TEE RIVER BLUFFS. 485 



Of the various substances which compose the fossil after petrifaction, 

 lime is the most common ; carbon and silica (quartz) are the next most 

 common. Yegetables most commonly change to carbon in the transforma- 

 tion to silica. We have frequently seen wood in the Cretaceous deposits, 

 where a portion of the fibre was still carbon, and other portions pure quarts, 

 both showing the annual Vine's and cell structure. 



THE RIVER BLUFFS.* 

 BY PROF. JOHN D. PARKER, OF KANSAS CITY. 



Chief among influences moulding a people are those derived from Nature. 

 Lilie odors distilled from flowers, or colors playing in sunbeams, the subtle 

 powers of Nature elude analysis. But as the crystal lake mirrors the land- 

 scape which environs it, so Nature is reflected in any people. In the moun- 

 tains of G-reece we find the greatest issthetical development of the Old World. 

 Italy with Jts sunshine and flowers, its brilliant skies and out-door life, 

 developed an indolent but happ}' people. The canton sprang up amidst the 

 eternal mountains and Alpine glaciers of Switzerland. England, with its 

 comparatively immense shore-line, its fogs distilled from the Grulf stream, 

 and its pastoral lands, developed a strong but phlegmatic race. The New 

 England hills naturally moulded a people possessing the highest and best 

 traits in man. Muscular development was required to subdue Nature, in- 

 telligence evolved in developing and applying science to industrj', culture 

 was inwroughtand polished manners ground out bj^ the attrition of society, 

 and art was engendered by the luxuries which Nature offers to those who 

 hang over with delight and feast upon landscapes. During our civil strife, 

 the love of liberty was found strongly intrenched in the mountainous dis- 

 tricts of West Virginia, Norch Carolina and East Tennessee. 



It is the purpose of this paper to inquire. What has Nature done for the 

 higher development of the dwellers on the great central plains of the North 

 American continent ? 



In wealth and variety of soil the greitt plains are justly celebrated. 

 Nothing can exceed the depth and fertility of the 'alluvial deposits. The 

 cereals of the temperate zone grow with almost spontaneity. The sacred 

 phrase has its counterpart, a thousand cattle on a hill. With mineral 

 resources Nature has stored her secret chambers. The offerings of grains 

 and fruits and flowers are in profusion. But what keeps a people living 

 among such luxuries from indolence and retrogradation ? 



Among Nature's opposing forces may be placed river bluff's, an American 

 term applied to cliffs or high banks overhanging streams. The river bluffs 

 •constitute an important element in the physical features of the West. The 

 Mississippi Eiver and its numerous and powerful affluents nearly always 

 flow between these bluffs, rising in places as massive walls, and sloping back 

 .sometimes for miles from the river on either side with decreasing undula- 



* Read belore the Kansas Academy of Science, 1S76. 



