PAPERS ON GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY 207 



three or four miles to its junction with Bay Creek near the 

 spring which is not remarkable except that it is near a popu- 

 lar camping place. A better way is to drive over a good road 

 to the head of Clarida Branch and pitch camp under the over- 

 hanging cliff near the cool waters of Clarida Spring, which is 

 only a few hundred feet from the head of this valley. Here 

 the water, for a few minutes only after a rain, flows in tor- 

 rents from an extensive rock basin above and over the cliff, 

 which overhangs as much as 30 feet. 



Just beyond the cascade we climb upon fallen rock masses 

 onto the "Indian Ladder," a cedar trunk which has positively 

 remained loose in this place for three generations, and, ac- 

 cording to tradition, was there when the first white men came. 



Cross over the ridge to the left of Clarida Branch to an- 

 other valley and enter the great Sand Cave, a dome-shaped 

 room in the solid sandstone cliff whose interior dimensions 

 are 142x116 feet, and whose arched roof is 21 feet high. A 

 large drove of horses, mules and cattle finds shelter here from 

 cold in winter and from heat in summer. Situated near any 

 large city and floored, it would yield a fortune as a dancing 

 hall, always dry, always cool, but never cold. Along the curv- 

 ing cliff at most places the softer rocks below have disappeared, 

 but, close to the cave opening, for 150 feet, the overhanging 

 cliff has fallen off and lies a crumbling mass on the slope be- 

 low, leaving the smooth new face of the cliff in view. And 

 the trees have grown since the cliff fell. 



Back over the ridge and on down Clarida Branch we pass 

 toad-stool formations imitating those in the Garden of the 

 Gods, but mostly hidden in the thick brush. A balanced rock 

 40x50 feet and 35 feet high stands on a triangular base only 

 20x20x10 feet, but is too densely hid by shrubs and trees to be 

 photographed. 



Clarida Branch joins Bay Creek near the Belle Smith 

 Spring. Bay Creek, after it leaves the hills and enters the 

 old river valley, for 33 miles, is very sluggish and muddy anc 

 has a current upstream in flood time, as mentioned before. In 

 the upper seven miles of its course it has a fall of 300 feet, and 

 is clear and bordered by perpendicular bluffs. A few hundred 

 feet above where it is forded at the mouth of Clarida Branch, 



