The daily clarion. [volume] (Meridian, Miss.) 1863-1866, 1865-12-23

! L. G. Bennett; engineer of the late
Powder River, (Indian) expedition, com.
municates the following interesting facts
concerning the country passed through:
Rising from the plain, sometimes to
the altitude of five hundred feet, were
masses OF hard clay IN the form OF pyra-
mIds or ruined temples, crowned with
spires aWd nllI arets, and worn by tue
| winds into variety Of fantastic shapes
/ No mountain or other scenery can equal
this In dreary wilderness and strange
beauty. No game and but little vegeIa-
tIon exists here. lis truly "a land OF
desolatIon.' Often these huge masses
OF clay were standing IN the midst OF
the plain, isolated ana alone. At other
times long ranges OF bare nils, like a
wall, stretched away and became lost in
| the haZy distance, while Though the
opening III these cliffs, glImpses could be
obtained OF Black hIiis, looming up in
! the distance like gigantic storm clouds
! Inese masses OF clay were traversed with
veines of Trap rock, generally IN a verti-
Cal position, anu as the surrounding ana
softer rock gradually became worn by
| winds anu Storms, We're broken into tras
Inents and scattered over The plain Often
| large Areas We're coVcr-d d with these trag
nenls uTlhls trap rock Here and there
were pebbies and houlders, indicative OF
the drItL perlod, while iron, rock, quarts
scoIla. and other cnrystaIIzed and Inge-
neous rock Indicated the actIon of neat
Scattered over the summit of these
cliffs or around their Lase, were frag-
ments aud sometimes almost perfect
fossils OF marine and other auImals, the
most common of which were turtles |
saw many OF these that were three feet
across, aud one Lhat measured seven ieeU
across the she'll. Other parties reported i
Seeing Que that measured sixteen feet
across, anu l heard OF their beng larger.
These have generally fallen down from
tAe cIlhs, ana are more or less mutilaued
out enough rAs'"'n aho~ uho unIlInce
ahd determine the SIZE OF these monsLers
OF a former age. MaStodon bodies ana
enormous teeth are common. Among
the petretactIons OF more recent period |
Was Wolf, nearly entire, found by Dr. |
Anderson.
There are many theories advanced in |
regard TO the pecuuarties OF TINS region,
Inese fossils and shells, and remains of |
marine anlma!s, attest the action OF Wa
er. lndeeu, the tirsl impression on re-
viewing these fragments and broken mon-
uments OIL the past ge Is, that this was
once an elevated PLAN, level with the
tops OF the present. cliffs, and that the
violent action oil Wafer has carried away
vast areas OF soil ana left the substantial
portions standing In the present cliffs,
columns py ramlds, all bearing evidences
OF being once submerged by an ocean OF
waters. Al a subst quenU period another
Hood had cut this second plain into deem
raVInes, leaving the dry water courses
winch sull lnter9ect the country in evely
direction. The Inquiry naturally arises,
from whence comes the fragments OF
ocorla, pOmlce stones and other igenous
rocks, the result OF volcanic action and
which lay scattered promIscuousIy with
marine deposits Perhaps these have
come from the neighborlng mountains
tht Back hills
On the ridges separating the Elk, Bear,
M1nIwak, 81 and Bear Butte creeks. were I
ound large masses OF FOSSIL fish and other
marine anImaIs, some of q huge size. I
Oiten the hills seemed entirely composed
ot these remains. Exposure to the air
md storms have broken them into frag T
nents, yet the outlines of turtles, she'll
lsh orthesera, could be distinctly traced.
'ound portions OF the vertebrae of some z
'xtnct species, beautifully coruscated
With sutures and joints. For miles our
lorses, at every step, crushed to atoms
hese remains of past and ever LIVING
mage. H lis of fossils that for ages have
zen moulderlng away and becoming
'orLons OF the soIl, until but faint out
Ines here and there indicate that the 1
arth and rocks we tread upon We're once
wing animal ruiatter, may we'll excite
lrprIse. Here are indications OF volcanic
ctlon aud of deluge strangely COM
hngled and laying side by side.