454 TURKEYS, EAGLES, BEAVERS. Book lit. 
In a quarry on the road near Fort Clark, I found, among 
other indistinct petrifactions, the traces of small fishes, 
the structure of the fins and skin being still discernible : 
the latter was not scaled, but granulated like a shark's. 
The rock consists of alternate strata of dense limestone and 
thin slaty sand-marl. 
At Soquete Creek, a brook which is probably connected 
with Maverick's Creek, I saw some wild geese of a species 
quite new to me, and of an extraordinary size. We put 
up three still larger birds, which we at first took for swans, 
but were more probably pelicans : they were white, with 
black wings, and made a loud piercing scream. 
San Felipe is the name of a clear and rapid spring, 
which rises from limestone strata, and forms a charming 
little prairie river, running rapidly through the grass with 
frequent little cascades. In one deep hole I caught with a 
rod and line a cat-fish of considerable size. The family of 
the Silurides is numerously represented in all the rivers and 
brooks in this part by a variety of species. I described 
the vicinity of Devil's River at the end of the last Book, 
and will only observe here, that at this season (February) 
the valley contains large numbers of wild turkeys. Eagles, 
with white bodies and black wings, and of an extraordinary 
size, are seen hovering over the bushes in which the turkeys 
lie. Some of our best shots tried in vain to bring down 
one of these monarchs of the air ; the nearest shot carried 
off one of the large wing feathers. Our table was, however, 
well supplied with game during our journey over this tract. 
The wild turkey is a bird of the size and beauty of which 
the domestic one gives a very faint idea. Several stags 
were also shot by our sportsmen. I observed the marks 
of beavers' teeth on the trees upon the banks of the river ; a 
large sycamore-tree had been thrown down by these animals, 
