Louisiana Iron Rock

Ws THAT happens when a system of folkways developed under one set of natural conditions is transferred bodily to another environment? This and related problems appear to be a fundamental but neglected responsibility of geography. No other field of inquiry is in a better position to observe the relationship between potentially useful natural resources and an exotic culture. Does the newly introduced culture accept readily or resist stoutly innovations made possible or even apparently desirable by a different combination of resources? The answers are not easily obtained nor need they all necessarily conform to some as-yet-unformulated law. Clearly, well-documented examples are necessary before any general conclusions can be drawn. Interesting evidence is provided by the unique set of circumstances prevailing in the general region where Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas meet. Here there are limited outcrops of locally termed "iron rock," a usable stone set within an area otherwise providing nothing coarser than an uncemented gravel. The material folkways, both Indian and European, for a considerable distance on all sides of the outcrops have exhibited a marked or nearly complete independence of stone. Here would seem to be an excellent opportunity to gauge the force or inertia of established usages in the face of new opportunities. It is the purpose of this paper to record chronologically the past and present uses of iron rock, especially in Lincoln Parish (county), Louisiana, a section reasonably representative naturally and culturally of the outcrop area.