4 Erivin Hinckley Barbour 



distinct Loup Fork Tertiary, as recently identified by Dr. J. L. 

 "Wortman, its entire thickness being about 200 to 300 meters. 

 The topmost sixty or seventy meters constitute the Daemonelis: 

 beds. The surface configuration of these beds is bold and rug- 

 ged. Subjected as they are to excessive erosion, and to the vio- 

 lence of unbroken winds, the surface is characterized by bare 

 lauds, by draws and canyons, by blow-outs, bluffs, and buttes. In 

 all these exposures Daemonelix is an ever-present and conspicu- 

 ous feature. It intrudes itself upon you at every turn. On lands 

 laid bare by erosion the half-exposed and weathered tops of 

 countless Daemonelix project. There they stand bolt upright 

 till overthrown by the elements. We have picked our way 

 through acres of these fallen spirals. In wails, bluffs, and 

 buttes, they are particularly accessible to the collector. 



It is apparent at a glance that they flourished in numbers 

 of which one can form no conception. Growing closely packed 

 side by side, they are often inextricably tangled and fused to- 

 gether. We have counted as many as twenty or thirty in the 

 space occupied by an ordinary dwelling house. We have 

 often destroyed several while digging out one. 



Two forms, from their very size and perfect symmetry, force 

 themselves into prominence at once; those with an axis, and 

 those without. 



However modified in form, however varying in size, whether 

 no larger in diameter than saucers, or greater than cart wheels, 

 they are constant in that they are invariably upright. They 

 are entirely inconstant in the direction of the twist, being in- 

 discriminately right-handed or left-handed screws. After 

 examining great numbers, I am unable to say whether the 

 greater nu-mber twists to the right or left. 



At first we supposed the free spirals to be rare, as compared 

 with those having an axis; but later study, especially in the 

 expedition of 1895, led us to a realization of the fact that, 

 out of all examined, very few had an axis. 



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