The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-07-25

/ crustaceans. Before or afterwards a state
ly forest grew in the bed of this lake
! Mammoth tree trunks turned to stone
crop out from the sides of the conglomerate
mounds and appear all through the valleys.
Petrifaetions are to be found on all sides
that are susceptible of finer polish than
marble, while others have the appearance
of being made of heavy yellowish clay.
Some hunters tell story of finding in the
depth of the Bad Lands an unexplored
canyon, upon riding into which they saw
prairie dog village, and at the mouth OF
each mound one Of the animals sitting on
its launches with paw folded across the
breast in a perfectly natural manner. Con
trary to their usual custom the dogs did
not dive into their houses at the approach
of their strange visitors To the great sur
prise of the latter they remained motion
less Investigation showed that every one
of them was stone dead The whole Will
age of dogs had been evidently killed at
the same moment by some unknown power
ages ago and then petrifed Stranger still,
the hunters found scattered among the
dogs and in the same condition the owls
and snakes which are known to share their
home
The petrifactions found in the Bad
Lands are marvellous. Sign of petrifactions
can be seen hours before reaching the won
derful place. When the rough lands be-
gin to break away from the prairie in small
buttes and hillocks almost at every step
small pieces of detached limbs and larger
stumps of trees may be seen, and in fact
whole trees, some of them four, five and
even six feet in diameter, lying on their
sides turned into solid, heavy stone. These
trees are partly as Opaque as obsidian part
ly as translucent as rock crystal.
The butts themselves, varying in height
from fifty to two hundred and fifty feet
are beautiful objects to contemplate either
at distance or at short range. When
viewed from afar off they appear to be
crowded closely together, and as Winser so
happily remarks sin hazy distance seem
like ocean pillows stiffened and at rest y
Their tops are of variegated colors and
their sides are striped with broad bands of
different shapes, the coloring of which is
very rich The SUBMITS of the buttes are
on level with the general prairie, while
the whole valley of the Bad Lands is some
hundreds of feet below This fact corrob-
crates to some extent the geological idea
that ,he Bad Lands bottoms were at some
remote period the bed of a great lake
When examined closely, the huttes present
a most fantastic and gorgeous array of col
or that is positively dazzling to look at
The spectator viewing these strange freaks
of nature for the first time is almost struck
dumb with awe and astonishment at the
utter lavishness and waste of delicate shades
and tints of all colors that are here SO pro-
fusely distributed over miles and miles Of
natures canvass.
In some cases the whole side of butte
is plastered thick with rich crimson thai
would be the delight of painters heart
could he but behold it. Others are striped
with alternate black and brown, while again
others are of blue or brown or gray or else
vary from dazzling white at their summit
to sober dark gray at their base. The
writer observed number of huttes, the
tops of which were fiery red, the inter
mediate being girdles of pure white and
the bases distinct and positive yellow
Some again were completely red, but ot
different shades from top to bottom. There
are great many bare clay and sand buttes
and also number that are composed o.
very hard vitreous or pottery-like Stag
either a green or brown or else dark red
dish color like iron stains.
While the actual composition of the but
tes appear to be crumbling volcanic scoria
vet there is little doubt that their presen
condition was brought about by fires whicl
ragged through the country in days gone by
In fact, some fires are still burning in tn,
Bad Lands one of which, when seen a
night from the Northern Pacific trair
which passes near, has the appearance of {
volcano in active eruption. There is an
other fire farther back in the Band Land
which has been smouldering ever since thu
country was known to the whites, and ac
cording to Indian tradition from the tim,
when the Great Spirit upheaved the lanc
with an earthquake The truth of tn,
matter is the Bad Lands are one vast he(
of Ignite coal which runs through tn,
huttes and hills in solid veins from four t.
ten feet thick. This Ignite was pFohahl,
ignited by fires that sometimes prevailed
over the plains set by Indians, and tht
coal being in continuous veins, has beer
burning, no doubt, uninterruptedly beneatl
the surface for years. Perhaps long ag'
dense forests existed in these Bad Land
which accounts for the extensive beds o
lignant found here There are certainl,
evidences of a primeval growth in the end
less petrifaetiops Of tree stqmps, and Mr.
Wisuer speaks of fine specimens Of fossil
leaves of theRlioceue age, changed by the
heat Of the burning Ignite into brillian
scarlet, but retaining their reticulationi
perfect.
The various round topped mounds made
up of ink black clay, argillaceous, lime
stone, friable or pqlyerized sandstoaea, raw
and pottery clay and veins of impure liz
mites, the burning of which has fused ant
mixed their materials in confused Stag arr
to be seen on every hand and in every con
ceivable form. Between the mounds ar
rayines, gulches and meadows, many of tn,
latter carpeted with the rich nutrition
bunch grass 80 much sought out by tn
, bison when they dwelt among the butte
and roamed over the valleys, The sail o
the Bad Lands possesses fertilizing prop
, critics in excess. As before remarked, tn
name Bad Lands is a misnomer, for tn
r country is well watered by numerou
, streams although barren Of trout an
: tainted with alkali grows numerous ap'
) l4xgriaHt grasses (sonle thirty-three varie
ties have been classifed) and is a veritabl
, paradise for stock-raising and sheep-gFoN
ing uattlemeR were not long In fpdin
? out the true worth of the Bad Lands as
grazing region. Soon after the eonques
| of Sitting Bull and the openiAg up Of tn
5 country to the whites, it began to dawn o
the minds of stockmen that a section ono
S sought by the buffalo as favorite STAMP
| ing ground must be good pasture fields fo
herds of cattle and sheep.
e The Marquis de Mores, young an
r euterprising French nobleman, was tn
: first to seize the opportunity by turnin
e loose thousands of cattle and sheep anon
i the multitude of bptteS bordering tn
D Little Missouri, and his example and sut
1 cess has caused many other wise ant