Narrative of an Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi

(D.)

In all our calculations respecting the position and advantages of these mines, too much stress cannot be laid upon the facilities of the lake navigation. It is believed that a ton of merchandise, or a barrel bulk, can be transported through the lakes at the same rates that are paid in the coasting trade of the United States. Nor is the risk greater. The best data which I can command, induce me to conclude that a quintal of copper can be conveyed from the place of shipment on Lake Superior, to the city of New York, for one dollar. The present price of transportation, for a barrel bulk, from Buffalo to Mackina, may be stated, on the average of freights, at 8s., New York. The mean weight of a barrel bulk, taking flour as the standard, may be safely put down at 200 lbs. gross, being 50 cents per cwt. But it must be recollected that there is no return freight; and, consequently, that this sum covers the expenses not only of the outward and return voyage, but still leaves a profit to the owner. Messrs. Gray and Griswold, sutlers of the 2d regiment, paid 9s. 6d., New York, per barrel bulk, from Buffalo to the Sault. This gives a result of 59 cents per cwt. But, if a return cargo could be obtained, one-half of this sum would afford an equal profit on the voyage; and it is believed that the article of bar copper could at all times be conveyed from the Sault to Buffalo for 20 cents per cwt. Being a very convenient species of ballast, it would oftentimes be taken in lieu of stone, and, consequently, cost no greater sum than the price of carrying it on board. But the facilities and cheapness of the lake navigation cannot, perhaps, be better illustrated than by stating the price of provisions at the post of St. Mary’s, every article of which is carried from 300 to 700 miles through the lakes. The following statement of the assistant commissary has been politely furnished at my request:—

Sault Ste. Marie, October, 1822.

Dear Sir: Agreeably to your request, I send you a statement of the actual cost of subsistence stores furnished at this post for the use of troops at present making the military establishment, ordered by the Government to this place.

The prices of the several articles below enumerated are at a small advance on the stores of the settlers outside of the cantonment.

The expenses of subsisting, or rather of maintaining, a garrison at this place will be as small, if not less, per annum, than at any other frontier post in our country. The provisions for the soldier cost as little, I believe, as at any other post, and next year we shall be able to raise all the forage for the use of our beef cattle, and the horses and oxen of the quartermaster’s department.

I am, dear sir, yours, &c.,
W. BICKER,
A. C. S. U. S. A.

Statement of the Cost of United States Subsistence Stores at the Sault de Ste. Marie, 1822.

	Cents.
Pork, per pound	41/4
Flour, per pound	19/10
Whiskey, per gallon	29
Fresh beef, per pound	61/2
Vinegar, per gallon	22
Salt, per bushel	90
Soap, per pound	10
Candles, per pound	201/2
Beans, per quart	47/10

The total cost of a soldier’s ration is 9 cents and 1 mill per diem.

WALTER BICKER,
A. C. S. U. S. A.

H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq., U. S. I. Agent.

(E.)
Statement of the Returns of Copper Ores Smelted at the Mines of Cornwall (Eng.) from 1726 to 1775.—[Rees’s Cyclopedia.]

Periods.	Tons of ore.	Average price per ton.	Amount.	Annual quantity of fine copper.
1726 to 1735	64,800	£ 7 15 10	£ 473,500	700 tons
1736 to 1745	75,520	78 6	560,106	830
1746 to 1755	98,790	78 0	731,457	1,080
1756 to 1765	169,699	76 6	1,243,045	1,800
1766 to 1775	264,273	6 14 6	1,778,337	2,650

(F.)
Statement of the Produce of the Mines of Cornwall and Devon (Eng.) for a period of four years, ending with 1811.

		Tons of ore.			Fine copper.				Average standard per ton.	Annual amount after deducting charges of smelting.
		Tons.	cwt.	qrs.	Tons.	cwt.	qrs.	lbs.	£	£	s.
1808	Cornwall	73,434	2	1	7,118	5	1	17	107	781,348	16
	Devon	3,725	0	0	7,118	5	1	17
1809	Cornwall	72,038	12	2	6,972	17	0	17	122	875,784	2
	Devon	3,210	0	0	365	1	0	3
1810	Cornwall	80,238	14	3	7,006	13	2	5	141	969,376	19
	Devon
1811	Cornwall	73,57	0	1	6,272	0	0	2	125	769,379	4
	Devon

(G.)
Table of the Annual Quantity of Copper raised from the Earth in Different Countries, in Quintals—the Quintal valued at 100 lbs.

1.	England	200,000
2.	Russia	67,000
3.	Austria, including Bohemia, Gallicia, Hungary, Transylvania, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Salzburg, and Moravia	60,000
4.	Sweden	22,000
5.	Westphalia, in 1808	17,229
6.	States of Denmark	8,500
7.	Bavaria, including the Tyrol	3,000
8.	France	2,500
9.	Saxony, in 1808	1,320
10.	Prussia, as left by the treaty of Tilsit	337
11.	Spanish European mines	309
	Total,	382,186

(H.)

I shall here give the synonoma for this tribe of Indians, which appears to have been first recognized by the United States as an independent tribe by Wayne’s treaty of 1795,241 under the name of Chipewa. This name has been retained in all subsequent treaties with them, not, however, without some discrepance in the orthography. These variations are chiefly marked by the introduction of the letter p at the beginning of the second syllable, or the vowel y annexed to the third; producing Chip-pe-wa, Chip-pe-way, and Chip-e-way. The French missionaries and traders, whose policy it was to discard the names of the aboriginal tribes from their conversations, bestowed upon this tribe, at a very early period, the nom de guerre of Saulteurs, or Sauteurs, from the Sault or Falls of St. Mary’s, which was the ancient seat of this tribe—a name which is still retained by the Canadians, and by many of the American traders. Among the early French writers, they were also sometimes denominated Outchipouas. There is as little uniformity among travellers and geographers. Pinkerton, Darby, Morse, Carver, Mackenzie, and Herriot, either employ the word according to the orthography of Wayne’s treaty, or with the modifications above noticed. The name of Chippewyans, employed by Mackenzie, relates to a tribe residing north and west of the sources of the Mississippi, who speak a language having no affinity, and are a distinct people. Henry, who was well versed in the Chippewa language, also conforms to the popular usage, but observes that the true name, as pronounced by themselves, is Ojibwa.

Having taken pains to ascertain and fix the pronunciation of this word, I have not hesitated to introduce it into my correspondence and official accounts; but I am aware of my great temerity in so doing. Popular prejudices, and several of the authorities above cited, stand opposed to the proposed innovation. The continued use of the word “Chippewa” is also sanctioned by a name entitled to conclusive respect. “I write the word in this way,” observes the Executive of Michigan, “because I am apprehensive the orthography is inveterately fixed, and not because I suppose it is correct.” Still, there are reasons for changing it. Justice to this unfortunate race requires it. Since the popular apathy to their condition is such that every remembrance of their actual customs, manners, and traditions will probably perish with them, and their name, ere long, be all that is left, it is at least incumbent upon us to transmit that to posterity in its true sound—as the fathers and sachems pronounced it. If, then, there is an acknowledged error in this respect, shall we hesitate to correct it?

IX — Rapid Glances at the Geology of Western New York, West of the Rome Summit, in 1820242

Rock Formations.—1. Assuming the area of the most eastwardly head of the Onondaga Valley, the Wood Creek, and the Rome Summit, and the valley of the Niagara, with an indefinite extent laterally, to form the limits of this inquiry; it is in coincidence with all known facts to say that it is a secondary region, consisting of the sedimentary and semi-crystalline strata, the lines of which are perfectly horizontal. Colored sandstone, generally red, forms the lowest observed stratum.

Wherever streams have worn deep channels, they either disclose this rock or its adjuncts, the grits, or silicious sinter. It is apparent in the chasm at Niagara Falls, about half a mile below the cataract. It is often seen on the surface of the country, or buried slightly beneath the soil. In color, hardness, and other characters, there is a manifest variety. But, considered as a “formation,” no doubt can exist of its unity. Its thickness can only be conjectured, as no labor has, so far as we know, penetrated through it.

Judging from observations made in Cattaraugus County, in 1818, the coal measures have been completely swept from this area.

2. Next in point of altitude, is the series of dark, carbonaceous, shelly slate rock. The thickness of this formation, as indicated at Niagara, cannot be less than ninety feet. It is also often a surface-rock in the district, forming portions of the banks of lakes, streams, &c. It is characterized by organic remains of nascent species. Portions of it also disclose rounded masses of pre-existing rocks.

3. Last in the order of superposition, is the secondary limestone formation. It is, most commonly, of a dark, sedimentary aspect. It is not invariably so, but portions of it have a shining, semi-crystalline fracture. Shades of color also vary considerably, but it never, in the scale of colors, exceeds a whitish-gray. Viewed at different localities, the mass is either compact, fetid, shelly, or silicious. Much of it produces good quicklime. It is often rendered “bastard,” as the phrase is, by argillaceous and earthy impurities. Organic impressions, and remains of sea shells and coarse corals are frequent. Encrinites give some portions of it the appearance of eyed or dotted secondary marble. The occurrence of a hard variety of hornstone, which is not flint, is apparently confined to the compact, fetid variety. This formation, like the two preceding, may be found to consist of separate strata. Localities, joining, overlaying, substrata, mineral contents, organic species, &c., require observation. The following notices are added.

Geological Changes.—The evidences which are furnished of ancient submersion, which has “changed and overturned” vast portions of the solid land, are neither few nor equivocal. They are seen as well in the rock strata as the alluvial soils. The most elevated hills and the lowest valleys are equally productive of the evidences of extensive changes. The whole aspect of the country seems to attest to the ancient dominion of water. But the most striking proof of its agency is, perhaps, found in the sea-shells, polypi, and crustacea, which are preserved, in their outlines, in solid strata. Some of these are most vivid in their shapes and ray-like markings, particularly the univalve shells.

A subsequent change, in the surface of the country, is indicated by the marks of attrition and watery action upon the faces of these rocks, in situations greatly elevated above the present water-levels. This action must, consequently, be referred to a period when extensive submersions, in the nature of lakes or semi-seas, existed; for there is no power in present lakes and streams, however swelled and reinforced by rains or melting snows, to reach even a moiety of the elevation of these ancient water-marks. It is to the era of these last submersions that we are encouraged, by evidences, to look, as the disturbing cause which has buried trees, leaves, and bones in alluvial soils.

Action of Water.—In examining some portions of the flat lands of Ontario County, such as the township of Phelps, there are strata of a fine sedimentary soil, such as might be expected to result from the settlings of water not greatly agitated. The bottoms of mill-ponds afford an analogous species of soil. In these level districts, there are also not unfrequently observed fields of bare flat rock, of the limestone species, which is checkered in its surface, conveying the idea of their having formed a flooring to some former lake. An appearance of this kind may be seen a few hundred yards from the meeting-house in Phelps. The rock, in this instance, is a carbonate of lime, and affords organic remains.

The Oak Openings, in Erie County, are a kind of natural meadows or prairies. Many suppose them to have been ancient clearings; but of this the Indians have no tradition, and the evidences of such a settlement are by no means satisfactory. In many places, on these extensive openings, there are naked and barren layers of calcareous rock, whose surface exhibits appearances analogous to those in Ontario. The limestone is, however, of a darker color, and contains numerous imbedded nodules of hornstone, and it emits a fetid odor on breaking.

In crossing the elevated calcareous highlands, between Danville and Arkport, in Steuben County, we perceive in the bluff rocks which bound the valley of the Conestoga River, at an elevation of perhaps two hundred feet above its bed, horizontal water-marks, deeply impressed upon the face of the rocks, as if the waters had formerly stood at that level; and it is impossible to resist the conviction, in travelling over this rugged district of country, that it has not been totally submerged by waters, which have been suddenly drawn off, but by gradual or periodical exhaustions, standing for many ages at different levels.

Slate Rocks.—These were, not inaptly, denominated “brittle slate,” by Dr. Mitchell, in 1809. Brittleness is their pervading character; and it is owing to this quality, in a formation of great thickness, that the action of the water at Niagara Falls is of so very striking a character. There is no portion of the Niagara slate solid enough to be used for building stone. It is uniformly shelly, and exhibits, even in hand specimens, its reproduced character.243 Those portions of the general formation which are solid constitute silicious slate. A locality of this variety may be seen at the Halfway House, eight miles east of Canandaigua.

Seneca Lake.—This clear and picturesque lake has its bed in the secondary formations, and may be referred to as exhibiting localities of them. Its upper parts afford the compact limestone in quadrangular blocks. Large portions of its margin consist of the brittle carbonaceous slate. The shores, from the vicinity of Rose’s Farm to Appletown, are little else but a continuous bank of the slate. On the opposite coast, it is also visible at various localities below the Crooked Lake inlet. Cashong Creek may be particularly referred to. A short ascent of its valley brings the spectator into a scene where the walled masses of slaty rock assume a character of grandeur. Among the recent portions which have been thrown into the valley, may be seen masses having large species of the stem-like organic remains, which indicate its newness as a formation. Here are also disclosed orbicular masses, and pebbles of other rocks, imbedded in the slate. These prove it to be—what its texture would, in other places, indicate—a secondary slate.

The order of position on the banks of this lake is the same as at Niagara; but the sandstone is not apparent above the water line. Its existence, in the bed of the lake, may be satisfactorily inferred, from the masses of yellow coarse sand which are driven up at the foot of the lake, and particularly around its outlet. When the winds prevail, the water is driven violently against this part of the shore. As it is an alluvial flat, they soon surmount the stated margin, and produce a partial inundation. On their recession, wreathes of sand remain.

Diluvial Elevations.—Bounding the alluvial plain of the Seneca outlet westward, there is a series of remarkable wave-like ridges, whose direction is parallel to that of the lake. On the declivity-stop of the first of these ridges, stands the village of Geneva, the buildings of which are thus displayed in an amphitheatric manner above the clear expanse of the lake. The substratum of these ridges is an argillaceous, compact soil of the eldest formation. Some parts of it are a stiff clay, and yield septaria; but there is no considerable portion of it, which has been examined, wholly destitute of primitive boulders and pebbles. Little doubt can remain but that it is the result of the broken-down slaty rock mixed with the extraneous and far-fetched primitive masses. They are conclusive of its diluvial character. I have attentively examined this formation, in the section of it exposed on the shores of the lake between the village of Geneva and Two-mile Point. All its solid, stony contents are piled along the margin of the lake, the soil being completely washed away. Granite, quartz, and trap pebble-stones and boulders, are here promiscuously strewn with recent debris. Over the argillaceous deposit is spread a mantle of newer soil, of unequal depth and character, which forms, exclusively, the theatre of farming and horticultural labors.

White Springs.—On the declivity of one of these parallel ridges, at the distance of two miles from the lake, is found an extensive bed of white marl. This deposit, which is on the estate of the late Judge Nicholas, covers many acres, and yields so copious a spring of pure water that it is sufficient, at the distance of about three hundred yards from its issue, to turn a gristmill. There are to be found in this bed of marl several species of helix and voluta. The marl is generally covered with an alluvial deposit of two feet in depth. The depth of the marl itself is unexplored. Is not this marl the result of decomposed sea shells?

Beds of Quartzose Sand.—In certain parts of the Seneca Valley are found limited deposits of a white quartzose sand, in a state of comparative purity. This substance is capable of being readily vitrified by the addition of alkaline fluxes, and is thus converted into glass. Its existence, as a local deposit, beneath separate strata of alluvial soil, supporting a growth of trees and shrubs, is such as to render it probable that the present stream, in its exhausted state, could have had no agency in producing these deposits. If we are compelled to look to a former condition of the waters passing off through this valley, as affording the requisite power of deposit, we are then carried back to an era in the geology of the country which we must refer to, to account for by far the greater number of changes in all its recent soils. Indeed, wherever we examine these soils, out of the range comprehended between high- and low-water mark, on any existing lake or stream, there will be found occasion to resort to the agency of more general and anterior submersions. A few localities may be appealed to.

Fossil Wood.—In digging a well in the Genesee Valley, one mile east of the river (at Hosmer’s), part of the trunk of a tree, of mature growth, was found at the depth of forty-one feet below the surface. The soil was a loose sand mixed with gravel. The position is more elevated than the flats, so called.

Antlers.—A large pair of elk’s horns were discovered in an excavation made for the foundation of a mill at Clyde, in Seneca County. They were imbedded in alluvial soil, ten feet below the surface. This surface had been cleared of elm and other forest trees of mature growth. Near the same place, logs of wood were found at the depth of fourteen feet. These discoveries were made in the valley of Clyde River, which is formed by the junction of the Canandaigua Outlet with Mud Creek.

Frogs Enclosed in the Geological Column.—At Carthage, on the Genesee, twelve or fifteen frogs were found in excavating a layer of compact clay marl, about nine feet below the surface. The position is several hundred feet above the bed of the Genesee River, to which elevation no one, after viewing the spot, will deem it probable its waters could have reached, this side of the diluvian era.

A frog was dug out of the solid rock, at Lockport, Niagara County, by the workmen engaged in excavating the canal. It was enveloped by the limestone which abounds in cavities filled with crystals of strontian and dog-tooth spar. It came to life for a few moments, and then expired. There was no aperture by which it could possibly communicate with the atmospheric air. The cavity was only large enough to retain it, without allowing room for motion.

The inclosure of animals of the inferior classes in the sedimentary strata, and even in the most solid substance of rock, is a fact which has been frequently noticed, without, however, any very satisfactory theory having been given of the process, at least to common apprehension. Vide Addenda, for some further notices of this kind.

Fossil Vegetation.—A well was dug in the lower part of the village of Geneva, in 1820, which disclosed, at the depth of thirteen feet, the branches and buds of a cedar-tree. They were found lying across the excavation, and in the sides of it; and were in excellent preservation. No one could conjecture in what age they had been buried. But this discovery would seem to establish the position that the catastrophe occurred in the spring.

Madrepore.—A madrepore, measuring eight inches in diameter, was found in the upland soil of Caledonia, Genesee County. Smaller specimens of the same species occur in that township. Madrepores of a large size have also been found imbedded in the soil, or lying on the surface, in various places in Cattaraugus and Alleghany counties. They are locally denominated petrified wasps’ nests. The lands containing these loose fossil remains are contiguous to, or based on, secondary rocks at considerable elevations.

Boulders and Primitive Gravel.—But the most abundant evidences of diluvial action are furnished by the masses of foreign crystalline rocks which are scattered, in blocks of various sizes, on the surface of the soil, or imbedded at all depths within it. Primitive rocks are foreign to the district, and these masses could not, therefore, have resulted from local disintegration. They must have been transported from a distance. They required not only an adequate cause for their removal, but one commensurate with the effects. Such a cause Cuvier supposes, in discussing the general question, may have existed in eruptions, or in the action of oceanic masses of water, operating at an ancient period.

The latter opinion appears to be generally adopted. Dr. Mitchell, in reference to northwestern boulders, attributes their distribution over secondary regions to the draining of interior seas or lakes. Mr. Hayden, in his Geological Essays, refers them to the action of oceanic currents setting “from north and east to south and west.”

Subordinate and Equivalent Strata.—These constitute the most intricate subjects of reference. They are either adjuncts or residuary deposits of leading formations. But their order, as accompanying series, must sometimes be sought for by a previous determination of the formations themselves. Could we certainly know, for instance, that the sandstone of Western New York is or is not the true coal-sandstone, or the limestone is or is not the carboniferous limestone, it would at once direct to positive eras, and serve to impart confidence in the prediction of unknown deposits of an important character. But, in order to fix the formations, it is often the safest mode of procedure to employ the subordinate and local deposits as evidences of the character of the formations embracing them.

Gypsum.—A stratum of gypsum of the plaster of Paris kind—that is, consisting of an admixture of the carbonate with the sulphate of lime—occurs on the banks of the Canandaigua outlet. It has been chiefly explored in the township of Phelps, Ontario. In visiting the principal bed (1820), I found the following order of deposits composing the banks of the outlet:—

1. Alluvial soil of a dark, arenaceous, and mellow character, having small stones of the primitive kind sparingly interspersed, two and a half to three feet. Cultivated in improved farms.

2. Shelly limestone, of an earthy, dull-gray color and loose texture, in layers, three feet.

3. Limestone of a more firm character, but still shelly, or rather slaty, fissile, and easily quarried, six feet. This stratum contains iron pyrites in a decomposed state. Also, nodular or kidney-shaped masses of what the quarrymen call plaster-eggs—apparently snowy gypsum.

4. Plaster of Paris, ten feet. This stratum yields granular, earthy, fibrous, and foliated gypsum. It is the first two varieties which are quarried. In some places, the mass is firm enough to admit of blasting. In others, it is loose and veiny, and is readily broken up with iron bars and sledges. Portions of it appear to consist of a shelly limestone identical with No. 2. They are rejected in quarrying.

5. Limestone similar to No. 3, four feet.

At this depth it is covered by the waters of the outlet. How deep it extends is uncertain. The rapids at the village of Vienna are caused by shelving strata of this limestone.

There is a suite character in these strata which appears to constitute them a single deposit. The plaster-bed at Canasaraga exists in a ledge more elevated in reference to the local stream, and presents a broader section of the limestone. The shades of difference which are observable in its color and texture, do not appear to indicate a difference of geological era. Nor do appearances denote, for the calcareous formation which embraces these beds, much antiquity in the scale of secondary rocks.

Saliferous Red Clay-marl.—Examinations, at various points, render it a probable supposition that the red clay-marl of western New York is the equivalent for the new red sandstone, in positions where the latter is—as it often is—wanting. It is extensively deposited in the upland soils, in the range of the salt rock and gypsum counties, from the summit grounds of Oneida County west. It may be seen in various stages of the decomposition. I have more attentively examined it on the upper parts of the Scanado244 and Oneida creeks. Large areas of it exist in Westmoreland, Verona, and Vernon townships, and bordering the valley grounds of the Oneida reservation, and the northerly portions of Sullivan County. The existence of salt water might, apparently, be searched for with as much probability of success, in the district thus indicated, as at more westerly points.

Coal-Formation.—With a strong predisposition to regard our leading sandstone and limestone surface-formations as members of the “independent” or true coal-formation, inquiry has led me to relinquish the impression that they will, to any great degree, be found to yield this mineral. If the sandstone is—as facts indicate it to be—the new red or saliferous sandstone, it may be expected to yield thin seams of coal, in distant places, but no deposit of this mineral which will reward exploration in this or its super-incumbent series of rocks, the slates, limestones, &c. It will result, that the coal-measures, properly so denominated, are a prior deposit in the order of series; and, should they hereafter be found, such a discovery must take place above the range of the sandstone, which is the basis rock at Niagara and Genesee Falls.

Having premised the character of the sandstone, all the series occupying a position above it must derive their character, as secondary deposits, from this. The limestone cannot, therefore, be a part of the carboniferous or “medial.” The slates, as shown at Cashong, are fragmentary, and rather nearer slaty grauwacks. The arenaceous and calcareous upper deposits assume nearly the position of the oolitic series, and, in fact, ought, in some localities, to be regarded as equivalents.

Western Coal-Mines.—Much of the data employed in these inquiries is the result of previous examinations of the great coal deposits in the Ohio Valley, and other parts of the western country. Here we have the coal-sandstone and the slate clay, with slate, &c., alternating with the coal-measures. Such is the order of deposits at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela, where the formation is well developed, and where there exists, too, in the elevated valley hills, several repetitions of the series. The zechstone, or compact limestone, which is a pervading rock in the Mississippi Valley, occupies a position next above the great Mississippi sandstone.245 It may always be distinguished from the shelly, entrochal limestone of the Genesee,246 by the absence of gypsum and of the fetid odor emitted on fracture.

Alleghany Valley.—A question of interest, in connection with the extent of the Ohio Valley coal-formation, arises from the attempt to fix the point to which this formation ascends the Alleghany Valley—being the direct avenue into Western New York. I have examined this valley in its entire length between Pittsburg and Olean, in Cattaraugus County, and have not been able to observe that there are any evidences of its termination below the latter point. The general order and parallelism of strata remain the same. The coal stratum is apparently present. The qualities of the coal at Armstrong, and at various points below French Creek—the first primary fork of the river—are not distinguishable from the products of the Pittsburg galleries. Less search has been made above that point, but wherever the hills have been penetrated, they have—as at Brokenstraw—produced the bituminous coal. Above the Conawango Valley, which brings in the redundant waters of Chatauque Lake, the Alleghany discloses frequent rapids. The effect of parallelism upon the strata is to sink the coal-measures deeper as they ascend the Alleghany; and this cause may, in connection with the unexplored character of the country, be referred to in accounting for the absence of coal along this part of the line. The reappearance of traces of this mineral at Potato Creek, forty miles above Olean, is a proof, however, that the coal-formation extends to that point. This locality is a few miles within the limits of Pennsylvania. It occurs in a valley.

Coal in Western New York.—The coal-bed above Olean is south of the summit of the Genesee, and not remote from its primary source. The expectation may be indulged that the western coal-formation embraces portions of Cattaraugus and Alleghany or Steuben counties. The noted spring of naphtha, called Seneca Oil, is on Oil Creek in this county. As this substance, in the class of bitumens, is nearly allied to the coal series, it may be deemed favorable to the existence of the formation in the substrata.247 Fragments of carbonized wood are frequently found in the large tracts of marine sand,248 as well as in some of the mixed alluvions of these counties; and it needs but an examination, as cursory as it has fallen to my lot to make, of this portion of the country, to render it one of high geological interest, and to denote that the coal-measures probably extend into some portions of Western New York.249