The Opelousas courier., 1897-04-24
CURIOUS ROCKS.
Strange Formations Found on the
Kansas Prairies.
Great Stones With the Marks Of
Waves on Their Sides.

hAiAS klo LII
press tue traveller wei the prairies Of
northwest Kansas is the prevalence of
strange rock formations that are as
Wild and weird as any found in the
mountain regions. Separated, as
they are, from tho ranges of hills
hundreds Of miles to the west, they
are the 11ore surprising, ana few are
aware OF their existence. The state
OF Kansas, so far from beinga plain,
is really an inclined parallelogram set
on o steep grade. The western end is
5000 feet higher in the air than the
eastern, and the traveller finds thas
he is all the time getting further
from the vegetation OF the lower re.
gions as he goes west, until he has come
to the foothills of tho Rockies. That
this section was at one time the bed of
an ancient sea is probable; indeed, it
is manifest from the appearance of
great basins that are not connected
with any other depressions on the
plains. Scattered among these are
the rock formations that nave been
the awe-inspiring features of the land
scape for the Indians and a never.fail-
ing source of interest to tho white
man. So strange are they that it al
most seems that they must have been
the work of the Titans Of old, rather
than the forces OF nature working in
a simple and ordinary Il Take
Castle Rock, out in Cove County, on
the very outskirts of the plains, where
the rock rises oyer 100 feet from the
dead level of the prairie and is n land
mark for miles. The settlers go there
for miles to spend the day climbing
the smooth sides. cit eeIs like
being back in the old mountain
regions of the East" said one of the
residents of this strange section, Sand
I like to 60 and look at ii, just to see
something different from the everlast-
ing level lands" The rock is the only
one for scores of miles, and is almost
the only portion OF land in the
country that is above the level Of the
plain. It is said that the Indians had
it as q council rock, and that many OF
the desperate deeds done by the Apa-
ches were planned under its shadow
Biologists say that this is one Of the
peaks Of a mountain range that once
was in existence in this part of the
west
Bat what shall they say of Rock
City, in the edge of Ottawa County:
This is probably the most curious ar
rangement of stones to be found IN the
whole prairie region. II one APP
proaches it in the evening he would
feel sure that it was the home OF E
race of gnomes that had fashioned fol
themselves the mound-like structure!
that are the semblance of dwellings,
Set among gently sloping hills, they
are scattered in a quaint disorder owe
several acres, and are in size from thu
small blocks the shape OF a bushe
measure to the round, tent-like masses
MS large as the huts of the Icelander
They arc all water washed, and have
the marks of wave on their sides. On
Of the Illusions of their position is tn
ono that they have dropped dow
!, from the sky, and have not bee1
formed from the usual course Q
events. Twenty miles southeast, !
the edge of this county Dickinson
are a similar series Of rocks set on til
tops of two hills. The hills are tn
tallest in the vicinity, and after on
, climbs them it is passing strange t
End in the tops the large rocks tina
) have no connection with the surround
ing sections landscape. Curious fea'
ures of these rocks are the depres
!, sions that are found in them, as
great drops of rain had fallen in tn
aoft mass of molten Stag and left thel
impress.-Correspondence st. Loui
r Globe.D Democrat.