GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITOKIES. 301 



rnpidly disappearing as we move westward. As we approach Tlobart 

 iStatioli we enter upon a l)«iaatifal undulating prairie, with a dark, rich 

 surface-soil, but I noticed here that it is underlaid with a heavj^ gravel- 

 deposit, which even a single furrow of the i)low exposes to view. As 

 we move on the surface becomes sligiitl.y more rolling, not broken, but 

 gracefully rounded into hillocks, ridges, and valleys, with here and 

 there groves of oaks on the hillocks and along the banks of the streams. 

 We are now in that section which I have heretofore spoken of as being 

 the prettiest portion of the State, a description of which need not be 

 repeated here. This beautiful undulating prairie-belt, with its green 

 sward, occasional oak groves, (but these gradually disappear aft-L'r we 

 j)ass Detroit Lake,) and numerous clear lakelets continue until we begin 

 to descend the divide into the valley of Eed Kiver. The soil is a rich, 

 dark loam ; the subsoil appears to be composed generally of gravel and 

 clay, with a marly appearance, mixed with bowlders, the former decreas- 

 ing and the latter increa«iug — in proportion — as we move westward. 

 The bowlders are mostly gray or red granite, though some of other 

 rocks were seen. 



I may remark, in passing, that I noticed the cuts through this hilly 

 portion very carefully, to see if there was any evidence of stratitied 

 rocks or rocks of any kind in ])osition ; but no sign of such ro(;ks were 

 seen. At some points there are large accumulations of bowlders, but all 

 these hills and the entire surface-material for a considerable depth are 

 evidently drift. 



The descent to the valley of Eed River is very gradual along the line 

 of the road, but from the valley it is very apparent, rising up in the 

 form of a sloping bluff. It is unnecessary to repeat the description of 

 this valley; the surface-soil is black muck some 4 to 6 feet deep, the 

 first 2 feet being tilled with a matted mass of grass-roots; the subsoil, 

 as will be seen from the following record of the boring for an Artesian 

 well at Fargo, is blue clay, which is very tenacious. The margins of 

 the streams in this valley are lined with a narrow strip of timber, chiefly 

 oak, with some elm. 



The following is the record of the boring of the Artesian well at 

 Fargo, so far as it had penetrated at the time I last visited that point, 

 (September 3, 1872 :) 



Feet. 



Soil 3 



White and yellow (or drab) clay 50 



Flue dark clay 42 



Small stoue and gravel , 10 



Hard clay (" hard pan ") mixed with gravel and bowlders 115 



Soft, dark-blue eJiale 32 



Coarse sand-rock (i 



Soapalone 4 



After piercing the sand-rock water rose to within some 10 or 12 feet 

 of the surface, with an apparently good supply. The depth of the well 

 at that time was 2G2 feet, and the boring had stopped with little pros- 

 pect then of being continued, as Mr. Barker, superintendent of the work, 

 thought it useless to go farther, it being his opinion that the next rock 

 will be the igneous or metamorphic. As will be seen from this, one 

 drawback in this rich valley is the difficulty of obtaining a supply of 

 water. 



The next line passed over in Minnesota was that leading from Saint 

 Paul to Breckenridge — a branch of the Saint Paul and Pacific — a distance 

 of two hundred and seventeen miles. The following is an abstract of 

 the notes taken at the time I passed over this road : 



