ii.v.n.l 



JAMESTOWN TO LIVINGSTON. 323 



Crossing the Missouri River by a fine bridge, good exposures of the 

 Laramie may be seen in the bluffs <>n both sides of the river and baek 

 of the town of Mandan. Fox Hills Strata occur along the river a few 

 miles below Bismarck, but are not visible, from the railroad; north of 

 the railroad only Laramie strata occur. 



Upon leaving the Missouri the train winds up the valley of Heart 

 River, a small tributary of the main stream, coming out again upon 

 broad plains much like those crossed on the east side of the Missouri. 

 In many of the buttes and low hills one may observe a marked redden- 

 ing of the strata. This is due to the heat which has resulted from the 

 spontaneous combustion of the beds of lignite which are scattered 

 throughout the Laramie. While some of these beds are now on fire, 

 according to Dr. C. A. White many of them were burned out as long 

 ago as Tertiary time, before the larger part of the great erosion 

 occurred which produced the present configuration of the surface. 

 Slag and ashes, the product of these early burnings, are now scattered 

 upon the surface of even the highest of the hills, whence the softer 

 material has been carried away. 



At Sims, about 10 miles (64 km.) west of the main Missouri River, 

 the first workable coal seams are seen. The mines here have been 

 extensively opened and furnish a large amount of coal for locomotive 

 purposes. 



from the Missouri Biver there is a gradual rise of 450 feet (137 m.) 

 in about 30 miles (48 km.), then a descent of 200 feet (01 m.) in 20 

 miles (32 km.) to Curlew Station. Rolling, monotonous country fol- 

 lows from Curlew to Fryburg, a distance of 00 miles (146 km.), and 

 from Fryburg there is a descent of 500 feet (lol* m.) in 15 miles (24 km.) 

 to the Little Missouri River. 



The Little .Missouri River is the most important drainage channel 

 between the Missouri ami the Yellowstone. It takes its rise at the 

 northwest extremity of the Black Hills, and follows a northerly course 

 for 50 miles (80 km.) beyond the railroad, then bends eastward. In 

 descending to the Little Missouri one passes through a small but 

 characteristic area of mauvaises terresoT bad lands. While these are 

 by no means as extensive or impressive as those which characterize 

 many of the great Tertiary basins of Wyoming, they present similar 

 physical features and identical forms of erosion. For varied coloring 

 and exquisite delicacy of tint they are most remarkable and unsur- 

 passed by any similar country elsewhere. 



Between the Little Missouri and the Yellowstone there is an ascent 

 Of 575 feet (17.~> in.), followed by a descent of over SIM) feet (244 m.) to 

 the latter river. All the country between these two streams is similar 

 to that already passed over, but its surface is more broken, more diver- 



