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f *
PART VI
GEOI^OGY AND AGRICULTURE
A REPORT
ON
THE GEOLOGY OF LODISIAM
CONTAINING SPBCIAI« PAPERS BY DIPPBRBNT AUTHORS ;
BASBD ON THE WORK OF THRBB PIBI«D SEASONS,
1900, 1901, 1902
GILBERT D. HARRIS, Geologist-in-Charge
ARTHUR C. VEATCH, Assistant Geologist
AND
JOV. A. A. PACHECO, Assistant Geologist
MADE UNDER THE DIRECTION OP THE STATE EXPERIMENT STATION
WM. C. STUBBS, Director
BATON ROUGE, I«A.
1902
Tht Nfc.W V'.-
FC3LIC LIBRARY
LonisiAKA stIte uifltfERsn*y
AND A. AND M. COLLEGE.
Louisiana Stale Board of Agriculliire and Immigration.
i;x-offido.
GOVERNOR W. W, HEARD. President.
WILLIAM GARIG. Vice-Prewdent Board of Supervisors.
J. G. LEE, CotamiBsioner of Agricclluie and Imm illation.
THOMAS D. BOYD, President Stale fniveraily.
WILLLUI C. STL'BBS, Diteclor State ExperimeTit Stations.
JOHN.DVMOND. Belair, U. judRc KMII.E ROST, St. Rose, La.
A. V. EASTMAN, Uke Charles, La. CHAS. SCIU'LER, Keachie. La.
E. T. SELLERS. Walnnl Lane, La. H. P, McCLRNDON. Amite Cily, Lt
Slalioa Staff.
WM. C. STUBBS, PH.D.. Director.
R, E. BLOUIN, H.5.. Assistant Director and Chemist, Audubon Park,
New Orleans, La.
D. N. BARROW. B.S.. Assistant Director, Calhoun. La.
W. R. DODSON. A.B., S.B., Assistant Director, Baton Rouge, La.
M.BIRD, M.S., Chemist, Calhoun, La.
P. L. HUTCHINSOX, B.S.. Chemist, Audnbon Park, New Orleans, La.
T. W, YorNG, JR.. B.S., -Assistant Chemist, Andnboo Park, New
Orleans, La.
C. E, COATES, PH.D., Chemist, Baton Rouge, La.
R. GLENK, Ph.G., B.S., Chemist. Audubon Park, New Orleans, La.
J. F. HARP, B.S., Assistant Chemist, Calhoun, I.a.
Prof. G, D. HARRl.S, PH.B.. Geologist In charge of Geological Survey,
Andnbon Park, New Orleans, La.
A. C. VEATCH, Assistant Geologist, Aadubon Park, New Orleans, La.
J. PACHECO, Assistant Geologist. Audubon Park, New Orleana, La,
H. A. MORGAN, B.S.A.. Entomolugist, Baton Kouge. I.a.
F. H. BURNETTE. Horticulturist, Baton Rouge, La.
W. H. DALRYMPLE, M.R.C.V.S., Veterinarian. Baton Ronge, I.a.
GEO, CHIQUELIN, (Grad, Audubon Sug. Sch.), Sugar Maker. Audnbon
Park, New Orleans, La,
WM. D. CLAYTON, M.S,, Farm Mgr., .\udubon Park, New Orleans, La.
JAS. CLAYTON, Farm Mgr., Baton Rouge, La.
T. J. WATSON. Farm Mgr., Calhoun, La.
E. j'. WATSON, Horticulturist, Calhoun, La,
A. N. HUME. Dairyman and Poultryman, Calhoun, La.
J, K, McHUGH, Secretary and Stenographer, .A.adubon Park, New
Orleans, La.
H. SKOLFIELD, Treasurer, Baton Rouge, La.
The Bulletins and Reports will be sent free of charge to all farmers by
applying to Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration, Baton Rouge,
I
o the Director of the Station, Audubon Park, New Orleans,
J
CONTENTS
Prefatory Remarks
SPECIAIv REPORTS
No. I
THE TERTIARY GEOLOGY OF THE
MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
BY
G. D. Harris
No. a
ITHE SALINES OF NORTH LOUISIANA
BV
A. C. VeaTCH
No. 3
THE GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF THE
SABINE RIVER
BY
A. C. VEATCH
No. 4
NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY ALONG THE OUACHITA"
A. C. Veatcb
No. 5
I IMPROVEMENTS IN LOUISIANA CARTOGRAPHY
G. D. Habris
No. 6
THE SUBTERRANEAN WATERS OF LOUISIANA
G. D. Harris akd J. Pachkco
No. 7
THE TIDES IN THE RIOOLETS
R. A. Harris (of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survej-)
No. 8
OIL IN LOUISIANA
G. U. Hakkis
J
p
Office of Experiment Stations,
Louisiana Stats Univbksity and A, and M. College, [
Baton Rouge, La.. Mar., igos. )
To His Excellency W. W. Heard, Governor 0/ Louisiana, and
Presidenl of Board of Agriculture :
Sir: Arrangements have been made with Prof. G. D. Harris,
Pb.B., of Cornell University, for the continuation of the Geo-
logical Survey of this State. He has had the assistance of Mr.
J. Pacheco and Mr. A. C. Veatch. The limited amount of appro-
priation has prevented the employment of these gentlemen contin-
uously. Accordingly, they havegiven three monthsof each year
to the energetic prosecution of the work in the field, and have
prepared for the press the notes made in the field during their
official services elsewhere.
Since our last report a wonderful interest has been created in
the geology of Louisiana by virtue of the discovery of oil in this
State and in Texas. Again, the question of obtaining artesian
water is being discussed by nearly every locality in the Slate,
and the location of the true water-bearing strata underlying this
State has been a special study by the survey. Since the dis-
covery of the strata of sand and gravel underlying Southwest
Louisiana, and the horing of hundreds of wells which are irri-
gating thousands of acres of rice, every other section of the State
has been deeply interested in finding out the character of the
subterranean strata and the possibility of obtaining water. This
subject is fully treated in the accompanying pages.
The numerous gushers at Beaumont, Texas, have excited per-
sons in all parts of the State to action. Many wells have been
bored in various parts of the State, and numerous companies
have been formed for exploiting the State's wealth in this great
fuel and illuminant.
Some few efforts have been successful ; many have failed. In
this report will be found a full discussion of the oil conditions of
this State, and it is hoped that the facts given will deter com-
panies from expending large sums of money in the vain hope of
Letters of Transmission v
obtaining oils ia unfavorable localities where the so-called oil
experts have pronounced an abundance of this greasy fluid, A
knowledge of the geology of a section is often of valuable aid in
determining where not to bore.
The demand for the geological reports of the State is now
enormously large. There is a constant stream of immigrants
coming to this State, some seeking homes, some fields for invest-
ment, and others looking ouly to speculation. All want the
latest developments in regard to soils, minerals, waters, etc.
To meet the existing demands for this information, a sum suf-
ficiently large to permit a continuous and vigorous prosecution
of this work, should be made by the next legislature. It will
be, perhaps, the most profitable investment that the State could
make, and I earnestly recommend to your Excellency such an
appropriation.
Louisiana has 45,000 square miles of various geological hori-
zons. She has wonderful resources that await only accurate
knowledge of them to be developed into active wealth.
For the special papers included in this report see contents on
the preceding page.
t Respectfully submitted. WM. C. STUBBS, Director.
I. Wm. C. Stcbbs, Director Stats Sxphrimknt
Stations, Baton Rouge, La.
Sir ; I transmit herewith onr report of 1902 on the geology
Louisiana. It represents the combined labors of myself and
uue assistant for tbree field seasons (1900, 1901, 1902) of about
three months each. Most respectfully submitted,
GILBERT D. HARRIS,
Geologist-in-charge.
Office of Louisiana Geological Survey. )
LETTER OF TRANSMISSION
PREFATORY REMARKS
4
By glancing at the table of "Contents" given a few pages
before, it will be apparent that this work is practically a contin-
uation of Part III of our report of 1899; for it cousistsof special
papers by various authors dealing with topics of interest and
importance in the development of the geology of the State,
Lack of funds has prevented us from a further prosecution of
topographic work ; the same cause has prevented the proper col-
lection of oil-well records, records of value almost beyond calcu-
lation both to the stratigrapher and practical oil man, but when
once lost, lost forever : the same cause has prevented the contin-
uous recording of the behavior of deep-well waters throughout
the past year, records too, that would give decided information
regarding the future of deep water supplies throughout the
State. No time nor means have been at hand for the continua-
tion of paleontological studies bearing upon the upper Eocene
and later formations. Too much stress cannot be laid on this
point, for of all States, Louisiana is the one whose stratigraphy
is to be worked out mainly by extensive paleontological investi-
gations. Louisiana is in the very axis of the Mississippi Kmbay-
ment region. Its formations have suffered frequent, extensive
and local orogeuic movements. Erosion, too. has played havoc
with its fresh-water, marsh, and sea deposits whenever they have
been raised above tide.
The southern portion of the State especially is extremely
difficult to interpret, for over the irregular beds below, lies a
smooth, regularly Gulf-ward sloping deposit giving an air of such
simplicity of structure that layman and geologist alike have
often held absolutely erroneous ideas regarding the stratigraphy
of the whole region. It is then with extreme regret that we
know of records being but partially kept, and then lost, from
wells that should and would be of great value to all humanity if
properly studied by competent paleontologists. We are fre-
quently told that " the company that put the well down has the
record complete." We examine it and find not the important
things (fossils) preserved, but bottles full of clean washed sands
and chunks of clay and sometimes pebbles, materials that may
be encountered in almost any CenoJtoic formation
It is sincerely to be hoped that now while records can be bad,
that the State Legislature will make liberal appropriations for
their collection, interpretation, and correlation with the surface
geology of the State as now being worked out by the Geological
Survey.
J
SPECIAL REPORT
No. I
THE GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI
EMBAYMENT
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE STATE OF
LOUISIANA
BY
G. D. HARRIS
CONTENTS
■RODUCTORY REMARKS
Explanation of map
Close of Ihe CrctaceouB
Orogenic movements and their resnlts . . ,
" ' sondition of Cietaceous rocka i
Erosion
; EOCKNE SERIES
Midway Stage ....
Conditions of depoutiun
Northern limit
Type section
Localities in Louisiana
Lignitic Stage
-Conditions of deposition
Type sectioa
West of the Embayment axis
Lower Claiborne
Condition of deposition
Type section
Louisiana
West of Embayment axis
Cocksfield Beds
Condition of deposition
Type section
Jackson Stage
Conditions of deposition
Northern limits
Section along the K. C. P. & G. R. R
East of Embayment axis
West of Embayment axis
OLIGOCENE SERIES
Vicksburg Stage
Conditions of deposition
t Distribution in Louisiana
Typically developed in Hisaissippi
Great development in Georgia
Grand Galf Stage
Frio snb-stage
Condition of deposition
Stratigraphy along the Ouachita
Fossils
Well sections
OCENE SERIES
Well Records
CLOSE OF THE TERTIARY AND BECl.WViyC OF THE
QUATERNARY
Lafayette Stage
Occurrence in Louisiana
QUATERNARY SERIES
Port Hudson Stage
Origin of the (irairie region in southem Louisiana
Ixess of Louisiana
Allovinm and recent staore deposits
Mud lumps
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
Plate I. Geological map of the central portion of the Mississippi
Bmbayment 5
II. Relief model with north and south section showing the
stratigraphy of the State 7
III. Upland piney woods flats, near Winnfield "marble** quarry,
Louisiana 20
IV. Sections showing the relative elevation A.T. of Jackson out-
crops in Arkansas and Louisiana 21
V. Vicksburg beds, Mint spring bayou Vicksburg, Miss 27
VI. Bluff at Grand Gulf, Miss 28
VII. Loess at Vicksburg, Miss 37
VIII. Lake Charles, viewed from West Lake 36
IX. Grand Chenier, where the Mermentau river breaks through
the ridge 36
X. Mud lump, Cubitt's island, mouth of the Mississippi 38
Fig. I. The geological column 6
2. Section across the Mississippi Embayment, from east to west 8
3. Section along the K. C. P. and G. R. R., three-quarters mile
south of Florien, La 21
4. Cut showing Jackson clays with channel filled with Orange
Sand 24
5. Cut showing extreme uncomformity of clay and sand beds
at about the contact between the Eocene and Oligocene
series 30
6. Formation of ** Orange Sand ** 33
7. Section along the 111. Cent. R. R., Manchac-Jackson 35
L 1^
THE GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI
EMBAYMENT
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Louisiana is situated in the lower Mississippi valley. The
great river that winds its way through this valley, from the
mouth of the Ohio, is Sowing through a shallow, broad trough
of comparatively modern origin. Not long ago, as time is
reckoned in geology, southern Georgia and Alabama, nearly
all of Mississippi, western Tennessee, southeast Missouri, the
southeast half of Arkansas, all of Louisiana and southeast Texas,
were covered with a northern extension of the Gulf of Mexico.
This extension, especially the central portion, passing northward
to Itliuois, may be well termed the Mississippi Embayment.
It will be seen at once that whatever is said of the geology of
Louisiana can be applied fairly well to a considerable portion of
the Embayment area. We therefore take this opportunity of
bringing together diverse observations by various authors relat-
ing to the whole area, in order that certain misapprehensions
may be corrected, and that the geology of Louisiana may be seen
in its true relationship to that of the surrounding states.
We need not go farther back or lower down in the geological
series than the upper Cretaceous, in order to review the events that
bave been most important in Embayment Geology, at least so far
as the State of Louisiana is concerned.
It may be noted here in passing that we are dealing exclu-
sively with comparatively young or recent deposits when studying
thegeologyof thisregion. The whole geological column (Fig, i)is
liere inserted to show more clearly the meaning of this statement.
EXPLAN
THE Map
The map herewith given, (PI. I), shows the central or axial
portion of this Embayment area. The different colors represent
different geological formations laid down at different limes as will
t>e explained farther on. The extent of these* formations north-
l^tvard represents fairly well the northern limit of the old bay or
[
!'; Ni:.W YORK
! ■:,..,/..; LIBRARY
A-r-." S. L-"N'.")X AND
II. ! Lr, fO.jNDAUONt.
r
The Geology op the Mississippi Embayment
sinus in which they were deposited ; although doubtless small
inlets, bays and tidal channels passed far beyond the holders as
above indicated. During several different stages, there were,
without doubt, many islands of varying size extending from
southern Louisiana through the northern part of the State and
^^ eastern Texas.
^^P Close op thb Cretaceous Eka
^^f OrogenU movement and their results. — The close of the Cre-
taceous era was marked in this particular region by orogenic
movements of no small magnitude. Cretaceous deposits were
lifted above sea level in Tennessee and Mississippi and to the
west in southern Arkansas, while in northeast Arkansas and
farther northward the Cretaceous beds were lowered some dis-
tance below the Eocene tides. The point of no movement on
the Tertiary- Paleozoic border line is, as we have stated before,
DOt far southeast of Rockport, Ark., (Geol. Surv. Ark. Ann'l.
Rept. 1892. Vol. 2, p. 184).
^^B In Louisiana, however, we have reason to believe that the rais-
^^Kng and depression of the Cretaceous beds was of a much more
^^BKoIent nature, that folds and faults were numerous and on a large
^^Bnale, and that a great irregularity of surface features character-
^^Bzed the newly formed rocks. *
^^F Present condition of Cretaceous rocks in the Embayment region. —
We are not prepared to say just how much of the great disturb-
ance these Cretaceous rocks show, was effected in Cretaceous
time or just at its close. But we can scarcely conceive of small
k Wid slender, more or less isolated domes or peaks of Cretaceous
■ nftterial being commenced and completely formed after thick
ds of Eocene deposits had been laid down on the Cretaceous Soor.
The present condition of aflairs for perhaps 1000 ft. beneath
Jie surface in Louisiana, is shown on an exaggerated scale along
^e north-south section line across the State, Plate II. The Cre-
is outcrops have been discussed at length in our Report of
'7899. Additional details may be found in Special Paper No. 2
ximpanying this report styled " The Salines of North Louisi-
ana, " by Mr. Veatch.
•The«i
e remarks apply equally well to southeast Texas.
8 Geological Survey of Louisiana
Fig. 2 is a generalized section farther uorth.
and in an east-west direction, extending from
Bolivar, Tennessee, to Cabot, Arkansas. The
Cretaceous, having been identified at both extrem-
ities, doubtless continues beneath the Embay-
ment area as suggested by the diagram.
Erosion. — To what extent this whole region
was eroded between the close of the Cretaceous
and the beginning of the Tertiary we are not pre-
pared to say. That the lowest Eocene beds have
a totally different fauna from the Cretaceous and
often lie uncomformably upon the latter, we have
already shown in Bulletins of American Paleon-
tology, No. 4.
In Louisiana, at the Winnfield "Marble
Quarry," the fossiliferous lower Claiborne beds c
lie somewhat tilted upou the flanks of the Cre- j
taceous uplifts. The exact relation of the other >
Cretaceous beds to the surrounding Eocene is e
not well shown. In Texas, however, Lignitic j
beds are represented as surrounding theCreta- -
ceous outliers. The Salines in the vicinity of H
Sabinetown come up through the Lignitic
deposits.
The Bayon Chicot limestone is surrounded
by Quaternary deposits, and likewise the Saline
elevations along the coast.
THE EOCENE SERIES
Midway Stags
Conditions of deposition. — The depression that
had been slowly going on throughout the northern
portion of the Embayment area during later Cre-
taceous times was continued, and seemingly
reached its lowest stage in the earliest Tertiary.
That area represented on the map between the
f The Geology of the Mississippi Embaymbnt 9
Cretaceous outcrops of Arkansas and Mississippi constituted one
broad arm of the Gulf, dotted here and there, over what is now
known as Louisiana and southern Texas, by small Cretaceous
islands and shoals.
Northern limits. — In this period it would seem that the waters
of the Gulf extended considerably farther to the north than they
did during the period that had just come to a close. We have
already called attention to the fact that not far from Little Rock,
Arkansas, there is a point at which the Cretaceous and Midway
deposits are on about the same level ; southward the Cretaceous
rocks expand in a V-shaped area to the west and extend bypso-
metrically far above the Eocene border, while to the north of
Little Rock the Eocene Midway beds cover the Cretaceous and
lap over onto the Paleozoic formations.
Of the extension of these rocks in southeast Missouri we know
little, Worthen has recorded the occurrences of lower Eocene
deposits in Pulaski county, Illinois, and has identified from them
a CucuUaa and Turritella. He also notes a bed of lignite at Cal-
edonia. (Vol. 1., Geol. Surv. 111. 1866, p. 44-46.) Loughridge
has described at length the lower Eocene beds of western Ken-
tucky in his volume on the Jackson Purchase Region. The fossils
he mentions from near Paducah are not very satisfactory for
determining to which division of the Eocene they ought to be
referred. In Tennessee, however, we have studied in detail
several fine Eocene exposures and have no doubt as to their
stratigraphic position. {See Bull. Am. Pal. No. 4). Knowing,
then, the behavior of the lower Eocene beds in Texas, Arkansas,
Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama, we are inclined to correlate
the larger part of the Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri Eocene
with the lowest or Midway stage. The pieripheral, or what Dall
has called the perisottal nature of these sediments in southern
Illinois is evident from Worthen's description.
Type section. — It is in Alabama and Texas where the Midway
beds are best exposed. They show generally at base bluish,
micaceous clays, or clayey sands, and occasionally light, yellowish
limestone ledges. These with the arenaceous layers above aggre-
gate 100 feet. But one of the most noticeable beds is the lime-
stone numbered 19 in Smith and Johnson's Pine- Barren section,
m by.
L
lo Gbological Sdrvry of Louisiana
Bull. 43, U. S. Geol. Surv., 1887. This is usually replete with
TurntelltE and contains oftentimes Enclimalaceras ulricHi. It is
seemingly this bed that has a thickness of 40 feet in the vicinity
of Tehtiacana, Texas, whereas in Arkansas it scarcely ever
exceeds twelve or fourteen feet. Following these limestone
layers are usually beds of dark, or nearly black, selenitic clays,
approximately too feet in thickness, though on the southeast
margin of the Mississippi Embaymenl region, viz., at Fort
Gaines. Ga., the conditions of deposition aud the character of the
deposits were totally different from those that obtained nearer
the axis of the Embay ment. In fact, a warm, clear water, o£E-shore
condition prevailed, producing coralline life and limestone
deposits.
Localities in Louisiana. — Such few little outcroppings of these
as we have been able to find, namely at Rocky Springs Church
and near King's salt works, indicate a near shore, shallow water
condition, as might be expected from ibis location. Ostrta cren-
ulimarginata forms practically the mass of the calcareous bed
we have described from the Rocky Springs Church locality.
These small outcroppings are due of course, to local upheavals
of a thousand feet or more. The beds of Midway age in Louisi-
ana are mainly concealed by from looo to 3000 feet of subse-
quent deposition.
Fossils in Louisiana. — We have already shown on Plate 52 of
our Report of 1899, all of the known, well preserved Midway
species from Louisiana. The molluscan fauna of this stage,
however, is known to embrace over 140 species from this Embay
ment region alone. These have been described and illustrated
in Bu!l. of Am. Pal. No. 4. pp. 154, Pis. 1-15.
A large number of strikingly similar forms, evidently of prac-
tically the same Eocene horizon, have been described by Dr. C.
A. While in Vol. 7. Arch. do. Mus. du Rio Jan. 1880, from the
vicinity of Maria Famiha.
We especially call attention to such forms as Harpa dechordata
Calyptrapkorus chelonites. Fasdolaria acutispira. Nautilus sower-
byanus, Gryphaa trachyopktera , Cucullaa hartii, Cardita morgan-
Many of these are improperly named generically. The
Harpa" is a Pseudoliva : the "Fasdolaria" is s.Maszalina;
A
The Ghologv of thk Mississippi Embayment
^^bnd the "JViiu/i/uj" is probably Endimaioceras \ but the specimens
^^mnd figures bear out our remarks regardiog the very close rela-
^^ tioDship of the Brazilian and Mississippi Embayment Midway
species. Upon the whole, the Midway fauna is one of a moder-
ately warm sea. It bears no relation whatever to the Cretaceous
fauna just below it, but contaius many types that endured even
specifically throughout the Eocene and generically throughout
the whole Tertiary.
■ The Lignitic Stags
I Conditions oj deposition. — During the latter part of the Midway
age and throughout the lower Eocene ages the Embayment area
was rapidly contracting, beiug filled in from the north by abun-
dant clayey and sandy deposits. Norlh uf theLouisiana-Arkan-
I sas boundary line there is little indication of diverse conditions of
I deposition during the whole of lower and middle Eocene times.
Dicotyledonous trees were abundant over the low islands and
shores ; palms and reeds occupied the swamps. The waters of the
lagoons and swamps were brackish or fresh. Shells of the genera
Unio and Vivipara have been found in these beds by the writer
3.3 miles north of El Dorado, Ark, (Ann. Rept. G. Surv. Ark.,
1892. Vol, n, p. 140).
Such a continuous sameuess in the conditions of deposition in
beds of the axial region, of the Lignitic, Claiborne and Cocksfield
stages renders all hopes of accurate differentiation of these stages
in Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, as well as in cer-
tain locations in northern Louisiana and Mississippi quite out of
the question. Fossil plants have uot thus far proven an unerr-
ing guide for stratigraphic work in this region.
In going north from Ruston along the Railroad toward Chau-
tauqua several unimportant sandy cuts are seen at varying inter-
vals. But just before reachiug Chautauqua station a deep cut
exposes ferruginous, brittle, reddish layers, sand beds, and at
the base of the cut, black, lignitic, sandy clays. Still farther to
the north, ferruginous shelly red rock is very abundant in places.
From such indurated layers we obtained a fair lower Claiborne
iatina. These ferruginous rocks appear in abundance along the
GHOtOGicAL Survey of Lodkiana
railway for at least two miles. Out in the coantry in various
directions these beds are well developed ; in fact they have been,
doubtless, more or less instrumental in preserving the bold topog-
raphy seen along the line of their local strike, from north of
Chautauqua to Arcadia. Fossils have been collected from the
Arcadia district by several geologists,
I am inclined to believe the lower Claiborne beds are rather
thin in this region and that here and there Lignitic clays and
sands come to the surface. Witness the lignitic clays between
Dnbach's mill and Middle Fork. The first deep cut going north
from Dnbach's, a distance of about two miles, shows at base lo
to 15 feet of bluish black, sandy, lignitic clays and above. 15 to
30 feet of light colored and red blotched sands, pebbles, and sil-
icified wood. Another deep cut about two raites south of Middle
Fork shows 20 feet of dark lignitic clay with fine sandy partings
and occasional flat claystone concretions. Above, are 5 feet of
mottled clays and sands ; and on top is a bed of red clayey sand.
The flow of water at Dubach's mill is seemingly from these upper
Lignitic sands. Owing however to the entire lack of fossils in
these beds this correlation is mainly a conjecture.
Nowhere are these beds exhibited to better advantage in the
upper Embayment area than along the Ouachita river in Arkan-
sas. Such outcrops as occur above Camden have been referred
to the Lignitic stage, while those below are doubtless the repre-
sentatives of the lower Claiborne and Cocksfield beds of Louis-
iana, The materials composing these beds are mainly sand and
day, often very irregularly bedded and of various hues. A sec-
tion at the old mine of the Camden Coal company is as follows,
(N. E, J^. S. 12, iiS., i8W.)i
Arenaceous material not well exposed.
Light pink clay 6 feet.
White sand 6 feet.
Bluish clay 8 feet.
Lignite 6 feet.
Sand as a rule predominates. It is sometimes of a lighter
color, more or less clayey, finely laminated, with thin yellow
layers or streaks ; at other times it is blackish from carbonaceous
matter and with very thin, pure, white sand, partings.
I
The Geology ok the Mississippi Embaymknt 13
North of the Arkansas and west of the Mississippi there is,
to our present knowledge, no definite information to be had
^rding the distribution or characters of these beds,
pin Kentucky. Mr, I-oiighridge has studied the Eocene with
ire and has referred some fossiliferous beds to the Lignite.
ir knowledge of the distribution of the various Eocene
faunas in the Embayment area, and from the characteristics of
the rock containing them, we are inclined to put the fossils
enumerated by Loughridge in the Midway. He sent his fossils
to Heilprin, then in the Philadelphia Academy of Natural
Sciences, who furnished the following identifications.
^_ Numla (probably N. ovuld),
^h Leda prolexla,
^H Leda coslala,f
^* Afysia ungulina,
Turritella morloni.
See Geol. Surv. viz. Jackson Purchase Region, 1888, p. 45.
tThe LaGrange group as restricted by Loughridge probably
longs to a lower or mid-Eocene stage.
We are not prepared to share Hilgard's opinion as to the
obable occurrence of the " Flat wood Clays" in the Memphis
boring. When we bear in miud the distance between Memphis
and the continuation of some at least of the Flatwood clays iu
Tennessee where they are of the Midway stage ; and when we
bear iu mind the depth at which Jackson fossils are found in the
Helena wells, and their position at Forrest City, Ark,, it seems
far more probable that the lower 135 feet of the Memphis section
are of middle or upper Eocene horizon.
The section shown on p. 8 is so constructed as to convey our
present ideas regarding the stratigraphy of the area under dis-
The east central part of the section represents the profile of the
Memphis well as given by Hilgard, (H. E. Doc. 48 Cong, isl
Sess,, VoL 19, 1883-84, Miss. Riv. Comm. Rept., App'x. N., p.
483)-
The profile about Forrest City is after Call ; Ark, Geol. Surv.,
I, Vol. II, p. 217, while the western portion about Cabot is
nm personal observation of the author. See Ark. Geol, Surv.,
'4
GBOI.OGICAI. SUSVBY OF LOUISIANA
Ann'l. Rept. 1892, Vol. 2 pp. 11, 12, 25. This, it will be observed
is practically a transverse section of the Mississippi Embaymeat
in Lat. 35° N. According to a letter received under dale of Apr-
3, 1902, the elevation of the mouth of the Memphis well No. 2
is approximately 288 feet Cairo datum, i. e. about 267 feet above
tide. According to Hilgard's interpretation of the material
passed through, the section is as follows:
Coarse aand with gravel .
Orange colored sand
Orange sand, gravelly
Orange colored ealid. lower part
cemcDtcd into a conglonierate
Whitisb clay
Coarse, jellowisb sand
Whitiah clay
Northern iignitic
Lagrange group
Gritty ctay, yellowish pauing
into bluiiah gray
Gray sand
47 to 55 Variegated with peb-
bles
55.9 to 60.6 Small, clear, roundec
60.6 to 63 Clear, mixed with
chert and jasper
63 to 93.9 Sharp and rounded
I Clear white, yellow
and bluck
93.9 to 99.8 Variegated
99-8 t£
117
168.5 to 375.
Clear, small, rounded
Rounded and sharp
Clear, some white and
Very small, clear,
Clear and round
Fine and clear
In Mississippi the Lignitic Eocene has not been defined with
any greater degree of accuracy than in Arkansas. We are at
present unable to state what portions of the northern part of
Hilgard's "Northern lignitic " should be referred to the I,ig-
nitic proper, the lower Claiborne or the Cocksfield h
rred to the I,i g- |
;ld beds. ^M
The Geology of the Mississippi Embaymbnt 15
Type section. — Alabama, and Louisiana in pari, seem to have
«n sufficiently far away from the apex of the Kmbayment to
' be occupied generally by salt water from the Gulf. The type
section of the Lignitic stage is the Alabama section. The sub-
divisions with their respective thicknesses as given in Bull. No.
^43, U. S. G.S., are:
' I Hatchetigbee. 175 feet,
Lignitic J ^°"'*^ '''"^' '^'''^S f^et,
Uignitic g^,^^ j.^.g^ j^^ j^^^^
I Nanafalia, 200 feet.
The typical Nanafalia beds are first met with in passing down
the Tombigbee below Naheola, at Nanafalia bluff. But between
these two localities the gradual transition from the darker Mid-
way clays to the sandier Lignitic clays is noticeable. The sec-
tion at Nauafalia Bluff is thus given by Smith and Johnson
(op. cit.):
1. Greensand marl, highly fossiltferous, containing chiefiy
Gryph^ thirsm, but holding also Turritelia morloni Qoa., Flab-
elium, and a few other fossils. This marl makes a tolerably firm
rock, with a line of indurated, projecting bowlder like masses 12
or 18 inches thick, of nearly similar material along the whole
lengthof the bluff and near the middle of the beds about 20 feet.
2. Dark blue, almost black laminated clay, devoid of fossils,
but passing below gradually into a bluish marl 3 to 4 feet.
Bluish, greensaud marl, with a few shells in the upper 3 or 4
feet, but more highly fossiliferous below. This bed contaius a
great variety of beautifully preserved and easily detached fossils.
The fojsils can be collected only during very low stages of the
water 8 to 10 feet.
In going down the river below Nanafalia, a characteristic fea-
ture of the outcrop is the number of enormous concretions exhib-
ited. These show clearly that the general dip is in a southerly
direction, though rever.'ie dips and unconformities are noticeable.
Dark lignitic and grayish sands, more or less indurated, prevail
for a number of miles. At Tuscohoma landing an extensive out-
crop occurs : then again beds appear near the mouth of Bashi
creek. Woods bluff, however, is the best section along this part
of the river. It shows :
i6 Gbologica.1, Sukvey of Louisiana
I. Soil, ifinii Willi pebbles at base 40 feet
i. Black clay, about 8 feet
3. Line of concretions 4 incbes
4. FoBsiliferous reddish and variegated clay 3-6 feet
5. Black clay 10 feet
6. Reddisb fossiliferous sand 3 feet
7. Fine gray fossiliferous sand 5 feet
8. Concretions witb large Oslrea var sylvarupis 3 feet
Water level.
At Coffeeville a lower Claiborne deposit occurs, but several
miles below at Hatchetigbee bluflf uppermost Ligiiitic outcrops
again. For perhaps 20 feet above water level, finely laminated
dark clays predominate. Towards the lower end of the exposure
or cliff there is an upstream dip which brings to day two or three
layers of Venericardia planicosia often with valves united, almost
as perfect as the shells strewn along the shores of modern seas.
From 10 to 20 feet above water level one finds concretions, and,
adhering to their lower surfaces are not a few well preserved
shells. Ledges of light colored material, (buhrstoue?), occur here
and there for 20 feet upwards but brownish clays predominate.
High up in the latter one finds the most and best fossils.
Along the Alabama, south from the famous Matthew's landing
outcrops of Midway clays, beds of dark sandy and lignitic clays
give place to the Nanafalia marls at Gullette's landing, replete
with Ostrea ihirsa. The best collecting ground does not appear,
however, until Yellow bluff is reached, Gregg's landing some
miles below is, perhaps, the best lower Lignitic exposure in the
State for collecting purposes. Further downstream Bell's land-
ing is seen on the left bank of the river. It is the last good
exhibit of lower Lignitic beds on the Alabama. Four miles above
Hamilton Bluff, as the river sweeps westward before its final
southern deflection through the "' Buhrstone " at Hamilton bluff,
there is a low outcrop of Wood's bluff marls on the southern bank
of the river.
Thenext good exposures of Lignitic beds occur at Ft. GaJuesoa
the Chattahoochee river. Just below the long wooden bridge at
this place the following section is found :
J
Thb Geology of the Mississippi Embaym
rFeet
Red aandy clay and gravel (Pleistocene) aS
Lignitic clay »
3. FuBsiliferous sandstone ledge, Oilrca cotnpressirostra 3
4. Blue clay 5
5. Alternating hard and soft layers , 20
^^ 6. Fossil if etoua hard marl (seen in branch) 3
^^Lg. Bluish sandy clay 30
^^Bl Sandy clay vith concretions, O.lhisit 20
^HT Midway lintestune,
^^r Farther east in Georgia we have discovered a Woods bluff
^^Qlfignitic outcrop iu a cut otie mile east of Roberts'station. Shell
^r^ragments are seeu in the blue marly sand Cor perhaps 200 yards.
They are in some places 10 feet above the bed of the railroad.
This is an extremely interesting outcrop, for it is by far the most
easterly outcrop known of the Gulf Lignitic stage. This was dis-
covered Dec. 25, 1901, by Mr. Pacheco and the writer.
West of the Embayment axis. — In Texas the Lignitic beds arc
well exposed along the Sabine as described in full in Mr. Veatch's
Special Paper No. 3. Brazos river furnishes excellent outcrops
of these beds, but, so far as known, no animal remains have been
obtained from them. Calvert cliff, Robertson county, is a fine
exposure. To the west or southwest it would seem that the Lig-
nitic stage was poorly represented, at least at the surface.
In our report of 1899 we described the Lignitic outcrops in
N. W. Louisiana, including those about Many, Marthasville,
Coushatta, Mansfield and perhaps Shreveport. The majority of
the fossil remains were figured in that report.
»Lowsti Claiborne
Conditions of deposition. — We have already remarked that in
the upper Embayment area conditions were quite similar from
the beginning to the end of the Eocene. Toward the southern
and broader portion of the area the sea was clearer and more
suitable to animal life during the lower Claiborne age than it had
been during the Lignitic. The Lignitic beds of east Georgia and
west Texas were generally covered by Lower Claiborne deposits,
while in Alabama and east Texas broad expanses of the latter
are found, exceeded only by the still more-centrally located beds
^^in the States of Mississippi and Louisiana.
i8 Gbologicai, Survey of Louisiana
Everything would seem to point, then, to a slight lowering^
the southern Etnbayment sea bottom during Lower Claiborne
times.
Type secHoH. — In Mississippi, and especially in Alabama, the
Lower Claiborne deposits have been divided in two groups.
according to lilhological characters. Smith and Johnson (Bull,
U. S. G. S., No. 43). describe the lower portion under the name
of " Buhrstone " and the upper under the naraeof " Claiborne,"
The Buhrstone they find developed to a thickness of at least
300 feet in centra! Alabama, though it is probably at least 100
feet thicker. It ' ' consists of aluininious and silicious materials
partly glauconitic, and in places interstratified with thin beds of
greensand. The chief varieties of these rocks in the order of
their relative abundance are the following :
" I. Gray, aluminous sandstone, often glauconitic, with
numerous galls or concretions of pure whitish clay, and traversed
throughout with streaks of yellowish hydrated oxide of iron.
" 2. Indurated, white clay, forming a rock, which is, how-
ever, quite light and easily broken t 'P *
"3. Hard, coarse-grained glauconitic sandstone *
"4. Hard, yellowish, silicious, or alumiuious sandBtoj
streaked with a darker shade of yellow.
"5. A white silicious rock, almost quartzite."
At Hamilton Biuff on the Alabama, a fine expanse of thefl
called Buhrstone is seen. But Smith has measured a more exti
sive section near McCarthy's ferry on the Tombigbee.
The upper division of what we have styled the lower (
borne, is typically exposed at Lisbon and at the base of the bluff
at Claiborne on the Alabama. It is, according to Smith and
Johnson's measurements, about 120 feet in thickness, and con-
sist, of clays of various colors, with a varying amount of cal-
careous matter.
The easternmost outcrops that can be regarded as belonging
in any way to the Embaymeut area is one just discovered by the
writer in central Georgia on the Van Buren place, about 10 miles
east of Macon, Georgia. The Lower Clailx)rne character of the
Shell bluff exposure on the Savannah we recognized while col-
The Geology of the Mississippi Embayment 19
lecting there as early as 1896; but it deserves only a mention
here, since it belongs more properly with the Carolina province
of this stage than to that of the Embayment now under consid-
eration.
Throughout central Mississippi, northwest Louisiana, and
southeastern Texas this stage is splendidly developed. The
silicious Bubrstone character is not seen to any considerable
extent west of the Mississippi. Sands, clajs. marls and white,
bowlder-lilce limestones, constitute the majority of the material
in this section of the country.
Louisiana. — The Louisiana outcrops have been described at
length in our report of 1899 ; little need be said here concerning
them. One or two additional points, however, may be men-
tioned. They refer to the eastward extension of these beds
along the Ouachita river. In the U, S. Engineer's ofBce at
Vicksbuig are preserved samples of the material obtained from
numerous borings made along the river for the purpose of deter-
mining the sites for the proposed dams and locks along this
channel of commerce.
The borings that most interested us were those obtained from
Rock Row shoals, about 13 miles above Monroe. The mouth of
the boring is placed at 41.56 feet above mean Gulf level (H. E.
D. No. 448, 57lh Cong., I Sess., 1S92. Find Report on Survey
of Ouachita and Black Rivers, Arkansas and Louisiana, p. 131).
At 17.29 A. T. very stiff clay, full of green sand, become darker
upon exposure, is encountered. From here to the bottom of the
well, — 115.49. A. T. blue clays with shells, sand and rocklike,
thin, hard layers were encountered. Well preserved, small
shells, Ringicuia and Turratellix. were observed in the clay and
greensand at about tide level. Other shells, Macira, Leda.
Spharella. and Tellina. were observed in the specimens obtained
from lower depths. One of the common Texas Lower Claiborne
Pleurotomas was noted at a depth of about 135 feet. We have
no hesitation in assigning the whole, from a depth of 124 A. T.,
to 157 feet below tide level to the Lower Claiborne Eocene.
At Monroe the various well sections near the river furnish
Lower Claiborne fossils in abundance. Dislortio seplemdenlata
V. planicosia, TurrileUa, and PUurotomie of the Texas Lower
ao Gbological Suhvev of Luuisiana
Claiborne fauna occur at depths of from 90 feet downwards (i. e.
from 10 to 15 feet below tide). During the year 1900, Dr.
Stubbs sent the writer a suiall paper box full of shells that he
collected out of a well as it was being bored here. The species
are: Trigonarca pulchra, Verieracardia planicosta, Nucula mag-
nifica, Corbulas^., Turritella \^x . nasutaf Distortio septemden-
laia, Pseudoliva vetusla. Nassa lexatia, Latirui moorei, Natica
arala, Levifusus Irabealus, Terebra kouslonia, Calyplraphorus
velalus, Margiiiella eoristrUtoides . l^o!utili(Aes peirosus. Solarium
alvealum, PUurotoma nodocarinala, Clavililhes humerosus. Veatch
found an outcrop of this formation as described in his report on
the Ouachita, in the bed of the river about on the section tine
between Sections 2 and 11, 3 E. 16 N.
These facts show clearly that although this formation is
masked by later deposits in the region between Winnfield, Ver-
non and Ruston on the west and the Ouachita River on the east,
it does extend in full force eastward to, and doubtless under-
neath the great alluvial plains of the Mississippi.
Weil of ike Embaymenl axis. — By far the most systematic and
extensive work done so far on the Lower Claiborne of Texas was
that carried on under the former Geological Survey of the State.
The publication by Kennedy in the Proceedings of the Philadel-
phia Academy of Natural Sciences for 1895, and the accompany-
ing blue-print MS. map show with a fair degree of approxima-
tion the Lower Claiborne area in east Texas, though local and
more minute investigations by Veatch have brought to light
many minor points of error in Kennedy's work.
ThePaleontology of the Lower Claiborne of Texas was report-
ed upon in full to the Texas survey by the present writer, but
the survey was discontinued before the work was published. It
included nearly 400 type written pages and 30 large 8vo. plates.
Some of the new species were described, however, in 1895, (Proc.
Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila,, 1895, pp. 45-88. pls. MX).
A recent publication by the U. S. Survey gives an attempt at
correlating the Louisiana and Texas, though little new informa-
tion is brought forward. See Bull. 184, pp. 40-48.
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The Geology of the Mississippi Embaym
CocKSFiKLD Beds
^P Condition of deposition — We have already described
the lagoon or swamp-like condilion of the upper
portion of the Embaj'ment area during the lower
portion of Eocene times. White the Cocksiield beds
were being laid down, these conditions evidently
prevailed over regions farther south, even central
Louisiana and Mississippi. The result is, that
over the marine Lower Claiborne beds of Louisiana
come lignitic sands and clays, having a thickness of
perhaps four or five hundred feet where well devel-
oped.
Type section. — These beds are well exposed along
the cuts in the K. C. P. &G. R. R. between Florien
and Christie's switch (Fig. 3) as well as the type
locality on Red river, i. e. Cocksfield ferry, between
St. Maurice and Montgomery. Perhaps the best
place for observing them in deep cuts aud extensive
outcrops is along the Iron Mountain R. R. just
southward from Columbia, Caldwell parish. Plate
VI, opposite page 80 of our Report of 1899, shows
one of these deep railroad cuts. The extensive sand
beds exposed along the V. S. & P. R. R. east of
Ruston we refer to this horizon. Likewise the
lignite-bearing sands and clays on the Ouachita in
Arkansas in southern Bradley, western Ashley and
eastern Union counties ; though this is necessarily
more or less of a conjecture since the leaves, practi-
cally the only fossils contaiued, have not been
carefully studied aud differentiated from the flora
of the Lignitic proper.
In Mississippi these beds presumably occupy the
area between the silicious Claiborne area of Caroll
and Atala counties and the Jackson to the south-
west. They seem to represent the upper Claiborne
of east Mississippi and Alabama. West of the
Sabine these beds are represented by the lower por-
tion of the ' ' Yegua clays ' ' of the Texas nomencla-
See special Report No. 3.
I
33 Grological Sur>'vt op I^inSIAKA
Jackson Stage
CtrnJiiimts of depositian. — Daring this age the depress io n a!
the axis of the Embayment area bad more than kept pace with
the fiUiog ia by sedimentation, so that a large ^eet of salt
water spread northward as far as Crowley's Ridge, Arkansas,
and presumably farther.
Nartkem limil. — At the time of writing my report on the
Tertiary of Arkansas (1^2). I felt strongly inclined to refer the
fossUiferous beds at White binff on the Arkansas rirer to the
Jackson ; yet, they had always been referred to the Claiborne
and there seemed not enough positive evidence in favor of the
Jackson affinities to entirely warrant the change. Since then
some of the new, or supposedly new. species from Vtliite blnS
have been fonnd in abnndance at Jackson, Mississippi, and at
well developed Jackson beds throngbont Louisiana and east
Texas. The Red bluff beds upstream a few miles from White
blnff seem to be of the same horizon : and although I have not
visited Crowley's ridge personally, I fee! quite confident from
Call's description of the beds and associated fossils, together
with his correlations, that all should lie placed in one and the
sime group. Accordingly the map of the Embayment area as
herewith published shows the Jackson for the first lime with its
most probable northern distribution. Here again we would refer
the reader to our generalized section across the Mississippi val-
ley, from Memphis to Cabot, Fig. 3. p. 8, The moderate
southward slope of the Jackson outcrops throughout the Embay-
ment area is shown by the series of sections herewith given.
Plate iV.
It should be mentioned in this place that we have had access
to Hilgard's type specimens from lielena and Choctaw bar* and
* Ukls-'<a iBoring No. i> r Deiitalium (rery nearly unooth, bat inth
traces of longitudinal ttriatioa) : yoJiitHilhes ftlrostts (fragments^;
Corbuta untiUsiana. Corbula sp.; Phos hilli vai.; Psfudotiva ifluila ;
FUurotoma dtnticula: Adaon : Satica.
Choctaw Bar (Boring No. i): Venericardia pianieoita ; Dentalutm {ta at
Helena) ; Caduius : PUuroloma : Actaon, TurriUlla (very sm«11, nni-
carinate at base), Phos hUli,
(Boring No. 2) : Phot hUli (Ubelled " Suainmm " and " Fusmt mag-
Ths Ghology of the Mississippi Embavment 23
have found that his specific determinations of moUuscan fossils
is not of the most sactisfactory kind. The species are the same
in general as at White bluff, Arkansas ; hence, as shown above,
of Jackson age. (See Hilgard's report : H. E. D., 48 Cong, ist
Sess., 1883-84. vol. 19, Appendix N, pp. 479-497), We believe
there is no other place in the country where the Jackson beds
are so well exposed or so well developed as along the Ouachita
river, and we have been to considerable pains to secure full
information regarding this region. The stratigraphy of the
Jackson beds above Danville has been worked out by Mr. Veatch.
(See Special report No. 4).
At Danville and a few miles to the south, these beds are finely
developed, showing a proven thickness of So feet above an
approximate mean river level, and a probable thickness of 150
feet above the same datum plane. Vicksburg beds appear back
of Enterprise, P. O., at a height of 231 feet A. T., while Jack-
son fossils were traced in the same vicinity to a height of ii6*
feet, A. T.
About 3 miles south of Danville, and nearly as far from the
river, there is an eminence capped with Grand Gulf sandstone
at an elevation of 203* feet A. T. The Vicksburg marls and
calcareous bowlders are exposed in the stream valleys nearby at
an elevation of 130 to 143 feet A. T. These beds, therefore,
show a southern dip of about 50 feet per mile, and we are
noeotlalus"); Natica (email); Pleuraloma in/am; Levifeius Irabea-
lus; Caneellaria ; Corbu/a small, probably wailestana ; Turritella
develattdia; Venfricardia rolunda ; Volutililhes petroius ; Adaon :
Calyplraphorus velaius (tip of, labelled " Nassa (ancrlhla "J.
Boring No. 4 ) : Tumtella (small, sharply bi-carinate) ; Phos hitti ;
OlU'a cf. gracilis hca \ Natica ( small ) ; Ventrieardia pan<a ; Cortuia
wailesiana.
(Borinfc No. j) : Pseudotiva velusfa; Natiea, (small) f^euroloma
lUnlicula: ycnuritardia planicosia : 7»mVrf/a, (tipbi-cariuate); Vol-
utililhes pelroius : Corbula wailniana ; jieiiron.
Lake Pbovidekce (Boring No. 3): Leda multiliiteata (radial marking on
aotirior ooly); Leda ; depth IJ5 feet. I'cnericardia platticosla aud I'.
rotunda; depth, 137 feet.
•These elevatioris were detenniiied by mnniiig a spirit level line to these
various points from !i. M. B. Ouachita River Survey, in lot N. W. of Dan-
\-ille, P. O. Top of gas pipe given as 24 S 3*3 meters C. D,
GKOL,OCtCAL SCKVK^- OF LOUISIANA
k
^^m iacliaed to beliere that the Jackson beds share this dip with the
^^V higher or Vicksbnrg beds.
^M Section ahng tke K. C. P. and G. R. ^.—Another section of
^H the Jackson, studied more thoroughly this jeor
^H ■ than heretofore is that along the railway just racn-
^H mL S tioned, in western Louisiana. Abont i}^ mile
^H ^1 M north of Christie's switch. Jackson beds appear
^* ^B capped, as were the Cocksfield beds, by the so-
called Orange Sand. They consist here of light
colored clays, and contain traces of fossils. Votuti-
lilhis pelrosus and Nassa are the most abnndaot
forms.
South of the switch one-half mile, a more exteo-
tVp^in H sive exposure of fossiliferous Jackson clays is
xll^ * fonnd. The upper surface shows extreme irregn-
J, ['■: S larities of erosion before the deposition of the
5^-*- ^ superincumbent Quaternary material.
The cnt passed through about one-third mile
u before reaching an old saw-mill site is remarkable
»■ in many ways. The erosion that washed ont the
£ great channels in the upper surface of the Jackson
p clays, left sometimes very steep and over-hanging
I banks ; so sleep, in fact, that after the lower part
of one channel had been filled with sand and gravel,
the upper part of the over-hanging bank pressed
down upon the refilled material. At first sight it
seems as though the gravel actually passes beneath
the clays, but this is doubtless not so. The gravel
has been re-channeled and re-fiUed in places with
coarser gravel and sand. See Fig. 4.
In the cut at the old mill there occur first, finely
laminated clayey sands. In the middle of theexpos-
nre there are very lignitic clays. These give way
in the southern part of the cut to dark clays which
turn reddish ou exposure. About 300 yards to the
south there appears a high hill on the right or
southwest where but 60 feel above the track Grand
Gulf sandstone crops out very conspicuously.
Thb Geology of thk Mississippi Embaymhnt
25
£ast of Ike Embaymenl a.xis. — In Mississippi the Jackson beds
are well developed as the aame Jackson would naturally imply,
but they thin out rapidly eastward and are represented in the
Claiborne section by only a few feet of marly limestone, the
base of the so-calted "White Limestone." We have personally
collected from these beds at Claiborne Afiira millmgtoni and a
few other such characteristic species.
West of the Embaymenl axis. — In Texas, in fact iu all regions
west of the Red river, the members of this survey have discov-
ered and traced the course of the Jackson. While employed by
the Texas survey, the writer received a few samples of gray
sandstone from a "cutting on the Houston E. & W. Tex, R, R.
4 miles north of Corrigan, Polk Co.;" but no casts were pre-
served of shells other than might well belong to Claiborne
species and the beds were therefore classed under that heading.
During the past winter the vicinity was studied by Mr. Veatch
and a number of fairly distinct casts were shipped to the writer,
then at Calhoun, La. The Jackson aspect of these fossils was
at once evident, and Mr. Veatch informs us that the stratigraphy
is in harmony with this conclusion. The large Kulgur-like Levi-
fusus iramieri and Mazsalina var. cwew/. in considerable abun-
dance, speak clearly of the age of the material enclosing them.
While at Sour take, Texas, the writer found among the debris
washed out from near the bottom of a 1500 foot well a fine Jack-
son fauna, preserved evidently in a blue selenitic marl. The well
referred to is located just back of the P. O. close by one of but
900 feet in depth. Along with such fossils as Volutilithes petroius,
Venericardia rotunda, and fragments of Pecten and Pinna, we
observed Atveinui minutus Euckeilodon creno-carinata , CotbuUt
wailesiana, and several undescribed Jackson species.
The important bearing of these facts on the stratigraphy of
this portion of the state when considered in connection with the
flowing well but four miles distant, down to a depth of 1915 with
no indications of lower Tertiary beds or fanna,is at once apparent.
This point will be referred to later on-
26 Geological Sorvky of Louisiana
OLIGOCENE SERIES
ViCKSBURG Stage
Conditions of deposition. — The great geographic changes that
took place betweeu Eoceneand Oligoceae times in the Mississippi
Erabayment are dearly shown on the accompanying map.
(Plate I.) There was no longer a narrow bay extending from
the Gulf of Mexico northwards towards, perhaps even to, the
mouth of the Ohio. There was only a gentle curve in that
direction as the map clearly shows. There would seem to be
moreover, no doubt as to the former continuity of Oligocene
beds from where they are represented in Louisiana across the
Mississippi valley to the more extensive outcrops in Mississippi.
What at this periodbecameof the turbid waters of the Mississippi
river it is difficult to imagine.
Dislribitiion in Louisiana. — The \'icksburg beds of Louisiana
are confined to the region about Rosefield P. O, . or more defi-
nitely, from a point about yi niile west of Enterprise P. O. on
the Ouachita, to perhaps 5 miles southwest of Rosefield. Just
south of Rosefield the hills are capped by tirand Gulf material,
but the steep and deep valleys on all sides show Vicksburg
marls, limestone boulders, and often Vicksburg fossils. Some
locations have been already specified in out Report of 1899.
Heretofore, however, the Vicksburg fossils of Louisiana have
come apparently from one and the same horizon. Bluish or
yellowish marls, with light colored limestone boulders of various
size usually indicate the propinquity of good collecting grounds.
Now we are able to state that there are at least two fossil -bearing
horizons between 40 and 50 feet apart. They are both seen in
the vicinity of Sones store southeast of Rosefield P. O. Ins
hollow south of his house about yi mile, there is a seam of blB-
ish clay literally packed with small bivalve shells of one species,
viz : Corbuia alia Con. The usual Vicksburg fossiliferous bed
i; seen a few yards southeast of the same house, in narrow, dec^,
storm-carved channels. In several places hereabouts b seam of
"coal" is found, occupying a stratigraphic position abontequiv
alent to the Corbuia bed, though presumably just a little below
It as is seen below in the Vicksburg section. To the southeast
1L-:
NL-W YORK,
i-'J:JiJvJ LIBRARY
At^TGh, LENOX AND
lILDtlN fOUNOATlON*.
r
Thk Ghology of the Mississippi Embaymhnt
of RoseSeld, some four or five miles, fossils are reported in the
deep ravines that occur just below the Grand Gulf sandstone
horizon.
Typically developed in Mississippi. — One of the best develop-
ments and earliest studied sections of this formation is at Vicks-
burg, Mississippi. The military road leading north from the
town is flanked landwards by an abrupt slope, showing in places
thick, light-colored, limestone layers, at others, light marls. Mint
spring bayou at the entrance of the U. S. cemetery exposes
along its course an excellent section. The photograph herewith
reproduced, (Plate \')*, shows a rather heavy bedded limestone
above, with very fossiliferous clays beneath. Still higher, at
Mint spring, other clays are found, likewise replete with another
group of tnoUuscan species, mostly Areas, These strata come
under No. 5 of Hilgard's section given below :
No. s. — .Alternating strata, i lo 6 feel thick, of limestone and marl, con-
taining tlie Viclisburg fossils, und some brands of non-effervcicent, gray
Mnd and clay : 60 to 65 feet thick.
No. 4. — Black, lif^iitic clay, and gray aand, vith Ostrea giganUa, Car-
bula alia, Nalica mississippuHSU., Cytherea sabrina, Madrepora tttis.:
5 feet.
No. 3. — Gray or black lignitic claya or sand, with iron pyritea ; exuding
^ts and sulphuretted hydrogen : 35 feet.
No. 2.— Solid limestone lignite, with whitish cleavage planes : 3 feet.
■White limestone of the Jackson group.
I- The dip of the strata here is quite slight, perhaps on an aver-
scarcely 10 feet to the mile in a southerly direction.
The whole thickness would seem to scarcely exceed 100 feet
at Ibis type locality.
Farther east, in southern Alabama, the Orbiloides bearing
Vicksburg beds are given a thickness of 140 feet by Smith and
Johnson.
Great development in Georgia. — In Georgia they cover a vast
portion of the State as pointed out by the writer in 1895.! Their
• Borrowed from Bull. Amer, Paleont. No. ij-
tSee .American Geology, Vol. 18, p. 136, 1896.
gee also Bull. Am. Pal. No. 15, p. 67 et seq., 1901,
He
28
GSOLOGICAL SORVKY OF LOUISIANA
northern boundary passes northeastward from near Ft. Gaines,
Ga., to near Macon. They simply mask ail Cretaceous and Eocene
deposits in this portion of the State. Their thickness, however,
can not at present be estimated with anything tike a fair degree
of accuracy.
Grand Gulf Stage
rtfie
Frio sub-stage. — If we adopt the Texan nomenclature for
upper, green, calcareous clays of the Grand Gulf beds, the
whole stage would be thus divided, i , Grand Gulf beds proper ;
light colored sands, clays and sandstone layers at base. 3,
Frio clays : light greenish clays, sand and light calcareous marls
replete with white concretions of very irregular forms of various
si«s. Occasional typical " Red river clay" beds are reported
from the Frio horizon.
Both the usual phases of this stage are splendidly developed
along the K. C. P. & G. R. R. from^ Christie's switch to five
miles south of Leesville. The sandstone ledges are fully exposed
about Harrisonburg and Sicily Island.
CondiHoH of deposition. — From Alabama to near Rosefield,
Louisiana, the northern shoreline of the Grand Gulf sea seems
(o have agreed in direction fairly well with that of Vicksburg
time. But farther west, doubtless the Vicksburg shore tine
took an abrupt southerly bend, whereas the Grand Gulf's con-
tinued in its general west -south- west direction. Certainly great
origraphic changes took place between the time when the Vicks-
burg beds were deposited and the beginning of Grand Gulf
deposition. The Vicksburg beds show an off-shore, clear-water
condition for the most part : the Grand Gulf, the reverse ; being
we tielieve. in many places deposited in shallow fresh water
basins. The astounding dearth of fossil remains, remuked
upon by Hilgard and others so often and with snch empliasis is,
it seems to ns, accounted for mainly by the fact that the cal-
careous concretions so abundant in many portions of the Prio
cla$^. are not derived from the tests of mollusca as wis formerly
supposed, bnt have been extracted from fresh waters by certain
kinds of water vegetation.*
■ Joar«a1 of G«alosT, voL 9. 509 aod 506 ; 1901 : C.
^^H
PUBLIC LlBl^fcRV
1 ,"i,. foWOATIOlO.
The Geology op the Mississippi Em
29
Stratigraphy along the Ouachita. — Three miles south of Dan-
ville at Rock Hill, as has already been stated, the base of the
Grand Gulf sandstone layers is 203 feet A. T. The fossiliferous
Vicksburg beds in little ravines close by are from 60 to 70 feet
below the sandstone layers, the intervening space is covered.
Yet in the Harriaburg road perhaps two miles farther south,
thick sand beds were observed beneath the indurated ledges.
These we would naturally place in the Grand Gulf stage. Ten
miles southeast of Rock Hill, at Catahoula shoals, borings made
by the U. S. Engineers indicate the presence of hard Grand Gulf
layers to a depth of i2g feet A. T. In this direction therefore,
nearly due southeast, the dip is about 31 feet per mile. If,
however, we take the approximate elevation of the lower beds
of the Grand Gulf just across the river from Colfax as no feet,
and note the distances and directions from each of these points
and solve graphically for direction and amount of dip, we find
the true dip to be south 26° east at the rate of 34 feet per mile.
This is interesting as proving with fair certainty that the basal
sandstones of this formation do not extend much below water
level at Slafiord's landing. In other words, Bceuf river joins
the Ouachita along the northern outcropping of the bottom hard
ledges of the Grand Gulf sandstone. Rather strong local dips
aie to be seen in the sandstone ledges in the bluff at Harrison-
burg. If, however, they do not affect the general dip as dis-
cussed above, the more or less arenaceous and indurated layers
of the Grand Gulf, have a vertical range of about 250 feet and
the total thickness where the basal sands are included is uo less
than 300 feet. The Frio clays, if present at all in this region,
must be some distance to the south of the outcropptngs of the
harder Grand Gulf beds, and hence are covered by the recent
alluvium.
Fossils. — In the southwest quarter of section 7. 10 N., 5 E.,
the gray sandstones and clays of the Grand Gulf alternate, near
the summit of several eminences in this vicinity, with light
sea-green finely laminated clays. These clays upon exposure
become almost pure white, and hence the name of the locality.
Chalk hills. We were fortunate to secure from these lighter
clays not only a good quantity of well-preserved, dicotyledonous
Gbological Survey of Lodisiana
leaves, but also several casts of one or two species
of Unto and Anadon. We arc con6dent that if
time and means for the work were at hand, a most
interesting chapter could be written on the proofs
of the freshwater origin of a large share of the
Grand Gulf sands and Frio clays, A careful study
of the microscopic features of all these rocks is
what is now most needed in order to bring out in
more detail their condition of deposition. How-
ever, the mollusks and the leaves will soon be pub-
lished, though the manuscript could not be pre-
pared in time for the present report.
At the forks of the quarry switch east of Christie's
(K. C. P. & G. R. R.).we fonndasection (Fig. 5).
showing cross-bedded sands with chunks and bells
oi of brittle clay and more or less Lignitic clay. The
m unconformity shown by the various layers is most
ti remarkable. A few fragmentary casts of small
'^ bivalves were found in a shelly layer perhaps half
g way from the forks of the switch aforementioned to
o the old quarry. These were found mainly on the
J northwest side of the track near a highway cross-
'^ iug. Just to the southwest is a cut showing flow-
and-plunge structure in semi-indurated sands.
Stratigraphically and Uthologically these remains
might well be of Grand Gulf age. But when we
cousider that the base of the so-called Grand Gulf
in Texas contains casts of Jackson fossils, we are
inclined to think that these few bivalves are the
last survivors of the Jackson age.
Well sec/ions. — From rock specimens seen at
Moresi Brothers' foundry in Jeanerette, and from
what could be seen of the well being sunk at Aase-
la-Butte with the Moresi outfit, we are warranted
in stating that from 800 to 1500 feet in depth the
drill was continually in Grand Gulf and Frio
material. The same light clays, often of a green-
ish hue, and sands predominated, that 1
that caa-^^^
The Geology of the Mississippi Embayment
■^^^■tof^Ja sartace outcroppings from Leesville to Hornbeck.
fSUfflftH^'r we have never seen at a surface outcrop the sticky
red eotnpact clay that is said to have been passed through
in the well between the depth of 1415 to 1450 feet. Yet Mr.
Hill, who had general oversight of the work, informs us that a
simitar red bed was passed through under similar circum-
stances in a well 15 miles south of Alice. Texas. Again, in a
letter recently forwarded to the .Survey, mention is incidentally
made of the surface outcropping of a red clay bed in the vicinity
of Leesville, La, Also, in the Spring Hill well, at a depth of
several hundred feet (exact depth not given), a precisely similar
formation was encountered.
The so-called Spring Hill well is located about 9 miles in a
southeast direction from Oberlin, La. Besides the interesting
feature just mentioned, this well, according to Mr. J. T.Jackson
(driller), at a depth of about 1450 passed through a very hard
ledge of light sandstone. The auger employed certainly
showed hard usage. At a depth of about 1500 feet, the drill-
ings being washed up at the time of our visit (in early March),
consisted of clear quartz sand with greenish flakes of clay. No
shells had been found in any of the washings. According to
the same driller an abundance of gravel was found at a depth of
iioo feet. This, if not an error, would imply a dip of at least
40 feet to the mile for these Lafayette beds or the upper surface
of the Grand Gnlf from their exposures southwest of Alexandria,
southward to this well.
There is a strong probability that the well styled " Southern
No. i" reached a Grand Gulf horizon at 2600 feet. The wells
in the same general vicinity, 1'. e. a mile or so north or south of
Evangeline, seem to show the same uppermost fannal phase as
was obtained at similar depths (1500-1800 ft.), in the deep well
at Galveston. Again the material obtained from a depth of
3600 feet has a decidedly fresh-water, river mud appearance.
I do not think the Watkins well southeast of Lake Charles,
2400 deep, reaches the Grand Gulf. However, in Texas, Terti-
ary beds have certainly been found in a well at Sour Lake, as
described above ; even near Spindletop the evidence of Grand
Gulf Tertiary in some of the wells is quite satisfactory.
Gkujogicai, Sitkvbt of Locbiaiu
Tbe Tresdamy well, down 1S50 tett, liar. ii. ig<», sfacnred
pxTcl and recent appearing forma dotni to thai depth. A well
afaocn ooe-fotnth oitle to the east, temporarilr afaandoned (at a
depth ot Z015 feet), h owe v er, showed mottled aMrls and green-
ish sandy days tefaable with little doobt to the Gtand
horizon.
SEOCEXE SERIES
1
^H^ nu
w
Wen rearris. — No marine Xeocene Totiaiy, so Car as WC
aware, comes to the sorface in LooisiaBa or Tezaa. Their
tioD in the sofastmctnre of Louisiana can best be underwood by
examining the sectioned model. Plate II. of this report. They
have been completely blanketed by more recent deposits. Our
knowledge regarding them is scanty, owing to tbe lack of inter-
est that drillers manifest in keeping fossil specimens from each
rell pnt down.
Tbe Crowley well, near Erangeline, is interesting frooi the
fact that a depth of approximately 3000 feet many specimens of
Rangia jpkmami were fonnd, along with fragments of Mytilus
aDd Ostrea. E*rairc Mamon well, abont 2200 feet deep, shows the
e Rangta jokmtani along with the Galveston well variety of
R. cujumta. These show fairly co&clnsivdy that a western con-
struction of the Pascagonla Miocene beds are here encountered.
' ' Southern No. 2 ' ' shows at i Soo feet the same oppermost Ter-
tiary aspect of fossil remains that was fonnd in tbe Galveston
well at a similar depth. The Watkins well near Lake Charles
seems to reach at 2400 feet approximately the same borixon that
is fonnd cast of Jcnning's at a depth of less than tHoo feet.
CLOSE OF TERTIARY AND BEGINNING OF
QUATERNARY
Laf&vbttb Stags
Oeemrremte in Lattisimna. — Tbe disconnected areas of gnvV
material in the Embayment region north of the OUgocene oDt-
crops. belong perhapis to several different geological ages ; hot
sonlh of the same outcrops these coarse materials t
The Geology of the Mississippi Esibavment
33
stitute one extensive, unbroken formation, though varying
greatly in kinds of material and doubtless considerably in actual
time of deposition.
It has been my belief for several years that whenever the
shingle of an old shore has been preserved, there will be found
"Orange sand," be the age of such littoral beds Mesozoic or
Cenozoic : that, if the shore line is pushed out at intervals, by
the raising of the land or the depression of the sea, then erosion
sets in with renewed vigor and carries the greater part, or all it
may be, of the old littoral deposits to lower localities, often into
the sea. If the relative level of land and sea remains for a long
time practically unaltered, then the sea may transform a gently
sloping, elevated sea-bottom plane to a shore of wave-formed
cliffs with bat moderate depth in the bordering waters. Such
action would often account for the occurrence of gravel located
on plateaux, with beds of the next older stage, consisting of
firmer materials, lying unconformably below.
A graphic representation of the ideas we would express is
given herewith in Fig. 6, Coarse littoral material, oraugesand,
we will say, is deposited in the first place on an irregular surface
of older rocks. The coarser material has been deposited near the
shore, the finer farther seaward. This material is subsequently
GEOLOGICAL SrKVBV OP LonSIAKA
derated and appears at X. Erosion aod wave action set ta aod
tfae result is that part of the X materia) is traospoirted and forms
X\ Some remains at X as plateau gravel. These processes
may be repeated many times and the resnlt wiH be that when
the country inland has been dissected even modeiately . the grave)
will appear (a) as the capping of plateaux, or (b) as gravel
traitu along the water courses either of to-day. or those of periods
subsequent to the primal elevation of the region above sea level.
We refer the reader to oar Report of t&99 for an account of
the gravel beds north of the Grand Gulf outcrops in lA>aisiana.
Those in Arkansas are discussed in several volumes of iheannoal
reports of the Arkansas Geological Survey, especially vtd. 2 of
the years i&SS. t&&g, and 1S92. Special interest in this report
centers in the Lafayette beds to the south of the Grand Golf otit-
crops, inasmuch as from these outcrops southward they are con-
tinaoos, and play an important r61e in the economics of south-
west Louisiana.
At Harrisburg these beds are over 150 feel A. T. ; uearNeame,
over 375 feet A. T. At Sulphur, in southwest Louisiana, they
extend to a depth of over 400 feet below tide ; just east of Mor-
gan City, over 500 feet below the same datum plane. East of
the Mississippi river their behavior is well shown in the accom-
panying section. Fig. 7.
For want of carefully kept records and samples, and lack of
organic remains, the depth to which the so-called Lafayette beds
extend can not be gis-en with accuracy. The light bluish clay
and sand layers penetrated between depths of 500 and 3500 feet
and containing few and from miocene to recent organic remains, '
seem to be most probably the seaward representations of the
coarse gravelly material as it Sanks the Grand Gulf or Frio beds
farther north. Such gravels, then, may be properly discussed
under the bead of upper ' ' Tertiary deposits. ' ' whereas the gravel
encountered in the wells is most certainly Quaternary, *
The drawing of hard and fast limes separating the so-called
'The fact that this littoral material, of identical appearance, (nsnany
r ef erred to bj oae Dsmel. belongs to so manydiSerent ages, renders itsdis-
GOisioD. in ■ report chronoloKically arranged, necessarily somewhat awk-
somewliat awk- g
J
36
Ghological Sdbvkv of LonsiANA
Lafayette sands and Rravels from the " basal Port Hudson gravels
and sands" is to our way of thinking unnecessary and illogical.
There was a period after the last coarse material in this region
had been laid down, when the whole of the area represented on
the maps as Port [ludson or younger, constituted one broad
expanse of marsh land and extensive shallow lakes, in which
clayey materials were deposited to depths of 50-150 feet. But
more of these later on. ^_
QUATERNARY SERIES ^J
Port Hudson Stage
Origiti of prairie region in southern Louisiana.— The drilling
of a vast number oF shallow wells in the southern part of the
State has been the means of solving the origin of this whole
portion of the country. The auger brings up rotten wood, land
shells, fresh-water shells aud brackish -water shells. The shells
are identical with those met with in the clayey beds now form-
ing in the various lakes towards the southern margin of the State.
In comparatively recent times, all the Port Hudson area referred
to above, has been, first here than there occupied by shallow
lakes containing a brackish water fauna. The rdle that Rangia
ameala has played in the formation of this part of the country
is noteworthy. Around Jennings, for example, no one would
suspect that in sinking a well less than 100 feet in depth, beds
of the brackish -water species Rongia cuneala, are apt to be met
with in layers from i to 5 or more feet thick. Precisely what
these old conditions of affairs were like may be seen at a glance
by visiting the borders of any of the large lakes in southern
Louisiana, Pontchartran for example. The partial shutting off
of the Gulf waters from these extensive flats was doubtless accom-
plished by wave action and possibly by a slight coastal rising :
principally, however, by the action of the waves throwing up
sand reefs, especially during great storms. Plate VIII shows one
of the many remnants of more extensive lakes in this part of the
State, in which the animal life and conditions of deposition we
havedescribed above can be studied to advantage. Plate IX shows
one of the many long, parallel, storm-wave-formed ridges of
r
The Geology of the Mississippi Embaymb
37
southern Louisiana. Tbe sea marsh to the right extends out to
the present Gulf coast where more modern ridges are forming.
To the left the Mermentau river is seen skirting the northern
border of the ridge (Grand Chenier) for some distance, prepara-
tory to breaking through and winding its way to the Gulf.
In passing from the Gulf coast inland, one encounters, first a
beach with often a trace of a ridge, then a stretch of swamp or
marsh with lakes and meandering bayous, then a second and
third and even a fourth or fifth ridge separated by swamps or
lakes according to the season and tide. But still farther north
the marshes become low lands and gradually assume the very
low. level stretches that rise, though almost insensibly, north-
ward and constitute the broad treeless stretches so characteristic
of the prairie region of southern Louisiana.
In this portion of the State we see no sharp line of demarcation
between the Port Hudson beds and the recent alluvium and coast
deposits. That the earlier part of Port Hudson time was char-
acterized by a low or sunken condition of the lower portion of
the Embayment area is not to he questioned. The thickness of
tbe beds along the Mississippi and other large rivers and also in
tbe well sections, prove a long continuance of sunken or sinking
surface conditions. The lack of certainty in the delimitation
of the lower plane of this so-called formation has already been
referred to.
Loess. — We are inclined to consider the loam of the Bayou
Macon hills, the Icess-like material on the southeastern Hank of
the Grand Gulf hill of Sicily Island, the bluff lands about Marks-
ville, Opelousas and from there continuously southward to New
Iberia as similar in origin and age to the bluf! land on the east
of the Mississippi from the Mississippi State line southward to
Baton Rouge. All seem to be the southern representative of the
typical kess so well shown about Grand Gulf and Vicksburg
l^irther up tbe Mississippi. (See Plate VII).
' Alluvium and Recent Shore Deposits
A gradual rise of the land surface in the Embayment region
caused the Fort Hudson and Icess beds along the river channels
Gkological Survky of Lodisiana
»1 elevatio^!^^
38
to soon stand out in bold relief ; for with increased 1
went increased erosion. The swamp Jands of west St. Landry
and Calcasieu, Acadia and Lafayette parishes were drained.
But lakes and swamps are in evidence along the Gulf border till
this day. The very recent deposits in these low lands as well
as the material of the so-called * ' river bottoms ' ' constitute prac-
tically the last geological formation of the State.
Mud lumps. — So much has been written regarding the mud
lumps at the mouth of the Mississippi, that any further account
may seem almost superfluous. Yet after a visit to the region
between South and Southeast pass, we are convinced that the
origin of these peculiar objects as usually stated is erroneous.
Descriptions and figures of the mud lumps have heretofore
given the impression that the material constituting the "lumps "
is ejected volcano-wise out of a crater-like orifice that continually
boils and bubbles with escaping gas. Along with the water and
gas comes blue mud. This mud flows down outside of the vent,
lava-like, and finally builds up a mud cone from 5 to 15 feet high.
We saw many places where water and gas were flowing out :
the gas especially came off in considerable quantities, but in no
case was the water carrying with it any noticeable amount of
material wherewith to build a " lump" . There is a gEisspring
bubbling up in the flat, surfwashed clays in the foreground of
our photograph, (Plate X). but no water is running away from
the crater, at least, none to speak of, less than a pint an hoar.
The "lump" shown constitutes Cubit's Island. It may be
reached by going down North-east pass to Bayou Balize, thence
out Redfish bayou into Redfish bay. This is the most south-
easterly of the large lumps. It is just south of Caney spit.
Height about ia-15 feet according to stage of water. The con-
stituent material is blue clay, evidently deposited as thin hori-
zontal layers. It has been raised up into an anticline with dips
north and south. Upon long exposure the material becomes
brownish and strikingly like ihe banks of the neighboring passes.
To the southwest and northwest are several small tumps
scarcely over 3 feet in height. Others are still just a little
beneath the water level as the breakers clearly show.
On a second island farther westward another spring was seen
TH!" N!:W YORKf
r:. ■- .Is'.- .'.s.
r
Thk Geology of the Mississippi Embaymknt
39
I"
bubbling gas continually. A streak of iron oxide marked the
trace of all overflow water. The temperature of the latter was
72" Fh. while the water alongside was 63° Fh. the strike of the
beds on this island was in general N. W.-S. E. though a consid-
erable variation in matters of dip were observed.
"John Landus " island is quite extensive, several hundred
yards wide and perhaps a mile long. Its beds show a N.-S.
strike. The temperature of a fine gas-water spring was 663^ "Fh . ,
the air at the same time was 58^° Fh. and the Gulf close by 55°
We bad no time for visiting the lumps on S-W pass but heard
of some excellent ones in that direction. In case the weather is
not seriously bad, the geologist will find it to his financial advan-
tage to go by boat to Port Eads and from there row or sail east
to Redfish bay, and west to Southwest pass. The lighthouse
keeper at the last mentioned locality can give shelter and infor-
mation ; while at the former locality, east of Port Eads, there
arc no traces of shelter, no chance to obtain food or water.
We are still in doubt as to the exact cause of the upheavals of
these mud masses near the mouth of the Mississippi, but that
they rise up in domes or anticlines and preserve their regular
bedding is proven by their present structure. So far as we
observed none were formed as volcano-like mud cones.
Gas presumably has something to do with these upheavals ;
then, too, it appears to us that the difference in specific gravity
in different portions of such a great mass of ooze as is here con-
tinually building out into the Gulf, may be respon-sible for some
of the sinking, moving, re-adjusting and upheaving in certain
localities.
SPECIAL REPORT
No. II
THE SALINES OF NORTH LOUISIANA
BY
A. C. VEATCH
CONTENTS
Pagb
[NTRODUCTION 47
Field Work 48
Method of mapping 48
Method of testing the brines 48
Resnm^ of Previous Geological Work 49
Forshey 49
Robertson 49
Hilgard 49
Hopkins 50
I^rch 50
Vaughn 50
Harris and Veatch 50
T I. — Detailed Descriptions of the Several Salt Works
Drake's Sai^t Works 51
Location and Topography 51
Location 51
Streams 51
Licks east of Saline bayou 51
A good mill site 52
Licks west of Saline bayou 52
History of operations 53
Indian 53
Early white operations 55
War operations 58
Geology 59
Surrounding country 59
Cretaceous 60
Old tertiary 60
Gravel 60
Conclusions 61
Hydrometer tests of the brine 61
Analyses of brine 63
Prick's Salt Works 64
Location and Topography 64
Location 64
Topography • 64
Licks 64
Streams 65
&
History of operations 65
Early operations 65
War operations 66
Geology 67
I^imestone outcrop 67
Well sections 68
Vertebrate remains 68
Conclusions 68
Hydrometer tests 69
Analysis of brine 69
Rayburn's Sai*t Works 71
Location and Topography 71
Location : 71
General features 71
History of Operations 72
Early operations 72
War operations 72
Geology 73
Hilgard*s well section 73
Cretaceous outcrops 73
Cretaceous fossils 74
Other outcrops 74
Vertebrate remains 74
Conclusions 74
Hydrometer tests 75
Analysis of brine 75
King's Salt Works 76
Location and Topography 76
Location , 76
Valley of Bayou Castor 76
The licks 76
History of Operations 77
Indian 77
Early white operations 77
War operations 77
Geology 78
Cretaceous 78
Cretaceous from Neal's well 78
Midway Eocene 79
Surrounding country 79
Vertebrate remains 79
Asphaltum 79
Tests and analysis of brine 79
BiSTINEAU 81
Location and Topography 81
Location 8i
Topography 8i
The islands or hills 82
The licks 82
History of operations 83
Indian 83
Early white operations 83
War operations 84
Operations since the war 86
Geology * 86
Cretaceous 86
The wells 87
Vertebrate remains 87
Surrounding country 88
Conclusions 89
Analyses of brine 89
Othbr Saunbs 90
Salt works near the Sabine river % 90
Negreet salt works 90
Other works 90
Catahoula Salt Springs 91
Early French accounts 91
Later references 91
Salines near Dugdemona Bayou 92
Castor salt springs 92
Cedar lick 92
PART II. — General Considerations 93
Economic Conditions 93
Relative Value of North Louisiana Brines 93
Table I. — Analyses of Brines of the United States 94
Table II.— Analyses of Total Solids Brines of the U. S 95
Geological Considerations 96
Resum^ 96
Dome structure 96
Relation to Surrounding Regions 97
Similar domes in Louisiana and Texas 97
Time of formation of domes 99
Lines of weakness 100
ILLUSTRATIONS
Plate XI. Drake*s Salt Works, Lower Lick, showing old salt well, salt
kettles and optn lick through the trees 51
XI L Artesian Well, Drake's Salt Works, La 57
XIII. Old Salt Kettles, Rayburn's Salt Works, La. . 71
XIV. Row of old boilers nsed for evaporating salt, Raybam*8
Salt Works, La 72
XV. King's Well.King's Salt Works, La. Locality from which
Cretaceous was first reported in Louisiana 76
XVI. Tadpole Lake, Bistineau Salt Works, La. 81
XVII. Potter's Pond, Bistineau Salt Works, La., showing old
^salt wells 88
XVIII. ^Iap of Drake's Salt Works, La 100
XIX. Map of Price's Salt Works, La loo
XX. Map of Raybum's Salt Works, La 100
XXI. Map of King's Salt Works, La 100
XXII. Map of Bistineau Salt Works, La luo
XXIII. Map of Domes of Louisiana and Texas 100
Pig. 8. Sketch Map showing Salines of north Louisiana 47
9. Partially ideal section of Drake's Salt Works 61
THE SALINES OF NORTH LOUISIANA
INTRODUCTION
The following report is intended to contain a complete account
of what is known of the salt springs and wells that were for-
merly worked in northern Louisiana. The accompanying sketch
map (Fig. 8) shows the location and relative position of the
different groups of springs and wells and also the areas of which
detailed sketch maps were made.
FIG. 8, SKKTCB MAP SHOWING SALINBS OF NORTH I^OmSIANA.
I
Geologicai. Sdhvbv of LoniSIANA
Field Work
^
In March, 1899, the writer in making a reconnaissance of
northern Louisiana passed through King's and Rayburn's Salt
Works in Bienville parish. At Rayburn's an area of about a
square mile was mapped and a beautifully preserved Upper Cre-
taceous fauna found. At King's, Ostrea pulaskensis, a Midway
Eocene species, was found in the old dump heaps.
In the latter part of December, 1899, and in January. 1900,
Bistineau. Drake's, Price's and King's Salt Workswere mapped
and tests made of the brines.
Method of mapping. — The sketch maps of the different salines
were prepared almost wholly by pacing. All section, quarter
and half section lines were followed and in most cases new lines
run- at the eight mile points. In regions of great detail, as in
the sail well groups, lines were run east and west and north and
south every thirty-second of a mile and the wells located from
known points on these lines. The whole was checked by known
land corners and by meandering the main roads. An open sight.
3,''3-inch compass was used. Relative levels were obtained with
a Locke hand level.
Method of testing the brines. — The samples of brine were
obtained from near the bottom of the old wells by means of a
small pitcher pump, such as is commonly used on driven wells
in the river bottoms, with a number of short joints of pipe so
that the total length of the pipe could be regulated at will. An
examination of the licks made this method seem preferable to
sinking a number of new wells. Many of the old wells are still
open — the timber, generally sap-pine, with which they were
walled, haviug been preserved by the salt^and it was believed
that if samples of brine could be obtained from near the bottom
of the open wells they would represent the normal strength of
the briues, and that a number of such samples from wells overs
wide area would give a truer idea of the quality of the brines
than a sample from a new well sunk at random.
Samples thus obtained were tested with a Brix Saccharometer
(the only form of hydrometer which could be readily obtained),
graduated to one-fifth of a degree, A number of the s
obtained were analyzed by Mr. Maurice Bird.
Thk Salines of North Louisiana 49
Rbsum^ of Previous Ghological Work •
fJvrshey. — As early as 1850 Forshey, lecturing on the Geology
of Louisiana, made the following general statement regarding
the north Louisiana salt springs : " A saline bed seems to under-
lie the tertiary bed generally." f
Robertson. — During 1864 and 1865 J. B. Robertson was engaged
in geological examinations of northern Louisiana under the
direction of Gov. Henry Allen, In his official report [headvances
the theory that these salines are merely the " beds of ancient
lakes." He records that at King's Salt Works there are aoo feet
of fossiliferous Cretaceom litnestone,\ Whether Robertson really
recognized a Cretaceous fauna or whether he merely made a
happy guess we cannot tell at this time. It should, however,
be mentioned that it was at this very locality, and in the dump
heap of the deep well referred to, that the author found fossilifer-
ous Cretaceous limestone last year.
Hilgard. — In 1869 Hilgard made his now classical reconnais-
sance of northern Louisiana. ' From fossils found in the Big lick
at King's Salt Works and lithological characters he concluded
that the material shown at the various salines and at the Winn-
field Marble Quarry was Cretaceous. From the relative geo-
graphical position of the different outcrops he came to the con-
clusion that there was in Louisiana a Cretaceous ridge or back-
bone extending N.N.W. and S.S.E.g He thought that at the
• Thanks arc due ta Mr. Wm. Beer. librariBli of Howard .Memorial Library.
New OrleaDB, for many courtesies exlended while working in the excellent
collectioi) nbich hB;; been brought together through his efforts.
t IiOuisiana : Geology and Hydrography (Abstract of Lecture) by Caleb
G. Korshcy, DeBow's Review, vol. 8, p. 495. 1850 ; also DeBow's Industrial
Resources of the Southern aud Western States, New Orleans, iSjj, vol. 1,
p. 4j6.
; Memorial and Explorations of the Hon. J. B, Robertson in relation to
the Agriculture. Mineral and Manufacturing Resources of the State ; with
the Report of the Joint Committee. Doc. jd Bes. id Leg, I-a. , Rept. No. aj.
1867. .^iBO separate. New Orleans, 1867, 30 p.
I Ibid., p. 13. Also The Vast Resources of Louisiana by J. B. Robertson, De
Bow's Review, vol. i (Revived Series) pp. 276, 1866 ; and Doc. id Sei., ad
Leg. La.. Rept. Bureau of Immigration, p. 24, 1S67.
^ Geol. Recon, of La., Am. Jour. Sci. id serieg, voL 4S, 1869, p. 343;
Suppl. and Final Rept. of a Geol. Recon. of La., N. O., 1(^73, p. 43 and
50
Geological Survey of Louisiana
s marked II^^H
beginnitig of the Tertiary this axis of elevation was u
namber of disconnected islands in the Tertiary sea and that they
were finally covered with deposits of the yonuger formations.*
The brine was derived from the upper part of the Cretaceous.
Hopkins. — Hopkins' ideas of the relation of the Cretaceons and
the overlying beds is given in his figure, republished in the
report of the survey for 1899, page 33, It is regretted that this
figure throws no light on his idea of the origin of the Cretaceous
"islands"; whether they are butte-like masses formed by
erosion or are local anticlines.
Lerch. — This author held that about the close of the Creta-
ceous time extraordinary disturbances took place which resulted
in the formatiou of limestone peaks and mountain chains of con-
siderable extent. One of these lines of disturbance was along
the line of the supposed backbone of Louisiana and the various
Cretaceous outcrops represent the partially buried peaks of this
chain. He diltered from Hilgard in supposing that the saline
deposits were laid down in early "Eocene rather than late Cre-
taceous time.t Lerch added to the proof of the Cretaceous age
of these outcrops by ^xx^x-a^Exogyracostataax Rayburn's.Jwhere
Hilgard had reported uo fossils.
Vatighan. — Vaughan differed very markedly from Lerch. He
concluded that no folding or faulting was represented in the north
Louisiana Cretaceous outcrops ; that they were butle-like masses,
formed by erosion in the land interval which separated the
deposits of the Cretaceous and Eocene and had since becB
covered by the younger deposits. §
Harris and Vealch. — The work of this survey in the season of
1898-99 seemed to show very clearly that the " Cretaceous back-
bone of Louisiana" was a myth; that in the case of the
Winnfield and Coochie Brake outcrops, folding had occurred at
•Geol. History of the Gulf of Mexico, Am. Jour. Sci., 3d s
■ 393-
. vol. »,
1871,
tA Preliininary Report upon the Hills of Louisiana South of the V. S. ft
P. R.R., Bnll. La. Eipt. Station, Geol. and .^gr. part a. 1893, pp. 72-73.
t Bull. La. Eitpt, Sta,, Geol. and Agr. Part I, 1893, p. ij. -
^ Brief Contributiou to the Geology and Paleontology of Northvrestetll
Louisiana by T. Wyland Vaoghan, Bull. U. S. Geol. Sur. No. 141, 1S96, pp.
13. M-
: :'.■•/ VGf^K
1
I
I •
■ 1 ■ ■ ', ■ • '. '
*
• :., I." ', X AMD
■*
■. ^., t'-^ .■ ..'^ATlCNS-
r
Thh Salinhs of North Louisiana
right angles to the supposed backbone or in a northeast and
southwest direction ; that at two localities at least, a part of the
movement had occurred since the deposition of the Lower
Claiborne Eocene ; and that, in the case of the Five Islands,
orogeuic movements had takbn place in the early Pleistocene, t
The operations this season have further proved the above
conclusions.
iSJlT I.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SEV-
ERAL SALT WORKS
DRAKES SALT WORKS
i
^H Location and Topography
^^^ L-oealioH. — Drake's Salt Works is located on Saline bayou
[pillion t the middle of township 12 north, range 5 west.* In point
of size the old works here are second only to Bistineau.
Streams. —SaXmt bayou here occupies a flat bottomed valley
from 150 feet to half a mile broad, bordered by gently undulat-
ing sandy hills, covered with long-leaf pine. The bottom is
heavily wooded with gum and oak, with occasional cypress
swamps, except where the brines approach the surface and give
rise to barren " licks " fringed with a short, stunted growth of
white thorn, hawthorn and other dwarf trees.
Each of the side streams which enter the main valley has a
little flat bottomed valley of its own. a miniature of the larger
one. Molladoe branch on the west side and Cole branch on the
east are the principal tributary streams in the region of the
map.
Licks east of Saline bayou. — East of Saline bayou there are
three principal "licks:" Upper lick, Jack's lick and Lower
lick. Upper lick, which from the number of old wells seems
\ See Rept. Geol. Sars. La. for iSy9. pp. 51-63. ;tS9.
* See map. Plale XVIIl. Mr. Ed, Weeks has very kindly pointed out the
tocationi o( Ibe following corners : [he N. W.,the S. W. and theS. E. corners
of the N. W. % of the S. E. % of Sec, 21. Known corners are shown by
circles at intersection of land lines.
52
Geological Survey of Louisiana
to have been the main site of salt operations, is situated near the
old mill dam. It is a somewhat circular area inclosed by low pine
hills on all sides except that occupied by Saline bayou. An old
channel or slough passes around the lick, which, though dry in
low water, is filled in moderate sta'ges of the bayou and on the
eastern side of the lick expands into a shallow lake, where there
are many old wells. When the bayou is high the whole lick is
under water and to prevent the influx of flood waters, a number
of the wells were surrounded with levees of earth. Near the
old mill dam is the artesian well (Plate XII).
The little branch, which empties iuto the southwestern part
of the lake, flows from a small open lick known as Jack's lick.
Between the Upper and the Lower licks is a sandy ridge 35
to 40 feet high. The Lower lick extends for about a quarter of
a mile northeast and southwest, along the base of the steep hills,
which bound on the southeastern side the great flat, somewhat
circular area in which all the licks are situated.
A good mill site. — At the point where the escarpment south of
Lower lick reaches the bayou, the creek valley is very narrow.
Limestone is exposed in Rock bluff and in all probability under-
lies the Lower lick hills. A dam built here would have rock at
either eud if indeed the limestone under the bayou does not
approach near enough the surface to furnish a good foundation
for the whole length. A dam 15 to so feet high could easily be
constructed and the amount of water commonly in the bayou
seems to warrant the construction of a fair sized mill. Saline
bayou has never yet run dry and it will be seen from the map,
Plate XVIII, that the construction of a dam 15 feet high at this
point would produce a very good sized mill pond which cotild be
drawn on in case of need.
Licks west of Saline bayou. — Directly west of Rock bluff is
Smith's lick. It is situated in a steep-sided little valley. North
of this and south of the great bend in Molladoe branch is Big
lick. This is an open sand plain with a few scattered wellB.
Across the ridge which separates Big lick from the main bot-
tom is Little lick.
A
The Salines OF North Lodisiana
History of Operations
■ Indian. — It was here (at the Little lick), according to the
old settlers, that the Indiaus made most of their salt, and
this statement is fully proved by the large accumulations of
pot-shreds. The pottery seems to have been made ou the spot,
for scattered through the piles of broken pols are specimens
of Oiirea faUiformis. a fossil oyster which does not occur in silu
at this place but is found in great abundance on the hills three
or four miles to the west, and examination of the fragments
shows that these shells were ground or partly pulverized snd
mixed with clay in making this pottery. This conclusion is
strengthened by the statement of Du Pratz given below, page 54.
Pottery is also found in the Upper lick on each side of the
slough at the ford on the road leading to the Lower lick.
The earliest reference to salt in this region which we have
seen is in the Journal of M. de Bienville.* On Mar. 22, 1700, he
writes : " Four and a half leagues to the west from the Tensas
we found some Ouachitas, with several pirogues partly loaded
with salt." On Mar. 29. 1700, he left the village of the Oua-
chitas for that of the Natchitoches and after crossing Red river
he records meeting "six Natchitoches who were going to the
Coroas to sell salt." In his later writings there are several other
references to the salt trading expeditions of the Natchitoches.
A little later Daniel Coxet reports a location on the River
Natcbitock, a hundred miles from the mouth, where the Indians
•Quoted in Sieur de Bienville by Grace King, New York, i8gi, pp. 100-
101. The account in the Journal of M. de la Harpe, written in 1713 is sub-
stantially the same (Journal Historique de t,' Etablissemi^nt des Fran^xis
a Is Louiaiane, Nouvelle-Orl^ana et Paris, iSj(, p. 31^ also: Translation,
from Am. Phil. Society MSS. in Historical Collectioos of La. by B. F,
French, vol. iii, 1851, p. 18).
\ A descriptioa of tbe Hnglieb province of Caroliaa, by the Spainards
called Florida and hy the French La Louisiane, and also of the ^cat and
faiDons River Meschacebe, or Mlssislpi, and the five vast navigable lakes
of fresh waler and the parts adjacent. Together with an account of the
commodities of the growth and productions of the said province. And a
preface containing some considerations of the consequences of the French
tnakiug settlements (here. By Daniel Cone. Second edition, London,
1726, pp. lo-ii, (Quoted infull, Geol. Sorv. La. Rcpl. for 1895, pp. ii-ii.)
54
Geological So RVKV op Louisiana
I
I
L
make salt for themselves and for trade with the neighboring
nations. This account seems to have been founded on the
reports of Indian guides, for Coxe does not appear to have trav-
eled in Louisiana, although an expedition sent out by him
seems to have entered the mouth of the Mississippi and pro-
ceeded as far as the English Turn.
The account of M, La Page DuPratz.*who was for some years
a resident of the country is more complete. He describes the
operation of making pottery as follows : "I shall add, that
pretty near the Natchiloches we find banks of muscle-shells, such
as those of which Cockle Islandf is formed. The neighboring
nation affirms that according to their old tradition, the sea form-
erly came up to this place. The women of the nation go and
gather these shells, and make a powder of them, which they
mix with the earth, of which they make their pottery or earth-
enware. However, I would uot advise the use of these shells
indifferently for this purpose, because Ihey are naturally apt to
crack in fire; I have therefore reason to think that those found
at the Natchitoches have acquired their good cjuality only by the
discharge of their salts, from continuing for so many ages out of
the sea.":
The following description, by the same author, seems to refer
to the springs at the site of Drake's salt works : '■ On the north
side (of the Riviere Rouge or Riviere des Natchitoches) and
pretty near the Natchitoches, there is, as is said, a .spring of
water very salt, running only four leagues. This spring, as it
• Historic lie la l.ouisiaue, Conteiiant la D^couverle Ac ce vasle Pays ; sa
Description geojjraphiqiie ; un Voyage dans les Terres ; 1' Historic
Naturelle ; lea Mnsnrs, Cofltumes and Religion des Naturels, avec lenrs
Origines ; deux Voyages dans le Nord du nouveau Mexique, dont un jus
qu' it la Mer du Sud ; ornde de deuj Cartes et de 40 Planches en Taille
douce, 3 vols., Paris, 1758.
Also : Tbe History of Louisiana or of the Weatera Parts of Virgiuia and
Carolina; containing a description of the Countries that li
of the River Missisipi ; witli an Account of the Setlli
Soil, Climate and Productions by M. UPage DuPratz
French}, Loudon, a vols., 1763.
fin MissisNippi Sound.
{Ibid. Paris ed. vol. 1, pp. 163-164. London Trans., vol
TheSalises of North Louisiana 55
comes out of the earth, forms a little river, which during the
heats, leaves some salt on the banks."*
Early white operations. — The exact date when the white man
first made use of these springs is uncertain. It would be
expected from the nearness of the post of Natchitoches that these
springrs would have been used soon after the establishment of
the post, but Du Pratz says nothing of its use although he
speaks of the " French trucking coppers " to the springs near
Catahoula lake.f
One of the first accounts of the work of white man at this
wint was given by John Sibley in a letter to Gen. Dearborn
iated Natchitoches, Apr. 10, 1805. | Not having personally vis-
Bed the works he makes a slight mistake as to the geographical
ication of the salt springs. He says; "About twelve miles
lorth o£ Natchitoches, oa the northeast side of the river, there
■b a large lake called Lac Nois\ ; the bayou of it communicates
D the Rigula de Bondieu, opposite Natchitock, which is boata-
[ ble ihe greater part of the year. Near the lake are the salt
works, from which all the salt that is used in the district is
made ; and which is made with so much ease, that two old men,
both of them cripples, with ten or twelve old pots and kettles,
z for several years past made an abundant supply of salt for
III e whole district; they inform me they made six bushels per
I have not been at the place, but have a bottle of the
t'*Ibid. Pkris ed., vol. i. p. jgS, Lond. trans., vol. i, pp. !76-jj7.
«il'>id. Paris ed,, vol. i,pp 307-308; Londoo trans., vol. i, p. 783. See
■■ielow.pagegi.
t Louisiana: An Account of Ihe Red River and Country Adjacent bv
John Sibley. American Register, vol. 4, pp, 49-67. .\m. State Papers (vol.
4) Indian .Affairs, vol, 1, pp. 715-773, Wash , iM3a.
Tliese two tcco lints arc almost identical, diHerinn only in the spelling of
two or three words and in the substitution of periods in the first tor semi-
colons in the second. The account [|Uoted is from .\a\. Register. An
extract taken verbatim front Sibley is given in Judtce Fran^ois-Xavier Mar-
tin's History of I.a., N. O. 1837. vol. i.p. lii, and in the reprint N. O. t88i,
p. ig, Sctmuel Brown in The Western Guzetter or EmiKrant's Directorj-,
Auburn. N. Y., 1S17, p. iii has made use of the same source of information.
I Spelled Lac Moirin Am. State Papers, Lac Noiz in Brown and Lac Noir
HUartiii's. The latter is evidently correct. Black lake and Saline lake
re clearly been conf usert.
56
Geological Survey of Louisiana
water brougbt to me which I found nearly saturated, The salt
is good. I have never had better bacon than I make with it. I
am informed there are twelve saline springs now open, and by
digging for them, for aught any one kuows, twelve hundred
might be opened. A few months ago Captain Burnet, of the
Mississippi territory, coming to this place by the Washita,* came
by the salt works, and purchased the right of one of the old
men he found there, and has lately sent up a boat, with some
large kettles and some negroes, under the direction of his son ;
and expects when they get all in order, to be able to make thirty
or forty bushels a day. Captain Burnet is of the opinion that
he shall be able to supply the Mississippi territory, and the set-
tlements on the Mississippi, from Point Coupee, upwards, lower
than they can get it from New Orleans and bring it up."
Maj. Amos Stoddard in his Sketches of Louisiana, published
in 1S12, states that only three wells had beeu sunk, from which
" seven laborers produce two hundred and forty barrels of salt
per month at an expense of one hundred aud forty dollars."
He supposed that a hundred wells of equal value might be
sunk.t
Darby in 1816 states that the salt works are situated on the
land of Mr. Postlewaite on Saline bayou about 25 miles by road
from Natchitoches ; nearly "upon the 32° N. lat. and on the 92°
52' W. long. " t
" Here ", he adds, "the water is drawn from wells perforated
in a sandy bottom similar to the beeches of a river. ' ' || Salt from
Ibis locality was at this time transported as far as Natchez and
New Orleans. The price received for the salt sold to the inhab-
itants of the Natchitoches and Rapides settlements was from one
to twodollars per barrel. § He marks " Postlewail'sSalt Works"
•Given O'ai/iingloi
that Washita was corr
t Sketches, Historical and Descripti'
Stoddard, Pbila., iHii. p. jo.
\ A Geog, Desc. of the State of La., eti
pp. ag and 21 1.
I Ibid., p. 36.
gThe Emigrant's Guide to the Western and Southwestern States and
Territories, etc., hy William Darby, Phila., 181S. p. Jk,.
Stale Papers. It would seem more probable
uf Lonisiana. By Maj, Amos
by William Darby, Pbila., 1816.
* ' V/ VORKi
>^^T':". LFNOX AND
TIl.OLN ^OJNDATIONi.
Toe Salines ok North Louisia
57
on bis map * and it is therefore so marked on a number of maps
of the United Stales, published about this time, which copied
Darby's Louisiana.
George Graham, Commissioner of the General Land Office, in
1824 reported two salt springs north of Red River as follows ;
One in la N., 5 W. ; the other in 13 N., 4 W. He gives the
following claimanls lo salt springs on Saline bayou in tbe county
of Natchitgckes : John Burntt, Benj. Goodwin, Alexander BailHe.
heirs of James Morrison, Samuel Coburn, Pierre Rosseau. f
The local demand so increased that in the early forties Mr.
Reuben Drake, who was then in possession of the lick and whose
name has since remained attached to it, attempted to obtain a
stronger brine by deep boring. Eight wells were bored. One,
situated near the mill-dam was pushed to a depth of loii feet, t
The others appear to have been only from one hundred to two
hundred feet deep. In each artesian brine was found. In the
deep well uear tbe mill dam the pressure was sufficient to lift
the water into a tank 35 feet above the opening of the pipe.
Tbe flow at this time was from eighteen to twenty gallons per
minate. § As the brine was much weaker than that obtained
from the shallow wells it was uol used to any extent. At present
the large lo-iuch pipe projects only about a foot and a half above
the ground (Plate XII) and the rate of flow has decreased owing
toa partially successful attempt to plug the well.
About the time the wells were drilled a dam was thrown across
the main bayou and a saw mill and a grist mill erected. Drake's
furnace, which is now represented by a mound about 200 feet
long, was near the eastern end of the dam. Tbe water power
developed at the grist mill was used to run the pump which drew
water from the well in Little lick, on the west side of the bayou.
Drake's ditch, the Irencb in which the wooden pipe was laid, can
* A Map nf tbe State of Louisiaua with part oF the Mississippi Territory
from Actual Survey by Wni. Datby. Pliila., (8i6.
t Report oF the Commissioner oF tbe General Land OFBce In relation to
Ldd Mines snd Salt Springs, i8th Cong. 1st Sess. House Ex. Doc, vol. 6,
Xo. 138, p. 14, 1.S14.
1 Hilgard, Final Rept. Geol. Recon. of La. N. O. 1373. p.iji ; The Salines
of Ijoaisiana, Mineral Resources of the U. S. for iSUi, p. 556.
8 Ibid., p. 556.
58
Geologicai, Survhv of Louisiana
be readily traced through the woods from the bayou, near the
proposed site of the railroad bridge, to theveryedge of the Little
lick. Drake dug shallow wells in nearly all of the licks and the
wells from which the strongest brine can now be obtained are
nearly all old Drake wells.
The property passed into the possession of Mr. J. C. Weeks
who commenced to make sail about i>'54. He used two wells,
one in Little lick (Plate XI) and the other in Upper lick. Dur-
ing the salt season he made from 30 to 40 bushels a day. * In
1859 the saw mill was destroyed by fire.
IVar operations. — Before the war nearly all the salt used in the
middle Southern States was imported. At the outbreak of the
war this source of supply was partially cut off and as the efficiency
of the federal blockade increased salt commenced to l>ecome
scarce. People came for salt from distant points in the slate and
as the war went on people from Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas
joined the crowds. With the advance of the federal troops from
New Orleans to Alexandria many of the sugar plantations were
abandoned and the great sugar kettles together with the negroes
belonging to the plantations were taken to north Louisiana to
make salt. Drake's received its share of these refugees. Those
who occupied the land east of the bayou paid Mr. Weeks a nom-
inal rent, varying with different individuals and different loca-
tions ; those who occupied sites in Sec. 20 did so as squatters, for
that section was then reserved by the general government for Its
salt springs.
Slaughter and Weeks had a very large establishment on the
hill between Little and Big licks. They had six evaporating
pans, three about 30 feet long and S feel across composed of a
number of square pans bolted together, and three halves of steam-
boat boilers. These were mounted on rude foundations of
ferruginous sandstone. Brine for these furnaces was obtained
from Drake's old triple well in Little lick, just south of the
road. It was lifted 25 feet to the furnaces by a horse power
pump. Brine was also obtained from a couple of small wells
just west of the furnace on Molladoe branch.
• Slatciuent of his son, Mr. Ed. Weeks. 1 am iiniebted to Mr. WetXt for
inucb inforuialion oti tlie operalious here ilunng the war.
r
Thh Salines of North Louisiana
59
The same firm also made salt in the Lower lick. They
used biine from one of Drake's old wells, marked with a star on
Plate XVIII and shown iu Plate XI, This well furnished the
strongest brine that the writer was able to find at Drake's, and
Mr. E, T. Weeks states that it has always been considered the
Strongest well. The output of this firm is reported to have
averaged about loo bushels per day.
In December, 1S63, Mr. Cobb Manlove of Vicksburg, on
behalf of the Confederate government, contracted with Mr. J.
C, Weeks for all the salt be could produce at the rate of $10.00
per bushel, at the works ; a contract which Mr. Weeks had rea-
son to regret for soon his neighbors were selling all the salt they
conld make at from Sia.oo to S15.00 per bushel.
From the number of wells and old kettles on the southern
part of the Upper lick it would seem that this was one of the
principal foci of the war operations. Smith was the principal
salt-maker at the lick which still bears his name.
At the close of the war work soon stopped. Salt could not be
produced here, by the primitive methods employed, at a cost
that would allow it to compete with the salt made on a large
scale by improved methods elsewhere. Soon only a few of the
families in the neighborhood resorted here yearly and finally
even these ceased to come.
r Geology
Surrounding country. — This salt lick is surrounded by deposits
belonging to the Lower Claiborne Eocene. Three or four miles
to the west are numerous little black land prairies covered with
Oslrca fakiformis and O. Johnsoni. var. It was from this locality
that the Indians probably obtained the shells found in the accu-
mulation of pot-shreds on Little Lick. Five miles to the south-
east. Lower Claiborne fossils are found near the 24th mile board
on the Sparta- Montgomery road in ferruginous concretions.
Near Saunder's Church, about six miles southeast, there is a
little prairie with Anomia, Plicatula filamentosa. PseudoHva
vetusia and Osirea falci/ormis. Eight miles to tbe northwest,
beyond Dugdemona bayou, on the road to Gansville there is an
lltcrop of Lower Claiborne.
Gsoijogicai. Sor\-et of Louisiana
Cretauous. — The most important, and almost the only expos-
ure, on the area Qader consideration ts at Rock blcff. Here
there is an ootcrop of ^er. granular, sandy limestone contain-
ing very imperfect plant impressions, occasional veins of calcite
and nodnies of pyrites. Lithologicallj' it is identical with the
Coochie Brake limestone. The exposure is about 50 feet long and
shows 15 feet of stone- The dip isabont 45^. S. iS" W. The
peculiar escarpment on the south side of the lick and the
extreme narrowness of the creek valley at this point seem to
owe their origin to this bed of limestone.
In the licks only a few of the shallow wells have struck rock.
In nearly all. the brine was obtained in sand. The exceptions
include several wells near the southeastern corner of Upper
lick. Here the old dump heaps show specimens of dark, almost
black, slightly crystalline limestone filled with veins of calcite.
Large fragments of limestone are found in the damp heaps of
the wells in the little lick 00 the upper part of Cole branch.
These are in some ways similar to the concretions found in the
basal Eocene and they may prove to be of that age.
The artesian well is said to have passed through solid limestone
for its whole depth. loi i feet, and Hilgard reports that a few of
the fragments taken from the hole which were to be seen at the
time of his visit were almost identical with the "rotten lime-
stone" of Alabama and Mississippi, or upper Cretaceous. The
brine from this well has a temperature of 75° F. and the gas
which escapes with it will support a flame half an inch in diam-
eter and six inches high.
Old Tertiary.— On Molladoe branch, just above the two north'
emmost wells, is a small outcrop of grey, laminated sandy clay
dipping about 10" N. W. This has the general appearance of
the lower Eocene beds but in the absence of fossils its exact age
is uncertain. In the material thrown out from the wells, at this
point, are fragments of grey leaf limestone of the same general
appearance as that occurring in the Lignitic Eocene farther
west.
Gravel. — Many of the old dump heaps show quantities of
white and variously colored chert and quartz pebbles. These
are particularly common at Big lick and along the S
; Molladoe, j^^H
The Salines of North LorisiANA
r
^^B Cvndusions. — Though the data here presented is in itself not
^^Konclusive, yet when taken ia connection with the facts gained
^^Jrom nearby known Cretaceous outcrops there can be little doubt
as to the nature of the phenomena shown here. A line connect-
ing the principal well groups would form an irregular oval with
its major axis northeast and southwest. This peculiar distribu-
tion of the wells taken in connection with the two observable
dips [one at Rock bluff and the other on the Molladoe (see map
Plate XVIII)]. the abundance of limestone near the surface in
the easternmost lick, the topographic features of the hills bound
iug the Lower lick, all seem to indicate that there is here a dis-
■KCted dome. This is graphically shown in Fig. 9, which repre-
SALT.
A-B. Plate W.
The
nts a partially ideal section along the 1
e shows the location of the wells i
outcrop of the upper portions of the Cretaceous limestone — only
s few of the wells seem to approach the rock. Lerch has pub-
lished a section of this locality in which the Cretaceous limestone
is represented as horizontal, with the Eocene and other material
resting uneonformably upou it.*
Hydrometer tests of brine. — Brines from many of the wells were
tested on the spot with a Brix Saccharometer. graduated to one-
fifth of a degree. These results, when compared with the anal-
yses, will give something of the relative strength of the brine
on different parts of the lick.
). 71, Bull. La. Expt. Slation, Geol. anJ K^r., Part II. 1893.
Geological Survey of Lodisiana
its iltii
?, i
It
slUlsl
jflsMlfllfl
ii
III
K«,&*4is,
jikijK«KVKS.i
i
.o^.-S,^«j
i«!^ji ^i - ^n..?Il^
>
ipi
IIMIil
1 i |Vs°a'5,s,VaVs
i
IKIU-
i-^l !rn5d^.?^5l?
1
H
£
-"| = -?- = 2«"-
i
„»=-|;-,,„^^5,
The Salines of North Louisiana. 63
Well S. E. aide of I'pper lick in opening of hollow leading to Jaclc's
lick.
Ditto.
Well on extreme northern poinl of Jack's Island, Cpper lick.
Well between 2 and 3, l"pper lick,
E»9t side of L'pper lick.
Jack lick,
Lower lick south side, old Drake well- This is the same a* No III
in the table of brine analyses.
Upper lick, southwest side, well just west of for), suirounded by
embankment same as No, IV in tbe table of brine analyses
Upper lick, southwest side. Leveed well in middle of bayou at ford.
Artesian well.
Little tick, well jnst east of Goldonna road.
Liltte lick, old Drake well south of Natchitoches road. Same as No.
I in table of brine analyses.
Well on Molladoe branch just west of Slaughter and Week's furnace.
Big lick, sonthern part.
Smith lick. S^ime as No.
Smith lick.
Smith lick.
Smith lick.
Smith lick.
nalyses of brine. — Hilgard collected brine from the artesian
and has published the following analysis ;
Analysis of B'ine/rom Artesian WtU
(Hilgard)
Chloride of Sodium ^
Chloride of Magnesium
Carbonate and sulphate of calcium. .
n the table of brine a
Total amount ot solids in brine about two per cent.
tnples collected by this survey have been analyzed by Mr,
hurice Bird with the following results :
Analyses of Rrines prom Drake's Salt works
r (M.
rice Bird
«
"
"'.
5-44
■356
.159
■ 05s
.030
Sodium chloride
Calcium chloHde
AlTmtna
Other solid matter
4.90
.184
.142
.061
■083
3- 55
.127
.044
5.58
■303
■135
.072
.070
GKOIjCtCICAI. SOBVBT OF LOUISIANA
Little tick, vest ndc. old Drake «elL*
Smith'* bck.
L^wer lick, old Dnke wcU.
Cpftei Ikk, iMitb nde, in •loogb.
PRICES SALT WORKS*
Location and Topography
Location — Price's Salt Works is sis mites northeast of Drake's,
in Sec. 25 and 30. 13 N.. 4 and 5 W.. neat tbeedge of Dngdemona
bottoms. In point of importance, as shown bj the ntimber of
old wells and mined ftirnaces, it ranks fourth in the north Loois-
iana salines.
Topography. — The wells and open lick spaces are arranged tn
a circle abont the base of a hill, known as Lick Hill, which
rises 96 feet abore them. Lick fiill is completely separated from
the sarrounding hill land masses. South and west
the hills are high and the country broken, on the north
lower and cut by the f^rly broad valley of Cypress bayou.
On ibe east, a ridge, broken in three places by stream chan-
nels, separates the tick from Dndgemooa bottoms or swamp <see
Plate XIX). This ridge is highest in its central portions where
it reaches an altitude of 53 feet. The general shape of the
Lick Hill is welt shown on Plate XIX but several of the minor
topographical features are bnt imperfectly represented, notably
the several stnk-hole like depressions which are scattered over
the bill. The most pronounced one is shown on the map just
south of the apex of the hitl. It is about 75 feet in diameter
and 15 feet deep. Other sink holes, in the field, hax'e been
almost obliterated by plowing.
Licks. — The licks are scattered around the base of Lick Hill
and are separated from each other by growths of lowland trees.
• .\ckiiowledg meats are dne to Mr, T. Pelerson fur the location of the
land comers shown on the niap of Price's, Uilgard (Salines o£ L^ni
Min. Res. for 1^1. p. 556) has given this locality as Seo. 33, township A
north, range 17 west, which is very clearly in error.
The Salines OF North Louisiana
65
They are level, entirely devoid of vegetation but lx)rdered by
stunted trees. The soil is a light grey, silty clay with some
pyrites and calcareous concretions. Nearly all the wells are sit-
uated in or near the borders of the licks although some are now
in the surrounding woods. The locations and shape of the licks
are so well shown on the map that a detailed description of each
Streams. — Double branch, which enters Lick valley at Smith's
lick, flows northward and joins a little branch from the west.
The united streams under the name of Black bayou, after turn-
ing eastward, flow through Big lick into Cypress bayou. For-
merly Black bayou flowed along Boggy slough but during the
war the tick was much cut up with wagons and shortly after-
wards, taking advantage of an old road, the stream cut across to
Cypress bayou. During periods of extreme high water in Dug-
demona t>ayou. Big lick is covered to a depth of from two to
three feet.
The southern part of the lick is drained by Powder Spring
branch. Springs are common along the ridge separating the
lick from the bottoms.
PHisTOEV OP Operations
Early operations. — No accumulations of pottery, similar to
those found at Drake's were found here and if the Indians came
to make salt it was only at rare intervals and in a desultory
manner.
The first printed recognition of the locality that we have seen ig
on Tanner's Map of Louisiana * where it is marked "Salt Lick."
In 1824 George Graham, in his report on the salt springs
of northern Louisiana gives its location as "" Township No. 13,
Range No. 4 West.'t
The exact date of the first attempts at salt making here is not
known. Mr. John Walker moved to this part of the country in
1859 and found old wells on the tick.
•Map of LoniBiana by H. S. Tanner. Pbila.. jS?o,
t Report of the Commiasioner of the General Land 0£Bce io Relation to
L,eBd Mine* and Salt Springs by (ieorge Graham, i^h Cong., lat Sew.
e E». Doc, vol. 6, No. ij8, pp. 14-15. 1824.
66
Geological Survey of Louisiana
rs a period^^l
I
IS^ar Optra/ions.— This lick shared with the others a
intense activity during the war. The first to make salt at this
time were George Christian and Conrad Stark. Their wells
were situated in the upper part of what was afterwards known
as Smith Lick.
Mr. George Price of Ruston, La., has kindly furnished the
following account of his father's operations here: "In Sep-
tember 1861, Col, George Richard Price, J. W. McHeury and
John Sholars began Ihe work of salt making at what Js now
known as Price's Salt Works. They dug a number of wells
before they found water of sufficient strength and quality to
begin operatious. They bought old sugar kettles from the
sugar farms above Alexandria, La., with a capacity of from 500
to 3000 gallons each. They first put up a large furnace on the
order of the old sugar furnaces in lower Louisiana, consisting of
10 kettles with the largest kettle at the mouth of the furnace
and ranging smaller back to the chimney. The water was
pumped up by home-made pumps with tubing of long pine poles
bored out by hand. These pumps were erected in wells dug in
a circle and connected by levers attached to a zigzag wheel,
which was attached to a main shaft in the center like the shaft
wheel of an old fashioned horse-gin. This was turned by horse
power. The water was conveyed to a large tank or vat at the
furnace by troughs dug out of split pine saplings of about six
inches iu diameter. This cold water was turned into the first
seven large kettles and boiled to a strong brine, then dipped up
by hand and poured into a settling vat and from there emptied
into the three upper or smaller kettles for graining and boiled
down to salt. When the market was dull this salt was scooped
up and put into draining vats to dry, and when well drained and
dry was stored in a salt house but when the demand was great it
was frequently sold from the draining vat at from $3. 00 to Sio.oo
per bushel of 60 pounds. The price varied with the demand and
I have seen fifty wagons waiting their turn. After this my
father became the owner and operator of this part of the works
and formed a partnership with a Mr. J. H. Mays in another
furnace also located near, and a Httle east of the old furnace.
This furnace consisted of smaller kettles and of an old boiler
Tbh Salines of North Louisiana
67
split by band into halves and was operated as the other except
that the water was pumped by hand. The first furnace made
from 40 to roo bushels per day, depending on the amount of
water available, the second about 40 bushels. The water tested
about one bushel of salt to eight of water and would hardly
float an egg. My father also established a furnace in Rayburn's
Salt Lick in 1S63. There the water was much stronger, one to
six instead of one to eight. The water was plentiful and inex-
haustible."
On tbe first point of hills northeast of Price's are the ruins of
McHenry's furnace and south are Yawger's. Others who made
salt in considerable quantities and who continued work for the
greater part of the war were : Thos. Smith and W. T. Kidd al
Smith's lick, Durbin and Tilly on the east side, and Payburn
between Smith and Price. Besides these there were great num-
bers who came and stayed but a short time and for one reason
or another moved on. Tilly and Smith are reported to have
produced about 35 bushels of salt daily. Three or four hundred
bushels would then seem to be a very liberal estimate of the
daily output of Price's in its best days.
No rent was paid for the privilege of making salt as the land
was at that time government property.
The last attempt to make salt on any considerable scale was
made by a man by the name of Bynum. In 1869 he purchased
from Mr. Ed. Weeks 15 of the old kettles which had been used at
Drake's and for a short time he made salt at the site of the old
Smith furnace. About the same lime Barnum and McCarty
made salt at the old Tilly furnace.
No deep wells have been attempted here, all are open wells
^ftom 8 to 15 feet.
^t Geology
Limestone outcrop. — The hard, light grey, granular, sandy,
leaf-beariug limestone which is exposed at Drake's i.s also exposed
here, though the single exposure is by no means so satisfactory.
This small outcrop is on the south side of the high knoll in the
ridge which separates the lick from Dugdemona bottoms, at the
point where Boggy slough (old Black bayou) makes a little bluS.
6S Gbological Survey of Louisiana ^^^|
All the pieces seem to be out of place and some were clearly dU>^^^|
connected masses, so the direction of dip could not be determined
accurately. It seemed, however, to be 4 or 5 degrees, a little
south of east. About 150 yards, a little south of west of this
outcrop, the dump heaps of two of the old Tilly wells show frag-
ments of limestone of exactly the same character. In the
dump heap of one of the wells in the eastern part of Deer
lick fragments of dark blue limestone were found. The sink
holes on Lick Hill indicate a bed of soluble material beneath, ' '
probably limestone.
Well sections. — Two shallow holes were made in the lick with
a " well punch," an instrument very much like a small post-hole
digger. In one, on Smith's lick, quicksand was reached at a
depth of 3 feet and became so troublesome at 7 feet that the hole
was abandoned. A second hole was sunk on Tilly lick near the
well in which limestone was found. It showed the following
section :
U'ell Section Tilly Lick
A. Light sandy clay 26
B. Yellow clay mottled with red 5 '
C. Very dark blue clay 3 '
Hilgard reports the find of vivianite in some of the old dump
heaps.*
Verlebrale remains. — "Big bones" are reported from a well
just west of Payburn's furnace at a depth of 8-10 feet. Hop-
kins states that mastodon bones have been found here.f
Conclusions. — This lick seems, like the other important salines
of northern Louisiana, tobe a Cretaceous outcrop, but the evidence
at hand is hardly conclusive. A line connecting Price's and
Drake's is parallel to the Coochie brake — Winufield anticlinal,
and seems to represent a second line of weakness. It may be
that these two points represent points of maximum elevation
along a fold extending between these salines, but any positive
evidence that such is the case is at present lacking. An outcrop
■Supplementary and Fiaal Rept. cjf Geol. Recon. of La., N. O., 1873, p,
31, Mineral Resources of the United Slates for i88», La. Salines, p. 556. ajJ
fid Rept. Geol.Sur. La., lS7[, p. 6. mIB
Thb Salines OF North Louisiana
69
of limestone is reported, though a search failed to confirm the
report, in the pine woods south of Yankee Spring church, mid-
way between Price's and Drake's.
Hydrometer tests. — Htlgard reports* the brine here stronger
than at either King's or Rayburn's ; a conclusion that we were
unable to verify. The following are the results of the tests of
the different wells :
The wells on Tilty and Durbin's licks are nearly all filled and
no tests could be made of the brine. Brine pumped from a
depth of four feet in the bole sunk on Smith's lick tested 3.7"
Brix, at a temperature of 50° F. The brine obtained from the
bote sunk near the Tilly furnace was very muddy. It tested
10.7°, but this extremely high test is believed to have been due
to the large amount of suspended silt in the water. It tasted
weaker than the water from the big well. Smith's lick which
tested only 5.7°.
Analysis 0/ brine. — Mr. Maurice Bird has made the following
analysis of the brine from well number 3 in the following table :
Anafysis 0/ Brine, Price's Salt Worts
(Maurice Bird)
Sodium chloride
Calcium chloride
Ma(;uesium chloride
Alnmina
Other solid matter
*SapI. and Final Kept. N. O., 1873, p. jt.
Gbological Survey op Lodisiana.
3 I
iii
m
S't
ou< to SUtJ
IE
^M I i^
■sir's I :?h
~ 8 »
See
The Salines of North Looisiana
RAYBURNS SALT WORKS
Location and Topography
Location. — Hilgard" and Lerchf have both given the location
oi this saline as Sec. 34, 15 N., 5 W The writer has carefully
examined the deeds in the possession of Mr. A. G. Whitlow, the
present owner of the place, in which the land is described as Sec,
31. 15 N., 5 W. It is in Bienville parish about eight miles from
Bienville, the present terminus of the Louisiana and Northwest
railroad.
General /ealures. — The main lick is a flat, circular, slightly
swampy area of 40 or 50 acres (see Plate XX). H is surrounded
by gently sloping hUls which, on two sides, at a distance of half
mile reach an altitude of sixty feet. As in the other licks, the
■n space in which the wells are situated is fringed with a few
;unted hawthorn, thorn and other dwarf trees which increase in
ntunber and pass into the surrounding forest of oak, hickory,
gum and short-leaved pine.
Around the edge of the valley are numerous circular mounds
about sixty feet in diameter and from three to four feet high.
They are of the same general type as those seen in southern
Louisiana and on the upland flats of Caddo and Bo.ssier parishes.
The southern end of the lick is quite swampy and during heavy
rains is flooded to a depth of two or three feet. The valley is
drained by Foust's creek.
Many of the old kettles and boilers are still in place. Plate
XIV shows a portion of the row of boilers on the western side of
the lick. Something of the barren appearance of the lick can be
*Supl. and Final Rept. p. 19. In the report on the Salines of LouiBiaiia,
Mi1g*rd has given tlie locality hb Sec. 34. township 15 north, range 17 west.
PrJce'e is given as 17 west. King's as zo west and Bistioeau as ij west.
Htlgaid has evidently used a map of Louisiana in which the .\rkansBS
range numbera were given at the top of the map and has takeu these as the
true range numbers of the Lunisiana township!^. This has resulted in an
ir of pins IJ in the numbers, as the meridian used in the land division
jf-Arkansos was the 5Ih Principal Meridian and in Louisiana [west of the
iaip[d river] the Louisiana Meridian.
ItBnIl, La. Bxpt. Station ; Geol. and Agr., Part 11, p. 71, 1893.
73
Geological Survey of Louisiana
gained from the foreground of this picture. Some half do!
old halves of steamboat boilers show on the old furnaces in the
midst of a clump of bushes and trees which have sprung up since
the war. In the background may be seen the trees on the far-
ther side of the licit.
On other parts of the lick large sugar kettles brought from
southern Louisiana and peculiar rough sugar-loaf shaped kettles,
cast at Alexandria in 1863, are common. Plate XIII shows a
group near the central part of the lick.
History of Operations
Early operations. — No trace of Indian operations have ttad
been found on this lick. On account of its inland position h
not until the early forties that salt was made here regularly.
About that time Mr. Fousl, the owner of the land, commenced
on a modest scale.
War operalions. — This work was continued until the civil war,
when the restrictions imposed on the importation of salt by the
federal blockade caused salt to have a very greatly enhanced
value. The fame of Rayburn's lick spread, and in 1S62 men
came from far and wide, bringing with them gangs of negroes,
to make salt. Shelters were hastily built, the valley was dotted
with wells from 15 to 20 feet deep, which were protected from
the water of occasional freshets by low levees. The natural
mounds were utilized for furnace sites and near the central part
of the valley, where these mounds were not found, artificial ones
were made. Large iron kettles from four to seven feel in diam-
eter were mounted on rude foundatious made of ferruginous
sandstone. Large boilers were obtained, split in half and wooden
bulkheads inserted 10 the ends. These were mounted on similar
foundations of sandstone. (See PlateXIV.) Inthe latter part of
1863, a large number of small, thick, sugar-loaf shaped kettles
were cast at Alexandria for use at this place. One of these which
has been patched, is shown bottom side up in the foreground of
Plate XIII.
A rent of 2% bits (37>4 cents) per bushel was charged for the
privilege of making the salt and for the wood consumed. The
receipts of the owner of the land at this rate are said to have
I
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
«T(m, I.SNn» AND
TILOEN fOUtD»TIOH».
WS^
^^H Tub Salines OF North Loi'Isiana 73
f amounted to $375.00 per day. This would give a daily production
of about one thousand bushels. Mr. Sampson Rayburn, who
married the widow Whitlow, a daughter of Mr. Foust, was
placed in charge and collected the rent. It was in this way that
the lick became known as Raybura's.
Al the close of the war the works were almost entirely
abandoned. Occasionally a small amount of salt was made for
the neighborhood and Mr. G. C. Whitlow made salt here as late
as 1877.
t Geology
Hilgard's Welt Seclion. — Hilgard has published the following
nion of a well in the southeastern part of this lick :
Well Section Naylii-rn- s Salt Works
(Hilgard I-
Whitish mud of the lick, with ferrnginous spots and
at its base frequently bearing balls of calcite. ... 6 feet
Silicious gravel often cemented into a conglomerate
by crystallized cakite 6-7 ' '
Greyish or while crystalline limestone, horizontally
banded, fragile, often covered with 5-6 inches
crystallized aggregates of calcite.on a dark banded
base of the same 6 "
^. Dense, banded gypsum, pure , a "
The old dump heaps about the wells show large quantities of
variously colored quartz and chert gravels. Fragments of dark
grey and yellow fissured crystalline limestone and of white or
bluiith'White gypseous limestone are quite abundant in some of
^^Hthe old dumps.
^^H Crttaaoui outcrops. — On the little kuoU east of the lick (see
^^^pnap, Plate XX) the soil is very black and waxy, with numbers of
^^^^'Crypkaa vesicularis, a few Exogyra costaia. and pieces of selenite
Kattered over the surface. In the little guUeys is exposed a very
fiae grained, white, chalk-like limestone containing a well pre-
E^^rrved Upper Cretaceous fauna. Limestone containing poorly
^^^^F* Sopl. and Final Rept. of Gtol. ReC'-n. 1S73, p. y>. ■
74-
Gbolocical Survkv of Louisiana
preserved fossils is to be seen about half a mile north of the old
works (Plate XX). Near this one or two wells have been dng but
their brine does not appear to have been used to any considerable
extent.
Crelaceous fossils. — The following is a list of the species
lected at this locality (mainly Stanton's identifications)
Exogyra coslata
Gryphtea veiiailaris
Ostrea plumosa
Ostrea larva
Pecten burling (onensis
Spondylm, sp,
Neithea quinquecostata
Crassatella z'adosa
Inoceratnus barabitta ?
Legumen ptanulalum
Linearia melastriala
Aveltana bullata
Hamulus onyx
Denialium ct. ripleyam
lianilites anceps
Heierocera^
Ptyehoceras
"I
Most of these have been figured and described by Prof. Harris
in the report of this survey for 1899, pp. 292-297, Plates 49, 50
and 51.
Other outcrops. — The hills surrounding the liclc are composed
entirely of grey sand containing a few iron concretions and ft
plowed field between the two Cretaceous outcrops shows this
sand very well. To the southwest the sand gradually becomes
more and more clayey until it is replaced by a stiff yellow clay
mottled with red. In the iron concretions found in this clay
were casts of Venericardia and a few imperfectly preserved
Gastropoda.
\'ertebrate remains. — Hopkins reports mastodon bones from
this locality."
Conclusions. — From the paleontological evidence furnished by
the fossils the while chalk-like limestone belongs to the upper-
most division of the Upper Cretaceous. Il is lithologically quite
different from beds of the same horizon in the surrounding states.
Nothing concerning the exact relation of the gypseous limestone,
found in the wells, to the fossiliferous limestone found in the
hillsides could be learned beyond the fact that the former is
clearly stratigraphically below the latter. Although no dips
"Second .^11. Rept. Geol. Sorv. La.
r
The Salines OF North Loitisiana
75
could be determined, there can be little doubt Ibat if they could
be observed they would represent either a dotne or auticliae.
Hydrometer tests. — Hydrometer tests reveal the fact that the
brine here is stronger than at Price's. The best brine tested is
however not so strong as that found at Drake's.
Hydrometer Tests :
( Readings i
Rayburn's Salt Works
I degrees Brix)
[
°3"'
well.
Deplh
umple
Uken.
(P..)
read-
Tem.
•ample
gravily
Rtmarlci.
i
i8+
■o
0..0
61'
S.7'
63'
I.OJ65
Water a little dark,
probably due to de-
caying vegetable
\
I6
lO
S-i"
fa"
1O.0"
H"
1.0401
Do.
1
8
7
3-4°
Sa"
8.5*
64"
1.0339
Do.
All these wells are near the center of the lick and represents
the strongest brine that the writer was able to find.
Analysis of brine. — Water from well No. 3 shows the follow-
ing analysts:
Analysis of Bri'i€ : Paybiim's Siill Worts
(Maurice Bird)
Sodiom chloride 4.60
Sodium sulphate , .oaa
Calciiim sulphate 333
Magnesium sulphate 039
Alumina. 061
Other solid matter, partly in suspension o^
Geological Subvev of Louisiana
KING'S SALT WORKS*
Location and Topography
Location. — This old salt works is 14 miles due west of R&y-
burn's, in the low lands bordering Bayou Castor, a tributary of
Black Lake bayou. It is half a mile from the line of the newly
constructed Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad, and ranks fifth in
size in the salines of Louisiana.
Valley of Bayou Caslor. — The valley of Bayou Castor is of a
type common in north Louisiana, a broad, flat-bottomed valley,
seemingly out of proportion to- the size of the stream occupying
it, with steep bills on the south and sloping bills on the north.
These valleys seem to owe their present shape more to a chaage
in the position of the base level, which has caused the streams to
deposit silt in their vallej-s. than to base-leveling action.
At this point the bottom land is about 160 feetf above the sea.
It is low. somewhat swampy and is moderately heavily timbered.
Scattered about over it are little irregular mounds, 2 to 3 feet
high and 50 feet or more in diameter, which are very similar to
the mounds which occur in places over Louisiana, Texas and
Arkansas.
The licks. ^Here and there are open spaces or spaces spa rcely
timbered. These are generally covered with swamp palm ettiB
but in places are entirely bare. These are the " lick spots.*'
Opeu lick, the only lick south of Bayou Castor, is entirely
ered with palmetto. No wells were sunk here- The mun
rcely I
i
•The writer is indebted to Mr. U. P. Wardlaw, the owner of the lick tOt
the location of the northwest corner of Sec. 35 and (or the southeast eonm
of the S. \V. X of lli= N. W. % of Sec. 35,
f The level of the deepest part of Castor Bayou at the point n here it ia
crossed by the Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad, according to infarmttfos
furnished by Col. G, Knoble, the chief engineer of the road, is 15a feet.
On the railroad maps the 160 foot contour passes along the edge of Uk
level land bordering the creek. There is but a slight correction for theM
levels : The elevation of the lop of the U. S. E. bench mark at Sible y fa
191.8 feet. The elevation at the same point ii
191..
ofeet.
lie railroad elevatnm^^^H
Thk Salinbs of North Louisiana 77
of salt operations, Big lick, is just north of the bayou. It is
almost entirely covered with water after a heavy rain. Scattered
around on the Hitle elevatioas at the edge of the lick are the
ruined furnaces. Upper lick, northeast of Big lick, is almost
entirely covered wilh scrub palmetto. Several old wells are still
to beseen here. (See Plate XXI.)
About 500 yards uorthwest of the main lick and near the
Sparta- Coush a tta road is a little lick which contains King's well.
(Plate XV.) About 200 yards west of King's well is a salt spring,
which furnishes a very weak brine.
History of Operations
Indian. — A few pot shreds and arrow-heads are found on the
ridge between Bayou Castor and Open lick and seem to indicate
a temporary Indian campsite. From the dearth of pot-shreds
and also from the distance to the best brine we judge that the
Indians came here occasionally more to hunt the animals which
frequented the lick than to make salt.
Early while operations. — Salt operations were begun here by
Mr. King about the same time that work was commenced at
Rayburn's. He dug a shallow well and striking rock drilled in
it to a depth of 136 feet, according to Hilgard.* The water rose
to within two feet of the surface. Here he built his salt house
■nd every year, after the crops were harvested, the negroes were
brought to the salt house and the year's supply of salt made.
Neighbors brought their negroes and availed themselves of the
opportunity.
War operations. — This salt works shared with the others a
period of great activity during the war. Numerous wells, from
'o to ID feet deep +. were sunk in Big lick and large kettles and
lialves of boilers were mounted on rnde foundations of sandstone
"^ar the wells. I have been unable to get any information
'^gaiding the daily production of the works during the period of
K^'eatest activity.
* Supl. and Final Report of Geol. Reoon, o( L*., 1873, p. 19.
t Sutemeotof Mr. H. P, Wardlaw, grandson of Mr. King.
Geological Survby of Lolisiana
^
Cretaceous. — This locality is of decided historical interest as it
s here that the Cretaceous was first definitely recognized in
Louisiana. We have already referred (p. 49) to Robertson's
report of fossiliferous Cretaceous limestone from King'sin 1867.
Hilgard was, however, the first to bring forward proof that the
Cretaceous occurred here. He found in several of the old dump
heaps at Big lick a ' ' soft gray calcareous mass containing very
perfect specimens of Graphyaa pikheri and Hxogyra coslata,"
ll has already been shown*, from specimens collected by the
writer from one of the old dump heaps in Big Lick in 1899, that
G. pitcheri is in reality O. pulaskensis. a typical Midway Eocene
oyster but the finding of a number of Cretaceous fossils the past
year around King's well makes it seem probable that Hilgard
was correct in his identification of ll. eostala and that a few-
wells in Big Lick pass through the Midway into the Cretaceous.
He stales that specimens of Janira were reported to have beeL
found in digging a well near King's old well. Here crystalline
limestone is reported at a depth of 5 feet and continued 30 feet
to the bottom of the well.
When the water was removed from the part of the King well
now open (the salt water was prevented from filling it by the
height of the old pipe tube) a number of fragments of grey fossil-
iferous limestone were obtained froui the sides of the well.
The following species have been identified :
Exogyra coUala Grypkira vfsicularis var,
Lima pdagica Turritella trilira
Anomia Liopislha prolfxla f
Cretaceous from Neal's well. — Half a mile northeast of King's
well at the point where the Sparta-Coushatta road crosses the
railroad , a well dug by T. W. Neal showed the foUowiog section
Well See/ion Neat's Store.
A. Yellow sandy clay mottled with white.
a few white quartz pebbles
B. Very dark grey, sandy, laminated clay w
larva, Oslrea sp. ,
I
•La. Geol. Sui
I, pp. 63-64.
Uowiogsect i on ; J
'7^H
J
5 Salines OF North Louisiana
^H[ 7he water obtained from this welt is quite braclcish.
^P The material from Neal's well is the first representative, which
has been found in Lonisiaua, of the beds of dark colored sands
and clays which characterize the upper beds of the Upper Cre-
taceous in Arkansas and Texas. All the otJier fossiliferous
Cretaceous deposits in Louisiana, though pronouncedly the upper-
most Cretaceous from the character of the fossils, are lithologi-
cally more like the lower beds of the Upper Cretaceous.
Midway Eocene. — Thus far fossils of this stage have been found
only in one old dump heap near the center of Big lick. An out-
crop of limestone is reported in the bed of one of the old bends
of Bayou Castor, a little west of north of the center of the south-
west quarter of Sec. 35. This place was covered with water at
the time of the writer's visit and hence could not be examined.
Uilgard reports an outcrop of soft, fossiliferous, aluminous lime-
stone, similar to the " rotten limestone " of Mississippi, in the
bed of Bayou Castor and probably refers to this outcrop.
Surrounding Country. — The hills to the south are covered with
masses of ferruginous conglomerate. To the northward are high
sand bills (Vaugbau's Sparta Sands.)
Vertebrate remains. — ^Mr. H. P. Wardlaw, grandson of Mr.
Ring, states that the horns of some large animal, together with
a number of large bones, were dug from one of the wells in the
southwestern part of Big lick. He describes it as being hollow,
a true horn {corttua cava) rather than a tusk.
Robertson evidently referred to this find when he said : "I
saw taken from one of these lacustrine basins the horn of an
esttincl animal, which horn measured thirteen inches in diameter
and, though fractured, was yet over three feet in length and still
retained the horny laminations and odor,"*
Asphallutn. — Robertson reports aspbaltum from this localilyf
but thus far his report remains unverified.
Tests and analysis of brine- — All the old wells in Big lick were
so filled with sediment that it was impossible lo obtain samples
of the brine. Two shallow holes were sunk with a "well-
•Mcmorial and Explomtioiia of the Hon. J. B. Robertson, N. O.,
1867. p. u.
tlbid.,pp, 15-16. Also DeBow's Review, vol a, p. S77, i366.
8o Geological Survsv op Louisiana
punch ' ' io the Urge group of wells ; the first, 4 feet deep,
passed through white sand mottled with yellow. This hole
filled during the night with quicksand, and the water obtained
tested 1.2° Brix at 56''F, The second was jji feet deep and
passed through one foot of white sand contaiuing small iron
concretions and 6)i feet of dark colored clay. Brine tested 6.5°
at 55°F., but neither of these can be regarded as a fair test.
In the old King well the water was pumped out of the open
part of the well and the old wooden pump tubing found intact.
The water rose to within a foot and a half of the top of the lube,
and by inserting a section of iron pipe attached to a small pitcher
pump brine was readily obtained from the old well. The first
water pumped was very black from decayed vegetable matter,
and tested as high as 14.7° Brix, but in a short time it became
quite clear and tested 13.4° (S. G. 1.0544). Water was pumped
from the well for more than an hour and at the end of that time
it still tested 13.4.° which probably represents the true strength
of the brine.
A sample of brine from this well has furnished the following
analysis ^^H
.■inalysis 0/ Brine, King's Salt Ifirris ^^^|
( Maurice Bird. |
Pet «ni,
Sodiam chloride 6.940
Calcium salpbale 010
Calcium chloride 15a
Magnesium chloride 135
Alumina 1^
Othersolidfi 065
The slight amount of gypsum contained in the water is prob-
ably responsible for the "crusts of limy matter " which are
reported to have been formed on the sides and bottom of the
kettles and which made it necessary to "chip them out '
sionally.
The Salines of North Louisiana
BISTINEAU
Location and Topography
Location. — An examination of Ftg. 8 and Plate XXII will show
Bistineau Salt Works occupying a portion of the old bottom of
the Lake Bistineau in the southwestern corner of T. i8 N., R.
lo W. The old wells are in portions of sections 25. ;6, 35 and
36.* It is the largest of the old salt works in northern Lonisiana.
Topography. — It seems quite impossible to reconcile the
present topography of the region and the shape of the shore
line of Lake Bistineau as given on the maps of the General
Land Office and we are forced to the conclusion that only a few
points ou the lake were actually located, enough probably to give
a crude idea of the general shape and extent of the lake, and
that the details were supplied by the fertile brain of the surveyor
in his office.
On these maps the northern end of the lake is represented as
about a mile above the works (see Fig. 8, which is based on the
Land Office maps). The head of the lake is now a number of
miles below the works. Lake Bistineau is one of a series of
lakes formed along Red river valley by the elevation of the bed
and banks of the river by deposits of silt during the raft period
and the consequent choking of the outlets of the tributary
stream valleys.]; At the time of the government land survey,
in the early thirties, the lake had reached and probably passed
its maximum size. After the removal of the raft the river was
confined to the main channel by the closure of the outlet bayous
and it commenced to erode the sediment deposited during the
raft period. As this erosion progressed the tributary streams
commenced to remove the silt deposited in their outlets and so
•This locfllion is based on lines run from the northeast and northwest
■s of the S. E. X of the S. W. }i of Sec. a6 ; corners established by
r. Jack Stewart, a surveyor and a land owner, to whom I am indebted for
ind for the major part of the information given under the
f ei the war operations.
K^dgin of lakes of Uiis type is discussed at length In a report on the
; Area, pp. 158, 163, 167-69, 172, Geol. Survey of La., Rept.
83
Gbologicai. Survey of Locisiana
lower the level of the lakes. In this way Sodo lake has been
almost destroyed and the areas of all the lakes along Red river,
owing their origin to these causes, have been very materially
lessened. Lake Bistineau has shared in this general lowering of
levels and may be expected to decrease. In the region about the
wells the lake is now only represented by Bayou Dauchite.
The islands or hills. — Skirting the edge of the pine hills and at
a distance of several hundred yards from them and in the old
lake bottom are a number of elevated island-tike areas which
rise ten to fifteen feet above the surrounding bottoms, At the
time when the lake covered the whole tick these were islands and
duriug the war a number of them received names : Stansberry
island, Coon island, Frenchman island, and Salt island (see
PlateXXII).
The licks. — The saline nature of the soil seems to have pre-
vented the growth of trees before the existence of Lake Bis-
tineau for there are none of the old tree stumps here, remnants
of the pre-lake forest, which are found in other parts of the old
lake. During the lake period the waters probably leached the
salt from the upper layers of earth, for since the removal of the
water by the partial drainage of the lake, trees have been able to
grow. As late as the war the whole of the otd lake bottom,
in the region of the map. was bare — a great white plain of sandy
silt^ — aud one could look from one group of wetls to another.
Now it is bare only in the vicinity of the old well groups where
wells have shown that brine exists nearest the surface. Else-
where there is a growth of gnarled dwarf trees ; thorn, hawthorn,
" elbow bush " and "button bush" with here and there a few
cypress. In places the growth is so dense that it is difficult to
force one's way through on foot and quite impossibleon horseback.
The wells are arranged very nearly in a circle about three-
quarters of a mile in diameter (see Plate XXII); commencing in
the old bed of Crane lake on the east side of Salt island they
follow Tadpole slough around to the head of Stansberry island :
the eastern side of the circle is completed by the large group of
wells known as Potter's pond. New Orleans and the group east
of Bayou Dauchite near the ford.
Probably the largest collection of wells is at Potter's jxind.
Thk Salines of North Louisiana
83
i map and Plate XVII.) Other a ot able groups are at Tadpole
Lke, the head of Salt island, Crane lake. New Orleans (between
potter's pond and the bayou ) and, on the eastern side of the
Inyou. '
History of Operations
Indian. — This locality being well removed from Red river did
not come under the direct observation of the early French
explorers and there are not the references to it that there are to
places nearer the early routes of travel.*
Evidences of Indian occupation are found on the south and
east of Potter's pond, which owes its name to the accumulations
of pot shreds about it. This pottery lacks the shells found in
that made at Drake's. Ou the northern end of Salt island there
are quantities of flint chips and partly perfected arrowheads.
The material for the arrowheads was derived from the gravel
beds which cover the hills bordering the bottoms and which
underlie the lick at a depth of 3 or 4 feet.
Early while operations. —la 1846, B. M. Thompson and W. C.
Howard carried samples of brine from Potter's pond to their
homes and boiled it to test its strength.! The quantity made
evidently did not satisfy them for it was not until some years
later that salt was made here in any considerable quantities;
. about 1S50 the Hodges brothers made a little.
I The people of this region received their supplies from the Red
' river settlements by boats which came up Lake Bistineau and
Bayou Dauchite. At this time the old town of Minden marked
the head of navigation. The year of 1855 is remembered by all
the old people as a year of extreme drouth ; the lake was so
low that no boats could come up from Red river and the salt
supply ran so low that the whole neighborhood resorted to the
well known lick to make salt. Common iron wash kettles, of
which every family had one or more, were used in boiling the
* DuPratz in speukiog of the brine springs at Drake's saya that in the
conntry whence this spring takes its rise there ere several springs of salt
(HiBt. de la Louisiane, etc.. par M. Le Page DuPratz, Paris, 1758,
I Ml. I. p. 37S.)
f Interview with Mr. Thompson.
84 Geological Survey of Louisiana
brine. W. G. Gillcoatt seems to have been one of the target
salt makers that year. With the resumption of navigation salt
making at this place almo.st, if not entirely, ceased.
U'ar operations. — The supply of salt was again cut off a few
years later by the federal blockade, but this affected a much
wider area than that affected by the low water in Lake Bisti-
neau. People came from Texas. Arkansas and Mississippi, and
in i86a, 1863 and 1864 it is estimated that there were from 1000
to I5CH3 people engaged in salt making at this point.
The land, being a portion of a lake bottom, was still held by
the general government, so there was no rent to pay. Many
slave owners and overseers who had fled with their negroes from
regions occupied by union forces came here and made sail. John
Colatgn, an Irishman, with a large number of negroes supposed
to come from Mis.sissippi, made salt in large quantities at
Potter's pond.
One of the principal salt makers at Tadpole lake was Stans-
berry, who made salt under contract with the Confederate gov-
ernment. His house and the houses of his laborers were on the
island, which bears bis name. His two principal wells, now
known as the Government Wells, are situated north of Tadpole
slough on either side of the section line (Plates XVI and XXII).
They are the largest wells at the head of Tadpole slough. One
surrounded by a levee and situated on slightly higher ground is
known as the High well. It is circular and about 20 feet in
diameter.*
One of the most interesting things to the geologist studying
the historical side of these old works is the appearance of a
Frenchman by the name of Thomassy at this place the latter
part of 1862 or the spring of 1863. He leveled a large area OD
Tadpole slough, dug a large well and laid of! the gronnd for a
series of basins in which to make salt by solar evaporation. He
started a house on the southern end of what is known as French-
man island, but being a man of somewhat fastidious tastes was
regarded with disfavor by the local people. It is reported that
he employed a man to accompany him to cui all the roots and fill
all the holes on the road leading to the works so that the buggy
• It \% shown by a eUr on Plate XXII.
r
Thb Salines OF North Louisiana
85
would run easily and smoothly and so that he would not be
roughly shaken. The people regarded this as quite unnecessary
and came to the conclusion that his whole scheme was visionary.
Wben he had finished leveling the ground and had it laid out
with stakes ready for excavation, a party of men from Arkansas
arrived at the works. They looked over the ground and con-
cluded that Tfaomassy had too much ground for one man and
that the land he had leveled would make a very good place to
sink wells. They immediately began to dig wells and when
Thomassy protested told him that if he didn't " dry up and
leave the country they would put him up a tree at the end of a
rope." This was a lime of war when might was right and the
victory went to the stronger. Thomassy left, saying that he
would make complaint to President Davis. It seems quite prob-
able that this was M. Raymond Thomassy, author of Geologic
Pratique de la Louisiane, one of whose pet schemes was the
making of salt by solar evaporation.*
A number of the old stakes and a portion of the leveled space
are still to be seen just east of the Frenchman's well.
At Bistineau. as at the other old works, platforms were built
around the wells and the brine, after being elevated to the level
of the platforms with homemade wooden pumps, was conveyed
tf) the furnaces by troughs supported on forked poles. A num-
ber of these old supports may be seen in the foreground of Plate
XVI. Old sugar kettles. wash kettles and steamboat boilers were
used for evaporating pans and "grainers." High water pre-
* In 1S55 in a para^jraph in DeBow's Review (vol. l3. p. 5j3) he speaks
of some new improvements in tbe making of salt whicb be intro-
duced In Italy in i!ii48. In 1859 he addressed a memorial to the several leg-
islatures npon the subject of the promotion of salt manufacture in the
South on a new process invented by himself. (DeBow's Review, vol. 16.
p. 119). In 186; he wrole on " The New Salt Manufacture of the Con -
fedt^rate Ststes" (DeBow, vol. 31, pp. .141-446), This article contains a
copy of a " Prospectus of a Joint Company for Sea Salt Jlanafacture, on an
Improved and Patent Plan, under the Superintendence of Mr. Raymond
Ttomassy." It seems quite probable that Thomassy intended to employ
his method at Bistineau and that the action of Ihe .\rkansa9 men caused
I.ouiiiana to lose the benefit of a very valuable aud possible hij^bly bene-
ficial experiment.
96
GBOL.OGICAL Survey of Louisiana
vented coDtiauous operalious, the work generally commencing in
June and continuing until about Christmas.
The price of salt, which was from a dollar to a dollar and a
half a sack just before the war, rose to ten dollars per bushel
just before the fall of Vicksburg. There seems to be no way of
even approximating the amount of salt made here between 1862
and 1S65.
Operatiom since the war.~kx the close of the war, operations
on a large scale ceased. A few families in the neighborhood
still continued to resoit to the place aud to make salt during the
summer months. One old negro. "Old Dan Bryan, " continued
work until bis death in 1892. He seems to have worked up
quite a little salt trade in the neighborhood. He made most of
his salt from^n old well in the upper part of Crane lake, which
is known as Old Dan Bryan's well. (It is represented by a star
on the map, Plate XXII.) After Bryan's death no one made salt
here till the summer of 1897 when Austin Blackshear and Wil-
lougbby Bacon, both colored, made a few bushels.
In 1883 the commissioners appointed by Webster Parish to
make collections to represent the parish at the New Orleans (
ton Exposition bored a hole on the upper end of Salt island,^
little southwest of Old Bryan's well.
About 1890 George Cutting, with two assistants, under direc-'
tion of New Orleans parties, drilled two wells on the hill north
of Tadpole lake in search of rock salt. A third hole was started
but the drill broke and it was abandoned.
isa ro .
;^
''irec-
orth
rted
here \
Ghology
Cretaceous. — On the northern edge of Stansberry island there
is an outcrop of yellow marl or very soft limestone. It extends
almost to the government wells and contains numbers of large
Gryphaa veiicularis and Exogyra cosiala. both typical Upper
Cretaceous species. A number of fragineuts of white, highly
crystalline, fossiliferous limestone were found here, evidently
taken from the wells. This limestone is Uthologically very
much like the highly crystalline limestone at Winnfield and con-
tains the fauna found in the soft, ctaalk-like limestone at Ray-
burn's.
The Salines of North Louisiana
87
r
^^H The following species have been obtained at this locality :
^^H Gryphaa vesiailaris Pecten quinquenarivs
^^^k Exogyra coslala Peclen simpiicus
^^K. Lima CuevUiea
^^f These specimens were obtained in the shallow water shown on
the left side of Plate XVII.
Robertson makes the following statement regarding limestone
Bt this place ; " There is near Lake Bislineau, in close proxim-
ity to the salt works, an immense bed of dolomite, or magnesium
limestone. " The writer was unable to verify this statement.
The wells. — Nearly all the wells dug here were quite shallow,
seldom exceeding a depth of ten feet, Mr, Jack Stewart reports
that along Tadpole slongh and in Crane lake they commonly
passed through 4 feet of dark colored vegetable muck or peat-like
clay and then white sand and gravel containing brine. There
is sufficient hydrostatic pressure to cause water to flow from a
Dumber of the old wells ; as at the Frenchman's well and a num-
ber of wells at the head of Salt island. Inftammable gas escapes
from the Frenchman's well ; from the wells at the head of Salt
island ; and from a well near the government well at the head of
Tadpole slough,
It is reported that during the war a deep well was bored near
the mouth of Hodgescreek. This well at a depth of about 125 feet
struck a rock which they could not penetrate. The precise loca-
tion of this well could not be learned but from its approximate
location it would indicate the westward component of the dip at
this point to be not less than 9" nor more than 20°.
The well drilled in 1883 on the northern edge of Salt island,
just west of Bryan's well, showed the following section :
Well Section Sail Island, Bislineau Sail tt'oris
rA. White sand, with fresh water 10 feet
B. Black clay not passed through 35 "
Vertebrate remains. — In the Frenchman's well several vertebrae,
tbe leg bones and a portion of the tusk of some large animal, prob-
ably a mastodon, were found at a depth of about 15 feet. This
well is hence known as the Elephant well.
Geological Sorvbv of Louisiana
The surrounding country. — The hills for about half a mile west
of the old works are covered with water woru gravel. Scattered
through the gravel beds are large masses of quartzite. showing
little or no erosion. It seems hardly probable that they have
been transported for any very great distance, Masses weighing
two or three hundred pounds were seen but attempts to locate
the parent ledge proved futile.
Weak brine is found much to the north of the old works. It is
reported near the bridge over Honey bayou on the Mindeu-Doy-
line road (S. E. %, S. 15. T. 18 N.. R, 10 W.). A well dug at
the old sawmill on Dr. T. J. Tabor's place, half a mile west of
the Honey bayou bridge and near the V. S. and P. R. R, track,
showed at a depth of 30 feet, a bed of shells, mostly gastropods.
Below this was a black clay. At a depth of 36 feet a hard sub-
stance was struck which the well-diggers were unable to penetrate
and the well was abandoned. This welt was dug some years ago
and none of the shells could be obtained. East of this, on the
land of Mr. Harvill, S. W. J^.' of S. W. %. Sec, 13, T. iSN., R,
10 W., a few specimens of Gryphcea vesicvlaris have been picked
up iu an old field. No outcrop could be found and the proximity
of a nutober of old graves makes it seem probable that the shells
had been carried there from the outcrop at the old salt works to
decorate the graves.
West of the gravel belt the laud rises to a low flat upland
covered with little mounds. These upland flats seem to belong
to the Port Hudson deposits.* Toward Fillmore there is a bit of
rolling Eocene upland. The ferruginous concretions, on this
area, contain a few casts of Eocene fossils, whether Lower Clai-
borne or Lignitic has not yet been satisfactorily proved.
About two and a half miles .south of the old works in the N.
E. ,'4 of Sec. 7. T. 17 N., R. 9 W. Lerch obtained fos.sils from
a well. Vanghan reports the following Lower Claiborne species
from this locality : t
Pkurotoma gabbi Ancilla ancillops
Pappiliiia dumosavar .trapaguara Phos scalatus
Pkaiium globosum Corbiilaaldricki\&x .smithvillensu
• For a more deUiled discussion of the Upland flats see Rept. Geol. Surv.
La.. 1899. pp. 189-19S.
tBuU. V. S. Geol. Surv.. No. m. 1896, pp. 38-48.
The Salinbs of North Louisiana 89
Lower Claiborne fossils occur in considerable numbers in the
ricinity of Mt, Lebanon.
Concluiions. — The arrangement of the wells here is extremely
like that at Drake's. On the whole it suggests an eroded dome
with the welis following the outcrop of the brine bearing hori-
zon. The ideal .section at Drake's would then in a general way
represent the condition at Bistineau. The fossils obtained fur-
nish conclusive evidence as to the age of the deposit.
Analyses of brine. — Hilgard reports that a sample of salt
received by him during the war from this locality was quite fine,
and of 8 greyish tint. On treatment with water about 5 per
cent of insoluble matter, chiefly earth, remained. The salt
solution contained :
I
AiialysisoJ Bislineau SaiC
(Hilgard 1861)
Chlorideof sodium (bj difference) 99<68
Chloride of calcium o. 17
Ctaloridc of magiiesiDtn o.io
Salphateof calcium o.oj
I
It is regretted that a series of hydrometer tests was not made
here, but at the time of the examination of these works the nec-
essary apparatus was not at hand. The brine at Tadpole lake
and along Tadpole slough seems to have been rather weak.
Samples collected at points indicated by stars on Plate XXII gave
the following results :
Brine Analyses: BisTiNBAt' SaltWosks
(Manrioe Bird)
■ssr
P«lif.
Islaud.
3.SC»
.oSl
.0S3
.os6
.058
Sodintn chloride
Calcium chloride
8.450
.oBS
7.810
Ghological Survey of Louisiana
OTHER SALINES
Salt Works Near Sabinh Rivsr
Negreet Sail Works. — About half a mile above the moulh of
Sayou Negreet, in the S. W. % of Sec. 24, T. 5 N.. R. 13 W..
salt was made on a small scale during the war. The brine here
issues from the ground in the form of springs. The best ones
are in the bed of the bayou. The brine was obtained by sink-
ing hollow cypress logs, of such a length that their top pro-
jected above the surface of the bayou, vertically over the
springs. The brine was then pumped up with homemade
wooden pumps and carried by troughs to the kettles on the
bank. The only trace of the old works now visible is a single
well on the south bank of the bayou. The brine here issues
from Lower Claiborne marl.
Other works. — Near Stone Coal bluff on the Sabine river ia
Sec. 33, T. 6 N., R. 13 \V., is a small open lick showing prob-
ably half a dozen oM wells and several old furnace sites. No
outcrops were seen but the surrounding country is upper Lignitic
Eocene.
Another small saline, which was worked during the war. is
reported in Sec. 2, T. 6 N., R. 14 W.. about half a mile from the
river. It is described as a treeless space covered with white sand.
The operations here were not so extensive as those near Stone
Coal bluff.
Hilgard reports that salt and soda were made by Governor
Allen from water obtained from pits dug in the Sabine bottoms
two miles below Myrick's ferry*.
Sibley speaks of a saline which the inhabitants of Bayou Pierre
resorted to, situated between Bayou Pierre and the Sabine river.
The exact location of this saline is not known. f
" Supi. aud Final Rept. of a Geol. Recoi
'873. p. li. See also Robertson Memorial
t Am. Register, vol. 4. p. 58, also.
1, p. 728, Wash., 1S33.
The Saunhs of North Louisiana
CATAHorLA Salt Springs
Early French accounts. — Du Pratz has given a very iuteresting,
though somewhat inaccurate account of these salt springs. He
says ;* " After we have gone up the Black river (Riviere Noire)
almost thirty leaguesf, we find on the left a brook of salt water,
which conies from the west. In going up this brook about two
leagues we meet with a lake of salt water, which may be two
leagues in length by one in breadth. A league higher up to the
north, we meet another lake of salt water, almost as long and
broad as the former.
"This water, doubtless, passes through some masses of salt ;
it has the taste of salt without the bitterness of sea water. The
Jttdiani come a great way off to this place, to hunt in the winter,
and make salt. Before the French trucked coppers with them,
they made upon the spot pots of earth for this operation ; and
they returned home loaded with salt and dry provisions."
Later references.— Sib\ey\ and Sloddard|| have both mentioned
an excellent brine spring on Catahoula lake. Darby speaks of
salt springs on the ' ' Ouachitla and Dugdomoni. ' ' which are equal
to those on the Saline. § This may refer to this locality.
So far as is known these springs were not utilized to any con-
siderable extent during the war and it is inferred ihat the brine
here is weaker than the brines farther west.
Hopkins, who examined the region in 1871, found numerous
weak brine springs issuing from beds he considered of Port Hud-
son age. He was inclined to regard them as of very doubtful
* Kistoire de la Loaisiane, etc., par M. Le Page DaPratz, Paris 1 758, vol.
'. PP- 307-3°8 ; Lon. trans., 1763, toI. i, p. 183. An extract from this work
entitled a Geographical Description of Louisiana Translated from M. Le
Page I>uPratz appeared in Gentlemen's Magazine, Jannary 1763. pp. 165-367.
\ Hnnter and Dunbar give tbe distance from Red river to the mouth of
Little river as ii leagne.i [Am. State Papers (vol. 1), Indian Affairs, vol, i,
p. 73J.I ITie maps of the Ouachita river survey (U. S. E. under direction
of Haj. J. H. Willard, 1896) gives the same distance as 91 miles.
t Am. State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1. p. 717, Wash. . 1832 ; Am. Reg-
r vol. 4, p. 56, His spelling is " Acatahola."
(Sketcbes of Louisiana, Pbila., 1812, p. 400. Speaks of " Ocatahoula
Emigrant's Guide, New York, 1818, p. 89.
Geologicai, Survbv of Lodisiana
!
ystals, fivi^^H
surface, ^^^|
economic value. He reported a. stratum of salt cry
eights of au inch thick and eighteen feet from the
Capt. L. D. Cortey's well.*
Salines Near Dugdemona Bavoc
Castor sail springs. — This saltue is located on Castor bayou
about four miles above the mouth of the Dugdemona. Old set-
tlers on the Ouachita river state that people who attempted to
make sail here abandoned it after a time and went to Drake's
and Price's and Rayburn's. Dr. A. R. K''-patrick gives the
following account of them in 1852 :t " SaU springs of the very
best quality are here, in the western part of the parish on the
west side of Castor bayou, four miles from the fork. The water
boils up in the springs, and where it has spread over the ground,
the whole surface is covered with crystals. Mr. Fowler settled
here as early as 1804, and has made salt in a poor way up to this
time. The early settlers were constantly in the habit of resort-
ing here to make their yearly supplies of salt, when it was sell-
ing at $1.50 per bushel. Some years ago a well was dug here in
a low place in the glade, and the water gushed up over the
mouth, and is running that way yet."
Cedar //ri.— Cedar lick is situated about two miles south of
Winnfield on a branch of Cedar creek, a little to the east of
the Winnfield-Colfax road. The open space is covered with a
growth of scrub palmetto. Both Kilpatrickf and Hilgard § have
mentioned this locality. Its waters .seem never to have been
used to any considerable extent for making salt.
•Third An. Rept. Geol. Siirv. of La., 1872, p. 178.
♦ The Parish of Catahoula liy Dr. A. R. Kilpatiick, De Bow's Review.
ffol. 13, 185J, pp. »68-j69.
JDeBow's Review, vol. 11, 1851, p. 169.
JSupl. aud Final Rept,, N. O., 1S73, p. 33.
Ths Salines c
\PART a. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
Rhlativk Valob of thb Nokth Louisiana Brines
The two tables here presented enable one to compare the
strength and purity of the Louisiana brines with the brines from
a number of important localities in this country where salt is
made on a large scale with profit. It will be seen that iu point
of strength and purity the Bistineau brine outranks the brine
from the Ohio valley region in Ohio and the Kanawha district in
West Virginia. The King's brine, while slightly behind these
in the amount of sodium chloride it contains, is considerably
superior to them in purity ; there being about 7 per cent of
impurities in the solid contents of the King's brine compared to
ao-30 per cent in the Ohio and West Virginia brines. Results
from the other old works are not so favorable, the analyses fall-
ing well behind those from any brine spring, in this country,
nbicb has thus far proved of commercial importance as a source
of salt.
So far as our information goes Bistineau and King's are there-
fore the only ones of the north Louisiana salines which at pres-
ent furnish brines which could be used pro6tably for making
salt. On the important question of how much brine either of
these localities could be expected to supply daily there is no
exact information at present. At Bistineau only shallow wells
have been sunk and the brine, which in some cases is under
pressure enough to flow over the top of the well, comes in from
the bottom and sides, At King's the brine from King's old
well rises to within two feet of the surface and a hand pump
seems to have very little effect on its level. The Bistineau saline
is liable to overflow and would have to be protected by a levee or
pipes so laid to the producing wells that, in times of high-water,
they could be pumped from the hill-land. The position of these
salines with reference to the railroads, now existing in the state,
shown on the maps accompanying this report. Bayou
Gboijogicai. Suhvby of Louisiana
f
1
i.l i 8 t
|l|l|blb^llii^^llllL 1
£<S<S<j<o||l«5^|||||l =
S^lSl^="illl7j2illllll »
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s
II
1
i
i
II
1 1 ll? ?5f 1
tf d - d d d d d d
' 1
i
HI
1
n
1
$
If
1
6
c d 3 d d d d d d d c
k
i
S
i|
d 6 d
3
S
HI
MIsllllsBlill;?? ?l
-!
' 1
^
i
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«• ri -i rt d d d d □ J -■-■-□ d d d
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II
11
IT
^llllllllHililllisI !
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^
^^M Thb Salines OF North Louisiana 95 ^^H
1
t/kSLK II.— Analyses op Total Solids in BRiuBa of the United
Statbs
■
1
BodlBin
chloride.
Calcium
"iST
lulphnte-
9B-37*
97.00
95.03
95-01
94.89
94.64
93.8»
93-14
9" .36
91.34
90.83
90.56
S3. 33
81-35
"9-45
79.37
79- '3
78.91
78.36
76.49
76.14
71.64
/Vrcf.
0.49
0-49
0.53
3.63
3-60
3! 30
3.43
4-93
AS
9.72
16.47
14.39
14.01
t7.26
14-33
lS,66
1. 14
11:
A.oi
a. 64
5.33
6.9,
4.07
6.09
9.94
7.03
4-37
8.01
9,38
Ptrel.
lies
3.55
3'S9
3 73
0.14
1.45
6.36
o.a9
o-si
0,57
0.05
3-97
0.44
Manistee. Mich
Biatinean Salt Works, I^
Rajbnm's Salt Works. U
Drake's Salt Worka, La.
Saginaw. Mich
Pomeroy. Ohio . .
Great Salt Uke, Utah
Salt»hurg,Pa
•Per cent of tolal tolldi.
Daachite mieht furnish water transiDortatioD for the Bistineau ^^H
oroduct oart of the vear but could harcjlv be deuended UDon. ^^M
Salt (rom UiHtinpau auri Kiiips would have to mpet the com- ^^H
petition of the salt made from the rock sail brines of Grand ^\
Saline, Texas, and Belte Isie, Louisiana, and the ground rock salt
from the Avery island mines as well as salt which may be made ^
«t other ot the hive Islands or the rerentlv discovered salt heris ^^H
at Anse la Buite, St. Martin's parish, La., and Damon's Mound. ^^M
Brazoria Co. Texas. The Solotnan Cilv. Kansas, works have ^^M
been able to continue operations thoue'h surrounded bv works ^^M
tisini^ rocJt salt brine and the West \ irpinia and Ohio salt works ^^H
have increased in size notwithstanding the nearness of the ^^H
stronger New York and Michigan brmes. Perhaps similar care- ^^H
ful manaeemeut would meet with the same hapov results in ttiis ^^|
^^1
96
Geological Survey of Louisiana
' While the known brines at Rayburn's, Drake's and '
can bardly be regarded as commercially valuable it is not at all
impossible that salt or brine may be found iu these places in
quantity and quality to render its exploitation profitable nor is it
improbable that stronger brines will be found at Bistineau and
King's. The extreme similarity of the geological structure of
these domes in northern Louisiana to the domes which contain
salt, sulphur and oil farther south makes us feel that deep holes
at these places are more likely to yield profitable returns than
similar holes any place else in the northern part of the state.
h^^^
GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Rsisvist
It has been shown that the principal brine springs in northern
Louisiana are to be regarded as Cretaceous outcrops. At Ray-
burn's, Bistineau and King's fossils characteristic of the upper
beds of the Upper Cretaceous have been found.* At Rayburn's
beds of gypsum and a porous, banded, crystalline limestone,
similar to that found at Winnfield and Bayou Chicot occurs
beneath the highly fossiliferous Cretaceous limestone. While
proof is lacking of the Cretaceous age of the hard leaf-bearing.
sandy, pyritic limestone which occurs at Coochie brake and
Price's, and which at Drake's seems to be associated with a large
bed of soft chalk-like limestone, the facts thus far collected
indicate it rather strongly.
Dome siructure . — The dome structure of these and other north
Louisiana Cretaceous outcrops, notably Winnfield and Coochie
brake, is attested by a number of facts ; no one of which is
entirely conclusive but which, when taken together, have a
cumulative value :
(i) — All the dips, which have thus far been observed support
this conception of their structure. At both Winnfield and
Coochie brake it is possible to obtain enough dip observations to
" Apparently tlic equivalent of Hill mul VHUglm
sias and of the Ripley CrelaceouB of Mississippi,
's Webberville bed^^l
Thk Salines of Nobth Louisiana
97
I
show clearly the major part of a dome. The dip observations at
Drake's and Price's, while not conclusive, add their mile to the
general evidence.
(2) — The presence of islands of Cretaceous limestone sur-
roanded by upper Eocene deposit is itself indicative either of
domes or butte-like erosion remnants.
(3) — The evidence furnished by the deep wells of the region
is meagre but, so far as it goes, it is conclusive. At Shreveport
a well over 1000 f-^et deep showed no Midway or Cretaceous lime-
stone, A well at Natchitoches, 600 feet deep, did not pass
through the Lignitic, and the well at Colfax, over 1,000 feet
deep, does not appear to have reached the Cretaceous,
(4) — The arrangement of the wells on the old salines, either
ina single group as at Rayburn's, suggesting the top of a dome,
or in a circle as at Bistiueau, Drake's and Price's, suggesting an
eroded dome with the wells following approximately the outcrop
of the brine bearing strata, corroborates this idea.
The Lick hill at Price's will furnish further evidence if it
is proved that it is composed of limestone as the sink holes upon
it seem to indicate.
Rhl,
TO Surrounding Regions
Similar domes in Louisiana and Texas. — The accompanying
map. Plate XXIIL shows the location of points in Louisiana and
Texas where strikingly similar phenomena have been observed.
At Bayou Chicot there are two small outcrops of banded crys-
talline limestone very similar to the Winnfield limestone.
These outcrops show extravagant dips and are surrounded by
beds of upper Grand Gulf age.
The Five Islands were discussed at length in a former report*
and it was shown that at Belle Isle there is a distinct dome. At
C6te Carline and Grand C6te there are highly elevated, partially
eroded dome-like masses of rock salt, surrounded on all sides by
deposits of recent age at least a thousand feet thick. At Petite
Anse the limit of the flexibility of the salt was reached and a
fault block resulted. The contour of the salt and its relation to
pp. »io-s6a.
GSOLOGICAL SURVHY OF LOUISIANA
: a &ult asim
gS
the surrounding country suggests tfaat this may be a
ciated with a dome. This explanation seems more in accordance
with the structure at similar localities where the data is more
complete. Moreover a fractured, steep-sided dome is more
probable than the needle-shaped fault block which the fault
block theory, without modification, would necessitate.
Recent borings at Anse la Butte, St. Martin's parish, La., have
revealed large beds of rock-salt at a deplb of 391 feet. The well
sections here are very similar lo those at Belle Isle ; and have
furthermore shown the galena crystals of the upper Belle Isle
section. Deep wells nearby have failed to find the salt layer aod
we are inclined to regard the structure here as very similar to
that at Belle Isle.
Numerous drill holes have established the sharp dome shape,
of the Sulphur City and Beaumont deposits, and we feel that the
quaquaversal nature of the structure at those places is established.
The oil bearing rock at Beaumont is a pure,*^ porous, banded,
crystalline limestone apparently identical with the Wioufield
limestone.
Big Hill, High Island and Damon's Mound are the Texas rep-
resentatives of the Five Islands, of which Ihey are the topographic
counterparts. Damon's Mound furnishesa very suggestive mass
of data : it is a rounded hill mass, about two miles in diameter,
with a maximum elevation of about 75 feet above the plain at its
base. Its rounded topographic aspect seems to be due to the
manleling of an eroded dome with Lafayette sand and gravel,
and Port Hudson loam. On the eastern side of the mound, and
50 feet above the plain, is an outcropof banded, white and grey,
porous, crystalline limestone. The outcrop is at present covered
with the water of a pond but judging from the reports of red-
dents, who worked in the limestone when it was quarried for
lime-burning, and from the record of the Daraon Mound Oil
Company's well, east of this outcrop, the limestone dips awttf
from the bill at a considerable angle. West of this outcrop, and
■.\n exaniinaticn of the oil-bearing rock {toiii a depth of 1015 feet 10
Higgins Oil Company's well No. 2 by Dr. A.C.Gill reveaU less than I percent
of material other than CaCOj. This material is for the most part gypsum
with H little silica. A qualitative test lor majrtiesium showed only a tmce.
The Salines OF North Louisiana
99
so stratigraphically below it, the Herndon well has stibwn : *
(i) 171 feet of sand aud clays of uncertain age, probably com-
paratively recent, containing shells of the generaf Pkysa.Amnicola,
Ptanorbii and a few fragments of Gnathodon ; (2) 379 feet of
gypsum and anhydrite ; (3) 30 feet of porous gypseous material
containing sulphur. (Water from this layer is charged with
H,S and SO, and rises to within 70 feet of the surface.) {4) soft
anhydrite 8 feet ; (5) 600 feet of salt with anhydrite layers from
830 to 900 feet and from 1 160 to 1 180. Wells on the western
side of the mound show over a thousand feet of material which
cannot be regarded as older than late Tertiary.
This section combines in a very remarkable way the salt of the
Five Islands, the porous sulphur bearing gypsum of Sulphur
City and the porous limestone of Beaumont, Bayou Chicot.
Winn&eld, and Rayburn's, and does much to strengthen the
evidence of the slratigraphic unity of these domes.
In northeastern Texas there are three Cretaceous islands which
seem to be in every way the counterparts of those in northern
Louisiana. At two of these the same fauna shown in the north
Louisiana salines has been found.
The extreme similarity of the geological structure of these
different localities is evident and we feel that the evidence thus
far collected points very strongly to a common geological age
and that we are justified in referring them all to the Cretaceous.
Time of Jorniaiion of the domes- — Whatever the, forces, or the
causes of the forces, which produced these peculiar quaquaver-
sals, the absence of Midway deposits from all save King's and
the Many dome indicates that at the beginning of the Eocene
they were either islands in the Tertiary sea or that they were so
slightly submerged that the vaneer of deposits they received was
readily eroded in the following periods.
The movement thus begun in the Cretaceous seems to have
continued intermittently to the present time. On Belle Isle a
bed containing shells common in the gulf to-day is inclined at
•This section will be give
BnlletiD by Dr. C. W. Hayet
f These gastropods are regarded by Harris
mou in the Erie canal to-day.
I detail in a forthcoming I', S. Surrey
i identical with species ci
SlSiS^j
loo Geological Survey of Louisiana
an angle of 23*. The outcrop at Winnfield shows evidence oF
movement after the deposition of the Lower Claiborne Eocene.
All the domes in the southern part of Louisiana and Texas,
save one near Sour lake f where Harris has just found Jackson
fossils at a depth of 1500 feet while a nearby well does not
pass through the late Tertiary at a depth of 3000), either main-
tained their island like character till the late Pliocene or ha\'e
been so subjected to erosion that all trace of deposits of pre-
Pliocene age are lacking.
Standing at different heights, differently protected by the sedi-
ments of succeeding periods and varying in the rate of their
elevation, the diflerenl domes naturally show all degrees of dissec-
tion. The low lying dome at Beaumont shows sign of relatively
little erosion while the more elevated ones at Damon's and the
. Five Islands have been very considerably eroded. The denuda-
tion on the western three of the Five Islands seems to have been
particularly great. At Drake's and Bistineau erosion has pro-
gressed to such an extent that the topographic aspect of the
domes has been entirely destroyed,
Lines of weakneis. — Whether these domes have any connection
one with another or v.helber they are entirely independent
remains to be proven. Certain lines of weakness have been estab-
lished and these have a northeast- southwest axis. The Coochie
brake-Winnfield outcrops are points of maximum elevation on
an anticlinal: At Coochie brake there is evidence of faulting
in addition to folding. There is some evidence of a low anti-
clinal developing, at present, across the Angelina and Sabine
rivers (see article on the Sabine river) with an axis very nearly
parallel to this axis and more or less parallel to the line of the
Balcoues faulting. What connections other of the domes may
have with each other is purely conjectural. (See Plate XXIII.)
Gboumiicai. ScavBV of Louisiaha, Rsro
-•^v-,''
sr
■.-.'■■w.:
^r^^zm
,. . I'-
'm
CZ3 S ED [33
OP RAVBURN'S SALT WORKS
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A-" -•. L- N X AND
SPECIAL REPORT
No. Ill
THE GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF THE
SABINE RIVER
BY
A. C. VEATCH
I
CONTENTS
Page.
Geography and Physiography 107
Geography 107
Cartography 107
Early maps of the Sabine river 107
Darby (18 12-1813) 107
Eaton (1837) 108
l-nited States-Texas Boundary Survey (1840-1841) 108.
Public Land Surveys ( 1830-1879) 109
Leavenworth ( 1872-1873) 109
Polhemus (1878) no
Construction of map accompan3ring this report no
Description iii
The river in
The bluffs in
The shoals 112
Distances along the river 112
Physiography 114
The shoals 114
Description 114
McClanahan shoals 115
Goodwin's shoals 115
Theories of origin 116
The Narrows 119
•Manner of formation 119
STRATIGRAPHY I20
Introduction 120
Eocene 120
Lignitic 120
Preliminary remarks 1 20
Outcrops from Logansport to Hamilton 121
Outcrops from Hamilton to Sabinetown 122
Foster well 125
Chireno well 126
Lower Claiborne 1 27
Preliminary remarks 127
Low creek beds 1 27
Outcrops from Bayou Negreet to Columbus 129
Columbus 130
Cocksfield Ferry Beds 130
Preliminary remarks 130
Outcrops 131
Jackson '. 131
Page.
Preliminary remarks 131
Outcrops 131
Oligocene 132
Grand Gulf 132
Preliminary remarks 132
Outcrops from 36 to Snell's landing 133
Bluffs near Snell's landing 134
Hattan's ferry to Burr's ferry 135
Frio Clays 135
Preliminary remarks 135
Outcrop near Burr's ferry 136
Bluff at mouth of Boggy branch 136
New Columbia 136
Outcrops below New Columbia 137
Pliocene and Recent 137
I^afayette and Port Hudson 137
Preliminary remarks 137
Outcrops from Logansport to Stark's ferry 138
Outcrops from Stark's ferry to Sabine lake 139
General Considerations 140
Relation of Sabine river section to other sections 140
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page.
Plate XXIV. Goodwin's Shoals, near Columbus, La., looking
down the river 112
XXV. Shoals at Stone Coal Bluff 114
XXVI. Upper part of Goodwin's Shoals, near Colum-
bus, La 116
XXVII. Lower Lignitic Eocene, Hamilton Bluff, Texas 120
XXVIII. Lower Lignitic Eocene, Pendleton Bluff, Texas. . . 124
XXIX. Upper Lignitic Eocene, Sabinetown Bluff, Texas. . 126
XXX. Jackson Eocene near Robinson's Ferry 131
XXXI. Grand Gulf Oligocene near Anthony's Ferry 133
XXXII. Sheet I, Map of the Sabine River 143
XXXIII. Sheet II, Map of the Sabine River 143
XXXIV. Sheet III, Map of the Sabine River 143
XXXV. Sheet IV, Map of the Sabine River 143
XXXVI. Sheet V, Map of the Sabine River 143
XXXVII. Geological Section along Sabine River. ... 148
Fig. 10. Sketch map of Shoals at Stone Coal Bluff 114
11. Comparative Cross-Sections of the Sabine River at
Stone Coal Bluff ! 115
12. Sketch map of McClanahan Shoals 115
13. Sketch map of Goodwin's Shoals, Columbus, La.. 116
THE GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF THE
SABINE RIVER
GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY
Cartography
Early maps of the Sabine river. — The information in our pos-
session at present wilt hardly justify an attempt at a detailed
cartographical history of the Sabine river. The probable date
of its first appearance on the maps of the early Spanish aiid-
French cartographers, its various vicissitudes at their hands and
at the hands of other continental cartographers and all that
interests a student of the cartographical lore and history of a
river it is hoped will some day form a part of a general discus-
sion on the cartography of Louisiana,
After the period when the river was represented as a mere,
more or less, wavy line in a position which gradually became
more and more nearly a correct approximation, came definite
attempts to locate the river and delineate its meanderings.
Darby {iSti-iStj). — We owe our first correct idea of the gen-
eral shape and location of the river to William Darby, In 1812
and 1S13 he ran a traverse line from Fort Claiborne at Natchi-
toches to the Sabine river, thence down ihe river to its mouth,
thence along the shore of the gulf and up Calcasieu river to
about the position of Lake Charles,* On his map of Louisianaf
there is apparently no attempt made to show the shape of any of
the bends of the river, it being represented merely by the con-
*N(iteB in Regard to my Survey of Saliine river Hist. Mag, [Dawson's)
vol. IJ, p. ?!?. 1S67.
t A map of the Slate of Louisiana uith part of the Mississippi Territorv
from Actual Survey by Wm. Darby, Philn, 1S16. The location of hii Ime
from Natchitoches to the Sabine river is sbowa on this map. This map
together vWa most of (he articles referreti to in Ibis paper will )« foand in
the Howard Memorial Library at New Orleans. Thunks are due lo Mr.
Beer, the librariaii, for many courtesies.
io8
Ghologicai, Survey of Louisiana
. which m^r^f
ventional wavy line. This inip is Ihe source from v
compilers drew their information for many years.
Eaton (^rSj^).— The growing importance of the river as the
boundary between the United States and Texas; the requests
of the people along the river to the government to open the river
to navigation by the removal of the raft and the question of the
cheapest route for supplies lo Camp Sabine caused the war depart-
ment to direct Maj. W. G. Belknap to examine the river and if
possible remove the raft.* He reports the raft removed and the
, river open to navigation in 1838 and transmits with his reportf
a map of the river from Sabine pass to Sabiuetown by Lieut. J,
H. Eaton, I This map shows the shape of the bends in the river
with considerable exactness.
United States-Texas Boundary Survey {1S40-1841). — The
mapll which accompanies the report^ of this survey seems to be
Eaton's map with a number of additions and corrections. No
attempt to meander the river appears to have been made and the
map seems to have been constructed by plotting Eaton's survey
on the longitude and latitude net obtained by their observations,
together with what corrections and additions they could make to
the detail of the older map by sketching from the deck of their
* This rati seems to have been situated between Belgrade and the nioutb
of Bayou Anacoco.
f ObatructioDi iu Sabine river : 15th Cong, id Ses, House Ex. Doc. vol.
to. No. 365, 1S38.
t Sketch of tbe Sabine River, Lake and Pass from Camp Sabine lo tbe
Gulf, a Distance of 300 miles by Lieut. J. H. Raton. 3d U. S. Infantry.
Scale 4 miles lo an inch ; 25th Cong,, id Ses.. House Ei. Doc., vol. 10, No,
365. 1838.
I Map of the Sabine river from its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico in the
sea to Logan's ferry in Latitude Jl° 58' 14" north showing Ihe Bound-
ary between tbe United States and the Republic of Texas between said
points, as marked and laid down by Survey in 1840 under the direction of
the Commissioners appointed for that purpose under the first Article of the
Conveutiou signed at Washington Apr. 15, 1S38. Surveyed in 1S40 by
(on the part of the United Stales] J. D. Graham. Major. U. S. Topog. Eng.;
Thomas J. Lee, First Lieut., U, S. Topog, Eng.; George G, Meade, C. E.;
(on the part of Texas) P. J. Pillans, Eng.; D. C. Wilber, Sur.; A. A. Gray.
Assl. Eng. Drawn by Lieut. T.J. Lee, 1B42,
g 37tb Cong, sd Sess. House. Ek, Doc., vol. i, 78 pp.; ;
Sen. Ex. Doc., vol. 3. No. 199, with map. 184
I.; also 17th Cong, J
r
Geogra
1 Geology of thh Sabinb River 109
steamboat. This map compares very favorably with the results
of the Polhemus survey and remaiDS to this day the most accur-
ate map of the river published. The compilers of the maps of
the state have without exception overlooked this source of
^^ information.
^^U Pud/iY /and surveys {iSjo-iSjp). — The work of the surveyors
^Bof the U. 5. Land ofHce in the townships along the Sabine river
^^fllBve given us a series of maps of the river of varying degrees of
^B.accuracy. In the early thirties a few townships about the base
^B^ne and a few below I^gan^port were completed and in the suc-
^l^ceeding years the townships between were filled in. The part
of the river between Anacoco aud the Narrows was not sur-
veyed till 1879, and it was the following year before the maps
appeared. Locketl's map,* published io 1873. is for the most
part based on these surveys, and therefore shows no detail what-
ever between Anacoco and the Narrows. Hardee's mapt (1895)
appears to have been hastily drawn and no attempt was made,
along the Sabine river, to carefully plot even the land office maps
which would have given a much better result than he has
obtained. He has followed Lockett in the incorrect location of
Nix's ferry, and has incorrectly located Eave's Plantation
(which is the same as Nix's ferry] and Hanly's Point.
Leavenworth {/S^z-rS^j). — In 1872-1873 F. P. Leavenworth,
Asst. U. S. E., made a reconnaissance of the river beginning at
Belzoria, Texas. His map,| plotted on a scale of an inch to two
'The Lonisiana State University Topographical Map of Lonisiana. show-
ing the Characteristic Features of the Surface of tbe State in symbols and
and colors, compiled from the latest and niost authcnlic sources with many
additions and corrections from actual reconnaissance by 5. }I. Lockett.
Scale I in. — lo mi. New York. |!S73.
f Hardee's New Geographical. Historical and Statistical Official Map of
Lonisiana Embracing Portions of Arkansas. Alalffima. Mississippi end
Texftsfrom Recent Government, Slate. Parish, Railroad and Privnte Sur-
veys and Personal Investigations and Officially Compiled under authority
from the Stale Legislature by William J. Ifardee, Civil Engineer. Scale i
in.— 6mi. Chicago. A. D. 1B95.
t A map of Ihe Sabine river from its mouth to Belzoria, Texas, by P. P.
Leavenworth. Scale lin.— imi. Oct. i, 1872, to Apr, 5, 1873. MSS. in arch-
ives of the War Department. I .eaven worth's report will be found in An.
Bept. Chief of Eng,, [873. p. 68i~68j ; also 43d Cong. ist. Sns., Honse Ex.
Doc., vol. 1, p. 6S1-68J, 1874.
no Geological Survhv of Louisiana
luiles appear to have been compiled iii part from the land
maps, and was evidently not considered sufficiently tnwtwortl
for in a few years a second survey was ordered. ^
Polhemiis (/J/J). — This survey extended to Hamilton, Texas,
and though of a reconnaissance nature, made with a Gurley
transit and stadia, was done with so much topographic skill
and fidelity to detail that it is an extremely satisfactory map.
This map* has unfortunately never been published, and it is
through the courtesy of the Chief of Engineers that Mr. Pacheco,
of this survey, was allowed to make tracings of it as well as the
preceediug map,
ConilritctioH of map accompanying this report. — In the construc-
tion of this map the latitude observations of the United States-
Texas Boundary Commission have been assumed as correct. The
longitude correction has been found by comparing the longitude
of Mound A, Sabine pass with the location of the same point
the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Cbarl No. 203.
1
Longitude Mound A Sabine Pass
By calculation U. S, C. S, Chart 203
By observation, U.S. — Tex. Boundary Survey..
Correction 49"
A check on this longitude correction is found by comparing
the longitude of the state line as found by calculation from the
maps oi the boundary survey and the longitude of the Arkansas-
Texas line as determined by the Coa.st Survey at Texarkana.j
Longitude Louisiana- Texas Meridional Boundary
By observation U. S. Coast Survey at Texarkana..94'* 02' 34.1*'
By calculation U, S, — Texas Boundary Survey map 94° oa* iS "
Correction
• A niHp of tlic SabiHr river from East Hamilton to Sebiii« Lak«^ l
«bect<>. Scale \:%(xxi, by J. H. follxrinas. SepL 19 10 Dec, 8, 1879,
IB srchives of the War DevArtmeDt. Polhemus" report will bo fgiuid J]
An. Rcpl. CWef of Enjc- for i.SSo, vol. 3, i.p, 1195-1199. 1881
Cong., 3d Sess., Hou»c Ei. Doc., vol. 4, pp. 111)5-1199. :S8i.
■r*
Ghography and Gkologv of the Sabine River hi
Upon the longitude and latitude net thus obtained the Polhemus
irvey from Sabine lake to Hamilton and the Leavenworth sur-
vey from Hamilton to the state line have been projected. Sabine
lalce and Mtnndings have been added from Baton's map and
Sabine pass and the coast line from Chart No, 203 U- S. Coast
Geodetic survey and from Browulee's 1899 survey.*
Dbsceiption
Tke river. — From Logansport the Sabine river flows in a gen-
eral southeasterly direction half the distance to the sea, it then
flows southwest and finally enters the gulf, by way of Sabine
lalce and Sabine pass, at a point a trifle feast of south of the point
where it enters Louisiana. The river is for the most part a
rather swift stream flowing in a narrow sinuous channel, with
one sharp bend following another in quick succession, a sandbar
on one side and a rapidly caving bank on the other. Sometime^
there are long stretches of slow moving water with gently slop-
ing banks on either side covered with overhanging trees. The
most pronounced of these reaches are; near Logansport, just
below Myrick's ferry, below Hamilton, Pendleton and Robinson's
ferry. Above Myrick's ferry the river is between 80 and loo
feet wide, and tall trees falling sometimes reach from bank to
bank. In the reaches a width of perhaps 150 feet is attained but
the average width down to Belgrade is about too feet. From Bel-
grade to the Narrows the average width is perhaps 200 feel with an
extreme width in a few places of 400 feet or more. At the
Narrows the river is contracted to half the width above. Below
the Narrows it widens to 300 feet and attains a width of 500 feet
at Orange and a 1000 feet near Sabiue lake. The height of the
river banks is 30 feet about Logansport and decreases gradually
tg a few feet at the Narrows and almost nothing at Sabine lake.
The bottom land varies from two to six miles iu width.
The bluffs. — Here and there the river strikes the hills bordering
the valley forming bluffs which, in the upper part of the region
under discussion, are often over a 1 00 feet high. These bluffs
appear to be of two types ;
•An. Rept. Chief of EnR. for 1899 (opp. p. i36i), 1890.
S !iectioii
112 Ghological Strvky of Louisiana
(O Hill bluffs. Bluffs formed by the denudation of rolling
hill land areas. The eroded land surface shows in cross seclioii
and the crests of these bluffs are therefore generally serri
They are generally high and are composed for the most
Eocene and OHgocene material.
(2) Flat-topped bluffs. — Low bluffs with flat tops bnl
higher than the surrounding bottom lands. In height they are
"bluffs" only by courtesy but in the lower river they are
sharply separated from the surrounding bottom land by their
covering of pine and, though but a few feel high, are rather
marked topographic features. These bluffs are composed of bright
colored sauds or clayey sands, often coutaining some gravel,
which appear to grade laterally into material not sharply sepa
rated from the recent river silt. In the upper river these bluffs
often show near low water line a few feet of old Tertiary clay.
A number of these have been represented on the map by a single
4ine of hachures and make the valley of the river appear narrower
than it really is.
The shoals. — In a number of places between Logansport and
Burr's ferry a rocky ledge or a ledge of very hard clay passes
partly across the river, near low water tine, confining the river
-to half its normal width aud causing a considerable acceleration
of the current. When these ledges pass entirely across the river,
as they do in several places, a rapids is formed. The two
pronounced of these rapids are McClanahaa Shoals at the
of Bayou Negreet and Goodwins Shoals at Colnmbus (see
XXIV. XXVI aud XXXIII aud Figs, tz and 13).
Distances along theriver. — On the distance from Logansport to
the sea there is considerable variation in published accounts.
B racken ridge * (Darby's estimate) states it as 400 miles;
Overton t estimates it at 600 miles ; Williams \ at 400 and each
succeeding estimate has made it less. Among the people along
the river there is a tendency to overestimate the distance.
Logansport estimates run from 500-900 miles and as Ear
as Burr's ferry an estimate of 300 miles was heard.
• View* oi La. p. 53. Pitl9.;i8i4.
\ STth CoDK- ^l Sess. \\aa.M En. Doc. No. 51, vol. 1. p. 64, (84*.
I An. Rept. o( SUte Kng. for 1848. p. 11, >f. O. tSjS.
: river. '
o mj^^J
Geography and Geoixkjy of the Sabine River 113
The following table is based upon measurements made on Pol-
hemus' map from Sabine lake to Hamilton and on Leavenworth's
map from Hamilton to Logansport.
Table of Distances along Sabine River*
Miles
End of Jetties 0.0
West Pass, Sabine river 25.3
Adams bayou 31. i
Orange 36.3
S. P. R. R. bridge 47.3
Lower end of Narrows 48.2
Niblett*s bluff 51.C
Fruit's bluff * 53.3
Morgan's bluff 54.4
Head of Narrows 65. i
K. C. P. & G. R. R. bridge 66.4
Mill bluff (Deweyville) 70.7
Sudduth's bluff 83.0
Nix's ferry 97.0
Salem ferry 1 10.6
Whitman's ferry 1 17.0
Belgrade 121. i
Upper Belgrade 122.0
Stark's ferry 132.7
Clark's warehouse 156. i
Droddy landing 159.8
Knight's landing 162. i
New Columbia 168.2
Burr's ferry 183 o
Hattan's ferry 198.2
Schnell's landing 203.3
Anthony's ferry 204.9
Robinson's ferry 214.5
Columbus 224. 1
Sabinetown 232.3
Pendleton 238.2
Carter's ferry 244.0
114
Geological Surve
' Louisiana
Moraa's landing 250.6
Chambers' ferry 356,3
Hamilloo 360.7
Myrick's ferry 281.2
Logansport 3*5-0
4
hit* r»^ I
PHYSIOGRAPHY
The Shoals
Description. — Perhaps the most interesting physiographic fWr
ture of the river, in this region, is the shoals or rapids. Here in
a fiat bottomed, silted up valley, two to five miles wide, in a
region which has long been considered one in which a rather
rapid subsidence is taking place, we find a meandering river
superimposed on ledges of the country rock with resulting Bboals
sod rapids that extend along its course for a distance of sixty
miles (see Plate XXXIII).
In only two cases, at Sabineto^rn and
Columbus, are these ledges associated
with high bluffs, generally they appear
near water level under a bank of light
colored sands or silty clays of about the
same height as the ordinary banks of the
river. The prevailing type is well shows
at Stone Coal " bluff," of which a sketch
map is shown in Fig. 10. The term bloB
is a misnomer, for the bank here is but
a few feet higher than the ordinary banks.
It is composed of gray sands and clays
similar to those which occur in all the high
banks along the river. The relation of
the ledge, which in this case is of lignite,
to the bed and banks of the river is shown
in Figs. loand 11. The comparative croas-
F sections give a good idea of the river at the
■; shoals and just above. One would expect
from the depth of the water on the crest of
the shoal, about three-fourths of a foot at '
^^M THE MEW YORK
^M PUBLIC LIBRARY
M
*• i
—COMPARATIVE CBOSS
—AT SHOALS.
low water, something more of a surface disturbance tbau is
shown in Plate XXIV which was taken when the water was about
two feel above its lowest stage.
Substitute in
this description
a hard lignitic
clay with calcar-
eous concretions
for lignite and
you have the
shoals at the
mouth of La
Nana bayou and
atCarter'sferry.
Below Antho-
ny's ferry the
ledges are of
Grand Gulf
sandstone.
McOanakan skoals.- — One of the worst shoals on the river is
shown in Fig, 12. It is about a quarter of
a iniie long and in low water is quiet dan-
gerous for even small boats, as the writer
has reason to remember. The ledges are of
hard Lower Claiborne limestone and one
passes almost across the river just above the
mouth of Low's creek, where Polhemus
reported 6 inches of water when the river
above showed a depth of 1 8 feet. The island
just below, near the mouth of Bayou Ne-
greet, is composed of coarse ferruginous
conglomerate.
Goodwin's shoals. — Near Columbus is per-
haps the most extensive shoals on the river.
The first of the Columbus series is about
p half a mile above the village ; the second
. shows just above the old ferry (see Fig. 13).
Below the ferry a series of rocky islands
GBOI.OGICAI. SUKVRV OP LOUISIAKA
extcDd along the river for a qaarteT of a mile. These combine
with the rocky shelves of hard bine Lovrer Claiborne clay on
the shore to produce the rapids kno^^-n as Goodvrin's shoals.
Plate XXIV shows a view of Ihe lower rapids looking down the
river from about half way tip the side of the Columbus blnfi.
Plate XXVI is a nearer view of the upper crest.
No accnrate levels have ever been
obtained at any of these rapids but
conservative estimate would make the
fall at Goodwin's from 4 to 5 feet in a
quai
of a
s of origin. — The natnre of
the material which covers many of
these ledges and which lies uncon-
formably on the older material in the
high bluffs as well as in the bottoms
suggests a possible origin for these
rapids but the complexity of these
bottom deposits and the difficulty of
arriving at any satisfactory conclu-
sions regarding them makes ns hesi-
tate about entirely accepting it. Beds
of sand, often brightly colored and
sometimes containingcbert and quartz
pebbles, cover many of these ledges
and'mosl of the higher bluffs. In the
bottoms the deposits are very nearly
of the same height as the surround-
ing flat lands ; they appear to pass
both horiiontally and vertically into
broMTi silty clays mottled with red,
i, such clays as one would naturally re-
gard as of recent river origin : if they
be not of recent origin, the recent
river deposits are restricted to the sand bars and to a veneer of
sediment deposited in flood time and the most of the valley deposits
are to be regarded as the valley equivalents of the upper part of
the coastal section. In other words here i:
;S. LA. (AFTHBPOLaEl
valley which^^H
1
■
THE NCW YORK ^^^^^B
LIBRARY ^^^1
f
Gkogbaphv and Gbologv op the Sabinh River it?
company wilh all the valleys of the coastal region, received a cer-
tain amount of sediment during the last general subsidence of
the coastal plain. The deposits were more or less irregular and
on re-elevation the river naturally sought the lowest place in the
valley. This new channel did not entirely coincide wilh the old
and the river in cutting out its channel found itself super-
imposed on projecting ledges of older clays which had resisted
erosion in the former period. The common height of the ledges
and frequency with which they are exposed by the river sug-
gests something of an old base level in which case the river is to
be regarded as having now reached and passed that base level.
While such a hypothesis covers some of the facts observed it
leaves some entirely unexplained. It does not explain why the
largest rapids should be at Columbus except by accident. These
rapids can hardly be regarded as the limit of the wearing back
of the rapids for in such a case the ledges on the lower part of
the river should stand higher above the level of the water than
those above Columbus and such is not the case.
Such a theory requires that the other valleys of the same
region should show analogous phenomena. The rapids at Alex-
andria on Red river and Catahoula shoals on the Ouachita while
evidencing rather recent topographic changes at those localities
can hardly be regarded as entirely analogous. The Angelina-
Neches river system seems to offer more iu common, and to be
a good stream on which to check our results from the Sabine.
Observations on this river from the headwaters to the gulf seem
to justify the conclusion that the Sabine did receive considerable
silt during the Lafayette and Port Hudson submergences, and
that the pine-clad, flat-topped, low-lying, red sand bluffs repre-
sent the erosion fragments of this or these depositions. The
bulk of the information collected on the Angelina-Neches is,
however, much in favor of a theory of crustal distortion to
account for these rapids.
Apropos a theory of orogenic movement, unmodified, to
account for these rapids the following facts may be regarded as
significant : The largest rapids on the Sabine occur at a point
where the dip changes abruptly from southwest to southeast ; a
line connecting this point, the Many dome and the point of
iiS Geological Subvhy of Louisiana
maximum erosion on the Angelioa river is parallel to the known
axis of the Winnfield Coochie brake disturbance, and is more or
less parallel to the line of the Balcoues fanltiug. They suggest
that there is here a low anticlinal which at the Sabine river is
dipping with the axis of the fold. Such a theory would explain
the distribution of the shoals up and down the river from the
principal shoals or rapids.
As has been suggested the Angelina river throws some light
on this question. The evidence here is purely topographical,
but is of a much more pronounced character than that on the
Sabine. Near the headwaters of the river, at a point about due
east of Rusk, in Cherokee county, the banks of the Angelina
are from 8 to lo feet high. They rapidly decrease in height to
a point six or seven miles above the H. E. & W. T. R. R. bridge
where they are almost at water level. Many outlet sloughs leave
the river and it has all the aspects of a stream at or below its base
level. Just below the railroad bridge the river divides into many
branches ; narrow, tortuous, tree choked channels, which wan-
der aimlessly through a great swamp and finally unite, several
miles below, to form a low banked river. The banks now grad-
ually increase in height and low, flat-topped bluffs, four to six
feet high, composed of brightly colored sands, appear at inter-
vals. Between the mouth of Ayrish bayou and old Bevilporl
the banks of the river are from 15 to 20 feet high, and the
appearance of these bottom lands perched high above the river
is iu marked contrast to the flat swamp land at water level in the
river valley above. The current iu this portion of the river is
quite swift and seems to reach its maximum velocity in the great
southward loop two or three miles above Lewis ferry. From
Bevilport to the gulf the banks of the river gradually decrease
in height.
There appears then to be on the Angelina an area in which
the river is engaged in rapidly wearing out its channel with a
ponded area al>ove, and this fact tends to corroborate the evi-
dence offered by the Sabine of slight folding in this region.
Whatever the cause, both the Sabine and the Angelina are now
actively engaged in eroding their channels and have auythiog
but the appearance of rivers in a region which is now subsiding.
Geography and Geology of thk Sabine River 119
Tbb Narrows
Manner of formation. — Twenty miles above Orange the river
enters what is known as ihe Narrows (see Plate XXXV). It is
a narrow sinuous passage half the normal width of the river and
seventeen miles long. To the east, is the old river obstructed
with a raft several miles in length.
There can be little doubt but that the Narrows were formed,
as suggested by Leavenworth, by the enlargement of a number
of sloughs by water backed up by this raft. Such an action would
be entirely analogous to the known action ofthe " great " raft in
Red river and to the action of a raft in the upper part of the Sabine
of which we have a historical account. In 1813 Darby found a
raft between Belgrade and Stark's ferry of which he gives the
following account : * "A few miles below the Alibama villages,
the Sabine is encumbered with a raft of timber of a mile and a
half in length. When the waters are high, an outlet from the
right bank, leaving the river at the higher extremity of the raft,
conducts into a small creek that enters the river below. " This
raft was removed by the war department in i%y} \ but reformed
y>efore 1840 near Belgrade where the United States- Texas bound-
ary survey found a raft two miles in length. \ A raft then
Jormed just above Stark's ferry and in the early sixties succeeded
in forcing the river to cut a narrow channel eleven miles long. §
Of the probable date of the formation of the Narrows we know
little. This feature is not shown oa Darby's map and no men-
tion is made of it in his description. Whether it did not exist or
"whether he merely failed to observe it we do not know. The
Uarrows were formed at the time of Eaton's survey but the time
that had elapsed since Darby's visit was quite suSicieut for its
Xonnation.
•AGeog. Des, of the State of La., etc, by Wm. Darby, Phila,, 1816. p. %■>,.
(faSlli Cong. 2d Sess., Honse Ex. Doc., vol. 10. No. 365. 1838.
Lfaytli Cong. 3d Sess.. House Ex. Doc., vol. i. No. 51, p. 66, 1843.
L ^Polbemiu jjives the following account of Ibis place : "' Jaat above
Btark's fertj- the ■ Raft ' begins. It 19 that portion of the river some eleven
tniles va extent, formed about fifteen years ugo bj the opening up of a
bftyou or slough and its gradual enlargement as the original channel (or Old
le choked with drift. "
120 Geological Stjrvet ofLoutsiana
STRA TIGRAPHY
Introddction
In Louisiana the lowest beds which have been recognized
along the Sabine river are Lignitic Eocene. The succession of
formations from the Lignitic to the Upper Oligocene is fairly
complete. The Miocene has not yet been recognized and the
exposures other than Eocene and Oligocene are of uncertain age,
probably ranging from Pliocene to recent.
The following table gives the succession of formations and their
probable thickness iu this section :
f Recent Alluvium
Recent to Pliocene - Port Hudson
( Lafayette
«
1 Grand Gulf looo
f Jackson 500
■c:„-„. 1 Cocksfield Ferry Beds 450
^•^^"^ 1 Lower Claiborne 550
L Lignitic 1000-)-
EOCENE
Lignitic
Preliminary remarks. — From Logan sport to Hamilton theout-
crops are for the most part .small and rather unsatisfactory. No
fossils were fonnd in this part of the river and the two dips
observed were on small outcrops and were contradictory. It is
hence impossible to determine the exact slratigraphic relation of
these outcrops to those occurring farther down the river and
beyond the fact that these beds seem to be lower Lignitic and to
lie below the Nanafalia or Gregg's landing beds at Pendleton
nothing definite can be slated regarding them.
From Hamilton to the last outcrop of Lignitic near Sabinetown
the exposures are much more numerous and satisfactory. Fos-
sils occur well developed at two localities and it is possible to
obtain enough reliable dip observations to learn something of the
relative stratigraphic positions of the different outcrops. The
general section of the river shown on Plate XXXVII begins at the
Rock bluff above Chamber's ferry, the first good outcrop below
^m Geography and Geology of the Sahinh River 121
Hamilton. A comparison of the dip observations will show that
the dip from here to Bayou Negreet is about S. 26" W., 1:60,
and I have used ibis dip except where very pronounced local
evidence indicated that it should be slightly modified.
Outcrops from Logansport to Hamillon. — At Loganspoit 3 to 4
feet of dark sandy clays, with limestone concretions, overlaid with
light colored, ironstained sandy clay is exposed in a small bluff
near the railroad bridge.
A few feet of lignitic clays are exposed near water level,
beneath beds of light colored sands, at a number of points between
Logansport and Hart's bluff, \\z : at 1,2 and 4 Plate XXXII.
Hart's bluff at its upper end has an extreme height of about
60 feet above low water. Here the face of the bluff is much com-
plicated with land slips and shows little besides a covering of
light grey and yellow sandy clays containing rounded ferrugin-
ous gravel, and apparently identical with the bottom deposits
into which they grade on the northern side of the bluff. At the
I lower end of the bluff the following section is shown :
Sedion at Mart's Bluff
Feet In.
^. White and yellow sand 28 o
S. Many colored chert and quartz pebbles with
^ rolled pieces of petrified wood o 6
3. Lignite of good quality o 9
4. Finally laminated drab colored clay with lighter
I sand partings 1 o
^^B- Sand o 6
^^B. Same as 4 containing at base, layer of light
^^[ brown clay stone concretions 3 o
7- Finally stratified fine white sand i o
8- Same as No. 4 11 o
Water level.
At 5, on the Louisiana side, there is a ledge of grey, con-
'^retionary. leaf-bearing limestoue exposed at water level. A
1*aarter of a mile below, a few limestone bowlders outcrop on
5 Texas side.
123 Geological Survey OF Louisiana
At 7, slightly below the DeSoto- Sabine parish line, a bed
lignite 3 feet thick is shown at water level. This is covered
15 feel of bottom deposits. Dip here is N. 7o''W.. 1:100,
Stdion lit Myrick's Ferry
1. Unstratified grey and yellow saudy clay, red above.
A few pebbles occur at the base and the clay weathers
into pinnacles. This is the same as the material
which caps Hart's bluff 22
2. Very dark colored clay 3
3. Grey sand
4. Finely laminated dark clay with large calcareous con'
cretions
The lower layers show a slight eastward dip, 1:100.
A few feet of lignilic clay show at water level at 10 on the
Texas side of the river. By river two miles below this there
is a bluS on the Texas side about 1 10 feet high.
Feet:
1. Unexposed to top of bluff 50
2, Finely laminated dark lignitic clays with occasional con-
cretions 60
Apparent fault near the middle of the bluff is due to a land-
slip.
Just above the town of Hamilton is a bluff 60 feet high. It
shows 30 feet of dark laminated Hgnitic clays (see Plate XXVII).
Outcrops from Hamilton io Sabinetown. — About a mile and a
half below Hamilton a line of high hills almost reach the rivei.
No section is exposed, but large calcareous concretions show
on the hillside.
At 12, a bluff about forty feet high shows a few feet of dark
laminated clay with large calcareous concretions. The upper
part of the bluff is grey and yellow sandy clay with small
ferruginous gravel, apparently the same as the material in the
banks of the river.
1
be
ire
jl
Ghograpuy and Geology of the Sadink River 123
Seelioit above Chamber's Ferry
(No, 13, Plate XXXIII)
Feet.
1 . Unexposed 70
a. Grey and light yellow slightly cross-bedded sand with
J large leaf-bearing calcareous concretion 56
^B Above Moran's landing there is a long line of bluffs slightly
^nick from the water's edge. At 14 a little waterfall exposes
tlie following section :
Section al 14
Feel.
1. Light yellow sand with fine clay partings 10
2. Blue laminated sandy clay with Venericardia plantcosta,
Anomia, sp S
3. Covered to water level ao
Fossiliferous clay is exposed on a little point half a mile above
Moran's and dip calculations show that it is the same as 2 of
the above section. The ground was frozen so hard (February,
1900) that it was impossible to obtain any of these fossils in a
condition in which they could be identified.
Ledges of lignitic clay appear at water level half a mile above
Carter's old ferry and just below the mouth of LaN ana bayou.
There is the usual covering of sands and gravel.
A low pine clad blu5 at 15 shows the following section :
k Section al i^
Feet.
. Slightly stratified white and yellow sand 20
2. Yellow sand with chert and quartz pebbles and rolled
pieces of siHcified wood 2
3. Dark blue to dirty yellow laminated sandy ciay with
calcareous concretions 4
Water level.
At Carter's ferry there is a small bluff showing about 15 feet
of dark blue laminated nnfossiliferous sandy clay. A ledge of
limestone bowlders extends almost across the river just above
the ferry. Below the ferry a 6-inch bed of lignite appears cap-
ping the clay. A second bed of calcareous concretions, strati-
graphically about 30 feet above the first appears a few hundred
124 Geological Survey of Louisiana
yards below the ferry. At the lignite bed the dip is S. 25° W.
1:50 but decreases to 1:70 at the second concretion bed. ^^^^|
Section near Mouth of Bayou falivon ^^^^H
Feet In. ^^^H
Sands o ^^^^|
3. Lignite 9 ^^H
3. Covered 15 o ^^^^|
4. Lignite - 2 o
5. Dark blue laminated clay 7 o
This outcrop shows a dip of 1:70 along the river which here
flows southwest. The river bends southeast and the dip is still
apparent though somewhat less. At Pendleton the bluff shows
a slight westward dip. A connection of these various elements
indicates a dip west of south of about 1:60.
The sections at Pine bluff and Pendleton were described at
length in the report of this survey for 1899 and the fauna fig-
ured and described. The outcrop is regarded by Harris as about
the horizon of the Nauafalia aud Greggs' landing beds of the
Alabama section.
A thin ledge of lignitic clay at 16 shows a decided westward dip.
In the bend above Stone Coal bluff a 'few feet of dark colored,
laminated, sandy clay with small calcareous concretions shows
beneath the usual covering of light colored sands and sandy
clays with pebbles in the basal layers. This outcrop shows a dip
a little west of south of 1:60.
A quarter below this outcrop the lignite ledge shows a dip of
S. 30° W., 1:45. This lignite bed is about 3 feet thick and
extends across the river forming a small shoals. About 200
yards south of this bed a second lignite bed shows a dip of about
S. 45° W. 1:25. This bed exhibits a little distortion and several
small folds make the exact determination of dip difhcult. Dip
observations seem to show that these lignite beds are the strati-
graphic equivalents of the beds at the mouth of Patroon bayou.
Section at High Stuff
Feet.
1. Unexposed. Shows on surface chert and quartz gravel
and large masses of conglomerate 25
2. Laminated, drab to chocolate colored clays 20
\
'•V YORK]
J3RARY
A-.TCH, l-'N^X AND
T-iUOEN FOUNDATIONS.
r
Geography and Geology of the Sabine Riv;
125
3. Unexposed 25
4, Crossbedded yellow sand with thin layers of white clay
and lines of clay pebbles, the main lines of stratifica-
tion corresponding to the general dip of the strata. In
places the sands form large masses of ferruginous
1 sandstone 44
5. Irregularly bedded, dark-colored, lignitic, micaceous
sandy clay containing large calcareous concretions . . 27
Dip about S. 15° W., i;50.
About three-quarters of a. mile above Sabiuetown a ledge on
the Louisiana side juts half way across the river. It shows 3
feet of greensand marl identical with the fossiliferons bed at
Sabinetown. It is capped with grey calcareous concretions and
the whole covered with pebble conglomerate. The concretions
are exposed also on the Texas side, showing that the tertiary
clay here forms the bed of the river.
The section at Sabinetown has been described in the report
for 1899, page 67. Plate XXIX was taken from the west end of
the bluff and shows the fos.siliferous layers of this section. The
best collecting is in this part of the outcrop and the fossils, as
stated before, indicate a Woods bluff Lignite horizon. The river
lere is filled with rock masses which produce a small shoals.
At 18, the last outcrop of undoubted Lignitic material was seen.
Here four feet of the fossiliferons greensand of the Sabiuetown
bltiff section is exposed. It is overlaid with brown and choco-
late colored laminated clay. The dip appears to be east i :5o.
The next outcrops below are the Low creek greensand beds.
Foster well. — Five and a half miles about due east of Stone Coal
bluff Mr. D.'M. Foster of Lake Charles is sinking a well in search
of oil. In this well a 5-foot bed of lignite has been struck at 200
f*et, above which there were clays and dark colored greensand
Oiarls to within 50 feet of the surface. Fossil shells were again
^ticonntered at 493 feet. This well is in a creek bottom but little
al>ove the level of the river bottoms and a dip of S. 20° W. 1:60.
*^l»ich seems to be the usual dip of this region, would lead
^s to expect the lignite at that depth. The upper marl would
"C in the position of the Pendleton beds and the lower one some-
136
GBOLOGICAI. SoRVBY of IfUniSIANA
what about the Shackelford bluff horizon. Beds of lignite out-
crop in the creek branches southeast of Stone Coal bluff and tend
to confirm the dip observations.
This occurrence is interesting for it seems to indicate that east
of the Sabine river, the Lower Claiborne beds overlap the L,igni-
tic beds shown in Sabinetown bluff. This is further confirmed
by the fact that at Many the Sabinetown beds seem to be lacking.
Chireno well.—\a Texas the well recently drilled by the Mam-
moth Oil, Mineral and Laud Co. near Chireno furni.shes a section
which gives some idea of Ihe development of this stage west of
the Sabine river. This well is about three miles south of the
Lower Claiborne-Ltgnitic line of parting.
IVell Section, Chireno. A'arogdoches Co.. Texas
Feet.
I. o no Red fossiliferous marl containing Osttea fatci-
/ormis, Anomia ephippioides in upper por-
tions. Uelow changes to blue grey ^^^|
3. iio-itz "Oil sand." This outcrops to the north at ^^^H
the base of the Lower Claiborne ^^^^
3. 112-382 Blue to grey fossiliferous marl 270
4- 382-1162 White quicksand. Strong flow of artesian
water 80
5, 462-468 Dark grey liguitic clay 8
6. 468-477 Lignite
7- 4775 '5 White quicksand
8. 515-522 Lignite
9. 522-562 Grey-blue sand, with very small shell frag-
ments. Layer of pyrites 3 inches thick at
base
10. 562-632 Blue micaceous sand. Fragments of shells
reported but sample shows only glittering
particles of mica
1 1 . 632-636 Hard fossiliferous greensand
12. 636-676 Dark green saud
13. 676-736 Soft, dark grey lignitic clay
i\. 736-826 Chocolate to yellow laminated clay
15, 826-836 Indurated grey sand
16. 836-840 White clay
38
I
Gbography and Geology of the Sabine River 127
17. 840-865 Grey sand with a Ultle oil 25
18. 865-873 Hard saud 8
19. 873-R77 Hard rock not passed through
LowRR Claiborne
preliminary remarks. — The Lower Claiborne extends from
Bayou Negreet to Colnmbus and probably slightly beyond. It
shows in its development the Texan phase of the Lower Claiborne
faana. The dips are pronouncedly west of south about the
montli of Bayou Negreet and agree almost exactly with the
Lignitic dips obtained above. Near Goodwin's shoals the dip
changes abruptly to east of south. This change in dip occurring
as it does in the middle of a formation is possibly due to orogenic
movements which are also responsible for the shoals ou this
river.
The paleontology of these beds will be discussed by Prof, Harris
in 3 forthcoming bulletin on the Lower Claiborne stage.
I^w creek beds. — The peculiar l>eds described from Low'screek,
near Sabinetown, in 1 899 and referred provisionally to the Ligni-
tic show a ranch better development on the Sabine near the
mouth of Low's creek at stations 19 and 20. The beds here fur-
nish a much more complete fauna, especially at the Negreet
outcrop, and Harris is inclined to regard the material as having
R decided Lower Claiborne aspect. Directly above it is a well
marked Lower Claiborne fauna and the position of these beds at
or near the line of parting between the Lower Claiborne and
Ugnitic is fully proven.
Section at /(i.
Feet In.
Gray sand 5
Grey and yellow unstiatiSed clay containing fer-
ruginous gravel. Beds i and 2 lie unconform-
ably on those below 25 o
Dark green limestone filled with large grains of
gre«nsand. Characterized by great numbers of
Peden comuus and crustacean remains 5 o
Fossiliferous ctolitic greensand with occasional spots
of green clay, weathering red 7 o
GsOLOGiCAL Survey of Louisiaita
H
'eet.
5. Ledge of green limestone containing small rounded
greensand grains. Weathers red ....
6. Fossiliferous green clay with much greensand... 10 o
The fossils are al! small and rather poorly preserved. Dip S.
50" W. 1 :6o.
Just above the month of Bayou Negreet a low ledge is exposed
under a bed of grey and yellow sands and clays. Here twenty-
five feet of the same material seen in foregoing section is exposed.
StHion at Mouth 0/ Bayou Negreet
Feet.
1. Light grey and yellow sandj- clay with gravel at base.
Extends over whole outcrop
2. Darlc greenish brown clay with greensand grains.
Abont tour feet from base is a harder portion of the
bed forming a little terrace
3. Very fossiliferous iudurated green marl weathering
brown. Contains among other shells Ostrea falci-
4. Hard limestone with many large Venericardia planicosta
5. Covered, (Mouth of Bayou Negreet)
6. Laminated, chocolate colored clay
7. Hard, grey limestone with imperfect shells and bowlders
of the underlying material. Coutains Ostrtafalcifgrmis.
Similar in every respect to Lower Claiborne outcrop
described in 1899 from Low's creek. Shows large
masses of coral
8. Same material as section at 19, described above, bot
here containing a greater percentage of clay. This
outcrop has more of the appearance of normal green
sand marl. It weathers into six distinct shelves
because of difference of hardness in difFerent portions
of the bed 35
Layer 7 of this section crosses the river at right angles giving
rise to a very marked shoals. The river flows against the
inclined edges of the strata. Dip from a long exposure, S. zo*
W. 1:25-
In the middle of the river opposite the mouth of Bayou Negreet
there is a rocky island, 7 feet high, made of ferruginous conglo-
IGhograpbv and Geology of thk Sabine River 129
■cerate. The conglomerate shows casts of Ventricardia piani-
Usla, Volulililhes and Unto.
Outcrops from Bayou Negteel to Columbus. — At so, 3 miles
above Columbus, is a bluff greatly complicated with landslips.
Ten feet of irregularly stratified yellow sand with irregular clay
partings is here overlaid with a layer of laminated dark brown
clay having a maximum thickness of 20 feet. Capping the bluff is
the usual fine grey and yellow sand, here 15 feet thick.
Along the east and west reach above Columbus, on the Texas
bank, there are a number of outcrops of very fossiliferous Lower
Claiborne. At 21 a long shelf, leu feet high, shows the fol-
^^1 lowing section :
^^H Seelioii at it
^H Feet
^^f I. Grey and yellow sands aud clays 15
^V 3, Very dark grey fossiliferous laminated clay with lines
^H of concretions. Contains a characteristic Lower
^* Claiborne fauna. Among other forms Belosepia
ungula. Turrelella nasula var. houstoftia, Clavilitkes
pfnrosei, CoTtttdina armigera (small) 9
3. Covered 3
4. Very fossiliferous greeosand. Many fossils silicified. . 2
5. Finely laminated bluish grey sandy clay with traces of
vegetable matter 6
Dip here seems to be due south.
A quarter of a mile below this outcrop, at 22, the following
section is shown :
Feet
1. Unexposed to top of bank 14
2. Pebble conglomerate 2
3. Laminated, dark brown clay and yellow sand, contain-
ing fossils irregularly through the whole mass.
Anomia ephippoides is very common 23
Dip a little west of south.
The best collecting iu the Lower Claiborne occurs at 23, two
miles by river, above Columbus.
Geological Survey of Louisiana
Section a! !j
Feet H™
I. Grey and yellow sandy clay with small ferruginoui
gravel. Clayey portions weather into little pin-
nacles 20 o
3. Bluish grey laminated clay with sand partings and
occasional patches of sand. Marked ledge of
concretions in upper part of bed i r o
3. Dark green shell limestone weathering red. Con-
tains many specimens of Area rhomboidella o 6
4. Same as 2 but much more fos.s i lifer on s 4 o
Dip southwest.
The lower layer is filled with a great variety of beautifully
preserved Lower Claiborne forms.
Columbus, — The bluff at Columbus is much complicated with
landslips and it is impossible to get a very satisfactory section.
The following is from the best exposures :
Settion at Calutnbui
Feet
Fine grey sand, tinged with yellow 8
Pebble conglomerate 3
Drab clay with small concretions 4
Ledge of fossil iferous dark grey limestone with Plicatula
filamentosa, Pectunculus idoneus. Area, rhomboidella. . r
Light green, laminated, fossiliferous clay 20
Light green, laminated, fossiliferous clay with large
numbers of Ostreajohnsoni, var. and O . falciformis . . 4
Ledge of calcareous concretions i
Same as 5 3
Bluff so complicated with landslips that dip observations are
unsatisfactory ; dip seem to be south, a little east.
Small outcrop of fossiliferous Lower Claiborne at 24.
At 25 is a high bank used for a log-slide. Here a ledge of
greensand 2 feet thick, appears at water level and extends half
across the river. It is covered with the usual grey and yelloTp,
sands and clays. Dip S. E. 1:50.
CocKSFiBLD Ferry Beds
Preliminary remarks. — The Cocksfield ferry beds are well
developed in the vicinity of the Sabine river and show the typi-
«
TKE NEV.' YORK
PU3U0 LIBKARY
r
GaOGRAPHY AND GkOLOGY OF THE SABINB Rn'ER
131
I
cal, unfossiliferous, Hgnilic clays, with large calcareous concre-
tions, which characterize them. Beds of this series are the
litbological counterparts of the beds of the lower Lignitic and
occupy a position between the fossiliferous Lower Claiborne and
Jackson beds.
Oulcrops. — The first bluff i>elow Columbus shows the foUow-
I ing section :
Serlion al if<
Feet
T, Fine white sand ao
3. Dark grey to blue sandy clay with fine sand partings
and occasional beds of yellow sand, in many places a
foot thick. Contains many poor plant impressions
and a few calcareous concretions 28
Dip S. 20° E. i:3o.
A quarter of a mile south of the above outcrop, at Lawhorn's
bluff, 26 feet of laminated sandy clay, containing many large
calcareous concretions, is exposed. A bed of impure lignite, a
foot thick, occurs about three feet above low water level. Dip
S. E. 1:70.
Three shelves of dark colored clay appear near water level
between Lawhorn's bluff and Robinson's terry at 27, 28 and 29.
Al 28 the bed is 6 feet thick and has the usual covering of light
colored sauds.
Jackson'
Preliminary remarks. — It was a delightful surprise to find a
most typical Jackson fauna just below Robinson's ferry. The
considerable thickness of the Jacksou beds here indicated that
careful search would reveal Jackson in Texas, and recent work
has shown Jackson fossils near Caddel P. O. in clayey marls and
in the white sandstones directly above them. The area there
occupied by the Jackson outcrop is rather considerable. Large
bones (perhaps Zeuglodon) are reported in the Jackson area east
of the Sabine on Canty creek.
Outcrops. — About three-fourths of a mile below Robinson's
ferry, at 30, there is an outcrop of 5 feet of blue fossiliferous
132
Ghological Survey of Louisiana
clay on the Texas side of the river {see Plate XXXl. Itshows at
this stage of the river two large concretions of hard white fossU-
ifcrous limestone. The outcrop yielded a rather extensive Jack-
son fauna including Umbrella planulala and many large Capulus
amfricaniis.
At 31. a shelf of the same fossiliferous clay shows on the
Louisiana side. The fossils here are not so well preserved. Dip
S. 20° E,
Between this outcrop and the outcrop of the Grand Gulf near
Anthony's ferry, ledges of Tertiary clays show at 32, 33, 34 and
35. At 34 a few fossils are exposed.
Section at 3 J
1. Dark grey and brown mottled sandy clay ("buckshot
clay")
2. White and yellow pebbly sand
Blue clay weathering brown
Irregularly bedded, laminated, slate colored clay and
yellow sand 3
5. Laminated chocolate -colored clay with occasional thin
seams of yellow sand and small calcareous concretions 8
The layers 3, 4 and 5 show a southward dip of 1:35. Xear
the northern end of the exposure is a small fault with a throw of
about 6 feet.
3-
I
OLIGOCENK
Grand Gclf
Prrliminary remarks. — For stratigraphical purposes, and notil
fossils are found which will render the beds su^reptJble of
division, it would seem well to include uuder this term the
' portion of Hilgard's Grand Gulf or that pottioti which
ntains sandstone beds. These form a stratigrapbic unit
dily distinguished from the thick beds of green cftlc&reous
clays which overlie them and which are now known to be Chat-
tahoochee Olieoceiie.
Xo animal remains, sa\-e a few I'nios. have yet been found in
the Grand Gulf sand-nones. Kennedy reports an Eocene fauna
from the hatt of the series and on these fossils conelates the
oH^^
K
". 1. \ I
1:.. -^ •
I - ', .V A NO
r
Gkography and Geology of the Sabine River 133
beds for several hundred feet above the outcrop with the Lower
Claiborne. These fossils, which prove to be Jackson, can hardly
be said to prove the age of the beds above them and considering
the overlap of the Grand Gulf beds on the Jackson, as shown in
Louisiana, it is not surprising to find Jackson fossils in the sand-
stones a few feet above the Jackson clays. Considering the
evidence at hand there seems to be no reason for regarding the
Grand Gulf sandstones of Texas as different from the Grand
Gulf sandstones of Louisiana and Mississippi. The finding of a
Chattahoochee fauna in the green clays adds to the characters in
common between these beds and the same beds across the Mis-
sissippi.
The Grand Gulf sandstones extend along the Sabine from
A.nthotiy's ferry to near Burr's ferry. The southeastward dip
observed in the Cocksfield ferry beds and the Jackson continues
to a point below Rattan's ferry with a tendency to show an
increased dip. Near Burr's ferry the dip becomes much less
being 1:300.
Outcrops from j6 to SnelPs landing. — A shelf of soft, fine, grey
sandstone with a slight amount of calcareous matter is exposed
on the Louisiana side at 36. Plate XXXI shows this exposure
and also shows the way in which these shelves of older material
appear under the ordinary bottom bank.
At 37, a much larger shelf occurs near low water level. It
extends well across the river producing a decided acceleration of
the current. The section is :
I
1.
i
Feel
Yellow and brown silty sand to top of bank 8
White to grey sand with faint traces of stratification.
Contains pebbles at base 10
Hard, fine-grained quartzitic sandstone 2
Greyish-blue, jointed sandy clay becoming lighter and
more sandy abo\e 15
Soft, white, fine-grained sandstone. ... 8
Coarse-grained quartiiilic sandstone 3
Grey to drab, jointed sandy clay 3
Dip S. E. 1:50.
Geologicai. Scevhy of LomsiANA
E Texas sidfWl
At Anthony's ferry a smalt flat-topped bluff on the
shows no rock. On the Louisiana side, a little below, 4 feet of
fine-grained Grand Gulf sandstone shows near water level.
Just above Snell's landing, a flat-topped bluff 35 feet high
shows at its base 8 feet of blue sandy clay.
Blitffi near SnelPs landing. — At Snell's landing high bluSs
appear on the Texas side and extend for two miles down the
river.
Section at SiteiCs Landing
Feet
r. Pine white sand with pebbles at base 25
2. Covered
3. Coarse, indurated white sand, capped with a layer
of sandstone about a foot thick
Water level.
Dip. S. E. 1:25.
A mile below this exposure there is a good exposure at 38,
Section aijS
Feet
1. Unexposed to top of bluff 40
2. Yellow sand, containing bowlders of buff colored,
laminated, leaf-bearing clay 35
3. Coarse, white, cross-bedded, rather qnartzitic sand-
stone, mottled with yellow 6
4. Greenish -yellow sandy clay 20
5. Unexposed 10
Water level.
Bed 2 shows a phenomena almost identical with that shown in
the K. C. P. & G. R. R. cut near Shreveport, where the beds
are presumably of lower Eoceneage. Five hundred yards below
this section, at 39, this bed is much more fully developed. Here
the bed is covered with a regularly bedded, laminated, brown
to slate-colored clay, three feet thick, with abundant plant
impressions.
This line of bluffs extends along the river half way to the
mouth of Bayou Toro. The quartzitic sandstone increases in
thickness, reaching a maximum of 10 feet near the lower end.
This sandstone layer indicates that the line of bluffs are about
on the line of strike and hence the dip is S. E.
et
1
r
r
Gkogkapbv and Gkologv of the Sabinb Rivhk
■
Hailan' s ferry to Burr's ferry. — Near Hattan's ferry on the
Louisiana side the following section is shown :
Sfdion Hatlan'f Ferry
(East Bank)
Feet
1. Drab, iron-staiued clay crumbling into small irregular
pieces ( "Buckshot clay "} 17
2. Fine white saud with many small pebbles. . 3
3. Blue clay weathering yellow {Grand Gulf) 5
A flat-topped bluff on the west side of the river at 40. shows
a ledge of green jointed clay about five feet thick. The great
southward dip. 1 -.2^. exposes about 30 feet of this bed.
Sandstone ledges cause several shoals in the river below this
outcrop but afford no good exposures. At 41 a ledge of fine
grained, porous sandstone shows a slight southward dip 1:300.
At 42, a range of high hills, rising over a hundred feet above
the river, approach the river on the Texas side. One hill-point
just reaches the river and expo.ses a ledge of sandstone near the
water line. Forty feet above water level a ledge of sandstone
3$ feet thick outcrop in the hillside : in many places forming a
protruding ledge and giving rise to a number of small waterfalls
where little streams from the hills flow over it.
About a mile above Burr's ferry, at 43, there is a small out-
crop of soft white .sandstone. This is covered with the usual
pebble-bearing sands and pinnacled clays.
Fkio Clavs
Preliminary remarks. — Overlying the sandstones of the Grand
Gulf, in western Louisiana and eastern Texas, are thick beds of
green calcareous clay, which produce a stiff, heavy soil, often
black and prairie like. These black and mulatto lands extend
along the K, C. P. & G. R. R. from Pickering to Neame and
include many prairies, as Anacoco prairie and the prairies about
Hardshell. Aloug the Sabine river these clays extend from
Burr's ferry to Droddy's landing and westward, in Texas, they
extend in a belt five to fifteen miles broad across Newton and
Jasper counties to the Neches river, where they are very finely
developed sections at Town bluff and the bluff ten miles below.
i
136 GbOLOGICAL SURVHY op LOOISIANA
The Towo bluff ssction is the most complete that has come
under the notice of the writer.
Fossils collected near Burkville are regarded by Harris as rep-
resenting a brackish water phase of the Chattahoochee Oligocene.
It is impossible from our present observation to say how far from
the base of the green clays these fossils occur (it is probably over
a hundred feet) and how much, if any, of the upper portions of
the Grand Gulf proper belong to this stage. On the map and in
our consideration of the Sabine river section we have made the
last hard sandstone layer in the Grand Gulf the dividing line.
This is of course purely arbitrary.
These beds seem to be very nearly equivalent to Kennedy's
Frio clays. His description however seems to partially indicate
that he regards these clays as occupying a position beneath the
upper saudstones. If this be the correct interpretation of his
meaning we would suggest the name Burki'ilU beds ior this stage.
Oulcrofi near Burr' s ferry . — A small outcrop of the greenish-
yellow clays of this stage occurs at the water's edge a quarter of
a mile from Burr's ferry.
Bluff at movth of Boggy branch. — Bluff just below the mouth
of Boggy brauch shows the following section :
Section Boggy Branch Bluff.
Feet
1. Stiff black soil i
2. Fine white sand 37
3. I,ight yellow, sticky clay, containing large irregular
white calcareous concretions. Weathers jnto a
stiff black clay 26
4. Covered to water level 17
The blackland soil which caps this bluff is an erosion fragment
of a much thicker bed which shows in the hills west of this
exposure. This is a continuation of the blackland belt in which
fossils occur at Burkville.
New Columbia. — Shelf of clay exposed just below the ferry
shows the following section :
GaOGRAPHY AND GhOLOGY OF THE SaBINE Rr\'ER I37
Section New Columbia, Texat
Feet
Yellow saady loam mottled with grey 7
Fine wbite and yellow sand containing gravel in the
basal portion 13
3. Light brown, slick-looking clay, streaked with white.
I Contains small calcareous concretions 2
■ Water level.
P The flat-topped bluS on which New Columbia is situated con-
tinues down the river half a mile. Near its lower end a ledge of
green calcareous clay, two feet thick, is exposed near water
level.
Outcrops below New Columbia. — The first exposure of Frio
clays below New Columbia is at the log-slide at Knight's landing.
Section A'niglil's Landing.
Feet
1. Browu sandy silt, stained with red and yellow 7
2. Stratified white sand with gravel at base 17
3. Green saudy clay 10
Two feel of green sandy clay is exposed at base of low pineclad
bluff on the Louisiana side between Droddy's landing and Bear-
I lien's ferry.
r
^" cm
PLIOCENE AND RECENT
Lafayette and Port HrosoN
Preliminary remarks. — Along the river, as on the hill lands on
either side, the Miocene and much of the Pliocene appear to
have no surface outcrops, the mantel of Lafayette, gravel extend-
ing without an erosion break to the Oligocene beds. All the
bluffs from the last exposure of the Frio clays to the gulf show
nothing but the gravels, sands and loams noticed as forming the
upper parts of the precedinR sections. The relation of the beds
the tops of the bluffs to those in the liottoius and these in tnru
the other !«ittom deposits is a most perplexing problem.
In the upper part of the river the sands and gravels Ijesides
capping the bluffs appear to underlie the whole bottoms. The
section commonly shows grave! at the base, sand in the center
and grey 01' brown pinnacled clays at the top but the section is
138 Geological Sorvht of Louisiana
not invariable. These beds of sands and gravel appear in banks
along the river no higher than the ordinary bottom banks and
pass horizontally into beds of grey and brown clay which one
would naturally regard as recent river deposits. The brown
clay sometimes shows cypress stumps, 15 feet below the present
bank level (at 44 and other places along the river). On the
whole, in the upper part of the river, the amount of material
which may be regarded as recent river deposit appears to be very
small and to be confined to the sandbars and the very
thin veneer of alluvium deposited over the bottom plain in times
of flood. The plaiu seem to be one formed by the Otling of a val-
ley with sediment and not by base leveling. The river is now
engaged in cutting out the material which was deposited in the
valley and should in time produce the terraces of which the flat-
topped bluffs are a suggestion.
In the river below the mouth of Anacoco bayou the sands and
gravels appear only in the low, flat-lopped bluffs which touch the
river at intervals. The size of the gravel in these bluffs and the
percentage of sand grows less as we approach the gulf and red
and yellow sandy loams replace them.
With regard to the relative age of the beds which cap the high
bluffs, the beds which occupy the river bottoms and the ones
which form the bluffs of the lower river we do not feel com-
petent to judge. Bnl there can be little doubt that the bottom
deposits and the material which forms the bluffs of the lower
river represent the riverward development of the deposits which
form the upper portions of the coastal plain in southern Louis-
iana and Texas. The gravels and sands and clays of the high
bluffs, which in lithological characters are identical with those
of lower levels, may have been laid down at the same time or the
lower deposits may represent a redeposition of the upper deposits.
These deposits, as a whole, are identical with those which have
been regarded as Lafayette and Port Hudson in other parts of
the country.
Outcrops from Loganspori to Stark's ferry. — Much of the male-
rial belonging to this series has been described in the upper parts
of the sections given above but a few localities remain to be
noticed.
r
Geography and Geology of the Sabine River 139
At 3 there is a clean bank that shows a section which may be
regarded as typical of this portion of the river. It shows iS
feet of light colored sands and clays. One portion of the bed,
near the center of the bank, contains enough lime to partially
cement the sands and clays.
The top of Hart's bluff, which is 6a feet above low water level
shows II feet oE light grey and yellow sands which lie uncon-
formably on the Lignilic Eocene clays. This bed contains num-
"bers of small rounded ferruginous concretions and is much
stained with oxides of iron. On the north side of the bluff these
teds pass into the bank deposits.
About a mile below Myrick's ferry (Plate XXXII) is a very
instructive section. Here white and yellow .sands grade laterally
into grey and yellow pinnacled clays similar to the beds which cap
tile bluff at Myrick's ferry and these in turn grade into brown
HBstratified buckshot clays of the river bank.
Seventeen feet of stratified while and grey sands with pebbles
'1 the basal layers and overlaid by 8 feet of yellow sandy loam,
cutcrop at 35. This bank is in no sense a bluff, being merely the
ordinary river bank.
The river banks between Anacoco and Stark's ferry are from
6 to 10 feet high, and are composed of greyish brown loamy
clay.
Stark' s ferry to Sabine lake. — At Stark's ferry the type of
" bluffs " common on the lower river is well shown. The top of
the bluS is very near the level of the surrounding country for
matiy miles, and the riverward exposure shows the following
section r
Section Slark's Ferry
Feet
1- Mottled, yellow, brick red and grey sandy clay showing
irregular lines of stratification and containing occa-
sional pebbles 12
'■ Coarse cross-bedded, white sand with quartz and chert
pebbles to water level 7
Gravel shows on both sides of the river within a quarter of a
mile.
^0 bluSs occur between Stark's and Belgrade at points indi-
I40
Geological Survey of Louisiana
1
1-] and 2o1II^H
cated on Plate XXXIV. They are respectively 27 a
high and are covered with old field pine, and composed of Orange
sand,
Sectioti Upper Belgrade
Feet
1. Fine yellow sand growing darker and finer till in its
upper portions it is a brick red loam 10
2. Coarse, cross-bedded white sand with numerous pebbles 18
At Whitman's ferry the only addition to the section above is
the presence at the very base of the bluff of two feet of light
grey clay. Height of bluff 21 feet.
Small bluff on the Texas side about two-thirds way from
Salem to Nix's ferry shows no new features.
Nix's ferry bluff, 15 feet high, exposes light grey sandy
clay stained with iron and containing numerous ferruginous
gravel about the size of shot. The sandy clay weathers into
sharp pinnacles, the iron gravel giving it agranular appearance.
Sudduth's bluff is 12 feet highand is composed of fine, strati-
fied, white, yellow and red sand. The upper five feet, save for a
leached layer at the surface, is brick red, No pebbles were seen.
Five low bluffs were noticed between Sudduth's and the low
bluff at Deweyville. At two of them small erratic pebbles were
noted.
The bluffs at Morgan's, Fruit's, Niblett's and Orangg
extremely similar and show no additional features.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Relation op Sabine River Section to Other Sections
The section along this river agrees, in general, rather closely
with the Alabama and Mississippi sections. It differs from them
mainly in (1) the great development of the thick beds of unfos-
siliferous lignitic clay near the base of the Lignite ; (a) the
development of the unfossiliferous clays which lie between
the fossiliferous Lower Claiborne and Jackson beds : (3) in the
absence of the Claiborne sand ; (4) in the absence of the Vicks-
burg limestone. The Claiborne sand seems to be a very local
development about Claiborne landing. Alabama, and its absence
is not surprising. Irregular continental warping has caused the
les were
Gbography and Geology of the Sabine River 141
Grand Gulf shore line to overlap the Vicksburg from Little
river in Louisiana, westward and hence the Vicksburg stage is
not exposed.
The differences, on the whole, are not nearly so great as
the early work of the Texas survey seemed to indicate and enough
information is now at hand to enable us to correlate the East
Texas horizons more exactly. The following table gives a graphic
representation of the equivalence of Kennedy's Texas section
published in the proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy : *
*The Eocene Tertiary of Texas east of the Brazos by William Kennedy,
Proc. Phila., Acad. Nat. Sci., vol. 47, p. 92, 1895.
C0RRBI.AT10N Tapi«b
Kennedy's Texas Section
■ S
u
3
Frio clays
Fayette sands
Y^gua clays
Marine Beds
(Interpretation
Frio clays
( Chattahoochee)
Grand Gulf
Jackson
Cocksfield
Lower Claiborne
Woods Bluff
Nanafalia
Basal Lignitic
M
o
a
W
MAP
OF THB
sabine; river
FROM THB
GULF OF MEXICO TO LATITUDE 32° NORTH
In five sheets
1902
Scale: 1:375000
5 10 15
Miles
AUTHORITIES
Geographic Positions, — United States-Texas Boundary Survey
1840-1841 : Maj. J. G. Graham, U. S, Topog. Eng.; Lieut.
Thos. J. Lee, U. S. Topog. Eng.; U. S. Coast and Geodetic
Survey ; Chart No. 203 ; Texas- Ark. boundary line at Tex-
arkana, Edwin Smith, E. D. Preston.
Hydrography, — Sabine Lake, Lieut. J. H. Eaton, U. S. A., 1837 \
Sabine Lake to Hamilton, J. H. Polhemus, Asst. U: S. E.,
1878 ;. Hamilton to Lat. 32° north, F. P. Leavenworth,
Asst. U. S. E., 1873 ; Coast and Sabine Pass, Chart No. 203
U. S. Coast Survey ; Sabine Pass and Jetties, J. L.Brownlee,
Asst. U. S. E., 1899.
Topography and Geology , — A. C Veatch 1900.
Drawing. — ^A. C. Veatch 1901.
Gbolooical Survey of I^ouxsiana, RKPomr, 1903. Platk XXXII.
\ \
O^K
. . k\
TKK NEV/ YORKI
PUBLIC LIBRARY
I
A^T'.-t^. I f N'JX AND
TIlLLN FC..NOAT»ON8-
ClOLOOICAL S
I
i
ObolOgicai. SuBvay or I^uib»hi
r, 1491. Pi.«TB XXXIV.
r^pi.- TJt"V/ YORK
n:'r>uc:.iBRARY
^^- ■ r. I « N'-.X ANP
, iva. Flats XXXV.
, . . , . f ■ ' ' M < i.» \ p V
.^1- -. l.fN''X AND
»:. t.-.-. ro.NDATlONt.
Gbolooxcal Survbt op Louisiana, Report. 1903. Platb XXXVI.
»)• 4j'
CoHUfaji H
10»
(XT
Vf
NECHES
40
40»
»f sy
*r 45'
9- Grey -blue sand, somewhat fossiliferous . ,, 40
la Blue micaceous sand .... 70
1 1. Hard fossiliferous greensand 4
12. Dark greensand 40
13. Soft, dark grey lignitic clay 60
14. Chocolate to yellow laminated clay 90
15. Indurated grey sand 10
16. White clay 4
17. Grey sand with a little oil 25
18. Hard sand 8
FosTBR Wei,!,
1 . Fossiliferous greensand marl
2. Lignite 5
3 Fossiliferous greensand marl
GsoLoaicAL SuRVBV OP LoaisiAZfA, Kbport, 1902.
Platb XXXVII.
« ■ ■
'.V ^'
•' V V
n i \ I
1
TiLDtN fc;-;
SPECIAL REPORT
No. IV
NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY ALONG THE
OUACHITA
BY
A. C. VEATCH
CONTENTS
Intmdnction 153
I Physiography 153
General DcBCription 153
Islands 154
Classes of IsJaods in Flood PlBin Rirers 154
Cut-off islands 154
Saudbar islands 135
Islands due to inclosure by distributary channels. . , 155
Landslip islands 155
Sicily island 156
\ Stkatigraphy 158
General Statement 158
Eocene. 159
Lower Claiborne 159
Preliminary remarks ,,,.... 159
Outcrops from Monroe to Lapiniere landing. . . , 159
LejMni^re landing 160
Cockafield 160
Preliminary remarks 160
Roftcb landing 161
Blnffatthe month of Belle CAte bayou i6r
Castor landing 163
Lone Grave bluff 16a
Columbia 163
Home landing 163
Stock landing 163
Exposures below Stock landing 163
^Jackson 164
Preliminary remarks 164
Gibson landing and vicinity 164
Grendvtew bluff and Bunker bill 165
Wyanl bluff 166
Danville 167
Carter landing 167
Oligocene 167
Vicksburg 167
Grand Gulf 167
Preliminary remarks 167
Cash blnff 168
Pliocene and Recent 169
Bank Exposures 169
General characters of the deposits 169
Sections 169
ExpoBUTes \viay from Ibe River 170
Caue bill 170
' Appbndix 171
Notes on Indian Mounds and Village Sites between Monroe
and Uarrisonbarg i^t
ILLUSTRATIONS
Pagb
Plate XXXVIII. Map of the Ouachita River from Monroe to Colum.
bia 172
XXXIX. Map of the Ouachita River from Columbia to Har-
risonburg 172
Fig. 14. Section of Bunker hill, showing formation of land-
ship islands 156
15. H>*pothetical Stream Curves of Antecedent Drain-
age, Sicily Island, La 157
i
■^ NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY ALONG THE
OUACHITA RIVER
INTRODUCTION
During the extreme low water of the Ouachita river in the
fall of 1899, when exceptional opportunities were afforded for
examining the banks and bluffs, the writer made a caaoe trip
from Monroe toHarrisonburg. Nothing was known regarding the
geology between Monroe and Columbia save the section of Lone
Grave bluff given by Hopkins ;* little was known of the river
bluff sections at Columbia and it was hoped that something defi-
nite might be learned regarding thestratigraphic relationships of
the known Jackson outcrops below this point.
In addition to information of stratigraphic interest, notes
were collected regarding the origin of a series of peculiar lentic-
ular islands which occur at intervals along the river between
these points: and regarding the origin of Catahoula shoals and
Sicily island, near Harrisonburg.
When possible the Indian mounds and camp-sites along the
river were examined and notes regarding these will be found
in the appendix.
PHYSIOGRAPHY
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
1 Between Monroe and Harrisonburg the Ouachita flows along
he base of the bluffs which border, on the western side, the
t»road, recent plain of the Mississippi. It is true, the bot-
tom lands along the Ouachita and Boeuf, are separated from
those of the Mississippi, Tensas and Bayou Macon by the low,
Qat, fairly broad ridge known as the Bayou Macon hills but the
>nalerial composing these hills, underlies the bottoms at no
great depth and is to be regarded as belonging to compara-
tively recent valley deposits.
An. Rept. La. Geol. Surv.,p, S5, 1870.
'54
Geological Sukvey of Louislana
The river is from 800-1000 feet wide in ordinary stages of the
water, with batiks from 35-45 feet high. On the whole it seems
to be slightly above its base level : (i.) its slope curve, both high
and low water, changes very rapidly between Monroe and HarrJ-
souburg ; (2) when compared with other streams of the same
regiou its development of ox-bow bends, cui-offs and cut-off
lakes is quite imperfect. Still it partakes much of the habitat of
a meandering river in a flood plain as shown by the accompany-
ing map. Plates XXXVIII and XXXIX, where the shading rep-
resents the ground occupied by the river but a short while ago.
This indicates in a very graphic manner the tendency of a river
to cut on the outside of its bends and deposit on the inside and
shows in a slight degree the development of cut-off lakes.
The same map shows, in part, one of the anomalies of the river.
After it had once entered the plain of the Mississippi, the river
would hardly be expected to re-enter the hills, yet it does so just
above Harrisonburg. Here it passes through a gap in the Grand
Gulf sandstone, one of the most resistant formations in the state,
and cuts off, between itself and the Mississippi plain, an islam
of rocky hill land.
ISLANDS
Classes of Islands in Flood Plain Rivbks
A meandering river, at or near its base level, may ;
islands of the following types ;
1. Cut-off islands.
2. Sand bar islands.
3. Islands due to inclosure by distributary channels.
4. Landslip islands.
These are all shown along the Ouachita, although the f
three are not well developed and little need be said regarding
them as the causes which govern their formation are so well
understood that the words themselves, at least in the first two
cases, have become almost self-explanatory.
Cut-off islands. — A river meandering in a flood plain forms
great ox-bow bends which in time cut through at the neck form-
ing islands between the new and old channels. No sacb islands
I
■ Gbolcxsv along the Ouachita 155
■re shown on the map, but there are several which were islands
St no very distant date as : at Blankston ; west of St. Albans
laodiog : north of Minden Hall* landing; east of Pritchard
landing, and a most peculiarly shaped one near Hogau's landing.
Sa^d bar islands, — The second class may be formed : (i) by the
production of areas of dead water, due to the deflection of the
current by different curves of the banks, or to the disturbing
influence of an inflowing stream ; (2) by the checking of the
current by obstructions — wrecks, snags and planters, giving
rise to the " tow-heads " of the Mississippi. This form is not
conspicuously developed along the Ouachita. Bars are more or
less common but they are nearly all side bars and not island bars.
Islands due to inclosure by distributary channels. — A few bayous
leave the river and, wandering through the bottoms connect
with other bayous to the eastward forming islands of greater or
less extent.
Landslip islands. — The last type of island is perhaps the most
interesting to a geologist working on tbe Ouachita ; first,
becauseof their singularity, and second, because they are respon-
sible (or a number of outcrops of old Tertiary material which
herwise would not be exposed, and while such outcrops are
rly out of place they cannot be very greatly removed from
the place of origin and they afford valuable data ou the areal
distribution of some of the formations.
These islands were noticed at intervals between Monroe and
Colombia. They are long, narrow, reaching an extreme height
of seven feet, and composed of old Tertiary clays often inclined
at a high angle. In the island just across from Roselawn land-
ing the dip is almost vertical, exposing one stratum, more resis-
tant than the others, as a backbone down the center. The
islands are generally near the western bank of the river but
near Lapinicre t landing a number of smaller islands occur near
the eastern bank. It was on one of this series that a well pre-
served Lower Claiborne fauna was found (see below, page 160),
•So spelled on sheet Xo. 19 of the Ouachita River Survey, 1896.
Locally it was given nie as Alindenhole.
t Given Lapile and La Ptne on Sheets 34 and 35 and LaPiniere aa Index
Sheet No. 3 of the Ouachita River Survey. La Pine is clearly a corruption
1 of the old form Lapiiiiire which refers to a rabbit watren and not to pines.
156
Geological Survey of Louisiana
Below Columbia, near the bluffs, a number of these islands
are developed and at Bunker hill their relation to the main
bluff is well shown (Fig. 14).
Judging from the amount of displacement indicated by some
of these landslip islands, and from the considerable distance of
some of them from the present hill land, it is inferred that at
the time of their formation the river systems of this region were
at a lower level than the Ouachita is today.
This creeping of the Tertiary clays is developed to a remark-
able degree north of Many, La., where it produces quite an
effect ou the minor topography of the country. There, these
landslip ridges are variously regarded as fortifications, old treas-
ure holes and the like.
SICILY ISLAND
Of the Tertiary formations of this region the Grand Gulf has
been most successful in resisting erosion ; the bard sandstones
which form the base of this formation hold up the topography
and are responsible for the escarpment which marks its northern
limit from central Texas to eastern Mississippi. Even the Miss-
issippi, or its ancestor not far removed, has experienced difficulty
in cutting out the deposits of this age and we find that the
valley is considerably contracted where this formation formerly
crossed it (see Plate I). Ou the western side a great spur pro-
jects into the valley, of which the point, separated from the main
hiU mass by the Ouachita, is now known as " Sicily Island."
Gbouxsy along thb Ouachita 157
' Tilt: Oaactaits, where it passes through the hills, has a valley
'about a mile and a half wide at its tiarrowest place, just above
Catahoula shoals. The length of this defile or gorge, if so
broad and so short a cut may be called by such a term, is roughly
five miles and for a mJle and a half of this distance the river flows
over rock , *
The topography of the surrounding country and the general
aspect of the gorge indicate that the Ouachita here flows over a
low lying divide between two antecedent valleys — valleys of trib-
utary streams at a time when the land stood higher and the
Ouachita, or itsanceslors, flowed totheeast of Sicily island. There
are several reasons for believing that the Mississippi valley, not very
long since, stood at a height at least 240 feel f above its present
level. lu such a case the gradients of all the tributary streams
would be very greatly increased and a point, situated as this
IVES OF ANTHCBDSNT
DRAINAGE. SICILY ISLAND, LA.
peninsula of Grand Gulf, would suffer greatly from erosion.
It is believed that the completion of the formation of a low lying
divide was affected during this period, and that, in the period
..of subsidence which followed, enough material was deposited in
I the valleys to entirely bury the old divide. No hindrance was
now offered to the passage of the Ouachita through the com-
bined old valleys and it has evidently, since, cut from side to side
and slightly enlarged the channel thus afforded. Now that this
part of the country is experiencing a slight uplift, as evidenced
by the tendency of many of the streams occupying flat bottomed
valleys in northern Louisiana to cut down into the underlying
■ An. Kept, Chief of Enn- for 1890, Cross SectiociB of the Ouachita river
at Catahoula shoals by J. M. Marshall. Asst. V. S. E., p. 1967.
t Depth «f the Quaternary deposits at Lake Provideoce. HilKard and
Hopkins. Rept. on Borings between Memphis and Vieksburg, 48th Cong.
IttSess., House l-.x. noc., vol. is, 1884, p, 481.
158
Geological Sokvby of Louisiana
beds and develop liltle rapids, the Ouachita has also cut out its
channel slightly and found itself superimposed on the old divide.
(See Fig. 15.)
While such a theory of the origin of Sicily island is, to a con-
siderable degree, hypothetical it is believed that it will at least
prove a suggestive working hypothesis. Indeed so far as the
formation of the island is concerned, in the absence of fault
structure this would seem to be the most normal explanation ;
supported as it is, not only by the data furnished by the Missis-
sippi, but by the silted condition of all the stream valleys of
northern Louisiana. (See topographic map of Many township.
Plate IV. Geol. Surv. of La. Rept.for 1899.)
It may be that the old divide is more deeply buried and that
the shoals have been formed in a way similar to those at Alex-
andria by the choking of the river by rafts, and the con.sequent
enforced passage of the river over a low lying point of Grand
Gulf sandstone.*
In this same connection it may be well to state that a line con-
necting the rapids at Alexandria with Catahoula shoals is very
nearly parallel with the Winnfield-Coochie brake anticlinal, and
the anticlinal now developing across the Sabiue and Angelina
rivers. While an origin by local crnstal distortion is not impossi-
ble any evidence that such a thing is taking place is, at present,
lacking.
STRA TIGRAPHY ^H
GENERAL STATEMENT ^H
The succession of strata along the Ouachita, from Monroeto
Harrisonburg may be summarised as follows :
1 Alluvium
Pliocene and Recent - Port Hudson
\ Lafayette?
o"«»™ ]?Sl^'
1 Jackson
Eocene -j Cocksdeld
f Lower Claiborni
•See Geol. Surv. La. Repl. for 1899. pp. 160, iSi.
Geology along thh Ouacaita
Lowe
Claiborne
Preliminary remarks. — Lerch reported Lower Claiborne fossils
1 a well at Monroe at a depth of 185 feet.* These specimens
had fortunately been preserved at Baton Rouge, but when exam-
ined the material was so strikingly like that found at SmithviUe,
Texas, both in fauna and lithological characters, that Harris
was inclined to doubt the correctness of the locality label. f
The fact that no fossils had been found east of a line connect-
ing Winnfield and Ruston, and that the territory seemed to be
Cocksfield tended to confirm this doubt. The operations of the
field season of the fall of 1899 solved this question by the find-
ing of a number of fossiliferous Lower Claiborne outcrops along
the Ouachita between Monroe and Logtown. One just above
Lapini^re landing furnished such an abundance of beautifully
preserved forms, showing a typical development of the Texan
. phase of the Lower Claiborne, that it left no doubt of the cor-
I lectness of the Monroe label.
The outcrops are all small, are exposed only at low water and
furnished no satisfactory dip observations.
The paleontology of the beds is to be discussed by Prof Har-
ris in a forthcoming Bulletin of American Paleontology.
Outcrops from Monroe to Lapiniire landing. — On the west
bank about a mile below the Woodworth Lumber Co. mill and
near the line between sections 2 and 11, T. 17 N. R, 3 E.. a
landslip island shows a few feet of Tertiary clay containing
greensand and a ledge of calcareous concretions.
At Myatt, the Lower Claiborne clays are exposed beneath the
Kual succession of material shown in the banks: — The section
o yards below the ferry is :
I
Section at Myatt P. O.
Feet
Pine sandy silt, tinged with red 20
Dark brownish-blue buckshot ctay
Yellow and grey clayey sand with pebbles scattered irre-
■Bull. La. Exp. Station Geol. and Agr. part I
f Geo]. Sun-ej- of La. for 1899, p. 83.
i6o Geological Survey of Louisiana
gularly through the upper part, — some of fine grey
sandstone as large as a man's hat 7
4. Finely laminated dark brown to drab clay with sand
partings 15
6. Very dark colored clay with some greensand and large
ferruginous concretions, some weighing several hun-
dred pounds. Contains a few indistinct casts 4
Opposite Roselawn landing there is a landslip island, larger
but similar, otherwise, to the first outcrop described above.
The claystone concretions here are quite fossiliferous.
Lapini^re landing. — Near the east bank and just above Lapin-
i^re landing there is a small island of dark colored laminated
sandy clay exposed at water level. The clay is extremely fossil-
iferous^and it might be said of it, as of the Monroe material, that
so far as the fauna and lithological characters are concerned it
might just as well have come from SmithviUe, Texas, as from the
Ouachita river. Among the forms here which indicate the hor-
izon are : Ostrea faki/ormis, Pyrula penila. Beloiepia ungula,
PUurotomapagodiformis, and an abundanceofPleurolomoid forms.
Below this outcrop and on the same side of the river there are
a number of little islets of uonfossiliterous, micaceous, ferrugi-
nous sandstone, which is about 6 inches thick and shows a great
variety of dips.
On the west bank — nearly opposite this and about 100 yards
above I.,ipiniere landing — a ledge of ferruginous sandstone 6
inches thick and dipping S. 10° E. is exposed at water level.
Nearer the landing the Tertiary clays extend to within 8 feet
of the top of the bank. They are overlaid by 2 feet of gravel
and the usual buckshot clay with a covering of recent alluvium.
Ju5l above Loglown. is a landslip island exposing grey sandy
clay similar to that shown at Lapiniere landing. The clay extends
7 feet above the present water level and is capped with a ledge of
ferruginous conglomerate.
COCKSFIKLI*
Preliminary remarks. — This stage is more completely and typi-
cally developed in this section than any other place in the state
and this has lead to the suggestion, to V'aughan, that he substi-
■ Geology along thb Ouachita i6i
Bote CaldweU for Cocksfield. Outcrops of this stage extend from
'Roach landing, the first bluff below Monroe, to Stock landing,
where Jackson fossils appear at the top of the bluff.
No dip observations were obtained which could be relied upon,
but it is believed that in this section this formation has a thick-
ness of at least 500 feel.
Roach landing. — The outcrop near Logtown is of doubtful age;
it may be that no fossils were found there because of the small-
ness of the outcrop, but at Roach landing the outcrop is large
enough to make us feel reasonably sure that the material is to be
regarded as Cocksfield.
Section Roach Landing Bluff
Feet
r. Light grey to yellow silty sand with a few quartz peb-
bles 56
2. Yellow, sandy clay with a thin capping of ferruginous
sandstone 2
3. Light grey, stratified, sandy clay r8
4 . Dark grey clay 5
5. White to yellow clayey sand capped with iron-stained
r layer 2 inches thick 10
W. Covered to water level 3
Bluff at the mouth of Belle CSIe Aa_i'o«. —Continuing down the
river, the next bluff is just below Ihemoulhof Belle C6te bayou,
near the Ouachita-Caldwell parish line.
Section at Mouth 0/ Belle C6le Bayou
Feet In.
Covered 20 o
While to yellow, irregularly stratified sand 17 o
Ferruginous sandstone occupying line of uncon-
formity between 2 and 4 o 3
Laminated, while to brown, fine clayey sand. Sur-
face covered with lemon-yellow scales 8 o
Ferruginous concretions with much pyrites and a
few faint plant impressions o 6
Dark brown, lignitic clayey sand 2 o
Dark drab clayey sand showing bedding planes in
upper portions 14 o
i62 Geological Sukvey of Louisiana ^^H
8. Finely laminated, dark drab clayey sand contain- '
ing some vegetable matter 1 8 o
Water level.
Castor landing. — Two exposures are afforded here, oue just
above the landing and another about a third of a mile below.
At the lower one, a point, evidently foimed of a number of
landslip masses, juts well out into the river. It is composed of
irregularly bedded black clay with sand partings, and calcareous
concretions exhibiting a cone in cone structure.
Section at Castor Landing
Feet
I . Weathered surface layers 3
3. Light grey to drab clay with sand partings i
3- Coarse cross-bedded sand 3
4. Alternate beds of laminated, leaf-bearing, drab colored
clay with sand partings and coarse cross-bedded sands. S
5. Coarse white and yellow sand with occasional thin lens
shaped masses of clay ro
6. Lamina of drab colored clay separated by thicker sand
partings i
7. Coarse cross-bedded white sand 3
8. Laminated, chocolate colored clay with white sand part-
ings and poor plant impressions 3
9. Very dark clay breaking ofT in large irregular fragments. 3
10. Very irregularly bedded, yellow and white sand, here
and there darkened with carbonaceous matter ao
Lone Grave bluff. — On both Locketl's and Hardee's maps
Lone Grave bluff is placed about 3 miles too far to the south.
As seen from the river it shows four ridges — the northernmost
one being the highest and having on its summit the grave from
which the bluff received its name. In order down the river, the
crests are 150, 135, lao and no feet at low water.
Section at Lane Grave Bluff
Feet
1. Rather coarse red to while sand 10
2. Laminated light brown clay with sand partings, theclay
containing faint plant impressions 120
3. Laminated lignitic clay with fine white sand partings . . 20
Ghology
HH OdACHITA
163
About a quarter of a mile below this section irregularly bedded
vhite sand with irregular layers of brown clay appear beneath
the black clay.
Co/«mi(ii.— The railroad sections here have been described in
the report of this survey for 1S99, pp. 80-81. Two miles above
Columbia near old Ferry landing the following section is shown :
Section at Old Ferry Landing
Feet
1 1. White and yellow fairly coarse sand shomng only a
I slight trace of bedding and containing a few con-
cretions 65
3. Light brown, laminated sandy clay with plant impres-
sions 20
Very dark colored clay containing lignitic material and,
near the top, good leaf impressions 30
Home landing. — The small bluff just above the creek at Home
landing shows 5 feet of light brown laminated clay, about 15
feet above water level, similar to that seen at Columbia,
Slock landing. — The high bluff at the mouth of Boggy bayou
t furnishes a very good section of this formation and also shows
the contact between it and the Jackson.
I
Section at Stati /.anding
partly covered with vege-
Feet
Fossiliferous Jackson 1
tation 20
Drab to yellow sandy clay 20
Faintly laminated light yellow and browa clay with
faint leaf impressions 3
Massive grey sandy clay 8
Brown stratified joint clay with selenite crystals 7
Dark colored sandy clay containing much lignilic mat-
ter .
Brown to yellow unstratified sand 12
Dark brown clay with slight greeuish tinge. Surface
covered with small selenite crystals 6
Exposures below Stock landing.— -B&ds of this stage appear at
the base of the Gibson landing section and at Grandview blufl
and Bunker hill ; see these sections given below.
Geological Survey of Louisiana
Jackson
^
Preliminary remarks. — It was from fossils collected in this
region that the Eocene was first definitely recognized in Louis-
iana.* It has also furnished the type specimens of Basilosaurus
{Zeuglodon) celoides\ Cardium nicoUeli,X and Haminea grandis.%
The Jackson is now known to extend along the Ouachita from
Stock landing to Carter landing (the present site of Enterprise
P. O.). The beds are extremely fossiliterous and the outcrops
well exposed, and we regard it as the best Jackson section yet
found.
Tiie fossiliterous Jackson bed which caps the bluff at Stock
landing was traced around the hills and connected with the out-
crop at Gibson landing and this iu turn with Grandview bluff.
This proved the lignitic clays at the base of Bunker hill (see
section giveu below) to be the equivalent of the beds below the
Jacksou at Stock landing and established a dip of about 50 feet
per mile in that direction. Calculations from this dip observation
indicate the thickness of this formation iu this section to be 500-
550 feet. Straligraphically the outcrops at Stock lauding, Gib-
son landing, Grandview bluff and Bunker hill are to be regarded
as lower Jackson ; that at Wyaut bluff as middle and those at
Danville and Carter as upper.
Gibson landing and vicinity. — The fossiliferous layer capping
the bluff at Stock landing cau he readily traced around the hill to
the valley of a small creek between the two landings. The col-
lecting iu this valley is extremely good.
Seeiion along road at Gibson Landing
^^^__^^^_ Feet
I. Stiff, yellow, calcareous clay contain-
ing only a few poor impressions of
oysters 75
Shell marl weathering into a black
waxy soil 25
Jackson
•Conrad. Jour. Phil. Acad. Nat. Sci.,TOl. 7, 1834, p. uo.
t Harlaa. Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. , vol. 4, New Series, 1S33,
tConisd. Proc. Phil. Acad. Nat. Sci. for 1841, p. 33.
(Aldrich. Geo). Surv. Ala., Bull. No. 1, 1886, pp. 35-36, PI, III,
403.
Gkologv along the Ouachita 165
3. Doubtful. Irregular masses of shell
matter are here scattered through a
grey or drab clay but whether the
I TransHion shells are really in situ or represent
masses which have slipped from
the bed above could not be deter-
mined 20
4. Massive, calcareous grey or drab clay
without fossils 16
I Cockifield 5. Laminated drab clay 3
6. Yellow to drab massive sandy clay ... 13
^ 7. Unexposed to water level 55
Section of Bluff BHow Gibson Landing
Feet
1 . Fine yellow sand with well preserved
-^ shells, to top of bluff 20
~Z, ~ 2- Slightly stratified calcareous drab to
dirty grey clay without fossils. ... 20
3. Irregularly laminated drab clay with
poor plant impressions ; becomes
lighter and more sandy above 18
r Coeksjidd 4. Irregularly bedded drab sandy silt
containing lignitized wood 15
5. Dark drab, laminated sandy clay mot-
tled with yellow and containing
large iron stained calcareous con-
cretions 20
6. Covered-talus and landslips to water
level 35
Grandview bluff and Bunker hill. — These are perhaps the best
known bluffs along the river and are particularly noteworthy to
the paleontologist and collector because of the extremely large
and well preserved Haminea grandis which occur here with other
well preserved forms. ,
i66 Gbolqgical Sdrvey of LoUISIAIfA ^^^H
Section al Ginndview Bluff ^^^^|
feet
1. Blue clay containing faint casts and
occasional solid shells. Weathers
fadison '°'° ^ very stiff yellow clay loo
2. Grey to yellow sandy marl with some
greensand and large calcareous con-
""i"" *o
3. Dark brown, laminated clay mottled ^^H
Transition with yellow, contains numerous ^^H
selenite crystals ^^^|
4. Massive dark grey or greenish -grey, ^^H
finesaudy clay mottled with yellow. ^^^|
Cocksfield Coatainsnumerouspiecesof lignitic ^^^
material and large grey calcareous
concretions 33
Al Bunker hill there is only a small exposure along the river
and it is greatly complicated with landslips. It shows very clearly
the niauner of formation of the Tertiary ridge-islands between
Monroe and Columbia (see p. 156). Near the top of the bluff is a
layer of large Veneficardia planicosta.
At Bunker hill landing the lower layers of the Grandview
bluff section become even blacker and have in places the aspect
of an impure bed of lignite.
lVya?il bluff* — This locality was visited in the spring of iSggf
but on account of the high stage of the water only a small por-
tion of the outcrop was seen. At low water, beds are exposed
which afford better collecting than the outcrops at Grandview
and Bunker hill. The material here showsnumbers of tbelarge
Vetiericardia planicosta which are common in the upper Bunker
hill section and none of the V. altkostala which are so abundant
in the lower bed at that place.
Section al U'yant Bluff
F«el
I. Thin, alternate layers of brown clay and very fine
grained grey to yellow sand, which are quite similar
to the material in the upper part of Bunker hill 35
• Given Myatt landiajt on Sheet No. 3a, Oaachitu River Survey, 1896.
+ GeoI. Sorv. I^, Rept. tor 1899, p. qj.
GkOLOGY along the O0ACHITA
167
Blue clay with pockets of shells ; weathers first to a
brown or dark drab clay and finally to yellow 42
At Neathery woodyard there is a small outcrop of fossilifer-
ous blue clay with large calcareous concretions.
Danvii/e.—The blnfl on the Caldwell- Catahoula parish line is
quite fossiliferous.
Section at Danville Landing
Feel
1. Covered to top of hill 70
2. Light yellow, quite fossiliferous clay, containing large
selenite crystals and large concretions 20
3. Fossiliferous blue clay weathering dark brown to yellow.
The shells are scattered through the whole mass and
occasionally occur in thin beds with light brown sand 30
The fossiliferous beds in layer j show a very great dip, S. E.,
i;6. The upper layers, however, do not appear to have such an
extravagant dip and the great dip in the lower bed is probably
dne to landslips.
Carter landing. — Just above Carter landing is a small landslip
island which exposes at low water a fossiliferous blue clay with
a well marked Jackson fauna.
_ OLIGOCENE
^PNo beds of this age outcrop on the river but they are exposed
in the hills a short distance from it. These outcrops are dis-
cu.ssed by Prof. Harris in special report No. i (q. v.).
Grand Gulf
Preliminary remarks. — Between the Jackson outcrop at Carter
landing and the first outcrop of Grand Gulf, at the mouth of
the Boeuf river, the river does not touch the hill lands and there
are no exposures of the older formations. The material at Cash
bluff, at the mouth of the Boeuf, is typical Grand Gulf but how
much it is above the base of that formation it would be difficult
to say. At Catahoula shoals the recent boring of the U. S.
^.Engineers does not appear to have reached the Vicksburg at a
168
Geological Survey op Lovisi&ka
depth of 197.5 feet.* This boring, with the height of the
hills at Harrisonburg, indicates that the formation has a thick-
ness somewhat greater than 300 feet.
Cask bluff. — The upper end of Sicily island, just below the
mouth of the Boeuf shows a three-ridged bluff, the central ridge
being the highest. The section of this is as follows :
Section at Cash Bluff
Feet
1. Unexposed to top of the hill. The hillside is covered
with chert and quartz pebbles 20
2. Yellow clay and sand ; la
3. Very dark colored clay a
4. Fine grey to yellow sand 11
5. Hard sandstone a
6. Brown to dark drab clay 7
7. Yellow clay with thin plates of iron 8
8. Brown clay 5
9. Grey sandstone (has been quarried to some extent ) . . . 11
10. Obscured by talus but from the fragmentary exposures
it seems to be a slightly sandy, yellow clay with bands
of brown cla\' about a foot thick 13
Dark brown clay 4
Indurated, cross-bedded fine grained sand 6
Green and brown clay 6
Dark brown clay ; not sharply separated from 15 5
Green clay 6
Covered 10
Fine grained white sandstone 3
Layer 17 here shows a dip west of south.
The bluff, near Catahoula shoals, is about 60 feet high and
shows several ledges of sandstone.
"Final Report on the Survey of Ouachita and Black riVer, Arkansas and
Louiaiana. 57tb Cong.. 1st Sess. Houie Ex. Doc., No, 448, p. 1^, 1903.
Geology along thk Ouachita 169
PLIOCENE AND RECENT
Bane Exposures
General characferistics of Ihe deposits. — The following general-
ized section of the bank deposits indicates the succession and
laracteristics of the bank deposits in this portion of the river ;
^Stneralised Seetian 0/ the OuacMila Bank Deposits Between Monroe and
Ha rrison burg
Feet
IX. Lie.ht colored silty clay commonly reddish 5-15
^. Buckshot clay; black to dark reddish brown com-
monly stratified and with white calcareous concre-
tions, sometimes with fragments of wood and fresh
I water gastropods ich-ao
9. White and yellow sand, above Colnmbia commonly
containing chert and quartz pebbles 15-25
The gravel bearing sands, exposed in the banks from Monroe
*<3 Loglown, are quite similar to the material in the nearby
X,afayette gravel train, but whether it is continuous with that
deposit or represents a redeposition of material of that age can-
**ot be proven by the information now in our possession. The
gravel is commonly rather small but one large quartzite bowlder,
■*veighing about 125 pounds, was seen near Myatt P. O.
On the whole, these lower deposits are quite similar to the
beds exposed in the Bayou Macon hills and seem to indicate that
the material which may be regarded as recent alluvium is of no
considerable thickness in this section.
Sections. — The following sections at particular localities may
illustrate the general section given above ;
Section at Brooks Landing
Feel
Light colored, sandy silt 7
Dark reddish brown to dark dirty yellow buckshot clay,
containing numerous white calcareous concretions,. 16
Medium white sand, containing in basal portions numer-
ous small chert and quartz pebbles 21
lyo Geologicai, Survey of Louisiana
Section Above SUIar Landing
1. Light red sandy silt 15
2. Dark reddish buckshot clay 10
3. White and yellow sand becoming clayey near the top. . 20
Sfction Near Saivmill Landing
Feet
1. Light red silty clay 13
2. Buckshot clay, black below, dark red above, stratifica-
tion well marked jj^
3. Red sandy silt W^L
Exposures Away From the Rivhr
Cane hill. — Cane hill is a small, low-lying, isolated hill-mass
about two miles east of Call landing, on the line between Sec. 16
and 21, T.114 N., R. 4 E. It is about a quarter of a mile long,
north and south, and a hundred yards broad. Its two highest
points are respectively 22 and 24 feet above the level of the sur-
rounding bottom land. The surface soil is a somewhat sandy,
mottled yellow and grey clay, containing a few chert and quartz
pebbles and is quite different from the surroundiug soil. A well
on the side of the hill, 15 feet deep, passed through mottled grey
and while clay and stopped in water-bearing while sand. The
material shown in the well and on the surface suggests the lower
beds of the bank section and the hill seems quite analagous to
the Bayou Macon hills. This is reported to be theonty hill land
between Bayou Lafourche and the Ouachita.
APPENDIX
KOTES ON INDIAN MOUNDS AND VILLAGE SITES
BETWEEN MONROK AND HARRISONBURG
Myait P. O. — There is a shell-heap at this point between the
store and Bayou Cheniere au Tondre.
Another shell heap occurs just across the bend of the river,
near Lapiniere landing. Here I found fragments of pottery and
bones, among which was a human jaw bone. Large finds of
bones are reported just after the flood of 1882 when this place
was uncovered.
Minden Hall landing. — At Minden Hall landing there is a
small mound about 3 feet high and 50 feet in diameter. On the
ground around it there are numerous pot-shreds and mussel shells
and a nearby road-cut exposes a number of bones.
Hogan landing. — Two mounds near the river, about a quarter
of a mile above the store. One is directly on the edge of the
bank though well removed from the river by a large bar.
This has been cut into by the river on one side and by the
road on the other aud its symmetry somewhat destroyed. It
is a truncated pyramid mound about 15 feet high and 100 by 50
feet on the top, and with a slope of about 30 feet. The second
mound is about 225 feet from the first and is 14 feet high. It
is rudely circular with a flat top 75 feet in diameter and a base
1 75. Both mounds have been used as graveyards; one for whites
and the other for negroes.
Wyant bluff. — The top of this bluff was evidently used for an
lodiao camp-site. The ground is covered with unios and frag-
ments of pottery, and where a section is afforded by a landslip,
animal bones and pottery are found mixed with the recent shells.
Pierce landing. — Low mound about a quarter of a mile from
the river. The soil is very black and fragments of pottery and
bones are reported to have been plowed up. Several whole
pots are also reported from this place.
Cottingham landing.— Mound 3 feet high and 40 feet in diam-
eter exposed in cross section on the bank of the river. No
relics are reported.
172 Geological Survey of Looisiana
Sec. 21, T. It N. R, 5 E. — Small mound on Horseshoe lake
about 6 feet high.
Carter landing. — About half a mile below Carter landing is an
old Indian camp-site ; the ground is covered with uuios, stones,
fragments of pottery and partially shaped implements.
Oak Grove landing.-^hX. this place a narrow ridge of grey
loam follows the river northeast. The ridge is about 6 feet above
the surrounding laud and has once been cultivated. Just beyond
this old field, and a little over a quarter of a mile from the river, is
a more marked aud regular elevation than the other elevations
along the ridge. It is about 50 feet in diameter and 3 feet high
and on the surrounding laud — in material rooted up by the
hogs — pottery and mussel shells are common.
Big lake. — Half to three-quarters of a mile northwest of I. M.
Davis lauding is a group of mounds on Big lake. A sketch map
of this group was made but it has since been found that they
are shown ou Sheet No. 34, Ouachita River Survey, 1896, to
which the reader is referred. The writer saw only three mounds
though five are represented ou this map. The first two mounds,
seen in following the road from Davis landing, are rudely rectan-
gular aud beloug to the truncated pyramid type; one is 13
feet high and 15 by 50 across the top and has a slope of 25 feet,
the other is 5 feet high, 38 by 38 feet across the top, with a slope
of 20 feet. The side of one bears S. 27° W. and of the other S.
36° W. The uorthermost is ova^J-i feet high, 38 by 45 feet on
top, with a slope of 15 feet. Its major axis extends S. 36° W.
Pritchard landing .—GxaMii oi mounds below mouth of Gaston's
creek contains three large truncated pyramid mounds and eleven
smaller rounded oval mounds. The mounds occupy a slightly
elevated piece of grouud, and two are on the very edge of the
second bank. The largest is 36 feet above the level of the sur-
rounding ground and is 150 by 60 feet across the top. The
second, northwest of the first aud aloug the edge of the bank, is
30 feet high. Between these two large mounds is a circular
embankment 75 feet in diameter. The third large mound, situ-
ated south of west of the other two, is 25 feet high. Between
the second aud third, forming an irregular arc of a circle, are
seven small mounds. The location and general character of
this group is given on Sheet No. 36 Ouachita River Survey, 1896.
CaoLoaiCAi, ScBVBT OF Loci
PUTS XXXVI n
OUACHITA PARISH
CALDWEU. PARISH
UAP OF THE
RIVBR FROM UONBOE TO COLUMBIA
. \
. 1
I
Fl. iM .- ■ i\ I.. {
THr I, "
'K
AST- '■■. ■ ^ ■".
>^-
GbOLOOICAL SU&VBY of I«OUl8IA2f a. RBPORT, I903
PI.ATB XXXIX
'Mif)d«n Hail
"BailAvu*
COLUXl
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^r*d«riok»bura
Or«navi«w »'"*g|/?ip'— =^
S«inii*r '^"H^^^^v
•
Cmtamus a£^ jfA
Wyanfll^
Blufl\
BterthTy Woody* rd
«^^ Cotting l»«TT»
Bmyom Dam "^SSt
ffl_
CALDWELL PARISH^
^{^
CATAHOULA PARISH^
jf'NNLnvtiio
Cartor
El
SCAUt
^•wtrmiii
I M. Oavw
Staflofd PL
rit
OMS/omCr."/
^uia Sho«ia.l
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ICAP OP THB OUACEQTA RIVBR PROM COLUMBIA TO HARRISONBURG
Compiled from Map« of the Ouachita River Survey.
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SPECIAL REPORT
No. V
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOUISIANA
CARTOGRAPHY
BY
G. D. HARRIS
CONTENTS
Paob
PRBSBNT Conditions, With Suggestions 177
Need of Accurate Maps 177
Maps for geological purposes 177
Detailed maps 177
The ordinary land surveys 178
Instruments 178
The ordinary compass 178
The railroad comp>a8S 178
The transit 180
FiBU) Work 182
Establishment of Meridian Lines 182
Prefatory remarks 182
Other azimuth lines 182
Arcadia 184
Ruston 184
Vernon 185
Bastrop 185
Rayville 185
Winnsboro 186
New Iberia 187
Franklin 187
Opelousas 187
Houma 188
St. Martinsville 188
Lake Charles '. 189
Covington 189
Cameron 189
Abbeville 190
I^afayettc 190
Thibodaux 190
Plate XL.
XLI.
Fig.
1 6.
17.
18.
19.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Pagb
Location of Meridian Lines 192
Location of Meridian Lines 194
Railroad compass 179
Telescopic sights 180
Transit 181
Tachymeter 183
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOUISIANA
CARTOGRAPHY
PRESENT CONDITIONS WITH SUGGESTIONS
NKED OF ACCURATE MAPS
Maps for geological purposes. — In our previous report we have
sxplained at some length the benefits to be derived from well
constructed topographic maps. The immigrant, the traveler,
seeking health, enjoyment or wealth ; the student of geography,
botany, geology or entomology ; the' teacher of natural science
in or out of the state, even the inhabitant himself if he would
visit other parishes than bis oxvn. knowingly and economically :
each and all must have access to well constructed topographic
maps, or lose much time in atmoyiug aud useless inquiry. To
anything like refined geologic work, topographic maps are indis-
pensable. This was early recognized by the U. S, Geological
Survey, and hence a large share of the annual appropriation made
by Congress for survey work goes to the topographic division.
We have recognized the fact, as have other slate surveys, that the
cheapest, best and most expedient method of obtaining such maps
is by cooperation with the National Survey. The conditions of
cooperation we have already stated in our report of 1899. When
such maps shall have been prepared, the areal geologist and
strati grapher, as well as the mapf>er of soils, can proceed advan-
tageously with their respective work. We already know in a
general way the dislribtition of the main geological formation of
the stale. To go farther in areal work without better maps is a
■waste of energy and public funds.
Doubtless the present Legislature will provide ample means
for a good beginning in the construction of maps on the usual
scale, viz. ; about one inch to the mile. The U. S. Geological
Survey will furnish an equal amount and hence geological work
can be resumed and carried on advantageously.
Detailed maps. — There will always be areas of special interest
lieie and there that will require geological maps of far greater
178 Gbological Sorvhy of Louisiana.
detail tlian the ordinary one inch to the mile map. These the
state survey can construct for itself, usin^ as starting points the
triangulation stations and bench marks established by the Nat-
ional Survey.
Thh Ordinary Land Surveys
The geologist isoften under great obligation to a local or parish
surveyor who has prepared maps of a limited area or who is able
to show the position of township, section or^quarter lines and
Unfortunately for the representation of such an area on a finished
geological map, the exact beariugsof the liuesare unkuown, since
only crude approxii nations can be obtained by the compass
methods now geuerally in vogue. Different surveys give natur-
ally different sizes and shapes to the .sections composing a town-
ship. This we may perhaps admit is of no serious consequence
to reconnaissance geological work, such as has been done in the
state heretofore. But let the geologist work up ever so faithfully
the details of .several adjacent townships, basing his own measure-
ments on distance and direction from quarter-quarter or section
corners and finally attempt to map his area on any given projec-
tion, for example the polyconic, and then see what a vast number
of uncertainties arise. We speak with feeling and experience
on this subject.
Instruments
The ordinary compass. — Little need here be said regarding the
manipulation of this instrument and the results obtained, the
matter having been spoken of at some length in our previous
report. As an amusing instance in modern "business " methods,
however, we cannot forbear giving our recent experience in one
of the largest instrument factories in this country. Having
admitted the inadequacy of the common compass for anything
but the merest reconnaissance work, the salesman, with a know-
ing glance said; " I know all that, but then they sel/woU in
some places. ' '
Railroad compass. — We have been greatly pleased with the
performance of a very cheap instrument of the type shown by
Improvbmsnts in Louisiana Cartography
179
Fig- 16,'" It has in addition to the asuat needle a graduated
limb reading by a vernier to single minutes. We have proved
by experience that with beginners the 3 angles of a
: will "close" within from i' to 5', on an
average ; and, with more experience and more
readings of each angle, the average error can be
brought below 1'. The particular instrument we
happened to have was by Queen & Co., of Phila-
delphia, though other makers list something c
long distances are to be sighted, the telescopic attachment shown
* This and the following two figi
Qneen & Co.. of Philadelphia. I'a.
e kindly loaneil for this work by
Geological SuRVHV of Louisia
i carried by
by Fig. 17 comes very couveuieut. This,
Dearly all dealers in surveying iustruments.
The possession by this compass of a horizontal limb with ver-
nier reading to minutes gives it a manifold superiority over the
common "plain" or "vernier" compass.
When cheapness, lightness and efficiency are concerned it is
difficult to see how a better instrument could be constructed for
ordinary country service.
Transit. — The railroad compass fails
in but one respect from fulfilling the
requirements of the land surveyor : U
determines angles or relative directions,
but is no better than the plain compass
fordeterminingabsolute direction. The
true direction of one line is assumed or
approximately determined by readings
of the compass needle, then the rest are
determined relatively to it. The transit,
however, with a vertical as well as a
horizontal limb can be used to advantage
to determine absolute direction so far as
the earth's axis and meridians are con-
I cerned. See Fig. 18.
A light transit, of moderate cost, with
vertical and horizontal limb, a fair knowl-
edge of spherical trigonometry, a table
of refraction and a Nautical Almanac
should be included in the equipment of
every land surveyor. The appearanceof
aa instrument of this kind is given herewith. To be sure, if the
surveyor cares to keep in adjustment a solar attachment and
does not mind the extra expense, he can solve instrumentally
the problem of meridian determination with facility and dis-
patch. But the calculations required without the attachment
can scarcely be called tedious or long, especially after a Uttle
practice, (See any manual of surveying or even a good cata-
logue of surveying instruments.)
Geological Survbv of Louisiana
1
FIELD WORK
Establishment of Meridian Lines
Prefatory remarks. — Little need here be added to our remarks
on the same subject three years ago. The main object of the
work is quite obvious, viz.: to have a substantially marked line,
one at least in each parish, that may serve as a reference
meridian for determining magnetic declination. In carrying out
this work, no attempts have been made at refined, geodetic work.
It is scarcely ever possible to secure an open stretch in public
grounds over a few hundred feet in extent. Such short dis-
tances are not condusive to a refined class of work, but still,
they are more convenient for ordinary compass sighting and no
error need be made in establishing the line, sufficient to affect
the readings of any compa.ss or even magnetometer.
Our own method of procedure has been explained heretofore.
A large bull's-eye lantern with a moderately fine grating or
even a few slim, straight brads before il, so placed that near elon-
gation Polaris' azimuth position can be recorded in reference to
slot or brad i, 2 or 3, etc., is quite satisfactory for a target. The
spacings of the target at a given distance from the transit repre-
sent a certain number of seconds of arc. A number of read-
ings extending from, say 20 minutes before to 20 minutes after
elongation can be made with the telescope upright and reversed.
These can all be quickly reduced to elongation, the same as when
a series of micrometer readings have been made.
The instrument we have used for all the work during the past
three seasons is one of Buff and Berger's Tachymeters "No. ig."
It is shown on page 183 (Fig. 19).
Other azimuth lines. — A large amount of refined geodetic
work has been done along the Mississippi, Red, Ouachita and
other rivers and bayous. The surveyor living in the vicinity of
triaiigulatiou stations along the Mississippi can obtain informa-
tion regarding direction or azimuth from such stations to other
known points by writing to the Superintendent of the Coast &
Geodetic Survey, Washington, D. C. Information regarding
stations on other rivers and boyous can be had by writing to
U. S. Engineer's Office at St. Louis, Mo.
■84 Gkological Survey of Louisiana
ARCADIA
I'lale XT.. Fig.
General location. — Court yard, east of the Court House ; also I
one marker 70.9 feet south of the south track of the V. S. & ]
P. R. R.
MonumenU, — Old and very hard concrete posts sunk nearly]
fiush with the ground into a mass of fresh concrete.
N is only 55.2 feet east of the northeast comer of the Court I
House. S' is 207 feet farther south, near the road. N' is 58.9 ]
feet north of N and 83.1 feet northeast of the northeast corner
of the Court House. It is close to the northern limits of the
public grounds. N" is approximately 715 feet farther north,
or 70.9 feet south of the south rail of the V. S. & P. R. R.
Marks. — One-half inch holes, filled with lead pings.
I
R US TON
Plate XL. Fig. :
General location. — Across the yards of the State Industrial
college; west of the main building; about 106 feet east of the
west boundary fence.
Momtments. — S consists of a small, long steel rod inserted in
a concrete mass, large and round at base, but cast about one foot
square above ground. This is seven feet from the wire fence
bounding the yard on the south ; 104,9 ^^^t from the southwest
corner of the yard. S' is a similar rod inserted in concrete. This
concrete is contained in a five-inch sewer pipe, which in turn is
sunk nearly flush with ground into a mass of concrete. This
marker is 313 feet north of marker S ; 249.45 f^^l from the S.
W. corner of the Industrial college and 309.8 feet south of N ;
N is just south of a cinder path ; 174 feel from the southwest
corner of the college ; 253.7 f^^^ south of N'. It is similar to ,
S' but with 12-inch .sewer pipe in concrete.
N' is but 215 feel from the north yard fence ; 106.7 f^et from I
the corner of college yard : similar to N and S'.
The western end of the college is directed north 23° SJ^i" east.l
Marks — Long pins in concrete.
Improvements in Louit
VERNON
Cartograph
85
r Plate XL, Fig. 3,
General location. — Across Court House yard in front of Court
House and extending across the Monroe road 100 yards into an
open field.
Monuments. — Ferruginous sandstone blocks varying in weight
from 40 to 150 pounds ; set in finely broken and fiuely pounded
brick and rock debris.
S' is 47,2 feet from the S. W. corner of the Court House and
65 feet from the N. W. corner : it is 95 feet south and 14 feet
west of a large red oak in the Court House yard.
S is across a highway, by the corner of a fence, 11.5 feet
from a pin oak and 140.33 feet south of S'.
N is just across the Monroe road, about where once was an
old fence, and 194.3 ^^^t from the N. W. corner of the Court
House.
X' is 306 feet north of N, just south of a picket fence.
Marks. — One-half inch holes sunk in the rocks.
P BASTROP
Plate XL. Fig. 4.
General location. — Across the public school grounds, just back
of the school house, and extending south into a woods of second
growth pines.
Monuments. — Cement filled sewer pipes sunk into Ihe ground
nearly flush and secured by a mass of concrete.
S is just south of an opening made for a new street in woods, N
is on the southern border of the school grounds, 422. 45 north of S.
N' is near the northern limits of the yard.
Rain prevented accurate measurements to nearby objects and
from N to N'. The diagram is only approximately to scale.
Marks.— 'Sio\.% north and south in end of ^4-incli by 6-inch
bolts sunk into cement inside of sewer pipe.
PRA YVILLE
Plate XL, Fig. 5-
General location. — Across the Court House square between
Court House and jail, and extending northward across the V.
S, & P, R. R. track 400 feet into the woods.
1
i86 Ghological Sdrvey of Louisiana ^^M
fifonumenls. — Six-inch by 30-inch sewer pipes filled with
cement and sunk into a. mass ol concrete.
S is 18. 1 feet north of the south yard fence. N is 221,4 f^^t
farther nortli, but 2.4 feet south of the north yard fence; 79.2
feet from the Court House ; 91.38 feet from the jail.
N' is outside of the yard, 55.19 feet to the north of N and
near the limit of the railroad property, or 72.3 feet south of the
middle of the south rail of the V. S. & P. R. R. N" is in a
swanipy woods 473.1 feet north of N'.
Afarks.~—PL north and south slot in the end of >^-inch by 6-inch
bolts sunk into cement in center of tile 'flush with surface of
The V. S. & P. R. R, here has au average azimuth of about
95° ' '' 35 - J' is intended to be straight, but the rails swing to
aud fro considerably, as seen through a telescope. ^^^1
WINNSBORO
Plate XL, Fig. 6.
General location. — Across the Court House yard, passing
between the jail and Court House, missing the latter by only six
feet ; continued in the unfenced, somewhat wooded, pasture
land to the north.
Monuments. — S is a large uncut Grand Gulf sandstone post
{about 1 50 lbs.), sunken in the ground nearly flush with the sur-
face and secured by a mass of concrete. This is within about
three feel of the south yard fence.
S' is 293.45 fss' farther north, very close to the north fence.
It is similar to S. N is a sewer pipe filled with concrete and
sunk nearly flush with the ground iu a mass of concrete. It is
233.84 feet north of S', N' is similar to Sand S'; 321.05 feet north
of N ; to the northwest, 18.5 feet is a large gum, to the north a
water^oak 37 feet away, and to the northeast, 37 feet, is a locust.
The middle of the bridge over the bayou close by is on the line.
Marks. — One-half inch holes drilled into the sandstone ; or,
in the case of N', the usual iron rod just projecting from the cen-
ter of the concrete within the sewer pipe.
Improvements in Louisiana Cartograph
187
^m NEIV IBERIA
^H Plate XLI. Fig. i
^^T General locathii. — On Avery's island (Petite Anse), N, just
outside of yard, south of gate on path leading to salt mine ; S,
just north of a small stream bed surrounded by small forest
trees, in pasture lands, also golf links.
1 Monuments. — Solid concrete blocks, from iji to 2-foot cubes.
Marks. — Small copper rods sunk in about Sush with the upper
BUrface of the concrete.
r FRANKLIN
Plate XU, Fig. 1.
General iocalion. — In a pasture, just across the Teche, opposite
the wharves. Both N and S are within about five feet of the
fence surrounding the pasture. S is 160 feet east of the bank
of the tiayou.
» Monuments. — Two sandstone posts sunk in the ground about
three feet and projecting four and eight inches.
Marks. — Holes filled with lead plugs. After drilling the hole
in N, it was found that there was another old hole in the end of
the post, filled with debris. Care should be taken to sight
towards the new. or western hole containing the lead ; as here-
Itofore described.
OPELOUSAS
I Plate XLI, Fig. 3.
[ General location. — Public cemetery, about one-half mile east
of the Court House. N is 17.3 feet from the northern fence ;
and 131. 6 feel is the distance from the place where the meridian
line passes through the northern fence, to the northwest corner
^^ of the cemetery. The line passes 23 feet east of a large oak tree.
^^k'U is 315.65 feet from N and is but 14.25 feet north of the south
^^Bfence. S is just on the south side of the fence on the opposite
^H^Hdeof the road. The line crosses the southern cemetery fence
182.5 ^*fi^ from the southwest corner.
Monuments. — N and M are marked by marble slabs or posts
Geological Sorvhy of Lodisiana
6x8x30 inches, set upright i
and about 30 inches deep
firmly packed until the whole mass was even
of the ground. S is a syenite post. shorter but li
also set in concrete.
Afarks. — Drilled holes filled with lead plugs.
a hole 24 to 30 inches in diamel
1 which concrete was poured and
e mass was even with the surface
rger and heavi
I
ffOL/AfA
Plale XLl. Fig,
General location .—On Catholic Church grounds, south of pres-
ent cemetery, though on lands that will eventually be used for
cemetery purposes; between Goode and Grinage streets; with
measurements as given in Fig. 4.
Monuments. — Marble posts 6x6 inches square by 2>^ to 3 feet
long, set on and in a mass of concrete 2 !-i feet square above, or
flush with surface, and ij^ to 2 feet square at base.
Marks. — N and S are marked by short copper rods inserted
vertically in the marble posts and firmly leaded in. On M
a sunken line indicates the place where the meridian passes.
ses. ^^H
ST. MARTINSVILLE
Plate XLl,
General location. — In front of the Catholic Churcfa. M is i
feel west of the statue directly in front of the church, N i
155.7 f^st farther north and 34?^ feet from Main St., S is 256
feet south of M and 9.8 feet from east fence and 51 feet from
middle of Port St.
Monuments. — Masses of concrete between i]-^ and 3-foot cube
sunk even with the surface of the ground, and containing (S and
N), marble slabs 7x12x14 inches let into the soft concrete edge-
wise till their upper surfaces remained flush with the upper sur-
face of the concrete and of the ground. M is a 5x5x30 incb
marble post set in concrete.
Marks. — Holes with lead plugs.
Improvements in Louisiana Cartography 189
LAKE CHARLES
Plate XLI, Fij;. 6.
General location. — On thegroundsof the Lake Charles College, N
is just south of the northern boundary fence ; M is about half way
between the college and the janitor's lodge, by a young China
tree just south of an east-west open ditch ; S is just north of
the south fence.
Monuments. — Marble posts about 4x4x30 or ^6 inches imbedded
vertically in a solid mass of concrete about 30 inches cube and
rising but slightly above the surface of the ground.
Marks. — In each post a hole was drilled, in the center of which
a small copper nail was placed, and filled with lead.
COVINGTON
Plate Xl.I, Fir. 7.
General location. — On land of Judge Jas.L. Thompson. about ^
mile northward of the cemetery, uear the first slight angle or
deflection to the westward of the Holmesville road; the old
Massy Baker grant.
Monuments. — N is a marble post 6x8x30 inches, set in concrete
and projecting two or three inches above the surface of the
ground. About 7 feet due north is a granite marker 5x12x13
inches likewise set in concrete. These are near the edge of a
thin pine woods, or on the east edge of an old rice field. A wire
fence passes between the two.
S is of marble and similarly set, 1203 feet south of N. The
granite marker is 6.2 feet to the south. These as indicated in
the diagram are close to the Holmesville road just over the fence.
This meridian line if extended 648.5 feet south from S iuter-
scts the northeastern boundary line of the Collins tract, 2960.3
set from the north corner of the same.
Marks. — Small holes drilled in the tops of the monuments and
CAMERON
Plate XLI. Fig. 8.
General location. — Across the garden and lands of Dr. Isaac
msel, west of his residence, passing about 7 feet west of his
I90 Gkological Survey of Xodisiana
office. The south end is perhaps 150 yards N. E. of the Court
House.
Monuments. — Marble posts about 4x5x30 inches set in oyster-
shell concrete. S is 10 feet from road fence ; a. 9 feet frotu Boia
d'arc hedge ; 32.7 feet from S. E. corner of office ; 26.5 feet
from S. W. corner of office ; 2q. 16 feet to S'. S' is 7.02 feet to
S. W. corner of office ; ag. 16 feet north of S. N is 773. .'52 feet
north of S. N' is 2.8 feet north of a fence or 779.81 feet north
of S. The markers S' and N' are set in concrete but are only
18 inches in length.
Marks. — Small '^'-inch holes sunk in top of monuments, ^^H
ABBEVILLE ^H
General location . — In front of Court House ; N near north side
of grounds, S near south side. Length, 161.54 f*^'- At S,
azimuth to Methodist Church spire, 178" 31"; to S. W. corner
of Court House. 241° 45" (distance 86 feet),
Monumenis. — Two brick piers about 1 \i by \% feet coming
up nearly flush with the surface of the ground and capped with
Portland cement.
Markers. — Iron bolts projecting but little or none above the
cemeutcap, with linesunken in same.
LAFAYETTE
Stone posts were set in the Court House yard ; but it was
discovered that local attraction caused serious trouble with the
needle ; hence these monuments must be taken up and placed
in the new Industrial School grounds as soon as the arrange-
ment of the buildings can be determined.
THIBODAUX
Marble posts set in concrete : S on north slope of levee, north
side of LaFourche bayou ; one-fourth mile west of swingbridge ;
S' is just north of the road fence ; N is about 600 feet north of
S' and just south of pasture fence ; N' is just north of same
EXPLANATION OF PLATE XL
EXPLANATION OF PLATE XL
Fig. I. — Arcadia Meridian line
' 2. — Ruston Meridian line
3. — Vernon Meridian line
4. — Bastrop Meridian line
5. — Rayville Meridian line
6. — Winnsboro Meridian line
7. — General form of monument used in 1 900-1 901
8. — General form of monument used in 1902
EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLI
EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLI
Fig. I. — Avery's Island Meridian line
a. — Franklin Meridian line
3. — Opelousas Meridian line
4. — Houma Meridian line
5. — St. Martinsville Meridian line
6. — Lake Charles Meridian line
7. — Covington Meridian line
8. — Cameron Meridian line
Pa
A?T-ft. L^N-..x AND
OATJONS.
Ai-T.-r.. U'. h'X AND
TlLLLn rO.'NL'ATiONS
SPECIAL REPORT
No. VI
SUBTERRANEAN WATERS OF LOUISIANA
BY
G. D. HARRIS
CONTENTS
Pagb
Introductory Remarks 203
Bearing of Stratigraphy on Subterranean Water Supply. . . . 203
Topographic Features of Louisiana 207
Geologic Formations and their Water Supplies 208
Pre-Lafyette 208
Cretaceous 208
Stratigraphy 208
Drake's well 208
King's Well 208
Lignitic Eocene 208
Stratigraphy 208
Shreveport Ice Factory well 209
Minden 209
Allenbridge, AUentown 209
Benton, Bolinger 209
Ruston 209
Dubach's well 209
Natchitoches Normal School well 209
Colfax well 210
Monroe 211
General conclusions 212
Lower Claiborne Eocene 212
Cocksfield Eocene 212
Alexandria 212
General remarks 213
Jackson Eocene 213
Grand Gulf Oligoccne 213
Springs 213
Catahoula Shoals 214
General remarks 214
Lafayette and more recent deposits 215
Amount and Occurrence of Waters 215
Importance to southern Louisiana 215
Pressure head above tide 215
Two important water bearing horizons 217
Datails of Plans of Investigation and Results 218
Bench marks — Elevations 218
Well Sectioas East of Ihe MiBsiuippi 319
Introductory remarks 319
Ship Island, Ouaranlinc Station well . 3io
Ship Island, Light House well aio
Mississippi City, C. Cleineoshaw's well aao
MisdsBippi City, C. P. Ellia- well aao
Mississippi City, Court House well aio
Pass Christian Ocean City, Genera) section 331
Bay, St. Louis ; jji
Lake Catherine aai
New OrleaiiB. Class A, deeper wells 1100-1400 feet 33i
New Orleaus, Class B, shallower welU 311
Lake City, Boiinabel well 333
Mandeville, Dessome's well at flower garden 333
Mandevllle, Dessome's well at residence. 133
Msndeville, Mrs. Jno. Hawkins' well 333
Mandeville, C. H. Jackson's well aaj
Mandeville, Dr. Paine's well 333
Mandeville, Ribiiva well 333
Mandeville. shallow wells 133
Mandeville Junction, R. R. well 333
Cbinchuba Deaf Institute 314
Pearl River Junction 334
Covinglon , Maison Blanche well 124
Covington. Dunimet's well 334
Covington, Jno. Dutch's jaj
Covington, Mrs. Flower's place, shallow wells X3$
Covington, Court House yard well aaj
Dixon Academy well aaj
Claiborne, 1 mile east of Covington 335
Abita Springs. Simons hotel well,. . 336
Abita Springs, Anbert's hotel well 336
Abita Springs, Labat's hotel well aj6
Abita Springs, Schmid's well by depot .... 136
Hernandez place, two miles noilti of C<vington 326
Hernandez place, two and one-half miles north Covin gtoa 337
Fredrick and Singletry's still, well at 337
Mammoth Springs, near Fraiiklititon .... 337
Pontchaloula, Town w«ll aaj
Pontchatoula, G. H. BeiK el's well 337
Hammund, Ice factory well aay
Hammond. Merritt Miller's well aaS
Hammond. Morrison well aaS
Hammond, Diirker well 338
Hammond, one-lialf mile south of, Eastman's well 338
Hammond, one and one-half mile foulh of..
Hammond, two miles south southwest o
it o( a^
Iiree miles sontb sontliweit of aaS
Hammond, Oil well aiS
Hammond. Puahee's well 339
Natalbaav, Natalban; Lumber Co. well 339
Baton Rouge. Water works well 329
Baton Ronge. abont five miles ea»l of. 339
Baker, one-fourlh mi!e south of Station 230
Baker, driven welU 330
Baker, bored wells 330
Zachary 330
Bayou Sara 330
Well Sections West of the Hiiassippt 330
Thibodaux 130
Glencoe 230
Morgan City, station east of 330
Mark^iville 230
Delta - 330
Bastrop Z3I
Lake Providence well No. 3 231
Lake Providence well 131
Jeanerette. Moresi'a bam well 333
Jeanerette, Moresi's foundry well 333
Jeanerette, Ice factory well 233
Jeanerette, three mites sonth of, Kilgore plantation 113
New IberiH. Ice works well 233
Lafa>ette Water works well 233
Lafayette Compress and Storage Co. 'a well 333
Opelousas 333
Washington 333
Abbeville Court House 334
Abbeville, niue miles west of 334
Rayne, Chapius' well -,,... 234
Rayne, Bippolite Richards well 234
^Crowley, railroad well 334
Ctowley, Ice factory well 334
■Ctowley, IS miles northeast of 235
Crowley, three miles east of 335
Gueydan, three miles soatbwesl of 135
Gueydan. aiic miles east of 335
Oriza. one mile southwest of 235
Oriza, two miles southwest of 235
OrixB, two miles south southwest 335
Jennings 335
Jennings, three miles east southeast of 336
Jennings, nine miles south southwest of. 336
Lake Arthur, one one-half miles north of 338
Lake Arthur, five miles north of 338
She]) Beach
Welsh
Welsh, one-half mile east of
Welsh, three-fourths mile east of
Welsh, two miles southeast of ,
Welsh, nine miles north northwest of
Welsh, one and one-half miles east sontheast of
Kinder, one mile north of
Kinder, Tillotson's well
China, McBiraey
Oberlin , ..
Lake Charles, one mile north of
Lake Charles, Keiser machine shop well
Lake Charles, Judge Miller's well
West Lake, Perkins and Miller Lambcr Co. well. .
West Lake, three miles northwest of , .
Soar Lake, Tex
a Deep wells 141
Variation of Height of Water
How determined
Results , ,
Table of variation, Hsmmil's well, Jennings
Table of variation, I^wson's well, Jennings
Table of variation. Bower well, Welsh
Table of variation, Hawkeye Rice Mill well, Fenton.. .
Representfllive Mews on the Subject o( Well Variation
Covington, by Mr. Wallbellick
Opelousas, by Mr. Little
Gneydan, by Mr. Goeydan
Lake Arthur, by Mr. Camp
Crowley, by Mr, Mann
Jennings, by Mr. Ritter
Welsh, by Messrs. Field and Bower
Fenton. by Mr. Mills
China, by Mr. McBirney
Lake .Arthur, by Mr, Eastman
Detailed Study of Effect of Pumping at Memphis
Analyses of Artesian Waters of Southern Loniaiajia 351
ILLUSTRATIONS
Paob
Plate XLII. Rittcr Brothers' Well Rig at Work ; Drilling 236
XLIII. Brechner's Rig ; Testing a well 238
Fig. 20. Theoretical Artesian Well 204
21. Deep well water conditions of sonthern Louisiana 205
22. Experimental illustration of curved hydraulic gra-
dient 206
23. Dumpy level 219
24. Record of tests, Memphis, Tenn 248
25. Effect of pumping, Memphis, Tenn 249
f SUBTERRANEAN WATERS OF LOUISIANA
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
The outsider will doubtless be at a loss to know how it is that
Louisiana, a state in the basin and near the mouth of the great
Mississippi; a state where precipitation is from 35 to 67 in.
annually ; a state with thousands of miles of internal water-
ways ; should be in any way troubled for an adequate supply of
water at any time in any year. He must reflect, however, that
things are not always as they seem at first sight. There are
high, sandy hill regions, both east and west of the Mississippi.
that, although receiving a large amount of precipitation, lose it
quickly by downward percolation. Then, too. in the great
coastal clay regions, where water is absorbed but slowly by the
underlying beds, and where streams seem in no hurry to carry
oS any excess moisture, an enormously large demand has
recently been made upon the water supply by the thousands of
acres of rice fields that require an actual, prolonged inundation
if the crop is to be made a complete success. The alluvial lands
have an ample supply of water, but it is scarcely ever potable.
There is, then, scarcely a region of any size in the state, that
is not vitally interested in a greater or better water supply.
Naturally the people have turned their attention to exploiting
the subterranean waters. Some have succeeded in obtaining a
fair quantity and good quality of water that would flow freely,
in other words, they have obtained good artesian wells. Others
after expensive operations have found neither an adequate sup-
ply nor a desirable quality.
The reasons for success or the reverse are usually not difficult
to see where once the mode of occurrence of the underground
waters is well understood.
BSARING OF STK.^TIGRAPHY ON SUBTERRANEAN WaTER
Supplies
It is easy to conceive of a circular basin occupied by forma-
tions of different degrees of permeability, all sloping toward the
304
GSOLOGICAL SUKVBY OF LOUISIANA
•HBTlCAt, ARTESIAN WBLL.
I
center, forming a veritable basin on a large scale. Snch an ideal
basin is shown by Fig. lo. It would seem that if precipitation
took place in this basin and if ^ is a pervJoos layer or formation,
whereas ,4 and C are impervious, the water falling on B would
sink in and gradually collect in the center of the basin. Finally
if more water was added at B, it would eventually fill bed S so
that in the middle of the
basin the water would have
a considerable "head" and
a hole being drilled at the
locality marked "well,"
would immediately fill with
water and overflow. This
is the idirai artesian well.
Whether or not all these
conditions are ever fulfilled
we are not at present prepared to say. Certainly none of the
"deep ■ or flowing weils in Louisiana belong to this type.
So far as the underground water supplies of this state are
concerned, they may best be understood by studying Fig. ai.
The hills sloping southward from the Grand Gulf outcrops are
composed of sands, gravel and some clay. This is the region
where there is an average annual rainfall of nearly 55 in.
that must be looked upon as catching the great amount of water
that is drawn upon so heavily by the wells in the rice fields
farther south.
There are here at least 1400 square miles that serve as a
catchment area for this subterranean supply. To be sure,
doubtless not one-fifth of the total amount of precipitation ever
finds its way into underground passages ; for the many important
tributaries of the Calcasieu and Merraentau speak emphatically
of the quantities of water that quit this country by overland
passages. Regarding this section, however, we do not care at
present to go into details. We simply wish to use it as typical
in explaining the way underground waters occur in Louisiana.
In this particular case the overlying impervious layer is the Port
Hudson clay, whose origin and history we have already described
in Special Report No. I. The pervious layer is the mixed
aUBTBKRANBAN WATERS OF IiOUISIANA
205
Tr,«
= i:V
'1
sands, clays and giavels of the later Tertiary and early Quarter-
nary periods, often included under tlie Dame of ' 'Orange sand ' '
or "Lafayette formation." The im-
pervious layers below are the Miocene
sandy clays and the Frio and Grand
Gulf beds still lower.
Notice that the water at Oberlin
stands in the deep wells at about 60 ft.
above the ocean level ; at Kinder, 26;
at Jennings about 19.7, at Camp's
we!). 2 miles north of Lake Arthur, 8; ""'
and around Lake Arthur, Shell Beach,
etc., it overflows pipes elevated a few c
feet above tide. The water, then, m
does not exist in the underlying beds ^
as a great level pond, but its upper Sr
surface rises up approximately with 2.^
the slope of the country. The exact S 5
distance from the surface of the soil to ^ w
the surface of the water depends Sg
largely on local topography. co
This sloping condition of the upper ■< "^
surface of the underlying waters is ? ^
easily accounted for by assuming a ^ o
leakage into the Gulf from these beds. g.u
a leakage slow to be sure, but suffi- 3
cient to prevent the waters rising in
these welts to their hydrostatic head, ''
I. e. the height of their source- The
friction of the water along through
these sands and gravels is very great.
There is therefore no tendency to
rise to any considerable height above
sea level, even as far south as Lake
Arthur. An interesting and instruc-
tive illustration of a principle closely
allied to the one here involved is given
by Professor Davis in the Report of
\ the Geological Survey of New South
2o6 GBOI.OGICA.L Survey op Louisiana
Wales Mineral Resources, 1901, p. 457. The figure he gives is
herewith reproduced (Fig. 22). " The pipe was filled with sand,
coarse shot, and marbles in consecutive order, to represent beds of
decreasing porosity. Three vertical glass tubes were luted into
holes in the lead pipe, tapping respectively the parts of the pipe
filled with sand, shot and marbles. The lower end of the pipe was
loosely stopped with a brick to keep the materials in their places.
Water was then poured into the upper end of the pipe until the
latter was filled, and as the water escaped through the lower
end more was poured in to keep the pipe full. The water
ascended the three vertical glass tubes, and remained stationary
at a certain height in each." If the pipe is small and long,
even though nothing be placed within it, the friction of the
water along its sides will be sufficient to cause a decided decline
in the surfaces of the separate vertical tubes very much as
shown in the above figure, though the upward curve in the
hydraulic gradient will no longer be noticeable.
These statements we believe will suffice to show the intimate
relationship between the subterranean water supplyand the way
the underlying formations occur in a given region. Any
rational prediction, therefore, of the occurrence of artesian, or
deep well water, must necessarily be based on a thorough knowl-
edge of the stratigraphy of the region concerned, Plate II, of
Special Report No. I, gives a very general idea of the strati-
SUHTKBHANKAj; WATERS OF LOUIE
207
I
','gjaphy of the State of Louisiana. It will suffice to show the
lutility of expecting the same underground water conditions,
say at Ruston, as are met with at Alexandria or Opelousas or
farther south.
The deep well supply at Ruston is doubtless from the upper
Lignitic beds; at Alexandria, from the Cocltsfield beds; at
Opelousas and to the south, from the Lafayette beds. The first
are represented ou Plate II by coarse diagonal lining ; the sec-
ond by very fine diagonal ruling ; the third by black spots on a
vbite back ground.
Topographic Features of Louisiana
Intimately associated with the stratigraphy of a region and its
bearing on the occurrence of underground waters is the subject
of topography, or the surface features of the land. Louisiana
is highest in its Grand Gulf territory, i. e. its northwest central
portion. Hills rise to the height of about 450 A. T. and consid-
erable tracts are above the 400 ft. contour. From here north-
ward the land scarcely attains the same elevation until the Pale-
ozoic mountains of Arkansas are reached. Moreover, the Red
and Ouachita rivers have degraded broad areas along their res
pective courses, reducing the general level of this higher portion
of the stale to perhaps less than 200 ft. A. T. In general, the
slate and the territory adjoining it on all sides is low, and com-
paratively speaking, of low relief. It may be interesting to noie
that as nearly as we can calculate from present data there are in
Louisiana :
Sq. miles.
Above the 400 ft. contour 375
' 300 '■ " 2360
" 9240
" 17500
" 27250
" 45000
Geological Survey of Louisiana
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS AND THEIR WATER
SUPPLIES
PRE-L A FAYETTE
Cretaceous
Slratigrapky . — A glance at the sectioned model, Plate II, will
suffice to show the way in which the Cretaceous beds lie in north-
ern Louisiana. In some places the folds or peaks actually come
to the surface. But they are, as may be inferred from statements
made above, but little lower than the Cretaceous outcrops in
southwest ceutral Arkansas. Moreover, they have suffered con-
siderable folding and dislocation, facts which also tend to diminish
the probability of any general artesian flow from these rocks.
Well at Drake' s sail works,- — It will be seen from Special Reprort
No. II, pp. 57,60, that the famous old well at Drake's salt works
is still flowing, though feebly. About ui ft. is the height of
its mouth above tide, though, as will be seen by consulting the
reference, it has flowed to a height of 150 A, T. The depth of
the well has been variously estimated from loio to iioo ft. It
seems to have passes through soft limestone the whole distance.
The Cretaceous age of those beds has been satisfactorily estab-
lished. This we believe must be the well referred to by Darton *
as at " Winnfield," La. for he gives 1100 ft. as its depth, 8 in.
as the size, temperature as 70° ; and with gas. Veatch, however,
gives size as 10 in ; temperature 75°.
Well at King's salt works. — This, according to Veatch is 136
ft. deep. The water rises to within 2 ft. of the surface and
stands about 161 ft. A. T. See Special Report No. II, p, 77.
LiGNiTic Eocene
Stratigraphy.— This formation crops out mainly north of a line
drawn from Natchitoches to Sabinetown, and between the
Red and Sabine rivers. Yet we suspect it is not far beneath the
surface in that portion of the state west of Monroe and north of
• Water Supply and Irrigation Papers. U. S. G. S. No. 57, 190a, p. 50.
Sdbtkrranbam Waters of Louisiana
209
E V. S. & P. R. R., see Plate II, where the heavy black bars on
[white background indicate in a general way the position of the
Lignitic beds.
Shrevepori Ice Factory well. — This well as described in oui for-
mer report (1899) reaches a water-bearing stratum 10 ft. thick
at a depth of 961 ft. The level to which the water rises can-
not be far from igo ft. A. T. The proximity of the Cretaceous
rocks is seemingly indicated by the saltiness of the water. We
are somewhat surprised at the temperature recorded, (. e. 83".
being nearly 10° above the temperature given for Drake's well.
Considerable quantities of gas come up with the water, loc, cit.
V lD(
[ Minden. — We have never visited the locality of the deep well
•t Mioden. Darton. in his paper already referred to, gives as
itsdepth 1000 ft. ; and remarks, "No flow." We have thus
far been unable to obtain more precise information concerning it.
Aldenbridge , AlUniown. — Wells 400 ft. deep. Darton.
Benton, BoHnger. — Well 500 ft. deep. Darton.
.ffMj/iJW.— This well although located in a Cocksfield or Lower
Claiborne area, presumably draws its supply of water from the
npper arenaceous beds of the Lignitic. The mouth of the well
is not far from 300 ft. A. T. The pipe is 8 ins. for the first 200
ft. ; 6 in. for the lower 250 ft., making a total depth of 450 ft.
The pumps are so connected that it is impracticable to state how
the water level stands, but we understood from the engineer of
the water-works that it was perhaps but 200 A. T. It is evi-
dently fine water, and is obtained at the rate of 100,000 gal.
per day.
Duback's well. — This is a small well at the engine house of the
inbach Lumber Co. Depth 296 ft. This formerly flowed 4
5 ft. above the surface of the ground, though it does so no
more. Seemingly of good quality and when pumped furnishes
all the water required by the Company. The well is about on a
level with the R. R. station. Thus far, however, we have failed
to obtain exact levels along the R. R. passing through this place.
Natchitoches Normal School. — The mouth of this well is approx-
imately 130 ft. A. T. According to Pres. Caldwell, its section
down to 504 ft. is as follows :
210 Geological Survey of Louisiana
"The first 34 ft. penetrated, consisted of red a.nd cfaocolate
clays without sand or grit ; next 18 in. of soft sandstone,
i ron -stained : moderate flow of water at 38 ft. verj' salt, derived
from bed of grey sand, and risiug over night to within 14 in.
of surface: alternate beds of blue-grey and red-grey sandstone,
and blue clay with occasional bits of pyrites and brown lignite,
down to 96 ft. ; at this depth a bed of very fine, nearly pure
white sand, about 12 ft. thick, from which there was »
strong flow of water not distinctly salt (the upper stream had
been cased off) ; then chocolate clay, blue clay and thin bed of
sand to 134 ft. At this depth, a solid bed of iron pyrites 10
ft. 8 in. thick, that took over three weeks to gel through
and wore out every style and make of drill in stock ; then 1 2 ft.
of very coarse rounded sand, nearly white ; ihen 4 ft. more of
pyrites ; then alternate clay and sand, with one or two thin beds
of slaty lignite, down to 462 ft. where there was a bed of shells
and gravel and a 14-in, bed of lignite ; then one unvarying
bed of blue clay to the point where the work was abandoned.
504 ft."
Below 476 ft., the foreman of the Andrews Well Company,
who sunk the well, gives the following log :
Feet
Greenish, brittle clay with shells to
Clay with shells lo ^ ]
Bowlder - to
Cla; (no shells), rock, fine sand to
The Times -Democrat in referring to this well says, (Pd
1900) : — '■ After several months of disheartening trials, tht
artesian well at the Normal school has been finished. A good
stream of water was struck at depth of 726 ft., but it is very
salty, and perhaps can only be utilized for bathing and fire pur-
poses,"
The upper beds of the Uguitic here encountered at a depth of
not greater than 200 ft would furnish a fair supply of water. Good
springs from this same geological horizon are common to the
north of the village in the hilly region. A detailed discussion of
this area can be found in our Report of 1899, p. 141, el seq.
Col/ax. — The information we have regarding the well at this
Company,
m
^^ Subterranean Waters in Louisiana 211
locality is rather indefinite, but still, it suffices to show where,
stratigraphicatly, the water is located.
I Mr, Cameron furnished us the following section :
Feet
I. Soil, sand, gravel, clay with shells , .10 150
3. Gypsnw, with small spiral shells
3. Gas: 11(1 water at 660
4. Sail -n-aler ami j-as at noo
" Water carries 20 grains of salt per gallon. Water and gas
have been flowing for the past two years."
Darton gives the following data regarding this well :
I Depth 1 103 ft.
I Diameter , aj^ in.
f Flow 42eal.
t Heighl of water 65 ft.
I Temperature 61'"
f The local upheavals in this vicinity {Rept. 1899. p. 61) doubt-
less are responsible for the seeming thinness of the Cocksfield,
Jackson and Lower Claiborne beds. It is more than likely that
the water is coming from a Lignitic horizon similar to that from
which water is obtained in the deep well at the Natchitoches
Normal school.
flfonroe. — Although there seems to be a considerable develop-
ment of Cocksfield beds along the V. S. & P. R. R. from Monroe
to Ruston. and although the fossiliferous beds penetrated in the
Monroe wells a hundred feet or more below the surface yield
Lower Claiborne species, I am of the opinion that the supply of
water at the Ice Works comes from the upper bedsof the Lignitic.
The wells hereabout are sunk 400+ ft. deep, and find an abund-
ant water supply. When piped np it is said to rise 40 ft. above
the level of the ground, /. <r. 1 10 ft. A. T. f for the level of the
ground here is 7a t ft-) North of Monroe, from >jto i}i
mile there are three similar wells. One in the garden of Mr. T.
M. Parker has attached a vertical pipe about 20 ft. in height.
The water, when stopped from leaking below would readily over-
flow at the top of this pipe, showing a head of at least 100 ft.A.T,
The town has had elaborate analyses made of the artesian
waters obtained from the water-works wells, in the eastern part
^^^ the town, but they were mislaid and inaccessible at the time
212 Geological Suhvhv of Louisiana
of our visit to the place. It is said the water possessed various
bad ingredients that rendered it unfit for general household uses.
This is nol strange when we consider the proximity of this
region to the axis of the ?^mbayment described at length in
Special Report No. i, a region during Eocene times replete with
marsh- vegetation.
General conclusion, — We see no prospect for large flowing wells
from the Lignitic area of the state. The water obtained by
boring in these beds will be found of poor quality for the most
part west of Red river, where marine shells occur imbedded in
the sands and clays. These are the lower Ugnitic beds. Higher
up, near the Lignitic-Lower Claiborne contact, sands bearing
pure water are often found ; springs are also quite numerous at
the base of local elevations. The Lower Claiborne being com-
paratively thin over the area so designated on the map, there
are frequently good prospects of pumping if not flowing wells in
the less elevated areas covered by the Lower Claiborne deposits.
Lower Claiborne Eockne
We do not see how any considerable quantity of artesian or
deep well water can be obtained from these beds. Nearly every-
where they contain a large amount of organic matter and the
waters issuing from tbem are generally impotable. Where deep
well water is sought in the Lower Claiborne di.stricts, an attempt
should be made to penetrate below into the upper Lignitic beds.
CocKSFiELD Eocene
Alexandria. — Very satisfactory results have been obtained at
this locality so far as quantity and quality of deep well water is
concerned. A section of the water-works well sunk in 1892
furnished us, at the place, in 1901 is as follows :
Feet
I, Soil. Ihen yellowish clay. to 300
I. Green tlays (evidenlly Grand Gulf)., .to.
3. Black, brittle clay (Jacltfioni to
4. Rock lo 533J< '
5. Clay ( Cockfield ) to
6. Water bearing sand 8 ft. thick, pure crystalline.
This well is said to have been started with a 6-m. pipe and
finished with a 2,(^in, The surface of the ground is about 77
<
SUBTKRR..
Waters of Louisu
213
it. A. T. Water level is reported as 12 ft. higher, or 89 A. T.
A third well put down in 1894 to a depth of 815 ft. is said to
contain a lo-ia. casing down to 210 ft.; an 8-in. to 612 ft.; 4-in.
10815 ^t- Runs perhaps 70 gal. per minute and can be pumped
to the extent of 500 gal. per minute.
Darton in his paper already referred to gives the following
regarding these wells :
Depth Siie Gals. Height Temperature
^735 ft. [o-in.-6-in. 276J^ +4
Bsoft.
630 ft. 4 wells 85° ±
General remarks. — We know of no other place in the state
where these beds are properly located and drilled into, so that
general conclusions, regarding this water-bearing horizon can
scarcely be drawn at present. Yet the probabilities are that the
larger part of the Jackson area, where not over 150 ft. A. T. , can
profitably draw from the Cocksfield beds below to good advan-
tage for their supplies of pure water. Flowing wells cannot be
hoped for, however, except in regions less than 80 ft. A. T.
The fact that the Colfax well did not produce water at this hori-
zon is probably due to the local disturbances that brought up
the Cretaceous beds across the river as described by Johnson.
(See p. 61, Rept. 1899.) Again, Colfax is about 22 ft. higher
than Alexandria and hence probably the same water if encoun-
tered would not rise to the surface ; and it may have been over-
looked entirely.
Jackson Eocknh
So far as we are aware, these beds contain uo desirable under-
ground waters. Those who live on the Jackson outcrops cannot
depend on finding good water at shallow depths. In case they
are south of the Cocksfield- Jackson division line, (see Plate 1 of
this report, or Geological map of Rept, 1899), and are not over
150 ft. A. T., there is hope for a good supply of deep well
water at a depth less than 800 ft.
Grand Gulf Oligochnh
Springs. —The alternating layers of pure sands and
.ve much to do with the phei
I pervious
inally large number of
214
Geological Survey of Louisiana
pure springs that issue in the Grand Gulf hills of Louisiana.
The distribution of these springs is co-extensive with the out-
crops of the formation. See the maps just referred to above.
Catahoula Shoals — We have already referred to this locality
in our Special Rejiort No. i. The section given by the U, S.
Engineers as the record of the test well put down at this place
is as follows :
Boring No. 4, Catahoula Shoals, La.
(77.0 miles above mouih of Black river. Elevation of chan-
nel 7.88 M.C.D,)
3-in. pipe. Flow 60 gals, per minute, 11 ft. A. T.
Peel A.T.
11.06 Sandy mnd
10.07 Sandy, clay ami gravel.
7.78 Gravel.
-4.69 Grey sand.
-19.19 Blue-brown, sandy clay.
-41.44 Blue-xrey rock.
-43.87 Very hard bine-grey clay or soft rock.
-65.1a- Soft blue-grey rock.
-75.16 Blue sandy clay.
-138.61 Grey rock.
-138.94 Blue sandy cluy.
-J47.01 Fine grey sand. From this sand water flowed, 60 gal. permicitle.
—186.45 Fine grey saud. From lliis sand water flowed, 60 gal. per minute.
General remarks. — This we believe is the only instance in
Louisiana where the lower Grand Gulf beds have been tested
with regard to their water-beatiug properties. Across the Miss-
issippi, however, the successful wells in Port Gibson are probably
deriving Iheir water from this horizon. We would expect that
the "oil well " being sunk on Sicily island would encounter this
water-bearing horizon at a depth of perhaps 300 ft- though il
doubtless would scarcely overflow and make a true artesian well
in that locality. From Harrisonburg, southwest, along the
northern shore of Catahoula lake and even to Alexandria, water
should be found in this stratum at a depth scarcely over 300
ft. It would probably not flow above the surface of the ground,
unless in exceptionally low places.
.■ation of chan-
J
liKANB&K Waters of Louisiana
LAFAYETTE AND MORE RECENT DEPOSITS
Amount and Occubrknce of Waters
' fmfiorfattee to Southern Louisiana. — The amount of water
derived from other fortnatioDS in Louisiana is extremely insig-
nificant when compared to the yield of these beds. In our intro-
ductory remarks to this Special Report, we took this horizon as
showing most clearly the occurrence of under-ground waters in
Louisiana- From the phenomena of precipitation in the region
of Lafayette outcrops, in the central portion of the state, to the
out-flowing of copious streams from deep-drilled holes not far
from the Gulf border, there is nothing unnatural, or peculiar
to be observed . The water is at all times simply seeking its
lowest level in accordance with the law of gravity.
Pressure head above tide. — We have shown in our opening
statements how the water exists beneath a bed of Port Hudson
clay in a state of hydrostatic pressure, how the upper surface
slopes from 60 or more ft. above tide in the higher planes in
the north, to perhaps 6 ft. above tide along the Gulf coast.
It might have been mentioned there, too, that there is a consid-
erable irregularity in the upper surface of this underlying water
in an east-west direction. Because water in one well stands say
at 15 A. T. it is no sure sign that it will stand at exactly the
same level in a well from 500 yards to a mile away in any direc-
tioi) of the compass. Doubtless if the water were under simple
static pressure, in course of time it would assume in the var-
ious wells the same level, but give this water even a slight
flow, from leakage Gulfwards or from vigorous pumping over
large artas to the south, and then the different resistance thedif-
ferent portions of the waters meet in their passage southward
through beds of sand and gravel of various dimensions and
states of consolidation, shows clearly in the varying height to
which water will rise in different wells. Attention should be
called to the fact that there is not. beneath the Port Hudson beds
in southern Louisiana, the homogeneity of structure that is
usually represented in sections of this region. The driller
^Itnows well that the outlying clays are from 60 to 150 ft. in
216
Geological Survey of Louisiana
thickness, sometimes solid, sometimes with sand-beds at various
horizons and of varying thickness. The water-bearing beds
were, until 1902. usually spoken of as blue sands, owing to the
fact, doubtless, that only the tine material is brought to the sur-
face by the rotary process of sinking these wells so much in
vogue in southern Louisiana. It is now recognized that the
best producing wells have their strainers in coarse gravel. This,
owing to the lack of continuity of any of these beds, leads to
the sinking of wells in localities, often in close proximity, to
quite different depths.
Some general statements, however, can be made regarding the
height to which these underground waters may be expected to
rise, when once they have been met with in the coarse, gravelly
material. So far as the Lake Arthur-Smithville section is con-
cerned (see Fig. zi), little more need here be said — but attention
should be called to the fact that, although the prairie region of
St. Landry parish is somewhat more elevated than the lands on
the same latitude to the west, there is not a corresponding rise
in the hydraulic surface that might at first thought be expected.
For example, at Opelousas, although the data relating to this
point are not as definite as we would like, the surface of the
deep well waters seems to be but about 25 ft. A. T. While
due west between Kinder and Oberlin the surface is about 45 ft.
A. T, At Lafayette and Rayne the surface of the deep welt
water is about 23 ft. A. T.; at Webster and Lake Charles it is 35.
On the opposite side of the Mississippi at Pearl river the sur-
face of underground water, in wells from 300 to 600 ft. deep,
rises to 54 ft. A. T.: al Covington, 40 ft.; at Baton Rouge about
30-35 ft. In general, then, it may be said that there is a ten-
dency for the subterranean waters along the same line of lati-
tude to descend somewhat in approaching the Embayment axis,
or to rise in the opposite direction.
On the east side of the Mississippi there is of course the same
rise of the surface of subterranean waters to the north that we
have described along the Lake Arthur-Smithville section. For
example, water in the wells at Covington stands at an average
height of about 40 ft. A. T.. but 3 miles north on the Hernaadez
place, the height is no less than 60 ft. At Baton Rouge the
r
SUBTBRKANSAN WATERS OF LOUISIANNA
surface in question is scarcely over 35 fl.: at Baker il is over 90
ft. A. T.
The general conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing discus-
sion, regarding the upper surface of the Lafayette water, is then
the following : Towards the south and towards the Embayment
axis there is a marked decline in the subterranean water surface
and there is a much more rapid slope Gulfward east of the Mis-
sissippi than there is to the west.
Two importanl water-bearing horizons. — East of the Mississippi
two or more fairly distinct water-bearing hortzons are found.
The first and lowest is reached at depths ranging from 400 to
700 ft, according to position and local topography. This includes
wells at Scranlon, Mississippi City. Biloxi, Ship island, Bay St.
IvOUis. Pearl river, Mandeville Junction, Covington, Hammond,
New Orleans, Lake City, Baton Rouge and Baker. The second
is reached at depths ranging from 150I0 700 ft. according to local
surface features as well as geographic position, and includes such
wells as those about Lake Catherine, Mandeville and Manchac.
There is still a third of less importance and lowest of all, that
is met with in 1200 to 1400 ft. wells in the City of New Orleans,
This has been correlated with the Ship island-Covinglon horizon,
but the character of the water and the force with which il flows
indicate in our miud a deeper source and higher head than the
Covington wells possess. The Bonnabel well (Lake City well)
900 ft. deep is quite probably of the same horizon as the 600-700
ft. wells in New Orleans. That Lakes Maurepas and Pontchar-
train lie in a shallow synclinal trough we have had occasion to
note on several occasions.
On the west side of the Mississippi alluvium, nearly all sub-
terranean water is being obtained from the upper of these two
horizons. It is this horizon alone that we have used in the gen-
eral deductions stated above.
We are not aware that wells have yet been sunk, in search (or
water, to a sufficient depth, say along the Southern Pacific terri-
tory, to reach the lower lying horizon. At the Crowley Ice fac-
tory one was put down to the depth of 600 ft., but this can
scarcely be regarded as deep enough to penetrate the lower stra-
tum. The well was not reported as a success. In fact it was
2i8 Geological Survey of Louisiana
said that the casing was withdrawn and the screen placed at Ae
usual depth of about 180 ft.
It must not be understood that we believe there are. in all of
southern Louisiana, two very distinct or sharply defined water-
bearing horizons. As we have remarked before, there is not the
regtilarity of structure in these late Tertiary or early Quaternary
beds that one would suppose from a study of the usual geological
sections of the region. In some districts sands prevail at the
same depths that finer material, even clay, occurs in wells close
by. The above statements are, however, in a general way true.
In the vicinity of Lake Charles there is not the usual supply
from the aoo ft. horizon, but water-bear ing sands are found at
about 500 ft.
Details of Plans of Investigation and Results
Bench marks — Elevations. — In continuing our work on tli«
underground waters of this state we secured at the outset as much
information as possible regarding elevations of stations along
the railroads and bench marks of the U. S. Survey along the
principal rivers. By means of these bench marks, or points of
known elevation, the relative heights of the water as it appears
in nearby wells can readily be determined. This is, naturally,
by the use of .some kind of a spirit level with an accompanying
rod. We ran in all over 100 miles of such lines for this special
purpoie. Extreme accuracy in such work is, of course, quite
out of the question ; for nothing is to be gained by attempting
"precise" leveling from points whose actual height is perhaps
not known to the nearest foot, as for example the height of
the various railroad stations. Again the daily variation of the
water in the wells is in some instances considerable. I'or our
work we found a light, small, dumpy level precisely the thing.
Its construction is such that it rarely gets out of adjustment.
It is so light that it is not a load in itself. This we find an
important item, for the geologist if alone or with but one attend-
ant is always loaded with his necessary pariphlnalia. The char-
acter of work that can be done rapidly with this instrument is
such as to recommend it for all common and reconnaissance work.
After an experience of over 2 years with this instrument, we can
SUBTBBRANHAN WaTHRS OF LOUISIANA
state that a mile can be run twice within . lo ft. to .01 ft. of the
same without fail. This we kuow from many miles of duplicate
tnd tie lines. The geueral form of our iustrumeut is shown by
. 33, though of course the ordinary tripod was substituted in
^]dace of the metal trivet.*
Well Sections East of 1
; Mississippi
Introductory remarks. — It is entirely out of the (juestion lo
' sttempt to enumerate but a few among the many deep wells that
have been put dowu in the southern part of Louisiana. As a
rule the records kept are scanty in the extreme ; the object
sought is water and little attention is paid to what the formations
are, which are encountered before water is reached. In some
instances, however, a few fossils have been saved by neighbor-
ing inhabitants and in others, the materials thrown out can be
examined, at leisure if the well is of recent date. Exact data
relating to depth, however, can scarcely be obtained in this way.
Our personal investigations have extended from Mobile, Ala-
bama to Sour Lake, Texas, though in the territory outside of
Louisiana, a comparatively small amount of time has been spent.
cnliooeii io case of ttie Railroad compass, various firms sell
of this general Rrade and character. Ours, however, Ihe one
catalogued by KeufFel and Esser, (1 J? Fulton St., New York City).
including tripod, box, adjusting pins, etc. complete.
230 Geological Survey of Louisiana
Skip Island, Quarantine Station well. — Depth. 730 ft.
Section by Dr. P. C. Kallock :
Soil Feet
White Sand to 45
Soft cIht and mud to aoo
Hard blue clay to 300
While sand to 305
Blue clay lo 565
Sandstone lo S^SjJ I
Blue day to 73i M I
Wuler-bearing sand to 730
Klevation : moutfa of well perhaps 10 ft. A. T.
Ship Island Light House well. — Depth, 750 ft.
Section by Dr. Murdock ;
Feet
Sand 350
Yellow cl»7 350
Blackish mud 400
Fine sand with shells 450
Blue clay 700
Water-bearing sand 750
Elevation : mouth of well perhaps 10 ft. A.T.; flows vigiu-
ously at that height. ^^^H
Mississippi City, C. Clemenshaw's well. — Depth. 915 ft. ^^^|
Statement of Mr. Clemenshaw :
" Passed through no hard rock, no quicksand, but clay and blue
sand, the latter often highly micaceous. A 60-gal. flow was obtaiiied
at 600 ft.; at 935, a aoo-gal. per minute flow was obtained,"
Elevation : mouth of well about 18 ft. A. T.
Mississippi City. C. P. Ellis' itf//.— Depth, 850 ft.; 3-i!
flows 80 gal. per minute.
Elevation: topof well. 55 ft. A. T.
Mississippi City. Court House well. — 2}4-ia. pipe, reduced to
in. Runs 20 gal. per minute, 38 ft. above the surface of
the ground.
Elevation : top of well perhaps 50 ft. A. T.
ifP
UBTSRRANEAN WATBKS OF LOUISIANA
his Chrisfian to Ocean City, general section.
Section as given by Archie Dixon, driller of Pass Christian :
Sand and clay to 415
Lifibt gtfv fine sand to 500
Ciay to 600
Water-bedHng snnd ,. . Aa. 685
Vfiay St. /.OKW.— Darton, iu Irrigation Papers. U. S. G. S. No.
57, gives the following data for the region ; "Many wells.
Temperature of deeper. 78°. Depth, 400-700 ft.; size 4^
-2 in.; yield per minute. 100-105 gal,; flowirg."
m.iLaie Catherine, — Artesian well observed. No further data.
fj^eai Orleans, Class A, deeper, isoa-i^oo. — Young Men's Gym-
nasium Building. Depth. 1356 ft.; natural flow, 40 gal.
per minute, forced 125 : gas escapes S30 cubic ft. in 24
hours ; specific gravity, 1.016.
Pta. i
111
gal.
44.9
40,8
Chloride sodinm lliS-9
Chloride calciam 138,3
Chloride raagnesiuni 75.7 ....
Chloride amtnonia 1.3
Chloride potash trace
Carbonate calcium 86.8 ....
Oxides of Fe, and Al 4.7
PbospliBte trace
Analysis by Ordway and Kirchoff.
A well of similar depth and saline character we under-
stand has been sunk for the Southern Athletic Club.
Elevation : perhaps 15 ft. A. T.
ffew Orleans, Class B. shallower wells. — These include the 600-
750 ft. wells bored at frequent intervals over the city.
One of the earliest wells of this class sunk in New
Orleans was in the Neutral Ground on Canal Street,
between Carondelet and Baronne Streets, in the year 1854.
A colored section of this well, as originally kept by A. G.
Blanchard. C. E. of New Orleans, is inserted opposite p.
148 of the "Biennial Report of the Board of Health, to
Gkological Survey of Louisiana
the Genera! Assembly of tbe State of Louisiana, 1890-91,
Baton Rouge, 1892." From this it will be observed that
the strata penetrated to a depth of 630 ft. consist of light
yellowish and bluish sands and clay, with some light
greenish layers and occasional shell sands.
One of the most recent wells of this class is that at the
Marine Hospital, Audubon Park. This is 765 ft. deep.
The first 600 ft. are reported as sand, silt and clay beds, a
bed of yellowish sand perhaps 40 ft. thick was encoun-
tered some distance below and continued to 705 ft. From
there on. for 60 ft., the material consists of white sand.
The water rises to within about 3 ft. of the surface at
present. This 6-in. well is capable of furnishing 300 gal.
per minute. The water is classed as excellent for washing
purposes, requiring but half the soap the river water does;
it is aUo excellent for boiler use ; impotable.
The fiow from this shallower class of wells has always
been weak ; and the large number of such wells has still
further weakened the flow. There is a tendency now,
when more water is required, to seek the lower level.
This is excellent for bathing purposes, containing as the
above analysis shows, a large amount of common salt.
On p. 154 of the Report of the Board of Health, referred
to above, will be found analyses of six so called "d*
well waters " of New Orleans.
i
Lake Cily, Bonnabel well. — Depth stated by Bonnal>el to be
ft.; according to information given by the president of
Artesian Well Co., N. C, it is 900 ft. in depth. Said to
have arisen 60 ft. above lake level ; now flows out readily
at 8 ft. A. T., thongh apparently with no great f<
temperature according to Bonnabel, 78°.
Section as given by Mr. Bonnabel:
" Pivc'iiTch leasing to 600 ft. deep, hitting rock ; tbree-incb c«nltS
to 70C> ft. ; then one and one-half-incb casing to i:
■' CojDpacl tertURioous conglomerate, 60 ft. thick pa«scd through
alxiul 700 (t. liowu. Then a black, bard clay was encoanl
giving way to bluish sand : water in pale bluish sand."
F SUBTERRANFAN WaTERS OF LOUISIANA 223
Anatvsis by Jos. Albrecht :
\ ' In I gBl.
Cbloride of todium »7.74 gr.
Sodmm carbonate 34-39 "
Potassiani carbonate 4.49 "
Silica carbonate 1.69 "
Organic matter free of nitrogen 0.46 ' '
Carbonic acid combined as bi-carbonate 13-33 "
Total 8j. 10 gr.
I MandevilU* Dessome's well at flower garden. — Depth, 217 ft.;
pipe, 2-in.; flow. zS.igal. per minute. March, 1901 ; 26
gal. per niinute, March, 1902 ; temperature, 6<j}^°.
For analyses given below.
Elevation : of pipe, 9 ft. A. T.; pressure head, i^jA ft. A, T.
MandevilU. Dessome's well at residence. — Depth, 220 ft.; pipe
with i-in stop cock ; temperature, 71°.
Mandeville. Mrs. pio. Hawkins' -well. — Pipe, a-in. reduced to
1.% \ flow, 40 gal. per minute, 1902 ; temperature, 68>i°.
Elevation : of flow, 7.35 ft. A. T.
MandevilU, C. H.Jackson's well. — Depth, 136 ft.; 1.5 in. reduced
to I in.; flow, .97 gal, per miuute.
Elevation : of flow, 13.8 ft. A. T.
MandevilU, Dr. Paine's veil. — Flow, open 2-in. pipe ; io?J gal.
per minute ; with reduction to i in.; ioj4 gal. per minute ;
with inch pipe and stopcock attached, 9- to gal, per
minute.
MandevilU. Ribava.' swell. — Depth, 247 ft.; flow from 1 J^-in. pipe,
12 gal. per minute, 1901 ; with stop-cock in place and
open 9.2 gal. per minute; temperature, 71°, February,
1902. Elevation : of ground 3.42, flow, 4.90 ft. A. T.
MandevilU, shallow wells. — Several, 90 ft. deep ; flow about 4 ft.
A.T.
MandevilU Junction. R. R. well. — Depth, 598 ft.; flows freely 27
ft. above ground. Exact height A. T, not deleimined.
•We did not have time to watch a tide gauge over a period ot more than
two days, hence all these lieights are subject to a slight modification.
According to our " " " mark, the top of the rail before the station is 6.S0
ft. A.T.
A
224 Gbologica.1. Survey op Louisiana ^^M
Chuicktiba Deaf Imtitute. — Oepth, yi^ ft.; pipe z-in.; 9oi^^l
reduce to a J-3-in- pipe and hence with low pressure, very
small; pressure head 7''3 ft.; temperature 72.°
Elevation : of ground, 19 ft,, A. T.; pressure head, 28 ft. A.T.;
a well 4 miles to the northwest of here, 800 ft. deep is
said to have a similar pressure.
Pearl River Junction, TveHa/ho/el.—Tiepth, 350 ft.; pipe zJ-^-ib.;
flow through reduced pipe, and one-half in. stop-cock 72
gal. per minute ; said to flow go gal. per minute from 2j4-
in pipe.
Elevation : station 31 ft. A. T.; pressure head 54 ft. A. T.
Coving/on, Maison Blanche well. — Flow from 2-in. pipe reduced
to I in. April, 1901, 20.4 gal. per minute ; March, 1902,
23;^ gal. per minute ; temperature T2%°.
Elevation : ground, 31.5 ft.; top of basin, 33.6 ft. A. T.; flow
about 35}^ ft. A. T.
N. B. These elevations about Covington are all referred
to the top of the rails in front of the R. R. station.
This we have called 32.5 ft. A. T. from our series of
levels running from L. Pontchartrain to Covington
along the highway.
Covington. Dummei's well. — On HolmesviUe road, record by
Robert Wallbillick. Flow 21 gal, per minute ; 2 ft.
above the ground.
Tbickneb. ft. Depth, ft.
White cluy 15 15
Yellow clay. ..'. 6 ai
White clay 35 56
Coarae while sand 15 Si
Fine gravel 13 93
CoarM white sand 6 99
Coarse white sand and gravel. ... 14 113
Coarse yellow sand and gravel. . . 6 119
Coarse yellow sand 8 137
Gravel 10 137
Red clay i 138
Gravel 10 148
Red clay a 150
Gravel 10 160
Red sand and gravel 30 180
SUBTEKKANHAN WaTHHS
or Louisiana
i. ft. Depth, ft,
225
TbkkneSE. ft.
Red sand 38 250
Coarse^ravel 15 275
Coarse white sand. 4 379
White clay 18 197
Blue clay 183 480
Water-bearing sanct, bluish
and greenish ( fine) 7 487
Blue clay 7 r 558
Grey tand 6 564
Fine blue and greeuiab sand 8 571
^Covington, Jtto. Dutch's well. — Flow ao gal. per minute; tem-
perature 74" : on Ihe 17th April, 1901.
Elevation: of ground, 33.7 ft. A. T.; of pipe, 35 6 ft. A. T.
r Covington, Mrs. f-lower's place, shallow wells. — Records by Mr,
Wallbillick :
No. I.
Wbitesand to
5r
Blueclav to
6S
SlieUs mixed with bine clay to
69^
Fine white sand to
97
Coarse white sand to
(Pumping slratnm.)
(300 ft. from No. 1.)
Whiteclay to
63
Shells mixed with black clay to
63.6
Dark clav to
73
I Covington, Court House yard well. — Flow aj-j gal. per min-
ute ; teiuperature 73° ; April. 1901.
Elevation : ground, 32 ft. A. T.; pipe, 35.6 ft. A. T.
* Dixon Academy well. — Pipe aj^-in.; Sow 25 gal. per minute.
Elevation : 26.7 ft. A. T.
Uiibome, i mile E. of Covington, Lyon's well, — Depth, 630 ft.;
pipe 2-in.; flow 30 gal. per minute; temperature 73°;
April, 1901.
Elevation: 26.6 ft. A. T.
226 Geological Survby of Louisiana
.4i(Va Springs. Simons hotel well. — Pipe i^-in.: two elbows an^
one 2-fl. horizontal pipe with How of 12 gal. per minute ;
flowed 1 1 gal. per minute in April, 1901 ; temperature at
the same date 72".
Elevation ; of ground, 38,3 ft. A, T.; top of basin 41.7 ft.
A. T,; top of pipe, 43.6 ft. A. T.
N. B. Top of rail at station is the local bench mark to
which the levels at Abita Springs are referred. A line
of levels run from Covington, gave us for this station
38.3 ft. A. T.
Abila Springs, Auberl's hotel well. — Depth, 585 ft. ; pipe i J4 -in. ;
flow 12.7 gal. per minute, January, 1901 ; original Sow
said to be 25 gal. per minute; variation probably due to
friction in about 60 ft. of piping with five right angles.
See Table of analyses given below.
Elevation : of ground, 35. 8 ft. A.T. ; faucet, 38,3 ft. A.T. ;
pressure head over 50 ft. A.T. ; said to have beea 78 ft,
A.T. at first.
Abila Springs, Labal's hotel well. — Flow from faucet 37.1 gals,
per minute. This is the best well that we observed in
this vicinity. Its exact depth was not given, but it does
not diSer much from the ordinary 600 ft. wells of this
vicinity.
Elevation : of ground, 41,5 ft. A.T. ; of faucet. 45.3 ft, A.T.
AMta Springs. Sekmid's well, by depot. — Flow from i J^-in. pipe,
but through a ;4-in. faucet, 4 gal. per minute.
Elevation : of ground. 35,6 ft. A.T. ; of faucet. 36.6 ft. A.T.
Hernandez place. 2 miles N. of Covington, well by house. — Depth.
610ft.: pipe2j4-in,; flow from t-in. pipe January, 1901,
38.5 gal. per minute ; appears to have great pressure.
Flowed 60 gal. per minute in April, 1901 ; temperature at
the same time 73°.
See Table of analyses, given below.
Elevation : of ground, 46.1 ft. A.T. ; of top of basin, 47. 3 ft.
A.T. ; of pipe. 48.5 ft. A.T.
■ SOBTERRANKAN WATERS OF LOUISIANA 227
wff€mandex place, well by bam, 2j4 miles N. of Covington. — Depth
P about the same as well just mentioned, pipe aj-i-in. ; flow
■ as measured roughly in January. 1901, 35.3 gal. per min-
I ute ; as measured more accurately in March. 1901, 54.3
F gal. per minute.
Elevation : of ground , 47 4 ft. A.T. ; of pipe. 53 ft. A.T.:
pressure head considerably over 60 ft. A.T.
Fredrick and SingUtry' s still, well at. — Exact location is S. W.
U, K. W. ]%. Sect. 31. 5 S. 10 E. Depth, 560 ft. ; pipe
about-2 in. ; flow 18 gal. per minute, with several leaks ;
true flow probably considerably more.
Sections as given by Mr. E. P. Siugletry i
Feel
Sand and clay . . . .for 100
Quicksand for I30
Red clay for 170
Pipe clay for 160
Blue sBDd for 10
For analysis, see table given below,
Elevation :'of ground. 75 ft. A. T. ; of pipe, where water flow
was measured, 78 ft. A.T.
Mammolh Springs near Franklinton. — We have not visited this
locality but Mr. E. S. Ferguson of New Orleans says that
the spring is about 26S ft. A.T. and flows out as a cool
large branch.
Ponlchaloula. To'.vn well. — Depth, not obtained ; flow. 2\~i gal.
per minute; temperature 71°.
For analysis, see table given below.
Elevation : of flow. 33 ± ft. A. T.
Ponickatoula. G. H. Beigel, — Depth, 232 ft- ; flow 4^^ gal. per
I minute ; temperature 71".
1 For analysis, see table given below.
Elevation : of flow about 31 ft, A.T.
Hammond, Ice Factory itW/.— Depth, 340 ft.: pipe z-in.; flow 15
gal. per minute at a height of about 50 ft. A.T. ; tempera-
ture 72°.
BlevRtion : of Hammond given by 111. Cent. Engineer ofiice
N.0..43-3ft.A.T.
228 Gkological Suhvhy of Louisiana
N.B. DO spirit leveling was done about Hammond and
heights of flows were estimated from the lengths of pipe
above the generally level surface.
Hammond, Merrill MilUr's well. — Depth, 265 ft. ; pipe 2 in. ;
reduced to i/^-in. ; flow a8J^ gal. per minute ; tempera-
ture 71°.
Klevation : of flow about 44 ft. A.T. ; pressure head about
56.6 ft. A. T.
Hammond Morrison well. — Pipe 2-in.; flow zogal. per minute.
Elevation : of flow, 46 ft. A, T. ; pressure head about 51.7 ft.
A.T.
Hammond, Darker well. — Depth, 297 ft. ; flow 24 gal. per min-
ute ; pressure 4 lbs. per sq. in. ; pipe 2-in. reduced to
Elevation : of flow, about 44 ft. A. T.
Hatnmond, i \-- miles S. of Eastman' s well. — Depth, jog ft. ; pipe
2-in, : flow 30 gal. per minute ; pressure is 5.5 lbs. to sq.
in. = 12.65 f^- '' temperature 72°.
Hammond, ij^ milei S. 0/ L. J. Way' swell. — Depth, 140 ft.;
3 gal. per minute, temperature 69°.
Hammond, ^ miles S. S. W. of. Dr. Hermann' s well. — Impossible
to obtain accurate data except pressure ; pressure 8.5 lbs.
per sq, in. = 19.5 ft.
Hammond. s miles S.S.W. of, IV./. tVilinol'swell.— Depth, 370 +
ft.; pipe 2-in. reduced to i-in,; flow said to be 40 gal. per
minute ; pressure 2 ft. above ground is 7.7 lbs. persq. in. ;
with some small leaks in pipes flows at 14 ft. above
ground. Would doubtless flow about 20 ft. aboveground.
Hammond, Oitwell, samples examined Feb. 20, 1902. —
Section preserved in glass jars show :
Feet.
Clays 45-55
Sands and gravel 85-iao
Yellow loam I73
Water-bearing sand 294
Coarse sand j68
Coarse sand and gravel 475
The same, more sandy 500-513
5 fl. bed of bard blue day at about 570
" Pepper and salt " sands SF*^ J
Subterranean Waters of Louisiana 229
mmand, Pushee's well. — Depth, 325 ft. ; flow, March, 1901,
through a ij4-in, pipe, 14}^ gal. per minute; i>^-in.
pipe, i^% gal. ; April, 1901, through a ^-in, pipe, 4,^
gal.: K-in. pipe, 14^4 gal. ; i^.i-in. pipe, i5j^ gal.
I'atalbany, }i mile IV. of Station, Natalbany Lumber Co. well. —
I Depth, unknown: pipe i^^-in. ; flow, 2 gal, per minute.
This well, 3 miles north of Hammond, marks the uorthern
limit of the proven artesian territory of this section.
|Hbfi Rouge, Waterworks, 2 wells. — Old well put down in 1892 ;
depth 758 ft. : water rises to within 6 ft. of surface, i. e.
approximately 30 ft. A. T, Capacity estimated at 500,000
I gal. daily ; cost $4,000.
{ Analysis by B. B. Ross ili92 shows in one gallon :
. Graias.
I Total solid matter 14.3175
t Mineral matter 13.1597
Organic and volatile matter J-1578
Silica 1-3413
PotMti aaji
Soda 5.9939
Lime 5009
Magnesia 2939
Oxide* of l-eand Al 5056
Phosphoric acid 0,1196
Sulpharic acid 1.8B19
Chlorine 4655
Oxygen, oxidizing organic matter 04338
Nitrogen, albnminoid ammonia oOBrjfi
Nitrogen as free ammonia 00519
Nitrogen as nitrates 00193
Sulphuric acid and chlorine combined as :
PotaBEtum sulphate 4171
Sodium sulphate 3.0033
Sodium chloride 7494
This well has an 8-in. pipe for 386 ft.: 6 in, pipe for
304 ft.; 4j4-inch pipe for 68 ft. New well starts with 10-
in. pipe and is 6 in. the rest of the way down ; flows at
surface about 35 - ft, A. T, The two wells are said to be
capable of furnishing 1 ,000,000 gal. daily,
n Rtmge, about j miles east of. — The comparative height of
this well and the two at Baton Rouge cannot be now given
=3°
Geological Survhv of Louisiana
for want of an accurate spirit-level line connecting the
two localities. It is surprising, however, in view of the
low head at the Baton Rouge wells, to see this one flowing
from an inch pipe with so much vigor.
Baker, ^ miie S. of station, well al old mill. — Depth, 850 ft.; a-in.
pipe ; has flowed freely 16 ft. above present faucet. It
furnishes now, large quantities of water.
Elevation : pressure head, about 100 ft. A. T. (Baker station
given by Gannett as 82 ft. A. T.)
Baker. — Driven wells, 150 ft. deep, furnish fair water.
Baker. — Bored wells, 25 to 40 ft., deep yield very impure water.
Zackary.- — Wells here, some as deep as zoo ft , have to be pumped.
Most of the water used is from shallow bored wells.
Bayou Sara. — Well just S. E. of R. R. station, 240 ft, deep;
passed through gravel at 100 ft.. It is pumped. Darton
gives the following data from one well at this place :
Depth, 736 ft.; pipe 4-in.; yield 347 gal.; height of water
[above mouth of well?] +2 ft.; temperature 63°. For
another he gives simply depth 450 ft, and "height " +1 ft.
Wells West of the Mississippi
Tkibodaux. Ice Factory well. — Depth, 227 ft.; passed through
moderately fine bluish sand all the way down ; water
impotable on account of various salts ; stands 13 ft.
below the surface ; used for condensing.
Glencoe. — Clendenin gives a section of an artesian well at this
place furnished by Dr. Simmons. It reaches coarse
sand and gravel and water at 612 ft.
Morgan City, station east of. — Said to have passed through very
coarse gravel, heavy bed, at 500 ft.
Marksville. — Darton gives a well at this place a depth of 800 ft.
with no further comment.
Delta. — Darton mentions a t200 ft. well at this place, with " no
water."
Sdbtkrranran Waters of I^ufsiANA
Elevation : Bench mark on pine tree about one-fourth mile
north of the R. R. station reads 114.60 ft. C. D. With
this as a starting point, levels were run to Campbell House
well, .'. top of curbing 132.8 C. D.; depth to water 66.5
ft.; hence height of water, 66.3 ft. C. D. = about 45.4
ft- A. T.
Height of planking over Court House well, 133.66 C.
D. ; depth to water 67,1 ft.; hence, 66.56 = height of
water C. D. or 45.6a ft. = height of water in C. H. well
above tide.
Lake Providmce well No. j. — The most interesting well section
of this region is the one described by E. W. Hilgard iu
House Executive Documents, ist session 48th Congress,
vol. 19, 1S83, page 494. No mention, however, is made
of encountering water-bearing strata :
Allavium :
N on -calcareous clayey silt with abundant vegetable mat-
ter, not lignitized 0-56
Port Hudson :
Coarse sand with gravel and grains of lignite. A clay
streak occurs at 82.5-S1.6 S6-'°9
Upper Claiborne (Tertiary) :
Whitish greensaud marl. Du washing and settling the
greensand falls to the bottom, the red 8and occu-
pies the middle and the ciilcareous debris lies on top, 137-133
Green sand marl like the last with calcareous concre-
tions containing shell fragments 133-135
Concretions from marl bed with shell fragments. 145-150
Blnish clay with lignite grains 158-160
Fine sand of a clay color, with greensand 166-176
Bluish clayey silt with lignite grains ... 176-181
From what has already been said in the early part of
this report, it is quite safe to say that water might be
found in the Cocksfield beds below the Jackson (which
Hilgard has called "Upper Claiborne") at a depth of per-
haps not over 1000 ft. The grave question is as to the
character of such water in the very midst of the old
Mississippi Em bay men t.
^^,ake Providence. —VJeU sunk March-April, 1901 ; log kept by
233 Geological Survey of Louisiana ^^H
Mr. Jno, L. Kennedy; depth, 112 ft,; water rises T^^
within about 15 ft. of the surface, though shows fluctua-
tions with river ; section 93 ft. is as follows :
Feet ^^_
Black, blue, red loam 10 ^^^|
Fine sand iq ^^^^|
Coarse, water-bearing sand 34 ^^^H
"Concrete" 38 ^^H
Water- bearing sand 77 ^^^^|
" Concrete " 79 ^^^^|
Sand 85 ^^H
"Concrete" 86
Water sand 93
"Abandoned at 112 ft.; the water being found most loo
ferruginous for all round purposes."
Jeaneretle, Moresi's barnyard well. — Depth, 140 ft.: pipe, I'^-in.;
flow, Feb. 16, 1901, 7>"i gal. perminute ; temperature, 70°.
See Table of Analyses given below (page 251.)
Elevation: of station 18 ft. A.T.; well 13.2 below station,
hence, flow is about 5 ft. A. T. ^^_
Jeaneretle, Moresi' $ foundry well. — Depth, 700 ft. ^^^|
Section given as follows : ^^^|
Clay 40 ^H
Sand and gravel to 300 ^^^H
Blue and gray clay shells and red water. , .to 660 ^^^H
Gravel to... 700 1
See Table of Analyses given below (page 251.)
Elevation : 5.5 ft. below R. R. station; water stands witbin 5
or 6 ft. of the surface ; hence, water is about 8 ft. A. T,
Jeanerelie, Ice Factory well. — Pipe 8-in. Clendenin gives this
well section as follows :
Feet
Red clay to 15
Mottled clay and sand to 95
Organic bed. . , , to
Sand and gravel to
Yellow day to ,
Elevation ; flow from base of;cap, 7,69 ft. below r
tiou or about 10.5 ft. A. T.
lUOTBBRANBAN WATERS OF LOUISIANA 233
taneretle, j miles S. of, Kilgore plantation. — Section as follows :
Feet
CUj ....to So
Gr»vel to 86
Clay, fall of shells to J36
IKek' Iberia, Ice-works wells. — We had no opportunity of fiiidiiig
out the exact size and depth of these wells. They flow,
al first, at a height of S.4 ft. below the R. R. station or
about 13 ft. A. T-i but the water is rather chalybeate and
soon clogs up the pipes.
Darlon gives as depth of a New Iberia well, 600 ft.
New wells have beeu put in at the water-works, but
those cognizant with facts of drilling were not present at
the time of our visit.
'^/ayelte water-works wells. — We have here an instance of lack
of care in leaving the wells accessible for cleaning. The
first gave out because it became clogged, probably with
sand. Hence a second well was drilled very close to the
first and it proved a success. We were told that the new
well was 240 ft. in depth and had an 8-in casing.
Elevation 1 of station, 48 ft.; of water in well. 27 ft. + A. T.
TLa/ajietle Compress and Storage Co's well. — Depth, 125 ft.; water
surface, 25 ft. below surface of ground.
behusas, — Several wells ; depth about 135 ft.; gravel struck at
about 90 ft.; water rises to within 35 or 40 ft. of surface,
i.e. lo+ft. A. T.
Washington. — Section given :
Feet.
Quicksand to 18
Gravel to 1 94
Blevation : water rises to within 11 ft. of surface or about
30 + ft. A. T.
2,U Ghqlogical Sukvey Of Louisiana
Abbeville Court House well.—WeW about i63-j ft. A. T.
section :
Feet.
Clay to t5
Fine sand to. 80
Clay to 8a
Hard layers of clay altemating with sand. to 139
Coarse white sand with white pebbles . . . .to 160
Reddish clay and " rock" to Mo
The upper bed here aloue furnishes water; exact height
of the latter could not be told, certainly it lacks several
feet of overflowing.
Abbeville, 9 miles west of. — On Mr, Jno. Waltham's place W.
>5, S. E. %, Sect. 32, 12 S,, 3 E.. are several wells.
The land is here about 10 ft. A. T., aud the general well
section according to Mr. Moresi is about as follows
Feet.
Clay to 30
Gray sand to 40
Clay to 45
White sharp sand and gravel to 75 and deepei
Even at this low level the water does not overflow.
Rayne, Chapius' well. — Depth, 210 ft. with lo-ft. strainer ; water
stands 16 ft. below surface.
Elevation : of station, according to Gannett, 41 ft. A. T., well
about 2 ft. below, hence, water in well about 23 ft. A. T.
Rayne. Hippolite Richard's rcf//.— This is 3 miles E. N. E. of
Rayne. Depth, 200 ft.; water stands within 17.5 ft.
of surface.
Elevation; of surface of water in well about 22.5 ft. A. T.,
based on spirit-level line run from Rayne to mouth of well.
CrowUy, Railroad well. —Xie^ih, 173 ft. Water usually rises to
within 5 or 6 ft. of surface.
Elevation : of water, about 2+ ft. A. T.
Crowley, Ice Factory well. — Depth, 600 ; unsatisfactory ; pipe w
drawn to the usual 170-180 ft. depth.
I
Subterranean Waters ov Louisiana 335
^rowley, 15 miles N. E. of, at Long Point. — One Sin. and
tbree 6-iB. wells. Water at 180 ft. ; rises to within 26
ft. of the surface.
'^Crtrwley, j miles E. of. — Two wells pass through logs at depth of
168 and 202 ft. respectively In the first, beneath the
168 ft. log, 7 ft. of water-bearing sand was encountered;
water rising to within 7 ft. of surface,
fGtejiJan.j miles S IV. of. Wilkinson' swell. — Depth, 190ft. ; pipe,
8-iii. ; flow, 8 -I- gal. per minute : temperature, 73°.
filevation : of flow. 6.9 ft. A. T. Determine by spirit-level
line from Gueydan ; B. M. on station, according to South-
ern Pacific R. R,. 9.07 ft. A. T.
I
Gueydan. 6 or ■^ miles E. of. Donnelly plac
6-in. wells. Water said to rise a ii
Two 8-in. and two
the surface.
Oriza, i mile S. W. of,fno. Wendling's well. — Pipe, 6-in ; flow,
i.2_ft. above surface; 20 gal, per minute.
Elevation : of Oriza (S. P. R. R.) 24 ft. A. T. By spirit-level
line, top of well is 11.4 ft. A. T.
Oriaa, i miles S. W. of, D. f. Seanlin's well.—
Elevation : surface of water, 12.3 ft. A. T. : line from Oriza.
Orixa, 2 miles S. S. W. of, F. Seanlin's well.' —
Elevation : surface of water, 12 ft. A. T., leveled from Oriza.
Jennings. — The number of deep wells about Jennings is very
large. It is entirely out of the question to enumerate even
one-tenth of them here,
Mr. Carey gave us the following statement regarding
his first three wells ;
0-115 ft,— Clay, with shells at about 50 ft., with vegetable matter,
115-160 ft.— Quicksand above, gravelly below.
160-180 ft.— Bluish sandy gravel.
180-930 ft.— Sandy clay.
360 ft.— C.ravel.
The shells spoken of so frequently by drillers in this
region consist mainly of Rangia cuneata, a brackish water
236 Geological Survey of Louisiana ^^H
form already spoken of in Special Report No. I. As^^^^
rule, we believe these shells are encountered in greatest
number about 90 ft. below the surface.
Elevations at which the water stands varies much in pumping
season, but perhaps as an average the height of the water
in the wells down the track three-fourth mile E. of the
station may be taken. March, 1901, the water stood 6 ft.
8^ in. below the flume of this well March. 1902, it stood
7 ft. iij^ in. below the same datum point. No spirit
leveling was done here, but we believe that from the R,
R. track and station elevation, an estimate of 19 ft. A.T.
would be about right for the surface of the water.
Jennings, j miles E. S. E. of. — Welt being put down Feb. fl^^H
1900, by Mr. Brechner showed : ^^^H
ReddiA. rellow and gray mottled c^lay y> ^^^^H
Becoming leas tenacious with fragments of fossils, ^^^^^|
Ratigia, Htlix, Balanvs. to 90 ^^^^^|
Blue KBnd ; for depths not delenuiued ^^^H
Jennings, p miles S. S. W. oj. — The region about Jennings being
perhaps about centrally located in the region of deep wells
for rice culture, a few words of explanation of the methods
here used in sinking the same may not be out of place.
On Mar. 3, 1902, I saw a well 211 ft. in depth practi-
cally completed in one day. Plate XLIf shows Ihe"rig"
in operation. The well was about 9 miles S, S, W. or 2
Y> miles N. W. of Lake Arthur.
The process in brief was as follows :
A long pit, perhaps 10 ft. wide by 20 long, was dug or
scraped for a temporary reservoir. This was divided into
two compartments, connected, however, in one or two
places.
The derrick erected and engine placed, a 3-in. pipe with
a broad arrow-head bit attached to one end is hoisted up
by rope and drum, and the water hose of equal size is
attached to the upper end. Uy a simple device, this pipe
is rotated by power from the engiue while water is pumped
from the pit just described through the hose, down the
SOBTHRRANEAK WATERS OF LOOISIANA
237
pipe into the ground. A;
disengaged by ihe bit is 1
surface by the jet. Whe
sunk into tlie ground ne
the pipe descends, the matter
,-ashed out and brought to the
1 the pipe, say 13 ft. long, is
irly its whole length, another
section from 12 to 20 ft. long is attached and the rotating
and pumping continued till it too is sunk almost to the sur-
face of the ground. And so the 3- in. pipe is put down till
by the appearance of the sand, or the feeling of the pipe
when rotated, there isan indication that the water-bearing
sand is reached.
Mention should be made here of the care .ihown in one
of the compartments of the pit or pool referred to above,
to see that plenty of earth or clay is mixed with the water
;ust before it is pumped through the hose into the pipe.
The pres.sure from Ihe engine pumps is sufficient to force
this muddy water into the sandy layers and cause them
to stand firmly and not cave as they would be sure to do
if only clear water was used. It usually occupies the
attention of one man to keep the ingoing waters well stirred
up and turbid. The other compartment of the pit con-
tains that portion of the water that has just come out
from the well, hence contains the drillings, if such they
may be called, derived from the well. The same water as
it flows into the first compartment is again used after
being properly roiled or mixed with soil.
Having attained the desired depth, the 3-in. pipe is
removed, section by section, and the 6in.. loin., or 12-
in. casing is hoisted up and sunk into the hole made by
the 3-in. pipe and its arrow-head bit. The hole is often
nearly 14 in. in diameter.
The first one, two, or three sections of this large pipe
or "casing" are perforated and form the strainer near
the bottom of the completed well. If the strainer is to be
three lengths long, say 60 ft., care is taken to insert in the
casing three lengths of 3-in. pipe and to fill the space
between this inner and the outside pipe so that it cannot
fill with earthy matter while descending. Length after
length of casing is screwed on and lowered until the
238 GeOUSgICAL SUBVBY OF LOUISIANA
desired amount is sunk into the ground. In case it does
not descend readily of its own accord, resort is had to ^^^
rotating the casing by machinery precisely as the 3-ill^^^H
pipe was rotated in the beginning. The lower margin O^^^H
the casing is cut like saw teeth, so, that it answers iaiily^^^^
well as a drill or auger. The upper end of the 3-in.
pipe within, carries a conical sleeve, so that it can be
caught readily by the thread end of other lengths that are
lowered afterwards and coupled up with the three lengths
already spoken of as being in the strainer part of the cas-
ing. The shavings can now be jetted out. the interior
pipe withdrawn, and the well " pumped " to withdraw all
the muddy impurities forced down while drilling as well
as fine sand that might eventually fill up the strainer.
This well was put down to 231 ft. primarily, but the
casing was lowered to 2 1 1 ft. only, for fear of the clogging
effect of the fine sands below the 215 ft. mark. ^^^_
The section here observed was as follows : ^^^^|
Soil and sub-soil 3 ft. ^^^H
Yellow clay 3 ft. ^^^H
Tough cluys, bluish So ft. ^^^^^M
Sands and gravel 125 ft. ^^^^^H
Fiue sanda 6 ft.-h ^^^H
Flakes of shelly matter at a depth of 200 ft. were not
uncommon. They seem to belong to Mactra. Rotten
* wood. Rangia, and Unio occur at depths of 90 to 100 ft.
in wells hereabouts. Plate XLITI shows bow, after the
well is cleared of shavings, the fine sand is pumped out
and the well made to yield its greatest supply, before being
paid for by the owner of the place. In other words, the
well is being "tested."
Lake Arthur, 1% miles N. IV. 0/. — This reference is to R. E,
Camps' well, S. E. ,'<. Sect 8. n S.. 3 W., Depth. 215.7
ft ; water-bearing sand, 40 ft. thick.
Elevation : top of pipe, 17.5 ft, A. T. as determined by spirit
leveling from Lake Arthur. Water surface, 8 ft. A. T.
Late Arthur, _^ miles N. of. — Three wells in a row.
Elevation: lop of pipe, 16.5 + ft. A. T. (Lake Airthur). j
water in well about 7.5 ft. A. T. Feb, ;
^^1
^I^I^^^B
1
■
THK NiCW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
MTOR, LENOX OHO
TfLOLN FOUNaATIONR.
p
SCBTERRANBAN WaTKRS OF LOUISIANA 239
1$%^// Beach. — We were not able to call at this place, but know
that there are several flowing wells here. Ou the opposite
side of Lake Arthur wells are said to flow fully 5 ft. A. T.
Wthk, E. L. Brown's well, center 0/ Sect. jo.
Section :
Clay to 65 ft.
Sand groning coarser Ijelow to. . . . 130 ft.
Elevation : water stood 6.82 ft. below top of rail in front of
station, Feb. 26, 1901 = about 25,18 ft. A. T.
I Welsh, y'2 mile E. of. Cooper's well.
Section :
Clay to,... go ft.
Coarse sand, clay, sand and finally blue sand
at a dcptb of 140-145 ft.
|H'*r/i>i, yi mile E. of station, Field's well.
Section :
Clay to go ft.
Sand, coarse below to 164 ft.
Elevation : of water, Feb. 26, 1901, 25.38 ft, A. T., i. e. 6.62
ft. below station.
I Welsh, 2 miles S. E. of, north well. Abbott's place.
Elevation r water surface. Feb. 26, 1901, 7.08 ft. below R. R.
station or about 24.9 ft. A. T.
\Welsk, 9 miles N. N. W. of.
Section :
CUy to 190ft.
Sand to 235 ft.
Welsh, r% miles. Herald's well. — Perhaps ij4 miles E. S. E. of
the station.
Elevation : Water stood, Feb. 26. rgoi, 6. 9 ft. below station,
or about 25 ft. A. T.
Kinder, i miUN. of, McRill's well. — Depth, 150 + ft.
Elevation : of Kinder, 49.3 ft, A. T.; water surface, 27,1 ft,
A.T,, Mar. 8, 1902.
^Kinder. Tillotson's well. — Depth, 13S ft.; depth to water from
top of pipe, 21 ft. 10 iu.; temperature, 68°.
Elevation ; of water, Mar. 7, 1902, 25.4 ft. A, T,
Z40 Gbological Survey of Louisiana ^^^|
China, McBimey's wells. — A number of wells in this vicini^it I
ranging in depth from 140 to 175 ft. and in size from 6 in.
to 8 in., in which water rises lo within 14 to 23 ft. of sur-
face depending on local topography.
Oberlin. — Mr. Dennis Moore says that the R, R. tank well is
190 ft. iu depth, and that water rises to within 10 ft. of
the surface, or about 60 ft. A. T.
We are inclined to think that in general the water level
would be somewhat lower than this. No hopes can be
entertained of obtaining a flowing well at these compara-
tively shallow depths.
Lake Charles, i mile N. of. — ^The Bradley and Ramsay Lumber
Co. well, about 500 ft. deep, has the greatest flow of any
well we have measured in the state, 210 gal. per minute ;
pipe 6-in.
See analyses given below.
Elevation : 10.5 ft. A. T. (Based on tide gauge reading at
Lake Charles, by G. D. H.)
Lake Charles. Reiser's Machine Shop well.
Section :
Sand to.... 96 ft.
Red sand with pebbles to loi ft.
Grey sand and clay alternating to . . . 100 ft.
Water with irony taste. See analysis given below.
Elevation : of well about 13 ft. A. T.; known to flow to 17!
A, T, and said to have flowed to 27 ft. A. T.
Lake Charles, Judge Miller's well. — Pressure of 5.25 pounds ^
sq. ia.; flows 12 gal. per minute.
Elevation: of present flow, 12 72 ft. A. T.; would flowj
24.79 ft. A. T.
West Lake, Perkins and Miller Lumber Co.'s well.—Vipe, 4-in,
Elevation : Flows 10 ft. A. T. aud would doubtless flow 16-
or more A. T.
iVesl Lake, j miles N. W. u/:— Pipe, 8-in.
Section :
Hard clay met between 150 and 350 ft.
Sbells .at 300 tt.
Gravel at 360 ft.
This is a very stroag flowing well.
Subterranean Waters of Louisiana 241
m. — Well reported as 540 ft. deep, with a Bow of 33 gal, per
miDute.
Sour Lake, Texas. / miles E. S. E. ^.^Depth, 1915 ft. ; pipe,
4-in. : flow, 90 gal. per minute ; temperature, 84°.
This well is said to have passed through a sticky green
clay and encountered a rock bed on which the pipe is now
standing. The water comes from just beneath the rock.
The washings from the bottom of the well are light
greenish sands with fine fragments of shells. The whole
reminds us of Miocene Tertiary, though specimens are
too fragmentary for sure identification.
The temperature of the water from some of the wells at
Sour Lake is said to be over 100°.
Variation of Hhight of Water in Deep Wblls
How determined. — Mr. Pacheco was in the field in S, W. Louisi-
ana during the months of February, March, April and May, 1901.
and February and March, 1902, keeping a record of Ihe variation
in the height of the water in the deep wells of that region, pre-
vious to the pumping season. Of the results obtained, only those
concerning a few of the wells observed need be given , as they are
fairly uniform for the whole region in question.
The measurements were taken by means of a weighted tape
line graduated to inches and fractions thereof, and the tables
appended give distances from the lop of the pipe down to the
water level. "
Results. — As will be seen by the records appended, the water
in these wells rose in the pipes until about the last part of April,
1901, when it reached its maximum observed elevation. From
that time on, and coincident with the opening of the pumping
season, it began to subside, at first slowly and more or lessirreg-
larly and then faster and more steadily as more and more wells
began to be pumped, until it dropped below the pumps and no
further measurements were possible.
The influence of pumping on the height oi the water in the
wells is well shown in thecaseof both Hammil'sand Lawson's
wells at Jennings. The former is situated about 2% miles south
J
242
Gbologicai. Survey of Lodisiana
of the R. R. station and tbe latter i mile H. by the R. R. tn
Although pumping had not begun in the neighborhood of those
wells until the middle part of May, they began to decline at about
the same time as the rest, although not so abruptly.
The lasting effect of the intense and steady pumping, com-
bined no doubt with the excessive dryness of several months pre-
ceeding, is accountable for the low stage of the water of these
wells even as late as February and March of 1902, just about a
year after the first observations were made ; uone of these wells
having yet reached the same height as at the corresponding date
of the previous year.
VaRIAT
ON OF Height ok
WaTK»
N Hammil's
Wkll
2 a MILBS
SODT
H OF STxriOM,
JSMNINGS, L.A.
,„.
Pt,
...
.^,.
...
10.
Feb. ii.
13
4
Apr. 29- . «.m.
13
7-2
Apr. ao.
'3
9-5
P
13
7 ,
9
30. a
»3
7.16
p.m.
8.5
P
13
7."
9 a.m.
7-35
May .. .p
13
7
7
4P
'3
1:1
6.9
5P
in.
■3
J p.m.
6.87
5' ,
13
7-75
3P.I11.
5 p.m.
6.75
6.75
'■ } p.m. 1
13
7-75
S4-
8-75
"4-
>3
10. 25
35-
8
15.
13
26.
8-33
16-
13
".75
p.m.
8.23
17-
14
0125
37-
10 a.m.
S-s
18.
14
8.4
ao.
14
28.
7
Water dropped be]
ow pomp. 1
SUBTBRRANBAN WaTBRS OF LOUISIANA
243
Variation of Height of Water in Lawson*s Wbi,i„ i Mii<e East
OF Station, Jennings, La.
1901.
Apr. 21.
Ft.
In.
5-75
1901.
Ft.
1 In.
10 a.m.
6
May 2 .
10 a.m.
6
6.25
6 p.m.
6
4.12 ,
5-
3 p.m.
6
1 7.25
22.
8 a.m.
6
4
3:30 p.m.
6
7
6 p.m.
6
3-9
6 p.m.
6
6.8
23
8-iia.m.
6
4
6.
6
6.83
24.
p.m.
6
4.37
18.
7
5.25
25
7 a.m.
6
4.2
19-
7
: 3.5
26.
a. m.
6
4.37
20.
7
1 2.87
p.m.
6
4.33
22.
8
27.
6
4.75 1
24.
8
28.
9 a.m. -4p.m.
6
5.33
1902.
29
8 a.m.
6
5.8 '
Feb. 22.
7
10.25
2 p.m.
6
5.75
23-
7
10.25
6 p.m.
6
5.66
25.
7
9-75
30.
6
6
26.
7
8.5
Mav I.
9 a.m.
6
6.12 j
27.
7
8.25
II a.m.
6
6.12
Mar. II.
7
925
2.
8 a.m.
6
6.12
13-
7
9- 125
Wei^h, Bower's Wei^i,
Fenton, La., Hawkeye Rice Mill
i
I90I.
Mar. 31 .
May 5.
1901.
1
Ft.
4
In.
190X.
Ft.
4
In.
Feb. 26
1
1
6
May 12.
2.5
Mar. 21
1
4
3
13-
4
2.75
Apr. 20
.!
4
1.25
14.
4
2.75
23
1
4
1.5
15.
4
3-5
24
. ' 8 a.m.
4
1.4
16.
4
3.75
10 a.m.
4
1.5
17.
4
3-75
II a.m.
4
1.6
18.
4
4
12 m.
4
1.75
19-
4
4.25
May 3
t
4
1.75
20.
4
4.5
5
4
2
21.
1
4
5
6
4
2
22.
4
5
7-
4
1-75 i
25.
4
7
8.
4
2.12
26.
4
9
9
1
4
2.12
28.
5
5
10
4
2.12
30-
5
9
II.
i
1
1
4
2.25
1
Ft.
In.
■
10
1902.
Ft.
' In.
3
14
1
1
Mar. 7 .
18
15
8.
18
2
Geological Survey of Louisiana
I
Rkfbesentative Views on the Subject of
Well Variation
Last season, (1901), was one of unusual dryness in Louisi-
ana, and especially during the months of May and June and con-
sequently nearly al! wells were pumped most vigorously in order
to furnish a sufEcient supply of water for irrigation purposes.
The following communications have a special bearing on the sub-
ject for the season of 1901 ;
Covington, La. — Mr. Robert Wallbillick. Covington, Ls'., writes
under date of Oct, 1, 1901, regarding the behavior of wells near
Covington as follows : " I have not noticed any decrease in the
flow of wells during the last few summer months, /'. e. the deep
flows."
Opelousas. — Letter of L. E. Little, Opelousas, La.. October,
1901 , states that the four deep wells in the vicinity of Opelousas
are from 135 to 155 ft. in depth ; that the water rises to within
35 to 45 ft. of the surface ; and that the wells furnished the
usual amount of water during the dry season of 1901.
Gueydan. — ]. P. Gueydan quoted, October, 1901. "There
are at present about 50 wells in Vermillion parish, most of which
are located near Gueydan. During the summer 1901 they gave
entire satisfaction, furnishing an abundant supply of water and
were lowered only 2 or 3 ft. A deep well for water should be
bored until the stratumof gravel is reached, (about 170 ft. here),
and theu as many more feet as the length of the strainer that is
to be put in the well, usually about 50 to 60 ft. This would
bring the well down to a depth of about 230 ft. Should the
strainer be in sand instead of grave!, (we call them here "cheap
wells "), the well would be checked after using one season. Ten
or twelve inch casting is now very popular. It has been demon-
strated that a larger and better quality yield is obtained from well
water than from bayou water. The supply equalled the demand
where one 8-in. well was used to irrigate 160 acres. Pumping
began in the later part of May and ended only in September.
But steady consecutive pumping was not necessary during the
whole time. Salt water did not appear in the wells, but the
bayou Queue Tortue water was salty for ten days. It is expected
that ab:>ut 100 wells will be sunk here in 1902 .' '
SrBTBRRANEAN WATERS OF LOUISIANA
J45
£.11^ Arikur. — Letter of R. E. Camp, Lake Arthur. States
that well levels were apparently lowered about 8 ft. by the
pamps during 1901 ; no salt water appeared ; one S-in. well irri-
gated 100 to 150 acres.
Crowley. — Letter of Oct. 1, 1901, from G. S. Mann, Crowley,
La. Reports that wells from 180-210 ft. deep were lowered dur-
ing the summer ; that the supply was not at all times equal to
the demand. Pumping lasted from June 15 to Sept. 15. No
salt water appeared. The capacity of wells has been overesti-
mated. An 8-in. well would water 50 or 60 acres. Wells 300
ft. deep were not lowered during the summer. There is a super-
iority of one well over another.
Jennings. — Letter of October, 1901, by J. F. Riiter, Jennings,
La. states that the surface of the water waslowered from 8-12
ft. during the busiest pumping season ; that the extreme limits
of pumping was from May 15 to Sept 15 ; that the supply fully
satisfied the demand : that salt water appeared " no more than
usual ;" that many wells will be put down in iqoa.
W^/sA.— Letter from C. M. Field, Welsh, La. states that from
May 3loMay24, the water level inthewelldropped from 7 ft. yiu.
to 8 ft. below his datum point ; from June 6 to June 16, the drop
continued, being from 10 ft. to 12 ft. 8 in. when it passed below
his pump and hence could not be directly measured. He esti-
tnates it stood from 5 to 4 ft. below his pUmp. About Sept. 25
it again appeared in the pipe 12 ft. 8 in. below his datum
point.
liVM.— Letter from Mr. Bower, Welsh, La. states that the
surface of the water in his well was 4 ft. i ^^ in. on May 3, that
the surface gradually lowered during the earlier part of the
month, standing at 4 ft. 4 in. on the 18th ; the latter part of the
month showed a much more rapid lowering, so that May 30 the
surface stood at 5 ft. 9 in. below his datum point.
/vrn/u«.— Letter of Oct. 13, 1901. By Q.J. Mills, Fenton,
La.: " The water level had gone down about 8 in, before we
commenced pumping, May 26. In a very few days after we
began to pump the water went below the pump and we had to
prime it. But after the pump was primed, we got as much water
as before. We irrigated 300 acres with one lo-in. well, and
34^
Geological Sdrvhy of Louisiana
I
we are now threshing the crop, which is making a yield of 14 1
per acre. We could not measure the water in our well during
the summer after it went below the discharge pipe, but from
reports from other wells we think 8 or 10 ft. is about the true
lowering of the water level."
0/k«. ^Letter of Mar. 15, 1902, by Bert McBirney, China,
La,: "During the first two or three weeks of our pumping the
water lowered about five ft. and stood at about the same level
during the rest of the season . The water would rise two or three
ft. if we stopped pumping for a few days. But upon pumping,
again, the water would lower again to the extent mentioned
above. The water now stands about 15 ft. below the surface,
the same as it did last year. The extent to which the water
lowered last year depended greatly on the well ; the wells that
were put down far into the ground and had good coarse screens
were affected but very little. The wells I described above are the
average wells of the vicinity."
Lake Cfiar!fs.— halter of Oct. 10, 1901, by A. V. Eastman,
Lake Charles, La.: " During the drouth last summer the water
in the deep wells was from 6 to 12 ft. lower than during the
winter and spring ; and it is a fact that after we had a very
heavy rain in July the water rose again to the same extent, and
it is now considerably higher than during the drouth."
In Mr. S. L. Carey's remarks before the Rice grower's Con-
vention, at Lake Charles, Feb. 14, 1901, he said; " After try-
ing 500 wells, 300 new, during the past season, which has broken
all records for drouth and heat, we can claim success and victory
for irrigation by wells.
"Rainfall has been short nearly 20 inches each for the past
two years, and May and June, which for 30 years have averaged
6 in. each, May. A. D,, 1901, gave us only 0.35 of an in., and
June barely one in. Is it any wonder the water level fell 10 to
12 ft., necessitating that much lowering of the pumps. But the
water was there in full supply. This made a change of pump
necessary to submerge for priming. But notwithstanding all
the difficulties success was assured."
subtkbkanean waters of louisiana 247
^Dbtailbd Study op Effbct of Pumping at Memphis
tf r. Pacheco has been able to note the general effect of pump-
ing in wells at considerable distances from each other as noted
above. That the wells lowered greatly by the season's pumping
is likewise manifest from the above communication. But we
our own disposition the management of wells,
,nd feet apart, so as lo watch with care the eilect
ar as regards the water level of one and all the
have not had at
say a few thous;
of pumping so i
wells.
The Report o:
byjno. Lundif, I
the Water Works System of Memphis. Tenn.
98, contains interesting facts on this subject that
may be of interest to well men in general. He says, (p. i6):
'■ I( all pumping were slopped, anJ auificienl time allowed to elapse, the
water would rise in the wells to its staticlev-el. If the underground supply
were a free reservoir of water under constant head, the time elapsing before
the static bead was reached in the wells when pumping was stopped would
l>e very short and simply dependent on the resistance encountered to flow
in the well tubes and the (luanlily required to fill them, together with the
pomp well. As obstruction increased by the water requiring to filter throngb
the sand in seeking the well;, the time required to reach a static condition
would be greater.
" Thus, the ejilent of area drained by the wells is indicated by shutting
down the pumps and noting the rate at which the water rises in seeking its
static level. Were Ihc underground and well conditions known accurately,
the area drained could be calculated from this rate of rise : and on the other
tiand, if the area drained could be determined by another method. CUe gen-
eral niidergroand and well frictions would become determinate.
■' 11 has been possible to adapt both methods of investigation in the case
of the wells at Memphis. First, by shutting down the pumps at the sta-
tion, which was done on the morning of Mar. 6. 189S, at midnight, and
iiig the levels at close intervals of time of the water as it rose in the sta-
tion staudpipe connected with the pumping well. The result of this test
~ «haHni in Fig. J4. froni which it will be noted that the water rose to a
ot Oarty'^tL over where it stood when pumping was stopped, with
rkable rapidity, after which it rose more slowly, showing that at first
was forced up through the wells under the action of considerable
pressure, indicating a correspondingly high head in the immediate vicinity
of (he wells ; after whicli, it was evident that the water had lo percolate
from a greater distance through the sand under the influence of a more and
more distant head. The curve of rise indicates first an inerita effect due
to starling the water in motion, then a rapid rise due to the head in the
u! the wells, and then a gradual diminishing flow.
^_ tion St.
^ptktnarl
of ri
! of the water under similar conditions observed at the
Gbological Sdrvey of Louisiana
ion Oct. 15. 1S91, before the lo-ia. welU were
s al9c
pumping s
Bfaown on Pi^. 24.
"A comparison of these two curves indicates that the head in the immedi-
ate vicinity of the wells was jfreater at the time of the test in 1891 than at
the time of the recent test, and also that the slope of the artesian water
surface was greater in 1891 than now. This may be accounted for partially
by the fact that there are nuw many more wells in operation in Memphis
than then, and a correspondingly greater draft is being inaile on tlie water
borne by thearteaion sand atratum, which results in a lowering of the gen-
eral head of the arterian hydraulic surface.
To obtain the slope of the artesian hydraulic surface in the vicinity of
Memphis, recourse was had to measurements on wells not connected iHth
the waterworks system, by having the pumping stopped from such wells
and giving the water sufficient lime to rise to approximately its static level.
Pumping was of course going on from the waterworks wells during these
observations.
"Fig. 35 shows the static level so observed" of various outlying wells
while the level of the water in the waterworks wells remained at the level
shown. The level of the water in the waterworks wells is shown over the
origin of the diagram, and the levels of the outlying wells at their respec-
live distances from the nearest operative well of the waterworks syalem.
A curve traced through these points sho^^■s remarkable untfottnity and
SUBTBRRANKAN WaTHKS OF LOUISIANA 249
1 Ihe water slope towards the area drained by the waterworks
weUt.
■■ The fart is proven that at a diatance of from fiv«
from aoy of the wjterworks wells the level of the arte
K hundred fee
■■' — =-^-
— ^^
_^
3 llll-
5::
3 ■ — — — ar>o™inD»iope of Artoolan HyOi-amie Surfaca
M tiMr Merr^cn.. WBter>yorl,» »alla. Mar. leSB
1 1
n to such an extent as might jnUify the sinking of tli« additional welts.
"II will be noted that the elevation ot the water in the wella gauged
1 those of the waterworks system correaponds to the level to
250
Geological Survey op Louisiana
which the water rapidly rose on making the test at the pumping station
already referred to, and the slope of the water plane from that point back,
corresponds as to distance to the rising level in the station standpipe
during the test plotted on time intervals. Prom these two curves interest-
ing results may be deduced mathematically as to resistance to flow in the
water bearing stratum. Por purposes of this report however, the evidence
is conclusive as to the abundance of the supply and also as to its per-
manency.**
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SPECIAL REPORT
No. VII
THE TIDES IN THE RIGOLETS
By R. a. Harris, Ph. D.
(U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey)
I
■
I
THE TIDES IN THE RIGOLETS
The tides in the Gulf of Mexico are remarkable for the size of
their diurnal constituents. lu fact, along the Gulf coast from
western Florida to Yucatan, the diurnal wave is so much larger
than the semidiurnal, that at most places only one high water
and one low water occur duringa lunar day, especially when the
declinationof the moon is considerable. Thesemidaily waveisdue
chiefly to two causes : the disturbance produced by the tidal forces
acting upon the waters of the Gulf and the disturbance produced
by the Atlantic Ocean acting through the Straits of Florida.
Because of its smalluess, the semidaily portion of the tide will
not be further noticed iu this paper. The diurnal portion of the
tide is due to a stationary wave found in the canal-like basin
composed of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the con-
necting basin. The open end of this canal is marked by the
Windward Islands. The rise and fall of the Atlantic Ocean in
this vicinity produces the stationary wave just mentioned and
this wave accounts for the fact that diurnal high or low water
is nearly simultaneous over the Gulf of Mexico. Of course the
tide at places situated upon those comparatively small bodies of
water which communicate with the Gulf, occurs somewhat later.
For instance, the time required for the tide wave to traverse Miss-
issippi Sound and Lake Borgne as far as the east end of the Rig-
olets is about five hours,— judging by the depths of the water and
noting the probable delaying eSecls at Cat Island Channel and
Grand Island Pass. According to the Coast Survey Tide Tables,
it is diurnal high water in that portion of the Gulf which lies
between Mobile Bay and the mouth of the Mississippi River about
four hours before the moou passes over the meridian of this
locality, her declination being nearly extreme north. Near the
times of extreme southern declination, the lower transit of the
moon should be used in place of the upper. We should there-
fore expect high water at the entrance to the Rigolets to occur
at about one hour after the time when the moon crosses the merid-
M
Ghological Survby of Louisiana
256
ian, the declination being near a maximum. The consideri-"
tion of conserving and losing wave energy leads one to infer
that the amount of rise and fall should be increased along the
shelving border to the deep portion of the Gnlf. but afterwards
diminished in bodies connected with the Gulf by passes. Accord-
ing to the Coast Survey Tide Tables, the range of the diurnal
wave at Port Eads. near deep water, is 1.7 feet : at Cat Island
Light it is 2.0, and at Bitoxi, 2,2 feet. By the time the tide
reaches the entrance to the Rigolets the range should be consider-
ably less than the range at Biloxi or Cat Island Light.
Let us now attempt to infer the tidal movements in the Rig-
olets and Lake Pontchar train. The length of this lake is 40
Statute miles and the area about 603 square miles. The average
depth is about 10 feet. Two passes, remarkable for their depth,
connect the lake with LakeBorgne. Thefirst isthe Rigolets eight
and three-quarters miles long and whose smallest cross section
is about 1,500 X 30 = 45,000 square feet. Fort Pike Light is
near the west end of this pass aud a railroad crosses near the
east end. Off Fort Pike Light the depth is 95 feet. The second
is Chef Menteur Pass, seven miles long and having a minimum
cross section of about 640 x 30 = 19.200 square feet. Its great-
est depth is 90 feet. The average depth from shore to shore of
either pass is abont 30 feet. Depths like these show the eroding
or scouring effect of tidal streams.
Assuming the range attide at the east end of the Rigolets to
be a foot or more, it can be shown that true wave motion cannot
exist in this rather short pass because too large a portion of the
water particles have paths or orbits extending beyond its ends.
In true wave motion, the water particles flow half of the time
uphill and half of the time downhill. In this short pass they
must flow down hill most of the time ; moreover, the flow may be
regarded as steady during a limited time. If there were no
resistance in the pass. Torricelli's theorem would apply and the
velocity at the smallest cross section would be
V = y/TglJ^C^ = 8.02i,S ■v/j-.-f.,.
feet per second, where i.. i,, denote height displacements for the
portions of Lakes Borgue and Poutchartrain near the ends of the
pass reckoned from mean water level. On account of resistance,
Thb Tidbs in the Rigolrts
e velocity is. for a pass of nniform cross section approximately
V = 8.0215 *^f.-r„v'r+o.oo7s6s -^f"^^-
The coeflEcient 0.007565 is an empirical number deduced by
Eytelwein from experiments made by several parties on
the Bow of streams. [For long streams the 1 under the
radical sign can be neglected and then the formula becomes
1 f = 92^ v' mean depth". «lope of »urricl]
■ For the Rjgolets
I V = 8.0215 v'f.-f,.
and for Chef Menteur pass
v/r+n.65
: 2.35^t.~L
V = 2.50 »/f,-f,..
•These two velocities weighted according to the cross sections
of the passes give
V = 2-32 %/f^^..
As an approximation to the truth, we may assume the
velocity curve to be a simple sine or cosine curve. We then
have for the tidal volume entering or leaving through both
passes
^^L 2.32 X maximum v'f-f^X - X 64,200 X 44,714 cubic feet.
^^B|4,7i4 is the number of seconds in a half lunar day. Upon per-
^^■brming the indicated multiplications, this expression becomes
^^■1,240,000,000 X maximum \^(,~[„ cubic feet.
^^m This volume divided by the area of the lake gives 0.252 x
^^ maximum v'f.-f.. as the amplitude of the tide in the lake. Con-
sequently thisamplitude is about one-fourth of the amplitude out-
side. The angle whose cosine is this ratio is about 75*. and so
slack water in the passes and high water inside occur about 5
lunar hours after the lime of high water outside or in the passes.
This shows that f„ is very small at the time of outside high water,
and justifies the statement just made about the amplitudes.
When the outside range is 1.5 feet, the range inside .should be
about 0,4 foot. The maximum velocity in the Rigolets computed
by the above formula is 1.9 feet per second, and in Chef Menteur
pass, 2.1 feet.
If Lake Pontchartraiu were several or many times deeper than
I it actually is, there would then be no sensible wave motion ; that
Geological Sukvby of Lodisiana
llM^
258
is, the surface would remain practically level rising and falli
accordiug as the water were flowing inward or outward through
the passes. In this assumed case high or low water in the lake
would occur, according to a computation just made, 5 hours, or
nearly one-fourth of a tidal period, later than high or low outside
or in the passes. lu a shallow body of water, if suiEcienlly
extended, wave motion will be produced ; a wave will be gener-
ated at the end of this lake near the passes. The inflowing
water loses its motion because of the sudden widening aud shoal-
ing. The entering volume aud the inertia of the waters of the
lake produces a slope in the surface of the lake near the passes, — ■
the slope, for a large lake aud very small pass, attaining a
maximum value at nearly the lime of high water outside. At
this time the waters of the near or east end of the lake are being
most accelerated. According to the theory of wave motion, the
water particles in the near end of the lake will attain their max-
imum velocity one quarter of a tidal period later, and it will then
be high water. This indicates that for the east end of Lake Pont-
chartrain high water should occur when the flood current ceases
in the passes or about 5 hours after high water just outside or in
the passes. In a similar way the generation of the low-water phase
may be considered. To find the time of high water at any other
part of the lake, assumed to be shallow, or rather, propagative, we
must add to the eastern end time the time of transmission to the
point in question. Consequently the tides at the western end of
the lake should be about three hours later than at the eastern end.
and S hours later than outside or in the passes. This delay may
be slightly diminished because the lake is perhaps not altogether
propagative. On account of the small portion of the tidal period
required for a free wave to traverse the lake, the range all over
must be almost the same, viz. 0.4 foot when the range at the
outer entrances to the passes is 1.5 feet.
On Jan. 29, 30, 1901, tides and currents in the Rigolets were
observed for 24 consecutive hours by Professor G, D, Harris and
Mr, J, Pacheco. The former made observations at Fort Pike
Light, near the inner end of the pass, and the latter at the rail-
road drawbridge near the outer end. The time used was 90th
meridian, which is practically local time. The moon reached
is
—
_j
,
' ,
—
—
—
—
-•
—
-n
-•-
—
i
—
■
-
I
i
i
s —
1 — .
'
'
—
—
—
_
__
_
_^
_ .^
— •-
—
—
—
^
' — 1
—
■ —
—
n
■ —
-•—
—
-
.
i
9
'
26o Geological Sorvby of Louisiana
her greatest north declination on Jan. 30. The times of
transit are : Jan. 29. 7 hrs. 4S roins., tower ; 20 hrs. 16 mins.,
upper. Jan. 30, 8 hrs. 44 mins., lower ; 21 hrs., 13 mins., upper.
By means of the accompanying plotting of the observations,
we see that high water throughout the Rigolets and maximum
westward flow, occur 2 or 3 hours after the time of the moon's
upper transit. The velocities of the flood, or west-going stream,
are written above the axis, and the ebb below. They are
expressed in feet per second. At the west end, there were mod-
erate W. S. W. breezes ou the evening of the 29th ; stiff west-
erly breeze at 7 A. M. of the 30th ; heavy N. W. wind most of
the time from 10 A. m, to 9 p. M, At the east end there were
light W. S. W. breezes on the evening of the 29th ; breezes
S, W. on the 30th until 10 A. m.; 10:30 strong N. W. gale last-
ing until 3:30 V. M.; wind died out at 7:30 P. m.
As neither station is situated where the cross section is a mini-
mum, we should, for this reason, expect the observed velocities
to be less than those given by the formula. At Fort Pike Light,
however, the observed velocity is probably greater than the
average velocity for the cross secliou there, because of the
sharpness of the point around which the current moves.
It will be noticed that the inferred times of the tides in the
passes do not excactly agree with the observed times ; for, infer-
ence makes the tides on days of extreme declination follow the
moon by approximately one hour whereas these observations indi-
cate an interval of two or three hours. About 40 minutes of this
discrepancy is explained by the fact that diurnal tides are behind
their average position with respect to the moon in the winter
and summer seasons, but as much ahead in the fall and spring.
The remainder of the discrepancy is probably largely due to dis-
turbances caused by the winds.
As might have been expected, the diagram shows that the tide
at Fort Pike Light is but little later than the tide at the draw-
bridge, and not 5 hours or so later, as we have inferred the tide
in the eastern part of the lake to be.
SPECIAL REPORT
No. VIII
OIL IN LOUISIANA
BY
G. D. HARRIS
CONTENTS
Paok
Introductory Remarks 265
Field Work 265
WBI.1; Sbctions 265
New Orleans 265
Breanz Bridge, Anse-La-Butte 266
Sicily Island 268
Bayou Cheniere 268
Jennings 268
Crowley and Prairie Mamou 268
Jennings Gusher 269
Spring Hill 270
Lake Charles 270
Sulphur Mines 272
Beaumont, Tex 272
Sour Lake, Tex 273
ILLUSTRATIONS
Paob
Plate XIJV.
Fig. 27.
Anse-La-Butte 267
Stratigraphy of the Jennings Oil Field ... 269
OIL IN LOUISIANA
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Field Work
Our field season in Louisiana closed before Mar. 15, 1902, and,
owing to the rapid developments in the state along the oil line
since that time, no comprehensive report on the present situation
can here be given.
Certain sections were then obtained, and the horizon of certain
oil-bearing sands were then determined. Data of this kind will
be as valuable to-day or in the future as at any time in the past.
Such facts only are herewith offered ; they relate mainly to the
question of the horizon of the oil-bearing sands.
WELL SECTIONS
New Orleans
We are under the impression that the gas indications in shal-
low test holes like the Algiers gas well has led to the supposition
that oil may exist in paying quantities not far from the surface
somewhere about New Orleans. It will be noted that gas was
encountered in the deepest wells in New Orleans City, (see prev-
ious Report.)
The so-called gas well at Algiers gave the following log :
Feet
Yellow and dark clayey loam at 5
Blackish clay at.... 11,15,18
Dark clay at 22,27
Light loamy clay at 30,33
Dark loamy clay at. . . . 38,40,43,47
Dark clay at ... . 50
Dark sandy clay with gas and shells, Area peciinata. .at 55
Dark sandy clay at ... 59,61,63,67,68
Yellowish black sandy clay at . . . . 72
Sand, dark and slightly yellowish and clay at 73
Yellowish clayey sand at. . . . 80,85,89
a66 Gbouxjical Sdkvbt of Looisiaha
There is little doubt, bnt that the gas bere prodaced is piu
local and should ia no way be taken as indication of oil.
BSBACX BbIIXSB, AN'SE-LA-BnTTB
Section of first well sunk : *
Thickacts Depth
No. I. Gravelaad sand loo ft. . . .too ft.
t. Limestone 5 105
3. Oil-bcsriug daj witb bands of lignite 140 ....145
4. Soft limtstode 4 ....349 ^1
5. Oil-bearing clay and grsTcl 33 281 ^^^|
G. Sa!t water, ir>ck sail doutjtfal S ....a89 H^|
7. Oil-bearing c lav and gravel 64 35} ^^^H
S. Oil and water-bearing gravel 11 364 ^^^
9. HaidKreen clay 33 397 \
10. Water-bearing sand 68 ... 4S5
11. Hard green clay aa 507
The oil is evidently flowing out here on top of the upper
Grand Gulf or Frio clays. The salt is presumably dissolved
from a source nearby and is transported by the underground
waters. Oil act nally comes to the surface of the ground iu some
places. Gas has been escaping here for years. An illustration
of the same is given on Plate XI of our Report of 1899.
Since our last report was written, two new well have been put
down iu the vicinity of Anse-la-Butte. One is on the summit
of the little rise of ground at this place. It is shown on Plate
XLIV. It has been described at length by Caracristi, who gave
a figure of the beds it is supposed to have penetrated.!
He strangely enough gives the Grand Gulf a position above
the " Lafayette Drift." Both oiland gas are represented as hav- I
ing their origin well down in the Cretaceous formation.
However improperly the diSerent formations may be named
* Section as furnished by Judge Blackman. 1900.
Caracristi gives in addition :
N'o. 10 Water-bearing sand S8 ft. to 48:
II Hard green clay ai " 511
I J Sand and mack 13 " 5*.
t Report by Dr. C. F. Z. Caracristi on the Holdings of the Anse-hi- Butte,
(Ledanois). Qil and Mineral Co., Limited, 1891.
r
I '
I
/
<- ^
. • 4 • .'
♦0>«r,
NO
Oil in Louisiana 267
in his report, doubtless the log of the well, if taken from sam-
ples, or from the driller's notes is a contribution to science.
It reads :
1. Yellow clay o to 37 ft.
2. Fine aand. . . 37 to 40
3. Sand, gravel 40 to 50
4. Sand, coarse 50 to 100
5. Gravel, fine 100 to 150
6. Sand, gravel 150 to 200
7. Sand, coarse 200 to 225
8. Rock 225 to 226
9. Oil-bearing sand 226 to 228
la Rock. 228 to 235
11. Gravel 235 to 237
12. Rock 237 to 240
13. Sand 240 to 242
14. Gravel 242 to 260
15. Rock gravel 260 to 265
16. Oil-bearing sand 265 to 268
17. GraveL 268 to 285
18. Sandstone 285 to 290
19. Hard-pan 290 to 320
20. Sand-gravel 320 to 350
21. Gravel 350 to 354
22. Sand 354 to 364
23. Shale, blue 364 to 390
24. Salt 391 to 570
25. Rock-flint 570 to 576
26. Gravel 576 to 578
27. Salt 578 to 790
28. Sand and gravel 790 to 801
29. Cap rock 801 to 801^
Gas and petroleum.
What may be called the third well at Anse-la-Butte was drilled
early in 1902 about ^ miles southwest of the one shown in Plate
XLIV. On Mar. 12th it had attained a depth of nearly 1500 ft.
and the drill had scarcely gone 3 ft. in 24 hours. The material
seemed to be very cherty. Between 1415 and 1450 ft. was
found the red clay bed described in Special Report No. i.
Prom the specimens at the Moresi foundry in Jeanerette and
other specimens seen at the well it is quite safe to say that
Grand Gulf material was passed through from 800 to 1,500 ft*
The section bears more resemblance to the old Lucas well than
2«8
Geologicax Survey of Louisiana
L
to the newer, deeper well reported upon by Caracristi. It is
very evident that orogenic movements were very active here
some pre -Quaternary time.
Sicily Island
Boring was going on about 4 miles west of Florence in early
1902. We saw no special indications of oil at that place when
passing by to our work on the Ouachita. The general geolog-
ical section across the state shown by the relief map, Plate II,
gives a proper idea of the beds that this well would probably
penetrate if continued to a sufficient depth.
Bayou Chknikrk
This locality is but two or three miles south of a station by
the same uame on the V. S. & P. R. R., nine miles west of
Monroe, Ouachita parish. We saw no indications favorable to
the discovery of oil in this vicinity. The first circular by the
company embodied facts regarding oil in its property, evidently
taken from information regarding wells in the southern part of
the state. The total difference in geological structure between
the two regions is at once apparent upon examining the geolog-
ical mapof the state or the north-south sectioned model, Plate II.
Jennings
This has proven, so far, the most interesting and important
oil district in the state. One of the wells that might have
showed perhaps the most geology, if samples had only been care-
fully saved and recorded, was the Southern No. I. located just
west of Bayou Cannes, opposite the mouth of Bayou Plaquemine
Brulee. It attained the depth of 2600 ft., and it is evident from
the material taken out. that the usual bluish sands were passed
through in the lower part of the boring though the basal beds
seem to have a peculiar mottled appearance, reminding one of
river deposits, or deposits of shallow fresh water ponds. We
believe these lowest beds may be correlated with the Grand Gulf
formation.
Crowley and Prairie Mamou
These are nearly three miles south of the well just described
and are located on the Anthony Cochran tract, not far west of
is
4
■ly I
Oil in Louisiana
269
ie Bayou Caones. Neither of these wells were being drilled or
Ppumped at the time of our visit : no statements, regarding the
formations passed through, were
obtained. But both wells
showed clearly that towards,
^^^and at the bottom, Pascagoula
^^B Miocene beds have been encount-
^^K ered. Gnathodon or Rangia
^^m jehnsoni was in evidence at both
^B wells. The Prairie Mamou well
^f was credited with a depth of
nearly 2+00 ft. while the Crowley
well was supposed to be about
2200 ft. deep.
IjBNNlNGS GnSHEK
This, the first important welt
in the region, from an economic
standpoint, is located on the frag-
mentary section 46. 9 S. , 2 W, ,
about one-half mile west of the
wells just described. It is cred-
ited with a depth of 1820 ft. and
certainly shows every evidence
of yielding oil in abundance. ,
The fossil specimens saved by ,
various individuals, who were ■
on the field during the time of i
drilling, indicate that the wells \
down about to the Pascagoula
Miocene.
It is useless to attempt any des-
cription of the local conditions
in this region. Work is pro-
gressing at such a pace that those
on the ground only can properly
follow it. One thing, however,
that seems very diHerent here,
he fieaumont region is that
270
Gbologicai. Survey of I^uisiana
the position of the oil is in the Miocene sands. The geological '
position of the oil is here quite evident for there are fossils to
prove it. At Beaumont, thus far, no fossils have been obtained
to prove beyond a doubt just where the oil belongs, though the
evidence is all pointing towards Cretaceous origin. The original
position, or the beds producing the Jennings oil, is probably not
the Miocene sands and clays in which the oil is now found. The
stratigraphic conditions of this particular region, as they seem
to be to us, are shown by Fig, 27. This, however, till more
facts are obtained, must be regarded as mainly conjecture, i. e.,
that portion of the section below the depths of the deepest
wells.
Spring Hill
Mr. J. T.Jackson, the driller of this well, states that he found
gravel in abundance to a depth of 1200 ft. He mentions a light
sandstone at a depth of about 1450 ft., some 14 ft. thick, that
wore the bit out in a most rapid and astonishing way. Below,
about 1500 ft., the material brought up is a fine, sharp, quartz
sand with green clay ilakes. We saw no reasons for supposing
oil would be found in this locality.
Lake Charles
Sect. 16, 10 S., 8 W., commenced Nov.
Watkins well. No.
20, 1901 : completed Feb,
samples :
Log from the company's
Thick nesB Depth
o, I, Soil, brown loam
J. Clay, liRht. red blotched
3. Fine white sand
4. Light gray clay, shell fragments
5. Light gray sand, fine
6. Bluisb gray clay 5.7 93.8
7. Coarse light sand
8. Slightly brown loamy clay 69.0 167.0
9. Same as No, 7
10. Light grey clay and sand, few shells frag<
melitB(2 in. gravel at 176-S) -... .
11, Sand, fine, coarse sad with gravel 145.1
II. Same as S ...
13. Same as 7 and 9 81.7 6^9,7
14. Light loamy, sliRlitly brownish clay 34. a 713.9
Oil in Louisiana 271
Thickness Depth
15. Gray sand 30.2 744. i
16. Slightly greenish gray clay 84.4 828.5
J 7. Fine, slightly brownish sand 85.3 91 1.8
x8. Grayish and greenish clay 104.5 1016.3
19. Sand and hard clay 76.8 1093. i
ao. Dark greenish clay 34.1 1 127.2
21. Light sand 58.1 1185.3
22. Greenish loam 30.6 1215.9
23. Very fine sand 50.0 1 265.9
24. Gray green loam i97-4 1463.3
25. Light gray sand 9.5 1472.8
26. Greenish gray clay . 38.0 1510.8
27. Coarse sand 40.0 1550.8
28. Gray clay 3.0 1553-8
29. Fine gray sand 18.2 1572.0
30. Gray clay 112. i 1684. i
31. Gray loamy sand 8.0 1692. i
32. Light sandy clay 22.7 1714.8
33. Gray sand, little clay 1 18.3 1833. i
34. Light clayey sand 8.0 184 r. i
35. Light loamy clay 3.5 1844.6
36. Light loamy sand 9.0 1853.6
37. Olive clay 18.5 1872.1
38. Fine bluish sand 21.0 1893.1
39. Fine gray sand 39.1 1932. 2
40. Light olive sandy clay 8.0 1940.2
41. Rather coarse gray sand 97.6 2037.8
42. Light olive clay 60.0 2097.8
43. Fine gray sand 12.0 2109.8
44. Fine gray sand, but more clayey 34.6 2144.4
45. Gray sand, ferruginous 5.0 2149.4
46. Gray sand, clayey, saline 5.0 2154.4
47. Same as 45 8.0 2 162.4
48. Same as 45, but more clayey, not saline 37.7 2200.1
49. Coarse clean sand 73.1 2273.2
50. Gray clayey sand 18.5 2291.7
51. Fine gray sand 39.0 2330.7
52. Fine gray clayey sand 7.8 2338.5
53. Fine light gray clayey sand to 2406.9
We have observed no shell fragments about this well that
would indicate anything lower than the upper Tertiary ; not
even the Miocene Gnathodon has been found. Shell fragments
consist mainly of small Madrce and the recent Gnathodon or
Rangia.
Hoo Hoo Park well
abandoned.
Gkologicai. Survey op Louisiana
put down to a depth of 1800 ft. and
Sulphur Mi
We have already devoted cousiderable space to the description
of these mines in southwestern Louisiana ; see report of 1899
for figures, plates and descriptions. We present herewith a sec-
tion taken from samples at the works in 1900
n
Thickaess
lo. I. Dirt and sand 15
2. Clay and send 175
3. Quicksand 181-190
4. Gravel aj- 60
5. Broken rock and Hmestone 40
6. "Pepper and salt" sandi with snlphnr
crystals 10
7. The same, more sulphur 3
8. Fine, whitish, hlack-specked sandy layers
with grains of solpbur 3
9. Sulphur and gypsum 3
10. Same as No. 8 3
11. Sulphur and gypsum 3
la. Soft, sandy clay and sulphnr 6
13. Light gray, fine material and sulphur 6
14. The same, more coarsely crystalline 4
15. Same as No. la, 3
16. Coarse, dark gray gypsnm and crystalline
snlphnr 3
17. Same as No, 11 10
18. Nearly pure snlphnr with some gjpsum aa
19. Crystalline sulphur and gypsum. , . ■ S
20. Whitish soft clay ? 4
ai. Sulphur and some gypsum 14
33. Same as No. 30 3
33. Sulphur and gypsum 7
Depth
380-390
4ii>-45o +
54fr]
57«1
sSDtl
597]
Bbadmont, Tbxas
In spite of the many and varied opinions to the contrary, s
see no reason whatsoever for abandoning our position regardlsj
the origin of the oil at Beaumont. Historically the follow
two statements are of interest now, both having been madesi
afier the discovery of oil in great quantities in Texas.
New Orleans Picayune, Mar. 27, 1901. Communication
G. D. Harris :
Oil in LoDtsiANA
273
" The scsnty evidence at haml would Iherefore indicate that the guBher
ia situated on top of a Cretaceous anticline or fold, and tliat tbe prcasure it
(rom gas so commonly eucountered in Btructurea of this type. That tbe
supply of oil is conaiderable, cannot well be doubted, but that it will con-
tinue to 'guah* long is very doubtful."
Times-Democrat, May 39, 1901. Com muni cation by R. T.
Hill:
" The well-driller may experiment with safetj in the Beaumont Gelds
withoat fear of structural complications, with a reasonable assurance that
oil is apt to be found anywhere within tbe rcKion of the coast plain above
the oil -impregnated aaiids, Tbe oil slionld be found at .lecreasing depths
at the rate of aboni seven to ten feet per mile along the line drawn from
Beaumont to Oil City, in Southern Nacogdoches county. The pressure and
qaantity will both likewise decrease away from Beaumont along this line. "
Now, ill June, 1902, we doubt whether there is a driller in the
Beaumont field who is not convinced of the truth of our predic-
tion of a year ago. Mr. Hill of the Guffy Co. remarked that
•• without doubt Spindle Top is an upheaval. The apex of the
dome has been found, in which naturally gas is found in large
quantities. The dip, away from this center or ridge is something
like 125 ft. to every 500. " Again, from the position of the
Treadway well, being sunk in March, 1902, and the statements
there made that they were in hopes to find oil at 2500 ft., "' if tbe
dip remained constant, " it is evident that the conditions of this
buried short anticline or dome are now well understood. The
Treadway well, at the time of our visit, was down 1850 ft. and
showed the uppermost Tertiary, or the Galveston well type of
Rangia cuneata. at that depth. The well one-quarter mile east,
still deeper, showed mottled marls, and materials that we feel
almost certain should be correlated with tbe upper Grand Gulf
marls.
The slight fold that shows upon the surface runs K. 60° E. by
S. 60° W. This we think is produced, to some extent, at least,
by the upheaval below.
Sour Lake
We have already mentioned the important bearing tbe facts
obtained from this region have on the general subject of the
stratigraphy of S. E. Texas (see Special Report No. i.) The
4
274 Geological Sdrvbv of Louisiana
finding of a good Jackson fauna in one well at 1500 ft., the hot
water, the logs of nearby wells showing little resemblance to
each other, and the deep well (1915 ft.) about 4 miles S. E. of
the village, perhaps down to the Grand Gulf, all tend to make
the geologist sceptical of finding oil in large quantities over any
great extent of country.
The problem of how to find oil in this portion of the country
is indeed a difficult one, for as we have heretofore remarked,
again and again, the true structure of the Tertiary and Cre-
taceous formations is masked by almost level and even bedded
Pleistocene deposits. Mr. Putnam has kindly furnished the fol-
lowing log of the well of Atlantic and Pacific Oil Co,, the first
' ' gusher " at Sour Lake :
Thickness Depth
Ft. In. Fl. Id.
:. Sand and iraces of oil 47 47
1. Blue clay 6 5 j
3. Sand and traces of oil.... 77 130
4. Blue clay 36 186
5. Gravel, limestone and pyrites of iron 2 1S8
6. Bine clay, sandstone and pyrites of iron ,. 16 ro 314
7. Blue clay, hard on top, softer as drill pene-
trated 31 i46
8. Sand , a 148
9. Bine clay and K<'ave1, slight trace of oil. . . 45 393
10, Mud ("Gumbo") 44 337
11. Rock, apparently boulder, sbowing trace
of oil I 338
19. Blueclay 10 34S
13. Clay and hard shale ao 368
14. Blue clay 4 37a
15. Blue clay, with i ft. rock at 383-384, con-
aiderable gas, slight show of oil 13 3 386
16. Rock, bard limestone 5 391
17. Mad ("Gumbo") gas and oil traces 7 39B
18. Blue mud 33 431
19. Clay and hard mud 54 ^ 485
ao. Sandstone 3 488
31. Limestone 2 490
32. Blue clay 3 493
33. Mud ( " Gumbo" ) and gravel 34 517
14. Blue clay, resembling shale 35 10 561
25. Blueclay, slight gas and trace of oil 15 577
Oil in Louisiana 275
Thickness Depth
Ft. In. Ft. In.
26. Bine clay » resembling soapstone, strong gas
pressure and good flow of oil 52 2 630
27. Hard clay, resembling soapstone,very strong
gas pressure and heavy flow of oil 5 635
28. Clay, resembling shale 5 640
At this point (640 ft.) struck oil sand
29. Oil sand not passed through 42 682
Drilling ceased at 682 because of strong gas pressure and heavy
flow of oil. Drew drill pipe, during which operation oil gushed
through notery. just 20 ft., then 100 ft. high. Eight in. casing
set at 642 ft. *
INDEX
Abbeville 190, 194 (Plate XLI), 234
Abbott's well 239
AbiU Springs 226, 251
Alabama .- 9, 15, 16, 18, 21, 25, 27. 140
Albrecbt, Jos 223
Aldenbridge 209
Alexandria 117, 158, 207, 212, 214
Algiers. 265
Allentown 209
Alluvium (and Recent Shore Deposits) 5 (PI. I), 8 (Fig. 2), 35 (Fig. 7),
37-38. 120. 138, 158
Amite City 35, (Fig. 7)
Analyses — see Waters ; Brine tests of
Andrews Well Co 210
Angelina 118
Angelina-Neches 117
Anse-la-Butte 30. 95. 98, 100 (Plate XXIII). 266-268
Anthony's ferry 113, 133, 133 (Plate XXXI), 145. 148 (Plate XXXVII)
Anticline 68, 100, 117, 118, 158, 273
Arcadia 12, 184
Archieology 53-55, 65. 77, 83, 91, 153
Arkansas 5 (Plate I), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 20 (Plate IV), 21, 22, 23
Artesian water, principles of 203-207
Artesian wells, 57 (Plate XII), 57, 60, 61, (Fig. 9) 87, 203-252, 204 (Fi^j;.
20) 205 (Fig. 21)
Asphaltum 79
Aaoert Hotel well 226, 251
Avery Island ( Petite Anse), 95, 97, 100 (Plate XXIII), 187, 194 (Plate XLI)
Baker 216,217, 230
Bastrop 185. 192 (Plate XL), 231
Baton- Rouge 37, 216, 217, 229
Bayer A. A 251
Bayon Cheniere 268
Bayon Chicot limestone 8, 96, 99, 100 (Plate XXIII)
Bayou Macon hills 153, 169
Bayon Negreet 127, 128, 146, 148 (Plate XXXVII)
Bayon Sara 230
Bay St. Louis 221
Beaumont, Tex 31, 32, 98, 99, 100 (Plate XXIII), 270, 272-273
Beer, Wm 49, 107
Beigel, G. H., well 227, 252
Belgrade, Tex : iii, 113, 140
Belle Cdte bayou, mouth of section 161
Belle Isle 95, 97, 98, 99, 100 (Plate XXUI)
Belle's Idg. substage 15
Bench marks 218
278
Indbx
i
Benlon
Bienville, Mde 53
Big lake 172
Bird, Maurice 4«, 63, 69, 75, 80, 89
Bistiueau. Lake 8l
Bistineau Salt Works, 48, 3i (Plate XVI). 8;^. 88 (Plate XVII) 93.
94. 95. 96. 97. 'oo, 100 (Plate XVIH)
■ ■ 91
Blacktiian, Judge
Blankstoii 155
Blalfs, types nf, on Sabiae river 11 i-i 11
Bonnabcl, Mr., well 3i3
Bonudury Survey, U. S,-Tei 108-109, "Oi "9, '43
Bower, Mr., well 143,145
Braillty RaniBey Lumber Co. Well 240,151
Brazil. Mnrie Fariilha 10
Breaux Rridjce 266-368
Brechuer, Mr 236, 238 (Plate XLIII)
Brines, Relutive value of Nortb Louisiana 93. 9°
Brioes, tests of 61,63,69,70,75,79-80,89,94-55
Brook's Idg , , ... 169
Brown, K. L,, well 239
Brown . Samuel , 55
Brownlec, J. L "I, 143
Buff & Berger 182, 183 (Fig, 19)
Buhrstoiie 18
Banker Hill blnff T56, 156 (Fig. 14) 164. "65
Burkville, Tex 156
Burr's ferry 113. 133, 136
Caldwell, Prea 209-210
Call. K. E 13.22
Cameron, R. S 211
Cameron, Lb 189, 194 (Plate XLI)
Camp, R. E, well 205, 205 (Fig. 21), 238, 245
Camp sites, Indian 171-172
Csne Hill .... 170
Canicrisli. C. F. Z , 266, 26S
Carey, S. L. ... 23s, 246
Carter terry 113, 123, 147. 148 (Plate XXXVIl)
Carter Idg 164. 167, 172
Cartography 107-III, 173-194
Cash bluff, section 168
Castor Idg , section 163
Castor Salt SpriiiRs 93
Catahoula lake 114
Catahoula Salt Springs 91
Catahoula shoals 30 [Plate IV), 29, 117, 153, iS7, I37 (Fig.»5).2i4
Cedar lick 92
ChnlkHilis 39
Chamber's ferry 114, 133
Chapius' well 234
Chatlaboochee lao, 144
Chautauqua II
Chenier. Grand 3J
Chickasawayan, see J-ignilic
Indbx 279
China 205, 240, 246
Chinchuba Deaf Institute well 224
Chireno, Tex. well 126, 147-148, 148 ( Plate XXXVII)
Christie*s switch 21 , 24, 28, 30
Claiborne Sand 18, 140
Claiborne, Lower, 5, (Plate I), 8, 8 (Fig. 2) 11, 17-20, 51, 59, 88, 90, 100,
115, 116, 120, 126, 127-130, 140, 141, 144 (Plate XXXIII), 148,
(Plate XXXVII), 155, 158, 159-160, 209, 211, 212
Claiborne, Lyon's well , 225
Clayton see Midway
Clendenin, W. W 230
Clenienshaw, C 220
Coast and Geodetic Survey 1 10, 1 1 1 , 143, 1S2
Cocksfield beds, 5 (Plate 1), 21-22, 120, 130-131, 141, i44(Plate XXXIII),
148 (Plate XXXVII), 158^ 159, 160-163, 207, 209, 212, 231
Colfax 29, 97, 210-21 1, 213
Columbia 21 , 1 63
Columbus 113, 114, 115, 116, 127, 130, 146, 148 (Plate XXXVII)
Compass 17S-180
Cooper's well 239
Contents, general table of iii
Table of, Geography and Geology of the Sabine 103-104
Table of, Geology along the Ouachita 149- 5 1
Table of, Improvements in La. Cartography 175
Table of. Oil in Louisiana 263
Tabic of. Salines of North Louisiana 43-45
Table of. Subterranean Waters of Louisiana i97-'99
Table of, Tertiary Geology of the Mississippi Embayment 3
Coochie brake 50. 68, 96 100, 118
Coochie brake — Winnfield anticlinal 50, 68, 100, 1 18, 158
Corley, Capt. L. D 92
Coroas (Indians) 53
Correlation table 141
C6teCarline 97, ico (Plate XXIII)
Cottingham Idg 171
Covington 189, 194 (Plate XLI), 216, 217, 224-225 (wells), 244, 251
Coxe, Daniel 53
Cretaceous. 5 (Plate I), 6 (Fig. i). 7-S, 8 (Fig. 2), 9,49,50, 60, 61 (Fig.
9), 73. 74, 76 (Plate XV). 78, 81 (Plate XVI) 86-S7, q6-ioo, 100
( Plate XX, XXII ), 208, 213 a66, 270, 273, 274
Cretaceous domes 7,7 (Plate II). 50,61 (Fig. 9). 74-75. 96
97-100, 100 (Plate XXIII), 208, 273
Cretaceous anticline 49. 68, 273
Cretaceous backbone 49. 50
Crowley 217, 234, 235, 745, 268-269
Cubit's island 38, 38 ( Plate X)
Cut-off islands 154-1 55
Dall 9
Damon's Mound, Tex 95, 98-99, 100 (Plate XXIII)
Danville Idg 21 (Plate IV), 23, 29, 167 (section)
Darby, \Vm 56, 107, 1 10, 1 19
Darton 208,211,213,221,230
Davis, Prof ." 205
Davis, C. A 28
Delta 230
28o
Index
Dessonie's wells 2?3, J51
Distances along Sabine river 113-114
Dixon Academy nell 125
Domes ... 7, 50, 61 (Fig. 9), 74-75, 96, 97-100, ioo(Plate XXIII). 308, 373
Donnelly well 235
Drake. RubeD 57
Drake'sSalt Works. 48.5I-A(, si(PlateXI), 57 lPlateSlI),6i (Fig.9),
94. 95. 96. 97. 100, 100 IPlale XVIII). ao8
Dubach's mill ta. 109
Dugdeniona Bayou, Salines near 9a
DuPrati, M, LaPage 53, 54, SS. S3. 9'
Dummet's well 314-225
Dumpy level 319
DuTker well 838
Dutch, Jiio. well 125
Eaton, J. H loS. 119, 143
HasCman 'swell ( Hammond) 228
Eaatman, A, V 246
EmliBj-menl. Geologv of the Mississippi 1-40, 5 (Plate I), 8iFig. 2)
Enterprise 20 (Plate IV), 23, 26, 164
Eocene .5 (Plate I), 6 (Fig. 1), 8-35,30 (Fig. s), 50, 59, 79,99,
120-132, 141, 158, 159-167, 208-213
Evangeline i' . ja
Fayelte sands I41
Fenton 143. 345
Field, CM 339 (well), 145
Figures, list of .,.4, 46, 105, 15a. 176, 301, 164
Five Islands 51, 97, 98, 100, 100 iPlate XXIII)
Flatwood clays . . . 13
Florence a68
Flower's, Mrs., wells, 135
Forshey, C. G 49
Fossils, Invertebrate. Brackish water 36, 338, 371, 373
Chattahoochee 136
Cretaceous SO, 73, 74. 78, S6, f 7, 88
Eocene. J33
Freah water K, '9, 99, 133
Grand Gulf. 39. 1 ^
Jackson 22, 23, 25, 132, 164, 165
Lignitic 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, to
Lower Claiborne 19, so, 53, 59. 8B, 127, 138, T39, 130, 160
Midway 10,11,48,78
Miocene (Pascagoula) 3a, -69
Pliocene to Recent 36, 99, ajS, 271. 375
Vicksbiirg 26,37
Fossils : plants. Cretaceous 60, 67
Cockslield 163
Grand Gulf 39
Lignitic 133
Fossils, vertebrate 68. 74, 79, 87. 131
Foster, n. M. well 125-116, 148, 14H ( Plate XXXVII)
Indbx 281
Franklin 187, 194 (Plate XU)
Fredrick and Singletry's still, well 227, 251
French, B. F 53
Frio clays, 5 (Plate I), 28, 29, 120, I35-I37» 141. ^44 (Plate XXXIV)
148 (Plate XXXVII), 205, 266, 273
Galena 98
Gannett, H 2x0
Gas 60, 87, 208, 209, 211, 265, 266, 267
Gibson Idg, section 164
Glencoe 230
Geological column. The 6 (Fig. i)
Geological formations, see under Cretaceous^ Lignitic Midway ^ etc.
Geological Survey, U. S 177
Geography and geology of the Sabine river 101-173
Georgia 10, 16, 17, 18, 27
Goodwin's shoals, 112, 112 (Plate XXIV), 115-116, 116 (Fig. 13), 116
(Plate XXVI). 127
Graham, George 57, 65
Grand Chenier 36 (Plate IX), 37
Grande C6te 97, 100 (Plate XXIII)
Grand Gulf, 5 (Plate I), 24, 27, 28 (Plate VI), 28-32. 35 (Fig. 7), 97, 115,
120, 132-135, 141, 144 (Plate XXXIII), 148 (Plate XXXVII), 154,
156, 157, 158, 167-168, 205, 205, (Fig. 21), 212, 213-24', , 266, 267,
268, 273, 274
Grand Gulf, Mississippi 28 (Plate VI)
Grand View Bluff 164,166
Gueydan 235, 244
Gueydan, J. P 244
Hamilton, Tex iir, 114, 120, 120 (Plate XXVII), 122
HammiPs well 24 1 , 242
Hammond 35 (Fig. 7), 217, 227-229, 251-252
Hardee, W. J , map 109
Harpe, M. de la 53
Harris, G. I) 50, 272
Improvements in Louisiana Cartography 173-194
Letter of Transmission v
Oil in Louisiana 261-275
Subterranean Waters of Louisiana 195-252
Tertiary Geology of the Mississippi Enibayment 1-40
Harris, R. A. , Tides in the Rigolets 253-261
Harrison burgh 28, 34, 153
Hart's bluff section 121, 139, 147, 148 (Plate XXXVII)
Hatchetigbee sub-stage 15,16
Hattan's ferry 135
Hawkeye Rice Mill well 243
Hawkins, Mrs. Jno., well 223
Hayes, C. \V 99
Heilprin 13
Hermann, Dr. , well 228
Hernandez, wells 216, 226. 227
High bluff 124
Hilgard, E. \V., 13, 14, 22. 27. 28, 49, 50, 60, 63, 69, 71, 73, 77, 89, 90,
92, 132. 231
Hill, R. T 273
282
Index
Hogan's Idg «5S. W .
Hopkins. Dr. F V SO. 68. 7^, 153
Houma 188, 194 (Plate XU)
Hunter and Dunbar , . 91
Hydraulic gradient. aoj, 205, (Fig, 3i), ao6, 106 (Fig. la)
Illinois 9
Illinuis Central R. R..* section along 35
Illustrations, fists of 4, 46, 103, 153, 176, 301, 164
Inclosure islands 155
Improvements in La. Cartography 1 73-193
Indians 53-55. 65. 77. 8.1. 91. «53. 17'-17=
Invertebrate l-'ossils, see Fosstts
Islands, clashes of .154, 156
Jackson, s (Plate I ), 8 {Fig. s), ao(Plale IV), 22-25, 24 n'ig. 4). 35( Fig.
7). i3'-"3». 13" (Plate XXX), 140, 141, 146. 144 (Kate XXXllI),
148 (Plate 37), 158, 164-167,218, 213. 331. "74
Jackson, O. H., well 223
.. 20, i3»-:33. 136, 141
i--y. ". 13
.21, 24, j8, 30, 113, 135
jeanerette . ...
Johnson, I.. C it,
Johnson, Smith and, 9, 15, ll
KallDck, Dr. P. C, well 1*
Kennedy, J. L i\.
Kennedy, W. ,
Kentucky
K. C. P. & G. R. R., sections along. .
Keuffel & Esser
Eilgorc Plantation, well 233
Kllpatrick, Dr. A, R 93
Kinder 305, 316, 939
King, Grace 53
King's Salt Works 10, 48, 49,69. 76-80, 76 ( Plate XV) 93, 94, 95
96, 97, 99, 100 (Plate XXI) io8
Knoble, Col. G 76
Labat's Hotel well >a6
La Grange group 13
Lafayette...s(prate I) 31,32-36.35 (Fig, 7I 98, 117, lao. 137. 13S, 158.
169, J05, 205,lFig. 31). =07. 3iS-ii7. a66
Lafayette, La 190, 194 (Plate XLI) 216. 233
Lake Arthur 205. 205 {Fig. 21}, 216. 238
Lake Artliur— Smith ville section , ,205 (Fig. 21), 216, 345
Lake Calheiinc 317, 221
Lake Charles 3r, 189, 194 (Plate XLI), 216, ai8. 240 246, 351, 270-273
Lake City ■ 217, 322
Lake Manrepaa , 217
Lake Pontchartrain , 36,217
Lake Prtnideuce ao {Plate IV) 23, 231-232
Land Office maps Si, 109. 179
Landslip islands. . 155. 160
Lapinidre Idg. 155, 160
Indbx 283
Lawhorn's bluif 131, 146, 148 (Plate XXXVII)
Law8on*s well 241, 243
Leavenworth, F. P 109, 119, 143
Leesville 34
Lerch, Dr. 50t 7ii I59
Lignite 121, 122, 124, 210
Lignitic, 5 (Plate I), 8 (Fig. 2), 11-17, 90, 120-127, 114 (Plate XXV),
I20 (Plate XXVII), 124 (Plate XXVIII), 126 (Plate XXIX), 140, 141,
207, 208-212
Lignitic, Northern 14
Little, L. E - 244
Logansport 11 1, 114, 120, 121
Lockett, S. H.' map 109
Loess 8 (Fig. 2) 14, 37
View of, at Vicksburg (Plate VII), opp. p. 37
Loughridge 9 13
Low Creek 127, 148 (Plate XXXVII )
Lower Claiborne, see Claiborne^ Lower,
Lone Grave bluff 153, 162
Lundif , Jno 247
Mammoth Springs 227
Manchac 217
Mandeville wells . . .217, 223, 251
Mandeville Junction 217, 223
Mann, G. S., well 245
Many 99, 100 (Plate XXIII), 156
Maps, need of 177
Maison Blanche well 224
Marksxdlle 37, 230
Martin, Judge F. M 55
Mastodon 68, 74, 87
McBirney, Bert 240 (wells), 246
McClanahan shoals 112, 115, 115 (Fig. 12)
McRilTs well 239
Memphis, Tenn 8 (Fig. 2), 14, 247-250
Meriaian lines 182-194, 192 (Plate XL), 194 (Plate XLI)
Abbeville 190
Arcadia 184
Bastrop 185
Cameron 189
Covington 189
Franklin 187
Houma 188
Lafayette ... 190
Lake Charles 189
New Iberia 187
Opelousas 187
Rayville 185
Ruston 184
St. Martinsville 188
Thibodaux 1 90
Vernon 185
Winnsboro 186
Mermentau River 37, 204
Middle Fork 12
284
Index
. .5 (Plate I), S (Fig. J). 8-11. 48. 79. 99
Midway
Milla. O. J
Miller, Jadge B. D 240, a<
Miller, Merritt i:
Minden 83, x
Minden Hall Idg 155, i;
Miiidenhole %e£ Minden Hall
Miocene, Pascagoula 31, 110, 137, 105, 341, 169, 369 (Pig. 37), 1;
Miasissippi . . 5 (Plate I}, 9, 11, 17, iS, 19, ai, aa, aj, aj, 37, 37, 140, 330, as
MisBissippi City a3
Missouri 9, ]
Monroe 19, 155, 159, ai
Moore. Dennis aj
Moresi Bros 30, 333, 334, 351, 3(
Morgan City 34, il
Morrison well . as
Mt LebuDon (
Mounds, natural ., 71, 77, f
Mounds. Indian 171-Ii
MudJunips 38, 38 ( Plate X
Murdock, Dr a:
Myatt. P. 159 (section), i;
Myrick's ferry 90, in, 114, 113, ij
Nanafaliasulistage
Narrows, The (Sabine river)
Natalbany aio
Natchitoches 97, 308
Natchitoches (Indians) 53i 54
Nalchilock (river) . ., 5*
Neai, T. W 78
Ncatne 34. '35
Negreet Salt Worka 90
Neocene 6 (Pig. i). 33
New Columbia, Te^t 113, 136-137
New Iberia 37, 1S7, 194 [Plate XLI>, 233
New Orleans 317, 331-132, 3^5
Nix's ferry 109, 113
Northern Lignitic 14
Oak Grove Idg. , 17a
Oberlin 31, 205, 305 {Fig, 35). 316, 340
Oil in Louisiana 361-375
Oil wells 314, 238, 367-375
Old Ferry Idg section 163
Oligocenes (Plate I). 6 (Fig. i). 36-33, 30 (Fig. 5). 120, 133-137, 133
(Plate XXXIl. 141, 148 (Plate XXXVU), 158, 167-168. aiJ-iM, 3i
See also Fiio, Grand Gulf, yitisbitrg.
Opelousas 37, 137, 194 (Plate XLI), 307. 116,313. >44
Orange Sand, 8 {Fig. a), 14, 34 {Fig. 4), 30 (Fig. 5), 33 (Fig. 6), 137-140, aos
See also Lafayette.
Oriza .
19, 3-
">
7.96-100, II7-IIM. 157, 158,
33. 39, 91, 117, 149-173. 173 (Plates XXXVIII-
xxxix; -
Indbx 285
Pacheco, J 17,241,242-243,247
Paine, Dr., well 223
Parker, T. M 221
Pascagoala Miocene 32, 269, 269 (Fig. 27)
Pass Christian 211
Pearl river 217
Pearl River Junction well 224
Pendleton. Tex. in, 113, 124, 124 (Plate XXVIII), 147,148 (Plate XXXVIl)
Perkins and Miller Lumber Co 240
Peterson, T 64
Petite Anse (Avery Island), 95. 97, ioo(Plate XXIII). 187, 194 (Plate XI.I)
Petroleum 266, 267, 272, 273, 274, 275
Physiography Iii-ii2,*ii4-ii9, 153-158, 207
Pickering 135
Pierce Idg 171
Plants, fossil, see Fossils.
Plates, lists of 4, 46, 105, 152, 176, 201, 264
Pleistocene 5 (Plate I), 6 (Fig. i)
Pliocene, Recent and 5 (Plate I), 120, 137-140, 158, 169-170
Polhemus, J. H 110,143
Pontchartrain, Lake 36, 217
Pontchatoula 35 (Fig. 7), 227, 252
Port Hudson, 5 (Plate I), 35 (Fig. 7), 36, 36-37, 9^ 9^, 117. » 20, 137, 138
158, 204, 205 (Fig. 21), 215
Postlewaite (Postlewaite's Salt Works) 56
Prairie Mamou 32, 268-269
Pre-Laf ayette 208
Price, George 66
Price's Salt Works 48, 64-70, 96, 97, 100 (Plate XIX)
Pritchard Idg 172
Pumping, Effect of 244-250
Pushee's well 229
Quarantine station (Ship island) 220
Quaternary 6 (Fig. i ), 24, 34, 208
Queen City Ixids . . 141
Queen & Co 1 79
. *
Rafts 81-82, 119, 158
Railroad compass 178-179, 1 79 ( Fig. 16)
Rayburn's Salt Works, 48, 50, 69, 71 (Plate XIII), 71-75, 72 (Plate XIV),
96, 97, 100 (Plate XX)
Raybum, Sampson 73
Rayne 216, 234
Rayville 185, 192 ( Plate XL)
Recent 6 (Fig. i), 120, 137, 138
Recent, See under Alluvium.
Recent shore deposits, Alluvium and 5 (Plate I), 37-39
Red river 117,119,207
Reiser's machine shop well 240, 251
Ribava's well 223
Richard. Hippolite, well 234
Rigolets, Tides in 253-261
Ritter, J. F 245
286
Index
River bank exposures— Ouachila
Roach Idg bluff, sectiou loi
Robinson's ferry Ill, 113, iji, 131 (Plate XXX)
Robertson, J, B 49. 79
Rocky Springs Church 10
Rosefield a6, 17. 38
RoBclawn Idg 15s. 160
Ruston II, ao, 1S4. 192, (Plate XL, 207, 209
Sabine river '7. 9U, 100, 101-173
Map of ... 100 (Plate XXXII-XXXVII)
Relatiou of, sectioti of, to other aeclions 140-141
Sabinetown, Tex,. 108. 113, uo, 115, ia6 (Plate XXIX), 146.148
(Plate XXXVI I)
St. Martinsville 1B8, 194 (Plate XU)
Salines 8, 4i->oi
Salines of North, La , . . . 54-iot
Sketch map of ( Fig. 8) . 47
Salt, Rock 96. 97, 266, 367
Snlt water 344
Salt wells 51-96,61 (Fig. 9), acfi, 109, 210, an
Salt WorVa-See Bistineau, Drake's, fling's. Pnce's.Raybnrv's.
Sandbar islands , 155
Sawmill Idg, aection ........ 170
Scanlin. D.J I3S ; F- '35
Schmcid'H well . . «6
Sections— J'M under Cretaceous, Ligniiic, etc., and in Louisiana,
under platf names.
Catniien Coal Co., Ark la
Chireno, Texas, well ,,.. ia6, 147-148, 14S (Plate XXXVIl) "
Choctaw liar, Ark 20 (PUte IV), aa
Crowley's Ridge. Ark 8 (Fig. 2). ai (Plate I\*)
Ft. Gaines, Ga 17
Greenville, Miss ao ( Plate IV)
Helena, Ark 20(P!»telV|, aa
Long Prairie ao (Plate IV)
Memphis. Tenn.. well section 14
Monticello ao (Plate IV)
Nanafalia bluff. Ala 15
Smithville. Tex. I59
VicksburR. Mias 37
White bluff. Ala ao (Plate IV )
Woods blnff, Ala l£
Section across Mississippi embayiiient. 8 (Fig. 3]
Section alonj; 111. Cen. R, R., Manchac to Jackson 35 ( Fig. 7)
Section, geological, of Louisiana 7 (Plate II)
Shell Beach aoj, »5 (Fig. ai), 139
Ship island z3o
Shoals, Alexandria 117
Catahoula 29, 153. 157 (Kig. 15)
Goodwin's iia (Plate XXIV)
McClanahan 115, 115 (Fig. a)
Sabineriver.iia, 113 (Plate XXIV), 114-IJ8, I14, (Fig- 10), 115,
{Fig. 10-ia), 116 (Fig. 13)
Stone coal bins'
Theories of origin 1 16-I18
Indbx 287
Shrevcport 97, 134. 209
Sibley, John 55. 9°. 9^
Sibley, I^ 76
Sicily island, 28, 37, 153-158, 157 (Fig. 15), 168, 214, 268
Siller Idg section ... 1 70
Simons Hotel well 226
Smith and Johnson 9, 15, 18
Smitbville, Lake Arthur — , section 205 (Fig. 21 ), 216, 245
Sneirsldg 113, 133, 134. i45, 148 (Plate XXXVII)
Sour Lake, Tex 25, 31, 100, 241, 273-275
Springs 54, 55. 65. 90. 9'. 92, 210, 213
Spring Hill 31 , 270
SUrk's ferry 113, 138, 139
Stewart, Jack 81
Stock Idg section 163
Stoddard, Amos 56,91
Stone coal bluff 90, 114 (Fig. 10), 1 14-11 5, 114 (Plate XXV), 124, 147
Stnbbs. Dr. W. C 20
Letter of transmission IV-V
Subterranean Waters of Louisiana 795-252
Sulphur 99, 272
Sulphur City 34. 98, 99, 100 (Plate XXIII 272
Surveying 177, 184
Sy ncline 217
Tabor, Dr. T. J 88
Tachymeter 182, 183 (Fig. 19)
Tanner, H. S 65
Tennessee. 5 (Plate I), 9, 11, 13, 14, 22, 247
Tertiary 6 (Fig. i), 49, 50, 60, 61 (Fig. 9)
Tertiar>' Deposits of the Mississippi Embayment 5 ( Plate I)
Texas 8, 9, 10, 17, 19, 20, 21,' 25, 31, 101-173,219. 241. 272, 275
Tbibodaux 190, 194 (Plate XLI), 230
Thomassy, M. Raymond 84-85
Tides in the Rigolets 253-261
Tillotson*s well 239
Topogfraphic features of Louisiana 207
Transit iHo, 181 (Fig. 18)
Upheavals 7, 96-100, 117-118, 157, 158, 211, 213
U. S. — Texas Boundary Survey 108-109, i ^^\ ' i9» I43
Vaughan, T. W 50, 160
Variation of wells 241-250
Veatch, A. C. .* 50
Geography and Geology of the Sabine river 100-149
Notes on the Geology along the Ouachita 149-173
Salines of North Louisiana 41-100
Vernon 185, 192 (Plate XL)
Vertebrate Fossils, see Fossils.
Vickburg, Miss., view of Loess at (Plate VII), opp. p. 37
Vicksburg 23, 26-28, 28, 35 (Fig. 7), 140, 158, 167
Vimmm^UBim
288 Indbx
Wallbillich, Robert 224, 225, 244
Walker, John 65
Waltham, Jno., well 234
Wardlaw, H. P 76, 77, 79
Washington '. 233
Water-mill 52, 57
Water, Potable, Analyses of 221, 223, 229
Water, Subterranean of Louisiana 195-252
Watkin*8 well i 270-271
Way, h. J., well 228
Webster 216
Weeks, E. T 58, 59
Weeks, J. C 58
Well Sections, East of the Mississippi 219-230
W^est of the Mississippi 230-241
Wells, artesian, see Artesian wells,
Welsh 239, 243, 245
Wendling, Jno., well 235
West lake 240
White, Dr. C. A 10
White limestone 25
Whitlow, A. G 67
Wilkinson's well : . 235
Willard, Maj. J. H 91
Wilraot, W. J 228
Winnfield-Coochie brake anticlinal 50, 68, 100, 118, 158
Winnfield marble quarry 8, 49, 50, 68, 96, 98, 99, icx>, ao8
Winnsboro 186, 192 (Plate XL)
Woods Bluif substage 15, 17, 125, 126 (Plate XXIX) 141
Wyant Bluff, section •. 166-171
Yegua clays 21, 141
Zachary 230
Zenglodon 131, 164
h4fi»i^lBta*^M«Mi.