168 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



separated us from Mount Blackmore, and that our best plan would be to 

 try the next creek to the westward. So, joined by Mr. Jackson and his 

 party, who had been at Mystic Lake several days photographing its fine 

 scenery, we returned to the plain of the Gallatin Valley, and the next 

 morning, skirting the edge of the mountains until we reached Middle 

 Creek, we entered its caQon. We found the lower part of the canon 

 quite open and had very easy traveling for about two miles, when it 

 began to narrow, and the granite rocks towered high above us on both 

 sides of the stream, which here rushes furiously over its rockj' bed. Im- 

 mense slides of rock extend from the cliffs above to the water's edge, 

 and, with thfe dense pine-forest through which we were obliged to cut our 

 way with the ax, rendered our progress slow and difficult. The rocks 

 are mostly gneissic, dipping northeast at an angle of about 70°. After 

 five miles of this rough traveling we came out into a small open valley 

 or park, bounded on either side by rather low rounded hills covered 

 with sage-brush ; here we camped. Shortly after getting out of the 

 canon we find limestones crossing the creek, the strike being almost at 

 right angles to its course. On the left bank of the creek there is a bluff 

 showing a fine exposure of the layers, which I take to be Silurian, 

 although no fossils could be found. They dip south of east 45° to 50°. 

 They are, probably, a prolongation of the layers below Mystic Lake. 

 Between the two points there must be a rather abrupt turn in the strike. 

 When at Mystic Lake, however, I noticed that the layers began to turn 

 more and more toward the west as we followed them below the lake. A 

 little farther up the valley of Middle Creek we found true Carboniferous 

 beds containing Orthis, Spirifer, Strophomena, Atrypa, and other Car- 

 boniferous fossils. Still i'arther up the valley we find that the dip is 

 reversed, and we have crossed a synclinal which is at right angles to 

 the course of the stream. The occurrence of volcanic outbursts at the 

 head of the stream has thrown the sedimentary beds into some confu- 

 sion, so it is difficult to reduce them to any system. On the 17th we 

 camped in one of the most picturesque valleys or parks that I have ever 

 seen. It is about a quarter of a mile in length and almost oval in shape, 

 bordered by a line of grand old pines. Through the center of the j)ark 

 Middle Creek flows. Back of the trees on the east side of the park, ris- 

 ing to the height of over 3,000 feet above the bed of the creek, is an 

 almost bluff wall of volcanic rock, the prevailing color of which is black, 

 relieved here and there by streaks of red and green, as though it had 

 been .painted. This wall is surmounted by dome and spire like points 

 of rock, in whose crevices lay deep snow-banks. At some points on the 

 wall we could distinguish groups of stunted pines. On the opposite 

 side of the park is a similar wall, which has been more affected by the 

 processes of weathering and presents many curious architectural forms. 

 It does not require a very vivid imagination to trace on its front the 

 forms of castles and fortress walls. At the head of the park the wall 

 makes a slight turn to the east, and here there are three monument-like , 

 piles of rock, dome-shaped masses surmounting perpendicular walls, on 

 which we could see numerous waterfalls, looking like silver threads 

 against the black background. To the most prominent of the three we 

 gave the name of Palace Butte and the other two we called the Twin 

 Buttes. The park in which we were camped we called Palace Park. 

 From this point we concluded to strike out for the ascent of Mount 

 Blackmore, which, although not in sight, we knew to be to the westward 

 of us and not far off". The following morning we started, and, reaching 

 the summit of the first ridge, saw the peak immediately before us and 

 separated from us by a deep ravine which we were obliged to cross. On 



