DUST AND SAND STORMS IN THE WEST. 655 



by Dr. Le Plongeon. Their meaning is " the extinguished," 

 "the snuffed out"; a brief but unquestionable allusion to the 

 deceased. 



There is a fascination about antique pottery. In handling a 

 funeral vase, for instance, one can not help indulging in a little 

 imagination about the scenes which occurred when the object was 

 placed in the tomb. Visions of queer figures and fantastic rites 

 flit before our mind's eye till we shake off the waking dreams, 

 breathing a vain wish that the clay might be endowed with the 

 power to tell, not its own story, but of those events which tran- 

 spired in connection with it. 



DUST AND SAND STORMS IN THE WEST. 



Bv J. A. UDDEN, 



PKOFESSOR OF GEOLOGY AND NATUEAL HISTORY, AUGUSTANA COLLEGE, EOCK ISLAND, ILL. 



FOR some years the writer has been gathering data on the 

 transportation of sand and dust by the atmosphere, with a 

 view of studying the geological significance of these phenomena. 

 Among other sources of information the newspapers have been 

 drawn upon, and it is to the facts gathered from these, and by 

 personal correspondence that it is at present desired to direct 

 attention. The newspaper man may not always state facts with 

 such exactness and precision as would be desirable, but his ubiquity 

 no less than the very conservatism of the scientist, who seeks the 

 broadest possible foundation for all generalizations, combine to 

 give him a function in the investigation of ihe laws of Nature. 

 Of course, it can be only a humble function — that of an observer 

 who is not always to be trusted. For the lack of training or by 

 reason of other shortcomings his accounts of natural phenomena 

 must sometimes be taken cum grano salis. Dust storms occur 

 chiefly over arid lands, and they develop their greatest force 

 mostly only in regions which are but sparsely inhabited, if at all. 

 They are not often witnessed by geologists. As a consequence, 

 they have been but little studied, and it is desirable to collect 

 information from all sources with regard to their nature and 

 occurrence. 



While dust storms are sometimes to be seen east of the Missis- 

 sippi River, they are much more frequent in the arid and semi- 

 arid regions of the western part of the United States, where the 

 rainfall is small. Of the thirty-eight storms found recorded 

 during 1894 and 1895, only one occurred east of the Mississippi. 

 The distribution over the Western States and Territories was as 

 follows : 



