New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-08-05

when in 1874, with wagon train ne tre to go through
the Bad Lands" Metaphorically IL was q very good
description. Faetuslly 1t was great water denuda-
ton that left them what they As found, after
more intimate acquaintance the action of fire is Visible
here, but It is water mainly that has wrought this de
VISITATION and earned for this curious region It's bad
NAME This peculiar character of the country in the
Northwest Is found at intervals in belt perhaps 600
miles long from north to SOUTH and 200 miles east and
1t is found in the western part OF Dakota
In extensive tracks running up and down
GSndve. and the Yellowstone. Il occurs on some
OF the forks OF the Platte IL borders the Black HUI.
Northern Wyoming These lands are monuments OF the
wonderful power of water. Any one who has been TO
hills washing away. cutting deep gulches through their
sides and pouring the loose earth into the valleys
form some idea OF the Bad Lands on small scale In
the Eastern States there Typographical phenOm-
ena which form the basis Of correct comparison
The effect Of heavy dood Of rain, which has plowed
through region OF yielding sand clay hills. carving
and uting their sides from brow cutting mina-
tons Of CLAY and Sand into adjacent streams may sug
gest something OF the physical OF of
wrought IT, Multiply this one acre by thousands Of
acres instead of one Mill nave myriad stretched over
miles OF the country, broken and lntersected in
every every direction by num6esess trouThs raynes
OF vegetation rounded into or sugaroayes or cut
into grotesque and indeserbabe shapes looking In the
sShce IKE IKE tne broken broken ruins OF an aDSTgnaI Gt
ton OF Dastions peaks hcones 90 TO 450 feet high in
the midst OF maze or ana
eeeo in forming notion OF the bad Lands" 1t is
weak name, in French and English, and indicates the
occasional poverty of each OF these tongues Some day
the German, with its unlimited possibility for com
pounds may give name for these lands which shall
do justice TO their unmitigated badness II there are
any lands anywhere that can surpass these in barren
ness, desolaton and utter uDfrendness, let them De
called worse" II not this disgrace belongs TO Dakota
and Montana, and they have right to the superlatve
term The desert wastes OF wyoming and Utah are IN
pensation that one can pass over them fast he
chooses But in the bosom Of the Bad Lands you
there an inhospitable geography There are portions
in gland and Nova Scotia where the more land
man owns the poorer he becomes, much worse than
nothing is the soil But cannot recall any place quite
as hostile TO civilization. so uDinyung in all its features
The wonderful caons Of Rocky Mountains and those
of the Sierra Nevada effects of the same hydrauc
Man, Too Is not excluded He may dig fortunes from
themonnain heart garner his sheayes on ITS side
The Bad Lands the other hand the type OF utter
unfriendlness They seem Ink remnant OF the original
chaos that never was flushed
We reached the Mdupdises TeTTes on the 9th or July
and oamped on tributary called Davis Creek. On the
Plans wherever the country wonia perlIt our T1son
advance and guard OF Infantry and nVe companies
OF cavalry on each Hank This makes compact column
Coming the Bad Lands obliged TO stretch out
divides and torsnous ravnes If the indians had any
design cpon the expedition TINS was certainty theIf
strong point. Our cavalry mounted, would nave oeen
of little use to u.s. is extremely hard for horses to
go up and down these steep hills much faster imam
walk TO afford protection against the Indians in this
exposed district, Gen. Stanley changed the order of
march, The cavalry instead Of marching the nanks
were depoyedas skirmishers each flank Thus every
wagon in the train guard of three or four men on
each side ReGuforcements at any particular point
could be centered in short time.
CHAOTIC MASSES OF ROCKS
Thus disposed began our march through the dreaded
Bad Lands Our poor mules suffered not little In haul
ing their heavy loads The pioneers had to be strength
ened by heavy details Of infantry to reduce the sharp
ness of the banks 10 bridge crossings, and to Ill up
4 4If nh Dad
Lands would have been voted out OF the route II II had
possible TO escape them They lay at right angles
across path and conld not be avoided by detour
TIE transition from the unduating floor OF the plain TO
the pits and peaks Of the Bad Lands was less gradual
than had supposed. From knoll near our trail sec
ton OF this country broke upon us in fun view. 1t
the distance If the cover had been suddenly taken
from Herculaneum Pompei still covered with volcanic
and ashes little nearer the Illusion vanished
The broken walls ana nlnarets turned INTO clay pies
parched ala beds Of the dredup streams IL the Bad
Lands are ever enchanting 1t is distance which lends
the uger they become. When We thought OF pass
and seemingly impossible Mills, the remark of Gen.
sully did not seem at all exaggerated one palliatng
feature of these almost rredeeuabe lands is the pres
ence of wood and OF water Also such as is fringe
of timber ia generally found through the ravines and
Scent The bottoms ordinarily yield growth of good
grass. The ravines were nearly all dry Occasionally
they contained little water, but strongly impreg
mated with alks that II unfit for use. Our animals
mprovident enough TO drink of 1t found 1t unpleasant In
taste and Improbable III effect. In some OF the large
water was obtained, out ali less alkaline
on entering the Bad Lands, one OF the hrst things
that attracted attention was the presence OF loose,
cherry-red deposit the tops OF the NILS sometimes
extending all the way down 10 Their base III was also
rhat the average altitude OF the peaks OF the
hills was much below the level OF the plains from which
we had descended, though THIS singular formation or
hills and butes had been carved out or the plain as an
engraving is carved out Of block Of wood Another
the OF large masses or heavy
the bottoms The first impression derived that
these volcanic had been transported and lett Ike
unprAV
mined These masses OF Stag, looking 1ut ike the sag
from iron furnace were afterwards found cappns
left the column ana climbed several OF lhe Duttes 10
examine the red deposit We found II to be composed
of red CLAY shale which had seemingly been baked and
then broken into small chips This broken shae resen-
bled brick in color, weight and texture TAe nils pre-
era thousand brick had been dumped on their surface
aud afterward pounded INTO cpS or SPIN nto sna h
phenomena was that the aborgines had made their
brick like shae seemed at first merely superficial de-
pOst on the crests and sides OF the NILS we oul none
of in the valleys. IL had been transported 1t was
singular why the crests the hills should have been
favored with red cap while the Intervening lands were
almost entirely overlooked The first thing then TO de-
termine whether this flaming head-dress belonged
here was the gift OF some generous glacier
or mOre likely a kindly Hood We laborOusy
climbed SIX or seven Of these ornamened Duties before
we could settle this question. AT last afayorabe ex-
posture presented itself. On the crown or hill great
mass of the indurated shale from TO 20 feet thick lay
exposed TO such depth that ii was beyond question
tended could not here he determined. 1t settled the
question home of THE brick like shale scattered
over the surface 1t been transported. It was
the product this mother strata IL seemed evident
mat his red clay heat. The argilaceous
formation which cropped out some feet below II would
pToduce lust such brick If thoroughly baked on the
same butte there other formations, prlnci paly
areuaceous that had evidently been affected by the
same heat.
ULTIMATE DESTINY OF THE BAD LANDS.
variety OF this sandstone presented very peculiar
cearage Instead splitting of iuto shale separated
into round, tapering, nnger-lke lengths as If mere
bundle Of sandstone sticks resembling the tapering
1archs NJ chalk prepared for the schoolroom. Near