GEOLOGICAL INTEREST NEAR MEDICINE HAT. 157 



advised, if possible, to see Mr. Lawson, for he (Sir William Dawson) 

 was under the impression that there was a mistake in the directions 

 given him. 



On reaching the Coal Mine in August, I at once communicated 

 to Mr. Lawson the results of Sir William Dawson and asked him 

 to examine carefully the sketch and make any corrections he saw 

 necessary. 



Some changes were made and in a few days in company with a 

 gentleman from Medicine Hat, I started with considerable enthusiasm 

 to seek this fossil, around which so much of interest was gathering. 

 It was a very bleak day, when we reached Irvine station and began 

 to wend our way across the flats to the entrance of the ravine. We 

 followed the directions and gradually ascended the hill on the trail, 

 which leads to the Cypress Hills. As soon as the summit was 

 i-eached, and we beheld the complicated nature of the place, an 

 immense central ravine, and innumerable lateral ones, we began to 

 feel that we had undertaken an almost forlorn hope, in setting out 

 to find a particular spot among such hills. The sketch was frequently 

 consulted, but all was obscure in this wild spot. Among the rugged 

 ravines, we climbed hour after hour, seeking in vain the reptile, that 

 had lain so long among these peculiar hills. Though apparently 

 unsuccessful at first, still much was seen that was exceedingly inter- 

 esting and instructive. The effect of "weathering" upon the docks' 

 of this place is astonishing. So striking is the lesult, that my 

 companion fi'equently observed, "It looks as if some of these hills 

 had been pounded to pieces." Among the debiis, we observed 

 numerous crystals of Selenite, which appeared to have been in the 

 upper layers of the clay. Some of these were very perfect and of 

 all sizes and in some parts A-ery numerous indeed. From their 

 occurrence in these argillaceous strata, this mineral seems to have 

 resulted from the decomposition of some iron compound and its 

 reaction on the carbonate of lime in the clays. 



Sulphide of iron may have been present and oxidized into the 

 sulphate of the protoxide of iron, which becoming decomposed by 

 the bicai'bonate of lime, would give rise to sulphate of lime and 

 carbonate of iron, the former separating out in the form of the 

 ci-ystals already referred to, and the latter remaining as ii'onstone. 

 We also found many fragments of large shells resembling the 



