The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1891-11-12
GLACIERS In DAKOTA.
COURSES OF THE MOVING ICE NOUN
-AINs EASILY TRACED.

COURSES OF THE MOVING ICE NOUN
-AINs EASILY TRACED.
Facts which Seem to Show That the
Missouri River Has Changed Its Bed.
The Mystery of the Old Limestone
observation-disclosures Cometh They?
North Dakota presents a very attract
i've field for every geologist and man Of
scientific turn of mind, particularly in
the evidences Of the glacial period that
are 50 abunGcnt on every hand. The
hills, valleys, lakes, rivers and the in
Vulnerable powders that lie scattered
over the prairies, the fertile soils, the
crop thereon, the climate, fauna and
fora all tell in the plainest language Of
the great changes and influences wrought
by the passage of the glaciers southwark
Their effect on the confguration of the
landscape have been tremendous, chang
ing and reconstructing the surface of the
country on a grand scale. The glacial
direction has been generally south and
west
The granite powders, some of which
are very large and show but few evil
dences of grinding, are not so difficult to
account for, but what is puzzling to the
inquirer is the origin of the limestone
powders that are profusely scattered
among the granite rocks. Limestone is
the product of deposits Of animals-or-
ganisms whose abode was in the ocean
Where these limestone powders now
found on the prairies came from Is hard
to determine. The origin of glaciers is
always in elevations-regions where
there are mountains and valleys
The vast and level plain lying north as
far as the Arctic ocean, including the
Hudson bay country, over which the
glaciers have passed, does not present |
the conditions which are necessary to
glacial formation and progress. Profess
sor Hay thinks that different levels have |
existed from which were begun the gla- |
ciers that have passed over North Da- |
kota
THE OLD BED OF THE MISSOURI
The limestone powders which are con-
tinual puzzles to the geolo yist present |
many evidences of oceanic origin. There |
are numerous fossil remains found in |
lurian age, way back in the early peri |
DDS of the formation of the earth's crust. |
These powders must be of very ancient |
origin, because as far as noticed they |
contain fossils Of the early and simpler |
forms characteristic of those eras.
Among these fossils are the trilobites, |
one Of the commonest of the extinct spe- |
cies Of mollusks that fourished in palea-
Eoic times
The course Of the glaciers southwark |
is plainly marked east Of the Missouri |
river. West of that stream there are few
or no deposits of glacial drift Princi- |
pally on this account, Professor Hay |
says that it is not improbable that the
Missouri river once ran through the |
center Of the two Dakotas, possibly |
where the James river valley now marks |
a long and noticeable depression in the |
surface Of the country, and that the
present turbid and crooked stream has |
been literally pushed westward to its
present channel by the encroaching forces
Of glaciers slowly moving southwark and
filling up the depressions of the tract
covered with the materials conveyed by /
Them.
The great river, which has It's source
in the mountains, fed by streams Of melt
ing snow and ice, probably ran eastward
as far as DEVILS" lake, before taking
its old southerly course. The only gla-
cisl drift found west Of the Missouri is
near the mountains and came from them,
while the drift east Of the river belongs
10 other distant and different formations
ORIGIN OF MANY LAKES.
The present existing streams, valleys
and coolies have been formed by the
washing of great streams Of water that
have followed the melting of the glaciers
The water flowing over the deposits Rft
BY the glaciers-earths and shales that
were softened and easily disturbed-has
washed out the valleys and left the pres
ent inconsiderable streams such rs the
James and Cheyenne rivers. The drift
or diluyium deposited by the glaciers il
easily noticed in the coolies and valleys,
along the upper ridge of which are seen
sccumulations Of powders The reason
why line of powders nearly always
marks the top of the si1 rs of the valleys
Is that the other powders originally left
in the soil washed away, have also been
carried of by the rush of water.
1t is not believed by Professor Hay
that the presence of the large number of
powders that lie piled thick on the
shores Of many of the lakes Of this state
can be accounted for BY the action of
freezing and thawing which has pushed
the rocks on the shore He thinks that
many Of the present lakes have been the
stopping place of glaciers Some change
In the temperature arrested the progress
Of the ice field, which was again started
forward by sudden melting, and the de-
pressions Il In the surface, foored with
an unusual eposit of powders. are now
our beautii lakes
This acti OF the glacier can be dis !;
tinctly trac in South Dakota, where ,
there are, n, Huron, several localities
showing dis met evidences of where the ,
glacier rest, d, left its monuments of !
rounded and polished rocks to mark the
spot and again moved under the impel-
ling heat Of the sun The progress Of
this glacial march can be distinctly |
traced from point TO point BY lines Of
powders and other indications known 30
biologists. -Jsmestown On. d. Alert 4
no~ New Hora's wealthy Men Ride Home.
At least 100 csbmen earn living by
driving Wall street men up town after
the close Of business hours. A large
49, - 4