The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1906-09-21
RIVER TELLS
NO TALES.
SHIFTY GIN RR O N
STREAM Is TREACH
EROUS
RISES IN A VOLCANO
And Disappears From View
at Many Points.

The Cimarrop river rise among Che
yocsaic peaks % aorthea~te-u NV
Mexico ANA carries small volume of
water into Oklahoma. ln New AieNico.
ana To- thirty miles into ob'.homa. the
rvcr flows iu a canyon cu. through Da-
kota sandstone into the slhjacelt red
beds From the sandstone issue s9rilgs
which supply a numbe- Of Intermittent
creeks
The channel Of the Cina-rol In the
upper part of It's coursa is not more
than twenty feet wide and IA CON
fined often 10y mud balls In flowing
out Of the canyon onto the territory
pl.dn. thirty miles east OF the New
Mexico line. the character OF the stream
begins TO change; the channel wldeus
and nlls with sand, the banks become
low. and from this point TO It's mouth
az ordinary stages Of the river the wa
ter wanders about over sandy bsds
AT irregular intervals aloag this river
water sinks into sand and passes be-
meath the surface 10. number ot
miles. Fo instance, f-om the old post-
office OF Metcan okla, to Port o.
Rocks, KAN distance Of twenty-five
miles the channel cf the Cnma ON Of
ten Is d-v but at Poin Of Rocks the
water comes 60 the surface at Wagon
Bed springs famous camp on the
old Santa Fe tran, and the channel o.
usually fun for uumbct ~ miles.
Il gradually sinks again. however
before se ching Oklahoma second
time. so that about the mouth Of
crooked creek the chaan IS often dry
This creek. however is perennial. and
below its mouth the river carries wa
ter fo- many miles
Unul it flows across the salt plains.
/ On northern Woodward county the wa-
4 ter OF the Cim.rron is cure aud sweet
being derived largely fom tertiary
syringe but from this point 1t cou-
tains go much salt that stock viii
scarcely drink t. Salt springs flow
ing from the base OF t~ Gypsum hills
give rise to the Little Salt plains. neaf
the Kansas line. and tho Greit salt
! Plaias. ten miles farther down stream,
The drainage basin Of tho CimaTon
/ Is more regular n outlite ihan that OF
any other oklahoma stream il aver
ages forty miles o. more in width
across the territory aad the stream
l flows approximately equldsant from
] pltNeF OlNlot. ne NdlifA ~ lI'lN i'"
to 500 feet lower than the valley OF
the North Canadian river. which par
alols the Cimarron giver ON the south.
The tributary creeks average thirty
on more miles in length ente- he riv-
on at AN acute angle having a well de-
veloped aadiate drainage and are in
every way normal tributary streams a
fact rathe- unusual amoar the Smaller
creeks Of oklahoma
In Central Oklahoma the chlnuel Of
the Cimauon IS from a quarter of o
mile TO half mile wide with low
sandy banks apS relatively small
amount Of water For part of each
year the river runs drv but ln'e al
othei. streams of the plai7s 70 d. SUBJ
ject 10 sudEn and ra2id RISE at which
time the river VIII often remain haak-
fun for several days.
THE sand partakes Of the nature of
lquicksand. and after -lsv II SIS nsaf.
to attempt 10 cross the river Farthei
east the river enters nndsto1e blun
country and the channe' De- often mar
row. but the characteristic sandy con
dltion prevails 10 its mo, 90.