The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-28
I'm the Womde erlarnd
OF North America.
Some of the Wonderful Scenes in the
Far-Famed "Bad Lands" of North Dakota

i regard pne prairie Dog aS q machine
designed by nature to convert sage
brush-bunch grass-into flesh and
thus furnish food. not only to the wild
animals of the plains. but for mankind.
which would often starve but for the
presence of this little animal. He re-
quires no moisture and the scanty grass
Is all he needs to exist upon. Their
numbers are incalculable.
For 100 miles westward the appear
ance of the country Is that of a rough
ly rolling prairie; the road crosseg
many water-courses: their streams are
no puny rivulets, but rivers of consid-
era'ble volume and their tributaries
meander In devious ways through forty
miles OF the land grant on either side
OF the road. All this region Is thinly in
habfted, but possesses good water and
an abundance of Ignite coal. At Sims is
mine of superior quality, with an out.
put OF 250 tons daily.
In Search Of Liberty. 90
Our attention was attracted to Heb
ron. new settlement, composed of
colonists of the German Evangelical
faith, Of German-Russlans, who mi
grated from Russia to avoid military
conscription and to find homes in a free
country. These people are thrifty and
industrious, and the best Of the re-
sources of the country. They build
substantial houses from the prairie turf
with roofs thatched with straw. They
raise fine, sleek-looking cattle. and
their grain was of superior quality.
and showed attention. The soil through
this section Is Of a vegetable mould,
eighteen inches to three feet deep, with
fine sub-soil similar to that of the
James River valley. Along this valley
ch ,ol
springs of good water issue from the
out-cropping beds of coal In the blufYs
bordering the valleys. Besides the fuel
which Is furnished by the oak and cot
tonwood trees, this whole country is
said to be underlaid with a bed OF good
coal. five feet In thickness, which can
be mined by digging from three to
fifteen feet deep. Near Gladstone these
great fields of coal are Of good variety
for heating and cooking purposes. This
coal Is apparently of a recent forma-
ton; peculiar feature is that 1t emi.s
no smoke. or disagreeable odor, but
burns like wood and equally as fast.
Dickinson. $50 miles west OF st. Paul,
Is the most important shipping point
for stock on the road. Thousands of
heads Of cattle and horses are shipped
eastward daily. Here are several
brick kilns. Its sandstone being spe-
cially adapted for this industry.
Bad Lands Of North Dakota.
Leaving Dickinson, we soon enter a
region picturesque and singular
enough. known as the "Bad Lands" of
the Little. Missouri. For an hour the
train pursues its way on a down gra de
| through scenery Of which the world is
not known to afford counterpart. AT
New England City, a, town composed
entirely from New England people, we
see the first of this strange phenomena
in numerous butteS, which diversity
the landscape. The most conspicuous
of these Is Square Butte an elevation
rising 300 feet above the general level
| of the praires, having n plateaus on its
summit of fifty acres in extent, said to
be fertile. producing heavy crops OF
vegetables. the potatoes alone yielding
300 bushels ITO an acre.
| The term bad Lands" Is here mis-.
applied-is an unfortunate misnomer-
for 1t conveys the idea to the traveller
that the tract is WORTHLESS for agricul.
tural and stock-raising purposes. Moth.
ing could be wider Of the truth. The
| fact Is. the soil possesses fertilizine
properties In excess. and the luxurian
grasses which here flourish attract
herbivorous game animals In large
numbers. The designation "Rad
Lands" came from oldLtime French
trappers and hunters in the service OF
the great fur companies, because 1t was
a difficult region to travel through
with ponies and pack animals.
1t should be called "Sculptured
Lands" or Pyramid Lands" for sculp.
turing 1t Is on a grand scale. Old ma.
ture seems to have let herself loose. II
| sUht hn a. th.~ To- pl 80 ,,,x1
for 1t seems as II witchcraft must have
produced so unnatural a region. One
says Trees where there are no trees
animals where no living thing is seen
castles and ruined cities where none
ever lived" These are contradictions
that seem inexplicable, The trees
| however, that are seen where none
now grow, are. pertrifed: the animals
| are fanciful. rock animal forms; the
castles and cities are formations OF
washed rocks and clays or butte for.
nations made so by the action OF
water The horizon fairly teens with
the buttes. cliffs and bluffs of this
weird land; thicker and more com.
pleX they become as we roll along
and from them spring aloft in endless
array and multiform shapes pima acles
spires, domes and turrets, an ideal
! piece Of work in sculpture and archi.
lecture the like we never before wit.
messed which simply beggars descrip.
| tion.
|. An Tndcscribablc Spectacle.
These hundreds OF buttes vary In
height from 30 to $50 feet, with steep
sides and rounded SUBMITS with vari-
Gus colored bands of limestone, sand
stone and Ignite lying in successive
strata. These colorings are very rich
some Of the buttes have bases of yellow
intermediate girdles of pure white and
tops of deepest red. while others are
blue. brown and gray. Some Of these
| elevations In the hazy distance seem
| like ocean billows: all col0rs and shapes
| are blended here in riotous profusion.
| In ages long ago. however. dense for
ests existed in these Bad Lands. There
is evidence Of this primeval growth In
.the abundant petrifications of tree
stumps. 4 to 8 feet in diameter, which
are In portions translucent as rock
crystals and susceptible of a high
| polish. as our specimens will show.
Here are fine specimens of fossil leaves,
changed by the heat of the burning
Ignite into brilliant scarlet. while the
coal. still burning. gives a plutonic as
pect to the whole region. one fiery mass
not far from the railroad being easily
mistaken at night for an active vol
cano. the cliffs having close resemblance
tn volcanic scoria. Among the many
| other fossil remains are oysters,
clans, etc.