TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL MEETING, 109 
deposits. If the Smoky Hill at one time flowed south into the Arkansas, then 
one of a number of conditions must have obtained. 
First. The Saline could have received a short tributary from the southwest, 
occupying the position the Smoky now has throughout that part of its course 
above Salina where it flows north. The source of this tributary could have grad- 
ually migrated southwestward by natural processes until it captured the Smoky 
at the point of the big curve in the present river. The accumulation of sand 
above referred to along the northern side of the Arkansas would have assisted 
this by elevating the mouth of the old Smoky. But unfortunately for this view 
no portion of its course south of McPherson is as high as the high McPherson 
ridge, which is 1,500 feet A. T. near McPherson to the north. Were this formed 
by the natural filling-up process in the old valley of the Smoky before its capture, 
we should find some evidence of a corresponding filling further up stream in the 
present valley, and a widening of the valley corresponding somewhat to the 
present valley occupied by the Equus beds. No such filling or widening is notice- 
able. Further, at all points above the McPherson ridge, the bottom of the chan- 
nel must have been at least as high as the ridge, and a short distance away it 
must have been higher. At present, one must pass up stream, at least 30 miles, 
to above Ellsworth, before the river channel has an elevation of 1,500 feet. After 
the capture, on account of the Saline being so much lower than the Smoky in its 
hypothetical position, a rapid deepening of the channel would have occurred 
through a distance of from 30 to 50 miles above Salina, and a new flood plain, 
the present one, would have been formed. No such phenomena have been ob- 
served. The present wide valley above Salina also somewhat opposes this view, 
as it is difficult to understand how the short tributary supposed to have captured 
the Smoky could have produced so wide a valley, while its width and depth at 
present between Lindsborg and Salina seem altogether too great to have been 
excavated since the deposition of the Equus beds. The Smoky Hill buttes, 
Soldier Cap mound, Iron mound, and North Pole mound register the ancient 
elevation of the surface of Saline county, and indicate the removal of over 200 
feet of material, consisting of Dakota sandstone and shales and Permian shales, 
from the entire valley, which is nine miles wide in its widest place, including Dry 
Creek valley. The valley between the Smoky Hill river and Dry creek is now 
largely covered with Pleistocene river deposits, with occasional mounds of Per- 
mian shale rising to the surface. The average width of this valley is ahout 214 
miles, over which the sand and clay average about 35 to 40 feet in thickness. The 
bed of Dry creek is about on a level with the bed of the Smoky Hill river, and 
during very high water in the latter it overflows its banks at Bridgeport, and 
part of the water runs down Dry creek and empties into the Saline north of 
Salina. 
Second. It may be supposed that at one time the Saline and the Smoky 
flowed south into the Arkansas, joining each other at the big curve in the Smoky 
south of Salina. In this case a short tributary of the Solomon, occupying the 
present position of the Smoky between Salina and Solomon City, would have 
been the capturing stream, tapping the Saline near Salina, and ultimately caus- 
ing the Smoky to flow up the old Saline channel from the point of confluence of 
the two streams to the point of capture. The whole valley of the Saline, there- 
fore, must have been elevated above the McPherson ridge, and probably would 
have had a flood plain of considerable width, while the flood plain of the upper 
Smoky would have been about the same as above given in the first supposition. 
When the capture was made, the great fall from this supposed elevation at Sa- 
lina to Solomon City would have caused a rapid deepening of the channel in both 
