
NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 163 
prairie carpet. 'The blue flowers of the Spiderwort are scattered over 
the bluffs, and a variety of Sida, with rose white flowers, form bright 
patches on the buff alo wallows. mee the steep banks of the creeks and 
nth 
Poppy (Argemone) looks now like a common thistle, but in July it will 
put forth its large pure white blossoms. 
The rock about Fort Harker is a sandstone of the Cretaceous period. It 
varies from a soft white stone, that may be broken up into sand by the 
hand, to a hard dark red stone, according to the amount of oxide of iron 
it contains. Where it has the right proportion of iron it is easily worked 
and makes an excellent building stone. The quarters at Fort Harker are 
built of it. While the quarry was being worked a large number of im- 
pressions of leaves of trees of existing species were found, the willow 
and oak most abundantly. Near the mouth of Wilson’s Creek, twenty-two 
miles west of Harker, is a bed of lignite, which is being worked by a 
atii is ira im à stratum = limestone, filled with a large fossil conchi- 
n to me. At Big Creek, near Fort Hays, we found antelope 
sr het ME and beri buffalo calves have been caught and are 
being raised on cow's milk. They soon become quite tame 
along the creek, aud numerous trees, recently cut down by sharp teeth, 
Show that they are still plentiful. 
A variety of wild mustard found here in damp places, makes excellent 
variety of Penstemon (P. grandiflora and P. Digitalis) are found at Fort 
Harker later; and two varieties of Allium, the flowers of one, if crushed, 
giving out a — fragrance, while the stem, if crushed, emits a 
strong odor of garlic; and also Castilleja sessiliflora, Ellisia Nyctelæa, and 
rock 
day passing NE a swarm of grasshoppers, extending about two 
; e 
This rock at a little distance looks like an immense old castle in ruins. 
It is ninety-one feet high, and about three hundred rcumference. It 
is composed of a bluish, friable, argillaceous shale about one third of the 

