EXPLORATIONS IN NORTHEASTERN OREGON. 675 
I discovered a bed of shaly clay, filled with the impressions of ercotyledonous 
plants and fish bones ; near by was a large clay bank in which I saw an example 
of insects taking advantage of their environments. They were common mud 
wasps, and instead of making the ordinary mud nest, in which to deposit their 
eggs, they had dug circular holes into the clay bank, deposited their eggs, and 
the food for the larva, and closed the mouth with mud; the whole face of the 
bank was honey-combed in this way. A short distance below this place I 
found a ledge of soft clay stone that was so light that it floated in the water when 
thrown into the river. It will become valuable I think for making dynamite, as 
it must be a great absorber. Doubtless the ancients used such clay to make 
their floating bricks with. 
Near the gorge in the John Day River we went into camp and prepared to 
pack our horses and go into the basin, as the fossil beds were called. Nearly all 
our work after that had to be done by means of pack animals, as there were only 
narrow bridle trails leading across the country. A good pack-horse will carry 
from 300 to 400 pounds on its back all day. At this place the John Day River, 
which had been flowing due west skirting the base of the mountains, made a 
right angle and going directly north cut a gorge about 500 feet deep right through 
the heart of the mountains, which were largely composed of basalt and other 
volcanic rocks. On the south side of the gorge lie the beds of the old Pliocene 
lakes. They are drab colored and wash easily, making picturesque hills, ridges, 
mounds, etc. They are topped by a thick bed of compact volcanic sand and 
ashes, which resemble, I am told, the material that covers the buried cities of 
Herculaneum and Pompeii. This great Pliocene lake had an outlet through the 
mountains by a great water-fall which had worked its way back until it cut out 
the gorge that emptied the lake. When we got in sight of the basin a beautiful 
view presented itself to us. The basin or cove is a semi-circular valley cut out 
of the mountains. From the water's edge to a height of about 500 feet were the 
brilliantly colored beds of the old miocene lake deposit, deep red, yellow, orange 
and green. They were principally of clay and are cut in the ordinary Bad Land 
scenery. Above is one escarpment above another of basaltic columns; these 
are often perfect prisms of from six to eight sides. On the very summit are 
forests of pines, their green blending with the rocks below, making very 
pretty scenery. We went into camp near a large fossil field and went enthusias- 
tically to work. Very dangerous we found it clinging to the almost perpendicular 
bluffs or cutting niches for our feet as we made our way up some steep ascent, 
where jnc "nisstep would hurl us into a deep gorge below. From the valley we ap- 
peared very small clinging to perpendicular walls. Our toils were well rewarded, 
as nature always does reward persistent effort in searching for her buried trea- 
sures. 
One unaccustomed to this kind of work would soon be convinced that no 
specimens could be found. We often searched a week, or more, with no suc- 
cess, and then perhaps found perfect specimens in the ground we had looked 
over again and again. Perhaps only the point of a tooth would be exposed, 
