2 3 8 HUNTING TRIPS 



and thronged they would seem to be most un- 

 likely places for deer, yet black-tail are very 

 fond of them, and are very apt to be found 

 among them. Often in the cold fall morn- 

 ings they will lie out among the boulders. 

 on the steep side of such a scoria butte, 

 sunning themselves, far from any cover ex- 

 cept a growth of brushwood in the bottom 

 



of the dry creeks or coulies. The grass on 

 top of and between these scoria buttes is 

 often very nutritious, and cattle are also 

 fond of it. The higher buttes are choice 

 haunts of the mountain sheep. 



Nineteen twentieths of the Bad Lands, 

 however, owe their origin not to volcanic 

 action but to erosion and to the peculiar 

 weathering forces always at work in the 

 dry climate of the plains. Geologically the 

 land is for the most part composed of a set 

 of parallel, perfectly horizontal strata, of 

 clay, marl, or sandstone, which, being of dif- 

 ferent degrees of hardness, offer some more 

 and some less resistance to the action of the 

 weather. The table-lands, peaks, cliffs, and 



