﻿288 
  EEPOET 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  scribed 
  by 
  himself. 
  Of 
  these, 
  five 
  are 
  from 
  the 
  Niobrara 
  beds 
  of 
  Kan- 
  

   sas. 
  To 
  this 
  we 
  have 
  added 
  two 
  species, 
  making 
  (as 
  some 
  others 
  are 
  

   not 
  yet 
  fully 
  identified) 
  at 
  least 
  seven 
  from 
  Kansas. 
  Five 
  of 
  these 
  are 
  

   so 
  anomalous 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  provided 
  with 
  jaws 
  and 
  teeth. 
  These 
  Professor 
  

   Marsh 
  described 
  as 
  a 
  sub-class, 
  OdontornitJies.* 
  In 
  the 
  Odontolcce, 
  we 
  

   have 
  birds 
  of 
  the 
  largest 
  class 
  of 
  aquatics, 
  measuring 
  5 
  to 
  6 
  feet 
  in 
  

   height. 
  The 
  teeth 
  are 
  set 
  in 
  grooves 
  in 
  the 
  jaws. 
  The 
  wings 
  are 
  very 
  

   rudimentary, 
  too 
  weak 
  for 
  flight. 
  The 
  Odontotormw^ 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  

   are 
  small, 
  with 
  strong 
  wings, 
  giving 
  great 
  power 
  of 
  flight, 
  and 
  the 
  teeth 
  

   are 
  set 
  in 
  sockets. 
  And 
  what 
  is 
  more 
  singular, 
  the 
  vertebrae 
  are 
  bicon- 
  

   cave, 
  like 
  a 
  fish, 
  but 
  still 
  retaining 
  the 
  internal 
  bone-structure 
  of 
  the 
  

   bird. 
  Bones 
  of 
  the 
  legs 
  and 
  wings 
  were 
  of 
  the 
  usual 
  bird 
  structure. 
  

   This 
  was 
  found 
  by 
  the 
  writer 
  and 
  first 
  described 
  by 
  Professor 
  Marsh 
  in 
  

   the 
  American 
  Journal 
  of 
  Science, 
  vol. 
  iv, 
  p. 
  314, 
  and 
  illustrated 
  in 
  vol. 
  

   X, 
  p. 
  402. 
  Professor 
  Marsh 
  has 
  now 
  in 
  press 
  a 
  monograph 
  on 
  the 
  Cre- 
  

   taceous 
  birds, 
  where 
  all 
  will 
  be 
  fully 
  described 
  and 
  illustrated. 
  

  

  The 
  ravines 
  of 
  the 
  Niobrara 
  exhibit 
  many 
  features 
  in 
  common 
  with 
  

   the 
  canons 
  of 
  the 
  bad 
  lands 
  of 
  Dakota 
  and 
  Nebraska, 
  but 
  on 
  a 
  diminu- 
  

   tive 
  scale. 
  When 
  a 
  firm 
  layer 
  of 
  chalky 
  limestone 
  overlies 
  others 
  of 
  a 
  

   softer 
  texture, 
  a 
  narrow 
  groove 
  will 
  be 
  cut 
  through 
  the 
  top, 
  and 
  then 
  

   the 
  wear 
  goes 
  on 
  rapidly 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  grounds. 
  Fre- 
  

   quently 
  such 
  canons 
  will 
  be 
  100 
  feet 
  long, 
  15 
  or 
  20 
  feet 
  deep, 
  and 
  but 
  2 
  

   feet 
  across 
  the 
  top, 
  being 
  wider 
  below 
  than 
  above. 
  These 
  occur 
  near 
  

   each 
  other, 
  and 
  then 
  the 
  ravines 
  become 
  quite 
  labyrinthine 
  ; 
  an 
  intri- 
  

   cate 
  place 
  for 
  hunters 
  or 
  their 
  enemies 
  to 
  hide. 
  When 
  these 
  partitions 
  

   between 
  the 
  canons 
  become 
  detached 
  from 
  the 
  hillsides 
  and 
  divided 
  into 
  

   sections, 
  they 
  stand 
  as 
  isolated 
  columns. 
  Such 
  are 
  the 
  well-known 
  

   Monument 
  Eocks 
  of 
  the 
  Smoky 
  Hill 
  Valley, 
  in 
  Wallace 
  County, 
  and 
  

   Castle 
  Eocks, 
  of 
  Ellis 
  County. 
  The 
  former 
  stand 
  as 
  detached 
  pillars, 
  

   20 
  to 
  40 
  feet 
  high, 
  in 
  the 
  valley, 
  at 
  quite 
  a 
  distance 
  from 
  the 
  nearest 
  

   parent 
  bluffs. 
  In 
  the 
  latter 
  example, 
  at 
  the 
  extreme 
  western 
  angle, 
  a 
  

   pillar 
  like 
  a 
  detached 
  bastion 
  stands 
  200 
  yards 
  from 
  the 
  Castle, 
  60 
  

   or 
  70 
  feet 
  high, 
  and 
  only 
  20 
  feet 
  through 
  the 
  base. 
  The 
  top 
  is 
  limestone, 
  

   then 
  chalk, 
  while 
  the 
  base 
  is 
  firm 
  blue 
  shale. 
  The 
  valley 
  around 
  is 
  per- 
  

   fectly 
  level. 
  At 
  the 
  eastern 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  Castle 
  several 
  smaller 
  pillars 
  

   seem 
  to 
  stand 
  as 
  sentinels 
  in 
  that 
  direction. 
  The 
  top' 
  of 
  the 
  Castle, 
  

   overlooking 
  all, 
  is 
  covered 
  by 
  10 
  feet 
  of 
  Pliocene 
  sandstone. 
  The 
  

   writer 
  regrets 
  that 
  these 
  fanciful 
  rocks 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  photographed, 
  so 
  

   that 
  twenty 
  years 
  later 
  other 
  photographs 
  might 
  show 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  abra- 
  

   sion. 
  Eain, 
  frost, 
  and 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  ruthless 
  men 
  are 
  destroying 
  many 
  

   of 
  these 
  unique 
  pinnacles. 
  

  

  The 
  soil 
  overlying 
  the 
  Niobrara 
  group 
  being 
  formed 
  primarily 
  by 
  

   good 
  proportions 
  of 
  chalk, 
  clay, 
  and 
  sand, 
  and 
  subsequently 
  intermin- 
  

   gled 
  with 
  organic 
  matter, 
  is 
  rich 
  and 
  fertile. 
  On 
  the 
  high 
  prairie 
  the 
  

   loam 
  is 
  from 
  1 
  to 
  3 
  feet 
  deep, 
  while 
  on 
  the 
  bottoms 
  it 
  is 
  deeper 
  but 
  iu- 
  

   clined 
  to 
  be 
  too 
  sandy. 
  The 
  want 
  of 
  rain 
  in 
  July, 
  August, 
  and 
  Septem- 
  

   ber, 
  west 
  of 
  Fort 
  Hays, 
  renders 
  agriculture 
  unprofitable. 
  The 
  wild 
  

   grasses, 
  consisting 
  of 
  several 
  varieties 
  of 
  buflfalo 
  grasses 
  and 
  blue- 
  

   joint, 
  are 
  admirably 
  adapted 
  to 
  withstand 
  drought, 
  and 
  make 
  excellent 
  

   food 
  for 
  cattle 
  and 
  sheep. 
  As 
  a 
  home 
  for 
  stock-raisers 
  it 
  has 
  few 
  equals. 
  

  

  Aq 
  opinion 
  is 
  prevalent 
  that 
  the 
  region 
  covered 
  by 
  the 
  Niobrara 
  

   Tertiary 
  is 
  largely 
  supplied 
  by 
  alkali 
  plains 
  and 
  alkali 
  springs. 
  This 
  is 
  

   a 
  mistake. 
  After 
  more 
  than 
  ten 
  years' 
  acquaintance 
  with 
  it, 
  I 
  have 
  not 
  

   seen 
  two 
  acres 
  together 
  where 
  the 
  vegetation 
  has 
  been 
  killed 
  by 
  it, 
  or 
  

  

  *Araer. 
  Journal 
  of 
  Science, 
  November, 
  1875, 
  p. 
  403. 
  

  

  