The shaft apparently penetrates the hard rocks which constitute the upper strata of the Lower Coal Measures. Following is a tabulated list of the mines operating the Bevier coal at Bevier: The altitude of the bot- Mr. Thos. Francis reports that a drilling made in Middle fork bottoms, about one and three-fourths miles west of Bevier, showed coal to be absent. toms is about 735 or 740 feet here. is from 10 to 20 feet below this. As the thickness of the alluvium will probably equal this amount, the absence of the coal may be readily attributed to erosion. At Shacknicht's, three and one-half miles south and half a mile west of Bevier, a shaft reaches the coal at 50 feet from the surface, where the altitude is about 795 feet. At Terrell's bank, three-fourths of a mile west, the same seam is drifted into in the bank of the creek at an altitude of 740 feet. One and a quarter miles south some abandoned pits, at an altitude 755 A. T., indicate former workings in this bed. A section by McGee, on the Bevier and College Mound road, which was evidently taken in this vicinity, is as follows: Section XII. CLAYBANK CREEK SECTION-McGee.1 1. Sandstone, heavy bedded, sometimes incoherent.... 2. Shale or clay, arenaceous..... 1Trans. St. Louis Acad Sci. Vol. V. p. 324. FT. 4 1 3. Coal (BEVIER BED).. 4. Clay and slope, about.. FT. 5 5 12 5. Limestone, brown, ferruginous, dolomitic.. 6. Limestone, heavy bedded, with conchoidal fracture, sometimes argillaceous, with shaly partings...... 7. Shale, light-blue, rapidly breaking down into clay.. Total thickness.... 3 11 31 "It is noteworthy that in the half or three quarters of a mile of more or less imperfect exposures combined in this section, there is a westward dip amounting to not less than 30 or 40 feet." Near the bridge over Claybank creek, about three miles northwest of College Mound, 18 inches of coal is reported on the land of J. D. Baker. He has tested with a drill below this, passing through 35 or 40 feet of argillaceous shale, becoming more sandy below, but found no coal. The exact locality was not ascertained. Sandy shales appear in the bank just above the bridge, at an altitude of about 720 feet. Baker's coal with the Lower Ardmore bed. about one-half a mile east of this, black fissile shales, probably representing those overlying the above coal, were observed at the edge of the bottoms, on C. Sherman's land. We correlate At two points At Powell's bank, one and one-half miles east of this, on a branch of Claybank creek, the Bevier coal is exposed, overlain by 10 feet of sandy shales. The coal shows evidence of more or less disturbance similar to that on Beecher's creek (p. 24). G. C. Broadhead visited this locality in 1855, and gives the following, which is a more complete section than could be obtained at the time of our visit:1 Section XIII. EXPOSURE AT POWELL'S BANK (S.E., S.E.4, Sec. 15). After Broadhead. 1. Soil, with drift-clays underneath 2. Shales and sandstone, brown and cream-colored; micaceous...... 3. Shales, dark, bituminous, pyritiferous, contains productus æquicos tatus....... 4. Coal (BEVIER BED) 5. Fire-clay, a few inches. 6. Limestone, blue, nodular, in bed of creek.. FT. IN. 3 2 5 9 1 Report Mo. Geological Survey, 1855-71, p. 84. About three-fourths of a mile south of this the seam is reported to be seven feet thick, and has been drifted into for local use on the land belonging to Gould Richmond. The next exposure of the Lower Coal Measure strata is at Hein's and Hudson's shaft, about four and one-half miles southwest of College Mound. Here the Bevier coal is reached at a depth of 12 or 15 feet. About a mile and one-half southwest, at Beard's drift, the same bed outcrops at about 725 feet A. T. It is here six feet thick, with a 13-inch dirt seam. This drift is situated within a small ravine, opening into Middle fork bottoms. About 1000 feet southwest the following section was measured by Mr. C. F. Marbut in the bank of the creek: Section XIV. IN EAST BANK OF MIDDLE FORK (S. E., N. W., Sec. 18). Altitude top of section about 705 ft. Interval to top of Lower Coal Measures about 55 ft. 1. Limestone, thickness not seen. FT. 4 4 This section evidently represents the horizon of the Lower Ardmore coal. About half a mile northwest of this locality four feet of coal is reported by Mr. Marbut, at the horizon occupied by No. 3 in the above section. About a mile south of Beard's drift, coal has been drifted into at an elevation of about 720 feet. A section measured here by Mr. A. Winslow shows the following succession: 1 At Thomas Hill an instructive exposure of the Lower Coal Measures is seen in the record of Milman's shaft (p. 17). The Lower Coal Measures do not appear at the surface west of Middle fork within the limits of the sheet, except at 1 Preliminary Report on Coal, Mo. Geological Survey, 1891, p. 69. Hammack's mill1 and near Lagonda, where sandstones and shales appear in the strike of the College Mound axis. A shaft put down at New Cambria showed 68 feet of sandstone and shales at this horizon, underlain by one foot of coal. Then 40 feet of rock was passed through, followed by a 4-inch discontinuous seam of coal. From this point a drill-hole was put down 88 feet, reaching a hard rock at 296 feet from the surface, and the work was stopped after penetrating this rock a distance of 14 feet. THE MIDDLE COAL MEASURES. East of Middle fork, the rocks of the Middle Coal Measures are at higher levels excepting near the northern and southern limits, as will appear farther on. West of Middle fork these rocks extend over nearly the whole area, excepting the river bottoms, though they are, for the most part, concealed from view by a heavy capping of drift. They originally extended over the whole sheet, but have lost much by the erosion of the streams and their tributaries, bringing to view the rocks below. The importance of this division is enhanced by the fact that it contains the second and only remaining productive coal bed within the district. This division of the Coal Measures is represented here by from 30 to 40 feet of shale and limestone, with two beds of coal. Macon City Coal. This coal lies from three to five feet above the top of the Lower Coal Measures, from which it is separated by that thickness of clay. It is mined to some extent at Macon City and also along the Chariton river. It is characterized by a capping of shale and limestone as follows: Limestone, hard, blue.. Shales, black, fissile Coal .... 3 to 4 feet 21 5 66 .11 3 66 Usually the coal is from 18 to 22 inches thick. The overlying shale generally contains nodular concretions varying from 6 to 20 inches in diameter. A part of the fissile shale is sometimes replaced by clay or soft argillaceous shale. The limestone is especially characterized by its hardness and ability to resist erosion. Hence it is frequently seen projecting from the hillsides in massive ledges. It is quite highly fossiliferous, 1 The section at Hammack's Mill is given on page 18. See, also, No. 7 of Section sheet. as are also some parts of the underlying shale. Owing to the hardness of the rock, however, fossils are not easily obtained from the limestone. The characteristics of the Macon City coal and its associated beds are so constant as to make these strata especially valuable for purposes of correlation. We have traced these rocks westward as far as Wakenda station, on the Wabash railway, where they present almost identically the same appearance as in Macon county. The bed at Wakenda has been identified as the Mulky bed of Lafayette county.1 Summit Coal.-This is the highest coal seen, and is separated from the limestone overlying the Macon City bed by from 15 to 20 feet of sandy and argillaceous shales and clays. These shales seldom become sufficiently indurated to be termed sandstones. The thickness of the coal is seldom more than a foot. The following is the characteristic succession of strata : Limestone, hard, blue..... Shale, black, fissile... Coal.. 1 to 2 feet. 2 to 3 66 10 to 13 inches. It will be noted that we have here a recurrence of conditions similar to those under which the Macon City coal is found, and it is frequently the case that, in isolated exposures, no distinction can be made between these beds. Sandy shale overlies the Summit limestone, succeeded upward by limestones, though these latter were not observed within the limits of the sheet. In addition to the representation of these rocks shown in the preceding typical sections, the following sections of Middle Coal Measure rocks are given: East Fork Sections.-At the Macon-Bevier bridge, three miles east of Bevier, limestone and shale appear in the west bank of the stream. McGee gives the following section from this place, which is somewhat fuller than the one we were able to obtain: 1 Broadhead-Report of 1872, page 60. The section given by Broadhead in this report occurs at Hardwick's mill. At a point near the bridge, north of the station, the limestones and shales of two coal horizons appear in the bluffs. The lower coal occurs a short distance above a massive sandstone (which is quarried to some extent here), and presents the usual appearance of the Macon City coal. It can be traced westward along the bluffs to Hardwick's mill. Between these points it shows a decided westward inclination. The sandstone seen below is apparently the stratigraphical equivalent of that quarried a few miles east, at White Rock. |