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Oil has been found in several places in the country over which I have recently traveled. The most notable place is at Trickham, in Coleman County. A well on the premises of Mr. L. L. Shields in that town was put down to the depth of 220 feet. At a depth of 100 feet salt water was reached, which flows from the top of the well. With the water is brought up oil, which collects on the top of the water. This oil has never been analyzed, and has not been collected in any considerable quantity. It has been used for lubricating purposes. It is found in the lower part of the Carboniferous. Mr. J. H. Finks, of Waco, is now drilling another hole only fifty feet away from the first, for the purpose of testing the quantity of oil to be obtained.

The same oil-producing stratum was penetrated and oil obtained at Brownwood. The shales producing this oil are found at the surface near Lampasas, McAnnelly's Bend, near San Saba, and westward to near the town of Brady. Whether the oil will be found in quantities sufficient to be of economical value, is not yet determined. This determination will have to be arrived at by penetrating the oil-bearing stratum at different localities, and possibly at a more remote point from the line of outcrop.

Oil has been found in several places, in small quantities, oozing from the ground, but never in sufficient quantity or under circumstances that warrant particular mention.

I have only seen two places during the expedition where there is any probability that iron ore can be obtained in sufficient quantity to be of economical value. The first place is on Cherokee Creek, two miles northeast of the town of Cherokee, on the lands of Mr. J. T. White. The ore is in the Silurian limestone, and is a brown hematite in stalactitic form. Considerable ore is scattered over the surface of the hill, and I traced the deposit for several hundred feet. A small amount of money judiciously expended in prospecting would determine the quantity of ore to be obtained in that locality.

The other place is on the San Saba River, a mile below the mouth of Brady Creek, in San Saba County. At that place there is a fissure in the massive limestone partly filled with iron ore. This fissure is from 18 to 30 inches wide. I traced it in a northeastern direction about half a mile. This ore is brown hematite, and the only question is as to the quantity. The ore seems to be continuous for some distance, and the vein is easily traced by the scattered ore on the surface.