Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-08-13

way down and stopped at the towns OF
Minco and Chickasha for supplies.
They are excellent towns, new. and
have fiourishing mills. Chickasha has
a population of 5000 and has electric
lights. We passed into the new coun-
Try again west of Chickasha and found
the same rolling land and red soil.
Red Land Districts.
The land at the head of the draws
in the red land districts has been
washed and blown out leaving red
banks in every direction from five to
twenty feet high and from square
rod to several acres in extent. This
spoils good deal of the land for any
purpose.
keeche Hill Country.
This condition prevails until one
reaches the vicinity of the Keeche
Hills when the land becomes rougher
and sander and is covered with tim
Der, most of it sparcely but some of
it thicllly, the post oak and black oak
predominating. Some of the Keeche
Hills seem to be two Or three hundred
feet high and are capped with what APP
pears to be limestone formation
which has prevented them from break
ing down with the surrounding coun-
try.
South Of the Hills.
The country south of the hills is I'M
derlined with gypsum which crops out
in many places. Ft Sill is a well reg
ulated military post with postoffice,
two stores, ice plant. waterworls and
sewerage system. We spent few
days up in the mountains prospecting
and sightseeing. The valley between
the mountains are from quarter mile
to two or three miles wide and lie level
like bottom land. Much of it would
make splendid farm lands while some
of it is too rocky for blowing. 1t is
very fine grazing land, the grass grow
ing more luXuriant there than down
on the lower land. The rock formal
ton of the mountains is of red granite
turned on edge and topsy turvy by
Natures dynamite; all scanned and
cracked in every conceivable way,
with here and there where the noun
tain streams have cut through it the
black lava in streaks from six inches
to a foot wide shows itself where it
made its way up through the cracks
in the rocks at the time of the up.
heaval.
The Mountains.
The approach to Mt. Scott is very
gradual. One can drive right up to
the base of the mountain. To look at
the mountain one thinks it would be
a small affair to ascend to the top but
hafnrn holt hn M
it long and rugged climb over rocks
of all sizes and shape that have tumb-
led from place and are gradually set
ting down the mountain. There is
scrub walnut and cedar timber grow
ing among the rocks wherever trees
can get a hold, all the way from base
to summit. Nearly all the walnut
trees are full of walnuts about the size
of small marble. They will never
get large enough to be of any account.
Water Supply.
All the water we could get to drink
was what rain water had collected
in the depressions in the rocks only
a few pints at place. and it was
well favored with cedar boughs.
The view from the summit is very
fine. We could see Fort Sill and the
tents at Lawton and the other noun
tains to the north and west. The de-
scent is more tiresome and dangerous
than the ascent as one is liable to go
too fast and get a fall. One of our
parry had an ankle. sprained and boy
got his knee badly bruised. We had
a miner in our party and we did some
prospecting for gold, finding plenty Of
black sand but the miner failed to get
the color. Yet We hear reports of
gold. lead and the blossoms of zinc
being found but have no faith in the
reports.
Mountain Streams.
Those mountain springs we read SO
much about are as far as We could
find nothing but a myth. All the water
in the streams in the mountains is
nothing but pure rain water, soft and
good for bathing. The only way we
could get any water fit to drink was to
set bucket or key in the sand let the
water filter into it as the water in the
streams is being contaminated bv neo-
..a H v