History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. Page: 183
[7], iv-vii, [2], 10-826, [2] p., [56] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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HO. _ 83
Most of the way the bottom was dry,
but here and there a pool of water would
be found Ftanding in a basin of calcareous
rock. Stalagmites covered thle floor and
stalactites hung froln tle top. We came
to a place where there was a descent of the
bottoml of the cave for several feet, and, lowerinlg
our candles into tlhe opening, found on
account of tlhe gas they would not burn; so
we retraced our way to tile entrance. This
cave is in the massive limestone, three miles
down the Colorado river, on the west side
from the Sulphur Spring, and just below the
mouth of Falls Creek."
Other caves have large quantities of guano
in them, deposited by the bats. Some of these
deposits are twenty feet thick, and are of unknown
extent. These caves will, in the near
future, no doubt, be fully explored, and their
valuable beds of guano put upon the market.
PETRIFACTIONS.
Some magnificent specimens of petrifaction
are found in several places in the State.
TRANS-PECOS TEXAS.
That portion of western Texas lying west
of the Pecos river is called "trans-Pecos
Texas." The mineral deposits of that region
are proved to be extensive and of great
richness:
1. By their extensive outcrops, the many
assays of which show the almost universal
presence of the precious metals in them.
2. By the prospecting and work already
done.
The advantages offered the miners and
prospectors are:
1. The ease with which the outcrops may
be distinguished.the erosion of the mountains and sometimes
has a thickness of over 1,000 feet, as is proved
by the wells along the Texas Pacific & Southern
Pacific railways. Tlhe geologic formations
(f tlhe mountains themselves consist of granitets,
.-andstones, schists, and quartzites and Silurian,
Carboniferous, and Cretaceons limestones.
The x~;iole area is faulted, broken, and cut by
intrusive porphyries, basalts, granites, and
other eruptives.
These conditions of structure prevent any
other than a general unfavorable report on
the district, although in certain localities
conditions may, and probably do, exist favorable
to the securing of artesian water.
Mineral springs are to be found everywhere
in the world, the financial success attending
the management of them depending
mainly upon advertising and equipment. It
is therefore unnecessary to detail here the
springs and wells that are frequently visited
for medicinal purposes. The mineral elements
of such waters generally comprise common
salt, sulphur, magnesia, soda, iron, salts
of lime and potash and traces of a few other
minerals, and often of organic matter. More
or less of these elements are also to be found
in nearly all artesian water.
CAVES.
Caves are very numerous in the limestones
of the Carboniferous, and some of them are
very extensive. Very few of them have been
explored for any purpose other than idle
curiosity. "I entered only one of them,"
says a member of the geological staff, "and
traversed it about three-fourths of a mile.
Sometimes the roof would be high overhead,
and then again to crawl upon our hands
and knees. There were lateral openings
at different places, but the main opening.I
183
MlSTORY OF TEXAS.4rS'
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History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. (Book)
Book containing a brief overview of the state of Texas and more specific focus on six specific counties, with extensive biographical sketches about persons related to the history of those places. An alphabetical index of persons who are included follows the table of contents at the front of the book.
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Lewis Publishing Company. History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties., book, 1893; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29785/m1/188/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.