366 ON THE ETHNOGRAPHY AND PHILOLOGY OF THE 
white man buried beneath. Unnatural noises are said to be heard, which, whether ori- 
ginating in their fancy, or caused by wild beasts, are thought to be the moans of the great 
white giant when pressed upon by rocks, as a punishment for being the first aggressor on 
their territory. They say that he issues forth occasionally, and his tracks seen in the snow 
are twenty feet in length. He is condemned to perpetual incarceration under the moun- 
tain as an example to all white men to leave the Indians in quiet possession of their 
hunting grounds. This story, though fabulous, shows their ancient and intense repug- 
nance to the encroachments of other and distinct races. 
Southeast of the Black Hills is a large area of country known as the ‘“ Mauvaises 
Terres,” or “ Bad Lands,” which is very remarkable for its unique scenery and the organic 
remains entombed in its strata. The portion of country to which this name has been espe- 
cially applied is about one hundred and fifty miles in length, and sixty miles in width. 
There are many other portions of the Northwest to which this term is applicable, but no 
other area so large possesses this uniform character. It is hardly possible to describe this 
singular country. Along White River, for sixty miles in length and fifteen to twenty in 
breadth, the country presents the appearance in the distance of one vast city, and but 
little imagination is required to see immense public edifices, towers, churches, &c., with 
people on their summits. What tends to make the illusion more perfect, is that the 
mountain sheep (Ovis montana), sometimes alone and sometimes in small bands, are seen 
on the tops of these towers, several hundred feet high, and entirely inaccessible to the ap- 
proach of man. Here they remain in security, rolling their large horns from side to side, 
and casting suspicious glances at the traveller below. It is somewhat strange that this 
animal should prefer the most rugged and inaccessible places where scarcely a spear of - 
grass is seen, and no shrubs but here and there a solitary bunch of stinted sage. A few 
small grassy spots, like oases, are found in this region low down at the base of these lofty 
ridges and towers, to which the mountain sheep descend early in the morning to feed. 
Although the absence of vegetation in their favorite places of resort would induce the 
belief that they fared badly, yet when killed they are invariably fat, and the meat is su- 
perior even to that of our domestic sheep. ‘The Indians prize it next to the meat of the 
buffalo. The road from Fort Pierre across the country to Fort Laramie runs directly 
through this region, and is the only road that can be travelled with safety with carts or 
wagons. In the spring of 1855, the writer passed up the valley of White River with 
carts, but scarcely a day passed that they were not upset, and their contents more or less 
injured. Water is very scarce, though a few springs and small streams occur, and these 
are of great importance to the Indian as he winds his devious way through this region, 
But the objects of the greatest interest to the scientific man, and curiosity to the Indian 
and yoyageur, are the organic remains which abound here. ‘They consist for the most 
