by mules, on a tram-road tliree miles long, to a point on Soddy creek, where the coal is loaded in barges, holding 3,500 bushels each, and floated to Chatta- nooga. When the water is high the barges can be carried from the place of loading on Soddy creek to Chattanooga in six hours, but double that time is required in a low stage of water. This coal finds a ready market in Chattanooga, 'owing to its excellent quality. It is highly bituminous, burns with a bright, ruddy flame, and is a good binding coal. It shows in its structure but little lamination, but resembles blocks of pitch, with shining black specks. The mine was originally leased by a company of twenty Welshmen, who agreed to pay a royalty of one cent per bushel. This company liaving failed, the property passed into the hands of a receiver. The royalty has been reduced to half a cent per bushel. These mines are capable of indefinite expansion, and when the railroad shall be completed, they will become one of the most valuable coal properties in the State. About four acres of coal have been taken out, and the average per acre so far from one seam has been over 3,000 tons. Several seams above and below this have been thoroughly tested. The one immediately above is very free from im- purities, and is preferred by blacksmiths. Higher uj) the gorge of Little Soddy, about half a mile above the point now worked, the same seam has an outcrop of six feet two inches thick. The difficulty and outlay necessary to reach this place have prevented any work from being done. Cincinnati Southern Raliray. 31 A milling village has sprung up in* the valley below the mines, beyond the line of railroad. It has a post-office, two stores, two schools, two churches, and a p()])ulation of about two hundred. . ' The valley lying at the foot of the mountain at this place is a mile wide. Much of it near the mountain, however, is rendered comparatively worthless by the prevalence of large sandstones, that have tumbled down from the face of the mountain. In some places these sandstones have crum- bled, by the action of the weather, lea.ving great thick layers of ferruginous sand, which is infertile. The cultiva- ble portions of the bottoms are moderately ju'oductive. Herdsgrass, timothy and clover are sown for h:iy, which yield from one to one and a half tons per acre, clover making the largest yield and herdsgrass the least. The yield of corn per acre is 25 bushels; wheat, 10 bushels; oats, 35 bushels; sweet potatoes, 75 bushels; Irish potatoes, about 100 bushels. Nearly all the corn and hay are fed to cattle, and l^ie latter are driven to Chattanooga. After passing the village, Soddy creek cuts through a series of ridges nearly at right angles, making a bottom of moderate width to the Tennessee river. The bottoms ou the latter stream are very wide, and of unbounded fertility. Probably there is no soil in any State that matures such large quantities of Indian corn. About 500,000 bushels are shipped annually from the different landings between Chattanooga and Kingston, nearly all of which is raised on the Tennessee bottoms and islands. The productiveness of these bottoms may be inferred from the fact that from fifteen to thirty bushels per acre is the rental price, the lat- ter for island farms. Some of these island farms have been sold since the war for prices varying from $100 to $210 per acre. The overflows, which deposit a large amount of sediment, keep the soil in a high condition of fertility, and permit it to be cultivated every year without any apparent 32 Resources of Tennessee Along the diminution in its productive capacity. Mr. Tom Crutch- field, who has a bottom farm four miles above Chattanooga, raised 120 bushels of corn to the acre. The annual aver- age, however, on the best lowlands, is about seventy-five bushels. The great diifereuce in the producing capacity of the Tennessee bottoms and those lying at the foot of the Cumberland Table-laud, arises from their inherent differ- ence in constitution. The former are fed by the limestone bluffs that overhang them, as well as by the sedimentary deposits from the river; the latter have no new supplies of fertility. The cherty ridges on the east, and the sandstone bluffs on the west, are deficient in plant food, and the bot- toms lying between lack the calcareous element so neces- sary to a prolific yield of the cereals. A large proportion of the good timber of the valleys has been exhausted. The bounding ridges and mountain sides, however, supply it in any desirable quantity. The yellow pine is abundant. This is converted into lumber, and sold at the saw-mills at |15 per thousand; white (jiak, from $10 to $12.50 per thousand. A small quantity of walnut and ash are found in the coves of the mountains between Chat- tanooga and Soddy creek, but not in sufficient quantity to deserve special mention. From Soddy Creek to Sale Creek. This section includes a distance of twelve miles along the line of railroad. The first place worthy of notice is O'Possum creek, four miles above Soddy, which, though a wet weather stream, has left its deep gulf in the side of the mountain. It is also a tributary of the Tennessee, cutting its way, like Soddy creek, at right angles through the series of ridges lying between the mountain and Tennessee river. This stream exposes some fine seams of coal in the moun- tain gorges. One outcrop, within 20 feet of the stream Cincinnati Southern Railway. 33 bed, shows over two feet of good coal, which would doubt- less become a three foot seam at a short distance. Two or more good exposures are found in the bluffs above. A small quantity has been taken out of the lowest seam for blacksmith purposes, and is said to be a very "strong" coal. At the outcrops the seams at this place are quite as promis- ing as at Soddy creek, and a little prospecting would no doubt reveal excellent coal of good thickness. At one place near the crest of the mountain, on the right of the stream, the coal shows 3^ feet. Another promising outcrop is on Ritchee's branch, that runs north into O'Possum. The mountain here has not, however, as great an elevation as at Soddy by 150 feet, and the three higher seams are probably wanting. This would leave, however, the seam now worked at Soddy, which is doubtless the coal near the top, showing 3| feet. The topographical features of the section embraced be- tween Soddy creek and O'Possum are slightly varied by the nearer approach of the parallel ridges. From compara- tively flat bottoms below, with a U form, in this section they take a V shape, or are trough-like, with but a' small quantity of arable land. The slopes of the ridges, where gentle in their acclivity, have been brought into cultivation, but they are scarcely more productive than the level moun- tain plateau 900 feet above. The geological continuity pre- vails here as lower down the valleys: the Knox chert on the ridges next the Tennessee river, and the Clinton or Dyestone group next to the mountain, though there is a noticeable absence of red fossil iron ore for many miles. Some few specimens of brown heinatite are seen at the foot of the ridges, but it probably exists nowhere in this section in workable quantities. The section made through the river ridges by O'Possum creek makes a bottom half mile wide and four miles long, with a soil much like that on Soddy creek, being largely 3 34 Resources of Tennessee Along the intermixed with sand, having a yellowish cast, and inter- spersed with blocks of sandstone. Sale Creek Mines. These mines are situated nine miles north-east of Soddy on Rocky creek, a tributary of Sale creek, which empties into the Tennessee river. The operations at Sale Creek Mines are now susj)ended, and work will not be resumed until the completion of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. Formerly the coal was carried by a tramway four and a half miles long to Sale creek, from which place it was floated in barges down the Tennessee river. These mines were successfully worked up to 1875, at which time a flood washed away the tram-road and bridges, so crippling the company that work was suspended. The topography of the region around these mines presents some singular fea- tures. Rocky creek runs out at right angles from a series of broken knobs bordering the main mountain, and empties into Sale creek one and a half miles below the mines. Near the bajps of the mountain it has three branches, one coming from the north, one from the south, and one from the west. These streams all unite back of the range of hills, and near the base of the mountain. The most southern, called dem- ons creek, separates in part the southern outlying knob or ridge from Walden's Ridge. This outlying spur is known as Shin Bone ridge, though geologically it differs entirely from the rirlge of the same name at Fallingwater, the latter belonging to the Clinton or Dyestone group, and the former to the coal formations. This ridge extends as far south as O'Possum creek, where it unites with Walden's Ridge. In Shin Bone ridge the coal has been worked in two places, one on the western and the other on the northern slope, facing Rocky creek. The seam worked in this ridge is four feet thick near the outcroop, but squeezes down in some places to one foot or less, and swelling out at times to six Cincinnati Southern Raihoay. 35 feet. The entries here were abandoned because of a fault. The general dip of the seam is slightly to the west, but throughout it shows much disturbance, as though the whole ridge had been torn violently from the main mountain mass of Walden's Ridge. During the eight years these entries M'ere worked 1,140,000 bushels of excellent coal were taken out. When the operations of the company on the south side of Ilocky creek were arrested by the fault, a new opening was made on the northern side in the same outlying ridge, but bisected by Rocky creek. On the northern side of the creek this ridge does not extend further than one mile, and resembles a great irregular leaf attached by its stem to Walden's Ridge. Several seams of coal. have been devel- oped in this part of the ridge, with another in the bed of the creek below. The first one, near the top of the ridge, is about one loot thick, and shows good coal. The second, about eighty-three feet below, is about two feet thick. Forty-five feet below, and 173 feet above the level of the valley, a three-foot seam occurs. The coal from this seam shows some disturbance. It has a crumpled appearance, is highly lustrous, and gives out bituminous oil freely in burn- ing. It is an excellent grate coal, and blacksmiths strongly recommend it for the fine welding heats that may be made Math it. The seam at the opening dips gently to the north- east, but soon becomes horizontal. Overhead in the mine is a sandy shale, and the floor has two feet of fire-clay rest- ing upon -a gray shale. The seam of coal worked has a gray shale above, and a hard sand rock filled Avith fossil weeds, below. The coal in Walden's Ridge, as exposed on the north side of the main branch of Rocky creek, is 2 feet 8 inches thick at the outcrop. This seam is 173 feet above the level of the bed of the stream, and corresponds to the seam the first above the new opening at the mines. Black shale four 36 Resources of Tennessee Along the feet thick lies above, which makes a good hard roof. A grayish fire-clay of two or three feet thickness lies beneath the coal. Two seams are known to exist above this, but they have not been tested. All the seams are horizontal. On the west side of demons creek, the southern prong of Rocky creek, there is a seam of coal 3J feet thick. This is lower than the one opened on Rocky creek by 100 feet, and may be a different seam from any mentioned or occur- ring in the outlying ridges. In the bed of Rocky creek, about 500 yards above the point where the coal has been mined, there is a seam of varying thickness, from one to six feet, exposed on a level with the surface of the water. Lying upon the coal are five feet of black shale, with a thick bluff of sandstone above. The coal lies in a succession of ^Jockets rather than in a continuous seam. The surface of the sandstone upon which it rests is filled with bowl-like cavities and trenches, all of which are filled with coal. The coal is also seen per- meating the sandstone in dendritic veins. The following section was taken by the aid of barometer on the north side of Rocky creek, and is approximately cor- rect. Beginning at the top and going down the ridge we have : Surface covered 85 feet. Sandstone 40 " Coal (a) 1 foot. Shale 40 feet. Sandstone 35 " Black shale 8 " Coal (6) 1.10 " Fire-clay 8 " Sandy shale 37 ." Coal(c) 2.6 " Fire-clay 2 " Gray shale 35 to 40 feet. Coal (d) 1 to 3 feet. Fire-clay 5 feet. Sandstone 40 " Gray shale 8 " Coai(e) 4 " Hard sandstone 70 " Shale lto6" Coal in pockets (/) 1 to6" Sandstone with veins of coal. Cincinnati Southern Railioay. 37 The section given aboye is rather a general section taken from several other sections. It represents about an average of all the sections. Near the mine is a village of about 500 inhabitants, mostly Welch. It contains a school-house, church, store, post-office, two blacksmith shops and a carpenter shop. The ridges between Tennessee river and the mountain at this place appear to have been swept away during the course of ages by the waters of E,ocky and Sale creeks. A bottom covering some nine square miles has been thus formed. Its surface is generally rocky, especially near the base of the mountain; so much so, indeed, near the mountain, as to render it unsuitable for tillage. As the distance from the mountain increases the surface rocks disappear, until a very fair farming area is presented, and some very good farms are seen, thongh but a small proportion of the surface has been cleared. During the summer months the water in Rocky creek becomes very low, forming a succession of deep pools, joined together like necklaces by a trickling stream. The bed of the stream is exceedingly rough with water-worn bowlders. For water power. Sale creek and its tributaries are worthless. Large ledges of limestone occur in the second parallel ridge from the mountain. The strata are all inclined to the north-west. The quality of the stone for making lime is good, but owing to the prevalence of seams and fissures it is not suitable for building purposes. As to the iron ore of this region it may be mentioned that it often crops out in two or three seams on the sides of the outlying ridges, but in the valleys it is not met with, either because it lies below water level and becomes limestone, or because it is deeply covered by the overlying strata. Wher- ever it has been sought after, especially in the ridges, it has been found, though not always of such a quality or quantity as to justify working. The Dyestone strata along this line 38 Resources of Tennessee Along the of road, with a few exceptions, are always found dipping at a high angle toward Walden's Ridge, as if the whole body of the Cumberland Table-land, by a downthrow, had bent the adjacent strata, making each cross section of the mountain and the first ridge like a sleigh-runner. A few deposits of brown hematite are found capping the hills, but not in sufficient abundance to justify the erection of fur- naces. Feom Sale Ceeek Mines to Smith's Ceoss Roads. The distance from Sale Creek Mines to Smith's Cross Roads is nine miles, and the country between the two places presents some pleasing topographical features. Passing over Rocky creek going north-east, a high, bold, well- wooded ridge, called Black Oak ridge, rises on the east and continues in a line north-east without a gap for eight miles, and beyond Smith's Cross Roads, when it is cut in two by Richland creek. Sale creek comes out from Walden's Ridge two miles south of Smith's Cross Roads, and runs south-east until its course in that direction is checked by Black Oak ridge. It then turns south-west, and flows along the base of that ridge until it unites with Rocky creek near Sale Creek Mines. After this junction, it passes eastward through the wide gap already mentioned. Between the gorges formed in the mountain by Rocky creek and Sale creek is one made by McGill's creek, a tributary of Sale creek, and forms a union with that stream a short distance from the base of the mountain. In traveling up the line of railroad the gorge it makes is well marked in the side of the mountain, but the stream is not seen. Up this gorge some fine seams of coal are met with, one of which is four feet thick. This corresponds probably with coal (c) in the Rocky creek section. At least I judge so, from its eleva- tion above the valley. This shows on the side of the moun- tain for a distance of thirty feet. The others, of which Cincinnati Southern Raihray. 39 three are known to exist, are from one to three feet thick at the outcrops. This coal is convenient to the railroad, and so situated that tramways can be built from the rail- road to the interior of the mountain at a cost not exceeding $5,000 per mile. The cost of opening the mines would be a mere trifle in comparison to the coal which could be reached. The seam is of uniform thickness as fur as it has been prospected, and the tests applied to the coal show it to be of excellent quality for blacksmith and domestic pur- poses. The plateau of the mountain above shows a well wooded region, and a soil of more than average fertility for mountain lands. There is an immense growth of timber, consisting of chestnut, white and post oak, hickory, poplar, ash, and occasionally walnut. For colonization purposes the plateau above the coal would have a great value. Cove creek gorge, just above, displays the same seams, as also the cut made by Sale creek, but they are not, at the outcrop, so thick as at Rocky creek. Some excellent farming lands are seen in this section. Wide-spreading, level meadows and rich undulating fields are seen on both sides of the road. The St. Ijouis lime- stone, with its characteristic sinkholes, lies on the road, and supplies a strong, fertile soil. The timber upon this soil is very valuable. Large poplars, red oaks and white oaks are abundant, and will furnish a large amount of first-class lumber. In some of the bottoms below the St. Louis lime- stone the Nashville and Trenton rock appear. At Suiith's Cross Roads the ridge on the east forms a comparatively level plateau nearly two miles across, and the Tennessee river bottoms lie at its eastern base. The numer- ous river ridges below appear to have united to form one wide one at this place. The soil of this ridge is flinty, but productive. It is said to be well adapted to the growth of fruit. The surface immediately around Smith's Cross Roads is very level and beautiful. It is, indeed, a deeply-sunk 40 Resources of Tennessee Along the basin, with high ridges and sharp hills bounding it on every side. On the west is Shin Bone Ridge, a flinty elevation from 200 to 300 feet above the valley that keeps its course parallel vvith the mountain. Between Shin Bone Ridge and the escarpment of Walden's Ridge is I^one Mountain, an isolated peak about two miles long at the base and one mile wide. It rises to the height of 780 feet above the valley, and reaches its highest elevation toward its northern end. Its southern extremity slopes gently down to Sale creek. A low, long spur, a ligament from its northern end, connects it with Walden's Ridge on the west. This spur or ligament forms the northern boundary of Cransmore's cove. Lone Mountain and a small Ridge hemming it on the east, and Sale creek and Walden's Ridge on the west. It is accessible only by going up Sale creek. This cove is from three to four miles long, and from three-fourths to one mile wide. The soil is good and the surface level, forming a fine agricultural area. At the north-eastern extremity of Lone Mountain, Rich- land creek, a mountain torrent, breaks from AValden's Ridge, passing out in a south-eastern direction. Entering the gap made by this stream we find the strata of sandstone on the right going up dipping toward the mountain at an average angle of thirty degrees, but half a mile fartlier up they become horizontal. At this point Walden's Ridge attains an elevation of over 1,000 feet above the valley. On the opposite side of Rich- land creek its height is not so great by 150 feet. On the left bank of the creek, and right going uj), seams of coal have been opened, the thickest of which is 3 feet 10 inches, but swells out to 6 feet 8 inches. This is one mile above the mouth of the gorge, and is the lowest seam, but the second seam shows about three feet of good coal, which may become thicker. This is tlie Rock wood seam. The fifth at this place has also been opened, and displays 21 Clneinnati Southern Railway. 41 inches of coal. The conglomerate appears here near the top of the mountain, 80 or 100 feet thick. Large blocks have tumbled down from above into the bed of Richland creek, greatly impeding the tiow of the stream. From the opening of the lower seam a tram road has been surveyed out to the valley, and a part of it graded, and some culverts made. The character of the coal is variable. That taken from the second seam is spumous, fragile and shelly, and ihuch re- sembles the Sewanee coal. It is very pure, and is doubt- less a good coking coal. The entry in this seam has been driven in 200 yards, and shows a seam varying greatly in thickness, swelling out to several feet or more, and then squeezing down to fifteen inches. A dump platform has been constructed at the mouth of the entry. The tramway, as surveyed, is 140 feet below. The seam below this has been worked to a limited extent. An entry has been made into it thirty yards, and the coal taken therefrom was used in an old forge which was in operation before the war. The slopes of Walden's Ridge are heavily timbered with chestnut oak, hickory, black oak and white oak. The sides of the mountain being very steep, wood can be brought by chutes from the top of the mountain to the valley below. One mile above, from the mouth of Richland creek gorge, several tributary streams enter Richland creek, swell- ing its volume and increasing its value. Each one of these streams have made cross ravines in the gulf of Richland creek, laying bare the coal beds. It would be no difficult task to construct railroad lines up each of these cross ra- vines, and so multiply the coal product indefinitely. On Morgan's turnpike, just as the road begins to ascend the mountain, is a large curled mass of coal. It is very much crushed, and doubtless rolled down from above. It burns well, but the quantity is uncertain. Two or three seams are seen in ascending the mountain by this road. 42 Resources of Tennessee Along the I have spoken of Cransraore's cove. Near the head of this, bat on the western side, a coal bed showing a thickness of thirty inches has been opened and worked for local pur- poses. The coal is lustrous and beautiful, and is said to burn freely. This seam, as measured by the barometer, is 33 feet lower than the second mentioned as occurring on Richland creek. The coal at this place would be difficult, if not impossible, to work from the present entry, as the strata all dij) back into the mountain as much as three inches to the yard. Bluish, sandy and buif-colored shales 20 feet thick overlie the coal with a floor of hard black shale three feet thick, which rests upon a great thickness of sandstone. From the head of Cransmore cove a stream of water plunges over a precipice 75 feet high. The thickness of the sandstone forming the bluff at this point is 100 feet or more. The view from the head of the cove is extensive, varied, and beautiful. Passing now to a consideration of the beds of iron ore in the region around Smith's Cross Roads, we find both the fossil ores and the brown hematite in considerable abund- ance. Directly east of the point whei-e Richland creek leaves the mountain, the dyestone ore is found in Shin Bone ridge outcropping on its western slope, and dipping as usual to the north-west. The ridge containing it is low as com- pared with the Dyestone ridges at other places. There is also an absence of the white oak mountain sandstone which, wherever it prevails, is mountain-making in its character. The fossil ore, as it occurs in this locality, is interstratified with beds of grayish slate. The first point examined had a thickness of only nine inches, which was well exposed by a drift which had been run into the hill for fifteen or twenty yards. The seam shows great contortions and numerous plications rising up in short folds, wrinkled like the folds of a great curtain, having a general dip, however, of about Oincinnati Southein Rahcay. 43 70 degrees. The line of strike runs about north 20 degrees, east about parallel with the general course of Walden's Ridge. A ditch a hundred yards further north has been dug on the face of the hill across the line of strike, which reveals six or more thin seams of fossil ore, with grayish shale be- tween. All the seams occur within the distance of 37 feet measured on the slope of tlie hill. The following section, measured perpendicular to the direction of the strata, will give a correct idea of the ore as it occurs at this place. Beginning with the lowest, but highest on the hill, we have :; Ore 3 inches. Gray shale 4 feet. Ore 4 inches. Shale , 12 inches. Ore 3 inches. Shale 11 inches. Ore 6 inches. Shale 10 feet. Ore 6 inches. Shale 8 feet. Ore 7 inches. Shale of great thickness. This lead of ore is traceable by its outcrop for three miles up the valley. It is very hard, and contains a sensible quantity of calcite and siliceous material. It has a dull, dead color, with adhering siliceous scales, and but few per- ceptible fossils, these being confined to a few criuoidal but- tons. Upon the Morgan turnpike a curled mass of coal has been mentioned. Just below this, about 100 yards, is a bed of blue siliceous shale, which makes excellent whet- stones. Half way to the top of the mountain a bed of brown hematite occurs. About fifteen or twenty tons have been taken out. It occurs regularly stratified. It is of a 44 Resources of Tennessee Along the poor quality, being very siliceous. I do not think the de- posit of any great value. Xear the top of the mountain, and lying on both sides of the road, a white sandstone is found, from which grind- stones of good grit have been manufactured. It is soft, and wears easily. Lere Mountain has been spoken of. It is a high sand- stone ridge, covered, for the most part, with a heavy growth of black oak, pine and chestnut oak. From its eastern side it is cut by two gorges, nearly severing the mountain into three parts. In the most southern of these gorges is a con- siderable deposit of brown hematite of good quality. It covers the surface of the ground on the side of the gorge for several hundred feet, and in a tongue of land that lies in the bottom of the ravine it sticks out in blocks weighing several tons. From the tests given it is of first rate qual- ity, yielding about fifty per cent, of metallic iron. It oc- curs in compact masses. It is impossible to say how ex- tensive the deposit is, or whether it will afford a sufficient amount to justify the erection of a furnace without more extensive prospecting. Its position is easily reached, and it can be carried down a gentle slope to the railroad, a mile distant. Brown hematite is also found in portions of Shin Bone ridge, near its crest, as also in many other ridges and hills in the neighborhood. In the valley d bog ore is found underlying the meadows to such an extent as to interfere with the proper cultivation of the soil. It is at places several feet thick. An English company has bought 40,000 acres of mineral and agricultural lands in the vicinity of this place. This company has made 1,700,000 bricks, with which to erect two furnaces at or near Smith's Cross Roads, and one roll- ing mill. The progress of this enterprise has been impeded by the depression of the iron interests. Smith's Cross Roads is a small village in Rhea county. Cincinnati Southern Railway. 45 of 100 inhabitants, and contains one academy, three stores, one bhicksmith shop, one hoot and shoe shop, one wagon making and one saddler's shop. From Smith's Cross Roads to Rhea Springs. The Tennessee Valley narrows just above Smith's Cross Roads, but widens out into a beautiful expanse a mile or two above. The surface at intervals swells into gentle hills, with wide fertile lowlands between. Little Richland creek, a confluent of Big Richland, rises nine miles north of Smith's Cross Roads, and by many a convolution winds be- side the fertile pastures, and adds beauty and attractiveness to the pastoral scene. It gathers in its course, from numer- ous springs, water enough to drive grist mills. Better farms and better farm houses appear in this section than in those heretofore spoken of. An air of thrift is everywhere seen, and the farms are well stocked with every thing neces- sary to insure success in their calling. Shin Bone ridge skirts the mountain with a few low gaps, which give access to Back Valley. It is more subdued here than below, and some of its slopes have been brought into cultivation. Back Valley, lying between this and the mountain, is very narrow and trough-like. On the eastern side of the Tennessee Valley, Valley ridge, a continuation of Black Oak ridge, sinks to a lower level, and is flattened out. The soil is flinty and unpro- ductive, and the timber upon it is not so heavy as below Smith's Cross Roads, though there are some farms upon it. It is excellent for fruits and wheat. Corn yields only about ten or fifteen bushels per acre. Three miles above Smith's Cross Roads, on the eastern side of the mountain, a good bank of coal has been opened and worked for local pur- poses. It is known as Stewart's bank. The seam is three feet thick, and the coal is of excellent quality. In Read's gulf, four miles higher up, two good seams of coal lie ex- 46 Resources of Tennessee Along the posed. Brown hematite is found along the slopes of Valley ridge, but not in any great quantity. In this part of Tennessee Valley the crops yield, in good seasons, about as follows: Hay, from herds grass mainly 1 to 1| tons per acre. Corn 30 to 35 bushels per acre. Wheat 10 Oats 2oto30 " Sorghum 100 gallons " With careful preparation of the soil, as much as forty bushels of wheat have been grown per acre. This is done upon clover sod. For the growth of clover the lands of the valley are well suited, having a large proportion of clay and carbonate of lime in their composition. Tobacco also grows well upon the slopes of the hills, and sometimes makes an average return of 800 pounds per acre. Much of the soil of this section could be made profitable by grow- ing this staple. A fine silky article can be made here which would bring a high price from the manufacturer. The rearing of stock is not carried on so extensively as might be in this section. The mountain lands would fur- nish a large amount of highway pasturage, while winter supplies could be grown cheaply in the valley. Those who have engaged in this branch of husbandry find it very profit- able for the time and labor ex])ended. Sedge grass is very troublesome in the valleys, and de- stroys meadows in a few years. Its extirpation would add greatly to the value of the lands. The soil of th^ valley, as before stated, is, principally, a calcareous loam, but there are strips lying on the borders of Little Richland which are water-soaked. The land has a whitish color, and while it grows herds grass luxuriantly, is not well suited for the production of other crops. The average width of the bottom is three-fourths of a mile. The timber, though not so large or abundant as in the section embraced between CinQinnati Southern Railway. 47 Sale Creek Mines and Smith's Cross Roads, is essentially of the same kinds. Poplar, oak and pine predominate. Lumber sells for $12.50 per thousand, except walnut, which is worth $30 per thousand, and scarce. This region is well watered by springs which break out from Valley ridge and from the mountain. Limestone, freestone and chalybeate waters are often found within a short distance of each other. It may be mentioned that the mountain lying on the west of the railroad in this section is settling up rapidly by per- .sons who propose to make fruit-raising a specialty. Grapes, peaches, plums and apples are all said to do well, and a large planting has been made of these during the past two years. As soon as the building of the railroad became an assured fact, the planting of orchards began, and I was as- sured that thou,bands of acres would be in bearing in a few years on this section, and within four miles of the railroad. A large amount of land will also be devoted to the growing of onions and Irish potatoes. Wild grapes grow profusely upon the top of the mountain, and ripen in such abundance as to make them an article of traffic. The farming lauds of the valley are worth from twenty to forty dollars per acre; on the valley ridges, from three to ten; on the mountain, from one to five; the first figures in each case representing unimproved lands, and the second improved. The farmers in the valley usually have their timber supplies on the ridges. Labor is said to be abundant, but of poor quality, and not trustworthy. In the valley from ten to twelve dollars per month and board are paid. Schools have been sadly neglected. In many localities of this section there are no schools of any sort. From Little Richland Station (No. 213) up to Clear creek the valley is much like that below, only not so wide. Clear creek breaks out from Walden's Ridge about forty-seven miles above Chattanooga. It supplies 48 Resources of Tennessee Along the some tolerably good water powers. In the chasm formetT by this stream four good seams of coal may be seen, the thickest of which is said to be six feet, but I did not see it. Above Clear creek, and between it and Piney, which is three miles above, the spurs from Shin Bone ridge shoot out into the valley, forming a succession of swelling tongues, with gentle slopes. Much of the farming lands here have been badly worn. Red hills and gullies disfigure the farms. The mountain escarpment between the two last named streams is about 500 feet high, but back a mile or more it rises 800 feet higher, forming a beautiful table-land upon the higher plane. On Piney four seams of coal are also seen, and judging from their respective elevations, I take them to be identical with those at Clear creek, thus forming between the two streams a splendid coal field, which could be worked on three sides. The thickness of the upper seam is four feet of good block coal. Two hundred feet below is a seam three feet thick, corresponding with the Rock wood seam. The coal in this is soft and easily crushed. The Valley ridge opposite this coal area flattens down into a broad flat plain, which extends eastward seven miles to the Tennessee river. Through this plateau land Piney flows on its way to the Tennessee river. Spurs run from the north and south, and cramp in the plateau at a few places to less than half a mile; at other places the distance between the heads of the spurs is from three to four miles. Rhea Springs. These springs are situated about the centre of this flat- tened area, near the banks of Piney. For many years these springs have been a fav^orite resort during the sum- mer months. The water is alkaline, though called sulphur, the principal ingredients being sulphate of lime, sulphate ^■ixvr ^=K . M2.NERAL DISTRICT ■ < " ISKt S OVT'K ItWl' , 3^1 ( 1 ION III J NiJBTHWARD. ^a \ Ix ^ ^^ o \r ■K^ •^^•-,// >1 A l" _ MINERAL DISTRICT ^ ' " ""^►"'<' » ■ " ' T^ix. s, () I' r n'x KVTY r Cincinnati Southern Railway. 49 of magnesia, sulphate of soda, silicate of soda, with a little salt. The water is said to have a healthy effect upon the stomach and bowels. It is shipped to nearly every State in the Union. A small village has sprung up at the springs, and presents quite a neat and tasteful appearance. Beautiful shade trees embower every cottage, and the green grass covers the surlace of the ground, giving a pleasing and attractive appearance to tbe surroundings. Piney, which flows through the village, is bountifully supplied with fish, the principal species being the black bass, red horse, perch, drum, cat fish, buffalo, jack, and river salmon. On the mountains and ridges game is abundant. Deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, hares and partridges are nu- merous. Occasionally a bear or wild cat is met with. The population of Rhea Springs is about 400. There are in the place four stores, one drug store, two blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, three boot and shoe establishments, two harness shops, one tin shop, one flouring mill, one pho- tograph gallery, one cabinet-maker's shop, three churches, one livery stable, one masonic lodge, and one hotel capable of accommodating 125 persons. « From Rhea Sprinc4S to Rockwood. The few short, broken ridges north of Rhea Springs soon give way to an undulating valley which spreads out quite a half mile wide. This valley lies east of the Tennessee Val- ley, along which the railroad passes, with one intervening ridge. Another ridge lies between this valley and the Tennessee river. Passing from Rhea Springs in a north- westerly direction, across a low ridge to the railroad, or Tennessee Valley, we find some excellent farming lands, the valley being very wide and j^roductive. Shin Bone Ridge here runs very near the mountain. At a point about nine miles below Rockwood this ridge has a wide gap, and 4 50 Resources of Tennessee Along the sandstone ledges are found in the Tennessee Valley, a very- rare occurrence. In these sandstone ledges masses of crushed coal are met with. This coal occurs on the farm of David Roddy. The valley narrows near White's creek. This stream has a confined valley, and like the others, makes a deep cut in the mountain. Its point of exit from the mountain is six miles below Rockwood. North of this stream the valley is almgst shut out by the approaching ridges, leaving only an elevated trough through which the railroad passes. From White's creek to Rockwood the ridges run in and nearly fill up the valley. Sometimes the valley is made up of a few level areas lying between the broken ridges. These little valleys take every form, the spurs coming down from every direction like the points of a star. Clumps of dark, thick forests are scattered at in- tervals, with small patches, of cleared land. Turnpike creek, wdiich rises above Rockwood, winds its course around the numerous spurs and along fruitful basins. West of this stream the dyestone ore appears, dipping toward the moun- tain in a continuous seam, nowhere broken. The cherty ridges of the Knox group appear on the east, and the black shale and mountain limestone on the west. Near the mouth of White's creek two forges are in operation which make each, when in blast, about 200 pounds of bar iron per day. The ore is the dyestone obtained from the face of the ridge near the mountain. One ton of ore makes 700 pounds of bar iron. One hundred bushels of charcoal make 200 pounds of iron. The hammerer and tender are paid 20 per cent, of the iron made. The coal up White's creek is abundant. On a little stream, Piney by name, that enters White's creek from the north, is an outcrop exposed by erosion of the water, which is four feet thick. The coal appears in the main mountain mass, and is probably the same as the Rockwood seam. Two other seams are found in White's creek gap, one of Oincinnati Southern Raihoay, • 51 Avhich is three feet four inches thick, ami the second about three feet. The last is the lowest. The coal from this is soft and spongy. The coal from the other two mentioned appears to be good. That on Piney is a close, compact, block coal, and said to be the best welding coal that has been found on the mountain. Rock WOOD. As an industrial enterprise, no place in the State deserves more notice than Rockwood. It is situated in Roane county, at the foot of the Cumberland Mountain, four miles from the Tennessee river, and seventy-two miles above Chatta- nooga. It has a population of 1200. Ten years ago the place where this village now stands was a wilderness. By the persistent energy of General J. T. Wilder, AV. P. Rath- burn and others, a company with a capital of $1,000,000 was formed, and two blast furnaces erected, designated as Rockwood No. 1 and Rockwood No. 2. No. 1 is 42 feet high, closed top, with bell and hopper, hot blast, 3 tuyers of 4J inches each; capacity per day, 25 tons. No. 2 is 65 feet high, closed top, bosh IC feet, hot blast, 4 tuyers; ca- ])acity, 40 tons per day. Boilers are heated by gas brought xlown from top of furnace by a downcomer, made of 3-16 iron ))late, and lined with fire brick. There are two engines, which are run alternately a week at a time. No. 1 engine has an air cylinder 6 feet in diameter, with 4 feet stroke. No 2 has a cylinder 7 feet in diameter, with 4 feet stroke. No. 1. makes 22 revolutions, and No. 2 18 revolutions per minute. Rockwood No. 1 was in blast at the time of my visit in October. The charges were as follows, thirty being 4nade in 24 hours: Coal 580 lbs. Coke 2,040 " Limestone 660 " Ore, from Company's lands 1,550 " Ore, from Kindricks, across Tennessee River 1,550 " 52 Resources of Tennessee Along the "With these charges an average of 18| tons of pig iron.> were made daily. The ore used is the fossil red hematite or dyestone, one-half of which is obtained from thfr Company's land, and the other half from near the head of Half Moon Island, across the river nine miles south of Kockwood. This ore is mined and put on the Company's cars at Rockwood landing, four miles from the furnace, at $2 per ton. The ore goes raw in the furnace without any previous calcination. The amount of iron made at Rock- wood from September 1, 1875, to August 31, 1876, is as- follows : September, 1875 484 tons. October, " 530 " November, " 650 " December, " 546.] " January, 1876 507 " February, " 516 " March, " 565^" April, " 550 " May, " 533 " June, " 528J " July, " 468 " August, " 511 " The iron is classed mostly mill No. 2, though foundry is made when required. The whole product is consumed by the rolling mill at Chattanooga, belonging to the same company. The coal mines at Rockwood furnish an interesting study. The strata are greatly disturbed, and the coal is found rolled up in great masses, often from forty to one hundred feet thick. The point of attack is in the gorge cut by Turnpike creek. The surface of the mountain at this point shows a gentle sag, while the seam of coal dips in opposite directions to the contour of the surface. The axis of the anticlinal runs about north 20 degrees east. Three main entries or levels have been driven into the coal seam at this place, designated as Nos. 1, 2 & 3. Cincinnati Southern Raihray. 53 No. 1, which is the lowest, and last one made, enters by a cross cut through the underlying sandstone for oOO feet be- fore the coal seam is met with. Here it is two feet thick. One foot of fire clay underlies it, and just above is an incli of soft, putty-like clay, which continues even where thi; coal is pinched out, and serves as a guide in running drifts Avhere there is no coal. The persistency of this soft clay is remarkable, and is peculiar, as far as my observations ex- tend, to the coal at Rockwood. Above this clay is a very hard, black, calcareous shale. The coal seam hore shows a dip upward of 32 degrees. The entry is made through a very hard sandstone, upon which common blasting powder has but little effect. It was found necessary to use dyna- mite. TH OF NO.I ENTRY Section at Kockwood. The coal from this entry is very hard, closely resembling an anthracite in appearance. It also appears to be freer from shale than that taken from the other levels. The seam worked upward has increased to six feet. Level No. 2 (called New Bank), is 150 feet above the last. At this the strata was followed down 200 feet, with only two degrees variation. This second entry is nearly a mile in length, and runs around on two sides of a synclinal fold, forming a basin, or spoon-like depression between the two sides of the entry, which lies several hundred feet be- low. The axis of this synclinal, like that of the anticlinal referred to, runs north 20 degrees east. A better idea (lan be obtained of this entry by an inspection of the diagram be- low. The arrows show the dip of the coal. 54 Resources of Tennessee Along the Underground Plan of the Roane Iron Company's Coal Mines, Eockwoodj Eoane county, Tennessee. The seam of coal, as developed by the working in this entry, is very wavy and irregular, exhibiting numerous jtlications or folds. Sometimes within a few hundred yards the thickness of the coal may vary twenty feet. Great rolls occur like huge waves, which may thin down to a mere wafer. .The lamination shows great disturbance, ap- pearing sometimes in a succession of wrinkles, again in concentric, shelly masses. The coal is not homogeneous.- Some of it is very hard, other specimens are soft, and crum- ble to the touch. Lenticular particles of shale are often, found penetrating the mass as though it had been ground up and mingled with the coal. At other places the shale is absent and the coal very pure. When the roof is shelly and tender, and filled with seams, more or less shale is found intermixed with the coal. Usually the roof of this entry is comjmseU of a hard, dark-colored calcareous shale,. Cincinnati Southern Railway. 55 wliieh crumbles by exposure. As this entry has been driven in nearly on a Avater-level, the roof, by reason of the Phosphorus 67 Metallic iron 47.10 No. 3. Fine, steely, hard ore. Peroxide of iron 64.43 Lime 14.00 Silica 7.80 Phosphorus 61 Metallic iron 45.10 No. 4. Ore from Kindrick's bank across the river, and washed at the furnace. A soft, dark-colored, porous ore; after crumbling, resembling a reddish, loamy soil. Analy- ses by Kenneth Robertson. Peroxide of iron 73.96 Alumina 8.04 Lime 1.09 Silica 9.53 Phosphorus 49 Water, carbonic acid, etc 5.00 Metallic iron 51.77 No. 5. Another sample from same place. Peroxide of iron 75.00 Alumina 6.81 Lime 00 Silica 13.00 Phosphorus 59 Water, carbonic acid, etc 4.60 Metallic iron 52.50 Cincinnati Southern Bailway. 59^ The coal worked in the furnace, average run of the- mines, shows the following by analysis : Carbon : 76.40 Volatile matter 16.50 Ash 6.65 Sulpliur 33 Loss 18 The shale which is sometinies found immediately asso- ciated with the coal, and always lying above and forming the roof, shows the following ingredients : Peroxide of iron 6.47 Alumina 22.33 Lime 5.05 Silica 62.66 The wages paid, and the men employed, at the furnace are as follows : One founder, $125 per month. Two keepers, each $1.75 per day and an interest of one cent per ton on all metal made. Two helpers, at $1.50 each. Six tillers— top tillers, per day, $1.50; bottom, $1.25. One limestone breaker, per day, $1. Two engineers, each, per day, $2. Common laborers, per day, $1. One oiler, per day, 75 cents. Fireman in mines, per month, $100. One watchman, per day, $1.25. Four inside drivers, each, per day, $1.45. Five outside drivers, each, per day, $1.30. Two iron men, each, per day, $1.25, Twenty miners are employed in the mines, who are paid two cents per bushel for raising coal. Nine men and one foreman are employed in the coke yard. The foreman receives $60 per month, and oven-tenders 50 cents per oven. Three drivers are also employed, at $1 per day. For the purpose of conveying the iron from the furnace- to the river, a narrow-gauge railroad has been constructed to Eockwood landing at King's creek, five miles distant,. 'CO Resources of Tennessee Along the An engine of the capacity of ten tons is used on the road. This capacity will be increased to fifteen tons by an im- provement in the grade of the road. The effects upon the surrounding country by the con- struction of these furnaces are everywhere apparent. Neat farm houses have sprung up, and a lively demand has been created for all farm products. The village has three churches, two public schools, one store, one hotel, six blacksmith shops, two wagon shops, one livery stable, one bakery, one tin shop, and three shoemakers' shops. All this improvement has taken place in the last eight years, and shows in the most practical manner the effects of manufactures upon the agricultural interests of the State. Wages have been advanced in price, but agricultural pro- ducts have advanced at a greater ratio. Civilization, with all its ameliorating influences, has sprung up in a spot that was a wilderness ten years ago. Lands are more valuable, and a general air of prosperity pervades the whole region. FilOM ROCKWOOD TO E.^IORY MiNE. The valley, as it extends above Rockwood, continues broken, but the ariKnmt of arable land is greater than the section below from White's creek to Rockwood, and more fertile. The average yield of wheat is 10 bushels per acre; corn, 40; oats, 35. The valley terminates at Iveagan's tunnel, near Emory gap, a spur running from the mountain to the ridges on the east. Patches of the Trenton rocks are seen at places cropping out at the surface. The Clinton or dyestone formation is continuous, and forms quite an interesting study at the Emory Gap tunnel, seven miles above. At this place a fault occurs, the downthrow of the Cumberland Table-laud on the west, and the uplift of the Knox group on the east, throwing all the strata of the Dyestone group entirely over. Cincinnati Southe7'n Raihcay. 61 reversing the order not only in dip but in position. The strata here dip south-east at an antrle of 32 degrees. Usu- ally the Dyestone group dips under the mountain. The edge of the strata coming out from the mountain has been folded back, throwing the black shale and Siliceous group below the iron ore. The section taken at Emory mine, by Professor Bradley, (see Emory Mines) illustrates the man- ner of this folding back. The tunnel crosses the strata at an angle S. 60° W., and a section, on next page, kindly furnished me by C. Breck- inridge, division engineer, will prove an interesting study for geologists. From the Emory Gap or Keagan Tunnel, eastward to Kingston, rounded, cherty ridges prevail, w^ith trough-like ravines. The ridge nearest tlie railroad has a comjiaratively flat top, with some cultivated areas, though the soil is thin. The prevailing timber is black oak, white oak and pine, with an undergrowth of dogwood. Judging from the char- acter of the natural growth, the soil is well adapted to the growth of tobacco. The ridge nearest the Tennessee River, and running parallel with it, is about 200 feet high, well wooded, and belongs to the Knox formation. Kingston is situated at the junction of the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers, on the eastern side of the former, and north of the latter stream. It is 120 miles by river from Chattanooga, and five miles from the Cincinnati South- ern Railroad. It has a population of about 1000, and is well situated for manufacturing establishments. It has eight or ten commercial establishments. An estal)lishment for the manufacture of steel has been recently erected. The steel is made by a new process, and takes a high rank in the market for the manufacture of tools. Only six hands are employed, and the product amounts to about 26,000 lbs. per month. A large amount of freight is brought down the Clinch PS H ;= O H Ph O o // //// // '//I nt^ /° 'l/\ ,V. ^ !^lt^ fr'sl. ■I?:. hm m r^ia Cincinnati Southern Railway. 63 during high water. It is estimated that 250 flat boats an- iiuaDy come down that stream, loaded with corn, bacon, bay, oats, dried fruits, pig-iron from Cumberh\nd Gap, and coal from P]mory mine, Poplar Gap, and ])oints above. Seven steamboats ply the Tennessee River to this point and below. Over 3 00 rafts of saw-logs, in addition to other produce, are floated to Chattanooga and points below from the country watered by the Clinch. Immediately in the vicinity of Kingston there are extensive and valuable de- posits of iron ore. Those south of the river hav^e been mentioned in the report of the Ocoee and Hiwassee mineral district. Deposits of brown hematite are found in a ridge east of Kingston. Baryta occurs, of excellent quality, near the Tennessee River. Some beautiful variegated mar- ble is found south of the same stream. Coal exists in great abundance within six miles of the town, and many valua- ble forests of excellent timber surround it. The coal can be brought down the Clinch river from the Emory mine, Oakdale, Poplar Creek, Coal Creek, and from other points, at a small cost. Slack-water navigation would enable the coal to be brought out at any season. For the manufacture of charcoal and stone-coal iron there are but few places that combine so many natural advantages as Ivingston. Should the proposed line of railroad, leading from Lenoir's, on the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, to Emory Gap, on the Cincinnati Southern, be constructed, Kingston would soon rival in wealth and population any place in East Tennessee. The farming lands surrounding it are ex- cellent, and supplies could be raised to feed a large popula- tion. The first and second bottoms, which include all the lands between the rivers and the hills, are half a mile, and sometimes even a mile wide. It rarely happ.Mis that good bottom lands are found on opposite sides of this stream, but this happens below Kingston. The lower bottoms, with slovenly cultivation, make from fifty to sixty bushels of 64 Resources of Tennessee Along the corn per acre, and hay in great quantities. Oats frequently fail by reason of rust on the lower hmd.s, which yield from fifteen to twenty bushels on clover sod. Board timber is abundant, and lumber of all kinds is cheap, varying, ac- cording to quality, from one dollar to one dollar and fifty cents per hundred. Emory Coal Mines. These mines have been opened on the south-eastern side of Walden's Ridge, along the north-eastern line of Roane county, between the Little Emory and Big Emory rivers, and two or three miles distant from the railroad. , There are two thick seams of coal at this place, besides three or four thin ones. The main seam worked is in Wal- den's Ridge, and is the equivalent of the Rock wood seam,, and designated in Prof. Bradley's section as Coal No. 6. Its average thickness is about four feet, while in many places it reaches five, though pinching down at others to three or less. The average dip is about sixty degrees. The section taken from Prof. Bradley's report to the Wilcox Mining Company, given below, will show the general position of the strata : Cindnnati Southern Railway. 65 If this section were continued southward to the dump- house on Big Emory river, it would pass across about 3,000 feet of Cincinnati and Trenton rocks and utiotlier l)and of the Dyestone group. East of the dump-house the Black Slate and St. Louis limestones are seen. The position of the strata 1 ,200 yards east of Bemess ferry on Big Emory north to AVhetstone mountain, is so interesting, that I give Prof. Bradley's description in full, he having spent a con- siderable time upon the ground in working it out. " In approaching the property," says Prof Bradley in his able and elaborate report, " whether by the direct road from Knoxville or from Kingston, and while yet about two miles from the Company's store, we pass from the Knox group across the fault" — (the fault spoken of begins near Bemess ferry and runs east, showing on the south the shales of the Knox group, and on the north the Dyestone grouj>) — "just mentioned, directly to the shales of the Dyestone group, dipping southward. At the tannery, on the Knoxville road, one bed of the dyestone or argillaceous lenticular iron ore is exposed ; and the second may exist, though I have not seen it here. Thence we cross an anticlinal valley, in which the Cincinnati group limestones are not generally un- covered by the overlying shales, except near the Big Emory, and find it followed by a synclinal ridge, at the nearer base of which both bands of dyestone are developed, and have been worked, in former years, for the supply of the old Emory furnace, long since destroyed, whose site is recog- nized by the masses of cinders scattered on the left of the road as we approach the ford of little Emory river. Both the Black Shale and the Subcarboniferous limestones are here prominently develoj)ed; and the section at this point afforded the larger measures of thickness of these beds recorded in the general section. The synclinal fold is a very sharp one, the dip on its southern side being here 84° (N. 30° W.), while on its northern side it reaches 63° 5 66 Resources of Tennessee Along the and (iQ° (S. 30° E.). Where it approaches the Big Emory, the ridge has been so cut off by ancient river action as to put the outcrops of the iron seams, on its southern side, out of sight under the alluvium ; at the same time, the northern side of the fold has become so nearly vertical as to leave it f its location, and the experi- ments which have been made in the vicinity in the growing -of fruits. The town is situated 1,500 feet above the sea, on a considerable plateau which extends southward for ten ov twelve miles to the breaks near Emory Gap. This j)lateau is traversed by occasional ravines and deep gorges,, hemmed in by precipitous sandstone bluffs. On the north- east Ward's Mountain looms up in majestic proportions iil)Out 1,200 feet above the town, and 2,700 feet above the sea. It is a long, rounded-toj) ridge, whose general course is north-east and south-west. Its slopes are densely 'clothed with forests of excellent timber, consisting of chestnut, - plies of corn they go, even though it be inaccessible for wheeled vehicles. Some of the plateau land, where a heavy turf has been formed, produces corn the second and third years after being opened — the corn plant being fed by the decaying turf. After the third year no reliance can be placed on it for that purpose, the fertilizing matter filtering down through the porous sand. The northern exposures of the ravines often produce twenty-five bushels of corn per acre; rye, ten bushels. Potatoes are not more productive here than on the plateau lands. They are usually grown upon manured lots near the dwellings, and. the yield is sometimes incredible. Clear Creek of Obed's river, makes a wide deep cut in. the Table-land. Beyond this, going south, are open woods, small timber, but standing thickly upon the ground ; black, oak mainly. The principal crops grown on the plateau are buckwheat, sorghum, and oats. The grazing privileges, are unexcelled. No calacanthus, ivy, or other poisonous- shrub is seen. Chestnut timber is very scarce, the older trees having died out and the smaller ones killed by the annual fires. There are many hickory glades. Crossing Obed's river, a tributary of the Emory, four miles north of Crossville, we come upon a thinly wooded region, abound- ing in wild grasses and excellent water. This would he an admirable place for herding cattle during the summer. This thinly wooded region covers here several hundred' square miles, and extends south of Crossville eight or nine miles. Scrubby blackjacks and small postoaks constitute the principal trees. It may be mentioned that every stream in this region,, which furrows its way to the lower strata, exposes seams o€ '92 Resources of Tennessee Along the coal. There is coal on Meadow Creek, Laurel Creek, Potts Creek, Drawing Creek, No Business, Clear Creek, and numerous others. Brown's bank and Andrews' bank have been opened on Laurel Creek, a tributary to Caney Fork. The coal for the blacksmiths shops in Crossville is obtained from this place. It is a hard block coal, and looks well. Eleven miles south of Crossville occurs a curious depres- sion on the Table-land, known as Grassy Cove. This depression is about four miles long, and contains about 5,000 acres. It lies on a line with Sequatchee Valley, and the coal measures have been eroded and washed away down to the limestone of the subcarboniferous. The cove is depressed three hundred feet below the average elevation of the table-land. Tlie soil is limestone and fertile. There are about forty families living in this cove. This remarkable indentation is in the fold of Crab Orchard Mountain, which lies between Emory river and the head of Sequatchee Valley. As before mentioned, it is cut into three unequal parts by Crab Orchard Gap and Grassy Cove. At Crab Orchard Gap, iiorth-east of Grassy Cove, the severance is complete, leaving room for an extensive farm between the abutting ends, while at Grassy Cove there is a wearing away of the strata so as to make a deep broad depression. The Crab Orchard Mountain, resuming its course at the south-western extremity of the cove, con- tinues in a direct line to the head of Sequatchee Valley. The strata of the table-land are horizontal, or approxi- mately so, at its western end, but as one approaches toward the east they lose their horizontality in part, and are found crowded into folds. The first important fold is Crab Orchard Mountain. It is, indeed, the same fold that pro- duced Sequatchee Valley, only it was not broken open on Cincinnati Southern Railway. 93 the back. In the highest part of this mountain the fold rises seven or eight hundred feet above the general level of the table-land, the strata of the mountain forming an arch. By this means limestone in places has been brought on a a level with the table-land. The water from Grassy Cove collects in Grassy Cove creek, which finds its way under the mountain, by a subterraneous passage to the head of Sequatchee Valley, a distance of four or live miles. This stream has a sufficient volume of water to drive a mill. This cove constitutes the best area of farming lands to be found in Cumberland county. Stock raising is carried on to a considerable extent. Mr. Richard Marston, of En- gland, is engaged here in breeding Shropshire-down sheep, and Mr. Stratton in raising Devon cattle. The latter gentleman has been experimenting with grade Angora goats, and finds them quite profitable. They live through- out the year upon the shrubs that grow on the mountain slopes. He estimates the cost of the flesh not to exceed one cent per pound. He raised seventy-five kids with less trouble and expense than an equal number of chickens. One of the finest presentations of coal in the State is to be seen four miles south-east of Grassy Cove, on the head waters of White's creek, and about eight miles west of the line of road. This coal bank is in Cumberland county, and is known as McCall's bank. It is eleven feet thick, with a horizontal bed of shale above. The coal shows some disturbance. Occasionally masses of shale are found imbedded in the seam. The coal rests upon a bed of fire- clay, the thickness of which could not be determined with- out considerable expense.. The coal much resembles the Rockwood in appearance and general structure, though it is some harder, and will bear shipping with less loss. The seom outcrops 192 feet below the road on the top of Walden's Ridge. Swaggerty's Cove is another indentation in the Crab 94 Resource of Tennessee Along the Orchard fold between Grassy Cove and the head of Seqiiatchee Valley. On the slopes of the mountain sur- rounding this cove is as large timber as can be found in the State. It would be very valuable if not so difficult of access. Passing over another ridge, we enter Seqaatchee Valley This remarkable valley is about seventy miles long and four, miles wide, and is rich in agricultural and mineral wealth. The Knox grou[) forms the centre of the valley, with the Trenton rocks in strips on east side. The Dyestone group and mountain limestone hug the mountain escarpments. On the east side of the valley there is almost an unbroken seam of dyestone ore, varying from one to six feet thick. "Great beds of calc spar also occur on the same side. On the opposite or western side of the valley, coal is found up every notch in the mountain. Through the centre of the valley, which will average about four miles in width, the Sequatchee river flows, supplying sufficient water power for all economical purposes. Here, within a limited area, are found three of the greatest levers of human civilization — fertile lands, coal and iron. Here can be united in the most profitable relations, and on the most extensive scale, the producer and consumer. A great system of manufac- turing industry should spring up in this valley, compelling the raw material to serve the })urposes of commerce, and contribute to the wealth and greatness of the State. At present, under the stimulating effiicts of an English com- pany, a railroad is being built by the Nashville and Chatta- nooga Railroad Company, up the valley, from Jasper, at its foot, to the Victoria mines, a distance of eight miles. This road will convey coal to the works at South Pittsburg, where (piite an extensive town is laid out, and foundations for furnaces laid. Everything is done in the very best style. The productiveness of the soil of this valley is well known. Cincinnati South&rn Raihoay. 95 Here all the cereals and grasses find a congenial home ; and the large number of hogs and cattle annually driven out to Chattanooga and other points, justify the assertion that no better farming lands are to be found in the State. It is es- timated that 3,000 beef cattle and 12,000 hogs are annually fattened and driven out this valley. With a railroad running up to the head of this valley, and passing over Walden's Ridge to connect with the Cin- cinnati Southern, the lower half of our coal field will be ribboned with railway lines, from which arms may be thrown •out, and the entire southern half of the coal field made avail- able to our people and profitable to the State. At present these coal fields add but little to the revenue of the State, being assessed at from ten to fifty cents per acre. With })roper exertion on the part of our people, both in their cor- porate and individual capacity, these lands may yet pay off tlie State debt by increased valuation. In Indiana, such hinds as these roads will open, are rated at from one hundred to three hundred dollars per acre, and capital from various parts of the country have been attracted thither for profita- ble investment. In Pennsylvania, lands in the same coal field, with the identical seams, sell for as much as one thous- and dollars per acre. In tlie State of Tennessee, although tlie coal lies contiguous to iron ore of first-rate quality, ten dollars per acre for coal lands would be ponsidered an exor- bitant price. With the oj)ening of these railroads, and a proper presentation of the resources that lie on these routes, it is to be expected that these lands will command such a price as their inherent value justifies. South of Tennessee River. Walden's Ridge, south of the Tennessee River, takes the name of Racoon Mountain. Here the mountain is much cut up by deep ravines, and its continuity is almost de- 96 Resources of Tennessee Along the stroyed. Nevertheless, some good coal seams, both on the upper and lower coal measures, are found on this side of the river. The principal mines opened are the ^Etna and Vul- can, both lying in Marion county, on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad ; the first about thirteen miles west of Chattanooga, and the latter sixteen. Battle Creek mines- are on the Jasper branch of the same road, and the produc- tion of coal amounts to 19,500 bushels per month. ^TNA Mines. Kaccoon Mountain, in which these mines are opened^ rises about 800 feet above the bed of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Upon its top is a plateau with a superimposed ridge, which contains two seams of coal. The section as given on pages 98 and 99 will show the various seams at this place, with their thickness, and the thickness of other strata. It will be seen that there are five seams below the lower conglomerate, two between the upper and lower conglom- erate, and three in the upper coal measures. The first seam from the bottom has never been worked. The second, known as the Mill Creek seam, is opened on the right of Mill Creek, about one mile from the railroad. The thick- ness of the coal varies from two to three feet. The coal is laminate and lustreless. The entry has been driven in about 700 feet, fifty-four degrees west of north. Below the coal occurs a black shale. The coal and shale often run inta and intertwist with each other in wavy lines, sometimes one and then the other disappearing. Below the shale are ripple-marked flagstones and sandy shales, with nodules of clay iron-stones. In some places in this entry the upper surface is horizontal, and six or eight inches of good block coal lies against the roof. Below this the coal is more shelly and soft, with a contorted lamination. In a cross Cincinnati Southern Railway. 97 entry, running north and south, which has been driven to the right, is seen a great wall of shale that crosses the entry at an angle of about twenty degrees. The roof in this entry has an arched appearance in places, and at others is wavy and irregular, with convexities. The bottom is generally smooth. Cross entries are made on each side of the main entry al- ternately, 150 feet apart. A block of coal, 27 feet wide is left on each side of the main entry to support the roof. Rooms are turned every nine yards from the cross entries. Horizontal Plan of JFAnn Mines— Kelly Seam. The Kelly seam, the seventh from the bottom and the third from the top, has been opened about two feet above the railroad. It has been more extensively worked than all the others combined. About twenty acres of coal have been taken out. This is, doubtless, the equivalent of the Sewanee ; at least it occurs about the same horizon. The 7 98 Resources of Tennessee Along the Total in Section. Ft. & In. Matkrials. 116 167 214 298 391 Surface. Ft. In. Sandstone.. 11 11 5^ 11 557 11 Shaly Sandstone.. COAL-Oak Hill. Shale and Thin Coal. COAL-Slate Vein.... Z^ Shale. ,1 COAL— Kelly Coal. -! Fire Clay , UPPER CONGLOMERATE (Simply a Sandstone.) 5 6 32 4 46 566 6 44 9 2 1 8 6 COAL Yellow Sandy Shale . Gray Shale. COAL Gray Sandy Shale LOWER CONGLOMERATE (ClififRocki) COAL— Main .Etna Fire Cliiy Shale, re.ifinbling Hickory Bark.... COAL Gray Shale. 82 45 47 45 95 2 to 5 2 20 10 Oincinnati Southern Railway. 9J) Total. Section. CONTINUKD. Ft. 653 676 756 868 Gray Shale 95 COAL .' •. ' Black Shale 20 COAL— Mill Creek vein [ 2 Fire Clay j 3 Shale with nodules of Cai^onate of Iron ; 40 Gray Shale. COAL— Lowest Bed . Fire Clay Shales and Shaly Sandstone. Limestone. 109 In. «eam is continuous, and varies in thickness from twenty to forty-eight inches. At the distance of six hundred yards in the mines a basin occurs in the coal seam, which covers probably six acres. Towards this basin the coal inclines, and increases in thickness. The water interferes so much, that the coal from this basin will have to be worked from a perpendicular shaft. The mine is drained by a pump ; ca- pacity forty gallons per minute. The coal, when taken from the Kelly mine has no supe- rior in the State. It shows a fibrous structure across the plane of lamination. The laminse are often separated by seams of mineral charcoal. The coal is very pure, burning with a brilliant glow, and making an intense heat, leaving ^s a residum about two-and-a-half per cent, of fawn-colored 100 Resources of Tennessee Along the ash. The following analysis of this coal was made by Julius G. Pohle, ofNew York: Volatile and bituminous matter 21.39 Carbon in coke 74.20 Sulpbur 70 Ash — fawn color •• 2.70 Moisture , 1.30 99.99 Specific gravity 1.281 Dr. Pohle says : •^Thecpal is well adapted to gas-making so far as the quality of the bituminous, matter is concerned, but the quan- tity is not so great as the coal usually used for that purpose, which latter usually yields from forty to fifty per cent, of volatile matter." About 130 men are employed in these mines, fifty of whom are miners. When employed by the day. the miners receive two dollars and fifty cents. Usually the coal is mined at a price depending upon the thickness of the seam, varying, however, from sixty-five cents to one dollar and twenty cents per ton. Common laborers are paid per day one dollar. The driving of entries is let tu the highest bid- der, but the coal taken out is paid for separately. The coal is brought down from the mountain to the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad by three inclines : First — One thousand feet of track, nearly level, from the mouth of the Kelly mine to the head of a steep incline. Second — A gravity plane, 3,500 feet long, running from the termination of the first to a stationary engine on Mill Creek. Third — A track extending from Mill Creek to the screens on the railroad, 3,700 feet long, A steel cable is used in letting down and drawing up the cars. The facilities for loading cars at the railroad are very great. There are numerous shoots with screens, having au Cincinnati Southern Railway. 101 aggregate capacity of 500 tons per day. For furnishing locomotives an ingenious contrivance has been perfected by which trains are stopped but a few seconds, the coal being weighed in lots of fifty bushels, and shipped into the ten- ders from a shaft by lever action. There are eighty-three coke ovens, having a capacity of 1,500 bushels per day, though the actual amount of coke made rarely exceed half that amount. One hundred bush- els of coal will make one hundred and twenty bushels of coke. The coke is very hard, and will bear up any weight desired. It is mainly used in foundries, and brings from fifteen to seventeen cents per bushel. Bartow Furnace, in Georgia, is supplied with coke from this place. The coal taken from these mines brings a higher price than any other mined in the State. Lump coal, loaded on the cars, sells for 12 cents per, bushel; fine coal, for blacksmith purposes, 12|^ cents; run of the mines, 11 cents. The coke and coal from these mines are shipped to New Orleans, St. Louis, Louisville, and even as far as Texas. Xhe New Orleans, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad takes ten car loads per month for their shops. The coal taken from the Mill Creek seam makes a coke much inferior to that taken from the Kelly seam above. A considerable amount of coal from the Kelly seam is used for gas at Chattanooga, Huntsville, Atlanta, and Augusta. A little village has been built up near the railroad ; and upon the plateau above, at the mouth of the Kelly mine, some forty houses have been erected for miners. They are -rented from one to three dollars per month. 102 Resources of Tennessee Along the The following table will show the shipments for the year: ending August 31 : SHIPMENTS OF COAL FKOM ^TNA MINES FROM SEPT. 1, 1875, TO AUG. 31^ 1876, iNCLTJsrv'E. 1875. Bush. September 59,346 October 53,668 November 51,642 December 53,935 1876. January 25,800 February 34,691 March' 55,346 April 33,921 May 36,714 June 42,820 July 39,571 August 56,133 $543,587 Vulcan Mines. These mines have been opened in the northern extensioi> of Sand Mountain, seventeen miles west of Chattanooga, immediately on the line of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. They are owned and operated by the Bartow Iron Company, of Georgia. A tramway 1,400 feet long brings the coal down to the railroad. Thirty coke ovens have been constructed, but only six are in repair. The lower seam worked at this place corresponds with the Mill Creek seam at the ^Etna mines. This seam here varies in thickness from a few inches to five and a half feet. The thick coal usually occurs after a " squeeze." The strata here are very irregular, occurring in rolls andhorse- backs. The coal lies between strata of black shale very hard. The shale is highly bituminous, and miich of it will burn as well as peat. Below the underlying black shale is a hard sandy shale. This coal is irregular in its structure. At the top and bottom it is very hard, but in the center of Cincinnati Southern Railway. 103 the seam it frequently exhibits a crushed appearance, the laminae showing wrinkles. Where squeezes occur a thin seam is generally left, which serves as a guide. These squeezes rarely extend more than ten yards when going at right angles to it. The coal is often mixed, in consequence of these squeezes, with the overlying shale. Sometimes this shale is interstratified with the coal, especially where the coal is thick. The further the entry is driven in the mountain the thicker the coal. The average of eight measurements of the seam is 3|^ feet. The top of this mine is not very good. This seam is worked altogether by con- victs, and the estimated cost of mining is between fifiy and sixty cents per ton of twenty-eight bushels. The iEtna seam above the fourth from bottom, in the ^^tna mines, has been worked for many years. It was formerly worked at the ^T^tna mines, but is now abandoned at that place. This has a wide spread under the lower conglomerate, or clifF rock. It is very irregular in thickness, varying from sixteen inches to four feet; occasionally sinking to a few inches. The coal has seams of mineral charcoal between its laminre. It is a good lump coal, and is used in gas works and for blacksmith purposes. The seam will average prol)ably twenty-two inches in thickness. For digging, eighty cents, ninety cents, and one dollar, is paid per ton. The first price for digging where the seam is two feet and over; the second for twenty- two inches and over, and the third where the seam falls below twenty-two inches. Only free labor is employed in working this coal. The quantity now taken out does not exceed one hundred and fifty bushels per day. The coke made from this coal is very pure, and sells for fifteen cents per bushel. That made from the lower seam is rough, full of shaly material, and very inferior. About sixty-four men are employed at the Vulcan mines, forty-one of whom are convicts. 104 Besources of Tennessee Along the The nnintity of coal and coke mined and shipped from these mines for the year ending Aug. 31, 1876, was 305,280 bushels. Of this less than one-tenth was coke. The coal from the upper, or ^Etna seam, sells for 11^^ to 12^^ cents per bushel ; that from the lower sefcm from 8 to 9 rents. The average daily production to the man employed, is forty-eight bushels. The Kelly seam, and the two above, as shown in the ^Etna section, are wanting at this place. KnoxviUe and Ohio Railroad. 105 KNOXVILLE AND OHIO RAILROAD SECTION. \Ye now propose to direct attention to a portion of the Tennessee coal and iron fields that are in rapid process of development, which a connecting link with the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, by way of jNIorrowville and Poteet Gap, will immensely hasten. The KnoxviUe and Ohio Railroad takes the general direction of north-west from KnoxviUe to Careyville, in Campbell county, and has been completed to that point, a distance of thirty-eight miles. The road has been graded for eight miles further, to a point near Morrowville (Buck- eye Tavern). A preliminary survey was made from this point to the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, by Major Ernest Ruhl, and submitted to Col. C. M. McGhee, President of the KnoxviUe and Ohio Railroad. This report contains so much information in regard to the topography of the country between the two roads, and is of such general interest, that I give its more important parts, as well as the estimates given for the construction of the connecting link by several routes : The main obstacle in the way of the connection, says Major Euhl, in his report, is the problem of overcoming the divide between the waters of Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. In my opinion there is only one feas- ible point where this can be accomplished, and this is Poteet's Gap. The balance is comparatively light work for a road through such a mountain- ous country. The point of divergence from the KnoxviUe and Ohio Railroad, form- erly located through Elk Gap, would be at tlie confluence of the two main prongs of Cove Creek; one heading at Elk Gap and the other at Poteet's Gap, a place known by the name of Buck-eye Tavern (Morow- ville). The country north-west from Buck-eye Tavern consists of several chains of high mountains — Buflalo, Jellico, and Beach mountains — caus- 106 Resources of Tennessee Along the ing a direct line from Biick-eye Tavern to the Cincinnati Southern Kail- way to be infeasible, as it would require one continuous tunnel with an occasional gap for ventilation. It may, therefore, be assumed as a fact that any connecting line between the Knoxville and Ohio road and the Cincinnati Southern has to take the route through Poteet's Gap. The main difficulty about Poteet's Gap is the fact that there is no- valley, not even a ravine, heading at the west side of it ; that the line has to cross the valley of Straight VovV about half a mile west from the sum. mit, and that the difference in elevntion between the gap and the valley is three hundred and forty feet. A line was run from Poteet's Gap about one mile up Straight Fork* thence crossing the valley, down again on the west side, for the purpose o increasing distance, thus to be enabled to overcome part of difference in elevation by grade. The idea was abandoned because the work require^ for construction proved to be heavy ; but principally on account of the narrowness of the valley, necessitating a semicircular curve of less radius than is permissible on a safe railroad. There are two ways of overcoming the difficulty in the line through Poteet's Gap and the immediate crossing of the adjoining valley of Straight Fork. One is by a tunnel of about four thousand feet in length and an embankment fifty feet high for four hundred feet in length, thence from fifty feet in height decreasing gradually to nothing !■> two hundred and fifty feet distance on each side of the short high till. The other method is by a tunnel of one thousand eight hundred feet in length and iron trestle work one hundred and fifty feet high for about four hundred and fifty feet in length, thence from one hundred and fifty feet in height decreasing to forty feet in height in ;i hout five hundred feet distance on each side of the highest part of the strncture, thus aggregating one thousand four hundred and fifty feet of iron trestle. The relative cost of the two proposed plans is about: 4,000 feet tunnel in soft material, 13J cubic vards per linear feet, at $2i per cubic vard '. $135,000 1,333,333 feet B. M. timber at $35 per 1,000 46,666 Packing 5,334 Total for tunnel 4.000 feet long $187,000 Adjacent embankment 70,000 cubic yards barrow, at 30 cents per cubic yard 21,000 Total $208,000 Iron trestle 1,450 feet long $100,000 1,200 cubic yards dimension mass 18,000 Iron trestle $118,000 Tunnel 1,800 feet long 84,000 Total $202,000 S T AT E « - J J J' ' Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. 107 The difference in elevation of grade between the two lines being one hundred and two feet, the lower line will decrease the work west of crossing of Straight Fork over the higher one to a larger amount than the dift'er- ence in cost between the long tunnel and the high trestle with short tun- nel will come to. But there is no necessity of executing immediately either of the above proposed plans, as a temporary track might be constructed on a grade sixty-six feet to the mile at a reasonable cost, thus getting the road in running order without being delayed by any tunnel, as the balance of the road can be built and operated in less than twelve months from the time of breaking ground. It would likewise defer the expenditure of a large sum until the road is able to sustain itself and pay for its improvements- For temporary track there would be i-equired east of Poteet's Gap, to overcome two hundred feet in elevation, a distance of three miles ; on the west side, to overcome three hundred feet in elevation, a distance of four and a half miles ; in all seven and a half miles. The probable cost of it would be : For grading, about $3,000 per mile $28,800 Cross-ties and track-laying, $1,500 per mile 11,150 $33,750- This amount of $33,750 covers all the positive loss that would occur after the permanent road is built, as the iron can be taken up from the temporary track and used again. After reaching once the water of Straight Fork the road will have to follow it to Buffalo creek, down that creek to New Kiver, thence down New Eiver to the mouth of Paint Kock creek. As above stated, there is only one feasible route as far as Paint Eock creek. Between the crossing of Buffalo creek and Paint Rock a tunnel six hundred feet in length will be necessary to avoid following a horse- shoe bend in the river. The balance of the work is of such a character as will cost, on a portion of the Cincinnati Southern Eailway, through a country of similar topography, about $20,000 per mile. The tunnel of six hundred feet in length will cost about g;28,000. The distance from Buck-eye Tavern to Paint Eock is twelve miles. In order to make the connection at the New Eiver crossing of the Cin- cinnati Southern Railway, the line keeps the slope of the river bluff from the mouth of Paint Eock, with the exception of two bends in the river, which need not be follovved, the ground laying in a more direct line being favorable to locate the road on. The whole distance from Paint Eock to the Engineer's office at New Eiver is seven and a half miles. Two miles of it may be estimated at about $25,000 per mile, and the balance, of five and a half miles, at about $20,000 per mile. 108 Resources of Tennessee Along the The line passing through Huntsville, and forming a connection near Newport, will have to cross Paint Rock creek on a bridge ninety-five feet high, with approaches of iron trestle-work, costing in all abo^^it $22,000. Between Paint Rock and Huntsville a tunnel will be required of eight hundred and sixty feet in length, costing about $40,000. The distance from Paint Rock to a point on Cincinnati Southern Railway, near New- port, is six miles, of which two miles will cost about $25,000 per mile, and the balance, of four miles, $20,000 per mile, exclusive of the $62,000 for tunnel and crossing of Paint Rock. The line to form connection near Dick Smith's, like the one joining the Cincinnati Southern Railway near New River, will require a bridge across Paint Rock of only such elevation as to be above high water. Of the different branches of Paint Rock examined, I prefer Keeding's Fork for the line. The distance from the mouth of Paint Rock creek to the inter- section with Cincinnati Southern Railway, near Dick Smith's, will be ten miles. Through Smith's Gap in the divide between Paint Rock and Pine creek, a tunnel of about eight hundred feet in length will be necessary, costing $37,000. The first three miles from the mouth of Paint Rock up, may be estimated at $25,000 per mile ; the upper seven miles at $20,000 per mile. Below will be found an approximate estimate, and a summary of the different routes, as given by Major Ruhl : ESTIMATE OF COST FROM CAREYVILLE TO PAINT ROCK. Repairing road-bed from Careyville to Buck-eye $20,000 Iron, ties, and track-laying, at $9,000 per mile 72,000 Total from Careyville to Buck-eye.. $92,000 Work on Poteet's Gap 208,000 Tunnel between Buffalo and Paint Kock creek 28,000 Grading from Buck-eye to Paint Rock, 12 miles, at $20,000 per mile 240,000 12 miles track from Buck-eye to Paint Pock, at $9,000 108,000 Total from Careyville to Paint Rock $676,000 ESTIMATE OF COST FROM CAREYVILLE TO NEW RIVER JUNCTION. From Careyville to Paint Rock $676,000 From Paint Rock to Engineer's office, grading ,$160,000 -Seven and half miles track 67,500 Total from Paint Rock to Engineer' office.... 227,500 Grand total for New River connection $903,500 Estimate of permanent work at Poteet's $208,000 " temporary " " 90,000 Deduct difference between permanent and temporary 118,000 New River Junction actual necessary outlay $785,500 Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. ' 109 ESTIMATE OF COST FROM CAREYVILLE TO NEWPORT JUNCTION. From Careyville to Paint Rock $676,000 High trestle and tunnel near Paint Rock $62,000 Grading 2 miles, atS25,000; 4 miles at $20,000 130,000 Track for six miles 54,000 Total from Paint Rock to Newj^ort Junction $246,000 Grand total for Newport Connection $922,000 Deduct difference between temporary and permanent work at Poteet's 118,000 Newport Junction actual necessary outlay $804,000 ESTIMATE OF COST FROM CAREYVILLE TO SMITH'S JUNC- TION. From Careyville to Paint Rock $676,000 Tunnel at Smith's Gap $37,000 Grading 3 miles, at 825,000 ; 7 miles at $20,000 215,000 Track for ten miles 90,000 Total from Paint Rock to Smith's Junction .. $342,000 Grand total for Smith's Connection $1,018,000 Deduct difference between permanent and temporary work at Poteet's 118,000 Smith's Junction actual necessary outlay $9000,00 110 ' Resources of Tennessee Along the SUMMARY OF THE DIFFERENT ROUTES. Point of connection on Cin- cinnati Southern Rail- way distant from line. Miles of new road to be built. Entire cost of permanent , work, including repair of grades and track from Careyville to Cincinnati Southern Railway. p:ntire cost of making con- ndction from Careyville to point on Cincinnati Soutliern Railway with temporary track through Poteet's Gap. Distance from Knoxville tp Cincinnati. At Emory Gap, 256 miles from Cincinnati. 40 miles. 296 miles. Near crosssing of New River, 216 miles from Cincinnati. 19J miles. $903,500 $785,500 282 mileff. Near Newports, 21 3| miles from Cincinnati. 18 miles. $922,000 $804,000 278 miles. Near Dick Smith's 23 206 miles frnm Cin- miles, ■cinnati. $1,018,000 $900,000 274^ miles. This connecting link would lie wholly within the coal measures, and would open a country hitherto unknown, but destined in the future to add immensely to the wealth of the State. Coal Creek Coat. Mines. After leaving Knoxville, the Knoxville and Ohio Rail- road cuts a number of ridges of the Knoxville formation at right angles, passing these, generally through low gaps or by deep cuts, tapping the coal field at Coal Creek, thirty miles above Knoxville, crossing the Clinch River at Clin- ton. At Coal Creek Station Walden's Ridge is cut by Coal Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. Ill Creek, which comes out from the mountain at right angles. Through this cut a branch railroad, half a mile long, has been built up to the mines, which have been opened on the main mountain, back of the gap. In the little back valley two streams, one from the north and the other from the south, unite to form Coal Creek. They meet, and the combined waters flow out at right angles to the tributary streams, The general section, as given by Prof. Bradley, shows twenty-one seams of coal at this place, ten of which are of workable thickness. The total aggregate thickness is thirty feet. The entire thickness of the coal measures is about •r'^,000 feet. The seam worked is the fifth from the bottom, and is about 140 feet from the bed of the creek. It varies from four to seven feet in thickness, and supplies a cubical coal that presents a very handsome appearance when carried to market. Not more than one-tenth is lost in mining and handling. Five companies are actively engaged in mining at this place, viz. : Anderson Coimty Coal Company, Knoxville Iron Company. Black Diamond Company. Franklin Company. I/mpire Company. The mine of Anderson County Coal Company is situated a half mile south of the Black Diamond mine. The main entry is driven in about 260 yards — direction south 70 west. Twelve yards from the mouth an entry was turned to the left, running south 25 east; then turns in the same direction as the main entry. At the distance of fifty yards another ■entry is turned south 70 east, running in that direction for about 100 yards, when it takes the same parallel course with the other two. The rooms are turned on the left of ^ach entry, and twelve yards apart. The following section of the coal was taken on the inside : 112 Resources of Tennessee Along the Roof, Hard Black Shale, Thin. Ft. In. Coal 4 Shale 1 Coal 2 Shale 1 Coal 2 Shale 1 Coal .^. 1 6 Total thickness of Coal .* 4 The fire clay at the bottom is hard and sandy. The coal dips slightly south 75 west, but the mine drains itself, the coal being worked in every instance upward. This com- pany employs fifty persons generally; thirty-five of them are miners. Royalty to the owner, from whom the prop- erty is leased, one cent per bushel. Cost of mining, 2J cents for mixed and 3 cents for lump coal. President, E. C. Camp, general manager, Knoxville; C O. Ward, agent. Coal Creek.^ The mine of the Knoxvile Iron Company has an entry for the distance of 286 yards, bearing south 75 west for that distance. Afterwards it turns to the left for 250 yards to an entry that runs parallel to the first. The main entries are driven seven nnd a-half feet wide, and five and a-half to six and a-half feet high. Cross entries are turned at 108 yards apart, of the same dimensions as the main entry. The rooms are all turned to the right, and are worked through to each cross entry. The rooms are fourteen yards wide, leaving a pillar of six yards between each room and the entries. The coal here has also several shale partings, as is shown by the section below Beginning at the top : Eoof, Hard, Tough Black Shale. Ft. In. Coal... 5 Shale 3 Coal 2^ Fire Clay U Coal 1 6' Shale 2 Coal 2 3 Soft Shale 5 Bottom Coal 10 Total thickness of Coal 5 2 Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. 113 The method adopted in mining here deserves mention. No blasting powder is employed. The three-inch shale seam next to the upper coal is picked out, and the five inches of outlying coal prized down. This is carried in for five or six feet. Then the second parting is taken out, and the coal below prized up. This process is continued until all is removed. By this means the coal is not shivered to such an extent as when blasting powder is used, and the blocks can be taken out in almost any size. There is a verv small proportion of slack, not exceeding one-tenth of the coal taken out, even after going through all the handling necessary to get it upon the cars ready for shipment to market. The roof, composed of hard black shale, rarely breaks down. The bottom is hard fire clay, interstratified with thin sandstones. The coal dips a little west of north ; there- fore, all cross entries are turned to the left. The coal i& brought to the mouth of the mine on wooden tracks of three-feet gauge. Some of the entries are laid with T rails,. 11 lbs. to the yard. This company employs forty miners and about thirty other persons, and ships about 90,000 bushels per month. Royalty one cent per bushel. Miners are paid 2|- cents per bushel for mixed coal and 3 cents for lump coal. Major W. R. Tuttle, Knoxville, manager ; M. Llewellyn^ agent at Coal Creek. The Black Diamond mine is situated about one mile south and west from the last mentioned. The main entry, driven under the spur of Butt Mountain, bears south 53 west, and runs in this direction for 70 yards; then turns south 37 east for the distance of 400 yards, There are four cross en- tries turned to the right, -45 yards apart, and nearly all the 8 114 Resources of Tennessee Along the rooms are turned to the left. The section taken in this mine shows : Ft. In. Coal 4^ Shale 3 Coal 1 9 Shale 1 Coal 1 1 Shale 1 Coal 8^ Shale sj Coal 10 Total thickness of Coal : 4 9 The top is a hard, tough shale ; bottom, fire clay, very hard. The same system of" mining is carried on here as at the mine of the Knoxville Iron Company. This company employs sixty-five persons, forty of whom are miners. Miuers are paid the same rates as paid by the other compa- nies mentioned. Fifteen car loads, or 3,750 bushels, ai-e taken out daily from this mine, or an average of 83 bushels for each miner employed. The monthly shipment will amount to about 64,000 bushels. The Franklin mine was not examined, but is understood that the top is bad, 'and the coal has two shale partings, one eight inches thick, and another six. The lower parting has coal below one foot thick. The seam, including the shale partings, is four feet thick. This company employs sixty persons, forty of whom are miners. The average daily pro- duction of coal is five car loads, or 1,250 bushels, which f^hows a small average for the number of men employed. During the month of October the shipments amounted to 23,750 bushels. The Empire mine is situated on the east side of Butt Mountain (a local name given to a rounded projection of the main mountain) 400 yards north of the mine of the Knoxville Iron and Coal Company. The main entry, at Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. 115 the distance of 150 yards, has a cross entry to the left. This -entry has three others turned to the left and three to the right. The rooms are on the right and lel't, and are worked upon the same system as the other mines in the locality. Sixty-five persons find employment in this mine, forty of whom are miners. Plight car loads are the daily produc- tion. The shale partings occur in this as in the Franklin mine. The amount of coal shipped in October was 190 cars, or 47,500 bushels. These three mines last mentioned are under one manage- ment : — W. S. Geers, superintendent, Coal Creek ; James Frazer, agent, Knoxville. The wages of miners have been given. For drivers and outside hands, from one to two dollars per day is paid; boys, 75 cents. I am indebted to Edward P. Moses, of Knoxville, for the subjoined statement (commencing on next page) per- taining to the coal trade of the Knoxville and Ohio railroad. 116 Resources of Tennessee Along the It will be noticeed that the shipments from Coal Creek and Careyville have been consolidated. A very large proportion was shipped from Coal Creek, the shipments from Careyville having been, in 1873, 14,676 tons; in 1874, 6,371 tons; in 1875, 3,774 tons: and in 1876 (tirst ten months), only 494 tons ; so that we may say all the coal now transported is mined at Coal Creek. H T* 00 -<1 s » u Ci en !r so J-H S^ C<1 1 c § 1 t-li-i o CO 1— I c 1 r-l s <— 1 CO o 1 eo 1 oo 05 O EH ■>1h" t- »c rH 1— 1 oo o lO Is C<1 T}4 s s m •4 prt cc t- . c cc o- t- Oi 00 1— 1 » ,S«^ cr c: <£ 'I* CO cT S 1- ^ iC CO 1— ( t: ■1 p'"' •* cd" T— 1 CO e 15 -^ CC t^ cr -* o O •s 1^ 00 l> c 1^- c^ (M l-H so [^ (5 ;-< ir: T-T r- co" 6 ^ (M '3 33 d ^ U ■*. f2 00 cr. T— 8 to 6q u o 0- r OC »— 1 >» 00 ss > (M rH 1^ M o CC «2 CO c C/- a cq c^ 1 OC O u •J a OC t> o c^ cc •* a> *^ , t -* c *1 c^ « l-H ^ V '« Cs r- ^ (n If r "5t o" . ^ 1 H c^ 0- o o o ' 8 cc l> Cv ^ cf =• 2: t- ^ H i5 i I- cr a i -^ 00 'T3 &0 t c iB 5 1. "^ > C^ a 5 t^ r-l lO" •S r "^ 4 s^ ^ TS g; c > « 5 1> Ol o 5 1- * 00 1 ed ^ I « 1 <^ i. '^ 3 ■<*< c > a > T-H a) d c to «£ r r- r c-i CO lO »-H 00 Cfc *'" CO co" c-f CO 02 CO_^ co~ oc~ cT COOiOOOOOOCOJJ^IfSlj; 5S ;=1 ?^ S o -f rH (M CO CO 00 g g ? ?: 13 s ^ s "— ' s 1-s 118 Resources of Tennessee Along the H in : <^' CO Oi 00 4> : 5^ : "^ 1 as o s '-' S5 t^ : t~^ iC -* £ oo iC x^ H I—* 00 oo I— ( o oo O o ^ OO t- ^ 05 1-H fc ©.^ '-t (M !>. LO oo -ciG iT. W5 (M ec "^ g ^S i6 crT cq e M ^ § O o- 1—1 O oo iC , =c 1> C 05 cc 1-« Oi cc t- o c o- lO 00 1— 1 iC o CO o cc 05_ KH T" ec lO s IC '^ 00 CO o cc t^ id t^ a: »o oo 1 M H 02 O a: o 125 a Ol c« o 60 O o c o rt C ■" o a 1o "o S "> 2 y. c "c 2 S O "i. 'c "o ^^ ^ w Ph PH Ph o P3 Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. 119 Careyvilt.e Mines. Careyville is situated at the terminus of the Knoxville and Ohio Railroad, near the foot of Powell's Valley, and thirty-eight miles from Knoxville. Cross Mountain rises on the west 3,123 feet above the village, and continues in a northerly direction to Morrowville. Fork Mountain, separated by Cove Creek from Cross Mountain, lies on the north of the town and continues its course nearly parallel with Cross Mountain. The strata of Cross Mountain are nearly horizontal, hav- ing a slight inclination toward the south-west. Crossing the valley the strata show great disturbance, folded along two axes, one corresponding with Cross Mountain and the ether with Powell's Valley. The latter axis, further up the valley, is found two or three miles iVom the foot of the mountain. Near Careyville it approaches so closely as to give a sharp dip to the strata. The Cross Mountain axis, a few miles to the south-east, comes so near the mountain as to cause Walden's Ridge to consist of sharply inclined strata of both sides of the anticlinal. This anticlinal passes to the very bottom of Cove Creek, where the strata are found outcropping on edge, but in the mountain opposite Cove Creek, the strata are left in an undisturbed position. Where the two axis join near Careyville the strata are much confused. The rocks of Cross Mountain pertain to the coal meas- ures, two thirds of Fork Mountain, and a part of Cove Creek valley. Inclosed in the strata of Cross Mountain are, according to Dr. Safford, nine seams of coal, six of which he thinks are workable. I am of opinion, after a careful examination, that the thickness of some of those seames, as given by Dr. SafFord, is local ; for higher up on Cove Creek the thickness is considerably reduced. This opinion is likewise concurred in by Prof. Lesley, of Penn- 120 Resources of Tennessee Along the sylvania, who made a survey of this region, and a portion of whose report will be given hereafter. Three workable seams, however, exist beyond all ques- tion, and should the one opened upon the top of Cross Mountain (at the outcrop ten inches) prove workable, there will be four. The outcrop of the seams are deeply covered on the mountain slopes by masses of sandstone. Prof. Bradley, to whom I acknowledge my obligations for many of the facts embraced in this report, thinks it probable that the lower two seams belong to the lower coal measures, and those above to the upper. The lowest seam here is thought to be the equivalent of the seam worked at Coal Creek (coal E of Bradley's sec- tion), in which opinion, however. Prof. Lesley does not concur. This seam at Carey ville lies nearly on a level with the railroad, and is about four feet thick. Three mines have been worked at this place, all opened in this seam. The Careyville mine within a few hundred yards of the depot, was worked for several years, but is now abandoned. Two are now in active operation — Kennedy and East Tennessee — but they are not worked to any great extent, mainly for local use, as will be seen by reference to the table of shipments from this place. The Kennedy mine lies three or four hundred yards to the south of the Carey- ville mine. The seam shows the effect of the anticlinal to the east, the coal dipping at the outcrop to the north-west, but becomes horizontal within the distance of thirty yards, and afterward lies in a series of long waves. The seam where now worked has a parting of fire clay eighteen inches thick, with thirty inches of coal below and eighteen inches above. Sandy bluish shales lie below and a black shale above. There is a rise in the strata between the Carey- ville mine and this by which the coal at the Kennedy mine is elevated about ten feet above that of the Careyville mine. The main gangway of this mine is three hundred and fifty Knoxville end Ohio Railroad. 121 yards long, and runs nearly south. A cross entry to the shaft, made'for ventilation, shows that the coal rises about three inches to the yard. From this cross entry at the distance of eighty yards from its begining point, another cross entry, running south, has been made, which follows the direction of a sharp ridge and under it, the drift being upon the fold of an anticlinal, the coal dipping downwards to the east and west. The shaft which has been mentioned goes through twenty-seven feet of loose stand stone and gravel, forty feet of gray shale, eighteen inches of coal, and seventeen feet of fire clay to the coal now worked. The coal in the sharp ridge spoken of, dips south four degrees east for about one hundreds yards, when a succes- . sion of short waves, or wrinkles (rolls of the miners) occur. These continue for about fifty yards, when a sudden drop, or fault, of twenty-five feet occurs, after which the coal rises gradually two inches to the yard. These faults and rolls form a part of the East Tennessee mine, which has been opened about half a mile south of Careyville. A great many difficulties have been met with at this mine. The entry has been made at the end of a cove, or cul-de-sac, which sweeps around in a semicircle. The fault occurs at the distance of fifty or sixty yards from the mouth of the mine, and runs in a semicircle concentric with the range of elevations outside. In many places within the mine small seams of coal are found rolled up with the sandy shale. The main seam has a parting of fine dirty coal near the center. This is picked out, and the coal above prized down. The lower layer is then taken up. No powder is used in mining.* The coal is thinly laminated and glossy ; softens greatly in the fire. Another opening has been made near the saw mill, and is known as Elliott's mine. The lower half of the seam only is in place, according to Prof. Bradley, who made a 122 Resources of Tennessee Along the survey of this region, the upper half, though once deposited,, having been washed away. Quoting Prof. Bradley: "The entry has been carried in to the distance of three hundred and seventy feet, without again encountering any sign of thick coal. It is possible, however, that this erosion was only local, and that by fol- lowing the thick coal from the point where it was encoun- tered near the mouth of ihe mine, the full thickness would be encountered at nearly every point. The coal thus far brought from this mine, has been inclined to split up into thin laminae, but this is apparently only the effect of some slight degree of weathering, the entry having skirted the lower spur instead of having penetrated it. The coal of this seam is usually quite free from pyrite (the sulphur of the miners. Other openings are now being made to test this s^am. "iSecond Seam. — No. 2, lying from eight to twelve feet above No. 1, shows from twelve to eighteen inches of bright coal, but being too thin for working prolitably in the presence of thicker seams; no openings have been made to fairly test its quality. "Third Seam. — No. 3 lies between one hundred and fifty and two hundred feet further up the mountain, and shows from one to three feet of bright coal. No openings have been made upon it. "Other Seams. — The remaining workable seams lie, ac- cording to Safford, at about the following elevation above No. 1, viz : No. 4, three feet thick at 470 feet; No. 5, from three to six feet thick from 800 to 850 feet; No. 8, from four to six feet thick at from 1,250 to 1,350 feet; No. 9 is six feet thick at from 1,600 to 1,700 feet. No openings have been made to any of these seams. Fragments of clean coal, apparently belonging to No. 4, were found in the wash of a mountain branch, as it made its appearance from beneath the huge tumbling masses of sandstone which Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. 123 fill the bottoms of all the hollows. If extensive mining^ should be undertaken here, the coal of these upper seams could readily be brought down by a tram road, for the con- struction of which the heavy timber of the mountain-side would furnish abundant material. A fine exposure of coal is seen at Hatmakers, near the top, and beyond Cross Mountain, four feet thick. " The argillaceous red hematite, locally known as Dye- stone, is found in great abundance. Along the foot of the mountain to the northward, two seams, commonly exist,, ranging from one to five feet in thickness, and of different hardness. Of these the harder has not been mined, having been found difficult of reduction in the small forges of the country. It is, however, readily reduced in a smelting furnace. The softer bed has been mined along its outcrop for many miles. The openings near Careyville have now caved in, but the old miners inform me that the seams have averaged from four to five feet in thickness. " Openings recently made upon the hill between the old Carey residence and the sulphur spring, have exposed a net work of veins which are massed at one point so as to give a thickness of twenty-one feet of solid ore, but this is near the junction of the two axis of the elevation, as before described, and such thickness is only local. " The first railroad cut above the station exposed the upper seam, w^ith a thickness of about four feet, which may be fairly accounted the average thickness of the seam in this region. This ore should yield in a good furnace between 60 and 70 per cent of iron. " Brown hematite (limonite) hydrated oxide of iron has been seen in considerable quantities at three points upon the slope of Cross Mountain, viz : at 326, at 787, and at 1,275 feet above the mouth of the coal mine. At the lower two beds the ore appears to be merely surface accumula- tions in the hollows among the edges of the underlying 124 Resources of Tennessee Along the rocks, and is sometimes rather sandy. Small surface exca- vations have not yet shown any solid bed of ore, but the numerous large masses lying about on the surface would indicate the presence of bodies large enough to be of con- siderable value. At the highest level the ore contains fossil plants, and this, together with the structure of the frag- ments, would indicate that this is only the altered outcrop- ping of a regular vein of impure carbonate of iron known as clay ironstone. The ore, as it occurs upon the surface, should yield from 25 to 30 per cent of iron. The clay ironstone itself occurs in thin laminse in the dark shales above coal No. 2, but no considerable amount has been seen at any point. As it occurs here it should yield from 30 to 35 per cent of iron." The Dyestone seam continues northwardly from Carey- ville, and the ore from it was mined for many years at Sharp's Forge, near Big Creek Gap. The seam here has of an average thickness of three feet. The lower side is soft and crumbling, the upper hard. Sometimes a thin seam of shale separates the two layers. Higher up on the moun- tain is another seam of ore, of a steel blue color, and very rich. It requires about 400 lbs. of ore to make 100 lbs. of bar iron as worked in the forge, leaving a large per centage of iron in the cinder. Two fires in this forge have the ca- pacity of 2,000 lbs. per week. The charcoal from a cord of wood will make about 100 lbs. of iron. Another forge, Baker's, six miles south-east, on Cedar Creek, works the ore from the same seam, with similar results. Cove Creek and Elk Fork Region. Cove Creek heads up from Careyville northwestward, and the railway line having reached Elk Fork Gap, ten miles ^bove, drops over into the valley of Elk Fork of the Cum- Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. 125- berland, which it follows north, north-east and south, to the Kentucky State line — the whole distance from Careyville being about twenty-seven miles. On the east of Cove Creek is Fork Mountain, which forms a steep barrier, with cliiFs at the south end. On the >vest, a similar mountain side, broken by ravines, rises to the height of 2,000 feet or more, and gradually declines to Morrowville, ten miles distant, where it is cut by Poteet's Gap. Its prolongation makes one of the ranges of the Jel- lico Mountains. Between Cross Mountain and Fork Moun- tain is a narrow valley, with small patches of arable land. An anticlinal fold comes out of Fork Mountain at an acute angle into the bed of Cove Creek, near where the fos- sil ore and limestone have been brought to the surface by an upthrow of the anticlinal of Sharp's Gap. The ascent of the road from Careyville to Elk Gap tun- nel is 450 feet, or at the rate of 45 feet per mile. The coal outcrops are at all elevations above the railway, from grade up to nearly 2,000 feet. Prof. Lesley, in an unpublished report of this region,, says : " Most of the coal seams are at present inaccessible, only the lowest can be worked at Careyville. Moreover, much of the lower 1,000 feet is occupied by sand rocks, sandy shales, flagstone formations, and smaller coal beds. These occupy the terrace knobs of Careyville face of the moun- tain, and they make up the two barriers, right and left-hand of Cove Creek, up to the sixth or seventh mile. From this up the right-hand barrier (Fork Mountain) continues to consist of the same inferior measures; but the mountains on the left have the superior measure ; and these take posses- sion of the whole country to the west of Walker's and south- west of Elk Gap. The superior measures consist of 1,000 feet or less of soft shales, containing workable coal beds, with a great sand rock (Fortress Rock) below, and a great 126 Resources of Tennessee Along the saud rock (Cap Rock) on top. The big coal bed lies just on the Fortress Rock, and outcrops nearly at water-level, seven feet thick, one-half mile west of Walker's, between the ninth and tenth miles. It can be mined all through the country to the west of this. Its outcrop on the other or eastern side of the anticlinal, is in the ravines back ©f Sharpe's Run Valley. It is worked by Sharpe, at a point half-a-mile north-east of his house, and at another point a mile and a-half south-east of his house. The valley of Cove Creek and Sharpe's Run are excavated in the great shale formation below the Fortress Rock and above the conglomerate (the sand rocks of the antdclinal) the one on the one side, the other on the other side of the anticlinal, exhibited by section A. B., thus: Fig. 1. -i S. N. J- CroBS Section taken at Sharpe's Run Gap. Knoxville and Ohio Railroad. 127 " Further explanation is necessary. Only the upper part of Cove Creek valley is the more valuable. The Careyville lower coals are those under ground. The anticlinal appa- rently flattens out as it approaches the Elk Mountain, giving place to a gentle rise to the north-west of all the measures, bringing the concealed Careyville coals to view ■on the outside slope of the J^lk Mountain. Their crops are noticeable in the road descending from the gap to the lime kiln, on the headbreaks of Elk Fork water. The descent is one of 350 feet vertical. At the lime kiln we come upon the top layers of the subcarboniferous limestone. In flat- tening, tne anticlinal rises northward from Sharpe's. "In like manner, coming southward, the anticlinal rises slowly and spreads its two legs somewhat. Cove Creek can no longer keep in the shales above the anticlinal conglom- erate rocks. It cuts slowly sidewise through the left (west) leg, and gets into the centre line of the anticlinal, between its two legs, and thus cuts down to the underlying coal sys- tem, or Careyville coals, which appear in the cuttings in the railway in many places — at least the rock at Sharpe's Run Gap gets to the top of the Knobs overlooking the saw- mill 350 feet above the creek, and 300 feet above the Carey- ville coal bed. " But when the Cove Creek water has cut a rocky, narrow •channel through the west leg of the anticlinal, and reached its axis about two miles above the saw-mill, the north-west g^pi 922 1 THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALlFO?.NlA UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below Form L-0 25m-10, '11(2191) L UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY iiiri'i ri! iri iiitui'!"" '""""" " AA 001 171307 lllllllilllilllllMllllllllllllllll 3 1158 01215 9 4> i It