The “hard pan” underlying good soil; frequently a blue or black clay.—‘Dialect Notes,’ i. 236.
1835. I am on business of importance—more depends on it than your paltry gumbo town is worth.—James Hall, ‘Tales of the Border,’ p. 172 (Phila.).
1881. Such a thing as hard-pan, bed-rock near the surface, or gumbo, is not to be found [in Nebraska].—Chicago Times, April 16. (N.E.D.)
