Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-07-09
OUT IN rms Ban \
An Elk Pointer WITH . Geological sar.
vey Party.

An Elk Pointsr WITH . Geological Sat-.
vey Party.
LoRELI. s. D., June "a, 1806.-Editor
COURIER: We left Vermillion on Mon
day, the I'D. The party contains stu
dents as follows:
T. M. vinson, '95, vermillion Uni
Peter Jordan, 'a5, vermillion Uni
versity.
Byron Payne, 's7, vermillion Univer-
+. w. Ellis, Tabor, Ia, ~. vermil-
I. y. Wallace, Elk Point, ~, Yer
million University.
E. C. Eckert, special, Elk Point, SD.
Prof. j. E. Todd, state geOlOgist, and
professor Of geology at Vermillton In
charge.
Our route was about a. follows, pass
ing through the following places be-
tween VermilliOn and the Missouri
river: Meckling, Gayvtlle. Yankton,
Lake Port, Loreli, and Greenwood.
Will cross the Missouri river at Green
wood. If possible, but We may DO COM
pelled 10 go to White Swan to 1nd .
crossing.
We will begin work on the cretace-
Ons formations as soon - We can get
across the Missouri. The formations
along here are quite rich In fossil re-
mains OF sharks, fishes, and various
kinds of Invertebrates, with an OcCAs-
iOnal skeleton Of some Of the larger
reptiles;
Rosebud reservation to the agency,
thence north 10 Valentine, Neb., and
then up the Niobrara river about forty
or fifty miles. We will spend . few
days here examining the 10up Fork
formations that are we'll exposed along
the bluffs adjacent TO the river. This
formation is very rich in the fossil re-
mains Of the vertebrates, the mammals
in particular. The remains Of the
American elephant (elephas Ameri-
canus) are quite abundant here, also
several other varieties of the elophaS
family are occasionally found. The .
mains Of the three-tOed horse (mese0-
pippus bairdii) are also quite common.
We will then 10 back into South
Dakota by way OF Pine Ridge and then
down the. White river and into the He'd
Lands. where w expect to spend sev-
eral weeks collecting fossils for tho
state university.
One Of the main features Of the trip
will be to make ~ complete Z survey
Of the country lying west Of tho Mis-
souri, river land south Of the White
river, rs time will allow, with regard
70 the possibilities Of getting srtesian
wells through that section. All that
part of the state lying west Of tho
Missouri river is considered . being
outside Of the artesisn basin. That
section Is underlaid by the same body
Of water that supplies the wells that
lie In that section Of the state known
as the artesian basin, but the main
question lie as to whether the pressure
is great enough to bring, the water =
the surface at this high level, which ID
considerably higher than ttat east Of
the Missouri.
They are now putting down Q test
we'll out near the Rosebud agency that
will have . good deal to do with cot
thing this question.
We have had q pleasant trip 90 TAR.
have had but little trouble ID getting
water, although not always Of the best.
The crops are everywhere In the best
shape, the small grain in particular,
although most Of the corn that 10 have
seen since crossing the Jim river Ii
quite small. We Gre now ct B0nesteel,
Gregory county, where they have suf-
fered 90 much with drouth. The small
grain through here II about Ill safe
from everything except wind " hail,
6nd / can honestly say that It - the
best l have ver .
This . new country, being settled up
In the last three or four years, the Cit
liens being mostly Russians and Boz
heminans, with q visible scarcity Of
Americans. Since leaving Greenwood
We have seen nothing. but cod shantiee
with the exception Of . few stores here
and there.
A great many people undoubtedly
have the impression that this part Of
the state II : barren waste scarcely dt
for grazing purposes, but In my hum
BILE opinion there Il NO part Of the stAte
that lies nicer or II better for raisinG
small grain when there . fair amount
Of rain. The soil Is . rich black loam
with just enough sand 10 make Il work
nicely. With Irrigation this country
can raise A. good crops . any oectiOn
OF the state. +. G. EO1E1E.
About the first thing the writer
heard on the morning Of the Fourth
was . one act comedy s0mething -
follows:
.'say, let's give three cheers Tor No