The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-04-25

so faint that they ordinarily escape
detection. As the river shifted south,
ward it cut deeper and deeper 80
that the floor of the old valley slopes
to the southwark
The bills we're seen TO be due 60
small branches from the river, like
beaoches trom a tree. growing back-
ward into the country, forming the
valley walls By gnawing away up at
their heads and thus lengtheniog them.
selves just as hillside grows up bill.
10 this way they have grown backward
from the river number of miles and
have easen out valleys for themselves
az we'll as put out their ovo little side
streams. thus cutting up the oouotry
aloug the valley wall ioto series OF
hills. By goiog back some miles from
the river the bead waters Of the side
streams are reached. aud the surface,
90 longer deeply trencbed BY these side
stream valleys. becomes nuch more
| level.
Oo their way back to the train the
party searched for but were unable to
fod 10 the few niDutes left them
natural break kuown as the devils
footprint, an impression in stone 90
the bluff said to resemble the print of
club foot and to have been made by his
majesty 10 stepping from the Orange
burg side of tho valley wall to the
eastero wall of the Wa,eree valley 10
the high hills Of Sumter
The traio was taken for Sumter
Junction 10 the eastern edge Of the
Wa'eree swamp. A few minutes walk
took the party to high bluff where the
railroad. 10 leaving the Wateree swamp,
cuts slightly into the eastern valley
wall Here the Potomac formation was
again seen magoidcentIy exposed, aud
on it rested few feet Of red Lafayette
sands 10 the Potomac at this point
are found beautifully preserved plaot
leav It is ooted as the on = locality
so far as is known from which coilec,
siops of plant fossils have been made
10 South Carolina They were discov-
cred some years ago AID collection
has since been made for the national
museum 10 Washington. They tell OF
time io the distant past when the
streams carried into the lagoops or
shallow fresh or braokisb waters then
covering this region the leaves of the
trees and plants thas grew along their
banks, where they settled to the bottom,
we're buried 10 the 6ue mud and have
left The impress of even their most
delicate markings as the mud hardened
into stone. From ,teir study one looks
far back toto the geologic past and joins
kuo@ledge of the fora Of the Potomac
time aud OF the climate that then pre-
vailed both are thus shown TO be
different from what ee have here today.
After lunch and tramp of about
four miles the elias. reached the deep
cut Just west Of Wedgefeid. At the
base the Potomac was again foucd, and
on the surfacs the Lafayette, but
between them we,e found some other
form atiops that had not been seeo pre-
viously The Potomac is the oldest of
the formations of the coastal plain ; the
Lafayette ie amoog the youngest
These other formations are of interme-
date age and so were laid dowu en- the
Potomac and before the Lafayette, but
if they had ever existed at the other
places examined by the class they bad
been entirely worn away. The Two
lowest Of them we're dark colored. one
of fiue black clay. the other partly OF
green sand.
They probsbly belong to the marine
cretacious, while the next bed resting
on them is a peculiarly light cream
colored clay containing numerous casts
of SHELLS that show it to be probably OF
Eoceoe age. Both the dark aud the
light materials prove that in the long
ago, when they were formed, old ocean
rolled it waves where they now rest
and fish and other marine animals
spor,ed in it's waters and, dying, left
their shells as memorials of their
existence.
Dolly a basty exsmiuatioo was made
here before the party had to begin the
tramp back to Camden Junction. where
the afternoon train vas taken for Co.
lumb:a The State, April l9
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