GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 129 



at the rate of from one to three cents each. These are important facts, 

 inasmuch, as they show the ease with which these vast bodies of timber 

 may be brought to the plains below and converted into lumber, should 

 future settlement of the country demand it. 



There are several species of pine trees and one spruce or balsam fir, 

 Abies Douglassi. The latter is a beautiful and symmetrical tree, rising 

 to the height of one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet, and as 

 straight as an arrow. The ties that are made from this spruce are of 

 the best quality. 



We will now return to Fort Sanders, and continue on our westward 

 way. From Fort Sanders to Cooper's Lake Station the distance is about 

 twenty-eight miles. On our right hand we can see, with great distinct- 

 ness, the Laramie Mountains as they flex around westward, preserving 

 a remarkably symmetrical appearance. A heavy bed of limestone, 

 which appears not to have suffered greatly from erosion, covers the 

 flanks high up to the margins of the summit, and seems to have pro- 

 tected their rounded sloping form. Here and there may be seen a deep 

 gorge cut through at right angles by some little stream, that has its 

 source in a spring on the summit. Along the base of the mountains, 

 on the east side of the road, patches of the brick-red beds are very 

 abundant, giving a picturesque appearance to the view. After crossing 

 the Big Laramie the surface is quite uniformly level or rolling, and cov- 

 ered with thick grass or sage. The country is underlaid with upper cre- 

 taceous rocks, and possibly in some places there may be small patches 

 or remnants of tertiary beds. We seem to be gliding along over a nearly 

 level, monotonous country, with scarcely anything to intercept the vision. 

 Far to the westward the cliin outlines of the Medicine Bow range can be 

 seen, reminding us that we are walled in by lofty mountains. But the 

 road is fine, and sometimes for long distances the track seems as straight 

 as an air-line. These broad, grassy plains are not yet entirely destitute 

 of their former inhabitants; flocks of antelope still feed on the rich nu- 

 tritious grasses, but the buffalo, which once roamed here by thousands, 

 have disappeared forever. ~So trace of them is now left but the old trails, 

 which pass across the country in every direction, and the bleached skulls 

 which are scattered here and there over the ground. These traces are 

 fast passing away. The skulls are decaying rapidly, and this once pe- 

 culiar feature of the landscape in the West will be lost. Two years ago 

 I collected a large quantity of these bleached skulls and distributed 

 them to several of our museums, in order to insure their preservation. 



There is also a singular ethnological fact connected with these skulls. 

 We shall observe that the greater part of them have the forehead broken 

 in for a space of three or four inches in diameter. Whenever an Indian 

 kills a buffalo he fractures the skull with his tomahawk and extracts the 

 brains, which he devours in a raw state. 



Indians or old trappers traveling through the enemy's country always 

 fear to build a fire, lest the smoke attract the notice of the foe. The 

 consequence is that they have contracted the habit of eating certain 

 parts of an animal in an uncooked condition. I have estimated that 

 six men may make a full meal from a buffalo without lighting a fire. 

 The ribs on one side are taken out with a knife, and the concavity serves 

 as a dish. The brains are taken out of the skull, and the marrow from 

 the leg bones, and the two are chopped together in the rib-dish. The 

 liver and lungs are eaten with a keen relish, also certain portions of the 

 intestines, and the blood supplies an excellent and nutritious drink. 

 Both Indian and buffalo have probably disappeared forever from these 

 plains. Elk, black-tailed deer ; red deer, mountain sheep, wolves, and 

 9 G 



