New-York tribune., 1896-12-06
4 DE4THTRAP or SHIFTING SAND'
CURIOUS HEAPS IN THE CENTRAL NA>'|'"
PRAIRIE WHOSE ORIGIN IS MfSIEhi'

CI-RIOI-s HEAPS IN THE CENTRAL kAN"-''
PRAIRIE WHOSE ORIGIN IS A MfSIEhf'
rroroo Kan Dec (SpeciaD.-The broad eA-
nanse of level prairie which makes up the siea'e
portion of Central Kansas Is broken III oi'e p
by q range of hills whose origin IL Il q"e'
has puzzled scientists. The prairies arc '",'
plained: they are simply the bed OF a vast
The surface contains usually Limited ainou ~
sand evenly distributed This also Is u oe 49,, 49,
Cd for the action of waves would spread uniiornis
over the seabed the sand washed down iioi III.
bordering mountains But here III the ''''"' ~
this vast ocean. Is a miniature mountain" - :,
distinct from the surrounding land as II II '"o
dropped from the skies .
The hills stretch from near Lyons N"".' "
uutchinson a distance of about twenty-five miles,
They form the arc of a circle and are on the aver
age four miles in width. The curious ieatuic VI
them Is that they made up wholiy OF san" W."
out the slightest intermiXture or any iore'S" CIV
ment. The sand Is composed OF rhe' u'""'o'u
shaped PARTICLES so light that they seek new
position at every breeze, ana DreeZeS !" i>'
are too common TO be noticeable.
These beds Of sand are much given TO shit'lhs'
A heavy wind will move whole acres Oh 'he.''
Hills fifty feet in height will he transferred ilt'ie y!
little a distance of hundred yards. ana Il 'o""
between two mounds will be found next day enter
ing the very bowels of single hill. Ihere II "o
limit to the curious tricks the eddyinG storms
will play with the sand. The effect can be com
pared only TO that produced by a high wind on
very fine snow.
In many places. however. long period OF quiet
weather has permitted a turf to form that can
withstand the action of the elements. In THESE
spots much fruit is raised, the best OF when - 4
wild plum renowned throughout the whole STATE
But II one digs through this turf. the sand Is fonhd
beneath and extends downward to the ola praIiie
level AT this point begin the soil. limestone strata
and conglomerate. exactly tho same as III al '''e
OF the region.
This fact proves that the hills were placed here
after the surface formation had been completed
and further corroboraton Is found In the SUD-
stances buried beneath the hills Borlngs nave un-
covered great cottonwood trees with the branches
all intact, and bones of antelope ana sandh"
crane-two animals which still linger in this un-
frequented region though otherwise almost driven
from the State. Even human bores have been aug
up the remains probably of early travellers caught
In the dangerous sands during some unrecorded
storm. Under these conditions. especially II the
storm is rotatory like the famous tornado TINS re-
gion forms a natural dea.htrap.
No satisfactory exploration Of the hills has ever
been advanced Early and les, wcll-informed In
vestigators thought they might be the remnant of
some heavenly body which by ci ance mad encoui-
tered the earth after the surface forinatloh was
practically finished. Snme even went so lar as 10
declare them to be the remnant Of the nucleus or 4
comet Later when he cataclysrnlc schooi q,
geoIogists was in the ascendant. they suggested
that some mighty prehistoric cy clone. as it swept
through the country had collected the sand ana
had deposited IL here. where the force OF the storm
was expended a.
Scientists OF the present day are disposed 10 ma
= more simple explanation They say that as the
inland sea subsidized this stretch OF land may have
been uplifted somewhat so that II formed an ISL
and. and the action Of the waves collected ana de-
posted the and about its borders. Then. after
the water had disappeared the land sank 10 4
l,ve with the surrounding territory. ihus leaving
behind IL the heaps of sand in the form or NM,
This theory although II does not account tor an
the phenomena. is perhaps the most ratlOnai YET
ed nd nrOblbN FOUND
considerable truth when tho complete history OF
these hills shall be discovered.