The Arkansas advocate., 1835-08-07

ern branches of the Arkansas, brought
 down by the Illinois, is found enclosed in
 the extensive beds deposited from he
 waters of the Canadian. Ii is in the study
 Of the phenomena of this character, where
 tluyiatie deposites are effected upon so
 immense a scale, that perhaps al explana-
 tion of many difficult presentations of
 mineral matter, observed in older iadurated
 rocks, may be suggested.
 "i observed many superficial deposites which had been made, perhaps within ten years, by the annual inundations; layers of white clay, sometimes Of white sand, viii. occasional intermixtures of both ssperin- posed upon each other, and ut times large blotches of whtish clay were enclosed in q regular deposite of red. One day follow ed, for a considerable distance, an old dry bed which the nver had abandoned for a new passage at the foot of the right bank, isolating high ridge between the old and new beds, where the young wood was be- ginning to grow very thickly, on | surface, from whence all the timber had evidently been swept when the new passago was made. The inundation of June, 1883, had deposited about aninch of dull red argilla- ceous matter over great part of this dry bed, which extended many miles into the country, and presented the appearance of q reddish sandy valley, about three hundred yards broad, containing many accumala- tons of sand and dead trees, the old sand bars and snags. Every thing bore very desolaed aspect; it was huge chasm to appearance, furrowed out through fiat country by the temporary passage of q great rlYer, which had not left drop of water be- hind t. l saw no symptoms of animal ex-
 stence, except the track of solitary dee. and few turkey buzzards wheeling about n the air, and scanning tho surface in their characteristic manner, in search of carron.
 Upon the edges of some of these ancient banks ofthe river are several Indian nloundsE with trees sometimes growing on them, some of them about five hundred years old: great quantities of Indian arrow heads arel strewed around, made ofthe silieeous min- efal of the Washta hills, and some hayel been found buried several feet beneath thel surface. facts winch show that this alluvials country, which was possessed by a few bands of the Quapaws when the whites first began to occupy it, has been inhabited by the aboaglnes at a very early period.
 .'lt will perhaps not De found impossible hereafter to assign approximately some limit to that period, when the settlement Of the country shall bring ether data forward, which connect themselves with the geology of the country. IL Is true the deposiles made by the annual inundations are nator- ally too irregular and variable to afford sys- tematic data fer the compilation of period fof the origin of these haviatile beds; but whenever careful inquiry of this kind Is made, 1t will be found important to note them very accurately. It would not be a difficult undertaking to calculate the ap- proxlmate amount of sedimeniary matter brought down annually by the Arkansas, or any ot the turbld tributaries of the MIssis- slppi The main rise of the Arkansas and Missouri, caused by the melting of the snows of the Rocky Mountains, usually takes place in June and these rivers are swollen during the winter and spring months by rain. Al these times they bear along the greatest quantity of solid matter towards the mouth ot the Mis- sissippl, conslgning 1t to the ocean, which meets and deposites and distributes it into levels, to be probably laId dry at some future day, as the alluviaI plains l have been speaking of have already been. The lowest state of the Arkansas occurs during the months of July to November, inclusive.
 During a portion of this time, it Is often not navigable from the Mississippi to Little Rock. At this stage of the water, Inc cur rent IS sluggish, the water quasi-stagnant, and the solid matter held in suspension very trl6ing, although always sufficient to tnge the water. 4 Set of experiments might be conducted, showing the mean quantity of sedimentary matter brought an- nualiy down during the rises of the river, and during the low water periods. Fur nlshed with the cubic quantity of solid matter thus obtained, and applying il as q dlvisor 10 the whole quantity of fluvlatie deposite contained in the entire alluyial area, we might approximately assign period for the origin of these rivers, the commencement of these depos- ties, and the withdrawal of the ocean from these countries. The period of their ft- ness to receive the human race might thus be found to accord with particular indica- tions of the existence of the aboriginal race.p
 At the conclusion of this interesting doc ument, the author sums up the most inter esting results of his late tour:
 "Amongst the most interesting results ofmy late tour, must enumerate, first: