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Se TtPASULRr AL ry iepdtalece sre ah Lege aeth A perturgenter roan Torin eh ehetety wart eer gh ep asttennen ty henge aploiy ges , + Fei aban ep eg rne arth iw prrrerrers eer stare HLA oiey Oricay th tye peed $3 64: ret sage: ra asegite +s4 hes aes seeney ee ota 2s aint eet Fhe Hadas ferret aL eb epee a ea fay Hee ay ae sa ae Sapien ye! Gives s ae Pick taht ee Paper ihe ws trai Thy NINTH ANNUAL REPORT L| LyX OF /- r THE UNITED STATES Nt (IEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY THE THERRITORIES, EMBRACING - COLORADO AND PARTS OF ADJACENT TERRITORIES: BEING A REPOR? OF PROGRESS OF THE EXPLORATION TOR THE YEAR 1875. By F. V. HAYDEN, UNITED STATES GEOLOGIST. — Zsonian bis “7 a Q. » ay Q» CONDUCTED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE SECRE OF THE INTERIOR. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. NOT T.. CONTENTS. REPORT OF F. V. HAYDEN, UNITED STATES GEOLOGIST-IN-CHARGE : Metter both eo) SCCLebaLyy =< ro San Miguel. Fi ee aa 1 1 1 1 1 1 LP 1 t i C & fc ESR. Uae OR TEED Dida TELL DIDO tht Ut 71, \ PERERA IGP DTE: GULL: CO IHIILIILTELLLILILIDIL LILLE LILI LLL A WS Ta 0 Cp Oe oo j a oeEsrSes mina SSS SSS By Sa BD FW OM OD OE ONE EP OO ee PP Wit Uri = aie. oO M cc sm SS SG CL SS SS ee a a ‘5 D NEE Ryan LATO Dn Ij. Ai 5 , o \ fis —> . Fig. 3. Section on line (UM. 30 miles. ‘ East u N ‘ U SanMigeu 200ft. 800 ft. Sta. 1d. 40,202 ft. Oncompah Pi oe gre Plotenu APBD rr i n cd : SIRIUD GEE EEE. Lips crak Z % moet GBPS ADEEEEELLEEE EE LLILLS1 Ef, Let Vit 04s Ws Fis tts the WO GLY Letras ais apalg inte te Dette ts tty athe GEO EL ib . ree) ts LAG LASIPLESESSIL SESSA Ls GUE? Ss tp, Z ty pe Sire é ox Veal Ye WN STSS _ LL aiddaldike ip tie ° aa Soeeete _ for lines see map Late MH. eo e's ie ce coi CHAPTER III. SURFACE GEOLOGY—SAN MIGUEL AND DOLORES RIVERS— UNAWEEP CANON—SIBRRA LA SAL AND GRAND RIVER. Under the heading San Miguel River [ shall take up the plateau that borders the river, to which the name San Miguel plateau has been given, and also the western crest of the Uncompahgre plateau where it overlooks the San Miguel plateau. Under the second heading, ‘‘ Dolores River,” I shall consider the re- gion lying between the Dolores River and the crest of the Uncompah- ere plateau. The country between the San Miguel and the Dolores was uncompleted, owing to the interruption of our work by the Indians, and we were able to obtain only a general idea of it from glimpses of it ob- tained from the crest of the Uncompahgre plateau, the Sierra la Sal, and from Lone Cone. The third heading will be ‘‘ Unaweep Canon.” The fourth division of the chapter, ‘ Sierra la Sal and Grand River,” will be devoted to the country drained by the streams radiating from the Sietra la Sal. SAN MIGUEL RIVER. The San Miguel is a branch of the Dolores, to which, above the junc- tion, it is equal in size and in the amount of water carried. It rises in the extreme northwestern part of the San Juan Mountains, opposite the sources of the Dolores, Animas, and Uncompahgre Rivers. In this re- gion it is formed by two streams, one flowing north and the other west. Both rise in the midst of volcanic rocks, which they soon leave, flowing out into the sedimentary formations, mainly Cretaceous shales. After the union of the two streams the river flows toward the northwest, grad- ually emerging from the mountains and cutting through the Middle Cretaceous, the Dakota group, the Jurassic shales, and the upper pari of the red beds. The river is in a caion 1,600 to 2,000 feet. in depth. In this upper portion of the river there are placer bars which are being worked to considerable extent. Emerging from the mountains, the San Miguel flows out into the San Miguel Plateau, keeping in a narrow caiion averaging about 1,000 feet in depth. The course of the river for about twenty-five miles from the mountains is about northwest. It then turns to the westward for about eight miles; then flows to the southwest for about eight miles more, and finally for about twenty-two miles has a course northwest to its mouth in the Dolores. The prevailing formation on both sides of the river is the massive sandstone, forming the upper part of the Dakota group, (Cretaceous No. 1.) In the cation, toward the upper part of the river, the red beds show, butas we follow down thestream the outerop sinks and we have only a narrow belt of the Jurassic shales below the Dakota group bordering the river. There is but little river-bottom, and the stream winds but little inits course. On the southwest side of the river 51 52 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the principal drainage is from Lone Cone and the San Miguel Mount- ains. These creeks flow almost due north, rising in the Middle Creta- ‘ceous shales, but soon cutting through them, and finally joining’ the river in the Jurassic or Upper Triassic? strata. - The plateau on the northeast side of the river is comparatively level and covered with groves of pines. The surface rock is the Dakota sandstone. All the creeks cut cations through it on their way to the river, and the plateau is cut into mesas, especially noticeable near the San Miguel. Between station 20 and the crest of the Uncompahgre plateau there is a broad anticlinal fold, so slight that in looking down upon it from the Uncompahgre plateau it is not noticed. The first creek joining the San Miguel from the northeast after it fairly emerges from the mountains has been named “ Del Codo,” on ac- - count of the curious elbow in its course. Rising in the group of vol- canic peaks forming the western part of the Uncompahgre Mountains, it flows northward across the Middle Cretaceous shales, approximately parallel to the branches of the Uncompahgre, which rise in the northern face of the Uncompahgre Mountains. From them it is separated by a spur-like ridge capped with Middle Cretaceous. The creek soon cuts into the Dakota sandstones, and seven miles from its head deviates from its vorthward course and flows northwest for about three miles, when it makes a sharp turn or elbow and flows a little west of south in deep cation to the San Miguel, joining the river in the red sandstones of the Trias?. In this la tter course it is joined by three short streams in canon, that rise in the same group of mountains with the main stream. In these canons, as in all those cut in the plateau, there is a belt of the Lower Dakota group and of the Jurassic shales bordering the streams. The western crest of the Uncompahgre Plateau begins on the spur separating the Rio del Codo from the Dallas Fork of the Uncompahgre. It is from seven to ten miles from the San Miguel, and is about 2,000 feet above the general level of the San Miguel plateau. From station 18 to station 26, a distance of 30 miles, the direction of the crest is north 60° west. The drainage as far as station 21 is by creeks that cut across the crest at right angles to its direction. These creeks all unite in one stream, Muache-Creek, which joins the San Miguel before it bends to the westward. The gashes in the crest afford an excellent opportunity to study its structure. The primary condition is a monoclinal fold, the sandstones of the Upper Dakota group being in general the surface formation. At station 15 the fold is very slight, aud although the strata are to a great extent concealed, there is but little doubt that shales of Middle Cretaceous age underlie the drift scattered on the hills. Station 15 may have a capping of breccia, although the beds are concealed. As we go northwest from station 15, which has a capping of shales, the fold becomes more marked, the shales disappear, and the Dakota sandstone is folded over the crest, its continuity being unbroken. (Section, Fig. 3 Plate III.) From the crest it slopes gently to the Uncompahgre River. Jn the third EES northwest from station 15, the fold has become greater, (Fig. 2, Plate IL ,) and in the cation cut by the stream there is the following section : . Upper Dakota, sandstone. . Lower Dakota, shales. . Jurassic variegated beds. . Massive red sandstone, light colored. ‘ive or six niles farther northwest is another creek which cuts ite: shee _ PEALE UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU—RIO DOLORES. 5S and heads farther back in the crest, and the following additional beds appear beneath : 5. Blood-red sandstones, with shales. 6. Purplish shales. Between the two creeks just referred to, the continuity of the Da- kota sandstone (No. 1 in the section just given) is broken, and on the west side of the fold it dips steeply to the west. On the north side of the last-mentioned creek it is tipped 5° past the ver- tical, (Fig. 1, Plate III,) but soon regains its original inclination, and flat- tens ‘out on the San Miguel plateau, which in this region consists of me- sas between the different streams tributary to the San Miguel. The upturned edge of the Dakota sandstone continues for some distance to the northwest, the strike being parallel to the direction of the crest. In many places there appears to be faulting, with the edges of the beds thrown down, dragged up, so that itis difficult at first sight to say whether there is simply a fault or an abrupt fold. Farther to the north, however, there is not room for the fold, and the fault is more plainly seen. The ends of the strata that are dragged up dip steeply to the westward and-in places are tipped past the vertical. Near stations 27 and 28 the line of outcrop of the upturned Dakota sandstones has receded to the westward, and the upper portion of the group forms the capping of mesas between the branches of the San Miguel. Both stations 27 and 28 are just below the crest of the Uncompahgre plateau, on the upper part of the red beds, (Triassic ?.) These red beds rest directly on the granite. Westof the stations, and at a lower level, the edges of Jurassic strata are exposed, dipping at a sharp angle to the westward, and also resting on the granite. Here we will leave the crest of the Uncompahgre plateau, and reserve further description of it for description under the head of the Dolor es River, as it overlooks that stream. The description of the country west of the San Miguel, extending to the Dolores, will have to be reserved until it is more thoroughly inves- tigated. Enough was seen to demonstrate the presence of several folds whose axes are approximately northwest and southeast. Immediately west of the San Miguel the plateau appears to rise toward the west, to the western side of an anti¢linal fold that is low and broad. There is also a slope from the mountains toward the north. Near the mount- ains there are remnants of the Cretaceous shales resting on the Dakota sandstones. DOLORES RIVER. The Rio Dolores has its origin in two large streams that rise in the northwestern part of the San Juan Mountains. The North Fork risesin the southern face of the group named San Miguel Mountains, and the South Fork or Bear River drains the Bear River group of mountains and the country between it and the La Plata Mountains. The course of the Dolores after the junction of the two forks is south. It then turns ab- ruptly west, and next flows north a short distance, and then to the north- west as far as it has been definitely located in latitude 37° 45’, and lon- gitude 108° 45’. Beyond this is a gap in the work of 30 miles in an air- line. In this, however, its general course is probably northwest, for where we leave it and where we take it up again that is the direction in which it is flowing. The geology of the Upper Dolores and its tributaries will be fully de- tailed in Mr. Holmes’s report. Suffice it to state here that the rocks 54 REPORT UNITED pe eBe GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. through which it flows, mostly belong to the Dakota group of the Cre- taceous s, Jurassic shales and even the top of foe red beds sometimes showing beneath them in the cation. At the point we take up the Dolores again, it is flowing toward the northwest. It, however,soon turns and flows ‘northeast, at right angles to the axes of "two anticlinal folds, cutting directly across them. The anticlinal axes are occupied by creeks on both sides of the river. There are smaller streams in the syncliual valleys, but, as seen from Lone Cone und the Sierra la Sal, they are not of much importance, and their di- rection was not definitely determined. The valley of the Dolores was probably outlined before the formation of the anticlinal folds, and therefore the antielinal and synclinal valleys, whose drainage is tributary to the Dolores, are of later origin than the valley of the Dolores. The underlying rocks of these folds are the red beds, with, perhaps, Upper Carboniferous beneath. Of the latter, how- ever, we cannot be certain until the river has been examined in detail. Above the red beds, Jurassic shales occur. After passing through the most eastern of the folds, the Dolores is joined by the San Miguel, and flows north fora short distance, and then ‘turns to the northwest, holding that course to its mouth in the Grand. All this distance it is in eafion, from 1,500 feet to 3,000 feet deep. At the mouth of West Creek, flowing from the Unaweep Cation, the walls are about 2,500 feet high. This increases as we go down stream to a cer- tain point, and again decreases. The cation walls are of sandstones and shales, The top of the cafion is a bluff face of blood-red massive sandstone, surmounted by pink sandstones more massive in appearance but softer. These belong to the red beds. Below them are alternations ‘of blood-red sandstones and shales. Below these are pink sandstones and red shales, with gypsum. As we descend the, sandstones become conglomeritic. The dip is about 5° toward the east, or, perhaps, a lit- ule north of east as we go north. The drainage on the west side of the Dolores will be considered under another head. Between the San Miguel and West Creek, coming from Unaweep Cafion, are two large creeks heading in the crest of Uncompahgre Plateau, and ‘flowing into the Dolores. Standing on the crest and looking down upon this country we see a great number of mesas, separated by deep canons. Although along the Dolores there is an eastern dip, still there appears to be also an inclination to south of east. Between the crest and the Dolores there is a slight synelinal, which is also indicated by the drainage. Starting from the San Miguel River, a short distance above its mouth, and going north and northwest, we find the mesas between the creeks at first with a capping of No. i Cretaceous. This gradually disappears as we approach the Unaweep Cafion, and north of it the red sandstones are on the surface, even the Jurassic not coming in again until we ap- proach Grand River. The first creek flowing into the Dolores from the east, north of the San Miguel, rises on the western edge of the crest of the Uncompahgre plateau south of stations 28 and 32. Between the head of this creek and station 26 is the head of a stream flow- ing into the San Miguel just above’its mouth. These streams cut through the sedimentary beds to the archean rocks. Cretaceous No. 1, caps the crest dipping towards the northeast. As we go from station 26 to station 27, which is nearly 700 feet lower, we pass over the edges of Lower Dakota and Jurassie shales until at station 27 we are on the red-beds, the upper layers of which are light-colored. st PEALE.] ; CREST OF UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU. 55 They rest on granitoid rocks which show beneath the station, and in narrow strips extending up the creeks. Crossing the narrow strip of eranite we find the Jurassic shales in immediate superposition to the eneiss. We have then here a faulted fold. A very short distance north, the red-beds show beneath the Jurassic on both sides of the strip of granite, and still farther along the granite is concealed, the red-beds continuing across. At station 28, there is a break again, but it is impossible to say whether there is any faulting or simply a fold with the layers partially removed. Granite appears along the creek and branches draining the country immediately about station 28. The most northern or western branch of the creek we have been discussing, rises in an amphitheatre a little north of west from station 28. The floor of this amphitheatre is gneissic, and its walls red sandstone. Beyond it, between it and the creek, flowing from station 32, the fold of the red beds is continuous and unbroken. The upper portion of the Triassic beds in this region are light-colored, in fact in many places they are almost white, and it is only by noticing their structure, which remains the same whatever the color, and watehing the change in color, with their position in relation to the remaining strata, that we can identify them. Another point to be noted here is that they are directly superimposed on the archsean rocks. Between stations 52 and 39, the drainage flows to the west and southwest to a creek, whose valley is parallel to that of the Dolores, al- though the stream flows in exactly the opposite direction until joined by the creek from station 32, when it turns and flows due west to the Dolores. Between this creek and the Dolores are three small streams which cut deep cations in the red beds, leaving mesas between capped with No. 1 Cretacious toward the south. Farther north only Jurassic forms the capping. The Dakota sandstones have been eroded and re- moved. We now return to the crest. The rocks on station 32 are a portion of the Dakota group, an isolated remnant of sandstones that once must have covered this entire country. North and northwest of the station they appear to be entirely absent, while to the east and northeast there are similar fragments capping the higher levels. The creek rising west of station 32 flows, at first west, then southwest, and finally west again to the Dolores. We have already seen that south of this creek the red beds are continuous, the monoclinal fold being perfect. In this short interval, then, there is no crest to the plateau. North, however, itagain shows, its direction being about north 40° west, instead of north 60° west, as itis farther south. The red -beds are the surface-rocks on the edge, a strip of granitic rock showing below. Thisis very irregular, the lower portion of the red beds, or perhaps some older strata, ex- tending over it in many places. The latter probably represent the upper beds of the Carboniferous, better shown on the Dolores River. The crest near station 33 and the plateau just below the station are drained by a branch of West Creek of Unaweep Cation. There are several branches flowing southwest to the main stream, which flows to the northwest until it receives all its tributaries, when it flows west into West Creek. Between Unaweep Caiion and this Creek is an almost Square piece of country, including about 16 square miles. ‘ There are three high points in it, the highest of which is about 3,000 to 4,000 feet above the level of the West Creek. The capping is of stratified rocks, probably Triassic. Beneath them the archean rocks appear on the east, north, and west. On the south a tongue of stratified rocks appears to connect with the strata on the south side of the creek from station 56 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. _ 33. Just below this station is a narrow belt of gneissic rocks, and be- yond are stratified beds dipping towards the southwest, at an angle of about 20°, while those on the station have a very gentle slope toward the east. The strata that are tipped may be a portion of the Lower Triassic or the upper portion of the Upper Carboniferous. I incline to the'latter view. Those on station 33 are higher topographically and geologically. The narrow belt of granite continues across to the edge of the caiion, and we can follow the outcrop of red beds from station 33 around to stations 39 and 34. Between the latter stations a creek of considerable size flows into Unaweep Caiion, and here the granitic tongue extends some distance up the stream on the plateau. Beyond station 34 we can follow the line of outcrop of red beds across to the Gunnison on both sides of the caiion, the dip of the rocks being to the eastward. Hast of station 36 the drainage is toward the east, following the slope of the rocks, in which the creeks sink rapidly, forming caiions of some depth. They gradually turn to the northward to empty into the main stream which flows westward, finally turning to the northwest to flow into the Unaweep Cafion. The other streams between stations 33 and 39 show the same tendency, although not so decidedly, as they are much shorter. When they reach the edge of the cafion they are obliged to descend precipitously to the level of the stream at its bottom. West Creek, in Unaweep Cajion, rises in the broad prairie-like divide opposite the head of the stream flowing toward the Gunnison. The average fall per mile is only 46 feet, for a distance of 8 miles on the Dolores side, while in Hast Creek, on the Gunnison side, the fall is 105 feet per mile for about the same distance. The stream flowing into the Dolores is the largest of thetwo. Itsvalley is at first wide and park-like and the scenery fine, the granite walls rising like buttresses on both sides of the valley. As we go down the caiion, the stream begins to descend more rapidly, at one place for two miles descending 212 feet to the mile and then de- creasing again to an average of 94 feet per mile. The valley is very narrow where the creek falls most, and is underlaid by granitoid rocks, from which it emerges into conglomerates of Upper Carboniferous age, dipping to the westward at first with a steep dip, gradually changing to an eastward dip of 5° at the Dolores River. The strata next the gran- ite are conglomeritic and light pink incolor. Thereare included masses of granitic rock, proving that during their deposition there was adjacent land of which the rocks were granitic. Their character proves the water to have been shallow along the western edge of what is now the plateau. On the Dolores beds of lower age are seen, proving that there was a gradual subsidence. Thisis also proved by the fact that as we go east- ward the red beds are directly superimposed on the granitic rocks, and decrease in thickness. It is probable that there is a line of faultin g along the plateau here, although it is not simple, the remnants of a fold being still preserved in the upturned edges of the conglomeritic sandstones. The softness of the strata has caused them to be eroded, and where the creek emerges from the granite there is an open place with low rounded hillocks. Through this space the creek flows southwest. Just above this its course is south, with a western turn immediately before leaving the granite. On the sonth side of this valley bluffs rise nearly 2,000 feet above the creek level. They are capped with shaly beds, beneath which is a mas- sive bed of pink sandstone, and below the latter is an equally massive bed, of dark red sandstone, beneath which are shaly layers, becoming lighter, colored as we descend. On the north the removal of beds has been most marked. PRALE.] UNAWEEP CANON—WEST CREEK. 57 In the angle between the Dolores and the creek, from the Unaweep Caiion, there is a butte-like mass, with a capping of shales. This butte has but-little width, and the connection between it and the mass to the north appears to be partially broken. North of West Creek we can say but little about the valley of the Dolores, save that the river is for the most part in cafion, with Triassic and Upper Carboniferous rocks showing. The depth of the cafion is from 2,000 to 3,000 feet, judging from the data we have above this point North and northeast of the mouth of the Dolores there appears to be a dip in the strata toward the north and northwest, which causes the red beds to pass beneath the Jurassic formation, a portion of which shows between the Dolores and Grand River. The lower plateau, ex- tending from the Dolores River to the creston which stations 42, 47, and 48 are located, is about eight miles in width. The floor is mostly .red sandstone, with a few isolated cappings of Jurassic shales. Thereis a narrow strip of granitic rock showing below station 47, on the opposite side of which there is a bend in the beds, the dip being toward the southwest. The appears to be a slight slope in that direction until we cross the Dolores. ‘The true dip is probably a little south of west, grad- ually turning to the west and north of west as we go northwest of sta- tion 47. We will now return to the north side of the Unaweep Cafion. Aswe have already seen, the length of the creek on the western side is about twenty-three miles. For about fifteen miles its course is nearly due west. -We have already considered its southern branches. On the north, in this part of its course, it is joined by six creeks, rising in the plateau in a park-like country. The first three have a southerly course, cutting through the almost horizontal sedimentary beds, and touching the under- lying archzan before reaching the edge of the cafion, over which they flow precipitously to join the main stream. The fourth branch rises about station 41, in the same park-like country, and flows to the south- west. It does not break over the edge of the cafion so abruptly as the two upper branches. The fifth branch issmall. It rises on the south sides of stations 42 and 43. Its course, which is somewhat irregular, is probably almost entirely in the gneissic rocks, although the red beds cap them on either side. Stations 42 and 43 are, I think, on rocks of Jurassic age (or Lower Dakota), although no fossils could be obtained for proof. The next creek is by far the largest branch on the north. It has its origin in a beautiful park-like country north of stations 42 and 43, be- tween them and station 45. It does not plunge abruptly over the edge of the precipice, but cuts its way gradually through the rocks to the level of the main stream, which it joins where the latter turns to the south. On the west side of the creek is a ridge, which, commencing at Station 45,sweeps semicircularly around the western sources of the creek and follows approximately its course, sloping from a point west of station 42 to the edge of the Unaweep Cation. After this stream comes in, the creek in the cation (West Creek) flows to the southward for about four miles, at right angles to its former course. It then receives the branch from station 23, and again turns abruptly, this time to the west, fiowing in that direction for nearly a mile, when it flows southwest to the Dolores. Station 47 is located on the upper part of the red beds, on the edge of the plateau. Here, again, isa break in the continuity of the strata, a line of granite appearing on the plateau below, against which the strata, probably a portion of the Lower Triassic, are tipped up. Beyond, 58 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. there is a slight slope to the Dolores, 7. e., toward the southwest. Be- yond the Dolores the dip is reversed. On the north side of the creek, rising south of station 47, the dip is west and northwest. When we cross the Dolores, opposite the mouth of this creek, as we shall see in another part of this chapter, there is a marked dip to the north. From station 47 we could trace the crest about six miles to the north- west. Beyond this point we were unable to work. It is probable that the granitic rock extends but little farther in that direction, but instead turns to the eastward. There isa gap in the work here between the crest and Grand River, the crest being too far from the river to get details, and our trouble with the Indians preventing our going there later in the season, .as we had intended when working in this part of the district. From Sierra la Sal we could see a line of what we took to be an outcrop of Jurassic strata, but the distance was too great to be ab- solutely certain. UNAWEEP CANON. As has been already noted, the Unaweep Caifion has two streams, one flowing to the Gunnison and the other to the Dolores. The divide between them is 1,200 feet below the general level of the country and 2,400 feet above their mouths, and the width of the cation from half a mile toa mile. It is a cafion of erosion. There is no displacement of the rocks. Gneiss or granite underlies the valley, as is seen at both ends, although in the center it is concealed by the local drift. Resting on the Archean rocks are the Triassic red sandstones, preserving the same level on both sides of the cation. The two creeks that at present occupy the cafion are obviously insufficient to account for the erosion implied by the width and depth of the gorge. Some large stream must once have occupied it. Several interesting questions at once arise, viz: What direction did it flow? Wasitthe Gunnison, Grand, or the Dolores? Why was it turned aside? It is impossible, with the limited data at "command, to answer these queries. I shall simply content myself with suggesting certain, points that present themselves to my mind in regard to it. In the first place, let me regard the cafion as the old bed of the Dolores, through which it flowed to join the Gunnison. Of the two creeks draining the cafion, the one flowing into the Gunni- son is the most inconsiderable. Its fall per mile for the first eight miles of its course is 105 feet. On the other side, for the same distance, the rate of fallis about 46 feet per mile, although a greater quantity of water is carried by West Creek. The first few miles on either side of the divide present the most strik- ing difference. On the east it is 80 feet per mile, while on the west there is little, if any, difference—11 feet being the entire amount of fail | two and a half miles west of the divide. For three anda half miles beyond this the rate is about 65 feet. Beyond, however, where the cafon is narrow, the fall is very much greater. The figures just given would seem to imply that the original bed of the cation sloped to the eastward. We must remember, however, that the elevation of the plateau probably continued after the cafion was drained. If the Dolores did flow through the caiion, we have to presume that its present course was caused partly by the rising of the Uncompahgre plateau and partly by the elevation of the Sierra la Sal, the former cutting it off from the Unaweep Cation, and the latter providing a depression in which it has cut its present caflon. Against the theory are the following points: ist. The great rate of fall in the cafion as it crosses the crest of the FA] a 35 sco Ros s Syl art SNES Prete! |_| Aes B. pee. WM Middle Cretaceous ones | Ss | a ree Cretaceous 2s SS SA ~ | é NSS Jura Trias Sections across the Catton AM. PHOTO-LITHO. CO. WY. (OSBORNE’S PROCESS) Fig. 1. Section on the north side of Canon aS te Uncompahgre Plateau. SY WSS IVINS ESSA iF sonia u ~z EES RS CE TERINGS, IRS SGU ERD A ON RG fe Base seatlevel. Fig. 2. Section onthe south side of Canon \ NN . N RW NWO ANN = x SX yy ) \\ 4 i AXSy) |S WANS NN Sey atte FS EIS CA TAN OL SCAN SA E==ukota Cretaccous NSS JuraTrias eet EI Carboniferous Sections across the Cation Paar Pye ne aw) een! erg et en —ieed F | PEALE.) UNAWEEP CANON-—-SALT MOUNTAINS. 59 Uncompahgre plateau. The present stream flowing through it is inade- quate to explain the erosion of this part of the canon. 2d. The general slope of the country, as determined by the direction of the Grand and Gunnison Rivers, was to the westward. We would, therefore, naturally expect the stream to flow to the westward. 3d. The probability that the caiion was cut slowly as the Uncompah- gre plateau rose. Now, let us consider the probability that the Grand or Gunnison flowed through Unaweep Cafion. Of the two streams, the Gunnison is the one that seems to have the preference. Where Hast Creek turns to the northward there is a broad valley extending southward and east- _ward, which seems to mark the continuation of the cafion, it being much wider and extending to the Gunnison. The valley, however, as well as the cafion of Hast Creek, is in soft sedimentaries, and very little can be argued as to past conditions from what we see now. Just east of the crest of the Uncompahgre plateau the cafion is broadest and deepest. The map suggests to us the idea that it once was oceupied by alake. UH the Gunnison flowed to the west through the cation, we may suppose that the plateau rose faster than the cutting of the cation progressed. This would cause a lake to be formed, with the crest as its barrier on the west. Next, we have to suppose this bar- rier cut away gradually and the lake drained. Following this, also, we must suppose the elevation of the plateau continued with an accele- rated movement to allow the river to take a new course—the present course. If not, we must suppose the present course to have been deter- mined by a new outlet to the lake, and the latter drained in that direc- tion rather than toward the Dolores, in the ancient course of the stream. The ldke, if it ever existed, must have spread over a wide extent of country; and we are still left in doubt as to the formation of the gorge, as the-lake would evidently not be limited by the walls of the canon. It is hard to imagine the lake cutting the cation. If the lake were confined within the present walls of the cation, we ought to find at least traces of its sediments, which we do not. All that can be said at present is that there is presumptive evidence that the stream flowed to the westward, and was deflected from its course by the con- tinued upheaval of the Uncompahgre plateau. Future close study of the cation and the surrounding country will doubtless give more facts from which details can be determined, but the view stated above will probably be the general idea which they will confirm. SIERRA LA SAL AND GRAND RIVER. The first thing we notice in looking at the map of the Salt Mount- ains is the radiation in the drainage of which the mountain mass is the center. The entire area includes about 1,300 square miles. On the southeast and northeast the creeks are tributary to the Dolores River, while on the north and west they flow to the Grand. The Salt Mountains consist of about thirty peaks, forming a range about 15 miles in length and about 5 miles wide. The axis of the range is about north and south. The peaks range in elevation from 11,800 feet to 12,980 feet, rising 8,000 to 8,500 feet above the level of the Dolores and Grand Rivers. The mountains are of porphyritic trachyte, and they are-eruptive, although their present form is largely the result of subsequent erosion. Powell* refers to the fact that many of the iso- lated eruptive mountains in the Colorado River region west of the region * Exploration of the Colorado River of the West, p. 200-203. 60 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. of the Sierra la Sal are formed by erosion of the surrounding strata, and that the summits of these mountains mark in reality the level of former valleys down which the voleanic material flowed. These mountains will be found to consist in part of stratified rocks on which the volcanic ma- terial rests, Such a group, he says,* are the Henry Mountains, whose summits we could see from the Sierra la Sal. From the distant view obtained, I am inclined toclass the Henry Mount- ains with the Sierra la Sal and "Abajo, as their outline is similar, and they appear to be isolated as the former are.t In the Sierra la Sal, on the highest peak, there is a capping of sediment- ary beds. In others ‘there are included fragments of shales of No. 2 or No. 3 Cretaceous, highly metamorphosed. The strata surrounding the mountains dip from the central mass of trachyte. The proofs of the eruptive character of the mountains will be treated of more in detail when we speak more fully of the trachyte in a succeeding chapter. Southwest of the Salt Mountains the country appears to, be cut up by the drainage into innumerable canons. The rocks, as seen from the mountains, are the Triassic red sandstones with mesa tops. Through these rocks the Grand cuts its cafon northwest of the mountains. As we approach the mountains we ascend to a higher level by steps. Tar to the northwest of the Grand there are indications of folding which appears to be comparatively gentle. It is improbable that the axes of these folds radiate from the mountains. West and southwest of station 68 the sedimentary beds (whether Cretaceous or older I was unable to determine definitely) dip steeply from the mountains, the line of out- crop curving around the ridge south of the station, and extending toward the north between stations 68 and 69. = Ten or twelve miles south of station 69 is an anticlinal valley, the western side of which has a wall inclining at a. high angle dipping to | the southwest. Beyond it is the Canon Colorado, so named from the bright-red color of the rocks. There are a number of gashes in the wall referred to, cut at right angles to its axis, marking the course of streams which, in rainy seasons, flow to the southwest, in the direction of the dip, to the Cafion Colorado. The cafion leads toward the north- west to Grand River. About its sources are narrow valleys, bordered by bluffs of red sandstone, which becomes white near the top, and is in places surmounted by Jurassic strata. The bedsappear to be horizontal, and in many places have cave-like holes worn by rain and wind. As we approach the Sierra Abajo, there seems to be a dip in the sediment- aries away from that group of mountains. The Abajo Mountains, or, as they are often called, Blue Mountains, are wooded from base to summit. Mr. Jackson, photographer of the sur- vey, traveled around the southern end of them, and is of the opinion that they are trachyte.t On the south and west the stratified rocks (red beds) appear to jut against the mountains, reaching away from them in a series of steps or terraces. The line of junction cannot be seen on account of the timber. Some distance to the northeast of the mountains I noticed Cretaceous strata. The divide between the Dolores and the branches of the San Juan is a broad plateau-like country with a gentle slope toward the southwest. The branches of the San Juan * Exploration of the Colorado River of the West, page 178. + Since writing the above, I see that the Henry Mountains are exactly similar to the Sierra la Sal. (See report on Uinta Mountains, p. 20.) ¢ Since writing above I learn that Newberry visited the eastern border of the range and determined them to be eruptive. (See Macomb’s report, p. 100.) In Mr. Holmes’s report a full description of the Sierra Abajo will be found. J E ae ana : 1 portance carn yte «comm ib ip tintin? tg oie Plate V. Map of Sierra La Sal. AB.) lines of Sections on Plate V7. cD. ) BE. ) G.H lines of Sections on Plate VI. LK) Contours 200 feet apart vertucally. Scale of ‘miles. me oa ee ——— PEALE.) SIERRA LA SAL—SINDBAD’S VALLEY. 61 rise close to Dolores and flow toward the south and northwest, cutting deeper and deeper into the rocks as they proceed. The southern portion of the Salt Mountains is drained by a number of branches flowing approximately parallel to each other toward the southeast, uniting to form a stream flowing east and southeast into the Dolores. ; Station 68 is on the highest peak of the Salt Mountains. It rises ab- ruptly from its base a distance of 3,277 feet. From the base toward the Dolores there is a more gradual slope over stratified beds. The peak is composed of a porphyritic trachyte, from the base to a point near the top, which is flat and table-like, and composed of a layer of yellow and reddish sandstones and metamorphosed argillaceous shales. These are _ probably of Cretaceous age, and are doubtless the remnant of strata that once extended over the mountains previous to the action of any erosive influences. The trachyte probably forced its way through the underlying layers, and carried this layer up with it. In some of the peaks immediately north, between stations 68 and 67, black shales (prob- ably No. 2 and No. 3 Cretaceous) appear on the sides, imbedded in the mass of trachyte. Groves of quaking-aspens grow about the base of station, extending some distance down the ridges between the creeks. Where the creeks unite there is open valley, but from this valley the main stream (Tukubnikavatz Creek) plunges into a cafion, which is a lateral cation of the cafion of the Rio Dolores. Nearly two miles farther down the Dolores, the next creek comes in, flowing down the broad anticlinal valley, (Paradox Valley,) across which the Dolores cuts before the mouth of the San Miguel is reached. This creek does not head in the mountains, but drains the country east of station 68. Opposite its mouth another creek joins, coming from the southeast in an equally broad valley. On either side the rocks beneath the red beds are exposed. This valley is probably of later origin than the valley of the Dolores. The next creek (Roc Creek) is of considerable size, draining the eastern portion of the range. The main stream has an easterly course, and rises in the heart of the range between stations 67 and 68. The other branches are north of station 67. They flow out from the mountains directly east for about three miles to a creek flowing to the southeast. This marks the axis of a synelinal fold. The beds are Triassic, dipping from the mount- ains, and forming the summits of the lower peaks on the eastern edge of the range. Dark-red shalesshow beneath the red sandstones. There are parks on these creeks, although they cut deeply into the strata. The main creek, after the junction of this branch, cuts into the red beds. For a very short distance it follows the synclinal. Where it joins the Dolores it is in a profound cation. The synclinal we have referred to is caused by an elevation in the strata about the head of Salt Creek. There seems to have beena center of elevation on the line of a fold, which may have been caused by an eruption of trachyte which did not reach the surfave. The strata were probably fractured, and now we have at this point a basin (Sindbad’s Valley) around which the rocks dip away from the valley in all direetions. The rocks in the center of this qua- quaversal are Carboniferous. On the western side there is a line of faulting near which I obtained Carboniferous fossils, Productus, Corals, &c., I shall refer to this valley again under the head of Sindbad’s Valley. Salt Creek is named from its being largely impregnated with salt, which it seems to acquire just before it leaves the basin. The rocks from which it gets the salt are probably of Upper Carboniferous age, containing, be- side ssalt, gypsum, alkalies, and sulphur. The southern branch, rising in the basin, flows past a bluff just before it enters the cafon. From this 62 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. bluff the greater part of its salt is taken. Above this point the water is clear and fresh. On either side of the exit the rocks dip to the north- east, the angle at the base of the wall being 25°. This decreases as_ we go up, and also as we go toward the Dolores. Massive deep-red sandstones form the capping of the bluffs. Between the basin and the Dolores there are remnants of Jurassic strata. Salt Creek is in cafon from Sindbad’s Valley to the Dolores. Crossing to the west side of the basin, we find light-yellowish sand, shales, and limestones, the latter fos- siliferous, beneath the red shales and pink conglomeritic beds. They dip to the northeast at an angle of 60°, seeming to jut up against the red beds which here form the bluffs, and ‘dip south of west at an angle of 10°, decreasing as we go toward the mountain, until we reach the axis of a fold, beyond which the strata again rise, dipping from the mountains. The northeastern portion of the Sierra la Sal is drained by a creek flowing east and north to the Dolores. It rises among the peaks about stations 65 and 66, and receives a branch from the park-like country at the base of the mountains. It soon begins to cut deeply into the rocks, joining the Dolores in deepcation. Between this stream and Salt Creek there are a number of minor gulches whose streams flow into the Dolores. The largest of these rises on the plateau opposite one of the heads of Salt Creek and goes into the Dolores nearly opposite the mouth of the stream from the Unaweep Cafion. It separates two areas of Jurassic rocks which cap the summits of the mesas between Salt Creek and the creek rising about stations 65 and 66. They are remnants of strata that once, in all probability, extended over the Salt Mountains. Between Grand River, the Dolores, and the creek flowing northeast from station 65 the rocks are Triassic on the surface, with Upper Car- boniferous and in a few places Middle Carboniferous showing in the canons. A line of hogbacks dipping toward the north extends from Grand River, 8 miles below the Dolores, to a point on the latter 12 miles above its mouth. The Grand cuts through this ridge at right angles to its trend. ‘The cation of Grand River here is cut almost entirely in red rocks, and as we follow its course with the eye from the summits of the Salt Mountains we can see huge buttes and monument-like masses of these red rocks capped with remnants of the layer of massive red sand- stone. A view to the northwest from the mountains showed us an area that seemed to be entirely destitute of vegetation. The rocks were red and presented rounded forms as though carved into roches moutonnées by glacial action. It is probable that the Sierra la Sal was once the seat of local glaciers, although the proof of their former existence is not easily demonstrated. I noticed no striz, nor could I be positive in re- gard to the existence of morainal matter. The form of the valleys at the sources of the streams in the mountains leads us to suspeet their former existence. The great elevation of the mountains above the country surrounding them has subjected them to so much erosion that evidences of glacial action would be naturally much obseured. As to the age of the mountains all that can be said is that their elevation took place in Post-Cretaceous time, and was probably contemporaneous with _ that of theisolated groups of the Elk Mountains and those of the South- west, Abajo, &c. The Sierra la Sai will be referred to again under the nt Eruptive Rocks.” SINDBAD’S VALLEY. Sindbad’s Valley is the curious, kidney-shaped basin in which the branches of Salt Creek rise. Its axis has a direction northwest and southeast. It has but one outlet, viz, the canon through which Salt Creek Plate VI. 72,062 €€. Stu. OL 12,278 46 Wh \ Ss : = SS Ceterado 2 ee ee a LLG EE. Z oil ‘ly = : = = a = =: = == z = = = == SS = ————— —] | Milicrion 2 rand River. Northern Group > Sterna la Sal SOUT DYE ——— Ws Wy SS Middle and W//; Wy, Sura Trics. eae ee Corbaniferous. Sin becils Ver Upoyy y 5,800ft. : Siltcricn 2 Base tine sea level Fig. 2. Section on line CD of mop on Plate V. a ee ea Rese wigs : a be AM. PHOTO-LITHO, CO. N.Y. (OSBORNE'S PROCESS) — a eee 2 a etn a Paige 1, 300° 3 stone, gypsiferous in some localities. - - =| = Lower Carboniferous ? limestone ..---..-.... 1, 000 | Red wall limestone group.......------------ 2, 675 *Reconnaissance of Northwestern Wyoming, p. 114. + Report United States Geological Survey, 1873, p. 245. ¢ Ives’s Colorado Exploring Expedition, p.42, Geological Report. § Exploring Expedition from Santa Fé to Junction of Grand and Green, p. 98. t achor Geographical and Geological Exploration West of One Hundredth Meridian, p. 178. 74 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. The Lower Carboniferous of Newberry represents only a portion of the ‘Red Wall” group. In the upper portion of the Aubrey limestone Mr. Gilbert found fossils suggesting the Permo-Carboniferous of the Mis- sissippi Valley.* In the Report on the Invertebrate Paleontology of the Plateau Province, Dr. C. A. White, speaking of the fossils collected by Professor Powell’s party from Carboniferous rocks, says: Few or none of the fossils of the collections are of such a character as to suggest the Per- mian age of the strata from which they were obtained, not even those of the Upper Aubrey group. I have elsewhere shown that the prevalence of certain types which have been re- lied upon to prove the Permian age of the strata containing them may be due to peculiar physical conditions, and I therefore regard it as not improbable that the time of the Permian period may be represented in the Plateau Province by the Upper Aubrey group, although the distinguishing types are wanting there. Mr. Gilbert in his sections ¢ has a series of Gypsiferous beds above the Aubrey group, which he refers to the lower part of the Trias. . Under the head of the Triassic Dr. Newberry, speaking of the Gyp- siferous series, Sayst: In the Pecos section thered sandstone and shales rest directly upon the Coal-Measure lime- stones, and the Permian magnesian rocks of Kansas are entirely wanting. It is possible, however, as Ihave before stated, that they are represented by the extreme upper portion of the Calcareous beds, and by a part of the overlying red sandstones and shales—the Salifer- ous group of my former report; the “‘ Bunter Sandstein,” or lower division of the Trias of Marcou. Speaking of the fossils, he says: As it is they give us reason to suspect that the lower portion of the Gypsum series should be regarded as of Permian age. Again he says: Those fossils which I obtained are insufficient to decide any of the questions which have been raised in regard to the parallelism of the beds containing them, with those of other countries, while they may perhaps justly afford ground for a suspicion that the classification which refers all the Gypsum formation to the Trias may be erroneous. In my own district I had an outcrop of the Trias resting on the gran- ite, which I traced continuously for twenty miles. Here the lower part of the Trias consisted of shaly sandstones, red and brownish in color. The Gypsum series which lies beneath farther west was absent. The evidence upon which I refer the Gypsum series to the Permian or Permo-Carboniferous is as follows: Ist. The existence of the series has been proved at widely-separated localities in the West, and has been so referred. 2d. The upper part of the Aubrey group in the region of the Col- orado River has no Permian fossils, although sume of them suggest the Permo-Carboniferous. 3d. Vegetable impressions from the lower part of the red beds, found by Professor Newberry in New Mexico, gave him reason to sus- pect the Permian age of the lower part of the gypsum series. 4th. On Eagle River, at the base of the series, I found fossils referred by Professor Lesquereux to the Permian. Professor Stevenson also refers the same beds to the Carboniferous. 5th. During the season of 1874, I found the red beds resting upon the granite without the gypsum series between, while farther west it was present beneath the red beds, with undoubted Carboniferous strata below it. I have called them Permo-Carboniferous because there seems to be a * Geology of Eastern part of the Uinta Mountains, p. 80. t Rept. Geograph. and Geol. Expl. W. of 100th Meridian, pp. 160, 161, &e. ¢ Exp]. Exped. to Junction of Grand and Green, pp. 48, 49. ‘PEALE. ] PALAOZOIC ROCKS——-CARBONIFEROUS. 75 mingling of Carboniferous and Permian forms, and I have found no distinctively Permian fossils in the lower part. The same condition is found in the lower part of the Carboniferous—Subcarboniferous and Carboniferous types being found in the same strata north of Grand River. Mr. Marvine assured me, in 1874, that the gypsiferous series extended down into the Carboniferous. Professor White, speaking of the Plateau Province, is inclined to think that the whole Carboniferous age, including its three periods, Sub- carboniferous, Carboniferous, and Permian, is represented by the four groups recognized in the Plateau Province. In the region of Eagle River there is a lithological distinction that is marked, the Subcarboniferous consisting of limestones, the-Carbonifer- ous of sandstones and shales, and the Permian, by calcareous and gyp- siferous beds, although it is difficult to say where the lines of separation are. It is also impossible to correlate the section with those made farther westward where limestones prevail. It may be that the upper limestone of the Aubrey is wanting Hast, and that the gypsiferous beds below it are equivalent, in part at least, with a portion of the gypsum series of Eagle River. Over the greater part of our district the Upper Carboniferous rocks are wanting. During Upper Carboniferous times there was a shore-line to the west of station 33; what the other boundaries of the ancient sea were, it iy impossible to say. On Hagle River the characters of the strata through the Coal-Measures and into the Permo-Carboniferous in- dicate that there was marshy land of considerable persistence in that neighborhood. In the Park range again, the strata indicate shallow waters and a shore-line not far to the westward. The area, therefore, must have been of considerable size. As we go to the north and west- ward, limestones are more abundant, evidencing the existence of an ex- tensive sea, of considerable depth. East of the Rocky Mountains, the facts point to the same state of things. The paleozoic continent was mainly composed of Archean rocks which were gradually subsiding, and in Triassic times were probably altogether under water in our district. As we have seen already, fragmental rocks derived from the erosion of the Archean continent or islands were formed over our district. The laminated and conglomeritic conditions of the strata prove that there was a general subsidence. Judging from the thickness of the beds, from the lowest limestone we discovered, to the base of the Triassic, this sub- sidence, during Carboniferous times, was at least 4,000 feet. It was prob- ably more, for it is not likely that the limestone referred to was the lowest bed of the Carboniferous. The rate of subsidence was probably not not much, if any, greater than the rate of deposition of the strata. In the Elk Mountains we find a considerable thickness of Carbonifer- ous limestones. Some of the fossils obtained by Mr. Holmes from the lower layers indicate that they are Subcarboniferous. When these beds were formed, therefore, the Elk Mountains were beneath the level of the sea, and there must have been a shore-line southwest of the Elk Mountains, between them and the Grand Cation of the Gunnison, for in the latter place there are no Carboniferous strata on the gneissic rocks. There was, then, in early Carboniferous times, a belt of land, about 50 miles in width, lying between the present position of the Elk Mountains and that of the Sierra la Sal. In Silurian ages the area was probably larger. We cannot say posi- tively that Silurian strata are seen in the Elk Mountains, nor how far westward we must go to find the formation. In the Park range, in 1873, I found Silurian fossils, and, north of Grand River, Mr. Marvine, the fol- 76 RRPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. lowing year, obtained primordial fossils. In New Mexico, Dr. Newberry found the Carboniferous in immediate superposition with the granite. _ Was the land in our district in Carboniferous times an island or a continental projection? A great portion of what is now the Sawatch range was above water, and the area west of the Uncompahgre may have been connected with the Sawatch area, but in what manner it is impossible to say. : In the Elk Mountains the gypsum series has not been positively ree- ognized. Next to the micaceous sandstones at the top of the Coal- Measures is a conglomerate composed of granitic and limestone pebbles.* Above this are beds of maroon-colored shales and sandstones, followed by red sandstones. The conglomerate was derived from the degradation of land that was composed in part of granitic rocks, and also of stratified. There were no remains to tell whether the pebbles were from Silurian, Devonian, or Carboniferous strata. If the Permian rocks are absent, it would imply an interval between the Coal-Measures and the Trias, to which the conglomerate would have to be referred, during which a por- tion of the land above sea-level must have been composed of Carbon- iferous rocks. If so, the gradual subsidence of the land carried them beneath the level of the sea as the deposition of the Triassic sandstones progressed. It is probable, however, that the conglomerate marks the base of the Permian rocks, and that the maroon-colored beds should also be referred to the Permian. If so, the gypsum which characterizes the beds else- where is wanting in the Elk Mountains. The greenish-gray micaceous sandstones beneath the conglomerate in the section just quoted seem to be identical with those of the Hagle River section, and also with those in Four Mile Creek Cation westof South Park. This identity is not only lithological but paleontological. All contain fossils typical of the Coal-Measures. I have therefore divided my Car- boniferous into three divisions, as follows: Subcarboniferous—Mainly massive limestones grading below into Devonian ?. Carboniferous (Coal-Measures)—Micaceous sandstones with limestones near the base. Permian or Permo-Carboniferous—Gypsiferous and calcareous shales and sandstones, limestone near base. Mr. Marvine, in 1874, recognized four divisions, the upper one of which was red sandstone and those below as I have them. Dr. Endlich, in Southern Colorado, recognized the following: Lower Carboniferous—limestones. Upper Carboniferous—red sandstones. Near the top of the latter in some localities he finds a band of lime- stone. I give the following table for comparison in my own districts : *See section of inverted beds, Report United States Geological Survey, 1873, p. 251. PEALE. ] PALZHOZOIC ROCKS—-SECTIONS OF CARBONIFEROUS. Carboniferous strata. (7 In the region of the Do- lores River. District of Pink conglomeritie sand: stones and red gypsiter- ous shales, Thickness, 1,000 feet. ——_—__ Shales mostly arenace- ous with calcareous and gypsiferous beds atthe top. The beds are gen- erally concealed; débris is light yellow color. No fossils. ' Thickness, 3,500 feot, Limestone, only upper » part showing fos- sils, indistinct and not determined. Productus, corals, and crinoidal stems. Thickness, 300 feet, as far ag seen. 4,800 feet to 5,000 feet. On the EagleRiver. Dis- trict of 1874.* Micaceous sandstones aud gypsiferous shales of variegated colors, with thin beds of lime- stone at the base. Thickness, 2,000. feet. Fossils—Calamites Suck- ovii, O. gigas, Stig: maria fucoides, Sprri- fer, Productus, Orbi- cula. Thickness, 2,000. White, greenish, andred- dish, laminated, mica- ceous sandstones and black shales with patches of carbonace- ous material; near the base are limestones,§ with Avicula, Aviculo- pecten, Pleurophorus. Thickness, 2,500 feet. Limestone, somewhat shaly above but mass- ive as we descend. Thickness about 500 feet. 5,000 feet. In the Elk Mountains. District of 1873. + Maroon-colored sand- stones and shales, with conglomerate at base. No fossils. Thickness not estimated. Park Range; west of South Park on 4-mile Creek. District of 1873. Red, pink, and maroon- colored sandstones, gyp- siferous and calcareous, with limestones in thin beds. No fossils. Thickness 2,000 to 2,500 feet. Yellowish, gray, and red- dish sandstones and shales, with bands of limestone. Lower part of seriesis gray and. greenish micaceous sandstones. Fossils. Third layer (top), Loz- onemia, Productus muricatus, Spirifer. Second layer.—Produc- tus muricatus, Athyris subtilita, Rhynconella asagensis, Hemipro- nites crassus, Terebra- tula bovidens, Retza punctulifera. First layer.—Productus muricatus. Thickness, 1,300 to 2,000 feet. and lime- Beds so Limestones stone shales. distorted that thickness not positively taken. Fossils of Subearbo- niferous type not yet examined. 4,900 to 4,500 feet. > Conglomeritic sandstones, green and gray mica- ceous sandstones and shales, bluish lime- stones and interlamin- ated sandstones. Fossils from below. _ Second layer.—Productius nebrascensis, Productus prattenanus, Productus Semireticulatis, Spirifer opimus, Pleurotomaria taggarti. First layer.—-Productus, Spirifer, Trilobites. Thickness, 2,000 feet. eae SITES ETS ETT Ne Blue limestones and sand- stone shales, lime- stones predominating ; fossils are indistinct. Thickness, 300 to 400 feet. 4,300 feet to 4,800. = See sections Report of 1874, pp. 115-119. tSee section No, 22, p. 243, Report 1873. +See pp. 21, 225, 230, 232, Report of 1873. § This layer may possibly be Subearboniferous. 78 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, The following table of Carboniferous strata is given for comparison with the preceding : ¢ : Interior basin of United States ie a ea Plateau province—Powell. ¢ Re Towa, and Iili- ; 5 nois. Montana—Hayden. * Limestones, both in | Arenaceous and cal- the Subecarbonifer- | careous beds with ous andCarbonifer- | limestone at the ous. The line sepa- | base. rating them cannot | Limestones compact, be defined. thickly bedded, Permian beds have | Subcarboniferous. not been recognized. | Thickness of Carbo- niferous limestones, equivalent of Up- per Coal-Measures of the eastern Uni- ted States, not less than 2,000 feet. Sandstones and lime- stones, the latter cherty. To the north there are two members ofthis group, viz, Bellero- phon limestone, and Yampa _, sandstone. Farther south cherty limestones preyail. Generally limestones with few shales and sandstones. Thick- ness, 530 to 1,250 feet, Upper Aubrey, 1,000 feet. Carboniferous Coal- Measures. Limestones with shales and sandstone at the base. Thickness, 600 to 2,500 feet. Sandstones and lime- stones massively bedded. In some localities sandstones prevail and are fria- ble. Aubrey, 1,000 feet. Subcarboniferous. Lower Chiefly limestones. In the Uintah Mount- tains massive lime- stones are separated by thin strata of sandstones. In the Grand Caton a mass- ive limestone, a thousand feetin thickness, is found with thinner strata of limestone and sandstone beneath. Red Wall, 2,000 feet. Sandstones and shales, supposed to be the equivalent in the Uintah Mountains to the Tonto group in the Grand Cafion. Lodore, 460 feet Total thickness, 1,000 Total thickness, 4,460 feet. Total thickness, 1,130 to 3,750 to 3,000 feet. feet, * Reports United States Geological Survey 1871, 1872. ¢ Reconnaissance of Northwestern Wyoming, by Captain Jones. Geology of the Eastern Portion of the Uintah Mountains. $4 Dana’s Manual of Geology. Comparing the tables just given we find that during Subcarboniferous times there was a period of limestone-making which was pretty general over the west, more marked towards the north, in Montana and Wy- oming Territories, and in the Mississippi Valley. Deep seas seem to have prevailed, with land somewhere in Colorado, probably as islands. Thus we have seen that a portion of the Sawatch Range, and perhaps a portion of the Front Range, and a considerable area in the western part of our district must have been above the level of the sea. In the succeeding period limestones continued in the Mississippi Val- ley and in Montana, and also in the plateau region bordering the Col- orado River. In Colorado the rocks show that numerous oscillations took place, and that, as the time advanced, they became less and less, and shallow seas prevailed, with considerable areas above sea-level, in which the rocks, judging from the character of the sandstones then formed, were mainly Archean. PEALE. ] PALAOZOIC ROCKS—GENERAL CONSIDERATION. ug In New Mexico also Professor Newberry found the equivalents of the Coal-Measures resting directly on the granite.* He also finds evidence of the proximity of land, while to the southward there is “proof of the uninterrupted existence of an open sea” ‘throughout the entire Car- boniferous epoch.”+ In Permian times shallower seas seem to have pre: vailed over wider areas, with oscillations of the surface, although, in Colorado, the general movement was one of subsidence. The following shows the difference in thickness of the Carboniferous rocks in the Appalachian region, the Interior basin, and Colorado: Appalachian. Interior. Colorado. (Mie srinitigia sa Ss elelstatet is ce )e satis cn cmis melee cies 16,125 feet. 3,750 feet. 5,000 feet. htm ose See Beasoes ol 130 feet. 4,000 feet. We see ‘that | in Golorada ne Wackness is stinticmedinte between that of the Appalachian and that of the interior region. In regard to the character of the rocks we notice the same fact. Fragmental rocks form 16,000 feet in the Appalachian region ; 500 to 1,000 feet in Colorado, and in the interior region 1,000 to 3,000 feet. From what has been written, therefore, it will be seen that the areas of highest elevation in Paleozoic, and perhaps in Pre-Paleozoic times in the Rocky Mountain region were in Colorado, and it is an interesting fact that at the present time, as far as known, the highest mass of mountain elevation is also found there. This is also true of the pla- teaus, which range from 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet. Taking the mean ele- vation of Colorado, 6,600 feet, we find it greater than that of any other State or Territory, Wyoming being next, with a mean elevation of 6,450 feet.t Although the Rocky Mountains, as we now know them, had no exist- ence until Tertiary time, still, as pointed. out by Dr. Newberry,§ the western part of North America was outlined from early times by groups of islands and broad continental surfaces of dry land. A portion of this land, perhaps as islands, existed in Colorado, as we have noted in preceding ‘portions of this chapter. In regard to coal in the Carboniferous, none has been found in Colorado. On Eagle River there were patches of carbonaceous material in the Coal-Measure rocks, and in New Mexico a thin bed of coal occurs in the Coal-Measures near Santa Fé. Still the conditions do not seem to have been very favorable for the formation of coal. *Report of Exploring Expedition from Santa Fé to junction of Grand and Green, pp. 42-47. t Ibid., p. 17. a List vat Elevations, by H. Gannett, United States Geological Survey, third edition, p. Z § Ives’s Colorado Expedition, Geological Report, p. 47. p port, p CHAPTER VI. STRATIGRAPHY—MESOZOIC FORMATIONS. The mesozoic formations of our district are divided about as follows: INMPSSKG S46 se S5e 686 sega Soeodqposeasc Bb od0s soa osoete ads cee eee eens 300 to 1, 600 JMTPASEHO S554 Gaos Shae 6odne: sho4 nets SobG dooood coe sso SSamon oso0 Setcce 300 to 800 OB ENCE OWS 4d 560 bobade Se Secs eoogeadenseabeao sosc ag sesh caca seGcco seor 1,000 to 2, 000 1,600 to 4,400 The entire thickness of the Cretaceous does not appear in the district, and in regard to the Triassic in the Unaweep Caton there is a gradual thinning of the beds towards the eastward. TRIASSIC. No data were obtained from which anything new can be predicated in regard to the series of red beds which we have been in the habit of referring to the Triassic. 'The reasons for such reference have been given in the preceding reports upon Colorado. The general character of the beds is as follows: A massive yellow, white, or pink sandstone forms the top of the series. Toward the western part of our district this sandstone is calcareous. In many places the sandstones are markedly cross-stratified. The color is subject to much change locally, passing from white, through orange and pink, into deep red. Below the massive sandstone are blood-red shales, followed in most by massive brick-red sandstone places. In Unaweep Cafion the sandstones are laminated, while northward and westward they seem to be consolidated into one massive bed. They are followed, as we descend in the series, by shales and biood-red sandstones, which, on the Dolores, change gradually into eypsiferous shales and sandstones. The latter I have considered as belonging to the Permian. It is difficult to draw any line between the Trias and the Permian, and I have been obliged to do so arbitrarily. The Triassic rocks are the surface formation over about 600 square miles of the district, while Carboniferous rocks form the surface over only 60 square miles.’ The area in which Triassic rocks are present beneath the overlying Cretaceous formations is very much larger than that in which we have reason to suspect the presence of Paleozoic forma- tions beneath the Trias. At the end of the Carboniferous period, the subsidence of the land appears to have allowed the sea to spread over much wider areas, and it seems that the sea encroached on the land gradually, as the Triassic period advanced, untilit covered almost all of it. We see that in all parts of our district the upper portion of the series presents the same character, and as I shall show in a subsequent portion of the chapter, agrees closely with the upper part of the series at other localities in Colorado, and in Utah, and New Mexico. The conditions, therefore, that existed in our district during its formation were present over a wide area. It is impossible to define the area in 80 ; PEALE.) » MESOZOIC FORMATIONS—TRASSIC. 81 our district in which the red beds have never been present. It could not have been of any extent north and south, as we find them resting on the granite in the Grand Cafion of the Gunnison, and Dr. Endlich noted the existence of red sandstones, probably of the same age, at the heads of the southern branches of the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers, a distance of ten or twelve miles farther south. On the south side of the Gunnison, between these points I found several places where Oretaceous stata rested on the granite, without any evidence that the red beds had ever been present and subsequently removed by erosion. The gradual thickening of the series as we go westward also points to the fact of there having been land in this portion of our district in Triassic times. Toward the east and southeast, the area may have been larger. In New Mexico, however, we again find the red beds resting on beds containing Carboniferous fossils. Northward, we have to go only as far as the Elk Mountains to find them. Westward, the area west of the Uncompahgre River is probably underlaid with them, although the first outcrop is not seen until we reach the crest of the plateau overlook- ing the San Miguel River. I shall now consider the series as it occurs at different points throughout the district. In the Grand Cafion of the Gunnison there is shown only a narrow belt of red sandstone, probably the upper part of the series, resting on the granitic portion of the chasm. This outcrop thickens as we follow the river north, and southward it gradually thins out anddisappears. In the lower cafion of the Gunnison, about 150 feet of massive red and pink sandstone borders the river. In the area between Unaweep Caiion, Gunnison, Uncompahgre, and San Miguel Rivers, Triassic rocks form the surface over about 180 square miles, with patches of Jurassic shales resting upon them. AS we go southward, the Jurassic disappears beneath the Dakota sandstone, and we do not see any Triassic until we reach the crest of the plateau where the red beds show in the cafions which the creeks cut as they flow across the monoclinal fold. The following is a section at this point: Yellowish sandstones. Light-red sandstones. Blood-red sandstones and shales. Purplish shales. Following the crest to the northwest, we find the overlying beds on the fold removed, and the red beds alone continuous. Still farther along these are broken and probably faulted at some places. On the plateau they dip to the eastward at an angle of 4° to 5°, and below the crest the inclination is 60° to 70° to the westward. This decreases toward the west, and the red beds disappear beneath the Jurassic and Creta- ceous beds to re-appear at the top of .the bluffs along the Dolores River with Permian? beds beneath them. In the Unaweep Caiion the red beds show on top of the granite, preserving the same level on both sides of the cation. The dip is to the eastward, and the outcrops are continuous for from 20 to 25 miles. The white or orange colored cross-bedded, massive sandstone forms the top of the series. The sandstones below are more laminated than they are on the Dolores. Going through the cafion from east to west, we notice a gradual thickening of the strata. At station 40 it is 270 feet. At 38, 6 miles farther west, it is 342 feet, and west of station 34, about 10 miles farther, the thickness is between 500 and 600 feet, while across the Dolores it is over 1,000 feet. North of the cafion the area covered by the red beds is nearly 200 square miles. On the highest part of the 668 82 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. plateau there is a tongue of Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks extending from the Gunnison to the western side of the plateau a few miles north of the cation. (See Fig. 3, Plate IV.) North of this, the surface forma- tion is the cross-bedded white sandstone of the Upper Trias, dipping 5° to the northward, with granite showing on the bottoms of the cations of the streams flowing toward the Grand. The upper member of the series is subject to much change, becoming red and salmon colored as we approach the Grand, where isolated patches of Jurassic shales cap buttes composed of these sandstones. Between this upper member of the Trias and the granite, are laminated blood-red sandstones, separated in places by a band of white sandstone. The latter becomes pink and blood-red as we follow it northward, and the laminated sandstones change to massive sandstones with a few shales at the base. The thick- ness is as follows: Feet. Cross-bedded sandstone somewhat laminated at base, yellow, white, or salmon colored..... Peo ea ose GOK ed each cao co st 300-400 Massive sandstone, blood-red in color, with shales at base rest- ANE COM MO CAMICO merece rae erate sagen lei eia eee oeacingaree Zoek eaeeeee ..-- 400 700-800 The lemon-yellow, pink, and salmon-colored sandstones are composed generally of very fine material, and the buttes into which they have been eroded present most beautiful examples of rock-coloring. On the sides of the buttes great caves have been worn into the rock, and others have the form of pinnacles and towers. On the western side of the plateau there is a fault of about 800 feet, with the beds below tipped up against the granite. The area between the crest of the plateau and the Dolores is occupied mainly by red beds, with Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous strata appearing as we approach Grand River. Between the Dolores and the Salt Mountains the red beds again are the surface formation, with the exception of several small areas of Jurassic and the Carboniferous area of Sindbad Valley. This valley lies on the line of a fold extending from a point south of the Dolores to the Grand and northwest of the Grand. As explained in a previous chapter, in the valley which we named Sindbad there is a fault, with the ends, of Carboniferous strata, tipped up against the red beds on the west side. The following is a section on the east side of the valley, on Salt Creek, which drains the basin: Feet. ielioht-red sandstones, Massive? 2-42 0--. os-- esse eee ae ee l 60 PeoWark-red Shales: 2.2 2s Gs Se iS ee eo eee ee j a Massive blood-red ‘sandstone: 220). .5- 5... 2) see = eee 700 © 4, Brown sandstones with interlaminated red shales....--.-..-- 300 1, 600 5. Pink and red gypsiferous shales and sandstones, conglomeritic GE ERE DASE LO ih MOE EIS EA OTD CORN 700 Layer No. 5 was included in the section of Permian beds, page 71. The section on the Dolores is like that of Salt Creek, except that the beds are lighter colored near the base and contain. large, angular frag- ments of granite. On Grand River, north of the Sierra la Sal, I made the following section. The thicknesses were measured by angles taken with the gradienter, as if was impossible to descend the clifis to measure the strata in detail. ¥ PEALE. ] MESOZOIC FORMATIONS—-TRIASSIC SECTIONS. 83 Feet. 1. Light-red and white sandstone..-......-.......20-0.00.. Geet 400 2. Massive biood-red sandstone.......... A) Ee PEERS en at 500 Saetimesorimed shales <).(5. 32). isc lc oie sae etal eh Weer lee Hkite 280 4, Shales and sandstones, dark red and Erown! cai aye fae 520 5. Purplish-red shales, reaching to base of cliffs.........-.....-- 440 Some of the lower beds in this section are probably Permian; but it is impossible to draw any line between them and the beds that are un- doubtedly Triassic. South of theSalt Mountains, I am inclined to believe that the red beds prevail. On the west, in the immediate vicinity of the mountains, I think the red beds are covered by the Jurassic shales and Dakota sandstone, (No. 1 Cretaceous.) Farther west, the red beds show as seen from the summits of the mountains, and ‘at one place seemed to be worn into huge roches moutonnées. We were too far away, and too high above the level of the country, to obtain any details of the structure in that direction. In the Cafion Colorado, Professor Newberry gives the following sec- tion: * Feet. 7. Red, yellow, or white massive calcareous sandstone; no fossils. 550 8. Red thin-bedded sandstones, with red shales; no fossils ei Biles . 150 9. Red and brown massive sandstone, fine crained, not hard; no TROPSISUU IS) SANG I Eee ee ESET NUM RECA A Bayo AONE Saal AR 270 10. Soft red sandstone, in thin layers, separated by beds of red or CAL OLOW MPS DAES Hs Me hier eho eretss de smueieuene olKetls ales tnads - 390 11. Greenish-gray micaceous conglomerate and gray sandstone, separated by red and purple : Shales iia Se sai a ieee a ae 92 12. Soft liver-colored sandstones, becoming, suddenly and locally, nearly white, with partings of shale...................--.-- 350 13. Brick-red, massive, caleareous sandstones, with some like the JES pt aN cS OLS NOLO UL ening ANC URE REI osama PS egemennd vhy ya] gr 164 The following is a comparison of the thicknesses of the sections just given: Salt Creek, Grand River. Caiion Colorado— (Newberry.) No. 1, > No. 1, 400 feet. No. 7, No. 2 $ 600 feet. No.2, 500 « No. 8 $700 feet. No. 3, 700 “ MO; 3% Bs 4 IWay, OS Bag Se Nowa 300s No. 4, 960 « Nos OF 350) ac No. 5, 700 ‘* No. 5, No. 11, No. 12, >606 ‘ No. 138, 2,300 feet. 2,140 feet. 1, 926 feet. Deducting, probably : ; SHINTO oe ere a ae) 700. =“ 960 * 606 ‘“* ERICH eee 1,600 feet. 1,180 feet. 1, 320 feet. in the section on Grand River we hardly have the top of the series, and at the base we probably extend farther into the Carboniferous than in the other sections, as the beds are partially concealed, and we could not draw any lines of demarkation. Between the Dolores, San Miguel, and Lone Cone, there are outcrops of red beds, but their consideration will have to be deferred until the region has been visited. They were seen from too great a distance to give any details. There appear to be several folds which bring the * Exploring Expedition to Junction of Grand and Green, p. 99. 84 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Trias to the surface. At the sources of the Uncompahgre and San Miguel Rivers there are outcrops of red beds, probably Carboniferous in part. I have adhered to the name Triassic, for the series just described, because the evidence is conflicting, and the beds are usually called Triassic a8 a provisional name. In New Mexico, Cope has found fossils that he says are favorable to the identification of this horizon with the Trias.* These fossils are remains of a new genus Typothorax coccinarum. He also obtained, from the same horizon, other vertebrate remains, and a new species of Unio, the latter showing that at least a portion of the Trias of the West is of fresh-water origin. Near the Abajo Mountains Dr. Newberry found saurian bones and silicified wood in shales just above the massive yellow and red calcareous sandstones that form the top of his Triassic series in the section I have already quoted. These bones were associated with fossil shells resem- bling Natica.t At the Cobre or old copper-mines of Abiquiu he found fossil plants, of which he says: Hern; We have, therefore, in these plants evidence of the Triassic age of all the variegated gyp- siferous rocks of Northern New Mexico; for the Lower Cretaceous sandstones immediately overlie the plant-bed of the Cobre.t ‘ In Utah, Mr. E. KE. Howell obtained fossils from the base of the Trias. Dr. C. A. White describes these,§ and says: If the collections had been placed in my hands for determination, without any statement of their stratigraphical position, I should have referred them to the Jurassic period, with no other doubts than those suggested by the imperfection of the specimens. In the Black Hills, Dr. Hayden also found Jurassic fossils near the base of the Triassic.|| The plants that Dr. Newberry refers to the Triassic were immediately beneath the sandstones of the Dakota group. While in Utah, Howell found Jurassic fossils in nearly the same position. That the beds are near the same horizon I will attempt to show farther on. In New Mexico, Mr. Gilbert is inclined to think that the Jura is absent. The summit of his Trias corresponds with that of Powell, Newberry, Howell, and mine, in Colorado. Above the Trias he has a series of sandstones and shales which he refers to the lower part of the Cretaceous. These beds agree with the descriptions of those usually referred to, the Jurassic, with, perhaps, the exception of the gypsum, which appears to be absent in Gilbert’s section. In some parts of Colorado the beds below the Dakota group are destitute of gypsum to the top of the red sandstones. From what I have written, it appears that the evidence supplied by vegetable paleontology is opposed to that derived from the animal remains. This is also the case in Hastern North America, where the Triassic may eventually prove to be Jurassic. The following sections include also the Jurassic strata: *Report of the Chief of Engineers, p. 98!. + Exploring Expedition to Junction of Grand and Green Rivers, pp. 91, 92. { Exploring Expedition to Junction of Grand and Green Rivers, pp. 68, 69. § Geology of Eastern Portion of the Uinta Mountains, p. 81. || Geological Report of the Exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, 1859-’60, p. 11. 85 MESOZOIC FORMATIONS——-COMPARISON OF SECTIONS. 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Se RE REOR EC CODIOOSERO omojspuRs ‘S708 JO APUB TIA ‘So[BYS Moats pus poy 9 | OG ~~" [809 pus OLLOJAPUES O[VYS “Bf Ue yy qBDUBE PES w poppoq-sso10 ‘OAssBU ‘poI-O[Ud *6 “DISSVUNe ‘SNOTOVLAUO ‘SVIUL GNV VUNe “DISsVuNne "4830 JsoqyNog ‘surejunoy ofeqy 1eON W'N ‘OvBSUrLA\ 410. BON *OOUIAOI NBO} ‘TRI UloTNo ‘yueuIS]}}0g Bled TON a “KUNA MAN “LUda Tl) "TITAMOd “TTAMOH. 86 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. In Gilbert’s section the whole Cretaceous section is not given. He says the lowest Cretaceous bed is No. 8 or No. 10, In a previous page I have compared my sections with that of Dr. Newberry, and the table just given will show how closely all the sec- tions of the Trias agree. JURASSIC. Immediately above the red beds is a group of shales and maris, with thin bands of limestone near the base. These beds are variegated in color, and correspond, lithologically and stratigraphically, with the beds that, in Hastern and Central Colorado, I referred to the Jura. I was unable to make any detailed sections, but, as far as seen, they ap- peared to correspond closely with the beds measured in the sections on the Gunnison in 1874.* In that locality the series consisted of soft ar- gillaceous and arenaceous shales, often gypsiferous and variegated in color, with bands of yellow siliceous sandstone and gray and bluish- gray limestones in thin beds. The total thickness was nearly 250 feet. In the district under consideration, the thickness is probably greater than that on the Gunnison. The areas in which this series is exposed | are comparatively small. In the “Great Uncompahgre Plateau” there are several areas where these variegated beds are the surface formation. These will be readily understood by glancing at themap. In the mono- clinal fold toward the southwest, the creeks that cut across it expose the Jurassic beneath the Dakota group. The Jurassic is also seen in the bottoms of the cafions draining the plateau bordering the San Miguel on _ the west. As we go northwest, the Dakota sandstones are absent, hav- ing been eroded away; and still farther along, the Jurassic shales are also absent. In the region about the Sierra la Sal, there is also a limited area of Jurassic dipping from the mountains. In a preceding portion of this chapter I have spoken of the conflict- ing evidence in regard to the Trias, and showed that Jurassic ? fossils have been found at the base of the Trias. The sections given on page 85 will show the relations of the Jurassic strata to those of the Trias. In Mr. Gilbert’s section Iam inclined to think that a portion of the beds referred by him to the Cretaceous are Jurassic. “ Report United States Geological Survey, 1874, pp. 126, 127. PEALE.] MESOZOIC FORMATIONS—JURASSIC——-CRETACEOUS. 87 The following are lists of fossils from the Jurassic strata described in those sections: Howell and others in Southern Utah. Powell in Plateau Province. Pentacrinus asteriscus. Pentacrinus asteriscus. Ostrea strigilecula. Ostrea strigilecula. Camptonectes stygius. Camptonectes stygius. bellistriatus. bellistriatus. Inoceramus crassalatus. platessiformis. Myophoria ambilineata. Myophoria - Trigonia ? Trigonia ? Neritina? phaseolaris. Trigonia americana. montanensis. Conradi. Trigonella ? Neritina ?? Powelli. ? Rhynchonella gnathophora. mMYVina. Ostrea (Alectryonia) procumbens. Gervillea Pinna ? Myacites ? Belemnites densus. Ammonites cordiformis. Undetermined Conchifers and Gastero- pods. As I have already stated, Professor Newberry found plants at the top of the variegated series, and refers the whole gypsum series to the Tri- assic; and Professor White noticed fossils found by Mr. Howell at the base of the Triassic, and says they are of Jurassicaffinity. It seems, therefore, a disputed point whether we should consider both periods rep- resented, and call the formation Jura-Trias, as Powell has done, or treat them as two distinct formations. Mr. Howell is of the opinion that the Jurassic thins out, and proba- bly disappears in Eastern Arizona and New Mexico. I think that the sections show that it is probably present, although it is difficult to define it at all localities, as the rocks grade into those that belong to the Cre- taceous above and the Triassic below. In the future we may have to consider the whole formation as Jurassic. It may be that the fossils represent both the formations. In Eastern North America the line between them has not been definitely drawn, and in the West we will have to wait until we have more evidence. At present, it seems to be in favor of the Jurassic. CRETACEOUS. The Cretaceous strata in our district are comprehended under the Lower division, (Dakota group,) Middle division, and the base of the Upper division. The latter is exposed at only one locality, and the mid- dle division is only partially seen at most localities. The Dakota group is the only formation occupying much area in the district. In the table given on page 128 of the Report of United States Geologi- eal Survey for 1873, I included the Fort Pierre group (No. 4) in the Mid- dle Cretaceous, because I was unable to draw any line between No. 3 © \ 88 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. and No.4. The division was made lithologically, and the line perhaps should be drawn somewhat lower down, so as to include a portion of No. 4 with the upper division. Professor Meek is inclined to place the line separating the Middle Cretaceous from the Upper at the base of No. 4. He says the fossils never cross the line, and that the division corre- sponds more nearly with the European divisions. The Cretaceous strata once probably extended over our entire district, and where how absent it is due to erosion. LOWER CRETACEOUS. Dakota group.—(Formation No. 1.)—Nothing was obtained from the Dakota sandstone during the season from which anything new can be predicated in regard to the formation. The massive yellow siliceous sandstone, in some places quartzitic, at the base of the Cretaceous is so well defined lithologically that there has never been any difficulty in ~ separating it from the overlying shales. Along the edge of the plains in Colorado it is underlaid by greenish shaly beds, sometimes lignitic near the top, generally in part or wholly covered, which have always been referred to the upper part of the Jurassic. In the West these shaly beds still persist, and the massive sandstone, although still recog- nizable without difficulty, is much thinner, being only from 50 to 100 feet, and as we descend in the sections carried below we find other beds of siliceous sandstone separated by shaly beds that are arenaceors,. calcareous, and argillaceous. In these beds, in 1874, I found a sossa- fras-leaf, which led me to refer these lower beds to the Lower Cretaceous. I drew an arbitrary line separating the Cretaceous and Jurassic. The beds below have the same lithological characters to the top of the red beds, with this exception, that limestones occur more frequently toward the base. In New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado, Dr. Newberry describes two groups, which he refers to the Dakota group or Lower division of the Cretaceous. In Mr. Holmes’s district these groups are distinct, and he proposes to call them Upper and Lower Dakota. In Middle Park, in 1873, Mr. Marvine found a series of shaly beds with thick beds of siliceous sandstone resting on the granite, with the massive sandstone of No. 1 above. These lower beds he referred to the same formation.* In the Black Hills the Dakota group is represented by a series of alternating sandstones and clays.t In Arizona, G. K. Gilbert found Jurassic and Cretaceous fossils asso- ciated in beds, resembling those usually referred to the Jurassic. I am of the opinion that we cannot draw any line between the two forma- tions, paleontologically nor lithologically, but for convenience in descrip- tion it is best to draw an arbitrary line, which may be changed as we obtain more facts in relation to the formation. These beds and those just beneath, that I have referred to the Jura, are those that have been called the variegated marls in Arizona and New Mexico. The upper massive sandstone of the Dakota group forms the surface generally, with the lower shaly beds outcropping in the canons. On the south side of the Gunnison, above the Grand Cajon, there is a narrow outcrop of No. 1 between the breccia and the granite. A few miles south of the Gunnison it has disappeared. At the head of the Uncompahgre River and on the Dallas Fork, No. 1 appears, and is faulted, the latter stream flowing on the line of the ——_ *Report United States Geological Survey 1873, pp. 155, 156. tGeological Report Exploration of Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, pp. 15, 42, 43. PEALE. ] MESOZOIC FORMATIONS—LOWER CRETACEOUS. 89 fault. Between this creek and the San Juan Mountains the Dakota group rises until it reaches the summit of the foot-hills, appearing from beneath the shales. On the Uncompahgre Plateau the Dakota group, dipping gently to the eastward, is the surface formation until we ap- proach Escalante Creek. Between the latter and Roubideau’s Creek, there are some isolated patches of No.1. Along the western side of the Gunnison, also, we find the Dakota group. The floor of the San Miguel plateau is made of the Dakota group, and in the deeper canons cut in it, a narrow band of Jura shows. The consideration of the Da- kota group west of the San Miguel will have to be reserved. Going north on the San Miguel plateau, we find the massive sandstones of the Dakota group broken and forming the tops of mesas between the streams rising in the Uncompahgre Plateau and flowing into the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers. Still farther north the No. 1 disappears altogether, until we approach Grand River, near the mouth of the Dolores. In the Uncompahgre Plateau, as I have already noted, the No. 1 dips toward the Uncompahgre. This plateau is separated from the San Miguel by a monoclinal fold, which at first is complete as far as the Dakota group is concerned. In the San Miguel Plateau the beds are nearly horizontal. There is a slight anticlinal swell between the San Miguel River and the monoclinal fold. As we follow the latter north, we find the fold more abrupt, and the upper beds eroded away, and still farther along, as has been described in previous portions of the report, we have a fault. ™ the region of the Sierra la Sal, No. 1 is present, on the west side, dip. 1g away from the mountains at a steep angle. The reference of the sandstones and shales just described to the Dakota group rests mainly on lithological and stratigraphical evidence. In Eastern Colo- rado, Dr. Hayden has considered them identical with the Dakota group in Kansas and Nebraska. In both localities they are underlaid by the same character of beds, and above are well-marked Oretaceous fossils, and there is a general resemblance lithologically. The list of fossils obtained from the beds in Colorado is meager as yet. It is as follows: Proteoides like P. acuta, Heer, edge of plains on South Platte River. Sassafras like 8. mirabile on Gunnison River. Salix ? in the Elk Mountains. Fragments of dicotyledonous leaves, on the Gunnison and in the Elk Mountains. Scaphites ? on Gunnison River. LTingula ——-_—? near Colorado Springs. In the Report for 1874 I pointed out the resemblance of my sections to those of Dr. Newberry. In Northeast New Mexico and Southeast Utah Dr. Newberry recognizes the Dakota group, and the beds are the same that I have so referred and traced from Eastern Colorado to Western Colorado and Southeastern Utah, joining the region investigated by Dr. Newberry. Additional facts in regard to the Dakota group in that region will be presented by Mr. Holmes in his report. Powell, in speak- ing of what he calls the Plateau Province, says :* Planes of demarkation in the Cretaceous group are noteasily drawn. The relation of these groups to those established by Professors Meek and Hayden on the Upper Missouri is not well determined. I have carefully tried to use their system, and have failed. The Henry’s Fork group, which Powell places at the base of the Cre- taceous, is evidently, in part at least, the Dakota group of Meek and Hayden. In the reportt he gives the south side of Henry’s Fork, es Report on the Geology of the Eastern Portion of the Uinta Mountains, &c., p. 67. t Ibid., pp. 50,51. 90 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. two miles above its mouth, as the typical locality of the group. Dr. Hayden visited this locality in 1870, and recognized the Dakota group, and gives a section of the rocks.* Clarence King, on map II, Green River Basin, at the mouth of Henry’s Fork, has the Dakota group colored, and on Powell’s map of Green River the same area is colored as the Henry’s Fork gronp.t The following table will show the similarity. in lithological structure: New Mexico and Arizona, Upper Missouri region, Meek and, Professor Newberry, Hayden.t | lower division of Creta- ceous.§ Plateau Province of Major Powell, Henry’s Fork group. || Reddish, yellowish, and occa- | Yellow and brown sand- | Sandstones, bad-land sionally white sandstones, stones and green shales rocks, conglomerates, with, at places, alternations of in New Mexico. and shales, with carboua- various coloredclays and beds | White and yellowish sand- ceous shales and lignitic and seams of impure lignite, stones, green, blue, and coal. aiso silicified wood, and great gray shales, with impure numbers of leaves of the higk- lignite and carbonaceous er types of dicotyledonous shales, also thin bands of trees. siliceous limestone in . places, in Arizona. | { The following list compares the fossils of the Henry’s Fork Group with those from Newberry’s lower division. None of Powell’s Henry York group fossils come trom the typical locality. Newberry{], New Mexico, lower division Howell** Plateau Province, Henry’s Fork Cretaceous (Dakota groap). group. Plicatula arenaria, M. Plicatula hydrotheca, White. Gryphea ———? Gryphea Pitchert, Morton. Ezxogyra columbella, M. Heogyra leviuscula, Roemer. Hxogyra ponderosa, Roemer. Ostrea prudentia, White. Gervillia ? Inoceramus Howelli, White. Avicula linguiformis, Shumard. Pinna ————? Prionotropis Woolgari, (Ammoni- tes pericarinatus, H. & M.) Camptonectes platessa, White. Undetermined conchifers, White. Cardium ———? Callista Deweyi, Meek & Hayden. Arca ———? * Report United States Geological Survey 1870, pp. 60, 61. t King’s map is dated November 15, 1875, and Powell’s map bears date 1873. The latter is evidently o mistake, as the atlas containing it bears date 1876, and was issued during the year. King’s map, therefore, has the priority. { Exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, p 14. § Ives’s Colorado Exploring Expedition and Macomb’s Expedition to Junction of Grand and Green. || Geology of Uinta Mountains. {] Exploring Expedition from Santa Fé to Junction of Grand and Green Rivers ; Descrip- tions of Cretaceous Fossils, by F. B. Meek, pp. 121, 122. ** Geology of Uinta Mountains; Invertebrate Paleontologyby, C. A. White, M. D., pp. 5. J . } 4 | PEALE.] MESOZOIC FORMATIONS—LOWER CRETACEOUS—COAL. 91 In Arizona, Dr. Newberry found the following fossils in the lower division of the Cretaceous; Ammonites pericarinatus, Inoceramus Crispi, Gryphea Pitcheri, and Pinna? lingula. He has no doubt of the parallel- ism of the group of sandstones from which they were obtained with these of the base of Meek and Hayden’s Cretaceous section.* Professor Meek refers the beds from which Newberry obtained the fossils given in list above to the Dakota group. The animal remains found in the Dakota group in Kansas are distinct in species from those found in the Upper Missouri region, and the identity of the beds is based on the fossil leaves found in them and by their lithological] posi- tion. In the two sections given above we have a much greater resem- blance, and, taken in connection with the position at the base of the Cre- taceous, I think there is but little doubt of the identity of the beds. It is possible that Powell includes a portion of the Fort Benton group with the Henry’s Fork, as some of the fossils would seem to indicate. It is more likely, however, that, as our knowledge of the animal life of the Dakota group is extended, we will find that paleontological lines cannot be sharply drawn, and that we will have to divide the Creta- ceous formation lithologically. The following genera of fossil plants are represented in the Dakota group in Kansas, the Upper Missouri region, and in New Mexico and adjacent parts of Arizona, Utah, and Colorado: Sphenopteris, Salix, Quercus, Plantanus, and Phyllites. There are other genera common to Arizona and Kansas. From what has been written, I think it is evident that Powell’s Henry’s Fork group is the equivalent of the Dakota group, and should be so called, especially as King has called it so at the typical locality men- tioned by Powell. The formation has been recognized without difficulty in British America, in Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana. Coal in the Dakota group.—tIn the report for 1874, I noticed the ex- istence of lignite in the Dakota group, just below the upper. massive sandstone. This lignitic band seems to be persistent in this portion of the West, as in Eastern Colorado. At most localities the coal is of no economic importance. In the caiion of Uncompahgre River, below the mouth of the Dallas Fork, there is a bed of coal which has been changed to anthracite by a dike of trachytic rock. MIDDLE AND UPPER CRETACEOUS. In the Uncompahgre Valley, on both sides of the river until the caiion is reached, there are exposures of shales belonging to No. 2 and No. 3. They are generally so much concealed that perfect sections cannot be made. East of the Uncompahgre Agency the thickness of the beds is about 3,000 feet. At the base are the black shales of No. 2 and No. 3, with characteristic fossils. Above these are yellow and _light- gray shales, passing into more arenaceous layers that are exposed near the top. In the latter, near the summit of the divide between Uncom- pahgre and Cebolla Creek, there are bands of lignite. It is of rather poor quality as far as seen, crumbling rapidly on exposure to the atmos- phere. On the west side of the Uncompahgre, only the lower part of the Series shows, while on the divide just mentioned we have a portion, at least, of the Upper Cretaceous, forming the top of the ridge. It is the only place in the district where it occurs. As we go west from the Uncompahgre, on the Uncompahgre plateau, the shales soon disappear, and the Dakota comes to the surface, on account of a slight monoclinal *Ives’s Colorado Exploring Expedition; Geological Report, p. 85. 92 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. fold, the axis of which is approximately parallel to the course of the Uncompahgre River. Toward the southern end of the plateau there are remnants of the shales, as at station 15, which give a more broken appearance to the surface. Between Dallas Fork of the Uncompahgre and the San Juan Mountains, the lower portion of the shales forms rounded hillocks between the branches of the stream. Near the base of Lone Cone on the north, remnants of the shales are again seen, extending northward. These will be described by Mr. Holmes. On the highest peak of the Sierra la Salis a capping of sandstones and shales, all very much metamorphosed. They are probably a portion of No. 2 Cretaceous, and perhaps a portion of the upper part of the Dakota group. In the eruption of the rock they were evidently not — broken through, as the lower rocks were, but were carried to the summit of the mass. In other peaks near the one just referred to, patches of black metamorphosed shales are seen on the sides of the peaks im- bedded in the eruptive rock. CHAPTER VII. ERUPTIVE ROCKS—TRACHORHEITES—BRECCIA—POR- PHYRITIC TRACHYTE—BASALT. The voleanic areas of the district are readily divisible into three classes: 1st. Those covered with a flow of trachytes, partially described under the head of Trachorheites in the Report for 1874. These are in many places underlaid by a trachytic breccia. 2d. The areas of porphyritic trachyte. od. Basaltic areas. TRACHORHEITES. In the description of the south side of the Gunnison River, in a pre- ceding chapter, I mentioned the fact that a large portion of the region was covered with trachytic rock, forming plateaus and mesas between the different streams tributary to the Gunnison from the south. The source of the lava-flows is somewhere in Dr. Endlich’s district, where these volcanic rocks prevail to a much greater extent. Dr. Endlich’s report for 1874 contains a detailed description of the rocks. He has divided them into four groups, as follows: No. 1. White, yellow, green, orange, red, brown, and gray trachytes, decomposing readily, frequently weathering in picturesque forms. No. 2. Red and brownish stratified trachyte ; not infrequently con- tained interstrata of obsidian and of pitchstone resembling obsidian. Sanidite is the predominant one of the segregated minerals. Small erystals of brown to black mica occur dispersed throughout. No. 3. Upper, red to brown trachyte; lower, red to brown trachyte, laminated. No. 4. Trachytes variable in lithological characteristics, red stratum below, variegated beds next, and rhyolite, dolerite, and basalt above, the latter members not in such continuous masses nor in so regular suc- cession as those below. Along the Gunnison the rocks seem to represent a portion of No. 2. The following section gives the succession of the rocks, and it will be seen that they agree more closely with those of Dr. Endlich’s group No. 2 than with any of the others. It is possible that a portion of No. 3 may be represented in some places : . Hard gray laminated trachyte. . Obsidian porphyry. . Spherulitic and porphyritic obsidian. . Brown to purplish red rhyolitic trachyte. . Purple vesicular rhyolitic trachyte. . Bluish-gray laminated rhyolitic trachyte. It will be noticed, when the heights of the plateaus are compared, that there is a general slope to the east and northeast. The thickness of 93 DOr Conde 94 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the rocks on the Gunnison is much less than in Dr. Endlich’s district. His group of No. 2 is 1,200 feet thick farther south, while the beds I have given above are only about 100 feet where measured, and proba- bly at no place exceed 500 feet, and they possibly include a portion of the groups above and below. The rocks, therefore, represent the northern and northeastern edges of one flow, the one preceding and the one following scarcely reaching so far, or, if they did, having been entirely removed prior and subsequent to the flow of No. 2. Throughout a large portion of the area the volcanic rocks rest imme- diately on the granites. Along the Gunnison, particularly on the north side, the following is the order of the rocks: 1. Trachytes. 2. Breccia. 3. Remnants of Cretaceous sandstones. 4, Granitic rocks. As we go south layer No. 3 disappears very soon, and next the brec- cia is absent, leaving the trachytes on the granite, and in places the gran- ite projects through, forming hills that rise above the plateau-like mass of trachyte. Between the branches of Cebolla, Cimmaron, and Blue Oreeks are long, tongue-like mesas, which appear to be capped with trachyte rest- ing on breccia. Between the Cimmaron and Blue there is a dike of trachyte in Cre- taceous rocks, from which the volcanic material appears to have flowed and covered an area of some extent. This area is at a lower level than that covered by the flow which caps the mesas to the south and be- tween the Gunnison and Cimmaron. In the latter the trachyte rests on granite. The dike may be of more modern age. More particulars in regard to these volcanic rocks will be found in the Report for 1874, (pp. 168, 171, 193, 209.) BRECCIA. The breccia underlying the trachytes just described is best exposed north of the Gunnison River, in which region it was described in the Report for 1874. Its stratified character indicates its deposition in water. South of the Gunnison it soon disappears, although Dr. Endlich - finds it again south of the San Juan Mountains. The shore-line of the lake or sea appears to have been irregular. From the mouth of Coche- topa Creek to Mountain Creek it seems to have been not far south of the Gunnison River, and approximately parallel to the course of the river. AS we approach the Cimmaron and Cebolla Creeks, the breccia extends much farther southward, but it is impossible to trace the lines beneath the accumulations of voleanic rocks resting upon it. West of the Uncompahgre the breccia is entirely absent until we ap- proach the mountains, where remnants are seen on the lower slopes. The matrix of the breccia is of a gray ashen color, and the included masses are generally dark trachytes of all shapes and sizes. In most places they are angular and of large size. Along the Gunnison a pink tufa separates the breccia from the overlying trachytes. PORPHYRITIC TRACHYTE. In the Report for 1874, under this head, I deseribed some isolated mountains just west of the Elk Mountains. The rocks in that region dif- nt la Sal. V7 — ~ x S Sy }ORWE S PROCESS/ Plate VII. Northern Group. - Middle Group. 660. Salt Creek. AU, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHIC Co.N.Y. (OSB0RNE'S PROCESS) Sketch of the PEALE. | ERUPTIVE ROCKS—SIERRA LA SAL. 95. fer considerably from each other in detail, but there was a general re- semblance. All were more or less porphyritic, and in some places their trachytic character was undoubted. In the absence of any microscopic or chemical analyses of the rocks, I included them all under the general heading of porphyritic trachyte. In the Sierra la Sal, we have rocks similar to those of Mount Marcellina and other groups west of the Elk Mountains. As their mode of occurrence is the same, I have adopted — the same name. It is, of course, provisional, as the rocks have never been critically examined. All the specimens collected on the Sierra la Sal were lost, and therefore no complete description of them can be given. The following remarks are given simply as a sketch, as the western side of the mountains was not visited, and the limited time we had to examine this interesting locality precludes our giving as detailed a description as I could wish. Enough, however, was seen to leave no doubt as to the structure of the mountains, which is the same as that of Mount Mareellina and its surrounding groups, (see Report for 1874, pp. 163, 168,) and the Elk Mountains, viz, eruptive. By this, I mean that the sedimentary strata have been lifted up by eruptive rock, which has broken through them in some places, and in others is seen only as the result of subsequent erosion. In the Reports for i873 and 1874, the eruptive character of the Elk Mountains is frequently referred to.* In that region there is so much complication, the sedimentaries being over- turned and penetrated by dikes in every direction, that it is only when we glance at the range generally that we begin to comprehend its struct- ure. In the isolated groups southwest of the Elk Mountains, described in the Report for 1874, (pp. 163-168,) there is more simplicity, the struct- ure being much more apparent. Even there, however, there are diffi- culties met with in the study of the mountains, arising from the fact that the line of junction between the volcanic rocks and the surround- ing sedimentaries is generally concealed by the débris trom the peaks. There are also a number of centers of eruption close to each other, and humerous dikes radiating from the main masses. In the Sierra la Sal the structure is comparatively simple, and there .can be no doubt of the eruptive character of the mountains. - AS a group, the mountains are isolated, and rise for 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the general level of the surrounding country. As we approach the peaks, sedimentary beds rise, and form the lower outstanding eastern peaks, dipping steeply to theeastward. At one place there is a capping of sedimentaries on the summit of the peak, showing that they once extended over the mountains. The general trend of the mount- ains is about north and south asa whole, but we find that they are separable into three groups, which seem to mark three centers of great- est uplift. There are three high areas of volcanic rock separated by saddies of sedimentary rocks, beneath which the volcanic rocks may be connected. I shail take up these groups in order, naming them northern, middle, and southern. Northern group.—tThis group contains the largest number of peaks and is nearest in resemblance to a range trending approximately north- west and southeast. At the north end, on the east side, the red beds (Trias ?) are seen risiug up and forming outlying peaks, dipping steeply to the eastward. At the south end, near station 67, is a gray sandstone (probably Dakota group) reaching nearly to the summit of the station. The saddle south of the group has an elevation of 10,800 feet, and is probably underlaid by Lower Cretaceous sandstones, which extend cee Eg SR Ei i RN TO PATS He RT “Report United States Geological Survey 1873, pp. 59-69, 247-261; Report United States Geological Survey 1874, pp. 55,63, 70. - ; 96 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. around the western side of the group, and there dip to the westward. The central peaks of this northern group are all trachytic, and range in elevation from 12,000 feet to 12,600 feet. Middle group.—This group lies due south of the center of the north- ern group, and contains four principal peaks of the following elevation : 12,300 feet, 12,724 feet, 12,890 feet, and 12,980 feet. The area occupied is much smaller than that of the northern group, but it is interesting from the presence of sedimentary beds on station 68, the highest peak. These consist of sandstones and shales very much metamorphosed, forming a capping to the peak. ‘There is at present no connection with the sedimentaries at the base of the peak. This remnant is horizontal in position, and appears to have been carried up by the eruptive mate- rial. It may be a remnant of beds that once extended uninterruptedly across the mountains, or it may be that in the upheaval it was torn abruptly from the beds whose upturned edges rest against the mount- ains. On the sides of the peaks, just north of station 68, fragments of black shales are seen included in the volcanic rock. The eruptive material appears not only to have carried up fragments, but also to have spread . laterally and included portions of the sedimentary rocks. These beds appear to be remnants of the Cretaceous, and the beds surrounding the group are probably of Lower Cretaceous age. The height of the peaks and the steepness of the slopes has caused the accumulation of débris at the base of the mountains, so that it is difficult to get at the relations without more time than was at our disposal. Wherever the beds are exposed, they are seen rising toward the mountains. Southern group.—This is the smallest group of the Sierra la Sal. It is a little to the west of south from the middle group, and is separated from it by a saddle 10,200 feet in elevation, across which sandstones of probable Lower Cretaceous age extend. Iam of the opinion that but one of the peaks shows the voleanic rock, viz, the highest peak, the ele- vation of which is 12,004 feet. The other peaks probably have sedi- mentary rocks extending overthem. On the main peak they extend to about timber-line, (11,000 feet,) and on the east, south, and west sides - of the group, a sandstone (probably Dakota) is seen dipping away from the mass 50° to 60°, and flattening out as we recede from the group. From the summits of the mountains little can be determined, except that the sedimentary beds dip away from them, as we are so high above the surrounding country. Weare, therefore, left simply to conjecture the exact age of the beds on the west side, being guided toa certain extent by our knowledge of the eastern side. Dr. Newberry, when with Macomb’s expedition in 1859, was at Ojo Verde, about twelve miles southwest of the southern group. From the view he obtained of the Sierra la Sal, he was of the opinion that rocks of Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Triassic age rise on the base of the mountains from the east, south, and southwest. He says, also, ‘“‘It is evident, therefore, that the rocks composing the Colorado plateau are there locally upheaved, precisely as around the Sierra Abajo and the other isolated mountains, which I have already before enumerated.” * A closer investigation confirms the truth of this opinion. The only difficulty met with in the study of this interesting region is the great amount of débris that has accumulated at the base of the mountains. There has been an immense amount of erosion since their upheaval—probably glacial, at least in part. The erosive forces appear to have had greater play toward the north, for we find there * Exploring Expedition from Santa Fé to Junction of Grand and Green, p. 93. Be cout ss “ppeovel ss Worthern Group 1 7n on aero CE gy. 1. See 4 e Base Tine C8B00TT. les. t Z “A ae, ay geal Lv z, Be “ZL OVC EL E89 PANN! eo VWIPELEL addle Group Mad NS = % & S q ) 8 x a) i) ~~ ee J wmtles. KY BOOF*t. 6 Base fine ra Non ‘ e ton across Southern Group Jmiles. 3. Sect Aes ee Lig. GN GBOOTrE se line Ba -achyte. Ez Fey Puleozote. Sections across the STHRRA ILA SAL. TLS. 4 Suro 7 Dakota Cretuceorts. pat e for lines see map on Plate V AM. PHOTO-LITHO. CO. N.Y. (OSBORNE’S PROC TE eS atone eih G “ *- PEALE.] ERUPTIVE ROCKS—SIERRA LA SAL. © 97 no evidence of the sedimentary beds continuing across the mountains, and the red beds form the surface formation to the northeast and north, and even on some of the peaks. This may be explain d by the fact that the center of greatest force was at the ‘north, and he force of up- heaval being greater, broke the strata to a greater extent, rendering them more easily acted upon by eroding influences. Whether any of the sedimentaries extended across the mountains uninterruptedly at all points to the north, we cannot say. They did so at the south, but there were in all probability places where the eruptive material broke entirely through, reaching the surface. At present we find the highest peaks in the middle group, where there is a capping of sedimentary beds on the principal summit. The elevations in the northern group differ from those of the middle group by a few hundred feet. Is this difference due simply to the removal of the sedimentaries from the former? If so, the two groups may have had the same original elevation. I think it likely. however, that the northern group was originally the highest. A closer investigation than we were able to.make would doubtless reveal dikes, extending from the main masses into the sedimentaries, as in the Hik Mountains and adjacent groups. The upheaval would naturally cause fractures across the sedimentaries and separations of some of the strata, which would be filled with the eruptive material. This would be of more frequent occurrence near the surface. As we descend we naturally expect to find less disturbance in the sedimenta- ries, on account of the greater resistance the eruptive material would have to overcome. As it nears the surface this becomes Jess, and some ~ of the overlying beds may be carried to the summit, as in the case of station 68. The rock of the Salt Mountains resembles that of Mount Marcellina. It is light-gray rock—a feldspathic matrix, with crystals of feldspar and hornblende, giving it a porphyritic appearance. In Mr. Holmes’s district there are several eruptive areas, in which the rocks are of the same general character. These will be described in his report. The Abajo Mountains were not visited during the season, but they are of the same’ characcer aS the Sierra la Sal. Dr. Newberry visited them in 1859, and thus refers to them:* “ The Sierra is composed geologically of an erupted nucleus, mainly a gray or bluish-white trachyte, some- times becoming a porphyry, surrounded by the upheaved, partially eroded, sedimentary rocks.” He says, also, that the Lower Cretaceous sandstones and Middle Cretaceous shales are exposed in all the ravines leading down from the mountains, and that the sedimentary strata rise on to the trachyte core, as though it had been pushed up through them. This is exactly what has been done in the Sierra la Sal. . In the Sierra Abajo there appears to have been little erosion as compared with the Sierra la Sal. The accompanying sections (Plate VIII) will help in giv- ing an idea of the structure of the Salt Mountains. ‘Lone Cone Mountain will be fully described in Mr. Holmes’s report, as it is an extension of one of his voleanic groups. As to the age of the eruption that caused the elevation of the Sierra la Sal, all that can be said is, that it was Post-cretaceous, and probably Pre-glacial. When on one ot the peaks, I noticed what appeared to be roches moutonnées forms in the red beds some distance to the north- ‘west of the mountains. I think it likely that much of the erosion of the mountains was effected by glacial action. The elevation of the mount- ains above the surrounding country and the steepness of the slopes are * Exploring Expedition from Santa Fé to Junction of Grand and Green Rivers, p. 100. 7G@S 98 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY both so great that the results of more modern erosion have concealed. the evidences of glacial action. A detailed study would doubtless reveal abundant evidence of the former existence of glaciers. The Sierra la Sal presents one of the most promising fields for future detailed investigation to be found in any part of the West, and will well repay the labors of the geologist who shall devote himself to their special study. BASALT. The basaltic areas of the district are very few, and are limited to a few cappings south of the Gunnison. One of these is near the White Earth, and the basalt rests on granite. It was described by Dr. Endlich in the Report for 1874, (p. 202, station 7.) On the west side of the Lake Fork, at station 2, there is a capping of black vesicular basalt, and again at stations 4and 5. In all these localities it rests on trachyte, and, although it is at different levels, it is evidently the same flow, and all probably of the same age, bein Pa the youngest of the volcanics. In preceding chapters the general description of the areas has been given. CHAPTER VIL. ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. The greater portion of our district is so covered with sedimentary formations in which mineral deposits, with the exception of coal, are rare. In the Unaweep canton, where the trail crosses to the north side from the south, there are some indistinct mineral veins with quartz, carbonate of copper, and hematite. The Uncompahgre mountains are penetrated in all directions by veins of mineral matter. These, however, are properly in Dr. Endlich’s district of 1874, and the greater part of the mines were referred to by him in his report for that year. Since then, however, a new mining town, “ Ouray,” has been located at the head of the Uncompahgre River, and promises to be the center of an important mining region. But little has been done except to prospect and plan the town. The latter is situated in a beautiful little park, caused by the expansion of the valley below the junction of two forks. Below the town the river passes through a narrow cation, and the road from Un- compahgre park to Ouray in some places follows the bed of the stream. Lake City is also a new town, situated on the Lake Fork of the Gun- nison at the mouth of Hensen’s (Goodwin) Creek. This locality is described by Dr. Endlich (Report 1874, page 236,) as a mineral-bearing region, although when he visited the region there was no town there. What lodes were then located were worked for silver. The volcanic 1ocks of the Uncompahgre and San Juan mountains are to a large extent impregnated with mineral matter. On the San Miguel River, in the cation at the edge and just below the mountains, a number of claims have been located on placer bars. Little has been done beyond locating claims. Mueh, and indeed the greater part, of our district is within the limits of the reservation for the Ute Indians, and if lodes did occur could not be lawfully worked at present. COAL, | Coal is more widely distributed in the district than either gold or silver. The sandstones of the Dakota group have‘in. most localities a band of bituminous coal or lignite below the massive upper portion. In many places this thins out and in others is of very poor quality. In the Uncompahgre canon a few miles above the site of the agency this lignite, or rather bituminous coal, has been changed to a semi- anthracite. For the cause of this change we do not have to look far. Below the coal on the edge of the river is a bed of trachyte, evidently intrusive. The coal is distinctly laminated, is black, has a submetallic luster, and cuboidal fracture. The following analysis-has been made by Dr. F. M. Endlich : Per cent. \WISIEP co cood Che CAO BES SOD BSS SSDS CEOS ety eee ERE Re Es Oa, Sane AE 1.86 PUXOCUMCANDOMBesctaa sete ac Sam cieeese Shae Nias ME ip ay eS een cere LL cas Nm a ey ee in 77.32 ENS eer Miche ne cc arararcteiid bea fo eet ree Tce wie es ER Af rae ay mle 10.12 Volatile matters by difference .----....-- fate Spare sree eiaie ss ates s eirahen eich rer devs anim 10.70 100.00 SSPECHIC na MiG yemrmmateme ra an taan hate ne. anal oa smelt bar acre as a ttetleclcld autee 1.78 100 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. It will not coke. In the divide between the Uncompahgre River and Cebolla Creek coal is found in Upper Cretaceous strata. The Indian trail passes directly over the outcrop. The coal is soft, breaks down readily on exposure to the atmosphere, and has a dull luster. The following is the analysis by Dr. Endlich: Per cent. Wiatemimee sccm oar ee ROUSE LE Tie oa ea 200 Cee ee re 7.26 Mixed iGanbone ss a ismicia no sos. sicle skemes Sists coiee se eee eee) eee eee eee eee 41.72 ING Thy ope Stoo e re melolseustole coe db eel clenao ce ease eile ees! cine eialetey Ne raat erste eet ye et eae 7.60 \WoOlhiille maginrens loy GibiieReNes) soo o50 Geos Soooas GdoSse onosen GooesoobosSa cose cose= — 43.42 100.00 Specific gravity 1.45. This coal may be characterized as a free-burning, non-coking, bitumi- nous coal. No mining has been attempted at either locality. The blacksmith at the Uncompahgre agency has tried both coals, but with little success. SALT. * As noted in previous portions of the report, salt is found in Sinbad’s Valley, at the head of Salt Creek, a branch of the Dolores. It appears toimpregnate the sandstones of the Upper Carboniferous and Lower » Trias, and the water of Salt Creek is strongly saline. CATALOGUE OF MINERALS. The catalogue of minerals is naturally small; there is no catalogue of rocks, all specimens having been lost at the Dolores supply camp. AGaTe. In the valley of the Gunnison River and southward between White Earth Creek and the Uncompahgre River. AMPHIBOLE HORNBLENDE in the volcanic rocks included in the breccia along the Gunnison River. In acicular crystals in the porphyritic trachyte of the Sierra la Sal and Lone Cone. CatciTe. In the cretaceous rocks of the Uncompahgre Valley, in red sandstones near Una- weep Canon. Se DONY: Soath side of Gunnison River in trachyte. JOAL: Lignite in the Dakota sandstones west of the Uncompagre River and in the cafion of the San Miguel River. Bituminous coal (Lignite) in the Upper Cretaceous sandstones in the divide between the Uncompahgre River and Cebolla Creek. Semt-anthracite in the canon of Uncompahgre River below Uncempahgre Park. FELDSPAR: Orthoclase and undetermined varieties along the Gunnison River above the Grand Caiion, in Unaweep Canon, and in granitic outcrops on the Uncompahegye Plateau. Undetermined variety in porphyritie trachyte of the Sierra la Sal and Lone Cone. Sanidine. In rhyolite and obsidian on south side of Gunnison River between White Earth and Cebolla Creeks. GALENITE. In mineral veins at the head of Lake Fork of Gunnison River and near Ouray, at the head of the Uncompahgre River. GOLD. In placer bars on the San Miguel River. GypsuM. In Upper Carboniferous rocks of the Dolores River and Salt Creek. In the Creta. ceous shales of the Uncompagre River. In neither locality does it occur in large quin- tity. Selenite is abundant in many places. HALITE (salt). Associated with gypsum and sulphur in sandstones of Upper Carbonifer- ous or Lower Trias in Sinbad’s Valley near the head of Salt Creek, a tributary of the _ Dolores River, near the Sierra la Sal. HEMATITE (micaceous). In Unaweep Caiion. HORNRLENDE. (See Amphibole.) a PEALE. LIST OF MINERALS. 101 JASPER (red varieties), Along the Gunnison River in Dakota sandstones above mouth of Lake Fork. LIGNITE. (See Coal.) i MAL‘CHITE (green carbonate of copper). Staining iron ores in Unaweep Canon, associated with pyrite. MICA (muscovitc). In schists and granites of the crest of the Uncompahgre Plateau, in Unaweep Canon, and the granite exposures of the Uncompahgre Plateau north of Una- weep Canon. 2 OBSIDIAN. In trachytes south of Gunnison River. ORTHOCLASE. (See Feldspar.) PyriTe. Associated with quartz and hematite in Unaweep Cafion. QUARTZ. In granites and schists of the Gunnison River and Uncompahgre Plateau, and in the red sandstones bordering the Unaweep Canon. SALT. (See Halite.) SANIDINE. (See Feldspar:) SELENITE. (See Gypsum.) TUBA (calcareous). At the springs in White Earth Valley, and in Uncompahgre Park. REPORT OF F. M. ENDLICH, 8. N. D., GEOLOGIST OF THE SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION, 1875. LETTER TO DR. F. V. HAYDEN. WASHINGTON, D. C., November 1, 1876. Str: I have the honor herewith to submit my report for 1875, as geol- ogist of the Southeastern Division of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, under your charge. In accord- ance with instructions received, I took the field, starting from Denver June 7, 1875, and returned to that place after the completion of the work assigned to me, October 12. During that time an area of 12,500 square miles was surveyed by the party under Mr. A. D. Wilson’s charge, to which I was attached as geologist. Toward the latter part of the field-season fog and deep snow greatly increased the difficulty of the work, and impeded rapid progress. In the subjoined report you will find included a discussion on that region lying north of the Rio Grande below Antelope Park, and on the Huerfano Park. Both these sections had been examined, partially, in 1874, but no report was made upon them, as they would have consti- tuted areas perfectly isolated from the remaining portion. With a view to facilitate the more ready comprehension of descrip- tions, the district of 1875 has been separated, in this report, into sec- tions determined by topographical limits. Five such sections have been made, and to each of them one chapter is devoted. The first chapter treats of the Sangre de Cristo Range and the Huerfano region; the second of San Luis Vailey; the third of the southern extension of the Sawatch Range; the fourth of Rio San Juan and its drainage; and the fifth of the Post-Cretaceous formations of the Trinidad region, extend- ing from there northward to the Spanish Peaks. RMT 7 1) (se 3s SQ ~ j 4 ii x oF es if EEN IS i Li ERE . ye ie ey = : VA VsaWw ouddd NVS >t ai : / Alls SIS 9 S a at & WY . y 7 OO eC Aaa Jal z Hi EEN ae \ 2? p ‘ BoM) SAN. ey 5 SoNeSY GR Ss ES UllltC( ll Cea aa > \ 7 1 a \ tL MC OSS aay - \ \ | ) \ hee gray te Bluffs, SNan\ Luis 4Sta. 102. Plate XVII. ) : J is i] Ec oO R i = e = sc | 2 zs ee =i i Z—~< T jy : | i} ae | Se —— a Naat | ENDLICH.] SAN LUIS VALLEY—FORMER LAKES. 149 Meager as they are, they tend to show the effect of either one or the other kind of causes operating throughout the valley. Of interest is the very gradual and even descent as shown in that region where the basaltic strata dip from the southwest. Professor Stevenson * says: ‘ The general characteristics of San Luis Vahey show beyond a doubt that this whole region, as far south as the New Mexico border, and as far north as the head of San Luis River, was at one time occupied by a great fresh-water lake covering an area of several thousand square miles and fed by streams coming from the mountain glaciers.” Essentially this statement agrees with my own observations, but it is arather general one. Asregards extent I cannot perteetly agree with Professor Stevenson, but have laid down the boun- daries of my lake area so as to make it smaller than it would appear from his publication. Precisely upon what the assumptions justifying the supposition of an ancient lake are based, is not stated, save that ‘¢ general characteristics” be regarded as such. So far as I am able to determine, the physical character of the drift and its very uniform distribution over certain areas, each area containing drift of specific nature, furnishes the only criterion for decision. Professor Stevenson mentions “terraces” as existing in San Luis Valley, but I am unable to agree with him on that point. It is true that slight undulations occur, but they have neither the character of terraces of erosion, nor that ot terraces deposited by receding water. On the east side of San Luis Valley we find a very interesting group of drift, that has already been mentioned in chapter I. It is the drift that I have designated as “compact.” Bluffs of considerable relative elevation are composed of numerous bowlders of all sizes. Sand or clay cements them, either loosely or more firmly. Two of our stations were located upon these bluffs. Nearly all the drift in the valleys im- mediately adjoining owes its origin to a comparatively rapid denudation of these hills. No doubt this formation could—if studied sufficiently in detail—{urnish a clew as to the early formation of San Luis Valley, and, with a view to this object, the drift in question will be more fully discussed in Appendix A, when treating of the glacial phenomena tu Southern Colorado. Along the streams in San Luis Valley, agricultural pursuits are en- gaged in by Americans and Mexicans, the latter more particularly in the southern portion. Owing to the dry nature of the soil, irrigation is required, and thereby many acres have been reclaimed. Near the base of station 104 plateau, a number of very fine springs are found, and meadows receive their water from them. The general elevation of the valley is such that most of the cereals, potatoes, and corn will yield good crops. What the result of forming a small lake near the center of the valley might be, can be deduced from the trials and experiments made elsewhere. As soon as moisture enters the soil, and the most superficial sand is cither removed or mixed with the underlying stratum, there is no reason why not rich crops should reward the farmer. Wherever farming is carried on in the valley with any system and industry, and where there is no lack of water, the results are satisfac- tory. The supply that can be obtained from the streams there is ade- quate to but a very small portion of the entire valley. More water is consumed here than perhaps at many other places, for irrigating pur- poses, on account of the character of the soil, which necessitates great waste. * Report of the Geographical and Geological Explorations West of the One Hundredth Meridian, vol. iii, 1875, p. 462. ; CHAPTERIII. THE SAWATCH RANGE. In this chapter the Sawatch Range shall be considered. Topographi- cally this may be considered as a portion of the San Juan Mountains. It will include all the headwaters of the rivers Pinos, Piedra, San Juan, Blanco, Navajo,and Chama. The division of the entire district has been made in this way for the sake of convenience. We have for consideration this range, which mainly consists of one geological formation and on its western slopes the upper valleys of the rivers mentioned composed of sedimentary beds. Thus both description and classification will be facili- tated and a more uniform field will be left for the discussion of the San Juan River region in Chapter 1V. Although this chapter will cover quite a considerable area, the formations found represented herein are very simple in their character, presenting but few points of special interest, and the stratigraphy of the sedimentary beds shows scarcely any varia- tion. We are, in this region, gradually approaching the great stretches of similar or identical formations that characterize the southwestern portion of the United States. As has correctly been said, “America is the country of big trees and of widely extended geological formations.” A few points of special interest were observed, but the general interest lies, in this district, in the correlation of the groups with contiguous ones. On the west side of San Luis Valley rises the Sawatch Range, or rather its southern continuation. North of Del Norte, the mountains show steep slopes and reach high altitudes, while some distance south of that town the upward slope is by far more gradual. Bluffs with ver- tical faces form the transition between the high mountains and the valley on the north side, but on the south the valley itself seems gradually to slope upward uutil the high peaks in the background are reached. Traveling up the Rio Grande everything we see around us is volcanic to the very head of the river, excepting one small sedimentary area below Bristol Head. Bluff after bluff we pass, while the mountains remain in the distance. Broad valleys are found along the river, and again cafions, passable only for pack-animals. Steep walls on either side inclose the swift stream that receives a constant supply of fresh, clear water from the adjacent mountains. Settlements have been made in a number of the valleys tbrough which the river winds its serpentine course, and stores have been established for the accommodation of the numerous prospectors and miners entering the well-known mining dis- tricts of the San Juan country by that route. A good wagon-road leads beyond Pole Creek, leaving the river only where it is demanded by the serious obstacle of a canon. Pifions and cedars cover the low bluffs near San Luis Valley, but farther up the river dense timber is found on the surrounding hills and mountains. Aspen, spruce, and fir, contrasting in their colors, lend life and variety to the dark-colored rocks exposed on bluffs and mountain sides. Above the great bend in the Rio Grande, just south of Bristol Head, Antelope Park is located. This little valley 150 ENDLICH.] SAWATCH RANGE—DESCRIPTION. 151 contains a small settlement known as San Juan City, and presents a pleasing change from the high walls that inclose the river directly above. In the report of 1874 the region from here upward has been discussed, so that the portion remaining for this chapter is below the park in question, and all that region south of the Rio Grande. Although the Sawatch Mountains here present more the appearance of a very large plateau, studded with isolated peaks, its gradual narrowing toward the south preserves for it the character of a range. On the west side it falls off very steeply into the beautiful valleys of those rivers that form the main drainage of the SanJuan. Rocky slopes, with deeply-cuat cafons separating them, present a bold front when viewed from the west, and give from there the impression of an exceedingly ru gged range of high mountains instead of a plateau. By the Sawatch Range the continental divide is formed, running here in a direction approximating northwest to southeast. ‘Owing to the plateau-like character, the divide makes many small turns and curves, which would be avoided had we before us a continuous sharp range with a well-defined crest. As usual, a number of stations were located on peaks occurring along the line of the water-shed, because there generally we find prominent points that command good views of the surrounding country. Stations 35, 28, 21, 20, 19, 87, 84, 81, 63, and 62 are all on the divide, beginning in their enumeration from the north. On the summit of the plateau swamps abound above timber-line, owing their existence to the unbroken continuation of the underlying strata. They greatly impede progress for animals and men, but form a delightful abode for the millions of mosquitoes that were there encountered. Grassy slopes are frequently met with ; also those broad expanses of rock-fragments that German geologists so characteristically term ‘ Felsenmeer” (ocean of rocks). From these latter the peaks rise, presenting, however, less steep outlines than those formed by the same volcanic material farther west in the district of 1874. Steep edges of the plateau afford good sta- tions, as they permit extensive views into the country lying below them. They are frequent in occurrence, owing their existence either to erosion and,subsequent ‘‘drops,” or to the latter alone. With the exception of some small outcrops of metamorphic rocks in the south, the entire Sawatch Range, so far as belonging in this chapter, contains nothing but voleanic formations, and their boundaries define those of the range. In the latter head a number of large streams, flowing partly into the Rio Grande, partly into the San Juan, the Pacific drainage. Beginning in the south on the eastern side of the range we find Rio San Antonio, . which, flowing in a direction north of east, joins Rio Conejos. This lat- ter heads near station 19, flows first northeast, then makes a sudden turn to the south, reverting again to its original course after reaching San Luis Valley, in which it joins the Rio Grande near station 102. Rio Alamosa also starts near station 19, and flows into the Rio Grande. Rio San Francisco heads at station 18, and, after a northeasterly course, reaches the Rio Grande below Del Norte. All these streams leave the mountains and flow for a distance through San Luis Valley, while the remainder of the Rio Grande drainage remains within the borders of the mountainous country. The main branch of the riveris the South Fork, heading near station 20, and joining the river about sixteen miles in a straight line above Del Norte. Hot Springs Creek starts from station 28, and, flowing about north, empties into the Rio Grande at Wagon- wheel Gap. South River joins it opposite station 27. Besides these more prominent streams, there are a large number of Smaller creeks that carry their water into the river both from the north 152 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. and south. Local names have been given to some of them by the set- tlers, denoting their appreciation of zodlogical science. Trout, deer, elk, grouse, gopher, owl, and other animals have been brought into requisition to supply appellations for creeks that are important only perhaps as landmarks, indicating the boundaries of landed property. Traveling up one of the small tributaries we cross Weeminuche Pass, 10,670 feet above sea-level, and find ourselves on Pacific drainage, at. the headwaters of Rio Piedra tributaries, on a creek that we have named Weeminuche Creek. From there, in a southeasterly direction, to Pagosa Peak (station 38), the streams issuing in deep cations from the range, belong to the drainage of the Piedra. Beautifully clear waters, cold from the melting snow of the high pleateau, all join near station 40 and form the swift Piedra, that carries its water for 40 miles farther southward into the San Juan at station 67. Rio Nutria, one of its main branches, heads just south of the Pagosa Peak. From this mountain southward, all the streams flow into the San Juan after but a short run. The San Juan itself heads near station 19, and making one of the curves that are so characteristic of voleanic countries of this character, leaves the mountains about 12 miles southeast of Pagosa Peak. Its main tributaries are Rio Blanco and Rio Navajo. Of these the former heads near station 19, enters the lower country opposite station 77, and joins the San Juan at station 74. Its name is appropriately given, for the whitish spales and marly clays it passes through impart to the water a color that some- what resembles that which an admixture of white paint would produce. Rio Navajo is longer than Blanco, and carries more water. It rises northwest of station 87, in the mountains, and flowing first in a south- erly direction through a narrow valley, suddenly, upon emerging from the mountains, makes a sharp turn of 90° to the west. After foliowing a general westerly course, with several bends north and south, it enters the San Juan near station 72. Its southern drainage is quite extensive, though many of the creeks do not reach the Navajo during the dry season. Recrossing the continental divide near station 62, we are once more on the Atlantic side, and find here the drainage of the Rio Chama. This stream heads immediately south of station 84, and flows through a narrow, glacial valley into the open country due south. In this latter is the settlement of Tierra Amarilla, with its three towns, Ojos, Puenta, and Nutritas. Near the latter Rio Brazos, coming east- ward out of the mountains, flows into the Chama. Both streams carry a considerable amount of water, and are utilized for purposes of irriga- tion. The settlement there is a thriving one, composed entirely of Mex- icans, while a few Americans own the stores and hold the Indian ageney there established. Agricultural pursuits and the raising of sheep and cattle speak well for the generally indolent character of that class of settlers. Inimediately at the base of the mountains, all these streams just men- tioned enter rich valleys. Tall pine timber covers the low ridges, separ- ating them, while meadows covered with excellent grass are found near the water. The elevation is suchas to produce a delightful climate, made all the more so on account of the sheltered position of these valleys. On the Piedra, particularly, the country seems to offer every possible inducement to settlers, with the one exception, the presence of Indians. They still hold the land, and full well knowing its value, they jealously guard against the advent of strangers, convineed that the ingress of but a few, even, would soon be followed by an irresistible immigration. To use the picturesque language of one of our western companions, this region is the ‘‘ Land of the Gods.” Similar to this in character are the Plate XVII. AM. PHOTO-LITHO. CO_N.Y. (OSBORNE'S PROCESS) ENDLICH.] SAWATCH RANGE—RIO GRANDE DRAINAGE. 153 upper valleys of the streams farther south, after they have left the mountains. Almost the entire valleys in question are located in Lower Cretaceous beds. In order to facilitate description, the rivers of the various regions of the range will be discussed and the variations in formations or local phenomena of importance or interest be mentioned. A.—RiIo0 GRANDE DRAINAGE. Ascending this river from its entrance into San Luis Valley at Del Norte and Loma, we find trachytic formations on either side. North of the river the bluffs gradually decrease in height as they approach the valley. Trachyte, or a conglomerate composed of trachytic material, forms them. A decided dip eastward of 3° to 6° is noticeable in the strata or flows, and on that side the bluffs slope into the intervening valleys and into San Luis gently, without many breaks. Facing them from the west, however, this is changed. A sketch made from station 11, looking east, is here given, which illustrates the character of the bluffs. On the west side steep, vertical walls of the brown trachyte are presented near the summits of the hills, some of them showing preci- pices a thousand feet in height. These walls, inaccessible from the west, except where a break may occur, often stretch for considerable distance in the direction north to south. Small caves and arches are formed by erosion and decomposition in them, and the débris from their faces covers the narrow valleys in between. Covered by pifons and cedars, they sometimes still show grassy slopes that prove to be an acceptable pasture for the sheep-herds of the neighboring settlers. Owing to the loose nature of the soil and gravel in the valleys, water is at certain seasons of the year rarely to be found. Springs occur near the bases of some of the bluffs, but run only a short distance. Combined with the easterly dip is one toward the south, produced by a concave curva- ture of the volcanic strata. This latter is at right-angles to the course of the river; its strike therefore is parallel with it. Correspondingly we find a northerly dip south of the Rio Grande. Thus a shallow synclinal fold is formed, in the axis of which the river finds its course. This accounts for the almost straight line followed by it for nearly fifteen miles. Comparing the trachytie strata of this vicinity with those farther west in the mountains, it will be found that they cor- respond with No. 3, though they appear to have lost in thickness. Sta- tion 11 is 10,460 feet high, while Del Norte, nearly due south of it, is about 8,000 feet above sea-level. Farther toward the northwest the mountains get higher, so that station 26 is located at an elevation of 13,711 feet. Here the character of the volcanic rocks corresponds closely to that observed in the 1874 district. Following up the river we pass station 56 of 1874, which is located on an isolated outcrop of blue Carboniferous sandstone. So far as could be determined, there are several disconnected outcrops of the same rock on either side of the Rio Grande. They have probably been brought “to day” by denudation. Trachyte surrounds tbem on all sides, and covers their extension toward the south. It was expected that their continuation would be found on the western edge of the volcanic area, but this was not verified. Although the outcrops are very small, occur- ring merely along the lower ridge, running parallel with the river, they are sufficiently characteristic to admit of recognition. This is the only instance where, in the voleanic district of 1875, unchanged sedimentary beds were found protruding through the superincumbent trachytic beds. It argues, inasmuch as the case is so isolated, for the as- 154 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. sumption that the general configuration of country was already a varied one at the time of the trachytic eruptions. In 1874 an analogous case was observed at the head Cunningham Gulch, where limestones, probably of Devonian age, occurred in a single outcrop, overlying metamorphic schists, covered by trachyte No. 4. No fossils were found on station 56 of 1874; but the characteristic chalcedonic concretions occurred that indicate locally the age of the stratum. At the eastern end of the great Horseshoe Bend in the Rio Grande is Wagon-wheel Gap, generally only called the Gap. This is a vertical rent in the trachyte, that there formed a narrow ridge, running north and south. Formerly, before this passage was effected, the river flowed around the place, making a curve to the southward, and probably formed a lake west of it. Vertical walls, about 800 feet in height, now inclose the Rio Grande, which so nearly fills the gap produced, that room 13 left on either side of it only for a wagon-road. The north wall is the higher one of the two, measuring about 1,200 feet. From there the mountain or former ridge slopes upward, until it culminates in the summit upon which station 25 was located, at an elevation of 10,279 feet, 2,000 feet above the river. The trachyte here belongs to No. 2 upper, and shows on either side columnar structure, which no doubt facilitated the rupture, that cannot otherwise have been formed than by violent demonstration of force. Whetber this force was seismic, however, or whether more gradually-acting agents were em- ployed, I am unable to decide. Indians utilized the southern hill as a point of “lookout.” A long, low wall runs along its entire northern edge, and round towers, two to five feet high, are placed along it at different intervals. Walls on the south afforded protection against any one advancing up the gentle slope from that direction. The fortifications are well conceived, and the locality chosen with judgment. Numerous fragments of chalcedony and jasper, occurring in the trachyte of No. 2, furnished material for the manutacture of arrow and spear heads, a number of which were found in the old stronghold. Mr. Wilson found one arrow-head of obsidian, which certainly was never obtained from any locality in Colorado, but must have come from New Mexico, or even farther south. Joining the Rio Grande, immediately below the gap is Hot Springs Creek, which heads on the northeast side of station 28. This name has been given to the stream from the occur- rence of several hot springs there, within a mile of its junction with the river. Three springs are there, all situated but a short distance from the creek, one on the west, two on the east side. One of them, the largest, has been led into a bathing-house, and the water there shows a temperature of 105° F. The observations as to temperature were made July 4, 1875, 7 p.m. A short distance above the house is the spring itself. It is contained in a natural basin, oval in shape, measuring 11 feet by 7, along itstwoaxes. Here the temperature of the water is131° I. Bubblin gup from the center, carbonic-acid gas and sulphureted hydrogen escape in great volume, while the mineral constituents, carbonates of lime, soda, and potash, are either deposited on the bottom, or aid in building up the rim of the basin that confines the spring. Some iron is also in solution. At the base of alow bluff the upper spring issues, showing a temperature of 122° F. and containing the same minerals in solution. Its clear water in- vites to tasting, but the alkalinity it possesses in a high degree soon de- stroys its application asa continual beverage. The third spring, between the two, measured 107° F. It is surrounded by aconsiderable deposit of carbonate and bicarbonate of soda, and the taste of the water is that of a nearly saturated solution. These springs have attained a local repu- BeeeH| SAWATCH RANGE—HOT SPRINGS. 155 tation for the cures effected by their use, in aggravated cases of rheuma- tism and kindred diseases. The healthy mountain-air, the free and easy life, together with the use of these hot waters thoroughly impregnated with mineral matter, would no doubt have a very beneficial influence upon some invalids whose ailments an in-door life and the use of drugs might fail to conquer so speedily. At the time of our visit, quite a number of people were there, seeking relief from various diseases they suffered from, and all of them expressed their admiration of the sani- tary qualities developed by the water of the springs. Preparations were being made to utilize the two upper springs, besides the lower one. . Dr. Oscar Loew, mineralogist and chemist to the 100th meridian sur- vey, has published* three analyses of these springs, which are appended. The temperatures which were there observed are generally higher than those I have taken. A comparison gives the following result : No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. 150° F. Cold. 140° F. (Loew.) 131° F. 107° F. 122° F. (Endlich.) Analysis of No. 1: SHIA ATMO ALC os eioe es aleinets wales ate bie OR he SSUES DM SL 69. 42 PBenenKENy CAT DONATO este) sek) 2h ee Deke ek ek a beak et a eS ee Trace. Gein TAve ALDOMADO pee crass ne Oe oS Setciainiees oluinia ceraloieloin spear obyoetbis wer PA cates 13. 08 eI AN ONGC) antes na coe) a Joainlanina mn aletjn a niaie Sek core Siac oficial cis) 5 one oe 10. 91 PASSIUIMISU PU ALES e oes tetas ce se meca acecem ace citation —eocus coccma une Trace. PPMIMHEGMU BH Tote Rect tet ane co bed Jodo Wiebe cecoceserstesse tues weboecaas 23.73 RIMPREETVECHIOLLO ONS seats Sete SiS ia a ere ees eas OE a ea 29, 25 FS TIRED CHGS — HGS SRR es Sa RON Sm nn To DUR, LP OR GS 5.73 EET HAPS SESE SAE es EN ke A Trace. MPVCLCUUNMUTOPOM stems cn eca daansc ec cccce os wc toe he ce sce a sce cute Trace otal 5-Sks te tecsides EOS BCs HE ae P= FI aie rir = bye aed lee Pay aed ue 152. 12 This, as well as the following analyses, is calculated so as to give the mineral constituents in one hundred thousand parts of water. Analysis of No. 2: Pee OMG AT DOM ALO es ete a ie ee re ets ate ote ela miei a ere Cae oe ola eS ee eT. Ck NSALN OO) PEnERIMeLPOOnALGs. Vso sO LSS ae i oe ee Co eal) 5, 10 daoeoneKnMisniphates ie. seks. cle. sae Bees kkk Se ASHE Aa Sree eae ag Trace. PrpmeIIHeTID HATO. foes ee a Pe CaN a a oly Ou We Gib 10.50 SS AITLEEL BUOYS (ONAL RE RR A i TS RR PE Ne 11.72 2 Let eh eles i lla eed A AG iy i ed tea hn AR a lg 1. 07 MEPMIEMTEIUTO EE MLN po ert aL MERIC Ee SS COT eC ELEY race: RMT one NyATQSeM A cereal al Gab ei ek 12. 00 NEVE tie ta eae Rn Ee a i ER CTE ae A TN A AR 71.39 Analysis of No. 3: PALE CAL DON AMC. ini0oorano~ 22% asvoudayacl Eee Vs eon Cae tao OU 144, 50 | ELUTE: GET STILT 2 PE ll NO a aA CIO SC ACR a nn Trace. Calcium carbonate Magnesium carbonate ; cintra Pons ccecen encase ceneececeewencne cans cwoe ns case | U2. 4D 10) SCOLSHTT OTS Sn OE aaa bs ec EN BS La eS Trace. UBT Hage tee AN 3 eed ee ah NON ey sae 2 A OUTLET ya. slap cA aR ale ee Ae NT Oi Gee 33. 34 Silicic acid..... Organic matter 9 2663 GSUB UBER OES 4 GE SESE i pt a OS a Le 4,75 ING teal epee rete are crise ie Sn et Nee Macks Ty naeet a teres Sun a ARO Uy ean eee eam nner mew ee Seema PIE RETNA PEP MD PTS NOU aS OOP RAE aye! 2 ETE TS * Report Exploration and Survey West of One Hundredth Meridian, 1875, p. 623. 156 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Trachyte flanks both sides of the river above the gap, stretching down in long, low ridges from the mountains. South of Bristol Head,* station 27 is located on an isolated hill, at an elevation of 9,278 feet. Opposite this station South River flows into the Rio Grande. On the former a group of very great interest was discovered, a group of monuments. For about 3 miles along the east side of South River, hundreds of ‘‘mon- uments” occur, imparting to the wooded slope that is studded with them a weird and picturesque appearance. A long ridge separates this stream from the parallel creek east of it. On the west side this ridge falls off perpendicularly, with narrow, rocky walls leading off from the precipice at right angles. It is on these walls and in the interstices between them that the curious products of erosion are found. Rising from a massive base, the spire-shaped columns, profusely ornamented by accessory tow- erlets, reach a height of 400 feet. Several of them cluster together below, and, separating as they increase in height, form groups that for unique appearance will scarcely find their equal. Dark spruce timber, trees of great size, seem but like dwarfs by the side of these mighty columns. The entire surface of the walls is corrugated, ornamented with diminutive monuments, while the edges and the top are literally covered with the graceful forms. For 3 miles in length and about half a mile in width the surface is covered with the monuments. Through openings in the timber the groups appear, like so many statues placed there by the skillful hand of nature, while again they reach far above the tops of the highest trees. Owing to the comparative regularity of the arrangement of the walls, certain zones are more richly supplied with the monuments than others. Looking down from above into the deep chasms between the walls, the slender columns capped with the projecting top, occurring of all possible sizes, present a view at once impressive aS a whole and singularly beautiful in detail. Trachytic conglomerate, that shows indubitable evidence of having been depos- ited by water, furnishes the material for the formation of the monuments. On average, the thickness of this stratum, that also occurs at numerous other localities, is about 600 feet. In consequence of erosion, the walls jutting out from the precipice do not show the entire thickness of the Stratum, but are only about 500 feet high. Rising from the very base of the walls, the highest monuments reach about 400 feet, but the average height may be quoted at about 60 to 80 feet. The conglomerate is com- posed of large and small trachytic bowlders that are but loosely cemented by voleanic sand, which is redeposited by water. At no point was it ob- served that the cementing medium produced a harder rock than at the place where the largest number of monuments are found. In contradis- tinction to the formation of the monuments in the Garden of the Gods, those of this locality are primarily formed almost entirely by aqueous erosion. Numerous observations, showing the form in every stage of development, have demonstrated the process of generation. Assuming before us the vertical or nearly vertical wall of trachytic conglomerate, we find that innumerable large and small bowlders project from its sur- face. Water slowly moving down along the wall finds a temporary rest- ing place upon reaching one of these bowlders, and then flows down on one or the other, or both sides of it. Owing to the very readily disin- tegrating character of the conglomerate, the cementing grains of sand and the small amount of clay intermixed are readily washed away, and gradually a vertical groove appears on either side of the bowlder. This groove is, in the course of time, worn deeper and deeper, the bowlder * Comp. Report United States Geological Survey, 1874, p. 199. Plate XIX. arene ee ite LE (M Wr : NEE AM. PHOTO-LITHO. CO.N.Y. (OSBORNE'S PROCESS) ENDLICH.] SAWATCH RANGE—‘S MONUMENTS.” 157 projects more and more, until its rear end, formerly buried in the wall, is reached. Then we have the beginning of the monument. All that portion directly under the protecting cap has remained intact, and now stands out prominently as a cylindrical column, bearing a rock of often very irregular shape on its upper end. After that stage of development has been reached, erosion by sand, frost, and other agents assert their influence in shaping the monument to the typicalform. The highest por- tion of the cylinder gradually becomes thinner, while the lower one, on account of its greater bulk and more recent separation from the original place of deposition, retains to a great extent its thickness. Bottle-shaped columns are the eventual result, capped by an erratic bowlder, which pro- jects on all sides over the narrow “ neck” sustaining it. If erosion pro- gresses further, particularly that produced by sand, the neck again is the portion most violently and successfully attacked. It grows still thinner until it has assumed the shape of acone. Then the stone capping it can no longer retain its delicately-balanced position and falls. Thus the needles are formed. To these latter is allotted, but a short existence. Exposed entirely to the eroding agents, the cone grows more and more obtuse, its height less, and, crumbling down piece after piece, before long its place is only marked by alow mound of disintegrated conglomerate. Storms and rain carry off the smaller particles and the sand, so that all we find to-day to mark the places where perhaps hundreds of the monuments stood at one time is a layer of trachytic bowlders that locally accumulate where once they were imbedded within or placed on top of the monuments.* A very beautiful trachyte composes the greater portion of these bowlders. It is of a variety that occurs at a number of localities in the district of 1874. Instead of segregated minerals contained in a paste, it consists mainly of a crystalline aggregate. Sanidite crystals, colorless, yellowish, and pink, together with black hornblende crystals, black mica, and white or yellowish oligoclase, make up the trachyte. A small quantity of a red- dish paste occurs sometimes, but rarely. Frequently a light-green semi- opal forms a sort of cement, and then produces a harder variety of the rock. Some of the sanidite crystals show adularization. Partly mate- rial made up of this trachyte, partly that from other varieties, compose the cementing sand. Much of the clay that enters into the composi- tion of the latter has been washed out from the surface of the walls and monuments, and has collected as a yellow deposit in the small streams and creeks leading to South River. On the west side of this stream the same formation occurs, but the monuments are only found scattered here and there, by no means in the same groups as on the east side. Partic- ularly beautiful in their scenic effect, as well as in their form, are those monuments occurring on the sloping edges and tops of the walls above mentioned. Wherever the marks of stratification are noticeable, the shape of the monuments is different. They seem to be laterally com- pressed, instead of showing a symmetrical development on all sides. A curious incident in the formation of one of the monuments was there observed and is illustrated by the annexed cut. The highest one measures about 35 feet. Gradual erosion reduced the diameter of the column of the smaller one until eventually the rock in the upper third of the monument was reached and a second one was formed under it. Accidentally the bowlder in question had its position in a vertical line under the first, so that its present poise is possible. Among the hun- dreds that were seen there this is the only instance of the kind observed. A smal! group is represented by the cut, showing monuments in several "Comp. Report on Geology of Northern California and Oregon, J. 8. Newberry, 1857, p. 46. 158 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. stages of development. It is a copy of one of the innumerable groups studding the tops of the walls. There of course the height of the col- umns is not so considerable as of those starting near their bases. From the numerous needles and remnants of needles on the walls, it may be inferred that there the existence of the monuments is by far shorter than below, where they are less exposed to the wind and to the conse- quently more severe erosion both by sand and water. It requires but little force, directly applied, to overthrow a monument there 1 or 2 feet ’ in diameter. Another feature adding to the interest of this locality is found in the natural arches formed in the narrow vertical walls. ‘Speaking of the walls as narrow, it may be stated that this is meant comparatively. They are from 30 to 160 feet in width above, but compared with their length and height even this produces the impression of very narrow width. Altogether we found eleven of these arches, nearly all of which were remarkable for their great regularity of outline. The one repre- sented by the illustration is perhaps the most regular, and sufficiently low down in the wall to be surrounded by monuments. As Mr. F. Rhoda of our party was the first one to find an arch, 1 have named this one Rhoda’s Arch. It is about 150 feet wide and 180 feet high, very symmetrical in outline, leaning slightly toward the east however. A number of high monuments, the highest reaching over 200 feet, are in the. foreground, where the interspersed spruce trees look very diminu- tive, compared with the towering forms of the monuments. As regards the "formation of these arches, an idea suggested itself in consequence of studying the conglomerate. It was found that at many places the sand more loosely cemented the bowlders than was generally the case, and there niches were worn into the walls by the action of erosion. Should the process that produced these niches be continued, the result will be a perforation of the wall—the formation of an arch. It is read- ily conceivable how the process of erosion would progress more rapidly after the first decided start had been made, and the arches in their pres- ent form would require much less time to be completed than the niche which was their beginning. Many niches were found, but they are, as a rule, so absolutely inaccessible, that the investigations as to the na- ture of the conglomerate in which they occurred was necessarily limit- ed to a few instances only. Although we frequently met with the same conglomerate during the summer, we never found another locality where these monuments had been formed. Why the valley of South River should be thus favored is not very apparent. The eastern ridge, upon the west. slope of which they are found, is narrow, densely timbered, and shows no evidence of having turned large quantities of water in the direction of the monuments. From the south water might have flowed freely, but the transverse position of the walls excludes the prohability of water coming from that direction having had any consid- erable influence in the eroding of the unique forms. Theexplanation is probably to be sought in the physical constitution of the conglomerate, which is so peculiarly adapted to the formation of monuments of that character. In time—though it may take ages—the capped columns will be transformed into needles, they in turn will disappear, to leave noth- ing but a small remnant of débris; all the beauty of that rarely-visited spot will then have vanished. Above station 27 on the Rio Grande Antelope Park begins. Bor- dered on the north by the long bluff that runs parallel to the precipitous edge of the plateau upon which Bristol Head is located, the valley stretches along in a westerly direction. On the south the steeper slopes ——— \ am TT SS Su Vy Rte We Sq Wf H i (Ey ro fe LITHO. CO. N.Y. (OSBORNES PROCESS) AM. PHOTO Rhodas Arch Plate XX ENDLICH.] SAWATCH RANGE—ANTELOPE PARK. 159 of the trachytic strata form its confines. In the lower portion of the valley the old courses of the Rio Grande can readily be traced. At present it winds its course very near the northern edge, but formerly it flowed on the other side. Courses that belong to three different periods can berecognized. Hither there is but a shallow, continuous depression to mark one of them, or a series of swampy places, connected with each other, or the old remnants of the banks, denoted by rows of pebbles and bowlders, and accumulations of sand. We have here an excellent illustration of what I have been accustomed to term the “ parallel shift- ing of rivers.” The general course of the Rio Grande in Antelope Park is a little south of east, corresponding to the long dimension of the valley itself. It is not meant that each turn of the winding river is moved parallel to itself, but that in the course of time the deposition of river-drift at the points of weakest current will produce a change of the velocity and volume of the current, thereby, too, changing the places of deposition. In this manner, and owing to these changes that will invariably occur in a valley of any breadth, the river will eventually have covered the entire width of the depression, so far as steep slopes on either side may permit it to travel parallel to its own general course. This accounts for the fact that often valleys of considerable breadth, but having a level surface, are found to be covered entirely with river- drift. In a case of that kind it is tempting to assume an enormous amount of water as having passed over that locality at some remote period. From the courses taken by the Rio Grande in former times, it is evident that the river covered, in time, the entire valley, constantly changing, as it did; and it is natural, therefore, that we find the drift, both of the river proper and that brought to it by its tributaries, distrib- uted over the entire surface. This fact becomes all the more striking as some of the streams entering the Rio Grande farther west head in the metamorphic area of the Quartzite Mountains, and we find here the characteristic quartzites and schists that can have had their origin no- where but in the mountains cited. They are spread all over that portion of Antelope Park, together with the voleanic bowlders from the immedi- ate vicinity, and from the neighborhood of the headwaters of the river. It was noticed that drift, identical with that of the Rio Grande, covered a considerable portion of the bluff upon which stations 33 and 34 were located, about 900 feet above the present level of the water. It seems almost impossible to account for the presence of this drift. It is well known that any drainage coming from the north could not have brought quartzites and schists to those places, as none occurs within reach of the waters flowing from that direction. How the river could have reached to an elevation 900 feet higher than its present level is not readily understood. On the southern side of the valley the trachytic strata were observed to dip 4° to 8° toward it. The strata of this bluff dip toward it 8° to 16°. Whether the river at one time flowed at a much higher elevation than at present, depositing its drift where it is now found, in apparently so abnormal a position, and whether through a subsidence indicated by the synclinal dip of the strata its present course was established, I am unable to prove. Transportation by glaciers suggested itself, but no positive evidence of moving ice what- ever was found in that region. This is one of those numerous puzzling questions that cannot be answered without a very minute knowledge of both the geognosy and orography of the entire section of country in- volved. I merely make mention here of the fact, as I have several more localities tarther south to discuss, where analogous occurrences were observed. Between Crooked Creek and the Rio Grande, above Ante- 160 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. lope Park, are a series of bluffs, upon one of which station 53 of 1874 was located, at an elevation of 10,303 feet. With great certainty the strata of trachyte No. 2 and No. 3 can be separated here. They are very nearly horizontal, having but a slight dip to the eastward. There is no doubt that the bluffs, now separated by cafions, were at one time a con- tinuous plain, over which the Rio Grande may have found its course. In that case the deposition of erratic material near stations 33 and 34 would be fully explained, but there is no sufficient proof at hand to sub- stantiate the supposition, although it is the only one affording a sem- blance of probability. The cafion opposite station 53 of 1874, ‘through which the river flows, is one of separation, not of erosion, as is amply shown by the character of its walls, by its course, and by its topographical features generally. As such is the case, the chasm produced would have afforded a convenient outlet for the river into the lower country east of Antelope Park, and abandoning the elevated position heretofore occupied, the Rio Grande would have sunk its level nearly a thousand feet. Just above the cafion the creek flowing north from Weeminuche Pass enters the river, and there the work of 1875 joins with that of 1874. All the drainage flowing into the Rio Grande from the south, runs — entirely in trachyte, until we reach those streams that flow for some distance through San Luis Valley before joining the river. Of the former, the south Rio Grande is the most prominent. It heads south of station 18, flows first west of north, then takes a turn toward the east. Trachyte No. 3, and high up in the mountains No. 4, oceur within the limits of its drainage. In lithological character the strata here are identical with their western continuations in the Uncompabgre group. No. 4 is not developed to so great a thickness as there, and in conse- quence the peaks do not reach the high elevations that we find farther west. Station 21, near the headwaters of this stream, on the continental divide, has an elevation of 13,323 feet, and station 28, at the head of Hot Springs Creek, is 13,160 feet high. This may be regarded as an average for the higher peaks of the plateau-range upen which they occur. More elevated mountains are not wanting in the range, but they are not numerous. Stratigraphically the conditions are very sim- ple, a gentle, general easterly dip being the only variation from the horizontal noticeable, with the exception of some slight local faults or of “drops.” From station 20, (11,892 feet,) one of the former was noticed in a bluff to the northeast. On the face of the plateau-like bluff a dark stratum of trachyte is exposed, which has been displaced for the vertical distance of about 200 feet. The line of the fault break- age is marked very prominently by the débris of the dark bed. Most of the ridges in this locality partake of the characters of plateaus, sep- arated by deep canons. Below the South Rio Grande, the next stream of importance is the San Francisco. It flows mainly through trachytic strata, but enters San Luis Valley near Del Norte. Near its headwaters stations 17 and 18 are located, the latter 12,768 feet above sea-level. They are within the Summit mining district, the discovery of which created considerable excitement several years ago. In this district we find the ‘red stratum”* developed, that is an important feature in the mining regions of the San Juan country. Here, as there, the color is produced by the decomposi- tion of very minute pyrite crystals, with which the trachyte is thor- oughly impregnated. Inasmuch as it denotes the presence of a mineral that very frequently is auriferous, the appearance of this characteristic * Report United States Geological Survey 1874, p. 197. (SS300Ud S,ANHOSSO) AN "@3 ‘OH LIT-OLOHd ‘WV WE \ea\ |e 4) ely “IXX Fld & Midd epg dep pore Vevey a ean ate ied ENDLICH.] SAWATCH RANGE—EASTERN SLOPE. 161 may serve as a guide to prospectors and miners. Its colors vary here, as farther west. Starting from white they passthrough yellow and orange to a brilliant red, deepening at places into a dark brown and maroon. It is not in this stratum that always the paying lodes are found, but it is evidently in intimate connection with the lode-bearing formations. West of the headwaters of the San Francisco, stations 15 and 16 are located, at elevations of 12,515 feet and 13,176 feet. The latter is a high, rounded hill covered with short grass. Over it leads the wagon-road to the Summit district. Both are trachytic. On station 15 the trachyte weathers in thin slabs. Itis of a brown color, containing sanidite, horn- b'ende, biotite, and some oligoclase. When sufficiently thin, the slabs produce a submetallic sound upon being struck. Descending with the stream we find ourselves in the low bluffs, characteristic of the western border of the San Luis Valley. Their strata show a general dip to the eastward, which here is changed by a slight one to the north. On one of the rounded bluffs station 14 (9,629 feet) was located. Its summit is formed by a capping of black vesicular basalt, containing small frag- ments of a very yellow olivine. On account of the commanding view, this point had been utilized as a “lookout” by the Indians, and we found the low circle of stones intended to shield the sentinel from observation. Near the San Francisco heads Rio Alamosa. From the northward to the entrance of the Alamosa into San Luis valley the eastern border of the Sawatch Range has been formed by trachytic bluffs. Here, how- ever, this changes. Station 101 is located at an elevation of 9,627 feet, and forms a prominent hill on the west side of the valley immediately north of the Alamosa. This is composed of trachyte, but south of it the more recent basalt sets in. So far as could be determined, the lat- ter is unconformable with the former at this point. The Alamosa heads at station 19, a prominent rough mountain in the trachytie area. rising to an elevation of 13,323 feet. A part of the Alamosa drainage heads in the Summit district, and some of the mines there are located within its limits. Reaching the vailey, the river flows first through a small outcrop of the trachytic conglomerate, and then enters a broad caiion walled in on either side by basalt, but having a flat bottom that is util- ized for agricultural purposes by Mexican settlers. Rio la Jara joins the Alamosa in San Luis Valley. The basalt of this, as well as of the border of the mountains farther south, covers in an almost continuous layer the prevalent trachyteoftheregion. It shows, near its western, highest edge, an easterly dip of about 7°, which gradually diminishes as it approaches the plain, and eventually enters it. There it forms the bottom of the val- ley for some distance, until itis covered by thedrift. Wherever branches of the stream come from the mountains, they have cut through the basalt into the trachyte or trachytic conglomerate, so that the first will then only be found as a capping, covering the bluffs that have been produced by erosion of the continuous eastward-sloping bench. Identi- cal with the occurrence of the basalt here is that on the drainage of . Rio Conejos, farther south. It heads along the continental divide in numerous small branches, west of station 86, which we named Conejos Peak. This mountain is 13,183 feet above sea-level, affords an excellent landmark, and is entirely surrounded by drainage belonging to the river of the’same name. Receiving its largest tributary, Rio San An- tonio, from the southwest, the Conejos finds its course through the wide- spread basalt immediately after leaving the mountains. The most west- erly appearance of the basalt is observed on station 88, (12,181 feet,) where it occurs as the capping of a trachytic plateau of small extent, 1lG@s d 162 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY. trending north and south. From there eastward the country is more broken, showing, however, in its character, that the contours produced are but the result of the cutting of an extensive plateau that formerly existed there. Again we meet the basalt, overlying trachyte on a small plateau, 10,631 feet above sea-level, upon which station 90 is located. As at station 88, so we find here an easterly dip of the voleanie strata, both of the trachyte and of the basalt. Looking southward from that station, we can observe the well-defined western edge of the plateau, striking about north to south, sloping eastward at an angle of 6° to 8°. This expresses the dip of the voleanic beds. Upon the edge of the pla- teau, south of Rio San Antonio, station 96 was made, at an elevation of 10,294 feet. From here we may regard the basaltic outcrop as contin- uous. It is cut by every stream leading from the mountains into the valley beyond, but all the bluffs remaining are covered with the basalt. The entire area belongs to one flow, stratigraphically as well as lithologi- cally. Throughout its entire extent the even dip eastward is preserved, diminishing gradually as we approach the broad expanse of San Luis Valley. An idea of the arrangement may be obtained from Section IX. Distribution and character of the basalt, after it has entered the valley, is discussed in Chapter II. A comparison of a few basalts collected from various stations throughout the region under consideration, will show the general uniformity of their character, as well as the constancy of the variations occurring. 1. Station 91. Basalt. Paste, microcrystalline, color middle to dark grey; weathers dark- brown. Contains small spherical cavities, which appear glazed. Brown decomposed inclosures of olivine have a splendent luster. Magnetite is segregated in small, octahedral crystals. Is altogether very homogen- eous, heavy and hard. 2. Station 96. Basalt. a. Paste, microcrystalline, color dark-grey, weathering brown. Olivine in exceedingly minute particles. Spherical vesicles, containing small crystals of zeolites. Magnetite not visible. b. Paste, crystalline, color reddish-brown, weathering lighter. Crys- tals of black biotite occur sparingly. Olivine, decomposed, dark, splen- dent brown. Irregular vesicles distributed throughout the entire mass, some of them containing zeolites. Decomposition of magnetite produces the brown-color. 3. Station 97. Basalt. a. Paste eryptocrystalline, color dark-gray to black: Slightly vesicu- lar, vesicles either spheroid or drawn out. In some of them deposits of zeolites. Olivine the only segregated mineral distinguishable. b. Essentially the same as above, but highly vesicular. Vesicles fre- quently round, while on the same bowlder in another zone they are drawn out. No mineral distinguishable but olivine, which is partly decomposed. c. Paste microcrystalline, color pitch-black, with fatty luster. Very compact. Vesicles too minute to be visible. No segregated minerals. Resembles the typical melaphyrs of Europe. Large percentage of mag- netite. This variety is subject to, mainly, three modifications. d. Physical characters as above, excepting the presence of vesicles ; these are very flat, drawn out to the length of half an inch. Between the larger ones are very minute ones. The rock breaks into shaly frag- ments, owing to the fact that the vesicles have been compressed in one direction. This latter feature still more modified in— ENDLICH.} SAWATCH RANGE—BASALT. 163 e. Where the compression goes so far as to produce a decided lamin- ation. On the surface of fracture, which latter occurs only in the direc- tion of the longitudinal axes of the vesicles, it has an appearance similar to that of the surface of a palm-leaf. The vesicles no longer remain as such, and are only indicated by the quasi cleavage-planes of the rock. fe Shows no segregated minerals whatever, and is as porous as a sponge. The vesicles are small, averaging 1™™ in diameter. g. Paste microcrystalline, its structure much obscured by decomposi- tion. Compact, no vesicles. Color, mottled red-brown and biack. Small particles of olivine are distinguishable, although decomposed. This is essentially the variety c, without vesicles and a changed color, the result of higher oxidation of the magnetite. h. Same as gin paste. Color, reddish drab. Minute, irregular cavi- ties, produced by decomposition of certain mineral constituents. Oliv- ine inclosures reaching a diameter of 2™. This is a still further pro- gressed product of decomposition. i. Very much like f. Color, greyish brown, thoroughly vesicular. Not only are the small vesicles found as in f, but large ones occur, show- ing a glazed surface. All of them have been more or less drawn out. In its texture it closely resembles pumice. Station 104. Basalt. a. Paste, microcrystalline; color, black. Minute crystals of feldspar and finely distributed olivine give the rock a glassy luster. Innumer- able small vesicles.. Some larger ones are scattered throughout. The latter are filled with either crystalline, crystallized, or amorphous carbon- ate of lime. I do not regard these amygdules as accidental inclosures,* but consider their formation to be a secondary one. Probably it is the result of the decomposition of minerals containing lime, which latter was held in solution by water containing carbonic-acid gas, and deposited by it in the vesicles upon the loss of this gas. Were the amygdules accidental inclosures of limestone, their form would not be regular (spheroid) nor would they consist of calcite, but of marble. Experi- ments have shown that pure limestone changes into marble, not crystal- lized calcite, upon being subjected to heat with exclusion of air. Station 99. Basalt. a. Paste, greyish black when fresh, reddish brown when decomposed ; erystalline. Crystals of black biotite in minute crystals. Olivine brown. Minute vesicles and scattering larger ones, both irregular. Recurring again to the headwaters. of Rio Conejos, we find that this stream rises entirely in a trachytic area. Stations 84 and 87 are located at the heads of Conejos waters, on the continental divide; the latter at an elevation of 12,261 feet. Here we find evidence of a very extensive glacier, which at one time covered the entire plateau there, and branching off from the high summit spread itself in several courses both toward the east and south. Deep cafions have been cut into the volcanic material, some of which are almost inaccessible. A hard bed of trachyte forms the highest portions of the plateau trending north to south, and overlies the readily-eroded trachytic conglomerates. Striation and polishing of the former furnishes indisputable proof of the action of moving ice, while the cafions cut into the conglomerate, narrow and deep, denote the courses taken by the ice and water after *Comp. O. Loew. Expleration and Survey West of One Hundredth Meridian, 1875, vol iii, p. 642. s 164 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. leaving the eastward-sloping plateau. Higher peaks, as those upon which the above-cited stations were located, have escaped the denuding influence of the glacier, save at their bases, but east and west of them, the entire region was covered with the moving ice-fields. In accord- ance with the physical character of the conglomerate underlying the trachyte, it has readily yielded to the carving action of the water and ice, and precipitous walls, starting at the point where the protecting tra- chyte has been worn away, and inclosing on either side the canon, give testimony of the long-continued erosive activity of the glaciers. It seems probable, though it could not be proved without examination that would consume more time than we could spare, that some of the glaciers extended down to the edge of San Luis Valley. The shape and character of the cafions, more particularly, and the transportation of material, would argue for this assumption. No moraines that could be considered characteristic or typical were found outside of the mount- ains, but the uniform habitat of the cafions throughout their entire length, permit a view of that kind to appear probable. In Appendix A, the glaciers of Southern Colorado are discussed more at length. In har- mony with the general dip of the volcanic strata of the eastern slepe of the Sawatch Range, we find here, too, an inclination toward the Kast. It becomes very evident in the conglomerates. At the heads of the glacial cafions their thickness is from 800 to 1,000 feet, showing slight local variations, dependent upon the facilities for deposition. Twenty miles farther east, just at the exit of the Conejos from the mountains, the upper stratum of tbe conglomerate appears in the bed of the river and the low banks immediately adjoining. Comparing the elevations here, and at the beginning of the basaltic cap vertically above it, we find that the entire trachytic series participates in this dip, as well as the superincumbent basalt. Although the conglomerate in these canons is essentially the same as that on South River, we find no evidence of the picturesque monuments that there are so well developed. Cavities and caves occur, together with column-shaped rocks, the products of erosion by water, both frozen and flowing. In a rock of the constitu- tion like this conglomerate, frost is one of the most powerful eroding agents. Water permeates the entire mass, and upon being expanded by freezing, finds but little resistance in the loose sandy agglomeration. Thus, in a comparatively short time, the detail features of a cation-wall or precipice can be altered beyond recognition. Though striking forms, produced in this manner, are not wanting in the conglomerate of the cafions, they cannot compare with those south of the Rio Grande. In a region so high as this one is, the frosts continue into that period that we call summer, and begin again in August; it is therefore not surpris- ing that we should find all evidences of striation or grooviag, as pro- duced by glaciers, obliterated here, where undoubtedly large masses of ice at one time descended in that form of a glacier that is appropriately termed “Sturzgletscher” in German. It is simply analogous to a water- | fall; instead of water we have ice. At the southern end of the Sawatch Range, so far as it is in our dis- trict, a change of formations takes place. Although trachyte remains the principal rock, so far as area is concerned, it was found that meta- morphic beds crop out from underneath it. At places, the voleanic beds, without any appreciable change in their general elevation, become thin- ner. This is due to the fact that, at the time of the immense volcanic eruptions that have covered the region, the configuration of the country was already a very much broken one. We find in this region that mountains of metamorphic rocks must have existed, which were either ENDLICH.] SAWATCH RANGE—METAMORPHICS. ‘165 but partially covered by the volcanic beds, or were covered with so thin a layer that this readily yielded to erosion and was carried off, thus ex- posing the older formations. Near station 95 the trachytic area shows its smallest width along the entire range (so far as treated of in this chapter), and it is here that the metamorphic formations appear. Several small outcrops were observed farther north, in deep cafions, where the superincumbent volcanics had been removed. This was aided, in two instances at least, by the agency of glaciers. Evidences of the latter were observed near station 94, at the western edge of the metamorphic outcrop, but, so far as could be determined, they were of small extent only. Drift found 20 to 30 miles farther west, on the summits of Ter- tiary bluffs, could have originated nowhere but at this locality. It is difficult to decide, however, whether it was transported to those places by the agency of water or ice. Station 95 is located on a north to south granitic ridge, at an eleva- tion of 10,373 feet. It is the first of the continuous metamorphic out- crop that extends from there westward. Throughout the region the rem- nants of trachyte superincumbent have the usual easterly dip of 6° to $°, but the metamorphics show an entirely different one. Following down the Rio Brazos, we remain in coarse-grained, light-red granite, until, southeast of station 94, we reach the older, lower strata and find them to consist of quartzite. Here the Brazos runs through a deep, _ impassable ¢aiion, walled in on either side by vertical, quartzitic strata. Station 94 is located upon these, just north of the river, at an altitude of 10,603 feet. Here the quartzite occurs in a number of varieties. From the pure white, granular quartzite it changes into grey, while other strata show slight admixtures of mica. Local accumulations of the latter take place in certain strata, producing a micaceous schist. Between stations 94 and 93 the junction of the superincumbent trachyte and the metamorphic quartzite is sharply defined. South of these stations (be- yond the limits of our district) trachyte again sets in, covering, as farther north, the metamorphic strata. Near station 94 the evidences of glacial action were observed. They consist in the rounding off and polishing of quartzitic beds in positu. Small lakes and ponds have been formed in the shallow excavations produced in part by the moving ice. Apparently the ice moved downward into the present narrow canon of the Brazos, but itis highly improbable that ice could have cut that narrow gorge for a depth of more than 2,000feet. The latter appears to be a cation of sepa- ration, through which the river found its course after it had been formed. Should the glaciers have existed farther south and have been of very ereat extent, their presence would go far toward explaining the occur- rence of drift 20 miles west that has been mentioned above. Viewed from the west, from the low valley of the Tierra Amarilla settlement, the Brazos Cafion has an imposing effect. Dark vertical walls, not un- like in general appearance to those of the Yosemite Valley, inclose the rushing stream that with steep fall enters the valley at the base of the high walls inclosing it. Station 94 rises high above the depression below, and in its outlines already denotes the fact of it being composed of a material different from the surrounding volcanics. It would be of interest to follow the continuation of the metamorphic outcrop south- ward, as there more definite features might be observed. A section (Section LX) taken from station 94 to station 99, at the western edge of San Luis Valley, rans about northeast. Slght variations have been made from the straight line, in order to introduce those features that are most characteristic to the region. On the western slope, from station 94 downward, we find the Cretaceous beds belonging to the Da- e 166° REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. kota (a) and the Colorado groups (b) covered by a thin stratum of bas- alt (c); then follows the quartzite (d), showing an anticlinal fold, under the highest point of the mountain composed of it. Granite (e) coarse- grained, with flesh-colored orthoclase and white, silvery muscovite, appears on the upper strata of the quartzite. Both of these show well- defined, regular stratification. On the west side the dip of the quartz- ite is very steep, amounting to nearly 80°, but it becomes more gentle east of the anticlinal axis. Conformable with it there is the dip of the granite, reaching about 22°. This dip is continued, with slight local ~ changes, throughout the granitic area exposed, and is particularly notice- able in the ridge upon which station 95 is located. Unconformable with the metamorphic strata, though also dipping east, are the beds of tra- chytic conglomerate (f). They show an inclination of 6° to 8° east- ward, which remains constant throughout almost the entire distance that they show any exposures. A shallow convex fold occurs northeast of station 93, which is located at an altitude of 11,214 feet on the com- pact trachyte (g) covering the conglomerate. Trachyte continues, worn away at some places so as to appear thinner, but retaining the regular succession of its flows and its constant easterly dip. It is covered by the basalt (h) of station 90, which reaches a thickness of 200 to 250 feet. From the small plateau formed by the protecting cap of basalt the trachyte is broken away again, as we descend, and the conglomerate for the last time makes its appearance on the banks of the Conejos. With trachyte underlying, we then find the long stretch of basalt (2) in San Luis Valley, a continuation of that at station 90. Local eruptions of small extent, such as station 99, have produced hills outside of the mountains proper, but they are limited in number. Although even here, at the very edge of the great valley, the easterly dip can still be observed, it has now decreased to 3° and 4°. On account of the even- ness of the flow, the uninterrupted expanse of basalt, we find a very level plain formed in this region. It extends for some distance along the western side of San Luis Valley, and is quite unique in its character. Evidently the volcanic material at the time of its eruption must have been in a very viscous state, which accounts for its present regularity. It is highly probable that at one time the basalt of San Luis Valley and that sloping down westward from station 94 and then continued in the valley below, were one mass, and that it was also in connection with the basalt of station 88. Lithologically there is no distinction to be made, and the arrangement of this volcanic rock, topographically considered, speaks for the former connection. One main stream still remains before we reach the San Juan drainage. Rio Chama heads near station 84, and flows almost due south. Its main tributary is Rio Brazos, from the east, which joins it at the town of Nu- tritas. The Chama heads within the glacial area that has been men- tioned as existing at the headwaters of the Conejos. From station 84 the glacier bent around in a westerly curve, and entered, falling steeply, the canon of the Chama. This is not as narrow as those of the Conejos, although its walls are composed of the same rocks. Near the head of the valley metamorphic schists have been exposed in consequence of the removal of the superincumbent trachytes and conglomerates. The ex- posure is small only, and the schists show both striation and polishing. From there downward the glacier has deposited large moraines, clay, bowlders, pebbles, and sand ; everything is thoroughly mixed in, piled up in small hills along the course it pursued. At the upper end of the valley the appearance of the surface is what might be termed “ hummocky.” Lower down the moraines become more regular; are placed either par- Plate XX1. 1 iy Section IX trom Station G4. to San Luis Valley. II. - Sta. 90. Ste, A. Rio Conejos. Scale of miles. AM. PHOTO-LITHO. CO. N.Y. (OSBORNF'S PROCESS) ENDLICH. ] SAWATCH RANGE—SAN JUAN DRAINAGE. 167 allel to (lateral) the trend of the valley or across it (terminal). The present creek-bed indicates the course taken by the ice. On either side the soft conglomerates are cut away frequently to a greater extent than the overlying trachyte, which in that case broke off and fell down into the valley. On the east side, the bluffy wall is the terminus of the pla- teau of station 88, and from there basalt bowlders have fallen down. For a distance of nearly ten miles the glacier must have filled the valley, as shown by the morainal deposits and the characteristic carving of the rocks in positu. Below this the stream flows in the trachytic beds until it enters the Lower Cretaceous near the mouth of the cafon. On the plateau containing the most prominent striation and grooving a number of “‘ drops” have occurred, which change the normal dip of the strata and the direction of the striation. They are found along a line running north to south, and measure 400-to 500 feet in vertical extent. Hither none or very little lateral movement was connected with the vertical subsidence, still it is sufficient to change the course of the striz. Prob- ably the “‘ drops” were produced by an erosion of the underlying con- glomerates. They, vielding readily to the action both of water and ice, were excavated toward the heads of the cafions, and the superincumbent trachytes fell down vertically into the cavities thus produced. On the east side of the Chama cation the wall furnished a very good section of the voleanic beds of that region. Itis about 2,500 feet high. Near its base a taluscomposed of débris obscures the lowest strata, which are prob- ably a brown trachyte. Above them the conglomerates set in, 600 to 800 feet in thickness, varying on account of having been deposited on a corru- gated surface. Higher up we find a bed of massive trachyte, reddish- brown in color when fresh, but weathering dark brown. Bands and nod- ules of black porphyritic pitch-stone occur higher up, among a series of thin trachyte beds that show a banded appearance. This is produced by differences in the color, a number of very light beds setting in, which then contrast with the darker ones. A high mountain to the northwest of this locality has received the name of “ Banded Peak,” in consequence of a similar occurrence. Above these beds, that have altogether a thick- ness of about 800 feet, we find the black basalt of station 88. This measures 200 to 250 feet in thickness. It is vesicular in part, partly compact. Decomposition of the magnetite contained therein has pro- duced the red variety that so frequently occurs at many other places. The Brazos heads in trachyte, but, leaving it, follows the outcrop of the metamorphic rocks, which there takes place in the depressions of the range. It passes through the steep quartzitic cafion south of station 94, and joins the Chama in the Cretaceous valley at the base of the mount- ains. Besides the streams above enumerated, we have to consider those heading in the Sawatch Range and flowing into the San Juan, those on the western slope of the continental divide. B.—SAN JUAN DRAINAGE. Following along the western edge of the Sawatch Range, in a north- westerly direction, we first cross the Rio Navajo. This stream heads northwest of station 87, and flows south as long as it remains in the mountains, turning westward after leaving them. A portion of its headwaters rise in the glacial area of the Conejos glacier. It is prob- able, although the locality was not personally visited, so as to decide positively, that the ice extended down into the narrow valley of the Navajo. On the west side this valley is separated from the low country 168 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. beyond by a prominent ridge composed of trachytic strata. Rugged mountains are placed in a row trending north to south. The boundary between the stratoid trachytes and the underlying Cretaceous beds is very clearly defined, and can be recognized even from a distance, on ac- count of the characteristic forms and color of the voleanic rocks. Con- glomerate crops out, in the cafion, a continuation of the strata farther east and south, showing the same features that may there be observed. Rio Blanco rises south of station 19, and flows from there in a south- westerly direction. It passes through the high trachytes of the mount- ains, until it leaves them south of station 77. This station is located on a prominent trachytic peak, belonging to that row nearest to the valley. Its altitude is 12,514 feet. Ascending it we first find the heavy beds of trachyte, compact, and of brown color. Light-brown to greyish- brown conglomerate covers it, and produces locally more gentle slopes. Above this follow the variegated bands described from the Chama region. Conspicuous among them is one black stratum, resembling basalt.. Upon examination, however, it proved to be a trachyte contain- ing a large percentage of magnetite, and numerous very thin transparent crystals of sanidite. These strata show some evidence of having been reheated; they are hard, very compact, brittle, and fragments have a submetallic ring. Columnar structure indicates reheating also, or slow cooling. Not much regularity is shown by these columns, among which - the six-sided ones predominate, but they produce, in consequence of easy removal, steep, precipitous sides, on which the structure is visible from along distance. Covering these strata, that remain constant in their occurrence throughout the southern end of the Sawatch Range, we find a massive brown trachyte, containing crystals of sanidite, some oligoclase, and small six-sided erystals of a splendent brown mica. Here and along the entire western edge of the range the mountains fall off very steeply, so that in this instance, camp 55, located five miles west of station 77, is more than 4,000 feet lower. It is this fact that im- parts to the mountains the character of a high, rugged range, when seen trom below. The general easterly dip of the strata, 2°-6° at this lo- cality, effectually prevents any view of the sloping plateau behind them. Fissures and eroded caves traverse the upper beds of the trachyte and add to the rugged appearance of the mountains. The facility with which these strata can be eroded in a manner to form shallow caves, is noticeable wherever they occur. It is due probably to a want of homo- geneousness of the physical constitution, in consequence of which erosive agents can more readily attack certain portions than others. Similar features to these found here, have been observed at many loeali- ties of the 1874 district, in the analogous strata. In but a few instances were the caves found to be of any depth, and mostly the mouth was larger than any portion of the interior. In case of rain or hail, so fre- quent in these volcanic regions, they afford temporary shelter, and some found farther west showed evidence of having been utilized for similar purposes by Indians. Rio San Juan is the largest river of the 1875 district on the Pacific side of the divide. Several good-sized streams join about four miles northeast of station 76, and make up theriver. The largest one of these heads just north of station 19, at the divide, and flowing in a northerly curve emerges from. the mountains near station 76. Another branch, almost of equal length, heads south of station 28, and flows in a south- erly direction, joining the first at the place mentioned. Both receive creeks carrying a considerable amount of water, so that the San Juan is a stream of some size already upon entering the lower country. From tip me \N SS SS By, AN SS ME THINS { ri ul \ 3 a \ 2. ‘ AM. PHOTO- LITHO. CO.N.Y. (OSBORNE PROCESS.) ee ae TT ee) ¢ EXDLICH.) SAWATCK RANGH —TRIBUTARIES OF SAN JUAN. 169 the vicinity of Pagosa Peak (station 38) a creek flows southward, with its branches, adding to the quantity of water. As farther south, at the headwaters of other streams, so here, too, trachyte surrounds the entire head-drainage. Caiions are cut into the strata, and there they show exposures that prove them to be identical with those both north and south. They show that the entire volcanic series belongs to one period, and that great constancy of its single members is maintained. In the deeper caiions and along the western border of the mountains the trachytic conglomerate appears, occurring in the same relative position as farther south. It retains its characteristic tendency to form steep walls and bluffs, which farther north changes, on, account of its harder composition. The largest northern tributary of the San Juan is Rio Piedra. This latter has, as the former, a number of branches that join a short distance southwest of station 39, from there downward forming the main river. As the most prominent among them I would mention Weeminuche Creek, which heads south of station 35, and flowing from there almost due south, enters the Piedra in its broad valley west of station 40. Run- ning parallel to it are two streams farther east, the Rios Huerto and Abborato, carrying good supplies of water. Heading at station 28 is the Piedra proper. Its course through the mountains is almost straight, and remains so until southwest of station 39, where the river turns to the south. On the drainage of this stream Pagosa Peak (station 38) is located, reaching an altitude of 12,674 feet. As the entire range there, it is composed of trachyte, belonging mainly to No. 3. Pagosa Peak is a very prominent mountain of pyramidal shape, rising as it does 4,600 feet above the level of the adjoining valley west. Under the trachytes forming the summit of the mountain, we again find a good development of the trachytic conglomerate. Compared with that oceur- ring farther south, it will be observed that it is by far harder, owing to an admixture of more clay in the cementing material, and perhaps to the fact of having been at that region subjected to heat. Although not “decomposing or eroding so readily, it preserves in its outlines the some- what fantastic features that are its characteristics at other places. Its thickness here is somewhat increased, the beds reaching about 1,200 to 1,300 feet. On the Piedra, just as it leaves the trachytic mountains, a very fine water-fall was found. Immense bowlders of the compact con- glomerate are piled up before a vertical wall about 120 feet in height, over which the stream falls in a rapid torrent. On either side the ver- tical rocks reach a height of 500 to 600 feet so as to exclude any access from the fall upward. A little farther up-stream is another cascade, about 30 feet high, which pours its water into a deep basin from where it flows on to the lower fall. The picture is rendered unique in its character by the absence of any vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the falls. Nothing is presented to the eye but the bar- ren rocks and the dark blue water collecting in deep pools worn into the*conglomerate by the incessant action of the falling stream. Appro- priately, and at the same time retaining the name of the river, we have called them Piedra Falls. On either side the conglomerate walls, containing numerous fissures and caves, inclose the upper canon of the stream until it-emerges therefrom and enters the broad grassy valley that is nowhere more beautiful than at the base of the mount- ains. Viewed from there the conglomerate shows many weird forms on the summit of the steep bluffs it forms. Spires and towers, the products of erosion, ornament the crest of the bluff, and descend along its edges into the timber below. Higher up in the background 170 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the mountains rise far above them, showing the horizontal edges of their variegated strata. Between the two nearest forks farther west station 37 is located on an isolated outcrop of trachyte. This is but a remnant of the main body, separated from it by erosion. Compact trachyte com- poses the base of the hill, while conglomerate forms its summit. Cre- taceous shales surround it on all sides, and are underlying the volcanic rock. Both creeks head at the continental divide and flow through nar- row, deep, trachytic caions, whence they emerge and enter the adjoining Cretaceous valley. The western one of the two, Rio Huerto, flows through a meadow, after leaving its cafion, that formerly constituted the bed of a glacial lake. (See Appendix A.) Northwest of station 37 is station 36, located at an altitude of 11,347 feet on a southward spur of the main range. Again it is trachyte that forms the peak. The lower strata belonging to the series overlie Cretaceous beds, and are followed higher up by the conglomerate. At this locality the latter shows a light grey to greyish-brown color, and is more readily disintegrated than near Pagosa Peak. Near its upper edge a stratum of porphyritie pitch- stone was found, varying in thickness from 6 to 18 inches. A portion of this must have flowed upon the conglomerate while the latter was yet under water, because specimens closely resembling pumice are found with it, that have probably assumed their present texture in consequence of having been cooled in water. On this peak the thickness of the con- glomerate stratum is about 600 feet, having decreased toward the north, and still farther in the same direction its thickness is even more dimin- ished. Beds of trachyte showing a variety of colors overlie it. From this station the outcrop of the trachytic conglomerate can be followed for a considerable distance along the steep edge of the mountains. It appears, generally presenting very steep or precipitous slopes, all around the edge, and in the cafions opening into the valley. In this entire region the dip of the trachytic strata remains an easterly one, varying locally on account of subsidences or slides. A case of this kind occurs near the mouth of the cafon through which Rio Huerto east of station 36 flows. There the conglomerate was soft, within reach of the former glacier and the stream afterward, and was washed away in part. Thus the overlying harder strata were undermined and dropped down on either side of the creek, now forming a steep synclinal fold, broken at its deepest depression. West of station 36 flows Weeminuche Creek, heading at station 35. _ This latter station was made on an elevated cone in the plateau-like summit of the range, is situated on the continental divide, and reaches an altitude of 12,889 feet. Weeminuche Oreek runs but a short distance in trachyte, as this is worn away farther down, exposing first the met- amorphic granite, and then the underlying Cretaceous beds. This gran- ite is a continuation of the main metamorphic area of the Quartzite Mountains farther west, and closely resembles that described from station 52 of 1874*. It extends northward for some distance toward Weeminuche Pass, and the well-worn Ute trail leads over it from there. West of it, the small plateau at which the west fork of Weeminuche Creek heads, is covered with trachyte. On the eastern side of Weeminuche Pass the spurs of the range are analogous in the arrangement of their trachytie strata to those of most of the Rio Grande Pyramid group. The con- glomerate has thinned out considerably, and is no longer a prominent feature of the bluffs, though still found, and the trachytic beds have changed slightly, so as to fully agree with the characteristics given for No. 3, farther west. Above the conglomerate occur the variegated * Report United States Geological Survey, 1874, page 189. ENDIICH]: SAWATCH RANGE—DRIFT. peyia strata analogous with those described from the Rio Grande Pyramid,* and identical with those quoted as occurring farther south. The rock composing these strata weathers into small fragments that can almost deserve the name of gravel, and cover the rounded surface of the ridges leading upto the plateau. This latter shows the same features as farther south. Small lakelets and swamps change with either grassy slopes or unmense fields of angular bowlders. Both are characteristic of the plat- eau, and are found wherever it has retained its nature as such. By way of Weeminuche Pass we cross the continental divide, and are once more on the waters of the Rio Grande. Arrived at this point, we again connect our work with that of 1874. The great volcanic area continues westward, retaining for the lower member of its stratigraphical series the peculiarities of composition and occurrence that we have noted in the Lower Sawatch Range. Higher strata occur there, however, that are wanting in our district, and it is they that there produce the volcanic peaks reaching an elevation of 14,000 feet and more. Taking an average of the elevations of the higher and highest peaks in the district, it will be observed that the absolute altitude of their strata corresponds very well with that of the analogous beds to the west. This indicates that, although the dip to the eastward may be constant, hypsometric variations in the strata, from north to South, are almost entirely, if not entirely, wanting, save as very local occurrences. DRIFT. Mention has been made above of the morainal drift in the upper © valley of the Chama, and of its probable occurrence in the valley of Rio Navajo. The erratic bowlders deposited near station 94 might be counted to this class, but the area covered by them is very smali, and the accumulations but local. In Appendix A all the glacial evidence and deposits are discussed at greater length ; therefore the mere notice of the same may here suffice. River-drift, and that class that we are accustomed to term “ ava- lanchial,” occur quite frequently. They are found all along the western base of the Sawatch Range, where they often cover considerable areas. The bowlders and fragments have either rolled down from the mountains, or have been washed down. Bluffs sometimes several hundred feet in height are formed by them, running parallel to the courses of the streams. On the streams proper, alluvial soil has accumulated, which, on the Rio Grande, is utilized for agricultural purposes. ; On the Rio Grande the same phenomena may be observed. Along the edges of the mountains bordering upon the river the avalanchial drift predominates, while lower down the rounded bowlders and alluvial soil set in. It is a matter of interest to observe the distances that such redeposited material is often transported. This may, perhaps, best be studied on the Rio Grande, where the metamorphic groups near its headwaters are represented nearly 100 miles lower down on the river. Bordering on the east side of the Sawatch Range is San Luis Valley, with its almost endless drift. This extends up on the easterly flowing rivers to some extent, and fills in the small valleys between the isolated bluffs that lie at the eastern edge of the mountains. This is represented in the first illustration given in this chapter. San Luis drift proper has been treated of in Chapter II, and it is therefore unnecessary to repeat a description of those portions lying contiguous to the edge of the mountains. * Report United States Geological Survey 1874, page 200. 172 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. MINES. About 25 miles southwest of Del Norte the Summit mining district is located. It is the only one within. the area treated of in this chapter. A few years ago the discovery of the ‘ Little Annie” there created in- tense excitement in the mining circles of Colorado. Since then the Little Annie has been worked steadily, and, I am told, has yielded a good profit. On one of the northern tributaries of the Alamosa, a” small settlement has been started, at the northern base of the mount- ain upon which the mines are located. In speaking of the drainage of the San Francisco and of the Alamosa, the “red stratum” was men- tioned. So far as my experience goes in the mines of Southern Colo- rado, this is indicative of the proximity of ore deposits, and in this in- Stance the mines owe their paying ore to an impregnation similar to that observed in the red stratum. Ascending the mountain for nearly 600 feet from the creek-bed, we arrived at the opening denoting the Little Annie mine. It has been driven into the hill in a direct'on north 260 west. The absolute altitude of this mine is about 11,900 feet. No de- fined vein could bé observed there. It is true that the work is contin- ued in the same direction, but neither wall-rock nor vein exists, as such, to guide the miner. Upon examination, it was found that the entire rock, both that containing the « pay” and the dead rock, was alike. Itisa very highly siliceous feldspathic paste, similar to that of the red stratum, containing siliceous concretions. This volcanic material, belon ging to the upperseries, is thoroughly impregnated with min ute crystals of auriferous pyrite. Upon decomposition the sulphur escapes, and the iron is con- verted into hydrated sesquioxide of iron, thus freeing the gold. In ac- cordance therewith, the gold-ore taken from the Little Annie contains that precious metal in the native State, occurring in small flakes or ‘‘ strings”, either in small cavities or more or less firmly imbedded in the quartz or quartzo-feldspathic paste. The entire mountain, with its per- haps limitless supply of gold ore, is one of great interest, Besides the Little Annie, three more openings were visited; the Dexter, with a strike north 75° east, the Golden Star, and the Golden Queen. All of these are lower down on the hill than the Little Annie. It was noticed that no two of them have the Same strike. At none of these mines, upon which not a great deal of work had been done at the time of my visit, (June 28, 1875,) could any vein or semblance of vein be discov- . ered. The miners were following a slight fissure of comparatively re- ‘ cent date, perhaps a quarter of an inch in width. On either side of this fissure the rock was more discolored, by sesquioxide of iron, than in its immediate vicinit ’,and this discoloration furnished a direc. tion which might be followed in the search for gold. My examinations at that locality were necessarily cut very short, as the party could not be detained, but I am satisfied that the entire mount- ain is impregnated with the pyrite-crystals, as well as several of the surrounding ones. Whether all of this pyrite is auriferous, however, will be a question for special examination to decide. It is possible that the gold occurs in certain zones in greater quantities, in which case the mining-claims must be so located as to cover the zones. Practical pros- pecting will soon develop this fact, if it exists, and action will be taken accordingly. After reaching greater depths than have heretofore been attained, the gold will probably occur only Sparingly in its native state. The pyrite will then no longer be decomposed, but fresh, and the milling of ore will most likely receive a Shock, because the gold contained in the fresh pyrite will not amalgamate. In that case, concentration of the ENDLICH.] _ SAWATCH RANGE—RESUME. é LS ore, which can be very well accomplished with ore of that nature, and subsequently smelting, will come into requisition. Résumé of Chapter ITI.—Viewing the portion of the Sawatch Range treated of in the above chapter as a whole, we find an exceedingly sim- ple chain of mountains before us; simple, both as regards its oro- graphic features and the formations composing it. Comparing the voleanic strata of this range with those in the district of 1874, we find that they correspond very well. No.1 is not developed at any locality here. No. 2 occurs along the eastern base of the mountains, and, extend- ing from there westward, underlies the higher numbers. No. 3 is by far the most prominently developed, attaining in the range a greater thick- ness than anywhere west of it. In its detail features, it compares very well with the parallel number of the Uncompahgre group, so far as weathering and mineralogical constitution is concerned. Above it, we find the often-mentioned conglomerate. This occurs, too, in the western regions, more particularly in Dr. Peale’s district, at the base of the bluffs leading from the high Uncompahgre group toward the Gunnison River. Its first considerable development in our district is found south of the Alamosa, and from there continues on to the Conejos. At the southern end of the range (7. e., so far as contained in this district), where the metamorphic rocks make their appearance, it occurs mainly in the cafons, not reaching up higher into the mountains. On the entire western slope of the range the conglomerate is well represented, varying in thickness, however, from 600 to 1,300 feet. Its geognostic position is constant, overlying the lower beds of No. 3, underlying its highest ones and the ‘“‘nondescript” strata described from station 21 of 1874, No. 4 is but rarely found, only on some of the highest peaks of the range. Basalt is met with in large masses, of uniform character. The great flow that covers the western edge of San Luis Valley, and the adjoining bluffs and plateaus, like a huge black sheet, is one of great interest, both as regards its origin and the causes for its singularly equal dis- tribution. Touching the origin of the entire voleanic. mass composing the Sa- watch Range, I havecome to the conclusion that it is but the continuation of the group to the northwest. At no point throughout the range was any evidence collected that might lead to an inference regarding any particular region within its limits as one of trachytic eruption. The highest mountains, as well as the plateaus and bluffs, show so decided a stratification that they cannot be regarded otherwise than as having been formed by a series of flows. After the first flows had subsided, a large quantity of water must have invaded the region, an evidence of which is to-day furnished by the existence and distribution of tbe con- glomerate. At numerous Jocalities it shows proof of having been depos- ited by water, not only by the marks of stratification, but also by the arrangement of the large and small bowlders. Frequently a thin stratum can be found, composed almost entirely of sand, while at other places nearly all the bowlders are large, with the interstices filled in with gravel and sand. It is clear that a large amount of erosion from trachytic beds must have taken place to produce this extensive deposit. So far as my observations go, nothing but trachyte and trachytic sand makeup the conglomerate; therefore, if these observations are sufficiently complete, the material for its formation must have been furnished entirely by older voleanic beds. Althoughit would bea futile attempt to make any suggestions as to the courses taken by the drainage of that country after the eruptions of the oldest volcanic strata, a few hints are furnished by the outcropping of the older metamorphic rocks. From their present 174 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. appearance, and from the relative position they occupy to the superincum- bent trachytes, we can see that at the time of the eruptions they pre- sented a varied surface, mountains and valleys. Inasmuch asthe volcanic flows have shown themselves to be very constant in their vertical dimen- sions, it may be deduced that the first drainage existing after their deposition, before the older formations had been entirely covered, will have followed approximately its old courses. In accordance with this view we find the distribution of the conglomerate. Northeast of the nearest metamorphic outcrops of the Quartzite group, we find the con- glomerates of South River and its vicinity. Beyond that, down the Rio Grande, they disappear. Southwest of the group mentioned, the same formation occurs along the edge of the mountains. Again, we find that, in the neighborhood of the station 94 metamorphics, the conglomerate reaches an extraordinary development both horizontally and vertically. Following the outcrops of the conglomerate, and keeping in view its thickness, I would infer that it has been composed mainly of material derived from the range itself, and that those places affording the great- est facilities for its deposition by water at present show both the great- est areas and the greatest thickness of it. From the fact that, wherever found, the conglomerate is covered by subsequent flows of voleanicrocks, it must be inferred that its level at the time of these second eruptions was a very uniform one. Had it been deposited by fiowing water cnly, this would scarcely have been the case; local accumulations would have raised hills at one point, while erosion would have produced depressions at another. It is probable, therefore, that the drift-material was depos- ited into a large body of still water. This would account for the char- acteristic features of the conglomerate analogous to such as are often observed in sandstones. Considering the basalt, we meet with a difficult question. It is the one referring to its placeof eruption. Are we to assume that the entire mass, Some of which reaches to an elevation of more than 12,000 feet, should have flowed from such pcints of eruption as Mount San Antonio, 10,900 feet high, and subsequently have been raised to its present alti- tude? It certainly is possible, and would explain the general easterly dip of the Sawatch Range, but where the force producing this uplift came from, or where else it manifested itself, is not completely answered by the study of the surrounding country. We have farther to the northwest, a long distance off, it is true, high basaltic plateaus upon which stations (stations 3, 4, 5, 19, and 20) were located during 1874. It seems more probable to me that the lower strata of basalt that we find in San Luis Valley, and the strata of the southern end of the Sawatch Range, should have originated near those plateaus and extended southward to the localities where now we find them. All the more does this seem prob- able, as we find them in both places overlying the same trachytic strata, a direct connection between-which can by far more readily be estab- lished. Those points of outflow that we find in San Luis Valley are essentially of local significance only, and although their influence is felt in the voleanic beds occurring in the valley, they have scarcely supplied the material for the beds that cover plateaus 1,200 feet above their own Summits. So far as lithological characters are concerned no definite opinion can be reached, as the varieties at every point of eruption are exceedingly numerous, and among these varieties such will certainly be found that correspond with others from distant localities. Comparing the rocks from separated plateaus where they occur merely as a cover- ing, or from the capping of mountains, will farnish valuable hints, but ENDLICH.] SAWATCH RANGE—RESUME. 175 at a point like Mount San Antonio, for instance, almost every conceiv- able variation can be collected. Besides the volcanics only the limited areas covered by metamorphic rocks occur in the range. As stated above, they indicate a corrugated surface at the time of the trachytic eruptions, and they owe their present exposure to their elevation during that period. Of interest the anti- clinal fold under station 94 may eventually prove to be. It will be remembered that through the Quartzite group of the 1874 district, an anticlinal axis was observed to follow a course approximately east to west. Whether there could possibly be any connection between the .two, obscured by superincumbent volcanics, I am unable even to sur- mise. In case there were, however, it would be an important matter to havethe connection established. Probably Silurian and Devonian strata furnished the material that now we find as quartzites, granites, and schists. These formations have been so generally subjected to meta- morphosing influences in that region of the Rocky Mountains, that the assumption referring them to the same origin seems justified. XN CHAPTER IV. THE SAN JUAN REGION. The area treated of in this chapter contains the drainage of Rio San Juan, so far as falling within the limits of our district. The river itself will be considered from its headwaters down to its junction with Rio Animas. In speaking of the Sawatch Range in the previous chapter, a number of streams flowing into the San Juan have been mentioned, and their headwaters discussed. Besides these, however, there are others farther west that belong to the same drainage. During 1874 the sources of these were examined and reported on, so that where we meet them, in the district of 1875, along its northern boundary they are good-sized streams, carrying a considerable amount of water. Lying between the tributaries of the San Juan, we find the country to be very uniform in appearance. Two “belts,” mainly, may be observed, the one at the immediate base of the mountains, the other between that and the river. South of the river the country becomes monotonous, both in its oro- graphic features and its. geognostic character. As will be seen in the subsequent pages, the recognition of geological formations in this south- ern portion of the district becomes a rather complex question. DRAINAGE. Beginning in the west with the streams and rivers flowing in a south- erly direction, we first find the Animas. This heads near station 15 of 1874, about 14 miles above Baker’s Park, flows from the station through @ narrow volcanic cation, then enters the park. There it receives a num- ber of tributaries, among which the Cunningham and Mineral Creeks are the largest. After leaving the park it enters the narrow quartzitic canon, known as the Animas Cafion, and emerges from that south of station 38 of 1874. Cascade Creek joins it from the northwest at that point. Flowing for some distance through a narrow valley, the river enters the Animas Park, at the lower end of which it receives the waters of the Rio Arenoso. By that time we have arrived in Cretace- ous beds, which form a series of west to east hogbacks and broken ridges. Within these, Junction Creek flows into the Animas at the - crossing of the old Ute trail. Below that the district of 1874 ends. We now find the river winding a serpentine course through a broad valley, hugging at times the bluffs on its eastern side. At station 51 it forms the junction with the Rio Florida, which, rising in the mountains farther north, flows in a southerly direction, until near station 50 it takes a westerly turn and joins the Animas. Thus far the general course of this river has been nearly due south, but now it bends off to the west- ward, and forms a junction with the San Juan about 10 miles below station 54. Below station 51 the river has no tributaries that carry water during the entire year. Only a few of them, probably, carry water during the early spring months and during the rainy season. 176 ENDLICH.] SAN JUAN REGION—RUINS. | 177 After leaving the light-colored bluffs and hogbacks near Junction Creek, the appearance of the surrounding country becomes very monotonous. To the west of the Animas long continued mesas stretch off into an ap- parently interminable distance, cut into bluffs and small hills near the border of the Animas Valley by streams that contain water only during a very short season of the year. A continuation of these is found on the east side. Generally the river hugs its eastern bank very closely there, which bank consists of yellow bluffs, composed of shales and sand- stones. Local variations in the coloring enliven the scene from time to time, and are produced by different stages of oxidation of iron contained in the strata. All along the river evidences are found of the ancient inhabitants that once populated the valley. Innumerable fragments of pottery, remnants of houses built of river-bowlders and mud, and watch-towers upon prominent points denote the former existence at that locality of a large number of people. South of station 53, on the west side of the Animas, a large town was found. On the north side of it walls and the remnants of what appeared to be ditches were observed. Frag- ments of chalcedony, jasper, and obsidian were strewn all over the ground, and some rude arrow and spear heads were found. Within the walls, which probably stretched across the valley from west to east for- merly, were the ruins of the houses. All that remains of them to-day is either a circular or square, elevated mound, composed of mud and rounded bowlders, that have been taken from the river. Its outlines indicate the size of the building. In the center of this town was a very large structure of sandstone.* It was constructed in the shape of a horseshoe, with right angles, however, opening toward thesouth. About two-thirds of it still remain standing. It was originally four stories high, and the southern opening guarded by three concentric towers. It was found, upon examination, that the sandstone had been taken from one of the adjoining Tertiary bluffs, had been broken into rectan- gular pieces, the sides of which were smoothed by being rubbed with another piece of stone, probably also sandstone. ‘The entire building was divided into small rooms or compartments, most of which had no light whatever. They are well preserved still in the lower stories. /Their dimensions are surprisingly small, if it is to be assumed that hu- man beings lived in them. Hight feet long, six wide, and four and a half high may be considered the average size. Denoting their use as human habitations, we find in some of them a triangular or square piece of sandstone placed in one corner, which served as a fireplace. Of the woodwork a large portion is preserved. Juniper obtained from the sur- rounding bluffs was utilized. Round beams are let into the wall at short distances from each other, and are covered with split pieces of the same wood, lying at right angles on them. This in turn is covered by a layer, again at right angles, of juniper-bark. Upon this is spread a floor of cement, from one to two inches in thickness. It is merely a mechanical mixture of sand and some of the friable, shaly marls. oc- curring in the bluffs near by. In some of the compartments the walls and ceilings are covered with this same cement. Indians of the present tribes have adorned them with sketches representing themselves and their ponies, which they have scratched iuto the soit wall. An esti- mate made of the number of rooms that existed at the time when the building was still entire, resulted in the conclusion that it must have contained upward of 500 of them, a sufficiently large number, perhaps, *Compare Report Exploring Expedition, 1¢59, Captain Macomb. Geology, by J.S. Newberry, 1876, page 79. 1Z2G@s 178 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. to accommodate all the inhabitants of the surrounding town in case of war or danger from invasion. Taking this view of the case, I have given that ancient town the name of Acropolis. It is interesting to observe the accuracy of the angles in the wall, in the rectangular doors, and in the few windows that furnish light to some of the larger rooms. At first sight the care with which the building had been constructed, and the regularity of design and execution visible in every detail, suggested to us the idea that Spaniards might have had something to do with its erection, and that we had before us, perhaps, the ruins of an ancient mission. Upon very careful examination, however, not even a trace of the use of any metal tool or instrument could be found. The beams - were cut off perfectly smooth, but showed no marks of cutting whatever, and all the stones were smoothed off in a manner that would not have been produced by metal tools. No metal of any kind was observed in the building itself, willow thongs supplying the places of nails and bolts. In the court-yard heaps of broken pottery were found, some of them showing very pretty designs. The only specimen that could be re- garded as a household article was a stone, such as many of the present Indians, more particularly the Moquis and allied tribes, use for grinding their corn. It isnatural that at a place where our present Indians pass so frequently, no entire pieces of pottery will be found, except by exca- vation, Whatever may be exposed to view and appear serviceable to them they will appropriate to their own uses. This brief description has merely been given, because I am not aware that any other members of this survey visited the same locality. It is not my province to discuss archeological matters, I will therefore refer for information on this subject to United States Geological Survey Bulletin, March 21, 1876, which discusses at length the by far more complete discoveries made farther west. It is of interest to know the eastern limits reached by this ancient people, and mention shall there- fore be made at the proper place, of observations made which indicate their presence at any given point. East of the Animasis the Rio Pinos. It heads near station 21 of 1874, and flows about southwest for some distance. At first it passes through the metamorphic quartzites. of the high mountain group of the same name, then enters Carboniferous, and afterward Cretaceous sedimentary beds. On the west side of the Pinos is Rio Vallecito, bringing a good ‘supply of water into the former. Below station 48 the stream receives no tributaries of any importance. From there downward it passes through the same beds of sandstone and shale that we find on the Animas, and it is their lithological constitution that prevents water from running any considerable distance in them. Beds in which creeks flow during. some seasons of the year, show that at those times large quantities of water pass over them, but for the greater portion of time they are dry. The Pinos joins the San Juan at station 58, which was located on a bluff, immediately south of the latter. Regarding the character of the country through which Rio Pinos flows, it may be said that it closely resembles that of the Animas region. Starting in the deep, rugged cations of the Quartzite Mountains, it emerges from them into the densely timbered hills of the Carboniferous area. Thence it reaches the Cretaceous beds, cutting cafons into the sandstones and precipitous gullies into the higher, soft shales. After leaving the latter, it enters the regions of bluffs, of sandstone and of shale, there confining itself to a comparatively narrow canon, and losing in its volume of water as it advances southward. Rio Piedra, east of the Pinos, is the most important tributary of the ENDLICH.] SAN JUAN REGION—DRAINAGE. 179 San Juan. Its headwaters, consisting of a number of streams of almost equal size, have been described in Chapter III. After leaving the tra- chytic mountains these streams flow through very fine valleys. West of station 40 they have all joined, and the Piedra has attained considerable size. Two more creeks flow into it from the northeast, the Rio Nutria being the larger one. This heads south of station 38, in the Cretaceous shales, and remains within their area for nearly the entire length of its flow. South of it the Post-Cretaceous bluffs set in. The Piedra flows into the San Juan at station 67, after having passed through a broad valley, trending north to south. Higher up itis inclosed in canons formed by Lower Cretaceous beds. Hast of the Piedra we find the San Juan itself. It rises near station 19 on the continental divide and keeps, throughout its entire course (so far as in our district), a general southwesterly course. After leaving the western edge of the Sawatch Range, it flows through Cretaceous strata, belonging mostly to Nos. 2 and 3. In these, Pagosa Springs are located, the largest hot springs in the district. They are famous among the Indians and well known to American and Mexican settlers. One of the former built a cabin at their edge, but the Indians burned it for him, preferring, as they informed us, to retain the ‘‘ agua caliente” for their own personal use. At the proper place a description of these springs will be given. Abvut 13 miles below them, near station 74, Rio Blanco flows into the San Juan from the northeast, and 15 miles lower down Rio Navajo joins it. Both these last-named streams have a considerable drainage area, considering their length and size. From this last junction downward the river makes many curves, flowing a little more to the west than higher up. It receives large quantities of water from the south, during certain seasons of the year, but at the time of our visit, August, they were all dry, and water could only be found in springs, or small pools. South of station 54 on the San Juan another ruined town of the ancient inhabitants of that region wasfound. It resembled, in the arrangement of its houses and the “castle” in the center, the city and ruins discovered on the Animas. The river had washed away a portion of the stone building, and on its banks a number of interesting facts were observed. Fire-seems to have destroyed at least part of the building. Gradually the river deposited about 10 feet of sand and silt in the court-yard and in the northern chambers, which it probably reached through the windows or doors. At that depth below the surface a layer of what at first appeared to be charcoal was observed, 2 to 5 inches in thick- ness. Upon examination, however, this proved to be Indian corn, still unhusked, but completely charred. Probably the chamber thus cut by the river, which exposes its section, was used as a granary. Beyond that, along the same vertical bank of sand, innumerable frag- ments of pottery, bones of deer, of rabbits, and what appeared to be sheep, were found. Had it been possible to spare more time, I am confident that excavations at that locality would have developed many interest- ing facts. The time that it must have taken the river to wash away one-third of the building, which probably was not erected immediately upon its banks, must have been considerable, but in spite of such evi- dence as this, it has been impossible for us to assign, with any sem- blance of correctness, any definite age to these and other ruins. An estimate, little better than a guess, may claim for them an age, as ruins, not much exceeding 300 years. _ In the subjoined pages the discussion of the district is divided accord- ing to formations, as they furnish a better basis for classification than 180 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the drainage, and are sufficiently characteristic at the same time to connect regions of the same orographic features. A synopsis of the approximate lengths of rivers and their tributaries occurring in the region to which this chapter is devoted, may give some idea of the relative areas they drain. Only the main branches of the tributaries of the San Juan are taken, because it is they that determine the horizontal extent of the drainage, and not the small creeks flowing directly into the main stream. The northern and northeastern portion of the section is well watered; but as soon as the Post-Cretaceous beds are reached, a change takes place, owing mainly to the lithological character of the strata composing the bluffs and mesas. Main tributaries. A z) AS. a Se |e iS a es ‘eg | ae | ae Name of river. as te = 8 g of as = aa = a a= | s foo) oO lo} 4 4 H JE (OW WMI EIS Sao aqodooSsoeO GONeCObaba ce bobs aden cuboooaeTs bemooeo breacoceodan.cugesc 115 157 272 MIOPAiNOS!. we cLsafewss~ sows sere se eeiwiel ew eolene see ete oe cee ee eect elemin ae eels eee 52 28 80 1 Pip 272100 Gee SOSA Bara ArEe eS cdecs Socecncos beaaee + odaStoreoesescucesaceuodes 58 92 150 FIO’ BIANCO 2. ae ederats oak we Siete eres See ate ae re ee ale tere Ste tee cla ae ioeloleta ae Oe picts 32 16 48 TP INBNEMO. sesecoudaso sod osccoone posse scoeaectosoussse ssonas seoseuSsscoses 48 23 71 Branches of main tributaries. Length in miles. Animas... Mineral Creeks: sears teu. seen ees ale siesta cee ee 16 Cascade Creek ..22.2 2 Shs bo sed 25 eed Oe Seo eee ee eee . 18 Rios renosavsfetisk Bee Bac ek eee ett ret ee ee eee eee 30 Junetion, Creeks season wccrae Soe ee Seis Bese eee Oe ee 17 Rio-Plorida: += £So2 oe Sa ere hk Soe sce Set hace Nae ere eee 56 Pinos). Rio. Malleciton2 255e)4 fod Sasa see SE Sa Snes 28 Piedra: 3. Weeminuche:Creekccsoc os eee ee < Se 2 Cee ee Q2 RigHuerto sso Ye eee Mor aehics stctore a cee tes eisai ae ne Sn 21 Dead Man’s'Creek 3. oct cca oo co Sec cree cee nee ee ene eee 19 Rio Nutria ts: psa s5 set he oe arenas coe oi eee 30 Navajo'.:South/ ‘Branch ii. i)55: chee aoe ee US ee eee eee 23 The length of Rio San Juan to its junction with the Animas is about one hundred and forty miles, and the sum of its entire main drainage amounts to 621 miles. CRETACEOUS. Cretaceous beds cover a considerable area in this section of the dis- trict. Resting against the base of the mountains toward the north and northeast, we find the Dakota group. It is strongly developed south of Weeminuche Creek but soon disappears, being covered at many localities by the younger trachorheitic beds. In some of the canons that cut deeply into the volcanic. mass the characteristic sand- stones crop out, but upon reaching the base proper of the mountains we find them covered by the shales of the Colorado group (Cretaceous No.2). This latter comprises a by far greater area than the former, extending for a long distance from east to west. Many of the streams heading in the Sawatch Range flow through its strata, cutting deep, narrow gorges and ravines, or producing valleys of but limited breadth. In discussing the group, it will be observed that its main features are very closely ¢ ENDLICH.] SAN JUAN REGION—DAKOTA GROUP. 181 related to those given from the Rio Animas region in the report of 1874. They differ, however, from those described as occurring along the base of the Front Range. It has been impossible to retain the systematic division of the Cretaceous here that is applicable to the same formation farther east and northeast. Three groups have eventually been decided upon: Dakota, Colorado, and Fox Hills. The first of these includes the heavy beds of white and yellowish sandstones, containing narrow interstrata of shales and thin seams of a hard coal in its upper members. To the Colorado group we have assigned the heavy strata of dark gray shales with characteristic fossils. The Fox Hills group comprises the series of yellow and greyish shales interbedded with sandstones and showing a number of good coal-beds.* Above these we find in a con- tinuous section the lower members of the Tertiary formation, which farther south reach a very considerable development, and become of the greatest interest to the paleontologist. In the district assigned to us we were not fortunate enough to find any vertebrate remains in these formations, probably being still too low down in the succession of strata. A number of interesting stratigraphical relations were noticed in the Cretaceous beds under discussion, and they will be referred to at the proper place in the subjoined pages. Dakota group.—Outcrops belonging to this group were first noticed after having crossed Weeminuche Pass. In the district of 1874 the sandstones belonging to it were overlying the Carboniferous strata, crowding out the latter more and more as we proceeded northward along their western edge. After leaving the metamorphic granite, which contains the headwaters of Weeminuche Creek, we found a series of thinly-bedded yellow sandstones exposed in a narrow ravine. They rested immediately upon the granite, and bore evidence of hav- ing been subjected to altering influences. Thin layers of greyish-brown, sometimes laminated, shales appear, together with the sandstones, until both are lost under the glacial drift of Weeminuche Valley. On either side the lower portions of the bluffs or mountain slopes, inclosing this valley, are composed of the same sandstones. From there they con- tinue southward, forming the rounded ridge which runs approximately parallel with the general course of the Piedra west of this river. Densely wooded as it is, the ridge affords but little facility for the study of structural geognosy. So far as could be learned, the dip of the sand- stone strata is toward the southeast, at an angle of 4° to 7°. From here it connects, turning westward, with the outcrops of the Dakota group in the 1874 district. Newberryt speaks of these sandstone Strata being on their exposed surface “cut by joints into blocks of nearly uniform size.” This characteristic feature is certainly noticeable, and is the result, probably, of metamorphosing agents primarily, the effect of which has been increased by subsequent action of water both in a liquid and frozen state. I have been unable to determine any definite relation of these ‘‘cleavage-planes” with either the dip or strike of the sandstone strata. Nor do I regard the phenomenon as essential to any one formation in particular. It is merely the expression either of metamorphosis, or a certain kind of pressure, or both. All along this ridge the thickness of the Dakota group reaches over 1,000 feet. As farther west, so here, the upper members show greater variety of lithological constitution. Strata of shales, some of them showing indications of coal set in, forming, as it were, a transition to the heavy beds of shale belonging to the Colorado group. * Report United States Geologica] Survey 1874, p. 223 t heport Exploring Expedition Captain acuity 1859-1876, p. 77. 182 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. A short distance southeast of station 36 the Dakota sandstone is en- tirely covered by trachorheites. We do not again find it along the western edge of the mountains, until we reach, farther south, the canons that have cut down deeply, removing the superincumbent beds and ex- posing the Lower Cretaceous. Unless locai disturbances, of small extent only, have taken place, we find the dip of these sedimentaries to be away from the mountains. The sandstone, which is comparatively yielding to active erosive influences, forms narrow cailons with steep walls. At many localities, besides the one under discussion, this may be regarded as a regularly-recurring feature. Although in many in- stances, of course, erosion by flowing water, or by glaciers, has widened the valley composed of-or walled in by these sandstones, it is not the rule, but rather an exception. Buta short distance from the mountains, the Colorado shales regularly set in. Traveling along the base of the mountains in a southerly direction, we no longer find any outcrops of the Dakota sandstones. They are either covered by the volcanic rocks, or by the avalanchial and glacial drift immediately at the western foot of the Sawatch Range. Ona north- ern tributary of Rio Blanco we met with the first exposure again. It was found in a small cafion leading up toward station 77, and there the yel- low sandstones were exposed along the bed of the creek. No local dis- turbance was noticed, and the beds had the prevailing general dip toward tke southwest. Following up Rio Blanco we find the same outcrop again, appearing in its upper valley. Atthese localities the sandstones cover but a small area, as they are soon hidden from sight by the vol- canic beds on the east and the shales of the Colorado group on the west. A more extensive exposure can be observed in the upper valley of the Navajo. A prominent ridge, Sierra del Navajo, forms a detached spur of the main range, and having a trend north to south, permits the forma- tion of a valley between itself and the range. In this valley the Dakota sandstone flanks its edge, while near thecenter it is overlaid by Colorado shales. An anticlinal fold, occurring a short distance farther off toward the southwest, has changed the dip, making it slightly to the east, or very nearly horizon‘al, instead of westward. Afterleaving this narrow valley, the sandstone soon disappears under the volcanics. We again notice it in the upper valley of the Chama. At its exit from the mountains this river flows through a narrow canton with vertical walls for a short dis- tance. This is formed by Dakota sandstone. From there it extends northward, covered on either side by trachyte, until its outcrop is lost under the morainal deposits of Conejos glacier. So far as could be ob- served, the dip was a westerly one, although slight. Professor Steven- son* mentions Carboniferous strata ‘in an almost vertical position” as occurring on the trail from Tierra Amarilla to Conejos. I did not pass over the trail, but from analogy with the exposures farther north, along the range, I should feel inclined to question the identification as Car- boniferous. In our district there is but one more outcrop of the Dakota group. This occurs west of station 94, between the Chama and the Brazos. — Dipping steeply from the high quartzitic mass upon which the station was located, the sandstones fall off toward the Tierra Amarilla Vailey. They are covered in part by basalt, which again appears on small tables in the valley itself. The road from Puenta to Nutritas passes over such basalt, although there it covers shales of the Colorado group. Only for a short distance, flanking the mountains and then extending down along the river-beds, does the Dakota sandstone there appear within the limits * Explorations and Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian, 1875, p. 375. ENDLICH. ] SAN JUAN REGION—-COLORADO GROUP. 183 of our district. It seems, judging from what was seen from some dis- tance, to extend farther south, in the same relative position. At the base of station 94 it dips steeply to the westward, but is soon covered by the grey shales which form the level of the valley. Agricultural — pursuits are followed by the Mexicans who have settled the region, and we were informed that’ the rich soil was productive of good results. A sufficiently large supply of water is at hand to answer for purposes of irrigation. Colorado group.—This group is by far more varied in its occurrence as well as in its stratigraphy than the preceding one. It covers a large area and displays many features of interest toa geologist. In 1874* the shales belonging to this division of the Cretaceous were first found onJunction Creek. From there they extend eastward, formingintheregion of the Nutria, San Juan, and Blanco, the bases of the broad valleysthrough which these streams flow. It has been mentioned above that the shales extend to the very edge of the mountains at a number of points, and directly underlie the trachyte, in that case excluding exposures of any of the lower strata. A general southerly dip of the beds can be ob- served, but quite a number of minor disturbances have locally changed this. A general shallow fold, extending from west to east, which in- volves these shales, will be discussed in the subjoined pages. Although its dimensions vertically are but small, the effect it has had upon the entire region cannot be overlooked, and the knowledge of its existence is necessary for the proper understanding of facts observed. We first found the shales of this group overlying the Dakota sand- stone south of station 36. They are exposed all along the valleys and low divides separating the northern tributaries of the Piedra, west of station 36. Dark grey when fresh, they change to almost white upon being subjected for a long time to atmospheric influences. Efflorescence of alkali at many localities produces “ salt-licks,” the favorite resort for game. Station 37, which is located upon an isolated remnant of the trachyte farther east, is entirely surrounded by these shales; creeks and streams cut down steeply into the yielding material, producing pre- cipitous banks. Frequently very fine carving, by water, can be observed on the sides of bluffs or hills, resembling en miniature regular mount- ain ridges. Slight changes of color, varying from different shades of grey to brown, produce in such an instance an exceedingly picturesque effect. Inocerami and Ostree occur in abundance in the shales all along its outcrop, the former, however, most frequently in fragments only. Station 40, 8,374 feet above sea-level, is located south of the Piedra, on a small knoll composed of Colorado shales. From there they extend westward to the wooded ridge east of Piedra, overlying Dakota sand- stone, which composes the latter. A dip of 4° to 6° was noticeable to the eastward, forming most likely a shallow synelinal, the eastern edge of which is obscured both by the drift at the base of the mountains and by the superincumbent volcanics. Fossils were found here identifying the strata. Crossing a low divide we reach Rio Nutria, and find that it flows entirely in these shales. Isolated strata of sandstone occur in their upper members and form cappivgs for low bluffs and tables that occur along the higher portions of the region. About nine miles south- east of station 41 we strike the Rio San Juan. At that point Pagosa Springs are located. Among the Indians of the region the waters of these springs have become very famous. Their high temperature, per- haps, too, the mineral constituents they hold in solution, have won for * Report United States Geological Survey 1874, p. 224. 184 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. them the unqualified admiration of the natives, so far as medicinal properties are concerned. A wide basin, approximately oval in shape, about 30 feet wide and 40 feet long, contains the bubbling water. This basin is 10 to 12 feet deep, : and the water a deep greenish-blue color. A very extensive deposit has been formed by the spring, which is evidently growing smaller, and shifting its location from east, to west, toward the river. A number of other springs, in connection, probably, with this main one, were at one time scattered around it; but now the orifices through which they dis- charged their waters into the basins have become choked up, the basins have dwindled down to mere cracks, owing to the long-continued depo- sitions of tufa, and where they once flowed we find nothing to-day but a small opening. From the main spring the water flows off through a subterranean passage into the San Juan. The banks of the river are there formed by the tufaceous deposit, a portion of which can be ob- served on its western side also. This leads to the inference that the San Juan has changed its course since the formation of the springs, and flowed farther west formerly. Taking a section through the spring, along its shorter dimensions, (Fig 1,) we perceive at a glance how its ultimate destruction will be accomplished. In the center of the spring a cone-shaped deposit is gradually growing, reaching at present about 9 inches above the level of the water. Through orifices in this cone, both below and above tbe water’s surface the hot jets issue, depositing more and more of the tufa. Atong the entire edge of the main basin subordi- nate springs boil up, and have formed their own little basins, connected either below, or at the upper opening, with the large body of water. The accompanying diagram (Fig. 3) will give an idea of the ontlines of the main basin, of the small ones surrounding it, and of the points of outflow for the waters through fissures or tubes in the tufa. This latter is com- posed chiefly of carbonates of lime, soda, and potash, sulphate of lime, and crystallized sulphur. Gases escape in great volume, consisting of carbonic acid and sulphureted hydrogen. Professor Newberry * describes this spring and dilates upon the beauty of its surroundings, prophesying that ‘‘in future years it will become a celebrated place of resort.” Certainly there are very few hot springs that are located as favorably, so far as scenery is concerned, but it may be many years before the Indians and facilities for transportation will permit invalids or pleasure-seekers to derive benefit or enjoyment from them. The temperature of the main basin is higher than that of the smaller ones surrounding it. As given by Newberry and Loew, t itcompares favor- ably with my own observations: DOT ERA O xe he ee Smee een GEE GAG mbes .oS a aise ee 140° F. OCU oo a ia ahd, ns 0 OU as al oyat oye Reinier auescyatietel > slapoltehenads enero fee 141° BF, Hindlich, Aas ist Al, Ge aM css). 5 lata» ja) as etoile eo ele 138° F. Temperature of atmosphere ............-..-+--.---: 70° FB. Hndlich, AuUSust 125.7 a. p00 oo.) ~ .oseneo lk a oie (tae 138° F. Temperature of atmosphere is tad a ae haere ala (er 56° F. The temperatures of the smaller basins range from 110° to 115° F. Al- though no doubt a very warm season of sufficient length of time would have some effect on the temperature of the main spring, the difference observed in atmospheric temperature between evening and morning pro- duced no change. This is due, probably, to the very rapid influx and * Report Exploring Expedition, 1859, Macomb, 1876, p. 74. t Report Explorations and Surveys West One Hundredth Meridian, vol. iii, 1875, p. 626. ENDLICH.] SAN JUAN REGION—PAGOSA SPRINGS. 185 egress of water from the basin and to the fact that the thermal agents upon which the high temperature of the water depends are very con- stant in their action. An analysis of the main spring given by Dr. Loew* furnishes the fel- lowing result: In one hundred thousand parts of water are contained— Sodium carbonate ....------.----- .-- pa Bret e rapatadd a pa eee ctads eyacuerd = aE eure Ste he vac. ivy Aiea Sota MMNTTOR NTs OMA UBmayonete as aa seeuel= epeveteieret ore Faterotmne Spetne aot se ciyotan eels oiciaversierateces ease 0.71 (CHIIITITN CHP OOM SaS6 Seo Se eae SCOR ESCO OCs ase Hes tee reise oe nein 59. 00 Magnesium carbonate ..----.----..----- ------ e----- --- 2 2-2 oe oon ee eee 4. 85 Potassium Sul nae mest ota esaet aa iete sekcinetelcapstantelete ate sta ate laimierataeenctasiotenats occ 7.13 Susie SMUDOE 5.5554 5566 G66650 Goo5 coboSs sobc09 SA0GE6 baeGe0 sooden sueesc Ba 5 221. 66 Sodium chloride...-.. ..---- SE Ae SSC Sc Se EEE, — SEM aeS iy Spree ene ee 99, 25 STING CHa CL Ore re Cee ae sorateieie wiaaie = aisteceie misheparcieieie ere cinta diceceinjeia sieversiere miierels Glen's oe 5. 70 (ORES IIE WHEE E po deS5 Boon bodose cee sopeericmoceeac SoG aon seas oodbsoo sabosn o¢ Trace. Motalesolrdiconstitwentstjs sek. sansa wactae ores ais Salt hial harsh ereveie eter seete canes 333. 00 Analyses of three of the smaller springs give results closely agreeing with those obtained from the main spring, indicating their common ori- gin. Professor Stevenson} gives an elaborate description of the tu- faceous deposit, and the minor details of the various openings and “‘blow-holes” that are scattered throughout the former. To his report I would therefore refer for information “regarding such features. Pagosa Springs have their origin, probably, and appear at the surface in shales of the Colorado group. In the same shales, about a mile be- low Pagosa, there is another mineral spring, of small dimensions, how- ever. It is located at the base of a bluff and sends its water directly into the San Juan. It is a fact well known to geologists that the shales of the Colorado group are productive of many mineral springs, but it is exceedingly difficult, if not altogether impossible, to explain satisfacto- rily the reason why the water should have so high a temperature. The ancient theory of reservoirs extending down to the regions of perpetual heat, and sending their waters upward for miles through narrow tubes or fissures, has long since failed to explain the origin of hot springs. It seems'to me that in this particular instance we have some process of chemical alteration going on in the Colorado shales whereby not only heat is produced, but the mineral constituents of the shales rendered ‘more soluble for the percolating waters. These latter becoming heated during their passage through the portions affected by a process of | chemical metamorphosis, find their way to the surface, as any other springs would, at the nearest point offering the greatest facilities for egress. This assumption, ¢. e., that hot water is in contact with the products of chemical decomposition, would account for the large per- centage of mineral constituents in solution, even though the passage through the shales should be but limited as to length. It is always a matter of difficulty to explain the origin of heat for warm springs, and the above view is presented merely as the most probable solution of the question in this particular instance. Near Pagoso Springs a local anticlinal fold was observed in the shales. A section, (Section X,) taken from station 78, looking westward will ex- plain the relative positions taken by the shale, the superincumbent Fox Hills strata, and the volcanic beds. The Colorado shales (a), 1,000 to 1,200 feet in thickness, form a valley along one of the small tributaries * Thid., p. 627. +Report on Explorations and Surveys West of One Hundredth Meridian, 1875, vol. lii, p. 478. 186 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. of the San Juan. Jnocerami and Ostrew are found abundantly in them. They dip both north and south at angles of 9°. Above them occurs a stratum (b,) consisting of yellowish, shaly sandstone, with indistinct remains of plants. It is about 200 feet in thickness, dipping in both directions. as the underlying shales, but at a decreased angle. This 1 regard as the same that we found on station 47 of 1874,* where it contained innumerable fragments of Inoceramus. Overlaying the sand- stone there are 850 feet of yellow-grey shales, sandy in part (ce), that I regard as belonging to the Colorado group, having found fossils charac- teristic of that horizon. This in turn is capped by 250 to 300 feet of a yellow to reddish sandstone (d), forming a prominent bluff, upon which station 75 was located, at an absolute elevation of 8,064 feet. Here the southerly dip has decreased to 6°. With this’sandstone I commence the Fox Hiils group. At the north end of the section, trachytic con- glomerate (e) overlies the shales, and trachyte (f) covers the former. Traveling northward from the junction of Rio Blanco with the San Juan, I at first assumed the occurrence of the two groups of shale, a and ¢ to indicate a fault. Having passed the anticlinal axis, however, in the lower shales, I found the series ¢ repeated farther north, and no evidence of any other disturbance than that produced by the fold. On the San Juan, below its junction with the Blanco, this section can be studied with greater success, as the beds there become nearly horizon- tal, dipping southward only 3°. Local disturbances, produced, probably, by subsidences, occur quite frequently ; are of small extent however. Below the junction of the two rivers the beds above the lower shales increase in thickness. A section constructed there would show the fol- lowing result: 4, Yellow and white sandstones. Lower strata massive, white ; upper interstratified with shaly sandstone and shales: yellow el esse oe Ne aie Cd ann Une ge eee .. 900 feet. 3. Greyish-brown and yellowish shales, containing Inoce- ramus and Ostrea within 400 of the upper sandstone.... 1, 200 feet. ‘2. Yellow sandstone, fine to middle-grained, interbedded with, thin\strata of shales) soe o-an. ene eee 230 feet. 1. Dark grey shales, weathering lighter, containing fossils.. 1,100 feet. ~ We have, therefore, in this region a total thickness of about 2,500 feet for the Colorado group. This is greater than farther west, but it has frequently been observed that shales of this character either grad- ually merge into sandstones, or that sandstones, losing their character as such, may turn into shales. Difference of thickness, even within comparatively limited districts, can consequently not be regarded as 4 safe criterion upon which to base or reject identification. Leaving Rio Blanco, and traveling southeast, we remain within the borders of the Colorado group. Station 63 is located east of Rio Navajo, ou a remnant of trachorheites, that at one time was in connec- tion with the main body farther east. It has an altitude of 9,905 feet, and is surrounded by Cretaceous beds. A section (Section XI), taken from the ridge on the south side of the Navajo through station 63, shows an anticlinal fold very similar to that observed west of Rio Blanco. As there, the Lower Colorado shales (a) form the base of the valley, dip- ping both north and south at angles of 3° to 10°. Overlying them we find a yellow sandstone (b) about 200 feet in thickness, which in turn is covered by yellowish-grey, partly sandy shales (c). Upon these, which are capped unconformably by the volcanic rock (d) of station 63, *Report United States Geological Survey, 1874, Section VI, p. 224. (SS300ud S,ANHOBSO) ‘A‘N “OD ‘OHLI1-OL0Hd “WV "SORIUL JO BDI SOA LAZZZEA A Z \y PAS \W SS ZA LL: FEZ $ 8NOLBJ2UOGLD,) WW A Ss uth Fork Navajo. 28M Bunge "TX uolpoas “Saziu fo aNIg ——S ———== ZZZ Ze SU sis ZEA BLL LATIN DL Ls (2: a E- = LD ZEB Za EE! SSS LEZ 9 = = ZV ops EZ ZZ ZB FE SS BZ SS ZZ ZZ AZZA == ZEEE: = ZEEE "Y ueypyoee Ree OP LORE Fis Za =—S —S GEN == = Keak} TAXX Id p. phan pamper a: Section XII. ENDLICH.] SAN JUAN REGION—FOX HILLS GROUP. 187 rests a heavy bed of sandstone (e), a small portion of which appears to crop out east of the station. In that direction the dip of the strata gradually decreases, until eventually, at the immediate base of the mount- ains, it inclines westward again, and is then soon hidden from sight by the overlying trachyte (f/f). Whether this anticlinal fold is in direct connection with that given in Section X I am unable to say, but pre- sume that a connection could be traced, subject probably to many local variations of the angle of dip. Viewing this group as a whole from the Piedra southeastward to the Navajo, we find that it must be regarded, stratigraphically, as a very low anticlinal fold, the axis of which runs east of north. At the same time the gentle southerly dip of the sedimentary strata throughout that region does not disappear, but combining with the easterly and westerly dips on either side of the axis, produces an effect that at first is decidedly puzzling. Local dips also greatly affect the youngest Cretaceous group, the Fox Hiils series, which will be discussed further on. Soutbeast of station 63 is the valley of the Chama and its tributaries. It is formed by shales of the Colorado group. These are covered mostly by the Fox Hills sandstones, which gave occasion for the formation of the high bluffs to the south and southwest. Near the settlements in the valley small tables or mesas occur where basalt overlies the shales, They are of limited extent, and fall beyond the southern border of our district. Here the area of the Colorado group ceases, so far as contained in the section to which this chapter is devoted. A comparatively arbi- trary division of the entire Cretaceous formation had to be made in order to arrive at any acceptable classification whatever. Owing to the gradation of sandstones into shales and marls and vice versa, the five established Cretaceous groups of Meek and Hayden could no longer be recognized, and a different application of the group-names was neces- sary. So far as the names applied to the three groups are concerned, they are parallel to those of other regions, and indicate as nearly as possible the same geological ages. Fox Hills group.—Resting conformably upon the Colorado shales, we find the shales and sandstones of the Fox Hills group. They cover quite an extensive area along the northern drainage of the San Juan, which area is terminated on the north and east by the appearance of lower Cretaceous, on the south by Tertiary beds. On the Animas a good section of all the strata, from the Carboniferous upward, is exposed. We find there that the hogback-1idge upon which station 44 of 1874 is located is formed by a yellow sandstone belonging to the Fox Hills. South of this a number of lower hogbacks, composed of Cretaceous shales and sand- stones, occur, until we reach the base of the Puerco marls. A section (Section XII) taken from station 36 to station 42 will give some idea of the arrangement of the strata. Underlying the Colorado group are the yel- low to white Dakota sandstones (a). Above them follow 1,000 feet of dark grey shales (b), containing two interstrata of sandstone (c). These shales reach a greater vertical development as we proceed eastward, and remain either the same or decrease as we go farther west. Above the second sandstone 700 feet of lighter grey shales (e) set in, belonging still to the Colorado group. They are capped on a small hill north of station 42 by 400 to 600 feet of yellow argillaceous sandstone (/), the base of the Fox Hills. Passing southward over this rise, we descend into the valley of the Rio Nutria, which runs in the lower shales. Facing north- ward is a bluff about 1,400 feet high. At its foot we find the same sandstone (f), overlaid by 900 feet of yellowish-grey shales (g). They e | 188 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. show considerable variation of color, changing from the subdued yel- low and grey shades to reddish orange and brown. At many places within these 900 feet of shale it becomes so sandy as to pass for a very argillaceous sandstone. Indistinct remains of plants are found there. About 150 feet of sandstone (h) cover the shales. There is here no evi- dence of the Puerco marls, unless, indeed, the colors, red and pink, of the overlying sandstone (7) should furnish an indication of them. With this latter I commence. the Tertiary series. In the entire region under discussion shales, marls, and sandstones so gradually merge into each other that the local absence of any member, that is elsewhere found in the same horizon, is not surprising. More particularly in the horizontal direction does this change take place, less in the vertical. Assuming for the Dakota group a thickness of about 1,200 feet, we find the entire vertical dimensions of the Cretaceous to amount to about 4,500 feet in this locality. Within short distances, even, this changes considerably, however. One or the other series of shales or shales and sandstones may dwindle down to comparatively an insignificant thickness, while on the other hand it may be increased. About eight miles west of station 42 the old trail leaves the Nutria, . and taking a more direct course, crosses the Piedra some distance above the junction of the two streams. South of the trail we find, on the sum- mit of a prominent hill, an isolated column of sandstone and shales (station 44). To explorers this landmark, La Piedra Parada, has long been known.* It rises as a column to a height of over 400 feet, and is: made still more conspicuous by the position it occupies. Southwest of the Rio San Juan the Cretaceous follows the base of the Sawatch Range. By the numerous streams there, the once connected plateaus are cut into fragments. Local disturbances, of but small extent, however, have produced changes in the general southerly dip. They have been mentioned while speaking of the Colorado group. It seems possible that a large portion of this former plateau was at one time coy- ered by basalt. Station 64 is located on the southern edge of the Cerro del Navajo, the entire summit of which is covered by basalt. At that point the elevation is 9,115 feet, while on the same horizon, about 15 miles farther southwest, it is 9,019. The niveau, in that direction, has under- gone but slight changes. An unbroken bluff is presented by the strata of the Fox Hills on the western side of the Chama Valley, and on its southwestern slope, in the valley, we find a lake (Laguna de los Cabal- los) very nearly on the continental divide, which here has an altitude of but 7,700 feet. This is one of the lowest, if not the lowest conti- nental pass in the UnitedStates. -To the north and northeast of the bluff mentioned, there are several remnants of the ancient plateau, separated from each other by the out- cropping, underlying Colorado shales. Station 63 is one of the highest points in the valley there, and owes its present altitudé to a protecting cap of trachorheites and trachytic conglomerate. Ascending it, we pass through westward-dipping shales of the Colorado group, then reach the shales and sandstones of the Fox Hills, and finally arrive at the trachyte. The anticlinal fold described as occurring in the valley of the Navajo extends eastward to this locality, and is shown by a slight convex curv- ing of the strata. Barometric. measurement determined the summit of the mountain to reach an altitude of 9,905 feet. Could weassume a per- fect connection of all the scattered outcrops, which connection existed at the time the Tertiary beds were deposited and the later volcanic rocks * Compare Report Exploring Expedition J. N. Macomb, 1859, 1876, p. 78. *"Sa)2t JO a2DIG “S7ADY OMAN T é P2UUDADET 1 Sy Oo = 2 A pe Z S Ch) “7, Frm ys “DSOPY UNTIL? UD, ’ “WX vorpeg - re ENDLICH.] SAN JUAN REGION—TERTIARY. 189 were ejected, we would infer that the plateau then existing was, to a large extent, covered with trachorheites. From the evidence furnished by sta- tion 63, it would appear that then already the dip of the sedimentary strata was a westerly one. After the flows of lava had covered the pla- teau, that period followed during which the trachytic conglomerate was formed. This would have accumulated, as usual, in varying thickness, at places best adapted for its reception. Subsequent to the trachytic flows were the basaltic ones, and we would have but a repetition of the succession observed at the southern end of the Sawatch Range. Could this be established, the interesting question as to the former connection of the San Luis basalts with those of Tierra Amarilla would be solved. I am inclined to accept such connection, and hold that it was eventually broken by the gradual elevation of the Sawatch Range. This breaking of superficial strata produced cracks and fissures which were utilized by water, and thus the process of erosion and transportation was greatly augmented. How far south the volcanic capping may have extended over the ancient plateau I am unable to say, but I do not think that it was for any great distance. Under the basalt of the Cerro del Navajo we find no trachyte. It is true that this may be owing to erosion during the post-trachytic period before the eruption of basalt, but this view is not warranted by the observations made. Most likely the trachyte “‘ pinched out” gradually as it extended southward, and the subsequently ejected basalt flowed beyond the limits of the former. TERTIARY. Quite an extensive area is covered by Tertiary beds in the district of 1875. It has been mentioned above that the Puerco marls of Cupe* form there the lowest member of the Wasatch group. They were best observed on the Lower Animas. A section (Section XIII)running along the eastern side of the Animas will demonstrate the succession of the Strata. Resting upon the sandstones of the Dakota group (a) we find the Colorado shales (b). They are covered in turn by a series of shales and sandstones (c) belonging to the Fox Hills. This group is closed by a heavy bed of yellow sandstone (d). Above that follow 1,000 to 1,200 feet of variegated shales and marls (e), the Puerco marls. At the base they are a muddy green, changing into yellow or almost blue. Farther up, pink, pale orange, lilac, and reddish colors predominate, varied by interstrata of white or light yellow. Thin beds of sand- ifone merely of local occurrence, however, separate these beds; not, i rming definite, recognizable horizons. I have no doubt that this g oup, thoroughly characteristic in its physical features at least, is the same one which Cope found in New Mexico and of which he says: t “«"Uhe discovery of the variegated marls was one of no little interest to the writer, inasmuch as I had made special efforts to find Eocene beds int 11s region, and they were now crowned with success;” ...... ‘“‘ the thick- nes: of the strata exhibited in the walls of the Cafioncita de los Vegas I estimated at 1,200 feet;”...... “ the red and grey marls, with alternating beds of white and yellowish sandstone, appear on their summits (of the red sandstones) and..... form amass of bad-land bluffs from 600 to 1,000 feet elevation.” In my field-notes for 1875, I state: ‘“‘ The sandstones, *Annual Report of Explorations and Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian, Appendix 44, 1875, p. 88. tAnn al Report of Explorations and Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian, Appenc < 44, 1875, p. 89. 180 - REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. sandy shales and marls of this group weather very much like the for- mation of the ‘bad-lands.’” , Professor Newberry* regards these marls, as well as the over- lying sandstones, as Gretaceous. Cope is positive in his identification as Eocene, however, and by comparing carefully the descriptions, &e., given by Newberry and Cope with my own observations, I do not doubt that we have on the Lower Animas the same formation in which Cope - found (p.-89) “‘a lower molar of Bathmodon.” la) coco SS ; Coal SOP AM rin aa er AG HOPE Ted Goce a3 . Very shaly sandstones, showing lamination, no stratifi- CATON 2:23 <2. Berrealeb eta Ws Ale Lysate on. tat ‘Syalsta toga Rhee “a ter eo eons = Above k a few thin seams of coal set in that are of no value, how- ever, for mining purposes. one are too insignificant, and the coal is shaly. At the Stephens bank the Pnicieness of this main bed of coal is 9 feet. It is there overlaid by 16 feet of greyish-brown shales. For comparison of the series, Section X VII is introduced on the same plate with the two preceding ones. Itisa vertical projection of Section XIV. Above the second heavier bed of coal, the one usually measuring between 3 and 4 feet, a series of shales nearly 50 feet in thickness sets in. A heavy white sandstone covers these shales and forms the foot- wall fora coal-bed. Alternating shales and sandstones then occur, high: r up, containing a number of thin coal-seams that are not worked. We have, therefore, two horizons for coal in this region, the lower one with the heavier beds, and the upper with but thin layers of the mineral. They all belong to one continuous series, however. A map of the region immediately south of Trinidad will furnish some idea as to the occurrence of the Cretaceous beds, of the coal-bearing group, and of the line of outcrop as followed by the main bed of coal. The dips, as observed, are indicated. It will be seen from this map that the remu- nerative coal horizon has an equally good counterpart on the north side of the Purgatorio. Although indications occur there, no workable | banks have been located as yet until we reach the vicinity of the Rio Cucharas. On this river, about a mile above Walsenburg, several openings have been made, furnishing coal that is utilized by the blacksmiths of covoconac: “XX Woes | | | | . 50.4 u0tjaeas Pe '4 b:4 UOlpors . TAX wolpoos mh io?) — nb pu wa = tb) . "S sj Zz AR.< UOLPIIS e near Sections of coal SSG h IF: f. nea : a ert ee ee rae AtPNNIO Wie See Plate XXXI. Map of Trinidad region. INNA Colorado Group. Became ea: coal horizon. Upper coal horizon. [z_*| Coal- openings. BE i ecsecttic Cap. —) a —— —— ZS N a) \ x y a SF EEE 7 ESTED | Scale of miles. AM. PHOTO-LITHO. CO. N.Y. (OSBORNE'S PROCESS) MY EIN . we ae iteeel indi radiant iid SL AA Ne le emg He 1 i Mi ENDLICH.] TRINADAD REGION—COAL-SERIES. 197 the neighboring settlements. A section (Section XVIII) through the coal exposures showed the arrangement to be as follows: Ft. In., IV. h. Greyish-yellow shales............-..---------++-+--+--- 0 g. Yellow argillaceous sandstone. .....-.-----.----------- 5 0 f. Coal, partly slaty......--...-.---+-+----- ray UM lee 2 6 e. Yellow STUNGISWON Cs Seats se ao cata es eae ea aR een nals» Ser een O d. Grey shales with coaled remains of plants Rod Ble eae Py ee 4 6 ee Coal partly Silabyiuna=oictetel)s hiss Ae oeie me aicleiaiiS ee ames alse 8 0 b. Light VElOw SAMdStONG awe as LOS | oie Soblos wees 3. 6 a. Greyish-brown shales down to bed of river....-.--.-..-- 11 0 Besides these two localities, a number of others were observed where coal appeared. Near station 125 a section (Section XIX) was taken, which shows the occurrence of small coal-seams in that region. Local disturbances have taken place there which have resulted in producing an abnormal position of the strata, but they are Slight, and connections can readily be traced. k Ft: In V. k. Yellow sandstone, shaly at its lower edge ......-....... 40 0 @ Mellow Shale, laminated 2. . 22.4268 Ue.es oe oiete wid a ialalefale) oe 4 0 h. Yellow to reddish sandstone ..............-.-20-- ice HitOoed, g. Yellow to grey shales, sandy, with thin interstrata of SAIMOESEOMEH eh Leash a Ie oie cS eS 2h 120 0 f. Yellow sandstone with indistinct remains of plants....--. 40 0 CHW Oa set ek yeiateic HAs icehye ALS eid Bet) LN onde bre 1 4 d. Series of ereyish- -yellow shales with slight indications of COA SE iss Shbe cbs seal Le UES Sched eee taht 210 0 c. Massive white sandstone, alow in part Stee Aerattey) oe tee 115 0 Uen@oaltintes shiek) SUN oho s Qa ON seis Batrelgncina peaches wats 1 7 a. Grey shales, partly sandy: «22. 00s.2 56-6 esses loei se 300 0 Near station 138, at the eastern edge of the coal-bearing group, while the above section is taken from the western border, another locality was found where indications of coal occurred. A section (Section XX) was taken through the bluff upon which the station was located, cutting the beds containing coal. Ft. In. VI. s. Yellow to reddish sandstone, with indistinct remains of IIBE NVR RS AAAS IC SEB SME SG Baeeian cso ooKucongoe nce. 23. 0 r. Light yellow to grey shales..............--- shisy acs thas th TO q. Light yellow coarse-grained sandstone...........---.-. 45 0 p. Dark yellow to brown sandstone.........-...-.---..-.- 14 0 o. Greyish-brown shales ..........- Po cheerios eei ci biate <1 d 146 0 (ie) SCAN OM RENIORMOIIE Sos BS ae a an ate es eres aS omen cence 40 0 m. Dark grey to brown shales, laminated....-.....-....-. 110 0 7. Prominent yellow sandstone. <<... 2.) + 2-2... scien seiels 60 0 k. Dark grey to brown shales, with coaled remains of plants MMe UGS MONET WEES st 2)el ie pesioee ol ors shet ale Uist eee ela ole 80 0 AU TPs eer) «Ee haste SR MEP EEL om tat atoy. 7.215 (alts 2 Soa erent ay Shel easy aye Leer fathiniy bedded, very dark shales <2 2..¢.- .2.: 5-202. -26 9 0 he DOE! pa ESS RES CC To ae te Ee AS pont So Sak Ren Mee fee ere 2 0 J. Very dark shales with coaled plants CPR Rea Seite LSS. Se 12 0 Cometaed levers 2k es Sie mente eye yt) ool pea! win acer sictsioay sae oak Tyce GORE VEE -OLOWNOSMALCS ! 2... leis as ec eee it eeefeicls apeisin 24 0 c. Massive white sandstone (ee fucoidal DN ie. cu sststseeneyapephie 13» 70 0 b. Beds of sandy shales, marly in some places, with thin interstrata of yellow sandstone ........-.-.-..-.---- 90 0 a. Yellow argillaceous sandstone, reaching to base of bluff. 20 0 198 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. About 12 miles above Trinidad coal crops out on a level with the river- bed. Several small openings were seen there, but were not examined, as evidently no work was being done. At that locality the bed was thicker than at either of the two preceding ones. CORRELATION OF COAL-BEDS. é As has been stated above, we have in the coal-bearing group of the Trinidad region two horizons of coal-deposits—the lower and the upper. As belonging to the former I count the main banks south of Trinidad, the outcrops on the Purgatorio and the Cucharas mines, to the latter the occurrences at stations 125, 138, and at a number of other unimportant points. It has been mentioned that the entire group forms a “trough” or “basin”. At its western edge the dip of the strata is eastward ; from its northern border they dip south, and the eastern bluffs show an inclination westward. At Trinidad, on the north side of the river, a northerly dip, combined with the western one, can be observed. This continues for some distance, until it is changed south of the Cucharas, where a dip to the southward setsin. South of Trinidad (5,980 feet, elevation of camp,) the base of the main bank is about 590 feet above the town, giving it an absolute elevation of 6,570 feet. On the Cucharas the altitude above sea- level of the mines is about 6,390 feet. Allowing for the synclinal north to south fold, the existence of which has been mentioned above, and con- sidering that the southerly dip commences but a short distance below the Cucharas, which dip will elevate the coai-beds, we find the Cucharas coal-beds 180 feet lower than those of Trinidad, just about at the locality where we would expect to find them. In the coal-bearing beds south of Trinidad a dip to the northwest is noticeable. It is very slight, amounting to about 1° or a little more. At that point the coal is 590 feet above the river. Allowing for this dip with slight variation, and the increased height of the river-bed as we travel up-stream, we would again find the coal ona level with the river where it was actually observed. In addition to this stratigraphical evidence we have the similarity of the beds accompanying the coal to'support the view that these three localities show outcrops belonging to the same horizon. Farther up the river, the coal, if it still continues, dips under, is hidden from sight, and does not appear on the face of the western bluffs. This again argues for the acceptation of an unconformability between the Creta- ceous and the coal-bearing series. ‘The outcrops found near stations 125 and 138, I regard as belonging to the upper horizon, a conclusion that is sustained by the character of the accompanying strata. From Fish- er’s Peak, a section (Section X XI) was taken following approximately the course of the Purgatorio and its southern fork. This will explain more readily than otherwise could be done the relative positions occu- pied by the various formations and their members. Leaning at a high angle against the metamorphic rocks of the Sangre de Cristo, are the red Carboniferous sandstones (a); with a vertical dip, the sandstones of the Dakota group (b) follow, and after them the dark grey Colorado shales (c). These latter afford but very poor opportunity of studying their dip, more particularly after we have passed the slight rise pro- duced by this interstratum of sandstones (d). The shales appear as covered by the yellow shales and sandstones (e) of the prominent bluff upon which station 125 was located. At the junction between the two, the dip of the Colorado shales bas not been given because it was too much obscured to admit of any definite determination. At an angle of 4° to 6° the sandstones and shales dip eastward, soon causing the dis- Plate XXXII. Section _XX!. - SSS ee a XS. — —--Shales ard Ser, TE ORES 5 HS SS SE = SS aaa ==-= LD CPE - ES ae te = = ce Sos eee 2 A “itl Z Eh ee eee Em LINE PSN a er ee i Bee, bee SEY Bo) a cig cs = oo a ae Sa eas ae ETERS gran SSeS === sae a. AM. PHOTO-LITHD. CO. N.Y. (OSBORNE'S PROCESS) EA cap ENDLICH.] TRINIDAD REGION—COAL. 99 appearance of the Colorado shales from the bed of the river. Indica- tions of coal (f) are found both in the station 125 bluff and in the one composed of alternating sandstones and shales (g) overlying it. As we proceed eastward the dip of the strata becomes smaller until it ceases altogether, and we soon find that it has been reversed, that it is now west- ward. In the section these dips are necessarily exaggerated in order to shorten its length as compared to the thickness of the strata. On the Purgatorio, 12 miles above Trinidad, we find, therefore, the out- crop of « heavy bed of coal (h) which, rising farther eastward, seems to correspond exactly to the main bank (2) south of Trinidad. Ascending from that point, the slope leading to the summit of Fisher's Peak, we find in the higher strata coal-beds (k) of no economic importance, corre- sponding to the small ones (j) observed farther west. Fisher’s Peak is the northern terminus of an extensive plateau sloping southward. It is covered by 600 to 650 feet of a black, vesicular basalt (2), and stands out prominently, as it rises to an absolute elevation of 9,460 feet, 3,300 feet above the valley adjoining it on the east side. In the narrow valley of the Purgatorio, the Colorado shales (m) are found, containing Inoceramus, Baculites, and Ostrea. In tracing connections of coal-beds over so extensive an area it must be remembered that they are at best but local deposits. While the conditions favorable to the formation of coal may have existed at any one given locality, they may have been wanting at the same time but a short distance off. Hence it is not advisable to attach too much importance to over- and under-lying beds in determining the identity of coal strata. Observation has shown that whereas we may have a sand- stone in a geognostic horizon at one place, that same sandstone may be replaced by shales or marls not far distant. In such instances the general stratigraphical arrangement, particularly when large areas are involved, will furnish by far the better data upon which to base a decis- jon. It would not only be ill-advised, but might generally lead to erro- neous results, were the lithological constitution only of é¢ertain beds or strata employed as an agent for determination. Wherever fossils can be found, recognized as being characteristic of certain groups or members of groups, their evidence is preferable. If such is not the case, however, the method above employed in making an attempt at deciding the identity of Strata widely separated will usually prove to be the most acceptable. It will furnish a more complete view of the entire stratigraphical arrange- ment, and though due consideration should be given to lithological evi- dence as far as it goes, the former will aid more materially in definitely settling the question. COAL. Having completed the discussion of the geognostic and geological position occupied by the coal of the Trinidad region a few words may be said as to its economic merits. On the Riffenburg bank a good deal ° of work has been done. Nine feet three inches is the thickness of the vein. A tunnel has been driven in, having an easterly direction. It was at the time of my visit (October 1, 1875) 180 feet long, 6 to 7 feet high and 9 feet wide. The coal from this mine represents, in exterior character and component parts, very fairly the type otf the entire region. According to Dana’s classification* I should term these coals caking or binding bituminous coal. The term of lignite is generally used, but speaking from the strict standpoint of a mineralogist, this name is *Syst. of Min., 1870, p. 654. 900 | REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. not applicable. Inasmuch, however, as it has been universally applied and has given a general name to the formation in which the coal occurs, it would not be advisable to attempt any change at present. Regarded. as a mineral, however, this coal is no lignite. The Riffenburg coal furnishes a good coke, an average percentage of volatile, combustible matter, and a very light, grey ash. An assay made of it gave the following result :* Riffenburg bank. \ Per cent. Loss at 110° C. (water) ....-- .----. ------ eee ene eee ene eee ene ce ene oe Sea -Cer 0. 26 Carbon, fixed. ..---. ..2------- ---- 22+ eee ee nee te eee ce ene 2 =e eee 65. 76 Volatile combustible matter (by difference) .....----.-------.---------------- 29. 66 JS) roapese oben Gob ooeese di SHS PBS RIB DE So SOOS0 C550 200s Peabo mean aaos Sco S2a5 4,32 100, 00 Specific gravity: 1.28. Blum’s bank is located a short distance west of the Riffenburg, and shows a vein of 11 feet thickness. It is the same as the latter, hav- ing, as might be expected, local variations of thickness. A tunnel has been driven in to the distance of 60 feet, and the quality of the coal is very nearly that of the Riffenburg. At the surface partial decompo- sition has increased the relative quantity of ash, but upon reaching the fresh portion this is again reduced. An assay made furnished the fol- ing results : Blum’s bank. Per cent. LOSS ii LIMO (Ce (WBIED)o 606455 oh66 bee dd5 Gomad6 co0d00 CSd0c0 SoERo9 OoSeSH ose0C= 1. 00 Garbonsixedae-eece-= redias Mites Wick See So 2 US is ieee nica aici is anal aeyoreietmtete eters 53. 80 Volatile combustible matter (by difference) ....-...---...---- ---. ------0- +20 27. 80 ANGI One SERA ONC BES Ben OHO Ron CREE REM OerAS BBasolmbo ToOOOSHoSS choad Ga00 acco 17. 40 Specific gravity: 1.42. This coal furnishes a compact hard coke, that may readily be utilized for metallurgical purposes. Although the percentage of ash seems large in the specimen examined, its character is such as to lead to the infer- ence above indicated, that it may be owing to partial decomposition. Stephen’s bank is situated still farther west, on the Santa Fé wagon- road. It is the largest of the three mines mentioned. A tunnel 250 feet in length has been driven in, and several chambers have been cut out. At this mine the thickness of the coal-bed is 9 feet. Some of it has been coked at the entrance of the tunnel in an improvised kiln. The result was very satisfactory. At Trinidad the coal from this locality is used for blacksmithing purposes and answers very well. Two assays were made, one of good, the other of very poor coal. Stephen’s bank. No. 1. Per cent. Mossiat TOS C.(wvater) sce cays s sls ose: sine cere Bee eater cee eee eee eee 1. 06 Carbon fixed si)... ccisc ce wiciec whisees min so cise s eae eRe a eee ree E eee 65. 00 Volatile combustible matter (by difference) .... ....2.--...--- ---- ----------- | 24.08 ANE) 0) Eo SRA CR Sg ea ee AO Gibe SOC 6. 26 10. 00 Specific gravity: 1.31 *It must be stated that all the coals, assays of which are given below, had been placed for about a year in aroom warmed by,steam radiators. This may, in part, account for the low percentages of moisture. o as ENDLICH.| TRINIDAD REGION+—COAL. sagt -201, It furnishes a good coke. Aan is grey, Siohily reddish, the Hesilie os a very minute quantity ot ferric oxide. . No.2 a a ~ ; Per cent. AVS MPU ORO GWALCE)lcasciache eis ae o)sinieecie eo Nerslseicla ce cicieea ociccae ec d clon secieee “0.20 ¢ (Crone eee aemie nose asi senna seisatone ec asiaise ee ieee cciems oat csecmces 49. 66 Volatile combustible matter (by difference)......--....---..---------------- 26. 94 ASIN 259 Gosh ceoeae esas eeee mee ele ced se secer edamcohaaoeeh Pciesete sieve eial we cic ie's 23. 20 100. 00 Specific gravity: 1.53. “¢ : wt: og In this instance the higher specific gravity is owing to.the large per- centage of ash. The coke obtained from the coal is good, See mree? of course, the considerable amount of incombustible matter. In preceding pages of this chapter the coal occurring in the "Dry Arroya has been mentioned. It has been exposed to atmospheric influ- ences for a long period of time. Interest was attached to the question regarding its composition, and therefore an assay. was made which con- firmed the expectations held. Good coke was obtained from the coal, and the ash was very light, boti in color and weight of the volume. X Dry Arroya. : é ‘ ‘ Per cent. Ossi LOOMC TM Gwiaibens)/estiao as sete seraaie see a eee bia ckeroceneccie car eyes eee 0. 52 Carbon, fixed .....-.- st Botanists ac cia els bion Goa e an epatise poltee my AOMOO Volatile combustible matter ‘(by iiforertcoye de een oe See panto rtonel ong ate MONE Se ee eee eee Ace iicc «cia aia\slaamisuaieacisccincss satieen sulmaccisascsecieeett ToL deO “ Oe Paes — 100. 00 Specific gravity: 1.36. iy se With this I conclude the coal-assays from Trinidad. Yor the sake of convenience I shall append two, om the Cucharas. eae About a mile above Walsen}¥# made on the south side of Cug#raras River, but rio work of any extent has been done. As I could find. none of the awners, I visited these openings alone, hence failed to learn the names that have probably been given them. The largest vein seen was one of 8 feet in thickness, but several smaller ones were observed,.> It was noticed that the coal here was not so uniform in character as that from Trinidad. Admixtures of ’ shale and very fine-grained arenaceous deposits have produced a com- paratively higher percentage of ash. Lamination may be seen, as a rule, therefore, the result of such admixture.” The coke obtained’ from this coal does not equal in quality that from Trinidad. It is possibie that with increasing depth of the mines the coal found may becomesmore homogeneous, thus producing better coke. Two specimeiis were selected, choosing a high average quality, so far as exterior a appeal ania could i in- dicate it. Analyses furnished the following results: - wa Cuchards coal. No. 1 : : > Bis 5 MORE Per cent. Oss aap OA (water) (aocee8 os ce ls cees = endo see ae pitt ae sean eee ey igelndG DE TEG DL JSST SS OS Sena me Se A ee re Mes oodie some sarees eee. 4512 Volatile combustible matter (by difference)-........--.-.------.------.-- moe ALO NS Hin sete eee: ASE aon Sb cet o wicia odsmicie tae ou onemac ne ceteeeee sc hee 8. 66 100. 00 Specific gravity: 1.32. : (Placita) several openings have been — + ® ‘ - 202. REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. No. 2. Per ceut. Toss at 110°C. (water). ---2.- 9.2225. - 2: --- ro --- =o SOS. BHBHEG cogaoudencd. 0. 32 (CraretXons HbXEWl 6G cob cong esos p205 Uneocs obeo panbes Ge on0e > oD besubeooag scsake coos 47. 60 Volatile combustible matter (by difference) .....-..--.---..--.---.---------- 41.76 ANSINGR SS Sods cabo co ooeuao ones Sede cso dab cHobEd Obedao GoSCb0 ansd. cade baSdno coca 10. 32 100. 00 Specific gravity: 1.38. Besides these two regions, where the mining of coal is carried on more or less systematically, numerous outcrops have been observed at a num- ber of localities, and reference to some of them has been made at the proper place. No doubt some of them may eventually prove to be of value, but the mines already started will be able to supply, for a long time, even a rapidly increasing demand. For smeiting purposes, the coal from Trinidad will answer sufficiently well, while for the manufact- ure of gas beth Cucharas and Trinidad can furnish desirable material. Coal-mining in both these regions is comparatively cheap, owing to the favorable location of the beds and the hard, safe character of both hanging and foot walls. / In order to give a comparison of the coals throughout Colorado, I have prepared a table containing all assays and analyses that were available. Tt will be found, upon examination, that one group differs very decidedly from the rest. This is the group from the Elk Mountains. In compo- sition, the coal from that region closely resembles anthracite, as also in its physical character. Dr. A. C..Peale, with reference thereto, says :* ‘¢ The eruption of the trachyte found near the coal first mentioned, prob- ably so heated it as to deprive it of the bituminous matter. In some instances voleanic dikes have been observed to pass through beds of this bituminous coal.” In that case the portions immediately adjacent were found to show a composition closely resembling that of anthracite. We may therefore regard the coal from the Elk Mountains and those from the vicinity of the Gunnison not/as true anthracite primarily, but as a bituminous coal having lost nearly all of its volatile constituents. 2 iS) B. se 2 a3 b Sa =| gS : = a5 2 53 Analysis made 5 Locality. &0 = Ee | F 5 2 Se S Lo y— a Ff Sime p ee - = ; z - ae ens Maa lSycS alll Me a DM =| ey > 4 Region of the Animas. TL 36 SOUS SODUSSOBGOS) DES OGHSUSC ROLE Aer 1. 56 3.26 | 58.86] 31.65 6.23 | Endlich. D |) ot sascgaraeogscods seasooanegondeanaus 1.15 6. 00 60. 72 28. 48 4. 80 Do. Sl BAS CERIO RUOOB CE CPOE SCISoISt ene cS seiess 1, 29 3. 06 62. 20 31.54 3. 20 Do. AN eels Fobaenesoond coscapsoscocustoud 1, 38 2. 60 62.72 | 31.02 3. 66 Do. Rio Colorado, Colo. (?) SMP IVOCORLVIGE! 2i\-niccuiste rece his cote mite uel Sere sisivece 2.70 | 59.36 24, 44 13.50 | Loew. Trinidad. | @ || IDR7 IMG Oy soos sopesocopaacocondos 1. 36 0.52 | 40.06 | 27.56] 31.86 | Endlich. Palmisiumes bank: 220s soaneereseen see cee 1. 42 1.00 | 53.80! 27.80] 17.40 Do. Smiespephen S| pan kes seme, cme ctecieets 11 Bl 1.06 | 65.00 | 27.68 6. 26 Do. Omlisee. - CO WeGs ore cos aercbenosaccacrcs 1. 53 0. 20 49. 66 26. 94 23. 20 Do. 10 | Riffenburg bank ...... . parece teraaiets 1. 28 0.26 | 65.76 | 29.66 4, 32 Do. MIME TIDMU sn too cicljwee scisicinie micas. cine 1.28 0. 84 54. 10 26. 98 1x. 98 | Mallett. 112) aS aseg @soonbo ooodeaceHenoobodconsue|soaesooe 0.€0} 40.18 | 50.32 8.70 | Loew. Cucharas. Ty | (Ohana ouoaeeselesesooncodcaorce 132 1. 46 48 12 41. 76 8.66 | Endlich. 1 ee GOzB ave Secietiy se cs aseeeeease 1. 38 0. 32 47. 60 41. 76 10. 32 Do. * Report United States Geological Survey 1874, p. 176. a ENDLICH.] TRINIDAD REGION—COAL. 203 Locality. Caron City. Specific gravity. the average percentages of constituents from each locality. Colorado Springs. East of Colorado Springs.-.---.--- Northwest of Colorado Springs. --. Golden City. Bean Oneelaee: sceescscscccerssass Marshall mine eee do Murphy mine do Be se do Baker mine Golden do do Gunnison region. Gunnison River Uncompahgre Cebolla Creek Elk Mountains. yaa GOR ae eset eset eee: O Be Joytul Creek Rock Creek O Be Joyful Creek * Plus water. ° Bis 83> | gs — o on 25 3 22 n 3 ea g | ona H ey & 5.37 | 56. 66 35. 08 5. 40 54.70 | 36.40 4.50 | 56.80 34, 20 7.14) 52.27) 24.56 @12) 47.29) 37.09 12.90 | 46.00 | 39.10 8. 06 47. 66 40. 68 ees ye 48,15 | *47. 80 12.00} 59.20] 26.00 12. 00 49.72 | 33.08 13.83 | 44.44 35. 88 11.70 | 55.31 29. 07 i. 70 Do. a |) .29:07 15.00 | 50.65 | 30.50 8:32) 58; 25) |) 29.92 13. 43 45. 57 37.15 13. 67 47. 58 34. 75 20.00 | 57.70 19. 30 11.81 53.38 | 31.40 14.80} 47.30] 34.50 fata te 91.02 | 43.63 1.86 | 77.32] 10.70 7.26 | 41.72] 43. 42 5. 04 59. 50 30. 46 SES 59. 68 | *36. 02 2.00 | 91.90 2. 50 1. 60 &8. 20 3. 40. 4.00 | 74.¢C0 14. 00 Bekele 88.92 | *7. 40 6.66 | 79.32 1. 36 WNIT 29 p09 09 00 20.9 7 EID wt g2 99 99/09 100 52 60 ON —_ Analysis made by— Mallett. Torrey. J. T. Hodge. Do. J. Hi. Le Conte. G. J. Brush. J.T. Hodge. Loew. J.T. Hodge. Mallett. Endlich. Do. From the above-given coal-assaysa table has been prepared, giving Although the data available are at best too meager, the average may indicate, to a certain extent, the general quality of coal occuring at each particular locality. ° 2) oO One c eS oh oh ore .. i) i) $ Sey esi cra gi oo) a ee ies a oy ® or 3s o ne o9 OF OOs S) Seat a a is oon eaten occ Locality. nS as a aa 2 Sie ek Oo oo oS2 cw © eh en CL ef Sim aS) H i) CJn=| CS) - i} 2 a) ou o 2 5 P rs aa) Shei Bs = “208 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. isfactory. This is particularly the case with reference to the early geo- logical history of San Luis Valleys wletamon ‘phics—Rocks belongiug to this group crop out in but two re- gions, in the Sangre de Cristo and the Sawatch Ranges. In the former -they occupy a centraf position, being flanked oa either side by sedimen- tary or by voleanic formations. In “their structure they resemble sedi- mentary Pe at some places, but at others any similarity that might be so construed is too much olliteraged to admit of direct comparison. W berever their chanacter is stich as to permit speaking of their “ strata,” it wijl be found that the latter agree in their relations with the overly- ing, unchanged sedimentary beds. This we find to be the case more particulatly on- the western slope of the range. Following the meta- morphic outcrops ‘northward, we establish a connection with those oc- curring on the Arkansas River, and it is there that we obtain a clew as to their origin. In the report of 1873 (p. 308) Silurian beds identified by fossils and geognostic position have been described as overlying the granite of the immediate Arkansas region. In the northern: portion of the Savgre de Cristo Range, however, they disappear in the vicinity of Hunt’s Peak. South of that it may be observed that the metamorphic rocks change. Instead of an unbroken series of granite, we find schists, gneissic, micaceous, and chloritic, showing evidence of having been subjected to very intense metamorphosing influences. At Mosco Pass the number of varieties reaches its maximum, continuing south- ward into the Blanca group. No Silurian whatever is found in the southern extension of the range. The general lithological character of the rocks agrees with that observed farther north, but. differs from that éf the Arkansas vicinity. Considering the conformability of younger formations witli the Silurian strata on that river, and considering furthermore 4hé cénformability metamorphic strata show after the disappearance of the Silurian, gt the same time noting the change that takes face ih the lithological character of these strata, south “of the Silurian outcrops, I have come to the conclusion that the metamorphic rocks of the Sangre de Cristo Range represent the original Silurian beds. By following the dips and general courses of the strikes, and comparing them with those of the superincumbent, younger strata, the similarity of arrangement hetween the two expresses itself very ‘deti- nitely. ~ In the Sawateb Range ae metamorphic outcrop is not so extensive, but of great interest. In Chapter LII mentign bas been made of its strat- igraphical conditions, as well as of its lithological character. . Granite, coarse-grained, with a flesh-cdlored feldspar, forms the higher members of the group, overlying pure quartzites, and’quartzites gradually merg- ing into micaceous andes gneissic schists. We have here, therefore, the same relative position that was observed in the Quartzite Mountains during the prevedihg year. This might point to the fact of the two having been formed by the metamorphosis of at least similarly arranged if not identical beds. It is a noticeable feature, that none of the older formations occur along the western base of the range, so far as I have been able todetermine, From the character of the younger ones (Creta- ceous and Post-Cretaceous) it must be inferred that if they exist there, it is at considerable depth. In the Quartzite Mountains we have defi- nite observations,* showing the metamorphie granite and a portion of the underlying schists and quattzites’ to have been formed by an alteration of the Silurian, and, in part, Devonian strata. This same origin I as- oe * ®nited States Geological Report 1874, p. 191. ’ ENDLICH.] CONCLUSION—-CARBONIFEROUS. 209 sume for the group exposed at station 94. Between the two outcrops lies an intervening distance of 85 miles, that affords no clew to any con- nection, either in former periods or at the present time, below the sur- face. It is impossible, therefore, to make any assertions relative to an identity of the two groups as regards age, but I incline to the opinion that the connection formerly existed, mainly following, perhaps, the con- tinental divide, and that the present high altitude of the voleanic beds in the Sawatch Range is due to such connection. In speaking of the voleanic area below, a synopsis of the metamorphic outcrops occurring within its limits will be given, with a view to presenting the former hypsometric conditions as far as possible. Carboniferous.—In the districts of 1873 and 1874 the Lower Carbon- iferous strata reached a good development. On the north side of the Arkansas and along the Animas they were-found containing character- istic fossils. A small area only shows an exposure of the same in our present section. On and in the vicinity of Trinchera Peak, the strata are found that belong to this formation. They do not.correspond en- tirely with those observed elsewhere, evidently having bean subjected to metamorphosing influences. In geognostic position they are paralle! to the lower group exposed on the west side of the Animas,* but their Sandstones are changed into a quartzitic variety, their shales inte argillites, hard and brittle. Above them a blue limestone generally occurs, containing fossils that denote its age.t This was not cbserved in the range, unless? indeed, the limestones found in Sangre de Cristo and Indian Passes should represent it. They, however, show beds of the same sandstone on either side, so that they were regarded as inter- strata rather than as this lower group. It is possible that the contor- tions to which all the strata were subjected at those localities have rendered the position they now occupy a relatively abnormal one. Reaching a very considerable thickness and playing an impor tant part in the str ucture of the Sangre de Cristo Range, is the red Carboniferous sandstone. It generally rests upon the metamorphics, having assumed a Similar position at the northern end of the range. On either side of the summit it dips off toward the valleys, forming only at one point, station 21 of 1873, the summit itself. On the Arkansas this group was first noticed, and from its geognostic position referred to the Carbon- iferous. During 1875 the ground then taken was vindicated by the dis- covery of undoubted Carboniferous fossils in interstrata of limestone at three localities. Besides this, Carboniferous plants were found in the sandstone proper.» During the Cretaceous period the beds belonging -to this group must already have occupied the elevated position in which we find them at present, thus debarring that younger formation from entering the western country beyond.: It is highly probable that sub- sequent local disturbances have produced the minor plications and folds we observe, but the general position of the sandstone strata was deter- mined at many points before the advent of the later Cretaceous waters, although at others they are perfectly conformable. During the Carbon- iferous period this sandstone must have formed a beach for a very long time, invaded every. now and then by the waters that deposited the limestones. It is owing to this temporary invasion that we find them to be of local occurrence only, and not forming constant geognostic horizons. neds HoeKed Goames SS osco cokc Cecas 34, 88 Carbonic (acide. aigohee sh Ne ue Ms Mis ety Nee 1 he do On 7.05 Sulphurieaetde rs jo s2 So soe ce eS! a ee 1. 92 99, 98 In some cases, the undigested organic matter (bones) was one-fourth of the whole weight. In some cases we find remains of the indigestible portions of food be- tween the ribs, where the stomach was situated. In the Plesiosauri we found another interesting feature, showing an aid to digestion similar to many living reptiles ‘and some birds. This consisted of well-worn siliceous pebbles, from one-fourth to one-half of an inch in diameter. They were the more curious, as we never found such pebbles in the chalk or shales of the Niobrara. How far the Saurians wandered to collect them is a perplexing problem. Their structure does not indicate much ability to crawl on land, and yet it is probable that they must have frequented some of the islands of the old Cretaceous ocean for that and otber purposes. As such substances remain in stomachs of low or- ganization for a long time, the visits to dry land would not necessarily have been very frequent. ee | | srupae,] CRETACEOUS SYSTEM-—-NIOBRARA. 287 ‘Sharks’ teeth were sometimes found in the remains of food, showing ‘the taste of the Saurians and their high carnivorous natures. On the ' other hand, we frequently found evidence that the sharks returned the | compliment, for bones of Saurians were found with the marks of the sharp, serrate teeth of Galeocerdo, which could not have been made un- | Jess the bones were still fresh and unhardened. That such huge rep- | tiles must have had fierce contests with each other is also apparent. The type of the head and teeth would indicate this. Bat in addition it was no uncommon thing to find Saurian ribs which had been broken ( and again united while the animal lived. In one case a more serious injury occurred. Ina fine specimen, one of the most perfect collected _ by us, we discovered that the animal had received a very Serious injury +o his back, which he had outlived. Five of the vertebra had been fractured so seriously as to lose many of the spinous processes, after which it had healed, but the whole had grown together (anchylosed) so as to lose thenatural form of the separate bones and become a confused, firm mass. The enemy that could have thus injured a monster 35 or 40 feet in length, and whose jaws of defense were 33 inches long, must have made a fierce contest. When we know that the largest (Brimo- saurus, Leidy) was 70 feet long, with a head 6 feet, those of half that size should avoid an encounter, and those only 6 feet in length might have been swallowed whole. The Niobrara of Kansas also affords the only Pterodactyls yet known in the United States, and, we believe, in America. They differ widely from those of the Old World in the absence of teeth and general structure of the head; the latter is much more elongated and beak-like. On the great divergence from the European type, Professor Marsh * has based anew sub-order Pterodontia of two genera, and described six species, viz: Pteranodon ingens, P. occidentalis, P. velox, P. longiceps, P. comp- tus, and Nyctosaurus gracilis. Copet has also described two species, Ornithochirus umbrosus and O. harpia. Butitis possible that one or two species of the two authorities may be identical. They average much larger than those of Europe, several species being from 20 to 25 feet in extent of wing. Fragments of the bones are frequent, but usually in poor preservation, in strong contrast in this respect with the other ver- tebrate remains. The long bones, being very hollow, were compressed to the thickness of one-tenth of an inch, and:exceedingly friable. The articulations, being thicker, are firm and better preserved. The bones of the head were more rare. In one instance (of P. ingens), I uncovered a hand, with the four long bones of the wing-finger, as they lay in place, and found them measuring respectively 24§ inches, 203 inches, 14} inches, and 9 inches; or 5 feet 83 inches in total length. The width of the first, asit lay compressed to one-tenth of an inch, was about 2 inches. My note-book shows seventy-two individual specimens seen in 1875 ; but little more than half could be saved, much as we valued this rare fossil. In some instances, on opening a piece of chalk, the outline could be distinctly seen, but the bone crumbled to dust. In 1876 we were more successful, and the museum of Yale College has a collection ex- ceedingly rich, particularly in the smaller and frail bones, not well rep- resented in the European species. In Dr. Coues’s Key to North American Birds, published in 1873, Pro- fessor Marsh has given a list of the fossil birds from the Cretaceous of North America, at which time thirteen species were known, all first de- *American Journal of Science, iii, p. 360, June, 1871; xi, p. 507, June, 1876; and xii p. 479, December, 1876. + Trans. Amer. Philosophical Society, March 1, 1872. 288 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. scribed by himself. Of these, five are from the Niobrara beds of Kan- sas. To this we have added two species, making (as some others are not yet fully identified) at least seven from Kansas. Five of these are so anomalous as to be provided with jaws and teeth. These Professor Marsh described as a sub-class, Odontornithes.* In the Odontolcw, we have birds of the largest class of aquatics, measuring 5 to 6 feet in height. The teeth are set in grooves in the jaws. The wings are very rudimentary, too weak for flight. The Odontotorma, on the other hand, are small, with strong wings, giving great power of flight, and the teeth are set in sockets. And what is more singular, the vertebra are bicon- cave, like a fish, but still retaining the internal bone-structure of the bird. Bones of the legs and wings were of the usual bird structure, This was found by the writer and first described by Professor Marsh in the American Journal of Science, vol. iv, p. 314, and illustrated in vol. x, p. 402. Professor Marsh has now in press a monograph on the Cre- taceous birds, where all will be fully described and illustrated. The ravines of the Niobrara exhibit many features in common with the canous of the bad lands of Dakota and Nebraska, but on a diminu- tive scale. When a firm layer of chalky limestone overlies others of a softer texture, a narrow groove will be cut through the top, and then the wear goes on rapidly down to the level of the lower grounds. Fre- quently such canons will be 100 feet long, 15 or 20 feet deep, and but 2 feet across the top, being wider below than above. These occur near each other, and then the ravines become quite labyrinthine; an intri- cate place for hunters or their enemies to hide. When these partitions between the cations become detached from the hillsides and divided into sections, they stand as isolated columns. Such are the well-known Monument Rocks of the Smoky Hill Valley, in Wallace County, and Castle Rocks, of Ellis County. The former stand as detached pillars, 20 to 40 feet high, in the valiey, at quite a distance from the nearest parent bluffs. In the latter example, at the extreme western angle, a pillar like a detached bastion stands 200 yards from the Castle, 60 or 70 feet high, and only 20 feet through the base. The top is limestone, then chalk, while the base is firm blue shale. The valley around is per- fectly level. At the eastern end of the Castle several smaller pillars seem to stand as sentinels in that direction. The top of the Castle, overlooking all, is covered by 10 feet of Pliocene sandstone. ‘The writer regrets that these fanciful rocks have not been photographed, so that twenty years later other photographs might show the rate of abra- sion. Rain, frost, and the hands of ruthless men are destroying many of these unique pinnacles. The soil overlying the Niobrara group being formed primarily by good proportions of chalk, clay, and sand, and subsequently intermin- gled with organic matter, is rich and fertile. On the high prairie the loam is from 1 to 3 feet deep, while on the bottoms it is deeper but in- clined to be too sandy. The wantof rain in July, August, and Septem-. ber, west of Fort Hays, renders agriculture unprofitable. The wild grasses, consisting of several varieties of buffalo grasses and biue- joint, are admirably adapted to withstand drought, and make excellent food for cattle and sheep. Asa home for stock-raisers it has few equals. An opinion is prevalent that the region covered by the Niobrara Tertiary is largely supplied by alkali plains and alkali springs. This is a mistake. After more than ten years’ acquaintance with it, I have not seen two acres together where the vegetation bas been killed by it, or *Amer. Journal of Science, November, 1875, p. 403. | femper:| CRETACEOUS SYSTEM—NIOBRARA. 289 half a dozen springs so impregnated as to make the water unpalatable. The analyses of chalk, shales, and soils, do not show more than the aver- age of the alkaline bases. _ The soil of this division consists of the fine, black loam, so common to the West. Were rain more, abundant, it would be a rich farming- region. Itis a good grazing-country. The following analyses of soils, collected by S. W. Williston from the Smoky Hill Valley, were made by George E. Patrick, professor of chemistry in the University of Kansas. No. 1 is high-prairie loam; No. 2 is from “bottom” lands. Neither soil had ever been cultivated. ' : No. 2. No, 1: VRE pbb SO GGSS SAS OHC BE OCH OI OSs Sita Ares tea ea asa 1. 895 3, 449 (| EDUC TINIE G08 SG ASCE GE SAR IAMa SS ema UR Ob te ei SERA AE a 3. 039 5, 224 Soluble in cold hydrochloric acid : Osi evOtNOM mre se sio ee siciels ert < AOS Soa Maat ais oes 1. 503 U5 0g ANITTIUNE BESO S Bee CAREC EAE eC IO GCI ECO eet eae fooon 0 Odd iol ILPGNS) COWS RASESS RAS SOO REBAIG SSE OES CUES Biri ee ne a 4. 268 1.618 MTHS Mieraets cle saree nie a aaa sec aes te cle nie ete aisle aetale ae ne eee - 422 2. 084 HAO PASS OV sei rete ee cise oul sac cere babel s Bante crea stona aipaiere Ca SUE .214 . 202 SOOWE) Sode GSbo od Sema SARE SE CORR OOOC SEARS Crs aaa nc oes ra ree ae . 038 . 002 PPICECTACTOR ge ciciet oe erat ran Semel = eae SES MA Mt ees Rea pie Lid . 050 . 023 SUM CRACT Mae eevciel ae tains creeieine ais inisiniec ieee mace Seales mines . 041 . 078 Carbonic acidW:2:-....-- Sodolosoboe GaboaD poasoposMoaDEdcoasur 3. 010 . 567 SOUS HMOUUCE ACI, c Sec acies = a blnia aisle sural Ciasiaaes ecosioe ee eeee 173 118 SOCummMbel MOTUS cheese LE aes De RN ie aha ll NL . 003 . 007 insolmblesmycoldghydrochlonic) acids. cjeorc cayenne eeeecee cess 84, 287 82. 129 mit 100. 000 100, 000 b.—Hort Hays division. The massive stratum of limestone above described, together with all the deposits above the sandstones of the Dakota, I shall call the Fort Hays division. ,; Professor Hayden, in his Final Report of the United States Geological Survey of Nebraska and Adjacent Territories, p. 67, says: At Wilson’s station I saw the chalky limestone of: the Niobrara group filled with Tnoceramus problematicus. A part of the bed is in slabs or thinnish layers, as it usually appears wherever it occurs south of the Missouri River; but a part also is more are- naceous and rust-colored. Between the two hundred and forty-fifth and two hundred and fiftieth mile-stone west, the road cuts through No. 3 (Niobrara) very distinctly, the whole country appearing to be underlaid by this rock. sears As this deposit thus seen and described by Professor Hayden rests directly on the Dakota, and all those which he supposed might possibly be Benton are clearly above the strata seen at Wilson’s station, the Benton is not seen in Kansas. The lower portion of our Fort Hays may be an equivalent of the upper portion of the Benton, though there does .not appear to be any line of demarkation, either by fossils or physical structure. Yetif Professor Hayden and myself could spend a few days on these beds it is probable that we should conclude that it is the Fort Benton group. We therefore only provisionally callit Fort Hays. The great difference between the Kansas Niobrara and this is readily un- derstood when we say that no turtle, pterodactyl, or bird has been found in the latter, and that saurian bones are comparatively rare, and limited in species and genera. At Wilson’s station and at other places in the same geological hoti- zon, to the thickness of 140 feet, it is composed of shales and thin layers of limestone. The latter are filled quite largely with Inoceramus and a few other marine shells, and occasionally with fish-remains. The shales are variable in color, hardness, and composition, lime and clay predom- inating. This deposit is variable at the same horizon at different points, 19@s 290 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. containing no thick bed of limestone. To make a section at any par- ticular locality would be of little value unless half a dozen others were made for comparison. The only persistent feature is a thin stratum of buif sandy limestone, in the upper portion, never over 10 inches in thickness. It extends from Smoky Hill Valley northeasterly into Nebraska. It contains Inocera- mus problematicus, Gryphea, Belemnite, and an Ammonite, all poorly pre- served, and, excepting the first, too indistinct for specific identification. It is much used as a building- stone on the whole line named. It is soit, fine-grained, and easily wrought, and its color is pleasing to the eye. The line of division between the Dakota and Fort Hays is very ob- scure, and the shales appear to shade into each other, in such a manner as to indicate that no interval of time intervened between the last deposition of the one or the first of the other. Near the apparent division there are scarcely any fossils, and those in poor preservation, which renders the tracing of the dividing line more difficult. In the Arkansas Valley, both bend toward Colorado. During two weeks spent in this valley west of Fort Dodge, I collected only a few obscure frag- ments of an Inoceramus and fish-teeth, and no leaves. Yet in 1876, Prof. M. V. B. Knox collected a few leaves (Phylites, &c.), apparently of the Dakota, near Fort Lyon, Colo., very near the geological horizon of the sandstone, which extends from Fort Dodge to the Colorado line. All our Cretaceous groups lose most of their characteristic fossils as they approach the western line of the State. Near the Nebraska line, in Republic County, the transition from one group to the other is more rapid and clearly defined. Under the heavy bed of limestone, forming the highest portion “ the Fort Hays group, is seen a friable, bluish-black, or slate-colored shale. It abounds in concretions, or septaria, of all sizes from 1 inch to 6 feet in diameter. The body of the concretions is of hard clay-marl with cracks lined with beautiful erystals of cale-spar. These cracks frequently extend to the outside, and are then filled with a light lime, which gives them fanciful markings, inducing several persons to send small ones to me as ‘‘ fossil turtles”. This stratum is well exposed near the railroad, a few miles west of Fort Hays, and in most places where the massive limestone lies on the high bluffs. It is about 60 feet in thickness, and frequently contains fine clusters of compound crystals of selenite. It affords a few fish and saurian remains. It is more noted, especially in the Saline and Solomon Valleys, for the number and va- riety of its Ammonites, embracing several species, from 1 to 30 inches in diameter. The most common is Prionocyclus woolgari. The larger specimens are almost invariably in fragments, although a portion of the original shell-substance of a bright pearly luster is still to be seen. Forms allied to the Ammonites are also found, as Scaphites, Morto- niceras, &e., and also several Inocerami, one near I. nebrascencis of Owen. Some of the lower strata give thin impure beds of lignite, but no plants could be identified from them. The total thickness of the Fort Hays group is 260 feet. 2.—DAKOTA. The Dakota group includes all the Cretaceous east of the Niobrara. As no fossils of the Triassic or Jurassic have yet been discovered, after ten years’ search, we conclude that the Dakota rests directly on the Permian. While the dividing-line has not usually been very well defined, yet in a few instances the fossils of the Permo-Carboniferous “MUDGE. J CRETACEOUS—DAKOTA. : 2951 and Dakota groups have been collected within 35 feet vertically and one-half mile horizontally. The material of this deposit is formed very largely of brown and varie- gated sandstone, of all degrees of compactness, from that which crumbles in the handling to that which requires a sledge-hammer to break it: This extreme hardness is, in most cases, owing to the presence of iron, in the condition of oxide and silicates. Sometimes poor limonite is seen. In some places, in every county where it abounds, it affords a good build- ing-material. It is frequently interstratified or overlaid by clay-shales, of almost all colors. Many ledges give concretions of fanciful forms, sometimes hollow, or with the center filled with loose sand. Some of the hollow concretions are sufficiently large to be used by the farmers as feeding-troughs for hogs and cattle. In a few localities they assume the form of tubes of various sizes, some being 3 inches in diameter and 3 to 8 feet in length. These concretionary deposits are sometimes glazed and distorted, as if they had been subject to the action of fire; but the cause is the oxidation of iron, and not any application of heat. Such specimens of sandstone frequently inclose well-preserved dicotyledonous leaves. The fossils of the Dakota consist of a few marine mollusks, some few- remains of fish and saurians, but it is more particularly noted for its dicotyledonous plants. The Mollusce are rare, having been found in three localities only. Two of these are in the western part of Saline County, in the vicinity of Bavaria, and the other is in the western por- tion of Clay County. On one of these spots, covering not over two acres, we procured twelve species, new to science, and described by Prof. F. B. Meek, in United States Geological Survey, Hayden, 1870, pp. 297-313. A few fish and one saurian (Hyposaurus vebbii*) have been found in this group. Of the fish, the most interesting is the Pelocorapis varius Cope, an ally of the flying-fish, found near the dividing line between the Dakota and Fort Hays. But it is in its fossil flora, represented largely by dicotyledonous leaves, that the Dakota claims the attention of the student of nature. Professor Lesquereux, our greatest American fossil botanist, has devoted tothis flora mostcarefuland valuablestudy. Inhis Cretaceous Flora, and other publications connected with Professor Hayden’s Geological Sur- vey, he has given us the results of many years’ study, to which we refer the reader. Professor L. says: ‘The plants of the Dakota group, as known mostly by detached leaves, are striking by the beauty, the elegance, the variety of their forms, and of their size. In all this they are fully com- parable to those of any geological epoch as well as those of our time.” + The fossil flora is almost entirely represented by leaves, though a few specimens of fruit, imperfectly preserved, have been collected; also some poor fragments of wood and bark. ‘The leaves, however, are usu- ally in excellent preservation, the veins and veinlets as they lie imprint- ed on the stone being frequently as clearly visible in all their outlines as those just taken from the living tree. In collecting fossil leaves we have frequently examined every visible outcrop for 15 or 20 miles without finding a specimen; then perhaps a single square mile would present several good localities. In this irreg- * See Cope’s Cretaceous Vertebrata, p. 17, where this specimen is incorrectly stated to be from the Niobrara. Brookville, the locality there named, is clearly on the Dakota. t Hayden’s Report, 1874, p. 318. 292 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. - ular manner we have collected specimens from Washington County to Fort Larned, a distance of 150 miles. The fossil plants are usually ob- tained from thin layers, or strata, extending in a horizontal position along a ravine or around a hill. They may occur at several places in the same vicinity, but usually without any connection. They are found at all depths in the Dakota, from within 35 feet of the Permian to within 40 feet of the Fort Hays limestone. The numerons indications show that the trees must have grown on islands near the shore-line, and that the leaves were imbedded in the marine sediment immediately after dropping. Worm-borings are also found in the same strata with . the leaves. ‘The contrast between this fossil flora and the plants of the older formations is very strong, while its resemblance to those now liv- ing is equally remarkable. The interest attached to this numerous vari- ety of modern plants is enhanced by the fact that in the earlier forma- tions no Dicotyledons are found, the Conifers which come down from the Devonian age being the highest type. But in our Dakota and the corresponding age in Europe, we have a sudden influx of new types covering nearly all the forms now living. These are “the first known | of the great modern group of Angiosperms,” “and the ordinary fruit- trees of the temperate zones,” “distributable not in a single one, but in all of the essential groups of vegetables living at our time.”* This sud- den appearance of the full type of modern vegetation will be moreappar- ent on examination in detail. Professor Lesquereux, in his Cretaceous Flora, describes one hundred and thirty-two species, distributed among seventy-two genera and twenty-three orders, of which one hundred and seven species of nineteen orders and fifty-two genera are dicotyledo- nous plants. Of these, more than one-half have been collected in Kan- sas, and about twenty of the new species were described by Professor Lesquereux from specimens discovered by the writer. To these are to be added twenty-six new species described by the same author in a re- cent bulletin (VII of No. 5, second series) of Hayden’s reports. Addi- tions to these are constantly being made. There are nine species of Conifers, five of poplar, six of willow, eight of oak, six of platanus or buttonwood, seven of sassafras, five of magnolia, two of fig, one of palm, and two of cinnamon. The last four were probably hardy species of their kinds. Still they indicate a warmer climate than now exists. When we recollect that at the period of their growth, this part of the country was hearly on a level with the ocean, and the dry land was composed principally of a few islands, the variance of the climate is easily explained. Taking Professor Lesquereux’s list of Dicotyledons we find 56 per cent. of his genera are identical with those now living east of the Rocky Mountains, in the temperate zone of the United States. To this must be added 24 per cent. which are apparently identical, represented by Pop-’ ulites, Betulites, Acerites, Negundoides, Laurophillum, &c. Of the remain- ing 20 per cent. some, like the fig and cinnamon, are now living in the tropics, while a few are probably extinct genera. This feature of resemblance to living vegetation is increased by the examination of specific forms. At first Lesquereux was disposed (like all paleontologists who find familiar forms in an unexpected geological age) to say that all the species were extinet, but in his later writings, after exchanging opinions with the best floral paleontologists of Europe, he has been led to change his opinion on, at least, one species. In nam- ing a new sassafras he honored me by calling it 8. mudgei. By a com- * Lesquereux. . ee eas CRETACEOUS—DAKOTA. 293 parison of numerous specimens from Greenland and Europe, with our Dakota and the living Sassafras officinale, we obtain the following con- clusion by the highest authorities. Prof. W. P. Schimper says, ‘That these leaves, very variable in size, present such a remarkable likeness to those of S. officinale, now living in North America, that one would be disposed to consider them as belonging to an homologous species.” And Lesquereux adds, “ Comparing leaves of S. officinale with those represented by Count Saporta, inthe Flora of Sezane, and the specimens of S. mudgei from Kansas, it is impossible for me to recognize any char- acter, even any specific difference by which these leaves could be sep- arated.”* This extreme persistence (by which I lose my namesake) it . must be recollected covers a period of one-eighth of the earth’s geologi- cal history. On more careful study of these fossil leaves it is most probable that others may be found specifically like those now living. The fig, in its nervation and especially its areolation, is of the same character as many species now living in Cuba and Florida.t Had these leaves been found in Post-Plioceéne very many of them would have been assigned to living species. The persistence of vegetable forms has ae more strong, through all geological ages, than any other organic ife. In the Dakota Group there are a few veins of brown lignite, which is always an inferior variety of coal. The most important seam extends irregularly, and with frequent omissions, from the State line in Wash- ington and Republic Counties, southwesterly to the Arkansas Valley. It varies in thickness from 10 inches to 40; but usually a portion of this thickness includes seams or layers of clay-shale. This lignite contains a large percentage of ashes; but a more objectionable feature is its tendency to crumble on exposure to frost. This alone renders it almost worthless as a marketable coal. At some localities it has much pyrites, with sulphur so free as to cover the deposit with a yellow coating. This coal sometimes takes fire by spontaneous combustion. Notwithstanding these defects, it becomes of value in sparsely-timbered counties, by fur- nishing to the settlers a cheap fuel, costing only the time and labor necessary to dig and convey it to theirfarms. Itis usually mined at the surface in the open air, by “stripping”, i. e. removing the few feet of soil or shale that overlies it. An average outcrop will yield at least a ton for a day’s labor. It is found in Washington, Republic, Cloud, Mitchell, Lincoln, Ottawa, Saline, Ellsworth, McPherson, Rice, Barton, and perhaps some adjoining counties. These lignite-beds give us no vegetable remains that can be identified. It appears to be of alow swamp type unlike the leaves so highly characteristic of the Dakota group. , As this group is composed, to a very large extent, of siliceous sand- stone, the first impression would be that the soil would naturally be poor and sandy. This is not the case. The best materials of the soil must have come from another source, and must have been from the later divisions of the Cretaceous which were aboveit. We find the Fort Hays limestones and limeshales overlying the western portion of Dakota, and other indications show that they formerly overspread the whole of it. As these lime-deposits are now disintegrating by rain, frost, and other agencies, such action prevailing for a long period would have com- mingled lime with the sand and produced a fertile soil. The farms on the Dakota show as much natural fertility as any por- tions of the State. The moderately sandy subsoil furnishes a natural * See Hayden’s Geological Report for 1874, p. 328. tibid, p. 327. 294 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. drainage, even better than usual, and in the spring frequently gives the grasses and winter grains twelve to fifteen days earlier start than the farms of the adjoining Permian. No soil in the State is so easy to work and so free from baking or the ill effects of drought. The eastern half embraces the best wheat land in the State. It is also an excellent fruit district. The iron in the sandstone, uniting with other good materials, makes it particularly favorable to pear culture. The average width of the Dakota is less than 50 miles, being some- what less than that in the north part of the State, and more on the Smoky and Arkansas Rivers. The dip is to northwest and very slight. _ It is difficult to decide the amount, but it does: not appear to be on the average more than 5 feet to the mile. It is conformable to the Fort Hays lime formation above it. It corresponds very nearly to the Creta- ceous of Swallow’s Report, p. 9, and also to Nos. 2 and 3 of his Triassic.* The maximum thickness of this group may be 500 feet. It is difficult to estimate the thickness, as the larger portion of the material consists of sandstone, much of which was originally thrown down in oblique deposits. The total thickness of the Cretaceous in Kansas we estimate to be 960 feet. * The other numbers of his Triassic belong to the Permio-Carboniferous. iS PA eel ae ae GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 295 REPORT OF A. D. WILSON, TOPOGRAPHER 01 THE SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION, 1875. ‘LETTER TO DR. F. V. HAYDEN. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 23, 1877. Sir: I herewith transmit my report on the principal topographical features of the district surveyed by the southern division during the summer, 1875. Also, a topographical report by Franklin Rhoda, who was my assistant in the field. Dr. F. M. Endlich will report on the geology and the mineralogy of the district examined. The party outfitting at Denver took the field June 6. Our supplies, instruments, and baggage were transported on eight pack-mules, carry- ing only such things as were absolutely necessary. Thus, having no incumbrances, we were enabled to travel very rapidly and to pass through the rough mountains, where otherwise we might have been compelled to— make long detours to avoid rough passes. The party returned to Denver on October 12, having obtained the data with which to map (both topographically and geologically) the district assigned this division, which comprised an area of 12,000 square miles. Within this area we have established one hundred and forty-three topo- - graphical stations on the more prominent peaks of this district. I wish here to acknowledge the many obligations I am under to Dr. ¥. M. Endlich and Franklin Rhoda, for their hearty co-operation and uniform kindness which they displayed during the three seasons they accompanied me in the prosecution of this work. Owing to the pressure of other matters, I have not been able to work up the material on hand in time for this report. Hoping that this may meet your approval, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, ACL DW LSONT » Chief Topographer. Dr. F. V. HAYDEN. United States Geologist-in-charge. 297 ‘TOPOGRAPHICAL REPORT ON THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. Phe territory set apart for the southern, or San Juan, division, for the summer of 1875, was embraced between 36° 45’ and 37° 45/ north lati- tude, and from 104° 30’ to 108° west longitude, with some irregularities where joining the work of previous years, especially toward the west, where the unsurveyed district tapered down to quite a narrow belt. This area is divided naturally into five parts, viz, the eastern slope, Sangre de Cristo Range, San Louis Valley, San Juan Mountains, and the mesa country to the west. The first, lying east of the Sangre de Cristo range, embraces a por- tion of the great plains, the Spanish Peaks, and the Raton Hills. ‘This portion of the district is drained mostly by the Huerfano, Apishpa, and Purgatoire Rivers.. All of these streams flow eastward, and join the Arkansas River in the plains below. Along the banks of the streams there are bottoms of more or less extent, which are easily irrigated, and are composed of a rich loamy soil, susceptible of a high degree of cul- tivation, producing good crops when properly cultivated. The table- lands appear to, be covered with a very good soil, and would probably produce good crops if the necessary water is once brought upon them. The foot-hills and valleys along this portion of the district furnish pas- turage for a great many sheep and cattle. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway is now running as far south as Elmoro, and, skirting along the foot-hills, gives an excellent outlet to the products of these valleys. Next in order is the Sangre de Cristo Range, trending nearly north and south, with a slight curve eastward along the middle of this sec- tion. This range is one of the finest and best defined in Colorado, and it contains many very prominent peaks. The following are some of the more noted, commencing at the north end: Names. Elevation, in feet. PRE ere Keene ea See ste sp wieninh oa le ee tees. Sees. alot haeaaiestswlse hoe) Sees 12, 446 Sear HNe eV ED OPAM OMe ete a2 oer aes Meneame aeiae Uma Sele lat ber sida Wate Geom dccasiss 12, 989 Bee T SOM SH Raia cers Hee ae Gigs od SE oe thea aaemrs oabdbys) acd. Gasasete. 14, 100 . WESIOPO gb CSCS BSBA BE eee eS OP ea ar Le 14, 230 “Lh POS adhd tebatiowe GaSe EA ASE en BEG SEE OR SB boc Sooo De eSSEHanE Soe nae 14, 464 Ben ERO Cpe epee aot e Se lbs Srayaler cise site temic aieie eulos ena blemes Seameceeee 14, 176 CLG IER, "TERS TT Fee etc a en Le 13, 540 — Likeleven, Tek CESS EY GRE eae ee Pe sates tle UN A na ate rh age 14, 079 Re COT LAe a Korman poten ays ater ir wrer ph A eae Bed OS So So oa 5 ene 13, 719 Boundary FES Gea xara tere cetesp octet ede ety ar eee FE Ae ont Sty car crar aS 12, 840 eeasisell epee ice ewe pe kis were pears wee RTS ee ree Sle ees Foo Ls Sowa ee 12, 634 Venado Peak There are many more unnamed points along this crest, which are as high, and even higher, than some of the above; bat these will serve to convey some idea of its general height. . The San Luis Valley is really a oreat plain surrounded by high ranges and lofty peaks, bounded on the west and northwest by the San Juan and Sawatch Ranges, on the east and northeast by the Sangre de Cristo Range, and on the south by a succession of voleanic buttes. It extends from Puncho Pass on the north to the above-mentioned hills on the south, 299 300 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. which separate it from Taos Valley, along the line of 36° 45’ north lat- itude, giving it a total length from north to south of 114 miles, with a | breadth at the south end of 28 miles, while along the central portion it is from 40 to 45 miles in width, tapering to a point at Puncho Pass, with a total area of 5,470 square miles. The Rio Grande del Norte enters the valley from the west about mid- | way between the north and south ends. As it passes through the valley it makes a long sweeping curve, and by the time it reaches the center |} of the valley it has changed its course and flows nearly due south through | a small group of voleanic table-like hills, which occupy this portion of the valley, and enters a narrow basaltic caiion, through which it flows, ; until reaching Taos Valley below. ‘The valley has a general elevation | ranging from 7,400 to 8,090 feet. All the central or bottom portion is : covered with a thin growth of sage-brush, intermingled with scattering bunch-grass. Along the borders and on the foot-hills there is a very | good growth of grass, while along the main streams the bottom-land produces fair crops of hay. The soil along the streams is very good and easily irrigated, but owing to the shortness of the summer season it is | only the more hardy vegetables and grains that are successfully grown. ., The settlers have turned their attention mostly to the raising of , sheep and cattle; the valley being of such an immense size, is capable of supporting large herds of stock. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway is now being built by way of | Veta Pass, striking the valley at Fort Garland, and will probably be carried across the valley to Del Norte, thence up the Rio Grande to the ; San Juan mines, thus giving an outlet to the products of the valley as well as those of the mines in the mountains beyond. The San Juan Mountains is a peculiarly massive range, composed | almost entirely of volcanic rocks, and presenting probably a greater area above 12,000 feet than any other mountain mass of similar size on | this continent. The greater mass of this range is that portion lying in the vicinity of | Baker’s Park, and is drained by the San Miguel, Uncompahgre, Rio | Grande, and Animas Rivers. From this center of upheaval the range | trends a little south of east, gradually curving to the south until it | reaches latitude 37° 10’, where its general trend is nearly due south, whence it soon spreads out and loses its identity in the low hills to the south. The heights of all the main peaks along the western por- tion of this range were given in the report of 1874; therefore I will only give a few of the more important points along the southeastern exten- | sion: Names. Elevation in feet. | SouthuRiver Peale asec cee colees See eis ee cies eee Be eRe en 13, 160 Paoosa Pealk ..2ee2s2 scares oe ok eek ne es eee eee Ree Ee ee 12, 674 | Summit, Peale.j 42s es ee ate ee ae 13, 323 | Pintada: Peakan ecstasy ees. Sel Sa Jia ie dle ie a Ue he ee 13,176 Conejos Peak. sy 5ocche ck cicsseteiss sere snc ace ena aee ine iy eee eee ee 13,183 | Banded! Peak 2s gs Sere ti iolc ce cena c onan ticle Re ROR ea 12,860 | Brazos; Pealk s veys, soko eke uae oe ue YL 6 Saat toa a eh lta er 11,214 Black Head Peales 2 Caen tN e a Pe pein on nee ayaa aes ere 12, 514 There are but three passes over this range to the east and south of | the one at the head of the Rio Grande, over which most of the travelers to the San Juan mines pass. The first is called Weeminuche Pass, and is crossed by a very fair Indian trail, which leaves the Rio Grande some twelve miles above Antelope Park, descends to the headwaters of the Piedra, a branch of the San Juan, thence leading to Pagosa Springs, and branching off to the southwest. The elevation of this pass is only te 4 5 SSeS \ | witson.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 301 10,570 feet above sea-level. The next trail crossing the range follows up the South Fork of the Rio Grande, wends its way through the mount- ains, and, striking the head of the main San Juan, follows it down to Pagosa Springs. This trail has been used but little of late years by the Indians, and is, uberorone, quite dim in some places. The pass has an elevation of about 11,200 feet. The most southerly pass in our district is crossed by a very well used trail which follows up Rio San Antonio from Conejos, crosses the head- waters of the Brazos, thence down one of the spurs to Tierra Amarilla. The highest point on this trail is about 10,000 feet above sea-level. It is used by the settlers to considerable extent in driving their sheep to the San Luis Valley and thence eastward; but their supplies and uten- sils are transported by wagon over a pass to the south. The region of country to the west of the high mountains examined by this party is made up of broken hills, flat table-like mesas, and small valleys. The hills are generally covered with a thin growth of pifions and cedars, while along the foot of the mountains there is a very good growth of yellow pine. The valleys along the streams are generally very rich, and as the heights of these valleys are not very great, they will be found very productive. All of this region west of the San Juan Mountains is drained by the San Juan River and its tributaries. I will not attempt here to give any detailed description of the district, but will refer the reader to the appended report of Franklin Rhoda, in. which will be found a more detailed description of the country we explored. J will refer the reader to the report of Dr. F. M. Endlich, geologist of the party, for any information that may be desired in reference to geo- logical or mineralogical features. The accompanying drainage-map of Colorado was compiled from the final sheets, and reduced to a small scale in order that it might not be cumbersome in size. Much of the minor details have been omitted to avoid confusion, giving only the water-courses, principal mountain- peaks, roads, trails, towns, Ge. The heights of all the more important points are indicated by figures placed thereby. 302 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY - | TOPOGRAPHICAL REPORT ON THE SOUTHEASTERN DIS- | TRICT. By FRANKLIN RHODA, Assistant Topographer. On June 6, 1875, we left Denver on our’summer’s journey. Thespring had just begun on the plains, and the grass had been up some time, but | the wintry chilliness had only just disappeared from the air, and the mountain-ranges to the westward were still covered deep in snow. Not- , withstanding all these facts, the grasshoppers were before us, and along | our whole march, from Denver to Huerfapo Park, the grass had been almost completely devoured. Before reaching the nearest point of our , work we had to march about 170 miles along the plains in a southerly | direction. The nights were quite cool, but the days were very hot, and, to add to our discomfort, a blustering wind blew from the south in our faces, raising clouds of dust from the road. At the best season of the : year these plains are arid and desolate, but this year the grasshoppers | made their appearance especially gloomy. Passing through Pueblo, on the Arkansas, we continued southward along the plains to the east of Greenhorn Mountain, till we reached the Huerfano. Thence, we took the Fort Garland road over Sangre de Cristo Pass, and soon again found ourselves among the mountains, with timber, and grass, and cold water in abundance. After our long and dreary ride, we found ourselves in a fit condition to appreciate these | great luxuries of nature. Our first regular station was made on a prominent point north of the pass; the first three had been made along the course of our march. The region in the vicinity of this pass is one of peculiar interest, as well for its botany as for its geology and topog- raphy. It is a region in whieh special volcanic action has left its traces in every direction. There are several peaks in the near neighborhood which appear more like giant dikes than true mountains. Stations 4 and 5 are good examples, but there are many more exactly similar but less imposing masses included within a space 10 to 15 miles square. Each is entirely separated from the others, yet their common direction show them to be closely related in their origin. They all consist of a Sharp ridge-crest extending in station 5 to a Jength of two miles, and less in others, with the side-slopes very steep and composed of loose rock. The slides commence at the crest and extend down into the tim- ber. The solid rock seldom makes its appearance, but bluffs may be seen in afew places. The apparent elevation of these peaks is very deceiving. The fact that the side-slopes are in nearly all cases destitute of timber, make these mountains appear very high, although the summits of all of them are much below the snow-line. As Veta Mountain is the most re- markable of this group of peaks, and yet is a good sample of the class, a more detailed description of it may be of interest. Leaving our camp on the north slope of the pass, we rode southeastward along the sum- mit. During the morning a very Strong wind blew from the west. From the lay of the country, I should judge that this pass was seldom free from wind. The mass of the Sierra Blanca north of Fort Garland aud the high narrow Sangre de Cristo Range to the south form a great funnel facing the southwest._ All the westerly winds that cross San a RHODA] | THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 3038 Luis Valley south of the latitude of Sierra Blanca are caugkt by this funnel and a great part of them forced through the pass. In the begin- ning of our climb of station 5 we found evidence of this in a peculiar gap cut through the crest of the mountain-ridge. It is a narrow gate- way probably not over 100 feet in width, while the walls on either hand rise an equal distance vertically. The west slope was very steep, but the east was the same as the general slope of the mountain, and was covered with low pines. The trees that reached to the crest were dwarfed down and planed off as smoothly as if it had been done with shears. The west side presented a bare face of fine loose rock without vegetation. There is no doubt but that this whole gap has been grad- ually worn through the mountain by the west winds. Being near the center of the depression in the range which forms the pass, it gets the most concentrated part of the mass of air passing through the great funnel above described. Of course it is probable that most of the work has been performed by drifting snow and beating rains; but that the wind, unaided by other elements, has at times done great execution here cannot be doubted. Climbing up through the gateway we ascended the ridge south of it, and this, after a long walk, brought us to the summit of the mountain. On the east side a deep eafion is formed between this and a somewhat similar mass about three miles distant: This drains to the southeast into the Cucharas River. The mountain has a general trend from northwest to southeast, being nearly straight. The crest is very sharp, while on either side steep slides of loose rock extend 2,000 feet down to the timber. The only trees on the side-slopes of the mountain are a few pines near the gap through the ridge. This peculiar barrenness of vegetation gives to the peak the appearance of great height, but in truth the summit is only 11,512 feet above the sea, or 500 feet below the true timber-line. Almost all the related knobs to the east and north have bare crests also, although the highest is still lower than station 5. The ridge of this station is nearly 2 miles long, and has its highest point a little southeast of the middle. From here an extensive and interesting view of the surrounding country is ob- - tained. The fact that it occupies a position opposite the center of the pass and high above it, makes it a key-point for the topography around it. To the south the headwaters of the Cucharas are spread out before you, with the junction-points and important bends so sharply defined as to be accurately sighted with the instrument. In the same direction, but distant about 16 miles, the two Spanish Peaks—notable landmarks in this region—stand out boldly with their curious system of radiating dikes extending many miles into the valley of the Cucharas. Between the West Spanish Peak and the main range there are some hogbacks, so sharp and so continuous that from a distance they would certainly be taken for dikes also, but a closer inspection reveals their true nature. To the south of station 5 we see Trinchara Peak, distant about 20 miles in a straight line, but as we are looking in the direction of the range, most of the high mountains near it are hidden. .To the south- west we can look over ‘the depression in the range, and get a view of the southern part of San Luis Valley. To the right of this we see the great mass of the Sierra Blanca, with the bare smooth crest of “ Old Baldy” in the front. North of us, and about 30 miles distant, we could see the depression of Wet Mountain Valley, with the Wet Mountains east of it, culminating in the bald summit of the Greenhorn Mountain. To the east these mountains fall very abruptly to the level of the great plains. About one hundred degrees of the horizon east of us, extending 304 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. from Greenhorn Mountain around to Hast Spanish Peak, is taken up by the plains. | The general course of the Huerfano is traceable by its low bluffs almost to its junction with the Arkansas River. The curious little vol- canic cone east of Saint Mary’s forms quite a prominent landmark in - the course of the river. Several other cones, much resembling it in appearance, are to be seen east of station 5 and north of the Spanish Peaks. Leaving the peak, we traveled down the west slope of the pass and found camp on the Sangre de Cristo Creek. The vicinity of this pass is one of special interest, and a description of it may be necessary. The pass proper is a double one; the road over the northern branch leads to the northeast down a small stream to Badito, while that over the other leads down the Cucharas to La Veta. The north pass is called the Sangre de Cristo, the south Veta. The height of the former is 9,454 feet, while the latter is 9,300 feet. It is by way of this latter pass that — the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad is to be extended to San Luis Valley. Al! heavily-loaded teams going west must take the Cucharas route, as it offers a very even and gentle grade, but the distance is sev- eral miles greater. On the west side of the summit the two roads unite and follow down Sangre de Cristo Creek with a gentle grade to San- Luis Valley. ait Turning up a branch of the Sangre de Cristo on the north side, we made station 6, on a peak justabove thetimber-line. We found some min- ers at work along the stream, on placer-claims, but they seemed to be do- ing poorly, as the gold was very scarce. Returning again to the main stream, we marched to Fort Garland, making station 7 on a low point near the creek. The next station to be made was on the highest point of the Sierra Blanca. We had seen this mountain mass from all sides, and nowhere did we see any easy way to the summit. The center peak was buttressed on all sides by secondary peaks, over which we would have to climb to reach it. After camping high up on Ute Creek, north of the fort, we started on the morning of June 19 to make the ascent. Knowing what was before us, we took an early start, leaving camp at half past five in the morning. Following up a ridge on the south slope of the mountain, we were compelled to tear our way through thick, quaking aspen over very rocky ground. But, taken altogether, this part of the climb was no more difiicult than usual. We succeeded in riding as high as the timber-line, where we left our mules. From this point, taking our books and instruments, we traveled the remainder of the distance on foot. Climbing upward about 2,000 feet over the loose rocks, and crossing over alow peak by the way, we reached the sum- mit of the high secondary peak which appears so prominent when viewed from Fort Garland. From here the tort was distinctly visible, although it was nine miles and a half distant in a straight line, and 5,670 feet below us. From this point we had for the first time a clear and distinct view of the difficulties before us. Extending across from us to the main peak was a narrow, sharp ridge, one and a half miles in length, cut across in many places by deep notches. Even in these mount- ains, so characteristic for their ruggedness, this ridge was a wonder of narrowness and sharpness. On either side of it was a great amphitheater, 1,500 to 2,000 feetin depth, the one on our left draining out to the south- west through a narrow gorge, while that on the right drained into Ute Creek through a much larger gap. Each was about one mile in diame- ter, each contained many great banks of snow. The one on the west was most perfect in form, and was more nearly surrounded by great fe. ” | RHCDA.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 305 precipices, but that on the east side contained by far the greater quan- tity of snow. Passing from the secondary peak toward the main summit, there was a fall of a few hundred feet to the sharp ridge, which continued for some distance very irregular but approximately level, after which it be- gan to rise gradually. But in the details it was so uneven that we were continually going up and going down witbout any level parts or regu- lar slopes. On the east side the ridge was bordered by great precipices many hundreds of feet in height, ending below in rock slides, secondary precipices, or banks of snow. In some places the bluff must have been nearly a thousand feet down and nearly vertical. On the west the slope was gentler, but stillso steep that, excepting in a few places, a slip of the foot would send a chill through you, and a fall meant utter destruction. These facts gave us little opportunity to choose our way, but we were forced for the greater part of the distance to walk erect along the nar- row crest, which generally consisted of blocks of stone set edgewise and cracked through and through. Almost all mountain-ridges are very Darrow in some places, but in others widen out considerably, but this was all narrow. As weneared the peak the grade visibly increased, and when we got within a horizontal distance of a few hundred yards of the summit we were confronted by a very steep slope of cubical blocks of a very black kind of rock. Up this rise of a few hundred feet we climbed with great difficulty, and at last reached the summit at just five minutes before 12 o’clock, having been six hours and a half from camp. In that time we had traveled more than ten miles horizontally and 6,400 feet vertically. From the summit the view was very extensive. A long range of high peaks appeared, extending southward from Sangre de Cristo Pass far into New Mexico, till they were lost below the horizon. The whole southern portion of San Luis Valley was laid out beneath us, with its many little plateau-peaks massed together near the Rio Grande, while not far from its lower end two great volcanic domes of very oval profile stood nearly opposite on each side of the valley. In the far west the main range was clearly visible, with its high plateaus covered with masses of snow. From one point near the head of the Alamosa, great volumes of smoke issued forth and extended in a low streak eastward across the valley, and at certain times in the day reached beyond Fort Garland, a distance of 70 miles. We afterward jound it to be the result of a fire in the Alamosa Canon, near the Sum- mit mining-district. The Rio Grande had overflowed its banks during the spring thaw, and the water still covered many miles of the level val- ley. The valley itself spread out, an area of nearly 4,000 square miles, apparently as level as the ocean, but the whole of it appeared quite as much like a desert as any to be found elsewhere. For a time we may survey the horizon and wonder what further mys- teries dame Nature has hidden beneath the veil, but we cannot do so long, for of ail the grand and rugged scenery which in these mountains has been presented to our eyes, nothing can surpass, either in rugged- ness or in grandeur, the little piece of country immediately about us. If we seek for grandeur, where can we find a greater or more precipitous descent than the north face of the peak, where a stone thrown out into space will fall half a mile without striking? The great precipice of Uncompahgre Mountain is more imposing, because it stands above all its surroundings, but its height is only a thousand feet. If we look for grandeur in mountain form, what is more grand than the great mount- ain under our feet? Nor are snow and frozen lakes at all wanting to 2068 306 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. give luster or add sublimity to the scene which the God of nature has _ laid before us. : Not less than six great peaks are arranged about us as a center, yet there is no confusion. At least three are connected with the main one by ridges similar to the one by which we came up. On the east side Old Baldy, with its bare conical summit, the most distinet of all the subordinate peaks, connects across to our present position through a much lower gap than any of the others, but for a short distance between the gap and the main peak the grade is almost precipitous. From some of the subpeaks secondary ridges lead to other peaks beyond. One mile to the southwest of us is the highest of the secondary peaks. It is connected with the main summit by a ridge as high or higher than that we have already described, but so rough as to be perfectly impassable to man. The east face of the peak is one immense wall of rock, more than a thousand feet high, so steep and rugged that snow can nowhere find a resting-place till it reaches the bottom of the amphitheater. To the southwest a ridge leads down from the peak to the timber, but this is apparently inaccessible also. Northwest of us are several peaks quite as high and rugged as their neighbors, having a scraggy ridge connecting with the main peak as in the other cases. Among the quartzite mountains of the San Juan Range we had seen peaks, quite as rugged as these and nearly as high, massed together in great numbers, but the one thing lacking was unity. They were indeed giants, but lacking the subordination of the parts to , a distinct head; we saw nothing but confusion. The Sierra Blanca, on the contrary, is a family of giants, and when you stand on the center peak you can look over all the others. All the secondary peaks are dis- tinctly subordinate to this primary one. The highest of the others is several hundred feet below it. When we first set foot on the summit we were struck by this fact, for such a beautiful subordination of parts we had not before seen anywhere among the mountains of Colorado. Southeast of us lay one of the great amphitheaters, which was almost covered with snow and ice, while many little frozen lakes extended to a level more than 2,000 feet below us, notwithstanding this was a clear and beautiful day on the 19th of June, and high up above where we stood the sun seemed to give outa fair modicum of heat. The steep, rocky wall on the south side of the great cavity was marked with many long and curious streaks of snow, which, accommodating themselves to rough ledges and crevasses of the rock, formed a great variety of figures, yet all reaching like fingers down toward the frozen lakes and fields of snow in the bottom of the basin. So high above them rose the walls of rock that the lakes were nearly all day in the shadow. The summit of the mountain was a model one, about 10 feet in width, and covered with finely-broken rock of a very hard, dark variety. The only relics of former visitants consisted of a curious circular excavation 6 to 8 feet across, surrounded by a wall of loose rock 1 to 2 feet high, which must bave been the work of an Indian; but how an Indian could have climbed up there I cannotimagine. But why he did it is still less explicable. It would be useless as a lookout, since it is 7,000 feet above the base and nearly 10 miles distant from the nearest point of the val- ley. Itcould not have been used in hunting game, since, with the excep- tion of a rock-dog, we saw no evidence to show that either sheep or bear had ever visited the place. The latter animal often scratches a bed in the rocks on the high peaks, but the excavation here was too large and reg- ular fo have been his work. In the center of the circle was a well-built monument of loose stones about 5 feet high, in which we found a printed | “boy . OnE : UI | a RHODA.) — THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 307 form, on the back of which a short note was written in pencil and signed J.T. (J. Thompson). In this, Mr. Thompson says that, excepting the Indian relic, he had found no evidence of the peak having been pre- viously visited. I understand that he staid all night alone on the sum- mit, which must have been a strange experience. Having occupied three hours in werk on the peak, we started for camp. On the way we wade station 9, on the southern knob. We reached camp at9 p.m. The ascent occupied six hours and twenty- five minutes, and the descent six hours and five minutes. The differ- ence of level between the summit of the mountain and the foot of the flagstaff in Fort Garland was very carefully determined by direct fore- and-back sights between the two points, checked by sights from each point to secondary points in the vicinity. The difference of level as calculated is 6,467 feet, and our determination of Fort Garland is 7,997 feet above sea-level, which gives the absolute height of the peak at 14,464 feet above the sea. Our height of Garland is from a number of barometric observations. From Fort Garland we took our course westward across San Luis Valley toward Del Norte. From the fort there is about 30 miles of desert entirely devoid of water, except at two points, one about seven miles out, where there is a cattle-ranch, but the water here is poor. About an equal distance from the Rio Grande on the same road is a house and a fine spring of pure water. Marching up the Rio Grande we reached Del Norte on June 22. After making a number of stations on the volcanic buttes and high plateaus north of the town to fill in.an unfinished piece of the work of 1873 and 1874, we came back and traveled southward toward the Sum- mit mining-district. Taking the new wagon-road, we soon attained a considerable elevation above the plain, which gave us relief from the heat that had been so oppressive on the lowlands. The road takes no roundabout course up cations and byways to avoid grades, but, takes its course for the highest point in sight, and passes directly over the summit of a dome-shaped peak 13,176 feet above sea-level. From the road almost the whole of San Luis Valley is visible, with the great ranges east of it spread along the horizon. The mountains north of the Rio Grande and many peaks west and south of this are to be seen, making the view quite an extensive one. Many points 80 to 90 miles. away are visible. The roa! passes along near the brink of a precipice on the east side of the peak, where a large bank of perpetual snow is to be seen, several hundred feet below. ‘The bank has eaten a large cavity out of the side of the mountain. The road is very steep in many places, and for over 10 miles it remains above timber-line. It was expected to have it soon ready to bring castings over it for the mining- machinery in the district. The great height will make the road impass- able for the greater part of the year, while even in summer the boggy nature of the soil will be very troublesome. From the road we.got a good view of the Alamosa Cafion to the south, and a rugged place it appeared. Ina very rough part of the deep cafion near the mines a great fire was raging among the spruce trees; from this the smoke rolled up in enormous masses so dense it almost seemed it could be cut. Occasional glimpses of the fire beneath, revealed to us through gaps in the column of smoke, gave us some idea of the intensity of the heat generated by the combustion of the forest. The depth and ruggedness of the cafon, with the dense rolls of smoke boiling forth, and occa- sionally illuminated by the blaze of the fire whenever a gap opened to view the burning element below, all taken together made the scene a 308 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. suggestive one. But this smoke had been troublesome to us, as it obscured the view of all distant points, and at times even the near objects were lost to sight. We were daily expecting the summer rains to commence, which would soon extinguish all the fires. On June 28 we camped at the mines, and although it was considerably below timber line, we found some snow still lying about, but it was fast melting away. All the high plateaus west and south of us were covered thick with Show- banks, so that the nights were very cold; still we found the mosquitoes so numerous that we could scarcely work for them; they were everywhere in great numbers, except on the high sharp peaks, where there was wind enough to blow them away. In this region we made stations 17, 18, and 19, all above the timber- line. The latterhas been named Summit Peak. Onsome of these points we were troubled by electricity, but not seriously. From this place we moved northward and westward, to the head- waters of the South Fork of the Rio Grande. From some of the peaks © pear the continental divide we obtained distant views of the San Juan River. After following the divide in a westerly direction, accompanied by the pack-train, we turned to the right and descended into the cation of a small branch of the South Fork and made camp. During our high ride we were enabled to see the courses of many neighboring streams. To the south and southwest there is the most abrupt descent, being in many places made up of a succession of bluffs. From Summit Peak northward and westward these bluffs »ttain great dimensions, and are . weathered into a wonderful variety of forms. The eastern branches of the South Fork run through rough canons, composed of steep timbered slopes, extending many hundred feet above the stream-bed, terminating above in bluffs, which are the edges of plateaus contained between the water-courses. These have once formed a continuous flow of lava several hundred feet thick and many miles in area. The following day (July 1) we left the train to move a few miles down stream while we climbed again up to the divide, this time a little farther west than we had been before. On our way we found a great deal of snow still remaining in the forest far below the timber-line. This made the soil very miry and difficult to pass over. Making stations 21 and 22, near the divide, we started for camp, and found a very good Indian-trail leading nearly in the direction we wanted to go. We were thus enabled to avoid much thick timber and many swampy places. This trail is the most direct route from Del Norte to the Rio San Juan. As far as we traveled over it it was good, but it is probably very steep on the south side of the pass, as the mountains fall very abruptly to the valley of the San Juan. We found camp located near the junction of two creeks, one of which we had camped on the night previous, and the other came in from the southwest. Near their junction both streams cut deep, narrow channels through the rocks. The bed is in most cases very narrow and the current very swift. The main stream retains this characteristic for many miles of its course. The next day we traveled down-stream. Here and there we found the remains of an extinet Indian-trail, but it was too dim to be followed. It is even doubtful whether there ever was any Indian travel up and down the cation. Itis probable that Indians reached the headwaters of the stream from the San Juan and Del Norte sides, in which case the old trail might have been used for hunting only. Except i in a few small breaks, the “box canon was very continuous, and we had to travel along the side of the ridge near the brink of the precipice. Wishing to make a station on a high bare plateau west of the stream, - RHODA.) THE SOUrHEASTERN DISTRICT. 309 we had great difficulty in finding a break in the bluffs through which we might descend to the stream. Atter atime we succeeded in finding a narrow gap filled with loose rock, in which was growing a few pines and shrubs. ‘The slope was very steep, but as far as the fine loose rock con- tinued we could slide our mules well enough, but near the lower end the rocks were very large and sharp, but with some difficulty we reached the bottom without sustaining any injury to our animals. The depth of the eafion here is about 700 feet. The stream-bed was filled with large bowlders, among which the waters rushed with impetuous velocity. The space between the stream and the walls on either side was very narrow, scarcely affording room for us and our three mules tu stand while looking tor a place to cross. The creek probably did not exceed thirty feet in breadth and only a few feet deep, but the crossing was still a dangerous undertaking, on account of the swiftness of the current and the fact that 1t was bordered by a thick growth of willows and other trees, making both the ingress and egress difficult. Passing over in safety, we came to a little level space beside the water, then another steep slide leading up to the top of the bluffs. This was higher than the preceding, and quite as difficult. Above we came into thick timber, whence we ascended steep slopes, with fallen trees across our path, other but lower blufts, then went down into a depression, in the bottom of which was a lake, surrounded on all sides by dense timber. It looked asif this little body of water had been studiously hid from the eye of man, and whether a white man will ever again see it I do not know. But I do know that it cannot be seen from any peak or pinnacle, rock or crag, in the vicinity. It cannot be seen till the traveler comes within a few hundred yards of it. It is guarded by such barriers of horrible bluffs and cations, fallen timber and swamps, that I hope never again to break into this most secret sanctuary of nature. From this lake we followed up a ridge for a few miles, when we emerged from the timber upon a high plateau above the snow-line, covered with ashort growth of grass whenever it was not too rocky, and in some places with low willows two to four feet high. Several high peaks appeared to the south, but the highest peak near was situated about seven miles to the west of us. On this plateau, of station 23, we saw a small band of elk; and from what we have seen at one time and another, I should judge that almost all the elk in the region south of the Rio Grande have resorted to these plateaus for safety, and from the ruggeduess of the country it is probable that they are seldom disturbed in their retirement. There is no doubt, however, of the fact that all kinds of game, and especially elk, have always been very scarce in this part of the country. Returning to the South Fork by the way we came up in the morning, we again crossed the caiion and came upon the tracks of the pack-mules, which soon lead us to camp, which we found on the top of the bluffs near a stream which enters from the east. Near camp a sandstone point extended out over the main cation. From here the stream could be seen far below, with the walls of rock rising 700 to 800 feet on either side. All this has been cut out by the creek, thus giving one some idea of the power of erosion of even ~ small stream when it is permitted to work ceaselessly through the ages. Standing upon this rocky promontory, the noise of the stream came up to us as it boiled and surged through its rocky bed. From this camp we continued on our course toward the Rio Grande. At first we found the trail quite difficult, but before long the bluffs began to decrease in height and a narrow valley to appear between the walls. Along the latter we rode without trouble, and soon found our- selves in an old wagon-road. Soon the bluffs disappeared and were 310 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. exchanged for timbered slopes and ridges, the air felt warmer as we | reached a lower level, and the valley was covered with scattering yellow pine. This species never grows above a certain line, which may be given roughly at 9,000 feet above the sea, and never grows in thick forests, but in groves of scattering trees. The individual trees attain a height of from 70 to 100 feet, and a diameter at the ground of 2 to 4 feet. In our ride down the stream we passed a saw-mill in a grove of these same pines, near the head of the little valley. We made camp on the Rio Grande a few miles above the mouth of the South Fork. Following up the narrow barren valley of the Rio Grande, on the fourth of July we made station 25 near Wagon-Wheel Gap, just above the toll-house. The region of this gap is very curious on account of its great bare blufis. The gap itself is composed ofa portion of the river- bottom, probably 300 feet wide and a few hundred yards long, with a detached wall on the west and the bluff edge of a high but small plateau. on the east. The wall on the west is about 300 feet high, while the height of that on the east is 600 or 700. The piateau has probably at some time been con- tinuous where the gap now is, avd the river must have passed through. a low place a few hundred yards southwest from the gap. The detached table on the west or south side of the stream has been used by the Indians to guard the passage up the river. Many little wails of loose rock, to shoot over, line the whole length of the bluff. The wonderful adaptation of the gap for defense against intruders must have been no- ticed by every observant person who has passed through it. It is almost, if not altogether, impossible to get up the river except through this narrow defile, which affords a roadway not more than 50 to 106 feet in width. It is supposed that the fortifications have been built by the Utes, who held the mountains in their wars with the Arapahoes and Cheyennes of the plains. The plateau on the east side is far from level, but dips toward the northwest. Tbe bluffs continue eastward from the gap, following the course of the stream till opposite the toll-house, where they attain their greatest elevation. The walls here have a height of about 1,900 feet, nearly perpendicular. On the highest point we made station 25, riding up to it from the north side. These high bluffs, being of a dull gray color and presenting little variety of form, may be imposing, but are . very far from picturesque. In making the station we were treated to a cold drenching rain, accompanied by hail and sleet. Opposite to the station to the south a st ream, called Hot Spring Creek, joined the main river. Near the mouth of this creek we camped. A little up-stream from camp were some large hot sulphur-springs, with a temperature ranging trom 120° to 130° Fahrenheit, but the great quantities of sul- phur and soda contained in them made the water appear to be boiling. A number of invalids were in attendance. The morning of July 5 we moved up the Rio Grande, and on the way crossed over to the north side of the river and made station 26 on a high peak, in the group south of Los Pinos, on which station 33 of 1873 and station 2 of 1874 were located. From this point we had quite an extensive view of the plateau. system which extends southward from this mass. While at work on the summit, clouds began to gather, and we had the novel experience of a snow storm on the 5th of July, which is a rarity even in this region of sterms and cold. When we left, the snow covered the peak, but not - deep enough to be much in the way. After camping on the river about five miles above the gap, we again moved up stream, making station 27 on a hill south of Bristol Head. Crossing the river we struck into the range south. In this vicinity the Rio Grande bends five or six miles to : : RHODA.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. SL the south to avoid the great promontory of Bristcl Head. In all the flat places along the river the marks of old rviver-beds, far from the present position of the stream, show that the river has often shifted its course, and is even now changing continually. Later in the season we found large bowlders of quartzite which had been brought from the head of the Rio Grande and deposited on the eastern edge of Antelope Park 900 feet above the river. These are now over 40 miles distant in a straight line from their point of starting. This, however, can scarcely be accounted for by supposing the stones to have been transported by water. These transfers must have been brought about by glacial or other agencies. At the bend in the river south of Bristol Head two large creeks enter from the mountains south. These streams are nearly equal in size, and the éastern one is made up of four distinct branches. One enters near the mouth from the low mountains to the east. This runs the least amount of water of any of the branches, as it does not drain any high country. The next one is a little larger, and comes in from the west, and drains the super-timber. line plateau, ou which station 30 is situated. The next tributary, a still larger-one, epiers from the east and drains much of the high region east of station 28. The main stream heads west of station 28. It was ou this, about four or five miles above the mouth of the largest tributary, that we camped. Rain had commenced talling quite early in the day, and now it was coming down steadily. The next day the storm continued, and the next, till the little stream of pure mountain water, near our camp, was changed intoa raging muddy torrent, perfectly impassable except at great intervals. Having passed a mile or two below camp some wonderful natural monuments, we took advantage of the storm to climb through among them and examine them. The number, variety, and size of these natural carvings were well worth the study, and we only regretted that Mr. Jackson could not be there to photograph them. The monuments were of all heights, sizes, and shapes. Many were 300 to 400 feet high, with a thickness at the base of 40 to 50 feet, while others were mere pigmies. All were either capped with large stones of a different kind from the mass of the column or bore marks of having been once so capped. In fact great numbers of these hard, dark-colored bowlders lay scattered about below, many of which had fallen from the tops of columns. In some cases we noticed rocks of a dark color, and, apparently, very hard, weighing many tons, which rested on a pillar several hundred feet in height, when the top of the column sustaining the great weight had no greater diameter than one foot. Some stones resting on low pedestals which we could reach were balanced so delicately that a touch of the hand would move them and a push would throw them down, although their weight was very considerable. In some cases a second short pedestal rested on the capping-stone, while this again was capped off with a bowlder. ‘The mass of the column were cemposed of conglom- erate of a reddish color, made up of gravel cemented together very firmly. The capping stones were of an entirely different kind of rovk. If you consider that these cap-stones varied in size from a few pounds weight to 20 tons er more, and that the columns ranged in height from a few feet to 300 or 400 feet, and that they were massed together so thickly that we could scarcely find our way among them, you will be able to form some conception of the strange scene presented. The general plan ot the arrangement was this: The area covered was probably half a mile long up the stream and several hundred yards wide. The ridge of which these formed a part commences at station 28, and taking a gen- one REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. eral northerly course, lies for the first four miles far above the snow- line, when it culminates in a high red peak and then plunges suddenly down to the timber, whence it falls quite gradually till it loses itself in the level of the valley near the junction of the first stream from the east. Now, itis on the west side of this ridge, at a point about six miles south of the Rio Grande, that we find this curious group of mon- uments. The mountain-rock isa kind of conglomerate of coarse gravel, with dark, hard bowlders interspersed. Running out from the ridge and at right angles to it is a series of parallel walls, from 40 to 60 feet thick at the base and 300 to 500 feet high at the highest points. These walls are from 100 to 200 feet apart, and their summit lines join the ridge at the crest. The spaces between the walls have a very steep slope, so that the heights in each wall range from zero at or near the top of the ridge to the maximum height near the middle of the length of the wall. These walls are wonderfully regular as to - thickuess and direction. In one place two of them, each over 400 feet high, inclose a space completely, except at the lower side, both being perfectly unbroken. Many monuments with their capping-stones rise from the top of these walls. In some of the spaces between walls are high lone monuments. In the northern part of the group the regularity of the walls seems to disappear, and an immense number of lone monu- ments take their place. I believe this part to have more wonderful curiosities than the southern end, but we only had time to examine a very small part of the whole group near the edge, and did not get into the center of the mass at all. Several of the walls had large and very regular arches worn through them. From some views these arches appear as perfect in form and proportion as if built by the hand of a mason. I succeeded by climbing along the wall on a very narrow ledge to get into one of these, and found it remarkably perfect on a near view also. It was about 50 feet span, with an altitude of 20 to 30 feet, the base being somewhat uneven, and the wall about 40 feet thick. This would seem to be a pretty large arch, but looking at it from the outside it is dwarfed into insignificance by the size of the massive walls through which it forms a gate-way. This arch was situated about 100 feet above the foot of the wall, and about 200 below the summit. Looking out of it on either side you could see an inclosure formed by the walls on the sides, The iliustration is from a drawing made under the arch of a column be- tween it and the next wall to the north. (See Plate L.) This is nearly 300 feet in height. The wall in the background was nearly 500 feet high at the highest point. It was surmounted by a number of monuments of many different sizes, which, with their cap-stones, might well be likened to sentinels keeping guard on the walls of a great city. These are Sentinels in more senses than one—sentinels guarding from profane eyes the holy secrets of nature—for the stones which they bear upon their shoulders, far over the traveler’s head, carry a menace not to remain unheeded. They resemble human sentinels in another sense also, for they possess that characteristic so rarely found in inorganic nature, a very definite term of existence. The hard bowlder inerusted in the walls has all the softer material around: it worn away by the storms, and it, in turn, protects from the weather the column of con- glomerate vertically under it. Thus it slowly grows out of the destruc- tion of things about it. In fact almost all the wonderful forms in nature growin this way. This is aremarkable case of nature’s sculpture, slow sculpture, too; for nature when she comes to work up the details of her monuments is very deliberate. This work, unlike the great and noble carvings of mountain forms, does not require thousands of ages, Plate L. KK. t N vet XS N\ AM. PHOTO-LIT HO. CO. N.Y. (OSBORNES PROCESS) , ‘ A ' i ‘ ; « ‘ 1% ; thar! ‘ | we | \ i y i ‘ Pity 4 \ . ; 1 ri ( y i : : : ) i y 1 i Spe eee TMV UT AL Nt a ie ay Pe. tts, HN ets Paes F1, RHODA.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. als but is accomplished ina few. Here nature does not work through the slow lapse of geological time, but the chiseling of a hundred years is appreciable. This, too, is slow, but not in the same degree as the great geological changes. _ Finally, after along but still a definite period of time, the monument is finished. A great column, beautifully tapering to its summit, is formed, and is surmounted above by its capping-stone, giving to it a dignity and a character. But scarcely is the work finished before the very elements that brought the statue out of the solid wall commence its destruction. The powers of erosion that carved it out slowly wear away the column itself, so that if becomes more and yet more slender, yet even in its decay its grace and beauty increase also. Finally the part of the column near the summit becomes too attenuated to bear up its colossal burden, and the great stone topples and falls, plunges down hundreds of feet, and then rolling down the mountain-side soon finds its resting-place in the thick timber that skirts this natural museum on all sides. Thus we can see monuments of all ages from inception to decay, and some newly decapitated look like corpses among their fel- lows. These are not yet exempt from the terrible power of their uncom- promising foes, but must year by year be worn away, till another stone now embedded in the body of the column succeeds to the place of the first. ‘This process may continue through many generations of statues, but the ultimate end is plain. This group of monuments is far superior to the Garden of the Gods, near Pike’s Peak, in the number, size, and beauty of curious forms contained in it. The general appearance of the two is very different also. Whether this strange group has ever been visited before I cannot say, but anyway it is well worthy of a much more extended notice than the above. Its situation, only about seven miles from the main road from Del Norte to the San Juan mines, makes it very accessible for such as take an interest in the things that are grand and picturesque in nature. On the morning of July 9 the rain still continued to fall, but we deter- mined to attempt the ascent of South River Peak, at the head of the creek. Climbing up the ridge above the group of monuments, we crossed over it, and followed diagonally across the east slopes of the peaks which form the highest part of the ridge. We rode along near the tim- ber-line, and crossed the head of the stream draining the east side of the ridge. This cafion was quite deep, and just above the timber line contained a number of little lakes in basins hollowed out of the solid rock. Reaching the summit of the peak, we found it well suited for a station, as it commanded all the surrounding drainage. ‘To the south and west there were a great many peaks nearly as high as this, anda considerable area of plateau-country above the snow-line. Just to the west of us, and almost under the peak, was a deep and broad basin with bluffs nearly surrounding it. This forms the head of the creek on which we were camped. A considerable cafion led down toward the northeast also. We were much favored by a partial breaking up of the storm, which gave us clear but detached views of the near country. We found on the summit a monument of loose stones which had been built by Mr. Gardner the year previous, but since the time of his visit the lightning had struck the peak and thrown down the upper half of the monument. We noticed also where the same element had entered the solid rock of the mountain and ripped it up in several directions, showing the power of the stroke. These slight monuments on the peaks are struck hundreds of times without leaving a mark,-but now and then you will find where the hardest rock is cracked and torn up in blocks of great size. These 314 | REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. facts tend to show the enormous and almost unlimited power that may be contained in a stroke of lightning in these high regions. While on the summit we noticed again one of our old-time friends, a lone grizzly, traveling along the east slope of the peak, some hundred feet below us. In his travels he came to a steep slide, part of which was occupied by a snow-bank aboat 40 yards in length. The bear walked out upon the snow, and sitting on his haunches, slid down to the bottom as deliber- ately as if he had never traveled in any other way; then proceeded on his journey across the rock-slides. From where we stood we could see distinctly the long streak left on the snow-bank after he had passed. Returning to camp, we were still harassed by rain to some extent, but during the night it set in heavily again. The morning of the fourth day found it still coming down. We moved camp a few miles down- stream, and then rode up the east branch of the creek, passing through fallen timber and marshes, till we at last came out upon a high, bare plateau. In the forenoon the storm abated, and we traveied along quite comfortably till nearing the summit of the peak, where we had to leave our mules. The foot-climb was short, but be- fore we reached the top rain began to fall, and before we had com- menced work a cloud settled over the peak like a great extinguisher, and we could nowhere see a hundred yards before us. Rain and sleet fell steadily, and we were compelled to abandon the station. On our return the heavy west wind and the sleet made che riding very uncom- fortable, both for us and for our animals. Ata point of the plateau, probably 12,500 feet above the sea, we noticed a number of little walis of loose rock, which had been used as rifle-pits by Indiars in shooting mountain-sheep in the days of arrows. The plateau was very bleak and cold, but as soon as we reached the timber we found the tempera- ture quite comfortable. The next day we made station 30, on a plateau west of South River Peak, and the next we started from our camp on the Rio Grande to ascend another larger table-land southward from Ante- lope Park. This plateau is very uneven. In some places the portion above the timber-line is several miles across, while in others it narrows to a mere ridge, but it continues essentially unbroken from station 31 to Weeminuche Pass, a distance of over 10 miles in a straight line. In some places side branches lead off to a considerable distance. On our return, while yet far above the timber-line, Mr. Wilson shot a grizzly; and as we were riding along with some of the meat behind our saddles we saw a young elk trotting toward us from the north side of the pla- teau and closely tollowed by three grizzlies in single file. The latter seemed to be perfectly mad with the excitement of the chase, while none of them, either pursued or pursuers, seemed to notice our two mules, although we were in open sight, with no obstructions in the way. I shot and wounded the elk as it came within range, but the bears were so wild with excitement that they did not hear the shot, though they were only a few hundred yards away. They followed, one behind the other, and each would rear up on his hind legs at every 20 or 30 feet distance and gaze around in a fierce, excited manner over the low wil- lows, then would drop on all fours and snuff along the trail. As they rose up and presented their black fronts, their fiereeness and power was much more manifest than when they trotted. Had they run straight on without snuffing the trail, they could have cavglt the elk in a min- ute, as it was tired out and lost. By this time our mules were getting restless; and as they were already carrying some bear-weat on their backs under protest, we feared a stampede, so for want of anything to tie them to we tied them together, and tore the meat off the saddles. RHODA. THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 315 We now took a long-range shot at the bears ; whether we hit them or not, they appeared for the first time to see us, and, taking the back track, quickly disappeared over the ridge whence they came. In the strife the wounded elk limped away, and getting down off the plateau disappeared in the timber. The bears had probably made a dash upon the band of elk while in the forest, and, separating them, had followed the calf, and doubtless would have caught it had we not come along when we did. Returning to camp, we crossed the Rio Grande the following day, July 13, and making station 33 on a bluff near the river and station 34 ona point on the eastern edge of Antelope Park. At this latter place we found quartzite bowlders that must have been brought from the group of peaks near the head of the Rio Grande. The next day we marched up the river along the trail leading to the San Juan mines, and striking the Ute trail from Los Pinos we turned southward and followed it up to the summit of Weeminuche Pass, where we camped. This is the best pass through the range between the Rio Grande and the San Juan. It is broad and even through nearly its whole extent, but the ascent from the Rio Grande and the descent to the head of the Piedra are very ab- rupt. It is scarcely possible to ride an animal up either; but, fora pass in these mountains, it is remarkably free from dangerous places and from bogs. On July 15 we ascended the range east of the pass. On the high plateau, about 12,500 feet above sea-level, we found a ptarmigan’s nest, . with four eggs, built.on the level ground. I believe this is the first spec- imen of the kind found, and it was carefully preserved for the Smithso- nian Institution. These birds are met with in considerable numbers in all places above the timber-line. They are a little larger than quails, and in winter are as white as the snow about them; but in summer, as the snow melts away, they take on a grayish color, with only a few white feathers on the wings. From this region we had a fine view of Rio Grande Pyramid and many other peaks in the work of 1874. Leaving this region, we traveled southward along the trail. For some distance it follows down the Rio de Los Pinos, and then turns to the left through a curious parrow gateway in the granite that here makes its appearance. The bed of this gap is so low that it seems probable that at one time the drainage of the pass flowed into the Piedra instead of the Pinos. From here the trail follows the Piedra, being very steep for the first few miles. As we rode down this south slope of the range, we noticed that the trees and small plants all increased in luxuriance. Fora great part of the way the weeds bordered the trail very thickly, and in many places were 4 to 5 feet high. Flowering-plants of many kinds grew in the greatest abundance, while the quaking-asp trees and pines, by their in- creased size and richness of foliage, testified to the effect of the climate and soil. As we reached the valley below, we found great meadows covered with a rich growth of grass and flowers, and very unlike any of the country through which we had been traveling. The range from this point eastward is remarkable for its abruptness, and the result is that the many little valleys along the water-courses reach up close to the mountains without attaining an elevation too great for rich vegetation. The head of the valley through which the trail passes has an elevation of about 8,000 feet. Station 36 was made on a low peak south of the mainrange. From here a good view of the peaks north was obtained, with their precipitous fronts facing the south. These walls presented a degree of beauty rarely to be found in bluff faces bare of timber. The horizontal lining and the peculiar weather- ing conspired to make these quite picturesque. In height they ranged from 2,000 to 3,000 feet, but the variety produced by the projecting 316 REPORT UNITED STATES GHOLOGICAL SURVEY. crags and ledges, the spires and pinnacles, took away.any appearance of heaviness that otherwise would bave been oppressive. We next marched eastward, crossing the several branches of the Piedra, all of which are beautiful little streams of the purest water. There are no valleys proper, but the whole country may very well be considered as a single valley, since the spaces between the streams are low and quite level. This region is remarkable for its vegetation, as compared with any other part of Colorado. Several important facts conspire to bring about this result. First, the abruptness of the south face of the range permits the valleys to approach close up to the bluffs without attaining an elevation of over 8,U00 feet. By reaching the vicinity of the range the rain-fall is much increased. By being low, and having the walls of the range to the northward, a greater degree of heat is attained. These, taken together, give to plant-life its peculiar rich- ness. In summer the weather is quite pleasant, but the rain-storms that continually pass over it keep it much cooler than it would other- wise be. The rainy belt extends to a distance of 20 to 30 miles from the base of the range. This region is subject to continual storms dur- ing the summer-time. These commence late in June, before the snow is gone from the mountains, and coutinue till fall, in September or Octo- ber, when there may be a few weeks of clear, cold weather; but in some cases there is scarcely a break between the rain-storms of summer and the snow-storms of winter. The whole region is covered with fine yel- low pine, and rich grass growing between. Here and there extensive meadows are to be seen. The area covered by this rich growth of grass © may be roughly estimated at 600 or 700 square miles, the mass of it lying between the Piedra and the San Juan, while little areas similar to it in their characteristic features are to be found along the Animas, Florida, Pinos, Navajo,and Chama. This would be sufficient to furnish summer pasture at least to numerous herds of stock, but I cannot cer- tify as to the winters, which in this country form an element in the stock-problem; yet it would not be very difficult to drive the herds down the Piedra to the San Juan River, where an elevation of 6,000 feet would prevent the possibility of bad winters. But here again the limited area of grass would give support to only a small number of ani- mals through the long winter of six months. The whole south slope of the range from the Animas to San Luis Valley is covered with a splendid growth of pine timber, while on the Animas and florida extensive veins of coal outcrop in many places. The whole as far down as the New Mexico line, which passes near the mouth of the Piedra, is included in the Ute reservation or held by ‘that tribe, thus preventing settlers or miners from entering it. Good placers are worked on the La Plata by miners who have rented the land from the Utes, but on the other streams no mines are worked. Passing from the Piedra southward across large open meadows, we followed down the Rio Nutria, a stream which runs very little water in the summer-time. Here we came to the sandstone tables, which extend southward many miles from this point. At a point just above the junc: tion of the Piedra and the Nutria, and between the two streams, are two notable monuments of red sandstone, which we had first seen from a high station at the head of the San Juan, nearly 40 miles distant in a straight line. They consist of two immense pillars of sandstone, 150 to 200 feet high, and about a hundred yards apart, set on the crest of a hill over a thousand feet in height. ‘he summits of both are flat and probably 50 feet in diameter, and are perfectly inaccessible. Several branches of low brush and a tall growth of grass ornament the top. pnopa.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 31% The monuments rest on loose slaty rock, which wears away very fast, while the rock above is firm and breaks off in large cubic blocks. With the constant wearing away of the foundation and the cracking of the columns themselves, these curious pillars are fast going to ruin. West of this region, across the Piedra, there commences a series of hog-backs, very sharp and continuous, which give a peculiar form to the topography. Between two of these the Ute trail from Pagosa passes over to the Animas. Above the crossing of the Piedra that stream is inclosed in a deep cafion for some 10 miles, but below it is open all the way to its mouth. When we crossed it on July 23, it was 30 to 40 yards in width and from 1 to 3 feet in depth, with a rocky bed and swift current. A short distance below the ford we saw a new-made grave, the occupant of which (A. R. Stewart) had been drowned while trying to cross the stream a few months before. This vicinity is a favorite camping-ground for the Weeminuche or Southern Utes. We found a few of these, with their horses and goats, when we passed through. To the west, the trail takes its course up a little stream between two of the hog-backs, thus having a smooth, even grade, with a wall on either hand. These spaces are trough shaped, with very abrupt sides. The ridges are very sharp, with their steepest slope toward the mountains. The Indians, appre- ciating the peculiar adaptability of the region for defense, have taken pains to fortify a narrow gap near the Piedra with piles of loose stones, to be used as rifle-pits. Under a good leader, a small band of Indians could hold this place against an army, especially since toward the mountains it is backed by dense timber. Passing by these we came to the Rio de Los Pinos, a stream quite as large as the Piedra. Here we found the ruins of an old bridge, which we supposed to have been built by Major Macomb in 1859. Near this, on the east side of the stream, we found a few pieces of pottery and a dim circular mound in the sage-brush, indicating that we were approach- ing the region of the ancient ruins. On the west side of the river and several miles below we found a number of these marks of ruins that bad long since crumbled to dust. Whether the houses were made of adobe, or whether of stone as the rest farther south, I cannot tell. If the latter theory be true, we may properly assign to them great antiq- uity, but if the furmer, the weather of the region might accomplish the same result in a short time. These last relics were situated on a table adjoining the river and about 50 feet above it, which is now sandy and covered with sage-brush. When we were there late in July all vegeta- tion was parched by the great heat, except along a strip a few hundred yards wide near the stream. Considerable quantities of pottery were found on the surface, but all was very much discslored by the weather. The only remains of the buildings consist of a circular mound of earth seldom if ever one foot high, with a basin inside of it distinguished from the rest of the plain by being covered with flint-grass, from the water standing in it in the spring. About some a great deal of burned rock was to be seen. Except one or two little scraps of pottery, we saw nothing to indicate that these early inhabitants occupied the region along the Nutria. They seem to have kept at a considerable distance from the mountains, probably to avoid the cold winters. As they must have.used the water of the streams for irrigating their corn, it 1s not improbable that a close examination among the sage-brush west of the Pinos might reveal some traces of the ditches, since these would likely be preserved long after many other artificial works had disappeared. Between the Pinos and the Florida, and extending southward to the mouth of the latter, is a desert plain, in which the vegetation is mostly - 213 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. sage-brush and cactus, with a few pions here and there. This dry area — extends from the timbered foot-hills and hog-backs on the north to a mass of hills whose northern border forms an east and west line between the two streams a few miles above the mouth of the Florida. This littie desert covers about 100 square miles. The edges of it along both streams are occupied by ruins of the extinct people. Traveling down to the Animas and noticing occasional bits of pottery and other relies by the way, we followed the course of the latter stream. Below the mouth of the Florida the highlands are all composed of a dull red sandstone, in layers one above another indefinitely. The side-slopes are formed of numerous successive bluffs, with great blocks of stone in the spaces. After having climbed and wandered among the noble forms of the mountain peaks, the making of stations on these miserable dreary tables is very tiresome and monotonous. Here we miss the cool atmosphere of the higher levels, and a burning sun seems to have dried the very marrow out of the bones of the land. The highést points are all covered with brush, so that we cannot see much of the country about us, but after climbing through the masses of stone blocks we are finally compelled to make the station half way up the side of the hill on some projecting ledge. On July 27 we came upon a large ruined castle about 25 miles below the mouth of the Florida, on the west side of the Animas. The build- ing was a very large one, but as we approached it we saw nothing to indicate great antiquity. In fact, at first we half thought that after all this might only be the remains of a modern Mexican pueblo, but the pottery that lay strewn about soon dissipated all such ideas. The build- ing was about 250 by 300 feet, with the rectangular corners. The re- mains of three stories were still standing, while the great quantity of débris seemed to indicate that a fourth story might once have existed, but this was only a matter of conjecture. By crawling down under the decayed walls, through a low door, we came into a cell on the second floor. This was the only room which we could enter that was still in a fair state of preservation. It had evidently been a prison-cell. The door was 3 or 4 feet high, and about 2 feet wide. The dimensions of the cell itself, as near as I can remember, were about these: say 7 feet Jong by 5 wide, and 43 to 5 feet high. It was situated in the midst of the building, with no opening of any kind to let in light or air except the little door. The wood-work of the ceiling was quite well preserved. On the walls was a plaster resembling sandstone, on which were a great many scratches that looked very fresh, and some rough outlines of men and horses that so much resembled the Ute carvings on the trees along their trails that we did not hesitate to ascribe the work to Ute artists. The walls were of cut stone about twice the size of a common brick, but the weather had worn away the corners and edges, and the rains had leached out all the mortar if there ever had been any there. In the spaces between the stones were pieces of pottery. The floors were of round poles of juniper with the bark on. The ends of the logs were in no case found smooth-cut, but were ragged, as if worn off by some dull instrument. In one part of the building was a circular tower about twelve feet in diameter, built of scraps of stone of very irregular shapes. The bottom was partially filled with débris. In the near vicinity there were circular mounds, marking the position of smaller houses, but they were few in number, scarcely more, in fact, than might be needed for workshops by the inhabitants of the large building. Here we found great quantities of pottery, all more or less elaborately painted. AIL of it seemed to be of a finer quality than any we had seen near the mount- RHODA. - - THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 319 ains. I have said that these ruins did not look very ancient, but it must be remembered that as yet we know almost nothing absut the climate of this region, but the vegetation and other things point to a very small annual fall of rain, in which case the rate of decay of a stone building might be very slow indeed. The elevation of this place is about 5,500. feet, and the distance from the high mountains thirty to forty miles, which facts wouid be likely, in this region, to reduce the rain-fall to a very small figure. What is most needed to throw light on the age of these relics is a good set of meteorological observations some- where in this vicinity. ‘ Crossing over from the Animas to the San Juan, we found another large ruin, but smaller than the preceding. Here, again, was the usual assortment of pottery, out-houses, &e., asin theformer. In the banks of a wash that had been cut through on the east side of the house we found ‘a stratum of burned corn, about an inch thick, a little below the surface, with here and there pieces of the cobs. In this ruin, as in the previous, the whole lower story is covered over with sand and trash, and may be in a good state of preservation. A couple of men in a few days could open a way into any of the lower rooms, in which case important relics might be unearthed. Near this point we noticed a fine kind of cottonwood, having a large, spreading top, entirely unlike the common variety. As we moved up- stream we found scraps of pottery everywhere, and the marks of towers on some of the prominent points. It is one of the peculiar features of the subject that the pieces of pottery are so widely distributed. There is no place where you can feel sure that you will not come across them. In some places, on dry sandstone tables, many miles from the river, we found them. Near here the river is very small, the greater part of :t running through the sand underneath. The surrounding country is very uninteresting in appearance. To the south as far as the eye could reach there extended plains very similar in appearance to those along the Union Pacific in Wyoming, only they appeared more desolate, and, being further south, were not so well watered. These rose considerably above the level of the river, and were not terminated by mountains but extended to the hori- zou. Farther to the east, a mass of sandstone tables, ten times more desolate than the country near it, formed a prominent object in the landscape. The tables were separated by washes from a few hun- ’ dred yards to half a mile wide. Some points far south of the San Juan seemed to rise several thousand feet above the general level. The river cuts off the northwest corner of the mass, and runs through it for some 39 miles of its course. Almost all of the tables were covered with pines, mostly pifions. We passed through the northern edge of the formation, but this is not nearly so desolate as the northern part. On our way up the San Juan we foilowed a trail that turned east- ward into this curious country. The first day we traveled 30 miles up a dry wash without, finding the end of it, then turned to the left to another wash, and after traveling five miles more we camped near a small spring of very strong alkali water. These dry washes are very pecu- liar. First as to their length. One ibat we came across was more than 50 miles in length, without water, except alkali reefs at intervals of many miles. Second, they have such a slight fall that you may travel up one for a long distance and be firmly persuaded you are going down-stream. This fact adds much to the danger of getting lost, especially as there are no bare points above the rest from which to get a lookout, but all the tables are formed of a single horizontal stratum, and the tops are 320 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. evenly covered with scrubby trees. To find which way the wash leads, the best plan is to examine the reeds and plants in the bed of the water-course, and see which way they are bent. Another peculiar question connected with the subject is this: how have these wide washes been formed? The side walls are vertical, with little or no rock scat- tered between, but generally the bottom is covered with sand. There can be no doubt but that in the winter or spring great floods of water flow down these almost interminable water-courses, but with the slight fall which they have, no great amount of erosion seems possible. In our march through this region, soon after we crossed over to the © second wash, we saw a number of ancient towers perched on the project- ing points of sandstone, far above the valley. One, which was about 20 feet square and two stories high, was built on a little promontory over 100 feet above the bed of the wash. This was well preserved, the walls intact, and the rooms quite perfect. The lower floor was the natural soil tramped solid by use. In one corner the stone was much blackened by fire, marking the fire-place, but a number of pegs driven over it to hang kettles on looked decidedly modern. The whole air of the place was Mexican, all except the building itself, since it must have taken much labor to collect the great number of stones and cut them for the walls. All who are acquainted with the settlers of New Mexico will appreciate the force of the argument that the great labor necessary to erect these buildings points to an origin other tban Mexican. In this house no relics were found, but the general appearance made it seem very probable that the place had been recently occupied by Mexicans, probably shepherds, while herding their sheep in the vailey during the early spring, when water is abundant. The location of this building makes it admirably adapted for a lookout, and it is not improbable that the original builders may have used it for some purpose similar to that of the present Mexicans. In this vicinity we also noticed towers on the edges of high tables, hundreds of feet above the wash. In one place just beside the trail, a circular tower six or seven feet across was built on a rock that had rolled from the bluffs above. The walls were standing four or five feet’ high, but whether they were ever higher I cannot teil. This again had a decidedly medern appearance; the stones did not show much weathering. In the vicinity the grass is abundant, but water is wanting. Fifteen or twenty miles east of this we came to some Mexi- cans with flocks of sheep and goats. The alkali water seemed to ruin | the mutton, as it was very drv and stringy, although the country was covered with good grass. After having traveled about 60 miles, count- ing from the San Juan River, we camped at a spring of good water draining eastward into a basin running north and south, in which were a number of lakes. Along the road we passed several high dikes running in a northerly direction. Making another march of 30 miles, we reached Tierra Amarilla, on the Chama, having traveled about 90 miles through the desert region. On our last day’s ride we found a change in the formation from sandstone to quartzite, indicating the approach to the voleanic rocks. As soon as we reached the latter we found the water free from alkali. We found the New Mexican town located in a deep depression, on a table of considerable extent, on the east side of the Chama. A few miles north of it the end of the mount- ain-range appears faced with high precipices. ‘T’o the east the mount- ains fall far below the timber-line, but are still quite rough. To the south, the Chama runs through a rough-looking country, much cut up by callons, while above it in the distance a number of pretty high mountains may be seen. On the west the country already described, “RHODA.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 32k with its bluffs and ridges of sandstone, fills many degrees of the horizon. The settlement is composed of three distinct villages, each several miles from the others, two situated on the banks of the stream and one to the east at the end of the open table at the edge of the timber. When we arrived, on the last day of July, there were many hundred acres of wheat under cultivation, and the grain looked well, but it was. only beginning to head out. Water for irrigation was brought by ditches from the mountain-streams. The houses were nearly all of adobe. The eastern village was built on the pueblo plan, having the houses placed close together, all facing inwardly on an open space, which was neutral ground, on which. dogs, cats, chickens, horses, sheep, goats, and Mexicans, of all sizes and ages, might be seen in great num- bers. Utes and Apaches were associated with their neighbors. The dress of the Mexican children usually consisted of a dirty shirt, but many were entirely naked. The post-office was situated in the southern village, which went by the name of Nutrites. Leaving this point we took our course northward and westward up a long meadow-valley, then past large bands of sheep down to Navajo. Thus far a plain trail leads on its way to Pagosa Springs. Camping on the Navajo, which was a large creek at that season of the year, we ascended a high plateau west of the stream. On’ the east it is bordered by great bluffs. Being of voleanic rock and quite elevated, we found fine water, grass, and timber on the top. This table is about four miles in length from north to south, but toward the west it falls considerably and is cut up by many deep gorges. Following down the Navajo a few miles through a narrow ¢afion, we left the stream and ascended the slope to the south of it, and soon struck the direct trail from Tierra Amarilla to the San Juan. Below this point the Navajo runs through shallow but very rugged cafions, so that it is quite impossible to follow down it. The Indian trail passes down awash several miles south of the Navajo. Taking this course, we crossed the San Juan River and traveled down to the mouth of the Piedra, making stations along the route. We found a great many scraps of pottery, both in the narrow valley of the stream and on the sandstone points above it. In some places dim basins on the high points marked the place of extinct ruins. In one place we found « child’s skull protruding above the surface of the soil, but it was much decayed. From our camp on the Piedra we rode down to the point where the river enters a close cation, in the sandstone. -Here we made station 70, on a low sandstone table near the river. On this point we found great quantities of painted and unpainted pottery, all very bright. The pot- tery above the mouth of the Piedra was much tarnished. This is due to the fact that the rainy belt is very sharply defined on its southern border. This line passes about midway between the mouth of the Piedra and that of the Nutria. Above this the rain-fall is very heavy, but below it would seem to be scarcely appreciable. Above and below the Piedra, on the San Juan, there is a narrow valley, probably 15 miles in length and in breadth ranging from one-quarter to two miles. At present it is covered with sage-brush and cactus, but with irrigation it would undoubtedly produce good crops. The junction of the Piedra and San Juan is about 6,000 feet above the sea. Having finished this region, we returned up the San Juan, passing along the narrow valley, and finding relics of the ancient settlers even above the Navajo. The sandstone bluffs continued, but the cafion was so wide as to offer no obstruction to our march. At a distance of nearly 10 214@Ss 322 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. miles above the Navajo we came to the Rio Blanco, a stream nearly as large as the preceding. This joins the main river from the east and drains the mountain-country between the Navajo and San Juan, while its head branches lead almost up toSummit Peak. Between this stream and the main river is a sandstone plateau covering several square miles, and bordered on the west by high bluffs. Following up the river sev- eral miles we noticed some burned cabins, and about 12 miles from the mouth of the Blanco we came to the Pagosa Sulphur Springs. They are situated in a bend of the river and are very large. For a partic- ular description, I refer the reader to Dr. Endlich’s geological report, _ as he made a detailed examination of the springs. They are held and jealously guarded by the Utes on aecount of the medicinal qualities of the waters. These Indians often resort to the springs in small parties to bathe. In our travels we met the chief of the Weeminuche or South- ern Utes on the Piedra, and he related in the eloquent sign language, of which he was master, how his men had driven out various parties from his country. To persons that do not desire to settle in the country they are often quite obliging. Whenever we asked for information about the trails or roads or grass, they would always tell us and take great pains to make us understand. In this latter respect I cannot but contrast them with their New Mexican neighbors. The latter seemed too lazy to talk, no matter how well you paid them for it, and the most information to be got out of them was generally the words “a qui” (there), with a nod of the head to indicate direction. The Southern Utes, unlike Indians generally, are very talkative. Following the course of the river for a few miles above Pagosa, we turned to the southeast and traveled along the foot of the range. All this country is covered with timber, except in small patches. On the lower hills we found much oak brush, but yellow pine abounds, and above them come the spruces, which extend to the timber- line. Grass and water are abundant. Making station 77 on Blackhead Peak between the two branches of the Blanco, we again found ourselves surrounded by deep cantons, preci-. pices, and rock-slides. Far below us we could hear the bleating of mountain sheep, but we could not see the animals themselves. After this we continued along the rauge to the Navajo, on the east side of which we found a considerable level area of good pasture-land. From here we passed over to the Chama, the whole distance being one great meadow, with several herds of cattle grazing on it. On our left the mountains rose up very abruptly, many peaks reaching far above the timber-line. This region is well adapted for pasturage in the summer, as the grass is very rich and good water is abundant. Being near to the mountains, there would be a great fall of snow in winter, so that stock would have to be driven down the stream to be saved. Turning northward, we fol- lowed up the Chama, and found that the valley soon ended and the ridges on the east and west coming down to the stream, a narrow canon was formed. After a few miles the trail from Tierra Amarilla leaves the main stream and follows up the eastern branch; our course lay up the western. A short distance above the junction the basin widens out, and to the west long timbered slopes lead up to station 81; but after a few miles, as we approach the head of the Chama, the peaks on either side in- crease in height and present great bluffs toward the stream. On the west side Banded Peak is the highest summit in the vicinity. On station 81 we Saw a number of deer, a band of mountain-sheep, and a bear. In the ereek, Harry Yount found trout in great abundance. In some places the fallen timber seriously impeded our progress. Our object in ascending the RHODA.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 323 Chama was to reach the divide, and by following it make a number of sta- tions in the heart of the range, but at the head of the stream we found our- selves surrounded by walls, while the only way leading to the plateau above was a narrow crevasse filled with loose rock and soil. Here the slope was very great, and a small stream running through the middle of the gap left cnly a few feet on the side to walk on. As the height was many hundred feet, it was a difficult matter to get the pack-train up. On reaching the summit, we found ourselves in a pass through the ridge which was grown over with spruce, but the ground was very marshy, and great numbers of ponds were to beseen everywhere. After camping here, at an elevation of over 11,000 feet, we traveled northward with the train. Wesoon came out upona high plateau considerably above the timber-line. Many snow-banks were to beseen, butin the day-time the weather was very pleasant. The land above the timber-line varied in width from one to two miles in this vicinity. In making station 84, near the middle of the plateau, we saw a large grizzly pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific slope, but he was out of gunshot. We found the plan of ascending the peaks from the plateau much easier than from the plains, for here we could camp nearly up to 12,000 feet elevation, which gave us a good start. From station 85, a point on the west edge of the plateau, we had a fine view of the head branches of the Navajo. The main cafion and its branches are deeper and more rugged than any others in this part of the range. In going to this peak we passed a little piece of timbered land at the head of the Chama, in which was a small lake. On the south side this little park was bordered by a precipice hundreds of feet in height, over which the little streams fell in cascades to the valley of the Chama below. On the north and west and a part of the east side, low but im- passable bluffs hemmed it round. The only entrance was a narrow gap at the northeast corner, and that was only just passable. A well-beaten trail led from the high plateau down through this gap into the park. This ~ was probably made by wild game, elk, bear, and may be sheep. The area of the park may have been more than a square mile, and was well sup- plied with grass and water. Having their only possible entrance from ‘the side of the high plateau above the snow-line, the game could resort to this covert in summer with comparative safety, especially as we have seen how difficult it is to make the ascent up to the plateau. Continuing our march to the north, and following the general course of the continental divide, we camped at the head of the middle branch of the Conejos. Here we noticed many fresh tracks of elks, but saw none of the animals themselves. The next day, August 22, we ascended Conejos Peak to the northeast to make station 86. ‘This proved to be a good station, and, the ascent being easy, we had plenty of time for work. From this peak we had a fine view of the cafions of the three streams which form the head of the Conejos. Many facts tend to prove that these have been cut by glacial agency. The general course of the streams is made up of peculiarly regular and sweeping curves, very unlike those produced by erosion of water alone. From the peak this feature appears very prominent. The details of the canons still fur- ther bear out the theory. The cross-section is very regular and not sub- ject to those abrupt changes so common in most cafons. The walls are nearly vertical for hundreds of feet, with a narrow valley along the bed of the stream. The depth of the canton at the head of the south branch, near the pass by which we came upon the plateau, is 700 feet, but down on the main stream it is more than 1,000 feet. At the head of this fork,on the plateau, we found a great many polished surfaces of 324 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. rock, with occasional scratches, showing that a glacier once passed over the precipice into the amphitheater at the head of the caiion. Eastward from station 86 the slope was quite steep for some distance down to a super-timber-line plateau, which extended out to the bend of the Conejos. Between the southern and middle forks of the stream there lay a table of about 20 square miles in extent, mostly covered with timber, that seemed to be almost completely isolated from the main-land. Along a circumference of about 20 miles it was bordered by an impassa- ble precipice, extending down to the stream-beds. On the west, a narrow isthmus, a mile in width, connected it with the high plateau. After we had nearly finished work on the peak, there came up a snow and hail storm, accompanied by electricity. The storm was of short duration, but left the rocks white with snow. During our stay on the summit, in the intervals of work, we killed two grizzlies, took long-range shots at a third, and just missed get- ting a shot at a fourth. These bears live on grass and roots, and come up regularly to wander over the plateaus in search of food. What may be their object in climbizg up to these high regions I cannot say. It is possible the cold, clear air has some attraction for them, although the beds of the cations are already so elevated that the weather is always cool. Returning by the trail we came over the plateau, we again camped in the pass, where we were visited during the night by a heavy rain- storm. The next day we ascended the plateau south of the pass, and found a level area of many square miles, all above 12,000 feet elevation. The storm continued, and the clouds reached far below the summit of the plateau, but by dint of patient watching and waiting we were able to make a partial station (88) on the southern brink of the table. De- scending to the head of the Rio de los Pinos, we camped near the tim- ber-line. The storm continued all night, and the camp, being high, was surrounded by bogs and marshes, making it doubly disagreeable. One who has only experienced the storms of the lower levels cannot appre- ciate the feelings of a person caught in a storm of several days’ dura- tion at the timber-line. There is a certain dreary sensation connected with it that cannot be described. The next day we started out in the Storm, and descending rapidly down the creek, soon came to beautiful meadows and scattering clumps of spruce and quaking asp, and an increased degree of heat seemed to suffuse all things with life, very dif- ferent from the region of perpetual cold and dampness 2,000 feet above. Taking this course, and crossing a low ridge to the southward, we again struck the trail from Tierra Amarilla. Following this eastward, we made stations 90 and 91, on a table near the lower extremity of the Conejos Canon, and a short distance from the edge of San Luis Valley. Returning, we followed up a small stream to the south, then crossing a divide, came to the head of the Brazos, along which we found a wide Space of land devoid of timber and covered with grass. On the even- ing of August 27 the weather turned off clear and cold, with heavy frost during the night. This marks the fall change. Some years, at this season, there are several weeks of clear fall weather, but in others there seems to be no definite interim between the summer rains and the winter snows. Continuing down the stream, we came to another trail from Tierra Amarilla, which we followed westward, making sta- tion 93 north of the trail, and 94 on the brink of the precipice overhang- ing the Brazos. At this latter point quartzite makes its appearance. This mass fills the space in the bend of the Brazos, and presents a great bluff face to the south and east. Toward the west the country is cut RHODA.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 325, up into many gorges, and hills continue down to the Chama. It is said that these mountains are subject to an extraordinary fall of snow in winter. In returning from this peak we passed through a large and ‘fine-looking meadow, with a cabin built on its northern border, near the trail. A blacksmith-shop had been built near it, but all was now de- serted. It is probable that some one selected the site in summer, but did not take into account the great elevation and the consequent fierce winters. Following the trail eastward, we passed several large herds of sheep on their way to Denver. Some bands of cattle were also to be seen. Crossing the divide, we followed down the San Antonio, and camped a few miles above the main bend. The next day we made station 97, on San Antonio Mountain, a great dome-like peak directly east of the bend in the creek. This mountain is so completely isolated from the range that in coming toward it down the San Antonio it is quite impossible to tell whether that stream flows around the north or south side of it. It is about two miles in diameter at the base, and rises nearly 2,000 feet above the plain. This peak commands very distant views to the north and south. From its summit we could see Mount Princeton, near Chalk Creek, distant,130 miles in an air-line, while to the south another peak appeared to be still more distant. Following northward down the San Antonio, we found the formation to be of basalt, through which the stream had cut a peculiar little canon, about 100 feet deep and from 100 to 200 feet wide, with the walls so precipitous that a footman could descend to the stream only at long intervals. The water here was bad, being polluted by the bands of cat- tle and sheep on the head of the stream. After riding many miles, and passing the junction of the San Antonio and Pinos, we finally found a narrow gorge leading from the basalt table down to the bed of the creek. The wash terminated in a bed of sand. In front of us there rose a de- tached piece of the basalt table, a few hundred yards in length, and bearing a striking resemblance to an island. A regular channel about a hundred yards wide separated it from the mainland. It is probable that at some time long since the San Antonio ran through this channel. At the junction the Pinos is much the larger creek, but the name of the other has been given to the main stream. The valley proper com- mences on the former, a short distance above the junction, and con- tinues out into the desert. The upper portion is thickly settled by Mexicans, engaged in raising grain on the bottom-land and herding sheep on the basalt tables. A great many clusters of adobe houses, each bearing a separate name, are scattered along the stream, far out into the valley; but the only productive land along any of these streams is comprised in a very narrow strip near the water, and extending only a few miles from the base of the range. In this little area fair crops of grain are raised with irrigation, but the elevation is too great and the Summer too short for grain to ripen with any certainty. The warm weather does not commence till the last of May, and this year a foot of snow fell on September 20, while the frosts of the tall commenced sev- eral weeks earlier. ‘Thus we see that the whole growing-season is scarcely over three months. During this time the weather is very hot during the day, but the nights are cold. All these things are important drawbacks to farming operations. As we passed this place (August 31) the wheat was only heading out, but as the fall had commenced, and the winter followed close on its heels, none of the grain could have come to maturity. The heavy storm three weeks later must have found the crops still unripe, and the foot of snow that then fell must have de. 326 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. stroyed them utterly. It may be objected that this season was an exceptional one; but I remember seeing different persons cutting their fine-looking wheat for hay, which they would not have done if they had had any hopes of harvesting the grain. Much has been said of the in- dolence of the Mexicans and the rudeness of their farming-implements, but I doubt very much whether the most enterprising white farmers, With all the modern appliances, could make grain-raising a success on the west side of San Luis Valley. Traveling northward along the main road to Del Norte, we reached Conejos, a Mexican village on a stream of the same name. Its elevation above the sea is 7,880 feet. Here is the post-office for the many villages in the vicinity. Thestream is fringed with a rich growth of cottonwood far out into the plain, but, 9s with the San Antonio, the Alamosa, and others, the timber ceases long before the stream reaches the Rio Grande. This seems to be due neither to the great heat nor to the want of water, but to the leanness of the soil. As far as the sediment from the mount- ains extends, just so far the timber grows, but no farther. The Conejos runs in a shallow shifting bed, and every spring the water overflows its banks. Passing this point, we camped a few miles to the north, near a low bluff, where a ditch supplied us with water. From here we had an extensive view of the plain. Standing on the general level, and looking toward the northeast, we could see the plain 50 miles away, and nearly the whole height of the sand-hills at Mosca Pass. As the curvature of the earth for the given distance would be nearly 1,700 feet, the sand- hills would be entirely invisible if the valley were truly level; but it slopes from the ends of the line to the Rio Grande near the middle, thus nearly neutralizing the effect of curvature. At this season so clear was the atmosphere that in the morning and evening we could see distinctly all the main ridges of the Sierra Blanca and many of the small ravines, although they were 40 miles distant in a straight line. We made sta- tions 99 and 100 on a grassy plateau between the Conejos and the Rio de la Jara. On the sides facing the streams are bluffs of considerable height, but on the east the plateau is raised above the level of San Luis Valley by a low bluff 20 to 50 feet in height. West from station 100 across the Jara a number of small streams came down, cutting deep gorges. Between them appeared narrow plateau peninsulas surrounded by bluffs, except on the west, where a narrow isthmus connected them with the main plateau. Crossing the Jara and the Agua Caliente, we made station 101 on the north side of the Alamosa where that stream emerges from its cafion into the valley. At the time of our visit the grasshoppers covered the ground in great numbers, and consumed all the grass left by the sheep. These pests, continually jumping into the stream, furnish food for the trout. Harry Yount, our packer, succeeded in catching a number of these fish, and found them gorged with the insects. Thirty-five full-grown eee er Peete and a water-worm were taken from one fish of about a pound weight. ; Having finished the main range, we took our course eastward, down the Alamosa, then across the intervening plain to the Conejos. Here, at a point a few miles above the mouth of the stream, we found some white settlers, and succeeded in getting some potatoes, which we esteemed a rare luxury after our long abstinence from vegetables. The valley of the Conejos in this region is very narrow, while beyond on either side the plain extends for miles, being covered with sage-brush and cactus, the latter quite scarce, however, The plain is not composed of loose, shifting sand, like many deserts elsewhere, but the sand and RHODA. ] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. Bye | cravel form a bed, which is usually very firm. Herds of cattle were feeding on the meadows near the lower ends of the Alamosa and Cone- jos, while some found good picking among the sage-brush. The entire lack of timber or even brush on the plain detracts much from its useful- ness as a pasture. Moving again toward the southeast through the voleanic hills, we camped on the Rio Grande. During the day we made station 102, on the most northerly table of the group, a point about 500. feet above the valley. This group of hills, in the center of San Luis Valley, is bounded on the west and north by the Conejos, the stream running northward over 12 miles, in an opposite direction to the Rio Grande, to pass around them. A part of the group is east of the Rio Grande, but does not reach as far north as the mouth of the Conejos, and eastward from the river only about 8 miles. The western group extends southward nearly 20 miles to the Lower San Luis Plain, but as the hills stand isolated one from the other, much plain-land is included between them. This mass covers somewhere about a hundred square miles, while in the eastern there may be 30 or 40. Between the eastern group and the Sangre de Cristo Range is alow gap apparently the same height as the valley north and south, which is supposed to have once been the strait connecting the upper with the lower lake that once covered San Luis Valley. Between the western hills and the main range is a smooth plain, but one considerably above the general level of the valley. The hills are of various shapes and heights; many are nearly level tables with bluff edges, but others are very regular cones. In height they range from 200 to 1,600 feet above the plain. One, on which we made stations 103 and 104, rose 1,500 feet above the valley, and its summit covered an area of two or three square miles, being surrounded by bluffs, which were impassable except at few points. On the summit we noticed the holes of prairie-dogs in several places. On the south side was a little timber, while grass was quite abundant. Cattle had roamed over the plateau, having climbed up from the plain in search of grass. South of this was another similar table of about equal height, but even greater area. The hills east of the Rio Grande are more irregular in form and usually much smaller and lower. Soon after pass- ing the mouth of the Conejos the river changes quite abruptly. Above for many miles it winds about over a great area, and sloughs lead in all directions, but at this point it becomes very straight and enters a rocky bed, and for a short distance cuts a narrow gorge. Passing through this and emerging from the hills near the mouth of the Culebra, it runs through a shallow but definite bed in the rock. This continues for five or six miles to a point below the ford, where the stream enters a narrow capon cut in the basalt, very similar to that of the San Antonio. On our march down the river we made station 105, on a sharp rocky cone on the west bank of the river, near the mouth of the Culebra. In following down the river we expected to have camped on the Cos- tilla, but we found it dry near its entrance to the Rio Grande, the water having been consumed in irrigation near the mountains. Its course was marked by a gorge about a mile in length, cut through the basalt from the plain to the bed of the river. The walls were so nearly im- passable that the Mexican shepherds had used it for a corral, and had built little coverts near the upper end to sleep in. Into this curious inclosure they drove their sheep and goats at night, and herded them on the plains during the day. This is the only path to the river within many miles. No water can be had except by following down this narrow defile. The cafion of the main stream is similar—only more jmpassable. The walls. are from 100 to 200 feet apart, and about 100 S28. REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. feet in vertical height. These are essentially perpendicular, being pro- duced by the rock breaking off in cubic blocks with a vertical fracture. The hardness of the basalt prevents any appreciable weathering, thus preserving the abruptness of the walls. Through this narrow gorge the Rio Grande rushes with great velocity, very unlike the same stream 30 miles above. From our southern stations we could distinetly trace the narrow cation down to the parallel of 36° 45’, at which point the stream passes between two great hills, which, with others to the west, form the sudden southern terminus of the great San Luis Valley. The length of the cafion brought under our observation was about 30 miles. After camping on the bluff near the river, the next day we made sta- tions 106 and 107, on the Ute Peak, a great dome about four miles south of the Colorado line. Its diameter at the base is about four miles, and it rises 2,500 feet above the plain. West of this peak, across the river, there is a large area of very level plain quite isolated from the rest of the valley. From a camp in the southeast corner of San Luis, we ascended a peak of the Sangre de Cristo Range, and made station 108. This com- manded a very distant view to the south. The range seemed to pre- serve the definite character as far as we could see. A little southward of this peak San Luis Valley ended, and the depression of the Rio Grande seemed to be very rough, being covered with hills and cut through with gulches. On the southern edge of the valley, north of the range of hills that follows the parallel of 36° 45’, and east of the Rio. Grande, we saw a Mexican village, with a large area of grain to the north of it. The fields belonging to the different individuals were separated only by single furrows, and fences were nowhere to be seen. Several similar settlements were also seen on the Costilla and Culebra. North of station 108, and nearly under it, was a deep caion, with a small grassy valley at the bottom, in which we noticed numbers of wild cattle. These had evidently strayed from the settlements in the valley, and finding this hidden park, did not return. At the lower end the stream passes through a narrow rocky gorge to the plain, thus cutting off all direct communication with the little park. Besides cattle, other game ivas numerous. Harry Yount killed a splendid buck deer, with enor- mous antlers, bearing on one side eleven prongs, and on the other, thir- teen. Following northward along the foot of the range, and coming to Costilla Creek, we followed up the latter stream to its head. There are many peaks in the vicinity reaching above the timber-line, but none to avery great height. For about 12 miles the Costilla runs along the range from north to south, dividing it into two distinct parts; then, cutting through the west ridge in a rugged canon, turns toward the northwest, and crosses the plain to the Rio Grande. In making station 110, on a high plateau peak north of the bend, we were caught in a storm, and for many days after this we were harassed by occasional showers. From station 111, on Costilla Peak, we obtained a good view of the country about the head of the Purgatory and Cimarron. The whole region south from the Spanish Peaks and west from Trinidad is covered with low black hills, of a sandstone formation. The entire Jack of any definite order among the parts of the mass gives to it monotonous aspect. The courses of the main streams cannot be traced from a distance, from the fact that there are no valleys along their banks. These hills extend a considerable distance into New Mex- ico, and cover an area of about 1,000 square miles, . RHODA.] THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 329 On September 12 we made station 112, on Boundary Peak, west of the Costilla, and were caught in a storm of hail, rain, and electricity. On this peak we found a stone monument marking the line between Colorado and New Mexico. The next morning being clear, we rode northward along the summit of the range to make station 113, on a high point south of Culebra Peak. For four or five miles our course lay en- tirely above the line of perpetual snow, while the ridge was very uneven, so that we were compelled to cross several high peaks before reaching the one we wanted to use as a station. Here we left our mules and climbed to the summit on foot, a vertical height of 1,200 feet. The weather was quite clear till we neared the summit, when, a cloud com- ing over us, enveloped the whole mountain, and rain and hail began to fall. Setting up the instrument, we obtained disjointed views through the breaks in the clouds. The storm increased, but we waited patiently, amusing ourselves by laying the foundation of a fine monument that was destined never to be finished. One thing that made our position the more aggravating was the fact that through the gaps in the cloud we could see the bright sunshine on either side of us, only a few miles away; but the clouds seemed to hug so closely to the summits of the range that the wind could not remove them. The clouds, as they come from the west, are caught against these high peaks, and become massed together, thus producing continual storms. The direction of the range, at right angles to the prevailing winds, makes it an almost impassable barrier in the way of the east-bound storms. During our work to the west of San Luis, we noticed that all the clouds in passing over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains were retarded in their journey. Once in particular, while there was a steady breeze from the west, we saw a small cloud, probably not more than a few hundred yards across, which had caught against the very crest of the Sierra Blanca. Thepart of the peak touched by the little cloud was not more than one or two hun- dred feet in vertical height, yet that much served to hold the cloud in face of a strong breeze for several hours. The storm encountered on station 113 was apparently not over 10 miles in breadth. Returning the way we came, we found camp located in the pass from the head of the Costilla to the Culebra. The next morning we started again to make 113. Again the weather was clear for the most of the journey ; but, alas! when we reached the summit the cloud again surrounded us, and again the hail and rain came down. After remaining a few hours, we returned, the cold rain and wind persecuting us along the whole dreary line to camp. The third morning again was clear, and for the third time we attempted to do our duty, but after going a Short distance, we saw the storm gathering, and we turned southward and finished station 112. By reaching it early we succeeded in doing a little work; but soon the clouds fell, while hail, rain, and electricity forced us to return to camp. The morning of the fourth day saw us crossing the pass, and going down the west slope toward the valley of the Culebra. At an elevation between 9,000 and 10,000 feet we found the sun shining brightly and the air warm and pleasant and full of life. Between the mountains proper and San Luis on the west, there in- tervenes a small valley or pla.n 8 to 10 miles long from north to south, and several miles across. This is separated from the San Luis Valley by a low range of hills. This'causes the southern branch of the Culebra to run parallel to the range for so long a distance. Traveling north- ward, close to high mountains and crossing several streams on the way, we camped high up on one of the branches of the Culebra. The next day we made station 116, on the Culebra Peak, the highest summit be- aril — 330 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. tween Sangre de Cristo Pass and the Colorado line. The weather was’ quite clear, but the clouds continually passing over us and shading the peak made it much colder than was comfortable. The wind was now from the north, and it was very interesting to see how the clouds were gradually consumed before it. Some, as they passed over Fort Garland, would appear to be a mile in diameter, but before they reached us they would be nearly destroyed. The manner in which they melted away before the dry air from the north was curious in the extreme. On September 19 we marched to Fort Garland. In the evening a blustering wind arose from the west, which soon brought up a storm, and snow fell thick and fast all night. Soon a fierce wind came down from the north, caused by the sudden cooling of the high Sierra Blanea by the fall of snow. The next day the wind continued, with occasional showers of rain and some snow, but on all the high summits the snow fell without cessation, and they were entirely hidden from view, being en- veloped in the clouds. During the night four or five inches of snow fell on the valley, and the mercury reached a minimum of 22°. The second day there was a slight break in the storm during the forenoon, but it soon set in steadily raining and snowing. During the third day, Sep- tember 22, the storm lightened considerably and cleared away during the night. In this three days’ storm there fell about one foot of snow on San Luis Valley and about two feet on the Sangre de Cristo Range. During the storm we were furnished quarters at the fort, and I take this occasion to thank the officers at the post, on behalf of our party, for the very kind treatment we received at their hands. On the morning of September 23 we started up the East Fork of the Sangre de Cristo, known as Indian Creek, and camped at the summit. The ground was covered deep with snow. After making station 119, near this pass, we traveled southward and climbed upon the mountain ridge south of the station. We rode along the divide for four or five miles, at an elevation ranging from 12,000 to 13,000 feet above the sea. A stiff breeze was blowing from the east, and the snow on the ridge was nearly two feet deep. On attaining the summit of a high peak, where we expected to make a station, we found the wind blowing so hard that we could scarcely stand against it. What was still worse, however, thick.fog began to cover the range, and we were forced to re- turn in haste. The wind now blew a perfect hurricane directly across the ridge, and we were compelled to follow along the crest for nearly five miles before we could leave it. Our clothes were soon saturated by the driving fog, and the deep suow gave a terrible sharpness to the wind passing over it. At times the gusts came so strong that the mules were moved bodily several inches, although they leaned far over toward the wind. The valley of the Cucharas seemed to act asa funnel, so that the wind, spread over many miles of the plain, was forced through this narrow place, thus increasing its velocity to such an alarming extent. The storm was so blinding that our mules made little headway. Their hair hung with icicles, produced from fog by the wind. After a long and fearful tramp we finally turned down the east slope and soon found ourselves in the timber, where the weather seemed wonderfully warm_ in contrast to that above, although great masses of snow covered the ground even there. After camping on a head branch of the Cucharas, and having a slight fall of snow during night, we crossed the head-of the canon of the Cucharas. Here we found a road leading over a pass southward to some settlements near the head of the Purgatory. Between the west Spanish Peak and the range there is a sharp hog- back, jammed in between the two voleanic formations. From a dis- RHODA.) THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 331 tance it would generally be mistaken for a dike. It extends northward from the pass several miles, and is notable for its sharpness and its cou- tinuity. Its position may be easily found on the map, as it lies between the Cucharas and a branch on the east running parallel with it. In fact, it has produced that peculiar parallelism of the two streams. On September 26.we ascended the West Spanish, and found the ascent quite easy. We had about 1,500 feet to climb after leaving our mules. The summit was covered with deep snow, but the weather was clear, and the station a perfect success. On account of its great height and isolated position, it was a commanding point for topography. The sys- tem of dikes radiating from the mountains give it a peculiar character. Some of these, after reaching the base of the mountains, extend for several miles out into the valley in unbroken walls, often more than a hundred feet in height. A few dikes crossed the main system at acute angles. Some were to be seen on the south side of the peak also. The whole mountain has a very regular form, and with its lesser companion, a few miles to the east, forms one of the great land-marks in this part of Colorado. The next day we climbed Trinchera Peak, ahigh mountain at the head of the Cucharas and west of the pass. Above the timber-line we found the snow about two feet deep, with banks much deeper. Earlier in the season the climb from this side would have been quite easy, but the deep snow made it very difficult. On reaching the divide, at an elevation of 13,000 feet, we were much surprised to see the fresh tracks of a large grizzly, leading down from the summit of the peak and following the ridge northward. We made good use of his tracks, however, for by stepping carefully in them we avoided breaking through the deep snow-banks, which would have been very tiresome. Thus, too, we were enabled to put to good use the unerring instinct of the bear in selecting the best route to travel by. In one place the tracks led down avery dangerous descent. At this point the ridge was very sharp, so that it was impossible to travel anywhere except along the crest. On the west side was a very steep snow-bank, glazed hard with ice, which after 20 or 30 feet terminated in a precipice several hundred feet down. Above it was a rocky ledge about 20 feet in height, with the projecting stones very loose and covered with snow and ice. Now the steep snow- bank, with the most of its surface frozen, occupied a gap between the ledge of rocks and its continuation down the ridge, yet the bear had come head foremost down the ledge and passed the snow-bank without faltering or taking time to consider. We followed his footsteps up the same place, but were compelled to hand the instruments up one at a time. ,The climb required great care, as the rocks were loose and cov- ered with snow, and wemade the ascent at the risk of our lives. On reaching the summit of the peak, we found the bear-tracks winding about all over it. The animal had come up from the south side, and must have been on his travels very early, as we first came upon his track early in the morning. This peak is very high, but the summit is broad, and many peaks in the vicinity obstruct the view, so that it was not very well suited for a station. Returning, we traveled southward along the wagon-road. Aftera few miles we came to several curious hog-backs, having a general course from north to south. Between the two princi- pal ones is a fine transverse valley, called by the settlers in the vicinity Stone Wall Valley, and the name is not inappropriate. The grass is fine and some farming is carried on near this place, but again the eleva- tion and the proximity to the high mountains interferes seriously with the grain-crops. Between the hog-backs and the range game is quite 4 3) REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. abundant. We saw many deer between Mount Trinchera and the Span- ish Peaks. In our travels we continued southward to the South Fork of the Purgatory, where we found some Mexican settlements. Along the upper portion of the stream there is quite a valley, and some corn is raised, but a short distance below where we struck the stream it enters a cation, through which the wagon-road leads to Trinidad. At the lower end of the valley in the caiion is a curious little butte, near. the summit of which a wooden cross has been inserted by the Mexicans. After making stations on the hills south of the river we started for | Trinidad, passing several Mexican villages on the way, and making sta- | tions. wherever necessary along the route. In many places we saw veins | of coal cropping out along the bluffs. Some have told of the great and extensive valley of the Purgatory, but all the valley we saw consisted of small patches here and there, seldom a hundred acres in extent, and generally less. Where we passed through, the river had overflowed its banks and destroyed a great deal of the corn planted on the bottom- land. The elevation of the valley proper nowhere reaches 6,000 feet above the sea, so that wherever water for irrigation can be conveniently obtained any kind of crops may be raised. I may mention here that among the settlers the river does not go by the nameof “ Purgatory,” but the original French name of “ Purgatoire” has gone through a curi- ous transformation, and has been corrupted into Picket-Wire, which has a judicrous resemblance in sound to the former name. A few miles above Trinidad we passed the mouth of Long’s Creek, which was almost dry, although it has a length of 30 miles. This is accounted for by the . fact that it runs its whole length through the low, dry hills. Leaving the Purgatory near this point, we crossed over to Raton Creek, a very small stream, draining the west side of the Fisher’s Peak plateau. From there we ascended the plateau and made stations 131 and 132, on the west edge. This table is surrounded on all sides by bluffs, in many places several hundred feet vertical. It extends southward several miles and eastward as far as we could see. In form it is very irregular, being in some places several miles across, and in others a few hundred yards. Fisher’s Peak is the highest point, at the northwest corner, and detached from the main mass by a deep space. It is 9,460 feet above sea-level. On the plateau we found plenty of grass and water and a few quaking asp-trees, while in the valley, 3,400 feet below, everything was parched by the burning sun. Resuming our march, we rode into Trinidad, and found it to be a town of considerable size, with a heterogeneous population of whites and Mex- icans, seemingly contending for the mastery, with the odds in favor of the former. A number of neat business buildings oceupied the center, while the suburbs were made up of Mexican huts. A number of coal and iron mines are being worked in the vicinity. Leaving Trinidad, we followed up the Purgatory to the mouth of Higbee Creek, adry water-course coming in from the north. Thence we crossed over the divide to the north and came to the Apishpa. With this stream, as with the Purgatory, the natural euphonious name had been transformed by some western pioneer into Fish-Paw, and the creek goes by that name among the settlers. This stream drains the region south of the Spanish Peaks, but contains only a small quantity of water. Along its banks we found a number of Mexican huts, made of adobe, but the general air of filth and indolence seemed to indicate a low order of civilization. KHvery house had a number of dogs, sometimes as many as Six or seven. The clothing of the adults approached the minimum, but the children were often entirely naked. The valley of the stream | RHODA.| THE SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT. 333 is small and unimportant, but most of the available soil is planted in corn by the Mexicans. Following down the stream to the plain, we turned northward. From Trinidad to the northern extremity of the hills, a few miles above the Apishpa, they present an abrupt front toward the east, and their junction with the plain is very sharply de- fined. : Following along the plain toward the north, we came to the Cucha- ras, where we found a considerable area under cultivation. Coal- mines are being worked near the stream. After this we crossed the Huerfano, followed up Williams Creek into the Wet Mountain Valley, past Rosita, and thence to Canyon City. Here we made our hundredth camp, having been one hundred and twenty-seven days on our journey. The next day, October 12, we took the narrow-gauge train and arrived. in Denver, our point of beginning. REPORT OF HENRY GANNETT, M. E., TOPOGRAPHER OF THE GRAND RIVER DIVISION, 1875. | LETTER TO DR. F. V. HAYDEN. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 30, 1877. Str: I have the honor to submit to you herewith my report on the geographical work of the Grand River division during the field-seasons of 1875 and 1876. : It was found to be almost impossible to write a separate report on the work of each year, as the areas covered during the two seasons were so closely connected that they cannot be treated separately. | In 1875, my party consisted of ten persons: Dr. A. C. Peale, geolo- gist; William R. Atkinson, assistant topographer; William 8. Holman, barometrical observer; L. Dallas, general assistant; four packers, and a cook. Leaving Denver on June 4, we traveled, via Turkey Creek road, South Park, Arkansas Valley, San Luis Valley, and Cochetopa Pass, to the Los Pinos agency. My work began at this point. We followed the route of the present mail-road to the Uncompahgre Valley. At the ford of the Uncompahgre River, I detached Messrs. Holman and Dallas and two packers with orders to proceed to the Gunnison River at the mouth of Roubideau’s Creek and establish there a temporary supply-camp. With the balance, which formed the working party, I followed the Uncompahgre River to the foot of the San Juan Mount- ains. Then turning westward, I reached the summit of the Uncom- pahgre plateau, and followed its crest northwestward to the Grand River, reaching, from the crest, all the country between the Uncompah- gre Valley on the east and the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers on the west. Thence I returned to my supply-camp, fording the Gunnison a few miles above its mouth, and again at the mouth of Roubideau’s Creek. Finding it advisable, I decided to remove my supply-camp to the Do- lores River, at the western mouth of Unaweep Cafion. The route taken was via the Unaweep Caiion, which forms a natural highway be- tween the Gunnison and Dolores Rivers. On the way we met Mr. ‘Gardner’s party, and decided to remain together, under the orders of Mr. Gardner, while working in the vicinity of the Sierra la Sal, which was known to be infested by a band of troublesome Indians. Leaving the supply-camp and the packers, who were engaged in freighting provisions thence from the settlements, we followed up the Dolores to the mouth of Salt Creek, or Rito Salado, up this small stream, and thence across high plateaus to the foot of the La Sal Mountains. About a week was spent in and about these mountains, which afforded ‘ Magnificent opportunities for work. Thence our course of travel was southward toward the Sierra Abajo or Blue Mountains. On our way “we were attacked by Indians, and our season’s work summarily ended. As the public has been treated to numberless accounts of this affair, all more or less highly colored, it is unnecessary to do more than mention 335 336 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. it here. After reaching Parrott City, Dr. Peale, Mr. Atkinson, and myself accompanied Mr. Holmes’s party on a short trip to the country about the head of the Dolores, after which I came to Pueblo with my party via Baker’s Park, the Rio Grande Valley, and Mosca Pass, reaching Pueblo in September. In 1876 my party was composed of Dr. A. C. Peale, geologist, Mr. J. EK. Mushbach, topographical assistant, two packers, and a cook. Mr. James Stevenson, general executive officer of the survey, accompanied my party during a portion of the trip, as executive officer. We took the field at Canton City, Colo., on August 23. We went up the Arkansas, over Marshall’s Pass, down the Tomichi and Gunnison to the Uncompahgre agency, at the head of the Uncompahgre Valley. Here we engaged the services of four Ute Indians, as guides and as a sort of escort, to prevent trouble with the band of Indians with whom we had a brush the preceding summer, as we were first to finish the survey of the country in which they range. This work was’ completed without trouble, after which we returned to the Uncompahgte agency, reprovisioned, and started down the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers, to survey the part of our district lying north of Grand River. We fol- Jowed the Salt Lake wagon-trail down the Grand River to the mouth of ’ the Dolores, then, leaving the river, we struck north, toward the crest of the Roan or Book Clifis. Reaching their crest, we traveled generally eastward along it, on the divide of land between ‘the Grand and White Rivers, 2 route affording magnificent facilities for rapid and accurate work. Reaching the head of Roan Creek, we descended into its caion, and followed it down to the Grand. Thence we went up the Grand to the eastern edge of the Roan plateau, where our work ended. From there we went to Rawlins, Wyo., via White River Indian agency, reaching the former point on October 23. Besides the regular topographical work, particular attention has been paid to the agricultural capabilities of the country, with a view to ob- taining some idea of the extent of arable land. Every considerable stream which was crossed was roughly gauged. It is my intention to publish in the report for 1876 a chapter on the physical features of the State, its agricultural resources, timber and pasture land, &c. In closing, I wish to thank Mr, H. F. Bond, late agent at the Los Pinos and Uncompahgre agencies, for the great assistance which he has afforded me in the prosecution of my work; also Dr. David Mack, late surgeon at these agencies. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, HENRY GANNETT, Topographer. Dr. F. V. HAYDEN, United States Geologist-in-charge. TOPOGRAPHICAL REPORT ON THE GRAND RIVER DISTRICT. The area assigned to the division under my charge for the field-seasons of 1875 and 1876 comprised about 10,000 square miles. Its limits were as follows: Commencing at the intersection of the parallel of latitude of 39° 30’ with the meridian 109° 30’, the north line runs east along the par- allel 39° 30’ to its intersection with the Grand River in longitude 108° 08’. Thence it follows down the Grand to the mouth of the Gunni- son, up the Gunnison to the mouth of Lake Fork, up this latter stream to the northern edge of the San Juan Mountains, and follows this edge westward to the end of the range; thence it follows the parallel of 37° 52’ westward to the meridian 109° 30’, which meridian forms the western limit of the work. In the prosecution of the work 150 topographical stations were made, an average of onein every 77 square miles. This area is mainly made’ up of plateaus considerably disturbed by the same forces which have elevated the great ranges farther east. It is drained by the Grand, Gunnison, Uncompahgre, Dolores, and San Miguel Rivers. The remarkable parallelism of the separate ranges which make up the mountain system of Colorado has been previously noticed in the reports of this survey. Their trends are all between southeast and south, while the ruling trend is about south-southeast. This I call, for convenience, the normal trend. The Front, Park, Sangre de Cristo, Sawatch, San Juan, and Elk ranges, with their inclosed valleys, all trend in this direction. Almost every oue of the secondary streams of the State conform to this normal course. West of the Bik ranges lies the district under consideration, and here the same conditions prevail; but instead of mountain ranges there are long inclined plateaus, low, hogback-like ridges and cafions. There is, first, the valley of the Uncompahgre, which extends down that river 3d miles, then down the Gunnison about the same distance to its mouth, and thence down the Grand 40 or 50 miles, with a general course to the northwest, but bending around more to the west on Grand River. West of the valley and parallel to it is an inclined plateau, the Uncompahgre Plateau, sloping toward the northeast very gently, and breaking off abruptly to the southwest. Its crest extends from the foot of the San Juan Mountains to the head of the bend of the Grand. Its mean height above the valley atthe mouth of the Uncompahgre is 4,000 feet, or about 9,000 feet above the sea. West of this is the Rio San Miguel, in a close cafion, with a northwest course from its head to its mouth. Then asuccession of ridges and valleys is met with, all having the same northwest trend. North of them rises the group known as the Sierra la Sal, of igneous origin, and of later date than these ridges, as’ the latter are carried up on their slopes. The Rio Dolores enters this district from the south, with a course about north-northwest, in heavy caton in the “ Great Sage-plain” of 268 ae 7 “7 338 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. . : Professor Newberry, west of the succession of parallel ridges just men- tioned. After a tew miles of this course it leaves the plateau, soon turns to the east, and flows across these ridges to its junction with the San Miguel, whence it pursues a north-northwest course to its junction with the Grand. The southwestern part of the district is occupied by the Great Sage- plain, which is drained toward the southwestward by the Montezuma, a dry affluent of the Rio San Juan. The heights which are distributed through the following pages were determined by the usual methods followed by the survey, by mercurial barometer, aneroid, and vertical angles. The barometric observations were referred as follows: My temporary bases in 1875, on the Gunnison and Dolores, we computed from the base observations at White River agency. ‘To these were referred all observations at camps. The latter being established, all observations on stations and other points were referred to them ; or, in cases where the observations would be too far from coincident in time, directly to my temporary bases. Barometric observations on the Sierra la Sal were connected by a system of vertical angles and reduced to a common point, for the attain- ment of greater accuracy. In 1876, my observations at camps were referred directly to White River agency. My stations and other points were referred either to camps or directly to White River agency. The Uncompahgre River, after leaving the San Juan Mountains, in which it heads, flows northward through Uncompahgre Park. This is a small but fine valley, about ten miles long by two wide. It is the favorite summer camping-place of the Ute Indians, but owing to the elevation, 7,000 to 7,500 feet, it is not a desirable winter resort. At the foot of the park, a large branch, known as Dailas Fork, enters the Uncompahgre from the west. Fine meadows extend up this fork for four or five miles. Below the junction, the river enters a cation in a plateau, where the walls are about 500 feet in height. This cation ex- tends down the river about seven miles. Just below its base, on the west side of the river, is the Uncompahgre agency, at an elevation of 6,400 feet. From this point to its mouth, the river flows in a broad valley, of an average width of 15 miles and a length of 35, containing. about 500 square miles. This area is nearly all bench land, "elevated 50 to 200 feet above the river. The river bottom-lands have a width of one- fourth of a mile toa mile. The soil of the latter is good, and can easily be made productive by irrigation. The soil of the bench is adobe clay, varied by occasional patches of gravel. Alkali, everywhere present, becomes more abundant farther down the valley. Its present vegetable product is in the main part sage. White sage is abundant in the upper part of the valley, with a little bunch and grama grass. In the lower end, even sage does not grow with much animation, and the field is almost abandoned to cacti and sterility. With exception of the Uncompahgre and three small branches near the head of the valley, no water is brought in. During early spring most of the water-courses are full, but this lasts a few days only. Two small branches carry water all the year, but these are unimportant for irrigating purposes. About eight miles below the agency, a small stream enters the valley and immediately spreads over the surface, nat- urally irrigating an area of about a square mile. Here a family of Utes are en gaged in cultivating corp, potatoes, and other common garden- vegetables, in which they have good success, although occasionally in- terfered with by early frosts. | GANNETT. } GRAND RIVER DISTRICT. Bye) The Uncompahgre was gauged at the agency early in September, and the amount of water carried per second found to be 356 cubic feet.. This, however, is a very slight indication of the amount carried during the irrigating season. Owing to the character of its drainage area, _ which, though not large, consists entirely of high mountains, the spring floods must raise the river immensely and continue for some time. With the amount of water carried early in September the river will, by using it all, irrigate about 120 square miles, using Captain Smith’s rule, which is applicable to the sub-Himalayan districts, that one cubic foot per second will irrigate about a third of a square mile. This is equivalent in amount to a monthly rain-fall of about 2.3 inches, not too much, certainly, for any crop, and not enough for some crops. There is every probability that in May, June, and July the river car- ‘ries water enough to irrigate a large part of the valley, and where the soil is not too alkaline it will make good farming-land. The rate of fall of the river through the valley is given below: e . Elevation. Fall per mile. Miles. Feet. Feet. Mouthvor thepD alllasy Mork. se 5 2 cto s «cs sistas «creer 0 7, 400 icompahoreasenGyeccc ss ciclencie sacle) weenie ioe aicie = 14.5 6, 400 69. 0 Crossing of the wagon-road.......--..----.-.- esoLes 25.9 5, 300 54.5 SOG) 3locts ose Ss poepoo nase cos bsa e650 Dee See eee 54.5 5, 100 24.1 The slope of the bench-land follows approximately that of the river, and in consequence of this and the rapid fall it will be easy to bring the water to the top of the bench. The latter is nearly horizontal for a long distance back from the river, rendering irrigation of large areas com- paratively inexpensive. Its low elevation compared with most of the valleys of Colorado gives it a climate sufficiently warm for the produc- tion of all kinds of grain, garden-vegetables, Wc. THE UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU. Westward from the valley of the Uncompahgre the country rises gradually. It is impossible to say along what line the valley ends and the slope of the plateau begins. At a mean distance from the Uncom- pahgre River of 20 miles, and at a mean elevation of 10,000 feet, this long slope suddenly ends, in most places breaking off abruptly in a sue- cession of two or three steps to the cation of the San Miguel. In afew places, instead of breaking off, the beds are bent over and slope down to the cation of San Miguel or Dolores at a steep angle. The crest of this inclined plateau extends from the foot of the San Juan Mountains in a direction nearly northwest to the head of the northern bend of the Grand River. It decreases gradually as it recedes from the mountains from a height of 10,200 feet at its head to 8,600 near its northwestern end. Following down toward the northwest the depression of the valley of the Uncompahgre, we find that it crosses the Gunnison and continues down the latter stream on the eastern side. The gentle rise of land on the western side of the valley also continues down across the Gunnison, and this river flows in a cafion in this slope at a level but slightly below that of the bottom of the valley, but two or three miles to the eastward, a marked instance of the conservatism of streams. Near the mouth of the Gunnison, and for several miles down the Grand below its mouth, this plateau slope is broken off abruptly in a precipice, leaving the river in a valley at its foot. 340 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. At the south end, where the protrusion of the mass of the San Juan range is first felt, there is a decided rise, followed by breaking off of the upper beds, leaving a saddle. Station 15 is on the south end of the erest. Its elevation is 10,200 feet. Just south of it, and three miles away, the height of the saddle is but 8,700 feet. The saddle contin- ues south with abont this height for half a dozen miles, and then the mountains rise abruptly to an altitude of 13,000 to 14,000 feet, presenting a magnificent array of cliffs and peaks. They rise in single slopes to the highest summits without any foot-hills and secondary summits which elsewhere so dwarf the loftiest peaks. Nowhere is the influence of elevation on the character of the vegeta- tion more plainly marked than on this plateau. In the interior, near the crest, the land is, to the Utes, one flowing with milk and honey. Here are fine streams of clear, cold water, beautiful aspen groves, the best of grass in the greatest abundance, and a profusion of wild fruit .and berries, while the country is a perfect flower-garden. This ex- tends as low as 7,000 feet, below which the scene changes to one in all respects the reverse. Aspen gives place to piton and cedar. The grasses, fruit, and flowers, to sage, cacti, and bare rock. The streams become confined in rocky cafions, turn muddy and warm, and gradually disappear. The game changes. Black-tailed deer give place to the white-tailed species. Grouse disappear, while rattlesnakes and cen- tipedes assert their proprietorship. In the place of an open, rolling country, we enter a district traversed by deep, narrow gorges, of abrupt precipices, a country difficult in the extreme to traverse, without a knowledge of its few highways. Geologically, this inclined plateau has been produced by a gradual rise of thé underlying granite, about an axis in the Uncompahgre Val- ley, carrying with it the sedimentary beds. The thickness of the latter differ in different places, but nowhere on the plateau does it exceed 1,000 feet. ‘ Cutting this platean transversely into two parts, is a remarkable top- ographical and geological feature in the form of a canon, which con- nects the Gunnison on the northeast with the Dolores on the southwest, tt enters the Gunnison six miles above its mouth, at an elevation of 4,600 feet. Following it southwestward, its bed is seen to rise slowly, with a stream flowing into the Gunnison, while the walls on each hand rise more rapidly. The bottom rises to a divide, with an elevation of 7,000 feet, several miles east of the crest of the plateau. The walls at the divide have an elevation of 1,200 feet. West of this divide, there is a stream flowing into the Dolores. At the crest of the plateau, which here breaks off abruptly, the depth of the cafion is fully 3,000 feet. Be-. yond the crest the walls fall off abruptly and become broken up, and the most rapid fall in the bed of the cafion is here. At its junction with the Dolores, about 12 miles above the mouth of the latter, the ele- vation is 4,618 feet, or the same as at the junction with the Gunnison. Below the point marked “a” on the accompanying map, the cafion is narrow, not deep, and is cut in soft sedimentary beds. It is here prob- ably the work of the small stream which now occupies it. At “a” granite appears on the bottom, and thence westward the lower part of the canon is cut in this, evidently by a powerful stream. The granite portion of the walls increases in height as the cailon deepens, and at the crest of the plateau forms two-thirds of the height ot the walls, the upper third, or 1,000 feet, being sedimentary beds. At ‘‘b” the granite suddenly disappears. The cafion is narrow near the Gunnison end; but beyond the sharp elbow-like bend it gradually widens as far as the GANNETT. | GRAND RIVER DISTRICT. 341 erest of the plateau, where it contracts suddenly, and is very narrow antil it clears the granite. The granite cliffs are everywhere vertical, or nearly so. In the narrow parts of the caion the sedimentaries (red beds) are cut very raggedly, ‘while in the wide part their smooth slopes and rounded angles look very much like terraces. This is a brief statement of the physical fea- tures of this remarkable canon, and they would seem to be sufficient to give a clew to its history. That it marks the former course of a large stream, there is no reason to doubt. It is acafion purely of erosion, as there are no signs of fracture whatever in the formations in the neigh- borhood. The beds on the two sides are continuous, and have the same slight dip toward the northeast. The streams which now occupy it are very small, and are totally unable to cut into the granite. The course of this cation is in a direct line with the general course of the Grand, above the mouth of the Gunnison. The courses of these two streams, as far as this point, have been described and shown to have been estab- lished previous to the disturbances now existing about them. Suppose that their course below this point, before the elevation of the Uncom- pahgre Plateau, to have been on the line of this cation. As the plateau slowly rose, swinging about a horizontal axis, situated in the valleys of the Gunnison and Uncompahgre, the stream would commence to cnt a caiion to keep its course. The rate of rise of the crest being greater than the eutting power of the river, a dam would be formed at the crest, and a lake would be the result. As the dam rose, and with it the sur- face of the lake, the stream flowing over the dam would have its rate of fall and its eroding power increased, until there would be a balance of forces and the dam would be cut away as fast asit rose. Cutting would take place not only below the dam, but the summit-of the dam ‘would be moved back. This hypothesis meets all the observed facts. The caiion is broad just east of the crest; the stratified beds there have smooth rounded forms, as if cut by gently-flowing water; the fall of the bottom of the caiion west of the crest is comparatively rapid, and the rocks cut in ragged shapes, as if erosion was rapid, and the divide is .not at the crest of the plateau, but several miles farther east. Fur- ther, suppose that the elevation of this plateau, in its later stages, or some other geologic change, opened and made more practicable the present course of the Grand, around the northern end of the Uncom- -pahgre Plateau; naturally, the river would take it. This deserted cafion is known to the Ute Indians as ‘ Unaweep” (Red-rock) cafion. The scenery which it presents is grand beyond description. From the elbow-like bend, where the walis first attain a considerable altitude, westward for several miles, the granite rises vertically from the bottom of the valley, in narrow, ‘bas-relief columns, for some hundreds of feet; above, the red beds cap it 'in broken preci- pices. West of station 38, the granite assumes a more massive, char- acteristic form; great masses jut out into the valley. The scenery reminds one strongly of the Yosemite, but the foliation of the granite and the forms that result from it. are wanting here. In the close part of the cation west of the crest of the plateau, the granite becomes far more rugged and broken. All the streams which enter the cafion from the sides have cut only through the stratified beds to the top of the granite. Thence they reach the bed of the cafion in fine waterfalls, of hundreds of feet, and in two or three instances, of nearly two thousand feet fall. In spring, when these streams are full, from the melting of the Show, some of these falls must be of surpassing beauty. O42 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. The following heights are on or near the crest of the Uncompahgre Plateau: Approximate Approximate Elevation, latitude. longitude. feet. ASSN EER TAUCO) ae] 1 RU am eg a OE I 38. 08 107, 54 9, 56L StravGr ol Shae es obey areas 2 pepe cee Ee 3 ea ee ie 38. 12 107. 56 10, 202 Siento We 2502500 2) RENE Oils eh ony a ee 38. 16 108. 07 9, 557 SUpulome2ameee mee es ae wee aoe ee wicls eee Nereis 38. 25 108. 25 Senate SUA OTIND Gee ete core naie oie cae ee alclenetorate ents 38. 30 108. 35 9, 789 STablOMrae see eee eae reels ele Aaa Sit tetetee ta tere 38. 35 108. 38 9,518 SUACLON RS Olea sae ies cedio octee ee ct ate ees 38. 42 108. 45ncn 1 pega SER BICONE Coen} ee ary ae Re SU ie Soe, AC he ohoe 38. 43 108 48 9,315 Sica vl ee eae Sec eaaro 38. 50 108. 47 9, 525 SUBTO MAS Wace es Sree ta Stree eran a hat atest ree eee eras 38. 49 108. 53 9, 334 © Sano 27) 4 So aaoos ROR St a ras eS Pee Bo) RN ae A 38. 52 109. 00 8, 600 StaOMe4a B yak eS ee ee Need Soe ek tk ay eee ee ea 38. 52 108. 58 8, 766 West of the Uncompahgre Plateau the country assumes the form of broken plateaus and mesas, a character which it maintains to the Wa- satch Mountains, varied only by the occurrence of a few groups of erup- tive mountains. The Rio San Miguel heads in the San Juan Mountains, and, emerging from them, takes a general northwest course, which it keeps to its june- tion with the Dolores, following the southwestern foot of the Unceom- pahgre Plateau. Its course is entirely in caion, and in few cases are there any bottom-lands. In one place, where it has a west course for a few miles, there are half a dozen square miles of bottom-lands. The plateau, along its course, which Lhave named the San Miguel Plateau, is very flat and uniform, gradually falling from a height of 8,000 feet near the foot of the mountain to 6,000 at its mouth. The canon walls range from 200 to 2,000 feet in height, but the ruling height is 800 to 1,060 feet. They are very rugged, and can be passed in few places. A few heights along its course are appended. Miles. Elevation, Fall per tect. mile, feet. In valley below Bear Creek Pass, (head)-.-2-.--.--------- 0 10, 200 - 908 INCI OE GASH MOEN Goo560 bose cosa coos aods coSoos coonced 12 7, 700 50 IDPH THOT TWOKe) LONCOUITERUAS) SA5 5 aodaoéo ooo Gadond GSGn boeedo one 22 7, 200 50 Crossinsvof the Navayonalle eee see een e eee eee ae ee 40 6, 300 ag Hootol western Wend: se ee eee aba RE ane Sets ee 64 5, 500 33 DVO mo ts ARS OY AN SH eA 2 SAD Ue aaa ee | Wis Baie 86 5, 000 This stream was gauged in September at the crossing of the Navajo trail, and found to carry 288 cubic feet of water per second. Buta very small part of this water can be used for irrigation. The San Miguel Plateau is, near the mountains, covered with a scat- tering growth of heavy pine. Farther north, pine gives way to sage and grass. Here is also found in great abundance the Yucca augusti- Jolia, whose pulpy, sweet seed-vessels form a staple article of food among the Indians. The Rio Dolores heads in the western and southwestern slopes of the San Juan Mountains. Its course after leaving the mountains is at first nearly south, then, suddenly turning back almost upon itself, it flows northerly against the slope of a plateau, in which it buries itself deeper and deeper. In approximate latitude 37° 50’ it reaches the edge of this plateau, and by a succession of zigzags, alternately with the dip and the strike of steeply inclined beds, it reaches the level of the valley of Disappointment Creek. ‘This valley has an elongated saucer shape, be- ing surrounded on all sides by beds dipping toward its center. The Dolores flows around the west and north sides of this valley on the outside‘of its rim, most of the way being in a canton between this rim { | GANNETT. | GRAND RIVER. DISTRICT. « 343 and the wall of the plateau. At the northeast corner of this valley, the river suddenly turns from east to north, flows in this course a few miles between immense walls of sandstone, then turns again to the eastward, and holds this course to the mouth of the San Miguel, crossing on its way two sharp ridges and a transverse valley. After being joined by the San Miguel, this erratic stream seems to lose its desire to perform strange and unexpected things and quietly follows a northwest course to its mouth. The annexed table of heights along the course of the Dolores will give an idea of the character of its fall. Many of the figures were given me by Mr. Chittenden, topographer of the southwestern division in 1875. Miles, Elevation, Fall per feet. mile, fect. Tost Cation ...- 2... ---. - 22 oe ene cee ee ene cee cee ween 0 6, 950 20 ihaath (CeinO) lao Ges ob csbe bebo se nee boo cecciceous Pech oGmeccon: 23 6,500 ae Month of Disappointment Creek ..-.-.-.------------+---- 51 5, 600 15 “Exp apo Tas VEIL Seana ea ae eee repre 85 5 100 7 Mouth of San Miguel ...--.----.------------+ ----------> 91 5, 000 18 _Mouth of Unaweep Cafion .........--. ---- ---- -------+-- 113 4, 600 V7 Mim Beauos pose Good beacGn bad bbn6 GOOD Seon oeed SeOco GLK 134 4, 250 Within my district there is little agricultural land on the Dolores. In the valley crossed by this stream just above the mouth of the San Mi- -onel (which I have named Paradox Valley) a few square miles may be irrigated from the river, but not a large amount. At the foot of Saucer Valley, also, there are a few square miles of irrigable land. The Dolores was gauged at the mouth of Disappointment Creek in September and found to carry 292 cubic feet per second. The country between the San Miguel and Dolores consists of broken plateaus, here and there thrown up into ridges. In the southern part, it has a uniform slope toward the north from the western end of the San Juan Range. Farther north, the disturbances occur in lines running northwest and southeast. Westward from the San Miguel we note first a ridge dipping northeast, with an abrupt descent to the southwest. Then an anticlinal valley—Paradox Valley—with the same trend, crossed at right angles by the Dolores. Next a ridge, dipping south- westward at a low angle and breaking off toward the valley just men- tioned. This ridge forms the eastern edge of a large, shallow, saucer- like depression. The northern edge of this breaks off against the Do- lores, forming the southern wall of its caion in a part of its eastern course. The southern rim was elevated by the San Juan Mountains. Its western rim is the next of the system of parallel ridges which diversify this plateau country, a part of an anticlinal, dipping northeast. West of this ridge is a long, narrow valley, with the prevalent trend, and draining northeast to the Dolores. The ridge on the farther side of this valley is the other half of the anticlinal, is low, and forms the east- ern rim of the saucer-shaped valley of Disappointment Creek. There are here, then, two anticlinal and two synclinal valleys with their di- viding ridges. West of the Dolores is the plateau in which its cation is cut. This plateau, called by Dr. Newberry, who accompanied Macomb’s expedi- tion to this eountry in 1859, by the generic name of the “ Great Sage- plain,” is drained entirely by the Montezuma, a branch of the San Juan. From the east, north, and west the slope is toward a center, forming a third saucer-like basin, but here the influence of the mountains is not felt on the south, and therefore in that direction it is open. All this country west of the San Miguel, exeept immediately under 344 REPORT: UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the San Juan Mountains, is almost destitute of water other than the Dolores. One or two small streams carry a little water throughout the year, but it is more or less (and generally more) alkaline, There area few springs and water-holes which can be depended on, not only for water but alkali, and often more of the latter than the former: Speaking generally, grass is very scarce and sage is abundant. The little timber consists of pifion piue and cedar. It is valueless to the agriculturist and nearly so to the stock-raiser. The Sierra la Sal is a small group of eruptive mountains standing south of Grand River and surrounded on the east and south by the Dolores. The group is about 12 miles in length from north to south and 6 miles in breadth. It derives its name from a small branch of the Dolores, whose water is a strong brine. This stream heads in a small valley at the eastern foot of the mountains. These mountains are in three groups, connected with one another by low saddles. Their summits are 12,000 to 13,000 feet high, while the plateau near them is 6,000 to 7,000 and the beds of the principal streams are 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea-level. Heights of the principal peaks are given in the annexed table, with . their approximate latitude and longitude. Approximate Approximate Elevation latitude. longitude. feet. Northern group: Cnn, Ore Galt Mount) Wiaas seca. soi coo okeesmoemene sets. emacs 38 32 00 109 13 00 12, 586 Station 662....4. 4. btet 22 See le se eeeeeen eee 38 33 00 109 14 00 ° 12,032 Shatiom.O7 as2e Ses cee eee seis evens eee oe 338 30 00 109 09 00 12, 218 RIACO. be cea sine doce hbo cemeel ened ere Se oe ee ee 38 32 30 109 14 00 12) 257 Vee aiesc cin Sie sialeieie ahinajo SaaS ee poe Sea SE Eee 38 32 30 109 14 15 12, 421 TNE LPS UR UNE LIANE) Glia a an nin ng LEH aE 38 32 00 109 14 15 12, 468 CMe eee Se SS SE Sees ai ee 38 31 00 109 14 00 123522 MountiRomasaiketss 51/2 osktale apis eae ae eee eee 38 30. 30 109 13 00 12, 489 Da oe ees oa Sees he rete eee eas eae ee 38 32 00 109 12 00 12, 062 ORE See eatin) acaia Sea SU SRea cisrers ea ees NER ate erate copes A ana EA 38 32 00 109 11 30 eee Middle group: MoantiReale. 2552525. 2 20 ey en I an 3 EO Om) () 109 13 30 12, 980 1D SEA Bernt BASES BE He pM SEG oe eed Meetneee 38 28 006 109 14 00 12, 890 | sed aE Ne IETS eee a irene oe he Meee at a eee 38 26 00 109) tors 12,724 DS es a Nay tay ce aoa ane ee 38 26 30 10916 00 12,300 Southern group: Mountiiikathinileavatse acces ee eee eee ee 38 24 00 109 15 30 12, 004 Since there has been talk of utilizing the salt deposits in Sindbad’s Valley, as the valley in which Salt Creek heads has been named by the miners in the San Juan region, I will briefly mention here the best route to reach them. I know of no route practicable for wagons, and can conceive of none which can be opened without great labor. The best and most direct trail leads down the southwestern bank of the San Miguel, keeping back some distance from it, leaves it at the foot of the western bend, and keeps a northwest course down a long valley, crosses the Dolores in this valley, climbs its eastern wall a few miles farther on, and enters Sindbad’s Valley on the west side. This trail is marked on the drainage map accompanying this report. The only bad place isin getting down the wall of Sindbad’s Valley. These salt deposits, though not extensive, are worthy of examination for economic purposes. The Grand River, below the mouth of the Gunnison, flows ina valley for about 20 miles, closely hugging the precipices, which here form the border GANNETT] GRAND RIVER DISTRICT. 345 of the Uncompahgre Plateau. Its courseisin this part about west-north- west. Twenty miles below the mouth of the Gunnison it runs into a low cation 50 to 200 feet deep, among hogbacks which are outliers of the north- ern end of the Uncompahgre Plateau. Its course changes abruptly soon after entering this caiion to southwest and then to “south: southwest, which it holds as far as the mouth of the Dolores; turning then to the southwest again, it keeps this course quite straight to its junction with the Green. There are but three or four places between the head of this cafon and the mouth of the Dolores where the river can be reached. At the mouth of the Dolores it buries itself in a deep, narrow, winding, but short caiion, cut into red beds, and emerges therefrom north of the Sierra la Sal into a valley of erosion, surrounded by tremendous cliffs of deep-red sandstone, 1,600 to 2,500 feet high, carved in fantastic forms, here simple, broad, and massive, there cut into spires, pinnacles, and buttresses. Below, it flows alternately in caflons and across nar- row, transverse valleys. This river was gauged in September, at the ford, just above the mouth of the Gunnison. Its discharge was 4,850 cubic feet per second. The work of this season completes the barometric profile of this river. This is given below: Miles. Elevation, Fall per mile. ‘ feet. Feet. Grand male Ving Menai msec gs ser clesarseilaieainicicie 348 8, 153 91.1 Mouth of Blue River, (head of cation) .-...--......-. 302 7, 183 26. 1 Foot of cation in Park Range ...--....--.---~------- 295. 7, 000 13.1 IMlominly OIRO) Ismhyeys 256 285 666566 cooeos csopoe odeee 228 6, 125 90, 6 INiemitin @eveainar oye sea eRe ee Sena ar oSeDSe Sooe see 209 5, 734 14.8 eMomtn of creekesis.50.- ss---- Be Ses ane MRSA eos 203 5, 645 13.3 Mouth ot North Mam Creek 225220258. S2222 2222. 188 5, 445 9, 6 MWwonthyorRoam@neeki 22.5 2 2 ts eee So) ee 152 5, 100 18.0 Man pho me umnmisonphiyebe = 5-54 se ectsen cisetecer ai 120 4,523 14 ACO fe Olwg CA OM ee ane is sere sey sia.c is = ayfere le oysrcis iniequ eis esls 104 4,500 59 ENG SES OCMC MOUs soa te ciels aie os siete ee reece cae 70 4, 300 2 8 Mouth of Rio Dolores..-.---.------ Sous UCReMneMs. Jee 52 4,250 6. + Junction of Grand and Green .22.2-\-,.--. 52525. sece pees 3, 900 . The same valley as that known above the Gunnison, as the Uncom- phagre Valley, and between the Gunnison and Grand as the Gunnison Valley, extends on down the Grand, on the north and west side of that river, to the western limit of my work, lorgitude 109° 30’. This part of it I call the Grand River Valley. Its length, following the general course of the river, is about 75 miles, and its average width is 15 miles. Area, about 1,100 square miles. It is almost flat, with a slight slope toward the river, from the foot of the Roan or Book Cliffs, which limit it on the north; and in the western part it rises toward the west, to form the divide between the Grand and Green. A few small hogbacks near the river alone diversify the surface. With the sole exception of one little trickling stream, strongly alkaline, there is no water in the valley except the Grand River. The Roan Cliffs send down several small streams, but the water sinks very soou after entering the valley. Vegetation is very seanty. In the bottom- lands (which are very limited), there are fine groves of cottonwoods, and greasewood grows rank and dense. On the hogbacks along the river there is considerable grass, but elsewhere in the valley there is only a scanty growth of sage. The soil is everywhere impregnated with alkali. It is a stiff, heavy clay, which, when dry, has a surface as hard as a board, but, when wet, becomes mud of almost incalculable depth. The upper part of the valley, just west of the Little Book Cliffs, can be easily irrigated from the river, and thus several hundreds of square miles may be made available for agriculture. Farther down, however, the level of the valley rises so much that water from the river cannot 346 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. reach it. Neither can it be irrigated by artesian wells, as the dip of the strata is away from it. It must remain what itis utterly valueless, unless a change of climate takes place. The Grand River Valley is limited on the north by the Roan or Book Cliffs. The first name has been given them from their prevailing color, the second from the characteristic shape of the cliff, which, with its overhanging crest and slight talus, bears considerable resemblance to the edge of a bound book. The ‘line of these cliffs extends almost unbroken from longitude 107° 45’ westward across the Green River. The western limit has not yet been determined. The general course is slightly south of west, gener- ally following the line of the Grand, being at a greater or less distance from it as the river trends more to the southward or northward. These cliffs are but the southern escarpment of a gently-inclined plateau, sloping north or northeast toward White River. With the exception of two large branches of the Grand, which, near the eastern end of the cliffs, cut some distance back into the plateau, the edge of the cliffs forms the divide between the waters of the Grand and White. Above the mouth of Roan Creek the cliffs are simple walls of rock, nearly vertical, with the crest only three or four miles from the river. Their height is about 8,600 feet, or 3,500 feet above the river. North of the western end of Grand Mesa, the cliffs send off southward a heavy spur, dipping at a low angle toward the northeast. This spur joins the slopes of the Grand Mesa, and across it the Grand River has cut its way in a direction the reverse of tbe dip, making a tremendous cation, which reaches, in the deepest part, a depth of nearly 3,000 feet. Farther westward the cliffs consist of very rugged and precipitous foot-hills, rising by a succession of broken steps to the crest. In this part the crest is 8,000 to 9,000 feet high, very narrow and winding. On one side are sheer precipices, several hundreds of feet in height, at the bases of which head small branches of the Grand. On the other side, on the sloping plateau surface, branches of the White River head. These streams rapidly cut their way down in the soic sandstones, so that their progress northward is little more rapid than that downward. The divide is in many places not more than 36 or 40 feet in width, witha sheer cliff many hundreds of feet high on the south and on the north an earth-slope of at least 30°. On the crest water is very scarce. A heavy trail winds along it, and at every 12 or 15 miles there is a spring of excellent water. The crest is mainly covered with grass and sage; quaking-aspen groves are found here and there, and, in a few localities, spruces and pines. The following heights are on the crest of the clifts : Approximate Aproximate Elevation. latitude. longitude. Feet. FS LEH ICG) 0 Wel Ke geen ace Ear on ms a era eI Re Ay EB 39.11 109.38 8, 787 [SHIEH Tp Coy load hy ania sete te, Sy ARIE Sa eae Eps RES COC ral CoD ee 39.15 109.32 8, 620 DUATLOM IS eS ek sere erate oe ee 39.19 109.32 8, 758 Sraprome 1 Os sk Leys eee roreea ence ee a ee 39.22 109.26 8, 207 Season 220. 3 aye ee ae eee 39.25 109.10 8, 368 STU TOM pO 2 cot ests eee een ole crete cte aya a oe 39.26 109.17 8, 379 PMS UAUUL ON 22 yaar soe ae arate see re ae Se eee ee 39.26 109.06 8, 051 PSL UULOT PO ate acim a a Oe ere eye ee ote ee 39.31 109.02 7, 904 PO UEUDLU LEO o's oe Seay are tare anc ths se eA ee 39.32 109.00 8, 681 SHUT) 0-25) Be SRD a ene mee | 39.37 108.54 8, 669 NS NEMLOW Olea a nis aS spvetie etme ete hay ral aR aa 39.3 108.49 8, 770 SLO: (27) SR eee oO SO Pe RM SME Be 39.32 108.37 8, 830 SUN OG ee mimic on) ciara ee eee te ate ee eg ea 39.25 108.37 8, 431 PO UULOLM SO epee ke Se bio tectavs etree eRe ee A eet ae 39.27 108.37 8, 591 PUALLOM MSD Etenrls siniwes, wacitee sae ene ening o AdaD Good nEoood 39.24 108.38 8, Byes GANNETT.) * GRAND RIVER DISTRICT. 347 WAGON-ROADS, TRAILS, ETC. The following are the principal wagon-roads in the district under con- sideration : Wagon-road from Los Pinos (old agency) to the Uncompahgre agency.— This wagon-trail, though at present in a rough condition, can be put in good order at slight expense. It leaves the toll-road to Lake City at Lake Fork, and almost immediately climbs the high plateau which borders this stream on the west. This ascent is one of the most difficulé parts of the route, from its length and steepness, and requires consider- able grading, cutting, and embanking to render it practicable for heavy loads. On the plateau it runs nearly northwest, over a gently undula- ting surface, crossing two streams whose banks are quite steep, for a distance of about 8 miles, where it meets Gunnison’s wagon-trail. This is the easiest part of the route. There is no improvement needed, ex- cept slight cuttings in the banks of the two streams’ mentioned above. The road thence follows Gunnison’s wagon-trail to the Uncompahgre Valley. It passes along a depression between the spurs of the San Juan Mountains on the south and a high plateau on the north. This depres- sion is cut by a succession of northward flowing streams into a series of saddles. The ascents and descents of these saddles are quite steep, but by a little cutting easy grades can be made. The road strikes the Uncompahgre at the old ford, and follows the river upon the west side to the agency. Wood, water, and grass are abundant everywhere on the route, except between the crossing of Cebolla Creek and the Un- compahegre. Here is a stretch of 20 miles without water, except in two alkaline springs, as Cedar Creek is dry nearly all the year. From December. to April this route is not practicable for wagons, ewing to the snow; and for three months at least traveling it with pack- ‘animals is impossible. There is no other route from “the east practicable for wagons, and in winter this is the only available mail- route, and at any time of the year it is the shortest and best. The following table is made cut to give a few distances and elevations on this route: Miles. Elevation, feet. MasvBinos; (Oldvamency) Ea. dane ses a= aa) -telsiate oloaea teens aaisisiee slceete ese! eas 9, 290 roads elateam average eleva bl OMeres ert see stee eter ereioe ofee =a eelareta) Seer 10, 300 enh B anh MisiVe tia se <= 2 iamstace cicis wise, vials ew stars cusimisiomintiOeinicleleicissnieins 16.0 8, 300 AS A VOP ETAT b MIMI VOT eters yom ocala claps ara eer, arepeyein eaten ai oicte ge eieya) ees Sine eactens mnie 19.4 8, 100 Hane ASU pees es coon cc ce ce we ciciel iattale eels ciselcine s.ses eaelaicic 22.2 8, 900 MEADOR Ona Memeeee ee tas Soe hb oreui baie tne eee ames aeee. ERLIEOS EES ie) 7, 860 Pl ticateoraOtall liye miSiM Oy GOs ean lee isisiia ene nisieae tetele Sisiah/awictet =/-lelele cle 37.6 8, 900 Mountain Creek.-.......--.- BE ee Se 5 PSD AOE SEO oe Reese aed 38.0 8, 739 IDIID@ po GSS GUSH Ge RSs ee eee OG SUSE ae en apenas eee 38.5 8, 900 JENS. CHECKS. § pa ode Stor SEB BEE Berea ae SOS Sec Rae Sere eae Rea lle as eae: 39.3 8, 600 iil epeee eee aS SSE ss RAR SeE See cs APs SP STA sd 40.0 8, 800 (CHIN 52 SE Se EUS ora SOP Ret SAE ees aos Co as Wie Seek tee PERS Se eee re aa 40.4 8, 300 DI WIGS SheSebL Eos CoS BE CEs BAS Ree ee ie eid ae ey Se 41.6 8, 500 Siimia Chimnanminoa Chere eeees Biseccas SES Reco Se riae on eC Ose See einers 44.6 7, 459 MearOnO CUO ll at O ree keene artnet e Ne see eee Be es Semen a ects ea ci heie 45.5 6, 874. TD AGRO Fay ee Bs SS EAS Se renee ee FREE OM RR SRE ANIL 51.0 7, 900 Ford of Uncompahgre aaa Sayan S xh eles. ete SB speek sae Sk 70.5 5, 800 me OM DANCTORACON CY. name cae aisle mtcrsalaaciny speicisetomsiscie sais anoe ee 81.5 6, 400 SKETCH OF THE SALT LAKE WAGON-ROAD FROM OURAY, COLO., TO SALINA, UTAH. As many inquiries concerning this road have been made recently by settlers in the San Juan region of Southwestern Colorado, with a view 848 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. to using it in freighting provisions, &c., from the settlements of South- ern Utah, the following itinerary 1s presented to answer these inquiries: In the prosecution of the work of this survey during the past two years, the writer has examined this road from Ouray nearly to the crossing of © the Green River; and, through the courtesy of Prof. A. H. Thompson, of the survey under Maj. J. W. Powell, he has been supplied with notes respecting the portion of the route from Green River to Salina, the nearest settlement of any consequence. Distances have been taken from the maps, and, as they disregard the minor curves of the road, they will in general be found rather under than above the distances traveled. From Ouray to the Uncompahgre agency is 28 miles. The road fol- lows the eastern bank of the Uncompahgre to.a point two or three miles above the junction of the Dallas Fork, where it turns back from the river, and, after winding among the hills for a few miles, returns to the river in the cafion. The rest of the distance it follows the river, cross- ing it three times. These fords, and especially the second one, are dan- gerous in times of high water, and to avoid these a branch has been prospected. This, leaving the main road above the mouth of the Dallas Fork, crosses the Uncompahgre and this stream, climbs the high canon wall by terrific grades, and then keeps along the plateau, descending by easy grades to the agency. There are good camping-places everywhere on each branch of the road as far as the agency, where grass and wood are scaree. From the agency to the ford of the Uncompahgre, where the road from Los Pinos crosses, 1s 11 miles. The road follows the river on the western bank. From this point to the ford of the Gunnison is 28 miles. The road keeps along the western bank, or near it, to a point about half a dozen - miles from the mouth of the Uncompahgre, where it leaves it and bears off northwestward to the Gunnison, which it crosses at the mouth of Roubideau’s Creek. A sketch of the ford is given, showing width and depths in September. In spring and early summer this ford is too deep to be practicable. The bottom is of pebbles and is perfectly hard. There are plenty of cottonwoods on each shore for the construction of rafts. There are good camping-places on each side of the river at this point; also all along the Uncompahgre. Three miles beyond this ford there is a small stream of running water, but no wood. - At twenty-two miles from the ford the road crosses Kahnah Creek, a fine stream of excellent water, where there is good grass and wood. Thence to the ford of the Grand River is 13 miles. From the crossing of the Gunnison to this place the read follows the general course of the Gunuison, keeping from one to three miles from it on the east side. ‘There are two or three steep hills. The course of the road in this see- tion might be changed te advantage in several places, with a gain both in distance and grades. The Grand Riv er is bordered on the south side for several miles above and below the ford by precipitous bluffs. The road follows down an arroyo, the only one for miles which cuts to the level of the river, and which reaches the river most opportunely at the end of a long riffle. The ford is on the head of this riffle. A sketch of it is given, showing the widths and depths in September. This ford can be used all the year, except, perhaps, during the spring freshets. The bottom ig per- fectly hard, being of pebbles. On the north bank, which is low, there is plenty of w ood, but grass is scarce. ls la GANNETT.) GRAND RIVER DISTRICT. 349 From the ford the road follows the Grand pretty closely for 20 miles; along this portion of the route the river is in a broad bottom, where wood is plenty, water accessible; but, except in a few places, grass is scarce. Ata point 20 miles from the ford the river enters a low cation, and for 30 miles (by the road) it cannot be reached. The road windsamong the hog-backs 2 or 5 miles back from it. Where the river can be reached there is plenty of wood, and a mile or thereabouts from it good grass, but little or none at the river. Then there is another drive of 15 miles before the river can again be reached, and here wood and grass are both scarce. At this point the main wagon-road finally leaves the Grand, striking off in a course generally west toward the Green River, which is distant 65 miles from the Grand at this point. A branch of tbe road, however, continues down the river 12 miles farther, to a point where water is accessibie and there is plenty of good grass and wood. Thence by a northerly course this branch rejoins the main road. Between the Grand and Green ltivers there is no permanent water along the route. Still rain-water is found at several points in holes, where it remains for several days. Grass, also, is very scarce along this portion of the route. At the ford of the Green there is plenty of wood and grass. A sketch of the ford is given here. Most of the year it is an easy ford, but a slight deviation from the route takes one into deep water. The deepest part is on the east of the sand-bar, where, in November, the water nearly reaches the hubs of the wheels. The bottom is of pebbles, and perfectly hard. From the ford the road follows the eid Spanish trail up an alkaline creek, the water of which sinks and rises several times. At 15 milés from the ford the water in this creek is good, and there is wood and grass. Fifteen miles beyond there is water in large pockets or holes, never failing, with wood and good grass. At 12 miles from the last point there is water in a cation on the south side of the road, with good grass, but little wood. In 15 miles more the road crosses the first branch of the San Raphael River, known as Huntington Creek, where are good water, grass, and wood. Three miles beyond, it crosses Cottonwood Creek, anotber branch of the San Raphael, where also are good camping places. And 12 miles farther on it crosses Ferron’s Creek, a third branch ef the San Raphael, where is a good camp, but wood is scarce. In 12 miles from Terron’s Creek, over a blue clay-soil, which in wet weather is bottomless, the road reaches Quichepan Creek, where there are good water and grass, but little wood. At 6 miles farther is Muddy Creek, where there is good water, but little wood or grass. Six miles beyond is Seep Creek, where there are all the requisites of a good camp; thence it is 6 miles to Ivy Creek, at the foot of its caton, where the sanie con- ditions prevail. From this point to Salina is 40 miles. Wood, water, and grass are abundant on this part of the route, and the road is good, with the exception of one very long, steep hill, near Salina, which is ascended by teams going westward. The ascent of this hill is 2,000 feet. Between Ivy Creek and Salina there are ranches at short inter- vals. From the Uncompahgre agency to the Green River, the soil is, almost every where, a stiff clay, which, when dry, forms an excellent, hard road, but, when wet, is heavy, deep, and very tenacious, making traveling with loaded wagons next to impossible. 350 REPORT UNITED STATES GECLOGICAL SURVEY. Summing up the distances given above, the distance from Ouray— Miles. Ho the Uncompahere agency -9-5--. o-----52---yesiemaee sees nde eee ee 28 Mo jhe ford ofstiher Gunnison Rivienr-=-o- 2c -sease eae Gece eee 70 Torthe ford of tiherGrand, River. --..:. - =. 2= sss sse eee eee eee 102 Homhe fordtof the Green River. 220.52. 2 - se see e ee are eee eee 232 Lo Salina, UW talie Pee Less sell. ee | 2 374 The elevation above sea-level of— Feet. Ouray Peace eee savieas tects eet cel coe ate renee ee ae ne 7, 640 neompahere ageney:. 222.1... se): WS See cee See e ae 6, 400 Nord, of the, Gunnison: River .o. J <2 =-i. Sosy ae ee eee see ee nee 4, 925 Bord of the Grand River... . .<-<=- =< 2200s .6 , | SS TTENDEN. | THE SAN JUAN DISTRICT. 357 The whole area being divided into two systems, the San Juan division may be again subdivided into four, which, beginning on the east and naming them in their order, are the La Plata, the Mancos, the McKlmo, and the Montezuma. The San Juan flows from east to west along through the northern point of New Mexico and, crossing through the far northeastern corner of Arizona, enters Utah, ‘and still holding its general course joins the ' Colorado in that ‘Territory. All these sub- -drainages which I have named flow in a generally south- erly direction to join the main river, the La Piata and Mancos being the last streams with any considerable running water which are tributary to it. The San Juan River in this part of its course is a broad, slowly-flow- ing stream, with long stately bends and rich bottom- lands. Terraces and low plateaus line it on either side and stretch for some distance back into the country. The water is almost universally muddy, and sub- ject to sudden rises not only from mountain but from local storms. Its tributaries are so few and small, that its size constantly decreases til! it carries quite noticeably less water when we last saw it in the west than at the mouth of the Animas, near our eastern line. This is partially caused by the drinking up of the water by the sandy bed, but more must be laid to the extreme dryness of the atmosphere and consequent rapid evaporation under the burning summer sun. The temperature of the river is extremely high, being by one measurement near the west- ern line 78°, and by another, made by Mr. Jackson, still farther down, $4°, near the center of the stream. The water of the river is exceed- ingly soft and pleasant for bathing, and its effect on the rough, bruised hands of all the party was very noticeable after some two days camping by it. Its softness was also very noticeable in the washing of clothes. As I have said, heavy storms in the mountains or along. its shorter tributaries cause sudden rises in the river; they also make it filthily muddy; great masses of mud seem carried along by its waters; if is absolutely thick with the solution, so borribly dirty that the hot, thirsty mules would turn away from it, braying dolefully with their disappoint- ment. Kor our own use, a little practice taught us to filter it to some extent and render it comparatively drinkable. Water dug from the banks only a little way from the running stream was so decidedly alka- line as to be unfit for. use; we preferred the muddy water of the river. We found no Indians (with one exception) along “the river, and very little sign that they were in the habit of camping there to any great extent. The badness of the water, and one other fact—that every heavy shower may flood the river-bottom land—may account for this. Certain it is that we found Utes and Navajoes settled by some little uncertain alkali springs, cultivating their patches of corn and melons with but small returns, while the broad, rich bottom-lands of the San Juan were entirely deserted. There is very little grass away from the river all through this portion of its course; the terraces and bluffs are generally cover red with a low sparse erowth of sage and weeds, with here and there scattering bunches and patches of grass; there is no timber excepting the cottonwoods, which line the river-banks. The Navajo reservation in Northern Arizona and New Mexico extends east only a little beyond the mouth of the Rio Chaco, but the Indians range all along the south side of the San Juan to some distance east of this place. In as far as the Ute and Navajo reservations join each other, they join on the Southern Colorado line, but practically the in- 358 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. dians take the river as the boundary, and we seldom see signs of either tribe except on their own side of the river. All south of the San Juan, and especially around the Carriso Mountains, the Navajoes live in quite considerable villages, and are an industrious, cleanly set of people. They raise large supplies of corn and melons, work quite steadily at weaving blankets, and herd fine droves of sheep. They had also the finest horses | have ever seen among the Indians, many of them large, well-built American stock. : These Indians have a mania for trade; they will swap for anything; but are especially fond of leather: an old beot-leg, an extra bridle-rein, or some ornamental piece from the saddle would be eagerly sought after. They refused $5 for a sheep, and finally traded it for a couple of | pounds of flour and a piece of saddle-leather readily replaced for 75 cents. Green corn and melons they brought us constantly for trade, and always seemed satisfied with the sharp bargains which they drove. They beg very little, but pilfer constantly and with great cunning; no small, loose article seemed safe for a moment within their reach. Aside trom this habit of petty stealing, they are not disagreeable around camp, being generally quiet and unobtrusive. The Carriso Mountains, around which the Navajoes are settled, are a flat-topped mass of volcanic matter of about 130 square miles in extent, and rising to an altitude of 9,000 feet. They have several trails run- ning up to their summit valleys, and have po peaks so sharp that a mule may not be readily ridden to their tops. There is very little water run- ning out of the mountains, although there are very numerous springs both at the summit and base, and almost daily showers upon them throughout the summer season. There is most excellent grazing on the rolling top of the mass, with springs to furnish water and timber enough for all necessities; the Navajoes have both horses and sheep there during the summer, building little huts and corrals for the use of the herders. I noticed one of these in crossing the mountains, not at all dissimilar to what a white man would have built under similar cireum- stances. The trails which the Indians use in ascending the mountains are almost the only means of access to the summit, the trachytic mass being formed in palisades much of the way around and always rising boldly from the plains. The trails, however, are good and, once found, make the crossing of the mountains an easy task. I was on top of the mountain mass three times, but only twice found the weather sufficiently clear to accomplish all my work. Aside from the mountains, we found no continuous running water south of the San Juan River; Mr. Jackson, who went much farther south and west than our division, found none. He traveled clear to the Moquis villages, crossing both Gothic Creek and the Rio De Chelly, anu found no running water excepting immediately after heavy rains. The only water found for hundreds of square miles, through Northern Ari- zona and New Mexico, is in springs and aevidental places in the beds of dry washes, where an underlying current is forced to the surface, or some- times in “pockets,” either in clay or rock, where it has caught from heavy rains. There are, of course, the few main rivers, but all their minor branches are but dry beds. Heading in almost rainless deserts, they have often a large water-shed to drain. But the extremely slight rain-fall and high rate of evaporation leaves no water for the streams to carry off. Below the San Juan River there is much more grass than on corre- spondingly situated and characterized country to the north of it; this I suppose to beowing tothe fact that the numbers of sheep and horses pas- CHITTENDEN. ] THE SAN JUAN DISTRICT. 359 tured by the Navajoes on the south side keep down the weeds and sage, and invigorate the growth of grass. Doubtless close grazing with burn- ing would increase the growth of grass on the plains north of the river. As I have said before, the San Juan system of drainage in this Cis trict is naturally divided into four subsystems; the first of these from the east, the La Plata, although the shortest stream of the four and containing the smallest drainage-area, carries the most water. The La Plata rises in the little group of mountains which have the same name with it and flows in the most direct possible course to join the San Juan. Jt flows for its entire length, after its first break from the mountains, through an open terraced country. The whole length of the stream is something over 50 miles. It has a drainage-area of 730 miles and out- side of the mountains an average fall of 50 feet to the mile. The fall is very,rapid near the mountains and gradually decreases as its mouth is neared. There is but one single branch containing water (Cherry Creek), but besides this there are no less than twenty “oulches empty- ing themselves into it, always dry except in case of sudden and heavy ‘rains. Two of these gulches have lengths of 18 and 20 miles each, and others are more than half as long. “Their washes are clearly defined for their whole course, but their beds are entirely dry. In 1874 the only settlement in the whole district was on the La Bia at its head. It was at that time a very embryotic mining-town, contain- - ing two log houses and a third in the process of erection. It ‘is called Parrott City, and since that time has grown quite considerably, having been made the county-seat of La Plata County and supplied witha regular mail. Its support comes from the mines at the head of the stream, which consist of both quartz-lodes and placer-diggings, and have been pronounced quite valuable. There are two routes of access to Parrott City, of nearly equal length, the one by the south from Tierra Amarilla, open both winter and summer, and the other the direct route to the San Luis Valley, by way of Howardville and Silverton, to Del Norte. This latter route is impracticable in winter, owing to the high mountain-passes. The northern route is the one by which the mail is regularly brought in, but the southern one is the road for all supplies and freight. The vegetation of the La Plata is varied. In the vicinity of Parrott City the river is bordered by terraces covered with a rich growth of grass and on the east side by a large mass of yellow-pine timber. ‘Ten miles below the city the grass almost entirely ceases and the bordering country is covered with a heavy growth of sage. About 25 miles below the town the river crosses the Colorado line into New Mexico, and from there to the mouth has no large sage, and a considerable growth of grass on the bordering terraces. Parrott City is in what is known as the ‘‘San Juan purchase,” the southern line of the cession crossing the La Plata 10 miles below the city. At the town the altitude and closeness to the mountains renders the winter climate quite cold, but by the time the river enters the res- ervation-limits it has fallen so much in height that the Indians raise corn and melons every summer, and find very little snow to trouble them in the winter season. On the La Plata, near the line of the purchase, is quite a large Indian farm, which they supply with water by rough irrigating-ditches, and raise a considerable quantity of corn. The Indians during the growing-season of the crops confine themselves pretty closely to the village and watch their corn with great solicitude. They have considerable herds of: ponies, goats, and some cattle. There is almost no game in the low country, unless—as seems quite probable 360 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. —it runs down there during the winter to escape the snow. The almost entire absence of elk or deer horns would, however, indicate that even then it is there in no large quantities. In the whole drainage area of the La Plata there is not, to my knowl- edge, a single spring or drop of running water, exceptin. of course the river itself, its heads, and the immediate vicinity of Parrott City. The irrigating power of the stream is probably not greater than would suffice . to water its own bottom-lands, so the low bordering terraces must still remain in their present barren state. Next west of the La Plata, and flowing into the San Juan from the | north, comes the Mancos. It rises on the northern and western fall of the La Plata Mountains, is something less than the La Plata in size, has a length of about 70 miles, and enters the San Juan 50 miles below the mouth of the former stream. Unlike its sister river, which for its entire length flows in open country, the Mancos is nearly all its course in canon. Its main branch starts in cafion as it leaves the mountains, flows in a narrow rocky caiion till near its junction with the other branches, and then, after a few miles in open fertile valley, plunges into the Mesa Verde, and, in a rugged winding caiion, flows through its very heart. The Mesa Verde is a high plateau or table-land which rises gradually from the La Plata on the east till it reaches an altitude of about 500 feet above the river-level, then runs almost perfectly flat on top until it jamps off on the north and west and south in steep and in- accessible bluffs. Through the heart of this table-land the Mancos euts its way, the walls rising on either side to heights of 1,000 to 1,800 feet. To the south and east of the river the plateau is but very little broken, but the northern part is gashed by a perfect net-work of side cailons, the beds of all of which are dry. I give (Plate LIII) a section through from the La Plata to its western edge, which will show better than I can describe its form. North and south the section would not materially differ, except in being steep at both its ends. In the cation the valley of the Mancos is quite narrow, very seldom being more than a quarter of a mile wide, and often very much narrower. The canon walls and valley bottom-lands are lined with ruins—particu- larly described in Mr. Holmes’s report—which show that the valley has been thickly inhabited and probably cultivated by ancient tribes, although the present Indians do no work anywhere upon it; in fact, there is but a very indifferent trail up and down the cafion. Corn, potatoes, melons, or any vegetables may be raised on the Mancos for its entire length. In the broad valley below the forks there is a consid- erable tract of good farm-land, all within the purchased area. The res- ervation begins soon after the river enters the deep Mesa Verde Cafion. Unfortunately the Mancos does not carry enough water to irrigate but @ small portion of the available land. If white men were to irrigate al that could be covered above the reservation limits, there would be but little water left for the agricultural pursuits of the red man below. Below the forks of the Mancos there is only one branch containing any water; this fork is in some seasons dry, and never carries. any large amount. All other washes—and they are as numerous as the branches of the La Plata—are entirely without any water. I think it probable that in the drainage which comes from the cafions of the Mesa Verde north of the Mancos there may be some water, as-it starts close to the northern edge of the plateau. I have never examined these heads, but in the bluffs opposite them on the northern face of the mesa I found quite numerous springs of alkali water. / Plate LIII. Section thro ugh Cheyenne Mu. Ree eles Ue i) 2a eae oh wohl) * ‘ews : La a ‘ ies | tS : greet Ah + ; : 5 ‘ ules i W ; i | ova hese : : 4 ih iz “ ons & : 3 | Cee BN. 4 1 “ RST Bene! ce a . nt (ay eR / ; 4 we 4 a, | f CHITTENDEN. } THE SAN JUAN DISTRICT. 861 To the west of the Rio Mancos there are still two well-defined drain- age-systems tributary to the San Juan, the McElmo and Montezuma. The two systems together contain about 2,100 square miles—the McElmo 700, the Montezuma 1,400. The McElmo is about 50 miles long in its longest branch, the Montezuma 60 miles, and yet neither of them has for any distance in its course running water. All the heads of these dry rivers except the western branch of the Montezuma originate in a nearly level sage-plain, flow for some distance without an appreciable valley, then cut their way for their middle course through a steep and generally impassable cation, and finally, for the latter part of their way, run through 4 comparatively level or low broken country to the river. ' What may have been the original history of these dry rivers is more in the province of the geologist to inquire into than in mine. Iam, however, safe in saying that for hundreds of years the character and amount of rain-fall has not materially changed. Heavy rains pour in perfect torrents down their beds and are gone, as they came, in a day, and the hot sun leaves in a few hours afterward their washes as dry as before. The whole country seems incapable of holding water. It runs directly off. It does not seem to any great extent to soak in. - In support of what I say about the present dryness having been of long standing, I notice that among all the ancient ruins found in this whole area there are none which.are not situated at places where at present there are not at least strong indications of water. Undoubtedly at the time those ruins were inhabited there was slightly more water than at present, for we find some large remains now utterly unsupplied ; but it has unquestionably always been a dry country, whose inhabitants were obliged to group themselves around its scanty water-holes and build reservoirs to equalize the uncertain supply. This whole portion of the country is now and must ever remain utterly worthless. It has no timber, very little grass, and no water. There are to be seen around the base of the Abajo Mountains several springs and some short strips of running water. There are probably, also, little springs at the heads of very many or all of the McHlmo and Montezuma Cations. I have followed up so few of them that I am un- certain to what extent this may be true. Mr. Gardner and Mr. Gannett found some such springs in the fall, but such uncertain and limited and inaccessible supplies amount to very little in watering a country, and leave it really a broken, ragged desert, supporting no animal life but reptiles and only a stunted growth of vegetation. The Dolores water-shed is radically different from those last consid- ered, both in character and climatology. Theriver runs in deep canon, but the plateau through which it cuts is well watered and richly covered with either grass or heavy timber. The narrow bottom-land of the. Dolores, as the river winds through the caiion, will afford some most ex- cellent farm and hay land at an altitude of only 6,500 to 7,200 feet, while the area inclosed by the great loop to the south made by the river will afford most ample grazing in the summer-season. As beautiful a piece of park-like distribution of grass and wooded belts and patches as I have seen anywhere in Colorado is found on the east side of the Dolores, in the vicinity of Lost Caton and between it and the West fork of the Mancos. Werode through mile after mile of open grassy lawns and clumps of sheltering timber, ready for the pasturing of large herds or the supplying of great quantities of hay for the settlers at the lower altitudes. The San Juan purchase includes nearly all this country, as will be immediately seen by reference to our published maps. The map will show one curious feature—that is, that the Dolores, from 362 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Lost Caiion clear past the heads of the Montezuma, receives almost no drainage from the south. The gulches of the McElmo, Hovenweep, and and Montezuma head clear up against the cafon of the Dolores; so completely do they do this that you may ride up one of these gulches and, without leaving its valley, look down upon the Dolores below. I have now described, as well as I might, the general topographical peculiarities of this southwestern area. Taken as a whole, it is by far the poorest district yet worked by this survey. Of the 5,500 square miles covered by the season’s work, not more than 75 square miles is irri- gable, and not more than 500 in any way available for supporting popu- lation. The greater portion of the good grass-land, I might say all the good grass-land, is at too great an altitude fer a winter-range for stock, and I am inclined to think the danger from sudden floods will be a great drawback to the value of the broad bottoms of the San Juan. The most valuable portions of the district have become open to settlement by the San Juan purchase, and the opening of the mines will, doubtless, rapidly fill up all the available places with thriving ranchers, who will find many desirable locations within the grant. I give in the following table a collection of heights through the dis- trict, which may prove valuable to persons not likely to study the con- tour-map: Table of altitudes. Feet Campunder Lone Cone. 2225 22S ara oe ne 293093 Dolores River, camp below mouth of Bear...1))(1122112.1)_ ||) 5) iia 7, 427 Dolores River, camp midway between forks...........----. ---2.. 222... 7,758 Dolores River, camp at Lower Burial Place...__.. 2.22. .--c-. oo ce el... Ll, 6, 555 Dolores River, camp at main) bend) ees sess Leen ee eee ee an 6, 948 Disappointment Creek, below Lone Mesa .-.-.. 22. s220 ccne cee ees eee Ll 7,091 Elovenweep, Creek, at, Castle). se= 25 see ase e eel ai eenein fl OL es Oman 5, 239 Elelmet Peaks... - « 2.22aeeoaeiens ene ye wy a et 12, 042 Blesporis Reale 22 2.'...5. shige ua cee eae es ae ee een 13, 159 bfermano Peaks)... 2s ohe ) eae cehs Oe rate ne a eens eee wejnlevelsisiny ecto SOE Hapelataskiver, above ludian farms qaseen es nee ean SeeSce ee ee 6, 213 ia Plata: River, at mouth 22.204.) )008 2 ee 5, 297 Bone Coney. 2 Ja sors ac ene eee, Rel ena 12,761 Menriot/s Tanch?. .. 252). oe 1 uesseeaas ee Shere ea et ee = (Haale Mancos River, camp at head of main cafion...........----.-----.-........... 6, 306 Mancos River, near mouth of main cafion -............-.......... acdbecoacadss 5, 326 Station 56, opposite mouth of Navajo Creek... 1229.) ie ae ee 5, 268 Phompsonis Park: 0007.62 oes he, seettg ce euch elt ee 7,576 nagqnaiSpring, (Wolores Plateau) ios.) oss aan: een anne ene 8, 141 WitewPeakks 25 lo. iswanicacaince soee Zee oo wee net ae 9, 884 MeBlmo, at: head 2 a...052+ cacaciond Soc Se oicn hy ere ae eee 7, 000 McBimo, at Pegasus Spring .:2li5c0)h a0 et 5, 338 McElmo, iat mouth... 0.2... se eee Ue ea 4, 566 Montezumasiatihead (24)-2 222. bce esi ere we nen ae a a aoc ee 7, 000 Montezuma, at main forks 2.4.1.0) ae. co nn Seen 0 ea 4, 600 Mouth of Recapture Creek. .2 2.2 iN. oi ae mk ey Sie ee 4, 446 Navajo Creek, camp above Navajo Village, East Mork. 52050) 200)) See 5, 672 Navajo Creek, camp near Village, West Hork >.3 sane le eel. en 5, 468 Navajo Creek; mouthe. 0. -0u._ 22274. ee ek a 4,780 Wawajo’ Mésa,‘easternend -.2_..._. -/s52ts. we nal geen nem - 6,590 BRAELOUG CIty. 022 Cae ocen ous, on. cose hd a) a ne a nn 8, 611 Hastora Peak, Carriso Mountains. <<...) 0) Dili eee ee ee Oea52 Plateau on trail between Hovenweep and Montezuma. ........--..-.. ....._.. 5, 554 piation,?, Pinon Mésa.22-0..2... 2-5... 3 Wena Wee en 6, 269 Station 9, between La Plata and ADIMAS 3222 coe en 6, 066 Station 11, bluffs above mouth of Animas .._....-..-.-.--2.s.ccc. eels 5, 899 Station 12, bluffs below mouth of La Platz Se ey SPIE ek ee 5,401 Station 15, south edge of Mésa Verde......-.....-0-0-0-22cee eel ee eee 6, 587 Station 25, summit of mésa, mouth of Mancos Cafon ..---. ............ so 6, 877 Station 27, summit of mésa, middle of Mancos Canon ¢.2) 222 eee 6, 350 Station 35, north edge of Mésa Verde ..-... 0.2... c--0-- sec cee ec dient dL 8, 532 CHITTENDEN. | THE SAN JUAN DISTRICT. Feet. Station 43, butte south of San Juan ...--. .----- ---- -----+ 2222 eee eee ee eee 5, 430 Station 45, butte on San Juan below Recapture Creek...--..----. ------------ 5, 298 Station 50, butte on Navajo Creek .....--.------ .----- ---- e+ 222 eee eee ee: 5, 321 Station 54, west mésa, Carriso Mountains. .-.- ---------------- e+---+---- ----- 8, 042 Station 55, bluff above West Fork of Navajo Creek..-..-----.--------------- 5, 659 The above altitudes are all based on the leveled altitude of Colorado - Springs, though the main part of them are computed from the Parrott City base, which was itself computed from Colorado Springs by single synchronous observations at 7 a. m., 2 p. m., and 9 p. m., between August 1 and September 4. The results of these computations I give below in tabular form, together with their variation from the mean. The difference in altitude of the two places is about 2,600 feet, and their distance apart horizontally something over 200 miles, and across much heavy mountain country. The general agreement of the results is much better than could have been expected, and speaks well for the correct- ness of those heights necessarily referred directly to Colorado Springs. I have taken the absolute mean of all the results, throwing out none tor electricity on either side. From studies of the hypsometric work in other parts of Colorado, I am inclined to think this result slightly too low, but up to this time have found no law on which reliable correc- tions may be based. Computation of the height of Parrott City from Colorado Springs, synchronous barometric ohservations, at 7 a. m., 2 p. m., and 9 p. m., during the month of August, 1875. 7 a.m. 2p.m. 9 p.m. Day. Dey: ee essiulia cen eae rece Weta eae at ES = ES oy ES oy HS 2 eg 6g BSE et SE tee ore Se PST OU S Games eat see acne aa: | 8551 | + 60] 8654] — 43] 8,598] + 13/8,601/ + 10 EMEA RAE Sou LS Sees 22 8,633 | — 22| &8615| — 4| 8507| + 54/8,GO1} + 10 Pascechoodspococdwenecnoose 8,536 | + 75) 8,605} + 6] 8,628} — 17/8,589) + 12 1 a NY SRI Fa 8514| +97] 8.691} — 80| 8,651| — 40/8,618|— 7 Feist am a ASG aia NS BO 8,574{ + 37| 8650] — 39| 8,557| + 54|/8,593/ + 18 Qacisdine coaeosessapporeesaas 8,619! — 7] 8,768; —157|) 8,668] — 57 |8,683|— 74 Gi ec EE Sen ee Sees ge ,-| 8515| + 96] 8598] + 13] 8,535| + 76 |/8,549| + 62 3). ses soos ocesosooesoeteoss 8, 503 4108} 8587) + 24] 8.585] + 26 |8,558| + 53 OU Biman ee 3.8 7 aad @566| + 45| 8,704] — 93] 8653| — 42|8,607) + 4 NW) oe bobo HosSeeeEee noe Seco 8, 603 + 8 8, 750 —139 8, 683 — 72 |8.676| — 67 ed See Parsee a.c\eisisere siete 8,594) + 17] 8,701} — 90} 8,607) + 418,634) — 23 UD soon ooaqbape soe Desosese 8,548} + 63] 8,663) — 52) 8,509 + 52/8.590) + 21 UF), a chosecsnsccomacepacerss 8, 607 + 4] 8, 692 — gl} 8,565] + 46 |8,628) — 7 WAR sions deg a2 2 clene eictete 8,551 | + 60} 8,719 | —108) 8,573] + 38/8614] — 3 IG)a ose q6ceMonenabemaneoowe 8602} + 9] 8,657} — 46) 8,572) + 39/8,6410) + 1 GER eee Se ee cet cee 8,639 | — 28] 8,651] — 40| 2,563] + 48/8.617| — G6 Ui oosec cecccous a DEO secsecs 8,602) + 9] 8,699 ~ eg} 8,702} — 91/8,671| — 6O 1G) 43 obec ae coo saaaLOo LoS 8,656 | — 45] 8, 641 — 30| 8675} — 64|8,657/ — 46 US) cSescnececosonecesesoseas 8,582 | + 29] 8, 679 — 68] 8,637) — 26|8,632) — 21 AV oosesceSésnccncscdoseB0sso 8,600} + 11} 8,710} — 99) 8,669} — 58 |8,639) — 48 Dh eooneemoconeohoeneocoranns 3,655 | — 44] 8,771 —160| 8,609| + 2)8,678| — 67 Peasoeos yoo nesocsSosesc00ess 8, 521 + 90} 8,563) -+ 48] 8,901 + 30 |8,545| +° 66 2B}. sist oceeecseoteorcecosoes &, 501 +119 | 8,533 +78) 8,535] + 76 |8,523| + 8S P 8, 546 + 65| 8,584} + 73| 8,514] + 97|8,548/+ 63 8,494] 1117] 8,593} + 18] 8,520] + 91|/8,557|+ 54 8,544 | + 67} 8,598 + 13] 8,579 + 32|8,573| + 38S 8,551| + 60] 8,663| — 52] 8,591] + 20/8,601| + 10 8,622} — 11 8, 632 | — 21] 8,686} — 25 |8,630|/ — 19 8, 656 — 45 8 612 -— 1 8, 512 + 99 |8,5693} + 18 8,493 | +118! 8,536] + 75 | 8,498 +113 |8,509 102 8,514] + 97] 8612] — 1] 8,563] + 48|8,573)+ 38 Monthly mean .....--.-..--. 8,582| + 29 |8,655| — 44 |8,595/| + 16 |8,611 Ct) The altitudes of the La Plata peaks are all slightly less than Hesperis As nearly as I can judge from verticle angles taken from my topographical stations in the mass, there is no other Peak, the highest given. 364 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. summit which rises within 25 feet of this one, although the greater sharpness of some other points would naturally lead the observer to be- lieve them at least as high. The altitude of the Mesa Verde ranges from 6,500 feet on the south- ern edge to 8,500 on the northern, it being a little lower in its center than on the margin. Pastora Peak, in the Carrisos, is very little higher than several other summits in the mass, but is slightly more prominent than any other one, and would be chosen as the culminating point as seen from either side. I have taken several angles of elevation and depression at the ‘6 Needles,” south of the San Juan, in New Mexico and beyond our dis- trict. My distances were so great that the results have a considerable range, but a mean of what seem to be the best results give a height to these pinnacles of 1,680 feet above the level plain. These needles, stand- ing out sheer and alone from the plains, make a wonderful topograph- ical feature, distinctly seen for a hundred and more miles, the black rock | of which they are composed standing out with peculiar distinctness against the dull brown of the plains. Mr. Holmes made several sketches of the group, one of which I give herewith, showing very clearly its size and prominence. (Plate LIV.) In closing my discussion of altitudes, I give a table of fall, total and per mile, of the principal streams and gulches, commencing in case of the Mancos and La Plata at their exit from the mountains. | r 3,| Fall per Stream. [Total fall.) “2 3B . Feet Feet TRIOS ER UG [ETN REE Se er Se Ser EtG ce Sab ao aera Ce AeeEcGncurncoctice raorbadenSsoueaaseo 1, 000 11 PROM) Platays a = ) ab) 11, 493 COomral Peale. oo soe coSc sense teccegegtoconhasseosnensse cen csessconse Qed Dey 11, 333 NSPOUDICSOING POA e a san sac mete mate meissecinein asc outele aise aiaeieiee = Bessa ch) ike 9% 11, 5v0 Basalt (Pease ts es Cae ee ene ah Secs dee ve det sseitocs seas ston 15)) 12} 40 “2h 5 an 11, 906 Upper Muddy Butte 29) 2.) 40) 19a 9, 848 RAD Danse ake RaAN OO essere see ese ele eisisie eine oieise erase ia 106 36 6) 40 25 9 10, 719 MounteByossomeat HOt Sprints tet see esse ase aeelee siemens rier 1065.6) 12) )5 40) Stee 9, 46x IL@ym@rr Wil Ny IBWI® 62 seo sos codcaobos ss050e scons de ooHSsoceessace 230g 2140 eae *9, 130 Ivi@mon Wallliemmes. 2525 Soe ek dS ech onceteusocossAcesusosesssausenes 10) (0) 39 oer 11, 413 Lone Peak, Park Range...-...--. 3 25 12) 39 52 10 *11, 200 iBluewMRiver Beaks. seee--e eases 5 2D Sa) Sh) 46 © * 13. OvO Mount Powell, Park Range AD Bij saith 45) 18) 13, 398 Gln Ie Wal yy BONES cacneaacscoaccossoasseoendeedcc st uccpases 18 1/| 39 53 1U *9 400 REdSReak hark Ra Ce exerts eel Soe) releieteeineinie eietalalelea ele eieieieelen 1106 11 Of; 39 6 5 12, 322 Ptarmigan Peak in Williams Range...........----...------------ UNG as | ek) ee OW *12, 200 MenyMileyPeak:. so ssae ae keene see eee semicon Sao sensei goKny QUO, 1v0U ‘ssvgq v1S.1004) yeog Auwpuend v0 seein a SIVA JIGqey 1vou ‘osuvy yaeg SIO IS9A\ pav yseq Jo uoyounl woig OPTAIp [Bj U9UT} N09 ‘osuUy Ayooy “YIVT AON yvod [v110H jo odojs 489 AA -------=-9dojs qsou ‘yuog 8,4v1y JO JSOMTI10U Salt WAADG S101 JUNOT, JO [}.A10u ospiy’ Bee JOATY SOLA UOT, sie Sa rs eae JOAN OYCUG soereom* JOAIY TEMG IOAN ong of et ages ae ee ee qoAny Appuyy Dee ae Soe omMOse|quoi], poytag OULO89[QNOLT, 989 AA "> QULOSO]QNOLT, JSCA JOIN [V1IL0OD Sueeeaee Os SORE ATIC ANS ~-yoolp 1eAvog: OLA ‘siohg qunom jo [}10u OSpriqus ss eeoo5* yoorg dared +--- saakg junoyy aveu ‘ssvg zonbsv, |---77* 7777" SPEBOSIOI ISSO GO SIO AIIIOG 5 (ny AL : “‘S901D BCD -----gy0019 Sosoyy pue zonbse, jo uotjounfl 044 wor | sosoyy pus zonbdsvA Jo worounf wosy ‘orzviT we ce ee ne see nee gsvg puryqiog SiGe caste agg s ia a | ONG) SOS IAG *7--- yooug Avy 3991) AVOUTEAL TTT TTT HOGI) LOFBATTNS IOAN puvsly JO YAO ISVT BS qouvlgy oye'y NOS qouvig oye'T Yy1ON s-="""JOATY pueiy sIS)SiS gies tess oie 9SuUvI UTeM odoyTs 380M ‘s8¥q JOp[nog 1voN ig ge ee MOTA YIVT FO ISP --" MOG OULDIPOT JO 9Dpluqus SOs iv sis aie sige oie yeog oyedviy ‘esuvd urvm Jo 480 A “---yeoq §,SU0'T JO JSAA\ SOpitM OA\} ‘OSUBI UIVUT odoTs 4So A 9suvd urvur odoyTs 480 AA re rerseesesereos SHOOT PUY MOG OULDIPOTT USIMJoq [PPYS ‘gounos Jo AjI[Bo0T *TUVOI]S JO OMY NT ‘yo appt 9 sof 21g), ovydn.Wo.uphyT CH ASP TE Ruts: KANOSHA RANGE, IN CONNECTION WITH NORTH PLATTE : RIVER MOUNTAINS. RANGE OF SECOND ORDER. From Whale Peak on the main range, (10 miles south in an air-line from. Argentine Pass), a subridge branches off in direction of Kenosha Pass. Within 9 miles’ distance this ridge descends from 13,209 feet to 10,226 feet elevation, which is the altitude of the pass. Two spurs from 4 to 6 miles in length detach from the ridge and lead off in the direc- tion of Hall’s Gulch and the North Fork of the Platte River. Four miles before reaching Kanosha Pass the ridge has received already its lowest depression, and loses all those rugged “features that we most invariably witness in higher mountains. Toward Hall’s Gulch the slopes of the spurs fall off suddenly, and bear in consequence a precipitous character. East of the pass the Ka- nosha Range rises immediately again within 34 miles to a peak, with an elevation of 12,469 feet, which is the western one of the Kanosha Twin Cones. Two more peaks of equal elevation with the former one, and only 13 miles distant from it, stand directly east and southeast from the latter, and form an equilateral triangle with it. These peaks are striking landmarks and are easily recognized from nearly all over the large area that constitutes the South Park district. The southern and the western of these peaks we named Kanosha Twin Cones, from their great similarity and close neighborhood. Only 3 miles from the Western Kanosha Cone the range splits in two separate ranges, running for 10 miles parallel, and only 14 miles apart from each other in a southeasterly direction. This fork in the moun- tains gives cause to one of the peculiar and interesting orographie fea- tures which we are only able to witness at so high an altitude. (See Creig’s Summit Valley.) The northern branch of these mountains is called North Platte River Mountains, from the fact that their very rugged and precipitous north- ern slopes front the North Fork of the South Platte River Valley. The length of crest of the North Platte River Mountains is 20 miles. The relative height above mean Platte River level is about 3,200 feet, while the relative height above Creig’s Summit Valley is only 800 feet. There are about eleven points or nipples on that mountain branch, of which the highest one reaches an altitude of a trifle over 12,000 feet. For the southwestern branch of the mountains, running parallel with the North Platte River Mountains, the name of Kanosha Range might be retained. The latter is not only the superior one in length, but also by several hundred feet the highest. Its crest shows a total length of 25 miles from East Kanosha Twin Cone to Freeman’s Peak ; while, for a distance of 10 miles, its course is due south, it deviates from a direct line for the remainder of its course. 410 o BECHLER.) KANOSHA RANGE. All Following the Kanosha Range from the point where North Platte Mountains separate from it, we find the crest pretty uniform in its charac- ter, not flat, but crowned with numerous granite cones or nipples three- fourths of a mile apart from each other, and rising from 200 to 400 feet from their saddles. On the northeast side the slopes descend very grad- ual down to Creig’s Summit Vailey, which lies for about 7 miles paral- lel to the range. As the Summit Valley descends lower in its course, and arrives at the point where the narrow cation begins, the top of the range has become already from 1,400 to 1,600 feet high. The western sides of the mountains resemble first gently leaning and undulating planes, and the first waters rise in broad molded depression, serving as snow-flats; but when the spurs come closer to Rock Creek, the drainage has already carved deeper channels; but real steep slopes we only see on the very borders of Rock Creek, where the latter has to meander through a rough inclosure caused by steep spurs from the extremities of the Tarryall Mountains, as well as from the Kanosha Range. Aiter having passed 6 miles along the crest, we arrive at the point where Tarryall Range is detached from the Kanosha Mountains. Krom here the range becomes depressed and falls, within two miles, perhaps 1,000 feet, and its rounded and well-wooded spurs descend first very moderately toward Lost Park; but as the range rises again to 12,200 Teet at Lost Park Peak, the slopes assume abrupter forms, and become exceedingly so when directly south and west of the peak. _ Tbe character of the range is that of a mountain range of first order. Extensive snow-flats lie near and above timber-line south of the peak, and near the edges of them tbe slopes fall off precipitously, and are steepest when fronting Lost Park and Wigwam Creek. For six more miles the Kanosha Range maintains that ruggedness which prevails on both slopes until it reaches Freeman’s Peak (11,700), from where it ‘descendsinto Webster’s Pass, a saddle which divides the Kanosha Range from Virginia Mountain, a splendid and imposing-looking landmark of 10,600 feet in height. From the latter, which represents the last great upheaval between the North Fork of the Platte and the South Branch, the slopes are transformed to the northeast into that broad, bulky character which a rolling and depressed granite country most generally exhibits. About 8 miles to the northeast and in close proximity to the junction of the two Platte River forks the country rises once more along the Platte into a ridge, with a cluster of sharp g granite tops about 1,500 feet above river-level. TARRYALL RANGE—RANGE CF SECOND ORDER. The extent of Tarryall Range is, comparatively speaking, limited, as its straight length is but 23 miles, and with its winding crest measures but 29 miles. Its position is fixed by the location of some important points given in the accompanying tables. Its course is, generally speak- ing, southeast and northwest, and is followed during its whole extent by the Tarryall Creek, which touches the flattened base of its slopes and follows at the foot of it, until turning around its scuthern extremity effects a junction with the South Fork of the Platte River. It may be added in respect to the general position of the Tarryall Range, that the extreme northern portion of it forms part of the eastern barriers of the South Park, and it is only owing to the existence of the Puma Hills, A412 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. “lying on the west of Tarryall River,” that the Tarryall Range does not form the greater half of the eastern border of the South Park. Tarryall Range connects with the Kanosha Range by a saddle, from which, on the northwest side, Rock Creek originates, and on the southeast side Lost Park Creek. One of the peaks, Upper Tarryall Peak, stand- ing at the very point of its beginning right above Rock Creek saddle, reaches an altitude just a trifle above timber-line 11,750 feet. From here the crest of the range bears a tolerably straight course for 6 miles, exbibiting on its way several lofty peaks. On the west, the slopes im- mediately below the crest fall off steeply with rugged offsets aud deep- carved drainage-fissures, which at the middle parts of the slopes are already moderate, and become still more so as they descend toward the Tarryall Valley. The eastern slopes fronting the mountain-valley of Lost Park are less rugged from the very beginning, and we can witness grassy willow-flats, where the creeks have their sources, in the highest parts of the moun- tain and but few hundred feet beneath the crest. The slopes are long, ‘with an occasional offset,” and well timbered down into the Lost Park Valley. At about 5 miles southeast of Upper Tarryall Creek the range as- sumes a bolder form, and it makes first a gradual and then a sharp bend to the east. It slopes toward the Tarryall River, becomes rough, aud steeper all the way down,to the valley bottom. Here sharp offsets and narrow-crested spurs multiply in number. At the end of the first bend stands the highest mountain in the range, ‘‘ Bison Peak,” 12,400 feet. Jt exhibits indeed a dignified appearance, crowned with a copping of huge granite blocks which seem from the distance like the remnants of giant fortifications. Toward the Lost Park this peak throws out the most rugged spurs imaginable, one of them reaching as far as 2 miles from the center of the peak. From Bison Peak the crest swings around again toward the south- east, and from here the boldest of mountain features have their begin- ning, and remain so to the end of the range. The mountains seem to become a confused mass of larger and smaller peaks; sharp spurs crowd each other, and the almost vertical-appearing walls permit here no ascension from the valley to the top of the range. The slopes toward the east are chopped by erosion into cliffy cations, which are only latteral cafions to the main one, in which the Lost Park waters roar and tumble for 6 miles until the Platte is reached. Opposite the Lost Park cafion rises another barren and rugged gran- ite ridge, which, though less high, forms also a conglomerate of peaks, spurs, pulpits, and rocky noses. Near the lower end of his range stand many imposing and sharp peaks, the like of which we are only able to find in certain portions of the Park Range. There are to the northwest of Bison Peak thirteen peaks, with an average height of 11,400 feet and a mean saddle-elevation of 10,800 feet. Southeast of Bison Peak stand nineteen peaks, with a mean height of 11,750 feet. Seven peaks reach over 12,000 feet; and besides the above there are as many as fifteen peaks resting on side spurs on the south- east part of the range. THE PUMA HILLS AND ADJACENT BASALTIC HILLS SOUTH.—RANGE OF SECOND ORDER. Detached from the Tarryall Range and separated by the Cafion Valley of the Tarryall Creek lie the Puma Hills, which constitute at least one- Ak. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHIC Co. N.Y. (OSBORNE'S PROCESS) AM, PHOTOLITHOGRAPHIC Co MY. (osnonnes PROCKSS) Peah and partof Tarryall Range from Farnams Peah. Plate LIX ' W Seine } - WW woh. ct oe al wi Tr bine & _—— ha | BECHLER.) - KANOSHA RANGE. 413 half of the mountains which serve to inclose the South Park on the east side. In the notes on Tarryall Creek, I have remarked that 8 miles below Rock Creek junction the Tarryall enters a narrow valley. ‘be mount- ains and slopes that form the right or west side are pari of those mountains which constitute the northern extremities of the Puma Hill group. We may consider the Puma Hills to be subdivided into three differ- ent groups, though not by any means separated so distinetly that each of them would appear isolated. Between the northern and middle por- tion of the group is a depression about 1,000 to 1,200 feet lower than the hills on either side, and the most southerly lying group is again separated from the middle one by a pass (‘Ute Pass”), over which the Colorado Springs and South Park wagon-road leads into the park. Following along thecrest of the three groups, we find it to be of a length of about 23 miles, and its winding nature produces cemplicated features in its topography. The highest peaks in the northern group are 2,600 feet above the Tarryall Creek and 11,400 feet total leight above sea-level. The peaks in the middle group are very little above the height of the former. The eastern slopes of that part of the Puma Hills, “after their first steep descent of 2,000 feet,” assume a gradual sloping in the diree- tion where the Tarryall Creek and the Platte River both make a final turn to connect with each other. The flat slopes just referred to may be counted among the good pasture-lands; broad grassy tongues pene- trate in three cases deep into the mountains. There is, however, a want of flowing streams which decreases its value. A few springs, and they are very Sparse, are the resort of cattle that roam about in this neigh- borhood. The slopes toward the South Park side descend for the first 2,000 feet very abruptly, but soon assume a moderate sloping to the general level of the South Park, which in this region is about 8,800 feet. The road over the Ute Pass goes over an easy saddle, hardly more than 600 feet above Platte River level, at a point 4 miles south of Oliver’s Springs. But east of the pass the road meanders among low granite spurs and out- runners from the right and left of Puma Hills toward the Platte Piver. While the road follows for the most part of. the way ‘“‘ down to the Platte River crossing” the course of a creek, it is not totally free from difficult places, yet it is not bad for a Rocky Mountain road. The southern group of the Puma Hills form the most rugged one in the whole series, and while its highest points are at least by 400 to 500 feet lower than those of the middle group, its rugged character exceeds the others by far. The whole space, from its very crest down to the junction of Twin Creek and South Platte River, and also in the direc- tion of the canon, is crowded with complicated mass of granite spurs, minor ridges, and outrunners from them. The sides fronting the South Park down to the very bend where the Platte River turns into the upper cafion is not less rugged ; in fact, the sharp, bold nature of its outrunning spurs can hardly be excelled by any other one. All the groups of the Puma Hills are well wooded in their upper and middle portions, but the middle and northern ones more so than the southern. ‘Immediately south, across the Upper Cation, the Puma Hills connect with a group of ridges, hills, buttes, and knolls peculiar to them- selves. This is a region where, in an area of perhaps 20 miles east and west and 8 miles north and south, basalt predominates in the highest Al4 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. parts of the hills, causing coil flat tops on buttes and very even crests on ridges and terraces. Thirtynine Mile Mountain, ‘so called in early time from its distance from Cation City”, is the largest and most compact mountain mass in that vicinity. It stands only 54 miles north of parallel 38° 45’, and shows a pretty even crest, extending about 4 miles east and west. The top of this mountain is about 2,400 feet average height above that point of the Platte River where it leaves the South Park to enter the Upper Cafion. The southern slopes fall off steep right below its top part, but assume gentler contours when in their middle portion, and become particularly moderate in their descent when approaching those basin-shaped valleys where the headwaters of Main Oil Creek and Currant Creek assemble. The country west of Thirty-nine Mile Mountain is covered with a clus- ter of peaks and hills of voleanic material, which slope off suddenly and terminate into a series of low ridges and terraces near the Platte River. Five miles south of the latter group of hills lies Black Mountain, a promi- nent peak, 11,626 feet high, from which a spur goes westward, assuming the shape of a low ridge, which forms the southern border of the south- western corner of the South Park, gradually lowering and finally disap- pearing into the level of the park area. THE PIKE’S PEAK GROUP—RANGE OF FIRST ORDER. The exact location of the highest point of this group is longitude 105° 2/ 26”, and latitude 38° 50! 27”. We deem it somewhat necessary to begin with locating the center of this interesting mountain group for facilitating a more rapid comprehension of its whereabouts, which is the more necessary as this wonderful mountain cluster lies detached by many miles from the rest of the great and main mountain upheavals, which wouid otherwise in describing it offer some connecting link. Pike’s Peak, as the culminating point of that great massive granite cluster, stands like a huge watch-tower fronting the plains, the margin of which lies only 10 miles east of the peak. The foot-hills that border the plains, starting from a point some 10 miles east of Pike’s Peak, sweep northward, with a slight bend to the west, and swing around again to the east when 116 miles north; or, in other words, if we start from Pike’s Peak and _ travel northward on its eeographical meridian, we will travel during a distance of 40 miles for the greatest part on the crest of the Front Range and for the rest among spurs in the foot-hills. After that the margins of the foot-bills recede gradually to the west, and after another 40 miles of straight northward course, the foot-hills will be 13 miles to the west of us; and if we again proceed on for 36 miles in the same course to parallel 40° 30’, or the northern end of our district, the foot-hills have approached east again, and are only 4 miles to the west of us. The approximate area of this formidable mountain mass.of Pike’s Peak proper, with its immediate spurs sweeping down from its very center, amounts to 72 square miles. This excludes 60 square miles, the remain- der of that portion of mountains to which Cheyenne Mountains and Monta Kosa form culminating points, and by being attached to Pike’s Peak by means of a saddle, help to complete that great mountain clus- ter so well known at home and abroad, and so impressive and com- manding when seen from the plains. The summit of Pike’s Peak presents a somewhat flattish top, gently sloping toward south and west. Steep and rugged granite cailons, how- | BECHLER.) THE FRONT RANGE. 415 ever, begin 1 mile south of the summit and stretch out 5 to 6 miles in direction of Beaver Creek. Immediately north and east of the highest point the slopes are pre- cipitous, and high rocky spurs and steep rugged caions, running in the direction of Fountain qui Bouille, bisecting the slopes and the base of that mountain in that direction. Some of the raggedest features exist along the face of the mountain, running for several miles northwest. Sharp needle-like peaks and ser- rated crest of spurs are confusing to the eye of even the experienced observer. West of the highest nipple, the gently dipping plateau has main- tained itself for 2 to 2$ miles, but suddenly descends also in wall-like precipices toward the headwaters of West Pike’s Creek, to connect with a still rugged but much lower and somewhat flatter granite district to the west. The country at the base of Pike’s Peak, to the southwest, is in itself a high granitic mountain district, “with Khyolite Peak and Mount Pisgah as culminating points,” which appears oniy insignificant alongside the imposing Pike’s group, with which it is connected. Weird and dusky looking are the reddish granite cafions that run like giant fissures into the main canon of West Pike’s, as well as into Pisgah Creeks. The Monte Rosa group lies southeast of Pike’s Peak, with Monte Rosa Peak as its culminating point, being 8 miles distant from the latter. The Cheyenne Mountains lie from 4 to 5 miles to the east of the Rosa group and are Front mountains, falling off suddenly toward the plain. Cheyenne Creek, with numerous branches, every one of which flows in a cation, divides the two groups. Directly 4 miles east of the summit of Pike’s Peak and across the deep depression in which the headwaters of Ruxton’s Creek assemble, stands Cameron’s Cone with a pyramidal capping. It rests on a huge, rugged, granite ridge which swings around to the southeast, and between it and spurs from the Monte Rosa Moun- tains flows Bear Creek in a narrow defile, along which the signal trail leads to the top of Pike’s Peak. : Between the crest of Cameron’s Ridge and Bear Creek in one direc- tion, and Fountain qui Bouille in another direction, the space is broken up with rugged subridges and bold-louking spurs descending toward and falling off into a rolling terraced country down to the vicinity of Manitou Springs and the margins of the Fountain qui Bouille. Down at the foot of Pike’s Peak and along its northern base flows Fontaine qui Bouille, rising among the northwestern spurs of the Pike’s group and Catamount Hill, from which vicinity it rushes in rapid-de- scent down the valley toward Manitou and Colorado Springs to join the Monument Creek, a tributary to the Arkansas River. FRONT RANGE—RANGE OF FIRST ORDER. The mountain-slopes which rise from Fountain qui Bouille, north- ward, form the southern flank of the Front Range, which reaches the maximum height of its southern portion just across Fountain qui Bouille and about 8 miles north from Pike’s Peak. This range lies nearly for its whole length along the line of meridian 105°, and only after reaching parallel 39° departs somewhat to the west of this line. It descends gradually toward north, in a low line of parallel ridges near the Platte River Cafion at the foot-hills. This portion has an entire 416 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. length of 45 miles and its principal terminus is about a point at meri- dian 105° 6’ and parallel 39° 30’. Among the characteristics of the southern portion of the Iront Range, from Pike’s Peak to the Platte River Caton, we have to point out principally its level top, rising or falling within some 20 miles hardly from 400 to 500 feet, and boasting of very few prominent points which rise to the dignity of peaks. With exception of Platte Peak, ‘described in the notes pertaining to the vicinity of Platte Cafion and Manitou Creek, and which holds a central position on the range,” all others, though few in numbers, rest immediately on the front slopes. Though the range may in its general character be level planed, and in consequence broad and bulky, we must not infer that it is molded with equal plainness in regard of details; on the contrary, we are at a loss to compare it with any other, for, considering its very moderate height, a range more rugged or one more difficult to explore cannot be found. The main cause of this is that the range is uniformly topped, from its crest, lying as stated before, to 5 to 6 miles east of the crest, and where the tail end of the spurs “falling off very suddenly toward the plains” are nearly as high as the main broad crest itself. For instance: the highest point on this portion of the Front Range lies at its extreme southern end, and gives about 9,600 feet in height, while Blodget’s Peak, situated on one of the extended spurs 5 miles to the east, givesa height of 9,340 feet, and a like relation exists all along the crest and the front spurs. The crest is very difficult to discern and we are only able to do so by exploring it. The drainage consists in numerous deeply eroded cafions lying all parallel to each other, and, starting from its main crest, flow, ‘‘at least those on the southern part of the range,” in most cases eastward or nearly so, to join the larger drainage channel of Monument Creek. Numerous deep and rugged cafions, resembling immense gorges at the approaches of the plains, are the consequence of it, and so flow all the side branches in lesser cations which, if we take them in their totality, have chopped the eastern slopes of that portion of the Park Range en- tirely into a series of cafions, separated by the remnants of aonce broad plateau. Twenty-six miles south of the Platte Caiion, the Front Range sends forth toward the east that flat and very broad summit “known as the Arkansas Divide.” From this very low divide, which strangers to the country would hardly notice, the water flows in numerous creeks north- ward into the Platte, and southward into the Arkansas River. The summit of the Divide, nearest to the Front Mountain, over which the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad as well as the wagon-road passes, is only of 7,208 feet elevation. Near that summit the Front Mountain slopes are naturally not by far so high as farther to the south. Not quite so badly eroded is the western slope of this portion of the Front Range, though the streams come down in narrow gulches into the Manitou Valley with occasional rugged spots in them; but the general features on the western slope show more moderation as far as rugged forms are concerned. The average height of this portion of the Front Range is about 9,200 feet. Its width across from the base near the foot-hills or eastern slope to the one on the west side is about 9 to 10 miles. The natare of the ground on the top makes its exploration difficult, for notwithstanding its general uniform top, the numerous small groups of exposed rocks, very fitly to be compared with roosters’ crests, BECHLEN. ] EVANS RANGE. ZB together with dense growth of pine timber, offer great obstacles to its explorations. In the northern part of the Front Range, viz, north of the Summit or Arkansas Divide, the creeks descending from the range do not flow in a rectangular manner to their main drainage- channel, Plum Creek ; but they come, “ unlike the creeks on the southern part beyond the Arkansas Divide,” obliquely, or flow in a northeast course, which necessarily gives to the spurs a northeast trend. The gulches and cafions in which this latter drainage emerges out of the mountains are rough, and some- times even extremely so, yet altogether do not compare in that respect with those entering Monument Creek on the south side of the Arkansas Divide. EVANS RIPGE—RANGE OF SECOND ORDER. On the crest of the mountains, the distance from Argentine Pass to Mount Evansis 10 miles; within that distance there are six peaks of formidable height, varying from 13,600 to 14,200 feet elevation. Still farther to the east of Mount Hvans the ridge lessens considerably in elevation. T'wo miles to the southeast from the main peak there is another point, named Rosalie, with an altitude of 14,000 feet, but from here the ridge declines until, 17 miles to the eastward, it has descended to about 10,000 feet. From these mountains numerous spurs extend in the direction of the North Fork of South Platte River, and some of them coming direetly south from the Evans group retain for some miles a character equally imposing with the main range. The drainage in that part is very com- plicated, flowing in deep and dusky-looking defiles. Originating on the southern slopes of the Evans Mountains. are two creeks, Elk and Deer Creek, the first having two main branches. The valleys of both these streams are not in every part pressed by the mountains into narrow caiions “ except while in the high mountains,” but they contain many open spots with good pasturage. Between the two branches of Elk Creek, and again between the latter and Deer Creek, there are spurs with a mean height of 10,000 feet, and a relative height of 1,600 feet above the streams. The southern slope of the Evans group is by far the most rugged one. For several miles we see hardly anything else but steep granite walls, peaks, and rapidly descending timberless slopes, characteristic only of a wild mountain country of the first order. 2768 418 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Approximate geographical positions and elevations in the South Park District and adjoining regions. Oy bl focere si MA ie ee SS el Latitude. Names of located points. Dee Pike’s Peak, Front Range .---.------------<-----+-+----------- Mount Rosa, Front Range ...--------------------++4---------- Cheyenne Mountain, Front Range Cameron’s Cone, Front Range --- Rhyolite Peak, Front Range -.-- Mount Pisgah, Front Range .-...--.---------- Blodget’s Peak, Front Range .-...-------++---+-++--222-+2----- Stormy Peak, Front Range ..--.-.----- WE Uttam eres arae Platte Mountain, Front Range ..-.------------------------ Lae Thunder Butte, Front Range. .-.---------------------------- Scragey Butte, Front Range .-.--...-.------------+----------- Western Kanosha Twin Cone, Kanosha Range..-.----------- Eastern Kanosha Twin Cone, Kanosha Range ..---------- --- Lost Park Mountain, Kanosha Range ...---------------------+ Freeman’s Peak, Kanosha Range....-..---------------------+ : Virginia Mountain, Kanosha Range --..- Upper Tarryall Peak, Tarryall Range Lower Tarryall Peak. Tarryall Range Bison Peak, Tarryall Range. -.-...-----.----------------------- Farnam’s Peak, Puma Hills .....-..--.-.---.------+---------- Pass Mountain, Puma Hills... -.......------------+----------- Signal Butte, head of West Creek.-...----.--------.---------- Topaz Butte, near Florissant -...-..--.-------------+--------- Ptarmigan Peak, Park Range.......----------------------- bes Buffalo Peak, Park Range....-.------------------------------ Marmot Peak, Park Range .-.---.-------------------+----:---- Sheep Mountain, Park Range. .------.----------+-------------- Thirty-nine Mile Mountain, head of Oil Creek.-..------------ Chalcedony Butte .-.....-----.--------+------- 2222222 22 -e2--- Cub Mountain, Evans Ridge.-......-..-...-.----------------- Platte Pulpit, Front Range....-.-..--------------++----------- TOWNS AND KNOWN PLACES. Fair Play, South Park.........-.-..--2------+-- 2202-220 2--2°- Alma, South Park.....-.---.--------:-------------------+--- Hamilton, South Park.........---- Salt-works, South Park ......---..----.---------------------- Hartseil’s post-office, South Park Florissant post-ofiice, South Park Colorado Springs, Denver and Rio Grande Railroad depot..-.. @olorado City eee ee ee ene eee eee ee sae eee eee tae Manitou Springs ..--....-.---2-------- +--+ 2-2 eee eee eet Monument, Oitynee cen see eee eae ora eee Ree Raa Senay eas Babe aboot dosouas soebHasoeneuacouuacsepscocadss PASSES. IKanosha Pass sssce> soe cs- scm eecn= = sees = eee oS A osGango ssosc¢ Weston’s Pass, Park Range .....--..------------------ OBE Trout Creek Pass ..---..--------------0 cesecee ene n oe none Pass near Thirty-nine Mile Mountain .........---.----------- Witelor South Park Bassieeeeeee ceca =e tenes ee = al Rock Creek Pass -.-. --- bb oudodee sdeunauasanpounccdoancgasdds Webster’s Pass, near Virginia Mountain ......-.-.----------- Summit, Arkansas Divide........---.....-------------------- RIVER JUNCTIONS. Wiopila OF lenis Chto. . ooo osobc cent couse aosaaouadonDooneaac South Fork of Platte and North Fork of Platte..-......----- Manitou Creek and South Platte River.......--.------------- Wigwam Creek and Scrith Platte River .....-...------------- Lost Park Creek and South Platte River ...-...--.--..-..---- Tarryall and South Platte River -....-..--..------.---------- Twin Creek and South Platte River .......--..-..-.--------- Rock Creek and Tarryall Creeks ......-.--.. .---+----------- Head of Upper Platte Cation, exit of South Park .....-...-..- Jefferson and Tarryall Creeks ...........--.-.-.- RE nae Main or Middle Platte Fork with Little Platte River..-....-- High Creek and Little Platte River...............-.--------- Fountain qui Bouille with Monument Creek..........-------- HAstand) Wiestlelum CreekSe-se-eeteese eset tes cheeeeeea eee Buffalo and North Fork of Platte River.....-...------------- Longitude. Ta iO roms 2a ri) (3) ocooooconw ° 338 38 38 38 38 38 Ul “ 50 26 45 15 44 5 50 0 47 0 45 15 57 45 11 45 15 0 Elevation in icet. 14, 147 SEP ene Se Ee | CHAPTER IV. SOUTH PARK DRAINAGE.—MAIN OR MIDDLE FORK OF ~ THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER. The source of the Middle or Main Fork of the South Platte River has its origin in a large amphitheater, directly below the northern slope of Mount Lincoln. Between the latter mountain and a huge spur to the north, lies a formidable mountain amphitbeater, where, from snow-banks and little lakes, the first waters are gatbered, which flow for 3 miles eastward to a point where the Breckenridge and Fair Play road descends from Hoosier Pass into the Upper Platte River Valley. The surroundings here give to the Main or Middle Fork the character of an open valley, which prevails for 5 miles in a southern course. In this valley are the mining towns Dudley and Alma. Immediately - below Alma, Buckskin Creek, which heads between the spurs and slopes — of Mount Buckskin and Mount Bross, joins the Platte. Only one mile south of this point Musquito Creek comes in, and one and a half miles still southward Sacramento Creek joins as a tributary. Both of the latter streams rise in the Park Range from 6 to 7 miles to the westward. From Alma the stream turns in an angle of 40° to the southeast, and flows in a broad and grassy valley. Six miles southeast of Alma the Main or Middle Fork of the Platte River passes the well-known mining town of Fair Play, which is situated at the foot of the Upper Platte River Valley. Only a few miles below Fair Play, two small creeks, Beaver and Crooked Creeks, come from the southern slope of Silverheels Mountain. Beaver Creek heads on the west side of tbe Jatter mountain and flows for several miles parallel with the Upper Platte River, sepa- rated only by a mountain spur from Silverheels Mountain, until it reaches the Platte River. Immediately below Fair Play the characteristics of a valley cease, the country opens to the south into an undulating country; while in an eastern direction the South Park Basin is invested with trachytic ridges, which originate, or at least assume their hilly character, at the base of Silverheels Mountain, and continue in several parallel ridges through the eastern portion of the South Park. The Platte River presses close to the western flank of the most west- ern one of these ridges, and continues so until 12 miles below Fair Play, where Trout Greek comes between two volcanic ridges from Silverheels Mountain, and enters the Platte River. From the confluence of Trout Creek the river still continues south- east to a point known as Hartsell’s ranch, where the Little Platte River enters. From this point the main stream bears hereafter the name of South Platte River. Before continuing to describe the main stream, we will have to sketch the main characteristics of the Little Platte River and its tribucaries. The main stream of the Little Platte comes from near Weston’s Pass, on the eastern slope of the Park Range. A small lake near the head of 419 A20 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the pass may be considered the principal feeder of. that stream in its infancy as well as highest altitude. For 4 miles the Little Platte runs in a southeastern direction between two huge mountain spurs. Within that distance it has its steepest descent; after that it turns abruptly east and flows for four miles to a point where several morainal ridges, descending from the Park Range, terminate. Here the Little Platte re- ceives a tributary from the south, namely, from the northern slopes of | Buffalo Mountain, and still another one, arriving from a northern direc- tion, which drains the slopes and spurs of a portion of the Park Range lying between Sheep Mountain and Weston Pass. Down to this point its fall has been 2,000 feet within 10 miles, or 200 feet per mile. Hither of these tributaries carries nearly as much water as the main stream of the Little Platte. From the point of junction of these two streams with the Little Platte it still continves in an eastern direction for 35 miles, with a slight bending to the southward, from where it enters the open country or basin of the South Park. After having entered the level portion of the Park district, it finaliy makes au abrupt bend to the south, and in a sluggish flow continues for 43 miles, and when approach. ing to within 3$ miles of the salt-works it turns eradually to the east, receiving on its way, during 3$ miles, one more ereek carrying a mod- erate body of water from the most eastern spur of Buatfalo Mountain. This latter creck closes the series of flowing streams in this vicinity. “All other creek-beds are perfectly dry, and scarcity of water isa predom- inant feature in th eimmediate neighborhood. Three miles northeast of the salt-works another tributary comes from among the wide-spreading spurs of Buffalo Peak and joins the Little Platte after it has flowed for several miles through salty plains. This latter creek has a length of 12 miles, and owing to the many lateral branches which combine with the stream near its sources, its volume of water is quite respectable. The total fall of this ereek from its source to the junction with the Little Platte is about 1,800 feet. Two miles below the intersection of the last creek, the dry and parched bed of Agate Creek comes in, and 33 miles still further east- ward High Creek joins the Little Platte. Agate Creek comes from a southern direction and from among the northern spurs of Black Mountain, which lies on the southern limit of the district described in these notes; its fall is about 800 feet within a length of 22 miles. For the most part during the year it contains no running water, for it sinks shortly after leaving its sources. The district which Agate Creek drains is one of the most arid in the whole South Park. Numerous alkaline deposits over the whole of its drained area render the water useless—whenever we find such in small pools. Grass is also sparse in this location, and forest vegetation is absent. From Aga‘e Creek the country rises westward for 6 miles in very grad- ual slopes to a low subridge running directly south from Trout Creek Pass. Olose to that subridge numerous little groups of hills and rem- nants of terraces invest the country like barren islands in a dry ocean basin. Along the slope of the subridge we find here and there good — pasturage and some springs, but the latter scarcely make their exit from the wooded portion of the ridge when their existence also Geases. Three and a half miles down from the junction of Agate Creek the Little Platte River receives another tributary, named High Creek, which has its source on some of the highest parts of the Park Range aud north of the Sheep Mountain. Its course is for 16 miles nearly par- allel to and only from 2 to 24 miles apart from middle or main Platte BECHLER] Ale SOUTH PARK DRAINAGE. AD t River. Among the minor streams of the South Park, it must be counted among the most prominent ones, for although it flows for 15 miles in a dry and desert-like country, it still issues into the Little Platte with a considerable body of water. High Creek is joined by another stream, Four Mile Creek, when still about 8 miles from its junction with Little Platte. The total length of High Creek is about 20 miles ; ; its total fall is 1,600 feet, or 80 feet per mile. At the junction of High Creek with Little Platte River, several ter- races 2nd remnants of buttes crowd close to the river-bank, and 3 miles below this point the Little Platte forms its junction with the previously- deserided middle or main South Platte. The total length of main Little Platte is 32 miles ; its mean fall per mile is 81 feet, and the total fall 2,600 feet. The two united brancbes have made now a formidable stream, which for 17 miles meanders in a southeast direction through the southern portion of the South Park, where the South Platte, entering its first canon, takes suddenly a northeast course, and continues so for 9 miles, inelosed with 600 feet high granite walls, until it frees itself from its rocky inclosure to assume a valley form again. Here it receives the waters of a latera} stream,~“l'win Creek. Twin Creek originates by means of numerous branches on that plat- eau north of the Pike’s Peak group called Hayden Park. At a point named Florissant or Castello’s ranche, the main waters of Twin Creek unite with two other streams, one, a nameless one, coming from the south, and the other Topaz Creek, coming from the direction of Topaz Butte, or from the north. Down to Florissant the three creeks flow through an undulating plateau country. The depression through which they pass may be more compared with soft descending dales, sometimes ravines, and in other places narrows—not canons. From Florissant or Castello’s downward, in direction of the Platte River, the valley form prevails, and retains the same character down to its junction with the South Fork of Platte River, which lies about 4 miles west of Castello’s ranch. About 24 mites before its issue into the Platte River another tributary, Fish Creek, which originates between the voleanic buttes several miles to ae southwest, comes to join Twiu Creek. Fish Creek flows, for the greatest sein of the way during its course of 11 miles, in a softly- descending hilly country, with a good many grassy ravines and dales. Its descent within its course is about 1,000 feet in total, or about 90 feet per mile. For several miles down from its junction with Twin Creek, the South Fork of the Platte River bears the character of a narrow valley, but before it effects its intersection with the Tarryall Creek, which is 8 miles from the above place, the stream is pressed closer by the hills from both sides. During its course down to that point, there is not any stream of note entering on the east side, and, with the exception of one creek which brings the water from the Puma Hills (a ridge of mountains 6 miles to the west) from near the Ute Pass, a low pass, over which the Colorado Springs and Fair Play road crosses, there is no other one on the west side worthy of special mention. This last creek comes into the Platte where the road crosses the Platte River, near a well-kuown place named Link’s ranch. There are several springs on the eastern slopes of the Puma Hills, which form the eastern barriers of the South Park, but the arid nature of > NS 422 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the country prohibits their continuation. They dry up before reaching the main channe! of the Platte River. From the confluence of South Platte Fork and Tarryall Creek, the river’s course is, for a distance of 13 miles, caton-like ; not absolutely so, for in many places it is bordered by moderately-steep hills or spurs. Sometimes the steep slopes prevail in particular only on one side. While the general nature along this stream is cafion, it occurs in several places where that character prevails in an absolute meaning. One of these places is between the intersection of the two wild mountain-streams, ‘Lost Park and Wigwam Creeks. For 12 miles the South Platte cannot be described as running in a cafion, or else we would have to apply that term to every defile, narrow or wide, in the whole Rocky Mountains. In many places that character exists only in a limited sense, and, within 12 miles, the river enters but three times, and only for a short distance, into such narrow places where we have to desist from following the stream. I haveseen several attempts of ranching on the middle portion of the river “near Wigwam Creek,” but these were abandoned, perhaps on account of the very rugged approaches on all sides, which make wagon-road communication with the settlements outside the mountains very difficult. The general course of the South Platte River for 25 miles down to its junction with the North Fork of the South Platte is north 26° east. Nine miles below the entrance of Tarryall Creek, the South Fork of the Platte receives Lost Park Creek as a tributary. Three miles below that Wig- wam Creek enters, and but three-fourths of a mile east of it a large creek, Manitou Creek, which is coming from the southeast, joins. MANITOU CREEK. Manitou Creek, together with the two branches of West Creek, drains _ quite an extensive district, amounting nearly to 200 square miles. This district comprises that area which lies west of the Front Range, com- mencing on the divide of the latter, from near that pass* which lies near the headwaters of Fontaine qui Bouille, and from there north along that divide to 39° 15’, or to a point east on a line from where Manitou Creek enters the South Fork of the Platte River. The western line of this drainage-district would be somewhat irreg- ularly shaped, as it extends about from a point north of Topaz Butte (near Florissant) in a curved line, first in northeastern and then north- western direction, and also downto its junction with the Platte River. The southern limit lies on that plateau, 8 miles north of Pike’s Peak, on which the Colorado Spring and South Park road crosses from the head- waters of the Fontaine qui Bouille into the South Platte River Valley. The largest area which Manitou Creek, combined with West Creek, drains lies principally west of the Front Range, and also of its own valley. It consists of a high, gently-rollivpg plateau country, which descends softly inclined toward north and into the Platte River Valley. The sources of Manitou Creek lie about 8 miles directly north of Pike’s Peak, and are composed of many branches which come partially from the western slope of the Front Range, but principally of those that come in long and sometimes rough and narrow guiches from that softly-descending plateau-like area called Hayden Park. * This pass is‘also called Ute Pass. This name has been used extensively, first, for the pass on the Williams Range leading from the blue River into Williams Valley; second, for a pass leading over the Puma Hills into the South Park, and, third, forthe one above mentioned. BECHLER. | SOUTH PARK DRAINAGE. | 423 Manitou Creek ean pride itself on a fine valley, which begins but 5 miles from its headwaters and extends for 12 miles north, lying directly along the western base of the Front Range. A low spur, coming from the Hayden Park Plateau, divides Manitou Creek from West Creek. The distance between the East Branch of West Creek and Manitou Creek is otten but 2 miles. Both creeks join in a cafion 3 miles before they enter combined the Platte River. The western branch of West Creek comes from about 2 miles north- east of Topaz Butte, and strikes the East Fork in an oblique direction. It also possesses pretty valley features in some parts, and is well supplied with water. Its length is not far from 9 miles, while the eastern branch, including the distance below the junction with the western fork, is nearly 17 miles, Before the united West Creek enters Manitou Creek, it passes for 5 miles along the eastern base of a commanding-looking butte, Thunder Butte—quite a landmark in this region—which rises abruptly to a height of 2,400 feet above the level of the creek. The height of this butte above sea-level is 9,430 feet, and it rises 3,000 feet above Platte ‘River, estimated from near the entrance of Manitou Creek. The shape of Thunder Butte is elongated, with a northwest trend, and shows very steep and rugged spurs on the east side. While its crest may be nearly 3 miles long, the highest point of it lies to the south. Mani‘ou Creek* has a length of 27 miles, a total fall of 2,000 feet, and an average fall of 118 feet per mile. The valley is named Manitou Park ; in its center stands a fine hotel, from which a road leads over the Front Range in the direction of Sadalia, and another one to Colorado Springs. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SURROUNDINGS OF WIGWAM CREEK, MANI- TOU CREEK, AND SOUTH FORK OF PLATTE RIVER. The surroundings about the junction of Wigwam Creek, Manitou Creek, and South Fork of South Platte River are not so devoid of interesting features as to forbid allusion to them. We have in the preceding paragraph, concerning the drainage of Manitou Creek, given already an outline sketch of Thunder. Butte, a_ long-crested, imposing-looking butte, with a point rising some 3,000 feet . above Platte River. Of nearly equal scenic interest is the country to the northwest as well as to the east. Seven miles to the northwest is the imposing -Kanosha Range, with Freeman’s Peak as the last high point crowning it, and only 4 miles opposite and across Webster’s Pass stands another conspicuous landmark, Virginia Mountain, with a longitudinal crest of several miles, steep aud rugged, with long spurs falling off, terrace- shaped toward the south and to the margins of Wigwam Creek. The crown parts of Virginia Mountain fall off suddenly about 2,000 feet, after which thé mountain masses descend in long, sloping, broad spurs toward the Platte Canon, and between the spurs follow deep carved gulches and cafions, which to penetrate and explore would seem hazardous for the average man and the inexperienced. Seven miles directly to the east of the confluence of Platte River and Manitou Creek stands another interesting monument of mountain structure, * Manitou, I was informed, was the name frst given to this creek. An English party taking possession of its valley, and following largely the propagation of trout, named it Trout Creek. As we have just about 1,000 Trout Creeks in the Rocky Mountains, I have allowed Manitou to stand. 424 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Platte Peak, and vulgarly called “ Devil’s Head” by the mountaineers and inhabitants of the plain. Platte Peak has a center position on that part of the Front Range which runs longitudinally from nerth of Pike’s Peak, commencing north of Fountain qui Bouille Creek and running to the Platte Cation near the exit of the river. The top of Platte Peak or Devil’s Head con- sists of a long pulpit-shaped granite structure lying east and west. The granite turrets of which it is shaped stand erect, and but few can be climbed. Some of the single blocks are so odd in their forms that - one of them, fronting the plains, resembles indeed a huge head, so dis- torted, however, that mountaineers saw fitness in comparing it with an imaginary being which has generally been supposed to exist only in the hottest of places. That huge granite pulpit of the Platte Mountain falls off several hundred feet suddenly, and the masses in all directions soon assume that flat, bulky shape descending only by degrees to where the deepest drainage-channel lies. Flat as that mouutain mass may appear, and so gradual as its slopes may present themselves, the drain- age has nevertheless cut deep fissures and gashes into the eranite in some places from the very top, which widen as they approach the valley into gorges and cation. A SOUTH FORK OF SOUTH PLATTE RIVER—Continued. There is only one creek of note coming into the South Fork of the Platte River about 10 miles below the confluence of Wigwam and Platte Rivers. This nameless creek comes directly first in two branches irom the Platte Mountain pulpit, which gives it a length of 8 miles. It strikes the Platte obliquely, coming in from a northeast direction. Just before that creek joins the “Platte the latter has passed on its left or west side another butte, a fantastic scraggy-shaped granite structure, with exceedingly steep faces toward the river. This butte, nearly 2 miles long, has by mountaineers and settlers been named Secraggy Butte. from its sharp serrated crest, whereon the straight rocks stand like upturned icicles. From this butte the river becomes wedged in considerably between steep sloping mountains, and two wiles below it the South Fork of the South Platte is joined by the North Fork* of the South Platte River, which coming from the west has its sources in those high mountain portions lying on the main Colorado Range near Whale Peak, and in fact from all the mountain-slopes, from Kanosha Pass around to Evans Peak, and still many miles to the east of it. The North Fork of the South Platte is the last conspicuous tributary which the main South Platte receives while in the mountains. It is from this contluence to the Foot Hills but a short distance in a straight line. The river within that space makes two more large bends, larger and more definite bends, than it-made elsewhere within so short a dis- tance. But its winding course is justified, for huge granite spurs hem its way to the very threshold of the plains, but its success is, in spite of obstacles, finally complete; men cannot follow its margins, but the South Fork of the Platte itself enters triumphantly the plains to greet a splendid valley. TARRYALL CREEK. Tarryall Creek is the largest tributary of the South Platte River as long as the latter isin the South Park region. The main stream has “This North Fork of the Platte River must not be confounded with the Big North Fork of the Platte River, coming out of the North Park and joining the South Fork of the Platte at North Platte in the plains. BECHLER. ] SOUTH PARK DRAINAGE. | ABS. its sources immediately below and south of Hamilton Pass; and is strengthened by numerous little streams coming down the eastern slopes of the Silverheels group, and also from that one lying opposite the southern extension trom Hamilton Mountain. At the foot of Silverheel Mountain Tarryall Creek is considerably broken by placer and hydraulic mining, by which the creek-bed is for long stretches completely destroyed and its water turned into practical use. A small mining village, Hamilton, lies at the mouth of that mountain amphitheater, in which the Tarryall originates, and through which the road winds, going over the Hamilton Pass into the Blue River Valley. Passiug the latter village, it flows for 11 miles in what constitutes the flattest part of the upper portion of South Park. The creek has made here for its channel a furrow of 25 feet deep in the gravelly bottom of the park. Eleven miles below Hamilton it receives Jefferson Creek, united with Michigan Creek, as a tributary, with an amount of water equal to the main Tarryall Creek. These two creeks have their main sources near Mount Guyot, and east among the slopes and spurs on the main range facing the South Park. ‘They flow tor 18 miles, partially in mountains and for the greater part in an open park area, before they unite with the Tarryall Creek; and we may add that, after they have . left theemountainous portion of country, they flow for at least 8 to 9 miles in the best pastured part in the park, crossing the main Denver and Fair Play road 2 miles north of their junction. Where Jefferson Creek enters Tarryall Creek the latter has just passed through a cafion several miles long, which has been caused by the stream breaking through a broad terrace of volcanic overflows, which immedi- ately, a “little over a mile of this point, rises into a regular cluster of hills about 800 feet above Tarryall Creek, which continue as a low ridge in the direction of the southeast corner of the South Park. Only a few miles below the junction of Jefferson Creek with the Tar- ryall, Rock Creek joins, coming from the mountains to the northeast; in particular where Tarryall and Kanosha Ranges are connected by means of a saddle. Some of the tributaries of Rock Creek drain the most northwestern slopes of the Kanosha Mountains. The whole length of Rock Creek not being over 8 miles, the abundance of water it con- tains is therefore astonishing. Other valuable attributes consist in the splendid pasturage along its margins and those of its many little tribu- taries. The subsequent portion of Tarryall Creek is more or less an open val- ley, which continues for about 7 miles, when it enters between the north- ern portion of the Puma Hills and the Tarryall Range into a narrow valley. Numerous ranches along the creek give evidence of its good farming qualities, such as we possess, at least, here in this country of considerable altitude. To the west of Tarryall Creek, while in this open valley, the cluster of. voleanie hills referred to above front the stream with abrupt, steep faces, and bear here somewhat a dignified appearance, while their west- ern slopes show a very gradual descent and exhibit hardly any expo- sures. To the east of this open valley part the long-stretched, timberless slopes of flat spurs come down from the Tarrvall Range and border the stream occasionally with low bluffs. Only little water comes down from the Tarryall Mountains in this section. The streams are lost in gravel aud sand before reaching the Tarryall bottom, while from the tracbyte hills on the west side there is hardly any additional water furnished to that stream, for, except two or three running streams, the molds and 426 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. drainage depressions in the hills show even no evidence of water-flow during any part of the season, as I have found no furrow or drainage- | bed where water had once flowed, only moist, grassy places, with some pools of accumulated water, here and there. When Tarryall Creek arrives at the point 7 miles below the junction of Rock and Tarryall Creeks, it is closely pressed by mountains on both sides for a distance of about 7 miles, but not so much that the road lead- ing along this creek would be obliged to leave the valley and follow along the mountain spurs. We find no ranches within 4 miles of this canon valley; but efter that it opens, and remains so for 2 miles, so as to give room for the location of several ranches. Near the end of the 2 miles the mountains recede on the west side to a distance of 8 miles, thus making the country more generally open, but not level, for numerous small hills of granite, several hundred feet high, crowd near the creek and give it a cafion-like margin, while on the east the creek is bordered by the very bases of huge granite slopes from the Tarryall Range. The Tarryall has, all the distance from Rock Creek, about 22 miles, a southeast course, after which it suddenly turns to the east. After meandering for 4 miles in a rugged caiion, it enters the South Platte River. The whole length of Tarryall Creek, from its source near Ham- ilton Pass, is 48 miles, with a total fall of 4,200 feet, and an average - fall of 137 feet per mile. The scenery along the more southern part of the Tarryall Range is truly grand and gorgeous. Huge reddish granite mnasses, and in the most rugged shape, are here visible, rising abruptly to a mean height of 2,200 teet above the valley, so as to baffle in most places any human attempt to scale them. Only in the center of the valley have we been able to find a place where, with some effort, we were able to make the ascent with animals. LOST PARK. Between Tarryall Range on the west and Kanosha Range on the north and northeast, there hes another high mountain valley, apparently char- acteristic only of that portion of the country. This valley, separated from Creig Creek only by the width of the Kanosha Range, lies but four miles south of, and but 2,000 feet lower than, Creig’s high mountain valley. Its mean elevation above sea-level is 9,200 feet. Inclosed on all sides by high and rugged mountains, and having as yet only'two very steep, rocky, and imperfect approaches, namely, Rock Creek and Wigwam Creek trails, hunters and prospectors have named that mountain valley ‘“* Lost Park,” perhaps from its seclusion. ‘To the for- midable creek that meanders through that valley, the name of ‘ Lost Park Creek ” has been attached for want of a better one. ‘Where Tarryall and Kanosha are linked together by means of alow saddle, the Lost Park (main) Creek takes its rise. Only halfa mile farther to tbe north another creek, Indian Creek, originates, draining the western slopes of Ka- nosha Range. Only three-fourths of a mile apart from each other, and separated only by a low ridge, the two creeks flow, with a moderate de- scent, along side by side to unite 5 miles below, where the full character- istics of a valley or park manifest themselves. Indications ot a valley character exist, however, already on the main stream nearly all the way up to Rock Creek saddle. This creek receives alsosome lateral streams from the gently-sloping willow-flats on the northeast slope of Upper Tarryall Range. Before the two streams which have their ‘sources near and about Rock Creek saddle unite, the western creek or main stream BECHLER. ] SOUTH PARK DRAINAGE. 4927 receives a large body of water from a creek coming from the west of station 39, or Bison Peak. The borders of this stream have, for about 24 to 3 miles, the resemblance of a park by itself. Itis in some places nearly one-third of a mile in width, in the lower part at least, and is intersected on its way to the (main) Lost Park by several mountain _ streams, bringing abundance of waterfrom wide-spread willow-flats from among the northern portions of Tarryall Range. On this stream as well as on the above-mentioned willow-flats bison still roam, and Indians come here every year to bunt them. From the junction of this stream with Lost Park Creek, and 3 miles down the stream, the resem- blance of a well-developed valley (or park) is hardly questionable. With scarcely 200 feet fall within a distance of 3 miles, its general surface appears flat. Along the creek, the mountain-spurs are much flattened, and, in consequence, a very soft rise exists immediately in rear of both river-banks. Here and there gravel benches make their appearance. The valley is from one-third to one-half mile broad, with abuudance of high, wild grass near the creek, and excellent bunch-grass on the sides. The creek has cut a 10 to 12 feet deep channel. Numerous little mount- ain rivulets, with no wellde-fined beds, have produced many wet and miry places near the margin of the creek. To estimate from the huge mountain masses that surround this park, and, the considerable deposits of snow therein during winter, we reason- ably conclude that great and powerful masses of water tlow through this valley in spring-time. rom general appearance, and from the existence of some very regu- lar gravel benches, as well as from the fact that the river-banks were disproportionately higher at the lower end of the park than in the center or elsewhere on the stream, I was led to the conclusion that this park, in remote times, was a large mountain lake, which, according to ap- proximative calculation, contained about 9 miles of lake surface, ‘includ. ing the inlets, which now are side-valleys. At the lower extremities of the park, and 1 mile below a point where a small stream comes down alongside of Wigwam trail, the features about Lost Park Creek change from a quiet, almost idyllic mountain valley iato a chaotic-looking canon. The stream becomes at once pressed by steep mountain’ spurs into a narrow channel, and for 8 or 10 miles its borders are dark and desolate-looking walls which recede on the west side about 24 miles from the creek, and rise to a height of 3,000 feet. On the east, the crests of the mountains are still nearer, and tower about 2,200 feet relative height above the bed of the creek. Inside the cation, the Lost Park Creek represents only a turbulent, ever-foaming and ever-plungipg stream, in constant battle witb the rocks fallen into its channel from the precipitous mountain-sides; this continues until it emerges out of the chaotic region, a vast wilderness of rocks, again into a more moderate, open, and free country, which com- mences about 4 miles west of its confluence with Platte River. The total length of Lost Park Creek is 25 miles; its total fall from Rock Creek Pass to its junction with South Platte River is 3,400 feet and its average fall per mile 136 feet. : WIGWAM CREEK. Wigwam Creek rises between the rugged granite ridge east of Lost Park “Cation and the exceedingly rugged portion of Kanosha Range, or on the southern slopes of Freeman’s Peak. This stream carries almost from its very source a powerful volume of water. There is ove small ’ 428 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. willow park, of about 40 aeres area, near the head of the stream. Except- — ing this small patch of comparatively level surface, there is not one-quar- ter of a mile on the whole creek’s length that could not be termed abso- lute canon. A rough trail, obstructed by down timber and rocks, leads along this creek into Lost Park, and can only be traveled on foot or on mules, and even then with difficulty. One mile above its junction with the South Platte River, Wigwam Creek receives Webster’s Creek as a tributary, which leads on the south side of Webster’s Pass or the pass which leads between Free- mun’s Peak and Virginia Mountain over into the main Buffalo Creek country. The upper or mountainous part of the country through which Wig- wam Creek flows is heavily timbered. After it leaves the abrupt mount- ain part, timber becomes somewhat scarce. While the Abies ‘species exists principally in the upper part, the Pinus sylvestris predominates in the lower region altogether. Total length of Wigwam Creek is 10 miles; total fall, 2,600 feet average fall per mile, 260 feet. CREIG CREEK AND THE SUMMIT VALLEY. The Summit Valley, with Creig Creek originating at its head, ex- hibits such remarkable orographic features that it must be considered a curiosity not frequently seen in the Rocky Mountains. It is a regular, well-developed valley (Hochthal*) of about nearly seven miles in length and from 1,000 to 2,000 feet in width, well grassed and watered with a beautiful stream. It extends between the two mountain crests of Kanosha Range and North Platte River Mountains, at a mean height of 11,400 feet above sea-level. Both of the ridges rise about 800 feet in average above that mountain valley, while their peaks rise to a relative height of 1,200 feet above it. The course of the valley is di- rectly southeast, like the two ranges, and the descent is only 1,200 feet within 7 miles. A quantity of large springs and numerous ponds at the head of the valley make the stream powerful at its infancy. After 7 miles of moderately gentle flow the stream is pressed between the steep sides of the two ridges, and for 3 miles it is bustling and tumbling in rapid descent down to an elevation of 8,400 feét, which shows the rapid fall of that stream of 3,000 feet within the short distance of 3 miles. During this rapid trip through the mountain narrows the stream as- sumes an eastern CUS, and after passing through a small but impen- etrable canon of 14 miles in length it turns directly to the northward for a few miles, where it enters the “north branch of the South Platte River at a mean élevation of 7,400 feet. The peaks on either side of the Mountain Valley of Creig Creek are neither bold nor huge in formation. They rise from 200 to 400 teet above the general saddle-height of the two ranges and are in most cases sim- ple eranite exposures, the contiguous strata having given away more ret adily to erosion. The slopes on the east of the valley are moderately steep, with sparse timber on them, while the side fronting the North Fork of the South Platte is very rugged and precipitous. The spurs are sharp granite edges, with smaller peaks and rocky pulpits on them. The range on the west side of Creig’s Mountain Valley is. the higher and principal range, * The name “Summit Valley” is not entirely equivalent to the German “ Hochthal.” These valleys of considerable bicoiee elevation are but rarely met with in the Roch y Mountains, while their occurrence is very frequent in the Alps. | BECHLER} SOUTH PAKK DRAINAGE. . 429 while the eastern mountains swing around alongside of Creig Oreek, aud the last spur of it comes to a terminus at the very junction of Creig Creek with the North Fork of the Platte River. The western range con- tinues on to Freeman’s and Virginia Peak, near the headwaters of Buffalo. The tributaries of Creig Creek are insignificant and have their rise along the mountain-slopes close by the stream. If we except a small narrow strip of park with plenty of willows and some good grass, con- taining perhaps an area of 30 acres below the most abrupt part through which the stream has to pass, and again some small open creek bends vear its junction with the North Platte Fork, Creig Creek is, in its totality, a wild, rugged, and impassable stream. NORTH FORK OF THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER AND ITS VALLEY FEA- TURES. The North Fork of the South Platte River has in regard to valley fea- tures just a trifle more than the mere appearance of them. We use the term valley principally in this case to make at least a cert in distinction between this stream and others that come down from the eastern slope into the Platte, for they are mostly all cailon streams as long as they remain in the mountains. This valley seldom widens more than one-fourth cf a mile, and it is closed very frequently by the steep hillsides so as to admit simply a passage for the stream. In such places the road is meandering, fre- quently several hundred feet bigher than the river along the mountain spurs, until the bottom of the valley permits again an approach to the stream. The valley of the North Fork of the South Platte commences near the reduction-works of Hallstown, where several mountain streams issue their water into one channel. The main stream comes from Whale Mine Gulch. Other important tributaries are Gibbons Creek, Bullion Oreek, and Hand-Cart Creek, in junction with other small streams that rush down to the right and the left from the mountains. Irom here down to a point 5 miles below, where a small creek comes from Kanosha Pass, the features of a valley are more definitely expressed than elsewhere on the whole stream; only, before we get quite down to the junction of Kanosha Pass Oreek, the valley closes again into a narrow defile for a short distance, but down to here the valley has had every where else a uni- form width from one-fourth to one-third of a mile, and it contains fre- quently some good patches of pasturage. ; ‘A quarter of a mile below the junction of Kanosha Pass Oreek the valley becomes very narrow,.and continues to be so for 3 miles to a point where Geneva Creek comes from the north as a powerful mountain stream. It originates among the spurs and mountains near and about | Mount Evans and has a fine cataract or fall 43 miles above this point. From here the valley closes and opens within a distance of 7 miles very frequently. The road seldom approaches the river very closely, the un- evenness of ground and rugged nature of its margins preventing it. Yet extremely narrow as the valley is here, we find some attempts made at settlements, owing to the good grass along the hillsides, which enables the settlers to raise some cattle. Ata point called Slaght’s, 7 miles east from junction of Geneva Gulch, the valley again opens for a short distance of one mile, and we see for the first time some fields and some level bottom pasture. Below this spot the river again is hemmed in by the mountains and remain so until 430 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 4 miles farther to the east we approach Bailey’s Ranch, from which place the Fair Play road leaves the valley to assume a northeastern course toward Turkey Creek, Morrison, and Denver. From Bailey’s Ranch the North Fork of the Platte River bears in the direction of Buffalo Creek a distance of 12 or 13 miles. The char- acter here is that of a narrow valley; of course not absolutely so, for there are still several places within that space where some mountain spurs or low ridges, ‘“‘ which occur particularly on the south side between Creig and Buffalo Creek,” press the river into a narrow channel; but for the most part there is more area ot open river bottom than on the remainder of the North Platte Fork. A small number of settlers have occupied, in particular in the vicinity of Buffalo Creek junction, the whole valley for several miles upward. The grass among the willows near the river is abundant, and the mod- erately sloping hillsides show plenty of fine and rich bunch grass. Below this junction of Buffalo Creek with the North Fork of South Platte River the stream enters a rugged canon district and remains in it even after its junction with the main or South Platte Fork. BUFFALO CREEK. Buffalo Creek heads at the most eastern end of Kanosha Range, be- tween the spurs of Lost Park Peak, Freeman’s Peak, as well as Virginia Mountain. The largest portion of water comes from among the slopes ot Kanosha Range, while the principal stream-bed comes directly from a pass, ‘* Webster’s Pass,” which has an altitude of about 8,200 feet. Yor 2 miles below the summit the Pass Fork of Buffalo Creek mean- ders through a grassy basin about one mile in length, which bears evi- dence of having beenalake. Twobuttes, peculiar monuments of erosion, stand within 14 miles of each other, and to the right and left of that basin. The western one is remarkable for its extreme sharpness and abrnpt rise; the highest points seem but needles. The relative height of that granite butte is about 2,000 feet above the little lake basin. Two miles east of this butte, the two principal streams unite to consti- tute main Buffalo Creek, which flows hereafter directly in a course northeast, toward the North Fork of the South Platte River. Although the country through which Buffalo Creek flows consists mainly of rolling and flattened spurs from Virginia Mountain on the east side, and a low granite ridge on the west, the creek has neverthe- less a rough and tumbling passage over rocky ground before it unites with the North Platte Fork. The length of Buffalo Creek is 114 miles from its uppermost source. The total “fall of the stream is about 3,000 feet, and the fall from the base of the mountains down to the Platte Valley of the North Fork is about 1,000 feet, or 110 feet per mile. A31 SOUTH PARK DRAINAGE. 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DRAINAGE AND PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EASTERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN SLOPE. BEAR CREEK. Bear Creek is the first large water which comes from the eastern slope of Evans Ridge, and north of the Platte Canton. It drains quite a respectable mountain area, comprising about 2,000 square miles. The main source of Bear Creek comes directly from the eastern slope of Mount Evans, while another big branch, Roeder Creek ?, originates east of Mount Rosalie. - The southern mountain sides of the mountain called the “Chief,” give rise to several streams, named Corral Creek, Metz Creek, and Vance © Creek, and all the waters belonging to the Upper Bear drainage assem- ble in a splendid little park near Systie’s ranch, whence a road leads out into Bergen’s Park, and from there to the Foot Hills. Bergen’s Park consists of perhaps 9 square miles of gently-sloping area, and has proved to be one of the most available spots for settlers in the mountain west of the Foot Hills. Four miles southeast of Bergen’s post-office, and just at the Bear River bridge, Cub Creek enters. ‘This branch heads near the last high peak, “Cub Mountain” (10,623 feet high), on the eastern end of that ridge which (Mount Evans) stretches toward the plains, between the South Platte River and Bear River drainage. From near that point where Cub Creek enters, Bear River buries itself in a canon from which it only emerges seven miles to the east, near Morrison Village, at the Foot Hills. From here it breaks through the hogbacks, and is joined two miles below by Turkey Creek, draining the extreme outrunners of the Evans Ridge. Along Turkey Creek, “ though a cation”, leads the Denver and Fair Play wagon-road. Bear River drainage system belongs to one of the most rugged por- tions of the eastern slope, Clear Creek excepted. Clear Creek drainage zone contains an area of about 330 square miles, and originates in sey- eral large streams coming from among the eastern slopes of the main range, and out of that district which is inclosed by the main range, in making the big bend from James Peak to Mount Evans. There are four large streams running from that mountain inclosure; . three of them unite near Georgetown, and the fourth one joins 45 miles below this city. Between each of these, heavy mountain spurs press forward in magnitude hardly less grand than the main range itself. From Mount Evans a colossal ridge is detached which leads off in an eastern direction, and occupies the space between Bear and Chicago Creeks and Clear Creek, rising and falling alternately, and terminates at the Foot Hills. The highest altitude attained by this ridge after leaving Mount vans is 11,833 feet (Chief Mountain). 432 BECHLER.] EASTERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN SLOPE. 433 Nowhere else on the whole of the eastern Front Range are great mountain masses so abundant as in the country pertaining to the Clear Creek drainage system. The spurs naturally follow along the creeks, _and, in consequence, have also a tendency to concentrate near the differ- ent junctions of the tributaries and the main Clear Creek channel. Where huge mountains crowd so close to the drainage as is the case of the Clear Creek district, there is no room left for the development of a valley. This fact is manifested here, for Clear Creek is in a cafon > from beginning to end, and there are only two small spots which might be excepted, and they ‘are insignificant enough. In one of them is situ- ated Idaho Village, and the other is a small strip 24 miles in length upward from Mill City. ‘The same features appear on all the tributaries. Every stream that comes to join the main stream is inclosed by a cafion. Notwithstanding the excessively mountainous character of this region, which defies all attempts at agricultural pursuits, the Clear Creek dis- trict supports quite a large population which is employed in the indus- tries of mining. There we find some of the largest and most thriving towns in Colorado, namely: Central City, Georgetown, Blackhawk, Idaho, besides several smaller villages and scattered settlements, like Empire and Mill Cities, Downieville, SERVCUIE BUD, and settlements all along South Fork of Clear Creek. The only attempts at farming I have observed is in the upper parts of Fall River, where a few enterprising, and, no doubt, hard-working men have ayailed themselves of isoiated patches of moderately sloping ground to raise some potatoes and oats, the only products that can be raised in these mountains. — There are two roads leading into this mountain district, uniting at Idaho, one coming over and between heavy mountains from the Bear Creek country by the way of Bergen’s, and the other over Floyd Hill from Central City. From Idaho the road continues on to Georgetown, while a branch road leads via Empire City into the Middle Park, cross- ing Berthoud Pass at an approximate elevation of 11,313 feet. Roads branch off from Georgetown in two directions; one leads up to South Fork of Clear Creek as far as mipes extend, and the other presents a tolerably clear track along that branch of Clear Creek which takes its rise in that huge amphitheater beneath Gray’s Peak. At the very head- waters of this branch we are surrounded by many objects of profound interest. Besides that interest which we take, perhaps, in the lofty peak standing immediately before us, there are other objects that claim our attention. High up on the precipitous walls of the McClellan Range, ‘ which, crescent-shaped, encircles that amphitheater on the east,” are mines, appearing like swallow-nests on a cliffy mountain-side. This is the Stevens mine, at an elevation of 11,943 feet above sea-level, which, the signal-station of Pike’s Peak excepted, is perhaps the highest place of human habitation in Colorado. The inhabitants of this rocky home- stead ascend to it by means of ropes. Mount Kelso is opposite, but the mine thereon does not quite reach the height of the Stevens mine. Another road leads up a tributary of South Fork of Clear Creek to and over the Argentine Pass into the valleys of Snake and Blue Rivers. North of the Clear Creek district, the country lying east of the Rocky Mountain crest assumes totally different orographic features. We only find the characteristics of mountains of first order expressed in the great spurs detached to the eastward, which are occasionally from 2 to 6 miles long, but none of them possessing the bold features of the great spurs we see along the Gores Range, or along the western slope extending 2368 A34. REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. from 10 miles north of Arapaho Peaks northward to nearly 40° 30! latitude. With two exceptions, the spurs toward east assume, after their separation from the main range, either a very moderately rounded form, or in most cases that depressed bulky and broad character which . we generally observe in mountains destined to be soon absorbed by a ‘lower country. We might regard the crest of the main range as about 18 miles dis- tant from the foot-hills. Two-thirds of this intervening space are oe- cupied by mountains of subordinate order and totally different in char- acter to what we are used to observe along the rest of the eastern slope for hundreds of miles. In the most northern parts of the Rocky Mountains, between parallels 46° and 48°, I had occasion to observe here and there clusters and mountain groups lying near and along the foot of the main chain, but they are irregular. Streams flow in most every direction, and the mountains, hills, and ridges often run parallel to the main range. In this case, however, it appears as if the approach to the main chain had been once a solid huge granite plateau about 3,000 feet high, ‘‘ with only such unevenness of features as any not very undulating surface would produce.” Through this the streams originat- ing along the slopes have cut a remarkably straight easterly course to the plain. Mr. Archibald R. Marvin, assistant geologist and leader of the party in 1873, to which I was attached as chief topographer, de- scribed the eastern slope of the Front Range in that region with par- ticular ability. He remarks: “This mountain zone can in no wise be regarded as made up in distinct ranges or a system of ridges, but asa unit in itself, having characteristics which hold very uni- formly over nearly all parts. From beneath the precipitous crest, from all the gorges and amphitheaters at its base, flow innumerable streams which, after emerging from these upper caiions into the smoother highlands, soon collect into a few principal water-courses. Flowing in a generally eastern course, these gradually sink their chan- nels deeper and deeper into the rocks, the different main streams uniting their cations here and there, and finally issue from their deep-cut gorges in the mountain front to flow out into the plains and into the Platte.” Again he says: “The tendency of these cross-cutting streams is to throw this eastern mountain area into east and west ridges. These ridges are seldom sharp, but massive, and rather than striking one as a system of ridges, it impresses one as a system of deep-cut river channels.” He closes his remarks about this region in saying: ‘The majority of these ridges rise somewhat above 8,000 feet, while the plains along the eastern base of the mountains average not far from 5,600 or 6,000 feet. A few points along the face of the mountains rise higherthan the country immediately in their rear, such as Boulder and Golden Peaks, and Bear Peak, which stand close to the mountain edge. Butasa whole the mountain zone lying between the main divide and the plains certainly impresses one as being, with a few exceptions, a region of uni- form or gently undulating general elevation, carved by the powers of erosion, perhaps partly glacial but mostly by streams, into a mountain area of which portions are ex- ceedingly rugged.” Following from the exit of Clear Creek the foot-hills for five miles in a northward direction, we arrive at the mouth of RALSTON CANON, through which comes forth a creek of a third order of the eastern slope drainage, for its sources lie only 10 miles from the hogback to the west, while its tributaries consist of small rivulets not over 2 to 3 miles in length. pecuren.] EASTERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN SLOPE. 435 It is in this respect almost entirely unique, having with the other streams only in common the characteristics of being a cation stream. The nature of the country, however, in which Ralston Creek rises is somewhat different from the rest of that caion district, occupying nearly the whole area between Clear Creek and North Saint Vrain. Its sources lie in a mountain basin, caused by very gradual descending slopes from a ridge which connects 11 miles to the west with James Peak. In the rear and to the east of this basin stands that cluster of hills known as the Ralston Buttes, a cluster which deserves that name to the full extent, for it consists of a large number of sharp peaks resting all on a common mountain. The peaks are not over 10,590 feet high, but of a commanding appearance when compared with nearly all the rest of its surroundings. A rough road leads over this hilly cluster from Black Hawk into the Coal Creek Valley. On the south side of Ralston Creek, and just south of the buttes referred to, we find another ridge occupying the space between Ralston and Clear Creek drainage, with an irregular crest, showing alternately peaks and deep saddles. This ridge is perhaps 5 miles long, and its peculiar characteristics terminate when arriving at its easternmost and highest point, Golden Peak. Ralston Cafion is as yet impassable. A path leads from the foot- hilis, where a small settlement exists, for about 2 miles into the canon, but then ceases. A few settlers have availed themselves of some small patches of ground on the ridges and above the cation to cultivate some potatoes. COAL CREEK. Little can be said of this stream asa mountain stream ; it rises on the eastern slopes of Ralston Buttes, and has but a short course. Like Ralston Creek, it can boast of a little mountain basin near its head, which is occupied by some settlers. Into this basin the road from Blackhawk descends to resume its meandering tour through the narrow canon which follows this basin toward the foot-hills. THE BOULDER CREEKS. a. North Beulder Creek—The Boulder Creek of the plain consists of three branches, but the middle branch unites with the North Fork while yet in the mountains, and the remaining two branches enter the plain at points about 5 miles from each other. The North Branch of the Boulder originates near the northern slopes of Arapaho Peak and north of it. This peak, one of the finest along a large tract of the main range, throws a big spur in an eastern direction which divides the waters of the Middle and North Boulder. The middle stream takes its sources mainly in numerous amphitheaters beneath the crest of the main range beneath Arapho Peak and Boulder Pass. Three principal head branches, which form the Middle Boulder, are, from their very beginning, inclosed in cafion, and the streams remain in it until near Netherlands, where, for the short distance of 14 miles, the comparatively low ridges on both sides of the river recede a little, giving the latter the appearance of a modest-looking valley-bottom. Soon, however, the granite walls again approach the river, inclosing it down to and beyond its junction with the North Boulder. Both rivers are cafioned up at the point of their junc- tion, and have been so for many miles back. * The river is so much wrapped up in precipitous mountains during nearly 18 miles that the road leading along the cation is considered one 436 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. of the great road-building achievements in Colorado. This road was, indeed, constructed with difficulty. It has to cross and recross inces- santly to make its existence possible, and in many places whatever space the road needed had to be hewn out of the solid granite. Another tributary to the North Boulder is Four Mile Creek, which is 12 miles long, and rises in the mountain spurs descending from the main range, about 3 miles south of Ward City. This creek flows between two rugged ridges until 3 miles east of Sugar Loaf Mountains it arrives at the meridian of Gold Hill, from where it bends to the southeast, joining with North Boulder 14 miles before the latter passes the hogbacks near Boulder City. b. The South Boulder—Almost parallel to the middle branch runs » the South Boulder, a formidable stream, and in volumes of water perhaps equal to the united Middle and North Boulder. Among the rugged mountain sides of the main range between Boulder Pass and James Peak itself are the sources of this stream. Four miles beneath the strongly eroded mcuntain sides, north of James Peak, lies a lake in a magnificent valley, inclosed on all sides by huge mountains. This valley or mountain basin,* perhaps 14 miles in length and halfa mile in width, is the prettiest spot along the whole stream. After leaving it, the river enters a cafon, and is freed from it for a short space when arriving close to Rollinsville, whence a road leads to Netherlands and to the Middle Boulder Valley, as well as to Blackhawk, and another one to Boulder City, by the way of Bear Cafion. After leaving Rollins- ville and that small patch of bottom, the South Boulder plunges again into a cafion, impenetrable as yet, in ‘which it remains until its exit near the foot- hills, 5 miles to the south of Boulder City. North, Middle, and South Boulder streams drain together 15 miles of slope along the main or Colorado Range. JIM CREEK. This stream enters the plain 8 miles north of the point where North Bouider emerges from the mountains. It consists of two forks; the one being the main Jim Creek, and the second Left Hand Creek. They unite before entering the plain. For their whole length they are both inclosed in caions, excepting where the mountain-walls of the main fork spread apart to leave room for the settlement of Jim Town, am incon- siderable mining village. This principal branch heads beneath the main crest, 7 miles west of Ward City, and 4 miles north of Arapaho Peak. The second branch (Left Hand Creek) originates in the mountains directly north of Ward City. SAINT VRAIN’S CREEK. This stream heads in two large branches, the North and South Saint Vrain’s, just below the main crest of the main or Colorado Range. There is also a Middle Branch, which, although heading slightly farther up on the range than the South Branch, is a tributary to it, and loses its name at the junction. The South Saint Vrains does not gather its waters from the main crest, but on the slopes of that long spur stretch- ing east from Mount Audubon. The middle and north branches together drain 22 miles of the eastern slope of the main divide. The southern slopes of Long’s Peak, and the huge amphitheaters to the south and west of it, furnish a large proportion of the waters of Ae North Saint Vrain’s. *See crest of the main Rocky Mountains. BECHLER.] EASTERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN SLOPE. 437 After the many fast-falling mountain streams have united below and on the southern face of Long’s Peak, the stream flows along, cailloned up on the one side by the broad granite faces of Bald Mountain, and on the other by the long morainal spurs of the base of Long’s Peak. Soon, however, the North Saint Vrain’s is completely inclosed in one of those eranite cafions so common in this country, and in it receives a tributary from the south, which originates on the southeastern sides of Bald Mountain. This stream, only one mile from its junction, penetrates the granitic mass which holds the North Saint Vrain’s in its narrow path. The united streams continue for 24 miles with straight canon sides, when another cafioned tributary is received, coming from between Long’s Peak and Lillie’s Mountain. ‘This completes the main volume of water which the North Saint Vrain’s carries through a continuous cafon till near the “ Hogbacks,” among which it is joined by the South Branch, which has just completed its journey through one of the boldest districts in those parts near the foot-hills. The whole course of the South Saint Vrain’s is in cafion, partially rugged, but for the most part of only moderate steepness, the bordering country bearing the character of a granite plateau. The sources, as I have mentioned before, lie along the northern sides of the spurs which form the eastern extension of Mount Audubon. LITTLE THOMPSON. This stream enters the plains about 44 miles northeast of North Boulder exit. Its sources lie in the middle portion of that cluster of hills lying 52 miles east of Long’s Peak, of which Lillie’s Mountain (11,433 feet) is the dominating point. The principal stream is formed by three large branches, the chief and most western one coming from the east slope of Lillie’s Mountain. Several miles eastward this main branch is joined by Muggins Creek, along which the road leads from Longmont into Estes Park. The third branch, being the north branch of the Little Thompson, comes directly from among that immensely rugged granite mass which occupies the whole area between the Big and Little Thompson Rivers. VICINITY OF ESTES PARK AND THE BIG THOMPSON RIVER. Within the district treated in these notes we will scarcely be able to find a region so favorably distinguished as that presented by Estes Park. Not only has nature amply supplied this valley with features of rare beauty and surroundings of admirable grandeur, but it has thus distributed them that the eye of an artist may rest with perfect satis- faction on the complete picture presented. It may be said, perhaps, that the more minute details of the scenery are too decorative in their character, showing, as they do, the irregular picturesque groups of hills, buttes, products of erosion, and the finely-molded ridges in the very center of the park. Although this arrangement separates the otherwise broad expanse into a number of small areas, the total effect is pleasing in the extreme. From the sides of the huge mountains which here inclose us flow ' down the streams concentrating in Estes Park. Fish Creek comes from the south and from the northern slopes of Lillie’s Mountains; South Fork of Thompson, directly from the very cation west and beneath _ of Long’s Peak. Main Thompson rushes its waters down from the high main range 12 miles to the northwest. Fall River originates in a great 438 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. amphitheater a few miles to the east of it, and the Black ’Cafion Creek brings turbulent waters through a black gorge from the lofty peaks to the north. | The Big Thompson, as its united headwaters are called, flows through — the middle of Estes Park, which lies just 11 miles directly northeast of | the very pinnacle of Long’s Peak. The park does not consist of a com- — pact park area, but lies in separate portions along each of the streams, — the largest part of which is stretched along Fish Creek and along the © entrance of Black Cafion Creek, and where the former joius the Thomp- i son River. Soon after the junction of Fish Creek the river leaves the park to continue its journey for 9 miles through a rugged cafion, where it becomes augmented by another powerful Stream, the North, Fork, © coming partly from along the slopes of Buckhorn Mountain and partly from the mountains to the west of it. Between the two branches, and for many miles before they join, rises a voluminous granite ridge, with its highest points 2,000 feet above the river-level. To the south of the Nine Mile Cafion the precipitous slopes of that level-topped granite ridge is upheaved, which, although eroded and_ bisected by many - canons, stretches on pretty much the same level for many miles to the south, and crosses even the Little Thompson 11 miles southward. From the junction of the two branches the river still pursues its course for 4 miles in a caiion, passing on its way the Palisades, 2,200 feet above river-level. Between the latter the river is somewhat re- lieved from its rocky inclosure over a mile in distance, passing after that through the last and shortest caiion, and meandering from about 6 to 8 miles among the smallest of the Foot Hills group called the “ Hog- backs,” enters the plain very near the junction of Buckhorn and Big Thompson Rivers. SS ee ees | = SECTS Ee —— — ? "BS Sarat? AU ee eee a TETANY OPP DA YO) F009, ze a PROFILE. FORK ON ae Mae Il.) Trachyte Ridges LEVEL OF DENVER. PROFILE. Or rue CREST on tHe CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. From GEORGIA PASS +o HOMESTAKE PEAK. PROFILE. 439 BECULER.] EASTERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN SLOPE. ‘e8IN09 ILO} SULINP spueq [edrourad oy Os[B opnpoUut ynq ‘ou IYSwsqs v UL SoouRASIp OT Jou ssordxo soansy oy L— ALON. ‘SO[IUL OT SI PISMO] leq} Woyounf ateqy} WoT “WNT ISOA\ TIE worouNl s7t 0} SOTIUI gg SL PISUOT OY, “Wees}s ULVUI OY} 4 AOpIsuod J ysosuo] OY} SuTed yoorg wn[qI ase § ‘O[QUPIOATON oq P[NOAL SoyVIstar ‘soTIBU GNI} ATOYY ynoqe uoLutdo Fo AZISIOATP YVOIT OT} OF SUTALO QUI} POOUTAUOD UB T 2OF ‘AUT SUIQIOSep WTF ULBISGU OF OUT s}dmoid oxey9 Surat; suosasd moaz peatoood A717WOpT ALOYY ynoge quoTI9}v43s AIOJOIPeAZUOS ON9 Ynq ‘ OSuLIY QUOI OY} MOAT SOTILINGITY JO IOQuINU B SoATOdoI YOoID WITT 460A } IOATY Wosdwmoyy, Stef 0} 9dINOS MOTT } “mosdmoyy, sig YJIAs oTJOuNl OF, » ‘od od og “od 0d OVI T}VOS “LOp Tog “DOALY 0}7VLI —OoJUL sor;duy soo 852" "FIO ISOM -yoorig winytg ysVn SLOG: yooln 1veq “77> yaorg Aon, Saree pram Scien op:-*" Y90IN Iv9eTQ YINog “*-- Fool WO4S|Ry atelier YOolQ IvO COORG ECORES zopinog gc ure A guTEg ----Jeplnog [ION “-77 >" SOOT WEP BRR Se UIBIA JUIBS OIUIA JULES OTPPIAL UIBIA JULES TION Sees yoo mre ----tosdmoyg, Sig "078 q UDOS ATA soqray) “UIvOI}S: JO [PIOL Ulem 19 “SOUT ‘SUIvoOI}s Oo} vaedos og} JO 47S Ug] [240 q, ie ag Say | Be Be ae era wececs-=* OPTAT(, SVSUBYIY JLULTINS 189 NT Beiepris eisiaseisi trotters seo ---- ONIN vet ‘oDUEY JUOIT pie kein CRS elaie SS ainsi r “*-*->> gjoouly yunony Jo sodo[g ese) shea gee *--*"""* TOISUEIXO OSPIY SuBAT Jo sedo[g Beysen's wostooseosssse--"- SABA JUNOT JO odors yseqy pa sieieinss cress csssss""" TROT SOULE JO JS¥O SUIVIONOTT SS eae tiotrst ttttes yveg suesg Jo edojs Yy10N Te Ga TOO “s-""" yvog §, AlIVg pus sowmepe jo sedo[g S45'9c0 SoD “*7"""> WBOg SOUIVE JO YINOS OSURI UIE], Slew ebeseiccieeeis clsiefelsiclaaise ciel: puog Sig Ul oduvar ule yeog 8,AvrH pus SUA JUNOTY ToOMJoq OsueI UlL_T Seer ie ie/nismeeclelaiers (erst, $9} Ng 8,U0IS[eY JO JOMTINOG sar cecrsssrersseesos Ronan 8, 1OIS[VY JO SOdo[S ySeGy scciaee sreescsseooo-s- HBO SoMvE JO Sodo[S [TON deiscisiehis Cicleisicinisisisicie >> yBog oyrdeiry jo sodojs qyNOG Sop iigsciscices S rooms s=se----HBOg OUEdEIY JO TION sro ceeroneseronoeeso-"- TIEIUNOW Plvg JO VOTING ERO SECO rg OUIM piv AA vst ‘UTeJUNOTY preg BoS Gee aera woqnpny Juno; JO yynos ‘osuvs aIe_L oot reroessssss-- TOQNPNY JUNO, IvoUu ‘osueL UIE HL SoRrae ae oyedsry JO [J10U SUIeJNNOM Jo OSUeI UBL yeod 8,suo07T Jo sodojs 4svo pue qNOG cele ines gin ei ais seeps a SULVIULOVY 8S ,O[LT JO yseVyy SOPESTTEd OG} FO ISO STITH JOO SIO Woy} JO ISOM puv ‘saleJUNOT;, T1oyyong COCs es ela YAIv_ 89ST JO JSoAyIL0U survjunopy elas Yvod §,suoT JO JSoMTIIOU Solita Z ‘osUvA ULV 8& ial C9x € cCL = see OF OL Ge ae ee Haha meeees OL 8B aaa 66 ‘Sov i= ® 158 Bot ope 8.5 23 B i} I Su0'T ‘suIvjunoMm & mBod}s JO WY ‘90an08 Jo AqiyBoo'T “08 oP % 18 068 spayynuod wows adojs usajsna oy fo abouimaup fo 190} arvydn.wbouphyy DESO ESOS SOS GSS STE TERK) NaN ELUENT Gf siolete)sleinreclnciciec iam imate el QO) ALCLLLT TAR SOUANG sirigpaisine'sitizis SEivicisniceecee tice OO rlOU CE eveleisisiaes pewieinsiecin cies eieinis yoorg Aoying, qouvig- YAMBH YOV[T ‘YI1D Avo[O Jo Y10q 4IIONT piesa = sicieie Spiel rie YoolO osvorgy cee eee tee een ne eee nees YO9LD TL 99598500 YOOID VOT JO HAO T FBOMYILO N “""" YOOID IBOTH JO YIOT UlVy_ 10 Yyn0G acieisisel= sees FOOLY WOISTRY eerie oS SS See ahs ee OO) BO) ~onposTef -“orppipy $oootret tte aoplnog ~" W440 N : ee eae Sen me pence ee YOoIO SMT Ino i ee ee eae *--""" yooIQ puvy 9jo'T oat Se ee Se ea eo eee ey OO GRU ~** qqnos 20 TDD WA ic soe earn nae eek UIVIA JUGS ~" TION Bae epee ean eae SOGOR OWE Tosdmo4yy, 919907 ees ca oe Gipucer ac ake yoorg Aid Sete ---""mosdmoyy, sig JO Y1OT YIAIO NT “uosdwmoyy, Stq 07 Areqnqryg ‘toaTy [Rr sorte erent erent eens tosdwoyy, sig ‘UIvedy}s JO OUIUNy 440 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Approximate geographical positions and elevation of points on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, from Platte Cation to parallel 40° 30’. Names of located points. Longitude.| Latitude. | Elevation. fo} 7 uW 1) Ul W Feei. Denver, Kansas Pacific depot 104 59 23 39 45 0 5, 196 ‘Boulderi@ibyreee-ceeteeee oes -} 105 16 35 40 0 40 5, 036 Grolilem Omi ose coodosdasopetoecosueoAnsce 40 39 45 30 5, 687 (CCOPGAIO WAN saccascousdccocadencoon0e5 56 obueecuoCsoDodeccescsocaue 10 39 42 30 8, 530 (Gemini Chine socca5e seeoonnseencoossane sapacoucapsooSsEscousoeaoes 0 39 47 55 8, 300 Tales Jee 2Leodes Gotdecqede Sond dasoceepbkodonasabsososdoRdssos 15 39 48 0 7, 975 INOWEGE, sosccccnesce sccomosunnosos SoSH coaseocose coe nSse sessosecne 50 39 47 45 8, 800 iG NG SOW? | 65s os can oobos sondoHscoSoUeEs ssconSsecoersessocns a5 5 30 45 39 44 50 7, 535 Canihow pe lantorsmelobel ener setae sate eels ella eee ra tater 30 40 4 30 9, 905 Nederland, (formerly Middle Boulder)..--..-.-----.-.------------ 105 30 10 39 57 30 8, 263 (Groilal IEMs oe eo oo dbo bo edddasaeesen tobe de codeuddude sedesasesacorsos 105 23 30 40 4 0 8, 463 Morrison ......--- 25 39/39). 2oul ese Ward City 30 40) 40 Sihclios ame ces fe Rollinsville - 9 45 39 54 50 8, 323 Junction House, Denver, and South Park Road ....-.-.-....---.. 105 18 15 39 32 0 8, 153 TRereein ss IAMS OES). L554 sSas cess cade os as an Sage oSsascdcoosadsocs 105 21 30 39 41 15 7, 643 Southi Boulder Ped ee ce ea OMe a anemic emrste eee | 105 17 42 39 57 16 8, 533 Seuanva Mon ntain: 2. 35 20 e See MONT Ne Oe Re ea | 105 29 30! 39 40 36 11, 733 (GOlisein JEG - Se coco shed cceméc de sauossoodccsonsdecSoosobseosescbes 105 20 52 39 49 0 9, 650 TRANSOM IBIS soodecde co ocee desc 4oos 25 coe obososaoseusonesseacoes 105 25 30 39 53 0 10, 590 Tienes) IRERNS = Soca osesceod oo sssena peso vson on ooepoadousasonedobs 105 23 30 39 40 0 9, 773 WG pint MOORING So 2o oso spko ops cos eageacesascoeacoss sseoseceds 105 12 55 39 40 12 7, 903 Ienllie!seviounitwm Carrvhistes ee. semaesas ascent ales a= aera eee 105 90 12 4017 0 11, 433 SWOGRMEILORNE 6 56 oo co occoneoosasood copeso co neconScORO ANON SaSG9aacee0s 105 24 55 40 1 32 8, 933 JBPYANIG) REAVER. 05 55 Soo beoas sons s sodas senesocs soos easessessacacs 5600 105 20 45 40 48 8 8, 440 Northern Palisade, on Big Thompson River .....--.-----.-.------- 105 18 0 40 26 30 8, 250 The Big Hogback, near Little Thompson River .....--.-.-..-.--- 10516 5 40 19 45 7, 923 Prospect Hull MH stes Rakes ee eae eae a eee al eter 105 30 45 40 21 40 8, 893 Junction of Big Thompson River and Buckhorn Creek ..-........ 105 8 45 40 25 10 5, 400 Junction of North and South Saint Vrains .......-.----.-.----..- 105 15 50 40 TS( 4 OeSemeee eee Junction of Saint Vrains and Left Hand Creek....-.....-.-...--. 105 5 35 40), OWS haeee eee eee Junction of Bear and Turkey Rivers .........--..----------.----- 105 9 0 39.39) Ol becoe comes Junction of South and Middle Boulder -----.-...:.---.-.---.-..- 105 12 40 40° 2) 0), eee Fish Creek and Big Thompson, (Estes Park)......---..-.-..--.-- 105 30 45 40 21 40 8, 893 ores ied ha RE pee Lc A tat | ; j 7 j | a “LR eS i pee : Ni v Or Oni \ SS _ \ => 7" $ ae Liles Mduntain ; Longs Peak. abides Mbuntan hb. Baten Cones ce. Lengs ea , detg. Peaks of the Main Range. 441 PHOTD-LITHOGRIPHIC. CoM. ah, Lillies Mountain, and « Portion oS the Main Range from a Peak in Estes Park. Tyan aaa) Plate LXE View of Longs Pe rr war wee D STRICT SURV EVID ey G RSECULES FHICAL SURVEY cr tHe TERRITORIES. Fy HAYOEN US GEOLOGIST im CHARGE. CR ag Thompson BY ies (0 wakes Linke of! Aare ence | ne SbMeatie Ae al y f “Al | , Me: / : ES r no” - a Pez _£ es P: “ J * no : ‘ : . = tt . (RAAT |rapede Maa yarest Tame the yy TAonylt Phiten, oN 6G Pape : ky net rs ae, : ms 2 =~ “Y i ms ; | PARK VIEW ——_ ue —~ 40° 1S Boulder Cr, me Gee wR of the S Nai ~ Lo Lgmont Noa park ve Taangytorth \ WOR \ gee Por rh \) «a Sumner 7 b: : 4 Dry On eny si i \ aur pn. htm ~~ ADT U Vie Sancho GRAND RIVER eee (iA RAPAHORIENSS vo AON Fnitee ND = Aron hase cnfo) the Pliv JUNCTION DUTT eat serene ie jue LONE PEAK a oO 4 WILLIAMS PT A Ar Le Setown =» Gniprith Mr i destinies clhcabeiei joes eatin ee = Pe ee 1we bia qi U S._GEOLOGICAL & GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY of tHe TERRITORIES. FV HAYDEN in CHARGE ee = _MAP II, OEOISTRICT SURVEVEC By oq BFCHLERS MEHAMILTOm HOMESTAKE al a ttt ete tre ss, once, Pass b> oath 450 ILVERHEEL6 S feo LONG Sy SCRAGGY)- Sacramento, © S Vag ; \ “cae Mite aeineeC Kt is xX \ \gMinatou \\ House Explanation of Signs Crest of Continental Divide Pett * and Sub-Kanges of (8 0rde' Nub-Ranges of Second order prominené Spurs Wagon Houcds. Tratls . \ Primary Ureanguludin ports Y Triangulation Stators A 2 Gutta zines for ry of Ves Teonhecd OUTLINE MAP of the SOUTH PARK and adjoining Regions showing : DRAINAGE, ROADS,TRAILS, PEAKS & PASSES to accompany the geographical Report Q ye i aan cee = Ute Dias Xn A \ pT \ PIKES PQ i say zt é Q é # RN erecta } { camenons. ih} ON LB eee SoH x mat EG paticty ke ; f 13 “7 & wh es ee . \ \ x, } ¢ } if QGHALCED n te OF i \ ee tae TE © GR.BECHLER, N 4 i a f } \ Seale of Mites, i = WX : e 7: FT 53 = Lb nites, * : \ - > # 706° 75" i pe ve 190 er i Pu i xo 4 = er ese Aah Tm ys” ° a ZOOLOGY. — a a ee hoy ihe Hte are | HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BISON, BISON AMERICANUS. By J. A. ALLEN. EDITORIAL PREFACE, OFFICE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL AND GEO- GRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES, Washington, April 30, 1877. The great interest which attaches to the history of the American - Bison renders the publication of the present article desirable, as the edition of the original memoir was too small to supply the very general demand for a work of such magnitude and importance as Mr. Allen’s ‘The American Bisons, Living and Extinct.” By the kind permission of Prof. N.S. Shaler, Director of the Kentucky Geological Survey, the work is republished in the present connection, with the modifications noted beyond. It being scarcely practicable to reproduce the memoir in full, it has been deemed advisable to restrict the scope of this reprint to the portion treating of the living species, as being of the most general interest. Such subtzaction of the portion relating to the extinct species, and omis- sion of the illustrations, brings the body of the memoir within the reasonable limits of the present volume. ~The editorship of the memoir in its new form having devolved upon me, it becomes expedient to state the modifications which I have intro- duced upon consultation with the author, and with his full concurrence. The memoir as originally published has the following titles: Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Kentucky. | N. S. Shaler, Director. | Vol.I. Part II. | —| Lhe American Bisons, | living and extinct. | By J. A. Allen. | With twelve plates and map. | — | University press, Cambridge : | Welch, Bigelow, § Co. | 1876. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoblogy, | at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. | Vol. IV. No. 10.|—| The American Bisons, | living and extinct. fer, eb vk Allen. | Published by permission of N. S. Shaler, Director of the Kentucky | Geological Sur- eae Mee twelve plates and a map. | University press, Cambridge : | Welch, Bigelow, 5 0. . ie. pp. i-ix, 1-246, 1 col’d map, 12 pll., 13 UW explanatory, 2 wood cuts in text. These two publications were simultaneous, and only differ in the titles. The following are the contents of the memoir :— Title. p.i. Preliminary Note (N.S. Shaler). p. iii. Introduction. pp. V-ix. Part I. 1—Distinctive Characteristics and Affinities of the Bisons. pp. 1-3. 2.—General historical Account of the Remains of Extinct Bisons hitherto found) North America. pp. 3-7. 3.—Deseription of the Extinct Species. pp. 7-31. 448 444 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ) | 4,—Geographical Distribution and Geological Position of the Remains of the Extinet Bisons of North America. pp. 32-35. f ; 5.—Relation of the Existing Species of Bisons to the Extinct Species. pp. 35, 36. 6.—Description of the Existing Species. pp. 36-70. Part II. 1.—Geographical Distribution, past and present, of Bison americanus. pp. 71-191. 2.—Products of the Buffalo. pp. 191-201. 3.—The Chase. pp. 202-215. 4.—Domestication of the Buffalo. pp. 215-221. Appendix f. pp. 223-231. Appendix II. (N.S.Shaler). pp. 232-236. Index. pp. 237-246. Map and twelve plates, each with unpaged explanatory leaf. The changes made in the present republication are substantially as follows :— 1. The omission of the illustrations, explanatory pages, and textual references. 2. The omission of the portion relating to the extinet species, the present reprint being confined to the one existing species, beginning at p. 36 of the original. 3. The incorporation of the appendices in the body of the text. 4, The addition of much new matter by the author himself. 5. Various minor modifications, with the slight alteration, chiefly verbal, of context incident thereto. 6. Alteration of the title to suit the republication, and substitution of editorial preface for the preliminary matter of the original. No editorial abridgment or digest of any part of the memoir has been deemed advisable, the portions of the memoir here reproduced being printed exactly according to the copy furnished by the author, who has, as already said, added much new matter and made some little changes, passim, in the context. A few editorial notes, chiefly explanatory of modifications of the text are introduced, always in brackets. In its present form, and with the wide circulation now given, it is believed that the memoir will satisfy the desire long felt by the public to possess a complete and thoroughly reliable history of the most con- spicuous and most important quadruped of America, prepared with the greatest care and pains, after protracted and patient research, by one of the most eminent therologists of the country. ELLIOTT COUKS, Secretary of the Survey. = =a DESCRIPTIVE AND BIOGRAPHICAL. BISON AMERICANUS (GMELIN) SMITH. American Bison or Buffalo. Bos americanus GMELIN, Syst. Nat., I, 204, 1788.—DxsmarEstT, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., Ill, 531, 1816; Mammalogie, 496, pl. xliv, 1820.—HarLan, Fauna Amer., 268, 1825.—Gopman, Amer. Nat. Hist., III, 4, 1826.—Drsmou Lin, Dict. Class. Hist. Nat., II, 365, 1822.— Ricuarpson, Fauna Bor. Amer., I, 279, 1829.—FISCHER, Synop. Mam., 495, 653, 1829.—Coorrr, Month. Am. Journ. Geol. & Nat. Hist., 1831, 44,174,207 (remains at Big-bone Lick, Ky.) ; Amer. Journ. Sci., XX, 371, 1831; Edinb. New Phil. Journ., XI, 353, 1831.—DouGHTy, Cab. Nat. Hist., Ii. 169, pl. xiv, 1832.—SaBINE, Franklin’s Journey, 668, 1833.—WaGNER, Schreber’s Siiugt., V, 472, 1855. —GIEBEL, Siugt., 271, 1855.—Bairp, Mam. N. Amer., 682, 1857; U.S. & Mex. Bound. Survey, Pt. II, 52, 1859.—Newserry, Pacif. R. R. Expl. & Surveys, VI, iv, 72, 1857.—SucKLEY & Gisss, Ibid., XII, ii, 138, 1860.— Xanrus, Zool. Garten, I, 109.—ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XU, 186, 1869; XVII, 39, 1874. Bison americanus CaTESsBY, Nat. Hist. Carolina, II, App., 20, xxviii, 1743.—Brisson, Reg. _ Anim., Quad., 1756.— Smiru, Griffith’s Cuv., V, 374, 1827.— Drs Kay, Nat. Hist. New York Zool., Pt. 1, 110, 1842.—SuNDEVALL, Kong. Sv. Vet. Akad. Handal. for 1844, 203, 1846.—Gray, Knowsley’s Menag., 49, 1850; Cat. Mam. Brit. Mus., ite Ill, 39, 1852; Hand-List of Edentate, Thick-Skinned & Ruminant Mam., 85, 1873.—GERRARD, Cat. Bones of Mam. Brit. Mus., 230, 1862 —TuRNER, Proce. Zod. Soc. London, XVIII, 177, 1850.—AupuBoN & BacuMaAN, Quad. N. Amer., II, 32, pls. lvi, lvii, 1851.—Barrp, Rep. U.S. Pat. Off., Agricult., 1851, 124 (plate), 1852.— Eeipy, Proe. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1854, 200, 210; Extinct Mam. Faun. N Amer., 371, 1869.—ALLEN, Bull. Essex Institute, VI, 46, 54, 59, 63, 1874.—RUrTI- MEYER, Verhandl. Naturf. Gesells. in Berlin, IV, iii, 1865 ; Versuch einer natir- lichen Geschichte des Rindes, II, 58. Bos bison var. 3 Linn&, Syst. Nat., I, 99, 1766.—Kaum, Travels in N. Amer. (Forster’s Transl.), I, 297. Bos bison SCHINTZ, Synop. Mam., 482, 1845 (in part only). “Bos wrus var. Bopp., Elen. Anim., 1784.” Bos bonasus BRANDT, Zoogeographische und Paleontologische Beitrige, 105, 1867 (in part only).—LiLLJEBorG, Fauna éfvers Sveriges och Norges Rygerad., I, 877, 1874 (in part only). Taurus mexicanus HERNANDEZ, Mexico, 587. Taurus quivirensis NIEREMB., Hist. Nat., 181, 182. Le Bison [d@ Amérique], Burron, Hist. Nat., XI, 284, Suppl. IL, pl. v.—F. CUVIER & Grorrroy, Hist. Nat.des Mam., I, livr. xii, 1819; U, livr. xxxii; III, livr. xliv.— G. Cuvier, Reg. Anim., I, 170, 1817; Oss. Foss., 3d Ed., IV, 117, 1825. American Bison, AGASSIZ, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XI, 316, 1867. Buffalo, Cooper, Month. Am. Journ. Geol., 1831, 174, 207 (remains at Big-bone Lick).— Knicut, Amer. Journ. Sci., XX VII, 166, 1835 (remains at Big-bone Lick).— LYELL, Proc. Geol. Soc. London, IV, 36, 1843 (remains at Big-bone Lick). Description—An adult measures about nine feet (two and three fourths metres) from the muzzle to the insertion of the tail, and thir- teen and a half feet (about four and one sixth metres) to the end of the tail, including the hairs, which extend about fifteen inches beyond the 445 446 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. vertebre. The female measures about six and a half feet ( about two | metres) from the muzzle to the insertion of the tail, and about seven feet (two and one sixth metres) to the end of the tail, including the hairs, which extend about ten inches beyond the vertebra. The height of the male at the highest part of the hump is about five and a half to six feet (about two metres) ; of the female at the same point about five feet (about one and a half metres). The height of the male at the hips | is about four and two-thirds feet (nearly one and a half metres); of the female at the same point about four and a half feet (about one and a third metres). Audubon states the weight of old males to be nearly two thousand pounds, that of the full-grown fat females to be about twelve hundred pounds. The horns of the males are short, very thick at the base, and rapidly taper toa sharp point, which in old individuals becomes worn off on the lower side, and the end is often shortened by the same process and occa- sionally much splintered. Their direction is outward and upward, finally curving inward. The horns of the females are much smaller at the base but nearly as long as in the males, but they taper very gradually, and are hence much slenderer, and are rather more incurved at the tips, where they are rarely abraded as in the males. The hoofs are short and broad, those of the fore feet abruptly rounded at the end; those of the hind feet are much narrower and more pointed. The muffle is broad and naked, having much the same form as in the domestic ox. The short tail has the long hairs restricted to a tuft at the end. ; In winter the head, neck, legs, tail, and whole under parts, are black- ish-brown; the upper surface of the body lighter. The color above becomes gradually lighter towards spring ; the new short hair in autumn is soft dark umber or liver-brown. In very old individuals the long woolly hair over the shoulders bleaches to a light yellowish-brown. Young animals are generally wholly dark brown, darkest about the head, on the lower surface of the body, and on the limbs. The young calf is at first nearly uniform light chestnut-brown, or yellowish-brown, with scattered darker hairs on the belly, where are also occasionally small patches of white. Toward autumn the light yellowish color is replaced by the darker brown that characterizes the older animals. After the first few months the younger animals are darker than they are later in life, at middle age the coat, especially over the shoulders, becoming lighter and presenting a bleached or faded appearance, which increases with age. The horns, hoofs, and muffie are black, the hoofs being sometimes edged or striped with whitish. There are no important sex- ual differences in color. The woolly hair over the shoulders is much longer and more shaggy than elsewhere on the body; it increases in length on the neck above, gradually losing its woolly character, and between the horns attains a length of ten to fourteen inches, nearly concealing the ears and the bases of the horns, and often partly covers theeyes. The long hair ad- vances also ou the face, where it decreases in length and becomes more woolly again, extending far forward in a pointed area nearly to the nose. The chin and throat are also covered with long hair, which under the chin forms an immense beard, eight or ten inches to a foot or more in length. Thick masses of long hair also arise trom the inner and pos- terior surfaces of the upper part of the fore legs, where the hair often attains a length of six or eight inches. A strip of long hair also extends along the crest of the back nearly to the tail. The tail is covered with only short soft hair till near the tip, from which arises a tuft of coarse long hair twelve to eighteen inches in length. The hinder and PINE Lo famex) DESCRIPTION OF THE BISON. 447 lower portions of the body and legs are covered with short soft woolly hair. This is moulted early in spring, after which for a few weeks the hinder portions of the animal are quite or nearly naked. The shoul- ders retain permanently the long shaggy covering, which with the long hair of the neck and head gives them, especially during the monlting season, a singularly formidable aspect. The female, as already stated, is much smaller than the male, with a less elevated hump, much smaller, slenderer, and more curved borns, less heavily developed beard, less shaggy head, etc., but presents no essential differences in color. Albinism and Melanism.—Pied adc are occasionally met with, but they are of rare occurrence.* I have seen but a single specimen, the head of which, finely mounted, is now in the Museum of Compara- tive Zodlogy. I obtained it of hunters at Fort Hays, Kansas, near which place it was taken in 1870, where it was regarded as a great curi- osity. In this specimen, a female, the whole face, from between the horns to the muzzle, is pure white, but in other respects does not differ from ordinary examples. White individuals are still more rare, but are not unknown. A former agent of the American Fur Company, who had had unusually favorable opportunities of jadging, informed me that they prebably occur in the proportion of not more than one in millions, he having seen but five in an experience of twenty years, although he had met with hundreds of pied ones. Black ones are rather more fre- quent, but can only be regarded as very rare. The fur of these is usually much softer and finer than that of ordinary individuals, and black robes, from this fact and their great rarity, bring a very large price. They seem to be more frequent at the northward than elsewhere. Varieties—There are two commonly recognized varieties of the buf- falo, known respectively as the wood buffalo and the mountain buffalo. The wood buffalo is described by Hind} as larger than the common bison of the plains, with very short soft pelage and soft short uncurled mane, thus more resembling in these points the Lithuanian bison or aurochs. It is said to be very scarce, and to be found only north of the Saskatchewan and along the flanks of the Rocky Mountains, and to never venture into the plains. A supposed variety of the bison, re- ferred to by some of the northern voyagers as occurring north of Great Slave Lake, and known only from vague rumors current among the natives, is in all probability the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus). The mountain bison, so often referred to by hunters and mountaineers as a variety or perhaps a distinct species, seems to agree iu all essential particulars with the so-called wood bison of the region farther north. The same characters of larger size, darker, shorter, and softer pelage, are usually attributed to it, but one meets with such different, exagger ated, and contradictory accounts of its distinctive features from differ- ent observers, that it is almost impossible to believe in its existence, except in the imaginations of the hunter and adventurer. I have found that those actually conversant with it, and whose opinions in general matters are most entitled to respect, regard it as but slightly or not at all different from the bison of the plains. Others who know it only from hearsay, and whose notions of it are consequently vague, generally magnify its supposed differences, till some do not hesitate to declare their belief in it as a specifically distinct animal from the common bison of the plains.t' Dr. Cooper, speaking of the bisons found formerly in *See Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mts., Vol. I, p. 471. t Hind (H. Y.), Nar. of Canadian Red River Explor. Exped., etc., Vol. II, pp. 106, 107, 1860. +See Bulletin Essex Institute, Vol. VI, p. 55, 1874. 448 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the mountain valleys about the sources of the Snake River, says he “saw no difference in the skulls, indicating a different species, or ‘mountain buffalo’ of hunters.”* The bisons formerly living in the parks and vallevs of the central portion of the Rocky Mountain chain doubtless did often grow to a larger size than those of the plains, with — rather larger horns, and, being less subjected to the bleaching effects of the elements in their partially wooded retreats, would naturally have a darker and perhaps softer pelage. The weathered bison skulls I met with in 1871 im the upper part of South Park and in the vicinity of the tsee-limit in the Snowy Range of Colorado were certainly larger, in the | average, by actual measurement, than those of the Kansas plains. The | small bands now lingering here and there in the mountains, and now currently known as the mountain buffalo, may be in part the remnants of a former larger mountain form, but certainly a part of them are actually recent migrants from the plains. In 1871 I was able to trace — the migration of a small band up the valley of the South Platte and across South Park to the vicinity of the so-called Buffalo Spring, situ- ated considerably to the southward of Fairplay. Specimens of the ‘‘ mountain bison” sent in a fresh state from Colorado to the Smithso- — nian Institution during the present winter (December, 1875) certainly presented no appreciable differences from winter specimens from the plains. The mountain race of the bison was apparently a little larger than the buffalo of the plains, and doubtless was nearly identical with the race known farther northward as the ‘ wood buffalo.” Their more sheltered and in some other respects somewhat different habitat would tend to develop just the differences claimed to distinguish the mountain and northern woodland race. 2 Castrated buffaloes are said to be occasionally met with where the buffaloes are abundant, being castrated when quite young by hunters. They are reported to attain an immense size, being so much larger than the others as to be conspicuous from their large size. Relationship to the Awrochs——The American bison is a little smaller than the aurochs (Bison bonasus), with a much larger chest, a smaller and weaker pelvis, a shorter and smaller tail, more shaggy head, and heavier beard. The more important differences, as shown by a compari- son of the skeletons, consists in the chest (see subjoined measurements, Table I) in Bison americanus being absolutely larger than in Bison bo- nasus, while the pelvis is very small and weak. The B. americanus is hence greatly developed anteriorly, or in the thoracic portion of the body, with the pelvic portion disproportionately reduced, while in B. bo- nasus just the reverse of this obtains—a small compressed thorax and a strong heavy pelvis. This gives the aurochs the appearance of standing higher on its legs. The dorsal outline is about equally declined poste- | riorly in each species, not relatively much more declined in B. amer#- canus, aS generally stated. Neither does the aurochs possess relatively longer hind limbs, as compared with tke fore limbs, than B. americanus, the proportion being essentially the same in the two, whether the total ' height of the animal be assumed as the basis of comparison, or whether | the comparison be based on the bones of the limbs alone. Comparing, for example, a fine perfect skeleton of a very large old male of each species, beautifully and correctly mounted,t the height ot *A mer. Nat., Vol. II, p. 538, 1868. t These skeletons are Nos. 91 (Bison americanus) and 165 (Bison bonasus) of the , osteological collection of the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy, both of which were | prepared and mounted in the same manner by the same persons, under the supervision of Prof. H. A. Ward, of Rochester, and represent two pieces of his best osteological work, which is justly celebrated for its neatness and accuracy. | Sean RELATIONSHIP OF THE BISON TO THE AUROCH. 449 the American bison at the highest dorsal spine is found to be sixty-six | inches; at the anterior end of the sacrum, fifty-two inches; which makes | the proportion between the two measurements as 80 to 100. The height | of the aurochs at the highest dorsal spine is seventy-three inches; at the anterior end of the’sacrum, sixty inches; makin g the proportion between _ the two measurements as 82 to 100. This difference is not greater than otten occurs between two individuals of the same species. A compar- ison of the anterior and posterior limbs gives a similar result. Thus the proportionate length of the fore limb (excluding the scapula) to the hind limb, in the American bison, is the some as that in the aurochs, namely, as 91 to 100. While the skeleton of the aurochs is, generally speaking, heavier and | more massive than that of the American bison, and considerably larger ‘in all its measurements, the ribs are actually much shorter and straighter, giving a much smaller thoracic cavity. The length of the first rib in B. americanus, for example, is 452 mm.; in B. bonasus, 375 mm.; of the third rib in B. americanus, 548; in B. bonasus, 492; of the sixth rib in B. americanus, 711; in B. bonasus, 697; of the ninth rib in B. america- nus, 910; in B. bonasus, 869; of the twelfth rib in B. americanus, 783 5 in B. bonasus, 750; of the fourteenth rib (osseous portions only), in B. americanus, 437; in B..bonasus, 418. The pelvis, on the other hand, is fully one fourth larger in all its dimensions, and the bones that enter ‘Into its composition are far more massive in the aurochs than in the American bison. The smaller size of the posterior part of the vertebral column in the American bison is also further seen in its diminutive tail as compared with that of the aurochs. Among other noticeable skeletal differences are the relatively greater length ot the dorsal series of the vertebre, and shorter sternum of the American bison. While the above-given comparisons are based on a single skeleton of each species, the subjoined measurements (see Table I) shows that these conclusions are borne out by further material. As already noticed (p. 2[*]), the American bison is not distinguished from the aurochs by the possession of fifteen pairs of ribs and only four lumbar vertebree, as was formerly supposed, and as has been so often stated, the two species having normally the same number of lumbar ver- tebre and the same number of pairs of ribs. Professor Riitimeyert re- fers to the greater length of the anterior dorsal s pines in Bison americanus, but this ditterence is evidently not constant, as is shown by the meas- urements given in Table I. He also regards the differences in the rel- ative length of the different segments of the extremities to each other and to the whole height of the animal as affording differences worthy of note. He gives a table illustrative of these differences, which I subjoin. He says: “‘ Nabm ich die Lirge von Metacarpus und Carpus zusammen als Hinheit, so verhielten sich dazu die andern Segmente der Extremi- taten folgendermassen: Bison americanus. B. europzus. ‘g@axpus—Metacarpus.........-.--. ile 1 ? Radius (Aussenseite) .......--...... 1. 102 >3.387 (1. ) 1.254 >3. 697 (1.) Humerus mit Trochanter ........... 1. 285 1.443 ( Seapula vorderer Rand. ........--.. IL SB 1. 843 Metacarpus mit Naviculare -_..._..- 1.151 1. 098 ) Metmetseeny. 62 ck. oe 1.379 >3. 999: (1. 180) 1. 588 } 4, 489 (1. 214).” Bemur mit Trochanter ............. 1.469 § 1. 803 | Taking the same method of comparison with five specimens of B. ameri- canus and two specimens of B. bonasus (—=curopeus) as a basis, gives [* Of the original edition.—Ep. ] t Versuch einer natiirlichen Geschichte des Rindes, ete., Part II, p. 68. 294 S an uf } : ai 450 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. : | ‘ proportions not differing essentially from Riitimeyer’s, though the figures range ten to fifteen per cent. larger, being probably based on larger spec- imens. . Carpus and Metacarpus..--.---.-.--- 1.) ile Radins nt sce cep be cee sce eae ceatiemns 1. 260 > 3. €80 (1.) 1, 327 ih 901 (1.) Humerus (with Trochanter) ..-...-.. 1. 420 1.574 SCAU eee seeeme a EE mes com cee meee 1. 940 1.83 Fe IMetaicanpustee sete ete here sicle see eeisies 1. 400 ) 1.364) TERRA ES WSOC ea RRR Sette oe 1.680 + 4.800 (1.130) 1.727 > 4. 834 (1. 155) Femur (with Trochanter)..----.--.-. 1.720) ile 743 J The differences between the two species in these proportions are very slight, scarcely greater in fact than occur between different individuals of Bison americanus. Dr. J. HE. Gray placed the aurochs and American bison in different sections of the genus Bison, the tirst of which, containing the aurochs, is characterized as having the “tarsi elongate, fore and hind quarters subequal,” and the other, containing the American bison, as having the “tarsi short, hinder quarters very low.” In the description of the au- rochs he says again, ‘fore and hind legs subequal; tarsi elongate,” con- trasting it with ‘tarsus short, hinder quarters very low,” in his diagno- sis of Bison americanus. The ‘difference i in height between the fore ‘and hind quarters of the aurochs and American bison i is, as already shown, more apparent than real, owing to the greater size of the pelvic region in the aurochs. The difference in the relative length of the tarsus is also much less than one might infer from Dr. Gray’s diagnosis. In Bison americanus the proportional length of the metatarsal bone to the length of the femur and tibia taken together is (in five specimens) as 29-31 to 100; in Bison bonasus (two specimens), as 28 to 100, show- ing an actual slightly greater length of the metatarsal segment in Bison americanus. The length of the carpus and metacarpus in B. americanus (same specimens) to the length of tarsus and metatarsus is as 74 to 100; in Bison bonasus, as 73 to 100. The length of the upper portion of the = fore limb (humerus and radius) to the upper portions of the hind limb | (femur and tibia) in B. americanus (same specimens as before) is as , 75-83 to 100; in B. bonasus, as 80-84 to 100. These proportions coin- cide with those obtained from comparing the entire fore and hind limbs with each other, as well as the relative height of the animal at the shoulder and hip (as previously given); and show a slightly greater av- erage relative length of the hind limb in B. bonasus as compared with B. americanus. Vhe differences, however, are really much less than different individuals of either species present when compared with each | other. TABLE I.[*]—Measurements of Skeletons of Bison americanus and Bison bonasus. — Bison americanus. { 1 2 3 4. ) 6 Cf 8 9 —— Siaaea GSR —— > Oe of of of of 2 Cf of Ss Whole length of skeleton (including skull)..........- 3338 [2980 |2916 2920 /3120 |2789 /3375 3416 |..... Length of “skull Se etnias eteiorociates & see SMe Nic ete mee teee tte 527 | 530 | 565 | 510 | 500 | 422 | 580 | 565 569 Leneth of cervical verteprielcsseseeeeecieeeceeceneee 527 | 470 | 430 | 480 |. 520 | 457 | 590 | 538 | 2433 Length of dorsalivertebrieseccoceeecicaceecheceeenoes 1150 | 950 | 900 | 880 |1000 | 868 | 940 | 985 |..... Leneth of lumbar ver lenie 5 Joeskiescce oenesecees 407 | 340 | 330 | 380 | 370 | 357 | 390 | 400 |..--. Leneth of sacral . oe te =P batemb Ons eiamae aes 254 | 190 | 210 | 250 | 245 | 228 | 315 | 293 |.---35 |] Length of caudal - Sage mate 476 | 500 | 480 | 420 | 485 | 457 | 560 | 635 |..--.. | Length OL MY StLID sat fee ee ee CEP) IPSEO Sts) ee sGalbc sac 287 | 345 | 375 |..... Length of first rib, osseous portion, along external UTAH LO soca ce te ec I aR 414 | 300 | 330 | 300 {| 320 | 274 | 305 | 335 |..... [* Table IX of the original.—ED.] Bison bonasus. | ty ALLEN. | RELATIONSHIP OF THE BISON TO THE AUROCH. 451 TABLE I.— Measurements of Skeletons of Bison americanus and Bison bonasus—Continued. Bison americanus. Bison bonasus. 1 PINGS AE ASE M7 Mery a) 3 abe ; Sof Cy Ss fe ye Shey ef le Length of first rib, cartilaginous portion -............ S13} 11 OW) SO ocskelecosel| soll I 20 |] Sia — PRON ONITOOTID Ssegeer ie Wenta = lee kee cietle cedick eloicce. 4B aaa DLO eee eS. 450 | 479 | 492 |_... Length of third rib, osseous portion ..-....---........ 439 | 385 | 420 | 390 | 430 | 361 | 386 | 418 |.__. Length of third rib, cartilaginous portion............. TIS ests} abo aarila eae 788) |) 98) | 100) 522 er SUR TOleRE SH NUTT Wee eerie es coe She cece aesces oa. FLL, | See oO ON een Mien 632 | 640 | 699 |._.. Length of sixth rib, osseous portion ......-........... 557 | 550 | 560 | 550 | 580 | 503 | 525 | 559 |.__. Length of sixth rib, cartilaginous portion. .-......._.. N54 eee dO ae ee POON Plone OM ee Mees UOhmEn MGM MD), wee te Nee nao Cel sso wa ce emclainee sac O10. 2s O20 RR le. 780 | 785 | 869 |.... Length of ninth rib, osseous portion ...............-.. G70 | 630 | 630 | 635 | 680 | 584 | 600 | 660 |.... Length of ninth rib, cartilaginous portion .....-....... PO ecbe | PEO Noo asuleere 198°) 185) } 210) |e em sion b Weller. cmc fe ee nee denen beeen oe. os. USB) icono || EADY. sale soe 745 | 730 | 730 }.--. Length of twelfth rib, osseous portion.........-....... 040 | 580 | 590 | 575 | 610 | 532 | 540 | 530 |._. Length of twelfth rib, cartilaginous portion........... CBS learion| es asedls aoa 215 | 190) 220) |22- Menen hot fourteenth rib: fe fo26 6s) ke toe coece EBS econ!) TO |esacelbsose 093 | 585 |-.--. ene Length of fourteenth rib, osseous portion. ............ 437 | 420 | 520 | 450 | 460 | 396 | 420 | 418 |__.. Length of fourteenth rib, cartilaginous portion....._.. Rode Eeeer WOO | ee 2 ee HOH || MGs) I! = colons Mame nO SuOrMUM mete osecea neato fe ee cacc oe oe boee. 469 | 490 | 480 | 490 | 475 | 463 | 510 | 533 |.__. Length of spine of sixth cervical ......-...-...-..-.-. 114 | 110 | 150 | 90} 103 | 76 | 180} 120! $0 Length of spine of seventh cervical .......-..---..-.. 305 | 260 | 370 | 330 | 347 | 244 | 395 | 287 | 266 Hench of spine of firsh dorsal /222-.\222. 22.22.25. 222-- 468 | 470 | 475 | 445 | 453 | 330 | 395 | 470 | 423 Length of spine of second dorsal.......-.....--.-----. 477 | 485 | 465 | 430 | 440 | 342 | 420 | 496 | 440 Eength of spine of third dorsal....-...---.-..--.:..... 445 | 435 | 430 | 400 | 406 | 317 | 393 | 470 | 435 Hength of spine of fourth dorsal ---........-:....----- 400 | 420 | 390 | 360 | 370 | 305 | 370 | 427 | 410 Henpih of spine of fifth dorsal.-..-..----- 22.6... 348 | 390 | 350 | 320 | 335 | 287 | 330 | 397 | 371 Hiength of spine of sixth dorsal 220). ll2l2 62.22.22! 390 | 355 | 315 | 290 | 300 | 248 | 300 | 363 | 343 Length of spine of seventh dorsal .--..---.-...-...... 315 | 310 | 290 | 260 | 265 | 244 | 275 | 325 | 300 Length of spine of eighth dorsal..........-.........-. 284 | 285 | 260 | 235 | 250 | 223 | 240 | 29: | 290 Leugth of spine of ninth dorsal...... ee wz AN 242 | 245 | 225 | 210 | 213 | 197 | 210 | 267 | 247 Hensthyot spineof tenth dorsal --.- 2.22252. .2.. 22222! 210 | 210 | 200 | 180 | 185 | 170 | 170 | 217 | 22e Length of spine of eleventh dorsal............----.-- 173 | 185 | 165 | 155 | 160 | 153 | 155 | 185 | 190 Length of spine of twelfth dorsal.....--.......-...--. 146 | 155 | 140 | 130 | 135 | 128 | 145 | 146 | 154 Length of spine of thirteenth dorsal ................-- 120 | 120 | 120 | 110 | 118 | 116 | 125 | 134 |.__. Length of spine of fourteenth dorsal....-..........-.. 108 | 100 | 110 | 100 | 106 | 101 | 90 | 127 | 127 Distance between ends of pleurapophyses of first lumbar] 227 | 310 | 280 | 230 | 230 | 263 | 258 | 279 | 297 Distance between ends of pleurapophyses of second IlGsaDID Py RSS ee aie SoSH ee ieee a ee epee en 310 | 335 | 305 | 300 } 314 | 276 | 296 | 325 | 348 Distance between ends of pleurapophyses of third lum- LOL. -cetgncee Abate Suse Boe ee aie ae aa ees 356 | 365 | 330 | 333 | 345 | 293 | 345 | 363 | 375 Distance between ends of pleurapophyses of fourth : LITA Ope Bo SOR e SE AE Cre eo ae ae pene 360 | 365 | 340 | 350 | 373 | 315 | 367 | 387 | 381 Distance between ends of pleurapophyses of fifth lum- HO eo GSO S50 SOD SAO 7 RECO ASL e Meee ee ann eee 309 | 295 | 300 | 326 | 350 | 315 | 335 | 343 | 297 Transverse diameter of proximal end of first sacral...| 240 |.....]... --| 240 | 245 | 250 | 250 | 245 | 216 iength/of innominate! bone. 222 ol... 2. eee se 515 | 560 | 500 | 510 | 550 | 449 | 590 | 647 | 571 Greatest (external) width of pelvis anteriorly......... 470 | 490 | 450 | 475 | 497 | 438 | 484 | 560 |.--- Distance between most lateral parts of posterior end ie Ce PUCIDONES Hee ee ee nem e ee eee ce EE 283 | 284 |..__. 260 | 273 | 250 | 305 } 315 |.--- ARGH ATO isi ee tat a oer ee 2 ciclo Seiciis ecto oa ale k 283 | 290 | 290 | 265 | 290 | 258 | 320 | 338 | 320 Length of ischio-pubic bones ...... SBC S IES UAC R EEE eRe an 270 | 270 | 250 | 250 | 275 | 234 | 290 | 311 | 288 Henrubrol thyroid foramen? -- 62.2242. yocskec scat ce fas. AOS | retaters| eet 115 | 116 | 110 | 115 | 128 | 114 Breadthiot thyroid foramen: ---2..22---.-0c+.-.s<2-s GO eoce |b scse TO) KO EE) ExoutlcnvOf sca pUlaye as settee orade oe collin owe oasee 483 | 470 | 460 | 480 | 500 | 427 | 500 | 508 | 478 Breadth of scapula at proximalend...............-.--. 287 | 270 | 235 | 270 | 284 | 217 | 285 | 310 |._-- BRONCO fa MN ONUS Pep eer see nee ee cco aigeenuceincce cms 330 | 365 | 365 | 350 | 383 | 325 | 395 | 433 | .. Antero-posterior diameter of the proximal end..-..... UGS) | oa seo|he as = 142 | 145 | 128 | 150 | 158 |---- Transverse diameter of the proximal end.............. US soccslle=-ce UGE SO) AUS) 20 sa eee Greatest breadth of its distal end...................-- TM scoala 88} 96] 82) 90} 168}; 105 Least circumference of its shaft .............-......-. 185 | 177 | 183 | 170 | 196 | 141 | 162 | 174 | 190 MECH UH OL TACIES aac ce coke ane we Spoposnecoonee ann 313 | 815 | 320 } 310 | 320 | 295 | 365 | 364 | 340 Transverse diameter of proximal end.-.............-.. 100) Sessa | seen Bj) BB eel) iby 1) 0) 1). 5—- Transverse diameter of distal end ..-..-.-....-.....-. G4 ere |Paees 88 | 88} 7L| 96! 90 en cub Of Ta we wes Lice os at trae tae scicee ace : 415 418 | 381 | 435 | 520 | 457 Shore inion jus ol6enmome- oot ee sees ceee we eweee ee 3 | 140 | 114 | 165 | 270 }.... Least breadth antero-posteriorly ok ral Nees DalOo)| WiGolt) GSulimioy| esas EMC MO NGALDUS tec ciai ease cave es eececie cece caec teks ‘ 5) PA ASG GO Gil ese aoMecu eG lecanon) DONG sac se heh eee eae yee ot ec ece ones | 204 | 190 | 220 | 218 | 195 Riidinof proximaliends 22h ices. cssis Ws. csee ekde ean: ; 75} 63] 81] 88] 78 Miao mCistalend e- sss seco a seose ee ses tone de eck 5} 83] 62] WL| | 74 Weneihiofimner metatarsal). -.s...2 5.0. cecnce-cc-ees- 43) 36 | 43] 70] 62 Length of first phalanx (fore limb).-..........-..----- 68) (60h Sosa omer O4a is GM |) v4 |) 7s | ee Width of first phalanx, proximal end..-..........-..-. AS) | amt seeer SUN rasu eon modal 430| bene Width of first phalanx, distalend .-............2...--. 40) | 252 Seas SO aba 27 30) 42) | ote Menethon second! phalanks....-265.- 2-4. .csecscencenme 40} 40} 40) 35]- 38] 40} 43] 44).... Width of second phalanx, proximal end...........-... gC eee (area OM aU as eroea ino ae [eee Width of second phalanx, distal end.-...............--. aS seal [seer OLS) Pods paola | saul So) peas Length of unguinal phalanx, inner side .............-. 63 | 60) 60] 53] 62] 55) 52] 74 reenGh forties ficken alii ccn eu one ae: 431 | 425 | 430 | 420 | 400 | 367 | 490 | 470 | 478 A52 ' REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. TaBLeE 1.—Measuremenis of Skeletons of Bison americanus and Bison bonasus—Continued. Bison americanus. Bison bonasus. 1 2 3 4 5) | 6 rf 8 |9 of fof of fof 2 2 fof (op Nh oh Greatest diameter of proximal end.....-...-.-..-.---- GOR ers| See 145 | 140 | 134 | 145 | 150} -.. reatest diameter of distal end ...--------.----..----- WAY lescoollecons 1L0 | 112 | 110 | 126 |} 125 o Least circumference of shaft.......-...----+---------- 158 | 150 | 160 | 142 | 145 | 132 | 165; 177] _.. Measiiaimetemotmsnathecs-. ececeeeee eer ecrieecr esas AG ees ae laces 43 | 44] 40] 44] 49] 4a sen cthrotablblamee een ssc oe eeccmaitela noe aeiac sree 427 | 395 | 380 380 | 390 | 364 | 465 | 476 | 478 Transverse diameter of proximal end .............-.-- 2 On ee ieoee 1t8 | 110 | 108 | 122 | 130 | 125 Transverse diameter of distal end ..---..---.--------- shi easereritey Sete TANS OO) 74 esa ee esHeashicincumiercuce. meee ae mneecccn eee eee ees P48 nl eres ators 140 | 144 | 128 | 190 | 15) |._.. Length of tarsals in situ (inside)........-...---.------ TOW | OO Jescs- $0 | 105 |. 69 | 107 | 108 Eid Length of calcaneum (outside).-.......--..-..---.---- D5 Ree eae 145 | 160 | 145 | 173 | 1381 ) 163 Least circumference of its shaft .............---.----- 120))|Seaea anes 110) 118 | 97 |} 113 ) 127) 198 Wenoghotemesaualsalee=sa a ees e eee eee seeks 250 | 243 |...--| 248 | 245 | 153 | 264 | 257 | 249 Transverse (lateral) diameter of proximalend .....-... (5) oda se Be Gye aistal) Gul Wo Cash) GS Ion Transverse antero-posterior diameter of proximal end.| 55 |.....|.---- Wa ae Beh) B23 lose Transverse (lateral) diameter of distal end .....-....- WOe esse Soscelt, Gon) ZOn G25 ee On Osa abe Transverse antero-posterior diameter of distal end....| 36 |.-.-.|.---- Seow sil) Sky) Bist oe: Least (lateral) diameter of its shaft........---.--..--. S isis oeee|soube 34} 35] 30] 43) 44) 40 Length of first phalanx (hind Jimb) -..--...---2-----.- 7) 73) 65) 600 66) | 40m ees Sea lean o Width transversely of proximal end .........--..----- Biehl Mawel Mesa 34) 35 | 28) 34] 38) 33 Wiidthyohidistaliendeseiteeaesasseee ences salem seer SUA eee Pesaro | ede |) aks lo Sif |) air hens throf.2diphallanxpas--peieee cise ericeeceeeeoeseree 4440. 451) Sorel SUR SO ers Ge eo Om mente Wadthotenrosimalkendeeeece em eeee ree een een errs Bal betes Mime call ares 4 Spi tes) |) BW Bi) | Sis) pS AW pr clits ta eo fap steal i era pepe es mo eee Ale ilas ee cllaoeee OYA ee ait) |) Bi) Ps || BE Length of unguinal phalanx, inner side 635} (80) 655155) G6) | ove G2n ean Om ieee EXPLANATION OF TABLE I. ee Bison americanus. Male, monnted skeleton (No. 91, Mus. Comp. Zodlogy), from near Fort Hays, ansas. 2. Bison americanus. Very old male, unmounted skeleton, the bones mostly ligamentously attached (Mus. Comp. Zodlogy), from near Fort Hays, Kansas. 3. Bison americanus. Very old male, unmounted skeleton, the bones mostly ligamentously attached (Mus. Comp. Zoology), from near Fort Hays, Kansas. 4. Bison americanus. Male, disarticulated skeleton (No. 10, Mus. Comp. Zoélogy), from near Fort Hays, Kansas. 5. Bison americanus, Female, disarticulated skeleton (No. 11, Mus. Comp. Zoélogy), from near Fort Hays, Kansas. 6. Bison americanus. Female, mounted skeleton (No. 92, Mus. Comp. Zodlogy), from near Fort Hays, Kansas. 7. Bison bonasus. Old male, mounted skeleton (No. 165, Mus. Comp. Zoélogy), from the Menagerie of Schcenbrunn, received from the Vienna Museum. 8. Bison bonasus. Young male, mounted skeleton (No. 11,514, National Museum, Washington), from the Vienna Museum. 9. Bison bonasus. Male (measurements from Richardson’s Zoélogy of the Voyage of the Herald). {Measurements in millimetres.—Eb.] The skull of Bison bonasus is rather longer perhaps than that of Bison americanus, but the average difference in length is very slight. It would be often, in fact, almost impossible to decide absolutely as to whether a skull from an unknown locality belonged to one rather than to the other of the two species, especially those of young individuals or females. Neither the teeth nor the relative size and form of any portion of the skull afford any absolutely distinctive characters. The chief difference consists in the rather more massive character of the skull in Bison bonasus. The close resemblance in all essential features between the skulls of the two species is sufficiently indicated in the subjoined table of measurements of a considerable number of skulls of each species, The greater prominence and thickness of the orbital cylinder in the aurochs has been cited by Riitimeyer as a distinctive feature of the aurochs, but in a comparison of skulls of corresponding ages the differ- ence is not apparent, the slightly greater size and thickness correspond- ing merely with the generally more massive character of the osseous system of the aurochs. The difference in the nasal bones referred to also by the same author is intangible, being equalled in different indi- viduals of Bison americanus. 453 ae (=) ©) 04 =) 7°77 > *_di9 pue oseq Sa1q00u000 on v Jo qaouNT fy OLG |" |0€% \0GT O1G |O8T OFT |ZSL |CSE |96T |08S |G0% |GTS |00G |00% |Z61 |hOs | ~7~~~ OPTS Joddn suoje poansvom satoo-Wsog JO |} SUeT (eo) GhG |0FG |RCG IPSs 19G |LLG |BEG |LEG JECT |ELS [OGG |BES [OL] |@ZB |OGG [LOB |OPG | “---sdurnedo Ie[NdLANT oy 9B [[VYS JO YIPIAL OLG \0EG |G8S [RLG j YRG [OR] [SES |09G |GLE |96G [PSG |89S ONE |08G OSG 1293 |99G | Sage ae pee S9100-U410Tf FO SOSBQ ROOMJO QIUVISTT fall GIE JOE |BZE JOTE JOG |OFG |0NG [L9G |9EG JOSS [NGS |SEE leeE |SEE [SEES [NSE 1N6S JORG |OZE |EEE |G6e [RG IGkE l€zg |O1S [cos |oTE |°~ ~~ ~~" 8}1qQ40 Jo OSpo 10}N0 OMI xX9 TOAMJoq 9DNRySIC al LOG [TES (GEG JOL] |90B |0GG |STB JNIS |RGS [SOG |N0G |66S |SGB j|S9B |ZLF JOBS |OFS SS |LOG [12GB OLB |PGS [GQG lors | OU Gall iis a aes re oncees {qurod ysoMo.LIvd 4v pwoqoloy Jo WIpPTEIT sr GLE |" -"1-""“|FGE GEE SPE OPS |ChS |StS |N0S j9IS je9s | ~~ “!sPe 109 |ces Jose jOPS Ses jogs JOSE \OSE |GLE |OLE 29g ~~" S0L09-TL0Y FO oSvq OF Sau [SU JO pad 1OTLOJ OW iz) G9G \OEG [LEG [SAG |80G |91G |80G |91G |EGL JOGL |NGG |SCS JOSS JOS |S1G UPS |FTG |LOG |OkB |OLG \oee |e&@ OG £96 | LEG “*> 4seao [vytd1990 07 O1njus [esvu-0j UOT a ae ee ee poe ou oe nee oe oe 298 |SPP |" |OGh |LEF [OPP [STP |Ceh \ObP |09h (OGh \OSP |ZSF |O9F JOFP |goPr |RGh | ~~~ ~~~ ~7-380a0 [vqtdto90 09 souo0q [esta Jo pud JOlIOyU aie © |uGSG EC FG OGG JOPS [EGE [OSS [OSG JOLE |GLB |S9G |L9V JOL] JULG [OGG ELS |EL] |G] 106 |0GG \0R’ | -- SESS eae Gar? 1 eer "7" * $7Tq a : | : “10 JO OSpPd TOTIo\UY 07 BI[IXvMoId Jo cepioq Aole}aW = a He os Me ea eae ‘ oF ne ue Be oe i ou oe es ors os MS ne ae Bes ue oA BS as Os “77>> = god [e}1d1000 07 @[[IxvUedd Jo Jop10q 1ol1ojU Wy (a= 4G \9G|ER)PSG\ES\SZ\lE|OS|GL|SL(4L/OL/CL|PLISAISE IIL OL| G1 S| 4} 9) | F| a] e@l| 4 | | ‘snsvmog MOS ‘SLUvOTLOMIY HOST e ‘snspuog uosig fo synyy auf fo pup snunorwawp uosig fo synyy onp-hyuang fo spuawainsnayy—L, | TT ATAV I, 454 * REPORT UNITED STAIES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. EXXPLANATION OF TABLE II. Bison americanus. A very old male from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 95). . Bison americanus. Male, ten to twelve years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 91). . Bison americanus. Very old male, from Kansas. Bison americasius. Very o!d male, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 93). B.son americanus. Male, about filteen years old, from Kuvsas (M.C. Z., No. 10). . Bison americanus. Male, about six years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z.; No. 11). . Bison americanus. Male, about four years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 94). . Bison americanus. Mat ie, about ten years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 97). 9. Bison americanus. Maje, about twelve years old, from Kansas (M. GC. Z., No. 99). 10. Bison americanus. Mate, four or five years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 100). 11. Bison americanus. Male, about six years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 102). © 12. Bison americanus. Male, about twetve years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 1770). 13. Bison americanus. Male, about twelve years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 1771). 14. Bison americanus. Male, about twelve years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., "No. 1215). 15. Bison americanus. Male, about fifseen years oid. from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 1216). 16. Bison americanus. Male, ten or twelve years ald, from Kansas (National Mus., No. £2233). 17. Bison americanus. Female, four or five years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 1937). 18. Bison americanus. Female, about three years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 1768), 19. Bison americanus. Female, about three years old, from Kansas (M. C. Zh, No. 96). 20. Bison americanus. Female, about nine years old, trom Kansas (QUE ORAS No. 101). 21. Bison americanus. Female, about six years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z., No. 105). 22. Bison americanus. Female, about six years old, from Kansas (M. C. Z, No. 92). 23. Bison bonasus. Female, about five or six years old (M. C. Z., No. 1790). 24. Bison bonasus. Old male. from Menagerie of Schceewbrunn (M. C. Z., No. 165). 25. Bison benasys. Male. Measurements, as given by Richardson, in Zool. Voy. of theHerald, p. 122. 26. Bison bonasus. Old male, from Schenbrunn. Measurements as given by Cuvier (Ossem. Foss., 3d ed., Tome IV, p. 121). 27. Bison bonasus. Male, about six years old, from the Vienna Museum (National Mus., No. 11514). M-TH we Individual variation—The American bison presents a considerable range of what may be termed individual variation. This has already been noticed in respect to the metacarpal bones, where it was shown that not always the thickest and stoutest examples are the longest. Thus a metacarpal of a male 192 mm. in length exceeds in all other dimen- sions another specimen having a length of 213 mm. A similar difference is traceable throughout the skeleton (see Table I), so that we have individuals that present in all parts of their structure a slender or attenuated form, and others that are relatively thick and stout, the tallest and longest specimens being sometimes exceeded in stoutness, comparing bone with bone, by those of considerably less stature. There — are again individuals that differ from the average in general bulk, with- out presenting any other unusuai differences. Variations in the rela- tive length of the different bones of the limbs, of the ribs, the dorsal Spines, ete., are of frequent occurrence. As such variations are now so well known to characterize vertebrates in general,—each species having a considerable normal range of osteological variation,—they may be passed over without further remark. Among more unusual variations are the occasional development of an extra rib, or an extra pair of ribs, which may articulate either with the last cervical or the first lumbar vertebra. A famous instance of the latter was presented by a specimen described by Cuvier (the first skele- ton of the American bison that came under the eye of an osteologist), which had fifteen pairs of ribs, aud only four, instead of five, lumbar vertebre [original edition]. The mistake to which this abnormal speci- men gave rise in respect to the number of dorsal and lumbar vertebrze and the number of pairs of ribs possessed by the American bison as compared with the aurochs, has already been noticed,—a mistake that still survives in some of our leading text-books of comparative anatomy. In the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy is a male from Kansas possess- ing a supplemental pair of ribs which articulate with the last cervical vertebra, instead of with the first lumbar, as in the case of Cuvier’s specimen. Variations in the form of the skull are often strikingly apparent, affecting not so much, however, the relative size of the different parts, or the proportion of width to length, as the frontal outline or profile, ; = } j 7 ALLEN.] INDIVIDUAL VARIATION—-SYNONYMY. ; A455 and the curvature and relative direction of the horns. In respect to the profile, the frontal region varies in different specimens of the same sex and of corresponding ages in the forehead being either flat, or even slightly concave, or very convex. The horns are usually so much depressed that when the skull is placed on a flat surface with the dorsal aspect downward the points will not touch the surface on which the skull rests,—in other words, do not rise to the plane of the forehead; in other specimens they sometimes rise so high as to prevent the skull from touching the flat surface by a space of one or two inches. The horn-cores are also sometimes directed backward far beyond the plane of the occiput, though usually not reaching it. Sach differences as. these are so considerable that they are sometimes, in allied groups, regarded as indicative of specific differences. The variation in length in a series of a dozen aged male skulls ranges from 500 to 600 mm., but the usual range of variation is between 500 and 550mm. The extremes in breadth are 240 and 280 mm., ranging usually between 240 and 275 mm. The lower jaw varies in length in the same series from 400 to 420 mm.; the nasals from 194 to 204 mm.; the horn-cores from 180 to 215mm. Thelength of the alveolar space of the upper molars varies from 138 to 154mm.; of the lower, from 148 to165mm. ‘Thevaria- tion in the iength of the alveolar space in the females overlaps that of the males, the length of the lower molar series ranging from 145 to 158 mm., and that of the upper molar series from 186 to 152mm. It thus appears that in respect to the size of the teeth the sexual difference is not very great,—far less than that between other parts of the skull and skeleton. The individual variation in respect to the horns themselves, in size and direction of curvature, is well worthy oi special notice. Of two males of nearly corresponding ages, one has horn-cores measuring 220mm. in length, the other only 146mm. The variation in the circumference at the base ranges from 235 to 300mm. _ In respect to curvature, the horns are sometimes gently curved the whole length, and sometimes abruptly bent upward at the end of the basal third. They also vary greatly in size in individuals of corresponding ages. The difference in these respects between different individuals of Bison americanus is hence much greater than the average difference between B. americanus and B. bonasus. Synonymy and Nomenclature.—tThe first systematic name applied to the American bison under the binomial system of nomenclature was Bos americanus, given it by Gmelin in 1788, the specific name being evi- dently adopted from Catesby, who in 1743 called it Bison americanus, as did also Brisson two years later. By this specific name, coupled with the generic appellation of either Bos or Bison, it has since been almost universally known, a few very conservative naturalists having always regarded it as either merely a variety of the aurochs or as absolutely identical with it. It hence forms almost the only exception among North American mammals of a species that has never had a prominent synonym. Hernandez refers to it under the name of Taurus mexicanus, but Hernandez wrote long prior to the establishment of the binomial system of nomenclature, as did also Nieremburg, who ealled it Taurus quivirensis, so that these names have never been regarded as having a claim to priority. To the Spanish colonists the American bison was commonly known under the name of Cibola, but some Spanish writers speak of it under the name Bisonte, while De Laét and others called it Armenta. Bouf sauvage was the name given it by Du Pratz, though often also called Buffle, Vache sauvage, and sometimes Dison d Amérique, by the early 456 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Se French colonists, while the Capadian voyageurs are said to term it simply le beuf. IKalm spoke of the American bisons as Wilde Ochsen und Kiihe, while the early English explorers also often referred to this animal under the same English equivalent, and also used for it the names Buffle and Beuf sauvage. These two last-mentioned names were also applied, by both the early French and the early English explorers, to the moose (Alces malchis) and the elk (Cervus canadensis). Charlevoix called the — bison the Bauf du Canada. Marquette called it the Pisikious, adopting the name then current among the Illinois Indians, while Hennepin called it Taureau sauvage. Lawson and Bricknell used the name Buffélo, which name, modified to Buffalo, was employed by Catesby and was early adopted by the English colonists. According te Richardson it is called Peecheek by the Algonquins, Adgiddah by the Chepewyans, and JMoos- toosh by the Crees. In the United States this animal has generally borne the name of buffalo, though discriminating writers persist that the name is errone- ous, and that it should be ealled the American bison. ‘The latter is un- doubtedly its correct English cognomen, but probably among the people generally the name buffalo will never be supplanted. The term Ameri- can buffalo is doubtless defensible for those who prefer it, and even buf- falo is 10 more a misnomer than scores of the names of our common ' mammats and birds. The name Robin as applied to Turdus migratorius, is even more objectionable than that of buffalo as applied to the Ameri- can bison. The name buffalo is of course strictly applicable only to the genus Bubalus, embracing the true African and Indian buffaloes. figures of the American Bison.—The first figure of the bison ever pub- lished is doubtless that given by Thevet in 1558,* three years after the publication of Vaca’s “ Journal,” in which occurs the earliest deseription of the American bison. This is an extremely rude figure, having but little resemblance to the bison. In 1633 De Laétt published another equally faulty. Nieremburg§ in 1635, and Hernandezt in 1651, published others, which so much resemble Thevet’s that they seem to he merely enlarged, slightly modified copies of it. Hernandez’s figure, however, has been repeatedly referred to as the first published figure of the Amer- ican bison. Towards the end of the seventeenth century a somewhat similar figure was published by, Hennepin.§ During the eighteenth century others were added by Du Pratz, Lawson (in his “ History of Carolina||), Catesby,{] Buffon,** and others, Catesby’s and Buffon’s being very fair representations of the animal intended, and are the first that attain a tolerable degree of accuracy. The first good figures are those given by F. Cuvier and Geoffroy,}t consisting of a series of three, drawn from specimens living in the Me- nagerie at Paris. The first is that of a young male in summer pelage, the second that of a young female, and the third that of a calf a few weeks old. These are all very fine, especially in respect to color, in which they excel all others, those of Catlin and Audubon being of too dark a tint. Catlin, in his ‘ North American Indians” (Vol. I), devotes a series of fourteen spirited plates to the illustration of the American bison. The male is represented in plate vii of this work; the female in plate viii; * Les Singularitz de Ja France Antarctique, p. 145. + Amer., p. 303. + Hist. Nat., p. 181. § Mex., p. 587. || Discovery of a Vast Country, etc., p. 90. Fig. 115. ** Nat. Hist. of Carolina, ete., pl. xx. tt Hist. Nat., Suppl., III, pl. v. +t Hist. Nat. des Mam., Tome I, livr. xii (young male); Tome II, livr. xxxii (young female); Tome HL, livr. xlix (calf a few weeks old). au Ys se Peven} FOSSIL REMAINS OF THE BISON. — ABT in plate ix is depicted a collision of a bull and a horse during a chase, and in plate x a wounded bull is represented. In plate ev is ‘fioured a herd in the rutting season ; in plate evi a herd at rest, with an old bull wallowing in the foreground ; ; plates evii to cxii form a series illustrating the hunting of the buffalo by the Indians ; plates cxiii and exiv repre- sent buffaloes attacked by wolves. Besides Audubon’s* well-known figures, among those worthy of special notice are those in Schoolcraft’s great work on the Indians,t in which in plate Vill is given a comparative view of the buffalo and do- mestic cow ; in plate ix, a view of a buffalo chase; in plate x, buffalo hunting in winter; in plate xi, a view of a large herd of buffaloes; in plate xii, another view of alarge herd with an old bull in the foreground ; plate xiii, buffalo skinning. The earlier figures are of course noteworthy only as being the first attempts at delineating the American bison. Those by Catlin, on the other hand, truthfully and vividly depict scenes which, though for merly characteristic of our plains, will soon be known only in history, and are well worthy of consultation by any one interested in the subjects he there delineates. Audubon’s iilustrations are faithful likenesses , and the scenes and figures given in Schooleraft’s work may also be examined with profit; the most accurate figures, however, are those given by Cu- vier and Geottroy. Fossil Kemains.—The remains of the American bison in a fossil or semifossil condition have been found sparingly over a wide area, but no instance is at present known of their discovery beyond the known limits of its range at the time of the earliest explorations of the con- tinent. In the National Museum at Washington are semifossil remains from Colorado, collected by Major Powell, and from Karsas, collected by Dr. Hayden. I found a fossil tooth of this species in Central Towa, and have received from Mr. Orestes H. St. John a fossil astragalus from the banks of the Big Blue River in Kansas. Professor Wyman has reported its remains from the mounds of the Lead Region in Wisconsin and lowa; Dr. Leidy has figured a tcoth from the Lead crevices of Jo Daviess County, Tilinois, and also from the Ashley River, South Caro- lina.t Professor Baird has reported the existence of its fossil remains in the caverns of Central Pennsylvania. The alleged occurrence of its remains at Gardiner, Maine, proves, however, to be probably erroneous, as will be shown further on.§ Its bones have also been found in large quantities about the Salt Licks of the Ohio Valley, especially at Big. bone Lick, Kentucky. The accumulations at the last-named locality “date back to remote times, since in the lower strata of these bone-deposits are found the bones of Mastodon americanus, Megalonyx, Klephas, an extinct species of Lquus, and an extinet species of Cvibos, but, according to Professor Shaler, the bones of Bison americanus occur only in the more superficial strata, which are composed almost solely of the remains of this animal. These remains differ in no appreciable respect, in form or in size, from those of the recent bison of the Plai The only * Quad. North America, Vol. II, pls. lvi, lvii. t Hist. Prosp: & Cond. Indian Tribes of North America, Vol. IV, pls. viii-xiii. {Jn both instances doubtfully referred by Dr. Leidy to Bison latifrons. § See the chapter on the Geographical Distribution of the American Bison. || A skull from Big-bone Lick (No. 2047, M. C. Z.) presents the greatest convexity of the forehead of any T have met with, but does not differ in other respects from ordinary examples. On the other band, other Big-bone Lick skulls exhibit the usual degree of flatness. No. 2050 has unusually large horn-cores, but is not in other respects “Uis- tinguishable from average recent examples. 458 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. difference of note consists in the very different manner of the wearing of the molar teeth. In the recent bison of the Plains, the crowns of the teeth present a nearly even surface, every part of the tooth being worn to nearly the same level. In the remains from Big-bone Lick, however, the crown surface wears into a series of deep transverse serrations, the ridges of which often rise a fourth of an inch above the interven- © ing hollows. The difference between the two in this respect is strik- ingly great, and evidently relates to the different character of the food obtainable in the two districts. The bison of the Plains necessarily feeds wholly upon short, fine grasses, which rarely attain a height of more than a few inches, and are consequently at times more or less sprinkled with sand and dust. The Ohio Valley, on the contrary, is a region of rank herbage, and tall, succulent grasses. The Plains bison must take with its food more or less gritty material,* which tends not only to wear the teeth down evenly, but far more rapidly than was the ease in the Ohio Valley, the teeth in the Plains bisons generally being very much worn, even in middle-aged animals, while in very old ani- mals the teeth are often worn down to the fangs. Hven the temporary set become wholly wern out before they give place to the permanent series. Nothing of this kind has been observed in specimens from Big- bone Lick, even in the oldest individuals. [t] ‘On the Age of the Bison in the Ohio Valley.—By N. 8. Shaler.— In the original Memoir of Mr. Allen, allusion is made to certain re- searches carried on by me in Big Bone Lick in Kentucky, which have some reference to the question of the age of the Buffalo in the Ohio Valley. These investigations, begun in 1868 and continued in 1869, have only been sufficient to point the way.to further studies which it is in the plan of the Kentucky Geological Survey to prosecute, but which it may not be in its power to undertake for some time to come. I therefore give a short sketch of the evidence collected at Big Bone Lick with a view to showing the limits of the observations that have been made there. “The springs at Big Bone Lick, as at all the other licks of Toning <7 are sources of saline waters derived from the older Palzozoie rocks. These saline materials, as has been suggested by Dr. Sterry Hunt, have their origin in the imprisoned waters of the ancient seas, or in the salts derived therefrom, which have been locked in the depths of the strata below the reach of the leaching action of the surface water. Whenever the rocks lie above the line of the drainage, these salts have been leached away. AS we go below the surface they increase in quantity until we reach the level, where these waters remain saturated with the materials which existed in the old sea-waters. The displacement of these old imprisoned waters is brought about by the sinking down of water on the highlands through the vertical interstices of the soil and rock, and the consequent tendency of the water below the surface to restore the hydro- static balance. This action is particularly likely to oceur when the rocks above the drainage are limestones or shales; while a bed of rock at some distance below the drainage is of sandstone and permeable to water. This is the case at Big Bone Lick, where at about two hundred feet below the surface we have the calciferous sandstone with a struc- ture open enough to admit the free passage of water in a horizontal direction. That some such process is at work is shown by the fact that * In the teeth of specimens from the Plains I have found sharp, angular particles of quartz wedged into the cavities of the teeth. [+ Tbe matter here interpolated in’ quotation-marks constitutes App. II of the origi- nal.—D. ] ee ALLEN.) AGE OF THE BISON IN THE OHIO VALLEY. 459 the water will rise ten feet or more above the surface of the soil if enclosed in a pipe. The fact that the reservoir of these waters is below the general surface causes them to appear in the bottom of the valleys, _and the considerable abstraction of matter from the underlying beds probably amounts to some hundred cubie feet per annum in the case of Big Bone Lick, causes a depression at the point of escape, and brings about pretty generally the formation ofa swamp in a depressed and con- stantly lowering basin, through which the spring water seeps away, and where a large part of it is usually evaporated. This swamp forms a natural trap for all the higher mammalia in it. When excavations are made near the existing outlets of the springs, we find the remains of the large mammals brought by man, the horse, cow, pig, and sheep. “‘ In the frequent change of outlet of these springs, it comes to pass that at many points near the surface of the thirty or forty acres that lie in the little basin where Big Bone Lick is found, there are old spring vents, about which bones are found, that no longer give forth saline waters. Itis a fact bearing on the history of the buffalo, that their remains about Big Bone Lick are, when found, away from the purest Springs and never at any depth beneath the surface. In the recent Springs they are very abundant, but not much more ancient in their appearance than the domesticated animals. The evidence obtained at this point leads to the conclusion that the first appearance of this spe- cies into the country was singularly recent, and also shows that their coming was like an irruption in its suddenness. These buffalo bones are wonderfully abundant in some of the shallow swampy places of this neighborhood. I have seen them massed to the depth of two feet or more, as close as the stones of a pavement, and so beaten down by the succeeding herds as to make it difficult to lift them from their bed. “As will be seen from the accompanying diagram, [here omitted, | there seems to have been some degradation of the surface of this swamp after the deposition of many of the mastodon remains, and before the coming of the buffalo. This lowering of level was appar- ently consequent on the down cutting of the bed of the small creek that drains the valley. The old elevated beds had probably washed a good deal when the buffalo came, but it was principally by its wallow- ing and stamping that the bones of the mastodon, elephants, &c., were exposed to the air. At no point in this old ground did I find a trace of the buffalo, though in some of it the bones identified by Mr. Allen as belonging to Ovibos were found. There, too, were found the bones of the moose and caribou. Iam inelined to believe from these investiga- tions that the Bison americanus did not appear at Big Bone Lick until a very recent time. ‘All the observations made by the Kentucky Survey in the caverns of the State, and the neighboring district of Tennessee, have led to the discovery of no bison remains in these subterranean receptacles, where the bones of the beaver, deer, wolf, bear, and many other mammals have been discovered. The observations of the officers of the survey, to be published hereafter, will show that our caves have been used as the homes of the living and the receptacles of the dead by more than one of the earlier tribes of this region, but they seem never to have brought the bones of this animal to the caves. ‘¢ Some years ago I ventured to call attention to the general absence of the remains of this animal in all the mounds of the historic and pre- historic races, and to the fact that on their pipes and pottery, though they figure every other indigenous mammal and some of the birds of this region, seeking their models even in the manitee of Florida, 1 have 460 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. never been able to find any trace of buffalo bones in any of the mounds which so often contain bones of other animals, nor have I been able to ascertain that they have ever been found in such places. Atan ancient camping-ground on_the Ohio River, about twelve miles above Cincin- nati, where the remains are covered by alluvial soil of apparently some antiquity, and where the pottery (hereafter to be figured in the Memoirs of the Survey) is rather more ancient in character than that made by our modern Indians, I found bones of deer, elk, bear, fox, &e., but none of buffalo. Ata number of o:her oid camps on the Ohio River there is the same conspicuous absence of the remains of this animal. These evidences, negative and incomplete as they are, make it at least proba- ble that the buffalo was unknown to the people who built the mounds and preceded the tribes which were found here by the whites in the seventeenth century. The same arguments warrant us in supposing that the Bison latifrons, with its contemporaries, the musk ox, the elephant, and the mastodon, had vanished before the advent of this race, or at least before the time of which we have evidence in the fossils already found. ‘“‘T have long been of the opinion, without claiming originality therein, that the tribes which built the mounds and Shapely measured forts of this region were driven to‘the southward by an invasion of other tribes coming from the northward and northwestward. In the Memoirs now in preparation concerning the ancient peoples of this region, it will be claimed, on what seems to Mr. Lucian Carr, ethnologist of the Survey, and to myself, sufficient evidence that these mound-building peoples were essentially related to the Natchez group of Indians, and were driven southward by the ruder tribes of the somewhat related tribes which occupied the northern parts of the Mississippi Valley when we first knew it. All this seems to me to have a possible significance in the problem of the coming of the buffalo. When we remember that the In- dians north of the Ohio were much in the habit of burning the forests, and so making open plains or prairies, and that, as Mr. Allen has well pointed out, the buffalo cannot penetrate far into the denser forests, it may be that it was this destruction of forests that laid the way open to their entrance. The so-called Barrens of Kentucky, the southward extension of the Wabash prairies, give us evidence on this point. As soon.as the Indians were driven away, these Kentucky prairies sprang up in timber and are now densely wooded. The same is in part true of other prairies of the Ohio Valley. I am inclined to think that the fore- ing back of the timber line from the Mississippi is principally due to the burning of the forests by the aborigines in their eastward working, aided by the continued decrease of the rain-fall, which I believe to have been a concomitant of the disappearance of the glacial period.* The question of the origin of the buffalo and its relation to the earliest tribes of people in this district is made still more complicated by the fact that there is no doubt that there was an earlier and.closely related species of buffalo in this district, probably coeval with the mammoth and mastodon, and possibly with the caribou and elk, which had doubtless disappeared before the coming of any race of men that has as yet been identified in this country. ‘‘The succession of events in this region, as far as the species of bison are concerned, seems to have been somewhat as follows, viz. :— “Ist. The existence of the Bison latifrons in company with the mam- moth and its contemporaries,—the mastodon, musk ox (Bootheriwm cavi- * Notes on the cause and geological value of variations in rain-fall ; Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol, xviii, p. 176, ct seq. \ iy 4 ‘ee , ie ! i A aren.) GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND HABITS. A6lL _ frons, Leidy), ete. This species, like its contemporaries, by its size gave evidence of the even climate and abundant vegetation of the time just following, and probably in part during the glacial period. 2d. The disappearance of this fauna, followed by the coming of a race (mound-builders) that retained no distinct traditions, and have left no art records of the presence of any of the large animals of the pre- ceding time. ‘¢3d. The disappearance of this race from the region north of the Tennessee, probably leaving representatives in the Natchez group of Indians, followed by the occupation of the country by a race that greatly extended the limits of the treeless plains to the eastward, and so per- mitted the coming of the modern bison into this region. ‘““T have long been disposed to look upon the succeeding glacial periods as the most effective causes of the changes that led to the determination of new specific characters among animals, and Lam strongly disposed to think that in the BL. americanus we have the descendant of the B. latifrons, modified by existence in the new conditions of soil and climate to which it was driven by the great changes closing the last ice age. “When the exploration of Big Bone Lick is completed, it will doubt- less show that there was an interval of some thousands of years between those two species.” [End of App. II of the original.—ED. | Geographical Distribution.—siuce the geographical distribution of the American bison, past and present, is treated at Jength in a subsequent chapter devoted especially to the subject, a few words only on this point will suffice in the present connection. The habitat of the bison formerly extended from Great Slave Lake on the north, in latitude about 62°, to the northeastern provinces of Mexico, as far south as latitude 25°. Its range in British North America extended from the liocky Mountains on the west to the wooded highlands about six hun- dred miles west of Hudson’s Bay, or about to a linerunning southeast- ward from the Great Slave Lake to the Lake of the Woods. Its range ‘in the United States formerly embraced a considerable area west of the Rocky Mountains, its recent remains having been found in Oregon as far west as the Blue Mountains, and further south it occupied the Great Salt Lake Basin, extending westward even to the Sierra Nevada Mount- ains, while less than fifty years since it existed over the headwaters of the Green and Grand Rivers, and other sourees of the Colorado. Hast of the Rocky Mountains its range extended southward far beyond the tio Grande, and eastward throughout the region drained by the Ohio River and its tributaries. Its northern limit east of the Mississippi was the Great Lakes, along which it extended eastward to near the eastern end of Lake Erie. It appears not to have occurred south of the Ten- nessee River, and only to a limited extent east of the Alleghanies, chiefly in the upper districts of North and South Carolina. Its present range embraces two distinct and comparatively small areas. The southern is chiefly limited to Western Kansas, a part of the Indian Territory, and Northwestern Texas, —in all together embracing a region about equal in size to the present State of Kansas. The northern dis- trict extends from the sources of the principal southern tributaries of the Yellowstone northward into the British Possessions, embracing an area not much greater than the present Territory of Montana. Over these regions, however, it is rapidily disappearing, and at its present rate of decrease will certainly become wholly extinct during the next quarter of a century. Habits—The American bison is, as is well known, pre-eminently a gregarious animal. At times herds have been met with of immense 462 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. size, numbering thousands, and even millions, of individuals. The ac- counts given by thoroughly veracious travellers respecting their size sound almost like exaggerations. Herds were formerly often met with extending for many miles in every direction, so that the expression ‘so numerous as to blacken the plains as far as the eye can reach” has be- come a hackneyed description of their abundance. Some writers speak of travelling for days together without ever being out of sight of buf- faloes, while it is stated that emigrant trains were formerly sometimes detained for hours by the passage of dense herds across their routes. In the early history of the Kansas Pacific Railway it repeatedly hap- pened that trains were stopped by the same cause. Such statements as these seem like exaggerations, but no facts are perhaps better at- tested. I must myself confess to slight misgivings in respect to their thorough truthfulness until I had, in 1871, an opportunity of seeing the moving multitudes of these animals covering the landscape on the plains of Kansas, when I was convinced of the possibility of the seemingly most extravagant reports being true. Only when demoralized and broken up by constant persecution from hunters do the herds become scattered. At other times only the old bulls, lean and partly disabled from age, leave the herds and wander as stragglers. The organization and composition of the herds, though wholly simple and natural, has been the subject of much romancing on the part of a few fanciful writers. Generally the cows with their calves are found toward the middle and on the front of the herds, the cows being at all times more watchful than the bulls, and also more active. The cows are hence the first to detect danger, and generally take the initiative in the movements of the herd. The younger animals of both sexes mingle with the cows, as do also to a greater or less extent the younger and middle-aged bulls. The older bulls are generally found nearer the out- side of the herd, while last of all the old patriachs of the flock bring up the rear. Some of the latter are often found far out on the outskirts, miles away from the main herd, occurring singly or in small parties of three or four to a dozen individuals. These are usually the superannu- ated members of the community, which lag behind from listlessness or sheer weakness. This simple grouping of the different individuals of the herds has given rise to exaggerated accounts of the Sagacity of the buffalo, and much fine writing has at times been expended in de- scribing the supposed regularity and almost military precision of their movements. The sluggish, partly disabled old males constitute the lordly sentinels of such tales, who are supposed to watch with fatherly care over the welfare of the flock, and to give early warnin g of the ap- proach of danger. On the contrary, these supposed alert protectors are the most easily approached of any members of the flock, the experienced hunter finding no trouble in creeping past within a few yards of them in endeavoring to reach the more desirable game beyond them.* They are Slower, too, to recognize danger when it is observed. The timidity and watchfulness of the cows, accustomed as they are to the eare of their ofispring, lead them to take the initiative in the movements of the herd, and this, as already stated, keeps them near the front, espec- ially when the herd is moving. The popular belief that the buils keep the cows and the young in the middle of the herd, and form themselves, as it were, into a protecting phalanx, has some apparent basis, but the theory that the old bulls, the least watchful of all the members of the herd, are sentinels posted on the outskirts to give notice of any ap- * See the chapter beyond devoted to an account of the different methods of hunting the buffalo. eee e ALLEN.) HABITS OF THE BISON. 463 proaching enemy, is wholly a myth, as is also the supposition that the herds consist of small harems. The rutting season begins in July, but is not at its height till the follow- ing month. Rarely is more than a single calf produced at a birth. The p ALLEN.) HABITS OF THE BISON. 465 few are conspicuous among the others from still retaining their old and faded coats of the previous year. The buffalo is quite nomadic in its habits, the same individuals roam- ing, in the course of the year, over vast areas of country. Their wan- derings, however, are generally in search of food or water, or result from the persecutions of human foes. The fires that annually sweep over immense tracks of the grassy plains, sometimes destroy ing the her- baceous vegetation over thousands of square miles in continuous area, often force the buffaloes, besides inspiring them with terror, to make long journeys in search of food. Occasionally the ravages of the grass- hoppers cause similar migrations, these pests leaving large sections of country as bare of vegetation as it is when swept by a prairie fire. The habit of the buffaloes, too, of keeping together in immense herds renders a slow but constant movement necessary in order to find food, that of a single locality soon becoming exhausted. They are also accustomed to make frequent shorter journeys to obtain water. The streams through- out the range of the buffalo run mainly in an east and west direction, and the buffaloes, in passing constantly from the broad grassy divides to the streams, soon form well-worn trails, which, running at right angles to the general course of the streams, have a nearly north and south trend. These paths have been regarded as indicating a very general north and south annual migration of these animals. It is, indeed, a wide-spread belief among the hunters and plainsmen that the buffaloes formerly performed regularly very extended migrations, going south in autumn and north in spring. I have even been assured by former agents of the American Fur Company that before the great overland emigration to California (about 1849 and later) divided the buffaloes into two bands, the buffaloes that were found in summer on the plains of the Saskatchewan and Red River of the North spent the winter in Texas, and vice versa. The early Jesuit explorers reported a similar annual migration among the buffaloes east of the Mississippi - River, and scores of travelers have since repeated the same statement in respect to those of the Plains. That there are local migrations of an annual character seems in fact te be well substantiated, especially at the southward, where the buffaloes are reported to have formerly, in great measure, abandoned the plains of Texas in summer for those further north, revisiting them again in winter. Before their range was intersected by railroads, or by the great trans-continental emigrant route by way of the South Pass, the movements of the herds were, doubtless, much more regular than at present. North of the United States, as late as 1858, according to Hind,* they still performed very extended migrations, as this author reports the Red River bands as leaving the plains of the Red River in spring, moving first westward to the Grand Coteau de Missouri, then northward and eastward to the Little Souris River, and thence southward again to the Red River plains. As already stated, a slight movement northward in summer and southward in winter is well attested as formerly occurring in Texas ; the hunters report the same thing as having taken place on the plains of Kansas ; further north the buffaloes still visit the valley of the Yel- lowstone in summer from their winter quarters to the southward; along the 49th parallel they also pass north in summer and south in winter ; there is abundant evidence also of a similar north and south migration on the Saskatchewan plains. Yet it is very improbable that the buffa- loes of the Saskatchewan plains ever wintered on the plains of Texas; * Canadian Exploring Expeditions, ete., Vol. II, p. 108. 30 GS 406 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. and absolutely certain that for twenty-five years they have not passed as far south even as the valley of the Platte. Doubtless the same indi- | viduals never moved more than a few hundred miles in a north and south direction, the annual migration being doubtless merely a moder- ate swaying northward and southward of the whole mass with the ‘| changes of the seasons. We certainly know that buffaloes have been accustomed to remain in winter as far north as their habitat extends. North of the Saskatchewan they are described as merely leaving the | more exposed portions of the plains during the deepest snows and | severest periods of cold to take shelter in the open woods that border the plains. We have, for instance, numerous attestations of their * former abundance in winter at Carlton House, in latitude 53°, as well 4 as at other of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s posts. a The local movements of the buiialoes are said to have been formerly | very regular, and the hunters conversant with their habits knew very 4 well at what points they were most likely to find them at the different + seasonsof the year. Of late, however, the buffaloes have become much | more erratic, owing to the constant persecutions to which they have 4 been for so long a time subjected. In Northern Kansas the old trails ' show that their movements were formerly in the usual north and south | direction, the trails all having that course. Since the construction of | the Kansas Pacific Railway, however, their habits have considerably | changed, an east and west migration having recently prevaiied to such | an extent that a new set of trails, running at right angles to the earlier, have been deeply worn. Until recently the buffaloes ranged eastward in summer to Fort Harker, but retired westward in winter, few be- | ing fourid at this season east of Fort Hays. In summer and early au- { tumn, hunting-parties, as late as 1872, made their headquarters at Hays | City; later in the season at Ellis and Park’s Fort; while in midwinter | they had to move their camps as far west as Coyote, Grinnell, and Wal- |} lace, or to a distance of one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles west | of their fall camps, in consequence of the westward winter migration of 4 the buffaloes. Two reasons may be assigned for this change of habit: |} first, their reluctance to cross the railroad, and secondly, the greater | mildness of the winters to the westward of Ellis as compared with the * region east of this point.. During the winter of 1871-72 I found that | for a period of several weeks, in December and January, the country 4 east of Ellis was covered with ice and encrusted snow sufficiently deep | to bury the grass below the reach of cither the buffaloes or the domestic ‘| cattle. In the vicinity of Ellis the amount of snow and ice began rapidly | to diminish, while a little further westward the ground was almost wholly bare. I was informed, furthermore, that this was the usual dis- | tribution of the snow in this region whenever any fell there. Although occasionally the snow does not accumulate in sufficient quantity to ren- der grazing difficult over any of the country west of Fossil Creek, the buffaloes regularly abandon this region in winter for the country fur- ther west, where snow is of more exceptional occurrence. The wanderings of the buffaloes often render it necessary for them to | cross large streams, which they seem to do with reckless fearlessness and at almost any season of the year, though frequently at the cost of ‘ the lives of many of the old and feeble as well as of the young. Lewis and Clarke speak of their crossing the Upper Missouri in such numbers | as to delay their boat, the river being filled with them as thick as they | could swim for the distance of a mile.* Other Western travellers men- * Lewis and Clarke’s Exped., Vol. II, p. 395. ALLEN.] HABITS OF THE BISON. AGT tion similar scenes.* Bad landing-places, such as bluffy banks or miry shores, often prove fatal to the half-exhausted creature after reaching the shore.t In winter they boldly cross the rivers on the ice; toward spring, however, after the ice has become weakened by melting, and even occasionally at other times, in consequence of their crowding too thickly together, the ice breaks beneath their weight and great numbers are drowned. In spring they often cross amid the floating ice, at which times they are sometimes set upon by the Indians, to whom they then fall an easy prey. According to Audubon, small herds occasionally find themselves adrift on masses of floating ice, where the majority per- ish from cold and lack of food rather than trust themselves to the icy, turbulent waters.t{ The behavior and movements of the buffalo are in general very much like those of domestic cattle, but their speed and endurance seem to be far greater. When well under way, and with a good start, it takes a ’ fleet horse to overtake then, their speed being much greater than one would suppose from simply watching their movements from a distance, their gait being a rather clumsy, lumbering gallop. When pursued, or when urged on by thirst, rough ground and a tumble now and then seem to scarcely retard their progress, they plunging headlong down the steep sides of ravines and resuming their course up the opposite slope as if they had found the ravine no obstacle to their progress. When thirsty, in order to get at streams or springs, they will often leap down vertical banks where it would be impossible to urge a horse, and will even descend precipitous rocky bluffs by paths where a man could only climb down with difficulty, and where it would seem almost impos- sible for a beast of their size and structure to pass except at the cost of broken limbs or a broken neck.’ On the bluffs of the Musselshell River . I found places where they had leaped down bare ledges three or four feet in height with nothing but ledges of rocks for a landing-place ; sometimes, too, through passages between high rocks but little wider than the thickness of their own bodies, with also a continuous precip- itous descent for many feet below. Nothing in their history ever sur- prised me more than this revelation of their expertness and fearless- ness in climbing.§ Ordinarily, however, the buffalo shows commendable Sagacity in respect to his choice of routes, usually choosing the easiest grades and the most direct courses, so that a buffalo trail can be de- pended upon as affording the most feasible road possible through the region it traverses. When moving in large bands across the plains their course is often plainly marked by the column of dust they raise, even when the animals themselves are far beyond sight, the ecene calling to mind the passage of a distant troop of cavalry at full speed, or a heavy train of army * Catlin, North Am. Indians, Vol. II, p. 13; Fremont, Explorations, etce., p. 23. + The following incident in point is related by Colonel Dodge: ‘‘Late in the sum- mer of 1867 a herd of probably four thousand buffaloes attempted to cross the South Platte near Plum Creek. The river was rapidly subsiding, being nowhere over a foot or two in depth, and the channels in the bed were filled or filling with loose quick- sand. The butialoes in front were hopelessly stuck. Those immediately behind, urged on by the horns and pressure of those yet further in the rear, trampled over their struggling companions to be themselves engulfed in the devouring sand. This was continued until the bed of the river, nearly half a mile broad, was covered with dead or dying buffaloes. Only a comparative few actually crossed the river, and these were _ soon driven back by hunters. It was estimated that considerably more than half the herd, or over two thousand buffaloes, paid for this attempt with their lives.”—Chicago Inter-Ocean, August 5, 1875. t Audubon and Bachman, Quad. N. Am., Vol. II, p. 38. § On this point see further Dr. Coues’s communication given in Part II. 468 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. wagons. The presence of a herd to the windward of the observer, even if a mile or two distant, can usually be detected by the peculiar odor, that arises from it, especially during the rutting season. At this time, too, the roaring of the bulls can often be heard when the animals are miles away, and hidden, perchance, by intervening swells of the prairie, particularly at night, or when the air is still. Jew things make a more — vivid or lasting impression—and one that at the time is often far from agreeable—upon the mind of the traveler, encamped far out on the open prairie, than the roar and tramp of an approaching herd of buffaloes, especially at night-time. Nothing, again, is more pleasantly exhilarat-— ing, or gives one a stronger sense of being really amid nature’s untamed wilds, than, when encamped on the outskirts of a quiescent herd, to be awakened on a fresh June morning by their distant bellowing, and to see them, as daylight advances, quietly grazing over a vast expanse of the green prairie. As may be well imagined, not only the movements but the habits of the buffaloes, in their undisturbed daily lives, are in general not far different from those of grazing herds of domestic cattle. They induige in similar gambols, and, when belligerent, in similar blustering demonstrations. When approached by man they will often assume an aspect so threatening that a novice at buftalo-hunting might easily be appatied by the fierce demonstrations indulged in by the boastful but cowardly old bulls. Bold at first, and apparently challenging at- tack, the old bulls, with the head lowered and the tail erect, will pace uneasily to and fro, threateningly pawing the earth, or face the ap- proaching enemy with a sullen and most determined air only to take to their heels the very nextmoment. The bullsare at all times excessively . fond of pawing the ground, and of throwing up the earth with their horns, thrusting them into banks when such are at hand, or into the bare level ground, which they accomplish by lowering themselves upon one knee. To such an extent do they pursue this pastime that the horns of the older bulls become very much worn and splintered, in occasional instances the horny covering of the more exposed part being worn very thin, and in rare instances entirely through to the bony core. Particularly bovine, also, is the satisfaction they take in rubbing them- selves against whatever will oppose resistance, whether it be rocks, trees, bushes, or a clay-bluff; the telegraph-poles, however, erected along the railroads that cross their range, afforded them especial delight as scratching-posts, and soon became as well smoothed and covered with tufts of hair and grease from their unctuous hides as are the posts about a farmer’s cattle-yard. What is very unlike anything in the habits of domestic cattle, however, is thei# propensity to roll themselves on the ground, which, notwithstanding their seemingly inconvenient form, they do with the greatest ease, rolling over as completely as a horse, and apparently with far less exertion. But their especial delight is to roll - in the mud, or in “ wallowing,” as it is termed, from which exercise they arise looking more like an animated mass of mud than their former selves. The object of these peculiar ablutions is doubtless to cool their heated bodies and to free themselves from troublesome insects. When not finding a muddy pool ready at hand, an old bull proceeds to prepare one. Finding in the low parts of the prairies, says Catlin, who has de- scribed the process with considerable detail,* a little stagnant water amongst the grass, and the ground underneath soft and saturated with moisture, an old bull lowers himself upon one knee, plunges his horns into the ground, throwing up the earth and soon making an excavation ao 8 *North American Indians, Vol. I, p. 241. ALLEN.] HABITS OF THE BISON. A469 into which the water trickles, forming for him in a short time a cool and comfortable bath, in which he wallows “likeahoginthe mire.” In this ‘‘delectable laver” he throws himself flat upon his side, and then, forcing himself violently around with his horns, his feet and his huge hump, ploughs up the ground still more, thus enlarging his pool till _ he at length becomes nearly immersed. Besmeared with a coating of the pasty mixture, he at length rises, changed into ‘‘a monster of mud and ugliness,” with the black mud dripping from his shaggy mane and thick woolly coat. The mud soon drying upon his body forms a covering that insures him immunity for hours from the attacks of in- sects. Others follow in succession, having waited their turns to enjoy the luxury; each rolls and wallows in a similar way, adding a little to the dimensions of the hole, and carrying away a Share of the adhesive mud. By this means an excavation is eventually made having a diam- eter of fifteen or twenty feet, and two feet in depth. These wallows thus become characteristic marks of a buffalo country, outlasting even the ordinary trails, while their effect upon the country is much more marked, rank vegetation growing about their borders and serving to indicate their positions when quite distant. The buffaloes, however, do not always choose moist places in which to roil, and are quite content with wallowing in the dust when mud-and- water wallows are not conveniently at hand; wherever, in short, large herds have grazed, hollows formed by their indulgence in this propensity are of very frequent occurrence. These circular depressions, which are also usually called “ wallows,” are of smaller size than the water wal- lows, being eight to ten or twelve feet or more in diameter, and a few inches to upwards of a foot in depth. These. also are not effaced by natural agencies for many years, and hence remain as lasting evidence of the former existence of populous herds of buffaloes at the localities where these old ‘“‘ wallows” are found. Owing tothe impervious nature of the clayey soil that generally characterizes the Plains, these hollows temporarily retain the water that collects in them during falls of rain, affording grateful supplies of this important element to the various ani- mals of the region, as well as often to man, these pools usually lasting for several days, or until slowly evaporated by the sun. The American bison, like the other species of the bovine group, is characterized by a rather sluggish disposition, and is by no means re- markable for alertness or sagacity, being not only unwieldy in bulk, but also‘ the stupidest animal of the plains.” As Colonel Dodge hasremarked, ‘his enormous bulk, shaggy mane, vicious eye, and sullen demeanor give him an appearance of ferocity very foreign to his nature. Danger- ous as he looks, he is, in truth, a very mild, inoffensive beast, timid and fearful, and rarely attacking but in the last hopeless effort of self-defence. The domestic cattle of Texas, miscalled ‘tame,’ are fifty times more dan-: gerous to footmen than the fiercest buffalo. . . . . Endowed withthe smallest possibleamount of instinct, the little he hasseems adapted rather for getting him into difficulties than out of them. If not alarmed at sight or smell of a foe, he will stand stupidly gazing at his companions in their death-throes, until the whole herd is shot down. He will walk unconsciously into a quicksand or quagmire already choked with strug- gling, dying victims. Having madeup his mind to go a certain way, it is almost impossible to swerve him from his purpose. . . . . When travelling nothingin his front stops him, but an unusual object in his rear will send him to the about at the top of his speed.”* In illustration of this curious habit of the buffalo to rush into the most *Chicago Inter-Ocean, August 5, 1875. ee | . 3 .470 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ; apparent danger, Colonel Dodge relates the following: <‘‘ The winter of 1871-72 was unusually severe in Arkansas. The ponds and smaller streams to the north were all frozen solid, and the buffalo were forced to the rivers for water. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad was then in process of construction, and nowhere could this peculiarity of the buffalo of which I am speaking be better studied than from its trains. If a herd was on the north side of the track, it would stand stupidly gaz- — ing and without symptom of alarm thongh the locomotive passed within ‘a hundred yards. If on the south side of the track, even though at a distance of one or two miles from it, the passage of a train set the whole herd in the wildest commotion. At its full speed, and utterly regard- less of consequences, it would make for the track, on its line of re- treat. Ifthe train happened not to be in its path it crossed the track, and stopped satisfied. If the train was in the way, each individual buf- falo went at it with the desperation of despair, plunging against or be- tween jocomctive and cars, just as the blind madness chanced to take them. Numbers were killed, but numbers still pressed on to stop and stare as soon as the obstacle was passed. After having trains ditched twice in one week, conductors learned to have a very decided re- spect for the idiosyncrasies of the buffalo, and when there was a pos- sibility of striking a herd ‘on the rampage’ for the north side of the track, the train was slowed up, and sometimes stopped entirely.”* The sluggish nature and in some respects intense stupidity of the buf- falo hence tend greatly to place this animal wholly at the mercy of its enemies, chief among whom is man, whether civilized or in the savage state. An account of the various devices for their destruction practiced by man, and of the results that have followed the reckless, exterminat- ing slaughter he has waged upon this inoffensive and helpless animal, being given in subsequent portions of this memoir, it is unnecessary to refer at length to these matters here. Let it suffice, then, in this connec- tion, to say that their unwariness renders them an easy prey to the hunter, who, by keeping to the leeward of the herd, finds no difficulty in approaching these animals sufficiently near for their easy destruction, even when he is unmounted, while their pursuit on horseback has ever been one of the favorite pastimes of the sportsman. Fortunately for the buffaloes, they possess few other enemies, the wolves being their only other formidable foe. These have now become so reduced in numbers over most of the present range of the buffalo that they no longer form a _very serious check upon its increase. Formerly they everywhere har- assed the bufialo, destroying many of the young, and even worrying and finally killing and devouring the aged, the feeble, and the wounded. Thirty years since, the wolves, next to the Indians, were the great scourge of the buffaloes, and had no small degree of influence in effecting their decrease. The earlier explorers of the plains often speak of finding a solitary buffalo, disabled by accident or by age, surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves, who would tease and wound him day and night till he finally fell a prey to their ravenous appetites. Catlin and other writ- ers have often referred to this matter at length, Catlin having also given a series of paintings of these encounters between the bison and his hun- gry tormentors.t Says Catlin, in his graphic account of one of these at- tacks, ‘“‘ During my travels in these regions [Upper Missouri coun- try|, I have several times come across such a gang of these animals sur- rounding an old or wounded bull, where it would seem, from appear- ances, that they had been for several days in attendance, and at intervals * Chicago Inter-Ocean, August 5, 1875. ' + North American Indians, Vol. I, p. 257, pls. exiii, exiv. _ ALLEN, ] HABITS OF -THE BISON. ATI desperately engaged in the effort to take his life. Buta short time since, as one of my hunting companions and myself were returning to our en- campment with our horses loaded with meat, we discovered at a distance a huge bull, encircled with a gang of white wolves; we rode up as near as we could without driving them away, and, being within pistol-shot, | we had a remarkably good view, where I sat for a few moments and made a sketch in my note-book (plate exiv); after which we rode up and | gave the signal for them to disperse, which they instantly did, withdraw- ing themselves to the distance of fifty or sixty rods, when we found, to | our great surprise, that the animal had made desperate resistance, his eyes being entirely eaten out of his head, the gristle of bis nose mostly | gone, his tongue half eaten off, and the skin and flesh of his legs torn almost literally into strings. In this tattered and torn condition, the _ poor old veteran stcod bracing up in the midst of his devourers, who had ceased hostilities for a few minutes to enjoy a sort of parley, recov- ering strength and preparing to resume the attack in a few moments / again. In this group some were reclining to gain breath, whilst others were sneaking about and licking their chops in anxiety for a renewal of - the attack; and others, less lucky, had been crushed to death by the feet or thehorns of the bull. I rode nearer to the pitiable object as he stood bleeding and trembling before me, and said to him, ‘ Now is your time, old fellow, and you had better be off’ Though blind and nearly de- stroyed, there seemed evidently to be a recognition of afriend in me, as he straightened up, and, trembling with excitement, dashed off at full speed upon the prairie, in a straight line. We turned our horses and re- sumed our mareh, and when we had advanced a mile or more we looked back, and on our left, where we saw again the ill-fated animal surrounded by his tormentors, to whose insatiable voracity he unquestionably soon fell a victim.” : The buffalo, when taken young, is easily tamed, and soon becomes thoroughly domesticated. With this fact so well known, it seems re- markable that this animal should not have long since been added to our list of domesticated and useful animals. The few experiments that have been made seem to have met with encouraging results, as will be shown ina later portion of the present memoir,* and to have failed simply through lack of interest and persistency. Through crossing them with domestic cattle they have even given promise of improved breeds, and an attempt to propagate them in confinement by an enter- prising stock-raiser, either as pure stock or as a mixed race, would un- doubtedly prove remunerative. In the vicinity of the present range of of the buffalo, tame individuals are frequently met with, which are reared and kept simply as pets or objects of curiosity, just as occasional specimens of the deer, elk, or pronghorn are kept. A young buffalo that was owned by the sutler at Fort Hays in 1871, then about two years old, proved to be a most eccentric and amusing beast. Through the attentions of visitors he acquired, among his other accomplishments, a great fondness for beer, of which he would sometimes partake to ex- cess, when he would occasionally perform rather strange antics. He was usually inoffensive in his manners, though latterly his behavior to strangers was rather too familiar to be always agreeable, and gradually he became somewhat irritable in consequence of constant teasing. But on these occasions of inebriety he sometimes took it into his head to clear the so-called ‘officers’ room” at the sutler’s, to which he was often admitted, of its occupants. On one of these occasions he is reported * See the chapter on ‘‘ The Domestication of the Buffalo.” —— os RATS 472 REPORT UNITED STATES GZUOLOGICAL SURVEY. to have mounted a billiard-table, from which he was not easily dislodged; at another time he is said to have ascended the stairs leading to the second story, and was with great difficulty induced to descend again. His excesses, lack of proper care, and unnatural diet at length seemed to seriously impair his health, as he soon grew thin, and did not long survive. The herds of cattle that are driven from Texas to Wyoming and other — Northern Territories are sometimes accompanied by one or two young tamed buffaloes. Two two-year old buffaloes thus reached Percy, Car-— bon County, Wyoming, in December, 1871, en route for Utah. One of them, however, was killed by some hunters near Percy, who claimed to have mistaken it for a wild animal,—a fate which not unfrequently be- falls the tamed buffaloes of the frontier. The other was shipped west- ward by rail with the rest of the herd. These individuals mixed as freely with the domestic cattle as any other members of the herd, and were as easily managed, and had no greater fear of man than the others. The very young buffalo calf, when separated from its mother, often evinces the utmost stupidity and lack of discernment ; sometimes thrust- ing its nose into a tuft of herbage, it seems to imagine itself wholly hid- den from view, and, in its fancied security, will stand and allow itself to be captured. A horse seems to possess for it a strange fascination, and it is very apt, when one is lost from the herd, to follow one when- ever opportunity for it offers. In this way buffalo calves have frequently been known to follow a horse and its rider into the nearest military or trading-post, miles from the herd. Catlin speaks of several that he sent down the Missouri by steamers to friends in Saint Louis, which had un- wittingly in this way made themselves prisoners. It may here be added, however, that the stupidity of the buffalo, as well as its sagacity, has been by some writers greatly overstated. A herd of buffaloes certainly possesses, in an eminent degree, the sheep-like propensity of blindly following its leaders, whenever a large affrighted herd is fleeing from some real or fancied danger. It certainly seems a stupid thing for a whole herd to rush into destruction instead of turn- ing aside and avoiding the danger. A little reflection, however, will show that in such instances as the rushing of a herd over a precipice or into a pound prepared especially to entrap them the act is not wholly one of stupidity, but comparable to that of a panic-stricken crowd of human beings rushing pell-mell from a public building when an alarm of fire is given, at the cost of limbs and lives, when more deliberate ac- tion would avoid such accidents. In the case of the buffalo, the indi- viduals in the front ranks of a herd, rushing to the verge of a precipice or into a pound, discover the danger too late to be abie to turn aside if they would, owing to the irresistible pressure of the mass behind, who are not in position to be aware of the danger toward which they are moving. Their crowding together on weak ice may result in disasters they can hardly be expected to foresee. Their crowding forward into quicksands is presumably the blind action of more or less excited herds ; a rashness a single animal or a few together would avoid. Many other details respecting the habits of the buffalo might be ap- propriately added to the present account, especially in relation to their behavior in captivity and when pursued or attacked by their human foes ; but as most of these points will be noticed quite fuliy incidentally in subsequent portions of this memoir, it is perhaps unnecessary to refer to them further in the present connection. shes view alt ly Acasa, I—GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION, PAST AND PRESENT, OF BISON AMERICANUS. The fate of none of our larger mammals is more interesting than is that of the bison, since total extermination is eventually surer to none than to this former “‘monarch of the prairies.” Since Europeans first came to this continent all the larger ruminants and carnivores have become greatly reduced in number throughout its vast extent, and many species have already become extinct over extensive areas where they were formerly the most characteristic animals. The moose and the caribou have a far less extended range, particularly to the southward, now than formerly ; the common deer, once abundant throughout Hast- ern North America, is now confined to the least settled parts of the country, having totally disappeared over three-fourths of the region it formerly occupied; the elk, formerly existing over nearly the whole continent, now scarcely survives east of the Mississippi River, though less than half a century ago it ranged in large bands over the fertile prairies of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, and was of occa- sional occurrence in the mountainous parts of even the Atlantic States; the bear, the wolf, and the panther, formerly so numerous as to be, if not dangerous, at least asource of great annoyance to the early settlers, are now found, east of the Great Plains, only in the least settled and more broken wooded portions of the country. The bison, at once the largest and the most important animal to the aboriginal tribes of this continent, as it was also the most numerous over the immense region it frequented, still occurs in almost numberless bands, but it has become so circumscribed in its habitat, and is so constantly persecuted by pro- fessional hunters, that its total extermination seems to be fast approach- ing. The precise limits of the range of the buffalo at the time when the first Europeans visited America is still a matter of uncertainty, yet reliable data are sufficiently abundant to establish the boundaries of its habitat at that time with tolerable exactness. These data exist in the form of incidental memoranda in the narratives of the early explorers rather than in formal statements bearing directly upon the subject, and though often unsatisfactorily vague in respect to dates and localities, they enable us to trace approximately the eastern and southern boundary of its habitat at a date as early at least as the beginning of the seventeenth century. it was, beyond doubt, almost exclusively an animal of the prairies and the woodless plains, ranging only to a limited extent into the forested dis- tricts east of the Mississippi River, and never occurring as a regular inhabitant of the denser woodlands. The opinion most prevalent in re- spect to its primitive range, as expressed by authors who have given most attention to the subject, is, that it for a long time inhabited the whole of that part of North America east of the Rocky Mountains between the parallels of 30° and 60°; some, however, make the Alle- ghanies the eastern limit of its eastward extension. To the westward some have considered its habitat as embracing a considerable part of 473 ATA REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. that portion of the western slope of the Rocky Mountains contained within the United States. The purpose of the present article is not only to determine, as definitely as can now be done, its former extreme limit of distribution, but to give also a detailed history of its extermina- tion over the area from which it has disappeared. Although hundreds of volumes and distinct papers relating to the early exploration and settlement of the country embraced within the former range of this animal have been consulted in the preparation of this paper, there probably stil! exist many important facts, incidentally recorded in little- known documents and in works in which such facts would hardly be expected to occur, which have been overlooked, and which will ulti- mately serve to indicate still more definitely the date of tts extinction at particular localities, though little probably that will materially affect the general results herewith presented. Probable extent of its former habitat.—The boundaries of the former habitat of the buffalo appear to have been about as follows: Beginning with the region east of the Mississippi River, its extension to the north- ward was limited by the Great Lakes, while the Alleghanies may be taken as its general eastern limit, its occurrence in the mountainous and more elevated parts of the Carolinas being due rather to the occasional wandering of small bands through the mountains from the immense herds that formerly inhabited the valleys of West Virginia and the adjacent parts of Kentucky and Tennessee, than to this region havy- ing been regularly embraced within its habitat. To the southward it seems never to have been met with south of the Tennessee River. Itis well known to have ranged over Northern and Western Arkansas, and thence southward over the greater part of Texas and across the Rio Grande into Mexico. Westward it extended over Northern New Mexico and then westward and northward throughout the Great Salt Lake Basin, and probably to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and the Blue Mountains in Oregon. North of the United States, its western boundary seems to have been formed by the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, among the foot-hills of which it has been found as far north aS the sources of the Mackenzie River. Its most northern limit ap- pears to have been the northern shore of the Great Slave Lake in about latitude 62° to 64°. In the British Possessions its range to the eastward did not extend beyond the plains west of the Hudson's Bay highlands. Thence southward it occupied the valleys of the Saskatchewan and its tributaries to Lake Winnipeg and the valley of the Red River of the North. It ranged thence southward over the head-waters of the Mississippi, extending eastward nearly to the western shore of Lake Michigan, and thence still eastward over the prairies of Northern Indiana, and along the southern shore of Lake Erie into Western Pennsylvania, where, as already stated, the Alleghanies formed, in general, its eastern limit. It was hence wholly absent from the region immediately north of the Great Lakes, and consequently trom every portion of the present Canadas; its existence on the Atlantic slope of the continent being also confined to the highlands of North and South Carolina. With this preliminary statement respecting the extent of its former habitat, we will pass now to the details of the subject, presenting not only the evidence on which this general statement rests, but also investigating the numerous sup- posed references to its occurrence outside of these boundaries. The evidence bearing upon the general subject is, of course, resolva- ble into two kinds: first, that of a positive character, or direct state- ments touching the points at issue; secondly, inferential evidence, mainly of a negative character. The first explorers of the different parts of t ALLEN. FORMER GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 475 the continent, being largely dependent for sustenance upon the chase, have naturally recorded in the narratives of their explorations the wild animals they met with. In the case of an animal so important as the buffalo, it is presumable that they would usually state where it was first encountered, and that they would refer frequently to its presence or ab- sence, as the case might be, at subsequent periods of their journeys. When no reference whatever is made to the buffalo in the narratives of different travelers who passed at different times over the same region, it has been assumed, in the total absence also of all other evidence to the contrary, that the buffalo did not, during that period at least, exist over the special area in question. The use of the term vaches sauvages by many of the early French Jesuit writers, and that of wild cows by some of the early English ex- plorers, and also the terms buffe, bufjle, and beuf sauvage, for the desig: nation of the moose (Alces malchis) and the elk (Cervus canadensis) as well as the buffalo, has resulted in erroneous conclusions in respect to the former range of the buffalo. Difficulties have also often arisen in respect to the identification of localities from the fact that the names of rivers, lakes, etc., were often differently applied by different writers, and were freqnently entirely different from those now employed to des- ignate the same landmarks. Care, however, has been taken to trace out, in such cases, the modern equivalents of the older geographical names. For convenience of treatment the former supposed habitat of the buf- falo is divided into several districts, which are treated separately in what has seemed to be their most natural order. THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF THE FORMER HABITAT OF THE BUFFALO CONSIDERED, INCLUDING AN EXAMINATION OF THE ALLEGED EYVI- DENCE OF ITS OCCURRENCE IN NEW ENGLAND, THE CANADAS, THE MARITIME PARTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES, VIRGINIA, THE CARO- LINAS, AND FLORIDA. As already stated, many prominent authorities have regarded the range of the buffalo as formerly extending eastward to the Atlantic Coast, including the Middle States, and even portions of New England and the Canadas, while others seem to have had no doubt of its former existence from New York along the seaboard to Florida. Its former oc- currence in the western parts of North and South Carolina, Georgia, Vir- ginia, and Pennsylvania is established beyond question ; but its presence elsew ‘here on the Atlantic slope is highly questionable. "Dr. Richardson, writing in 1829, says: ‘“‘At the period when Europeans began to form set- tlements in North America this animal [the American Bison] was occa- ‘sionally met with on the Atlantic Coast,” ete.* De Kay, writing in 1842, also leaves it to be inferred that the buffalo existed generally along the Atlantic slope south of New York. He says: ‘The bison, or American buffalo, has long since been extirpated from this State |New York]; and although it is not at present found east of the Mississippi, yet there is abundant testimony from various writers to show that this animal was formerly numerous along the Atlantic coast, from New York to Mexico.” t Unfortunately, however, be gives no reference to any of this *‘abundant testimony.” Captain R. B. Marcy, writing in 1853, says: “Formerly, buffaloes were found in countless herds over aimost the entire northern * Richardson, Faun. Bor. Americana, Vol. I, p. 279, 1829. + Zodlogy of New York, Vol. 1, p. 110, 1842. 476 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY- continent of America, from the twenty-eighth to the fiftieth degree of north latitude, and from the skores of Lake Champlain to the Rocky Mountains,”* and also cites a number of supposed references to its oc- currence in Newfoundland, New England, and Virginia. Professor Baird, as late as 1857, also states as foilows: ‘‘The American buffalo was formerly found throughout the entire eastern portion of the United States to the Atlantic Ocean, and as far south as Florida.”} Region North of North Carolina.—V arious writers during the last part of the sixteenth and the early part of the seventeenth centuries speak also of its occurrence in Canada, New England, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Florida; but some of these countries then embraced regions of in- definite extent to the westward, and thus often (as in the case of Canada and Florida, certainly) did ia those early times include a portion of the range of the buffalo. But upon careful examination of the writings of these authors I have failed to find a single mention of the occurrence of this animal within the present limits of New York, New England, Can- ada, or Florida that will bear a critical examination. On the other hand, in a score or more distinct enumerations of the animals of Virgina and New England, made prior to 1650, not a single allusion is made to the buffalo as existing on the Atlantic slope, north of the Carolinas, although all the other larger mammals are mentioned, and here and there de- scribed with sufficient detail torender them unquestionably recognizable. * Marcy’s Exploration of the Red River, p. 103, 1853. +t Mammals of N. America, p. 624. See also Patent-Office Report, Agricultural, 185i- 752, p. 124, 1852. $A few of these general notices, taken from a variety of sources, but largely from Hakluyt’s and Purchas’s collections of voyages, are appended as examples of their gen- eral character :— James Cartier, or Jacques Carthier, in 1534, reported “ great store of wilde beasts, as Faunes, Stags, Beares, Marternes, Hares and Foxes, with divers other sorte,” on the St. Lawrence, but mentions no other large animals—nothing like the buftalo—in his several distinct enumerations of the ‘“‘beasts..—HakLuyT, Voyages, Vol. Ill, pp. 231- 290. Sir Francis Roberaul, in his account of his voyage up the St. Lawrence in 1542, says of the Indians: “They feed also of Stagges, wild Bores, Bugles, Porkespynes, and store of other wild beastes.”—Hak.uytT, Vol. III, p. 290. In Hariot’s account of Virginia, written in 1587, he enumerates among the beasts, ‘““ Deere,” ‘‘ Conies,” ‘ Saquenuckot, and Maquowoce, two kinds of small beasts, greater than Conies, which are very good meat,” ‘‘Squirels” and “ Beares,” and adds: “I have the names of eight and twenty severall sorts of beasts, which I have heard of to be here and there dispersed in the countrey, especially in the maine: of which there are only twelve kinds that we have yet discovered, and of those that be good meat we know only them before mentioned.”—Hak.uyt, Vol. III, p. 333. In the Report of Gosnold’s Voyage (1602) to Northern Virginia are enumerated “‘ Deere in great store, very great and large: Beares, Luzernes, blacke Foxes, Beavers, Otters, Wilde-eats, very large and great, Dogs like Foxes, blacke and sharpe-nosed ; Conies.”—PuRCcHAS, Pilgrims, Vol. IV, p. 1653. Martin Pring, in the account of his voyage (made in 1603), speaks of the “ Beasts” of Northern Virginia, as follows: ‘‘ We saw here also sundry sorts of Beasts, as Stags, Deere, Beares, Wolves, Foxes, Lusernes, and Dogges with sharpe noses.” Again, he says: ‘‘'The Beasts here are Stags, fallow Deere in abundance, Beares, Wolves, Foxes, Lusernes [ Raccoons], and (some say) Tygres, Porcupines, and Dogges with sharpe and long noses, with many other sorts of wild beasts, whose Cases and Furres being here- after purchased by exchange may yeeld no small gaine to us.”—PurcuHas, Vol. LV, pp. 1654, 1656. In James Rosier’s account of a voyage made by Captain George Waymouth, in 1605, to Virginia, we find, in his enumeration of the products of the country, the following: “‘ Beassts. Deere red and fallow, Beare, Wolfe, Beaver, Otter, Conie, Marterns, Sables, Hogs, Porkespines, Polcats, Cats, wild great, Dogs some like Foxes, some like our other beasts the Savages signe unto us with hornes and broad eares, which we take to be Olkes or Loshes.” (PurcHas, Vol. IV, p. 1667.) The locality here referred to more particularly was the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, Virginia at this time including the northern portion of the Atlantic coast as far as it had been explored. Captain Juhn Smith, in bis Description of Virginia, published in 1606, says: ‘ Of ALLEN.] FORMER GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. ATT Turthermore, no remains of the buffalo have as yet been found in the | Indian shell-mounds of the Atlantic coast,* while the bones of elk, deer, | caribou, bear, and other large mammals and birds occur with greater or less frequency at ditferent localities. t . | Professor Baird, however, refers to the occurrence of their bones ‘in the alluvial deposits of rivers, bogs, and caves,” near Carlisle, in Penn- sylvania.t | Among the more important references to the supposed occurrence of the buffalo on the Atlantic slope, north of the Potomac, are the following. One often quoted is that contained in a letter from Mr. Anthonie Parkhurst to Rickard Hakluyt, dated 1578, concerning the “true state and commodities of Newfoundland.” Parkhurst writes: *“ Nowe againe, for Venison plentie, especially to the North about the grand baie, and in the South neere Cape Race and Plesance: there are many other kinds of beasts, as Luzarnes, and other mighty beastes like to camels in greatnesse, and their feete cloven, I did see them farre off not able to discerne them perfectly, but their steps shewed that their feete were cloven, and bigger than the feete of Camels, I suppose them to bee a kind of Butfes which I read to be in the countreyes adjacent, and very many in the firme lande.”§ Though it is supposed by some that the musk ox may have been referred to in this allusion to a “kind of Buffes,” there is apparently Beasts, the chiefe are Deare, nothing differing from ours. In the Desarts, towards the heads of the Rivers, there are many, but amongst the Rivers, few. There is a beast they call Aroughcun, much like a Badger, but useth to live on trees as Squirrels doe. Their squirrels, some are neere as great as our smallest sort of wilde Rabbets, some blackish, or blacke and white, but the most are gray. A small beast they have, they call Assapanick, but wee call them flying Squirrels, because spreading their legs, and so stretching the largeness of their skinnes, that they have been seen to flie thirtie or fortie yards. An Opassam hath a head like a Swine, and a taile like a Rat, and is of the bignesse of a Cat. Under her belly she hath a bag, wherein she lodgeth, carrieth, and suckleth her young. Mussascus, is a beast of the forme and nature of our water Rats, but many of them smell exceeding strongly of Musk. Their Hares are no bigger than our Conies, and few of them to be found. “Their Beares are very little in comparison of those of Muscovia and Tartaria. The Beaver is as big as any ordinarie great Dog, but his legs exceeding short. His fore feet like a Dogs, his hinder feet like a Swans. His taile somewhat like the forme of a Racket bare without haire, which to eate the Savages esteeme a great delicate. They have many Otters, which as the Beavers they take with snares, and esteeme the skins sreat ornaments, and of all those beasts they use to feede when they catch them. “‘There is also a beast Vetchunquoyes, in the forme of a wilde Cat, their Foxes are like our silver haired Conies of a small proportion, and not smelling like those in England. Their Dogs of that Countrey are like their Wolves, and cannot barke but howle; and their Wolves not much bigger than our English Foxes. Martins, Powlecats, Weessels, and Minks we know they have, because we have seene many of their skins, though very seldome any of them alive. But one thing is strange, that wee could never per- ceive their vermine destroy our Hens, Egges, nor Chickens, nor doe any hurt, nor their Flyes nor Serpents any way pervitious, where in the South parts of America they are alwaies dangerous and often deadly.”—Purcuas, Vol. IV, pp. 1695, 1696. In Hakluyt’s “ Description of Florida,” compiled from the French authors, he says, under the head of “ The Beastes of Florida:” “The Beastes best known in this Coun- ‘trey are Stagges, Hindes, Goates, Deere, Leopards [Lynxes], Ounces, Lusernes, divers sorts of Wolves, wilde Dogs, Hares, Cunnies, and a certaine kinde of Beast that differ- eth little from the Lyon of Africa.”—Hak.uy?, Vol. III, p. 369. In a “ True Declaration of the estate of the Colonie in Virginia,” printed in 1610, we * | have been assured of this fact by the late Professor J. Wyman, and by Mr. F. W. Putnam, and others who have made these prehistoric remains of the aborigines a special study. ; i +See Wyman’s Account of some Kjekenmeddings, or Shell-heaps, in Maine and Massachusetts.— Amer. Naturalist, Vol. I, pp. 561-584, 1862. t Patent-Office Report, Agricultural, 1851-52, p. 124. § Hakluyt, Voyages, ete., Vol. III, p. 173, London, 1600. (The Editi .n of 1810 is the one quoted in this memoir.) 478 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. little reason to doubt that these “‘ Buffes” were-the moose, which the early voyagers found on the adjacent mainland in great numbers; yet Marcy* and others have supposed this to be a possible reference to the buffalo, probably from the occurrence of the word “ Buffes.” Another similar reference to the occurrence of an animal like an ox in Newfoundland is contained in the report of Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s voyage to this island in 1583. In an enumeration of the “ commodities thereof” are mentioned ‘ Beasts of sundry kindes, red deare, buffies or a beast, as it seemeth by the tract & foote very large, in maner of an oxe.”+ In the account of the “first voyage made to the coast of © America” by Captains Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe, in 1584, it is said that they treated with the Indians for ‘‘ Chamoys, Buffe and Deere skinnes”;{ and Thomas Hariot, in his “ briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia,” written in 1587, mentions “ Deer skinnes dressed after the manner of Chamces, or undressed,” among the commodities of the country. § The same writer speaks later of the “beasts” of Virginia, and says, ‘‘ [have the names of eight and twenty severall sorts, . . . . of which there are only twelve kinds that we have yet discovered, and of those that be good meat, we know only them before mentioned,” among which there is no mention of any ‘ Buffes,” “ Buffles,” ‘wild Cattle,” or anything that can be regarded as at all like the buffalo. read: ‘“‘ The Beasts of the Countrie, as Deere, red, and fallow, do answere in multitude (people for people considered) to our proportion of oxen, which appeareth by these experiences. First the people of the Countrie are apparelled in the skinnes of these beasts; Next, hard by the fort, two hundred in one heard have been usually observed. Further, our men have seen 4000. of these skins pyled up in one wardroabe of Powhaton ; Lastly, infinite store have been presented to Captaine Newport upon sundry occurrents : such a plentie of Cattell, as allthe Spaniards found not in the whole kingdomeof Mezico, when all their presents were but hennes, and ginycocks, and the bread of Maize, and Cently. There are Arocowns, and Apossouns, in shape like to pigges, shrouded in hol- low roots of trees; There are Hares and Conies, and other beasts proper to the Countrie in plentifull manner.”—Forcr’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. III, No. 1, p. 13. Captain John Smith, in his ‘ Description of New England,” printed in 1616, thus enumerates the “beasts”: ‘ Moos, a beast bigger than a Stagge; Deere, red, and Fal- low; Bevers, Wolves, Foxes, both blacke and other; Aroughconds [raccoons], Wild- cats, Beares, Otters, Martins, Fitches, Musquassus, and diverse sorts of vermine, whose names I know not.”—Forcr’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. II, No. 1, p. 17. William Strachey, in his “Historie of Travaile into Virginia Britannia,” written before 1620, says: “ . . . . the people [about the Chesapeake Bay] breed up tame turkies about their howses, and take apes in the mountaines,” on the authority of an Indian named Machumps. Again hesays: “ Martins, pole-catts, weesells, and monkeys we knowe they have, because we have seene many of their skynns, though very sel- dom any of them alive.”—Hukluyt Sociely’s Publications, Vol. for 1849, pp. 26, 125. “Tn New England’s Plantation ” (London, 1630), it is said: ‘‘For Beasts there are some Beares, and they say some Lyons also; for they have been seen at Cape Anne. Also here are severall sorts of Deere, some whereof bring three or four young ones at ounce, which is not ordinarie in England. Also Wolves, Foxes, Beavers, Otters, Martins, great wild Cats, and a great Beast called a Molke [moose] as bigge as an Oxe. I have seen the skins of all these Beasts since I came to this Plantation, excepting Lyons. Also here are great store of Squerrels, some greater, and some smaller and lesser; there” are some of the lesser sort, they tell me, that by a certaine Skin will fly from Tree to Tree though they stand farre distant.”—ForRcE’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. I, No. 12, p. 8. Thomas Morton, in his “New English Canaan,” printed in 1632, devotes six pages to a description of the “beasts,” giving very quaint and curious descriptions of all the more important, but makes no reference to any animal like the bufialo. Father Andrew White, in describing Maryland in 1632, says, “ But so great is the abundance of swine and deer that they are rather troublesome than advantageous. * Exploration of the Red River of Louisiana, p. 104, 1853. + Hakluyt, Voyages, ete., Vol. III, p. 195. { Ibid., p. 803. § Ibid., p. 327. || Hakluyt, Voyages, ete., p. 333. 4 | anew ] FORMER GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. AZ9 In the narrative of the travels of David Ingram from the Gulf of | Mexico to Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia, made in 156869, are unques- |tionable references to the buffalo, which have been referred to as pos- | sible evidence of its existence on the Atlantic slope, but the whole | narrative is full of exaggerations and fancifal descriptions of mythical | things and scenes, while the localities are wholly vague. The account | speaks, for instance, of “‘ great plentye of Buffes . . . . w are Beastes as bigge as twoe Oxen in length almost twentye loote, havinge longe eares like a bludde hownde wt long heares about there eares, ther hornes be Crooked like Rames hornes, ther eyes blacke, there heares longe blacke, rough and hagged as a Goate, the Hydes of these Beastes are solde verye deare. These Beastes doe keepe Company only by ‘couples a male and a female and doe always fighte w' others of the same kynde.”* The account also says, ‘‘ He did alsoe see in that Countrye boathe Elephantes and Uunces. He did also see one other straunge Beaste bigger than a Beare, yt had nether heade nor necke, his eyes and mouthe weare in his brest.” It also describes “‘redd Sheepe” which lived in herds of five hundred individuals. Since Ingram’s route doubtless took him through a portion of the range of the buffalo, the above-quoted description of “‘ Buffes” may refer to that animal, but there is nothing to show that the locality was on the Atlantic slope. Cows also are innumerable, and oxen suitable for bearing burdens or for food ; besides five other kinds of large beasts unknown to us, which our neighbors admit to their table. Sheep will have to be taken hence or from the Canaries; asses also, and mules and horses. The neighboring forests are full of wild bulls and heifers, of which five hundred or six hundred thousand are annually carried to Saville from that part which lies towards New Mexico. As many deer as you wish can be obtained from the neigh- ing people. Add to this muskrats, rabbits, beavers, badgers, and martens, not how- ever destructive, as with us, to eggs and hens.”—A [elation of the Colony of the Lord Baron of Baltimore, in Maryland, near Virginia, fc. (Forcr’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. IV, No. 12, pp. 6, 7.)- Tn ‘A Perfect Description of Virginia,” printed in London in 1649, is given a list of “ Beasis, great and small as followeth : above 20 severall kinds,” including all the larger species, but no reference is made to the buffalo.—Forcr’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. II, No. 8, p. 16. In an “Account of Virginia in Generall, but particularly Carolana, which comprehends Roanoak and the southern parts of Virginia,” printed in 1650, it is said, ‘‘ Nor is the Land any lesse provided of native Flesh, Elkes bigger then Oxen, whose hide is ad- mirable Buffe, flesh excellent, and may be made, if kept domesticke, as useful for draught and carriageas Oxen. Deerein a numerous abundance, and delicate Venison, Racoones, Hares, Conyes, Bevers, Squirrell, Beares, all of a delightfull nourishment for food, and their Furres rich, warme, and convenient for clothing and Merchandise.””—FORCE’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. III, No. 11, pp. 11, 12. Clayton, in his very detailed account of the natural products of Virginia, written in 1688, says, ‘‘ There were neither Horses, Bulls, Cows, Sheep, or Swine, in all the Country, before the coming of the Hnglish, as I have heard, and have much reason to believe. ieee Wild Bulls and Cows there are now in the uninhabited Parts, but such only as have been bred from some that have strayed, and become wild, and have propagated their kind, and are difficult to be shot, having a great Acuteness of Smelling.”—FORCE’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. III, No. 12, p. 35. This leads to the inference that the frequent allusions to wild bulls and wild cows in the early accounts of Virginia, etc., often really refer to domestic cattle that had run wild. Many citations of a similar character might be added, containing curious and inter- esting descriptions of the “ beasts,” but none of the enumerations include the buffalo. As these descriptions of the country and its products were mostly prepared for the purpose of encouraging emigration, itis not presumable that so important an animal as the buffalo would have been omitted if these early writers had ever heard of it as existing in any part of the countries they describe. . * The Land Travels of David Ingram and others in the years 1568-’69. From the Rio de Minas in the Gulph of Mexico to Cape Breton in Acadia. Edited from the original MS. (Sloane MSS., Mus. Brit., No. 1447, ff. 1-18) by P. C. J. Weston, in Doc. connected with the Hist. of S. Carolina. London, 1856, p. 14. 480 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Champlain, as early as 1604, ascended the St. Lawrence River nearly to Lake Ontario, and although he obtained from the Indians quite dis- tinct accounts of Lakes Ontario and Erie, and of the Copper Mines of Lake Superior, he seems not to have learned anything respecting the buffalo. The animal which he describes as the “ Crignac” or * Original” : is without doubt the moose. He mentions it as an animal “ which is like an Ox,”* and Purchas in his marginal notes, adds, ‘‘ Orignac, a beast like an oxe.” He first met with it at the mouth of the Saguenay, and later encountered it among the animals he found at the mouth of the Richelieu, speaking of it as the “Orignac,” and Purchas again adds, ‘“‘ Orignas are before said to bee like oxen, perhaps Buffes. “Lescarbot, [says] that Orignacs are Ellans,”{—the French term for tiie moose. The name ‘orignac” or ‘ original” of the early French explorers appears to have been applied indifferently to both the moose (Alces malchis) and the elk (Cervus canadensis), but never to the buffalo. Champlain, in preee o& ae speaking of the game he found about Lake Champlain, makes no refer- | ence to the buffalo, neither do any of the subsequent writers of the seventeenth centary. In regard to the ‘“ Ellans,” we find in Lescarbot’s account the following: “The winter being come, the Savages of the Countrey did assemble themselves from farre to Port Royall, for to trucke with the Frenchmen for such things as they had, some bringing Beavers — skins and Otters. . . .and also Hllans or Stagges, whereof good buffe be made.”t We thus see that the term buffe was also applied to the products of the elk and moose. Charlevoix’s description of the Original, however, is strictly applicable to the moose, and to no other — animal. Charlevoix says: ‘“‘ What they here [in Canada] call the Orig- inal, is what in Germany, Poland and Muscovy, they call the Elk, or Great Beast. . . . . Its Horns are not less long than those of a Hart, and much wider. They are flat and forked like those of a Deer, and are renewed every Year.”§ Hennepin ascended the St. Lawrence and crossed the lakes to the prairies of Indiana and Illinois in 1679-80, but Hennepin in his narra- tive of his travels does not speak of meeting with the buffalo until he had reached the Illinois River in December, 1679.|| In his account of the productions of Canada, he says, ‘‘ There are to be had Skins of Elks, or Orignaux, as they are called in Canada, of the white Wolf or Lynx, of black Foxes, .... of common Foxes, Otters, Martins, wild Cats, wild Goats, Harts, Porcupines,” ete. In the account he has given of his travels he describes the buffalo with such particularity ** as to leave no doubt that if he had met with or known of the occurrence of the buffalo in what is now known as Canada, he would not have failed to enumerate it among the products of that country. In 1763 } Marquette passed up the St. Lawrence, and Amonen the Great Lakes to the Mississippi Valley, by way of Lake Michigan and the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, but he appears not to have met with the buffalo till he reached the Wisconsin River.t} Charlevoix, who traversed the same country in 1720, and who has left us in his letters a full account of his journey up the St. Lawrence, * Purchas, Pilgrims, Voi. IV, p. 1607. tIbid., p. 1613, f t Purchas, Pilgrims, Vol. IV, p. 1613. § Letters to the Dutchess of Lesdiguieres, Goadby’s English Ed., London, 1763, p. 64. | New Discovery of a great Country i in America, English Ed., 1698, p. 90. §| Voyage into North America, English Ed., 1679, pp. . 136, 137. ** New Discovery, etc., p. 91. tt An Account of the Discovery of some new Countries and Nations in N. America in 1673. Translation in French’s Hist. Coll. La., Part II, pp. 279-297, ALLEN.) FORMER GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 481 and thence westward through Lakes Ontario and Erie, only heard of their existence on the southern shore of Lake Erie, he himself coasting along the northern shore. Concerning the game of the country border- . ing Lake Erie he says, ‘‘ Water-fowl swarmed everywhere: I cannot say there is such Plenty of Game in the Woods, but I know that on the South Side there are vast Herds of wild Cattle.”* Again he says, “¢ But at the end of five or six leagues [from Detroit River], inclining towards the Lake Hrié to the South West, one sees vast Meadows which extend above a hundred Leagues every Way, and which feed a pro- digious Number of those Cattle which I have already mentioned sev- eral Times’”} He gives, however, an account of the ‘“‘ chase” in Can- ada, in which he describes the method of hunting the buffalo, but the locality is specified as *‘ the Southern and Western Parts of New I’rance, on both Sides of the Mississippi,” which was then generally called Canada. In the account of the Voyage of Father Simon Le Moine to the coun- try of the “Iroquois Onondagoes” in 1653-54 we find what at first sight seems to be indisputable evidence of the existence of the buffalo at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, in both New York and Canada. In this account we find the following: “At the other side of the Rapid§ I per- ceived a herd of wild cows || which were passing at their ease in great state. Five or six hundred are seen sometimes in these regions in one drove.”{ In the “ Relation de la Nouvelle France en PAnnée 1665, we find the following description of the St. Lawrence River: “ This is one of the most important rivers that can be seen, whether we regard its beauty or its convenience, for we meet there almost throughout, a vast number of beautiful Islands, some large, others small, but all cov- ered with fine timber and full of deer, bears, wild cows,** which supply abundance of provisions necessary for the travelers, who find it every- where, and sometimes entire herds of fallow deer.”{} We have here a term (vaches sauvages) employed which was often used by the early French writers to designate the buffalo, and also the ac- count of large herds being seen, which seems still further to imply that the animals were unquestionably buffaloes, yet the locality is one which was frequently passed over by travellers during the previous fifty years, not one of whom mentions the occurrence of the buffalo on the St. Lawrence, nor is any mention of its occurrence there made by subse- quent writers. The region is, furthermore, a heavily wooded country, situated several hundred miles from the prairies, and from the most easterly known range of the buffalo. These facts alone tend to render these accounts improbable, but fortunately we are not left in doubt as to the character of the animals here mentioned, for in the sequel of * Letters, Goadby’s English Ed., 1763, p.170. Dodsley’s English Edition says ‘a prodigious quantity of Buffaloes” (Vol. II, p. 3). tIbid, p. 178. Dodsley’s Translation says again, “ those buffaloes” (Vol. II, p. 18). t Ibid., p. 68. s § This locality is just below St. Ignatius, on the St. Lawrence, not far from Lake - Ontario. ||‘ Vaches sauvages,” in the original. Relation de la Nouy. France en les Années 1653-54, p. 85. §] Documentary Hist. New York, Vol. I, p. 31. ** “Vaches sauvages.” Relation de la Nouv. France en l’année 1665, pp.49,50. Mr. J. G. Shea also observes: “The animal called by the Canadian French vache sauvage was the American elk, or moose,” and cites Boucher (Hist. Nat. du Canada) as author- ity. ‘‘ Boucher,” says Shea, “expressly states that the buffaloes were found only in the Ottawa country, that is, in the far West, while the vache sauvage, or original, and the ane sauvage, or caribou, were seen in Canada.”—Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley, p. 16, footnote. tt Documentary History of New York, Vol. I, p. 62. olGs 482 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Father Le Moine’s Journal the following passages render it certain that the animals referred to were either deer or elk :— ‘61st day of Sept. I never saw so many deer, but we had no incli- nation to hunt. My companion killed three, as if against his will. What a pity! for we left all the venison there, reserving the hides and some of the most delicate morsels. _ 2ndofthe month. Travelling through vast prairies, we saw in divers quarters immense herds of wild bulls and cows ;* their horns resemble in some respects the antlers of the stag. ‘“3dand 4th. Our game does not leave us; it seems that venison and game follow us everywhere. Droves of twenty cows plunge into the water asif tomeet us. Some are killed, for sake of amusement, by blows of an axe.” t From the context we learn that the locality was but a few leagues above Montreal, on the St. Lawrence. These bands of “bulls and cows” were doubtless elks (Cervus canadensis).t Peter Kalm says: “‘ Wild cattle are” [1749] ‘‘ abundant in the southern, parts of Canada, and have been there trom time immemorial. They are plentiful in those parts, particularly where the Illinois Indians live, which are nearly in the latitude of Philadelphia; but further north they are seldom observed.”§ In respect to this passage it is almost needless to add that the portion of Canada here mentioned is the present State of Illinois. Ogilby says: “Towards the South of New York are many Buffles, Beasts which (according to Hrasmus Stella) are betwixt a Horse and a Stag. .... They have broad branching Horns like a Stag, short Tail, rough Neck, Hair colored according to the several seasons,” ete. The animals here called Bufjles, were of course elks, showing again that the use of the term buffies does not necessarily imply a reference to the buffalo. The same writer, however, in his description of Maryland, says: ‘In the upper parts of the Country are Buffaloes, Elks, Tygers, Bears, Wolves, Racoons, and many other sorts of Beasts.”|| What portion of the country may have been referred to as the “upper parts of the country” is uncer- tain, but the preceding narratives of exploration, on which Ogilby’s work is based, make no mention of the existence of the buffalo in the region now known as Maryland. Father Andrew White, in “An Account of the Colony of thé Lord Baron of Baltimore, in Maryland, near Virginia,” published in 1677, in his account of the animals previously quoted (p. 78, footnote), says: ‘‘There are also vast herds of cows and wild oxen, fit for beasts of burden and good to eat..... The nearest woods are full of horses and wild bulls and cows. Jive or six thousand of the skins of these animals are carried every year to Saville, from that part of the country which lies westward towards New Mexico.” It is evident that this reference to herds of wild cattle refers not at all to the buffalo, nor even to the region of country now known as Maryland, but to the Spanish Possessions in the southwest, * The original says, ‘“‘ grand troupeaux de beufs & de vaches sauvages.”—Rel. etc., 1653-54, p. 60. t Ibid., pp. 43, 44. Translated from Relation dela Nouv. France, 1653-54, pp. 95, 96. { Hunters, both in Northern New England and in the West, commonly speak of the male moose and elk as ‘‘ bull moose” and “ bull elk,” and the females as “ cow moose” and ‘‘ cow elk.” § Kaliw’s Travels in N. America, Forster’s Translation, Vol. III, p. 60. || Ogilby’s America, pp. 172, 196 (London, 1681). q Translation of Father White’s “Account,” in Force’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. IV, No. 12, pp.6, 7. . ALLEN.] FORMER GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 483. whence the exportation of hides of the domestic cattle to Spain had long before begun.* Professor E. D. Cope,+ however, recently says: ‘‘Of the ruminants [ot Maryland], the bison (Bos americanus) and the elk (Cervus canadensis), the largest known of the true deer, have been destroyed by human agency,” implying their former existence in that State. On inquiry of Professor Cope for the grounds of such an inference he states{ that he has found their unfossilized bones in superficial deposits in Virginia, and adds: ‘I think, but will not now assert, from more northern local- ities.”§ In Salmon’s ‘‘ Present State of Virginia,” printed in 1737, we read that Sir William Berkeley sent (apparently about 1732) a small party of ‘“‘about fourteen Hnglish and as many Indians, under the command of Captain Henry Batt,” to explore the country to the westward of the settlements in Virginia. ‘They set out together,” says Salmon, “ from Appomattox, and in Seven Days March reach’d the Foot of the Mountains. The Mountains they first arrivd at were not extraordinary high or Steep, but after they had pass’d the first Ridge they encounter’d others that seem’d to reach the Clouds, and were so perpendicular and full of Precipices, that sometimes in a whole Day’s March they could not travel three miles in a direct Line. In other Places they found large level Plains and fine Savanna’s three or four Miles wide, in which were an infinite quantity of Turkies, Deer, Elks, and Buffaloes, so gentle and undisturbed that they had no Fear at the Appearance of the Men, but would suffer them to come almost within Reach of their Hands.”|| This account shows that buffaloes were not seen by the explorers till they entered the mountains and encountered the herds that extended east- ward from the valleys of West Virginia. Another reference to the supposed occurrence of the buffalo on the eastern slope of the Alleghanies is the discovery by Sir Samuel Argoll of ‘“‘Shag-haired Oxen” in Virginia. In his letter to “‘ Master Nicholas Hawes (written June, 1613”), as given by Purchas, Sir Samuel says: .... **/T] returned my self with the ship into Pembrook River, and so discov- ered to the head of it, which is about 65. leagues into the Land, and nav- igable for any ship. And then marching into the Countrie, [found great store of Cattle as big as Kine, of which, the Indians that were my guides, killed a couple which wee found to be very good and wholesome meate, and are very easie to be killed, in regard they are heavy, slow, and not so wild as other beasts of the wildernesse.”{{ Purchas also says, in his “‘ Virginias Verger, or Discourse on Virginia,” in enumerating the ani- mals of Virginia, ‘‘I might adde Shag haired oxen, seen by Sir Samuel Argoll.” The ‘‘Pembrook,” or ‘‘ Penbrooke” mentioned in Argoll’s account, has generally been considered as the ‘ Patowomeck,” or one of its —_ *See Clavigero’s History of Mexico, Cullen’s English Translation, Vol. II, p. 308 where Clavigero states,on the authority of Acosta, that in 1587 sixty-four thousand three hundred and fifty ox hides were taken to Spain, so rapidly had the domestic cat- tle increased in Mexico. t New Top. Map of Maryland, p. 16, 1873. t In a letter dated December 22, 1875. § In this connection I may add that I have examined remains from the banks of the Susquehanna, and other localities in Maryland, some partly fossilized and others nearly unchanged, which though collected for bison remains proved to be those of domestic cattle. || Salmon (T.), The Present State of Virginia, p. 14 (London, 1737). §{ Purchas, Vol. IV, p. 1765. \ 484 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. affluents, but it was, I think, unquestionably the James.* The region visited by Captain Batt must have also been somewhere on the head- waters of the James. There is still traditional evidence that buffaloes formerly passed eastward from the head-waters of the Great Kanawha, in West Virginia, to this region. Professor Shaler, being aware of the existence of such names as ‘ Buffalo Springs” and “ Buffalo Ford,” in the region of Amherst, Bath, and Pocahontas Counties, Virginia, has _made successful effort to ascertain whether they indicated the former presence there of buffaloes. In answer to his inquiries respecting the matter, Mr. C. W. Pritchett has kindly sent him the following import- ant information. Mr. Pritchett says that the “ old men” of that-country affirm “that the Buffalo Springs were so named from a Salt Lick near by of that name, to which their fathers were guided by the buffalo trails. The tradition is abundant and easily verified, that buffalo and. elk were numerous in that part of Virginia within a period comparatively recent. These traditions are especially abundant in Bath and Pocahontas Coun- ties, lying between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies. On the Cow Pasture River (which with the Jackson forms the James) in Bath County, a few miles below the Blowing Cave and Wallawhatoola Springs (Indian names for Crooked River) is a salt lick, near which they still show the deep-worn trail of the buffalo, at the point where they crossed the river, Btill called Buffalo Ford. . . . . There are men still living there whose fathers and grandfathers saw the buffalo, and even, in one in- stance, caught and domesticated them.”+ In corroboration of the above important statements, Mr. Pritchett refers to a number of the descend- ants of the first settlers of the region in question as being ready to vouch for his statements. The localities he mentions are all well up in the mountains, beyond the Blue Ridge, Pocahontas County being wholly west of the divide, on the Greenbrier River. Bath County adjoins it on the east, and embraces the extreme upper tributaries of the James. These counties are the ones referred to by Mr. Pritchett as those where the evidence of the former presence of the buffalo is still “ abundant.” Amherst County is some distance lower down the James, and if the name ‘ Buffalo Springs,” in that county, is to be considered as satisfac- tory evidence of the former existence there of the buffalo, these animals must have at times wandered to some distance down the James, as far at least as the Blue Ridge. Watson, in his ** Annals of Philadelphia,”¢ says: ‘¢ The latest mention of buffaloes nearest to our region of country is mentioned in 1730, when a gentleman from the Shanadore, Va., saw there a buffalo killed of 1,400 pounds, and several others came in a drove at the sametime.” ‘This was probably a wandering herd from the region of the Upper James River. There are also reasons for supposing that the buffalo at times crossed through the low valleys of the Alleghanies in Central Pennsylvania to the Atlantic slope. Professor Baird has reported the occurrence of its * The “ Patowomeck” mentioned by Argoll (or Argall) is evidently the Indian chief of that name, and not the river “ Patowomeck.” Purchas, in his marginal notes to Argoll’s letter, says, ‘‘ His first voyage to Patawomec and Penbrooke River,” not Rivers ; and again, ‘‘The second voyage to Penbrooke River.’ Argoll himself speaks of going to “fetch Corne from Patawomeck,” for which purpose he “entered into Pembrooke River,” and after obtaining his cargo of corn he “ hasted to James Towne,” and later arrived at Point Comfort. After distributing the corn he returned again “ into Pem- brook River,” and made the discovery of a “great store of Cattle as big as Kine.” Whilst engaged “in this business” he conceived the idea of going to the “ great King Patowomeck” for the purpose of obtaining possession by ‘‘strategem” of the “‘ Great Powhatans Daughter Pokahuntis.” t Letter to Professor Shaler, dated Glasgow, Mo., July 31, 1875. t The locality, though not stated, is probably Cumberland County. ALLEN.) FORMER GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 485 bones in the superficial deposits and caves of portions of the State, and there is the traditional evidence afforded by the occurrence of such names as ‘ Buffalo Creek” and “ Buffalo Valley,” in Union County, near Lewis- burg. Through the kindness of Professor C. H. Hamlin, I am able to show that such names owe their origin to the former presence of buffa- loes at this locality. Professor Hamlin, on writing to Professor J. R. Loomis, of the University at Lewisburg, received from him the fol- lowing in reply to his inquiries. In a letter dated Lewisburg, Pa., March 14, 1876, Professor Loomis writes as follows: ‘I have made such inquiries as I could. One man whose grandfather he well remem- bers, as well as much of his conversation, and who lived here one hun- dred years ago, never heard of the bison being native of this valley. I went to see the oldest native-born citizen of our town, who is now eighty-six years old. He says there were no buffaloes in his early days, but it was a current notion in his boyhood days that there had formerly been. . . . . Since writing the above I have received the enclosed note from Mr. Wolfe, the first gentleman referred to on the other page. The information, . . . . comingso directly, . . . . is proba- bly the best that can now be gathered up.” In the note from Mr. J. Wolfe to Professor Loomis, Mr. Wolfe states as follows: “Since seeing you this morning I have had a conversation with Dr. Beck, and he informs me that buffaloes, at an early day, were very abundant in this valley, and that the valley received its name from that circumstance. The Doctor received his information from Colonel John Kelly, who was a prominent and early settler in the valley. Kelly told the Doctor that he shot the last one that was seen in the valley. Kelly received his information of the abundance of buffaloes from ‘an old Indian named Logan, friendly to the whites, and who remained among the whites after the Indians were driven away.” Under date of March 30, 1876, Professor Loomis wrote again to Pro- fessor Hamlin respecting the same matter, from which I quote the fol- lowing: “I sought aninterview with Dr. Beck. . . . . TheColonel Kelly referred to was a soldier and officer in the Revolutionary War, and was a leading man in some fight in New Jersey during the war. A small monument is in our cemetery to his memory, from which I take the following inscription: ‘Col. John Kelly died Feb. 18th, 1832, aged 88 years & 7 days.’ He owned a farm about five miles from Lewisburg, in Kelly township, which was named from him. About 1790 or 1800 (such is the indefiniteness) Colonel Kelly was out with his gun on the McClister farm (which joined that of Colonel Kelly), and just at evening saw and shot a buffalo. His dog was young, and at so late an hour he did not allow it to pursue. The next morning he went to hunt his game, but did not find it. Nearly a week later word was brought him that it had been found, dead, some mile or two away. He found the ‘information correct, but the animal had been considerably torn and eaten by the wolves. He regarded the animal as a stray one, and had never heard of any'in the valley at a later day. Dr. Beck had the ac- count from Colonel Kelly about three months before hisdeath. . . . . The Colonel also told him that the valley was wooded originally with large but scattered trees, so that the grass grew abundantly and fur- nished good pasturage for the buffalo, and that the animal had been from this circumstance very abundant in the valley. The Colonel re- peated the statement of a friendly Indian, Logan (probably not the native chief of that name), who said that the buffalo had been very abundant. He, Dr. Beck, had the same statement from Michael Grove, 486 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. also one of the first settlers in-the valley. . . . . I was more par- ticular than I should ordinarily have been, because this is about the, last stage when reliable tradition can be had.” This, of course, affords satisfactory proof of the former existence of the buffalo in the region about Lewisburg, which forms the most easterly point to which the buffalo has been positively traced.* The foregoing historical evidence is sufficient apparently to show the improbability of the occurrence of the buffalo, at the time of the first exploration of the country by Europeans, either north of the great lakes or over that part of the Atlantic slope adjacent to the sea-coast north of North Carolina ; in other words, within the present limits of Canada, New England, or the maritime part of the eastern slope of the Appala- chian Highlands, northward of the present southern boundary of Vir- ginia. On the contrary, it seems to me that the evidence of its absence at that time over these regions is almost conclusive, for had it occurred there, there is every reason to believe that proof of the fact would not be wanting in the early records of the country, in which its products, and especially its larger animals, are so often minutely enumerated. We have also seen that such terms as buffes, buffles, wild bulls, wild cows, wild cattle, and vaches sauvages, not only do not necessarily imply the presence of buffaloes, but, on the contrary, have been repeatedly employed as the designation of both the moose and the elk. If we accept these terms as implying the presence of buffaloes in the region under consideration, we must allow, on similar evidence, that wild goats were found in the seventeenth century along the whole length of the St. Lawrence, throughout the Mississippi Valley and in Florida ;t that wild swine were found in Canada atthe mouth of the Saguenay River, and in the Middle States;t also wild horses in Newfoundland prior to the year 1600; monkeys and apes in Virginia;§ and that wild lemons formerly grew in Southern Michigan.|| Goat Island, at the Falls of Niagara, probably derives its name from the custom of calling the deer that fre- quented it wild goats. The name of Buffalo River (Riviére aux Beufs) in New York,{] and the name of the city on Lake Hrie now called Buffalo, are not necessarily, though probably, traditional evidences** of the oceur- *In respect to the supposed remains of Bison americanus from the Carlisle bone- caves, Professor Baird, in a recent letter to me (dated May 13, 1876), expressed some doubt as to their being referable to that species. A re-examination of them he thinks would be necessary in order to determine ‘‘ whether they are of the bison, and if 80, of which species.” During my recent visit to Washington, careful search was made for the specimens, but unfortunately without finding them, though they are doubtless still stored somewhere in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, and will some day be found. t See the various accounts of the voyages of De Soto, La Salle, Hennepin, Marquette, and others, where the term wild goat is probably used for deer, but sometimes as though it referred to a distinct animal, both wild goats, stags, and deer being mentionnd in the Same sentence. } That bears were mistaken for swine, in the following account, is of course evident : “Wee might see in some places where Deere and Hares had beene, and by the rooting of the Ground, we supposed wilde Hogs had ranged there, but we could discerne no Beast, because our Noise still chased them away from us.”—George Weymouth’s Voyage, 1605, in Purchas, Pilgrims, Vol. IV, p. 1665. 4 § SEER Historie of Travaile into Virginia, p. 36; Hakluyt Society, volume or : - || ‘There also grow in the Strait [Detroit River] Lemon-Trees in the natural Soil, the Fruit of which have the Shape and Colour of those of Portugal, but they are smaller, and of a flat Tasie, They are excellent in conserve.’”—CHARLEVOIX, Letters, p. 178. 4] Supposed to be the present Oak Orchard Creek, Orleans Co.,N. Y. See Doc. Coll. Hist. N. Y., Vol. IX, p. 886. ** Schoolcraft, Hist. Cond. and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, Part IV, p. 92. ALLEN.] FORMER GEOGRAPHICAL. DISTRIBUTION. A87 | rence of the buffalo at those localities, since it is not very improbable, | as will be shown later, that the buffalo formerly ranged along the | southern shore of Lake Erie to its eastern end. As previously stated, there is good reason also for assuming that the buffalo was not found in New England, nor along the coast.of the Mid- dle States, during a long period antedating the exploration of the continent | by Europeans, or during the period of the formation of the Indian shell mounds of the North Atlantic coast, which contain no traces of the re- mains of the buffalo, as they probably would do if it had existed here at the time of their formation, since they do contain the bones of all the Jarger mammals found here by theearliest European travellers. There - still remains to be examined, however, one supposed evidence of its ex- - istence in New England in prehistoric times. Shortly after the second visit of Sir Charles Lyell to the United States, some teeth of a species of the ox tribe were found in a clay-bank at | Gardiner, Maine. The late Mrs. Frederic Allen, of Gardiner, secured - these teeth for her cabinet, where they were seen by Sir Charles Lyell, _who took with him some of them to England for determination. Re- - specting these specimens, and others contained in Mrs. Allen’s cabinet, Sir Charles speaks as follows: “At Mrs. Allen’s I examined, with much interest, a collection of fossil shells and crustacea, made by Mrs. Allen, from the drift, or ‘glacial’ deposits of the same age as those of Ports- mouth, already described. Among other remains I recognized the tooth of a walrus, similar to one procured by me in Martha’s Vineyard, and other teeth, since determined by Professor Owen as belonging to the buffalo, or American bison. These are, I believe, the first examples of land quadrupeds discovered in beds of this age in the United States. The accompanying shells consisted of the common mussel (Mytilus edu- lis), Saxicava rugosa, Mya arenaria, Pecten islandicus, and species of the genera Astarte, Nucula, ete.” * These specimens of supposed bison’s teeth having assumed a consider- able degree of importance, I wrote, in January, 1873, to Professor Owen, to obtain, if possible, further information respecting them. In his reply, dated Cairo, Egypt, February 6, 1873, he says: “I do not recall the cir- cumstance to which you refer, and no teeth of ruminants from the local- ity you name were in the Paleontological Department of the British Museum when the state of my health obliged me to winter here. I should be unwilling to accept the responsibility of any determination which I have not myself published, after the care requisite for such a step.” Upon the death of Mrs. Frederic Allen, her collection passed into the possession of her daughter, Mrs. Romeo Elton, now residing in Dorehes- ter, Mass. Through Mrs. Elton’s kindness I have been able to obtain the full history of the specimens in question, and to examine the three teeth still remaining in her collection, and which were figured by Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., in his memoir on the Glacial Phenomena of Labra- dor and Maine, ete.t There is also a specimen from the original lot of four, in the Museum of the Boston Society of Natural History, presented to the Society by Dr. C. T. Jackson, with a collection of Maine tertiary fossils. The circumstances of the finding of the teeth are fully set forth in a written statement, or deposition, made at the time by the person who ecllected the specimens. Through the kindness of Mrs. Elton, I have * Second Visit to the United States of North America, Vol. I, pp. 43, 44, 1849. +Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. I, plate vii, fig. 18. 488 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. before me the original document, which represents the teeth as occur- ring in a solid clay-bank, fifteén feet below the surface.* In respect to . the character of the locality, and its present condition, I have the fol- lowing additional information from Dr. A. 8. Packard, Jr.,.in answer to special inquiries on this point. In a letter dated Salem, Mass., Decem- ber 31, 1872, Dr. Packard writes: ‘In answer to your other query, I have examined hastily the locality, but many years after Lyell visited this country,—about twenty,—and great changes may have occurred in the locality, as when I was there the high clay-bank was being dug away to supply a brickyard.”t Referring to a suspicion I had communicated to him that they would probably prove to be the teeth of a domestic ox, he adds further: ‘The teeth in question may have fallen over the em- bankment and got mixed up in the beds. The beds containing the shells lie below, in a vertical section, where the beds containing the sup- posed bison’s teeth would have been, but the shell-bearing beds gradu- ate into those situated fifteen feet below the surface.” One of the teeth remaining in Mrs. Elton’s collection was, at the time I saw it, still firmly imbedded in its original matrix of blue clay, of the same character as that enclosing the shells. From the above it appears that the teeth were not taken from the clay-beds by Sir Charles Lyell, as some have supposed, nor by either a geologist or a scientific collector ; that they could not have been asso- ciated with the fossil shells, but came from beds considerably above them ; and that it is not at all improbable that they rolled down from the surface, and became firmly imbedded in the clay. Furthermore, the teeth are in a remarkably perfect state of preservation, looking as fresh and recent as a tooth would which had had but a short period of exposure to atmospheric or any other decomposing influences, having undergone, indeed, scarcely any perceptible change. In the structural character of the teeth themselves there is nothing that positively settles the question of their identity, though the evi- dence favors the assumption of their being the teeth of the domestic ox. My first comparison of them with the teeth of the buffalo and of the common ox seemed to leave no doubt of their identity with the lat- ter, as I had no difficulty in exactly matching them in every particular, ~and especially in respect to the character of the folds of the enamel with teeth of the domestic ox, while there was a constant variation in several points from those of the buffalo. Later I have found so much variation in the teeth, not only of the domestic species but also of the buffalo, that this test of their identity fails to be a valid one, as I have also found buffalo teeth that closely resemble those from Gardiner. The weight of evidence on this ground, however, is decidedly in favor of their ‘identity with those of the domestic ox. [x] Upon the settlement of the question of the identity or nonidentity of these teeth with those of the bison hinges the validity of the only sup- *The following is a literal transcription of the document: ‘The teeth that I dug out of the clay-bank about fifteen feet below the surface; was a solid bank of blue clay, so firm that it was impossible for anything to have got in there, there were no cracks or fissures that it could have fallen into as it was ; perfectly solid ; there were four lying very nearly together in the solid clay and required such exertion to get them out that they could not at such a depth have gotin by ordinary means. “GEORGE SOULE of Avon. 1837.” +Mrs. Elton informs me that now the original bank has been wholly removed. {[A re-examination of the subject, in the light of a larger series of specimens of the teeth of the domestic ox, confirms my conv iction of the identity of the supposed bison teeth from Gardiner, Me., with those of the domestic ox.—J. A. A.] ey FORMER RANGE SOUTH OF VIRGINIA. 489 posed evidence we have respecting the former existence of the bison in New England, or anywhere east of the Great Lakes.* - In addition to the original notice already quoted from Lyell, respect- ing the occurrence of bison’s teeth in Maine, Dr. A. 8. Packard, Jr., _ refers to it in the American Naturalist, t and in the Memoirs of the Bos- ton Society of Natural History.¢ In each case, however, the authority is the same, that of Lyell, who is, however, represented as having him- self discovered the specimens in the clay-beds. Dr. Packard, indeed, speaks of the “intermingling of the bones [teeth] of the walrus and the bison in the same beds,” but there is no record showing that they were. actually thus associated. § Region South of Virginia.—As already remarked, the only well-au- thenticated instances of the occurrence of buffaloes east of the Blue hhidge is the apparently casual passage of small bands through the mountains from West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, into the upper parts of North and South Carolina, by way of the New, Holston, and French Broad Rivers.|| Audubon and Bachman state that “the Bison formerly existed in South Carolina, on the sea-board, and we are informed,” say these authors, “ that from the last seen in that State two were killed in the vicinity of Columbia.”"4]_ But they have neglected to add the date of the capture, or the authority on which the statement is made. They state, however, that ‘“‘ Lawson speaks of two buffaloes that were killed on Cape Fear River, in North Carolina.” Lawson’s statement in full is as follows: “This day [Sunday, February 1, 1700], the King sentout all his able Hunters, to killGamefor a great Feast that wasto bekeptat theirDeparture, from the Town... .. This Evening, |same day] came down some Toteros, tall, likely Men, baving great Plenty of Buffeloes, Elks, and Bears, with other sort of Deer amongst them.” ** ‘“The Toteros,” he says, ‘‘a neighboring Nation came down from the Westward Mountains to the Saponas,” tt etc. Lawson was now on the ‘¢ Sapona River,” in or near the mountains,{t which was apparently one * A few months since these teeth, with Mrs. Elton’s general collection of the tertiary fossils of Gardiner, Maine, were presented by her to Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine. t Vol. I, p. 268, 1867; Vol. VI, p. 98, 1872. £ Vol. I, pp. 243, 246, pl. vii, fig. 18, 1867. § Says Dr. Packard: “The deposits of Gardiner possess great interest, owing to their unusual thickness, and the rich assemblage of marine invertebrates which occur from the lowest to the highest strata, and from the occurrence of the teeth of the bison and of the walrus, which were dug out of the beds at a distance of 15 feet from the top of the clay during Sir Charles Lyell’s second visit to this country. . . . . The inter- mingling of the bones of the walrus and bison in the same beds shows the great range both of Arctic and Temperate forms during this period.””—WMem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. I, p. 243. Again he says: “Teeth of the walrus and the bison were discovered by Sir Charles Lyell in the clay-beds of Gardiner, Maine. These are still preserved in a private collec- tion. The association in the glacial clays of the remains of the bison with those of the walrus, and the mingling of the Arctic animals and plants with those now confined to British North America and New England, show that the climate, during the glacial period, was a little warmer than that of Southern Greenland at present.”—Am. Nat., Vol. I, p. 268, footnote. || Gallatin says: “The gap through which they [the buffaloes] passed to the Atlantic rivers is undoubtedly that of moderate elevation and gentle ascent, which divides a northeastern source of the Roanoke from the Great Kenawha, called the New River, and through which the State of Virginia is now attempting to open a communication from James River to the Ohio.”— Trans. Am. Ethnological Soc., Vol. I, p. li. §| Quadrupeds North America, Vol. II, p. 55, ** History of Carolina, p. 48 (London, 1718). tt Ibid., p. 47. ; tt A rude map of North and South Carolina accompanies his journal, but on the map the word Saponas does not occur. The context, however, shows that he was in the 490 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. of the sources of the Cape Fear River. The journey here described commenced at Charleston. He travelled near the coast till he reached the Santee River, and then ascended that river as far, apparently, as Columbia, then turning northeastward, he kept in the highlands, cross- ing the sources of the Cape Fear, and thence eastward to the ** Pamti- cough” River and the English settlements. In his preface he says: ‘‘ Having spent most of my Time, during my eight Years Abode in Caro- lina, in travelling; I not only survey’d the Sea-Coast, and those Parts which are already inhabited by the Christians, but likewise view’d a — spatious Tract of Land lying betwixt the Inhabitants and the Ledges of | Mountains, from. whence our noblest Rivers have their Rise, running to- ward the Ocean, where they water as pleasant a Country as any in Europe ; the Discovery of which being never yet made publick, I have, in the following Sheets, given youa faithful Account thereof, wherein I have laid down every thing with Impartiality and Truth.” Butin the narrative of his travels he makes no further allusion to the buffalo, and does not appear to have found the Indians in possession of either its skins or meat. He speaks, however, of the various kinds of game he daily met with, and especially of the abundance of turkeys. In his chapter on the “ Natural History of Carolina,” concerning which he says, ‘“*I have been very exact, and for Method’s Sake rang’d each Species under its distinct and proper Head,” he again speaks of the buffalo, as follows: “ The Buffalo is a wild Beast of America, which has a Bunch on his Back, as the Cattle of St. Lawrence are said to have. He seldom appears amongst the Hnglish Inhabitants, his chief Haunt being in the Land of Messiasippi, which is, for the most part, a plain Country ; yet I have known some killed on the hilly Part of Cape Fair River, they passing the Ledges of vast Mountains from the said Messia- sippt, before they can come near us.”* — From Lawson’s eight years’ residence, and extensive travels in the Carolinas, about the year 1700, and from his mentioning only the in- stance of its capture by the Indians above cited, it was evidently not at that time numerous in the Carolinas.t A few years after the publi- cation of Lawson’s work, this same region was visited by John Brickell, who passed through nearly the same districts as those traversed by Lawson. Brickell wrote concerning the buffalo as follows: “* The Bu/- felo, or wild Beef, is one of the largest wild Beasts that is yet known in these parts of America ; it hath a Bunch upon it’s Back, and thick, shert Horns, bending forward. .... This Monster of the Woods seldom ap- pears amongst the Huropean Inhabitants, it’s chiefest haunts being in the Savannas near the Mountains, or Heads of the great Rivers. .... And itis conjectur’d, that these Buffelo’s being mix’d, and breeding with our tame Cattle, would much improve the Species for largeness and Milk ; for these Monsters (as I have been inform’d) weigh from 1,600 to 2,400 pounds Weight. There are avery fierce Creature, and much larger than AMO x: reer There were two of the Calves of this Creature taken alive in the Year 1730, by some of the Planters living near Neus River, but northeastern part of the present State of North Carolina, on the sources of the Cape Fear River. Brickell says, however, in his Natural History of North Carolina, pub- lished in 1737: “The Sapona Indians live at the West Branch of the Cape Fear or Clarendon River, which is very beautiful, and has good land about it,” ete. (p. 343). ° He also says: “The Toteras are neighboring Indians to the Saponas, and live westward in the mountains” (p. 343). " History of Carolina, p. 115. t Yet, in the history of Long’s expedition to the source of St. Peter’s River (Vol. II, p.6), if is stated that ‘‘from Lawson we find that great plenty of buffaloes, elkes &e. existed near Cape Fear River and its tributaries!” ALLEN.] FORMER GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. OF AH whether they transported them to Hurope, or what other uses they made of them, I know not, having occasion to leave that Country soon after.”* Catesby, who visited South Carolina and Georgia some fifty years later, describes the buffalo quite minutely in his Natural History of Car- olina, published in 1743, showing most unquestionably that he was per- sonally familiar with it. He says: “* They frequent the remote parts of the country near the mountains, and are rarely seen within the settle- ments. They range in droves, feeding in open savannas morning and evening; and in the sultry time of the day, they retire to shady rivu- lets of clear water, glistening through thickets of tall cane, which, though a hidden retreat, yet their heavy bodies causing a deep impres- sion of their feet in the moist land, they are often trac’d, and shot by the artful Indians.” + Catesby tells us in his preface that he spent the first year of his sojourn in America in Carolina, in the settled district near the sea-shore, and passed thence to the “‘ Upper uninhabited Parts of the Country, and continued at and about Fort Moore, a small Fortress on the Banks of the River Savanna, which runs from thence a Course of 300 Miles down to the Sea, and is about the same Distance from its Source, in the Mountains.” This region, he says, ‘‘ afforded not only a Succession of new vegetable Appearances, but most delightful Pros- pects imaginable, besides the Diversion of Hunting Buffalo’s, Bears, Panthers, and other wild Beasts.” ¢ Bartram also speaks of the existence of a “‘ Great Buffalo Lick, on the Great Ridges which separate the waters of the Savanna and Alatamaha,, about eighty miles distant from Augusta.”§ .Again, in speaking of the middle region of the Carolinas, he says: ‘‘ The buffalo (Urus), once so very numerous, is not at this date [1773] to be seen in this part of the country.” || Hewit, also, in his “‘ Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina,” published originally in London in 1779, thus refers to the buffalo in enumerating the natural productions ot “Carolina,” in his description of its condition about the year 1674: *‘ Numbers of deer, timorous and wild, ranged through the trees, and herds of buffaloes were found grazing in thesavannas.” {| Keating also says, on the authority of Colhoun: “And we know that some of those who first settled the Abbeville district in South Carolina, in 1756, found the buffalo there.” ** Further evidence of the existence of the buffalo in the western parts of North and South Carolina is furnished by maps of these States, pre- pared about 1771-1775, tt on which a tributary of Coldwater River, in what is now Cabarrus County, North Carolina, is called Buffalo Creek; while two of the upper tributaries of the Broad River bear the names respectively of Buffalo Creek and Bullock Creek. In South Carolina, on the sources of the Saluda River, in the present county of Abbeville, a swamp is laid down as Butfalo Swamp. I fail to find, however, any of these names preserved on recent maps. : * Natural History of North Carolina, 1737, pp. 107, 108. t Nat. Hist. Carol., Fla., etc., 1754, Vol. I, Appendix, p. xxvii. {Ibid., p. viii of preface. § Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, etc., 1773-75, pp. 35, 46. || Lbid., p. 46. 4; Carroll’s Hist. Coll. 8. Car., Vol. I, p. 78. ** Loneg’s Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter’s River, etc., 1823, Vol. II, p. 26. tt A map of North and South Carolina. Accurately compiled from the old maps of James Cook, published in 1771, and of Henry Mouzon, in 1775. Carroll’s Hist. Coll. South Carolina, 1836, Vol. I. 492 ° REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Peter Kalm, in his “Travels in North America,” under date of No- vember, 1748, also thus alludes to their existence ‘in Carolina.” ‘The ’ wild oxen have their abode principally in the woods of Carolina, which are far up in the country. The inhabitants frequently hunt them and salt them like common béef, which is eaten by servants and the lower class of people. But the hide is of little use, having too large pores to be made use of for shoes. However, the poorer people in Carolina spread their hides on the ground instead of beds.”* Again he speaks of “the wild Cowsand Oven . . . . which are to be met with in Carolina, and other provinces to the south of Pennsylvania. .... This American species of oxen,” he says, “is Linneus’s Bos Bison, 8."t In the verbal relation, reported by Hakluyt, of ‘‘ Nicholas Burgoig- non, alias Holy,” who spent six years ‘‘in Florida” prior to 1586, Bur- goignon states that ‘the Spaniards, entring 50. leagues up Saint Helena, found Indians wearing golde rings at their nostrels and eares. They found also Oxen, but lesse than ours.”t The St. Helena here mentioned was in the present State of South Carolina, and must have been either the Combahee or the Edisto River, though most probably the latter, the name St. Helena being still retained for the bay at the mouths of these rivers. It hence seems very probable that the locality referred to was the Abbeville district of South Carolina, where buffaloes at that time doubtless existed. Governor Oglethorpe, in his ‘‘ New and Accurate Account of the Proy- inces of South Carolina and Georgia,” published in 1733, makes the fol- lowing single reference to the buffalo: ‘The wild beasts are deer, elks, bears, wolves, buffaloes, wild boars, and abundance of hares and rabbits; they have also a catamountain, or small leopard ; but this is not the dan- gerous species of the Hast Indies.” § Francis Moore, writing in 1744, referring to the absence of the buf- falo from St. Simon’s Island, adds that “‘there are large herds there upon the Main.” || Governor Glen, in his “Description of Carolina,” published in 1761, enumerates “ Buifaloes ”? in his list of the “‘ Wild Beasts, etc., of the Forest.” 7] Drayton, writing in 1802, also enumerates the buffalo as one of the animals formerly existing ‘in South Carolina. He says, “ The buffalo and cat-a-mount are entirely exterminated on the eastern side of our mountains.” ** While the former occurrence of the buffalo in the “upper parts” of the Carolinas “ near the mountains” is a well-established fact of history, its absence at the same time from the low country near the coast seems equally certain. As early as 1562, Jean Ribault (or Ribaut) landed at Port Royal, and explored to some distance into the interior tt without meeting with buffaloes, as did also Hilton, ¢¢ in 1663, and numerous other travellers later, many of whom have given detailed enumerations of the animals they met with. While every species of mammal now known to exist there, from the squirrel to the deer, is mentioned, the bufialo is * Travels into North America, Forster’s Translation, Vol. I, p. 287. t Ibid, Vol. I, p. 207. | Hakluyt, Voyag ges, etc., Vol. III, p. 433. § Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol. I, p. 51. | A Voyage to Georgia, ete. , P- 90. all | Description of Carolina, p. 68. ee Drayton (John), View of South Carolina, p. 88. Ht See Landonniére’s narrative in Hakluyt’s Voyages, Vol. III, pp. 367-427. t Hilton (William), A Rel: ation of a Discovery lately made on the Coast of Florida, etc., London, 1664 (Force’s Coll. Hist. Tracts, Vol. IV, No. 2, p. 8). ALLEN. } NEVER RANGED IN PRESENT LIMITS OF FLORIDA. 493 absent from them all.* It was also absent from this region at the time when Lawson, Brickell, and Catesby explored the Carolinas with special reference to their natural products. In the extreme southeastern part of Georgia (Camden County), however, there is found a small creek emptying into the Santilla River, at its great bend to the eastward, - which still bears the name of “‘ Buffalo Creek.” If this is to be taken as sufficient proof of the former presence there of buffaloes, it may im- ply that the region was casually visited by a roving band of buffaloes from the region northward some time probably between the years 1700 and 1770. As above noted, this region was traversed during the six- teenth and seventeenth centuries by ‘several different explorers, who, as is evident from their writings, did not meet with or hear of buffaloes here. It-is, however, quite possible that subsequently buffaloes may have oceasionaliy wandered to Southeastern Georgia, and even to the northern portions of Florida. In all other cases the name “ Buftalo Creek” proves to have had its origin in the former presence of buffaloes in the vicinity of the streams so named. The Buffalo not found within the present limits of Florida.—The buf- falo is also believed by some to have been found within the present limits of Florida, and throughout the Gulf States down to the Gulf of Mexico. This, however, is a mistake, mainly arising, probably, from the former vast extent of Florida as compared with its present limits.t These writers are Forbes,t who as recently as 1821 wrote, “The buttalo is said to be among the number of wild beasts, but not com- monly seen”! Davis also says, on the authority of Romans, that “ their tracks have been seen as far south and southeast as the Withlacooche River.”§ But from the context of Romans’s work, and from the known range of the buffalo at the time he wrote (1776), he must have been mistaken in respect to the identity of the tracks. Romans says: “ .-. . . at the junction of Flint River and the river in the south extreme of this division is the head of Manatee River, between which and the Amaxura I saw a vast number of deer, and the marks of many of the hunting-camps of the savages. We found the footsteps of six or eight buffaloes hereabouts, so plain as to be convinced of the track being made by those animals.”|| Professor Baird, in 1852, says, * Among the authors here referred to are Robert Horn (Briefe Description of the Proy- ince of Carolina on the Coasts of Floreda, etc., 1666); Samuel Wilson (An Account of the Province of Carolina, in America, etc., 1682); ‘ TA” [Thomas Ash] (Carolina; or a Description of the Present State of that Country and the Natural Excellencies thereof, etc., by T. A., Gent., 1682); and John Archdale (A New Description of that fertile and pleasant Province of Carolina, ete., 1707). Reprinted in Carroll’s Hist. Coll. of 8. Car., Voi. II. See also Hakluyt, Voyages, etc., Vol. 1V, for these papers. + As is well known, for many years subsequent to the disastrous expedition of De Soto, Florida, as claimed by Spain, embraced all the Atlantic coast as far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and for more than a century after, or till 1651, extended north- ward to the present southern boundary of Virginia, and comprised an immense unex- plored region in the interior. Not till 1721 was its western boundary restricted to its present limits. In 1764, the year following its acquisition by the British crown, its western boundary was again temporarily extended to the Mississippi River. —HMoneite’s Hist. of the Valley of the Mississippi, Vol. 1, pp. 65-77. In 1745 the British possessions in North ‘America embraced not only that sottion of the United States north of the present limits of Florida, east of the Alleghanies, ex- clusive, however, of those portions of New York and Vermont north of the 44th par- allel. The whole vast interior belonged to the French, and while almost the whole basin of the Mississippi was denominated Louisiana, or the Province of Lowis, the north- eastern part, including not only the present Canadas, but nearly allthe territory north of the Ohio, was called Canada, or New France.—Jbid., Vol. I, map. t Sketches, Historical and Topographical, of the Floridas; more especially of East Florida, p. 67. § Conquest of New Mexico, 1869, p. 67, footnote. || A Concise Natural History of East and West Florida, pp. 280, 281. 494 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ‘‘Theuet, in the very rare work entitled ‘ Les Singularitez de la France antarctique,’ Paris, 1557 [1558], gives (p. 147), in a representation of a curious beast of West Florida, a readily recognizable figure of the buf- falo.”"* The figure bears some resemblance to a bison, and the descrip- tion seems to clearly indicate this animal. The locality, too, is near Palm River, south of Tampa Bay. Thevet’s work, however, is merely a compilation, abounding with the grossest exaggerations. He cites no authority for the presence of ‘ wne espece de grands touwreax” at this lo- | cality, where certainly no bison has ever been found. Maynard, writing in 1872, says, “‘The historians of De Soto’s travels speak of herds of wild cattle being found in Florida. They probably refer to the buffalo (Bos americanus), which without doubt extended its range to the prai- ries of the west coast.”+ None of the references to the buffalo con- tained in these writings relate, however, to the present region of Flor- ida,t De Soto not apparently hearing of the existence of this animal until he had reached the Mississippi, except in the single instance soon to be noticed in another connection. The late Professor Wyman, in a posthumous paper, also says, ‘‘ The buffalo was an inhabitant of Florida, and it could have been no other than this animal which the French met with in their ill-fated retreat from Fort Caroline”; and he adds in a footnote: **De Challeux, the carpenter of Ribaut’s expedition, says, ‘near the break of day we saw a great beast, like a deer, at fifty paces from us, who had a great head, eyes flaming, the ears hanging, and the huger parts elevated. It seemed to us monstrous because of its gleaming eyes, wonderfully large, but it did not come near us to do us any harm.’ There is no other animal,” adds Professor Wyman, “which corresponds with this animal but the buffalo, though that animal is as unlike ‘a deer’ as possible.”§ It seems to me, however, that the reference is in no way applicable to the buffalo, and if not really a deer, the beast here described ‘must have been a creation of the excited imagination of the much terrified French- man, having no more real foundation than the accounts of other strange creatures found in the narratives of numerous other early explorers of America,—a supposition borne out by the general character of De Chal- leux’s account of that night’s experiences. In the detailed account by M. Réné Laudonniere of Ribaut’s attempt to plant a colony on the St. John’s River, in Florida, however, there is no mention of this incident reported by the carpenter. Laudon- niere says the only game found was deer, leopards, bears, ete., while in his “ description of the West Indies in generall, but chiefly and par- ticulazly of Florida,” as translated by Hakluyt,|| he says, ‘‘ The Beastes best known in this Countrey are Stagges, Hindes, Goates, Deere, Leop- ards, Ounces, Luserns, divers sortes of Wolves, wilde Dogs, Hares, Cunnies, and a certain kinde of beast that differeth little from the Lyon of Africa.” No allusion is made to the existence of any animal like a buffalo in Laudonniére’s whole narrative of the fortunes of the Frenck in Florida during the period embracing the founding and aban- * Patent Off. Rep., Agricult., 1851-52, Part II, p. 124. t Bull. Essex Institute, Vol. IV, p. 149. { Schoolcraft says that the distinction between the former and present boundaries of Florida ‘‘is overlooked, in reference to the buffalo in Florida, by the translator of De Soto’s first letter.”—History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes, etc., Part V, p. 68, footnote. § Fresh-Water Shell Mounds of the St. John’s River, Florida, p. 80, and footnote, December, 1875. || Voyages, etc., Vol. III, pp. 368-484. q Ibid., p. 369. 1 ALLEN] NEVER RANGED IN PRESENT LIMITS OF FLORIDA. A95 donment of Fort Caroline, covering a period of five years and quite extended explorations along the St. John’s River. Professor Wyman also quotes Buckingham Smith as saying, in a note to his (Smith’s) translation of the ‘““Memoir of Fontaneda respecting Florida” (p. 49), ‘“‘The bison appears to have ranged in considerable numbers through Middle Florida a hundred and fifty years ago. It was considered in 1718 that the Spanish garrison at Fort San Marco, on a failure of stores, might subsist on the meat of the buffalo.” The text in Fontaneda’s Memoir (written about 1575), to which this note refers, contains the following: ‘“‘The men of Abalachi go naked, and the wo- men have waistbands of the straw that grows from the trees, which is like wool, of which I have given some account before; they eat deer, wolves, woolly cattle, and many other animals.”* Smith in his com- mentary ou this passage cites Barcia as authority for making this pas- sage a reference to the buffalo. ButI find nothing in Barcia that seems to refer to the occurrence of the buffalo within the region embraced by the present boundaries of Florida. Professor Wyman further cites Stow (‘ p. 19”) as saying, “The buf- falo is found in the savannahs, or natural meadows of the interior parts,” but as no title is given of Stow’s work I have been unable to find it in order to ascertain on what authority he based his statement. Wyman further quotes Baird as authority for the occurrence of the buf- falo in Florida, but Professor Baird, as previously noticed, only makes the general statement that it “‘ was formerly found throughout the east- ern portion of the United States to the Atlantic Ocean, and as far south as Florida.” + The first explorers not only did not meet with the buffalo in any part of the present States of Florida or Georgia, but probably had not at tais time even heard of its existence anywhere. Among these are Ponce de Leon, who visited Florida in 1512, landing near the present site of St. Augustine, and Vasquez de Ayllon, who landed, it is supposed, on the coast of Georgia in 1520, and again in 1525; but neither of them made extended excursions into the interior, and make no reference to the buffalo. In 1528 Pamphilo de Narvaez marched from Tampa Bay northwardly into the interior, to the source of the Suwanee River, in Southern Georgia, without, however, either meeting or hearing of the buffalo. DeSoto, on the occasion of his journey through Florida, disembarked at Tampa Bay, from which point he made his long journey into the interior, finally crossing the Mississippi and reaching the edge of the plains beyond. His course was first northward through Central Florida, and thence nortwestward nearly to the site of the present town of Tallahassee, and then northeastward across Central Georgia to the Savannah River. From this point his course was again northwestward te the mountains of Northern Georgia. In all this long journey he obtained no information of any animal resembling the buffalo, only hearing of it later on sending out soldiers to the northward from his camp in the extreme northern parts of Georgia, to search for gold, who returned at length with the re- port that they had seen in the possession of the Indians ox-hides an inch in thickness, which were undoubtedly skins of the buffalo. These facts * Smith’s Fontaneda, p. 27. + Mam. N. Amer., p. 684. i Irving’s account of this expedition is as follows: He says two fearless soldiers were sent northward from the village of Ichiaha, which is supposed to have been near the site of the modern town of Rome, Ga. ‘After an absence of ten days they returned to the camp and made their report. Their route had lain part of the way through ex- cellent land for grain and pasturage, where they had been well received and feasted 496 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ‘ certainly show that the buffalo was absent both from Florida andGeorgia | during the early part of the sixteenth century, and I have found no - writers who claim to have ever seen the living buffalo at any time in any part of Florida, or of Southern and Eastern Georgia. In the many ‘ enumerations of the natural productions of Florida (as at present re- stricted) made prior to the beginning of the present century, based on personal observations, the buitalo is absent from all. Romans, it is true, supposed he saw its tracks, but this, in the light of other contempora- neous history of the region, seems wholly improbable. Roberts, writing a few years before Romans wrote, says, ‘‘'‘The wild animals found in this country are the panther, bear, catamountain, stag, goat, hare, rabbit, — beaver, otter, fox, raccoon, and squirrel.” * Had the buffalo formerly inhabited Florida, it seems probable that its © remains would oceur in the shell-mounds of that State; but Professor Wyman specializes the buffalo as one of the animals whose remains he had not found in the mounds of Florida, although he had obtained the bones of most of the other large species of Florida mammals from them, among which he enumerates those of the bear, raccoon, hare, deer, otter, and opossum, together with those of the turkey and alligator, and of several different species of turtles and fishes.t If the buffalo was ever an inhabitant of the present State of Florida, it seems to me fully evi- | dent that it must have existed there at a comparatively recent date, and for only a very short period, As will be presently shown, the buffalo temporarily occupied portions of the Gulf States during the early part of the eighteenth century, from which it was absent in De Soto’s time. SOUTHERN BOUNDARY OF THE RANGE OF THE BUFFALO EAST OF THE | MISSISSIPPI. As already shown, there is apparently no record of the occurrence of the buffalo in the present States of Florida and Georgia, except over a small area west of the Savannah River adjoining the Abbeville District in South Carolina. It was apparently also altogether absent from the rest of the Gulf States east of the Mississippi, at the time this region was visited by Europeans. Certainly it was not met with by De Soto | in his journey across this region in 1540—41, during which journey he explored the Coosa River from its source to its junction with the Ala- | bama, and descended the latter to its union with the Tombigbee. He thus crossed the State of Alabama diagonally from northeast to south- west, and afterward traversed what is now the State of Mississippi, also diagonally, from the southeast to the northwest.{ De Soto learned by the natives. They had found among them a buffalo hide an inch in thickness, with hair as soft as the wool of a sheep, which, as usual, they mistook for the hide of a beef. In the course of their journey they had crossed mountains [supposed to be the Lookout Mountains] so rugged and precipitous that it would be impossible for the army to traverse them.”’—IRVING (THOMAS), Conquest of Florida, p. 244. The Gentleman of Elvas says (Hakluyt’s translation), they “brought an oxe hide, which the Indians gave them, as thinneas a calves skinne, and the haire like a soft wooll, / betweene the course and fine wooll of sheepe.”—Discovery and Conquest of Terra Florida | (Hakluyt Society ), p. 66. * Roberts (Wm.), An Account of the First Discovery and Natural History of Florida, ‘ 1763, p. 4. +Mem. Peabody Acad. Sciences, Vol. I, pp.78, 80. {For authorities on the Route of De Soto, see Biedma’s Narrative, and that of the Gentleman of Elvas, in French’s Historical Collection of Louisiana, Vol. II, and in the Hakluyt Society’s publications (1851), with an Introduction, Notes, and a Map by W. | B. Rye; McCulloch’s Researches; Gallatin’s Synopsis of the Indian Tribes (Archzolo- | gia Americana, Vol. II); Pickett’s History of Alabama, ete.; Nuttall’s Journal of Travels — into the Arkansas Territory; Meek’s Sketches of the History of Alabama (Southron , on eee sa -— es = ee (er ALLEN.) SOUTHERN LIMIT EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 497 |nothing respecting the buffalo, save the report brought him by the sol- { | diers whom he sent northward from Northern Georgia into the present State of Tennessee, till after he crossed the Mississippi. According to Du Pratz, the buffalo later visited the northern and j western portions of the present State of Mississippi, where, according jto this author, the buffalo was abundant in the early part of the eigh- jteenth century. Du Pratz’s statement in full on this point is as follows: | ‘° This buffalo is the chief food of the natives, and of the French also for jalong time past. . ... . They hunt this animal in winter; for which purpose they leave Lower Louisiana and the river Missisipi, as he cannot penetrate thither on account of the thickness of the woods; and besides | loves to feed on long grass, which is only to be found in the meadows of | the high lands.” * In his detailed account of the “‘ Lands of Louisiana” Du Pratz says: ‘‘ From the sources of the river of the Paska Ogoulas, quite to those of | the river of Quesoncté, which falls into the Lake St. Louis, the lands are light and sterile, but something gravelly, on account of the neighborhood of the mountains, that lye to the North. This country is intermixt with | extensive hills, fine meadows, numbers of thickets, and sometimes woods, | thick set with cane, particularly on the banks of rivers and brooks; and 'is extremely proper for agriculture. The mountains which I said these countries have to the North, form nearly the figure of a chaplet, with | one end pretty near the Missisipi, the other on the banks of the Mobile. The inner part of this chaplet or chain is filled with hills; which are pretty fertile in grass, simples, fruits of the country, horse-chestnuts, and wild-chestnuts, as large and at least as good as those of Lyons. To the North of this chain of mountains lies the country of the Chicasaws, very fine and free of mountains: it has only very extensive and gentle emi- | nences, or rising grounds, fertile groves,and meadows. . . . . All the countries I have just mentioned are stored with game of every kind. The buffalo is found on the rising grounds; the partridge in thick open woods, such as the groves in meadows; the elks delight in large forests, as also the pheasant; the deer, which is a roving animal, is every where to be met with, because in whatever place it may happen to be, it always has something to browse on.”+ Later he says in speaking of the country further north: ‘ But to the east [of the Mississippi River], the lands are a good deal higher [than on the present Louisiana side], seeing trom Manchac [near the present site of Baton Rouge] to the river Wabache [Ohio] they are between an hundred and two hundred feet higher than the Missisipi in its greatest floods. . . . All these high lands are, besides, surmounted, in a good many places, by little eminences, or small hills, and rising grounds running off lengthwise, with gentle slopes. . . . All these high lands are generally meadows and forests of tall trees, with grass up to the knees. . . . Almost all these lands are such as I have de- scribed ; that is, the meadows are on those high grounds, whose slope Monthly Magazine and Review, 1839); Monette’s History of the Discovery and Settle- ment of the Valley of the Mississippi; Bancroft’s History U.8.; Irving’s Conquest of Florida; Schooleraft’s History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, Part III, pp. 37-50, pl. xliv; etc., etc. *The History of Louisiana, etc., English Ed., Vol. II, p. 49. The original reads as follows: “‘Ce Beeuf est la viande principale des Naturels, & a fait long-tems aussi celle des Francois. . . . . Onvaalachasse de cet Animal dans V’hyver, & on s’écarte de la Basse Louisiane & du Fleuve S. Louis, parce qu’il ne peut y pénétrer, 4 cause de P6paisseur des Bois, & que d’ailleurs il aime la grande herbe qui ne se trouve que dans les Prairies des terres hautes.”—Histoire de la Louisiane, etc., Tom. II, p. 67. t The History of Louisiana, Vol. II, pp. 251-253. 32458 498 ' REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 3 | b bottoms. In the meadows we observe here and there groves of very tall / and straight oaks, to the number of fourscore or an hundred at most. | There are others of about forty or fifty, which seem to have been planted by men’s hands in these meadows, for a retreat to the buffaloes, : deer, and other animals, and a screen against storms, and the sting of © the flies. . . . Those rising meadows and tall forests abound with | butialoes, elk, and deer, with turkeys, partridges, and all kinds of game; consequently wolves, catamounts, and other carnivorous animals are found there.”* : On one of his accompanying maps this region is marked as “Terres Hautes,” while the low country, or “drowned lands,” of the present ? ae : 3 5 Lower Louisiana is marked “Terres Plates.” Hence, when in his description of the buffalo he speaks of the Indians leaving “ Lower © Louisiana” to hunt this animal, he simply means that they leave the low flat country immediately bordering the coast and the river, espe- cially the low country south and west of Baton Rouge, to hunt in the higher lands of the present State of Mississippi, where, if we take Du Pratz as trustworthy authority, the buffalo must, at that time (about 1720 and later), have been abundant. Yet when this very region was crossed by De Soto, two hundred years earlier, the buffalo was evidently not to be found there. It hence appears to have spread in the mean time from the region mere to the northward. West of the Mississippi, also, the buffalo, in Du Pratz’s time, extended southward over regions where it was not met with by De Soto or by La Salle, which affords further evidence that the buffalo extended its range considera- bly to the southward and eastward in the valley of the Lower Missis- Sippi between 1540 and 1720, or even between 1685 and the latter date, as seems to have been also the casein South Carolina and Georgia. It hence appears that at one time the buffalo occupied probably most of the region between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. On Du Pratz’s map, however, the course of the Tennessee is very incorrectly laid down, as it is also on the earlier map of De l’Isle and on maps pub- lished much later even than Du Pratz’s, its southern bend on Du Pratz’s map not reaching the 36th parallel, while it actually crosses the 33d. He seems not to have himself passed above the Chickasaw Bluffs, and his knowledge of the country beyond on the east side of the river was evidently very vague. The presence of ‘‘ Beeufs” in the country drained by the Mobile River is also mentioned by un Officier de Marine, in a letter published with Chevalier de Tonti’s “Relation” t+ (the authorship of which work, how- ever, Tonti disowns). The presence of a creek in Southwestern Mississippi still bearing the uame of *‘ Buffalo Creek” may be considered as further evidence of the former existence of the buffalo in this region. It is to be regretted that Adair, who spent many years (1735 to 1767) as a trader and government official among the tribes south of the Ten- nessee River, has left so little on record respecting the range of the buffalo at that period. In his ‘“*General Observations on the North American Indians” he refers to their use of buffalo flesh as food, and its skins, horns, wool, and sinews in the manufacture of clothing and uten- *The History of Louisiana, Vol. II, pp. 262-267. The last quotation reads in the original as follows: “Ces Céteaux en Prairies & ces futayes sont abondantes en Bouts, Cerfs & Chevreuils, en Dindes, en Perdrix & en toute sorte de gibier,” etce.—Histoire de la Louisiane, Tom. I, p. 287. t Relation de la Louisianne, 1720, Vol. I, p. 11. I ALLEN.) FORMER RANGE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. A499 i} y : | sils, but without specifying by what tribes or at what localities. Among | the tribes mentioned are those that lived north of the Tennessee River, | and hence where the buffalo was at that time abundant. In an account | of one of his journeys he mentions the killing of buffaloes somewhere, | apparently, in the mountains of Northern Georgia, in 1749, and this is the | only allusion in his work that bears directly upon the range of the buf- | falo. He states also, however, that ‘‘ the buffaloes are now become scarce, r as the thoughtless and wasteful Indian used to kill great numbers of them, only for the tongues and marrow-bones, leaving the rest of the | carcase to the wild beasts.” Elk, deer, bears, and turkeys, however, are frequently mentioned as affording a supply of food to the southern | tribes of Indians, but in these statements he never alludes to the | buffalo. _ Gallatin* gives the Tennessee River as their southern limit. On an old map,t published originally in 1718, and reproduced in fae simile in French’s ‘“ Historical Collections of Louisiana (Vol. IL), the region be- | tween the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers is marked as follows: ‘“ Desert | de six vint lieues detendue ou les Ilinois font la Chasse des beufs.” They are well known to have been formerly abundant in the region about - Nashville. : THE EXTENT OF THE REGION EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI FORMERLY IN- _ HABITED BY THE BUFFALO, WITH A HISTORY OF ITS EXTIRPATION THEREFROM. - The accounts of the first exploration of the region between the Alle- _ghany Mountains and the Mississippi River show that the buffalo, early in the seventeenth century, existed in vast herds not only on the prai- ries bordering the Mississippi, but throughout nearly the whole of the more open portions of the area drained by the Ohio River and its tribu- taries. Its range eastward extended nearly or quite to the eastern end of Lake Erie, and throughout the valleys among the mountains of West- ern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and Eastern Ten- nessee. It also inhabited the region drained by the Illinois River, and by some of the lesser upper eastern tributaries of the Mississippi. The country between the Chio and the Great Lakes was quite generally occupied by them, as was that south of the Ohio, between this river and the Tennessee. There is less certainty in regard to their former occupation of Southern Michigan and Wisconsin, though it is probable that they also at times roamed over most of this region also, notwith- Standing the fact that they were not found there by the first Europeans who visited this section of the country. Considerable documentary evidence relating to their former presence over the region between the Mississippi and the Alleghanies, together with many references to their extermination there, has been brought together in the following pages, and is presented generally in the words of the original narrators. Be- ginning with the northwestern portion of the region in question, we shall pass thence southward and eastward, giving the facts bearing upon particular localities somewhat in a chronological order. On the eastern side of the Mississippi River buffaloes were found by the early Jesuit explorers occupying the country from the sources of * Colonies of the buffaloes had traversed the Mississippi, and were at one time abundant in the forest country between the lakes and the Tennessee River, south of which I do not believe they were ever seen.” —Trans. Am. Hthnological Soc., Vol. Il, p.1. tCarte de la Louisiane et du Cours du Mississippi. Dressée sur un grand nombre de Memoires entrautres ceux sur de Mr. le Maire par GUILLAUME DE LISLE de l’Academie R’le des Sciences. 500 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the Mississippi almost uninterruptedly southward nearly to the mouth of the Ohio River. Hennepin, as early as 1680, met with them in con- siderable numbers in the vicinity of the St. Francis River, above the Falls of St. Anthony, where they were also seen later by other ex- plorers. In 1766 Jonathan Carver found them on the plains around” Lake Pepin, he speaking of them as “the largest buffaloes of any in America.”* Pike, in ascending the Mississippi in the autumn of 1804, met with the first signs of this animal about two hundred miles above the Falls of St. Anthony;t and Schoolcraft reports their existence in the same vicinity as late as 1820. On the map accompanying School- craft’s narrative of his expedition to the sources of the Mississippi River, he has marked the plains above the Falls of St. Anthony as the ‘‘ Buffalo Plains”; and in the text he says: ‘ Here also (mouth of De Corbeau River) the Buffalo Plains commence and continue down on both sides of the river to the Falls of St. Anthony.”{ The buffa- loes may never have existed in Northeastern Wisconsin, though they probably ranged over the prairies of the western and southern portions of the State. They were not met with, however, even there by the first European explorers of that region. Father Marquette does not appear to have met with them in crossing from Green Bay to the Wisconsin River, in 1673, nor did he see them in his subsequent descent of that river. La Hontan, in 1687, also found none on either the Fox or Wisconsin Rivers, first meeting with them on the Mississippi not far above the mouth of the Wisconsin.|| Marquette first found them on the Mississippi River, in latitude ‘41° 28/,” in July, 1673. ‘* Having descended the river,” he says, ‘‘as far as 41° 28’, we find that turkeys have taken the place of game, and the Pisikious that of other beasts. We call the Pisikious wild buffaloes, because they _very much resemble our domestic oxen.f[ Following this is a deserip- tion of the ‘ pisikious,” or buffaloes, and the uses made of them by the Indians, and he adds, “ they graze upon the banks of rivers, and I have seen four hundred in a herd together.”** Hennepin, Marest, Gravier, Charlevoix, and other Jesuit missionaries appear not to have met with it on the St. Joseph’s River, nor anywhere in Southern Michigan,{t although they found it abundant on the Kaskaskia and further south- “Travels, p. 56. + Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, etc., Pt. I, App., p. 53. t Narrative Journal of Travel to tue Sources of the Mississippi, ete., p. 275. § In an English translation of Marquette’s narrative of his discoveries (French’s Hist. Coll. of Louisiana, Part II, p. 284), we find the following passage. In speaking of the. Wisconsin (“‘ Mesconsin”) he says: “The country through which it flows is beautiful the groves are so dispersed in the prairies that it makes a noble prospect”; and he adds: ‘“‘We saw neither game nor fish, but roebuck and buffaloes in great numbers.” Mr. J. G. Shea says: ‘‘ The French word here is vaches, which has generally been trans- lated bison or buffalo.” In this instance, Mr. Shea says, it is clearly a mistake, as Mar- quette and his party had not yet reached the buffalo grounds, and the missionary after- ward describes the animal when he meets it.—Discoveries and Explorations in the Mis- sissippt Valley, p. 16. || La Hontan, Voyages, Eng. ed., Vol. i, pp. 111, 112. §] As Henderson has remarked, “ Father Marquette was doubtless the first white man who penetrated to the habitat of the buffalo by way of the Great Lakes, although, ac- cording to Marquette, their skins had been previously exported to Europe.”—Am. Naturalist, vol. vi, p. 82. **French’s Historical Collection of Louisiana, Part II, p. 285. tt Schoolcraft says, but I know not on what authority: ‘‘It not only ranged over the prairies of Illinois and Indiana, but spread to Southern Michigan, and the western skirts of Ohio. Tradition says it was sometimes seen on the borders of Lake Erie.”— History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes, Vol. IV, p.92. It would, however, be quite strange if it had not at times extended its range over the prairie portions of both Michigan and Wisconsin. | oo £ ALLEN. | FORMER RANGE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 501 ward.* Marquette, in his description of the Illinois River, says: “I never saw a more beautiful country than we found on this river. The prairies are covered with buffaloes, stags, goats, and the rivers and lakes with swans, ducks, geese, parrots, and beavers.” + That buffaloes were formerly abundant over the greater part of —‘Iinois is well attested. Father Hennepin, in describing the journey he made from Fort Miamis, at the mouth of the Chicago River, to the vil- lage of the Illinois, on the Illinois River, “one hundred and thirty leagues from Fort Miamis,” in December, 1679, says: “There must be an innumerable quantity of wild Bulls in that Country, since the Earth is covered with their Horns. The Miami’s hunt them towards the latter end of Autumn.” Again he says: “ We suffer’d very much on this Pas- sage; for the Savages having set the Herbs of the Plain on fire, the wild Bulls were fled away, and so we could kill but one and some Turkey- Cocks.” “They change their Country,” he adds, “according to the Seasons of the Year; for upon the approach of the Winter, they leave the North, and go to the Southern Parts. They follow one another, so that you may see a Drove of them for above a League together, and stop all at the same place. . . . . Their Ways are as beaten as our great Roads, and no Herb grows therein. They swim over the Rivers they meet in their Way, to go and graze in other Meadows.” ¢ Father Marest, in passing from the southern end of Lake Michigan to the Kankakee, in 1712, by way of the St. Joseph’s River, says, in his narrative of the journey: “At last [after having passed the portage, and embarked on the Kankakee] we perceived our own agreeable coun- try, the wild buffaloes, and herds of stags, wandering on the border of the river,” etc.§ Charlevoix, in 1721, in crossing over from the St. Joseph’s River to the ‘‘ Theakiki” (Kankakee) soon found them in abundance. About fifty leagues from the source of the Kankakee, he says: “The country begins to be fine: The Meadows here extend be- yond Sight, in which the Buffalo go in Herds of 2 or 3 nundred.” || In describing the country bordering the Illinois River, below the junction of the Kankakee, he says: ‘‘In this Route we see only vast Meadows, _with little Clusters of Trees here and there, which seem to have been planted by the Hand; the Grass grows so high in them, that one might lose one’s self amongst it; but everywhere we meet with Paths that are as beaten as they can be in the most populous Countries; yet nothing passes through them but Buffaloes, and from Time to Time some Herds of Deer, and some Roe-Bucks.” Later he writes: ‘The 6th [of October, 1721] we saw a great Number of Buffaloes crossing the River in a great Hurry”; and adds that they soon provided themselves with food ‘ by killing a Buffalo or Roe-Buck, and of these we had the Choice.” {[ Vaudreuil alludes to their abundance on Rock River in 1718.. From the bluffs along this river, he says, “you behold roaming through the prairie herds of buffalo of Illinois.”** Pittman, writing fifty years later, describes the country of the Illinois Indians as abounding with * buffalo, deer, and wild fowl.” tt * J. G. Shea, Discoveries and Explorations of the Mississippi, pp. 18, 20. + French’s Hist. Coll. of Louisiana, Part II, p. 297. : - A New Discovery of a vast Country in America, etc., pp. 90, 91, 92. § Kip’s Jesuit Missions, p. 224. || Letters, Goadby’s English edition, pp. 280, 281. ‘{ Letters, Goadby’s English edition, p. 290. “* New York Coll. of MSS., Paris Doc. VII, p. 690. ; {+ Pittman (Captain Philip), Present State of the European Settlements on the Mis- sissippi, p. 51, 1770. The region referred to is described in the context as being en- closed by the Mississippi on the west, the Illinois on the north, the Ohio on the south, and the Wabash (Ouabache) and “‘ Miamis” on the east. 502 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. The buffalo seems also to have been abundant over large portions of Indiana. Charlevoix, writing of the Ohio River in 1720, says: “All the Country that is watered by the Ouabache [Ohio], and by the Ohio | Wa- bash] which runs into it, is very fruitful: It consists of vast Meadows, well-watered, where the wild Buffaloes feed by Thousands.”* Vau- dreuil, writing at about the same time, says, in his ‘* Memoir on the In- dians between Lake Erie and the Mississippi”: ‘‘ Whoever would wish to reach the Mississippi easily would need only to take this Beautiful river [Ohio] or the Sandosquet [Sandusky]; he could travel without any danger of fasting, for all who have been there have repeatedly as- sured me that there is a vast quantity of Buffalo and of all other ani- mals in the woods along that Beautiful River; they were often obliged to discharge their guns to clear a passage.” t There is further evidence also of the former abundance of the buffalo. in Ohio, along the southern shore of Lake Erie, particularly toward its. western end. La Hontan, in his description of Lake Erie, as he saw it about 1687, says: ‘‘I cannot express what quantities of Deer and Tur- keys are to be found in these Woods, and in the vast Meads that lye upon the South side of the Lake. At the bottom of the Lake, we find beeves upon the Banks of two pleasant Rivers that disembogue into it,. without Cataracts or rapid Currents.”£ Vaudreuil, describing Lake Hrie in 1718, says: ‘‘ There is no need of fasting on either side of this lake, deer are to be found there in such abundance; buffaloes are found on the south, but not on the north shore.” Again he says: “‘ Thirty leagues up the |Maumee] river is a place called La Glaise [now Defiance, Ohio], where buffaloes are always to be found; they eat the clay and wallow in it.”§ The occurrence of a stream in Western New York called Buffalo Creek, which empties into the eastern end of Lake Erie, is commonly viewed as traditional evidence of its occurrence at this point, but posi- tive testimony to this effect has thus far escaped me. This locality, if it actually came so far eastward, must have formed the eastern limit of its range along the lakes. I have found only highly questionable allusions to the occurrence of buffaloes along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Keating,|| on the authority of Colhoun, however, has cited a passage from Morton’s ** New English Canaan” as proof of their former existence in the neighborhood of this lake. Morton’s statement is based on Indian reports, and the context gives sufficient evidence of the general vagueness of his. knowledge of the region of which he was speaking. The passage, printed in 1637, is as follows: “They [the Indians] have also made descriptions of great heards of well growne beasts that live about the parts of this lake [Erocoise], such as the Christian world (untill this dis- covery) hath not bin made acquainted with. These Beasts are of the bignesse of a Cowe, their flesh being very good foode, their hides good lether, their fleeces very usefull, being a kinde of wolle, as fine almost as the wolle of the Beaver and the Salvages doe make garments thereof. It is tenne yeares siace first the relation of these things came to the eares of the Knglish.”q The “beast” to which allusion is here made is unquestionably the buffalo, but the locality of Lake “ Erocoise” is not so easily settled. Colhoun regards it, and probably correctly, as iden- tical with Lake Ontario, while other writers (among them Marcy) have * Letters, Goadby’s English edition, p. 303. +t New York Coll. of MSS., Paris Doc., VII, p. 886. {La Hontan, New Voyages to North America, English ed., Vol. I, p. 217. § New York Coll. MSS., Paris Documents, VII, pp. 885, 891. | Long’s Expedition to the Source of St. Peter’s River, ete., Vol. II, p. 25. §{ Morton (‘Thomas), New English Canaan, p. 98, Amsterdam, 1637. aumen.) FORMER RANGE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 503° applied this reference to Lake Champlain.* The context states that this lake is three hundred miles west of Massachusetts Bay, and that it may , be reached by the Hudson.River, while it is also given as the source of the Potomac.t ; | The extreme northeastern limit of the former range of the buffalo seems to have been, as above stated, in Western New York, near the eastern end of Lake Erie. Thatit probably ranged thus far there is fair evidence. As also already noticed, buffaloes at times passed over to the eastern slope of the Alleghanies, near Lewisburg, Union County, where is a stream still bearing the name of Buffalo Creek. The earliest evi- dence of their former existence in this region is afforded by a map pub- lished by Forster, in 1771, accompanying the English translation of Peter Kalm’s travels. On this map a marsh called ‘“ Buffalo Swamp” is: indicated as situated between the Alleghany River and the West Branch of the Susquehanna, near the heads of the Licking and Toby’s Creeks (apparently the streams now called Oil Creek and Clarion Creek). The most explicit testimony, however, is that furnished by Mr. Ashe,{ who has given an account not only of their former abundance here, but of their extirpation. The following circumstantial account of their former abundance in this region, and their sudden extermination upon the arrival of the first white settlers, was obtained by him from one of the participants in the work of destruction. ‘An old man,” says Mr. Ashe, ‘‘one of the first settlers in this country, built his log house on the immediate borders of a salt spring. He informed me that for the first several seasons the buffaloes paid him their visits with the utmost regu- larity ; they travelled in single files, always following each other at equal distances, forming droves, on their arrival, of about three hundred each. The first and second years, so unacquainted were these poor brutes with the use of this man’s house, or with his nature, that in a few hours they rubbed the house completely down; taking delight in turning the logs off with their horns, while he had some difficulty to escape from being ' *Marcy (R.B.) says, “‘ Formerly buffaloes were found in countless herds over almost ' the entire northern continent of America, from the 28th to the 50th degree of north latitude, and from the shores of Lake Champlain to the Rocky Mountains,” and cites this passage from Morton in proof of its existence around Lake Champlain.—£xplora- tion of the Red River of Louisiana, pp. 103, 104, 1853. +“And from this Lake Southwards, trends that goodly River called of the Natives Patomack, which dischardgeth herselfe in the parts of Virginea, from whence it is navi- gable by shipping of great Burthen up to the Falls (which lieth in 41, Degrees, and a halfe of North latitude:) and from the Lake downe to the Falls by a faire current.” He adds: ‘It is well knowne, they [the Dutch] aime at that place, and have a possi- bility to attaine unto the end of their desires therein, by meanes, if the River of Mohegan, which of the English is named Hudsons River (where the Dutch have settled: to well fortified plantations already. .... The Salvages make report of 3 great Rivers that issue out of this Lake, 2 of which are to us knowne, the one to be Patomack, the other Canada, and why may not the third be found there likewise, which they describe to trend westward, which is conceaved to discharge herselfe into the South Sea [probably a reference to the Mississippi].”—New English Canaan, p. 99; Force’s Hist. Tracts, Vol. II, No. 5, p. 67. t Mr. Ashe speaks of the fondness “ all the animals of those parts” have for salt, and of their resorting in large numbers to “ Onondargo” Lake to drink of its brackish waters, and adds that the best roads to this lake were the “‘ buffalo tracks; so called irom having been observed to be made by the buffaloes in their annual visitations to the lake from their pasture-grounds; and though this is a distance of above two hundred miles, the best surveyor could not have chosen a more direct course, or firmer or better ground.” The region about Onondaga Lake was thoroughly explored as early as 1670, and settlements were made and a fort erected before 1705. Prior to 1738, lines of com- munication had been established between both the Susquehanna and Alleghany Rivers, but not a buffalo is mentioned as having been met with anywhere in the Onondaga region. Hence Mr. Ashe was undoubtedly misinformed in respect to the trail to Onondaga Lake having been made by buffaloes, 504 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. trampled under their feet, or crushed to death in hisownruins. Atthat period he supposed there could not have been less than two thousand in the neighborhood of the spring. They sought for no manner of food, but only bathed and drank three or four times a day, and rolled in the earth, or reposed, with their flanks distended, in the adjacent shades; and on the fifth and sixth days separated into distinct droves, bathed, drank, and departed in single files, according to the exact order of their arrival. They all rolled successively in the same hole, and each thus carried away a coat of mud to preserve the moisture on their skin, and which, when hardened and baked in the sun, would resist stings of millions of insects, that otherwise would persecute these peaceful trav- ellers to madness or even death. ‘In the first and second years this old man with some companions, killed from six to seven hundred of these noble creatures, merely for the sake of their skins, which to them were worth only two shillings each; and after this ‘ work of death’ they were obliged to leave the place till the following season, or till the wolves, bears, panthers, eagles, rvoks, ravens, etc., had devoured the carcasses, and abandoned the place for other prey. In the two following years, the same persons killed great numbers out of the first droves that arrived, skinned them, and left their bodies exposed to the sun and air; but they soon had reason to repent of this, for the remaining droves, as they came up in succession, stopped, gazed on the mangled and putrid bodies, sorrowfully moaned ~ or furiously lowed aloud, and returned instantly to the wilderness in an unusual run, without tasting their favorite spring, or licking the impreg- nated earth, which was also once their most agreeable occupation; nor did they, nor any of their race, ever revisit the neighborhood. ‘““The simple history of this spring,” he adds, ‘‘is that of every other in the settled parts of this Western world; the carnage of beasts was everywhere the same; I met with a man who had killed two thousand buffaloes with his own hand; and others, no doubt, have done the same. In consequence of such proceedings, not one buffalo is at this time [in 1806] to be found east of the Mississippi, except a few, domesticated by the curious, or carried through the country on a public show.” * Warden also refers to the former existence of buffaloes in the western part of Pennsylvania, and to their early extinction there and in Ken- tucky.t Gallatin says: “The name of Buffalo Creek, between Pitts- burg and Wheeling, proves that they had spread thus far eastwardly 'when that country was first visited by the Anglo-Americans.”¢ Further ' to the southward, in West Virginia, in the valleys of the Kanawha and its tributaries, as well as thence westward, the former abundance of the buffalo is well attested. One of the earliest references to the existence of the buffalo in West Virginia is that contained in the journal of the Rey. Daniel Jones, who in 1772 made a journey to the Indian tribes west of the Ohio River. Under date of June 18, 1772, he writes: ‘‘ Went out to view the land on east side [of the Little Kanawha] to kill provisions. Mr. Owens killed several deer and a stately buffalo bull. The country is here level, and the soil not despicable.”§ In speaking of that part of the valley of the Ohio near the mouth of the ‘Great Guiandot,” he says, under date of January, 1773: ‘In this part of the country even in this season, * Ashe (Thomas) Travels in America, performed in 1806, for the purpose of exploring eae Alleghany, Monongahela, Ohio, and Mississippi, ete. pp. 47-49. London, 8 ) . + riagden CD B.), Statistical, Political and Historical Account of the United States, ol. I, p. 250. t Trans. Am. Ethnol. Soc., Vol. II, p.1. § Journal of Two Visits, ete., p. 17. ALLEN.] FORMER RANGE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 505 pasturage is so good that creatures are well supplied without any assist- ance. Here are great abundance of buffalo, which are a species of cat- tle, as some suppose, left here by former inhabitants.” In describing the country about Wheeling (‘‘ Weeling”), he says: ‘‘The wild beasts met with here are bears, wolves, panthers, wild cats, foxes, raccoons, beavers, otters, and some few squirrels and rabbits; buffaloes, deer, and elks, called by the Delawares moos.”* Buffaloes are well known to have existed on the Monongahela,{ and throughout the region between this river and the Ohio, over the area drained by the Little Kanawha, Buffalo, Fishing, Wheeling, and other small tributaries of the Ohio, where is said to have been much interval or open land,i and thence southward to the Great Kanawha. As already noticed, there is abundant evidence of its former existence on the sources of the Kanawha, extending even to the head of the Green- brier River, in Pocahontas County, and thence eastward, at times at least, over the sources of the James. Gallatin states that in his time (1784-1785) “they were abundant on the southern side of the Ohio, between the Great and Little Kenawha. I have,” he adds, ‘during eight months lived principally upon their flesh.”§ The following additional testimony, contained in a letter writ- ten by Dr. Charles McCormick, dated “ Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, August 18, 1844,” is furnished by Dr. Elliott Coues. Dr. McCormick says: “I have just seen Captain [Nathan] Boone, and he promises to write and tell you all about it. In the mean time, he says, he killed his first buffalo somewhere about 1793, on the Kenawha in Virginia. He was then quite a small boy.. He has also killed buffalo on New River, and near the Big Sandy in Virginia, in ’97 and 798.” || Ample evidence of the former existence of the buffalo in Northern Ohio has already been given; it seems to have been also found abun- dantly in other parts of the State. Colonel John May met with it on the Muskingum in 1788,{] and Atwater says, ‘‘we had once the bison and the elk in vast numbers all over Ohio.”** Hutchins says that in the natural meadows or savannahs, “from twenty to fifty miles in cir- cuit,” situated northwestward of the Ohio River, from the mouth of the Kanawha far down the Ohio, the herds of buffalo and deer were in- numerable, and also mentions their abundance over the region drained by the Scioto.jt In answer to recent inquiries of mine, Mr. George Graham, of Cincinnati, well known as a reliable authority on matters relating to the early history of the West, has kindly given me reference to notices of the buffalo as an inhabitant of Ohio in Craig’s Olden Time, and also unpublished traditional facts bearing upon the date of its extirpation from that State. The ‘Journal of George Croghan,”ti published in Olden Time,§§ states *Tbid., pp. 30. 84. +Trans. Amer. Antig. Soce., Vol. II, pp. 139, 140, footnote. { Hutchins (Thomas), Topog. Descrip. of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, comprehending the Rivers Ohio, Kanawha, Scioto, Cherokee, Wabash, Illinois, Missis- sippi, ete. (London, 1778), p. 4. § Trans. Am. Ethnol. Soc., Vol. II, p. 1. Amer. Naturalist, Vol. V, p. 720. § Journal and Letters of Colonel John May of Boston, ete., Hist. and Phil. Soe. of Ohio, New Series, Vol. I, pp. 81, 83. ; ** Atwater (Caleb), History of the State of Ohio, Natural and Civil, 1838, p. 67. tt Topog. Descrip. of Virginia, Pennsylvania, ete., pp. 11-15. tt Not Colonel Croghan of Kentucky. §§ The Olden Time; a Monthly Publication devoted to the Preservation of Documents and other Authentic Information in relation to the Early Explorations, and the Settle- ment and Improvement of the Country around the Head of the Ohio. Edited by Neville B. Craig, Esq. Two volumes, small 4to. Pittsburg, 1846-1848. 506 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. that buffaloes, bears, turkeys, and other game abounded about the mouth of the ‘‘Conhawa,” in 1765, as well as at the mouth of “Bottle River,” and also on the prairies bordering the “‘Ouabache.”* They were also found and killed by Washington, according to the “Journal of a Tour to the Ohio River in 1770,” at the mouth of the Kanhawa and also near the “Great Bend” of the Ohio, in 1770.¢ According to the ‘Journal of General [Richard] Butler,” buffaloes were killed by his party at the mouth of Big Sandy Creek, in October, 1785, and also on Buffalo Lick Creek and Licking Creek the same year,t at which time the buffaloes were there still quite abundant. “In 1791,” says Mr. Graham in one of his letters to me (dated ‘ Cin- cinnati, April 11,1876”), “‘ General Massie laid out the town of Manches- ter in the Virginia Military District of Ohio, about thirty-five miles from Cincinnati. This was the first settlement in the Virginia Military District. The woods in the neighborhood supplied game—deer, elks, buffaloes, bears, and turkeys—while the river furnished a variety of ex- cellent fish. In 1794 and 1795 McArthur § was settling a plan for his winter operations, when he fell in with George Hardick, an experienced hunter and trapper, who was never at ease but when he was ranging through the solitary woods. Agreeing to go into partnership for a win- ter hunt, they made a light canoe, procured ammunition and beaver- traps, and set off from Manchester, travelling down the Ohio River to the Kentucky River, thence up the Kentucky far above the settlements. Game of every description was found in abundance; deer and buffalo. were killed for their hides and tallow. Beaver and otter were the prin- cipal game pursued, and were caught in great numbers. They went up the river as far as they could find water to float their canoe, and spent the winter in the spurs of the Cumberland Mountains, more than a hundred miles from the habitations of civilized men,” returning in spring by the same route to Manchester. ‘ The last reliable account of killing buffalo,” says Mr. Graham, in the same letter, ‘‘is taken from the Lacross manuscripts, and partly from tradition from the lips of the children and grandchildren of those who were present.. Of the French who settled at Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1790, but one person ever killed a buffalo. This man’s name was Duteil. He was out hunting in the summer of 1795, about two miles west from Gallipolis, and saw a herd of buffaloes. He fired without aiming at any particular one, and luckily killed a large one. He was so elated with this feat that without stopping to examine the animal he ran as fast as. he could to the town, and, having announced his luck, came back, fol- lowed by the entire body of colonists, men, women, and children. They quickly formed a procession, with musicians playing violins, flutes, and hautboys in front, the fortunate hunter proudly marching with his gun on his shoulder, and the animal swinging from poles thrust through between its tied feet, followed by the crowd, singing and rejoicing at the prospect of good and hearty fare. The animal was quickly skinned and dressed on its arrival at the town, and for several days there was feast- ing, as the first and last buffalo of Gallipolis was served up in such a variety of ways and means as none but the French could devise; Charles Francis Duteil remaining until his death the renowned marksman who * Olden Time, Vol. I, pp. 405, 410, 411. t Olden Time, pp. 426, 427. t Ibid., Vol. U1, pp. 447, 450, 453, 456, 458, 497. § “‘MecDonald’s Sketches, published in Cincinnati, in 1838, by E. Morgan, gives the life of General McArthur.” ALLEN. ] FORMER RANGE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 507 killed the first and last buffalo of all the emigrants from France who settled the town of Gallipolis.” Mr. Graham adds that he has ‘no information that can be relied upon of buffalo being killed in Ohio after the year 1795 or 1796.” Ina later letter he says, ‘‘ From all that I know of the early settlement and history of the West, I am under the impression that the buffalo disap- peared from Ohio, Llinois, Indiana, and Kentucky about the year 1800.” Its former occurrence over considerable portions of Kentucky is also most abundantly substantiated, as the subjoined extracts from trust- worthy authorities sufficiently attest. M’Clung, in his sketch of Simon Kenton, “taken from a manuscript account, dictated by the venerable pioneer himself,” relates the follow- ing: ‘Kenton, with two companions, set out from Cabin Creek, a few miles above Maysville, apparently about 1773 and 1774, to explore the neighboring country. In ashort time they reached the vicinity of May’s. Lick, where they fell in with the great buffalo trace, which in a few hours brought them to the Lower Blue Lick. The flats upon each side of the river were crowded with immense herds of buffalo, that had come down from the interior for the sake of salt; and a number of elk were seen upon the bare ridges which surround the springs. . ... After remaining a tew days at the lick, and killing an immense number of deer and buffalo, they crossed the Licking, and passed through the pres- ent counties of Scott, Fayette, Woodford, Clarke, Montgomery, and Bath, where, falling in with another buffalo trace, it conducted them to the upper Blue Lick, where they again beheld elk and buffalo in im- mense numbers.” * In an account of the adventures of Colonel Daniel Boone, published by Filsoz, Boone states that he left his ‘‘family and peaceable habita- tion on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, the 1st of May, 1769, to wander through the wilderness of America, in quest of the country of Kentucke.” Crossing the ‘* mountain wilderness,” he and his five com- panions found themselves on Red River, on the seventh of June follow- ing. Here they encamped and began to reconnoitre the country. Boone writes: ‘‘ We found everywhere abundance of wild beasts of all sorts, through this vast forest. The buffaloes were more frequent than I have seen cattle in the settlements, browzing on the leaves of the cane, or cropping the herbage on those extensive plains, fearless, because ignorant, of the violence of man. Sometimes we saw hundreds in a drove, and the numbers about the salt springs were amazing.”+ During the severe winter of 1780 and 1781, Boone says that the-inhabitants of Kentucky “lived chiefly on the flesh of the buffalo.” Filson says (writing in 1784): ‘I have heard a hunter assert, he saw above one thousand buffaloes at the Blue Licks at once; so numerous were they before the first settlers had wantonly sported away their lives. There still remain a great number in the exterior parts of the settlement.”% Again he says, after describing the salt licks of Ken- tucky: ‘*To these [the licks] the cattle repair, and reduce high hills rather to valleys than plains. The amazing herds of Buffaloes which resort thither, by their size and number, fill the traveller with amazement and terror, especially when he beholds the prodigious roads they have made from all quarters, as if leading to some populous city; the vast * Western Adventures, p. 86. + Filson (Jvuhn), Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucky, 1784, pp. 50, 51. t Filson (John), Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucky, 1784, pp. 27). 28. 508 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. space of land around these springs desolated as if by a ravaging enemy, and hills reduced to plains; for the land near these springs is chiefly hilly.”* Guin g, in describing the salt licks along the Licking and Ohio Rivers, thus refers to the former abundance of the buffalo at these localities: 46 These licks were much frequented by buffaloes and deer, the former of which have been destroyed or terrified from the country. It is only fourteen or fifteen years since no other except buffalo or bear meat was used by the inhabitants of this country.” He was informed by Captain Waller that ‘“‘ buffalo, bears, and deer were so plenty in the country, even long after it began to be generally settled, and ceased to be frequented as a hunting-ground by the Indians, that little or no bread was used, but that even the children were fed on game, the facility of gaining which prevented the progress of agriculture, until the poor innocent buffaloes were completely extirpated and other wild animals much thinned; and that the principal part of the cultivation of Kentucky had been within the last fifteen years. He said the buffaloes had been so numerous, going in herds of several hundreds together, that, about the salt licks and springs they frequented, they pressed down and destroyed the soil to a depth of three or four feet, as Was conspicuous yet in the neighborhood of the Blue Lick, where all the old trees have their roots bare of soil to that depth.”} Other references to the abundance of the buffalo in Kentucky, at the time this region was first visited by the white settlers, might be given, but those above cited seem sufficient for the present occasion. The buffalo seems also to have existed in considerable numbers in portions of Tennessee, particularly about the salt springs on the Cum- berland River, as shown by Putnam’s “ History of Middle Tennessee.” This author gives extracts from the journal of John Donelson, respect- ing a voyage made by him from Fort Patrick Henry, on the Holston River, to the French Salt Springs on the Cumberland River, in Decem- ber, 1780. Donelson says that he “ procured some buffalo meat on the Cumberland, near its mouth,” and two days further up this river, he says, ‘‘ We killed some more buffalo.” The next day, he writes: “‘ We are now without bread, and are compelled to hunt the buffalo to pre- serve life.”§ Subsequently, in speaking of the salt or sulphur springs on the Cumberland, apparently near the present site of Nashville, we find the following passages: ‘The open space around and near the sul- phur or salt springs, instead of being an ‘old field,’ as had been sup- posed by Mr. Mausker, at his visit here in 1769, was thus freed from trees and underbrush by the innumerable herds ot buffalo and deer and elk that came to these waters... . . Trails, or buffalo paths, were deeply worn in the earth from this to other springs. . . . . All therich Jands were covered with cane-brakes; through these there were paths made by the buffalo and other wild animals.” || Ramsey states that in 1769 and 1770 an exploring party of ten persons passed up the Cumberland, and that ‘where Nashville now stands they discovered the French Lick, and found around it immense numbers of buf- falo and other wild game. The country was crowded with them. Their bellowings sounded from the hills and forest.” According to the same *Tbid., pp. 32, 33. t Cuming (John), Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country, etc., 1810, pp. 155, 156. t Counties Davidson, Sumner, Robertson, ae HEME OUT § Putnam’s Middle Tennessee, pp. 74, || Ibid., p. 81. 4] The ‘Annals of Tennessee, to the End of the Eighteenth Century, ete., p. 105. ALLEN.] FORMER RANGE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 509 authority, the buffalo was at one time also numerous in the valleys of Hast Tennessee. He states that in 1764 Daniel Boone left his home on the Yadkin to explore, in company with others, the then unknown coun- try to the westward. “Callaway,” says Ramsey, “‘ was at the side of Boone when, approaching the spurs of the Cumberland Mountain, and in view of the vast herds of buffalo grazing in the valleys between them, he exclaimed: ‘I am richer than the man mentioned in Scripture, who owned the cattle on a thousand hills,—I own the wild beasts of more than a thousand valleys!’”* Whether or not the buffalo ranged formerly to the Tennessee River, I have been unable to determine, although, as already noticed, there is pretty good evidence that it did not extend beyond this boundary. The existence of a stream named Buffalo River, near the Great Bend of the Tennessee, seems to render it probable that it extended nearly or quite to the Tennessee itself. Gal- latin gives the range of the buffalo east of the Mississippi as being “ be- tween the Lakes and the Tennessee River”;+ but he also says that it formerly ascended the Valley of the Tennessee “ to its sources,” and adds: ‘“ They were but rarely seen south of the ridge which separates that river from the sources of those which empty into the Gulf of Mexico, and nowhere, in the forest country, in herds of more than from fifty to two hundred.”{ Ihave found, however, no positive reference to their being found anywhere south of the Tennessee. As previously stated, the range of the buffalo east of the Mississippi, with the exception of its occasional appearance on the eastern slope of the Alleghanies in North and South Carolina, on the head-waters of the James River in Virginia, and possibly in Union County, Pennsylvania, was restricted to the area drained by the Ohio and Illinois Rivers and their tributaries, and the lesser eastern tributaries of the Mississippi in Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. It was also absent from the low- lands of the lower portion of the Ohio River. The foregoing citations, however, show it to have been originally very numerous and uniformly distributed over the prairies of Illinois and Indiana, and also through- out the country immediately bordering the Ohio and its upper tributa- ries, as the Licking, Great and Little Kanawha, and the Alleghany and Monongahela Rivers. It seems to have been somewhat less uniformly and less numerously dispersed over the States of Ohio, the western parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and the northern parts of Tennessee, although it regularly frequented portions of each of these States, and was probably more or less abundant throughout the open woods and “ barrens” of the two last named. Its range was hence re- stricted to the prairies, the scantily wooded districts, and the narrow belts of open land along the streams.§ Its Extirpation.—Upon the establishment of the first permanent white * Tbid., p. 69. ie + Transactions Amer. Ethnological Society, Vol. I, p. 1. ¢ Transactions Amer. Antiquarian Society, Vol. II, p. 139. § The area of wooded and woodless territory is thus given by Gallatin: As is well known, the whole Atlantic slope “‘ was covered with a dense and uninterrupted forest when the European settlers landed in America ;” and the country south of the 40tb parallel excepting “the Barrens” of Kentucky, westward to the Mississippi Valley, and north of the Great Lakes as far west as Winnipeg, was similarly forested. Betweer the 40th parallel and Lake Hrie there were areas destitute of wood, or prairies, whick increased in size westward, till in Central and Northern Illinois they equalled the tim bered areas, while west of the Mississippi the forests were confined to narrow belts along the rivers.—Trans. Amer. Antig. Soc., Vol. II, pp. 137, 138, 1836. In respect to the former distribution of forests in the United States, see also Pro- fessor W. H. Brewer’s map of the distribution of woodland recently published in General Francis A. Walker’s “ Statistical Atlas of the United States,” Plates III and IV (1873). 510 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. settlements over this region, the extermination of the buffalo progressed with wonderful rapidity. Its history is a shameful record of wasteful and wanton destruction of life, like that which ever. marks the contact of man with the larger mammalia. The extermination of the buffalo in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, was very rapid, this animal surviving at most points for but a few years after the first permanent settiements were made. In Illinois and In- diana it existed for about a century and a quarter after the country was first explored by the Jesuit missionaries, and for more than half a cen- tury seems to have scarcely diminished in numbers. As late as.17753 it was abundant on both sides of the Kaskaskia River, and also along the Illinois, and apparently over all the prairies of the intermediate region.* Later its extermination was more rapid, its disappearance here apparent- ly antedating by several years its extirpation along the upper tributaries of the Ohio. The date of its disappearance from Lllinois and indiana, however, I can give less definitely than that of its extermination at points more to the eastward. In Pennsylvania, according to Mr. Ashe, they were all destroyed within a few years after the arrival of the first settlers, being apparently wholly exterminated prior to the year 1800. Tt lingered in West Virginia till a few years later, as it did also in por- tions of Kentucky. Toulmin, writing about 1792, says, “The buffalo are mostly driven out of Kentucky. Some are still found upon the head-waters of Licking Creek, Great Sandy, and the head-waters of Green River.”{+ It appears, according to Audubon, to have lingered here, however, only a few years longer. ‘In the days of our boyhood and youth,” says this author, ‘“‘ buffaloes roamed over the small and beautiful prairies of Indiana and Illinois, and herds of them stalked through the open woods of Kentucky and Tennessee; but they had dwindled down to a few stragglers, which resorted chiefly to the ‘bar- rens,’ towards the years 1808 and 1809, and soon after entirely disap- peared.”¢ Cuming adds that all had been driven from the salt licks of the Licking and Ohio Rivers before 1807, while Mr. Ashe,§ an appa- rently reliable authority, affirms that as early as 1806 not one was to be found in a wild state east of the Mississippi, referring, doubtless, to the Mississippi below latitude 41°. Brackenridge,|| in 1814, says the buffalo may be said to have retired to the northward: of the Illinois and to the westward of the Mississippi, and other writers confirm this state- ment.{] *See Kennedy’s Journal of an Expedition trom Kaskaskia Village to the Head- waters of the Iliinois River, in Hutchins’s Topog. Descrip. of Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc., pp. 51-64; also Hutchins’s Topoe. Descrip., ete., pp. 3, 41, 44. t+ Toulmin (Henry), Description of Kentuclry, p. 85. ¢t Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. II, p. 36. § Travels in America, etc., p. 49. || Views of Louisiana, p. 56. {| Ellsworth states, in his ‘‘ Notes on the Wild Animals of Illinois,” published in 1831, that ‘‘ the buffalo has entirely left us. Before the country was settled, our immense prairies afforded pasturage to large herds of this animal, and the traces of them are still remaining in the ‘ buffalo paths’ which are to be seen in several parts of the State. These are well-beaten tracks, leading generally from the prairies in the interior of the State to the margins of the large rivers ; showing the course of their migrations as they changed their pastures periodically, from the low marshy alluvion to ‘the dry upland plains. In the heat of summer they would be driven from the latter by prairie flies ; in the autumn they would be expelled from the former by the mosquitoes; in the spring, the grass of the plains would afford abundant pasturage, while the herds could enjoy the warmth of the sun, and snuff the breeze that sweeps so freely over them ; in the winter the rich cane of the river-banks, which is evergreen, would fur- nish food, while the low grounds thickly covered with brush and forest would afford protection from the bleak winds.”—ELisworrtH (H.L.), Illinois in 1837, p. 38. (First published in the Illinois Magazine, July, 1831, and republished in Featherstonhaugh’s Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural Science, October, 1831, p..180.) Fe ALLEN.) FORMER RANGE WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 5tT Schooleraft, writing in 1821, says that ‘the only part of the country east of the [Mississippi] river where the buffalo now remains, is that included between the Falls of St. Anthony and Sandy Lake, a range of about six hundred miles.” Sibley says that “two individuals were killed in 1832 by the Dacotahs or Sioux Indians, on the Trempe 4 Eau [Trempeleau| River, in Upper Wisconsin,” and adds, “ They are believed to be the last specimens of the noble bison which trod, or will ever again tread, the soil of the region lying east of the Mississippi River.’* Most writers, in alluding to the extirpation of the buffalo throughout the region east of the Mississippi River, speak of it as having been ‘driven out” by the encroachment of settlements.t While a few of the herds may have migrated westward, it seems more probable that it was. exterminated rather than driven out, as it appears to have existed in West Virginia and in Eastern Kentucky to quite as late, or even to a later period, than on the prairies adjoining the Mississippi. The exten- sion of settlements down the Mississippi River would tend to hem the buffalo in on that quarter, and, as will be shown later, it disappeared at nearly the same time over a considerable breadth of country border- ing the western shore of this river. Schooleraft says that the buffalo ‘‘was found in early days to have crossed the Mississippi above the latitude of the mouth of the Ohio, and at certain times to have thronged the present area of Kentucky,” ete. ; from which it may be inferred that he deemed its presence east of the Mississippi River to have been of comparatively brief continuance. Gal- latin also always speaks of it as having “spread from the westward” over the region east of the Mississippi. Professor Shaler has referred to the probability of its having been unknown to the mound-builders,{ since they have left nothing indicating that they were acquainted with it, which is not the case with most of the other large mammals of the interior of the continent.§ He also states that in: his exploration of the salt licks of Kentucky he had found its bones in great abundance “just below the recent mould, in a bed about eighteen inches thick”; but that “in the rich deposits of extinct mammals just beneath, immedi- ately above which traces of worked flint were also found, no buffalo bones were discovered.” THE FORMER RANGE OF THE BUFFALO WEST OF THE. ROCKY MOUNT- AINS. The vast region situated between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, excepting the lowlands bordering the Lower Mississippi, is wi ER USE 7 ES NF SE RSTO TE ev se QU 9 OO TSS * Sibley (H.H.) in Schooleraft’s History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes, Part IV, p. 94. Major Long states that in 1822 its wanderings down the St. Peter’s River did not extend beyond Great Swan Lake (Camp Crescent).—Zuped. to the Sources of the St. Peter's River, etc., Vol. II, p. 29. +Even scientific writers speak of it as having “gradually retired westward in ad- pores of the migrating column of the white race of man.”—LEIby, Mem. Ext. Sp. Amer. ¢, 1852. “At the time of the discovery by the Spaniards an inhabitant even down to the shores of the Atlantic, it has been beaten back by the westward march of civilization, until, at the present day, it is only after passing the giant Missouri and the head- waters of the Mississippi that we find the American bison or buffalo. Many causes have combined to drive them away from their old haunts; the wholesale and indis- criminate slaughter by the whites, the extension of settlements, the changes of the face of the country; but above all, the mysterious dread of the white man, which per- vades animal life in general as a congenital instinct.”—BarrD, Pat. Off. Rep., Agricult., 1851-52, Part II, p. 124. ¢ Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist , Vol. XIII, p. 136. § See further Professor Shaler’s remarks on this point already given. 512 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. well known to have been formerly embraced within the range of the buffalo. So well established is this fact that a special consideration of this region will be deferred till the former boundaries of its range to the westward and southward have been traced. Although the main chain of the Rocky Mountains has commonly been supposed to form the western limit of the range of the buffalo, there is abundant proof of its former existence over a vast area west of this sup- posed boundary, including a large part of the so-called Great Basin of Utah, the Green River Plateau, and the plains of the Columbia. It is probably not yet half a century since it ranged westward to the Blue Mountains of Oregon and the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Respecting its former occurrence in Eastern Oregon, Professor O. C. Marsh, under date of New Haven, February 7, 1875, writes me as fol- lows: “The most western point at which I have myself observed remains of the buffalo was in 1873, on Willow Creek, Eastern Oregon, among the foot-hills of the eastern side of the Blue Mountains. Thisis about latitude 44°. The bones were perfectly characteristic, although neariy decomposed.” The former existence of the buffalo in the Great Salt Lake Valley is established by the occurrence of its remains there in a still good state of preservation, as well as by the testimony of those who have seen them there. Along the railroad leading from Ogden City to Salt Lake City I examined, in September, 1871, numbers of skulls in a nearly perfect state of preservation, which had been exposed in throwing up the road-bed across the marshes a few miles north of Salt Lake City. I also saw a few on the terraces north and west of Ogden City, but generally in a disintegrated condition, as were all that I saw which had not been buried in the recent deposits about the Great Salt Lake. I was also informed that there is a tradition among the Indians of this region that the buffaloes were almost entirely exterminated by deep snows many years since. Mr. BE. D. Mecham, of North Ogden, a reliable and intelligent hunter and trapper of nearly forty years’ experience in the Rocky Mountains, and at one time a partner of the celebrated Joseph Bridger, informed me that few had been seen west of the great Wahsatch range of mountains for the last thirty years, but that he had seen their weathered skulls as far west as the Sierra Nevada Mount- ains.* In 1836, according to Mr. Mecham, there were many buffaloes in Salt Lake Valley, which were nearly all destroyed by deep snow about 1837, when, according to the reports of mountaineers and Indians, the snow fell to the depth of ten feet on a level. The few buffaloes — that escaped starvation during this severe winter are said to have soon after disappeared. Mr. Henry Gannet, astronomer of Dr. Hayden’s | Survey, informs me that the Mormon Danite, “ Bill” Hickman, claims to have killed the last buffaloes in Salt Lake Valley about 1838. How | long the buffalo inhabited the Basin of the Great Salt Lake it is of - course now impossible to determine, but it seems probable that their : occupation must date back to a remote period, since their skulls occur | wholly buried in the marshes about the lake, where the deposition — appears to have been quite slow. Iam also informed by Mr. H. W. | Henshaw, the well-known ornithologist of Lieutenant Wheeler’s Sur- ° vey, that their skulls have been found in Utah Lake. Mr. Henshaw, | under date of Washington, D. C., March 6, 1875, writes as follows: *JT was informed by several persons whom I met in the Salt Lake Valley, that they : had seen skulls of buffaloes as far west as the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada | Mountains. These persons were unknown to each other, and their accounts were wholly distinct in respect to date and locality, and hence seem all the more entitled to credence. q | if = | | ALLEN.] FORMER RANGE WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 513 ne The only information I have regarding its [the buffalo’s] presence in Utah was derived from Mr. Madsen, a Danish fisherman, living on the borders of Utah Lake; and, I may add, I am perfectly convinced of the trustworthiness of his statement. In using the seine in the waters of the lake, he has on several occasions brought up from the bottom the skulls of buffaloes in a very good state of preservation. Their presence in the lake may perhaps be ‘accounted for on the supposition that, in - crossing on the ice, a herd may at some time have broken through, and thus perished. From him [also learned that he had talked with Indians of middle age whose fathers had told them that in their time the buffa- loes were numerous, and that they had hunted them near the lake. If: this can be accepted as truth, it would place the existence of these ani- mals in Utah back to a not very distant date. I learn from my friend W. W. Howell that during the past season he obtained the cranium of a buffalo which was unearthed by some laborers while digging a mill- race at a depth of ten feet below the surface. This was in a broad canon near Gunnison. While, from the fact of its being in a cation, no very exact estimate can be made of the time of its deposit, there seemed every evidence that the soil above it had remained undisturbed for a long time. The lower portion of the cranium is gone, leaving the part above the orbits and the horn-cores intact, and in an excellent state of preservation. A comparison of this with a recent specimen of the B. americanus shows that in certain characters it exhibits an approach to the Bison latifrons, as described by Leidy. In size it varies little from the B. americanus, but in all other characteristics is much nearer the B. latifrons.” * The buffalo seems, however, to have lingered later on the head-waters of the Colorado than in either the Great Salt Lake Valley, or the valley of Bear River, or on the head-waters of the two main forks of the Columbia. Frémont found them on St. Vrain’s Fork of Green River, and on the Vermilion in 1844,+ and Stansbury, in 1849, found them on the northern tributaries of the Yampah, and the upper tributaries of Green River; but the scarcity of water seemed to have forced the greater part of them southward. Respecting their occurrence near Bridgevr’s Fork of the Muddy, Stansbury says: “As long as the water lasted, the whole plain must have been covered with buffalo and antelope, as the profusion of ‘sign’ abundantly proved; but as this indispensable article was absorbed by the sandy soil, they seemed, from the direction of their trails, to have struck a course for the Vermilion. at They have, however, long since disappeared from the head-waters of Green River, and, indeed, from all the country drained by the tributa- ries of the Colorado. Although their bleached skulls are still found throughout the valleys, I was informed by old hunters whom I saw there in the autumn of 1871, that no buffaloes had been seen in this re- gion for more than twenty years. The best account of their range in recent times, west of the Rocky Mountains, and of their extermination over this vast region, is that given by Frémont, based on his own extensive travels and on the still more extended experience of Mr. Fitzpatrick. Fremont states that in the spring of 1824 * the buffalo were spread in immense numbers over the Green River and Bear River Valleys, and through all the country lying between the Colorado, or Green River of the Gulf of California, *Tts agreement in size with Bison americanus is sufficient to indicate its identity with that species. t First and Second Expeditions, etc., p. 281 tStansbury’s Expedition to the Great Salt Lake, p- 238. 33 Gs 514 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. and Lewis’s Fork of the Columbia River; the meridian of Fort Hall then forming the western limit of their range. The buffalo then re- mained for many years in that country, and frequently moved down the valley of the Columbia, on both sides of the river, as far as the Fishing Falls. Below this point they never descended in any numbers.* About 1834 or 1835 they began to diminish very rapidly, and continued to de- crease until 1838 or 1840, when, with the country we have just described, — they entirely abandoned all the waters of the Pacific north of Lewis’s Fork of the Columbia. At that time the Flathead Indians were in the habit of finding their buffalo on the heads of Salmon River and other streams of the. Columbia, but now [1843] they never meet with them farther west than the three forks of the Missouri or the plains of the Yellowstone River. ‘‘In the course of our journey it will be remarked that the buffalo have not so entirely abandoned the waters of the Pacific, in the hocky Mountain region south of the Sweet Water, as in the country north of the Great Pass. This partial distribution can only be accounted for in the great pastoral beauty of that country, which bears marks of having long been one of their favorite haunts, and by the fact that the white hunters have more frequented the northern than the southern region— it being north of the South Pass that the hunters, trappers, and traders have had their rendezvous for many years past; and from that section also the greater portion of the beaver and rich furs were taken, although always the most dangerous, as well as the most profitable, hunting- ground. ‘‘Tn that region lying between the Green or Colorado River and the head-waters of the Rio del Norte, over the Yampak, Kooyah, White, and Grand Rivers,—all of which are the waters of the Colorado,—the buffalo never extended so far westward as they did on the waters of the Columbia; and only in one or two instances have they been known to descend as far west as the mouth of White River. In travelling through the country west of the Rocky Mountains, observation readily: led me to the impression that the buffalo had for the first time crossed | that range to the waters of the Pacific only a few years prior to the period we are considering ; and in this opinion I am sustained by Mr. Fitzpatrick, and the older trappers in that country. tn the region west of the Rocky Mountains we never meet with any ancient vestiges which, throughout all the country lying upon their eastern waters, are found in the great highways, continuous for hundreds of miles, always several | inches and sometimes several feet in depth, which the buffalo have | made in crossing from one river to another, or in traversing the mount- | ain ranges. The Snake Indians, more particularly those low down upon : Lewis's | Fork, have always been very grateful to the American trappers | for the great kindness (as they frequently expressed it) which they did » to them in driving the buffalo so low down the Columbia River.”t It would thus seem to be Frémont’s belief that their occupation of the | Snake River country was temporary, and that they did not pass west of | the mountains till driven thither, at a comparatively recent period, by persecution east of the mountains. That they were atsent from this , region not long previously appears evident from the fact that Lewis and Clarke, in 1805, met with no buffaloes west of the mountains, Nor | *The locality at which Professor Marsh found the crumbling bones of the buffalo (re- ferred to on a preceding page) is some two hundred and fifty 1 miles further northwest, or lower down the river. t Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, in the year 1842,and — to Oregon and California, in the years 1843-44, p. 144. 1a ALLEN. ] FORMER RANGE WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 515 | even on the upper portion of the three forks of the Missouri, although there was evidence of their former existence in immense herds on the Jefferson Fork. In their enumeration of the animals of the Pacific slope these travellers make no allusion to the buffalo. They also state that the Indians on Clarke’s River crossed the mountains in spring to ' traffic for buffalo robes with the Indians of the eastern slope.* In 1820 Major Long also states: ‘They have not yet crossed the en- tire breadth of the mountains at the head of the Missouri, though they penetrate, in some parts, far within that range, to the most accessible fertile valleys, particularly the valley of. Lewis’s River. It was there that Mr. Henry and his party of hunters wintered, and subsisted chiefly upon the flesh of these animals, which they saw in considerable herds, but the Indians affirmed that it was unusual for the bisons to visit that neighborhood.” This would seem to fix the date of their arrival at the head-waters of the Columbia between 1805, when Lewis and Clarke vis- ited them, and Mr. Henry’s visit, about 1817. ; From Washington Irving’s entertaining narrative of Captain Bonne- ville’s tour across the continent + we learn that Captain Bonneville first met with the buffalo west of the Rocky Mountains on the head-waters of Bear River, in November, 1833. Passing thence northward, they found these animals in abundance on the plains of Portneuf, where the Bannack Indians were engaged in hunting them.§ But in his subse- quent long winter march up the Snake River, no buffaloes appear to have been met with. Returning, however, to Bear River Valley, he again encountered large herds. The following summer (July, 1834) they again found them in great numbers on the sources of the Blackfoot River,|| but in a subsequent long journey northwestward, from the Upper Snake River nearly to Fort Walla Walla and baek, they met with none, and rejoiced to find them again “in immense herds” near their old camping-ground on an eastern tributary of the Snake River. Captain Bonneville’s party passed the winter of 1834-35 in camp on the upper part of Bear River, surrounded by immense herds of buffaloes, which came down to them from the north. “The people upon Snake River,” says the narrative, ‘‘ having chased off the buffalo before the snow had become deep, immense herds now came trooping over the mountains, forming dark masses on their sides, from which their deep-mouthed bellowing sounded like the peals and mutterings from a gathering thun- der-cloud. In effect, the cloud broke, and down came the torrent into the valley. It is utterly impossible, according to Captain Bonneville, to convey an idea of the effect produced by the sight of such countless throngs of animals of such bulk and spirit, all rushing forward as if swept on by a whirlwind.”] In the autumn of 1835 Parker met with great herds on the east fork of the Salmon River and on other tributaries of the Snake River.** Dr. J. S. Newberry, writing in 1855, says: ‘‘ The range of the buffalo does not zow extend beyond the Rocky Mountains, but there are many Indian hunters who have killed them in great numbers to the west of * Lewis and Clarke’s Expedition to the Sources of the Missouri, and down the Co- lumbia to the Pacific Ocean, Vol. I, p. 469. +The Rocky Mountains; or, Scenes, Incidents, and Adventures in the Far West,— a Digest of the Journal of Captain B. L. E. Bonneville. 2 vols., 12mo, 1837. t Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 125, 129. § Ibid., Vol. II, p. 33. | Irving’s Rocky Mountains, Vol. IT, p. 179. | Irving’s Rocky Mountains, pp. 208, 211. a Parker (Samuel); Journal of an Exploring Tour beyond the Rocky Mountains, pp. , 107, 108. 516 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the mountains, on the head-waters of Salmon River, one of the tribu-_ taries of the Columbia. While I was at the Dalles, the party of Lien- tenant Day, U. S. A., came in from an expedition to the Upper Salmon River, and I was assured by the officers that they: had not only seen — Indians who claimed to have killed buffalo there, but that, in many — places, great numbers of buffalo skulls were still lying on the prairie.”* Dr. Suckley, writing under date of December, 1853, also says: ‘“ Buf- falo were formerly in great numbers in this valley [the valley of the Bit- ter Root, or St. Mary’s River, one of the sources of Clarke’s Fork of the Columbia], as attested by the number of skulls seen and by the reports of the inhabitants. For a number of years past, none had been seen west of the mountains; but, singular to relate, a buffalo bull was killed at the mouth of the Pend d’Oreille River on the day I passed it. The Indians were in great joy at this, supposing that the buffalo were coming back to them.”+ Just east of the mountains separating the sources of the Jefferson and Salmon Rivers, buffaloes still existed in immense numbers. Lieutenant Mullan reports meeting, on December 4, 1853, with several bands of the Nez Percés Indians returning from their hunt east of the mountains, with many animals loaded with meat and furs. . ‘‘ This,” he says, ‘“‘has been a great hunting-season with all the Indians, both east and west of the mountains. Hundreds of thousands of buffalo have been slain, and small game—consisting of antelope, deer, beaver, ete.—has been innumerable.” ¢ It thus appears that the buffalo formerly existed west of the Rocky Mountains, nearly to the northern boundary of the United States, and that they had become completely exterminated there as early, according to Frémont (as above cited), as 1840, although they swarmed there in immense herds as late as 1835. The valleys of the streams in that re- - gion are represented as abounding in fertile prairies, and as being gen- erally covered with perennial grasses. As the adjoining country west- ward is barren and wholly unproductive of’ grass, it is probable that the buffalo ranged further westward only irregularly, and in straggling bands. Bonneville, at least, failed to meet with any between the sources of Snake River and Fort Walla-Walla in 1834 and 1835, and no other: explorer seems to have met with them living so far west. Dr. Hayden informs me that a few still exist in the valley of the Gros Ventres, and in the extreme upper part of the Snake River,—merely straggling old bulls, the last survivors of former populous herds. Professor O. C. Marsh writes me that the last one shot on Henry’s Fork was killed in 1874. Professor J. Mareou informs me that a single old buffalo bull — made his appearance at Fort Bridger last summer (1875), but that none had been seen there before, according to Dr. Carter, for thirty years. This solitary straggler was probably a wanderer from the remnants of his race still left in the valleys of the Wind River Mountains. Range westward south of the Thirty-ninth Parallel. According to Lieu- tenant Whipple, “there do not seem to be any well-authenticated ac- counts of the existence of the buffalo west of the Rio Grande.” He adds: “On inquiring how far west the buffalo had been seen, a Tegua Indian stated that many years ago his father killed two at Santo * Newberry’s Zodlogical Report of Lieutenant Abbot’s Report of Explorations for a Railroad Route from the Sacramento Valley to the Colorado River. Pacific R. R. Explor. and Sury., Vol. VI, Zodlogical Report, p. 72. t Suckley (Dr. George), Canoe Voyage from Fort Owen to Fort Vancouver. Pacific R. R. Explor. and Suvy., Vol. I, Governor Stevens’s Report, p. 297. t Mullan (Lieutenant John), Report of a Reconnaissance from Bitter Root Valley to Fort Hall, ete., Pacific R. R. Explorations and Surveys, Vol. I, Governor Stevens’s Report, p. 325. ; if fg gg | ALLEN.) ‘RANGE WESTWARD SOUTH OF 39TH PARALLEL. 517 Domingo. A Mexican from San Juan de Caballeros added that in 1835 , he saw buffalo on the Rio del Norte.” Lieutenant Whipple further says that ‘‘Father Escalante, in a manuscript journal of a trip from New Mexico to the Great Salt Lake,* in 1776, mentioned having seen signs of their existence on his route ;} still, notwithstanding the location of the famous kingdom of Cibola by the early explorers, there do not seem to be any well-authenticated accounts of the existence of these animals west of the Rio Grande.”t It appears, however, that two centuries ago these animals were not unknown to the Indians of the Gila and Zufi Rivers, who obtained their skins from the tribes living several hundred miles to the eastward. Thus Friar Marco de Niga, in 1539, found “ox- hides” in the possession of the Indians living on the tributaries of the Gila, which they had obtained by trading with the people of the king- dom of Cibola;§ the ancient pueblo of Cibola being generally supposed to be near the site of the present pueblo of Zui, on the river of that name.|| The people of Cibola at this time not only used the skins as articles of dress, but for shields and other purposes. From the Yampah and Grand, and other tributaries of the Colorado, the buffalo formerly ranged eastward to the Parks and Great Plains, put I have found no record of their existence in the highlands of New Mexico, or anywhere to the westward or southward of Santa Fé. Coronado, during his great expedition in search of the “ Kingdom of Cibola” (1540 to 1543), in marching northward from the western provinces of Mexico across Arizona to the plains east of Santa Fé, met with no buffaloes till he reached a place called Cicuic, situated on the Pécos near the site of the present town of that name,{] ‘‘four leagues eastward from which place they met a new kind of oxen, wild and fierce, pet, the first day, they killed fourscore, which sufficed the army with esh.” Dr. Elliott Coues, however, in his paper on the “Quadrupeds of Ari- zona,” published in the American Naturalist in 1868,** states that “there is abundant evidence that the buffalo (Bos americanus) formerly ranged over Arizona, though none exist there now.” On requesting recently | more detailed information of Dr. Coues respecting this evidence, he writes{} that he finds himself now unable to substantiate the statement, but adds, “I distinctly remember being satisfied at the time of what I said.” JI have myself made extensive inquiries of naturalists and Army officers who had either passed through Arizona or had been stationed there for a considerable length of time without being able to elicit any corroborative evidence of Dr. Coues’s statement.tt *Utah Lake, according to General G. K. Warren (see the next footnote). + According to General G. K. Warren (Pacific R. R. Expl. and Surveys, vol. xi, p. 39), “Father Escalante, in 1776, travelled from near Santa F6, New Mexico, in a north west- erly direction to the Great Colorado. . . . . During this journey he was probably in the vicinity of Utah Lake.” This route would take him across the range of the buffalo west of the Rocky Mountains, since, as already stated, they at that time existed on the headwaters of the Colorado, and extended as far west as Utah Lake. + Whipple’s Itinerary, Pacific R. R. Explorations and Surveys, Vol. IL, Part I, p.:35. § See Nica’s account of his journey as translated by Hakluyt.—Hukluyt’s Voyages, Vol. Ds ABOl \| Davis’s Spanish Conquest of New Mexico, pp. 119, 120, footnote. Bs 7 See R. H. Kern’s Map of Coronado’s route in Schooleraft’s History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, Part IV, plate iti. ** Vol. I, p. 540. +t Under date of ‘‘ Washington, D. C., May 5, 1875.” tt Dr. W. J. Hoffman, under date of “Reading, Penn., June 19, 1875,” writes me that he “found no tradition amongst any of the tribes in Arizona, by which we might infer that their ancestors were acquainted with this animal. Tne tribes visited are located in the northern part of Arizona (Plateau del Colorado), in the Mogollon Mts., Sierra Blanca, and along the Rio Gila and as far eastward as the Rio Colorado-chiquito.” bs ‘ p ‘§ + ; Extreme Southwestern Limit.—Respecting the extreme southwestern limit of the former range of the buffalo, Keating, on the authority of Colhoun, wrote, in 1823, as follows: ‘ De Laét says, on the authority of Herrera, that they grazed as far south as the banks of the Yaquimi.* In the same chapter the author states that Martin Perez had, in 1591, estimated the Province of Cinaloa, in which this river runs, to be three hundred leagues from the city of Mexico. This river is supposed to be— the same which, on Mr. Tanner’s map of North America (Philadelphia, 1822), is named Hiaqui,t and situated between the 27th and 28th degrees of north latitude. Perhaps, however, it may be the Rio Gila, which empties itself in latitude 32°.” On referring to the works cited by Keating, I find that Herrera gives the statement-on the authority of Nuia de Guzman, who made a journey to Cinaloa in 1532. According toa map accompanying De Laét’s work, the province of Cinaloa included the parallels of twenty-seven and twen- ty-eight degrees. Herrera’s statement is as follows: “ Ein la ribera de Yaquimi ay algunas vacas, y muy grandes ciervos”;§—simply that many cattle and many deer of very large size were found on the banks of the Yaquimi. In the context, nor in any of the old writings descriptive of this region at the time it was first visited by the Spaniards, do I find any further statements that could by the freest license of translation be rendered bison or buffalo. As the only species of the deer family found in this region is the little Cervus mexicanus, one.of the smallest deer found in North America, the phrase muy grandes ciervos can only refer to this species, and gives at once sufficient evidence of the exaggerated style of the narrative,—a fault well known to be common to the descriptive writings of those times. This obscure statement does not apparently afford satisfactory ground for doubting what historians have so gen- erally accepted in respect to the buffalo, namely, that it was first met with in its native haunts by Cabec¢a de Vaca, on the plains of Texas, in 1530, and next by Coronado’s expedition in 1542. In rebuttal of this supposed proof of the existence of the buffalo in Western Mexico, on the Yaquimi or Yaqui River, during the middle of the sixteenth century, we have the rather weighty evidence that the other early Spanish explorers who traversed this region did not even hear of the buffalo till they reached the Gila, where they found, as before stated, its robes in the possession of the Indians, which the latter had obtained from the tribes living far to the northeastward. In 1539, for example, Friar Marco de Nica set out from the town of San Miguel, in the Province of Culiacan, situated far to the southward of the Rio Yaqui, in search of the famed Kingdom of Cibola. In this journey he reached the Zuni River, whence he retraced his steps to San Miguel and passed on to Compostella, sit- uated in latitude about 21°. The following year (1540) Coronado, with his large army, passed over nearly the same route, both crossing the Rio Yaqui. Nica, however, saw only the prepared skins of the buffalo, which was also all that Coronado saw till after he had passed Cicuic and reached the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains. It is from these explorers and from Cabeg¢a de Vaca that we get the first specific account of the buffalo. It hence follows that there is good reason for supposing the buffalo to have been absent from the western provinces of Mexico, 518 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. *« Juxta Yaquimi fluminis ripas tauri vacceque et preegrandes cervi pascuntur.”— De Lait, Americe Utriusque Descriptio, Lugd. Batay. Anno 1633, Lib. Cap. 6.” p. 286. +The Rio Yaqui, doubtless, of modern maps. t Long’s Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter’s River, Vol. II, p. 28. ) Herrera (Antonio de), Historia de las Indias Occidentales, Tomo III, p. 16. (Ed. of | ALLEN.] FORMER RANGE SOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE. Bk and from that part of the United States west of the Rio Grande del Norte from a period antedating the sixteenth century till the present time. Why it may not during some earlier period have existed throughout this whole region would be hard to say, since, as will be soon shown, its existence on the Yaqui River would not carry its range south of points the buffalo is known to have reached on the Atlantic slope. FORMER RANGE SOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE DEL NORTE. Most writers give the southern limit of the former habitat of the puffalo as latitude 28° to 30°, believing it never to have extended south of the Rio Grande. There is, however, sufficient proof of its former extension over the northeastern provinces of Mexico, including certainly portions of the present States of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Durango. It thus extended southward to at least the 25th parallel. It seems not, however, to have been abundant over much of this region, and to have been mainly extirpated prior to the begin- ning of the present century. As late as 1806, however, Pike enumer- ated the buffalo among the animals of ‘“Cogquilla”* (a province then extending on both sides of the Rio Grande, and embracing a portion of what is now Southwestern Texas), but whether found north or south of the Rio Grande is not stated. The buffalo is not enumerated by Pike in his lists of the animals of any of the other Mexican Provinces situated south of the Rio Grande.t De Laét{ mentions the buffalo (under the name “Armenta”), on the ‘authority of Gomara, as an inhabitant of Quivira, which he describes as a country consisting of plains destitute of trees, and well known as situated far to the northward of the present northern boundary of Mex- ico. It is to be noticed also that all the references to the buffalo by the older writers on the natural history of Mexico, including Hernandez, and Nieremburg, and even Clavigero, refer to the region of Quivira. Dr. Berlandier, who was for a long time a resident of the northeast- ern provinces of Mexico, and who at his death left in MSS. a large - work§ on the Mammals of Mexico, speaks of the buffalo as formerly ranging far to the southward of the Rio Grande. I am unable to say, however, what are his authorities. In his chapter on this animal he thus refers to its former range in Mexico :— ) «Au Mexique, lorsque les espagnols, toujours avides de richesses, pous- saient leurs excursions dans le nord ouest, ils ne tarderent pas a rencon- trer des bisons. En 1602, les moines Franciscains qui découvrirent le Nouveau Leon, rencontrerent dansles environs de Monterey de nombreux troupeaux de ces quadrupédes. Ils étaient aussi assez répandus dans la Nouvelle Biscaye (états de Chihuahua et Durango) et s’avangaient quel- quefois tresausud dece pays. Dans le dix-huitieme siécle, ilsse concentre- rent de plus en plus vers le nord, et restaient encore fort-communs dans les environs du presidio de Bexar. Au commencement du dix-neuvieme *% Animals.—Deer, wild horse, a few buffalo, and wild hogs.”—PIKEr’s (Z. M.) Western Expeditions, App. to Part ILI, p. 28, 1810. + Catlin in his “ North American Indians,” Vol. I, gives 4 map illustrative of the dis- tribution of the Indian tribes in 1833. On this map an attempt is made to also show the range of the buffalo. Although this is done very imperfectly, it may be worthy of mention in this connection that he here represents the buffalo as ranging over the greater part of the above-named provinces of Northeastern Mexico. { America, p. 303. § Now in the Smithsonian Institution. For access to this important MS. I am in- debted to the kindness of Professor S. F. Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. ; 520 . REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. siecle, on les vit se rapprocher graduellement de Vintérieur des terres a un tel point quwils deviennent de jour en jour, de plus en plus rares_ autour des lieux habités. Ce n’est maintenant que dans leurs émigra- tions périodiques qu’on les trouve pres de Bexar.. Chaque année, au printemps en Avril et Mai, ils s’avancent vers le nord, pour de nouveau se rapprocher des régions méridionales en Septembre et en Octobre. Les limites de ces émigrations annuelles sont presque inconnues; il est cependant probable que dans le sud, ils ne dépassent jamais les rives du Rio Bravo, du moins dans l’état de Coahuila et Texas, et dans celui de Tamaulipas. Vers le nord pas méme retenus par les courants du Mis- souri, ils arrivent jusque dans le Michigan, et se trouvent en été sur les territoires et les états internes des Etats-Unis de Amérique Septen- trionale. La route que ces animaux suivent dans leurs voyages occupe plusieurs milles de front et devient tellement tracée qu’independamment | j de la verdure détruite, on croirait voir de champs labourés couverts de fiente. “Ces émigrations ne sont pas générales, car certains troupeaux ne paraissent pas suivre la masse générale de leurs semblables, et restent stationnaires toute ’année dans des prairies couvertes dune riche végé- tation sur les rives du Rio de Guadeloupe et du Rio Colorado de Texas, non loin des cotes du golte, 4 Vest de la colonies de San Felipe de Austin entre Brazosia et Matagorda, précisément dans le méme endroit ou La Salle et ses compagnons de voyage les virent, il y a prés de deux cents ans. Le R. P. Damian Mansanet les vit aussi, mais de nos jours, les cotes du Texas, couvertes @habitations, de hameaux, de petites villes et de villages des nouveaux colons, en sont dépourvues quoiqu’en 1828, © il y en eut encore. D/’aprés les observations faites 4 ce sujet, on peut conclure que les Bisons habitent la zone tempérée du nouveau-monde, et qwils Vont habité en tout temps. Au nord, ils ne savancent guere au-dela du 48™° ou 58™° degré de latitude, et au sud, quoiqu’ils soient venus le 25°, maintenant ils ne dépassent plus le 27™° ou 28™e degré, du moins dans les localités habitées et connues du pays.” FORMER OCCURRENCE OF THE BUFFALO OVER THE REGION BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND ITS GRAD- UAL RESTRICTION TO ITS PRESENT. NARROW LIMITS. For convenience of treatment, this region will be considered as em- bracing the whole area between the Rio Grande and the British bound- ary, over nearly the whole of which immense territory the buffalo is well known to have been formerly more or less abundant. It seems to have been absent from only the lowlands of the Lower Mississippi, it formerly ranging throughout nearly all of Texas, the higher prairielands of Northwestern Louisiana and Arkansas, and thence uniformly northward and westward to the Rocky Mountains, including also the Parks and the principal valleys within the Rocky Mountains. Beginning at the south- ward, we find that the earliest allusions to the buffalo refer to this region. Thus Cabega de Vaca we are informed, met with the buffalo (he being the first European who saw this animal in its native haunts) in “ Flor- ida,” in 1530, at which time this name “‘ was given to all that country lying south of Virginia, and extendin g westward to the Spanish pos- sessions in Mexico.”* Davis, in his ‘Conquest of New Mexico,” claims that Vaca was wrecked at some point on the coast of Louisiana west of the Mississippi.+ Vaca journeyed thence westward, and in his jour- “ Prench’s Historical Coll. of Louisiana, Part II, p. i. { The Spanish Conquest of New Mexico, pp. 41, 42, footnote. | ALtEN.) GRADUAL RESTRICTION TO PRESENT LIMITS. 521 nal thus speaks of the buffalo, the locality referred to being somewhere in the southeastern part of Texas: ‘Cattle come as far as this. Ihave - seen them three times and eaten of their meat. I think they are about the size of those of Spain. They have small horns like those of Morocco, and the hair long and flocky like that of the merino. Some are light brown (pardillas), and others black. To my judgment the flesh is finer and sweeter than that of this country. The Indians make blankets of those that are not full-grown, and of the larger they make shoes and bucklers. They come as far as the sea-coast of Florida, and in a direc- tion from the north, and range over a district of more than four hun- dred leagues. In the whole extent of plain over which they roam, the. people who live bordering upon it descend and kill them for food, and thus a great many skins are scattered throughout the country.” * They were also found in immense herds on the coast of Texas, at the Bay of St. Bernard (Matagorda Bay), and on the lower part of the Col- orado (Rio Grande, according to some authorities), by La Salle, in 1685, and thence northward across the Colorado, Brazos, and Trinity Rivers. Joutel says that when in latitude 28° 51’, “the sight of abundance of goats and bullocks, differing in shape from ours, and running along the coast, heightened our earnestness to be ashore.”+ ‘They afterwards landed in St. Louis Bay (now called Matagorda Bay), where they found buffaloes in such numbers on the Colorado River that they called it La Riviere aux Boeufs. ‘“ These bullocks,” says the account, ‘are very like ours; there are thousands of them, but instead of hair they have a very long curled sort of wool.” t | ' Jn describing the country about their establishment at St. Louis, at the mouth of the Riviere aux Boeufs, M. Joutel says: “‘ We were in about the 27th degree of north latitude, s two leagues up the country, near the Bay of St. Louis, || and the bank of the Riviére aux Beeufs, on a little hillock, whence we discovered vast and beautiful plains, extend- ing very far westward, all level, and full of greens, which afford pasture to an infinite number of beeves and other creatures.”{| Setting out from St. Louis on the 12th of January, 1687, they crossed a succession of rivers, between which were ‘spacious plains” covered with ‘a multi- tude of beeves and wild fowl.” In crossing the streams, they were often guided by the buffalo paths to the best fords. They crossed the Colorado, called by them La Maligne, probably near the present site of Austin, and the Brazos probably somewhat below Fort Graham. Before they reached the Trinity, the country had become more barren, and buffaloes had become scarcer. Here M. de la Salle was assassinated, and a portion of his party under M. Cavelier, his brother, continued their northward mareh, soon reaching the Trinity River. [rom the Trinity they took a northeasterly course, crossing the Red Kiver near the mouth of the Sulphur Fork, and bore thence more easterly, crossing the Wachita and reaching the Arkansas, which they struck near its mouth. During this journey from the Trinity to the mouth of the Arkansas, they seem to have met with few buffaloes, and these mainly * Davis’s Translation, in his ‘‘ Conquest of New Mexico,” p. 67. See also the account in Purchas (Pilgrims, Vol. IV, p. 1513),—an “abbreviated” translation from RKamusio. + Joutel’s Historical Journal of Monsievr de la Salle’s last voyage to discover the Mississippi River, French’s Hist. Coll. Louisiana, Part I, p. 98. tIbid., p. 116. § The latitude here given is obviously erroneous, as the context and subsequent account of their jgurney northward clearly show. The latitude must have been nearly 29° instead of 27°. || Later called Bay of St. Bernard, which is the same as the present Matagorda Bay. 4 Joutel’s Journal, French’s Hist. Coll. Louisiana, Part I, pp. 120, 121. sj 522 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. in the vicinity of the Wachita. Their route was thence somewhat east- ward of the great range of the buffalo. The point where M. Cavelier — reached the Arkansas is supposed to be only a few miles above its junc- © tion with the Mississippi, and in speaking of the surrounding country he says: ‘‘ The plains on one side [probably to the westward] are stored with beeves, wild goats, deer, turkeys, bustards, swans, teal, and other game,” thus showing that the buffalo ranged eastward nearly to the — mouth of the Arkansas. Ferdinando de Soto, during his march from Florida through North- ern Alabama and Northern Mississippi. into Arkansas, 1539~41.* did not, as previously noticed, enter the habitat of the buffalo until he had crossed the Mississippi and ascended the valley of the Arkansas for some distance. Although they found the Indian tribes well supplied with their robes, none of De Soto’s party saw the buffalo alive. A party sent from Pacaha, near the mouth of the Arkansas, to search for ‘“‘the province of Caluga,” did not, in a journey of seven days, get ap- parently beyond the low grounds, and on their return reported to their chief that from the termination of their journey ‘“ thenceforward to- wards the north the Indians said that the country was very ill inhab- ited, because it was very cold; and that there was such store of oxen, that they could keep no corn for them ; and that the Indians lived upon their flesh.”t The Indians of Coligoa, the highest or most northerly point they reached, ‘‘ reported that five or six leagues from thence to- ward the north, there were many of these oxen.” The ‘ ox-hides” they obtained from the Indians are described as being ‘ very soft and wooled like sheep,” showing clearly that what they called ox-hides were the skins of buffaloes. Again it is stated, ‘Not far from thence, toward the north, were many oxen. The Christians [Spaniards] saw them not, nor came into the country where they were.” Passing from Coligoa across the Washita to the mouth of the Red River, they again (after the death of De Soto, and under the lead of Moscoso) turned westward and reached the Trinity above the point where La Salle crossed it; though they entered the highlands, they turned back before meeting with buffaloes. It hence appears that at this early date the buffalo frequented none of the lowlands of the Mississippi, nor those of the Washita and the Red Rivers, and only reached the Gulf coast at the mouth of the Gaud- aloupe and San Antonio Rivers; and that it probably extended thence southward along the coast as far at least as the mouth of the Rio Grande del Norte. The former existence of the buffalo in the valley of the Pecos seems to be well substantiated. Speaking of Espejo’s march down the Pecos Jtiver in 1584, Davis says: “They passed down a river they called Rio de las Vacas, or the river of oxen [the river Pecos, and the same Cow River that Vaca describes], and was so named because of the great number of buffaloes that fed upon its banks. They travelled down this river the distance of one hundred and twenty leagues, all the way pass- ing through great herds of buffaloes.’§ * See “A N arrative of the Expedition of Hernando de Soto into Florida. By a Gen- tleman of Elvas. Published at Evora,.1557. Translated from the Portuguese by tichard alate ”? London, 1609. Original edition reprinted by the Hakluyt So- ciety in 1851. The edition of 1611 reprinted by French in 1850, in his ‘‘ Historical Col- lections of Louisiana,” Part IL. t French’s Hist. Coll. Louisiana, Part II, p. 175 { Ibid., pp. NZ, dksiil, if D: eet 8 Sp unish Conquest of New Mexico, p. 260. See also Hakluyt, Voyages, Vol. p. 4¢ ALLEN] GRADUAL RESTRICTION TO PRESENT LIMITS. 523 As already noticed, Coronado met with vast herds of buffaloes in 1542 on the plains near Cicuic, on the upper Pecos River. From Cicuic Cor- onado marched eastward across the plains of Northern Texas to about the one hundredth meridian, and thence returned again to Quivira,* making a journey of ‘three hundred leagues.” ‘All that way & plaines are as full of crooke-backed oxen, as the mountaine Serena in Spaine is of sheepe.”t These ‘‘crooke-backed oxen” Gomara (as translated by Hakluyt) has thus described: ‘‘These Oxen are of the bignesse and colour of our Bulles, but their hornes are not so great. They have a great bunch upon their fore shoulders, and more haire on their fore part than on their hinder part: and it is like wooll. They have as it were an horse- mane upon their backe bone, and much haire and very long from the knees downeward. They have great tuffes of haire hanging downe their foreheads, and it seemeth that they have beardes, because of the great store of haire hanging downe at their chinnes and throates. The males have very long tailes, and a great knobbe or flocke at the end: so that in some respect they resemble the Lion, and in some other the Camell. They push with their hornes, they runne, they overtake and kill an horse when they are in their rage and anger. Finally, it is a foule and fierce beast of countenance and forme of bodie. The horses fledde from them, either because of their deformed shape, or else because they had never seene them. Their masters have no other substance: of them they eat, they drinke, they apparel, they shooe themselves.” According to Davis, Castateda thus describes the buffalo and the Plains where it was met with by the people of Coronado’s Expedition : “The first time we encountered the buffalo, all the horses took to flight on seeing them, for they are horrible to the sight. .... They havea broad and short face, eyes two palms from each other, and projecting in such a manner sideways that they can see a pursuer. Their beard is like that of goats, and so long that it drags the ground when they lower the head. They have, on the anterior portion of the body, a frizzled hair like sheep’s wool; it is very fine upon the croup, and sleek like a lion’s mane. Their horns are very short and thick, and can scarcely be seen through the hair. They always change their hair in May, and at this season they really resemble lions. To make it drop more quickly, for they change it as adders do their skins, they rol! among the brush-wood, which they find in the ravines. ‘¢ Their tail is very short, and terminates in a great tuft. . When they run they carry it in the air like scorpions. When quite young they are tawny, and resemble our calves; but as age increases they change color and form. .... Their wool is so fine that handsome clothes would certainly be made of it, but it cannot be died, for it is a tawny red. We were much surprised at sometimes meeting innumerable herds of bulls without a single cow, and other herds of cows without bulls. It would sometimes be forty leagues from one herd to another, and that in a country so level that from a distance the sky was seen between their legs, so that when many were together, they would have been called pines whose foliage united, and if but one was seen his legs had the effect of four pines. When near, then it was impossible by an effort to see the ground beyond, for all this country is so flat that turn which way we will the sky and the grass are alone to be seen. *See R. H. Kern’s Map of Coronado’s route, as before cited. +t Hakluyt, Voyages, Vol. III, p. 455. (Translated from Gomara’s Historia de las Indias, Cap. 214.) { Hakluyt, Voyages, Vol. III, p. 456. 524 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. * Who would believe that a thousand horses, one hundred and fifty cows of Spanish breed, and more than five thousand sheep, and fifteen hundred persons, including Indian servants, would not leave the slight- est trace of their passage in the desert, and that it was necessary to raise, from point to point, heaps of stones and buffalo-bones, in order that’ the rear-guard might follow us, for the grass, short as it was, rose up after having been trodden down, as straight and fresh as ever. ‘“‘ Another very astonishing thing is that on the eastern margin of one of _ the salt lakes, toward the south, was found a spot almost half a musket- shot long, entirely covered with buffalo-bones, to the height of twelve feet, and eighteen feet broad, which is surprising in a desert country, where no one could have brought these bones together. It is pretended that when the lake is troubled by the North winds, it throws upon the opposite shere the bones of all animals which have perished in coming to drink.” * i Any one who has seen the buffaloes on their native plains can but recognize the faithfulness of these details, which are remarkable for their minuteness and exact truthfulness. They are further worthy of note from being the first descriptions of the buffalo ever published. During the exploration of the different portions of the Great Plains, from the time of Lewis and Clarke, Pike, Long, and others, down to the later expeditions of Frémont, Stansbury, Emory, Marey, Stimpson,’ Pope, Sitgreaves, and others, and the explorations for “a railroad route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean” in 1853~55, buffaloes, or recent traces of them, were found everywhere from the Missouri and Upper Mississippi Rivers westward to the remotest valleys of the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, from the plains of Texas north- ward to 49th parallel. In the further account of this vast territory it is hence necessary to trace only their extirpation over the very large portion from which they disappeared. Extirpation in Texas and New Mexico.—Long prior to the time of the later explorations above mentioned, the buffalo had disappeared from the eastern border of the plain south of the Platte River. Even as early as the beginning of the present century the range of the buffalo had begun to be materially restricted, these animals having at that time been apparently wholly exterminated south of the Rio Grande, while they had also disappeared from the adjoining portionsof Texas. They appear also to have wholly disappeared in Texas south of the Colorado Kiver prior to the year 1840. Before this date they had also receded far from the coast, and no longer ranged west of the Pecos River, either in Texas or New Mexico; they occupying at this time only a narrow oblique belt through the middle portion of the State, varying from one hundred miles in breadth, and widening rapidly as it approached the northern border of the State. From Texas northward, however, they still occu- pied nearly all the Great Plains, from the Rocky Mountains almost to the Mississippi River. I have as yet met with but few data relating to the extermination of the buffalo, either south of the Rio Grande or in Texas, prior to 1840, but since that period the record is reasonably full. Beginning with the year 1841, we find that at this time Kendall, in travelling north from Austin, Texas, first met with buffaloes seventy-five miles north of Aus- tin, on Little River, a southern tributary of the Brazos, where be found them in immense herds. In speaking of them he says: ‘There are perhaps larger herds of buffalo at present in Northern Texas than any- * Davis’s Spanish Conquest of New Mexico, pp. 206, 207, foot-note. Se ALLEN. ] EXTIRPATION IN TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO. 525 where else on the western prairies, their most formidable enemies, the Indians, not ranging so low down in large parties on account of thé whites; but I was told that every year their numbers were gradually decreasing, and their range, owing to the approach of white settlers from the east and south, becoming more and more circumscribed.” Kendall also found them numerous on the Brazos, and states that they occasionally took shelter in the Cross Timbers, and that he last met with them, in going westward, on the upper part of the Big Washita, one of the sources of the Red "River, near the one hundredth degree of longitude.* Kennedy, writing in the same year, says, ‘The bison is still to be . met with in the mountainous districts between the Guadeloupe and the Rio Grande.”| According to Gregg, however, they had already disap- peared east of the Cross Timbers as early as 1840.¢ In 1849, in an expedition from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Santa Fé, Lieutenant J. H. Simpson first saw signs of buffaloes near the 97th meridian, a few miles south of the Canadian, but adds that he saw not more than two buffaloes on the whole journey. In speaking of the game, he says: ‘‘ In regard to the buffalo, there can be no question that they have been in the habit of infesting the route in places during cer- tain seasons of the year. Indeed, Gregg mentions them as swarming on the plains on his return trip from Santa Fé, in the spring of 1840. During our journey, however, I did not see more than two, from the beginning to the end of the trip, and therefore I am not at liberty to hold them up as any certain source upon which to rely for subsistence.” § Roemer, in 1849, says that the buffalo was then found only in the hilly parts of the State, far from the coast, and that herds of a thou- sand together were still seen between the Brazos and Austin.|| It would seem, however, that at this time there were very few buffaloes south of the Red River, as during the years 1849, 1850, and 1851 a series of mili- tary reconnaissances were made in Texas, forming a network of lines cov- ering a large part of the State, during the running of which no buffaloes seem to have been met with. Lieutenant Michler surveyed a line from Fort Washita southward along the 97th meridian, § from 34° 30’ to about 319°, and thence southwestward to San Antonio. Another line was run from ‘Fort Washita southwestward, in a nearly direct line to the Pecos River striking it in longitude 103°, and latitude 31° 20’. A line was con- tinued from this point eastward again to the 100th meridian, and thence southeastward to Corpus Christi Bay, in longitude 96°, and latitude 28° 40’. Another line was carried down the Pecos to longitude 101° 40’, and thence to the head-waters of the Nueces, and down this river also to Corpus Christi Bay. The narratives of these explorations make no mention of buffaloes, as they doubtless would if buffaloes had been met with.** In 1850 Marcy met with a few stragglers south of the Canadian, near the divide between the Canadian and Washbita Forks of the Red River, and saw their tracks and other indications of their presence there. He reports that the Kiowas and Comanches went * Kendall (G. W.), Narrative of the Texan Santa Fé Expedition, Vol, I, pp. 78, 79. 7 t Kennedy, (Wm.), Texas: The Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic, Voi. Dee: + Commerce of the Prairies, Vol. II, p. 122. kK Congress. Rep., 3lst Congr., 1st Session, Senate Ex. Doc. No. 12, pp. 6, 20. | Roemer (Ferdinand), Texas, p. 462. {| The central portion of the wooded belt known as the “Cross Timbers” lies along this meridian. ** Congress. Rep., 3lst Congr., 1st Session, Sen. Doc, No. 64, and accompanying maps. 526 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. north in summer to hunt the buffalo on the plains of the Arkansas, only a few buffaloes crossing at this time to the south of the Canadian. In 1852, according to the ‘Topographical Sketches of the Military Posts” in Texas, buffaloes had entirely disappeared from the region about Fort Worth* (on west fork of the Trinity, just west of the 97th meridian); they are not mentioned among the animals found at this date about Fort Belknapt (on the Brazos, longitude about 98° 30’), neither were they then found about Fort Terrett (on the 100th merid- ian). Very few are said to have been found as far south as Fort Phantom Hill since 1837.§ At Camp Johnston, || on the Concho htiver (near the present Fort Concho), one only is reported as having been seen, and the region is said to have been then not within their favorite range; but they are at the same time enumerated among the animals met with about Fort McKavett,{] situated some fifty miles to the southward of Fort Concho. Lieutenant Whipple, in his report of the survey of the thirty-fifth parallel, made in 1853, found buffalo bones bleathing near a brackish Spring, just west of the Cross Timbers, and nearly on the 99th meridian. A few days later they saw the first living buffalo, and met with a few stragglers on succeeding days on the sources of the Washita branch of the Red River. He speaks of seeing buffalo signs as far west as Camp 44, a little east of the 102d meridian. The main herds, however, were north of the Canadian, from which these were merely stragglers.** Pro- fessor Jules Marcou, who accompanied Lieutenant Whipple’s expedition as geologist, has kindly furnished me with a few additional particulars from his note-books. He informs me that the first bones of the buffalo were met with as far east as the Cross Timbers, or near the 98th merid- ian; but the region appeared not to have been visited by these animals for ten or twelve years. The first living buffalo was seen between Camps 33 and 34, or about 99° 40’, just south of the Canadian. The next day many carcasses were observed, and two days later five old bulls were seen. An old bull was killed between Camps 36 and 37, near the meridian of 100° 25’, but no living buffaloes were seen west of the 101st meridian, and no fresh signs were seen west of the 102d. All the recent indications of buffaloes were thus met with between the meridians of 98° 30’ and 102°. The journey being made in September, the herds had not returned from the north, the individuals met with being only stragglers which had wandered somewhat to the southward of the usual southern limit of the summer range. Captain (now Major-General) Pope in 1854 surveyed the 32d parallel, from KE] Paso and Dona Afia, on the Rio Grande, to Preston, on the Red River, passing northerly, and crossing the Pecos and the head-waters of the Colorado, Trinity, and Brazos Rivers. Mr. J. H. Byrne, in his diary of the expedition, reports meeting bois de vache “ for the first time” at Camp No. 10, near the Ojo del Cuerbo, or Salt Lakes, west of the Guadeloupe Mountains, and in the Valley of the Rio Grande. This is the only allusion to buffalo or buffalo “sign” contained in the narrative, although the kinds and quantity of game met with each day appear to “Med. Statistics U. S. Army, 1839-1854, p. 373. tIbid., p. 372. {Ibid., p. 395. § Ibid., p. 376. .|j Ibid., p. 380. { Med. Statistics, U. S. Army, 1839-1854, p. 391 ** Pacific R. R. Explorations and Surveys, Vol. III, Lieutenant Whipple’s Report on the 35th Parallel, Part I, pp. 26, 28, 29, 35. “ALLEN. ] EXTIRPATION IN TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO. 527 be duly chronicled.* We are further led to infer the entire absence at this time of buffaloes in Texas by some remarks made by Captain Pope in his General Report, respecting the Comanche Indians, whose country was on the head-waters of the Canadian and Red Rivers, in the extreme northern part of Texas. Hesays: “* During the summer months nearly the whole tribe migrates to the north to hunt buffalo and wild horses on the plains of the Upper Arkansas.” + ; Captain H. M. Lazelle, 8th U. S. Infantry, informs me that in 1859 there were no buffaloes in New Mexico, nor in Texas west of the 99th meridian, but that there were vast numbers in Northern Texas between the meridians of 99° and 96°; but that they did not extend so far south as Pope’s old trail of 1854. Hence it appears that for quite a number of years the buffaloes nearly abandoned Texas, or visited only its northwestern portions, and were of somewhat uncertain occurrence, in summer at least, as far north as the Canadian. Of late, however, they have again become common over a considerable portion of the northwestern part of the State, occasionally extending southward along the 100th meridian almost to the Rio Grande. Major-General M. OC. Meigs, Quartermaster-General of the United States Army, Says, in some valuable MS. notes on the buffalo,§ that in the win- ter of 1869-70 he saw their carcasses near Fort Concho, Texas, “‘ showing that the buffalo had been abundant in that neighborhood the previous year.” The prairies having been extensively burned that winter about Concho, the buffaloes had not appeared within twenty miles of the post that season. He also says that in the winter of 1871-72 they extended their migrations westward to the Staked Plains. || Mr. J. Boll, the well-known entomological collector, also informs me that during the winter of 1874-75 they were still more abundant. over quite a large part of Northern Texas, doubtless in consequence of their persecution by the hunters in Southwestern Kansas. Respecting the eastern boundary of their range at the present time (January, 1876), he says: “So viel mir bis jetzt bekannt, so geht der Bison Ostlich im Texas nicht mehr iiber die Linie hinaus welche von der Miindung der Little Wichita in den Red River in gerader Richtung fast siidlich bis zur Mitin- dung des Pecan Bayou in den River Colorado sich austreckt. Wie sich diese Linie vom Colorado River bis zum Rio Grande gestaltet ist schwer zu sagen, doch glaube ich dass von der Miindung des Pecan Bayou sie mehr eine stark sudwestliche Richtung bis zum 30° nordlich Breite annehmen wird.” Respecting their present scuthern limit in Texas, a letter written by Mr. J. Stevens in answer to my inquiries on this point, and kindly . transmitted to me by Mr. C. EH. Aiken, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, states, on the authority of Mr. W. H. Case, who has lived for the last two or three years at Fort Concho, that buffaloes have of late been quite. numerous there in winter, and that they were especially so last winter. He says that “ after severe storms they come in from the north in large numbers, at which times he has seen larger herds there than anywhere else, not excepting Kansas and the Indian Territory. East of Fort Con- cho he says they do not go south of the latitude of that post, but that to * Pacific R. R. Explorations and Surveys, Vol. II, Pope’s Exploration of the 32d Par- allel, from the Red River to the Rio Grande, pp. 51-93. t Ibid., p. 15. ¢ Pope’s trail crosses the 96th meridian in about latitude 28° 30’, and strikes the Pecos in longitude 103° and latitude 31° 30’, at Emigrant Crossing. § For access to this interesting paper I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Elliott Coues, the eminent ornithologist. i, MS. Notes on the Buffalo. 528 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the westward they go twenty to fifty miles further to the southward, but only occasionally. Mr. Stevens adds that none are found very far to the westward of Fort Concho, and that none have been found for a long time in any part of New Mexico, and that probably none ever will be found there again. From the best information I have been able to - obtain, their present western limit seems to be the eastern border of the Staked Plains.[*] Heatermination in Arkansas, Missouri, Lowa, and Minnesota.—Passing now to the region north of Texas, the history of the extermination of the buffalo throughout the tier of States adjoining the Mississippi River—namely, Arkansas, Missouri, lowa, and Minnesota—will be first given, and afterward an account of its extermination over the region © between the Platte River and the northern boundary of Texas. | According to Nuttall, the bison was still to be met with in Arkansas as late as 1819, a few then existing near the Arkansas River, in the present county of Conway, not far from the centre of the State.t In a journey from Fort Smith southwestward to the Red River, his party also met with large herds on Riameche Creek, in the present Indian Territory, near the southwestern border of “Arkansas.t Major Long found their skulls and other remains at Massern and Vache Grasse Creeks, in Western Arkansas, in 1820, showing that they had existed at that point at a not very remote period.§ Gregg, writing about 1844, says: ‘‘Hven within thirty years they were abundant over much of the present States of Missouri and Arkansas,” or as late as 1815.|| In 1820 settlements had extended up the Arkansas nearly to the western border of the State, and probably soon after this date the buffaloes were wholly extirpated throughout the present State of Arkansas. Beck states that in Missouri, as late as 1823, “immense herds” of buffaloes were ‘frequently seen covering the extensive plains which stretch along the west part of the State. During the dry seasons,” he says, ‘‘they remain in the neighborhood of rivers, but they uniformly migrate to the south at the approach of winter.” {] It thus appears that the buffalo also lingered in Western Missouri till about 1820 to 1825. They probably disappeared from Southern Iowa at about the same period, but they existed for a much longer time in the northern half of the State. In earlier times Charlevoix found ‘ magnifi- cent meadows” in Southeastern lowa, on the Des Moines River, “ quite covered with buffalo, and other wild creatures.”** Major Long,in a trip © eastward from Council Bluffs in 1819, found “their skulls and other remains on the plains of the Nishnabatona, and in one instance dis- covered the tracks of a bull; but,” he adds, ‘all the herds of these animals appear to have deserted the country east of Council Bluffs.” tt According to Assistant Surgeon Charles C. Keeney, the buffalo was sometimes met with on the open prairies afew miles west of Fort Dodge, on the Des Moines River, as late as 1852. tt M. Belon, an old Fr ench voyageur, whom I met in 1873 on the Yellow- i According to a correspondent (“H. M. H.”) of the Mason News-Item, April 28, 1877, butt: vloes are plentiful at the present time in the vicinity of Fort McKavett.— ow AL A.] + Travels into the Arkansas .Country, p. 118. { Ibid., pp. 149, 150. § Long’ s Expe dition from Pittsburg to the Rocky Mountains, Vol. II, p. 264. \ Grege, Commerce of the Prairies, Vol. Il, p. 113. ‘| Beck.(L. J.), Gazetteer of the States of Illinois and Missouri, p. 167. ** Letters, Goadby’s English ed., p. 295. tt Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Vol. I, p. 421. t{ Med. Statistics U. 8. Army, 1839-1854, p. 55 , ALLEN. ] EXTIRPATION IN ARKANSAS, MISSOURI, &C. 529 stone, acting as interpreter for the expedition of that year, and who moved to Minnesota in 1837, informed me that buffaloes were abundant within fifty miles of St. Paul as late as 1836, and were common on the head-waters of the Cedar and Des Moines Rivers, on both sides of the Iowa and Minnesota boundary, as late as 1845. They have, however, been for many years extinct throughout the present State of Lowa, with the exception of the occurrence of a few stragglers in the extreme west- ern counties. When I was in the western part of the State in 1867, I was informed that a few still remained in that section, and that up to that time one or more had been killed every year as far south as Greene County. They were represented as being more common further north, but that no herds were mct with south of the Sioux River, and rarely east of the Missouri. Those found further east were only stragglers from distant herds.* Professor Bessey, of the lowa Agricultural College, informs me that a few were seen in the bottom-lands below Council Bluffs as late even as about 1869, and also, at about the same time, in the northwestern part of the State,—stragglers, of course, from remote herds. In Minnesota, west of the Mississippi, buffaloes remained until a recent period. In 1823 Major Long found herds numbering thousands of individuals about the sources of the Red and Minnesota (or St. Peter’s) Rivers. Hestates thatin 1822 they did not descend the Min- nesota River below Great Swan Lake, and that in 1823 “ the gentlemen of the Columbia Fur Company were obliged to travel five days in a north- west direction from Lake Travers before they fell in with the game, but they soon succeeded in killing sixty animals.”| The buffaloes are said, however, to have lingered about Fort Ridgely, situated a few miles above Swan Lake, till about 1847, and that as late as 1856 they were found one hundred miles to the northwestward of this point.t As late as 1844 Captain Allen found large herds in the southwestern part of the present State of Minnesota. He says: “‘ Seventy-five miles west of the source of the Des Moines we struck the range of the buffalo, and con- tinued in it to the Big Sioux River, and down that river about eighty- six miles. Below that we did not see any recent signs of them. They were sometimes seen in droves of hundreds...... While among the buffalo we killed as many as we wanted, and without trouble.”§ Pope states that in 1850 buffaloes were still killed in the immediate vicinity of the settlements at Pembina, and that they existed in great abundance between the Pembina and the Shayenne River,|| or along the present western boundary of the State. They appear, however, to have very soon after left the whole valley of the Red River, being rapidly slaugh- tered and pressed westward by the incursions of the Red River half- breed hunters, who are reported to have killed annually, at about this time, twenty thousand buffaloes south of the United States and British Boundary.§ A few lingered in the southwestern part of the State till within a very few years, or occurred there rather as stragglers from the herds west of the Big Sioux River, in Southwestern Dakota. From the foregoing it hence appears that the buffalo was more or less abundant over large portions of the States of Arkansas and Missouri as late as 1812 to 1815, but that few remained in either State later than * See Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XIII, p. 186, 1869. + Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter’s River, etc., Vol. II, pp. 9-24, 29. t Assistant Surgeon A. B. Hasson, in Med. Statis. U. S. Army, 1839-1854, p. 67. § Allen, (Captain J.), Congress. Rep., 29th Congr., 1st Session, Doc. No. 168, p. 5. || Pope, (General John), Report of an Expedition to the Territory of Minnesota, Con- gress. Reports, 31st Congr., 1st Session, en. Doc. No. 42, p. 27. {| Rice (H. M.), Pope’s Report (cf.), p. 4. $4 GS 530 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 1820. At about this date they seemed to have also disappeared from Eastern and Southern Iowa, but were quite numerous in the northwest- — ern part of the State, and adjoining parts of Minnesota, as late as 1840 to 1845, where occasionally an old bull was met with as late as 1869. As already stated, they disappeared in Minnesota east of the Mississippi River prior to 1832;* and they appear to have been exterminated over the whole region east of the Red River as early as 1850, and to have — survived later elsewhere in the State only in the extreme southwestern counties, where a few lingered till about 1869. Permanent Division of the Buffalo into two distinct Herds, and their Ha- termination over the greater Part of the Region between the Northern Bound- ary of Texas and the Platte Kiver.—As is well known to those who have given much attention to the subject, the great buffalo herd that once extended continuously from the plains of the Saskatchewan to the Rio Grande was divided about 1849 into two bands by the California over- land immigration, and that since that time the two herds have never united. The great overland route, as is well known, followed up the Kansas and Platte Rivers, and thence westward by the North Platte, crossing the Rocky Mountains by way. of the South Pass. The buffa- loes were all soon driven from the vicinity of this line of travel, thou- sands being annually slaughtered, a large proportion of them being killed wantonly.t The increase of travel, and finally the construction of the Union. Pacific Railroad and the consequent opening up of the country to settlement, has effected a wider separation of the herds, the buffaloes retiring every year further and further from their persecutors. None are now found for a long distance to the north of this road, and they approach it from the southward only along that portion situated -between Fort Kearney and the forks of the Platte. In treating of the “Southern Herd,” as the southern division is commonly termed, it will be found convenient to trace first its extirpation over the region to the eastward, and afterwards to the westward, of its present range. As previously stated, Nuttall found buffaloes in 1819 in Southwestern Arkansas and the adjoining portions of the Indian-Territory.t Pike, however, in 1806, first met with these animals on the divide between the sources of the Osage River and those of the Neosho Fork of the Arkansas, near the 98th meridian, or near Council Grove in Hastern Kansas, and reports that they were already nearly exterminated over the hunting-grounds of the Osages and Pawnees.§ In 1820 Major Long found no large herds east of the mouth of the Little Arkansas, near the 98th meridian. At the Great Bend of the Arkansas, however, he met with them for several days “‘in vast and almost continuous herds.”|| * See anted, p. 117. + Respecting the influence of the overland emigration upon the buffalo, we find Captain Stansbury, who passed over the emigrant trail in the summer of 1849, speak- ing as follows: Under date of June 27, he says, ‘To-day the hunters killed their first buffalo, but in order to obtain it had to diverge some four or five miles from the road and to pass back of the bluffs, the instinct or experience of these sagacious animals having rendered them shy of approaching the line of travel. This has always been the case, for it is a well-attested fact, that when the emigration first commenced, travel- ling trains were frequently detained for hours by immense herds crossing their track, and in such numbers that it was impossible to drive through them. In many instances it was quite difficult to prevent their own loose cattle from mingling with the butta- loes, of which they did not seem to be at all afraid.”—Salt Lake Expedition, p. 34. { Travels into the Arkansas Country, pp. 149, 150. § Pike (Z. M.), Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, and to the Sources of soe ane Kansas, La Platte, and Pierre Jaune Rivers, etc., in the years 1805, 1806, anc : || Long’s Exped. from Pittsburg to the Rocky Mts., Vol. II, pp. 204, 207. ATEEN.] “PRESENT DIVISION INTO TWO HERDS. 531 Catlin’s ‘‘Outline Map of Indian localities in 1833”* purports to give also the range of the buffalo, but none are represented as occurring be- tween the Kansas and Arkansas Rivers east of the 99th meridian, but in his account of his visit to the Comanche country he speaks of meet- ing with buffaloes about forty miles east of the junction of the False Washita and Red Rivers, or near the 96th meridian.t General Doniphan, during his march in 1846 from Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fé, used bots de vache for fuel when passing the head of the Little Arkansas, and first met with herds of buffaloes on the Arkansas at Pawnee Ranch, near the present site of Fort Larned.t . The previous year Lieutenant J. W. Abert found them as far east as 97° 32’. Lieu- tenant Abert reports meeting with them the following year near the 98th meridian, just west of which he found them in immense herds.|| Lewis and Clarke, in ascending the Missouri River in 1804, first met with buffaloes at the mouth of the Kansas River, but state that they did not become common till they reached the Sioux River.{ Bradbury found them in 1810 at Floyd’s Bluff. Audubon says that when he and his party went up the Missouri River in 1843, “the first buffalo were heard of near Fort Leavenworth, some having a short time before been killed within forty miles of that place. We did not, however,” he says, ‘see any of these animals until we had passed Fort Croghan, but above this point we met with them almost daily, either floating dead on the river or gazing at our steamboat from the shore.” ** As early as 1834 Murray, in his journey westward from Fort Leaven- worth into the Indian country, first met with buffaloes on the Republi- can,it showing that they had already become extinct or of uncertain occurrence in Hastern Kansas. Frémont, in 1842, in marching north- westward from Fort Leavenworth to the Platte River, by way of the Kansas River, came suddenly upon great herds just above Grand Isle, in about longitude 99° 30’, or near the present site of Fort Kearney. The following year (1843), in crossing the plains considerably to the southward of his route of the previous year, he first met with the buf- falo on the divide between the Solomon and the Republican Forks, also near the 99th meridian.tt Emory, in 1846, says that the range of the buffalo along the Arkansas was “ westward, between the ninety-eighth and the one hundred and first meridians of longitude.” §§ In 1849 Stans- bury saw no buffaloes east of the forks of the Platte, but found them in abundance to the westward of this point. Captain Stansbury’s guide reported to him that not many years before the plains somewhat to the east of Fort Kearney were black with herds of buffaloes “as far as the eye could reach.” |||| In July, 1853, Captain Gunnison’s party first met with fresh signs of the buffalo on the Saline, and on the Kansas near the mouth of the Sa- line; their first_ buffalo was killed on the Little Arkansas; somewhat * Catlin (G.), North American Indians, Vol. I, map. t Ibid., Vol. II, p. 46. t t Hughes (J. T., ), Doniphan’s Expedition, pp. 43, 47. § Congress. Rep., 29th Coner., Ist Sess., House Ex. Doe. No. 2, p. 217. \ Notes of a Military Reconnaissance from Fort Leavenworth, Mo., to San Diego, Cal. Congress. Rep., 30th Congr., 1st Sess., Sen. Doc. No. 7, p. 1 {| Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Vol. I, pp. 19, 67. ** Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. II, p. 50. : tt Travels in North America, Vol. I, pp. 208, 227. tt Frémont’s Explorations during 1842, ’43, and 744, pp. 18, 25, 49, 57, 109, et seq. §§ Emory (W. H.), Notes of a Military Reconnaissance from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego, Cal., p, 16. ll Stansbury’ 8 Expedition to the Great Salt Lake, pp. 29, 36. 532 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. later they found themselves in the midst of immense herds on the Re- publican Fork.* Dr. Hayden, writing of his journey across the plains in the summer of 1858, says, ‘‘ Before going into the interior of the Territory [of Kansas} we had expected to find the whole country immediately west of Fort Riley comparatively sterile; on the contrary, however, we were agree- ably disappointed at meeting with scarcely any indications of decreasing fertility, as far as our travels extended, which was about sixty miles west of Fort Riley. Here we found the prairies clothed with a luxuriant growth of grass, and literally alive with vast herds of buffalo, that were quietly grazing as far as the eye could reach, in every direction.” f Lieutenant E. S. Godfrey, of the 7th United States Cavalry, who has recently spent several years in the department of the Missouri, in- forms me that when Fort Harker was established, in 1866, the buffaloes ranged regularly as far east as this point, and even passed beyond it. They were taken here for several years after, but in 1870 had almost wholly retired to points further westward. Professor B. F. Mudge, of the Kansas State Agricultural College, has given me the following general statement respecting their extermination in Eastern Kansas. Under date of February 7, 1873, in kind response to my inquiries, Professor Mudge wrote as follows: “The buffalo ranged to the eastern border of Kansas as recently as 1835. About that time the United States authorities removed the Dela- ware, Pottawattamie, Kaws, and other tribes of Indians to ‘reserva- tions’ in the eastern part of what is now Kansas. These Indians soon drove the buffalo as far west as the Blue River (one hundred miles west of the Missouri River), which was as far as the reservations extended. The buffalo held that range till 1854, when Kansas was made a Territory and whites began to settle here. For fifteen years from that time the buffalo receded, on an average, about ten milesa year. For three years past they have been hunted in summer for their hides for tanning ; this is exterminating them very rapidly. Now they are not found in North- ern Kansas east of 100° of longitude; in Southern Kansas as far east- erly as longitude 98°, the western boundary of Kansas being 102°. In a few years I think they will not range north of the Arkansas River.” None of the government expeditions sent across the plains since 1840 seem to have met with the buffalo east of the longitude of Fort Riley, or east of the 97th meridian, from the Platte southward to Texas. In the Indian Territory they have not for a number of years ranged to the eastward of Fort Sill.t It thus appears that the buffaloes were ex- terminated in Eastern Kansas and in the eastern part of the Indian Ter- ritory over a breadth of about four degrees of longitude between 1835 and 1870. The extermination along the western border of the southern herd has also extended over a considerable area. In 1806 Pike found them throughout his march across the plains from the western edge of Arkan- sas to the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, meeting with them in * Beckwith’s Report of Captain Gunnison’s Exploration of the Thirty-eighth and Thirty-ninth Parallels, Pacitic Railroad Explorations and Surveys, Vol. II. tGeological Report of the Exploration of the Yellowstone-and Missouri Rivers, p. 122. ; t Captain J. W. Powell, of the 8th United States Infantry, informs me that in 1872 the buffalo did not range as far east as Fort Sill, but occurred fifty miles west of this point in considerable numbers. Lieutenant Godfrey (7th Cavalry) also states that dur- ing 1871 and 1872 he met with them throughout that part of the Indian Territory west of Fort Sill. ALLEN.] PRESENT DIVISION INTO TWO HERDS. 533 the greatest abundance between the Smoky Hill Fork and the Arkansas.* In 1845 Lieutenant Turner found buffaloes abundant in the valley of the Arkansas from Bent’s Fort thence eastward for over two hundred miles.t The following year (1846) Dr. Wislizenus reports that on Col- onel Doniphan’s march across the plains all signs of the buffalo, even including the bois de vache, disappeared near the meridian of 101°, be- tween the Arkansas and Cimarron.t Frémont states that in 1842, at 103° 30’, between the two forks of the Platte, they absolutely covered the plains, and were abundant thence westward to St. Vrain’s Fort, situated a little to the southward of the present town of Cheyenne. Between the forks of the Platte and along - the North Platte to Fort Laramie but few were found, but recent signs of them were abundant. On the Laramie plains westward as far as Laramie River, large herds were constantly met with, but this year none were seen on the North Platte above the junction of Laramie River, the grasshoppers and the dry weather having destroyed every blade of PTAss.§ In June, 1844, Frémont found them in immense numbers in North, Middle, and South Parks, in the present State of Colorado, as well as on. the tributaries of the Green River on the western slope of the mount- ains, and on the Sweet Water, and the other extreme head-waters of the North Platte, from all of which extensive region they were nearly or quite exterminated during the following twenty years. When the miners first visited the parks and mountains of Colorado, in the summer of 1859, they found them occupied by small bands of buffaloes, which afforded them an abundance of meat for several years. They have been scarce there, however, for the last ten years, during which time only stragglers have been met with. In the summer of 1871 I found their skulls still frequent in South Park and up the valley of the South Platte to its extreme source. They were very frequent at and above Montgomery, and even on the neighboring mountains above timber-line, showing that not many years ago the buffalo ranged over the grassy slopes of the mountains even to above the limit of the timber. I heard of a single small band of two or three dozen individuals near the southern borders of South Park, in the vicinity of Buffalo Springs, and saw a calf at one of the ranches that was captured in June of that year as the band passed up the. valley of the South Platte into the Park. Mr. Wm. N. Byers, of Denver, Colorado, writes me that-a band of twelve were seen in South Park in 1873, and that “ occasionally a little band is still seen in the northern edge of Middle Park and in North Park.” ‘ About seventy-five wintered on the head of Muddy or Milk River, Middle Park, last winter [1874-75]. Another band was seen on the head-waters of Willow Creek, ranging thence over the divide into North Park. Most of our people. call these mountain animals Bisons, and think them smaller than the Plains Buffalo, but they are evidently the same animal, resorting to the mountains of their own choice.” One of these small parties, according to western newspapers, seems to have recently fallen a prey tothe Indians, a Denver paper of a recent * Pike (Z. M.), Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, and to the Sources of the _ Arkansas, Kansas, La Platte, and Pierre Jaune Rivers, etc., in the years 1805, 1806, and 1807. + Cong. Rep., 29th Congress, 1st Session, House Ex. Doe. No. 2, p. 217. t Wislizenus (Dr. A,), Memoir of a Tour to Northern Mexico in company with Colonel Doniphan’s Expedition in 1846-47, Cong. Rep., 30th Congress, 1st Session, Miscel. Doc. No. 26. § Frémont’s Exploration during 1842, 1843, and 1844, etc. || Bull. Essex Inst., Vol. VI, pp. 54, 55. 534 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. date containing the following: “A party of Indians in the northwestern edge of the Middle Park came upon aherd of buffalo the other day, and killed them all—forty-two in number. All they saved was the skins, leaving the meat to rot. Such waste of the game ought to be stopped, and the sooner the better.” Dr. Hayden informs me that a band of eighteen was seen by one of his parties near Pike’s Peak in 1873, and that in 1875 there was a band of about nineteen on the west side of Pike’s Peak, and another band of about sixty near Mount Lincoln, in the South Park. Mr. C. H. Aiken, probably referring to these, writes me that he knows of but two bands existing at the present time (February, 1876) in the mountains about South Park, one of which “ grazes on the mountains at the head of Tarryall Creek, and is frequently found above timber-line; the other ranges in the rugged mountains south of Pike’s Peak, and numbers some thirty or forty individuals.” In 1871 their bleached skulls were still frequent in the valley of the North Platte, in Western Wyoming, as well as on the Laramie Plains, but I was assured that only stragglers had been seen in all this region during the previous ten or fifteen vears.* Stansbury reports meeting with them in abundance on Pass Creek and other head-waters of the North Platte, in 1849.t+ In respect to the extermination of the buffalo along the western edge of the plains in Colorado, and the present western boundary of the Southern Herd, I have been favored with a valuable communication from Mr. William N. Byers, editor and proprietor of the “ Rocky Mount- ain News.” In kindly answer to my inquiries he thus refers (writing under date of July 3, 1875) to the gradual extermination of the buffalo along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. He says: ‘“ Perhaps the best idea I can give you of the shrinkage of the column on this side is gathered from the history of the early trading-posts established here, mainly for barter in their hides. The first trading-post in this [South Platte] valley was built in 1832, six miles below Denver, and about fif- teen miles, direct, from the mountain foot. A trader: employed here from 1832 to 1836 told me that he thought that he never looked out over the walls of the fort without seeing buffalo, and sometimes they covered the plain. At that time their moving columns surged up against the mountain foot. Five or six years later the next fort was built five or six miles down the river, then a third a few miles below the second, and, about 1840, a fourth, nearly twenty miles below the third, or forty odd miles from the mountains. There the trade was concentrated and the up-river forts were successively abandoned, owing to the decrease of the buffalo in their vicinity. But great herds of buffaloes occasionally ranged over the present site of Denver as late as 1846. “The trading-posts in the valley of the Arkansas possess a similar history. The earliest, built about 1826, was some twenty miles from the mountains. Others succeeded, one after another, until New Fort Bent, — afterward Fort Bent, now Fort Lyon, —about eighty miles from the mountains, closed the history of these early trading outposts. They were placed so as to be most convenient to the camps of the hunters, to enable the traders to supply the latter with goods and to buy their skins. “The present range of the buffalo in Colorado,” he says, ‘‘is bounded substantially on the west by a line about one hundred miles east of the * See Bulletin Essex Institute, Vol. VI, p. 59. t Salt Lake Expedition, pp. 243-247. ALLEN, ] INFLUENCE OF RAILROADS UPON THE BUFFALO. 535 foot of the mountains, and [parallel therewith. The herds are thin on _ the edge, thickening to the eastward. Small bands occasionally wander ten or twenty miles further west, but the line is quite distinctly marked. In the fall they move gradually but slowly southward, and in late winter and spring return in the same way north; but the eastern edge of Col- orado is really occupied all the winter by herds that come from and re- turn to the north. In summer very few remain upon the Colorado range. I have no idea of the relative movement of individual herds north and south during the year, but there seems to be a regular ebb and flow once a year. There has been no marked change in the limit of the range westward in the last five years, but the columns have been thinned fear- fully,—eertainly one-half.” Influence of the Railroads upon the Decrease of the Buffalo. — Three rail- roads now enter or pass near the range of the Southern Herd. Their influence, though immense in respect to its decrease, seems not to have very greatly affected the extent of its range. The railroads, of course, primarily affect the buffalo by affording to the hunters easy access to its haunts, and by placing the hunters in communication with ready markets for the products of the chase. They also open up the country they traverse to permanent settlement, thus rendering the extirpation of the buffalo from the country bordering these avenues of travel not only speedy but permanent. Aithough the buffalo has no little fear of these iron highways and their thundering trains, this alone would not, for along time at least, seriously influence its range; and the herds have not, except through the thinning of their ranks by the hunters who make these roads the bases of their operations, materially changed their - range since the opening of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1869. The buffaloes still range northward to this road between Fort Kearney and the Forks of the Platte, but they appear to have of late rarely passed north of it. Atthis point the buffalo range is still within easy drive from the line of the road, and is often chosen by Hastern hunting: parties for their field of operations. The Kansas Pacific Railway, traversing as it does one of the favorite and formerly most populous portions of the range of the great Southern Herd, has given opportunity, since it was opened in 1870, for the de- struction of hundreds of thousands of buffaloes. After two or three years the results of this wholesale slaughter began to be apparent in the thinning of the herds and in their erratic movements and changed habits, especially in respect to their migrations. During the summer of 1871 straggling bands occurred as far east- ward in Northern Kansas as Fossil Creek, while the great herds were rarely met with east of the meridian of Fort Hays. In June of that year they blackened the prairies from the Saline River to the Republi- ean Fork. In January, 1872, they had receded several hundred miles to the westward of their summer limit, ranging then over Eastern Colo- rado. Between the Union Pacific and Kansas Pacific Railroads they at this time migrated eastward in summer and westward in winter, passing with reluctance either of these great highways. At times, however, they swept across the Kansas Pacific Railway in immense herds, obliging the trains to await their passage.* In consequence of this eastward and westward migration they had already worn deep trails running in this direction, and at right angles to the older set *General Meigs writes that a conductor of the Kansas Pacific Railway informed him in the winter of 1872-73, that ‘ while he had been several times delayed by the crossing of immense herds going south he had never seen any buffalo returning.”’— MS. Notes on the Buffalo. 536 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. made when their migrations were mainly from the north southward in autumn and from the south northward in spring.* From the great persecution they had suffered from the hunters, who swarmed down upon them from all sides, their movements were already less Heh than formerly. j The opening of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Railrdad has had afar greater influence upon the buffalo than either of the other roads, in consequence of the great number of hunters who seized upon it as a favorable basis for the prosecution of their terrible work of destruction. The story of this destruction and the fatal results attend- ing the encroachment of the settlements upon the range of the buffalo is well told in the subjoined letter from Dr. W. 8. Tremaine, U.S. A., kindly written in answer to my inquiries respecting this subject, and dated Fort Dodge, Kansas, July 16, 1875: “In regard to the buffalo, I would say that when I first came to this post, in 1869, the buffaloes ranged in almost countless herds from about where the town of Great Bend, on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Railroad, now is, to Fort Lyon, Colorado, and from the Platte River to the Red River of Texas. Throughout this range you might travel for days and scarcely ever be out of sight of buffaloes. This condition remained up to the summer and autumn of 1873, when the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé was completed to this point. Buffalo-hunting for their hides then became quite an industry in this neighborhood, and hundreds of thousands were slaughtered in this vicinity, so that at the present time a buffalo is a rare sight within two hundred miles of Fort Dodge.” Dr. Tremaine gives the principal range of the Southern Herd of buffaloes as being now south of the Kansas line, between the North Fork of the Canadian - and the Red River of Texas, and from about the 100th meridian to the eastern border of New Mexico. ‘A few small herds,” he says, wander northward from the main body as far as the Platte country, passing along near the eastern boundary of Colorado. Some are also found further to the southward between the Red and Pecos Rivers. He speaks of the herds as having become very much restricted in range and as very much “thinned out.” He says: “As regards their present numbers, I was told by an officer of cavalry who had scouted last sum- mer and winter through the region I have indicated, that during his wanderings through this part of the country, which is now considered the principal habitat of the Southern Herd, he saw fewer buffaloes than he had seen in a trip from Fort Hays to Fort Dodge (eighty-six miles) i Se Recent reports from Kansas and Colorado agree in respect to the enor- mous destruction of buffaloes throughout Kansas, incidentally referred to above by Dr. Tremaine. While the range seems not to have been as yet very materially circumscribed during the last four or five years, the reduction in numbers has been immense, and the vast herds existing there five years since are now represented by only scattered remnants, so fearfully have their ranks been depleted. The incessant persecution of the buffalo along the lines of the two great Kansas railways has had the effect to crowd them southward and southwestward into Western Texas. In this Indian-infested region, too remote from railroads to render it feasible for the hunter to follow them for their hides and meat, the herd is now mainly concentrated where it is temporarily less exposed to persecution than on the more accessible plains of Kansas. The range of the herd thus not only changes with *See Bulletin Essex Institute, Vol. VI, pp. 46, 47. ALLEN | EXTERMINATION IN EASTERN DAKOTA. 537 the seasons of the year, but also from year to year, in consequence of attacks upon them at new localities. Unless legal interference, either by the States of Kansas, Colorado, and Texas, or by the General Gov- ernment, be speedily'made, and rigorous restrictions most thoroughly enforced, the fate of the buffalo south of the Platte will be a repetition of its history east of the Mississippi River, namely, speedy extermina- tion. Area now occupied by the Southern Herd.—The region south of the Platte inhabited by the buffalo is already reduced to a very limited area. Aé the northward their range extends over only the head-waters of the Republican, and thence westwavd to the South Platte, to the northward of which river they still sometimes appear, their range thus including the small portion of Southwestern Nebraska that lies south of the Union Pacific Railway. They range thence southward throughout Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado, the extreme western part of the Indian Territory, Northern and Western Texas, extending in the latter State southward to the 30th parallel, and from the 98th meridian westward over the northern portion of the Staked Plains nearly to the eastern boundary of New Mexico. In 1873 they ranged to within a hundred miles of Santa Fé.* Region between the Platte River and Parallel of 49°.—Passing to the northward of the Platte River, we will consider first the region situated between the Platte River and the United States and British boundary, or the 49th parallel. The buffalo, as is well known, formerly ranged over the whole country drained by the Missouri and its tributaries, as well as over the plains of the Red River of the North, and those of the Assinniboine and the Saskatchewan. The plains of the Red River, in Northern Minnesota and Dakota, formerly connected the great buffalo range of the Upper Missouri region with that of the Saskatchewan, whilst the Grand Coteau des Prairies was for a long time one of the re- gions of their greatest abundance. Beginning with Hastern Dakota, or that portion of the Territory east of the Missouri River, embracing the Grand Coteau des Prairies, we shall pass thence to the region between the Missouri River and the 49th parallel, and, lastly, trace their exter- mination over the vast triangular area bounded by the Missouri and Platte Rivers and the Rocky Mountains. Extermination in Eastern Dakota.—As late as 1850 General John Pope stated that the buffalo ranged “in immense herds between the Pembina and Shayenne Rivers,” and were “found in great numbers, winter and summer, along the Red River,” being “frequently killed in the immedi- ate vicinity of the settlements at Pembina.t Mr. Henry M. Rice also states that in the spring of 1847 a party of Red River hunters, num- bering twelve hundred carts, went in a body south to Devil’s Lake, in Minnesota (now Dakota); { while Mr. J. HE. Fletcher states that twenty thousand buffaloes were at this time annually killed in the country of the Sioux and Chippewa Indians, south of the United States and British boundary,§ mostly within the present Territory of Dakota. The Hon. H. H. Sibley has given an interesting account of a buffalo-hunt in Hast- ern Dakota (then a part of Minnesota Territory) in Schoolcratt’s great work on the Indian Tribes of the United States,|| and incorporates * H. W. Henshaw, in a letter to the writer, dated March 6, 1875. + Report of an Exploration of the Territory of Minnesota. (Congressional Reports, 31st Congr., 1st Session, Senate Doc. No. 42, p. 27.) ¢ Congress. Rep., 31st Congr., Ist Sess., House Ex. Doc., Vol. VIII, No. 51, p. 8. VLbid:; p. 41; = | Schoolcraft’s History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, Vol. 1V, pp. 101-110. \ 538 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ; therewith a detailed account, furnished him by the Rev. Mr. Belcourt, * cf the chase of the buffalo on the Pembina Plains. It contains not only much valuable information respecting the peculiar modes of hunt- ing pursued by the Red River hunters, but also important statistics re- specting the rate of their destruction at the date of writing (1853). Mr. A. W. Tinkham, in the ‘‘ Itinerary” of his route from St. Paul to Fort Union, in June and July, 1853, speaks of using the bois de vache for fuel on Maple River, and reports killing his first buffalo on the Shayenne, one of the chief tributaries of the Red River. At this time, he says, large herds roamed over the prairies of the Shayenne River, and extended as far south as the South Fork of the Shayenne. He also met with recent indications of the buffalo on the White Earth River. Governor Stevens, in speaking of the abundance of the buffalo on the Shayenne River, near Lake Zisne, the same year, says: ‘‘About five miles from camp, we ascended to the top of a high hill, and for a great dis- tance ahead every square mile seemed te have a herd of buffalo upon it. Their number was variously estimated by the members of the party, some as high as half a million. I do not think it is any exaggera- tion to set it down at 200,000. I had heard of the myriads of these animals inhabiting these plains, but I could not realize the truth of these accounts till to-day, when they surpass everything I could have imagined from the accounts which I had received.” t According to Assistant Surgeon Asa Wall, buffaloes were still com- mon about Fort Abercrombie, on the Red River, at late as 1858.§ Mr. W. H. Illingworth, the well-known photographer of St. Paul, informs me that in 1866, when he made a journey from St. Cloud westward to the Yellowstone, he met with immense herds for two days in passing the Coteau des Prairies, west of the James River. They seem to have wholly disappeared east of the Missouri soon after this date, surviving in Southern Dakota, however, between the James and Missouri Rivers, for some years after their extermination over the plains of the Red River. As already stated, they were exterminated east of the Red River as early as about the year 1850, and, being at that time rapidly pressed westward by the Red River hunters, were wholly exterminated during the few years next following throughout the whole ~ basin of the Red River, and even throughout the whole of the northern half of Dakota. In Southern Dakota, between the James and the Missouri, they lingered for some years later, but wholly disappeared east of the Missouri prior to the year 1870. Region between the Upper Missouri and Forty-ninth Parallel.—The former existence of the buffalo over the whole of the region drained by the Upper Missouri is well substantiated by the evidences they them- selves have leit, and which exist in the form of well-defined trails and osseous remains. When Lewis and Clarke ascended the Missouri in 1804, they met with them at frequent points along almost its whole course, from the mouth of the Big Sioux to the Forks,|| and subsequent explorers found them on its remotest sources. As late as 1856 this *The account given by Mr. Sibley as that furnished by Mr. Belcourt seems to be merely a translation of Mr. Belcourt’s account of buffalo-hunting by the Red River half-breeds originally contained in a letter addressed by Mr. Belcourt to Major S. Woods, and dated ‘St. Paul, November 25, 1845.” This document was published by Major Woods in his Report of his Expedition to the Pembina Settlement in 1849 (Con- gressional Documents of the 31st Congress, Ist Session, House Doc. No. 51, pp. 44-52). t Pacific R. R. Expl. and Sur., Vol. I, Governor Stevens’s Report, pp. 252-258. t Pacific R. R. Rep. of Expl. and Surveys, Vol. XI, pt. 1, p. 59. § Med. Statistics U. 8. Army, 1855-1860, p. 34. || Expedition, ete., Vol. I, pp. 67, 75, 77, et seq. ALLEN, ] RANGE BETWEEN MISSOURI AND 49TH PARALLEL. 539 whole region was occupied, at least temporarily, by roving bands. Lambert, in his general report respecting the topography of this region, speaks of the extensive plains between the meridian of Fort Union and the Rocky Mountains as being the “ pasture-grounds of unfailing millions of the uncouth and ponderous buffalo.””* Lieutenant Saxon, in his report of a journey down the Missouri, from Fort Benton to Fort Union, made in 1853, says that during the last few days of their journey, as they approached Fort Union, they saw innumerable herds of buftalo- cows, in many places extending in every direction as far as the eye could reach.t Lieutenant Groger, the same year (October, 1853), also found large bands on the Missouri from the Musselshell to the Milk River, ¢ and small bands were also seen by Tinkham west of the Great Falls, on the Sun River,§ where herds were also observed in January, 1854, by Lieutenant Groger.|| In December, 1853, they occurred in great numbers on Big Hole Prairie, on the head of the Jefferson Fork.] They were also reported as occurring on the Milk River, near Camp Atchison, and also on other of the neighboring northern tributaries of the Missouri. Dr. Cooper states that in 1860 * the buffalo herd of the Upper Mis- souri was spread from the Rocky Mountains, near latitude 49°, south- east,” and says that he “ found them along the Missouri, from its upper Great Bend west to about fifty miles above Milk River, but nowheré in great numbers. Remains of their skeletons, left about five years since, were abundant west of Fort Benton, and,” he adds, ‘‘ I saw one or more old skulls daily in the valley of the Little Blackfoot and Hell Gate Rivers (west of the mountains), quite down to the junction with the Bitter Root.” ** Lieutenant M. BH. Hogan, 22d United States Infantry, who for some years previous had been in the United States military service in the Department of Dakota, informed me in 18735 that the buffaloes had recently crossed the Marias and Teton Rivers, in Northwestern Montana, from the northward, and were abundant throughout the region about Fort Shaw, and that there were “ millions of buffaloes” on Milk River. Respecting the present range of the buffalo between the Missouri River and the 49th parallel, and the evidences of their recent occupa- tion of this whole belt of country, I am indebted to Dr. Elliott Coues for the subjoined important communication. Two seasons spent in this region as naturalist of the United States Northern Boundary Survey have given him opportunities for collecting much important information respecting this region. The communication, dated ‘: Washington, March 2, 1875,” is as follows: ‘The time when the buffalo ranged in this latitude [parallel of 49°] eastward of the Red River of the North passed so long since that the traces of their former presence have become effaced. The present gen- eration of hunters in Manitoba and adjacent portions of the United States trail to the westward, by several well-known routes, in pursuit of robes and meat. In travelling from the river I saw no sign whatever until in the vicinity of Turtle Mountain, where an occasional weather-worn skull or limb-bone may be observed. Thence westward to the Mouse River, the bony remains multiply with each day’s journey, until they * Pacific R. R. Rep. of Expl. and Surveys, Vol. I, Governor Stevens’s Rep., p. 167. t Ibid., p. 264. t Ibid., p. 494. § Ibid., p. 369. || Ibid., p. 500. §] Ibid., p. 167. ** American Naturalist, Vol. I, p. 538. 540 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. become common objects ; still, no horn, hoof, or patch of hide. In the space intervening between this river and the point where the Coteau de , Missouri crosses the parallel of 49°, quite recent remains, as skulls still showing horns, nose-gristle, or hair, and portions of skeletons still lig- amentously attached, are very frequent. At La Riviere de Lac, a day’s march west of the Mouse River, there was a grand battue a few years since, as evidenced by the numbers of bones, the innumerable deserted badger-holes, and the circles of stones denoting where Indian lodges stood. Within the Coteau the most recent remains are the rule; anda | hundred miles from such edge (nearly north of the mouth of the Yellow- stone) living animals were seen in the summer of 1873. ‘¢ Thus comparing the two great basins of the Red River and of the , Missouri respectively, it will be seen that the animal left the whole United States portion of the former before it was driven from parts of ri eo _~s a \ y the Missouri basin equally far east, or even further eastward. This is , borne out by observations made on my journey from the Mouse River | due south to Fort Stevenson, on the Missouri... There were few skulls (about as many as between Mouse River and Turtle Mountain) untill , struck the Coteau, within which they at once multiplied. ‘‘ In the western portion of the Red River basin numberless buffalo- trails still score the ground, with a general north-south trend. ‘In the summer of 1874 I approached the parallel of 49° in a north- westerly course from the mouth of the Yellowstone. The whole country offered a fair amount of skeletal remains, in many cases ligamentously f cohering, and was furrowed with trails. But there were no living animals | in the region eastward of Frenchman’s River, which is one of the first _ of many north-south tributaries of Milk River. A day’s march west of this river brought us to the edge of the ‘ Yellowstone Herd,’ as the | northerly division of the buffalo is termed, where the first buffalo were seen and killed. Small straggling droves, or single animals, were | observed every day thence to the vicinity of the Sweet Grass Hills (or Three Buttes, as they are called on the map), where they become very | abundant. In this city many thousands, if not some hundreds of thou- | sands, passed the season. During the latter part of August we travelled | for several days in continual sight of droves on every side on the road between the Sweet Grass Hills and Fort Benton ; one day the plain was uniformly dotted, as far as the eye could reach, in at least a quadrant of | a circle. ‘*‘ In the comparatively short distance between the Sweet Grass Hills — and the Rocky Mountains we encountered no buffalo, but this was a mere fortuitous circumstance for the particular days; the ‘chips’ were everywhere. They were traced, however, by their remains into the very heart of the Rocky Mountains, at an altitude of at least 5,000 feet; and I was informed that the various glades were a winter resort of some of the animals that pass that season in this latitude. But I could ob- tain no indication that the buffalo ever [here] crossed the mountains. — Hunters and guides familiar with the region for years agree that this barrier is not surmounted, and had never been passed, either within their memory or according to tradition; indeed, the Kootanie Pass has been always known as the point where Indians from the westward have come annually to hunt on the opposite side. “It is sufficiently attested that buffaloes pass the winter in this re- gion, or at least have very recently done so. In exploring the Sweet Grass Hills, I followed up one gorge where for a mile or so skulls and Skeletons lay almost touching each other in the cul-de-sac. Here was evident indication that a drove, in attempting to cross from the hog-back ALLEN. ] RANGE BETWEEN UPPER MISSOURI AND PLATTE. 5Al on one side to the other, had sunk in the snow which filled the ravine, and lost many of their number. The buffaloes are more expert and venturesome climbers than their unwieldy forms would indicate. Upon the summits of the Sweet Grass Hills, inaccessible on horseback, and where a man can only go about by scrambling, their dung and bones are found, with those of the mountain sheep. The hillsides here, and the equally steep banks in places along the heads of the Milk River and its tributaries, too declivous in their natural state to afford footing to a horse or mule, are cut by innumerable hoofs into a series of narrow terraces, each a buffalo trail. “In the whole region just north of the Milk River, absolutely treeless excepting along a part of the stream, and on the Sweet Grass Hills, buffalo chips are everywhere at hand for fuel. ‘In descending the Missouri River from Fort Benton, buffalo were seen almost daily during that part of the voyage which embraced the rapid portion of the river flowing between the bluffs of the Bad Lands. Small droves were seen surmounting peaks which, it would seem, only a mountain sheep could scale; and in one instance, indeed, the attempt was a failure, and the animal rolled down hill in a cloud of dust. No more were seen below the mouth of the Musselshell, where the Missouri widens and enters a flatter country. The limit on the Missouri corre- sponds in longitude, in a general way, with that above noted on the parallel of 49°.” It thus appears that twenty years ago buffaloes were accustomed to frequent the whole region between the Missouri River and the 49th par- allel, from the western boundary of Dakota, or the 104th meridian, westward to the Rocky Mountains, occurring even throughout the foot-hills of the latter as well as over the head-waters of the Bitter Root, or St. Mary’s River, one of the sources of Ciarke’s Fork of the Columbia, but that they are now restricted to the region between Frenchman’s Creek, near the 107th meridian, and the Rocky Mountains, over much of which area their occurrence is merely irregular and more or less for- tuitous, their main range being between the 110th and the 112th merid- ians. Region between the Upper Missouri and Platte Rivers.—lIt is so well known that the buffalo formerly ranged throughout this region, that there is little need of presenting further evidence of the fact than will be given incidentally in tracing the boundaries of their present range, and in sketching the history of their extirpation over the greater part of this extensive territory. Beginning at the eastward, we find that Bradbury in 1810, in crossing from the Platte River northward to the Mandan Villages, met with a few buffaloes in what is now Eastern Ne- braska, on the Elk Horn River, and that they were then plentiful on the Canon Ball and Heart Rivers, in what is now Southwestern Dakota.* They lingered in Southwestern Dakota till within a very short time. The last buffalo killed near Fort Rice was taken in 1869, when three were killed from a herd of ten old bulls that had wandered considerably to the eastward of the main herds. According to Dr. W. J. Hoffman, to whom I am indebted for other interesting facts relating to the sub- ject of the present paper, the buffaloes disappeared from the region be- tween the Cheyenne and Grand River Agencies at about the same time (1869), although occasional stragglers frequented the plains toward the Black Hills till somewhat later. He states that fresh hides were brought into the Grand River Agency in 1872, that were obtained about one OI EE aS a eR cS SE * Bradbury (John), Travels in the Interior of North America in the years 1809, 1810, and 1811, pp. 53, 134. 542 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. hundred miles to the westward of that place.* Dr. Hayden also in- forms me that a few were found until a few years since south of the © Biack Hills, on the sources of the Niobrara and Cheyenne Rivers, from which localities they have, however, been since exterminated. As already stated, they were abundant about Fort Union at the mouth of the Yellowstone, in 1853, and for some distance below this point west of the Missouri, where they remained for some years later. — Dr. Hayden informs me that they were abundant there as late as 1899, and that even as late as 1866 they occupied much of the country between Fort Union and Fort Pierre. In 1861 Dr. Hayden published the following general statement in relation to the range of the buffalo at that time on the Upper Missouri. ‘They occur,” he says, ‘‘in large bands in the valley of the Yellowstone River, and in the Blackfoot country, but their numbers are annually decreasing at a rapid rate. Descending the Yellowstone in the summer of 1854, from the Crow country, we were not out of sight of large herds for a distance of 400 miles. .... In 1850 they were seen as low down on the Missouri River as the Vermilion, and in 1854 a few were killed near Fort Pierre. But at the present time (1861) they seldom pass below the 47th parallel on the Missouri. Every year, as we ascend the river, we can observe that they are retiring nearer and nearer to the mountainous portions.” f General W. F. Raynolds, in passing from Fort Pierre westward in July, 1859, says that the whole country, for one hundred and forty miles, was a dry, desolate tract, a few antelopes forming the only living things met with; ‘but buffaloes,” he says, ‘‘ have evidently been here, and may return at more favorable seasons of the year. Six bulls were seen to-day in the distance, as we drove into camp, being our first sight of the famous ‘lords of the prairie.’ We are now approaching the Black Hills, however, and will soon have them around us in abun- dance.”t This locality was on the head-waters of the Cheyenne. Again, in speaking of the valley of the Yellowstone, he says: ‘This valley has long been the home of countless herds of buffalo. .... When my party first reached the bluff overlooking the Yellowstone the sight was one which in a few years will have passed away forever. I estimated that about fifteen miles in length of the wide valley was in view. The entire tract of forty or fifty square miles was covered with buffalo as thickly as in former days in the West (when cattle were driven to an Eastern market) a pasture-field would be which was intended only to furnish subsistence to a large drove for a single night. I will not ven. ture an estimate of their probable numbers.” § In 1873 I made a journey from Fort Rice, on the Missouri, to the Yel- lowstone and Musselshell Rivers, accompanying the ‘ Yellowstone Expedition” of that year (General D. S. Stanley commanding) as nat- uralist of the expedition. From my report on the collections made I quote the following: “ Recent signs of the buffalo were first met with in the valley of the Yellowstone, near the mouth of the Rosebud,—tracks of single old bulls that had passed down to the river for water within a period of a few weeks. Above this point considerable numbers seemed to have frequented the river valley during the early part of the season (1873), and tracks but a few days old were frequent for the last ten miles before reaching Pompey’s Pillar. The first buffalo seen was observed about twelve miles west of Pompey’s Pillar. Hight miles further west, on the divide between the Yellowstone and the Mussel- *In a letter dated April 16, 1875. t Transact. Amer. Phil. Soc., Vol. XII, 2d Series, p. 150. { Exploration of the Yellowstone, p. 27. § Ibid., p. 11. A , ALLEN. RANGE BETWEEN UPPER MISSOURI AND PLATTE. 543 shell, we found large herds had grazed but a day or two before our arrival, and fresh tracks of cows and calves, as well as cf bulls, were abundant. From this point to the Musselshell we were frequently in sight of large bands, and quite a number of individnais were killed. They moved off rapidly, however, as we approached, and at no time were more than a few hundred in sight at once. We found later that the valley of the Musselshell and its adjoining prairies had been the recent feeding-ground of large herds, immense numbers having evi- dently spent the early part of the season there. They seemed not, how- ever, to have visited the valley in large numbers before for many years, as all the trails and other signs had evidently been made within the few weeks immediately preceding our arrival. Traces of ancient trails remained, but they were few and insignificant as compared with those of the present year. The herds seemed to have occupied the whole valley as far as we followed it (from the 109th meridian to the Big Bend), as well as the plains on either side. Considerable bands had also ranged over the divide between the Musselshell and the Yellowstone, particu- larly along the two Porcupine Creeks. General Custer met with small herds still further to the eastward, and the main expedition came in sight of a few near the mouth of Custer’s Creek, where several were killed by the scouts. On our return we found that during our absence small bands had visited the valley of the Yellowstone itself, and had ranged as far down as Powder River, while quite large herds had recently passed up Custer’s Creek. | ‘“‘Occasional skeletons and buffalo chips in a good state of preser- vation occur eastward nearly to the Missouri, but the only very recent signs observed this year east of the Yellowstone were the tracks of a few old straggling bulls a few miles east of the river.”* I was also in- formed by credible authorities that they then wintered in great numbers on the head-waters of the Big-Horn, Tongue, and Powder Rivers, pass- ing northward in spring to the Yellowstone and Musselshell. Mr. Rey- nolds, a hunter and scout of great experience, and an unquestionable authority, informed me that the buffalo range of the Upper Missouri embraced the regions of the Powder, Tongue, Big-Horn, and Upper Yellowstone Rivers, and thence northward over the Musselshell, Teton, and Marias Rivers, to the Milk River. The recent rapid extermination of the buffalo over Southwestern Da- kota and the adjoining portions of Wyoming has been undoubtedly effected mainly by the Sioux Indians, who have of late ranged over this region. This at least is the view taken by Colonel Dodge, and appar- ently with good reason. He refers to the subject as follows: ‘The great composite tribe of Sioux, driven by encroaching civilization from their homes in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, had crossed the Mis- souri and thrust themselves between the Pawnees on the east and the Crows on the north and west. A long-continued war between the tribes taught at least mutual respect, and an immense area, embracing the Black Hills and the vast plains watered by the Niobrara and White Rivers, became a debatable ground, into which none but war parties ever penetrated. Hunted more or less by the surrounding tribes, im- mense numbers of buffalo took refuge in this debatable land, where they were comparatively unmolested, remaining there summer and win- ter in security. When the Pawnees were finally overthrown and forced on to a reservation, the Sioux poured into this country, just suited to their tastes, and, finding buffalo very plenteous and a ready sale for their robes, made such a furious onslaught upon the poor beasts that in a few years scarce a buffalo could be found in the extensive tract of * Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XVII, pp. 39, 40, 1874. 544 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ~ country south of the Cheyenne and north and east of the North Platte River. This area, in which the buffalo had thus become practically extinct, joined on the southwest the Laramie Plains country, and there resulted a broad east-and-west belt from the Missouri to Montana, which contained no buffalo.” * T learn from General F. H. Bradley (United States Infantry) that in 1868, when Forts Smith, Reno, and other military posts in the Black Hills region were abandoned, buffaloes were very abundant in all the so-called Big Horn country, and that in one day they killed fifty tons of meat for garrison use. During the period of the government surveys for a railroad route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, during 1853 to 1856, buffaloes were met with in great abundance on the southern tributaries of the Missouri, between the Great Falls of the Missouri and the mouth of the Yellowstone. In passing from Fort Benton southeast to the Mussel- shell River, Lieutenant Mullan reports meeting with three lean old bulls on Arrow River, large herds on the head of the Judith River, between the Girdle and Judith Mountains, and a considerable number along the Musselshell.t In 1871 no buffaloes occurred in Eastern Wyoming south of the Black Hills, and they had also already been long extinct’ over the Laramie Plains, and in the valley of the North Platte in Western Wyoming, which region they probably have not regularly frequented since: they were dispersed, about 1849-50, by the great overland emigration to Cal- ifornia. JI was informed that none then existed in the territory south of the Sweetwater Mountains and the Black Hills. Frémont, in 1842, con- stantly met with large herds as far west as the Laramie River, but none . were seen on the North Platte above the junction of the Laramie until he reached the mouth of the Sweet Water, the grasshoppers and the dry weather having destroyed the grass over the Laramie Plains. An explanation of their final disappearance from the Laramie Plains has been offered by Colonel Richard I. Dodge, which is at least probable. He says that according to hunters’ traditions the Laramie Plains were visited in the winter of 1844-45 ‘“‘by a most extraordinary snow-storm. Contrary to all precedent, there was no wind, and the snow covered the surface evenly to the depth of nearly four feet. Immediately after the storm a bright sun softened the surface, which at night froze into a crust so firm that it was weeks before any heavy animal could make any head- way over it. The Laramie Plains, being entirely surrounded by mount- ains, had always been a favorite wintering-place for the buffaloes. Thousands were caught in this storm, and perished miserably by star- vation. Since that time not a single buffalo has ever visited the Laramie Plains. When I first crossed these plains, in 1868, the whole country was dotted with skulls of buffaloes, all in the last stages of decomposi- tion and all apparently of the same age [or period of exposure], giving some foundation for the tradition. Indeed, it was in answer to my request for an explanation of the numbers, appearance, and identity of age [condition] of these skulls, that the tradition was related to me by an old hunter, who, however, could not himself vouch for the facts.” *Chicago Inter-Ocean, August 5, 1875. t Pacific R. R. Rep. of Exp]. and Surveys, Vol. XI, pt. i, p. 59. { Chicago Inter-Ocean, August 5, 1875. This and the previous extracts from the Inter- Ocean newspaper were sent to this paper by a reporter accompanying the Black Hills Expedition of 1875, of which Colonel Dodge was in command, as a portion of an “advance chapter” from a forthcoming book on the West by Colonel Dodge. This book, “ based on personal experience,” has recently appeared, with maps and illustrations, under the title of “The Hunting Grounds of the Great West.’ (New York, Messrs. G. P. Put- nam’s Sons; London, Chatto and Windus). ALLEN.] DISTRIBUTION IN BRITISH AMERICA. 545 That this may have been the case seems very probable from the fact that I found, in returning over these plains in December, 1871, the snow so deep and so heavily encrusted that the herds of domestic stock were dying from starvation whenever it happened that their owners had not provided for such an emergency by laying in a good supply of hay. Many animals perished from lack of food and shelter, the occurrence of such conditions as a deep snow heavily encrusted being wholly unlooked for; and had buffaloes been then living on these plains they could hardly have survived the long period during which the ground was inaccessi- ble to grazing animals. The buffalo has also become exterminated over a large portion of the country to the northward of the Sweet Water along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, extending northward, in fact, over the head- waters of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. Dr. Hayden informs me that but few were found in 1871 and 1872 on the Upper Yellowstone, and that they are now rarely seen above Shield’s River, although they occurred in the Wind River Valley in 1860. He says, moreover, that very few are found on the Three Forks of the Missouri, where they have been nearly all destroyed or driven out by the miners. ‘Those that re- main are chiefly old bulls, the scattered survivors of the former large herds, and which of course will not long remam. He also says that a few were met with in the valley of the Gros Ventres as late as 1860, and in the valley of the upper part of the Snake River Valley in 1870,—the two latter localities of course being on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. It thus appears that the present range of the buffalo between the Platte and the Missouri is confined to the comparatively small area drained by the principal southern tributaries of the Yellowstone, namely, the Powder, the Tongue, and the Big Horn Rivers, from which they range northward over the middle portions of the Yellowstone and the Musselshell Rivers to the Missouri. ‘ FORMER BOUNDARIES OF THE RANGE OF THE BUFFALO WITHIN THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS, AND ITS PRESENT DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THAT AREA. The range of the buffalo, as previously remarked, formerly extended continuously from the plains of the United States northward to Great ‘Slave Lake, in latitude 62° to 64° north, being apparently almost as numerous over the plains of the Red River, the Assinniboine, Qu’appelle, both branches of the Saskatchewan, and the Peace River, as over the plains of the Missouri. Franklin, in 1820, met with a few at Slave Point, on the north side of Great Slave Lake,* and Dr. Richardson states that in 1829 they had recently, according to the testimony of the natives, wandered to the vicinity of Great Marten Lake, in latitude 63° or 649.7 In respect to the distribution of the buffalo in the “‘ Kur Countries,” Dr. ichardson speaks as follows: “As far as I have been able to ascertain, the limestone and sandstone formations lying between the great Rocky Mountain ridge and the lower eastern chain of primitive rocks, are the only districts in the fur countries that are frequented by the bison. In these comparatively level tracts there is much prairie-land, on which * “A few frequent Slave Point, on the north side of the lake, but this is the most northern situation in which they were observed by Captain Franklin’s party.”—SaBINg, Zoilogical Appendix to Franklin’s Journey, p. 668. +Fauna Boreali-Americana, Vol. I, p. 279. See also Zodlogical Appendix to Parry’s Second Voyage, p. 382. 30 & S$ 546 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. they find good grass in the summer; and also many marshes overgrown with bulrushes and earices, which supply them with winter food. Salt | springs and lakes also abound on the confines of the limestone, and there are several well-known sali-licks, where bison are sure to be found at all | seasons of the year. They do not frequent any of the districts formed of primitive rocks, and the limits of their range to the eastward within the Hudson Bay Company’s territories may be correctly marked on the | map by a line commencing in longitude 97° on the Red River which flows into the south-end of Lake Winipeg, crossing the Saskatchewan to the westward of the Basquian hill, and running thence by the Athapescow to the east end of Great Slave Lake. Their migrations to the westward were formerly limited by the Rocky Mountain range, and they are still unknown in New Caledonia and on the shores of the Pacific to the north of the Columbia River; but of late years they have found out a passage - across the mountains near the sources of the Saskatchewan, and their numbers to the westward are said to be annually increasing.”’* The range of the buffalo in British America was hence co-extensive with the prairies, meeting the range of the musk-ox on the north, and the prairies and plains of the United States on the south. It was not, however, exclusively confined to the plains, and apparently less so at the north- ward than toward the south. Besides positively forsaking the more exposed portions of the northern plains and seeking refuge in the woods during the severer periods of cold in winter, they are said to frequent, at all seasons, the timber adjoining the prairie districts. Ina later work Dr. Richardson refers to the range ot this animal as foilows: “The bison, though inhabiting the prairies in vast bands, frequents also the wooded country, and once, I believe, almost all parts of it down to the coasts of the Atlantic; but it had not until lately crossed the Rocky Mountain range, nor is it now known on the Pacific Slope, except in a very few places. Its most northern limit is the Horn Mountain [in lati- tude 62].”+ To the northward of the Saskatchewan, the prairie country is confined to limited areas, and there buffaloes range extensively through the open woods.t The habitat of the bison north of the United States, at the beginning of the present century, hence embraced a triangular area, extending through about seventeen degrees of longitude (from 96° to 113°) on the northern boundary of the: United States, decreasing in breadth northward toa narrow point at Great Slave Lake. At present, however, they are confined within much narrower limits than formerly, and are quite absent over large areas that once were among their favorite resorts.§ * Fauna Boreali-Ameticana, Vol. I, pp. 279, 280. t Arctic Searching Expedition: A Journal of a Boat-Voyage through Rupert’s Land and the Arctic Sea, American ed., p. 99, 1852. { Hind believes that the so-called “ prairie” buiftalo, as distinguished by the hunters from the “ wood” buffalo, formerly “ranged through open woods, almost as much as he now does through the prairies.”—Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Expedition, Vol. II, p- 106. §Aecording to the observations of Mr. W. H. Dall, and others, 2, near ally of the buf- falo (the Bison antiquus Leidy = B. crassicornis Richardson) formerly existed consider- ably to the northwestward of the former range of the living species, extending throughout probably nearly the whole of Alaska. The evidences of this consist in the occurrence of their fossil remains at different localities in the valley of the Yukon and elsewhere. In answer to inquiries of mine, Mr. Dall wrote me, under date of San Francisco, Cal., January 23, 1871, as follows, respecting the distribution of these re- mains: “Your letter is at hand, and in reply I can only say that the bones of the bison are found on the Upper Yukon, from the Ramparts eastward and northward, and also at Kotzebue Sound. They are found, like all the remains of tortiary mammals in that region, on or very near the surface, and are especially abundant on the Kotlo River, which falls into the Yukon above Fort Yukon [latitude 66°, longitude 141°,—just west ALLEN] DISTRIBUTION IN BRITISH AMERICA. HAT The following abstracts and quotations embrace the more important references to the range and extermination of the buffalo in British North America, and are arranged nearly in a chronological order. In 1790 Mackenzie found buffaloes in cousiderable numbers on Peace. tiver, along which they extended westward to the base of the Rocky Mountains.* At this time they abounded also on the plains between the Assinniboine, Red, and Missouri Rivers, as well as on both branches of the Saskatchewan and their tributaries. + ~ Ross Coxe, in June, 1812, also found the buffalo in small numbers on the head-waters of the Assinniboine River and its tributaries,t but from all this region they have now nearly or quite disappeared. Hind re- ports finding bones and horns of buffaloes on the Assinniboine River, between Fort Garry and Prairie Portage, in 1857, but makes no men- tion of the occurrence of the animals themselves there at that date, but says they were still found on the sage plains further north. The Red River hunters at this time, he says, went part to the plains of the Saskatchewan, and part to the Yellowstone and Coteau de Missouri for their buffaloes. Alexander Ross, writing at about the same date, also says, “ Formerly all this part of the country {Red River Plains] was overrun by wild buffalo, even as late as 1810”; but adds, ‘“‘ Of late years the field of chase has been far distant from the Pembina Plains.”|| Simpson reports that- buffaloes were abundant on the plains south of the Saskatchewan in the winter of 1836, and that the country about Carlton House was completely intersected with their deeply-worn trails, and strewed with their skeletons; from this region they had been tem- porarily driven by the autumnal fires. He also met with a few buffaloes on the Clear Water River, a little above its junction with the Athabasca. In January, 1840, they were also extremely abundant about Carlton House.{] é Respecting the range and the migrations of the buffalo within the British Possessions about the year 1858, Hind observes as follows: ‘ Red River hunters recognize two grand divisions of buffalo, those of the - Grand Coteau and Red River, and those of the Saskatchewan. .... The of the United States and British boundary]. The remains I have seen, with those of the elephant (in similar situations), are black and fossilized. The bones of the musk ox and mountain goat, on the contrary, are white, and look very recent. The latter animal is still rarely found living on the mountains rear the Upper Yukon. The bison remains which I have seen have been principally horn-cores and the remains of the cranium and lower jaws. The indications are that the Elephas primigenius and the fossil bison were contemporaries, but that the musk ox was a later comer. How- ever, this idea rests merely on the appearance of the bones, as the bones of all (as well as the remains of fossil horses) are found together in a bed of blue clay, near the sur- face, at Kotzebue Sound, and (barring the horses) all over the Upper Yukon Valley, in similar positions, irregularly scattered on the ground. I found the cranium of an ele- phant in the grass at the mouth of the Yukon, skulls of musk oxen and bisons on the surface in little valleys in the Ramparts, and on the alluvial plain near Fort Yukon.” In addition to the above, I have since been informed by Mr. Dall that he obtained a complete skull, except the lower jaw, on the Sitzikunten River, just below the Ram- parts of the Yukon, in about latitude 65° and longitude 151°, and other fragments about fifty miles lower down the Yukon. The skull was unfortunately lost during the subsequent journey down the river. [The above should have been inserted in connec- tion with the history of Bison antiquus, but was accidentally omitted. ] * Mackenzie (Sir Alexander), Travels to the Polar Sea and to the Pacific Ocean in the years 1789-91, Vol. I, pp. 147, 155, 156, 377. tlbid., pp. lxi, bxii, Ixv, Ixix. { Adventures on the Columbia River, p. 259. § Hind (H. Y.), Canadian, Red River, Assinniboine, and Saskatchewan Exploring Ex- peditions, Vol. II, p. 272. || The Red River Settlement: Its Rise, Progress, and Present State, p. 15. 4 Simpson (Thomas), Narrative of the Discovery of the North Coast of America, Lon- don, 1843, pp. 40, 45, 46, 60, 402, 404. 548 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. northwestern buffalo ranges are as follow: ‘The bands belonging to the Red River Range winter on thé Little Souris, and southeasterly toward and beyond Devil’s Lake, and thence on to Red River and the Shayenne. Here, too, they are found in the spring. Their course then lies west towards the Grand Coteau de Missouri until the month of June, when they turn north, and revisit the Little Souris from the west, winding round the flank of Turtle Mountain to’ Devil’s Lake, and by the main river (Red River), to the Shayenne again. In the memory of -many Red River hunters the buffalo were accustomed to visit the prai- ries of the Assinniboine as far as Lake Manitobah, where in fact their skulls and bones are now to be seen; their skulls are also seen on the east side of the Red River of the North, in Minnesota, but the living animal is very rarely to be met with. A few years ago they were accus- tomed to pass on the east side of Turtle Mountain, through the Blue Hills of the Souris, but of late years their wanderings in this direction. have ceased; experience teaching them that their enemies, the half- breeds, have approached too near their haunts in that direction. ‘¢‘ The country about the west side of Turtle Mountain, in June, 1858, was scored with their tracks at one of the crossing places on the Little Souris, as if deep parallel ruts had been artificially cut down the hill- sides. These ruts, often one foot deep and sixteen inches broad, would converge from the prairie for many miles to a favorite crossing or drink- ing place; and they are often seen in regions in which the buffalo is no longer a visitor. ‘The great western herds winter between the south and north branches of the Saskatchewan, south of the Touchwood Hills, and be- yond the north Saskatchewan in the valley of the Athabasca; they cross the South Branch in June and July, visit the prairies ou the south side of the Touchwood Hill range, and cross the Qu’appelle valley any- where between the Elbow of the South Branch and a few miles west of Fort Ellice, on the Assinniboine. They then strike for the Grand Coteau de Missouri, and their eastern flank often approaches the Red River herds coming north from the Grand Coteau. They then proceed across the Missouri up the Yellow Stone, and return to the Saskatchewan and Athabaska as winter approaches, by the flanks of the Rocky Mount- ains. We saw many small herds, belonging to the western bands, cross the Qu’appelle vailey and proceed in single file towards the Grand Coteau de Missouriin July, 1858. The eastern bands, which we had ex- pected to find on the Little Souris, were on the main river (Red River is so termed by the half-breeds hunting in this quarter). They had pro- ceeded early thither, far to the south of their usual track, in consequence of the devastating fires which swept the plains from the Rocky Mount- ains to Red River in the autumn of 1857. We met bulls all moving south, when approaching Fort Ellice; they had come from their winter quarters near the Touchwood Hill range. As a general rule the Sas- katchewan bands of buffalo go north during the autumn and south dur- ing the summer. The Little Souris and main river bands go north- west in summer and southeast in autumn.”* Hind also states that the buffaloes still frequented the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains. t The Earl of Southesk, in his recently published narrative of his sporting adventures in British North America in 1859,f makes but * Hind (H. Y.), Narrative of the Canadian Red River Expedition of 1857, and of the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expeditions of 1858, Vol. II, pp. 107-109 See also Vol. I, pp. 295, 306, 336, 342, 356. tIbid, Vol. II, p. 106. t Saskatchewan and the Rocky Mountains, 1875. ALLEN. ] ' DISTRIBUTION IN BRITISH AMERICA. 549 few references to the buffalo, and adds nothing of much importance to our knowledge of its distribution. Hespeaks, however, of their occur- rence on the plains west of Fort Ellice, and of meeting with large herds between the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan. He also met with their recent remains near Old Bow Fort, on the South Sas- katchewan, at the base of the Rocky Mountains. ‘The plains,” he says, ‘are all strewn with skulls and other vestiges of the buffalo, which came up this river last year in great numbers. They were once common in the mountains. At the Kootanie Plain I observed some of their wallowing places, and even so high as a secluded little lake near where the horses were taken up to the ice bank 1 saw traces of them. They are now rapidly disappearing everywhere.” 593 soil, but still the locusts crept under. Peach-trees were defoliated, the fruit devoured, and the stones left attached to the stems, while the branches were girdled. As the habits of the grasshopper were studied at Lawrence by Prof. F. H. Snow, of the University of Kansas, and published in the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science for 1875, I condense his statements as the results of the observations of an accomplished entomologist living farther west than any other trained observer. Professor Snow first observed the recently-hatched locust on the 6th of April. ‘ They were very diminutive in size, and when dis- turbed by my walking among them, would hop only two or three inches high, looking very much like the grains of sand in rapid motion upon a vibrating acoustic plate.” About the 10th of May the young locusts began to desert their hatching-grounds, which, it should be borne in mind, is where the locusts which had arrived from the Rocky Mountain plateau during the previous summer laid their eggs, the latter being the parents of the brood observed by Professor Snow. As these locusts increased in size they spread around, and it was at this time, namely, before the wings are formed, that they were most ipvjurious. In fifty- five days after hatching, the locust acquires its wings and takes flight. They were first seen to rise and take flight, for their final departure, on June 3. By the 12th of June, just two weeks from the time of their last molt, very few remained in the pupa (or partially-winged) condi- tion. The destruction in 1875 was confined to a narrow strip on the eastern border of Kansas, along both sides of the Kansas Pacific Rail- road. Between Lawrence and Topeka the damage was much less than about Lawrence, and west of Topeka I could not see that the crops had been atfected. At Fort Riley very few locusts were seen along the railroad. track. Reaching Denver June 26, a few locusts, the remains of the spring swarms, were seen hopping over the ground. At Denver, 5,211 feet elevation, the young hatch from March 15 until May 15; thereis an early -and a late brood. A farmer told us that he saw the young on the snow March 20, and again after another fall of snow March 28. A month later, about the middle of April, a second brood, and about the middle of May a third brood appears. At Boulder the injury from grasshoppers had been light; the grass- hoppers appeared in greatest numbers about the Ist of May, stripping some corntields, and destroying about half the crop, and then went up the Boulder Cation, May 15. They were still not infrequently seen on the plains. June 30, at Nederland up the Boulder Cation, I first saw the locusts flying in the air, toward the west, the wind blowing from the east. Their pupe were very abundant on grass, logs, ete. I was told that they had become fledged on the 25th—27th, and immediately began to fly westward up the cation. At Caribou (9,167 feet elevation), the grass- hoppers had destroyed the first crop. Around the base of Arapahoe Peak, between 11,000 and 12,000 feet elevation, adult winged locusts were seen, but no young. July 2, in riding from Nederland to Blackhawk, the air was filled with grasshoppers at an altitude of several hundred feet, sailing on the wind and driven eastward. The stage-driver told me that they had been flying five days. The potato-plants were at this point 5 inches high. At Blackhawk, (7,543 feet elevation), the pupz of the locust was abun- dant, as well as winged individuals. At Golden, at base of the Foot Hills (5,729 feet elevation), July 3, the locust had been fledged for five days, and the pup weie still abundant 38Gs 594 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. mingling with the pale-green pups of Caloptenus bivittatus and the larvee and adult of Gidipoda carolina. At Idaho Springs (7,330 feet elevation), July 5, the young larve of the locust were smaller than I had yet seen, being about a quarter of an inch long, and in all stages, from the lately-hatched to the pupz and winged individuals. I was told, however, that the first brood of locusts hatched about the end of April and early in May, but that winged individuals — did not appear until June 20. On Gray’s Peak, July 7, owing to the coolness of the day, a little snow falling on the summit and rain below, no grasshoppers, wingless or winged, were seen. In Kelso Gulch, near Georgetown, no young were seen, and but afew winged ones. At Georgetown (8,414 feet elevation), on the flats near the town the young were a quarter to one-half an inch long. Mr. B.S. Morrison informed me that the locust at Georgetown begins to hatch about the 1st of June, a month or more later than at Denver, and continues to hatch out until the 1st of July, as the localities differ in height. About June 23, he said, the locusts begin to get their wings, but they do not migrate until — August, when they assemble in great. swarms on the mountains, and falling on the snow in immense numbers, are eaten by the bears. July 9, at Floyd’s Hill the grasshoppers were seen by thousands fly- ing westward up the cafon. I did not go into South Park, but was told by an intelligent young man that at a point about a thousand feet below the level of the park he saw the locusts flying about June 25. July 12, in the Garden of the Gods (about 6,200 feet elevation), while there were few to be seen on the ground, the air was filled with them, flying at all distances from 100 to more than 1,000 feet, for their altitude could be approximately measured by the highest sandstone column of the Cathedral Rocks. When a locust takes wing, it rises more readily on a light breeze and flies off in a zigzag course, gradually 1ising in height until it sails about, if the wind is light, in an uncertain course. In the Garden of the Gods, where the breeze was northeast, they were driven southwest; but farther up the valley, toward Manitou Springs (6,297 feet elevation), when the wind was westerly, they were borne in an easterly direction. Their rapidity of flight seemed to depend on the strength of the wind, and when the latter was light, individuals could be seen flying about in all directions, crossing each other in their flight, but the swarm as a whole were moving with the wind. A few pupe were seen on the ground. At Manitou, the locusts are said to have hatched out in April, and to have taken two months to get their wings. .A few pupe were still to be seen in the oats, and in the spring they did a good deal of damage, thinning 'the oats and devouring the beets and other garden-vegetables. There were few grasshoppers to be seen in the air at half past 8 in the morning, but by 11 o’clock there were many more. There is probably good ground for the popular opinion that they descend to the ground at night and fly up toward midday, flying by day and resting and feed- ing at night. At this date I was informed by a man who had just arrived from Fair Play (elévation 9,964 feet) that there were few locusts (C. spretus) in South Park (8,000 to 10,000 feet elevation) and Arkansas Valley this summer. Mr. W. H. Holmes, assistant on the Survey, writes from Southern Col- orado that the grasshoppers had “ eaten up everything” on the La Plata. On July 14, I ascended Pike’s Peak, and at an elevation of about 8,000 to 9,000 feet found larvee in the second stage and pups of C. spre- tus. Some not more than one-fifth of an inch long were seen clustering PACKARD.] THE LOCUST IN COLORADO. 595 on the fallen trees by the side of a brook, while the adults were flying perhaps 1,000 feet overhead. On the extreme summit (elevation 14,147, Parry’s estimate 14,216, feet), the locusts were flying, though not in great abundance, at least 500 feet above the top; some fell with a thud on the rocks and seemed paralyzed or were found benumbed on the snow. I did not notice that they were flying in any determinate direction, but as vast numbers of a green Haltica covered the low alpine vegetation, I judge that as these had evidently been borne up by currents of wind from the plains below, the locusts had been carried up in a similar manner, especially as they were more abundant on that day at an eleva- tion of 8,000 to 9,000 feet. That, however, even at this latter elevation, the winged locusts had probably come from the plains east of the mount- ains seems evident, as the young born at this altitude had not yet ac- quired their wings. Indeed, it seems to me exceedingly doubtful whether those born above an altitude of 8,000 or 9,000 feet arrive at maturity if they do acquire wings; their flight is only local, from one cafion to another. It seems evident that the vast swarms which appear occa- sionally must have been hatched on the plains to the west and northwest, at an altitude of 5,000 to 7,000 feet. As regards the inferences to be drawn from m y own observations in Colorado, which were made between June 27 and July 19, namely, after the spring brood had taken flight and before the late summer swarms had arrived on the plains, I would state: 1; That in the cafons and mountains above an elevation of about 8,000 feet the young were too few in number and too late in their devel- opment to supply the material for the swarms that visited the plains about Denver in August. 2. The grasshoppers seen by me sailing in the air between about 6,000 and 9,000 feet elevation were probably derived from the April and May broods of the plains about Denver, east of the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountain Range. 3. The August swarms which spread over the plains about Denver and the country north and south, within a hundred miles or so, origi- nated in Colorado, but probably not the adjacent Territories, and were derived from those bred on the plains about Denver directly east of the mountains, which were borne aloft in June, and then collected in large swarms and migrated back, borne by westerly winds, later in the sea- son, to find suitable places for laying their eggs. It is not improbable that the earliest local swarms, such as devastated the plains of Colorado, bred in the plains about Denver, and gathered for about a month in the lower portion of the mountain valleys into the compact and well-organ- ized swarm which, to some extent, devastated the Colorado Plains. Undoubtedly the sexual instinct leads large swarms, bred during favor- able seasons, to migrate in search of broad plains which afford the proper conditions for the deposition of their eggs and the nourisbment of their young. But itis evident that the parks and canons of the Rocky Mount- -ains of Colorado, all of which lie above an altitude of 7,000 feet, pre- sent conditions of elevation, climate, extent of territory, and food tco unfavorable for the production of the immense swarms which at long intervals devastate the Colorado Plateau and portions of Kansas and adjoining States. It is most probable, however, that the late August and early September broods of locusts noticed by Mr. Byers about Denver may have been born and bred during exceptionally dry seasons in the plains of Wyoming and Montana, and thus appeared in Colorado a month later than those bred east of the mountains. It is doubtful if the young individuals (larve) which I saw at different elevations up to 596 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. about 9,000 feet ever arrived at maturity; they may winter over and acquire wings in the spring, but this is improbable. In Northern Colorado the grasshoppers may have in part taken wing from the Laramie Plains of Wyoming and the plateau east of the Black Hills, while the swarms devastating Southern Colorado may have been in part indigenous and in part derived from the plains of New Mexico on the south and Utah on the west. As I was not able to observe the locust in spring or late in the sum- mer, I am obliged to rely on the statement of others regarding the hab- its of the locust at these periods. The following letters from W. N. Byers, esq., written at my request, give an able summary of the results ot his observations and are ot value, as the leading points confirm my own impressions. It will be seen that I quite agree with Mr. Byers’s view that comparatively few of the swarms originate in the mountain canon, as originally stated by the late Mr. B. D. Walsh (based on the statements of Drs. Parry and Velie), and reiterated by others: DENVER, COLo., August 22, 1875. Dear Sir: Your letter of 16th instant is before me, and fearing that if may be mis- laid or overlooked if not answered until ‘‘ the close of the season,” I will endeavor to reply, so far as able to do so, now. Some years ago I answered a similar inquiry from Prof. Cyrus Thomas, also of Dr. Hayden’s Survey, and I think it found place in some one of the reports. My opinion respecting the hatching-fields, &c., of the grasshopper was then seriously questioned, but Professor Thomas, after another year’s observation and study, freely admitted that I was right. I presume you have seen what I wrote at that time, or if you bave not, that you can readily dose. My opinions have not changed since. I may here say that I first made the acquaintance of the destructive grasshopper in 1852, about the Ist of August, upon the plains of Northern Utah and Southern Idaho, at which time they were flying east-northeast in swarms that obscured the sun. Their breeding-places may be in any part of this arid portion (the western half) cf the United States. The great swarms that attain maturity and migrate are hatched, doubtless, within altitudes ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 feet above sea-level. At 7,000 to 8,000 feet they may so far mature as to make short flights and remove to new local- ities not far distant. Above 8,000 feet they seldom, if ever, become able to fly, though I haye seen myriads of them hatched at 10,000, 11,009, and even up to 12,000 feet above the sea. Probably they did not attain more than one-third of their growth before being destroyed by autumn frosts and snows. The most favorable hatching-grounds are the plains like this east of the mountains, upon which are situate Denve er, Pueblo, Greeley, Cheyenne, Fort Laramie, &e., from 4,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea. Where they settle down to propagate their species they must have subsistence ; hence there must be fertility and vegetation. As to the latter, they are not very particular, but are sure to take the best thereis. Sexual upion begins in August and the deposit of eggs soon after, and both continue then until stopped by severe frosty weather, say in October. They choose, first, plowed ground; second, comparatively loose sandy or gravelly land, partially but not thickly covered with erass or other vegetation ; third, the most favorable spots where they may happen to be and from which they ‘are not able to get away. The female, with her nether extremity, perforates a hole in the ground about as deep as the length of her body, and deposits a cluster of eggs that resemble in size and form the eggs of the caterpillar-moth attached to the twig of an apple or cherry tree, except that in the place of the twig there is a hollow space. They are cemented together by a glutinous substance, which is avubtless impervious to water. The eggs deposited, the hole above them is soon filled and leveled by wind or rain. In a warm winter young grasshop- pers are frequently found batching out at various periods. They, have been noted here in November, in February, March, and April, but of course only in limited areas and small numbers; and such do no harm, being svon destroyed by cold. The main hatch. ing begins about the second week in May, and lasts, say,a month. At higher alti- tudes, from 7,000 to 12,000 feet (if eggs happen to have been deposited there, which is » rarely the case), the hatching continues from the above dates until the last of August or even into September, owing to the altitude. But from all these latter no harm need ever be feared. The flight of moving swarms is governed mainly by the preva‘ling winds, although they seem to be controlled somewhat by choice or laws of their own. A change ‘of wind, or particularly a sudden chill, even slight, brings a flight of them quickly to the eround ; but if the next day is fair and warm, and the wind favorable, they again PACKARD.] THE LOCUST IN COLORADO. 597 circle into the upper air and resume their flight. They may tarry for several days, ce narel depending upon the weather and the sun’s warmth—the warmer the better or them. The ‘‘cations of the mountains” (a very prevalent idea in the East) produce but very few grasshoppers—probably not 5 per cent.; the higher canons none that ever leave them. I suppose that the swarms that dovastated Nebraska and Kansas in 1874 were na- tives of the plains of the Upper Missouri branches, the Yellowstone, Powder River, and the North Platte—that great plateau-land lying between the Black Hills and Roeky Mountain chains in Montana and Northern Wyoming. The same flights overspread Eastern Colorado in 1874, destroyed the late crops and deposited their eggs. The latter hatched out in May and June (very irregularly), and the young ate up the early crops, and one, two, and in some cases three subsequent plantings. In July most of them took flight, but frequent swarms have. appeared since in various parts of the Territory, aud they are now doing considerable damage in several counties. Their movements this year have been very erratic and entirely un- certain. These various flights—none of them very numerous—have been in various directions, and there seems as yet little disposition to deposit eggs. I am told that most of them are afflicted with parasites, and if so they will soon disappear. They perished from that cause in 1865. It would be easy to learn exactly the nature and habits of this plague, provided observers can be secured all over this arid region. They afflict some portion of it every year. The scourge only moves from place to place. If Government can secure report, for instance, from every district in which they hatch next spring, then trace the flight of the moving swarms during the summer and fall, their habits can be accurately determined. It is a far more simple task than the operations of the Signal Service Bureau. If at any time I can serve you further, or if you desire more definite report this fall of the seasou’s results, please let me know. Meantime, believe me, very truly, your obedient servant, WM. N. BYERS. A. S. PackARD, JR., M. D., Salem, Mass. Hor SuLPHUR SPRINGS, COLO., October 1, 1875. Dear Sir: In response to your postal card of August 30, I have but little more to report respecting the grasshopper. _I have studied them with some care here this fall, and will givein brief the result. The first flights came to this neighborhood in the first week of August—not numerous—and most of them disappeared in three or four days. In the second week of August others came and in great numbers, and they have remained ever since. I was absent the latter half of August. In the first week of September I was again here and found them pairing. Many of the females were boring holes and appeared to be depositing eggs, but on examination it was found that very few actu- ally were deposited. The bottom of the hole generally contained a small quantity of frothy, gelatinous matter, such as accompanies the eggs; but I think in only two in- stances during that week did I find eggs, and then only six to ten. The next week, however, brought on the height of the season. Myriads were boring in the ground every where, and from one-half to two-thirds of the perforations were found to contain from 15 to 30 eggs each, from one inch to two inches below the surface. In many places the earth was perfectly honeycombed by their nests. At this time (the second week in September) they had beguu dying quite rapidly, and the living were feeding largely upon the dead. As the season advances they subsist more and more upon the dead and eat less vegetation. Now (October 1) they are eating the dead and dying when not too torpid to care about eating at all. I was again absent the last half of September, and have returned but two days ago. There are still plenty of grasshoppers. here, but most are dead. Occasionally a couple are seen paired, but I have found none depositing eggs. I Jearn that last year eggs were deposited in North Park and that they hatched there in countless swarms the present season. I presume our flights came from there. At any rate we are certain of the young ones here next year. The altitude here is 7,725 feet above the sea. The west half of the park escaped them. They extended but five or six miles west of this point; that is, the swarms that deposited eggs. The first swarms (1st to 5th of August) were more general, but did not stay. About Denver, and over a large portion of the agricultural country in that neighbor- hood, the flying swarms were bad in the latter part of August, but most of them moved on. Only in a few and comparatively limited neighborhoods were many eggs deposited. Of those that died here a few were killed by a parasite, developing a maggot which eats out the body of the grasshopper; but the great majority perished from exhaustion and cold—old age, perhaps. Very truly, yours, WM. N. BYERS. A. S. Packanp, Jr., M. D., Salem, Mass. 598 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. P. §.—Since writing the above I have made another grasshopper survey, and find numbers of them yet depositing eggs. By the same mail with this fat send you a small box of the eggs. I find in some ~ places the ground at the proper depth is fully one-fourth filled with their eggs. From this you may form some idea of their incredible numbers. I find also that numerous burrowing insects, worms, &c., are living off them. ; z W.N. B. The earliest swarm of which I can find authentic information isoneseen at Boulder, Colo., by Professor Robinson, and whose history he has kindly given in the following account. It seems impossible that this swarm which began its migrations so early as July 20 could have been raised among the parks or cafions of the mountains. We are forced to the conclusion that they were bred on the plains, and collecting and massing east of the mountains were borne by westerly currents beyond the usual breeding-grounds of the species across the plains to Hoey Kansas. UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, Lawrence, Kan., October 11, 1875. DEAR Sir: I will very gladly give you my observations upon the swarming of the locusts from the Rocky Mountains eastward in the summer of 1874. I arrived at Denver on my westward trip about. the 23d of June. During 2 stay of six or seven days in the city, I made frequent excursions to the neighboring “country, visiting “ranches,” rambling through fields of grain and over the prairie, with eyes wide open for locusts, potate-bugs, &e., of whose ravages I had previously read many reports. At this time I found very few locusts anywhere, not enough to do any percep- tible damage to vegetation. About the Ist of July I went over the Snowy Range down into Middle Park. Here I eagerly renewed my search for locusts, urged on by the desire to use them as trout-bait ; and you may be sure J hunted them vigorously, for with nearly every locust I cculd catch a fine trout. But the trout were far plentier than the locusts. Coming out of the mountains about the 20th of July, by way of Golden City, just at the base of the foot-hills, ] encountered the advance of an immense swarm of locusts sweeping from the north, filling the air from the ground upwards for hundreds of feet. Two or three miles from the hills their flight appeared to swerve somewhat more toward the east. I passed through the swarm about five miles from where they were first encountered. The next day they settled down to business in the wheat-fields near Denver. The 28th of July, leaving Denver for Lawrence, I overtook them at Salina. The 13th of August they first appeared in Lawrence. They staid about ten days, long enough to eat everything green, and then passed on to the southeast. Where food was abun- dant they traveled slowly. They were ten days in going from this place to Olathe, 27 miles farther east, and tive or six weeks in reaching Sedalia, Mo. Yours, respectiully, D. H. ROBINSON. In addition to the facts regarding the locust in Colorado in 1875, I may cite the following facts from Professor Riley’s eighth report. Mr. N. C. Meeker, of Greeley, writes that * on the plains, they appeared iate in April and the first of May ; ; along the foot-bills in May ; in the timber- region and along the Snowy Range irom June to July. * * About the Ist of July, the. first hatched in the plains-region departed toward the south. A week ago (August 20) those hatched in the Blue Mountains came down upon us and then departed in a southeasterly direction; but now we are having them from the Snowy Range in what may seem in- credible numbers. Their numbers, however, are almost nothing in com- parison with the myriads that keep southward every day about noon. I estimate that they cover in the sky east and west a space twenty or thirty miles wide, while they move in a body half a. mile deep. ‘They consume about two hours in passing, and we can estimate from this statement how much ground they would cover if they should all alight.” It seems from this extract that so far north as Greeley the locusts came late in August from over the mountains to the westward, and not PACKARD.) THE LOCUST IN COLORADO. 599 from the north, 7. e., Wyoming; while those hatched earlier in the season on the plains, went southward. ‘ Signal-service observations made at Denver show that from the 20th of July to the end of August swarms repeatedly passed, and invariably from the north and northwest, not- withstanding that the prevailing direction of the wind was from the south.” (RKiley’s report.) I also add a. letter from Mr. Meeker, published in the New York Tribune: GREELEY, CoOLo., May 25. We are trying every way we can think of to drive away the grasshoppers, and we are now in the midst of the battle, but the wounds of the conflict are mainly inflicted by the insects. Ordinarily, the grasshoppers aro not batched out of their eggs until the Ist of June. Before this period the ground is so wet and cold in consequence of the spring rains that the insects are not batched out. This year we had no spring rains to speak of, hence the ground was warm and dry, and the insects appeared about the 25th of April. At this time the wheat was just starting, and the insects ate it as fast as it grew. Our wheat is sown in February and March, and it is of a superior quality, better than the winter-wheat of tlhe Hastern States. If there had been the usual spring rains it would have been at least a foot high by the time the grasshop- pers appeared. Wheat that is starting is greatly injured by being irrigated, and usually it does not need irrigation. If the soil is light the water quickly cuts gulches which constantly deepen, and flooding the ground all over is impossible, especially if the land inclines any way. Bat after the grain has grown to some height its roots fill the surface-earth and the water cannot cut through them, and it forces its way hither and thither among the blades of grain, much as one is obliged to do ina crowd of men. So it spreads over the field and evenly with a little aid. When wheat is in this condition, and the young grusshoppers are hatched in sandy places open to the sun, they cannot eat the wheat as fast as it grows, and besides it is an easy matter, by irrigating the fields, to drown them, or at least to keep their numbers small. But even when they are eating the wheat in a half a dozen ficlds, or in a dozen fields in one neighborhood, as fast as it grows, there will be many other fields where the wheat is not molested, and by the time the pests are grown and have wings to fly a large breadth of wheat will be strone and vigorous, and consequently will mature. Usually, therefore, the young grasshop- pers—which came to our fields only once before, two years ago—do but little damage, aud the average yield of wheat during the year meutioned was as great as that of the Eastern States; while in ordinary years it is more than double. In this place and all through Colorado the gardeus are as bare as in January, for no attempt has been made to plant vegetables. The grasshoppers do not touch pease, however, and these are growivg fast. But most of the monrning is abont the condition of the wheat-fields. We have on the northwest about 4,000 acres sowed with wheat, and owned by thirty or forty farm- ers. The wheat is all gone, and that region looks like a desert. It is true that there are a few fields in the midst left, but we expect to hear every day of their destruction northeast and east of the railroad and along whatis called Free Church. The owners are coustantly on guard. When an advance detachment of grasshoppers appears it is attacked with fire and water, and thus for the present the enemy is kept at bay. On this side of the river, all the five-acre, ten-acre, and twenty-acre lots are without vege- tation. To the south there are several hundred acres of wheat where the wheat is over knee-high and growing as if in arace for its life. We may save 500 acres of wheat out of 5,000, which will give us bread, but we expected to have obtained $150,000 from this year’s crop. Meanwhile we are waiting. Corn will be planted in hundreds of fields within ten days. All kinds of garden-vegetables are now growing in boxes in the houses, waiting their chance to appear with safety in the outer air. I expect to sow half an acre of beets and get a large return. There is no seed-wheat in the country ; if there were a crop could be grown; and there is scarcely corn enough for seed. There is no barley, nor have the farmers money to buy any. All this is a fair description. As a people we are certainly better off than those fur- ther east, because we have water at our command, because our stock-range is preserved, ° giving to those keeping cattle their usual returns, while our mines of silver and gold are unfailing. But these resources do not help our farmers at all. There are some families now utterly destitute. Every doJlar they had or coulda borrow was put into the ground, and it will never return. Friends of such in the East should help them if possible. Probably county commissioners can give some relief; the legislature muy ; Colorado is entirely out of debt. The grangers can do nothing for each other, for all are involved. The total destruction of crops between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains is appalling, and I estimate that the number of people afflicted is nearly three mil- 600 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. lions. We, here, do not believe a word in the statements made from time to time that the grassheppers are dying, or that a parasite is eating them. We have seen them come out of water, mud, and snow as strong as ever. They are “iron-clad.” I wish I were as sure of one proposition as lam that a machine will be invented that will take them up from the ground and “ leave not a wretch behind.” Additional facts regarding the occurrence of the locust (C. spretus) in Colorado and other Territories will be found in the following extracts from an article in the Daily Inter-Ocean, Chicago, October 9, 1875, from the pen of Prof. Cyrus Thomas, State entomologist of Illinois: Their hatching-ground is known to extend over the vast area roughly designated by the following boundary-lines : On the east, the one hundred and third meridian ; on the south, the south line of Colorado and Utah; on the west, the west line of Utah extended north to British America; the northern line being somewhere in British America—even this area in the northern part being expanded indefinitely east and west. Now for the proof. While connected with the United States Geological Sur- vey, under Dr. Hayden, for four years, I traveled over a large portion of this area, traversing it on various lines east and west and north and south, studying somewhat carefully the habits of these destructive locusts. During this time I noticed them in the larva and pupa state, or depositing their eggs at the following places: At various points along the east base of and in the bordering valley of the mountains in Wyoming and Colorado, from North Platte near Fort Laramie to the Arkansas River ; in Laramie plains, and around Fort Bridger; from Utah Lake, in Utah, to Fort Hall in Snake River Valley, Idaho; in Northwestern Dakota near the Red River of the North; and on both sides of the range in Montana along the valleys of Deer Lodge River, and the branches of the Upper Missouri. I also obtained satisfactory proof of the’same thing occurring in British America, north of Dakota; in Middle Park, Colorado; and in the regions west of that point; in Wind River Valley, in Wyoming; in Central Montana along the Yellowstone, and in the Green River country west of South Pass. These facts, which are but a small portion of what might now be gathered, will give some idea of the work necessary to be done if we undertake to exterminate these insects by destroying their eggs in their native baunts. If it can be shown, which is doubtful, that the progenitors of the swarms which visit Kansasand Nebraska, after sweeping down from the mountain regions, deposit their eggs within the limited area heretofore mentioned as the point of departure east, then, and then only, is it possible to devise a prevent- ive measure applicable to their native haunts, as this, with the exception of a com- paratively small region around the headquarters of the Missouri, is the only portion of the broad plains lying along the east flank of the mountains susceptible of an exten- sive system of irrigation. Before alluding to their operations in Kansas, Nebraska, and other bordering States, I will present some facts in regard to their migrations in and from the mountains and northern regions which will assist the reader in forming a more correct idea of their habits and the extent of their operations; and here be it remembered I confine myself to the single species Caloptenus spretus. I have traced a swarm from the area west of South Pass to their stopping-place and hatching ground north of Fort Fetterman, from Northeastern Dakota nearly to Lake Winnipeg, and have ascertained that some swarms have even extended their migrations, from some supposed southwest point, as far as the north side of this lake. It is also known that in one instance, at least, those which left Colorado moved in the direction of Texas; those visiting Salt Lake Valley have repeatedly come from the northeast, sometimes, doubtless, from Cache and Bear River Valleys, and at others from the Snake River region, while those hatched in Salt Lake regions moved south, in some instances re- turning with the change of wind. In 1864 those hatched east of the mountains in Northern Wyoming and along the Yellowstone in Montana swept down the east flank of the range upon the fields of Colorado, while a part moved east to Manitoba and Minnesota. In 1867 a swarm from the west side of the range poured into Middle Park and there deposited their eggs, but those hatched from these failed to scale their rocky bounds; yet, while these were vainly striving to leave their mountain prison, another horde from the barren regions beyond sweeping above them over the snowy crest, poured down upon the valleys east; and in another instance a swarm was seen passing for two days over Fort Hall from the southwest. On the other hand we find them extending their flight far into Texas in destructive hordes, yet New Mexico and Arizona appear to be comparatively free from them; at least the very exteusive collec- tions made by Lieutenant Wheeler’s expeditions in these Territories during the last four years, which have been submitted to me, contain but very few specimens of the C. spretus, and during my visit to New Mexico in 1869 I found scarcely any specimens south of Raton Mountains, although comparatively abundant in Colorado, and even in San Luis Valley. Iam therefore inclined to doubt the correctness ot the statement mude in reference to the grasshopper in these Territories in 1855, if intended to apply to this species. PACKARD. ] THE LOCUST IN WYOMING. 601 These facts, if added to the experience of the last three years in Kansas, Nebraska, Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba, will suffice to show, not only how extensive their range is, but also how varied their flight is, and that there are no particular spots which can be said to form their permanent hatching-grounds. That they prefer the elevated sandy plateaus and terraces in the mountain districts is certain, but that any particular localities form the permanent hives from which the swarm issue cannot be maintained. Yet that those which visit Kansas and Nebraska, and even Dakota and Minnesota, originate usually within a certain portion of the mountain region aypears highly probable. While there are some exceptions to the rule, yet it is evident that the general course of their flight east of the mountains is southeast. The distance trav- eled by any particular swarm, so far as I am aware, has never been positively ascer- tained, yet enough is known to indicate that this may extend for at least two or three hundred miles. The hordes which visited Colorado in 1864 are supposed by Colonel Byers to have originated in Montana, along the Yellowstone; and the swarm which I traced through Sweetwater Valley probably traveled over 200 miles; yet the evidence is not positive in either case, though strongly presumptive. Maj. J. W. Powell informs me that in August, 1867, he encountered vast numbers of locusts in the region northwest of Pike’s Peak, as he drove his wagons for five days through them, traveling at the rate of 20 miles a day. It is not probable that this was C. spretus. In August, 1875, Mr. P. R. Ubler visited Colorado, and sends me the following notes on C. spretus: When I first reached Golden, on August 6, smal! flocks of the C. spretus were flying from the direction of northwest (over the peaks evidently) and alighting on the hills and upon the crops in theirrigated fields; but these were nothing to the hordes which poured into the country near Manitou about August 13-16. All the flocks that I saw consisted of C. spretus. I met with this species everywhere, ‘from north of Denver to south of Cafion City, in the mountains and ontheplains. But I did not see them as far east as Bijou. Perhaps they don’t love that locality. And I noticed that the flocks alighted in particular spots, and did not appear all,over the plains and hills west of Colorado Springs. Evidently they preferred some spots to others of the same kind of surface-soil. In the Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Sciences, Mr. J. D. Putnam writes as follows regarding his experience with the locust in Colorado: I have collected this species in various parts of Colorado. It was quite plentiful on the plains between Denver and Boulder City in June, 1872, and later in the season I found it abugdant in the mountains at Empire City. On August 1 they were very abundant high up above the timber-line on Parry’s Peak. Vast numbers were chilled by the snow and lay at the base of the snow-drifts in heaps. They could be seen, filling the air like snow-flakes, to a great height above the extreme summit of the peak, 13,133 feet. The wind was from a westerly direction. In September, this year (1872), I found them in great abunaance in Middle Park. In 1874 I first noticed this species on Gold Hill, Boulder County, July 8, and on July 11 they appeared at Valmont and other places on the plains in great abundance, and did great damage. ‘They received several large re-enforcements during the following week. Atter remaining several days, these seemed to disappear, but only to make room for another swarm; und thus they kept coming and going during the rest of the summer until nothing eatable was left. At ‘Empire City they were very abundant during the whole of my stay, from August to October, but they seemed to eat but very little, if anything. At Cafion City, in Octo- ber, I found them very abundant. They were very sluggish, and the sidewalks were covered with the dead and dying. Large numbers were seen paired. The young grass- hoppers hatched out abundantly early in April, 1875. In 1873 [found them in ditferent parts of Western Wyoming, between Fort Bridger and the Yellowstone Lake; but on the plains bordering the Stinking Water River, in July, they were more abundant than I had ever seen them elsewhere before. In June, 1875, I collected a few near the trans- fer depot at Council Bluffs, Iowa. This is the most eastern locality I have yet seen it. In Utah last summer I failed to see a single specimen, although I looked specially for it. (Page 265.) THE LOCUST IN WYOMING. In going from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City, July 19 and 20, over the Union Pacific Railroad, no locust was seen, and the absence of insect- life within the limits of Wyoming was remarkable. As soon as the 602 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. borders of Utah were approached, insects (but not the locust) became abundant. The locust, however, breeds as abundantly in Wyoming as in adjacent Territories, and is evidently one of the sources of supply for the swarms which invade Colorado. fn proof of this I will first quote Professor Thomas, who makes the following statement in Hayden’s An- nual Report for 1876 on the Geology of Wyoming: During the expedition of the present year, while traveling ap the North Platte, between Fort. Fetterman and Red Buttes (August 20-28), we observed vast numbers of this species. They were not on the wing, having to all appearances ended their flight, and were now pairing, doubtless intending to deposit their eggs there. Frémont encountered a similar swarm in passing over this part of the North Platte Valley. He remarks: ‘‘This insect bas been so numerous since leaving Fort Laramie that the ground seemed alive with them; and in walking a little moying cloud preceded our footsteps. They had probably ceased their flight, and were preparing to deposit their egos. By reference to my present report on the agriculture of this section it will be seen that here there appears to be an almost constant current of air sweeping down the Platte Valley from the west. When we reached South Pass City, I learned from Major Baldwin that about the first of the month (August) a large swarm had crossed over the pass from the west, moving eastward, and that they had not gone to Wind River Valley. Iam satisfied that they did not go upon the Laramie Plains, 2s I visited that section twice during the season. Nor did we meet with any. swarms during our passage up the Sweetwater; we may, therefore, reasonably infer that those we saw on the North Platte were the same that crossed the mountains at South Pass. From whence did they come? As we heard nothing of them during our passage down Big Sandy along the stage-road, I infer that they must have come from the northwest; but what distance I have no means of ascertaining.” Capt. W. J. Jones states in his *‘ Report upon the Reconnaissance of Nortiwestern Wyoming,” made in the summer of 1873, that in the Green River Basin “ the region is infested with great swarms of grasshoppers.” We have seen that Mr. Byers surmises that some of the swarms which devastate Colorado cross the Snowy Range from the Green River Val- ley. ; THE LOCUST IN UTAH. This Territory is much freer from the invasions of locusts than Colorado. In 1875 they were searce, and had not been abundant for three years, all that were seen being evidently indigenous. In gardens in Salt Lake City, and in fields at Lake Point, in Salt Lake, in July, 1875, they were less frequent than the yellow-striped grasshopper (Cal- optenus flavovitiatus). 1 found them not unfrequently in Utah, though Mr. J. D. Putnam remarks: “In Utah last sammer (1875) I failed to see a single specimen, although I looked specially for it.” (Proe. Daven- port Academy of Sciences, 266.) The invasions, as several persons told me, are from the north and northwest, the latter being the direction of the prevailing winds in summer. The swarms coming down from the north are sometimes turned back by the south winds, and when the wind changes over Salt Lake multitudes are drowned. The gulls, so common on the lake, were seen feeding on grasshoppers along the beaches. Caloptenus spretus is undoubtedly distributed over the entire Territory. Mr. J. L. Barfoot, of Salt Lake City, in charge of the museum, told me that he had received specimens (which I saw in the museum) from Ka- nab, in Southeastern Utah, and also from Dirty Devil Mountain. Pro- fessor Thomas also reports it as breeding in the southern and western line of Utah. In his letter to me Mr. Byers states that he first saw the locust in 1852, about the 1st of August, upon the plains of Northern Utah and Southern Idaho. Professor Thomas also gives the following data regarding its occurrence in Utah, in Hayden’s Report on the Geol- ogy of Wyoming, 1870, p. 283: As heretofore stated, they have been very destructive in Utah for the past three years, not only injuring very materially the growing crops, but eating the leaves from PACKARD.] THE LOCUST IN UTAH. 603 the fruit-trees to such an extent as to injure the fruit. From Dr. A. T. McDonald, of Provo City, I learned the following particalars in regard to the incursions of this in- sect into the Territory : That the prevailing cold and winter storms are trom the north- west, but that the grasshoppers seldom come from that direction. On the contrary, they generally come from the northeast, through the caiions, being brought in by the local currents which sweep through these mountain openings, and that they generally pass off in a southwest direction, though the swarms that come in often remain and deposit their eggs, from which another brood arises in the spring. Sometimes, after a swarm hos departed to the southwest, the wind changes, and they are driven back to be swallowed up in the lake or perish in the valley. The time of coming varies from the middle of May to the middle of August. The eggs that are deposited here usually hatch out in April and May. The growing crops receive their greatest injury from the young which are hatched in the valley. The usual method of fighting these young gormands is to drive them into the irrigating ditches, where they are drowned in the water. When they are a little older they are often checked by scattering straw along the edge of the ditches, and driving them into it early ia the morning, and then firing it; those which are not destroyed by the fire being caught in the water of the diteh and drowned. But these methods of combating them are practicable only when they are in the larve and pupa states. Dr. McDonald says that in Utah, at least, the females deposit their eggs in the ground in sacks—a fact heretofore noticed and published—on the gravelly elevated plateaus, or foot-hills. And from my observations this season I am inclined to agree with him in the opinion that these elevated table-lands, which are composed of course sand and gravel, and but slightly covered with vegetation, are the principal hatching-erounds of the migratory swarms. The local broods are to be found all over the Rocky Mount- ain region, from Raton Mountains as far north as I have been, and as far west, at least, as Salt Lake Valley. These are found hatching out in the grassy valleys and broad plains of the lower lands and up the mountain caions almost to the snow limits. And these broods appear to have little or no connection with the migrating broods; but the solution of these questions will require more extended observations by those who can distinguish the species. J also extract from Mr. Thomas’s remarks on the same subject in Hay- den’s Report on the Geology of Montana, 1871, p. 451: Caloptenus spretus.—Found the past season [1871] in great abundance in the north part of Salt Lake Basin. When we reached Ogden, June 1, I saw but very few speci- mens; but when we reached Box Elder Cation, two weeks later, the larvea were seen spreading out from points where they had evidently been hatched. When we passed through the hills to Cache Valley, a few miles farther, and but a few days later, I found them just entering their perfect state. . By the time we reached the north end of the valley, about the 20th of June, they were taking wing and proceeding south- ward. Here the farmers, who have observed them closely for a nuinber of years, say that they never lay their eggs in the lower level of the valley, but universally on the gravelly elevated terraces. So positive are they on this point that one farmer, to test the matter, last year offered $5 for every bunch of eggs that could be found on the lower valley level which had been deposited there by the insect itself, but none were brought to him. I think, therefore, we may concinde that it 1s pretty well settled that the usual hatching-grounds of the destructive swarms are on the gravelly terraces or uplands. Yet that considerable numbers are hatched in the narrow cations of the mod- erately-elevated mountains I think is also certain, as I observed this year a large num- ber of larve in Box Elder Canon; but the elevation of this cation is little, if any, more than that of Cache Valley. When I returned to Salt Lake Basin, early in August, I found the country swarming with myriads of these grasshoppers. And even after we had passed eastward on the railroad, to the heights near Aspen Station, I noticed the air filled with their snowy wings, but could not tell exactly the course they were tak- ing, but thought they were moving southwest. The following statements, which are quoted nearly word for word, are made by W. Woodruff and A. M. Musser ina Mormon paper. The locust appeared in Utah in the year 1855, and again from 1866 to 1872, ineclu- sive. In 1855 they came trom the west, in 1866 from the north. The subsequent years’ products were produced from eggs, while relays came from all directions. They hatched out from April to June, and in 1855 and 1872 left in August and September, flying north and east, in dense clouds obstructing the sunlight. In 1855 foreign swarms came about July, in 1866 about September, and deposited eggs. In 1855 about 75 per cent. of the cereals, vegetables, and fruits were destroyed by them. The following spring the people subsisted largely on thistle, milkweed, and other roots. 604 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. When eggs are not disturbed by the plow frost does not destroy them. During the years named they visited all parts of the Territory. Thousands of bushels were de- stroyed by the organized labors of the people, by driving them and burying them in trenches, by setting traps in irrigating ditches, by covering the ground with straw, oder which they would shelter for the night, and in the morning burning the straw and insects. Men, women, and children, with the village poultry, in some places, moved to the fields in wagons and fought the common enemy from hatching to flying time. In some parts, it was estimated there were one hundred bushels of hoppers to the acre. A notable local mathematician estimated that in one season, one and a half million bushels were destroyed by lighting in Great Salt Lake and drifting on the shores, form- ing an immense belt. THE LOCUST IN NEW MEXICO. Professor Thomas also states that it breeds in Snake Valley, Idaho. That it is common and destructive at times in New Mexico is shown from the statement published in the Monthly Report of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, at Washington, D. C., for July, 1876, where it is stated that the corn and oats were injured and the wheat-crop half destroyed by the ‘ grasshopper,” which must be C. spretus, as Taos is near the Colorado line. Professor Thomas reports a few specimens of C. spretus from New Mexico and Arizona in collections made by Lieu- tenant Wheeler’s Expeditions during the last four years, and he himseif found a few specimens south of Raton Mountains in 1869. In 1875, however, Lieutenant Carpenter, as be writes me, did not see any swarms in the region extending from Fort Garland to Santa Fé. ‘I could not learn,” he adds, ‘that they had ever been troublesome in northern New Mexico.” THE LOCUST IN NEVADA. Prof. Cyrus Thomas has kindly afforded me the following facts regard- ing the occurrence of Caloptenus spretus in Nevada, in a letter dated ~ March 1, 1877: I saw C. spretus in 1871 in abundance along the Humboldt River in Nevada, most of the way from where the Central Pacific Railroad strikes it (going west) to the sink or place where it disappears. At one point they were quite abundant, and evidently preparing to migrate, flying up in the air, their wings presenting that peculiar glassy, snowy appearance with which you are no doubt familiar. This, if I recollect rightly, was west of Humboldt Station ; they were quite abundant at that station (Humboldt), where we dined, (going west), ‘put were not migrating there or then; those referred to as seen west of Humboldt being seen as we returned east. You probably remember that saline or alkaline belt at the northwest extremity of Great Salt Lake; just beyond that I began to observe them, and from thence—not continuously, but at certain points—from there to, and a short distance west of, Humboldt Sink. The collections made by Wheeler’s party in Southeast Nevada had no specimens which I could posi- tively say came from that section. That year (1871), as we went out (June), we saw but few specimens in Salt Lake Valley, but they were quite numerous when we re- turned from California in August. They were also numerous in Cache Valley and Southern Idaho; in moderate numbers west of the range in Montana as well as east. From the facts thus afforded by Professor Thomas, it is not improb- able that this species in its normal form will be found to commonly occur in the treeless regions of the entire State of Nevada, and also of the east- ern half of Oregon, and also, perhaps, of Washington Territory, west of the Sierra Nev: ada, to the south, and the Cascade Mountains to the north. Among these ranges, and to the westward, when the rain-fall is very considerable, and the land clothed with forests, we are to look for the non- migratory variety, Atlanis, which may there exist under conditious resembling those in which it lives in the Mississippi Valley, aud the forest-clad Atlantic States and Canada. PACKARD.] NORTHERN RANGE OF THE LOCUST. 605 . It will be exceedingly desirable to trace the distribution of C. spretus southward of the present known limits, for it is not at all unlikely that it inhabits the Mexican Plateau, since Major Powell informs me that he found a locust. as he thought this species, numerous within twenty miles of the Mexican boundary on the Colorado River. In Northern New Mexico Lieutenant Carpenter found this species (identified by Mr. Scudder) on Taos Peak, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, at a height of 13,000 feet (above timber-line), in July, 1875. (Seudder in Wheeler’s Annual Report for 1876.) NORTHERN RANGE OF THE LOCUST. While the locust (C. spretus) breeds in Wyoming, Montana, and Da- kota, in some cases swarming northward and eastward into the region about Manitoba, its northernmost limits in British America are said by Mr. G. M. Dawson* to be ‘the margin of the coniferous forest which oppor- tuuely follows the line of the North Saskatchewan River.” As regards the northeastern limits, Mr. Dawson says: ** The locusts are recorded, on one occasion at least (1867, by Professor Hind), to have reached the shores of the Lake of the Woods, but I have not heard that they did so in 1874. Their limit in this direction is pretty definitely fixed by the western margin of the great woods, about longitude 96°. They did not appear at Fairford Port, on the northern part of Manitoba Lake, nor at Lake Swan House (longitude 100° 30’, latitude 52° 40’), Cumberland House (longitude 102° 30’, latitude 54°), Prince Albert (longitude 105° 30’, latitude 53° 10’), or Fort Pitt (longitude 109° 20’, latitnde 53° 30’). They are very seldom seen at the second, and never at the third and fourth of these localities. The exemption of Prince Albert is note- worthy and instructive, as, ou the testimony of several gentlemen ac- quainted with the locality, it is due to a belt of coniferous timber, which stretches between the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers here; and though grasshoppers in great abundance have visited the country south of the line thus tormed, they have never been known to cross it, as will be seen farther on; that in 1875 great numbers flew westward to the Lake of the Woods. . Regarding its appearance at Manitoba in 1875 I quote as follows from Professor Dawson:t From the reports now received from Manitoba and various portions of the North- west Territory and published in abstract with these notes it would appear that dur- ing the summer of 1875 two distinct elements were concerned in the locust manifesta- tion. First, the insects hatching in the province of Manitoba and surrounding regions from eggs left by the western and northwestern invading swarms of the previous au- tumn; second, a distinct foreign host, moving, for the most part, from south to north. The locusts are known to have hatched in great numbers over almost the entire area of Manitoba and westward at least as far as Fort Ellice on the Assineboine River (lon- gitude 101° 20’), and may probably have been produced, at least sporadically, in other portions of the central regions of the plains, though in the summer of 1874 this district was nearly emptied to recruit the swarms devastating Manitoba and the Western States, and there appears to have been little, if any, influx to supply their place. Still farther west, on the plains along the base of the Rocky Mountains, from the forty-ninth parallel to the Red Deer River, locusts are known to have hatched in considerable num- bers; but of these more anon. Hatching began in Manitoba and adjacent regions in favorable localities as early as May 7, but does not seem to have become general till about the 15th of the month, and * Notes on the Locust Invasion of 1874, in Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. Montreal, 1876, 8vo, p. 16. t Notes on the Appearance and Migrations of the Locust in Manitoba and the North- west Territories, summer of 1875, by George M. Dawson, Assoc. R.S8.M.,F.G.S. (From advanced sheets of the Canadian Naturalist.) 606 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. to have continued during the latter part of May and till the 15th of June, while, ac- cordivg to Mr. Gunn and others, in cold, clayey land and where pools of water from the melting of the snow lay long, isolated colonies came out at still later dates. Mr. Gunn states that grasshoppers were even noticed to hatch in August and September in spots which had been covered with water all summer, a fact showing the very per- sistent vitality of the eggs, and apparently negativing opinions which have been ex- pressed as to their destruction by damp. ‘The mos northern locality at which locusts are reported to have been produced from the egg is at Manitoba, House, Manitoba Lake (latitude 51°). The destruction of crops by the growing insects in all the settled regions was very great, and in many districts well-nigh complete. The exodus of these broods began in the early part of July, but appears to have been most general during the middle and latter part of that month and first of August. The direction taken on departure was, with very little exception, southeast or south. It is to be remarked that as there does not seem to have been during this period any remarkable persistency of northwest or northerly winds the insects must have selected those favoring their intended direc- tion of migration, an inst‘net which has very generally been observed elsewhere. Though most of the parents, in 1874, came from the west and northwest, and Manitoba must have represented to those ending their flight there the southeastern limit of their range, the young insects of 1875 thus took a southeastward direction, just as though starting from their usual breeding-grounds in the far Northwest, and showed no dispo- sition to return to the region whence their parents came. ‘This direction of flight car- ried many of the insects at once into a country of thick woods, swamps, and lakes, and caused the repetition of the phenomenon of the appearance of grasshoppers in great numbers about the Lake of the Woods, a circumstance only once before noted, in the summer of 1857.* This previous occasion, however, differed from that of last year in being an extension of an invasion of Manitoba from the west or northwest and not resulting from insects hatching in that province. Té is probable that most of the grasshopper swarms of Manitoba thus entering the wooded country were there harmlessly spent, for though some northern swarms reached the State of Minnesota, the invasion appears 'to have been comparatively unimportant. Northern swarius are noted to have passed over Crookston (Polk County, Minnesota) and Fort Totten (Dakota), the greatest number appearing at the latter place July 19. The locust swarms described by Mr. Rileyt in the followivg paragraph, from informa- tion furnished to the Chicago Tribune, dated July 13, probably also came from Mani- toba: “The first foreign hoppers appeared on the Sivux City Road, alighting between Lake Crystal and Saint James on Wednesday last. A few days later they were ob- served at New Ulm flying sontheast, and at noon of the same day struck the line of the road at Madelina, Saint James, Fountain Lake, Windom, and Heron Lake, cover- ing the track tor about 50 miles of its length.” It will be observed on referring to the summary on another page that the insects produced in Minnesota itself few southwest in the early part of July. I have not been able to trace further the movements of these Manitoba broods, un- less indeed it be supposed that some at least of the swarms which passed over Central Ilinois early in September came from that quarter. These, however, Mr. Riley be- lieves not to have been the true migratory locust, C. spretus. Foreign swarms from the south crossed the forty-vinth parallel with a wide front stretching from the ninety-eighth to the one hundred and eighth meridian, and are quite distinguishable from those produced in the country from the fact that many of them arrived before the latter were mature. These flights constituted the extreme northern part of the army returning northward and northwestward from the States ravaged in the autumn of 1674. They appeared at Fort Ellice on the 13th of June and at QwAppelle Fort on the 17th of the same month, favored much,no doubt, by the steady south and southeast winds, which, according to the meteorological register at Winnipeg, prevailed on the 12th of June and for about a week thereafter. After their first appearance, however, their subsequent progress seems to have been comparatively slow and their advancing border very irregular in outline. They are said to have reached Swan Lake House, the most northern point to which they are known to have attained, about July 10, while Fort Pelly, farther west,and nearly a degree farther south, was reached July 20, and about seven days were occupied in the journey thence to Swan River Barracks, a distance of only 10 miles. It is more than probable that the first southern swarms were followed by others, which mingled with them, or even, in parts of Manitoba and the country immediately west of it, with the indigenous brood. From a few localities only in Manitoba, and those in its western portion, is the evidence pretty conclusive as to the arrival of foreign swarms from the south. Burnside, Westbourne, Portage la Prairie, Rockwood, and Pigeon Lake may be men- tioned as affording instances. - * Not 1867, as erroneously printed in Notes for 1874. tl’rom Mr. Charles V. Riley’s very interesting Eighth Annual Report on the Noxious Beueticial and other Insects of the State of Missouri. PACKARD. ] NORTHERN RANGE OF THE LOCUST. » OF Many of the grasshoppers observed, according to reports received by Mr. Riley, in Dakota, at Fort Thompson, Yankton, Fort Sully, Springfield, Fort Randall, and Bis- marck flying northward and northwestward at various dates in June and July, no doubt eventually found their way north of the forty-ninth parallel. Those seen at Bismarck about June 6 and 7 probably belonged to the earliest scuthern bands above referred to, and, judging from the dates given by Mr. Riley, may have been produced in Nebraska, or more probably even still farther south. A portion of the southern and eastern army probably reached Montana,and may even have penetrated in dimin- ished numbers into the districts in the vicinity of Bow River. A considerable number of locusts appear to have hatched at about the same date as in Manitoba near the extreme western margin of the plains, especially in the country near Bow River. Foreiga swarms arrived at Fort McLeod from the southwest, depos- iting eggs; and most of those hatching near Bow River, and farther north, seem to have gone southeastward early in August. No very definite or wide-spread movement of swarms appears, however, to have occurred during the summer of 1875 in this region, nor, if we may judge from the very meager accounts received, in the corre- spouding portion of Montana. Durisg the summer of 1875, the conditions described in the Notes for 1274 as occur- ring in the region west of the one hundred and third meridian were reproduced in Manitoba, and over a great area of the Western and Southwestern States, with results even more disastrous to the crops than those of the winged invasion of the previous year. We do not hear of any access of fresh swarms to Manitoba from the west or northwest, nor is it probable that any such occurred, notwithstanding the fact that in various parts of the province flights are reported to have passed over from northwest to southeast. From the dates and descriptions given, it seems certain that these were ouly those from the more remote parts of the province itself, and in many cases the broods hatched in any locality mingled with those coming from a little distance, and departed at the same time. The most remarkable and exceptional feature in connection with the appearance of the locusts in 1875 is the extensive invasion of the wooded region east of Manitoba by the swarms produced in the province. This is the more noticeable when contrasted with the immunity enjoyed by Prince Albert on the Saskatchewan, alluded to in last year’s Notes, which is owing to its separation from the general area of the plains by a belt of timber. On writing to Mr. Clarke, of Carleton House, on the subject, he informs me that this protecting belt of fir-timber is only four miles in width, and extends completely across between the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan. Judging from the above remarkable fact, and the known habits of the locust, I de not think that the incursion made into the forest-country can be looked upon as anything but exceptional, and perhaps showing that the locusts had lost their reckoning. Nor doI believe that it should discourage the cultivation of belts ofwood- land, which promises to effect in time a general and permanent amelioration of the grasshopper plague. ; Broadly sketched, the movements of the locusts in 1875 conform to a general plan. All these hatching in Minnesota, Manitoba, Northern Dakota, and in the high western region of the plains, at least as far south as Colorado, on obtaining their wings, went southward, and this in some instances regardless of the direction from which their parents had arrived in the previous year. Swarms produced in Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and Indian Territory flew northward and northwestward, returning on the course of their parents, which had flown southeastward from that quarter. This movement can be traced over an immense area, from the northern borders of Texas almost to the Saskatchewan River. Evidence appears to be fast accumulating to show that the general and normal direc- tion of flight for any brood is to return toward the hatching-grouuds from which their parents came, and it would seem that to complete the migration-cycle of the locust two years are required. The tendency which the swarms show to migrate on reaching maturity canuot be wondered at, as it is so commonly met with in other animals, and may be assisted by the mere lack of food in the district which has for a long time sup- ported the young locusts. The fact, however—let us call it instinct or knowledge—that the young, while amenable to the migratory tendency, show a determivation to exercise jt in a direction exactly the opposite of the preceding generation is most remarkable Professor Dawson writes me that, ‘“‘ during the summer of 1876, the grasshopper was scarcely seen in Manitoba, and a fine crop was har- vested all over the province. Manitoba is safe for next summer, unless invaded. I have reason to believe, however, that during last summer the locust was very abundant in the far West, on the plains east of the Liocky Mountains, and north of the forty-ninth parallel. With regard to this region, however, I have only general information.” Through the kind suggestion of Prof. G. M. Dawson, of the Canadian 608 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Geological Survey, I have received from Mr. Sanford Fleming, engineer- in-chief of the Canadian Pacific Railway, a copy of a “ Map of the country to be traversed by the Canadian Pacific Railway to accompany progress-report on the exploratory surveys, 1876; Sanford Fleming, engineer-in-chief.” On this map the “southern limits of the true forests” are laid down* on a line running in a general northwest direetion from a little to the eastward of Fort Ellice, in about latitude 54° 30’, longi- tude 110° 10’.. This line is indicated on the map showing the distribu- tion of the red-legged locust (C. femur-rubrum). ‘The northern limit of true prairie-land” is also copied on the same map from Mr. Fleming’s map. It runs from Turtle Mountain on the forty-ninth parallel, a little east of south of Fort Ellice, and runs in a general parallel course to the limit of forests, and ends at the Bear Hills, just south of the filty-second parallel of latitude and in longitude 108°. Professor Dawson writes me that ‘‘no map yet shows even approximately the area of the Pever Ktiver Prairies, but these are separated by forests from those to the south, and are never invaded by C. spretus.” This is most important and sat- isfactory injormation, and confirms Professor Dawson’s statement as to the northeastern limits of the lowest area, which are berein already quoted. It would seem doubtful whether the Rocky Mountain locust breeds abundantly north of the Little Slave Lake. The data afforded by this map also confirm me in my indications of the western limits of the prairie region and temporary and periodical breeding-places of the Rocky Mountain locust, which probably follows approximately the meridian of 102°, pursuing a sinuous course indicated by a range of hills put down on the United States maps, from which Mr. Bechler has compiled the maps accompanying this report. The barren plains extend just north of the forty-ninth parallel as far east as longitude 104°, and this may be the southeastern limits of the permanent breeding-places of the locust north of the forty-ninth parallel. That the return swarms from Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska may reach British America is suggested by Mr. Allen Whitman in his report for 1876: Whether or not it is a general rule that the locusts on acquiring wings seek the di- rection from which their parents bad come in the preceding year (a rule which the experience of Minnesota fails to substantiate), it is certain at least that in 1875 “the main direction taken by the insects that rose from the Lower Missouri Valley country was northwesterly.” (Riley’s Eighth Annual Report, p. 105.) These swarms were traced by Professor Riley, moving northerly from the end of May through June and into July, and passing various points in Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.t+ They passed northward over Bismarck at various times between June 6 and July 15. (Same report, p. 86.) But a still more definite statement as to the final destination of these northward-moving swarms is found in an editorial of the Winnipeg Stand, of August 19, 1876, entitled “ Locust flights.” It is there stated that in 1875, ‘the lo- custs which hatebed in Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska, in an area of 250 miles from east to west, and 300 miles from north to south, took flight in June, and invariably went northwest, and fell in innumerable swarms upon the regions of British America, adjoining Forts Pelly, Carlton, and Ellice, covering an area as large as that they va- cated on the Missouri River. They were re-enforced by the retiring column from Man- itoba, and it seemed to be hoping against hope that the new swarms of 1876 would not again descend upon the settlements in the Red River Valley. Intelligence was received * Professor Dawson informs me that this is taken from Palliser’s Map, published as a blue-book by the British government, forming a part of the report on explorations in British North America. t He adds (page 108) : ‘Nor can I learn of any instance where these swarms that left our Territory deposited eggs.” The different case of our own breed of locusts, lay- ing eggs within two weeks atter flying commences, is remarkable. But I am informed by Capt. J. 8. Poland, commanding at Standing Rock, that a swarm from the south alighted near that post July 4, 1875, and deposited considerable quantities of eggs be- tween the 4th and the 18th of July. PACKARD. | THE INVASIONS OF THE LOCUST IN 1876. 609 here that the insects took flight from the vicinity of Fort Pelly on the 10th of July, and then followed a fortnight of intense suspense.” There is, of course, in all this a failure to connect by any direct chain of continued observations the swarms that left the Mississippi Valley in 1875 and those which finally disappeared in the region of the mountains and in British America; still less is it shown that those swarms were the parents of those which are known to have hatched in the same re- gions in 1876, or even that those which are known to have hatched there were those which descended upon the lower country in July and August. But there is, at least, a strong series of probabilities. THE INVASIONS OF THE LOCUST IN 1876. Beginning with the southeasternmost point of the locust region— Texas: I learn from G. W. Belfrage, of Clifton, Bosque County, in a letter dated December 14, 1876, that the locusts have for ‘two years made their visits, the first without serious results, the second this fall,. so we cannot yet know what the offspring will do.” The following extracts from the Monthly Weather Reports give some idea of their movements: “ Flying, at Fort Richardson, Texas, from 14th to 18th September; Corsicana, Texas, flying south 21st and 22d, west 23d. On 30th were destroying everything, and depositing millions of eggs.” In Texas, at Belmont farm, the grasshoppers remained alive all winter, and were found on wheat February 10 and March 25. October 3 to 5, numerous at Corsicana; disappearing about 9th ; abun- dant at Belmont farm 1st to 9th. “In Texas a dense cloud of grass: hoppers appeared during the last ten days of November.” *« Palo Pinto: The grasshoppers appeared on the 17th of September, and are as thick as they ever were here, destroying everything as they go. Uvalde: Appeared September 22, in quantities, arriving from the north, and causing some alarm. MeLennan; Reached here on the 20th of September, and have materially damaged the cotton-crop by cutting ott unripe bolls. Sell: Made their appearance in great numbers about a week since, and are destroying all gardens and every sward of grain. They have cut off the late corn and the young bolls on the late cotton. Dallas : Have cut short the cotton-crop. Gillespie: The first grasshop- pers arrived on the 18th of September. Three days later they left, going west, being driven by an east wind.”—(Agricultural Report, October.) On applying to Mr. J. Ball, a well-known entomologist residing in. Dallas, Tex., forinformation regarding the appearance of the]Jocust in that State, he kindly sent me the Neue Ziircher Zeitung for November 1 and 2, 1876, containing two letters written by him, which I have condensed as follows: In October, 1874, the locusts appeared in Texas, but were not one-tenth as abundant as in 1876. At Dallas, at noon September 20,.1876, the air was filled with the first swarm of locusts; by 5 o’clock in the afternoon none were in the air. Previous to this date up to the night of the 19th the wind had been south; it changed on the 20th to the northwest, and this wind brought the locusts in a swarm which must have been many miles long and broad, and from 1,000 to 2,000 feet high, as far as the eye could see. At 10 o’clock, September 21, the air was again filled as at noon of the preceding day, the northwest wind still blowing, and the grasshoppers passed on as the day before, until 4 p. m. On the 22d the wind veered to the south, and the locusts flew during the day in large numbers irregularly about, like a swarm of bees. This con- tinued until noon of the 23d, when a southwest wind bore a large number to the northwest. Until the 27th they remained engaged in egg-laying, 39 GS 610 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. They laid their eggs in an unbroken, somewhat sandy soil, in little pock- ets buried several lines deep. Mr. Ball counted several hundred holes in a square foot of soil. They did not lay in cultivated, plowed land, and should they do so, plowing would be sufficient to destroy almost all the eggs. From the observations he made, Mr. Ball concludes that this great plague will diminish as the cultivation of the soil increases, and will finally be abated, as in Germany the locust invasions are much less numerous than formerly. At Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, they appeared September 16 to 2s. North of Texas, in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, according to the Monthly Weather Review, August 6, grasshoppers appeared at La- mar’s, Nodaway County; Oregon, Mo., flying north 1st; northwest 2d, 4th, 6th; south 11th and 19th; northwest 22d ; southwest 23d and 25th; and south 26th. For other details the reader is referred to Riley’s Ninth Report, as State entomologist of Missouri), and Minnesota, as well as Iowa, according to the Monthly Weather Review, the locust ap- peared late in summer and laid their eggs, which will hatch out in greater or less numbers in the spring of 1877. THE LOCUST IN NEBRASKA IN 1876. How they swarmed in Nebraska last autumn may be seen from the following extract from a correspondent of the New York Tribune: The grasshoppers are here. They have come to stay, and are busy perpetuating their species. Early in August they reached the western portions of this State, but were partial in their depredations, devouring everything in some localities, doing little damage in others. On the 12th of the month they made a forward movement, and appeared in the valleys of the Elkhorn, Platte,and Republican. Our local papers, act- ing on the “ ostrich” policy, suppressed the facts or misrepresented them, and all were wishing for a favorable wind to carry the pests beyond our borders. Buta soft, south- erly wind, varied by an occasional thunder-storm from the northwest, prevailed till the 23d, when, aided by a stiff northwester, the grasshoppers rose and came from their exhausted feeding-grounds upon the east and south portions of the State. They came literally in clouds, looking like the frost-clouds that drift along the horizon on a win- ter morning. They are devouring “every green thing,” including shade-trees and even weeds, such as the “‘ Jamestown weed” and wild hemp. The great body of them seemed to pass south, moving in dense masses during the 23d, 24th, and 25th, and will probably be heard from in Kansas and Missouri. I have suftered a total destruction of 60 acres of corn, as fine as I ever raised. The amount of damage in Nebraska is hard to determine. The small grain was harvested; corn and vegetables alone suffer. Taking into consideration the fact that we always overestimate a standing crop of corn, and are disposed to underestimate our losses, I think we shall be fortunate if the corn realizes one-third the anticipated yield. A few words upon the “ parasite ” delusion. The grasshoppers last year were to a great extent infested with the coral- like insects, but my conviction is that they are no more fatal to them than fleas are to a dog. This season I have failed to find any “ parasites.” At present no natural en- emy appears to interfere with the festive progress of the locust through this fertile region. Many have concluded, and I am one of them, that for the present the loccst is an “incident” to this locality, the solitary ‘“‘ drawback” to our enviable lot, which can be obviated in part by new methods of farming, but which can be altogether re- moved only by one of these unexplained and beneficent interpositions of Nature by which certain species are occasionally overwhelmed with destruction, and appear again only after a lapse of years. Warned by Mr. Riley’s example, I will venture no prediction as to next year, but present indications are that our small grain will suffer early next summer, when the eggs now being deposited are hatched, but that the late corn will be unmolested, in consequence of the flight of the new brood to their natural home in the Northwest. Another correspondent, Mrs. C. L. Nettleton, of Red Willow County, Nebraska, writes as follows to the New York Tribune: Locust prospects is a subject of much anxious thought with us, and I am tempted to write of our experiences in this valley of the Republican River. I trust that efforts to secure a thorough investigation and abatement of the pest may be successful. It PACKARD. ] THE LOCUST IN NEBRASKA IN 1876. 611 seems to me a matter of national importance, as settlements must retrograde unless the locusts are checked. They came down upon us July 26-27, doing much damage, but left without consuming everything. August 5 they re-appeared in great numbers, looking in the distance like great clouds of smoke. Nearer and over our heads the air appeared t> be filled with snow-flakes. Locusts were around, on us, and on every- thing, literally “covered the face of the earth.” They began to come about 4 p. m., and the next day they had our fine field of corn stripped. It was like resisting fate to fight them. We tried smoking them, covered vines and portions of our garden with hay and blankets, giving the insignificant creatures a sort of hand-to-hand fight, in which they won by sheer force of numbers, and made us glad to retreat into “the house. They brought with them an omnivorous appetite, eating things which they passed by in 1874—vines of melon, cucumber, squash, pumpkin, &c. They took our tomatoes, potato-tops, indeed all our garden. They ate our straw- berry-plants and young fruit-trees; also, our few flowers. Not content with such a varied bill of fare, they forced their way into the house and ate the house-plants. - They staid with us five days, until they had ended their large meal by finishing up everything. Then while we were planning to catch them and barrel them up to fat- ten our poultry and swine, a friendly (?) northwest wind carried them off. Owing te the drought the small grain was a failure; the locust harvested the remaining crops, leaving the farmer no reward for his toil. They have visited the country every year since the settlers have come in, but only in 1874 and 1876 doing serious injury. They have been by far the most numerous this year. It has been an extremely hot, dr season, the prevailing wind south, often hot as from a furnace, and undoubtedly the unusual season has had much to do with the unusual numbers of the locust. Farmers with their crops harvested are like Othello with his occupation gone. Many have lost faith in the country and are leaving in “‘prairie schooners.” We are about 70 miles from the Union Pacific Railroad. Some turn toward the setting sun, others south- ward, and others still go, they scarcely know where, in search of employment. It seems like a “ sorry” going off to seek one’s fortune—a journey in which a supply of hope and enthusiasm is needed. According to the Monthly Weather Review, grasshoppers were seen at Richmond, Nebr., flying north on July 2 and 3, and flying with the wind 26th, 27th, 29th, 30th and 31st. August 5, at North Platte, Lincoln County, entire corn-crop destroyed, and in Dawson County one-fourth of crop destroyed ; came from Dawson County to Buffalo County. 10th, Clear Creek, flying southwest; 11th, northwest; arrived in immense numbers 18th, and remained rest of month. 11th, alighted in immense numbers at Fremont, Dodge County, and commenced in the corn; country near Elm Creek, Buffalo County, cleaned out; column moving in a north- west direction, not many miles wide. 12th, very thick at Columbus, Platte County; came down the valley from North Platte, doing but littledamage. At Grand Island, Hall County, loss small. 13th to 26th, at Omaha, numerous at times, flying in all directions. 18th to 31st, at De Soto. 23d, at Lincoln, Lancaster County, in vast numbers, but not so numerous as in 1874; ‘passing south and southeast in clouds; corn considerably damaged. 24th to 31st, at Plattsmouth. 25th, in York County; have left nothing but harvested grain. Plattsmouth, flying about, September 1 to 15. Ricbmond, flying north 4th and 6th, north- east 20th, northwest 21st. York: The grasshoppers have called on us again. They came down August 10, from the northeast, and staid two weeks toa day. August 24 they left, going southeast. They have eaten almost everything green, destroying all garden-vegetables and taking the leaves off the trees. The fruit-trees, such as apple, cherry, and plum, are leafing and blossoming again. The plum-trees have ripe fruit and blossoms, which is something I never heard of before. Furnas: Came down in dense clouds from the northeast, so thick as to darken the sun, having the appearance of vast clouds of smoke. Nothing of the kind has equaled this raid since the earliest history of the country. Some have laid eggs. We are compelled, as in 1874, to note an almost total destruction of corn and all late vegetables. Knox: Entirely de- stroyed the corn and garden products and the oats so badly that many fields were not reaped. Osage: Came August 24, and are still here. 612 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Have taken potatoes, buckwheat, and beans clean; have injured corn about 15 per cent. and are still at work on it. Have deposited eggs in great quantities. They incline to travel southeast, but the wind is against them. Cuming: Came from Dakota August 4, staid about ten days, injured late corn and potatoes, beans, gardens, &c.; deposited many eggs, and have nearly all gone southward. Insects will destroy their eggs, and birds, quails, and prairie-chickens will eat their young when quite small in untold millions, Im their matured state nothing can successfully cope with them save quaiis, prairie-chickens, and other insectivorous birds. Dodge: Swept down upon us from the great north- west August 10, bringing terror to the hearts of our people. They re- mained about two weeks and deposited eggs in immense numbers. Hops were entirely destroyed; fruit-trees are stripped of their leaves, and in some sections of the new growth of bark. | But half the corn is left. Webster: Injured corn slightly. Franklin: Damaged corn’d0 per cent. Have now all gone southwest. Adams: Have taken about half the corn and injured young trees 50 per cent. Saunders: have re-ap- peared since the last report. Corn, potatoes, and sorghum have been largely damaged ; tobacco, buckwheat, and beans have been wholly and gardens mainly destroyed, and the earth is filled with eggs. Seward: Came from the north in immense quantities. They fed upon the corn and cultivated grapes, and destroyed 80 per cent. of the buckwheat. A few linger still in the south part of the county, traveling southwest. Thayer: Alighted about a week ago. Have injured corn very badly, and taken all the garden products. Boone: Came in large numbers August 3. Have destroyed all buckwheat, beans, and late corn; stripped the foliage from all young trees, and killed young fruit-trees. They staid about three weeks; have all gone south. Lancaster: Are eating everything. Platte: In their flight south visited our county on the 10th of August, and in consequence of adverse winds remained two weeks. They entirely ruined late corn, made general havoc of vegetables, and filled our land with eggs. Wayne: Alighted and commenced work August 6 and 10. Injured late corn 25 per ceut., potatoes slightly ; deposited their eggs, and left August 13. Antelope: Came from the north, August 5, in countless numbers, and swept late corn, buck- wheat, potatoes and beans clean. Richardson; First appeared yesterday, August 30, in small numbers from the northwest. Merrick: Crops promising up to 10th of August, when the grasshoppers came with the wind from the north. The next day the wind changed, and continued rather strong from the south for a week. The hoppers had to stay on the ground and could not do much damage. On the 18th, the wind being from the northeast, they left, but toward evening a lot more came. On the 24th, all left for the south. Buckwheat, late beans, garden-vege- tables, late potatoes, &c., are all a total loss. On the 17th some deposited eggs where the ground was bare. Hall; Large swarms appeared from the northwest August 10 at noon. Commenced depositing eggs on the 13th and 14th; on the 14th some left; still larger masses came in their stead, mostly from the northeast. Farmers generally tried to smoke them out, but most abandoned the effort after the third day. I protected my garden for ten days, but from the 11th to the 13th they piled in on me so fearfully that I could not keep them from stripping nearly every . F P Rar. ee ne Se eee tree of its foliage. They have eaten about one-third of the apples and — half the early with all the late corn. On the 23d and 24th they left in a southern direction, the wind being from the northwest.—(Monthly Agricultural Report, August and September, 1876.) I have also the following notes on its appearance in Nebraska from PACKARD. ] THE LOCUST IN NEBRASKA IN 1876, 613 Mr. G. F. Dodge, of Glencoe, Nebr. As Mr. Dodge is an entomologist, his testimony is of increased value: GLENCOE, NEBR., February 4, 1877. DEAR SIR: * *% & # 3 % * * Since I have been here I have given more attention to the Caloptenus spretus than to all other insects together. The result of my observations has been that I have formed a theory of the cause ofimmigration of this insect, which differs radically from any yet put forth. ‘My record of the insect’s visitations runs like this: In 1873, C. spretus came from the south in May; remained a week or ten days; deposited eges in large quantity at this place. Icame here August 7; the insects had then about all attained their wings. During their growth they had done much damage to crops, destroying all the oats and corn where they were abundant. The insects did not move until August 16, when the wind, which had been from the south continuously during the month, veered round into the northwest. They arose about noon, and all left. Others flew over, going south from that time until cold weather. Some eggs were de- posited in the fall. In 1874, a few came from the southwest May 30, but only a few. May 10 the eggs laid the fall before were hatching. They pupated about June 1, became imagines about June 20, and went south with northerly winds June 30. July 23 immense swarm alighted, coming from the northeast July 23; staid three days, and went south. I saw no egesdeposited. Others went south in August, September, and October as usual. In 1875, they arrived in small quantity from southwest May 12; could be seen flying north whenever we had a south wind, but especially on and after June16. On that date myriads came from the southeast, staid one night, and, the wind continuing fa- vorable, went on in a northwesterly course. June 29 J first saw hoppers flying south. After that they could be seen flying either north or south, as the wind might be, until the 10th of July, after which date they only appeared in the air when the wind came from the north. In 1876, a very few came from the southwest May 14; saw some depositing eggs about May 30. August 10 an immense swarm came from the northwest and staid a week. Theday they departed the wind began to blow from the northwest, changed to north, and finally to northeast. The air was full of the hoppers all day. They always changed their course to go with the wind. ‘They left the ground full of eggs. In these the embryo was formed at least a month before the ground froze. By bringing eggs to the house and putting them ina warm place I have hatched them in seven days. Some of the same that were not keptso warm, but merely kept from frost and in the sun, have lain three weeks and do not hatch. I think the above notes substantiate my position, which is that spretus is double brooded, rearing. the first brood in the south, the second in the north; and that it mi- _ grates for this purpose, and not from hunger, as Riley asserts. I believe also that they are natives of the plains, and will always overrun this part of the country when a north or southwest wind drives them a little off their true north and south course during their period of migration. I do not believe that they are more liable to attacks of parasites here than elsewhere, and, indeed, think it not improbable that their present rate of in- ereage is due to their having found more nutritious food in the cereals upon which they have fed for a few years past than they have known in the prairie-grass. a 2 a z p ) 2 ic Ss) = 1818 PRUSR A isan seers SOnen A ceca Lococo ldecoansnell aonabadso paces loococeags ee? @e its) ocecos 1819 ASUS eave Wer arpeyetarres arn Se rcimrarellsrainiy se intavainib sfapala Syste «||Maveteeier sere a= otal etcie ciate 1834 or 1835 |...... er pistes 1820 Jsideiasoce| soo sebne Paseo sace |lsaeed pee a be1 Nurs oe bei NG iBe ee ees 1838 Steins ES SESS Gece Seen (GMa aes 1845 Be kya Mewwtercvell ole Actotenl [Me ertcheee eens el PSDB As ME Ree Ree on cad cacdloceSeoseca) Poanegotel BESReSs Gbe SOE SemEe oo Scene = ee 1846 ? : 1846 Bose eee acullsacscaceas 1852 1852 ease eee . ee B49 ses e gees eace tease Se See) cece aie re 1855 2? 1855 ? 1855 1855 ? 1855 1855 1855 1855 Ae ee 1856 PASO EHC SEeee sae Rea ee Sl Gaocedeecoooel Walsh as 1856* ae So 1857 Le ieee Neer eal te neiae eae! MCR Y Hee |aerieeere boas abeocalloncbetga Aoseear estos cllbsasass 1864 1864 IS: Hi omseanod tooedeacse Dt Aa eS oc GaSe CSca laeise aoe) See nectar embicetd beecikacs (he? Fetes SSionisnl ladoeoe sce Meme onesicral lain! tel stihzin Las Ses Se ee ea ooiod ac nee ecco tel penace i673 40,64 oeeme Sonthern |.----. California. |2s2--- This table and the data on which it is based are necessarily very im- perfect, owing to the vast extent of the territory over which the locust swarmed, and the fact that the greater portion is uninhabited, while the inhabited portions have been settled only within comparatively few years. It will be seen, however, that since 1875 the evil bas been greater and more wide-spread than ever before. The theory of the migrations.—(1) The immediate cause of the miqra- tions of the locust from its original breeding places is the unusual abundance of the species during certain years. It has been found in some cases that 41@s 642 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the exceptional years when the locust migrates. are periods of unusual heat and dryness, conditions unusually favorable to the excessive in- crease of insect life. As may be seen in the accounts of the eastern locust, the grass army-worm, the grain-aphis, the chinch-bug, and other less destructive insects, when the early part of the season, the spring and early weeks of summer, are warm and dry, without sudden changes of temperature, insects abound and enormously exceed their ordinary numbers. When two such seasons oceur, one after the other, the con- ditions become still more favorable for the undue development of in- sect life. Now it is well known that in the Kastern States the sammers of 1860 and 1874, preceding the appearance of the army-worm and erain-aphis, were unusually warm and dry, and favorable not only for the hatching of the eggs laid the year previous, but for the growth and development of the larve or young. Look now at the conditions for the development of locust Jife on the hot and dry plains, chiefly of Da- kota, Montana, Wyowing, and Idaho. We have no extended meteoro- logical records from these regions at hand, but it is more than probable that the years preceding the migrations of the locusts were exception- ally warm and dry, when the soil was parched with long-sustained droughts, as we know that the corresponding species east of the Missis- sippi River abounds during dry summers following dry and warm springs. Given, then, the exceptional years of drought and heat and the great extent of territory, and we have as the result vast numbers of young hatched out. The year previous having perhaps been warm and dry, the lecusts would abound, and more eggs thau usual would be laid. These would with remarkably few exceptions hatch, and the young soon consume the buffalo grass and other herbage, and move abont from one region to avother, following often a determinate course in search: of food. In this way large broods may migrate a long distance, from per- haps twenty to fifty miles. In about six or seveu weeks they acquire wings. Experience shows that the western locust as soon as it is fledged rises up high in the air, sometimes a thousand feet or much higher. They have been seen to settle at night on the ground, eat during this time, and toward noon of the next day fill the air again with their glistening wings. As more and more become fledged, the vast swarm exhausts the supply of food, and when the hosts are finally marshaled, new swarms joining perhaps the original one, the whole swarm, possibly hundreds of miles in extent, begius to fly off, borne by the prevailing westerly and northwesterly winds, in a generally easterly and south- - easterly course. (2.) The secondary cause of the migration is the desire for food, and possibly the reproductive instinct. ‘The fact that in their migrations the locusts often seem to select cultivated tracts, rapidly cross the treeless, barren plains, and linger and die on the prairies and western edge ot the fertile valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi, indicates that the im- pelling force is due primarily to the want of food, and that the guiding force is the direction of the prevailing winds, for they have no leaders, and we do not believe in the existence of a “‘ migratory instinct” in the | locust any more than in the grass army-worm, or the cotton army-worm, which it is sufficiently evident migrate from field to field, simply in search of more abundant food.* Meanwhile the reproductive system of *The simple fact that the more extensive migrations of the locust both in the New and Old World are periodical, long intervals existing between them, suggests that the development of a migratory instinct would be impossible. If once partially implanted, the long succession of non-migratory years would effectually break up the germs of such an instinct. It may be quite different with birds, which periorm their annual migrations for years and perhaps centuries without fail. F | SS ere PACKARD. ] TUE MIGRATIONS OF THE LOCUST. 643 the locusts is maturing, the eggs ripening, and the uneasiness of the locusts during the course of their travels may be unconsciously stimu- lated by the sexual instincts and the desire to discover suitable places for egg-laying, a long and tedious operation. It has been sufficiently shown that a swarm of locusts observed by Pro- fessor Kobinson near the entrance to Boulder Caiion, Colorado, traveled a distance of about six hundred miles to Hastern Kansas and Misscuri. Though the swarm was first observed at some distance north of Denver, Colo., it was then on its way from the north, and may have come from some part of Wyoming two or three hundred miles northwestward or northward. Tuough the winds may vary and counter-currents exist, and storm-gusts from due north, such as often sweep over the plains, and local southerly breezes may retard their flight, the course is either eastward or southeasterly. ‘We know enough of the winds in the West- ern States and Territories to lay down the the law that the general direc- tion of the winds in July and August, along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and on the plains, is from the west and northwest, and accords with the eastward course of the locust swarms. The rela- tions between the average direction of the winds and the migrations of tne locust have, however, never been sulliciently studied, either, so tar as we are aware, in Kurope or in this country. And yet, if we would intelligently study the causes of the excessive increase and migrations of the locust, we must examine the meteorological features of the country, ascertain the periods of drought and undue rain-fall, the average direc- tion of the wind for the different months, in order to learn how far they correspond with the phenomena of insect-life. That there are meteor- ological cycles, dry and hot seasons recurring at irregular intervals, while the general average may remain nearly the same century after century, is supported, though it may be vaguely, by observed meteor- ological facts. The question then arises, Can meteorologists predict the coming of sea- sons of undue heat and drought, and consequently can we predict insect- years? That is, the migrations of locusts and the undue increase of the chinch-bug and army and cotton worm? I believe that we shall, after the lapse of years, be able to foretell with a good degzee of certainty locust invasions, and be able to provide against the losses thus incurrred. On the frontier of the Western States, in Colorado, or in the Territo- ries of Wyoming, Montana, and Utah, where the losses from the rav- ages of the locust canuot easily be made up by importations from con- tiguous Territories, it seems the most practicable mode to provide in years of plenty against years of want. We should imitate on a grand Scale the usage of the ancient Egyptians under Pharaoh, who laid up in times of unusual harvest stores of grain for times of famine. It is said that this has been done on a small scale by the Mormons. If this were done in the far West, in seasons immediately preceding insect-years, which had been predicted by entomologists in conjunciion with the meteorologists, we should be saved the distress, destitution, and even loss of life from starvation, which have resulted from ignorance of the laws regulating the appearance of destructive insects, especially the western locust. The return migration.—By simultaneous observations for a number of years over the region liable to be visited by migratory hordes of locusts, added to the knowledge we already possess, it will not only be possible to predict the course of certain swarms from their breeding-places, and their probable destination, so that when a swarm starts from Montana or Wyoming, its arrival in Colorado a week or a fortnight later may 644 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. with some certainty be predicted, and, again, its arrival in Kansas and — : adjoining States be announced with a certain amount of precision, as has already been done by Dr. Riley, but we shall be able to foretell the course taken in the return flight of their progeny in the succeeding year. I will confess that previous to my visit to Kansas and Colorado, in 1875, I was skeptical as to Dr. Riley’s opinion that there was a gen- erai movement in a northwest course of the young of the previous year, broods from Missouri and adjoining regions northwestward. The facts and resulting theory have already been stated in full by Dr. Riley and others. It remains to determine the causes of this return migration, this completion of the ‘‘ migration-cycle,” as Professor Dawson terms it. It is evident that in this case the desire for food is not the cause, for food is many times more abundant in the Mississippi Valley than on the plains whither they return. The solution of the problem, I think, must be sought in the direction of the prevailing winds during the middle of June, the time when they become winged. It may be found, after a series of careful meteorological observations, that the prevailing winds at this early season are southerly and southeasterly. It has been shown by meteorologists, as I learn from Prof. C. Abbe, that during May and June the winds blow inward toward the heart of the continent from the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. On application to General A. J. Myer, Chief of the Signal-Service of the United States Army, for the meteorological data necessary to confirm this hypothesis, I promptly received a full summary of data observed by the ofiicers of the Weather Signal Bureau, for periods of from two to five (usually the latter) years between 1871 and 1876, which show that the prevailing winds in June, in Daveuport, Dodge City, and Keokuk, Iowa; Saint Paul and Breck- enridge, Minn.; Yankton and Fort Sally, Dak.; Omaha, Leavenworth, and Fort Gibson, Ind. T.—all within the locust area—are from thesouth- east and south. This fact may be sutficient to account for the prevail- ing course of the return migrations of the locust from the eastern limits of “the locust area. The accompanying table is taken from a synopsis of tlie retenraloeaeal phenomena of the Western States and Territories within the eastern limits of the locust area, which is appended to this chapter. It has been furnished me by Brig. Gen. A. J. Myer, U.S. A., Chief Signal- Officer, Washington, D, C., and my hearty thanks are due him for the labor and trouble involved in its preparation. 645 THE MIGRATIONS OF THE LOCUST. PACKARD. | AS| WH | AS) HS | “| MS} AS] AS|] MS] S Je [EIS eee Toe al comet tee Good BAIN Pg ee $ tS) iS) Sate se Ss S) $ iS) iS) See AVN) AA | AN) AN) AACN) ANN] AA} AA} AL JNINGH 5 Fea geo a ee ASSISTING) 2 at <1 a (ae ee mS | ag | ceecocee coe ee i) s S |MS| H |S Ss s S | as ee cals GOS) Gis eo = IGE Cass tet My ier N | GS | AN] AAN] 77" aS) N | aS |asa| as MN) S |AN] AS | a8 | aS} S| as | as S) iS) S |as| as] 8 iS S S |ass Bi | ANUS PANO NTR ANG NIG feet |e aS | aS) as | w@ og HS | AS |MN| AS | AS | AS| aS} as} § g S |MAN! § | GN 5 S | @ | MS] § Bee lige Oe aleeees: ie poe poe ee AS |MS}/AMS|AS/|HSS| HS] S OH | MS | MS TL8T | OL8T | SLB | PLET | SLBL | GLET GL8T | FL8T | E181 | ZL81 “laquieydeg ‘qsnsnVy CL8T | PL8T HS | HN MS|AS} N | AS} AMS Stee 9, [UNG S SP Sce cat s/s tS) iS) S$ $s S $s s N A | M | A | AL | AN] AA] Aa | AA A) Teil Tee |) 222 [eee eee aes aces One ell gees [eer mec omael ae s|as/ Ss |S | s | 8 |ASI-sS mS | aS | A | S-| aS | aS | 7 aS] aS |MN| AS | AS | aS | aS | as aS | aS |AN| @S|aS| aS| aS] as S |as|N |S | S| 8 Jass| S ANS Sis eae MN| S| aS] S | v7 aS| S |AMN| aS | aS | as] as | as AS |MNIAN| GS|MS|/ HS] S | 8 .{o8) eae popes eae MS |AN| AS |AMN| AS | MS! AS! AS ELST | CLT | MLT | CLAT | FLT | LST | GLET | OLET oun BAG) Ist ease eszegoeemoce. XOW “N ‘90 eyuRg arate ssr> |oeeesese"*-o10g ‘ssu1udg ope10jop OTENTa Me Nise ties ieee se ec oe OOD ‘19AueCqy TAL [ORE [PD BEB o2252 Oo282« of AA ‘ouusseyD See eee OOo OOo ooo oes QUOT ‘Yoinwsigr BOD! Sito OOS OR ESC oeSo IQON 0998[d WIAONT ERAN] Se ge Rae suvy [IAOMMIATOT fa fal lent eal a I9J, ‘PUT ‘MOSqry) 410.T Gh WAG eee HVC [21D ‘ATLG 9.1007 Bis) || faim) oreennereee= uuIy, ‘espliueyoo1g The {ess | Pa Serenceessn caccce IQ9N ‘vyeMO SJ [rege [mosses oe yeq U1oq NOS ‘W0j x uv ING ANS SRS Seis = Sige sc l= ts wal Toe_ qures He eae | See oe OS Ie ee CMOT ‘{N3 09ST cone] teee| eee eee ween ee eee eMoy ‘AID Spo TING SAAN ace ae eae se BMOT ‘Q10du0avq ELBT | CLET “NOT}E}S ) 646 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Let us therefore grant this setting-in of southerly and easterly winds, which may last until the locusts are winged. When they rise on the wing into the air they are known to move in a general northwest direc- tion. It is highly probable that they are borne along by these gener- ally southeasterly winds, and pass over on to the plains. The cause is seen, then, to be entirely independent of subsistence; possibly the re- productive instinct causes them to become uneasy, restless, to assemble high in the air and seek the dry, hot, elevated plateau of the northwest. Should this be so, the cause of their migrations is’ probably purely me- chanical. Abundant testimony is at hand to show that they are wholly at the mercy of the prevailing winds, and that as a rule the course of their migrations is quite dependent on the direction of the winds, while the course of the winds depends more or less on the season of the year. We may expect that future research over sufficient territory will show that the June migrations, from the eastern limits of the locust area, will be toward the northwest, and the July, August, and early September mi- grations, from the Rocky Mountain plateau, wiil be in a general easterly and southeasterly direction. It is not only of great scientific interest, but of high practical impor- tance, to collect all facts bearing on the return migrations, in order to know where the locusts go in their return migrations the second year, as we only know that they do fly acertain distance northwestward. We want to ascertain the extreme western limits of this return migration. We also want to learn whether they return to their original breeding- places on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, or whether the westerly winds, if they are westerly, drive them back and scatter them, so that they do not breed extensively. It will be seen by the reader that all grounds for a reliable working theory of locust migrations are based on the work of our Signal Bureau and local observers, and that the observations of the meteorologists and entomologists must go hand in hand. The Government has pro- vided a well-organized corps of meteorological observers, and we sub- mit that a number of competent entomologists should take the field, un- der Government auspices. Not only should the border States, especially Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa, employ competent en- tomologists, following the liberal policy of Missouri, which for eight years has had a State entomologist, whose reports have proved of in- calculable practical value, as well as of great scientific interest, but the habits of the locust need first of all to be thoroughly studied in the Ter- ritories, particularly those of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Dakota, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and in the State of Colorado. A commission of entomologists should be appointed to make a thorough detailed study for several successive seasons of the habits of the locusts in the Terri- tories mentioned. It would seem that the recommendations made at the recent meeting of western governors at Omaha, that an appropriation be made by Congress, and a commission be attached to the existing United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, is the most feasible and economical method of securing the speediest and best results. Let us for a moment look at the losses sustained in the United States from the attacks of insects. The annual agricultural products of this country by the last census amounted in value to $2,500,000,000. Of this amount we in all probability annually lose over $200,000,000 from the attacks of injurious insects alone. Dr. kiley avers that the losses during 1874 in Missouri from locusts, and it will be remembered that only the western third was invaded, exceeded $15,000,000. This PACKARD.| LOCUSTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. 647 would make the losses in other parts of the West at least twice as much more, or $45,000,000 in all. The estimated money-loss ocea- sioned by the chinch-bug in Illinois in 1864 was over $73,000,000 ; in Missouri, in 1874, it is estimated by Dr. Riley to have been $19,009,000. The annual losses from the chinch-bug are greater, Mr. Riley says, than from any other insect. The average annual loss to the cotton crop from the attacks of the cotton army-worm alone is estimated at $50,000,000. Adding to these the losses sustained by the attacks of about a thousand other species of insects which affect our cereals, forage and field-crops, fruit-trees and shrubs, garden vegetables, shade and ornamental trees, as well as our hard and pine forests and stored fruits, and it will not be thought an exaggeration to put our annual losses at $200,000,000. If the people of this country would only look at this annual depletion, this absolute waste, which drags her backward in the race with the countries of the Old World, they might see the necessity of taking effective preventive measures in restraining the ravages of insects. With care and forethought, based on the observance of facts by scientific men, we believe that from $50,000,000 to $100,000,000, or from one-quarter to one-half of this annual waste, could be saved to the country. And the practical, most efficient way is for the States to co- operate with the General Government in the. appointment of salaried entomologists, and of a United States commission of entomologists, who should combine the results of the State officials, and issue weekly, or, if necessary, daily bulletins, perhaps in combination with the Weather- Signal Bureau, as to the conditions of the insect world, forewarning farmers and gardeners from week to week as to what enemies should be guarded against and what preventive and remedial measures should be used. The Weather.Signal Bureau, first suggested and urged by the late I. A. Lapham, was not instituted without ridicule and opposition, but it has saved millions to our commerce and agriculture. The maintenance of an entomological commission and the appointment of State entomol- ogists would involve comparatively little expense. Already, owing to the full information regarding the invasion of Missouri by the locust in 1874, contained in the reports of Prof. C. V. Riley, the people of that State will be well prepared, from the direful experience cr the past, to deal more intelligently and efficiently with the locust in the future. THE MIGRATORY LOCUSTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. We have already referred to the fact that swarms of locusts of unknown species have occurred at different dates in Guatemala and other parts of Central America. The following notices are taken from an article by A.S. Taylor, of Monterey, Cal., published in the Smithsonian Report for 1858: “Throughout California, with its ante-1849 boundaries, throughout Lower California, New Mexico, and all the dry and the elevated mesas or plateaus of the republic of Mexico, their ravages have been noted by the old Spanish chroniclers from the first conquest and settlement of the countries.” In 1632 the parishes of Mexico and Pinola, and other parts of the uplands of Guatemala, were overrun with locusts. Clavigero witnessed locust invasions in 1738 or 1739 upon the coasts of Xicayan, in Oaxaca. Afterward a famine occurred in Yucatan. Regarding the injuries of a Guatemalan locust, we quote the following account from Squier’s Honduras; descriptive, historical, and statistical, 1870: The insect, however, which is most dreaded in Honduras, as indeed in all Central America, is the langosta or chapulin, a species of grasshopper or locust, which at inter- 648 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. vals afflicts the entire country, passing from one end to the other in vast columns of many millions, literally darkening the air and destroying every green thing in their course. I once rode through one of these columns which was fully ten miles in width. Not only did the insects cover the ground, rising in clouds on each side of the mule- path as I advanced, but the open pine-forest was brown with their myriad bodies, as if the trees had been seared with fire, while the air was filled with them, as it is with falling flakes in a snow-storm. Their course is always from south to north. They make their first appearance as saltones, of diminutive size, red bodies, and wingless, when they swarm over the ground like ants. At this time vast numbers of them are killed by the natives. who dig long trenches two or three feet deep, and drive the sal- tones into them. Unable to leap out, the trench soon becomes half filled with the young insects, when the earth is shoveled back, and they are thus buried and destroyed. They are often driven in this way into the rivers and drowned. Various expedients are resorted tu by the owners of plantations to prevent the passing columns from alight- ing. Sulphur is burned in the fields, guns are fired, drums beaten, and every mode of making a noise put in requisition for the purpese. In this mode detached plantations are often saved. But, when the columns once alight, no device can avail to rescue them from speedy desolation. In a single hour, the largest maize-fields are stripped of their leaves, and only the stems are left to indicate that they once existed. It is said that the chapulin makes its appearance at the ends of periods of about fifty years, and that it then prevails for from five to seven years, when it entirely disappears. But its habits have never been studied with care, and I am unprepared to affirm any- thing in these respects. Its ordinary size is from two and a half to four inches in length, but it sometimes grows to the length of five inches. Mr. Taylor remarks that “this statement is consonant with the accounts received from Honduras and Guatemala of the famine and pestilence of fever in those countries in 1855 and 1856, caused by clouds of locusts devastating the country, and confirms Gage’s history of the same iands in 1632.” In 1855 the valley of Colima, in Southwestern DMiexico, was visited by locusts. In 1856 their ravages extended along the first central mesas or steppes bordering eastward the Rocky Mountains, covering the dry soils of Texas, and down into the south of Mexico. In the vicinity of Cordova, in the State of Vera Cruz, the people made a regular campaign against them, and succeeded in destroying one hundred and ninety-two arrobas, computed as numbering four hundred million grasshoppers. In the State of Guerrero they also did great injury, particularly within the dis- tricts around Acapulco. The treeless portions of South America are also not exempt from swarms of locusts, though we have no information as to the different species composing them. Taylor says that at the time of the visit of Darwin to Chile and the adjacent countries of South America he relates of the grasshoppers as toliows, at the date of March 25, 1835, when he was crossing the dry country which lies between the city of Mendoza, in Buenos Ayres, and the opposite side of Chile. This country assimi- lates in every essential physical characteristic to that of the territories within the boundaries of Upper and Lower California prior to the American occupation : ‘Shortly betore arriving at the village and river of Luxan, we ob- served to the south a ragged cloud of a dark reddish-brown color. At first we thought it was caused by some great fire on the neighboring plains, but we soon found tha: it was a swarm of locusts. ‘They were flying northward, and with the aid of a light breeze they overtook us at the rate of ten or fifteen miles an hour. The main body filled the air from a height of twenty feet to that, as it appeared, of two or three thousand feet above the ground. The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle; or rather, as I should say, like a strong breeze passing through a ship’s rigging. The sky, seen through the advanced guard, appeared like a mezzotinto engraving; but the main body was impervious to sight. They were not, PACKARD.] THE LOCUSTS OF THE OLD WORLD. 649 however, so thick togetber but that they could escape a stick waved. backward and forward. When they alighted, they were more numerous than the leaves in the field, and the surface became reddis instead of green. The swarm having once alighted, the individuals flew from side to side in all directions. Locusts are not an uncommon pest in this country. Already during this season several smaller swarms had come up from the south, where, apparently, as in all other parts of the world, they are bred in the deserts. The poor cottagers in vain attempted, by lighting fires, by shouts, and by waving branches, to arrest the attack. This species of locust closely resembles, and perhaps is identical with, the Gryllus migratorius of Syria and Palestine.” — THE LOCUSTS OF THE OLD WORLD. That the calamities which have befallen the farmers of the West are less grievous than those resulting from locust invasions in the Old World; that there is a general similarity in the habits of locusts the world over, and that the causes of their migrations are of the same general nature, may be seen by a perusal of the following statements, which I have taken from sources as a rule inaccessible to most readers. For brief popular accounts of the Old World loeusts the works of Kirby and Spence, Westwood, and of subsequent compilers may be consulted. The following historical sketch of Jocust invasions in the Old World is condensed from an article by Rudolf Gottschaff in ‘“* Unserezeit,” (Febru- ary, 1876, Leipzig). The first account after that of Joel, in the Bible, whose remarks apply to Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Asia Minor, is the statement of Ororius, that in the year of the world 3800 certain regions of North Africa wére visited by monstrous swarms; the wind blew them into the sea, and the bodies washed ashore “stank more than the corpses of a hundred thousand men.” Another locust plague, resulting in a famine and contagious disorders, according to St. Augustine, oc- curred in the kingdom of Masinissa, and caused the death of about 800,000 men. Pliny states that the locusts visited Italy, flying from Africa. In Europe locust invasions have been recorded since 1333, when they appeared in Germany. Mouffit states that in 1478 the country about Venice was invaded, and 30,000 people died of famine. In 1725 the region about Rome was overrun by locusts. In France, swarms appeared at the close of the middle ages. In 1747 there was a great invasion of Southern and Middle Europe, especially the shores of the Danube, Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania. Be- fore and after this date vast swarms were observed in Africa and Asia. Adansin in 1750 observed them in the Senegal. In 1799, Jackson, in his “ Journey through Morocco,” states that the whole country between Mogador and Tanger, on the borders of the Sahara, was covered with them, and they were in many cases borne into the ocean westward. In Russia, whose southern steppes form the home of the locust, vast Swarms in the time of Charles XII, who was then in Bessarabia, came there from the region of the Black Sea. Russia, Poland, and Hun- gary were often visited by them. In 1828 and 1829 enormous swarms invaded the coast of the Black Sea. In 1859, in the South Russian provinces of Cherson, and in Bessarabia, a tract 60 versts long and about one-third as wide was overrun by trem. Taschenberg gives the locust years in Russia in the present century as follows : 1800, 1801, 1803, 1812716, 182022, 1824 aud 1825, 1828-31, 185436, 1844, 1847, 1850, and 1851, 1859 and 1861. 650 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. In August, 1384, according to Mr. J. Boll, they invaded portions of Switzerland. In Germany the records go back to 1333. In this vear, and until 1356, they abounded. Entering Hungary, they overflowed into Poland and Austria. They then divided into two great swarms, one of which flew southerly into Italy, the other into France, Suabia, Bavaria, Thnu- ringia, and Saxony. In Germany they again occurred in 1543. In 1693 they invaded Thuringia, going from Hungary by way of Austria, Schlesia, and Bohemia, and invading the region about Jena, Gotha, Erfurt, and Weimar. : In Germany the locust years were as follows: 1333~36, 1475, 1527 and 1543, 1636, 1686, 1693 and 1696, 1712, 1714, 1715, 1719, 1727-31, 1734, 1746-’50, 1752-54, 1759, 1761, and for the present century, 1803, 1825—30, 1856, 1859. In 1873-74 small numbers appeared in swarms about Genshagen, near Berlin; they laid their eggs, and in the middle of June of 1875 the larve appeared in millions, becoming fledged in July. Ko6ppen has published (Hore Soe. Ent. Ross. ili, pp. 89-246) an elab- orate memoir on the migratory locust of Southern Russia. He gives, in the first place, a biography of his subject, which includes several memvirs published in Russian journals. With regard to the species KGppen remarks on the various opinions of entomologists as to the rela- tion between Pachytylus migratorius (Linn.) and P. cinerascens (Tab.), and comes to the conclusion that the two supposed species are to be regarded as varieties of one and the same, and that Hdipoda tatraica (Motsch.) is identical with P. cinerascens. The form which he met with most abun- dantly in South Russia is the true P. migratorius. The development of the insect is described by Koppen in detail. The eggs are deposited by the females, to the number ot 60 to 100 together, in little nests surrounded by a membranous envelope. The eggs are laid in autumn and the young hatched in the following spring. The envelope is burst a little while before the exclusion of the young. The eges display a great power of resistance to the influence of cold; they have been found to retain their vitality when the temperature reached 26° Fahrenheit when placed with earth in a large glass vessel. The larve are said by K6ppen to moult four times, and the fourth moult produces the winged insect. The diiterent stages are described by Koppen. At the end of May (1861), eggs taken trom the ground showed the eyes, antenne, segments, and legs of the larve distinctly ; and a little while before hatching, the larve could move within the egg. On its emergence the larva is yellowish-white, with a rosy tinge; in three to four hours its color is grayish-black. Before and during each moult the larve are sluggish. At the final moult, which always takes place in the hottest sunshine, the animals hang head downward, by the hind feet, upon the stalks of grasses, &c. This enables the insects to twist about in all directions, in order to free themselves from the skin. The expansion of the wings occupies about twenty minutes after the completion of the moult (twenty-two minutes according to Koéste, who says that the moult itself occupies sixteen minutes); during this period K6ppen observed that a dark yellow fluid was distributed over the wings In microscopic drops. The period which elapsed between the arrival of the insect at the winged state and the deposition of the eggs is uncertain; the statements of different authors vary between four weeks and two months. K6ppen describes the nearly indiscriminate voracity of these insects, but remarks that certain plants appear to be avoided by them, namely, flax and hemp, the Cucurbitacew, and, according to Petzholdt, dwart | | PACKARD.) THE LOCUSTS OF THE OLD WORLD. 6h1 garden-beans. The Gramihee seem to furnish their favorite food. They prefer the leaves and other soft parts of plants and trees, but also some- times gnaw the bark and even the wood of the latter. In time of seareity they will attack straw-thatch and woolen clothes, and even devour each other. K6ppen notices the statement made by various authors that the larve for the first ten days live upon dew, and treats it as an absurdity. The perfect insects copulate almost immedialely after the last change of skin. The union of the sexes continues apparently for a consider- able time, from twelve to eighteen or even twenty-four hours, but some- times only for an hour or two. The female carries the male about with her, and feeds as if alone; she is, however, unabie to fly. The male sits quite motionless, only giving a sign of life by stridulation if another male should approach. The eggs are deposited about seven days after copulation,according to Koste. The female digs a hole in the earth of about 14 inches, by means of the hook-like horny organs of the apex of the abdomen, and the eggs are then laid in cylindrical masses, usually placed at an angle of about 45° to the surface. The eggs are united by a spongy mass (cement), which also envelopes the whole outside of the mass; here, by the adhesion of grains of sand, small stones, &c., it forms a sort of wall which protects the eggs from injurious external influences. The mass is Sometimes formed wholly or partially of the frothy cement without eggs. Yersin ascribes this to a morbid condition of the female, and doubts whether the few eggs contained in such masses are capable of development. K6ppen has found, on removing the female insect, that the pit which it had dug was filled with the trothy mass without any eggs. This seems to the recorder to indicate rather that the cement mass is first produced by the insect, and the eggs afterward laid in it. The nests found containing the spongy mass without eges would then be easily accounted for, on the supposition that the females were dis- turbed or destroyed when just about commencing the actual business of oviposition. The number of eggs laid in each nest seems to vary from 50 to 90 or 100, and the ovary of the female contains from 100 to 150 eggs, according to Kriinitz. The question whether the females cop- ulate more than once has been much discussed in Russia, and from the author’s statements it would appear that the popular opinion is that the act of copulation only takes place once. From Koste’s observations, however, it is certain that the females copulate and deposit their eggs several times. He observed a female in confinement which copulated with six different males before laying her first batch of eggs; and after- ward the same phenomena were repeated four times, the insect dying when engaged in oviposition for the sixth time. From his own observa- tions, and those of other authors, Képpen regards it as most probable that copulation and oviposition are repeated usually at least three times by each temale, perhaps at intervals of about a month, as stated by Yersin, the total number of eggs being from 160 to 170.* Upon the rapidity of movement of locusts in the larval condition the *In an article by V. Graber “ on polygamy and other sexual relationships in the Or- thoptera” (Verbandlungen der zool.-botanischer Gesellsch. in Wien, xxi, pp. 1091- 1096, Zoological Record for 1871), the author details experiments regarding polygamy and repeated copulations in some orthopterous insects. A male and female were ob- served in coitu eight distinct times between May 21 and June 1; after the sixth con- nection the female began to deposit eggs. A second male, which had already fecun- dated several females, was then placed with her, and she paired at least five times with him. Analogous results followed experiments upon Pezotettix pedestris, and he believes that polygamy and polyandry exist in many species. 652 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. statements of authors are at variance. The observations of Sydon and Donzingk give about a quarter of a German mile (7. e., about 0.975 mile English) in the hour. Téchemewsky asserts that they only advance about 350 feet in the day upon grass land. Of the senses of the locust, KOppen seems to regard hearing as the sharpest. The senses of smell and taste are exerted in the selection of food ; and that of touch is displayed in the sensibility of the insects to changes of weather, especially temperature. Sociability is regarded by the author as characteristic of the locusts. The larve proceeding from one nest seem to keep together for a time; they afterward associate in larger masses which move together in search of nourishment. ‘These migrations in mass commence in the second stage of larval life, but be- come more general after the second moult. The migration usually takes place in the morning and evening. The author remarks upon the direc- tion of the migrations of these insects, which he regards as influenced to a certain extent by an instinctive perception of the direction in which abundant food or a suitable breeding-place is to be found, but modified or even sometimes caused by external agents, especially the winds. The author also discusses the primary causes of the great migrations of these insects and the phenomena observed Guring their flight. In the south of Russia the hatching of the eggs takes place, according to the weather, at the end of April or beginning of May. A few larve are sometimes produced on warm days in October, but these soon die. The hatching occupies from two to three weeks, according to circum- stances. The winged insects appear in the beginning and middle of July; copulation takes place early in August; and theoviposition ex- tends from the middle of August to October. The dry steppes con- stitute the chief haunt of the locusts; damp places they seem to avoid. The females prefer for the reception of their ova the solid virgin soil, and rarely visit ploughed land for this purpose. Damp and cold are unfavorable for the development of the eggs. The author discusses in great detail the external conditions which act favorably or unfavorably upon these insects. The greater part of this section is devoted to the consideration of their enemies, of which K6éppen gives a formidable list (pp. 151-166). Leimé and other authors have given Tartary as the true home of the migrating locusts; but in Tartary no large swarms occur. In the author’s opinion, the countries in which the swarms are seen are also the countries of their birth. He cites many facts in support of this opinion, and in illustration of the geographical distribution of the in- sect, the northern limit of their migratory or nomadic life being a line passing from Spain through the south of France, Switzerland, Pomera- nia, South Russia, and South Siberia, to the north of China. To the north of this line the insects generally occur only singly. Many inter- esting details as to their occurrence in vast numbers are given by the author (pp. 190-205). K6ppen also describes the injury done by the locusts when they occur in great numbers, and indicates the means adopted for their suppres- sion (pp. 205-246). K6éppen also notices Caloptenus italicus, a congener of our C. spretus, which likewise occurs in South Russia, and at such times, as in other regions of Southern Europe, sometimes in injurious numbers. Other species which are also occasional devastators, especially when asso- ciated with the migratory species, are Pachytylus stridulus, Gidipoda vastator, Stawronotus vastator, S. cruciatus, and Pezotettia alpina. PACKARD.] THE LOCUSTS OF THE OLD WORLD. 653 Kiintsler reports this insect as injurious to corn-crops in Austria in 1866 and 1867. The ravages of the ]ocust in Bavaria have been discussed by Jaeckel,* who cites various records of the visits of this species in swarms during the jourteenth century, one toward the close of the fifteenth, and one at the end of the seventeenth century, and gives along account of a similar visitation in 1749. Since that year no swarms of locusts have occurred in Bavaria. Gerstaecker in a recent workt{ on the European locust, which seems to be mainly, however, a compilation, writes as follows regarding the European locust : That copulation can be accomplished very soon after emerging from the last larva- skin (he does not name a cupa stage), is shown by the fact that one occasionally finds individuals engaged in the act while the wings are still tender and have not attained their full color. But the act is as a rule performed in the course of several days (after becoming winged), or even after a still longer period. The male lets the female free in the course of twelve to twenty minutes, after which the female, before proceeding to lay, employs herself in feeding again for several days. As soon as her eggs are ripe, which, according to Késten, requires seven days on the average, she seeks a satisfactory spot to deposit them. (He then describes the act of laying much like Professor Riley.) The eggs are generally found at a depth of 4 centi- metres, or more, below the surface. In this act, requiring considerable time, she ly no means rids herself of her whole stock of eggs at once, but may pass several weeks even in perfecting them. Possibly for a second or third deposit of the egg-mass a re- newal of copulation is necessary. At least /such a repetition has been noticed in the case of females that had already been found laying, and has always been followed by a new deposit of eggs. In all cases, whether after a single or repeated coupling, which latter may depend upon the relative number of males, and the temperature of the season, a division is made of the egg-stock into several deposits as is shown by the tact that the larger egg-pods seldom contain more than one-half, and the smaller very gen- erally a much smaller fraction of the whole mass of eggs produced by one female, which mass may amount to one hundred and fitty or more. With the last deposit the female has accomplished her destiny, so that she not seldom remains dead on the spot where the laying occurred. On the other hand the males even after repeated coupling, and with several females, appear to be able to prolong their life, and may be found alive as late as October. From the comparatively long time during which the winged locusts may be found, extending very commonly from the end of July to the end of September, it must not be at once coneluded that the life of an individual is correspondingly long. In selecting a spot for the perfection of this egg (packet) dryne:s is of the first im- portance to the female, and besides this a certain degree of hardness. They prefer loamy and clayey ground to pure sand. Besides this, a spot is naturally selected which offers suitable and plentiful food to the hatching brood. Fallow fields lying alongside cultivated fields and meadows appear to present an unusual attraction to the female when ready to lay. That the eggs, as such, winter over under the surface can be set down asa matter of common observation. The young brood generally do not hatch before the end of April. The geograpbical distribution of-the migratory locust of Europe and Asia (Pachytylus migratorius) has been discussed by Herr F. T. K6ppen in Petermann’s ‘‘ Mittheilungen aus Justus Perthe’s Geographischer An- stalt,” (1871, p. 361,) his paper being accompanied by a map showing the range of the insect. I translate an abstract of it by M. Preudhomme *Correspondenz-Blatt der Zool. Mineralogisch Verein, Regensburg, xxi, pp. 83-93. See Zoological Record tor 1867, Verhaudlungen Zool. Bot. Gesellschaft, in Wien, xvii, pp. 930-932, Zool. Record for 1867. t** Die Wanderheuschrecke. (Oedipoda Migratoria Tin.) Gemeinverstaendliche Darstellung ibrep Naturgeschichte, Lebensweise, Schidlichkeit, und der Mittel zu ihrer Vertilgung. Im Auftrage des Kénig]. Preuss. Ministeriums fiir die landwirtbschaft- lichen Angelegenheiten verfasst von Dr. A. Gerstaecker, Prof. an der Universitiit in Berlin. Mit 9 Abbildungen auf 2 Tafeln in Farbendruck, Berlin, 1876. 67 pp.” For the above translation I am indebted to Mr. Whitman, who has kindly called my attention to the work. ; 654 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. de Borre, in the Comptr. Rendus of the Entomological Society of Bel- gium, 1871~72, p. xviii: : The migratory locust is an Orthopter peculiar to the torrid zone and a large part of the north temperate zone of the Old World ; but, in this last region, its northern limits | is subject to some variations, the explanation of which is one of the principal objects of the work of M. Koppen. In countries such as those of Arabia and Persia, where the mean temperature of the year, as that of the different seasons, is almost invariable, the abundance of the species in question does not vary ; it is normally limited, both by the quantity of its nourish- ment and the natural enemies of the insect. But this is not the case in those countries which, like Southern Russia, may present, sometimes favorable seasons, sometimes years, or even simply seasons, unfavorable to the multiplication of Pachytylus. Thus, according to M. Koppen, the persistent prolongation of dry heat during a part of the autumn will exert an influence on the quantity of eggs laid in favorable places ; and, on the other hand, a temperature less than 14° Réaumer, [634° Fahr.,] prolonged for several days toward the end of May, will be indispensable to the hatching of the larva. There would result from the more or less perfect realization of these conditions, and their succession or their interruption duripg several years, those differences observed in the northern limit of the species, which alternately increase or diminish the area ot distribution. ‘ M. Koppen has distinguished and traced quite completely on the map for Europe and Siberia three different limits of the geographical area of Pachytylus migratorius: 1. The limits of its permanent distribution, 2. The limit of its temporary existence in all stages of development, a little more to the north. Finally, 3. The limits of its presence in the condition of bands of winged insects of a stated age, out of the regions where the species may live and propagate. It willbe necessary still to establish the limits of accidental individual appearances, but that would be of questionable importance. The northern limit of the permanent geographical distribution of Pachytylus migratorius begins in Western Europe, from the coast of Portugal, near 40° latitude nortb, and ex- tends from there toward the northeast as far as the mouth of the Bidassoa, thus leaving out all the northwest portion of Spain; it continues to rise obliquely in France up as far north as the lake of Geneva, and extends east, following more or less the forty- eighth degree of latitude, and embracing Valois, all of the north of Italy, Carinthia, and Hungary, it passes into Southern Russia, where it attains nearly the fiftieth de- gree, passes likewise across the middle of Siberia, whence it passes over the north of > China, to end in Japan, ata latitude a little inferior to that of its point of departure in Portugal, leaving out the island of Niphon. M. Képpen remarks that all this limit does not deviate much from the isotherma of 16° R. [68° Fahr.] for the month of June. To farther circumscribe the area, so extensive, of this species, the line goes from Japan to the islands of Fidochi, to New Zealand and Australia, of which it only embraces the northern parts, passes from there to the island of Mauritius, then rises to the north, crosses Africa up to Madeira, But in this last part of the passage the limits are more hypotietical, from want of an exact knowledge of the existence of the species in the interior of Africa. When, in a country comprised in this area, as has been frequently observed in Southern Russia, the locusts develop in a certain abundance, the want of food obliges them to migrate in part in different directions, and to break over their limits. If cir- cumstances permit these emigrants to multiply for a certain period beyond their nor- mal area, there resnlts a temporary extension of this area, and occasionally new mi- grations to the north, until only a single spring, colder or more humid, comes to put an end to their invasion and to oblige them to-go back to their natural limits. Tempo- rary extensions like this of the area of distribution of Pachytylus migratorius took place in 1746 to 1749, and in 1822 to 1828; at these periods they appeared in Germany, and have multiplied themselves during several successive years. The northern limit of these temporary extensions may be also marked on the chart by a line which, tak- ing its point of departure in the southwestern portion of Bavaria (where the Pachyty- lus migratorius bas been observed from 1333 to 1339, and from 1748 to 1749), rises to the northeast by Jena and Halle toward Jaiterbogk and Berlin, when it takes a nearly eastern course, following more or less the parallel of 523° of latitude, near Miincheberg, Kiistrin, Birnbaum, and Posen (regions which the species was known to have visited in 1730, 1752, and from 1827 to 1828); then the line passes across Southern Poland, at the fifty-second parallel, through the southern part of the government of the Mohilew, inclin- iny gradually toward the south, and extending soas to reach the Wolga and the Ural. It is apparently to the humidity of the climate, injurious to the locust, likewise to the state of the eggs during the winter, that we should attribute the less extension ot this limit toward the north in Western Europe. To the north of the limits which have just been indicated, the Pachytylus migratorius has not the power of undergoing its whole cycle of metamorphoses, neither, conse- quently, to reproduco itself. This does not prevent its occasional appearance in swarms i SLs PACKARD. ] THE LOCUSTS OF THE OLD WORLD. 655 even in countries very northern ; ibus, it was observed in England (1693 and 1748), avd even at the Jatter date, near Edinburgh; in Sweden (as far as Ostrogoth), at latitude 57° +0 58° north, in 1748 and 1844, and finally on the Duna, near Dunabourg and at Polozk, in 1545. But these troops of voyagers did not hatch out in the same places where they were observed, nor did they leave any progeny in subsequent years. The only known example of an exception to this rule is the discovery made once by Boheman, in September, in the middle of Sweden, of a Pachytylus migratorius in the proper state. Evidently this is an exception wholly accidental, which does not prove anything against the rule. The more we advance toward the north, the less are large swarms of locusts observed, and we end by meeting only isolated individuals, as have been seen several times at St. Petersburg, and even near Wasa in Finland (latitude 65° north). The want of facts prevents our extending these studies to the southern boundary of the area of distribution of Pachytylus migratorius. However, we can remark that in New Zeaiand, the extreme southern point of this distribution, the mean temperature ot the warmer months is, according to Schmid (Lehrbuch der Meteorologie, p. 363), at 15°.5 R. (about 66° Fahrenheit), which does not differ much from the corresponding temperature of the northern limit of the area in Europe. The localities out of Europe where the Pachytylus migratorius has been observed are as follows: Madeira, Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, Chartoum, Asia Minor, Syria, Arabia, Per- sia, India, Siam, China, Japan, Java, Lugon, Fidschi, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Australia, and finally Mauritius island; but this last locality indicated by Serville needs confirmation. In Central Asia the species has been observed near Lake Aral, on the borders of Syr-Darja, on the upper side of Ischim and of Irtisch, and finally toward the lakes Kurgaldschin, Nor-Saisan, and Balchaasch. ; According to M. Koppen, the great chains of mountains are a powerful obstacle to the diffusion of Pachytylus migratorius. The Alps especially play a large part in its dis- tribution in Europe, and it is without doubt to them that we should attribute its rela- tive rarity in the countries of the southwest of Europe and northwest of Africa, where it is almost completely replaced by other species of the same gro.p, i. e., the Caloptenus italica in Spain, Italy, and in the middle of France; the Acrydium peregrinwm in Algeria. It should be observed that this species, and in general all the Acrydiide, shun mount- ainous and wooded countries. They are most fond of the plains, of regions quite dry, aud it is also a circumstance which influences necessarily their geographical distribu- tion. “The development of the organs of flight of the migratory locust,” continues M. Kép- pen, ‘‘ determines the facility and the amplitude of its flight, and consequently favors its migrations. They are evidently the cause of this colorsal geographical distribution of the species. They remind us cf the remark of Darwin, that species rich in individ- uals and with a wide habitat, which, owing to their organization, have had in their country the pre-eminence over many surrounding species, are those which, in the case of emigrations cut of their area, should have the greater chances of overrunning new territories.” K6ppen examines successively the causes which may determine the migrations of this orthopter in armies more or less numerous, and then the observed direction of these movements. It is said that they fly more often from east to west, but M. Képpen thinks that it is not necessary to attribute this circumstance, as has been done, to the predominance of the east winds at times when the sterility of the country that they inhabit, increased still by the prevalence of these same winds, forces them to seek places which can furnish them a more abundant pasturage. Numerous facts appear, he says, to contradict this explanation. In reality, the movements of these hordes is rather centrifugal, as M. Képpen establishes from observations made especially in the plains of Eastern Europe; that is to say, that all the migrations appear to radiate from countries where the species breeds most. In Europe they would consequently be directed to the west, while in China they should have a direction ordinarily toward the southeast, M. Koppen thinks that the same centrifugal radiation has presided over the scatter- ing of this species beyond its original limits, and that this radiation, propagating in waves, such as we still see produced at the limits of its geographical area, has carried the species from its center of creation or its original country to points where it is powerless to overcome the climatic conditions or that concurrence of vital furces which are opposed to it. The center of creation or the point of departure of the species will be found, then, in Central Asia. The complete absence of this species on the American continent shows that it only began to exist as a species after the epoch of the separa- tion of America from the Old World. _ M. Prudhomme de Borre adds, “In this study, so interesting, there is one point on which we should insist. It is this, that the observations of M. Kippen tend to confirm the principle of zoological geography, that the area of a species cannot be limited on the map by a simple curve, but between places where the species exist in a constant or normal manner and those where its absence is constant there is always a zone, often 656 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. very broad, of temporary visitations, which is to the area properly so called what the penumbra is to the light, within the zone, of which the exterior limit is much more easy to trace than the inner; this last is subject to continual oscillations, with some undulatory movements, dependent on the centrifugal or expansive tendency of the species, and trom the resistance which opposes it, and external circumstances, and evi- dently also the tendency of other species to spread out, with which it carries on a struggle for existence in endeavoring to maintain itself on an earth where the chances are divided, and even vary from year to year. M. Képpen has thus been enabled to figure on his chart three lines, ag I may for the present call them, and the intermediate line represents the exterior actnal limit of these oscillations of the true frontier line of Pachytylus migratorius; their amplitude may vary from two to four degrees.” The last thesis of M. Képpen that I shall draw attention to at this time, namely, that the absence of Pachytylus migratorius in America should prove that the species exists only as a species, since the separation of the two continents toward the north pole, seems to me scarcely necessary. A mere glance at the map which represents the area of distribution of this locust allows us to affirm without hesitation that that view is impossible. It is evidently not one of those species which we may call circumboreal anteglacial, because their presence in two forms (races, varieties, or species) on each continent indicates that they have had a common origin, 2 single area at that epoch, anterior to the glacial period, when the two continents were reunited in the Arctic zone by a bridge, so to speak, that is, a continuity of land, in conditions of climate — which should allow the existence at that latitude of a fauna which only at present exists much farther south. The source of those species dispersed by the glacial period does not now probably exist in its integrity ; but the two races confined, one in America, the other in the Old World, having undergone slow modifications each on its part, are to-day very analogous species, but as distinct by their external characters as by their separate geographical area. Nothing like this applies to Pachytylus migratorius ; it is one of those species which may be called equatorial postglacial ; its expansion toward the north has been posterior to the glacial period, which would then have opposed it; and it can have no aifinities in the New World, but degrees of consanguinity much farther removed than those unite the cireumboreal species of the temperate zone. Thus, if, as séme think, the northern hemisphere tends actually to retrograde toward a new period of cold, the Pachytylus migratorius is destined to see its area also retrograde toward the equator, and perhaps some day the western and eastern parts of this area may be completely disjointed, and, following this separation, its posterity may be so modified by isolation as to form two distinct species, as has occurred to circumpolar species. In the discussion which followed, M.de Selys Longchamps speaks of the difficulty of separating Pachytylus migratorius (Linn.) and cinerascens (Fabr.), which he had at first regarded as varieties, but now considers as a distinct species, the latter being more sedentary and reproducing in ‘Belgium year after year: ‘* M. F. H. Koppen not speaking of cinerascens, it would be interesting to know whether he admits this species, and if in the affirmative, whether all his remarks apply alone to the true migratorius type, notably that which he says normally sojourns at Bayoune, where I have taken only cinerascens, variety virescens, whose characters are the same as in Belgium and Frankfort-on-the-Main. It is also cinerascens that M. von Heyden has taken.” Some notes on the Algerian locusts (Acrydium peregrinum, migrato- rium, &e.) by Coure, have been communicated to the Entomological Society of France by Giraud. In them, mention is made of a special work on the same subject, which the recorder has not yet seen. (Bull. Soc. Unt. Fr., 1867, pp. x, xiii.) The locusts visiting Algeria come from the south, and arrive in May. They lay their eggs soon after their arrival, and the young animals produced from these eggs usually become adult in July. In August all usually disappear. Coure also notices the arrival in Algeria in the early part of January, 1867, of a flight of locusts. ‘Lhe color of these was stated to be reddish. It appears that on first attaining their adult form, these insects are of a rosy tint, and afterward change; and Coure thinks that it is not until after their change of color that they are fitted for reproduetion. Lallemant states (1. &., p. xiii) that the locusts, which live for a long time in the adult - ‘ ree PACKARD.) . ENEMI£ZS AND PARASITES OF THE LOCUST. 657 State, are at first resy, then emigrate southward, and return in winter of their mature color. In Spain, during the summers of 1875 and 1876, Decticus albifrons (Pabr.) was abundant and injurious, but less so in 1876 than the year pre- vious, as the soldiers assisted the inhabitants of the district infested in destroying them. In China records exist of the appearance of locusts in devastating © numbers one hundred and seventy-three times during a period of nine- teen hundred and twenty-four years, as stated by Andreozzi,* who has _ translated, from a Chinese work on agriculture, notes respecting the ravages of locusts in China, and the superstitions existing among the Chinese with regard to their origin. The three great causes of famine in China are placed as flood, drought, and locusts. Jn Southern Australia locusts of an unknown species committed rav- ages in 1872. (See Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Lon- don, 1872, pp. xii-xvii). EXTERNAL ENEMIES AND PARASITES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOCUST. When any insect abounds to an unusual extent, it has been tound that not only its peculiar parasites abound in a corresponding ratio, but par- asitic insects which prey usually on various other insects leave their ordinary hosts and attack the new-comers. Among the most impor- tant agencies which diminish the numbers of locusts, especially in the Mississippi and Missouri Valleys, are the insect-parasites. The birds destroy many, but tbe natural insect-enemies still more. The black- birds, quail, prairie-chickens, and grouse were said to destroy many of the eggs in Minnesota. As samples of the accounts given by different writers, I give the following by Uriah Bruner, contributed to the “ Inter- Ocean :” Quails, paririe-chickens, and grouse, if sufficiently numerous, alone are sufficient to pick up every embryo grasshopper long before he can have wings. This I know from actual observation. Seven years ago large areas of eggs were deposited on my farm near Omaha. Ithen was fortunate enough to have about fifty quails on my place. As soon as the hoppers were hatched, and while yet almost microscopic in size, I venture to say that each one of the quails picked up, every day, enough of them to fill a bushel-measure if grown to full size. They devoured all my grasshoppers long before their wings had devel- oped; but the grasshoppers devoured no one’s crops that year, and very few escaped to migrate. It seems, however, that that spring the young grasshoppers were de- sivoyed everywhere where their eggs were deposited among us, and most persons will tell you that the cold spring rains killed them off. This is possible, where the rains were heavy enough to carry them off and drown them. But at that time quails, prai- rie-chickens, and grouse were plenty everywhere, and I suspect that rain-storms got credit for what the birds did. _ Within the last six years we have had sporting-clubs in all our cities, towns, and vil- lages, and very few birds survive the skill of the sportsman. Should any be fortunate enough to escape the sportsman, farmers’ boys will trap and snare what are left during the winter and send them off to market. Was it not last winter that the report came back from Chicago, Saint Louis, New York, and other large cities that the market was glutted with quails, prairie-chickens, and grouse ? 2 If my position is correct, is there any wonder that the grasshoppers that hatched in Missouri, Kansas, and Minnesota last spring have done so much damage before and after their migration? The wonder is that they did not more damage. If God in his merey had not sent deluging rains throughout Missouri and Kansas, that swept _ most of them down the waters of the Missouri, and if in Minnesota herenlean efforts ) | i] had not been put forth to destroy them in their pupa state, the great Northwest might not to-day rejoice in the great harvest that is now ready to take in. There can be no excuse for us to be eaten out by the grasshoppers, when hatched out among the settled parts of our country; and if we don’t destroy them in their * An extract from this translation is given by Stefanelli in the Bulletino Entomologia e Societa Italiano, 1870, pp. 70-82.—(Zoél. Record for 1870). 42 GS 658 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. embryo state we must lay the blame to ourselves if our farms are ravaged by them. ‘Those hatched beyond the borders of civilization are not likely to visit us often nor do us much injury. We must protect quails and prairie-chickens. All of the North- western States must have statutory provisions against killing them for ten years, at least, and railroad companies must refuse, and by law must be prohibited, from carry- ing them over their roads for the same period. We must act and put in operation the knowledge we possess, or permit ourselves to be overcome by our insect enemies. It is for us to choose. In “ The Chicago Field” for March 17, 1877, Dr. Elliott Coues, United States Army, is inclined to place the sharp-tailed grouse (Pediccetes columbianus) “if not at the head, at least in the very front rank of all the natural grasshopper-staying agencies. These birds yearly destroy millions of grasshoppers, and at certain seasons eat very little else.” As his article is a brief one and much to the point I insert it nearly entire: I observe, in a late issue of the Chicago Field, that the question of the grasshopper- preying disposition of the prairie-hen is re-opened, though it is only through iguo- rance that any doubt on the subject can arise. Some three or four years ago I prepared and caused to be somewhat extensively circulated in the Northwestern States a briet reply to a question I found asked in one of the papers, “‘ What will destroy grasshop- pers ?” stating in brief, “ Prairie-hens will,” and giving some facts bearing on the case. I never meant that these birds were a complete cure for the plague, but I endeay- ored to show what incalculable numbers of the pests the chickens destroyed, and to set their grasshopper-eating habits in the proper strong light. Probably few persons, outside the ranks of practical ornishologists are aware how extensively the so-called granivorous or seed-eating birds, such as sparrows, buntings, and finches, feed upon insects at certain seasons; and the same is true of the graminivorous birds, like grouse and partridges of all kinds. As for the peculiar insects now in question, namely, the grasshoppers, they furnish food to an immense array of quadrupeds and birds which . inhabit the western prairies. The wolves, foxes, badgers, skunks, and various species of spermophiles or “gophers,” all eat them. Among birds, the cranes, ducks, hawks, owls, grouse, and a great variety of small sparrow-like birds eat them. To just what extent these furred and feathered natural enemies make an impression upon the devas- tating hosts, cannot, of course, be known, for they have always been at work; but we may logically infer, from known facts, that the destruction is incessant, decided, and important to the last degree. Since, also, we do not know how delicately the con- tending forces of nature may sometimes be balanced in the perpetual ‘‘strugele for existence,” it would be unsafe to assert that the diminution of the numbers of prairie- grouse by the incessant persecution to which pleasure or profit subjects them, is one of the principal causes of the late perilous swarming of the grasshoppers, but that there does exist to some degree a causative connection between the two circumstances, there can be, I think, no doubt. With the prairie-chicken proper, or pinnated grouse, Cupidonia cupido of the books, I have had very little experience. There is, however, in its general habits, tastes, and proclivities, nothing materially different from what is the case with the sharp-tailed grouse, Pedicecetes columbianus, and this is a bird which I have had ample opportuni- ties of studying for several years. I am inclined to place it, if not at the head, at least in the very front rank of all the natural grasshopper-staying agencies. These birds yearly destroy millions of grasshoppers, and at certain seasons eat very little else. Such a seemingly extravagant statement is supported, nevertheless, by actual observation and personal experience. I lived in Dakota in 1874, during the grasshopper invasion of that year, and was among the sharp-tails continuously from June until October, kill- ing a great many of them ‘out of season” for scientific purposes, and in season for sport and food. In the latter part of summer, and in September, I invariably found grasshojspers in the crops of those I examined ; and almost invariably I found the craws crammea with the insects, almost to the exclusion of other articles of diet. As I took occasion to say in the “‘ Birds of the Northwest,” ‘At this season their food appears to be chiefly grasshoppers. I have opened numbers to find their crops crammed with these insects, only varied with a few flowers, weed-tops, succulent leaves, and an occasional beetle or spider.’ I don’t pretend to say that the business of staying the ravages of the grasshoppers may be safely and confidently left to the grouse, or to any other natural agency—the hoppers have waxed too many for that; but I do assert, without fear of reasonable contradiction, that these birds are the natural means by which, in certain sections of the country, the greatest numbers of the insects are destroyed. Among the many experiments which might be made with the hope of staying the ravages of this plague, the absolute, unqualified, and long-continued protection of the grouse might be tried. The denial of the sportmen’s pleasures, and the stoppage of PACKARD. | ENEMIES AND PARASITES OF THE LOCUST. 659 one particular source of food-supply, which such course would entail, would go for nothing in comparison with the advantages that might result. I do not make the suggestion hastily, nor without due consideration, backed by personal observation, and fortified by logical induction. We are always slow to acquire exact and full information respecting the food of the animals which surround us, notwithstanding that many or most of our quadrupeds, birds, and insects hold toward us relations of the utmost economic importance, and in spite of the unquestionable fact that all agricultural interests hinge upon the solution of the problems involved. A few years ago the cock-of-the-plains (Centrocercus uwro- phasianus) was supposed to feed chiefly, if not exclusively, upon wormwood. I have killed them to find nothing but insects in their crops. Hawks, particularly of the genus Buteo, presumed to feed mainly upon smali quadrupeds and birds, are immense consumers of grasshoppers in the West, at certain seasons. One thing is certain, that if we are to use birds in our war against the invading hosts, we must employ our own, and no imported ones. The expensive, uncertain, and difficult experiment of introducing any alleged “‘ acridophagous” species of the Old World will never, I suppose, amount to much. Moreover, it is not to the technically considered “ insectivorous” birds that we may turn our attention hopefully. Though many of these small species feed habitually upon grasshoppers in season, their col- lective efficiency in the work of destruction appeared to be, and I have no doubt is, comparatively insignificant. At present I know of no birds capable of rendering more efficient service than the grouse. Young locusts have been found by Professor Green, of Lawrence, Kans., in the stomachs of various birds, such as the red-eyed wood- pecker, yellow-billed cuckoo, cat-bird, red-eyed vireo, great crested fly- catcher, and crow-blackbird. The hair-worm (Gordius) is a common parasite of the locust as of other species of grasshoppers. Mr. Riley states that many predaceous beetles attacked them, but few, if any, -ichneumon-flies have been found in them, these beneficial insects con- fining their attention chiefly to caterpillars, such as the northern army- worm, &c. But the mite and Tachina flies are universally prevalent, and all writers agree are useful in reducing the number of locusts in the eastern border of the locust district. June 2, before reaching Kansas City, I found on stepping off from the cars at different stations that the weak, feeble locusts were infested by large red mites attached to the base of the abdomen and to the un- der side of the wings. The little red mite, which has proved to be such a benefactor to the people of the West, does not apparently differ from those found on the red-legged locust of the Hastern States in size or form. It is the six- legged young of some four-legged garden-mite, and has not yet been reared to adult life, and may be called Trombidium gryllaria.* The scarlet silky mite—Another mite, which is possibly the parent of the minute red six-legged parasitic mite, is the scarlet silky mite (Trombidium sericeum Say, Plate I, Fig.4). It is about 2 lines in length, and has been abundant for two years in Minnesota, eating the eggs of the locust. As proof of its beneficial nature, I insert the following extract from a western paper: Governor Miller, in a letter from Windom, says: “‘Last evening, when we reached Worthington from Lake Shetek, there was quite an excitement in Worthington, owing to the fact that the citizens were generally con- vinced that a red parasite was destroying the grasshopper-eggs. I examined the mat- ter carefully myself, and became convinced that the destruction of the eggs in that immediate vicinity was well assured; but I determined not to write you and excite - any hopes until a further and more complete examination could be had. We there- fore furnished our Bohemian friends with a bottle of the eggs, and their pests, and the commission left in high spirits. We postponed further investigation until this morn- ing, when I left and prosecuted the examination with vigor. The farmers in the vicinity knew nothing of these signs of deliverance until the visitors from Worthington ._ *Astoma locustarwm of Walsh (no descr.) ; Asloma gryllaria of Le Baur; Astoma gryl- laria of Riley. 666 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. reached them, and I feel safe in saying to you that in a circle of ten miles from Worth- ington there will scarcely be an egg left by to-morrow night. I send you a bottle herewith containing the cones and the parasites. We could scarcely find 2 cone, or sack, except as they were indicated by the parasite on the surface; and each cone which was not entirely destroyed had from five to fifty of the red laborers at worl upon the eggs. We found scores of cells with no eggs left except the shells. As fast as the bug finishes one cone, it starts upon an expedition for new worlds to conquer, and it instinctively finds and conquers the new world. I, of course, informed our station-agents and others at Hersey and Heron Lake of this discovery, and they-also — promised to make a thorough investigation, as I will do here, and the results will be reported forthwith. Ifthe matter is general, deliverance is nigh. * * * Istopped for fifteen minutes one and a half miles west of Wilder, where Section-Foreman Smith took me to that portion of his farm where eggs were deposited. We could find none by general digging; but wherever we found, as we frequently did, the red parasite on the surface, we found the cone beneath, with the parasite at work consuming the eggs. * * * I am aware that two years ago this parasite was found working upon the eggs at Madeira and other places, but here we have the remedy almost as soon as the eggs are laid, while in the former instances the parasite was only discovered in the spring.” It is bright red and oblong oval, as seen in the engraving. The Tachina fly (Tachina anonyma Riley) attacks the locust, depositing one or more eggs in the back, at the insertion of the wings. The young of the fly is alarge white maggot. (See Plate LXIII, Fig. 3a, for the maggotof a similar fly.) Description of the Tachina maggot.—The following description is based on three speci- mens received from Mr. A. Whitman, of Saint Paul, Minn., and said by him to have been taken from the body of a grasshopper (C. spretus). The body is flattened, cylin- drical, tapering suddenly toward each end, the head-end being more pointed than the | opposite extremity. The segments ure quite distinct, with raised ridges. The head is minute, one-third as wide as the segment behind, with two black hooks, i. e., the man- dibles. The larve of the genus lack the little slender tubercles forming the rudi- mentary antenne and mouth parts seen in Anthomyia and Murca. Length, .35 inch. The egg is said by Riley to be “oval, white, and opaque, and quite tough.” It is this fly probably which attacks the locust in the Western Terri- tories, and I may add to the accounts of its habits given by Professor Riley (Seventh Report, p. 178), the following statement in a letter from Lieutenant Carpenter,.dated Camp Robinson, Nebraska, December 27, 1876: I have often observed a fly, about the size of the blow-fly, of a greenish mottled color with the abdomen tipped with red, annoying Caloptenus spretus. It would light on the ground just behind the grasshopper, and the instant it took wing would pounce upon it, and the two roll over and over on the ground struggling for several moments, when the fly would release the grasshopper. I have caught them both in this act, and upon examination of the grasshopper, always found the little red eggs on the body. This fly is said by Riley to be common and destructive to the grass- hoppers. Mr. Whitman writes me regarding its occurrence in Minne- sota as follows: ‘‘I have opened six hundred and twenty-four grass- hoppers (spretus); nine of these contained grubs (of the Tachina Hy prob- ably) and ten had hair-worms.” The ltocust-egg-eating maggot—Another fly which is very useful from its habit of devouring the eggs of the locust is the Anthomyta radicum var. caloptent of Riley. It is quite similar to the onion-maggot and radish-fly, both in its maggot and winged states. I have received sev- eral of the maggots from Mr. Whitman said to have been found among the eggs of the locust. I give the following description of them: Larva of Anthomyia radicum caloptent (Plate LXIII, Fig. 2).—Body long andslender, cyl- indrical, soft, elongate-conical, tapering gradually toward the minute head; the seg- ments are not very convex; beneath they are thickened to take the place of feet. The antenns and maxille form slender pointed tubercles much as in Musca domestica. The prothoracic spiracles are situated on the hinder edge of the segment, and are remark- ably long and slender. The end of the body is full and rounded, flattened conical; the PACKARD. ] PARASITES OF THE LOCUST. 661 end is divided into two portions, of which the upper forms a slope, on the lower edge of which are situated six acute tubercles, of which the three lower are the larger. In the center of the slope are two small, prominent spiracles, or breathing-holes. Below this slope is a transverse ridge, from which arise three sharp tubercles situated above the large anal tubercle or foot. Length about a third (0.30) of an inch, I adopt Professor Riley’s identification of this maggot. Our figure is not drawn from specimens taken in this country, but copied from Curtis’s Farm Insects. It is sufficiently accurate, however, to represent our form. Protessor Riley says that this maggot ‘is quite common, and has been found in Minnesota, lowa, Nebraska, various parts of Kansas, Missouri, and even Texas. It has destroyed, in many instances; as many as 10 per cent. of them.” These small maggots are found in the locust- egg pods, either singly or in varying numbers, there sometimes being a dozen packed together in the same pod. They exhaust the juices of the eggs and leave nothing but the dry and discolored shells, and when they are not numerous enough to destroy all the eggs in the pod, their work, in breaking open-.a few, often causes all the others to rot. ‘¢ When fed to repletion, this maggot ‘contracts to a little cylindrical yellowish-brown pupa [-case], about half the length of the outstretched _ and full-grown larva, and rounded at both ends. From this pupa [-case] in the course of a week in warm weather, and longer as the weather is colder, there issues a small grayish, two-winged fly, about one-fifth of an inch long, the wings expanding about one-third of an inch, and in general appearance resembling a diminutive house-fly. The common jirsh-fly (Sareophaga carnaria, Plate LXLV, Figs. 1-3).—The maggot (Plate LXLV, Fig. 1) of this fly also feeds on the eggs, but prob- ably on those which are addied. It is larger than the Anthomyia mag- got, with no spines around the end of the body; and the pupa-case (Plate LXIV, Fig. 2, enlarged) is much larger, truncate at the end, and tapering toward the head-end. I have received two specimens, half- grown, of the maggots of this species, taken from the abdomen of a locust (C. spretus) on the Vermejo River, New Mexico, June 29, by Lieut. W. L. Carpenter, U.S. A. The two-lined Telephorus grub.—I have also received from Mr. Whit- man, of Saint Paul, Minn., a specimen of the larva of Telephorus bilinea- tus, said by him to be destructive to the locust. I add a description copied from my first report as State entomologist of Massachusetts. = Fig. 2.— Head of larva of two-lined Telephorus, enlarged. a, top view of head and prothoracic segment; at, antenne; md, mandibles; b, under side showing mp the maxillary palpi; lp, labial palpi; f, first pair of feet. The beetles of this and other species which belong to the family of fire-flies feed on the leaves of forest deciduous trees, especially the birch. 662 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. The larve, however, devour snails and insects, and do no injury to vegetation. The larva of this species was identified by Mr. P. S. Sprague, who found it near Boston, under stones in spring, where it changes to a pupa, and early in May becomes a beetle, when it eats the newly- expanded leaves of the birch. Description.—The body of the larva is rather long and slender, thickest in the mid- dle, where it is about twice as wide as the head, and tapers slightly toward each end of the body, the terminal segment being a little less than half as thick as the middle segment. The segments of the body behind the head are unusually convex, the sutures between them being very deep. The body is covered with fine, dense hairs, giving it a peculiar velvety appearance. Its general color is horn-brown, the head being darker. The head is remarkably flattened and square, being scarcely longer than broad, and densely covered with short hairs above and beneath. The antenns are in- serted on the side of the head, and immediately behind them on the side are the eyes; the occipital suture is situated midway between the base and the front edge of the head, forming a straight line just behind the eyes. The antennez are two-jointed, and received into a large socket; the first joint is very short; the second joint four times as long as the first, a little slenderer, and increasing slightly in width toward the end, which is abrupt, and contains a minute, rudimentary third joint. The maxille are broad, subtriangular, projecting a third of their length beyond the labium, with the ends broad and square. The palpi extend out from the head as far as the antennz, and are three-jointed, with the basal joint quite thick, rather ]onger than thick, while the second joint is very short, and one-half as long as thick ; the third minute, rudimentary. The anterior edge of the occiput beneath is deeply hollowed out; the chin (mentum)is oblong, with very square edges, and is one-fourth longer than broad. The labial palpi are two-jointed, the basal joint very short, one-half as long as broad ; second nearly twice as long as thick, and ending in a stiff hair. The mandibles are large, stout, two- toothed, the inner tooth situated a considerable distance from the tip. The labrum is broad and perfectly square in front, with a median notch dividing the edge into two slight lobes. The clypeus is an ill-defined oval, convex area. Along the median line of the body is a slightly-marked row of short, paler streaks, more continuous on the thoracic than the abdominal segments, forming on each of the latter segments an elongated spot situated on the anterior edge of each segment except the last. On each thoracic and the last abdominal segment is a pair of lateral oval brown spots, paler in the center. Behind these on each abdominal segment (except the last) is a row of pale short lines, placed in the middle of the segment. Farther down on each side is a similar row of short lines, which are, however, subdivided into two. spots, which on the thoracic segments form a row of four or five pale dots. Between these two lines is a row of black dots, one on each segment. The legs are rather short, and quite hairy. The terminal segment of the abdomen is about as long as broad, and well rounded behind. It is three-quarters (.75) of an inch in length. The pupa was not preserved. The beetle itself is soft-bodied, brownish-black and reddish-yellow. Its specific name (bilineatus) was given to it from the two short, broad, blackish bands on the prothorax, which is reddish-yellow. The head is reddish-yellow, with a broad black band between the eyes, and the antennz are black. The body beneath is pale reddish, except the under side of the middle of the thorax (meso and meta thorax). The legs are pale reddish at base, while the end of the femora and the tibiz and tarsi are entirely black-brown. It is about a third (.30) of an inch long. Whether this Telephorus larva devours the eggs, or young larve, or only the sickly and dying locust, is not known. The ground-beetle grub (Plate LXIILI, Fig.1, enlarged).—A nother beetle- grub, which is supposed to devour the eggs, has been received from Mr. Whitman. It is the young of a species of Harpalus, and is allied to the larva of the European H. eneus, as figured by Schiddte, and may pos- sibly be the young of H. herbivagus of Say, a very common beetle found all over the country, having been collected by Lieutenant Carpenter in Southern Colorado and Northern Mexico, according to Le Conte, so that it probably destroys the locust wherever the latter occurs. The hair-worm parasite (Gordius aquaticus Linn. and G. varius Leidy, Plate LXIII, Fig. 6, see explanation of the plate).—I have received from Mr. Whitman fragments of a hair-worm found by him in the Rocky Moun- tain locust, but, unfortunately, comprising neither end of the animal, so that it is impossible to tell which species it is. It is probable that it belongs to Gordius aquaticus, as I have received one of that species from . PACKARD. PARASITES OF THE LOCUST. 663 Mr. Riley, taken from C. spretus in Missouri. Regarding the frequency of its occurrence in CO. spretus, Mr. Whitman writes, under date of Sep- tember 19,1876: ‘“‘I have opened six hundred and twenty-four hoppers (spretus); nine of these contained grubs (of the Tachina fly probably) and ten had bair-worms. I do not know that the latter has ever been noticed in hoppers in this State before this year; at any rate, it has been so rarely mentioned that I never heard of it here. I ought to say in regard to the six hundred and twenty-four grasshoppers above mentioned that they were probably some of a band of outsiders that have come into the State within a few weeks. Almost every female had eggs about ready to be laid.” The specimen of Gordius received from Mr. Whitman was filled with eggs. I will here give a résumé of our entire knowledge of the hair-worm, both because the worm is well known to the public, being sometimes thought by the ignorant to be actually a transformed horse-hair, and because it is prevalent in the bodies of grasshoppers, and has an ex- tremely interesting history. The first notice of the hair-worm in this country by a naturalist is, so far as I am aware, contained in “ The Natural History of Vermont,” by Zadock Thompson. The following account is quoted at second-hand from Charles Girard’s “ Historical Sketch of Gordiacew:” * The little animal called the hair-snoke also belongs to this order (Annulata), and to the genus Gordius. These are very common in the still waters and mud in all parts of the State. They are usually about the size of a large horse-hair, and are from 1 to6 or 8 inches in length. In color, they vary from pure white to nearly black, and hence we probably have several species. The vulgar notion that they originate from hairs which fall from horses and cattle and become animated in the water would seem to ee absurd for contradiction, and yet, absurd as it is, people are to be found who believe it. Mr. Girard adds: The same popular opinion is prevailing in Europe. Gordii have been noticed in the body of insects; also, by an American entomologist, Dr. Th. William Harris, who says, “I have taken three or four of these animals out of the body of a single locust.” They have been found by others within the cricket (Acheta abbreviata). We saw a specimen 6 or 7 inches in length caught in the clear waters of the vicinity of Richmond, Va. Several others were detected by Dr. Leidy in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, Finally, we may mention several specimens of Gordii from Oregon, brought home by the United States Exploring Expedition. Gordii, therefore, are spread all over the Western Hemisphere. The mode of development of our common Gordius varius (Plate LXITT, Fig. 6, h), has been studied by Dr. Leidy.t This is quite a different species from Gordius aquaticus, the end of the body of the female being trifurcated, while that of G. aquaticus is blunt. It is from 4 to 12 inches in length, and appears to be much slenderer than Gordius aquaticus. “The Gordius varius,” says Leidy, “is prolific ina very remarkable degree.” A female 9 inches in length placed in a tumbler of water extruded a string of ova 91 inches in length, in which he estimated there were over 6,000,000 eggs. Dr. Leidy saw the eggs undergo the process of seg- mentation. On the third day, the germ appeared as an “ oval, finely- granular body,” and by the tenth day the embryo was conical in form, with a cleft or fissure which extends two-thirds the length of the mass. Upon the eleventh day it resembled a cylinder doubled upon itself, and the tail-end was subacute. _ From the nineteenth to the twentieth day the embryo alternately retracted and pro- truded the tentacular or filamentary appendages, and the integument of the anterior * Proc. of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, v. 1850 and 1801, p. 279. + Proc. of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, v. 98 and 262, 1850 and 1851. 664 ; REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. . half of the body appeared to be getting annulated, which was so by the twenty-first day. * * * On the twenty-second day the annulations of the anterior half of the body were very distinct, the posterior half was also becoming annulated, and near its extremity I for the first time observed an anal orifice and one to four small epidermal spines. On the twenty-fourth day, the tubular clavate organ before mentioned, occupying the an- terior part of the alimentary canal, was alternately protruded and retracted as a pro- boscis. The proboscis, when fully protruded, brought into view at its base a second circle of tentacular filaments within the first. On the twenty-sixth day the embryo, when pressed from the egg, progressed forward by moving the posterior half of its body from side to side, and it alternately protruded and retracted the proboscis and the two circles of tentacular filaments. When all the organs were retracted the head presented a truncate or depressed surface, and in their protrusion the extremities of the outer circle of tentacule and the end of the proboscis first became visible ; as these advanced, the second circle of tentacule appeared, and when the proboscis was en- tirely protruded, the outer tentacule were deeply reflected upon the outside of the body, and the inner circle projected obliquely outward and upward. (See also Leidy’s figures and description in the American Entomologist, ii, p. 196.) It is evidently this species whose habits Dr. Leidy further deseribes in his “ Flora and Fauna within Living Animals.”* I quote as follows from this work: The grasshoppers in the meadows below the city of Philadelphia are very much infested with a species of Gordius probably the same as the former, but in a different stage of development. More than half the grasshoppers in the locality mentioned contain them; but those in drier places, as in the fields west and north of Philadel- phia, are quite rarely infested, for I have frequently opened large numbers without finding one worm. The number of Gordii in each insect varies from one to five, their length from 3 inches to a foot; they occupy a position in the visceral cavity, where they lie coiled among the viscera, and often extend from the end of the abdomen forward through the thorax even into the head. Their bulk and weight are frequently greater than all the soft parts, including the muscles, of their living habitation. Nevertheless, with this rela- tively immense mass of parasites, the insects jump about almost as freely as those not infested. The worms are milk-white in color, and undivided at the extremities. The females are distended with ova, but I have never observed them extended. When the bodies of grasshoppers, containing these entozoa, are broken and laid upon moist earth, the worms gradually creep out and pass below its surface. Some speci- mens which crawled out of the bodies of grasshoppers and penetrated into earth con- tained in a bowl], last August, have undergone no change, and are alive at the present time (November, 1852). In the natural condition, when the grasshoppers die, the worms creep from the body and enter the earth, for, suspecting the fact, I spent an hour looking over a meadow for dead grasshoppers, and, having discovered five, beneath two of them, several inches below the surface, I found the Gordii which had escaped from the corpse. Some of the worms put in water lived for about four weeks, and then died from the growth of Addya prolifera. What is their cyclical development ? The history of the Gordius aquaticus has been mostly cleared up by A. Villot,t and the following account is condensed from his memoirs: The eggs(Plate LXII, Fig.7, a) are laidin long chains; they are white, and excessively numerous. The yolk undergoes total segmentation. (Plate LXII, Fig. 7, b.) At the close of this period, when the yolk is sur- rounded by a layer of cells, the germ elongates at what is destined to be the head-end, this layer pushes in, forming a cavity, and in this state it iscalled a “gastrula.” (Plate LXIL, Fig.7,c.) By this time theembryo becomes pear-shaped (Fig. 7, d); then it elongates. - Subsequently the internal organs of digestion are formed, together with three sets of stiff, Spine-like appendages to the head, while the body is divided by cross-lines into segments. The head lies retracted within the body. (lig. 7, e.) In hatching, it pierces the egg membrane by the aid of its cephalic armature, and escapes into the water, where it passes the early part of “Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, v. 1853. tMonographie des Dragonneaux (Genre Gordius Dujardin), par A. Villot. (Archives de Zoologie expérimentale et générale, tome 3, No. 1, 2, 1874, Paris.) ¢ PACKARD.] PARASITES OF THE LOCUST. 665 its life. Plate LXIII, Fig. 7, f, represents the embryo of Gordius aqua- ticus greatly magnified. It will be seen how greatly it differs from the adult hair-worm, having in this stage some resemblance to the Acantho- cephalus by its cephalic armature, to the Nematoidea or thread-worms by its alimentary canal, and to the larvee (cercaria) of the Tremotodes or fluke- worms in the nature of its secretory glands. But the hair-worm differs from all these worms and even Mermis, a hair-worm much like and easily confounded with Gordius, in having a complete metamorphosis after leaving the egg.* When in this stage, ii incessantly protrudes and retracts its armed head, the spines being directed backward when the head is out. In the first period of larval life the worm lives encysted in the bodies of aquatic fly-larve. The vessel in which M. Villot put his Gordius eggs also contained the larve of Tanapus, Corethra, and Chironomas, small gnat-like flies. He found that each of these larve contained num- erous cysts with larve of Gordius. He then removed the larve from the cysts, placed them on the gnat-larva, and saw the larval hair-worm work its way into the head of the gnat-larva through the softer part of the integument; during the process the spines on the head, reversing their usual position, enabled the worm to retain its position and pene- trate farther in. Then, finding a suitable place, it came to rest and re- mained immovable. ‘Then the fiuids bathing the parts coagulated and formed a hard, granulated sac. This sac at first closely envelopes the body, then it becomes looser and longer, the worm living in the anterior part, the front end of the sac being probably never closed. In this first larval state the worm is active. In the second larval period the young hair-worm lives motionless and encysted in the mucous layer of the intestines of small fish, which prey on the gnat-larve. A minnow, for example, swallowing one of the aquatic gnat-larvee, the encysted larva becomes set free by the process of digestion in the stomach of the fish; the eyst dissolving the young hair-worm itself becomes free in the intestine of its new host. Imme- diately it begins to bore, aided by the spines around the head, into the mucous membrane lining the inner wall of the intestine of the fish, and then become encysted, the worm itself lying motionless in its new home, with its head retracted and the tail rolledin a spiral. The cyst is either spherical or ova]. (Plate LXIII, Fig. 6, g.) The return to a free state and an aquatic life occurs in the spring, five or six months after the second encystment. It then bores through its cyst, and passes into the intestinal cavity of the fish, and from thence is carried out with the feces into the water. On contact with the water great changes take place. The numerous transverse folds in the body disappear, and it’ becomes twice as long as before, its head-armature disappears, the body becomes swollen, milky, and pulpy. It remains immovable in the water for a variable period, and then increases in size, the integument grows harder, and when about two inches long it turns brown and begins to move. Probably the host differs according to chance. Most of those which have occurred in Europe reside in *It may here be said that in the Mermis hair-worm, which also lives in insects, and is of the same general appearance as Gordius, the young when hatched is not annulate, has no cephalic armature, while the body is short and thick, the tail blunt. These re- marks are based on some drawings of the eggs and embryos of a Mernvis made by Mr. James H. Smerton, in Jena (May, 1876), and kindly given me by him. The female genital apperture is situated in the middle of the body, while it is placed at the end of the body in Gordius, leading out of a cloacal chamber in which the intestine and two different ducts (male or female,as the case may be) terminate, the common external aperture being ano-genital in its nature. 666 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. carnivorous beetles, such as different species of Carabide. They live in or around the fat body, and sometimes twine around the intestines of their host, and finally pass out of the anus. As the carnivorous in-— sects are liable to devour the larve of other insects living in damp places, it is not difficult to see how they shouid become tenanted by young hair-worms encysted in their victims, but why they should be so common in grasshoppers is not so easy to determine. Grasshoppers probably take the minute larvee with their food, and fields recently in- undated are of course more lable to abound with them. They also live in fish and frogs, and “ Diesing speaks, on the authority of Kirkland, of a young girl in Ohio who had expelled per ano a Gordius varius. It is the popular belief in Europe that they live in man, and that they may be introduced in drinking water from brooks and pools, or in eating fish not properly cooked. In this country they seem to occur not un: commonly in the bodies of grasshoppers, and are useful in keeping them in check. Description of the species occurring in the United States.—The following descriptions are taken from Villot’s Monograph, and embrace all up to this time known to inhabit this country, a few notes of my own being added: Gordius aquaticus Linn (Plate LXIII, Fig. 7, a, f,i,and k).—Anterior end rounded, distinctly swollen. Posterior extremity of the male bilobate, recurved beneath; lobes distinctly hollowed within and abundantly provided with papillze; a crescent-shaped fold of the epidermis beneath the ano-genital opening. Posterior extremity of the female truncated perpendicularly to the axis; ano-genital opening central, surrounded with a reddish-brown circle. General coloration varying from milk-white to brown ; a horny, transparent cap and a deep-brown ring at the anterior extremity; body be- sprinkled with numerous circular spots of a yellowish-white. Epidermis smooth, divided into lozenges by salient lines crossing obliquely. Dimensions very variable; length, 28-89 centimeters; breadth, 4} to 1 millimeter. Habitat: Kurope and North America (Leidy and Girard). A male of this species from Grylius neglectus June 5, Pittsburgh, Pa. (B. C. Jillson), and a female from Tops- field, Mass., are in the museum of the Peabody Academy of Science at Salem. I have received a female of this species from Prof. C. V. Riley, said to have been a parasite of Caloptenus spretus in Missouri. It is probably common all over the country east of the Rocky Mountains. Gordius lineatus Leidy.—Posterior extremity of the female obtuse; that of the male bilobed and furnished with papille. Length, 5 to 7 inches. (Leidy). Essex County, New York. Duiesing cites it among the synonymes of Gordius aquaticus. Gordius robustus Leidy.—Posterior extremity a little compressed and obtuse. Body stiff, marked with transverse folds 6 inches long. Pemberton, N. J. From a grass- hopper (Leidy), Diesing refers it to Gordius aquaticus. A female which agrees with this species, from the body of Stenopelmata fasciaia Thomas (identified by Mr. Thomas), Wahsatch, Utah (L. E. Ricksecker), is contained in the museum of the Peabody Acad- emy of Science. The posterior extremity is compressed, except at the extreme end, which is cylindrical. The ano-genital orifice is sunken. The body appears as if irreg- ularly segmented, being marked by transverse, impressed lines. Head conical, more acute than in aquaticus, and paler. This specimen was 10 inches long, of the same size and proportions as G. aquaticus, and would at first be mistaken for it. Professor Leidy states in the American Entomologist (ii, 194) that a female of this Species, about 6 inches long, was found parasitic in a grasshopper, Orchelimum gracile, in New Jersey. Gordius subspiralis Diesing.—Body of the male brown; that of the female attenu- ated in front, of a clear brown, brilliant, irised. Head surrounded with a ring of an obscure brown. Caudal extremity of the male terminated by two diverging lobes, spiral, recurved beneath, smooth, joined to their base by a membranous fold ; that of the female obtuse, a little compressed. Dimensions of the male: Length, 8 inches-2 aoe 2 inches; thickness, +? of a line; female, 10 inches-2 feet 6 lines; thickness, $-? of a line. Habitat: Common in a pond 525 miles west of Fort Riley, Kansas, which would place the habitat in Central Colorado, where it lives in company with Siredon (Ham- mon). Diesing, who made the species known in 1860, referred to it a Gordius, which Leidy had mentioned without a specific name in 1857. Gordius fasciatus Baird.*—Body furrowed with cross-lines, attenuated in front and * Proceedings Zodlogical Society London, 1853, 21, pl. xxx, f. 6. PACKARD.] PARASITES GF THE LOCUST. 667 surrounded with circular wrinkles of a bright brown, besprinkled with broad spots of an obscure brown ; extremities of the body blackish. Length of the female, 114 inches; thickness, about one-half of a line. North America, British Museum. Gordius reticulotus Villot.—Anterior extremity ending ina sharp point. Diameter of the body increasing from the anterior end to the postericr extremity, which terminates in a truncated point. Ano-genital aperture bread. Maroon-brown. A dorsal and ven- tral band of a darker brown. Epidermis areolated; areoles forming a net-work, with irregular and unequal meshes, having a mean diameter of 10 milliimeés of a millimeter. A simple border of small papilla around the arecles. Length, about 14 inches; thick- ness, 1 millimeter. Caiifornia, Museum of Paris (a single individual). I have identified a specimen of this species from California, sent by Mr. Henry Ed- wards to the Museum of the Peabody Academy of Science. Gordius varius Leidy (Plate LXIII, Fig. 6, h).—Body very long, filiform, attenuated at each extremity, especially at the anterior; of a dirty-white yellowish-brown, also very black, shining, areolated, areoles irregularly pentagonal. Head surrounded with an ob- secure brown or black ring, obliquely truncated and terminated by a transparent cap. Mouth situated at the base of thiscap. Posterior extremity of the male reflected, ter- minated by two conical, recurved, obtuse, and divergent lobes.* Posterior extremity of the female trilobed, lobes almost elliptical, of which one is straighter than the other. Length of male, 4-63 inches; thickness, 3-4 of a line; length of a female, 5-12 inches; thickness, 4-2 of a line. Habitat: Very common in the rivers of North America ’Rancocas, Augusta, Schuyl- kill, Delaware). Observed, also, in the Niagara by Agassiz; in the Susquehanna and Lake Champlain by Baird. The American species of Mermis.—Although the genus Mermis is very similar in external appearance to Gordius, it differs greatly in internal structure, and in the embryo being unarmed and not undergoing a met- amorphosis. The species, however, are parasitic in various insects. I quote the following generic characters from Carus’s Hand-Book of Zoodlogy, giving a free translation for the use of the American student: Gordius.—Head without papille ; a short esophagus opening into the cellular con- tents of the body; male with forked tail; genital opening between the forks; no spiculum, but with spines; female opening on the end of the tail, entire, two or three pointed; without any lateral expansions (seiten felder). Mermis.—Head beset with papille ; a long wsophagal tube sunk in the cellular con- tents of the body (intestine?); male with an undivided tail-end, with several rows of papille and two spicule ; female genital opening in the middle of the body, with lat- eral expansions. In both genera the intestine ends in a blind sac, there being no anus. Mermis eiongata Leidy.t—Yellowish-white, and from 6 to8 inches inlength. New Jersey. Mermis crassicaudata Leidy.t— Pure white, with a peculiar tubercular thickening of the integument upon the caudal extremity, 8 inches in length. Philadelphia. Mermis acuminata Leidy.j—Female. Body filiform, pale fuscous, narrower anteriorly. Head conical, truncate, with the mouth simple and unarmed. Caudal extremity thicker than the head, obtusely rounded, and furnished with a minute spur-like process Length, 5 inches 8 lines; cephalic end at mouth, 4™™; a short distance below, #™™. middle of body, #™™; near caudal end,+™™; mucro, 4™™long, ~o™™ thick. Parasitic in the larvee of the coddling moth (Carpocapsa pomonella), Philadelphia and Long Island, N. Y. Professor Riley informs me that he had previously to the publication of Professor Leidy’s article found a hair-worm in the body of a coddling worm. Professor Leidy has observed a white hair-worm (Mermis sp.?) proceeding from the Carolina grasshopper, Oedipoda carolina (Linn.), while the latter was struggling in a ditch into which it had jumped from being alarmed. Perhapsin this way we may account for the occasional appearance of a Gordius in a drinking-trough or a puddle on the road. (Amer. Ent., 115 195.) *In his article, ‘‘The Gordius or hair-worm” (American Entomologist, ii, 193, 1870), Professor Leidy describes, under the name of Gordius longilobatus, a form which he regards as a distinct species, being slenderer than the true varius, with the forks of the tail two or three times the length of the thickness of the body, and the forks do not include at their base a crescentic fold, as in the former. The genital pore is a little #n advance of the division of the tail. t Proceedings Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1852, v, 263. {The same, p. 263. § Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1875, 14. 668 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. REMEDIES. The locust may be most effectually dealt with while in the egg-state. | Bounties should be paid by tbe different States and Territories, as is done by European governments. As the eggs are laid very close together and only an inch beneath the surface, the top soil might be gathered into heaps and heated through by bonfires, or passed through crushing mills, or the egg-sacs picked out by women and chil- dren and liberal bounties be paid—so much a bushel—by town or county — inspectors, and then burned. Deep plowing and heavy rolling are very advisable, and, on the other hand, harrowing the field in autumn so that the egg-sacs may be turned up and exposed to the frost and birds and hogs and cattle. When the locust is still wingless it does the most harm, and can then be best kept within due limits. In Colorado and Utah, where irrigation is practiced almost entirely, fields can be flooded, the ditches can be oiled, and myriads be destroyed. Oil or any greasy substance is the best remedy in dealing with any insect, as it should be remembered that insects do not breathe air through the raouth, but inhale it through small open- ings (spiracles) in tie side of the body ; if these holes are covered with a thin film of oil or grease of any kind, they die at once. By taking en- ergetic measures; the farmers of Colorado, as will be seen by Mr. Byers’s letter on p. , in the spring of 1876 effectually destroyed the young brood. Fowls should also be turned among them; the soil should be rolled so as to crush them, and trenches dug and filled with straw and set on fire and the locusts driven into them with switches, or prairie- fires be lighted in acirele around them, and the locusts driven into them. In Colorado a great deal of ingenuity has been evinced in dealing with the locust, as may be seen in reading the two following extracts from the newspapers, which contain some useful practical remedies : This is how the embattled farmers of Colorado deal with the grasshoppers: A long sheet-iron box, open at the top, is swung close to the ground, between two wheels, by which it is moved over the field. Rising two or three feet above the top of the box, and bending forward from the rear, is a broad sheet of tin or sheet-iren. When in use a fire is built in the bottom of the furnace, which is then pushed against the wind, the overhanging wing or sail taking the hoppers as they rise, and feeding them in the flames ina hurry. Sometimes a miniature windmill is added to the outfit, and sucks in all the locusts for yards and yards around, destroying them by millions. Millions more have been drowned in irrigating ditches by cunningly-devised traps which pre- vent their escape from the water. While they were young and green, and before their wings were grown, several tons of them were destroyed by a confidence game which deserves description. Between the young hoppers and the young wheat long rows of dry straw were strewn, which soon became literally black and alive with the wrig- gling little insects. When no more hoppers could be accommodated, the straw was fired. Another device was to drag over the hopper-infested regions a tarpaulin plenti- fully coated on the under side with coal-tar, which is instant death to the pests. Still, with all these disadvantages against them, grasshoppers are apparently as numerous as ever. The farmers of Colorado are busily fighting the grasshoppers, which have appeared in immense swarms. A letter from Denver says they ‘sluice them down the ditches with water, gather them up in heaps and burn them; for the water will only collect, and not drown, these very vital pests. They set cans of oil, dripping slowly, at the heads of their ditches, and the slightest touch of the oily film, floating down with the running water, destroys the young grasshopper. They drag the ground with huge harrows, covered with blazing brush, and the flame scorches its tiny millions to death. They draw papers or platforms smeared with tar along the fields, and the insects, try- ing to hop over, fall on the tar and stick there. With all these devices they only thin out the unwelcome visitors. The following pertinent remarks I find in an editorial in the Rocky Mountain News, November 22, 1876: The farmers of Colorado have demonstrated the fact that they can successfully com- bat and conquer the young grasshopper. ‘They undertook the fight with extreme re- wee REMEDIES AGAINST THE LOCUST. 669 luctance, but won the victory with less than half the trouble they expected. Only _ those who feared to plant last spring, or those who planted so late that the flying swarms in August caught their unripened grain, are now mourning the lack of good erops. If they now had information that grasshopper-eggs are deposited plentifully in Laramie Plains, the Sweetwater Country, or Upper Green River Basin, none would plant late next spring. All crops would be put in early and harvested in July, because they would know that if swarms of grasshoppers hatch in any of the regions named, - next spring the prevailing winds will he likely to bring their devouring hosts down upon Colorado about the second week of August. But we do not know whether any ego-layipg swarms invaded those countries in Angust, September, or October last or not. So far as that matter is concerned, we are just as ignorant this year as we were in the fall of 1863 prior to the first and most astonishing invasion of August, 1864. Consequently, half the farmers, instead of planting in February and March, will put it off until May, and then trust to luck. If no grasshoppers come, all right; if they do come and eat up the barley and wheat in the milk and the corn when the tassels are shooting, they’ll curse the country and their own hard fate—laziness. Although no one can tell now with present light, or rather darkness, whether or not flying swarms of grasshoppers are likely to scourge Colorado next fall, we are all pretty gertain that we will have plenty of young ones in the spring, and that some other country will get them “on the wing” in the fall. It will probably be Southern Kan- sas, Indian Territory, or Texas. They may reach Southwestern Missouri or Arkansas. Consequently, the News advises the people in that direction to plant early and mainly of crops that will be harvested by the 20th of July. The grasshoppers that hatch here will fly two or three weeks earlier than those from higher latitude and altitude. The farmers of Colorado in 1876 were quite successful in combating the locust. The best account of their mode of fighting them appears in the New York Tribune, from the pen of Mr. J. Max Clark, of Greeley, Colo. Indeed, notwithstanding those natural barriers to their progress eastward—climate and soil—it is hardly safe to assert that they may not yet reach much farther into the older States than they have heretofore succeeded in penetrating. It is true they thrive best in a dry climate, but they can exist and perpetuate themselves in a wet one; they prefer a dry sandy or gravelly soil in which to deposit their eggs, but the conditions not being so favorable they will lay them in heavy wet soil, with no apparent injury to their vitality. They have been known to hatch in this vicinity on the margin of a Jake, in soil almost marshy in its texture. I have myself known them to come forth in an apparently perfectly healthy condition from soil too wet to plow. While, for the reasons set forth, we can have no great faith in any method of general destruction, there are means of defense which at times are very effective, and which are always: worth trying. In this State our main reliance is on water. We surround our fields with ditches, and into the water we drop kerosene oil, which covers the sur- face and kills the young grasshoppers at the touch. When they deposit eggs in the fields, as they frequently do, we watch for their hatching and scatter straw over them as they come out of the ground, and burn them if possible before they get scattered. When young grasshoppers attack a crop they generally do so ina compact body,»much in the form of a line of battle, and for a short time at least after striking the vegeta- tion do not scatter, but eat the border clean as they go. At such times they are easily destroyed, and any farmer who has straw stacks and teams can, if quick and energetic, generally save his crop by spreading straw on the advancing line and burning them. When grasshoppers have invaded a field of young grain, or have hatched in it, and have become scattered through it before they have been discovered, then another line of policy must be pursued, and one not so certain of success. We use a fire-machine, which may be described as being a net-work of heavy wire (telegraph-wire is good) upon runners of iron about 4 inches high, upon which straw, coal, or wood is burned as the machine is drawn by horses attached to long rods, meeting at a point 15 or 20 feet in advance of the machine. The machines vary in width from 8 to 12 feet in their sweep, and are about 3 feet deep from front to rear, with a sheet-iron cover attached to the rear and raised from 1 to 2 feet high in front to throw the flames downward through the net-work of wire as the machine proceeds. This kills the young hoppers without generally seriously injuring the grain. We also use a platform of zine or canvas, or even thin boards from 6 to 10 feet long and 3 feet wide, upon which is spread coal-tar with a broom or whitewash-brush, from a pailfal of liquid ready for the purpose. This is dragged by hand or with a horse. The runners under the platform are only a couple of inches in length, and the hoppers jump on to the tarred surface and stick fast as the machine is moved along. This is a very simple contrivance, and is generally regarded as about as effectual as the fire- machines, while not costing nearly so much in construction or for rnnning-expenses. 670 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Kerosene oil is a valuable agent whenever it is practicable to use it, both to destroy the grasshoppers and to prevent their depredations. A spoonful of oil, kept well shaken up in a watering-pot filled with water, and sprinkled upon melon-vines, squash-vines, or any other garden vegetables, will effectually prevent their destruction. Itisa cheap means of defense and easily applied on a small scale. Various methods are in use for the destruction of the eggs where they are kuown to be deposited. Deep fall or early spring plowing has a tendency to disturb and destroy them, sometimes wholly and — sometimes only in part, but always seriously affecting their vitality. A flock of sheep having the run of a stalk-field of mine last season completely destroyed a large deposit of eggs. The ground was very loose and dry, and the surface becoming completely pulverized and cut up with their feet, not one of them ever hatched. Birds are ap important aid in their destruction, and in loose soils they scratch out and eat enormous numbers of them. The much-despised skunk, too, is a most desirable friend to man in this contingency. A single skunk will often clear an acre of ground, even in sod, of all grasshopper-eggs. No farmer in the West who has good sense will kill skunks. They deserve to be propagated, even if it were necessary to nurse them on young chickens. To defend a field of grain against flying grasshoppers, altogether different tactics must be employed. Clouds of dense smoke made from burning old rags wet with kerosene oil, or by burning coal-tar or sulphur in differint parts of the fields, have proved quite successful when thoroughly tried. Sometimes also they may be driven from afield by dragging ropes through the grain, on which are tied newspapers or rags; when, how- ever, they are tired with a long flight and are hungry from long fasting, this latter method is generally of little avail. In this State the young grasshopper is our worst enemy, our principal crop being wheat. The flying hosts seldom get here in time to injure it. When we came out here the old settlers told us they only had grasshoppers about once in seven years; that season being free from them seemed to lend weight to the statement. The next year bringing a pretty fair crop of them, they said they usually came every other year, but as we have had them every year since, they now say they generally stay about seven years ina place. Perhaps, after all, the “ fourteen- year locusts” would be an appropriate designation; at least we look upon them as being a permanent investment, and make our plans to fight them always. We have a fair amount of eggs planted for next year’s crop. : In Iowa the farmers spread hay or straw over the surface. “At night the young insects would gather under it, and immense numbers were burned up in this manner. Plowing is resorted to this fall (1876) in some localities for the purpose of covering the eggs deep, by which it is said they will rot. Other methods have been used, such as catching them, and machines have been invented for this purpose. Rolling the ground in the spring had atso been suggested as a means for destroying the young insects.” (Proc. Conference of Governors.) Some important suggestions of a practical nature are contained in the following proclamation of the governor of Minnesota, here reprinted from the Grasshopper Conference pamphlet : STATE OF MINNESOTA, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Saint Paul, August 30, 1876. The continued and increasing ravages of the locusts or grasshoppers in many of the Territories and States of the Union have been deemed sufficiently serious to warrant a meeting of the governors of such States and Territories for consultation, with a view to seek congressional aid, or otherwise secure combined action in resistance of the growing evil. Such conference has been called to meet in October. Meantime the widening area of the visitations of these insects in this State induces me without delay to urge the people whose interests are most directly involved, to assemble in public meetings in their several localities, for the purpose of collecting information, inter- changing views, and devising plans of concerted action for the destruction of the insects, and for a common defense against their ravages. Both the correction of exaggerated reports, and the promotion of an intelligent apprehension of the actual evil to be en- countered, it is believed, would result from this course, while the hope of thus attaining practical means of mutual protection certainly justifies a united and energetic effort in behalf of an object common to the public welfare. It is the concurrent belief of all who have given close attention to the subject that ib is practicable to destroy the pests in great measure or to insure a vast mitigation of the worst results, by the timely, concerted, and persistent efforts of the several com- munities directly concerned, and the employment of simple agencies readily available. To this end I have taken pains to collect, from the most reliable sources, information of the several modes which have been successfully employed, which I here detail for the PACKARD.] REMEDIES AGAINST THE LOCUST. 671 consideration of all concerned, and I earnestly invoke the united and resolute action of the people in a manfu] defense against a common enemy: First. The crushing of the insects by rollers and other implements, and the catching of them by bags and traps during the season of copulation or mating, when by reason of their stupid and inactive condition they may be destroyed in vast numbers. This isthe first and vital step toward their destruction, and can be resorted to immediately, the insects being in the condition named from about the middle of August variously until the approach of cold weather. Second. The plowing under deeply of the eggs and the thorough harrowing of the bare, dry knolls and other comparatively small, warm spots where the eggs are depos- ited, so as to dislodge them from their cells or pods, which destroys their germinating power. New breaking being a favorite resort for such ege deposits, this mode of de- struction is readily available in the ordinary course of farm-work, for which purpose these operations should be delayed till as late a period in the fall as practicable. Third. Co-operative action for the preservation of the prairie-grass until the proper season for its burning in the spring, by means of extended fire-guards along township boundaries or other large areas, to be accomplished by means of plowed strips or by wide parallel furrows and the careful burning of the intervening space. The burning of the grass thus preserved, when filled with the young grasshoppers in the spring, has been found to be a very effectual means for their wholesale destruction. Fourth. The placing of loose straw on or near the hatching-places, into which the young insects gather for protection from the cold in early spring, where they may be destroyed by firing the straw ata proper time. To this end straw should be carefully saved and not needlessly destroyed at thrashing-time. Fifth. The construction of deep, narrow ditches, with deeper pits at intervals, as a defense against the approaching insects in their infant condition. Into these the young, when comparatively helpless, accumulate in vast numbers and perish. Sixth. The sowing of grain in “lands” or strips, fifty to one hundred feet wide, leaving narrow vacant spaces through which to run deep furrows and construct ditches into which the young grasshoppers may be driven and destroyed. Seventh. The catching of the insects at various stages, and especially when young and comparatively inactive, by means heretofore employed, and by such improved in- struments and processes as our experience may suggest. Highth. And, finally, the driving of the winged and matured enemy from the ripening grain by passing over it stretched ropes continually to and fro, aided by annoying smoke from burning straw or other smudges, and by loud and discordant noises made by striking tin vessels, and by shrieking and yelling with the voice, which are said to aid in disturbing the pests and inducing their flight. Let the common enemy be thus fought at every stage of his existence and at every point of his attack. Each one of the modes here prescribed will doubtless aid to reduce the grand total of the annual destruction, while all of them, faithfully pursued jn succession, together with other methods to be devised, it is confidently believed, will achieve substantial exemption from loss, or avert its saddest effects. But should all means fail, there will remain the consciousness of having made such helpful and assiduous attempts as deserved success. The danger of weakening the habit of self-reliance among the people, as well as the difficulty of reaching the most worthy recipients of public aid, renders the distribu- tion of seed-grain and other assistance heretofore extended to the sufferers of very questionable policy; and I feel it my duty to warn all persons against relying upon public aid of this character. Whatever action may be taken by the next legislature or by Congress should wisely contemplate future protection rather than indemnity for past losses, and, if practicable, should discriminate in favor of such as evince a dispo- sition to help themselves. At all events, if aid or succor of any kind or from any quarter may reasonably be expected, it will be both better deserved and better em- ployed after courageous and determined efforts shall have been made for self-protection. J. S. PILSBURY, Governor. At the grasshopper conference, Prof. C. D. Wilber made the follow- ing important suggestions regarding the remedial measures to be taken: The objects sought to be attained by this meeting are two, viz: 1. The securing of national aid in prosecuting inquiries and research concerning the locusts in the distant or mountain regions, where they are said to originate, with a view of ascertaining such facts as may assist in exterminating them at their source or native haunts. 2. To discuss such plans as may be advisable in defending the localities now threat- ened by them during the coming year of 1877, or such regions as are now occupied by their eggs. There is no doubt as regards the assistance sought for from the Government. The emergency is so great and applies to so many millions of inhabitants, and nearly one- 672 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. | half of our commonwealth, that our representatives and governors and others in authority will all unite in obtaining the aid needed to prosecute the scientific research referred to. The subject which most concerns us is the adoption of any or all the successful means already known, or such as may be provided, for a general and systematic cru- sade against locusts next year. It is not certain that we shall have the impending invasion in 1877. They may wholly disappear, as they did from Iowa in the spring of 1867, without doing any damage. Within the last thirty days I have examined many thousands of the eggs in South- eastern Nebraska, and find a large proportion already destroyed. Those in the hard ground, such as roadsides, are best preserved; while those in soft ground, such as stubble corn-fields, or gardens, are to a very great extent carried away or consumed by some predatory insect. But whatever the results may be in the spring, it is wise meanwhile to disseminate among the people everywhere descriptions of every known device or remedy, whether mechanical or chemical, by which we may secure partial, if not good, average crops. The people are generally uninformed on this subject; they do not know what to do. Arm them with reliable facts, modes of destruction, and we will have a home army of millions of men, who will fight vigorously for their farms and gardens. Those who understand these matters in Nebraska have succeeded in driving off hordes of these locusts and saving their crops. Governor Furnas, who last year lost heavily by them, has now no fear either as to his farm or nursery. ‘‘ He has met the enemy and they are his.” His modes are exczedingly simple, as he has explained them. Another man in this same county raised one hundred acres of wheat by making a ditch as a barrier against the creeping, unfledged locusts; the ditch sloping to the coming hosts, -but steep on the other side. One man, in Saline County, invented a long box and placed it on wheels, so that it would catch all the locusts as it approached them. By this means he saved his corn- field. Another man, in York County, burned brimstone in a large pan with a long handle, and drew it through his corn-field after the fying locusts had taken the country, and he was successful in saving his entire crop. Again, the Mennonites came to Nebraska in 1874, and when they saw the first inva- sion of locusts in August of that year did not mind them in the least; nor have they manifested any concern or alarm since. The reason is, the Mennonites were familiar with them in Russia, and knew how to fight them successfully. Some of their modes, in addition to eutting ditches, are as follows: In the spring, as the locusts begin to appear, they are driven, “by pushing them with brush or brooms, to the grass or prairie, which isset on fire—that i is, just that portion of the prairie which has received the horde from the plowed field. The prairie-fire is then put out; and as they appear day by day, more locusts are driven to the grass, which is also burned, and so on until all have been destroyed. When the locusts are coming in swarms from abroad, the Mennonites build small smoke-fires, with dry or damp straw or prairie-grass, making fires at intervals of a few rods over a forty or eighty acre field. hese fires or smokes are kept until the locusts have passed over, and in this manner the crop is wholly or partly saved. But it is necessary to familiarize the people with these cheap and simple modes of destruction; and while much can be done through the press, much more can be done by organizing the counties, towns, and districts or precincts into locust clubs, under the authority or direction of the governor of each State or Territory, who may send some competent person or persons over the State to assist in perfecting such organiza- tions and selecting the most available men as local committees, who can receive and distributé such printed matter as the governor may, from time to time, forward for distribution. In this way a whole State may be thoroughly organized for the cam- paign, and the entire population will become enthusiastic in preparing for and carry- ing on this warfare. For other useful hints and suggestions the reader is referred to an article ‘On the means of destroying the grasshopper,” by V. Mots- chulsky, translated from the Russian by Prof. W. W. Turner, and pub- lished in the Smithsonian Report for 1858. It has also been shown that the most young may be destroyed by good cultivation and a constant stirring of the soil. Swarms of winged locusts may be in part driven oft. by smudges, or in grain- fields. by hitching a long rope to a horse and dragging it over the grain, thus dis sturbing the locusts and driving them off. But after all they are only driven from one field to another, and it is almost impossible to drive PACKARD.] REMEDIES AGAINST THE LOCUST. 673 them oif on an extensive scale. Among the more general preventive measures to be adopted on the plains and prairies of the West is the planting of forests on as extensive a scale as possible. Farms should be hedged in with growth of coniferous trees, willows, and perhaps the Hucaliptus can be planted on the plains of Colorado, Montana, and Da- kota, while hard and pine trees can be planted in the State eastward of the plains. Mr. G. M. Dawson has clearly brought out the fact that extensive forests prove an effectual barrier to the flight of locusts, and in the Hastern States as well as California grasshoppers do not swarm as they do in the treeless plains and prairies of the West, the main cause, next to the climate, being undoubtedly the prevalence of extensive for- ests. As the far West becomes more thickly settled and trees become planted, the ravages of the locust will be checked and their breeding places disturbed and diminished. Meanwhile it may be suggested that the State and General Government should foster the planting of forests along railways and highways, and bounties should be given to aid in this direction. Farmers should co-operate through the medium of their granges and other organizations. Moreover, we believe the time has come in this country for legislation to promote co-operation among agri- culturists in dealing with the locust, army and cotton worm, chinch- bug, canker and’ tent worms, and other injurious insects. The active and forehanded do not need the stimulus of legislation, but there are always enough idle and thriftless members of a farming as well as any other community who ought to be compelled to labor in common with their neighbors in resisting the attacks of injurious insects. When in one season, asin the summer of 1874, the country loses $50,000,000 from the attacks of the locust alone, the matter is sufficiently grave to attract the attention of legislatures. If education is compulsory and vagrancy is a legal offense, surely want of co-operation on the part of the few should be punishable by law. In my first annual report on the injurious and beneficial insects of Massachusetts, for 1871, 1 made the following Suggestion in this direction : While a few are well informed as to the losses sustained by injurous insects, and use means to ward off their attacks, their efforts are constantly foiled by the negligence of their neighbors. As illustrated so well by the history of the incursions of the army-worm and canker-worm, it is only by a combination between farmers and orchardists that these and other pests can be kept under. The matter can be best reached by legislation. We have fish and game laws; why should we not have an insect-law? Why should we not frame a law providing that farmers, and all owning a garden or orchard, should co- operate in taking preventive measures against injurious insects, such as the early or late planting of cereals to avert the attacks of the wheat-midge or Hessian-fly, the burn- ing of stubble in the autumn and spring to destroy the joint-worm, the combined use of proper remedies against the canker-worm, the various cut-worms, and other noxious caterpillars? A law carried out by a proper State entomological constabulary, if it may be so designated, would compel the idle and shiftless to clear their farms and gar- dens of noxious animals. State legislation has also lately been agitated by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A large proportion of the breeding-grounds of the locust are situated on the Indian reservations. Could not the Indians be compelled to search for the eggs and bring them in to the Government posts and be paid in food and clothing? It would not, perhaps, be a difficult matter to compel them to collect both eggs and winged locusts, under the direc- tion of Government officials, and thus habits of industry be fostered, and additional inducements thus be held out to keep them on their res- ervations. _ Locusts may also be eaten as food. Millions of people in the Old World find locusts a nutritious and palatable diet; why should not the 43 GS \ 674 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Indians be induced to eat them? In times of famine could not the set- tlers be brought to store them up and eat them? From the writer’s own experience locusts may be roasted and eaten with somewhat of a relish, and Professor Riley in his entomological reports has discussed this sub- ject at length. It is stated in the Bulletin Mensuel de la Société d’Acclimation, (Au- gust, 1875), that Dr. Morran, a physician at Douarnenez, in Finistére, has thought of utilizing the African locust as bait for the sardine-fishery in the maritime districts of the coast of Mancha and the Atlantie Ocean. The doctor hopes to substitute this new bait for that employed until now under the name of roe (rogne), and the price of which, always increasing, is injurious to the interests of French fishermen. The locusts cooked in salt water are dried in the sun and ground. The powder obtained seems to make as good baitas roe. It hasa dark color like that of the pickled roe of Norway. It preserves all the nutritive qualities of the locust. It re-absorbs the pickle, and is fatty, unctuous, and soft to the touch. Besides, it falls to the bottom of the water, re- sembling the flesh of craw-fish, comminuted and dried fish, of which the sardines are very fond. The insect can be put up in different ways, as made into biscuit, pickled, salted, pressed, or dried in the sun. Differ- ent methods of preparation have been tried; cooked and salted, the insects can be piled up in cakes, so as to be easily packed and trans- ported. They can also be thrown alive, pell-mell, into brine and pressed. The first of these methods is employed by the Arabs. The Society of Agriculture of Algeria recommends smothering the locusts in soes, then drying in the sun. The bait prepared in these different modes has been tried at Douarnenez with good results. The sardines bit at them eagerly. It appears that in the bodies of a great number of sardines there have been found on examination the remains of locusts which the fish had swallowed. This last fact, stated officially, has well satisfied the mari- time population of Douarnenez. . This, possibly, opens up a new industry for the inhabitants of locust- ridden districts in the West, who can put up in locust-years large quan- tities of bait for the market East. CONCLUSIONS. In conclusion, we believe that the locust-years may in the future be predicted by our meteorologists, and Government attention should be directed to this subject, and special consideration on the part of our Weather-Signal Bureau and meteorologists should be given during the future to the study of meteorological cycles. Years of unusual heat and dryness, which are forerunners of locust invasions, may, we believe, in the future be predicted, and farmers warned, while State laws provide that in years of plenty, at least in the frontier States, stores of grain be amassed for a year of famine. Thus, by the predictions of locust-years, by the planting of forests, and the free use of the telegraph in herald- ing their migrations, and the publication in the newspapers of daily bulletins of their direction and progress, and when they are present the enforcement of territorial and State laws, as well as bounties for the eggs and young, we believe that millions of property will be saved to the country, and the intelligence and wisdom of the American people be evinced in the truly agricultural as it already has in the mechanical arts. PACKARD. ] SUMMARY OF PRESENT KNOWLEDGE. 675 SUMMARY OF OUR PRESENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOCUST. 1. The eggs are laid an inch below the surface of the ground in July, August, and September, as the latitude varies; and the young hatch in April and May, becoming fledged in about seven weeks from early in June until the last, swarming from the first of July until last of Septem- ber. Birds and insects eat the eggs and young, and a mite, Tachina fly, and hair-worms infest the adults. 2. While the Rocky Mountain locust occurs permanently on the east- ern slope of the Rocky Mountains, on the high, dry plateaus between 4,000 and 7,000 feet elevation, the district liable to its periodical inva- sions is between latitudes 30° and 52°, and longitudes 102° and 93°. It occurs, though of smaller size, in California and New England, and prob- ably in British America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 3. Its migrations take place at irregular intervals during or after hot or dry seasons, when immense swarms are borne from the Rocky Mount- ain plateau by the prevailing westerly and northwesterly winds, some- times 500 or 1,000 miles, into British America, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, where they lay their eggs. 4, The progeny of the emigrant swarms return the following season in a general northwest direction for at least hundreds of miles, to near the original habitat on the plains. 5. The periodical invasions may after a while be predicted with more or less certainty should Government take measures to appoint suitable persons to observe them, or delegate the task to the Weather-Signal Bureau; meanwhile, by the use of the telegraph, the arrival of swarms may be announced several days in advance. 6. In years of plenty in the border States and Territories, grain should be stored up for use in locust-years. 7. Preventive measures, such as planting of forests along lines of rail- roads, around towns and extensive farms; the use of irrigation, oiling ditches and canals, bonfires and prairie-fires, rolling the soil, and collection of eggs; bounties to be paid by Government in the Territories, or by the local authorities in the States infested, for the egg-sacs. 8. Co-operation among farmers and others in resisting the attacks of insects to be enforced by proper legislation, both in the Territories and border States. 9. We still need more light on the natural history and migrations of the locust, and the United States Government should appoint entomol- ogists, who should study the locust comprehensively for several years in succession. Local entomologists should be appointed for each Territory, and the border State legislatures should appoint salaried entomologists to further study and report on the locust, and serve for a term of years until the entire subject be studied, and the knowledge thus acquired be freely diffused among the agricultural community. FURTHER INFORMATION NEEDED. It may be found on subsequent examination that some, if not many, so-called facts and inductions from such facts given in this report are erroneous. Indeed, regarding the laws regulating the migrations of the locust, the greater the number of facts observed, and the greater the area of observation, the less certain seem the opinions already formed by entomologists. Repeated observations by reliable entomologists and the careful sifting of facts recorded by unscientific observers are needed 676 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ‘before we can decide what is true and what is erroneous in the published accounts of the western locust. The following points need to be especially studied and cleared up: 1. How early in the summer are the eggs laid in Minnesota? 2. The direction of flight and history of the newly-fledged swarms in ‘Minnesota particularly, as well as in Texas and Indian Territory. . 3. Is the supposed northwesterly return-flight of the locust from Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri late in June an invariable occurrence, or do the swarms fly in other directions? 4, What is the fate of those early summer swarms; and (a) do they lay eggs in the region directly east of the Rocky Mountains, or (b) fly north into British America, or are they scattered on the plains midway between the border States and the Rocky Mountain plateau, and lay eggs for swarms which afflict the border States the following year; or (c) do they fail to reach favorable breeding-places and lay but few eggs? 5. The exceptions to the northwest direction of the migrations from the border States should be fully stated, and if there be such exceptions, the causes, loval or meteorological, carefully inquired into. 6. Ascertain in Minnesota the length of time between the acquisition of wings and oviposition. 7. Make experiments on the vitality of the eggs. The eggs of the Europeo-Asiatic locust survive a temperature of —26° Fahr. 8. Do cold, wet springs and thawing and freezing late in the winter - destroy the eggs? 9. Do the locusts always copulate immediately after acquiring wings ? 10. Duration of the sexual act—(more than 20 minutes ?) 11. How many times does the same female receive the male? 12. How many males will a single female receive? 13. How many females will a single male impregnate ? 14. How many times does the same female lay eggs? 15. Does a female lay more than one packet of eggs? 16. Does a female lay more than one packet of eggs after a single impregnation ? 17. State the average number of eggs laid in a packet. 18. State the number of days after copulation before the eggs are jaid—(more or less than seven days ?) 19. Does Caloptenus spretus copulate with other, and what, species ; does it hybridize with other species, particularly femur-rubrum, or var. atlanis? Are the hybrids (if any are produced) fertile? 20. State observed (not estimated) rapidity of movement of swarms in the larval state, and whether they migrate in the morning or evening, or both? 21. After. which molt do the young locusts begin to assemble in small flocks and mass with larger ones—after the first or second molt? 22. Do the young wingless locusts move and feed by night ? 23. Do the swarms of winged locusts descend toward sunset, and at what time? At what time do they take wing in the morning ? 24, Make careful observations as to the influence of the wind on their migrations. Are they wholly dependent on favorable winds to bear them on in the course they usually take, and do the locusts wait for favorable winds ? 25. Ascertain western limits of Caleptenus spretus, and the range of its var, atlanis. METEOROLOGICAL DATA. 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All that has been published in regard to the breeding-habits of the eastern red-legged locust is the following passage in Harris’s Treatise on the Injurious Insects of Massachusetts: ‘It comes to maturity with us by the latter part of July; some broods, however, a little earlier, and others later. tis most plentiful and destructive during the month of August and September, and does not disappear till some time 1 October.” Of the larva and its habits we have nothing on record, bu it is probable that it hatches late in May and early in June, and’as the latitude varies becomes winged in seven or eight weeks or sooner. I _ have observed the locusts copulating and laying theireggs at Amherst, — Mass., during the middle and last of September, after the first frosts, and they continue doing so into October.. While they oviposit in the soil of upland meadows and hay-fields, they are more commonly seen in hard gravelly paths in company with Gdipoda, Sordida, and Carolina, and other grasshoppers. Having put a few into a glass jar partly filled — with dirt I was able to observe the process. . | I placed several CO. femur-rubrum under glass in a vessel filled with” eravelly soil. The insect in boring into the ground brings the end of its abdomen forward so as to be nearly perpendicular to the rest of the body. The end of the abdomen, armed with its stout spines, is then” slowly thrust down, not being retracted during the operation unless the insect is disturbed. The hole thus made is not over an inch deep and about one-fifth of an inch in diameter. Plate LXIV, Fig. 4, represents | this species after the hole has been made. The size and form of the ege-sac and eggs is shown on the right of the figure. It is 15 milli | meters long and 5 millimeters in diameter, the eggs being shown through the thin wall of the sac, which in those I have seen is thinner and lighter than in.C. spretus, the amount of the spongy substance se- creted by the insect being perhaps less. I have ventured to represent a massof this glutinous matter coming from the body of the female. Ibis” possible that the drawing (made by Mr. Emerton, from a sketch made by myself from life) is incorrect in this particular. The spongy glutinous substance (probably a modified silky secretion) may be deposited in” part at first and the eggs arranged in it, passing out of the end of the oviduct singly.* The cockroach ejects her eggs all at once and con-— tained in a sac. In the egg-sacs which I observed the eggs were not F arranged so regularly as in those of the Rocky Mountain locust. During” the process the abdomen is nearly half longer than usual and greatly distended.. The eggs are curved cylindrical, of the same form as in @. spretus, but considerably smaller, being 4 millimeters in length. The) chorian is pitted in the same manner, and there is a similar constriction | at the posterior end. : In Gdipoda sordida the egg-mass is 14 millimeters long and 5 milli- meters in diameter. The eggs are of the usual size and 5 millimeters in length. iaee From Mr. S. J. Smith’s description (Proceedings of the Portland Society of Natural History) of the mode of oviposition in Choéaltis con- *Mr. W.S. Dallas thinks that the glutinous mass is first produced by the insect, and the eggs afterward laid in it. (Zodlogical Record for 1867.) Further observations are necessary to determine this point; they can (p. 4€0) easily be made, however. i | PACKARD.] THE EASTERN RED-LEGGED LOCUST. 685. spersa, it would appear that the eggs are probably laid singly, and that the glutinous substance which afterward becomes spongy and hard is exuded before and during the extension of the eggs, which are each arranged with more or less care so as to pack most closely, forming a cylindrical egg-mass. By means of the anal appendages the female excavates in soft, rotten wood a smooth round hole about an eighth of an inch in diameter. The eggs are placed in two rows, one on each side, and inclined so that, beginning at the end of the hole, each egg overlies the next in the same row by about half its length. The aper- ture is closed by a little disk of a hard, gummy substance. While bor- ing their holes a frothy fluid is emitted from some part of the abdomen; bat whether it serves to soften the wood or to lubricate the appendages and the sides of the hole, 1 did not determine. When the hole is made and while the eggs are being deposited, the female sits with her body inclined at a low angle, the ends of the folded wings resting on the ground, and the fore and middle pair of feet in their usual position, the body being mainly supported by the hind legs, which are placed as drawn in the figure, resting firmly on the ground, not elevated as in Riley’s figure of C. spretus. A female in confinement, September 24, at Amherst, Mass., was observed at 2 p. m. with its ab- domen deeply inserted in the soil; at 3.10 p. m. it began to withdraw with much deliberation its abdomen; it stopped during the process of extraction, having withdrawn its abdomen about a quarter of an inch out of the hole; at 3.20 p. m. it entirely withdrew its abdomen. It had laid twenty eggs, naked, in a mass, not having deposited around them any appreciable amount of glutinous matter, though the dirt formed a partial covering for it. This female lived several days after, when I killed it to examine the ovaries, in which were fifteen ovarian eggs from one-third to one-half the size of the ripe eggs. ) Another C. femur-rubrum was observed in the act of laying for a ‘hour and a half, but the beginning and end of the process was not ob- served. It seems probable from these observations that the process re- quires at least more than two hours, and this being the case it is possible that the eggs are laid singly, otherwise the mass might be deposited at once, in a few minutes. During the process the females are not easily disturbed. Several Gdipoda sordida and carolina were observed laying in the gravelly walk which I frequented every day for a week or fortnight. An Gi. sordida in confinement was observed beginning to bore its hole, pushing the dirt backward and forward with its spines on the abdomen. The duration of the process of copulation not observed. Dr. Harris has collected, in passages often quoted, the accounts of their ravages in Northern New England during the last century. They appeared most frequently in Maine and were alarmingly abundant in the summers of 1743, 1749, 1754, 1756; in Vermont, in 1797,1798. They were not afterward noticed by local historians until 1821 or 1822. I con- dense the following account, the best we can get here, of their migra- tions, by Dr. N. T. True, communicated to Mr. S. H. Seudder and pub- lished in fullin the ‘Final Report of the United States Geological Survey of Nebraska,” &c., by F. V. Hayden, 1872. The year 1821 or 1822 was an unusually dry season during the summer months. They devoured the clover and herds-grass, and even nibbled the rake and pitchfork handles made of white ash. ‘As soon as the hay was cut, and they had eaten every living thing from the ground, they removed to the adjacent crops of grain, completely stripping the leaves; climbing the naked stalks, they would eat off the stems of wheat and rye just below the 686 REPORT . UNITEDSTATES . GEOLOGICAL. SURVEY. head, and leave them to drop to the ground. * * * *. Their next attack was upon the Indian corn and potatoes. They stripped the leaves and ate out the silk from the corn, so that it‘was rare to harvest a full ear. Among forty or fifty bushels of corn spread out in the dry-room, not an ear could be found not mottled with detached kernels. While these insects were more than usually abundant in the town generally, it was in the field I have described that they appeared in the greatest intensity. After they had stripped everything from the field they began to emigrate in countless numbers. * * * * They crossed the high- way and attacked the vegetable-garden. I remember the curious ap- pearance of a large, flourishing bed of red onions, whose tops they first literally ate up, and, not contented with that, devoured the interior of the bulbs, leaving the dry external covering in place. * * * * The leaves were stripped from the apple-trees. They entered the house in swarms, reminding one of the locusts of Egypt, and as we walked they would rise in countless numbers and fly away in clouds. As the nights grew cooler, they collected on the spruce and hemlock stumps and log fences, completely covering them, eating the moss and decomposed sur- face of the wood, and leaving the surface clean and new. They would perch on the west side of a stump where they could feel the warmth of the sun, and work around to the east side in the morning as the sun re- appeared. The foot-paths in the fields were literally covered with their excrements. “ During the latter part of August and the first of September, when the air was still dry, and for several days in succession, a high wind pre- vailed from the northwest, the locusts frequently rose in the air to an immense height. By looking up at the sky in the middle of a clear day, as nearly as possible in the direction of the sun, one may descry a locust at a great height. These insects could thus be seen in swarms, appearing like so many thistle-blows as they expanded their wings and were borne along toward the sea before the wind; myriads of them were drowned in Casco Bay; and I remember hearing that they frequently dropped on the decks of coasting-vessels. Cart-loads of dead bodies remained in the fields, forming in spots a tolerable coating of manure. “It was an object of curiosity to me, then a boy, to catch some of the largest locusts, and turn up their wings to find the little red parasite which covered their bodies. This might have done something toward hastening their destruction, although it did not prevent the ravages on the crops. ‘¢ During the years necessary to clear up the forests on the sandy lands in the vicinity, it was no uncommon thing to have the crops seriously injured by these locusts, but never, to my knowledge, to the extent de- scribed above. “Tn response to my special inquiries concerning the flight of these insects, my correspondent replied as follows: ‘I do not remember ever to have witnessed the flight of these grasshoppers to any extent, except during the year mentioned and the preceding one. Nor do I ever recollect a time when the wind blew so steadily for days in succession from the northwest, generally rising soon after midday and going down with the sun. Ihave no meteorological record, but speak from memory.’ ‘¢ The town of Pownal was principally settled after the opening of the present century. As the lands were cleared, the Canada thistle and other species sprang up in great quantities; when they ripened, the wind spoken of as occurring at that time carried off immense numbers of the thistle-blows to the ocean. I was wont to spend hours in my boyhood lying on the ground and directing my eyes as near as I could PACKARD. ] THE EASTERN RED-LEGGED LOCUST. 687 to the sun, to watch the thistle-blows as they passed across or near its disk. I think I could have seen them in this situation several hundred feet high. I injured my eyes permanently by indulging in this amuse- ment. Whether the grasshoppers ever rose to so great a height I do not know, but I think that they generally flew at a lower level. Alto- gether they would rise in clouds as one approached them; it was only an occasional one that would rise higher, and fly off before the wind, and then only when the wind was blowing freshly. They did not fly with their heads directly before the wind, but seemed to rise in the air, set their wings in motion, and suffer themselves to be borne along by the current. They generally, perhaps always, rose in the afternoon, when the sun was hot and the wind blowing freshly.”—(From accounts furnished by Dr. N. T. True, Bethel, Me., February 28 and March 10, 1868. In Dhio and Pennsylvania, according to Mr. A. 8S. Taylor, the grass- hoppers made their appearance in vast numbers. In 1859 Mr. Schenck, of Franklin, Warren County, Ohio, wrote to the Ohio Farmer: ‘“ Last year we had millions of them; this year we have hundreds of millions.” For five years, he says, they have been increasing on his farm, and he fears that unless some means are discovered for their destruction they will totally ruin his own and his neighbors’ clover-fields. The speed of the Central Railroad locomotives is considerably decreased by the immense swarms of grasshoppers between Lancaster and Philadelphia. One engineer stated that his train was forty minutes behind owing to the number of grasshoppers on the track, and that he used twenty buckets of sand, which was thrown on the rail in front of the driving- wheels, to enable him to get along at all, Improbable as this story may appear, its truth is vouched for by the engineer above alluded to. (Hay- den’s Report on Nebraska, 1872.) In 1868, locusts, principally the red- legged species, appeared, according to Riley, in countless myriads in ‘Ohio, invading the vineyards, ‘destroying entire rows, defoliating the vines, and sucking out the juices of the berries. In the same year I saw them in countless millions in many parts of Illinois and Missouri. They actually stripped many corn-fields in these States, and had not the erops been unusually abundant, would have caused some suffering. They were very destructive to flower and vegetable gardens. In 1869 they were, if anything, worse than in 1868. I remember that in the vicinity of Saint Louis, in addition to their ordinary injuries, they stripped the tops of Norway spruce, balsam-fir, and European larch ; took the blossoms off Lima beans, severed grape-stems, and ate numer- -ous holes into apples and peaches, thereby causing them to rot. They were indeed abundant all over Illinois, Missouri, lowa, and even Ken- tucky, but attracted no attention east.”—(Riley’s Seventh Report.) In the year 1871, the summer of which was dry, while I was in Orono, Me., in July reports came from Aroostook County that the hay-crop ‘was being devoured by the locusts; and in August the evil became still worse, and they attacked the other crops, and became more or less de- structive all over the State. They also, as quoted by Riley from the Monthly Report of the Agricultural Department, abounded in Ply- mouth County, Massachusetts, and in Vermont, as well as in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. In 1872, they were very abundant in New Hampshire, and in 1874 they were destructive in Missouri. In 1875they were very abundant in the salt-marshes of Essex, Mass., as I was in- formed by a summer-resident there. In 1876, in the Monthly Report of the Department of Agriculture for -July, it was noted as injurious “in Sullivan, N. H. In Franklin, Va., 688 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. it was very destructive on tobacco; asalsoin Person, N.C.; in Cherokee, Ala.; in Robertson and Montgomery, Tenn.” In the Report for Novem- ber and December, it is stated that ‘‘Owsley, Ky., reports a great destruction of early-sown wheat by a grasshopper, which is most proba- bly the Caloptenus femur-rubrum.” Besides the localities given by Professor Thomas, I have received a male from California, near San Francisco, through Mr. Henry Edwards. The specimen was submitted to Mr. Scudder, who identified it. Mr. Walker* gives the following localities for it: ‘“‘ Arctic America; presented by Sir John Richardson. Arctic America; presented by Dr. Rae. Vancou- ver’s Island-Nova Scotia; frem Lieutenant Redman’s collection. West coast of America; presented by Captain Kellett and Lieutenant Wood,” etc. On the map showing the distribution of this species, I have represented it aS occurring over the whole of Labrador, for if it is found in Arctic America, it must be found there. During a residence of six weeks in the summer of 1860 at the mouth of Esquimaux River, Straits of Belle Isle, I never met with any Orthoptera. I heard, however, of grasshop- pers about 20 miles in the interior, but they were very few in number. In the summer of 1864, while entomologizing at different points as far north as Hopedale, I never saw any. We still need information regarding the southern and southeastern limits. I have also indicated on the map the approximative limits of the area where it has been found to be destructive at certain seasons. Description.—Grizzled with dirty olive and brown; a black spot extending from the eyes along the sides of the thorax ; an oblique yellow line on each side of the body beneath the wings; a row of dusky brown spots along the middle of the wing-covers, and the hindmost shanks and feet blood-red, with black spines. The wings are trans- parent, witha very pale greenish-yellow tint next tothe body, and are netted with brown lines. The hindmost thighs have two large spots on the upper side, and the extremity black; but are red below and yellow on theinside. The appendages at the tip of the body in the male are of a long triangular form. Length, from 0,75 tol inch; expan- sion of wings, 1.25 to 1.75 inches.—(Harris. ) As this species, which is se common, varies considerably, I have concluded to give Dr. Harris’s description without change, adding the following: Vertex but slightly depressed, with a minute angular expansion in front of the eyes; frontal costa usually but slightly suleate; sides parallel; eyes large and rather prominent. Elytra and wings generally a little longer than the abdomen. The cerci of the male rather broad and flat; apex of last ventral segment is entire and truncate. The yellow stripes on the side extend from the base of the wing to the insertion,of the posterior femora. The ground color varies with localities and age, and most of the specimens from one or two sections appear to have unspotted elytra; sometimes a reddish-brown tint prevails ; at others a dark olive; at others a dark purplish-brown; yet the mark- ings generally remain the same.—(Thomas, Acrididw N. A.) THE DESTRUCTIVE Locust OF CaALIFoRNIA, Gdipoda pellucida Scudder. CG. atrox Scudder. (Plate LXIV, Fig. 5.) ‘* A third species of grasshopper, unnamed as yet, belonging to the genus Gidipoda, appears to be the insect which has ravaged the culti- vated districts of California and Oregon, and the neighboring States and Territories. It probably ranges over the whole extent of country west of the Rocky Mountains and included within the limits of the United States. Mr. A. S. Taylor, in one of his articles in the Cali- fornia Farmer, subsequently communicated to the Smithsonian Institu- tion and published in their Report for 1858, describes the grasshopper as found near Monterey, and it is doubtless the migratory species which ravaged the State. It isa species of Gdipoda, which, from the devas- * Catalogue of the Specimens of Dermoptera Saltatoria in the Collection of the British Museum. Partiv. London, 1870. PACKARD.] THE DESTRUCTIVE LOCUST OF CALIFORNIA. 689 tating nature of its ravages, may be called @dipoda atrox, or the terri- ble grasshopper. ‘To the best of my knowledge, it is the only species of the genus which has anywhere proved seriously and persistently injuri- ous to crops. Several species of the closely-allied genus Pachytylus have ravaged the fields of Eastern Hurope and Asia; and it is interest- ing, in a zodlogical point of view, to find that California, whose insect fauna bears a much more general resemblance to the peculiar types of the Old World than to those characteristic of the opposite border of the New World, should in this case also harbor a devastating grasshopper so much more nearly allied to the destructive species of the Mediterranean than to those found upon the same continent with itself. Whether the Gidipoda pellucida (atrox) or Caloptenus spretus is the spe- cies which has proved at times so destructive on the Pacific coast has been a matter of some uncertainty. Mr. Scudder (Hayden’s Report on the Geology of Nebraska, 1872) believes that it is this species, while Mr. Thomas (Monograph of Acridide) thinks it must be C. spretus. As seen in the previous account of C. spretus in California by Mr. Henry Edwards (p. ), he regards that locust as the destructive species. Concerning the habits of GZ. pellucida in California, he writes me the following ex- plicit account: “ Gidipoda (Camnula) atrox. This species is very abun- dant in the spring and early summer, but at present (1876) appears to be somewhat limited in its range as far as California is concerned. It is found only in our foot-hills, and has not, to my knowledge at least, been regarded as a very destructive insect. I never saw it but once in very large swarms, and it then appeared to attach itself more to the pasture- grasses than to any growing crops, although there were plenty of fields of barley, oats, &c., in the neighborhood. It appears in its larval con- dition in April, and in the winged state in May, passing entirely out of existence by the middle of June. I have taken it sparingly in Ne- vada and in Vancouver’s Island, and have seen some specimens from Santa Rosa Island, but I am pretty sure that it cannot be called a common insect in those localities.” Regarding.its habits and distribn- tion in the Kast I quote as follows from Scudder’s Distribution of Insects in New Hampshire (Hitchcock’s Geology of New Hampshire, vol. 1): “This insect is silent in flight, and is a northern species, swarming in immense numbers among the White Mountains and on the dry summits of the country south of it. The top of Mount Prospect, near Plymouth, was covered with myriads of them in the autumn of 1873. It is found, however, as far south as Connecticut and Southern Illinois, and west to the latter region and Lake Superior.” Thomas states that he has found it in Montana.—-(Acrididz of North America, p. 137.) Concerning this species, Professor Thomas remarks as follows in Hay- den’s Annual Report on the Geology of Montana for 1871, p. 458: “Those who live in the East and have not seen a specimen of this spe- cies, can see it almost, if not exactly, represented in @. pellucida of Scudder ; in fact, Mr. Scudder’s description of this species agrees more exactly, if possible, with specimens from California, submitted to me this season, than his description of atrox.” In his “Synopsis of the Acridide of North America,” Hayden’s Survey, 1873, he again says: “I give this species as distinct from Ci. pellucida on the authority of Dr. Scudder, but I consider the two as identical, the only difference that I can see being that the median carina of atrox is severed, while that of pellucida is continuous. The coloration shows less difference than is often observed between different specimens of the same species from the same locality. In fact, my specimens of atrox agree more 4468 690 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. exactly with Dr. Scudder’s description of pellucida than with that of atrox, with the exception given.” I am inclined, from the reasons above given, to regard atrov as a Synonym of pellucida, and that its range agrees in the main with that of @. carolina, which is found on the Pacific coast (Vancouver’s Island), according’to Walker, and probably Thomas. Mr. Henry Edwards, of San EINES kindly furnishes the following notes: ‘‘ This species is very abundant in the spring and early summer, but at present appears to be somewhat limited in its range as far as Cali- fornia is concerned. It is found only in our foothills, and has not, to my knowledge at least, been regarded as a very destructive insect. I never saw it but once in very large swarms, and it then appeared to attach itself more to the pasture grasses than to any growing crops, although there were plenty of fields of barley, oats, &c., in the neighborhood. It appears in its larval condition in April, and in the winged state in May, passing entirely out of existence by the middle of June. 1 have taken it sparingly in Nevada and in Vancouver Island, and have seen some specimens from Santa Rosa Island, but I am pretty sure that it cannot be called a common insect in those localities.” Description of the adult——Head uniform, pale brownish-yellow ; the raised edge of the vertex dotted with fuscous ; a dark fuscous spot behind the eye, broadening poste- riorly, but not extending upon the pronotum. Antenne as long as the head and pro- notum together, dull honey- yellow, growing dusky toward the tip. Pronotum dark brownish- “yellow, the sides darker anteriorly ; median carina extending the whole length of the pronotum, moderately raised, cut once by a transverse line a little in advance of the middle ; lateral carinze prominent, extending across the anterior two- thirds of the pronotum; anterior border of the pronotum smooth, very slightly angu- lated ; posterior border delicately marginate, bent at a very little more than a right angle, the apex rounded; tegmina dull-yellowish on the basal half, with distinct fuscous spots; toward the apex obscurely fuscous, with indistinct fuscous markings; humeral ridge yellowish, and, when the tegmina are in repose, inclosing a brownish fuscous triangular stripe ; the spots are scattered mostly in the median field, consist- ing in the basal two-fifths of the tegmina of small roundish spots, and one larger longitudinal spot inthe middle of the basal half ; there is a large irregular spot in the middle of the tegmina, and beyond a smaller transverse spot, followed by indistinct markings; wings hyaline, slightly fuliginous at the extreme tip; the veins, especially in the apical half, fuscous ; legs uniform brownish fuscous ; apical half of spines of hind tibiz black. Length of body, 0.9 inch; of tegmina, 0.9 inch; of body and tegmina, 1.125 inches; of pronotum, 0.2 inch; of hind femora, 0.5 inch. It bears a strong resemblance to Cidipoda pellucida, Scudd., common in Northern New England.—(Scudder in Hayden’s Geological Report on Nebraska, 1872, p. 250.) THE AMERICAN Locust, Acrydium americanum Drury (Plate LXIV, Fig. 6.) This is one of our largest grasshoppers, being a little over two inches in length. It is occasionally very destructive to vegetation in the Southern States. According to Professor Thomas it occurs in North ' Carolina, Southern States, Florida, Alabama, Texas (Scudder) ; Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, District of Columbia (Thomas); Virginia, New York (?7Drury). I have observed it very abundantly in Virginia, at Dan- ville, in April and early in May. The figure (after Riley) is so good that further description is unnecessary. In the pupa state this species is occasionally destructive. I have re- ceived from Prof. D. 8S. Jordan specimens which I regard as the pape of this species, with the following notes on its habits: ‘While seining in Rome, Ga., in the Etowah River, I noticed, about July 25, a fence “covered completely with large grasshoppers not fully fledged and extremely brilliant in color. They were very hyaline and of all shades from a clear pea-green to pale clear yellow and a sort of clear reddish amber (scarcely any two the same; all become pale yellow in - packarp.] § AMERICAN LOCUST—-WESTERN CRICKET. 691 spirits) color. We found them so thick that we could collect them by the handful, and in consequence of their abundance and brilliancy (else I should not have noticed them) I secured a couple of quarts. All I have ‘at hand I send by American Express to-day, but will send a hundred more if you wish. “A negro who was mowing near told us that he had never seen that kind of grasshopper before and that they were destroying the cotton. We found no more in the neighborhood of Rome. “On a visit to Atlanta a week or so later we heard doleful complaints about a new sort of ‘hoppergrass’ that was destroying everything, particularly the corn and cotton. This kind was said by the Atlanta papers and farmers generally to have been hitherto unknown in Georgia, and we were shown a lot of live specimens on a cotton-plant in a glass globe in the rooms of the State Agricultural Department at Atlanta. The officials asked us if that was not the terrible Kansas hopper. I knew just enough about those fellows to assure them that it was not. ‘“‘ Later (Angust 12), near Lookout Mountain on Chattanooga Creek, we saw several splendid fields of corm utterly devastated by these grass- hoppers. ‘The silk was gone and all the leaves and the husks peeled down as close as if a sheep had been at them, or arat. I suppose the corn was not worth cutting at all, noteven for fodder. As usual, all the fences were covered. We collected here four hundred or five hundred and put them in a large wire cage of lizards and chameleons for the latter to feed on, but the insects tormented the reptiles so much that we had to throw them away.” This species, when winged, sometimes take flight in largeswarms. The following account of a flight in Columbia, 8. C., has been communicated to me by Professor Baird, assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- tution : Cotumpsia, 8. C., November 18, 1876. Prof. 8. ’. BarrD, Washington, D. C.; I inclose you specimens of-‘‘locust” which made their appearance on Friday, No- vember 17, at about 9.30 p.m. Quantities could be gathered. I allowed my window to be used to exhibit them, and soon had to stop receiving them. I find they are locusts, from Wood’s description, but find also that the same insect has been a denizen here for a long time, by reference to a dried specimen which I have had for six months. A week prior to their visit attention was called to the “specks,” “ meteors,” “ birds,’ &c., flying in front of the moon. I have no doubt they were an advance-guard of these locusts, as the under-wing is very brilliant in the light. I find they devour each other, but do not molest linen or cotton or paper in the window. I examined the feces of the newly-arrived ones with the microscopes to judge of their last food, and found it to be woody fiber. The locusts were traveling from northwest to southeast. Respectfully, &c., iy Gece . E. JACKSON. Another swarm is described in the Monthly Report of the Depart- ment of Agriculture as “ literally covering the streets” of Vevay, Ind., beginning to drop down at half-past 6 in the evening and continuing till Sp.m. This species has also swarmed in Suffolk County, Virginia, according to Mr. C. R. Dodge.—(Rural Carolinian, quoted by Riley, Seventh Report.) THE WESTERN CRICKET, Anabrus simplex Haldeman and A. haldemani Girard.—Very destructive to crops of wheat and other cereals and to grass; a large, stout, dark, cricket- like insect. The “cricket” is especially injurious to crops in Utah, where it is very annoying and abundant. I have found it (A. Haldemani Girard, named by Mr. Scudder) common on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, where 692 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the gulls were seen feeding on this insect as well as winged grasshop- pers. Mr. Henry Edwards, under date of December 25, 1875, writes me as follows regarding the cricket: ‘‘ I send you two specimens of the large brown cricket from Idaho. I think it is Anabrus simplex of Haldeman. It is extremely destructive to the crops of wheat and other cereals from Oregon to Wyoming Territory, and eastward to Montana, Idaho, and Utah. Ido not think it has ever been found in California. When I was in Oregon two years ago, I made some few notes about this pest, and, if I can find them, will willingly place them at your disposal.” Maj. J. W. Powell tells me that the cricket is annoying in Arizona. I extract the following remarks on the geographical range and habits of the species of Anabrus from Professor Thomas’s report in Hayden’s Report on the Geology of Montana for 1871: Anabrus purpurascens is found, not abundantly, but at certain elevated points from Northern New Mexico to Montana, along the east base of the mountains, but I have met with no specimen west of the range in the middle district, though Mr. Uhler gives Washington Territory as a locality on the authority of Dr. Suckley. It is also found as far south as Texas, and as far north as Red River,in Northern Minnesota. A. simplex appears to be confined to the middle district, as I have not met either in the eastern or western districts. Dr. Scudder, who examined the Orthoptera, collected by Professor Hayden, in Nebraska, does not mention it in his list; nor did Mr. C. R. Dodge have it among his collections made in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and Indian Territory; nor is it among the collections in the Agricultural Department, made east of the Rocky Mountains. Hence I think we may safely conclude that it is confined to the west side of the range. But whatit lacks in range is made up in numbers, for in the northern part of Salt Lake Basin and southern part of Idaho, the only points where I have met with it, it is to be seen in armies of myriads. (p. 431.) Found in great abundance between Brigham City, Utah, and Fort Hall, Idaho; also, occasionally met with farther south, in Utah, and north of Fort Hall, to the boundary-line of Montana, which is here along the range separating the waters of the Atlantic from the Pacific. At some points we found them so abundant as literally to cover the ground. In two or three instances they all appeared to be moving in one direction, as if impelled by some common motive. I recollect one instance, on Port Neuf River, where an army was crossing the road. It was probably as much as 200 yards in width. I could form no idea as to its length. I only know that as far asI could distinguish objects of this size (being horseback) I could see them marching on. I think that in all the cases where I saw them thus moving, it was toward a stream of water. They appear to be very fond of gathering along the banks and in the vicinity of streams. In the north part of Cache Valley I frequently noticed the ditches and little streams covered with these insects, which, having fallen in, were floating down on the surface of the water, and, though watch- ing them for hours, they would How on in an undiminished stream. While encamped on a litte creek near Franklin, in this valley, it was with difficulty ~ we could keep them out of our bedding; and when we went to breakfast, we found the under side and legs of the table and stools covered with them, all the vigilance of the cook being required to keep them out of the victuals. But the strangest part of its history is that it will go in pursuit of and catch and eat the Cicada. This latter insect also made its appearance in this valley the past sea- son in immense numbers, covering the grass and sage and other bushes, especially thoss which formed afringe along the little streams. Up these the Anabrus would cau- tiously climb, reach out with its fore leg and plant its claw in its victim’s wing; once the fatal claw secured a hold, the Cicada was doomed, for without ceremony it was at once sacrificed to the voracious appetite of its captor. No uniformity appeared to be preserved in this process ; sometimes they would commence with the thorax, at others with the head, not even taking the trouble to remove the legs and wings. I noticed in the road, where one of the armies was crossing, a number of large hawks feasting themselves upon the helpless victims. As I returned through Malade Valley (August 20, 1871,) the females were depositing their eggs. They press the ovipositor perpendicularly into the ground almost its entire length. : The following notes on Anabrus simplex have been obligingly prepared for this report by Mr. Henry Edwards, of San Francisco: I know little of this species from my own personal observation. It was extremely abundant during a visit to Oregon some four vears ago. I extract the following from my note-book: “The large brown cricket (Anabrus simplex) isa great trouble to the farmers of this’region, (the Dalles,) and this year has been unusually common. It ap- pears that they march to attack the corn fields in columns, and the only way left to the PACKARD. ] THE JOINT-WORM. 693 farmers to protect themselves is to dig trenches around their fields into which the crickets fall in enormous crowds and are killed by theirown numbers. The upper individuals, however, manage to make a bridge of the bodies of their companions, and sometimes eross the ditches in great quantities. Pigs eat these insects very greedily. They seem to be periodical in their appearance, the great swarms only occurring once in six years. I think their depredations are mostly committed in the night, as I saw none during the heat of the day, but toward twilight they swarmed on the stems of artemisia and other low plants, and were exceedingly active.” Description of Anabrus simplex.—Dark shining brown, posterior femora with an ex- ternal and internal row of small spines beneath upon the posterior extremity; tibiz angular, with a row of spines upon each side above, and two approximate rows beneath, with the spines alternating. Length, fifteen lines, pronotum six, ovipositor twelve, pos- terior femora and tibiz, each eleven, and tarsi three and a half. This seems to be one of the species which is eaten by the aborigines of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.— (Haldeman in Stansbury’s Report, 1855, p. 372. Anabrus haldemanit Girard.—Antenne long and filiform, reaching posteriorly the base of the ovipositor; pronotum short, broad; femora smooth, yellowish; feet and ovipositor reddish-purple. Posterior margin of pronotum black, with two parallel black bands on the posterior third of its length. Description—The abdomen above exhibits ten segments or articulations, the an- terior or basal one being, as stated above, covered by the posterior prolongation of the pronotum. Beneath there are seven subquadrangular plates, situated opposite to the seven middle upper segments. . The posterior seements inclose another piece bearing two spine-like abdominal appendages—one on each side. The ovipositor is as long as the abdomen, and entirely smooth. The base of the antenne is situated above the eyes, and inserted upon an angular movable piece. The joints composing these organs are very short, and provided with minute setw#. The tibie are provided with four rows of spines, two anterior and two posterior; the internal posterior row being the stoutest. The posterior rows are more densely set with spines, while the latter are scattered and alternate with each other in the anterior rows. The first and cordate joint of the tarsi is the longest, the second is the shortest, and, from the middle of the third, a fourth slender and long joint arises, slightly convex above, and terminating in two spines or claws curved inward and outward. The ground-color above and be- low is yellowish; the antenne, limbs, and ovipositor are of a reddish-purple. The posterior margin of the pronotum is black. Two parallel black vittz, inclosing a nar- row yellow one, are observed on each side of the dorsal line, upon the posterior third of the pronotum. The posterior portion of the upper abdominal segments is occasion- ally of a deep-brown hue. This species differs from Anabrus simplex Hald., by a proportionally much shorter pronotum.—(Girard in Marcy’s Report of Explorations on the Red River of Texas, p. So large and conspicuous an insert as the Anabrus is easily kept under by the means aiready suggested in treating of the locust. INSECTS SPECIALLY INJURIOUS TO WHEAT, OATS, BAR- LEY, ETC. A.—AFFECTING THE ROOT AND STALK. THE JOINT-WORM, Isosoma hordet of Walsh, Eurytoma hordet of Harris. A minute, footless, yellowish-white maggot forming blister-like swellings between the second and third joints of the stalk, immediately above the lower joint in the sheathing-base of the leaf; remaining through the winter in the stubble, straw, or harvested grain, and changing into a small, slender, black, four-winged insect, which deposits its eggs in the stalks of young wheat late in May and in June, This insect, belonging to a group of chalcid flies which are, as a rule, parasitic on other insects, is a vegetarian, and parasitic on the stalks of wheat and other cereals, living on the sap, and by its presence causing the formation of blister-like galls or tumors on the lower part of the Stalk. When the wheat or barley is from 8 to 10 inches high its growth becomes suddenly checked, the lower leaves turn yellow, and the stalks become bent. If the buts of the straw are now examined they will be found to be irregularly swollen and discolored between the second and third joints, and, instead of being hollow, are rendered solid, hard, 694 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. and brittle, so that the straw above the disease is impoverished, and seldom produces any grain. Suckers, however, shoot out below, and afterward yield a partial crop, seldom exceeding one-half the usual quantity of grain” (Gourgas as quoted by Harris). The worms have been found living in swellings, sometimes from six to ten in a tumor situated between the second and third joints, or immediately - above tne lower joint in the sheathing-base of the leaf, or in the joint itself. In November, in the New England States, the fully-fed larve as a rule (many do not until the spring) change to a chrysalis or pupa within the tumor, and in this state spend the winter in the straw or stubble or even in some cases in the harvested grain. In Virginia, the larva passes into the pupa state in February and March. From early in May until early in July, but mostly in New York in June, the four- winged flies issue from the galls, the males first appearing, and about the 10th of June, in Canada, the females deposit their eggs in the stalks of the young, healthy wheat. The larve hatch in a few days, and by the first week of July the young are nearly one-half grown. By the first of September the galls become hard and the worms fally grown. T have endeavored to represent on the accompanying map the area of distribution of the joint-worm, but the area is probably too restricted. No facts are, however, at hand showing that it has occurred west of longitude 82° or south of latitude 36°, with the exception that a ‘ joint- worm” is reported in the Monthly Reports of the Agricultural Depart- ment as having injured wheat in Kansas, but the species referred to has not, so far as lam aware, been referred to a competent botanist. I should be greatly obliged for specimens of this or any ‘ joint-worm” from any part of the country. The joint-worm of late years has been, so far as reports go, much less abundant than between the years 1825 and 1860, and it is to be hoped that it will not again be so prevalent. In former years the losses in Virginia amounted to over a third of the entire wheat-crop, while some crops in that State were not thought to be worth cutting. It was par- ticularly abundant on rye, barley, and oats in the New England States and Canada, while in New York it was known to destroy one-half the barley-crop. Dr. Fitch has described several so-called species, allied to Isosoma hordei, and he supposed that they were restricted to different species of cereals. Mr. Walsh, however, has endeavored to show, with good reason, we think, that they were simply varieties of I. hordei, and that this well known species feeds upon all the small grains as well as wheat. Hither two or three specimens of ichneumon or chalcis flies, belonging to the same family (Chalcidide) of hymenopterous insects as the joint- worm itself, prey upon the larva, and probably tend to reduce its num- bers. Harris states that the larve of a species of Torymus, one of these chaleid flies, destroy the joint-worm. A species of Torymus (1. harrisii Fitch), perhaps the adult of the larval Torymus described by Harris, and a species of Pteromalus, also prey upon it. Larva: The joint-worm is described by Harris, from specimens received from Vir- ginia, as a round, cylindrical, footless, maggot-like worm, varying from one-tenth to three-tweutieths of an inch in length. It is pale yellowish and without hairs. The head isround and partly retractile, with a distinct pair of jaws, and can be distin- guished from the larvee of the diptenous gall-flies by not having the usual V-shaped organs on the segment succeeding the head. Adult: The imago or adult fly is a four-winged, hymenopterous insect, a member of the family Chalcididw, most of which are insect-parasites. It is jet black, and the thighs, shanks (tibiz), and claw-joints of the feet are blackish, while the knees and other joints of the feet (tarsi) are pale yellow; sometimes the legs are entirely yellow. The females are 0.13 inch in length, while the males are smaller, have a club-shaped abdomen, and the joints of the antenne are surrounded by a verticil of hairs. ry PACKARD. | THE HESSIAN ELY. 695 Remedies.—While the best way to encounter this insect is to breed and set loose the natural insect-parasites which prey upon it, the most obvious remedy is to burn the stubble in the autumn or early spring for several years in succession. If farmers would co-operate, this means would be sufficient to so reduce the numbers of this: species that its attacks would be comparatively harmless. Plowing in the soil is of no use in the ease of. this insect, as the fly would easily find its way up to the surface of the ground. THE HeEsstAn Fiy, Cecidomyia destructor of Say. (Plate LXV, Ee: 1.) Two or three small, reddish-white maggots embedded in the crown of the roots or just above the lower joint, causing the stalks and leaves to wither and die; the mag- gots harden, turn brown, then resembling a flaxseed, and change into little black niid ges with smoky wings, which appear in spring and autumn, and at from twenty to thirty eg@s in a crease in the leaf of the young plant. The Hessian fly was so called because it was first noticed as injurious to wheat during the revolutionary war, and was thought to have been imported from Europe in some straw by the Hessian troops. “Tt was first observed in the year 1776 in the neighborhood of Sir William Howe’s debarkation on Staten Island, and at Flatbush, on the west end of Long Island. Having multiplied in these places, the insects gradually spread over the southern parts of New York and Connecticut, and continued to proceed inland at the rate of 15 or 20 miles a year. They reached Saratoga, 200 miles from their original station, in 1789. -Dr. Chapman says that they were found west of the Alleghany Mount- ains in 1797; from their progress through the country, having appa- rently advanced about 30 miles every summer. Wheat, rye, barley, and even timothy-grass, were attacked by them; and so great were their ravages in the larva state that the cultivation of wheat was abandoned in many places where they had established themselves.”—(Harris.) Dr. Fitch also thinks that this is an European importation, but Curtis in his Farm Insects” doubts whether the European midge be of the same species. But .it is reported by Kollar to have been known in Europe as early as 1833, and by later observers to be commonly diffused in Europe, and Kollar pronounces it as indigenous to Europe. Of late years it has not been reported to be so destructive as formerly, and no mention is made of it by the different State entomologists in their an- nual reports. In the accompanying map showing the probable distribution of the Hessian fly and wheat-midge, I have been mainly dependent for my data regarding its distribution south and west of New York upon the Monthly Reports of the Agricultural Department at Washington. But the information there given, | regard as quite unreliable and un- satisfactory. It is quite likely that the Hessian fly may have been in those reports confounded with the wheat-midge and vice versa, or that when the “fly” is mentioned as injuring the wheat-crop, some other fly or insect has been the culprit. If, therefore, I have been in error, it will be from causes beyond my control. At the same time it is not un- likely that the area of distribution of both these insects may be found to coincide with that of each of the two, and with that representing the cultivation of wheat.* This latter has been taken from a map compiled * Specimens of the Hessian fly, wheat-midge, and joint-worm, and notes on their habits and ravages, are earnestly desired by the writer for aid in improving and cor- recting the maps herewith presented. Specimens of this insect and the wheat- -midge from ail parts of the country are earnestly desired by the author. 696 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. by General Francis A. Walker, from the Statistics of Agriculture, Ninth Census, 1870. This insect is double-brooded, as the flies appear both in'spring and autumn. At each of these periods the fly lays twenty or thirty eggs ina crease in the leaf of the young plant. In about four days, in warm weather, they hatch, and the pale-red larve (Fig. 2a) ‘‘ crawl down the leaf, work- ing their way in between it and the main stalk, passing downward till they come to a joint, just above which they remain, a little below the surtace of the ground, with the head toward the root of the plant.” (Plate IV, Fig. 1c.) Here they imbibe the sap by suction alone, and by the simple pressure of their bodies, they become imbedded in the side of the stem. Two or three larve thus imbedded serve to weaken the plant and cause it to wither and die. The larve become full-grown in five or six weeks, then measuring about three-twentieths of an inch in length. About the 1st of December their skin hardens, becoming brown, and then turns to a bright chestnut color. This is the so-called flaxseed state, or puparium. In two or three weeks the “larva” (or, more truly speaking, the semi-pupa) becomes detached from the old case. In this puparium some of the larva remains through the winter. Toward the end of April or the beginning of May the pupa (Plate LXV, Fig. 1b) becomes fully formed, and in the middle of May, in New Eng- land, the pupa comes forth from the brown puparium, “wrapped in a thin white skin,” according to Herrick, “‘which it soon breaks and is then at liberty.” The flies appear just as the wheat is coming up; they lay their eggs for a period of three weeks, and then entirely disappear. The maggots hatched from these eggs take the flaxseed form in June and July, and are thus found in the harvest time, most of them remain- ing on the stubble. Most of the flies appear in the autumn, but others remain in the puparium until the following spring. By burning the stubble in the fall their attacks may best be prevented. Among the parasites on this species are the egg-parasites, Platygaster and Semiotellus (Ceraphron) des- tructor Say (Fig. 3), the latter of which pierces ~ the larva through the sheath of the leaf. Two other [chneumon parasites, according to Her- rick, destroy the fly while in the flaxseed or semi-pupa state. The ravages of the Hessian fly have been greatly checked by these minute insects, so that it is in many localities not so destructive as it was formerly. Dr. Fitch has suggested that the European parasites of this insect, and the wheat-midge, could be imported Fic. 3.—Parasite of the and bred in large quantities, so as to stop their Jsleselom Ly, ravages. With proper pecuniary aid from the State this seems feasible, while our native parasites might perhaps also be bred and multiplied so as to effectually exterminate these pests. As regards the increase of parasites, B. Wagner, in his “ Researches on the new Corn [wheat] Gall-fly” (Marburg, 1861), finds that the parasites of the Hessian fly increase in a ratio corresponding to that of their hosts. In the same year, he says, in which the hosts are very generally frequent, they are so infested by parasites that the next year only a few of the gall-flies appear. He also found that the parasites only infested the summer brood of Hessian flies, but not the winter brood ; seventy per cent. of the former were found to be infested. Thus far the Hessian fly has not occurred west of the Mississippi Valley. Egg and larva: The egg is about one-fiftieth of an inch long and four-thousandths of an inch in diameter, cylindrical, translucent, and of a pale-red color (Herrick). PACKARD. ] THE CHINCH-BUG. 697 The larva or maggot when first hatched is pale reddish, afterward becoming white. It is when mature 0.15 inch in length, oval cylindrical, pointed at one end, and is soft, shining white. Fly: Black with pale-brown legs and black feet and a tawny abdomen; the egg- tube of the female rose-colored, wings blackish, tawny at base; fringed with short hairs and rounded at tip. The body is about a tenth of an inch in length, and the wings expand one-quarter of aninch or more. The antenne of the male have the joints roundish oval and verticillate. Remedies.—Besides the parasites of this insect, its natural enemies, large numbers probably fall a prey to roving carnivorous insects and birds, particularly swallows and martins. As, however, the insect re- mains in the “flaxseed” state in the straw and stubble, the obvious remedy is to burn over wheat-fields for several years in succession. The rotation of crops is also a valuable preventive measure. THE OHINCH-BUG, Blissus leucopterus of Uhler, Lygcus leucopterus of Say. A small bug, while young sucking the roots.of wheat and corn, afterward infesting in great numbers the stalk and leaves, puncturing them with their beaks. It appears early in June, and there is a summer and autumn brood, the adults hybernating in the stubble. This is the most formidable enemy of wheat and corn, much more damage having been doue to grain-crops in the Mississippi Valley and the Southern States than from any other cause, as it is more or less abundant each year. It is very abundant in Kansas, Nebraska, and California, according to Uhler. “Dr. Shimer states that the female is “ occupied about twenty days in laying her eggs, about 500 in number. The larva hatches in fifteen days, and there are two broods in a season, the first brood maturing, in [llinois, from the middle of July to the middle of August, and the second late in autumn.” According to Har- ris, the ‘“‘eggs of the chinch-bug are laid in the ground, in which the young have been found, in great abundance, at the depth of an inch or more. They make their appearance on wheat about the middle of June, and may be seen in their various stages of growth on all kinds of grain, on corn, and on herds-grass, during the whole summer. Some of them continue alive through the winter in their places of concealment.” This Species is widely diffused. I have taken it frequently in Maine, and even on the extreme summit of Mount Washington in August, but it is more properly a southern and western insect. It has not attracted notice on the Pacific coast, as M. H. Edwards writes me that it has not yet appeared in California. But as Mr. Uhler records it from Califor- nia, it probably occurs there only rarely. Dr. Shimer in his Notes on the Chinch-Bug says that it “attained the maximum of its development in the summer of 1864, in the extensive wheat and corn fields of the valley of the Mississippi, and in that single year three-fourths of the wheat and one-half of the corn crop were destroyed throughout many extensive districts, comprising almost the entire Northwest, with an estimated loss of more than $100,000,000 in the currency that then prevailed,” while Mr. Walsh estimates the loss from the ravages of this insect in Illinois alone, in 1850, to have been $4,000,000. In the summer of 1865, the progeny of the broods of the preceding year were almost entirely swept off by an epidemic disease, so few being left that on the 22d of August Dr. Shimer found it ‘almost impossible to find even a few cabinet specimens of chinch-bugs alive” where they were so abundant the year before. “ During the summer of 1866 the chinch-bugs were very scarce in all the early spring, and up to near the Re 698 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. harvest I was not able, with the most diligent search, to find one. At harvest I did succeed in finding a few in some localities.” This disease among the chinch-bugs was asscciated with the long-continued wet, cloudy, cool weather that prevailed during a greater portion of the period of their development, and doubtless was in a measure produced by deficient light, heat, and electricity, combined with an excessive hu- midity of the atmosphere.” In 1868 it again, according to the editors of the American Entomologist, “did considerable damage in certain counties in Southern Illinois, and especially in Southwest Missouri.” In 1871 Dr. Le Baron estimates the losses to corn and the small grains in the Northwestern States at $30,000,000, and Riley estimates the loss in 1874 in the same area as double that sum, the loss in Missouri alone being $19,000,000.. Apparently no injury was sustained in Colorado in 1875 from this insect. In the accompanying map showing the distribution of the chinch-bug, I have been mainly dependent on the statements of the State and other entomologists of the West, and the reports of the Agricultural Depart- ment. I have found the insect on the summit of Mount Washington, and argue from this fact that it is widely distributed over the colder as well as warmer portions of the New England States. It probably in- habits the entire United States east of longitude 100°, and will proba- bly occur in the Western Territories, wherever wheat is raised, though perhaps the altitude and peculiar climatic features of the Rocky Mount- ain Plateau may prevent its rapid and undue increase. Egg, young and adult.—The egg is minute, oval, 0.03 inch long, four times as long as broad, and white. The larva is at first pale yellow, afterward becoming red, changing with age to brown and black, and marked with a white band across the back. The adult is armed with a powerful beak, instead of jaws, with which it punctures the stems of plants and sucks in the sap; it sometimes abounds to such an extent as to travel in armies from field to field; it may be known by its white fore wings, contrasting well with a black spot on the middle of the edge of the wing, and is about three-twentieths of an inch in length. Certain individuals have very short wings. Fie. 4.—Adult and immature stages of Chinch-Bug.—a, b, eggs; c, newly-hatched larva; d, its tarsus; e, larva after first molt; f, same after second molt; g, pupa—the natural sizes indicated at sides; h, enlarged leg of perfect bug; j, tarsus of same still more enlarged; i, proboscis or beak, enlarged. (After Riley.) Remedies.—Burn stubble, old straw, and corn-stalks among weeds in fence-corners in the early spring. Riley advises the early sowing of small grain in the spring, and suggests that the harder the ground is the less chance there is for the chinch-bug to penetrate to the roots of the grain and lay its eggs thereon. ‘‘ Hence, the importance of fall- plowing, and using the roller upon Jand that is loose and friable.” Heavy rains and cold, damp seasons reduce its numbers materially. Where irrigation is practiced, fields may be flooded for several days in PACKARD. | NORTHERN ARMY-WORM. 699 succession, and thus the insects driven off or drowned. The natural enemies of the chinch-bug are larger species of bugs, the lady-bird (Hippodamia and Coccinella), the larva of the lace-wing fly (Chrysopa), and quails, ete. THE NORTHERN ARMy-WoRM, Heliophila unipuncta of Grote; Noctua anipuncta of Haworth; Leucania unipuncta Guenée. The summer of 1861 will be long remembered by agriculturists on account of the injury their crops received from the sudden and unpre- cedented appearance of a caterpillar which destroyed the leaves and heads of every sort of grain; and of a species of Aphis, or plant-louse, that gathered. in immense numbers on the ears of the grain that had been left untouched, by the army-worm, sucking out the sap of the ear, and thus lessening very materially its weight; or if in many cases not doing as much damage as this, causing much apprehension and anxiety to farmers generally. The most injurious of these two insects is the larva of the Leucania — unipuncta, one of a family of night-flying moths that embraces an im- mense number of species. The genus Leucania has a spindle-shaped body, a robust thorax, with a distinct collar just behind the head, which above is triangular, carrying near the base the thread-like antenne, or feelers, which are about two-thirds the length of the wings. Two stout palpi, with a slender tip, project from the ‘under side of the head, from each side of the hollow sucking-tube used to suck the sweets of flowers, but which at rest is rolled up between the palpi and rendered almost invisible by the thick-set, long hair-like scales that cover the head. A little behind the front margin of the thorax are placed the wings; the forward pair narrow and oblong, arched slightly at the apex, and just below, the outer oblique edge bulges out slightly. The outer edge or that farthest out from the insertion of the wing is in this genus two or three times as wide as the base. In the middle of the fore wing is a vein that rons out very prominent to just where it divides into three lesser branches; on this point in the species described below is a con- Spicuous white dot which gives if its name, wnipuncta. The hind wings are short, broad, and thin, just reaching out to the outer edge of the fore wing. There is a slight notch near the middle of the outer edge, and the inner edge, or that most parallel to the abdomen, is fringed with quite long hairy scales, that run into the pale fringe of the outer edge, which is always paler and broader than that of the fore wings. Both wings are much paler beneath, and do not show the mark- ings of the upper side. When the moth is at rest, the hind wings are laid upon the abdomen and partially folded, so that the fore wings over- lap one another above them like a roof. Thus folded, the ends of the wings are not much wider than the thorax. The abdomen tapers rather rapidly, ending in a pencil of hairs. The second and third joints of the legs are much thickened, the last joints armed with minute spines, four of which are largest on the third joint. Characters like these show moths of this genus to be strong and swift on the wing. In meadows and grass-lands, when disturbed they dart suddenly up from under our very feet and plunge into covert very quickly again. In the evening they fly in great numbers into open windows, “attracted by the light within. The eggs are laid near the roots of our wild, especially the perennial, grasses, such as timothy and red-top. Mr. Riley has succeeded in observing the female laying her eggs early in April at Saint Louis, Mo. 700 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ‘‘ By carefully watching, I have ascertained that the favorite place to — which the female consigns her eggs in such grass is along the inner base of the terminal blades where they are yet doubled. The com- pressed borney ovipositor, which piays with great ease and tentative motion on the two telescopic subjoints of the abdomen, * * * * is thrust in between the folded sides of the blade, and the eggs are glued along the groove in rows of from five to twenty, and covered with a white, glistening, adhesive fluid, which not only fastens them to each other, but draws ‘the two sides of the grass-blade close around them, =f that nothing but a narrow, glistening streak is visible * * * The female, having once commenced to lay, is extremely active oa busy, especially during warm nights, and I should judge that but two or three days are required to empty the ovaries, which have a uniform development. A string of fifteen or twenty eggs is placed in position in two or three minutes, and by the end of ten more I have known the moth to choose another leaf, and supply it with another string. Many must be laid very soon after vegetation starts, as some moths taken in the middle of April had already exhausted their supply; yet the bulk of them are not laid till toward the end of April.” The hatching of the larva in a uniform temperature of 75° F. takes place from the Sth to the 10th day after deposition. The iarve molt five times, and but three days while in confinement intervened on an average between each.— (Riley’s Eighth Report.) In Illinois, the moth lays its eggs in April and May, from four to six weeks earlier than in the Eastern States; so the larva appears earlier. In Missouri, from the middle of April till the middle of May, and about the middle of June probably in Massachusetts, and a week later in Maine, the eggs placed in local and confined tracts of grass-land hatch their young larve, which for four weeks or thereabout teed inces- santly till full-fed on the grass around the place of their birth, straying off as their forage is eaten up to fresh pastures. The caterpillar state lasts for about a month, when it descends into the earth and changes to a chrysalis, remaining in this state two or three weeks. In Southern Missouri the moth appears about the fore part of June.—(Riley.) In New England the moth appears in It is probable, according to the observations of Mr. Riley and myself, that while the majority of the moths appear in the late summer or early autumn, according to the latitude of the place where they live, a few may hybernate in the pupa state in the Middle States, and still more in the New England States. Mr. Riley thinks that the moths may sometimes lay their eggs upon newly-sown fali-grain. We first hear of the army-worm when it is about an inch long; but it has eaten up all the grass around its place of birth, and in myriads is pushing out its columns after forage. The mature larva is about an inch and a half long. Its cylindrical body, divided into thirteen rings becomes more contracted and wrinkled at each end, and is sparsely covered with short hairs. The head is covered by a net: work of con- fluent spots, while along the middle of the face run two lines diverging at each end. A light- colored waved line just above the legs is suc- ceeded by a dark one, then a light one edged with two thread- like lines ; while the upper part is dark, with an interrupted white threadro nning exactly through the middle of the back. The prolegs, ten in number, are marked on their outer middle and on their tip with black. Beneath, the caterpillar is of a livid green. Its name is suggestive of. the regular, trained way in which myriads of these caterpillars march together in long, deep columns, side by side, PACKARD.] THE NORTHERN ARMY-WORM. 701 steadily over every obstacle, wherever their instinct leads them. Unlike the cut-worm, which moves by night singly, from field to field, and secrete themselves by day-time amid the roots of the plants they attack, the army-worm feeds in the forenoon and evening generally, scattered over fields of grain or grass, either eating the leaves or cutting off the heads and letting it fall on the ground. They will thus cut across the field, wantonly mowing off the heads of the grain. In this way, in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, they destroyed an acre and a half of wheat in one night, and then attacked a corn-field in the same way. All young insécts, or those in the larval stage, are exceedingly vora- cious; they eat surprising quantities of food. When these army-worms are shut up together without food, they will quickly devour each other. We give some extracts to illustrate what we have said, from the New England Farmer and Boston Cultivator. A writer in Danvers, Mass., says: ‘“‘ They were seen in great numbers through the entire field of several acres, climbing up the stalks of the barley, eating the blades and cutting off the heads of the grain. The day after these worms were discovered, the barley was mowed in order to preserve it, when they dropped to the ground, throwing themselves into a coil, a habit of the insect when disturbed. Many of them soon commenced a march for the neighboring fields and gardens, while others blindiy pushed for- ward a column across the highways over a stone wall, where they were crushed by travelers on the road. But the main body marched to the adjoining gardens and inclosures, where the proprietors were waiting to receive them in their intrenchments, which had been thrown up a foot wide and two feet deep. The worms, as they fell in their advance into the trenches, were assailed in various ways by eager combatants, some spreading over them lime, tar, or ashes, while others resorted vigorously to pounding them. In this way, countless numbers of them were destroyed. The rear guard, composed principally of those of smaller growth, kept in the field, where they were picked up by a troop of fifty young red-winged blackbirds. I also noticed the robins feeding on these vermin.” Again: ‘In adjoining lots they were commencing their devastation upon the corn, turnips, cabbages, weeds, and grass. They leave the grass-ground completely clean and white, so that it has the appearance of having been scorched in the sun. The cabbage and turnips they destroy by eating the tender parts of the plants, while they attack the corn by descending the spindle and concealing themselves in large numbers among the leaves where the corn is to make its appearance. Corn thus attacked, looks wilted and drooping, In some hills, the stalks were stripped of all their leaves. There were no worms upon the potato-tops, though they have killed all the grass to the borders of the field.” The damage done to crops in Western Massachusetts alone was esti- mated to amount to half a million dollars. In the Middle and Western States, the army-worm appears in numbers in certain years, and then are rare for some years. In Southern [llinois, in 1818 or 1820, they were more numerous than in 1861. They also appeared in 1825, 1826, 1834, 1841. In 1842 they were about as nuherous as in 1861. In 1849 they were numerous in Southern Illinois. In 1856 they occurred in small numbers. In 1855 it appeared in Northern Ohio; in 1854 it abounded in Boone County, Missouri, and in 1865, 1866, and especially in 1869, in portions of the State. In 1871 it occurred in Illinois, and in 1872 in Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Tioga County, New York.—(Riley.) Thus it is well known and estab- lished in the South and West, so that when it appeared in New York “Oz REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. and New England the past summer there were thought to be two spe- cies of army-worms. But the moths from different sections of the Hast and West have been compared and found to be the same. Dr. Fitch. also, has shown that “worms in armies,” and “ black worms,” referred to by writers as occurring in New York and New England in 1743, 1770, 1790, and 1817, with habits like those of the army-worm of 1861, must be the same species. Mr. Sanborn assures me that he took the moth in 1855 near Boston; and has found the larva under stones in grass-plots. On Mr. Clark’s farm at Carritunk, near the Forks of the Kennebec, the army-worm did a great deal of damage to the barley, in all destroying forty acres of grain. This was about the middle of Au- gust, and soon after the caterpillars entered the ground to transform. Their ravages were especially noticed, according to the Maine Farmer, in North Berwick, Union, Bangor, Ellsworth, and one or two other towns. Mr. Goodale informs usthat on Mr. Joseph Clark’s farm, in Wal- doborough, the worm was found both in wheat and barley fields, though less on the wheat, which was riper. The leaves were consumed, while the heads were not much eaten. Many of the heads were cut off and had fallen upon the ground, while others were cut just enough to hang over. Mr. Goodale collected numbers of the worm on the 14th of Au- gust, and fed them till on the 20th all but one had gone into the earth. September 7, these millers appeared, and so several each .day until the 16th. I have never taken this species in Maine until I met the worm in Bangor, August 2, in a yard afew rods from the Bangor House, and nearly full-fed; August 13, in a field of barley in Mattamiscontis, on the Penobscot, above Bangor. It was not seen on farms above this point on that river, or on the Allegash or Saint John, so far as I could ascer- tain, while the wheat Aphis was abundant on every farm I visited on those rivers. Whether the army-worm made its appearance for the first time in Maine in 1861 can be only probabie. In Massachusetts it was first noticed the first of July; in Maine a month later, where it be- came generally prevalent. The year 1875 was another army-worm year, and it abounded all over the country, especially in Missouri, Illinois, Delaware, Chio, Kentucky, and Iowa, New York, and throughout New England, and in Western New Brunswick.—( Riley.) While the caterpillar is single-brooded in the Northern States, in Saint Louis, Mo., Mr. Riley finds it to be double-brooded, and he thinks that three broods may sometimes appear in one season. The following newspaper items will show the time of appearance and degree of damage done by the army-worm in New’ York, the New Eng- land States, and New Brunswick, in 1875: Another insect-pest has made its appearance in formidable numbers on Long Island. The army-worm has been doing more damage in Suffolk and Queens Counties, especially the former, than even the dreaded potato-beetle. Corn and oats prove more attrac- tive than potatoes to the army-worm, and in some instances the entire crop of oats has been destroyed. It is to be hoped that the recent heavy rains have put a stop to the operations of these caterpillars; at worst, their want of the power of flight will probably confine the damage to the island.—(New York Tribune, August 6, 1875.) The army-worms have disappeared from Little Compton and Portsmouth as sud- denly as they came. They did considerable injury.—(Boston Journal, August 13.) A special from Rockland says that an immense army of black worms, similiar to caterpillars, were crossing Pleasant street in that city all day Sunday, heading south- ward. Large crowds gathered to witness their advance.—(Boston Journal, August 2.) The Times says that the army-worm has appeared in Bath. This worm has appeared in Rockland, and as far east as Machias, and is reported as doing great damage.— (Brunswick Telegraph, August 10.) Satnt JOHN, N. B., August 12.—The army-worms appeared on the marsh-road, a mile a PACKARD.] THE NORTHERN ARMY-WORM. ° 703 from Saint John, yesterday afternoon, in considerable strength. Notwithstanding the efforts to destroy thém, they were marching on the city last night with apparently un- diminished numbers. ‘To-day they are gone. Considerable damage was done to grass, turnips, and other root-vegetables. The*army-worm recently invaded Grassy Island in Saint John River, from which an annual revenue was derived from the sale of grass. This year only one-fifth of the usual amount will be realized. There has been no gen- eral invasion of this province, and the alarm has subsided.—(Boston Journal.) I have represented on the map showing the distribution of the north- ern army-worm, its probable range. Having received the moth from Texas, I think there is no reasonable doubt but that it also inhabits the other Gulf States as far as and including Northern and Middle Florida. The army-worm appears in the wheat-fields when the “‘ wheat is in the milk.” Previous to this the young larve are not noticed. ‘When less than half an inch long, the worms are scarcely recognizable as army- worms,” the general color being green and only feeding by night. Riley states that ‘sin ordinary seasons they are reported along the thirty-third parallel, as in Texas, early in March, and about a week later with each de- gree of latitude as we advance northward. Then, in Southern Missouri they commence to march about the middle of May; in Central Missouri the first of June, and in the extreme northern part of the State about the middle of the month. In the more northern New England States they seldom do much damage before the middle of July (we should rather say first of August).: There may, therefore, be a difference of over two months between the appearance of the worms in Southern Missouri or Kentucky and in Maine.”—(iiley’s Highth Report.) The pupa.—The middle of August, the larva, full-fed, descends into the earth a few inches, and there, by constant wriggling of its body and the excretion of a sticky fluid, constructs a rough earthen cocoon ;, or often it merely constructs a rude cell of dry grass just below the sur- face, and there in a day or two, probably, as is the case with most moths, the mahogany-colored pupa, nearly an inch long, with wing- covers reaching to the last third of the body, with two spines slightly © curved in, situated on the last segment, emerges from the outer larva- skin or mask, and lying there ten or fifteen days, till the tissues of the future moth shall be formed and hardened, discloses the imago or moth the last of August. Dr. Fitch shows that the natural habitat of the army-worm is in grass, in low lands. Mr. Riley substantiates Dr. Fitch’s opinion, and thus accounts for the occasional undue increase of the caterpillar: ‘“‘ During an excessively dry summer these swampy places dry out, and the insect, having a wider range where the conditions for its successful develop- ment are favorable, becomes greatly multiplied. The eggs are conse- quently deposited over a greater area of territory, and if the succeeding year proves wet and favorable to the growth of the worms, we shall have the abnormal conditions of their appearing on our higher and drier lands, and of their marching from one field to another.” * * * Thus the fact becomes at once significant and explicable, that almost all great army-worm years have been unusually wet, with the preceding year unusually dry, as Dr. Fitch has proved by record. ”—(Riley’s Sec- ond Report.) In this, as probably in all other insects, the unusual prevalence of the individuals is due to unusually favorable conditions for the preservation of the egg and the development of the caterpillar and chrysalis. It should be borne in mind that in ordinary years, of the one hundred eggs laid by each moth (if that be the approximate number), but a small proportion hatch, being eaten by birds and possibly destroyed by egg-parasites and by cold and damp weather. Should fifty or seventy- 704 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. five worms hatch, probably only three or four perpetuate their kind ; and so on throughont the insect-world. The struggle for existence is so great, each species suffering from adverse climatic causes and insect- enemies, that butasmall proportion survive the perils of infancy and child- hood, so to speak. Were it not so, the world would be overrun with prepotent animals and plants. The increase and great abundance of the few species are an indication of the intense struggle for existence by which the many alone maintain their livelihood. Remedies.—If lands are burned over in the dead of the year where these eggs or pupz or moths abound, which is the best remedy we ean apply to keep off or kill off this moth, the fire will certainly kill the chrysalids just below the roots of the grass, as it surely will the eggs on the stalks or the moths nestling among them. ‘Tracts of land in Maine thus burned over in the spring of 1861 escaped the army-worm in the summer, while farms near by suffered from the incursions of worms from the unburned grass-lands around. Ditching, or making a deep trench with steep or undermining sides, especially efficacious in sandy soils, will do much toward keeping them out of fields of grain. People have also laid tar in the bottom of ditches, laid trains of guano, and made bonfires in them. By turning fowl and hogs into fields just as the caterpillar is going into the earth to pupate, great numbers can be destroyed, and the hogs and hens will grow fat on them. Enemies.—That birds of different kinds feed on these caterpillars has been noticed. There are also night-birds that catch the moths as they fly. Both the larva and moth are exposed on every hand to the attacks of other insects, such as the dragon-ilies, which are continually on the wing, especially over low lands. A large purple beetle with rows of golden spots on its wing-covers, the Calosoma calidum, which is very common in grass-lands, either running about after their prey, or lying * on the watch in their holes among the grass, makes great havoc among ~ the army-worm, and not only the beetle, but its larva, which is more voracious, if possible. Ants are known to destroy the army-worm. I am indebted to Mr. H. I. Hershs, of Richmond, Ind., for the following instance: ‘In June, 1875, the army-worms took possession of a grass-plot near my study- window, and for a time threatened to strip it of every vestige of green; but I noticed a few days after they made their appearance that a large number of small black ants were waging a war of extermination against them, which, in conjunction with the unusually wet weather, soon put a stop to their depredations.” But undoubtedly the grand check that nature has imposed upon the too great increase of caterpillars are their parasites, or those ichneu- mon-flies belonging to the great order Hymenoptera, and two species of Diptera, or true flies, which lay their eggs on the outside of the caterpillar. The young hatching out feeds on the fatty tissues of the caterpillar, which lives just along time enough for the parasite within to come to maturity. The larger ichneumons only live singly in the body of the caterpillar, while as many as a hundred of the minute species have been seen to emerge from the dead larva-skin, their cocoons placed side by side within. We first notice a large species which Mr. Shurtleff raised from the army-worm between the first and middle of September. Ophion purgatus Say. This genus of ichneumons has a slender body, with long filiform antenne. The thorax above oval, and as wide as the head. The legs are long and slender; but the most apparent | PACKARD. | PARASITES OF NORTHERN ARMY-WORM. 705 character is the long compressed abdomen, which, much arched or sickle- shaped, is attached to the body by a slender peduncle. The end of the abdomen is cut off obliquely inwards below. The ovipositor is scarcely to be seen, which in most ichneumons is very long; and here we see the adaptation of this organ to the habits of the species. Instead of piercing the body of the victim and depositing the egg at the bottom of the wound, the Ophion merely lays its egg on the skin of the caterpillar. The egg is bean-shaped and attached by a pedicle to the skin. When the footless grub is hatched it does not entirely leave the egg-case, but the last joints of its body remain attached to the shell, while it reaches out over and with its sharp jaw-pieces gnaws into the side of the cater- pillar. Some Ophions are parasitic in their ichneumons, just as are the species of Ohalcis mentioned below. — This species, common in Maine, is of a pale-reddish horn color. The head is yellow, pale testaceous at the base of the antenne. The large prominent eyes black. Three smaller black simple eyes are arranged in a triangle above, between the compound eyes. The rest of the body, especially the hind part of the thorax, and the joints and under side of the abdomen and legs beneath are covered by a bloom of minute lighter- colored hairs which have their origin in microscopic punctures. On the middle ‘of the thorax above, a little darker; and behind, a yellowish tint. Next the insertion of the abdomen the thorax is thickly and plainly punctate. Same color beneath, except the first three joints of the abdomen, which are touched with yellow, and the lower side is generally darker. The veins of the wings are dark; the thickened cell on the front margin of the fore wings and the adjacent veins as well as the horny triangular pieces in the cell below, the outer of which is much the smallest, are pale horn color. Body nearly an inch long. Expanse of wings, 123 tenths. Mr. Walsh, of Illinois, has discovered three other ichneumons, descrip- tions of which we take from his pamphlet: Mesochorus vitreus Walsh.—Male, general color light rufous. Eyes and ocelli black, antennee fuscous except toward the base. Upper surface of thorax in the larger speci- men fuscous; intermediate and posterior tibiz with spurs equal to one- -fourth their length; posterior knees slightly dusky; tips of posterior tibie distinctly dusky. Wings hyaline, nervures and : stigma dusky. .Abdomen viewed in profile, curves con- siderably, especially at base, and is quite narrow, except toward the tip, where it expands suddenly. Theabdomen of the maleis appendiculated. It is of a translucent yellowish-white in its central one-third; the remaining two-thirds piceous black, with a distinct yellowish narrow annulus at the base of the third joint. Appendiculum of abdomen composed of two extremely fine sete, thickened at their base, whose length slightly exceeds the extreme width of the abdomen. The female differs in the head, being from the mouth upward piceous. The thorax and pectus are piceous black. Ovipositor, which is dusky, slightly exceeds in length the width of the abdomen. Body, .08-.03 inch long. Pezomachus minimus Walsh.—This genus is wingless, like the neuters of ants, except that their antenne are not elbowed like those of ants. Male, piceous. Eyes black, antenne black, except toward the base, where they are light rufous. Legs rufous, hinds legs a little dusky. Abdomen narrowed ; second and sometimes third joint annulate with rufous at tip. The female differs in the thorax, being almost invariably rufous, and in the first three abdominal joiuts being generally entirely rufous, with a piceous annulus at the base of the third, thongh “sometimes absent. The abdomen is also fuller and wider. Ovipositor dusky, equal in length to the width of the abdomen. Body .07 to .1 inch long. The cocoons symmetrically arranged side by side, and enveloped in floss, are found in the dead skins of the army-worm. A minute ichneu- mon, Chalcis albifrons Walsh, was bred from the cocoons of the Pezo- machus. Microgaster militaris Walsh, is another army-worm parasite. Head black; palpi whitish ; antenne, fuscous above, light brown beneath toward the base. Thorax black, polished with very minute punctures. Nervures and stigma of the wing fus- cous. Legs light rufous, posterior pair with knees and tips of tibix fuscous. Abdo- men black, glabrous, highly polished. Ovipositor not exserted. Lengthof body, .07 inch. 4568 706 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Two parasites live in this microgaster, Hockeria perpulchra and Glyphe viridescens, belonging to the Chalcid family of ichneumons. Walsh says: We now know that of 145 ichneumon-flies, promiscuously taken, that had depre- dated on the army-worm, 27, or only 18 per cent., perished by Chalcis flies. Ichneumon leucanie Fitch.—Dr. Fitch has given an account of another ichneumon. This parasite resembles a small wasp, nearly half an inch long, of a bright rust-red color, its wings smoky, its breast black, and also the middle of its back, where is a small bright sulphur-yellow spot, which is the scutel. The antenne have a milk- white band on their middle, below which band they are rush-red, and above ié black. There are two narrow bands also on the back of the abdomen, placed on the fourth or fifth joint, and the slender peduncle of the abdomen is also black. Mr. Sanborn has raised this same species, as also another ichneumon, which we describe. Ichneumon species.—Ichneumons of this genus are rather slender- bodied ; theabdomen long oval. Wings not much longer than the slen- der antennee, which in turn are a little more than one-half the length of the whole body. The legs and joints of the feet are also slender. The ovipositor of the female is not apparent; her eggs are pedunculated, haying a general likeness to those of the genus Ophion. The species before us is black and yellow. Head: face square, yellow; a dark line borders the base of the antennze, which are rusty, the first joint yellow, and the ends dusky. Head behind the antenne black. Thorax black; above on its first joint, or prothorax, a yellow transverse elliptical. On the second joint which carries the fore wings are two yellow stripes forking toward the head. Scutellum yellow; another transverse elliptical yellow spot behind. Third joint of thorax yellow above, black beneath. Legs: first and second pairs yellow, reddish above on first joint. Third pair black at base; second joint yellow; third, or femur, black; fourth, or tibia, black at - tip. Tarsi, or toes, marked with black. The elbowed abdomen black at base, the elbow yellow. The next three yellow joints with a narrow black strip on the front edge, the hinder edge of the ring tinged with reddish. Last three rings black. Our last parasite is a fly, or species of the Zachina family, that Mr. Shurtleff and Sanborn have both raised from the army-worm, and I find | it to be identical with the species that attacks the worm in the West. Haorista leucanie Kirkpatrick (Senometopia militaris Walsh).—This genus resembles in form our common house-fly. The thorax is usually striped longitudinally, and the whole body covered with large hairs. It flies low in sunny spots in woods, with a loud buzzing noise. We copy Mr. Walsh’s description, and select some interesting information he gives | us about its habits: Length, .25 to .40 inch; the females not exceeding .30 inch. Face silvery, with lat- eral black hairs only on the cheeks, at the top of which is a black bristle. Front golden olive, with a black central stripe, and lateral black convergent hairs. Occiput dusky. Labium, brown, with yellowish hair. Maxipalps, rufous. Eyes, cinnamon- brown, covered with very short dense whitish hair. Antenne, two basal joints, black, with black hairs; third joint flattened, dusky, and from two and a half to three times the length of the second joint; seta, black. The entire hinder part of the head coy- ered with dense whitish hair. Thorax glabrous, bluish-gray and lighter at the sides, with four irregular black vitte, and black hairs and bristles. Scutel, reddish-brown, whitish behind, glabrous, with black hairs and bristles. Pectus, black, glabrous, with hairs and lateral bristles; legs, black, hairy; thighs, dark cinereous beneath; pur- villi, cinereous. Wings, hyaline; nervures, brownish; alulz, opaque greenish-white. Abdomen, first joint black; second and third, opalescent in the middle, with black and gray, and at the sides with rufous and gray; last joint, rufous, slightly opalescent at base with gray; all with black hairs and lateral bristles. Beneath, the first joint is black; the others, black marginal with rufous, all with black hairs. In the male, the space between the eyes at the occiput is one-seventh of the transverse diameter of the head ; in the female, it is one-fourth. Some pupa-cases of this fly before me are a little more than a quarter inch long; cylindrical; rounded at each end. The last segment, barely . PACKARD. | PARASITES OF NORTHERN ARMY-WORM. TOT distinguishable, has two little flattened plates that were the breathing- pores in the larva. The two first segments are partially split off, and ruptured across the end, where the fly burst out. The fly appeared the 20th of September. “The eggs,” Mr. Walsh says, “ are much the shape and color of those of the flesh-fly. The fly fastens its eggs by an insoluble cement on the upper surface of the two or three first Tings of the body. Instinct ap- pears to teach the mother-fly that if she places her eggs further back, the little maggots, as they hatch out and begin to penetrate the flesh, will be felt by the victim and seized by its powerful jaws, as I have seen wood-feeding caterpillars seize and worry like a dog ants that attacked them.” Mr. Walsh had fifty or sixty worms, of which all but two had their — egos, from oné to six in number, fastened on their upper side. From these he bred fifty-four Tachinas and two moths. ‘ Now these army- worms averaged about three eggs apiece, and consequently two- thirds of the eggs of the Tachina must have perished without arriving at ma- turity.” “ My Tachina eggs, so far as I noticed, did not hatch till the larva had gone under ground ; but from information received from Mr. Emery, I have reason to believe that, under certain circumstances, this, or an allied species, hatches out above ground, adhering externally, and ‘ grow- ing rapidly, while its victim decreases in size.’ They uniformly devoured the larva before it transformed into the pupa state. The time for the entire transformation of such as I experimented upon from egg to fly, was from fifteen to nineteen days.” * * * 4 Jefferson Russell, an in- telligent farmer, had repeatedly, on damp, cloudy mornings, watched a large, bluish-green fly, aboat the size of a blow-fly, attacking the army- worm, and depositing its eggs on the shoulders of the victim, as he as- certained by a double lens. As they were attacked, the army-worms kept dropping to the ground and gathering in clusters, or hiding under clods, until finally the wheat on which they occurred was entirely free from them.” Mr. Riley says that in 1875 fully 80 per cent. of the army- worms which he noticed were attacked by the Zachina flies. ‘They never abound or travel from one field to another, but they are accom- panied by a number of two-winged flies, which are often so numerous that their. buzzing reminds one of a swarm of bees.”—(Highth Report.) This fact supports the opinion of Wagner (see p. ) that insect-para- sites usually increase in proportion to their hosts. E£gg.—When first laid, spherical, 0.02 inch in diameter, smooth, opaque white; coy- ered with a glistening, adhesive fluid; shell delicate, becoming faintly irridescent and more sordid before hatching.—(Riley.) Larva.—When first hatched, 1.7 millemeter in length; dull white, and a large dark head. In the first and second stages, the two front pairs of abdominal legs are atrophied so as to necessi- tate a looping gait. In the third stage the looping habit is lost, but the front abdominal legs are still somewhat the smallest. In the Fic. 6.—Pupa fourth stage, the color is dull, dark ot Chrysa- Fic. 5.—Full-grown Northern Army-worm. green,and thechameleonitic brown lines appear.—(Riley.) The mature larva is about an inch anda half long. Its cylindrical body, divided into thirteen rings, becomes more contracted and wrinkled at each end, and is sparsely covered with short hairs. The head is covered by anet-work of confluent spots, while along the middle of the face run two lines diverging at each end. A light-colored waved line, | just above the legs, is succeeded by a dark one; then a light one, edged with two 708 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. thread-like lines; while the upper part is dark, with an interrupted white thread running exactly through the middle of the back. The prolegs, ten in number, are y , marked on their outer middle and i ey on their tip with black. Beneath, 42> the caterpillar is of a livid green. Most of the Maine species of Leu- cania have light-colored wings, with 4, dark streaks and dots, but the wni- * puncta is larger and darker colored. Its prevailing hues are rusty gray- ish-brown, sprinkled or peppered sparsely with black scales. The upper part of the head, the front part of the thorax or collar, and front margin of the fore wing, are of Fic. 7.—a, male moth; b, abdomen of female—natural size; a lighter shade. Between the front c, eye; d, base of male antenne; ¢. base of female antenna; margin of the fore wing and the enlarged.—(Atter Riley.) vein, or raised line reaching out to the white spot in the center, is a rusty patch. Just beyond, about half-way between the white dot and the outer edge, is a row of about ten black dots, situated on the veins, running toward the apex of the wing, but the last three are deflected at a right angle inward and up to the front margin, while a dark line starts from the corner or curve in the line of dots, and proceeds to the upper angle or apex of the wing. The little veins of the outer edge are silvery, and between them, in a row next to the fringe, can just be seen little black dots. “ The hind wings are pearly smoke-colored, darker toward the outer edge, with a central spot of the same color, which can be seen on the under side. Beneath, the moth is a light pearly-gray. The fore wings are clouded in the middle, with a dark spot on the front margin, one-fourth of the way from the tip. The fore wings are rather more pointed in this species than the other. The body measures nearly an inch long, and the wings expand a little over an inch and one-half. Summary.—The army-worm moth appears late in the summer or early in the autumn, when it hybernates, after laying its eggs near the roots of perennial grasses; or it hybernates in the chrysalis state and ovi- posits in April and May southward; later, northward. The eggs hatch and the young appear eight or ten days after, and the worms are most destructive in wet summer succeeding a dry one, when the “ wheat is in the milk.” The caterpillar state took a month; the chrysalis state two weeks. The species is mostly confined to the Middle and Northern States. Besides external enemies it has eight internal parasites. The best way to exterminate the worm is to burn meadows and grass-lands, where the insect lays its eggs, in the autumn. EUROPEAN WHEAT-FLIES.—Several very destructive flies are known in Europe to injure the stalks and leaves of wheat and other cereals, and as they are liable to be imported into this country, I will refer to them. The Oscinis granarius in England lives in the stalks of wheat; Oscinis vastator in Europe damages wheat and barley by eating the base of the stalk. The larva becomes fully grown late in June, and a month later the fly appears. It is said to be attacked by numerous Pteroma- lus parasites, and a minute Prototrupid ichneumon oviposits in its eggs. Allied species causes the disease called ‘“ gout,” producing swellings twice the size of the stslks of wheat and barley. Oscinis frit affects the ears of barley, in certain years destroying one-tenth of the entire crop. Two species of another genus (Chlorops) are especially injurious in Europe. Chlorops lineata destroys the central leaves and the plant itself, the female ovipositing on stems when the wheat begins to show the ear. In two weeks the eggs hatch and the fly appears in September. Chlorops herpinii attacks the ears of barley, from six to ten larve being found in the ears, destroying the flowers and rendering them sterile. In dealing with these insects plowing in has been found to be of no use, and the best preventive measure is the rotation of crops. PACKARD. ’ THE WHEAT-FLY—THE WHEAT-MIDGE. 709 THE Common Wauxat-Fiy, Chlorips vulgaris Fitch.—Certain small, slender, pale- green and watery-white shining maggots belonging to the above species with the oth- ers mentioned below are said by Dr. Fitch to burrow in different parts of the stalks, dwarfing and often killing them. It was not until 1855 that it was known that wheat in ‘fife country was affected by these maggots, when they were discovered by Dr. Kitch, who thinks that it is from the number of these and other insect depredators that farmers are not now able to raise such large crops as used formerly to be harvested. The Chlorops vulgaris is abundant the latter part of June in wheat-fields. It is pale yellow, and 0.15 inch in length. Another fly is the Meromyga americana of Fitch. It is yel- lowish-white and a little larger than the preceding. Another minute fly, found in company with the others, is the Liphonella obera. Itis less than a line in length and is jet-black. Still another form found in the heads of wheat in New York in June is Oscinis tibialis. It is only 0.08 inch in length, and also jet-black, with pale dull-yellow shanks and feet. The last fly mentioned by Fitch is Hylemyia deceptiva, which occurs in abundance upon heads of wheat late in June. It is ash-gray, with black legs and feelers, and a quarter of an inch in length. INJURING THE HEADS. Tub Wueat-MinGE, Diplosis tritici of recent authors; Ccecidomyta tritici Kirby.— Several minute orange-red maggots, one-eighth of an inch long, crowding around the kernels of wheat, causing them to shrivel and dry when ripe. "The maggots descend into the ground ‘and spin minute cocoons, from which in the following June come bright orange-colored midges.—(F itch.) This insect was probably imported into Quebec about the year 1820. It made its way along the Saint Lawrence and Chambly (Sorelle) Riv- ers into Northwestern Vermont, and soon became so abundant in New Wngland and New York that the cultivation of wheat was mostly aban- doned. Its attacks then decreased, and wheat was again raised until in the year 1854, when wheat was largely in cultivation, it again became very destructive, causing a loss in the State of New York alone, accord- ing to the estimate of Dr. Fitch, of $15,000,009. In Canada, in 1856, the loss was estimated to exceed $2,500, 000. In the same year, in por. tions of New York, the midge destroyed one-half to two-thirds on the uplands, and nearly all on the lowlands, and the destruction was worse in 1857 and 1858. In 1858 very little white wheat was sown in Western New York, and the midge reduced the valueof all the wheat-lands at least 40 per cent. In 1859 the midge unaccountably disappeared, to again become prevalent in 1861.—(Fitch.) Myr. Riley, in the New York Tribune, refers to this insect as infesting wheat in Indiana during the summer of 1876. As regards the habits of the wheat-midge, I reproduce the following account from my “ Guide to the Study of Insects:” ‘When the wheat is in blossom, the females lay their eggs in the evening by means of the long retractile tube-like extremity of the body within the chaffy scales of the flowers, and in clusters of from two to fifteen or more. in eight or ten days the eggs disclose the transparent maggots, which, with age, become orange-colored, and, when fully grown, are one-eighth of an inch long. They crowd around the germ of the wheat, which, by press- ure, becomes shriveled and aborted. At the end of July and in the beginning of August, the maggots become full-fed, and in a few days molt their skins, ‘leaving the old larva-skin entire, except a little rent in one end of it. ‘Great numbers of these skins are found in the wheat-ears immediately after the molting process is completed? 710 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Sometimes the larva descends to the ground and molts there. Harris states that ‘it is shorter, somewhat flattened, and more obtuse than — before, and is of a deeper yellow color, with an oblong greenish spot in the middle of the body. In this state, which is intermediate between the larva and pupa states, which has, by Dr, Fitch, been termed the ‘‘embryo-pupa” and by us “semi-pupa,” the insect spins a minute silken cocoon, which, according to Dr. Fitch, is smaller than a mustard | seed, and remains in the ground through the winter, situated at the depth of an inch beneath the surface. In the next June they are trans- formed to pup, with the limbs free. When about to assume the adult state, the pupa works its way to the surface in June and July.’” Description—The eggs of the wheat-midge are long, oval-cylindrical, and tinged with pale red. When the larva is at rest it is oval, flattened on the under side, deep yellow, and 0.08 inch long. The female fly is nearly one-tenth of an inch long, bright orange or lemon-yellow, and tarnished or slightly smoky on the back forward of the wings, the latter clear, with a small cross-vein near their base; the antenne are about as long as the body, and composed of twelve oblong joints, which are narrower in their middles and separated by short pedicels. In the males the antennz are remark- ably long, slender, and delicate, and consist of twenty-four globular joints; it is smaller, but in other respects agrees with the female.—( Fitch.) Parasites.—Dr. Fitch has shown that when the midges increase or di- minish in numbers its parasites increase or diminish in the same ratio, ‘the same as the Hessian fly, once sofrightfully destructive to our wheat- crops here in America, has become subdued by its parasites, whereby it is seldom noticed now or known to be present in our country, although it can be found almost every year in our wheat-fields, showing it is still with us, everywhere ready to again increase and become destructive were it not constantly repressed and kept down by its parasitic foes.” Mr. Curtis is quoted as saying that in Europe “ these parasites so effect- ually execute their mission, that it has often happened a year or two after the midges were in excess not a specimen could be found.” Its destructiveness in this country is due to the fact that we have no native parasites to keep it within proper limits, and Dr. Fitch urges that the parasites be imported from Europe. GRAIN-APHIS, Aphis avene Fabricius.—Multitudes of dark plant-lice, clustering on the heads of wheat in August, blackening the fields of grain, and, by sucking the ker- nels, causing them to shrink in size and diminish in weight. We will suppose a number of eggs to hatch out their wingless females ; with an occasional winged individual there are as yet no males in exist- ence, and yet these virgin aphides, or plant-lice, every few days produce hundreds of young alive; each of which in turn come to maturity and produce their young alive. Hence, by the end of summer we have mill- ions of lice overrunning our wheat-fields, the very youngest as well as the oldest as if for their lives sucking in the sap from the ear of the grain. For by a marvelous adaptation to their mode of life, what in beetles are jaws for biting are here lengthened out and joined together to form a tube, with a sucking-stomach at the base. ‘This tube the louse forces into the root of the ear, and thus anchored by their jaws, whole groups cluster head downward on the heads of grain, and by their numbers color a whole field. But the supply of liquid food is greater than the aphides can manage, hence two tubes open out from the hind part of the abdomen, from which exudes a sweet sticky fluid called ‘‘honey-dew.”” Ants come to eat it as it falls on the leaves, or lap it from the honey-tubes of the aphis, and as the supply lessens, they gently strike the aphis with their antenne to make them yield more. At the approach of cold weather, when the whole race of aphides PACKARD. | THE GRAIN-APHIS. 711 must be cut off, the virgin females produce winged individuals ef both sexes, which after pairing die, after depositing their eggs for the spring brood. Our species is oblong-oval shaped, narrowing toward the head, while the abdomen behind is swelled out and rather blunt at the end, with a rather long ovipositor in the female. Its color is green, covered often with a reddish-brown bloom. The ends of the antenne, the end of the shanks and thighs and the feet, are black. In the young, these parts are only smoky or “dusky. Length of those with wings about one-tenth of an inch. Dr. Fiteh gives in the Boston Courier, interesting observations on this aphis. Of its variation in color he says: ‘‘One of the most remark- able circumstances relating to these insects is the change in their color which now began to take place. While they were scattered about upon the leaves and stalks of the grain, they were of a bright grass-green color. Now orange-yellow or deep flesh-red individuals began to appear among them. This color is so wholly different from green, that these orange ones might be suspected to be a different species. But green females placed in vials were found next day to have young with them of both colors ; some being green, others orange. Anda few days later other green females were found to have orange young only, no green ones being born any longer. It is probably the change in the quality of its food which causes the insect to change thus in its color, the juices which the plant elaborates for the growth of its flowers and seeds being much more highly refined, nutritious, and dainty than those which cir- | culate in the stalks and leaves, where the insect first feeds. And it is truly curious and wonderful that this green-colored insect, on coming to feed on the juices which grow the flowers, begins thereupon to give birth to young having a gray orange color similar to that of the flowers.” Dr. Fitch noticed several years ago in wheat-fields a green plant-louse, though it was not common. In “East Hampden, Mass., ‘a plant: louse of a pale brick-red color was extremely numerous” in 1860; so, also, a “red insect” on the oats in New York was sent him. We thus know the insect we are to speak of was overrunning the fields in some places last summer. ‘‘ Warly in May last, when rye and winter-wheat were but a few inches out of the ground, I met with this insect more numerous than any other in every part of every grain-field in my néighborhood. Toward the close of that month specimens having wings began to occur. By in- closing them singly in vials, I found that the winged female usually gave birth to four young lice in twenty-four hours, while those without wings produced eight within the same time.” The grain-aphis became noticed the 18th July in New Jersey, then in the New England States. Probably very few farms in Maine escaped its presence. About the first of August I noticed them on a farm about thirty miles above Mattawamkeag, on the Penobscot River. Also on farms on the lakes that form the headwaters of the Penobscot and A1- leguash Rivers, and on the Alleguash and Saint John. [ also heard of its occurrence in great numbers on the Saint John in New Brunswick. Like the army-worm, while abundant on some fields, others were entirely free from its attacks. The injury this aphis does is to lessen the weight of the grain, which ot course is a matter of great consequence. The constant draining of the sap that flows into the ear causes it to be very light, if not withered and worthless. ae | T2 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Parasites.—Artificial means of driving off this pest have not yet been contrived. It has been suggested to kindle fires, throw on damp straw, and let the wind carry the smoke over the field. : But the external enemies of this aphis are ready to help us. The lady-bugs, coccinella, as larve and beetles, the golden-eyed flies, chrysopa, as larvee, have been seen the past season in great numbers in wheat- fields, busily engaged in devouring the plant-lice. These minute insects have also their internal parasites, little ichneu- mons of the genus Aphidius. We have to go again to Dr. Fitch’s arti- cle for information respecting their habits: ‘‘On many of the wheat-heads, may at present (August 6) be noticed from one to a half dozen or more of these lice, which are very large, plump, and swollen, of the color of brown paper, standing in a posture so perfectly natural you suppose they are alive. Touch them with the point of a pin, you find they are dead. Pick off a part of their brittle skin; you see there is inside a white maggot doubled together like a ball. Put one or two of these wheat-heads in a vial, closing its mouth with a wad of cotton. In a week’s time, or less, you find running lively about in the vial some little black flies, like small ants. These you see have come out from the dead lice, through a cireular opening which has been cut in their backs. Drive one or two of these flies into another vial, and introduce to them a wheat-head having some fresh lice. See how the fly runs about them, examining them with its antenne. Having found one adapted to its wants, watch how dexterously it curves its body forward under its breast, bringing the tip before its face, as if to take accurate aim with its sting. There, the aphis gives a shrug, the fly has pricked it with its sting, an egg has been lodged under its skin, ‘from which will grow a maggot like that first seen inside the dead, swollen aphis. And thus the little fly runs busily around among the lice on the wheat-heads, stinging one after another, till it exhausts its stock of eggs, a hundred probably, or more, thus insuring the death of that number of these lice. And of its progeny, fifty it may be supposed, will be females, by which five thousand more will be destroyed. We thus see what efficient agents these parasites are in subduing the insects on which they prey. I find three different species of them now at work in our fields destroying this grain-aphis.” THE WuHEAT-HeAD ARMy-WoRM, Albilinea Huebner.—Injuring the heads of wheat, rye, and barley, beginning at the base, sometimes the center of the ear, sometimes hollowing out the soft grains, leaving nothing but the shell and the chaff; a caterpil- lar resembling the northern army-worm, but striped with sulphur- yellow and light and dark brown. Though this is a common and wide-spread insect, ranging from Maine to Kansas and southward, it was not known to be injurious to crops until 1872, when it was found, according to Riley, seriously injuring oats in Pennsylvania. In 1874 and 1875 it was reported to injure wheat and tim- othy headsin Maryland and Pennsylvania. It was described as “ hollow- ing out the soft grains and leaving nothing but the shell and the chaff,” and ‘in some rye-fields the heads are almost void of grains and the ground literally covered with chaff, and that late-sowed rye would not be worth the harvesting were it not for the straw.” It was more widely destruc- tive in the Eastern States in 1875 than in 1874. June14, 1876, Mr. J. W. Robson, of Dickinson County, Kansas, wrote Mr. Riley that for ten days past it had been noticed in the wheat. ‘The caterpillars begin their depredations at the base of the ear, and sometimes near the center of the ear. In one field that I examined to-day the caterpillars were abundant. PACKARD. THE WHEAT-THRIPS—THE WHEAT-WORM. 713 They were mostly at rest, reclining at full length on the straw, while ouly a few were teeding on the ears.” Larva.—The best marked worms are prettily striped with sulphur-yellow and straw- yellow, and with light and dark brown, as follows: A broad, dark-brown line along the back, divided alone the middle by a fine white line generally obsolete behind ; beneath this broad line on each side a straw- -yellow line, half as wide; then a light- brown one of the same width as the last, and becoming yellow on the lower edge; ‘then a narrower dark-brown one, containing the white spiracles ; then a sulphur-yellow as wide as the third; then a less distinct ‘light- brown subventral one, the venter.being pale yellow. The head is large, straw- colored, and with two attenuating brown marks from the top to the lower face. The chrysalis i is of the ordinary mahogany- -brown color, and termi- nates in a stout horny point, with a corrugated base. Adult.—The moth has the front wings siraw-colored, with a pale line running along the middle to the outer third, and shaded with brown as follows: A shade beneath the white line, intensified at each end where it joins the white; another, along the poste- rior border, narrow at apex aud broadening to the middie, where.it projects along the middle of the wing above the white line, fading away toward base, and a fainter shade alone the front or costal edge, intensifying toward apex. The species is one of the smallest of the genus, having but two-thirds of the size of the army-worm.—(Riley.) Tue WuHEAtT-Tuaries, Limothrips tritict Fitch.—“ Upon the heads and stalksin June and July, exhausting the juices of the kernels and rendering them dwarfish and shriv- eled ; exceedingly minute, active, long, and narrow six- legeed insects, of a bright-yel- low or of a shining-black color. »__(Fiteh. ) - The wheat-thrips in this country also occurs on the onion, and is fecenibed more fully under the head of onion-insects. It represents the Phleothrips cenalium of Europe, which does, at times, extensive injury to the wheat, gnawing and puncturing the seed, causing it to shrink and become what the farmers call “pungled.” It also gnaws the young stalks just above the knots, causing the ear to become abortive. Another species common on wheat in New York, in June, is the Three- banded Thrips (Coleothrips trifasciata) of Fitch. It is nearly double the size of the wheat-thrips, being 0.07 inch in length, and is black; the dark wings having three broad white bands across them, while the antenne arise close together, ‘“‘and are composed of only five principal joints, of which the “two first are short, and a third thicker than the others, which are long and cylindrical, the last one gradually tapering to a slen- der point, its apical portion being divided into small indistinct segments.” Tue WuHeEAT-Worm, Anguilluta tritici Baner.—Filling the cavities of a grain of wheat, a white fibrous substance, formed by gluten into balls of a silky nature, which instantly dissolve in water and exhibit hundreds of minute worms, cansing the dis- ease called “ ear-cockle” or ‘“ purples.” Although this worm has not yet been observed in America so far as lam aware, it is not improbable that this disease occurs with nus, though not yet detected. I abstract the A following account, often word for word, from Curtis's “ Warm Insects.” Mr. Curtis took his description of * the worm and its habits from Bauer’s notes contained in Pro- fessor Henslow’s “ Report on the Diseases of Wheat.’* “The eggs are taken up by the sap yee the infected grain which may have been planted, and hatch in the stalk as well as in the seed. he largest worms are 4 inch long FIG; E—ToMy Meet: orm, prey mag at least, “of a yellowish- white COLO er aera anti alin aGe of eggs, magariedl and not so transparent as the banegg containing a worm ready to hatch, young worms. Their heads are (From Curtis, after Bauer.) * Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. ii, p. 19. 14 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. very distinct; they have a proboscis, which has three or four joints, which they contract or extend like an opera-glass. From the head, which is _ somewhat roundish, they taper gradually off toward the tail, which is — scarcely half the diameter of the middle of- their body, and ends in an obtuse, claw-like point. At a short distance from the end of the tail is | an orifice surrounded by an elevated fleshy edge; from this orifice the _ worms discharge their eggs. The back of these old worms is nearly | opaque, and appears jointed or annular; the number of joints or rings is from twenty-five to thirty. The belly-side is more transparent, and strings of ova can be distinctly seen through almost the whole length of the worm to the orifice by which the eggs are discharged.” Those in the cavities of the mature grain are generally 54, or 3 inch long, — milk-white, and semi-transparent. After laying all their eggs the © parent worms soon die, and in a few days they decay and fall to pieces ; but such is not the case at an earlier period of life, for after being dried, and appearing quite dead, on the application of moisture they become as lively as they were at first, and thus for tive years and eight — months Mr. Bauer was able to re-animate the worms by immersion, but it required a lenger period as the time lengthened, and after that they died; other examples bred by him retained their reviviscent qual- ities for six years and one month. It seems probable that the glutinous. substance in which they are enveloped preserves their vitality. They — may be kept alive for three months in water. ‘‘ Tt appears from Mr. Bauer’s investigations that the cavities of the grain are at first filled with a white fibrous substance, formed by gluten into balls of a silky nature. In water they instantly dissolve, and ex- ° hibit hundreds of minute worms, which become animated in less than a quarter of an hour when moistened, and the grains eventually assumed a dark-brown color, and were as hard as wood.” In some grains approaching maturity only one worm was found with the cluster of eggs, in others there were three (Fig. 8), the section of a grain exhibiting some worms and multitudes of eggs. The eggs come forth in strings of five or six together, and are detached in water; the young worms can then be seen through the transparent skin. (Fig. 8.) In about an hour and a half after the egg is laid in water the young worm begins to extricate itself, which it took one of them an hour and twelve minutes to accomplish. INJURING STORED GRAIN. THE ANGOUMOIS GRAIN-MorH, Gelechia cerealella Linn. (Plate LXV, Figs. 7, 8.) Devouring the interior of the stored grains of wheat and corn, and. transforming, within the grain, a soft, thick, fleshy caterpillar. This destructive moth is found in granaries in this country, having been introduced from Europe, where it has been extremely destructive, especially in the French province of Angoumois, from which it has de- rived its common name. The first account of its occurrence in this country was published in 1768. It was then destructive to stored grain in Virginia, but was said to injure wheat forty years previous in North Carolina. Harris also adds that the French naturalist, Bosc, in 1796, or soon after, found this moth ‘so abundant in Carolina as to extinguish a candle when he entered his granary in the night.” Harris further States that this grain-moth spread from North Carolina and Virginia into Kentucky and Southern Ohio and Indiana, ‘‘and probably more or less throughout the wheat region of the adjacent States, between the PACKARD.] TUE GRAIN-TINEA—THE GRAIN-WEEVIL. 715 thirty-sixth and fortieth degrees of north latitude,” and it has been found even in New England. ‘ Wheat, barley, oats, and Indian corn suffer alike from it, the last especially when kept unprotected more than six or eight months.”—( Harris.) The moth lays mostly in June and August, but probably at other times during the year, from sixty to ninety eggs in clusters of about twenty in a single grain of wheat or corn. In from four to six days the larve disperse, each selecting a single grain, burrowing in at the end whence the plumule grows out. The caterpillar, after eating out the inside of the grain of wheat or corn and exhausting its supply of food, sometimes eats its excrement once or even a second time. It transforms within the grain, spinning a silken web, and before pupating (7. e., trans- forming to a pupa) gnaws a hole nearly through the shell for the exit of the moth. The larve of the first, or summer, brood mature in about three weeks, the moths appearing at harvest time. Those of the second brood hybernate in the grain, changing into moths the following summer. Description.—The caterpillar (Plate LXV, Fig. 8, much enlarged) is unusually thick and plump, the skin being unusually thin and transparent. The moth (Plate LXV, Fig. 5) is ochreous with a dark-brown streak toward the base, and a few dark dots toward the end of the fore wings, while the hind wings are grayish-ochreous; sometimes the fore wings are unspotted. The wings are long and narrow, beautifully fringed, and expand about half an inch. Several chalcid parasites prey upon it. Remedies.—Dry the grain in an oven or kiln with a heat of 167° Fahren- heit for twelve hours; fumigate in close vessels with charcoal-gas. Harly thrashing and winnowing should be practiced, not later than the end of July. The grain should be stored in tight bins. THe GRAIN-TINEA, Tinca granella Linn. (Plate LXV, Fig. 9.)—Devouring the interior of grains of wheat, tying several grains together, but transforming in cracks, etc., in the floor; a slender caterpillar. This is also a European importation, and is more or less injurious to stored grain, though less so than the Angoumois moth. It is found fly- ing in granaries in summer. The female lays from thirty to forty eggs, one or two in each grain. The caterpillar hatches in a few days and eats into the grain, closing the entrance with its castings, and after de- vouring the interior of one grain passes into others, uniting them with silk threads forming a web. When about to transform it deserts the grain, retires to cracks in the floor and constructs a cocoon, often by gnawing the wood and weaving the chips into its web until the cocoon has the form and size of a grain of wheat. In this it hibernates, chang- ing to a pupa in the spring, and in two or three weeks appearing as a moth. Description.—The larva is cylindrical, with long, fine, scattered hairs, and of a light- butt color, with a reddish head. It is about four or five tenths of an inch in length. The moth differs entirely from the Angoumois moth in form, and is creamy-white, with six brown spots on the costa of the fore wings, and with dark hind wings. The wings expand 0.06 inch. Remedies.—Besides those suggested for the attacks of the preceding grain-moth, the granary when empty should be thoroughly cleansed and whitewashed, or washed with coal-oil, and when the caterpillars are at work the grain should be often and thoroughly stirred about. Tue GRAIN- WEEVIL, Sitophilus granarius (Linn.). (Plate LXV, Fig. 10 e.)—A short, mag- got-like grub, eating the interior of the grain and transforming into a minute reddish weevil, which also injures stored grain. While the wheat-fly and several otber insects are dubbed “ weevils” by the ignorant, the present insect and the rice-weevil are the only ones found injuring wheat, and then only when stored. I copy the following account of this common weevil from Harris, knowing nothing person- ally of the insect: ‘ This little insect, both in the beetle and grub states, devours stored wheat and otber grains, and often commits much havoc in granaries and brew-houses. Its powers of multiplication are very great, for it is stated that a single pair of these destroyers may produce ~ above six thousand descendants in one year. The female deposits her eggs upon the wheat after it is housed, and the young grubs hatched therefrom immediately burrow in the wheat, each individual occupying alone a single grain, the substance of which it devours, so as often to leave nothing but the hull; and this destruction goes on within while no external appearance leads to its discovery, and the loss of weight is the only evidence of the mischief that has been done to the grain. In due time the grubs undergo their transformations, and come ont of the hulls, in the beetle state, to lay their eggs for another brood. Grub and beetle-—The grub is short, thick, fleshy, maggot-like; while the weevil is “a slender beetle of a pitchy- -red color, about one- -elghth of an inch long, with a slender snout slightly bent downward; a coarsely- punctured and very long thorax, constituting almost one-half the length of ‘the whole body, and wing-covers that are furrowed and do not entirely cover the tip of the abdomen.” 715 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Remedies.—These insects are effectually destroyed by kiln-drying the wheat; and grain that is kept cool, well ventilated, and is frequently moved, is said to be exempt from attack-—(Harris. ) The rice- weevil, Sitophilus oryzce Linn. (Plate LXV, Fig. 10a, b,c), attacks stored rice, and also grain and corn. It differs from the 8. granarius in having two large red spots on each wing-cover, and in being a little smaller, as it measures only a line in length, exclusive of the snout. It is abundant in the Southern States, where it is calied the “‘ black weevil.” In the South it is said, according to Harris, to lay its eggs on the rice in the fields; but this statement needs confirmation. ‘The parent beetle bores a hole into the grain, and drops therein a single egg, going from one grain to another till all her eggs are laid; she then dies, leaving, however, the rice well seeded for a future harvest of weevil-grubs. In due time the eggs are hatched, the grubs live securely and unseen in the center of the rice, devouring a considerable portion of its substance, and when fully grown they gnaw a little hole through the end of the grain, artfully stopping it up again with particles of rice-flour, and then change to pup. This usually occurs during the winter; and in the following spring the insects are transformed to beetles, and come out of the grain. By winnowing and sifting the rice the beetles can be sepa- rated, and then should be gathered immediately and destroyed.” (Harris.) Besides these insects of the granary Dr. Fitch describes the Agromyza | tritici, which sometimes occurs in great numbers in stored wheat in New — York. THE GRAIN SYLVANUS, Silvanus surinamansis (Linn.).—A small brown beetle gnawing the ends of rye, oat, and wheat grains. This is a very common and annoying little beetle, which in Europe is known to be a great pest in stores and warehouses. In Pennsylvania, it has been found to injure stored rye, wheat, and oats, eating holes in the grain. It is a little flat, brown beetle, not quite a line in length, characterized chiefly by the last three joints of the antenne being enlarged, and by having three prominent longitudinal ridges on the thorax, which is armed on the sides with six teeth. Remedies.— The best way to get rid of it, when the grain cannot be PACKARD. ] CUT-WORMS INJURING ROOTS OF CORN. 717 subjected to a killing heat, is to stack the grain a year or two until the insects are starved out of the barns, just as they lay by ships in the | erain-trade, or use them for other freight when they once become infested with this insect, or with the true graiu- weevil.”—(Riley.) AFFECTING INDIAN CORN.—INJURING THE ROOTS. Cut-worms, Agrotis suffusa (Denis and Schiefermiiller) and other species. (Plate LXV, Figs. 2,3, 4,5.) Eating the roots of corn and other cereals; large, dark, obscurely- colored, smooth-bodied caterpillars, hiding by day and feeding by night. . Not only Indian corn but other cereals and grasses are indiscriminately | attacked by different species of caterpillars called cut-worms from their habit of cutting off young, succulent plants as they are coming up out of the ground. They are thick, with a distinct horny prothoracic plate, and are usually marked with shining and warty, or smooth, spots of the same general color as the rest of the body; they are usually striped longitudinally. They are seen early in spring hiding under sticks and stones, having hibernated in this state. They feed by night, hiding in | the day-time. The chrysalids are situated under ground. They trans- | form to moths, sometimes call dart-moths, which might be known by | their crested trunks and ciliated or pectinated antenne, while the fore wings are rather narrow, usually with a dark dot near the middle of the wing, and just beyond a reniform marking, while there is usually a basal, median, black streak. The moths appear in midsummer, and lay their | ' eges near the roots of grasses, which hatch in the autumn, the worms living on roots and sprouts of herbaceous plants. ‘On the,approach of winter they descend deeper into the ground, and, curling themselves up, remain in a torpid state until the following spring, when they ascend toward the surface, and renew their devastations.”—( Harris.) Our largest species, Agrotis suffusa (Plate LXV, Fig. 2), was probably imported from Europe. The caterpillar is described as follows by hiley: Its general color above is dull, dark, leaden-brown, with a faint trace of a dirty yellow-white line along the back. The subdorsal line is more distinct, and between it and- the stigmata are two other indistinct pale lines. There are eight black, shiny, piliferous spots on each segment, two near the subdorsal line, the smaller a little above anteriorly ; the larger just below it, and a little back of the middle of the seg- ment, with the line appearing especially light above it. The other two are placed each side of the stigmata, the one anteriorly a little above, the other just behind, in the same line with them, and having a white shade above it. Another cut-worm, which is still more abundant in the Middle and New England States, is the young of the Clandestine moth (Noctua clandestina of Harris), and may be called the Corn cut moth. While the fully-grown caterpiller has not been described, the young are said by ‘Harris to be “ more or less distinctly marked above with pale and dark stripes, and are uniformly paler below.” According to Melsheimer, as quoted by Harris, when first hatched, it feeds on the various grasses, descending, when half-grown, in the ground on the approach of severe frosts, and re-appearing in the spring, and then beginning to grow again, attaining their full size and pupating before the middle of July, often much earlier, as in the New England States the moth is seen from the middle of June to the middle or end of August. Moth.—It is of a peculiar dull-blackish, with the body very flat when the wings are expanded, and with obscure markings. ‘The fore wings are generally of a dark ash- color, with only a very faint trace of the double transverse wavy bands that are found in most species of Agrotis ; the two ordinary spots are small and narrow, the anterior spot being oblong oval, and connected with the oblique kidney-shaped spot by a lon- gitudinal black line.” The hind wings are rather dark, and the head and legs darker than usual, almost blackish. It expands an inch and three-quarters. 718 REPORT UNITED STATES "GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Ftemedies.—Among the more general preventive remedies, suggested by Harris, are the soaking of corn, before planting, in copperas-water, and mixing salt with the manure, though these are of less use than plowing deep in the autumn so as to turn up the half-grown worms, so as to expose them to winter colds and insectivorous birds. When the worms have begun their attacks, hand-picking, 7. ¢., digging up the worms which hide by day in the soil around the plant, is, of course, the most efficacious remedy. An excellent plan is to make a deep hole, with a stake, in the hills, down which trap the caterpillar is liable to fall. Wirz-WorMS.—Eating the roots of corn and wheat, hard cylindrical, round, reddish worms, tapering toward the head and tail, and changing into snapping-beetles. The roots of corn, wheat, and grasses are often injured to a lament- able extent by wire- “worms, the larvee of various species of snappy -bee- tles belonging to the family Hlateride. THE CorRN-MaGeor, Anthomyia zew Riley.—Gnawing seed-corn after it is planted; a maggot like the onion-worm. This maggot has been found to injure seed-corn just after being planted, and to abound to such an extent as to nearly ruin whole corn-fields, as it ’J gnaws into the corn, finally causing ittorot. When fully fed they contract, forming Fig. 9.—Corn-Maggot. a, larva, enlarged; b, pupa- a barrel-shaped brown case case; ¢, corn injured by worms, natural size. (Fi g. 8, b), within which lies the pupa, and in a week after the flies appear. Asa nome soak the corn before planting in gas-tar or copperas-water. Larva.—Closely resembling the maggot of the onion-fly ; yellowish-white ; blunt at _ the posterior end and pointed in front. It is about a quarter of an inch in length. Fly.—Head tawny in front, with a brownish edge; antenne black; face and orbits brownish-white ; thorax and ‘abdomen pale yellow- brownish ash- colored; thorax with © an indistinct middle stripe of brown ; legs black. Length one-fifth of an inch. —(Riley. ‘) THE Corn-WEEVIL, Sphenophorus zee.—Puneturing large holes in young corn near the base of the stalk, before it has spindled, and sometimes destroying whole fields of young corn. In the Practical Entomologist (vol. ii, p. 117, 1867) the late Mr. Walsh described this weevil, and gave an account of ‘its ravages in the Middle and Western States. Mr. Robert Howell, in Tioga County, New York, was among the first to detect it, and under date of June 14, 1869, he writes me that “this is the fourth year they have infested the newly- planted corn in this vicinity. Theinclosed specimens were taken on the 11th instant. I presume they have been in every hill of corn in my field. They pierce the young corn in numerous places, so that each blade has trom one to six or eight holes the size of a pin or larger, and J found a number last Friday about an inch under ground, hanging to young stalks with much tenacity. When very numerous, every stalk is killed. Some filds, two or three years ago, were wholly destroyed by this insect.” Ihave detected this insect at Hyannis, Mass., June 25. It is arather large black weevil, with a long, narrow, subeylindrical body, and with coarse gray punctures. The head is black, finely punc- tured, with still more minute punctures on the beak. ‘At the base of the beak just between the eyes is asmall oval pit. The beak is nearly one-third as long as the body; it is curved downward, slightly com- pressed, witb the tip seen from above dilated slightly and triangular. PACKARD. ] THE SPINDLE-WORM—THE STALK-BORER. 719 On the prothorax is a long, lozenge-shaped, smooth black median area, with two smooth spots on the side near the front ; these, with two longer diverging spots behind, form an inverted Y on each side of the body. Behind are coarse gray punctures. The wing-covers are marked with rows of coarse punctures along the striz, much larger than those on the thorax. On the smooth spaces between the striz is a row of more or less crowded minute punctures. On the base of the elytra, near the outer edge, is a low smooth tubercle, and a larger one near the tip. On the extreme tip of the abdomen, near the elytra, are two short diverg- ing rows of fine stiff tawny hairs, which stand out straight from the end. The legs are black, the tarsi reddish, piceous. Beneath, the body is black and widely punctured. It measures 0.40 of an inch in length. Remedies.—Until we know more of its habits, its mode of life in the larva stage, and its native food-plant, we are at a loss to suggest reme- dies against the attacks of this insect. When the corn is observed to be suffering from their punctures, they should be picked off with the hand, and the young blades of corn carefully watched. These weevils are so large as to be readily detected after a little practice. THE SPINDLE-WoRM, Achatodes zew (Harris).—Boring in the stalk before the corn- spindles, causing the leaves to wither, a caterpillar an inch long, smooth and naked, with the head and last segment black. The ravages of this worm generally begin, says Harris, “ while the corn-stalk is young, and before the spindle rises much above the tuft of leaves in which it is embosomed. The mischief is discovered by the withering of the leaves, and, when these are taken hold of, they may often be drawn out with the included spindle. On examining the corn, a small hole may be seen in the side of the leafy stalk, near the ground, penetrating into the soft center of the stalk, which, when cut open, will be found to be perforated, both upward and downward, by a slender worm-like caterpillar, whose excrementitious castings surround the ori- fice of the hole.” It also bores into the stalks of the dahlia and of the elder. The brown chrysalis is rather slender, and is found within the burrow made by the caterpillar. Larva.--Smooth and apparently naked, yellowish, with the head, the top of the first and of the last wings black, and with a double row, across each of the other rings, of small, smooth, slightly elevated, shining black dots. Moth.—The fore wings rust-red; they are mottled with gray, almost in bands, uniting with the ordinary spots, which are also gray and indistinct; there is an irreg- ular tawny spot near the tip, and on the veins there are a few black dots. The hind wings are yellowish-gray, with a centra) dusky spot, behind which are two faint, dusky bands. The head and thorax are rust-red, with an elevated tawny tuft on each. The abdomen is pale brown, with a row of tawny tufts on the back. The wings expand nearly an inch and a half.—( Harris.) Remedies.—The obvious remedy is, when the leaves are seen to wither, to cut open the stalk, and, on finding the worm, pull all the infested plants. Tur STALK-BoreR, Gortyna nitella Guenée (Plate LXV, Fig. 6), moth and caterpillar Boring in the stalks of corn, potato, tomato, etc., a caterpillar of a pale, livid hue, with light stripes along the body; also sometimes boring into the cob of growing Indian corn. This borer not only infests corn and potatoes, but also the tomato and the dahlia, aster, etc., according to Riley. The worm is not found in the Western States earlier than June and July, and the moths appear late in August and early in September. The insect is probably single- 720 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. brooded. ‘The young worm hatches about the 1st of July and imme- diately commences its work of destruction. It works in such a surrep- titious manner as to be too often unnoticed till the vine is destroyed. The plant does not generally show any signs of decay until the cocoon | is about fully grown, when it wilts and is past recovery. This occurs” about a month after the worm is hatched, and it then crawls just under the surface of the ground, fastens a little earth together around itself by a slight net, and changes to a chrysalis of a very light mahogany- brown color, and three-fourths of an inch long. The moth comes forth the fore part of September. The careful culturist need fear nothing from this troublesome insect, as an occasional close inspection of the plants about the Ist of July will reveal the hole where the borer has entered, which is generally quite a distance from the ground, and by splitting downward one side of the stalk with a penknife it may be found and killed. If this inspection be made at the proper time the worm will be found but a short distance from the hole, and the split in the stalk will heal by being kept closed with a picce of thread.”—(hiley.) Description of the larva.—Of a livid hue when young, with light stripes along the body; when full grown, it generally becomes lighter, with the longitudinal lines broader. Moth.—Of a mouse-gray color, with the fore-wings finely sprinkled with Naples-yel- low, ard having a very faint lilac-colored hue; but distinguished mainly by an arcu- ated pale line running across their outer third. ” (Riley. ) Besides the chinch-bug, and also other insects already noticed among those preying on wheat, the leaves of corn are infested by the young of the large lo moth and by the Arctia arge. The cotton-boll worm (Heliothis armigera) sometimes attacks corn in the ear, eating the silk, and afterward devouring the terminal kernels, hiding within the husk. Whole fields of corn have been thus injured in Kentucky, but it is most destructive in Southern Illinois, where there are two broods of the worm, the early and late corn faring the worst. INJURING THE ROOTS AND LEAVES OF GRASS. Besides most of the insects previously mentioned, which injure the roots and stalks of cereals, the grass on lawns is often killed in patches by the white grub or larva of the June beetle (Lach- nosterna fusca, Fig. 10). So effectually are the roots eaten that the sod can be rolled up like acarpet. The white grub is injurious on lawns in Illinois, as well as in the New England States. Wire-worms, the larva of the various species of Ne- onympha, cut-worms, the larvae hy of crane-tlies ( 7Zipula),and of the ; Salt-marsh caterpillars (Lew- carctia acrea), and very hom- i itt opterous insects, such as the Fic. 10.—June beetle, LZachnosterna fusca, 1, larva; spittle insects, especially Pty- 2, pupa; 3, 4, adult. ches lineatus, (Fig. 11), are de- pendent for their livelihood on grasses. The latter is a very abun- PACKARD. | THE COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE. ; (21 dant insect in early summer, living in the center of a mass of frost.on the leaves of grass. Thelarvaistobe , found concealed in a mass of frost late in May and early in June; the adult is exceedingly abundant late in sum- mer. Cloverisattacked by various insects, especially the larva of Drasteria erech- tia, a moth very abuudaut in May, and again in August and September, in grass-lands. Theseeds are sometimes inhabited by minute weevils, while | clover, when stacked or even housed, py, 11.—Spittle Insect. a, larva, en- is sometimes injured by the ‘“‘clover- larged; b, natural size of larva; ¢, worm,” the larva of Asopia costalis, a adult, enlarged. dull, whitish worm, changing to a lilac-colored moth ornamented with golden lines and fringes. THE COLORADO POTATO-BEFTLE, Leptinotarsa decemlineata of Gemminger and Harold, Doryphora 10-lineata Say.—Devouring the leaves, sometimes the tubers, a large, thick- bodied, reddish-orange grub, spotted on the sides with black, changing under ground into a large hemispherical yellow beetle about half an inch long, with ten wide black stripes on the back; three broods of the worm appearing in one season. Its original habitat.—This beetle was originally described by Mr. Say in 1824, having been found by him the year previous, when he remarked, “This species seems to be not uncommon on the Upper Missouri,. where it was obtained by Mr. Nuttall and by myself. The variety (white with two of the lines united, probably the species juncta) I found on, the Arkansas.” (Journal Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, vol. ii, 1824.) This would indicate that its native habitat was the plains of Dakota, Western Nebraska and Kansas, Colorado, and perhaps the western portion of Indian Territory and Texas. Dr. G. H. Horn, the well-known coleopterist, writes me as follows: ‘* West of the Mississippi I have it from Texas. I have never seen it from Mexico nor west of the Rocky Mountains. If it goes west, I believe it will be through New Mexico and Arizona, and not over the Rocky Mountains.” Lieutenant Carpenter, U.S. A., writes me: ‘I have never seen the Colorado potato-beetle north of the North Platte as far west as Fort Laramie, Fort Fetterman, and Big Horn Mountains.” Probably co-ex- tensive with the original distribution of the Colorado potato-beetle, is that of its original food-plant, concerning which Mr. Sereno Watson, the botanist of the United States Geological Survey of the one hundredth parallel, thus writes me: ‘The Solanum rostratuwm ranges from Texas, and New Mexico to the Upper Missouri eastward of the mountains. I have no evidence of its being found at all west of the Rocky Mountains, and, indeed, the order appears to be almost wholly wanting throughout the entire Great Basin.” In Colorado, in 1875, I first met with this beetle at Lawrence, Kans., when Professor Snow told me it was chiefly confined to the Solanum rostratum, a road-side weed, which is now very abundant in Kansas and draws off the beetle from the potato, which consequently suffers comparatively little from its attacks in that State. Professor Snow further writes me that for five or six years past, since taking up his residence in Kansas, ‘“ it has never done any damage worth mentioning, always preferring its original food-plant (which abounds here as a roadside weed) to the potato. I did not see it in Manitou, Colo., this summer (1876). 46G5 4 The qaestion arises whether the cultivation of this weed around po- tato-fieldsin the Hast may not be a means of relief from its attacks, though it might breed in larger numbers, if that were possible. In Colorado I first noticed the beetle in the vicinity of Denver, where it was not then common, but earlier in the season had ravaged potato-fields out of town. At Golden, July 3, it was observed in abundance on So- lanum rostratum, not only the eggs but the larve in all stages as well as the beetles. I was told by one farmer that he had two rows of potatoes devoured by them earlier in the season. It is evident that in Colorado the injury to the potato will always be limited. Five or six miles up Clear Creek Caiion it has injured the potato-plants for five or six years, but nowhere above an altitude of about 7,000 feet could I learn that it occurred, and it seems indigenous only to the plains, and the cafions among the foot-hills. None were to be seen in Utah. Mr. T. Martin Trippe writes me that it destroyed potato-plants early in the season in Howardsville, Southern Colorado. Its journey from the plains east of the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic.— The history of the successive invasion of the prairies of the Mississippi Valley and of the wooded district of the Middle and Northeastern States, until only the ocean proved a sufficient barrier to their advances, is a subject of a good deal of interest to the naturalist, whatever may be thought of the dismay with which eastern farmers have looked upon its arrival. Some years ago it was confidently announced that the Colo- rado beetle would not flourish in the damp, coid climate of New Eng- land; that the summers were so wet that it would die while lying as a pupa under ground. But at the present time of writing, September 15, 1876, it is doing perhaps as much damage in the Northeastern States as in the Western, and the newspapers report that it has crossed the At- lantic and effected a landing in Bremen, Germany, and there is no reason why it should not overrun Europe after successfully withstanding the ereat differences in climate between the eastern and western regions of the United States. This insect, so indifferent to ordinary climatic dif- ferences, may be compared to a weed which, introduced in a new coun- try, overruns and displaces the native vegetation. Like weeds, the Col- orado potato-beetle, with a number of other widely-destructive insects, may be regarded as prepotent animals. Fortunately for the historian of the movements of this insect, the late Mr. B. D. Walsh, at an early date after it began to spread eastward from the plains of Colorado, published in the Practical Kntomologist, vol. 1, No. 1, October, 1865, an account of its travels. In 1859 it had in its journey eastward reached a point 100 miles west of Omaha, Nebr. It appeared in Kansas and Iowa in 1861. It entered Southwestern Wis- consin in 1862. In 1864 and 1865 it crossed the Mississippi River, en- tering Dlinois from the eastern borders of North Missouri and from lowa ‘upon at least five different points on a line of 200 miles.” Thence it has traveled eastward at the rate of a little over 70 miles a year. In 1867 it had appeared in Western Indiana and Southwestern Michigan, and in 1868 had generally overspread Indiana and appeared in Ohio. From the statements of Mr. Riley, it appears that this insect entered Can- ada in July, 1870, and swarmed in 1871 between the Saint Clair and Niag- ara Rivers. The same year Dr. Trimble reported its presence in Pennsyl- vania, and in 1871 it also was seen in New York. A southern column advanced eastward into Kentucky, arriving there probably in 1869. In 1872 it had reached Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Cattaraugus County, New York; and in 1873, according to Mr. Riley, it had pushed 722 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. we PACKARD. ] THE COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE. tae to the “extreme eastern limit” of that State. It was’reported in the same year to have been seen in the District of Columbia, according to the Monthly Report of the Department of Agriculture for August and Sep- tember, 1873. During the summer of 1876 it was observed by Prof. H. W. Parker in great abundance at Long Branch, being thrown up in windrows on the beach. The two following extracts from the daily papers also show how abundant it has been on Long Island and in Connecticut : It is said that the potato-bugs on Long Island are very numerous and have already made sad havoe with the early crops. Mr. Jacob Schoemaker, a farmer at Flatbush, has had about $2,000 worth of early sprouts destroyed, and the farmers in that section, in plowing up their grounds, discovered bushels of the bugs.—( Forest and Stream, April 27, 1876.) Colorado potato-bugs have been washed ashore at Milestone and other places in Con- necticut in such numbers of late as to poison the air. The captain of a New London vessel says that they came on board in such swarms while at sea that they had to close the hatches. In 1874 it became well established in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York,* Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. (Itiley’s Seventh Report.) In the summer of 1874 it appeared at Williamstown, Mass., in small numbers, as Iam told by Mr. J. 8. Kingsley. In 1875 they were commonly seen, especially on the railroad-track, before July 9. Concerning its habits in Connecticut, Mr. J. H. Pillsbury writes me as follows from Middlebury, September 26, 1876: I took from the sides of a glass jar, in which I had confined a number of beetles of Doryphora decemlineata, a few eggs, which had been laid May 30, and placed them in circumstances for hatching them. Theeggs hatched June 6, and the larvee were placed upon fresh leaves of the potato. They immediately commenced eating, and continued almost without ceasing during the day, until June 22, when all but one entered the earth that had been provided for them to pupaliin. The remaining larva entered ths earth thé next day. Two of the beetles appeared July 1, and more the next day. Upon examining the earth I found one pupa with the wings only slightly developed, and this one did not mature. As soon as the beetles were out they were fed with potato-leaves, and re- sumed their eating as if determined to make up lost time. The first eggs laid by these beetles were found July 7. The whole time, therefore, from the one brood of eggs to another is only thirty-eight days, twenty-two of which were spent in actively devouring the plant on whiclfit feeds. If we suppose the female to continue to deposit her eggs for forty days, as Professor Packard states, sixty-two days of the seventy-eight which the insect lives are spent in vigorous destruction of its favorite plant, the potato. These observations also indicate the probability of three broods from the earliest of each season before the middle of September, up to which time the insect has been found on the potato in our section. - J. H. PILLSBURY. MIDDLETOWN, CoNN., September 26, 1876. Its first appearance in the center of the State was in Belchertown, where, I am informed by Mr. L. W. Goodell, “a single larva was found July 15, and was apparently the last one of a brood, as several hills of potatoes near were entirely denuded of foliage, and I could find no others nor signs of any in that or other fields of potatoes in the vicinity, although I searched carefully. The one taken was placed in a box of earth and immediately buried itself, and was transformed to a beetle eleven days thereafter. About this time I found and killed some fifty of the beetles on the same potato-patch, which were probably a part of the same brood. No more of the larve were seen for about three weeks, when they made their appearance in large numbers in several fields.” When I visited these fields during the last of September, thousands of the larve, in different stages of growth, were to be seen on the vines. * At Norwich, N. Y., Mr. J. S. Kingsley first found the larve in July, 1874, and they were much more abundant the year following. He found them in abundance in 1875, in Binghamton and Owego. T24 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. The next year, 1876, in Hssex County, Massachusetts, they attracted the attention of farmers and othersabout the Jstof June. Specimens brought me from Marblehead and Lawrence laid eggs June 7, which hatched June 12. June 22, I found the beetle and young in all stages, from the egg up to the nearly mature larva, in a garden in Salem, and a few days after beard of its appearance in the towns of Reading, Beverly, Wen- ham, Hamilton, and Essex. In 1876 it was extremely injurious in Essex County. I am informed by Mr. John H. Sears, of Danvers, that half his crop of late potatoes were devoured by this beetle, and he thinks that there was a proportionate loss throughout the county. Early potatoes mostly escaped their ravages. The potatc-fields in the neigh- borhood of Amherst were overrun with them soon after the plants came up, and in September I saw the beetle everywhere. In 1877 the yield of potatoes will be undoubtedly very light and potatoes high priced. During the autumn of 1876 they were said to be unusually high. At the same time I learned from Mr. Isaac L. Ham, of Winchendon, Mass., a town about 18 miles west of Boston, that eggs and beetles were found on the vines the 20th of July, 1875. Beetles were seen at Lowell in August, 1875. It appears from these facts that the beetles must have been introduced along lines of railway in different portions of Massa- chusetts in 1874. in aes In 1875 it appeared in the western part of Vermont, and during the summer of 1876 has been reported as more or less abundant in various perts of the State. In 1875 it appeared for the first time in New Hamp- shire, according to C. H. Fernald. In 1866 Mr. Walsh predicted that it would reach Maine “in ten or twelve years.” His prediction has proved to be atrue one. Im Maine, according to Prof. C. H. Fernald, it was first seen in 1875, and occurred not, so far as I can learn, on the southwestern border of the State, but in the central portion, and this leads me to think that its appearance here, as well as in New England generally, has been accelerated by its transportation on freight-cars which have been sent through from different points in the West. It is a well-determined fact that the diffusion of noxious insects over the United States is greatly promoted by railways and “ through” freight-cars, as permanent tracks are thus made through forests and across rivers, the natural barriers of insect life. Regarding its advent in Maine, I will first quote from a letter of Prof. C. H. Fernald, of the Maine State Agricultural College, dated ®rono, August 23, 1876: The true Colorado potato-beetle is really in this State, but has not yet arrived so far east as this place. It has been reported at Orrington, near Bucksport, but I think it more than likely to have been the three-lined potato-beetle, (Lema trilineata). Speci- mens were sent me from Winterport which proved to be the three-lined. The true beetle (imago) was sent to me about three weeks ago from Skowhegan, where it was common enough to attract attention. One of our students found it in Saco in July of this year. A few days ago I had a letter from a friend in Wilton, who says they are common there. Last fall I looked into the matter a little, and could not learn that they had at that time reached the western boundary of Maine, though they were in New Hampshire. Reasoning from their rate of progress across the continent, I concluded they would travel this year as far as the Kennebee River, which they seem to have done. I sup- pose they have come into the State by their own means of distribution—flying from field to field. : Mr. D. A. Conant, in a communication to the Maine Farmer, dated July 28, states that certain beetles, identified by the editor of that paper (Mr. 8. L. Boardman) as Doryphora 10-lineata, occurred in Temple, Me., near West Farmington. Mr. R. A. Davis writes to the same paper August 6, from South Norridgewock, as follows: We had very dry and hot weather in July; crops suffered very much. Two weeks ago to-day we had a nice rain, with heavy showers, and since that corn and potatoes PACKARD.] : THE COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE. 125 look quite well. Grasshoppers have taken all the grain about here, and they are very thick now. The caterpillars took all the leaves from the orchards, consequently there are no apples to speak of; and now the Colorado potato-bug is here, or what we call the same as has been making such havoc in the West for several years past. I send one to you to-day in a box. I hope you will be able to inform usif this is the genuine potato-beetle. [It is the genuine Colorado beetle——Ep.] They first made their appearance in this town on a small piece of potatoes belonging to Herbert E. Hale, near where H. C. Hall & Co. have unloaded considerable corn that came direct from the West, and it is supposed that they might have been brought here in that way. They have also made their appearance on Ed. Farnham’s potatoes on the old Whiting farm at Larone. The one I send you I took from the potato-vines in John W. Bates’s garden in this town. They have not done much damage here as yet, for they have been pretty thoroughly picked. Karly in October specimens were found on potato-tops in North Dix- mout, Me.—(Maine Farmer.) None have yet been reported from New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. The Colorado beetle has unfortunately got a foot-hold in California. Mr. Henry Edwards, of San Francisco, Cal., writes me under date of September 10, 1876, that the “ Doryphora 10-lineata is extremely rare. It has found its way into the State by way of San Diego and of course will soon spread. I have some specimens from there, but from no other locality.” According to Riley, its eastern progress has averaged 88 miles a year. The accompanying map is taken from Professor Riley’s Ninth Report on the Injurious Insects of Missouri, and explains itself. Habits—The habits of the Colorado potato-beetle are apparently the same in New England as in Illinois or Missouri, where it has been watched and studied for more than a dozen years. The following ac- count is based on the observations of Walsh, Shimer, Riley, Le Bauer, and others, and myself. The beetle having wintered a few inches under the surface of the ground, appears above the surface before the potato- plants come up (in New England early in May), and feeds on the young shoots, and by the time the leaves are expanded lays its eggson the under side of the leaf in clusters of from thirty to forty, side by side, the eggs standing on end. The eggs are oval-cylindrical, and orange-red in color. Regarding the number of eggs laid, Dr. Shimer writes as follows in the Practical Entomologist for 1866: ‘From an equal number of males and females, well-fed and made as comfortable as possible in confine- ment, I obtained an average of 719 eggs to each female; butin the fresh pure air, sunlight and freedom of nature, under propitious circumstances, I have no doubt of its exceeding a thousand. They laid some eggs every day for forty days, commencing July 15 and ending on the Ist of September. The smallest average was in the first part of this time, being 74 eggs per day to each female; the greatest average was about the middle of the time, 75 eggs; the last day they averaged 124 eggs.” The young grub, on hatching out, are deep blood-red, but of nearly the same form as the adult. They usually first appear on the leaves in New En- gland early inJune. The following summary ofits habits is taken from Riley’s first report, and applies to Missouri, Illinois, and neighboring States: “In the latitude of Saint Louis there are three broods during the year, the last brood wintering over in the beetle state underground. They are usually dug up in the spring of the year in land that had been planted to potatoes the year before. The beetles issue of their own accord from the ground about the 1st of May, and the last brood of beetles enters the ground to hibernate during the month of @ctober. Though in general terms this beetle may be said to be three-brooded, yet it may be found at almost any time of the year in all its different stages. This is owing to the fact that the female continues to deposit 726 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. : her eggs in patches from time to time, covering a period of about forty days; and also from the fact that among, those larve, which all hatch out in one day, some will develop and become beetles in a week and even ten days earlier than others. Thus it may be that some of the late individuals of the third brood pass the winter in the pupa state, though the normal habit is to transform to beetles. Bach female is capable of depositing upward of a thousand eggs before she becomes barren, and in from thirty to forty days from the time they were deposited they will have produced perfect beetles. These beetles are again capable of de- 4 2 SYS 3 atuN) g Le RG RN ny SNe Mz 4 CANADA AMERICA. Map showing spread of Colorado potato-beetle. ast \ aA WH, ; EG, Kt CCAN 72. Sf are ATT I) akc /tame) ’ Ferrite: ZHU oline W a, positing eggs in about two weeks after issuing from the ground, and thus in about fifty days after the egg is laid the offspring begins to propagate. The pupa of the Colorado potato-beetle is represented at Fig.—. It is formed in a little cavity which the larva had made per- fectly smooth and hard, and it is of the same color as the larva. ‘The beetle on first emerging from it is quite pale and soft, without any mark- ings whatever.” ‘ PACKARD. ] ENEMIES OF THE COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE. TAC Although no species of this family are known to be poisonous, yet it is probably true, from the facts adduced by Riley and others, that the fumes arising from the bodies of a large number of them when killed, by hot water produces sickness. This is due, perhaps, to a volatile poigon thrown off from their body immediately after death; but since fowl feed upon them to a large extent, and as no one has been known to have been poisoned, at least severely, in handling them, there is no reason why hand-picking should not be resorted to. Enemies of the Colorado potato-beetle.—Besides a number of bugs and beetles which devour this beetle, a species of Lydelia (L. doryphore Riley, Fig. 12) is very destructive to it. Mr. Riley says, “ this fly destroyed fully 10 per cent. of the second brood and 50 per cent. of the third brood of potato- beetles that werein my garden. It bears a very close resemblance, both in color and size, to the common house-fly, but is readily distinguished from the latter by its extremely brilliant silver-white face.” No ichneumon parasite has yet been found preyingupon it. Inthe West- ern States turkeys, hens, and chickens, and other birds destroy numbers of the grubs and beetles, and render most effi- Fic. 12.—Tachina parasite (Lydella Bienbatdy edu.) Perry, esq.,.ofjsalem, | 7ruphonw) of the potato-heetle, Mass., tells me that he saw a Baltimore oriole and a “ small yellow-bird ” fiy down and eat the grubs. Egg.—The eggs are oval-cylindrical, bright yellow, 0.08 inch long, and laid in clus- ters side by side, to the number of thirty or forty, on the under side of the leaves. Larva.—The larva molts three times, four distinct stages occurring with the eggs and beetles in July, either in Colorado or Massachusetts. When first hatched it is deep blood-red, with the head and prothorax dark brown, and with two rows of black spots on the side, the upper row the larger. (In one case the head and prothorax was concolorous with the body, and there was only one row of lateral spots, as in the larva of L. juncta). Length, 0.10-0.12. After the first molt it measures 0.17-0.20 inch, and has the same appearance. After the third molt it becomes paler yellowish, and meas- ures 0.25-0.35 inch in length. At this time the body more distinctly than before is seen to be much thicker behind the feet, nearly as thick as broad, while the abdomen is suddenly pointed. The mature larva, when of full size, measures about half an inch (0.40-0.50) in length and is yellow, with the head black, the prethorax yellowish but dark on the hinder edge; two rows of black spots on the side of the abdomen, the two terminal segments of which are dark above, while just behind the head are four small black dots; the legs are black. It matures in about seventeen days after hatching. On comparing about fifty alcoholic specimens in all four stages, from Salem, Mass., taken in July, with the same number collected in Golden, Colo., July 3, I see no difference, unless the latter set are a trifle paler in hue; but some of the Massachusetts examples are as pale as those from Colorado. Beetle —Hemispherical, thick-bodied, with prothorax a little narrower than the rest of the body. Yellow ; head yellow, sometimes black at the base, with a heart-shaped black spot in the middle; two sbort diverging black lines in the middle of the pro- thorax, with smaller lateral dots. Wing-covers with four broad black lines, and the edge of the wing cover lined with black, making ten lines in all. Under side of the abdomen with four rows of black spots. Legs of a reddish tinge, with the ends of the joints dark; tarsal’ joints dark. Length about half an inch (0.40-0.50).* *Though this species was referred to Doryphora by Say, and has been retained in this genus by most subsequent authors, it more properly belongs to Leptinotarsa. The three species of Doryphora in the museum of the Peabody Academy of Science, Salem (i. €., Doryphora sejeanii Ger., from Brazil, D. catenulata Oliv., from Para, and D. suturalis Fabr., from Rio de Janeiro), have a much stouter and thicker body, with a large spine between the anterior pair of legs. In Leptinotarsa the spine is entirely absent, and our species (together with’ L. craspiena Kl., from Chiapas, Mexico) are apparently more closely related to the common Labidomera trimaculata than to the species of Doryphora, 728 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Teptinotarsa juncta (Germar) represents D.10-lineata in the Northern and Western States. It may be easily confounded with the latter, but — differs from it in the third and fourth lines in each wing-cover (count- ing from the inner edge of the elytron), being united to form a common band, and the legs are entirely pale yellow, with a dark spot on the te agp ee Es thighs (femora). The larva has a lighter-colored head, and but a single — row of lateral dark spots. It feeds on the wild potato, not eating the — cultivated species. Though first collected in Georgia, it partially in- habits all the Southern States. Remedies.—The surest and safest remedy is hand-picking. As soon as the eggs are laid they should be looked for on the under side of the leaf and the leaf torn off and burned. Afterward the grubs and bee- tles should be picked off. The following extract from a correspondent of the New York Tribune shows the efficacy of this remedy: From June 7 to August 17 I have caught and killed, by actual counting, over eight- een thousand (18, 802) “hard shells,” without reckoning the eggs and young ones, on less than a quarter acre of potatoes, so that not a vine has lost its leaves. The bugs have stripped the neighboring patches, and now come swarming on mine. My neigh- bors Paris-greened, scalded, mashed, and burned bugs till the vines had blossomed, then left them live, grow fat, and migrate. Would it be feasible to fine the negligent bug-catching farmers next year and offer medals to the diligent ? While hand-picking should be practiced and perhaps State bounties paid for the eggs, grubs, and beetles, prizes might be offered by agri- cultural societies for the largest collections. Co-operation among farm- ers and others should also be urged, even if legislation should have to be resorted to. President P. A. Chadbourne, of Williams College, ad- vocates higher culture. ‘Since,” he has remarked, “it costs as much to protect an acre of potatoes yielding twenty bushels as one yielding one hundred bushels, less land should be planted and more highly eul- tivated, as in soil properly tilled it would perhaps not cost more than 5 cents a bushel to protect the potatoes.” The aid of fowl should also be invoked, as chickens freely feed on the grubs. In the Western States the use of Paris green is advocated. This is a preparation of arsenic, and is deadly poison. If used at all in the thickly-settled Eastern States, it should be handled with extreme cau- tion, and only by careful persons, and in gardens and farms where no children are about. One part of Paris green may be mixed with about twenty of cheap flour and dusted over the vines early in the morning while the dew is on the leaves. The simplest way is to sift the flour from a fine muslin bag attached to a pole or from a dredging-box. Although Paris green is freely used in the West, I would not advocate its use in New Engiand on small farms near houses and in the vicinity of large towns. Mr. John H. Sears tells me that several valuable horses and cows have to his knowledge died from this poison. Human life is threat- ened, as the powder blows about, and the risk of poisoning is too great to be lightly taken. Various machines have been devised for use on large farms, and liquid preparations and patent sprinklers manufactured for the purpose. Those Both LZ .10-lineata and juncta, the latter inhabiting the Southern States and originally representing 10-lineata of the eastern slope of the” Rocky Mountain Plateau, are repre- sented in Mexico, Costa Rica, Bogota, and Bolivia by JZ. 11-lineata Chevr., in which the head is black and the body darker yellow, but the elytra striped in much the same way, while it is a little smaller. Regarding the generic name of the 10-lineata, Dr. Horn writes me “there is some difficulty, but I think all will finally settle down to the name Leptinotarsa decemlineata.” M. A. Preudhomme de Borre, in his writings on this insect, calls it Leptinotarsa decemlineata, and says that it Bas been improperly re erred to Doryphor a. PACKARD. ] THE YELLOW-STRIPED SYSTENA. 729 who are not inclined to use Paris green may use carbolate of lime, made by mixing in the proportion of half an ounce of crude carbolic acid with a pound of lime, forming a powder, which can be dusted on the leaves. Others have used air-slacked lime with success. Hellebore is ineffectual. The following suggestions by Prof. H. H. McAfee, of Iowa Agricult- ural College, are valuable: “We know that the Doryphora 10-lineata can only remain healthy and increase rapidly when feeding upon sola- naceous plants. Cut off his rations for any considerable length of time and he will surely die; hence if we plant only early potatoes, whose tops are all dead by August 10, but few potato-bettles will be found alive on your grounds next season. * * * A word as to how this policy has worked in practice. During the seasons past, in which I have grown 2,100 bushels of potatoes on the Iowa Agricultural College farm, the ex- pense of keeping potato-beetles in check by hand-picking, when they became too numerous, has been less than $2, and no poison has been used and no late potatoes have been grown in my department. Of course where potato-patches are contiguous any patch may suffer from the neighbors’ bugs, so that this policy of autumn starvation must be gen- eral to be most effective.” ; Also, aS a preventive, it would be well to try planting the prickly Solanum (S. rostratum) around potato-fields, and asertain whether the beetles would not desert the useful plants for the weed; if so, the culture of the weed would be an invaluable adjunct to that of the potato. A correspondent of the New York Tribune states that the Colorado potato- beetle feeds on the common nightshade (Solanum nigrum). To quote his words: ‘The Colorado potato-beetle troubled the potatoes in my garden very little; but at the side of the garden, close at the ends of the rows, were two or three large shrubs or vines commonly called nightshade. Upon these were hundreds of the slugs of the ‘pest,’ which seemed to thrive splendidly; and so long as the marauders con- fine their foraging to this noxious plant I shall not molest them.”—(G. H. B., Franklin, N. Y.) It would be also worth while for experiments to be made in planting not only the common nightshade, but the bittersweet (Solanum dul- camara), a common vine imported from Hurope, growing in our gardens and about our houses. The horse-nettle (Solanum carolinense), a com- mon weed flourishing from Connecticut to Illinois and southward, and upon which the Leptinotarsa juncta feeds, might also be planted in broad borders around the potato-fields with probably good results. Whether it is a good policy to heed the natural food-plants of insects, and thus perhaps increase the number of the noxious insects preying upon them, bas always been a questionin my mind. Stillit would bean experiment worth trying in the present case, where it seems almost im- possible to increase the numbers of this beetle beyond what they have already attained. THE YELLOW-STRIPED SYSTENA, Systena mitis Le C. var. ligata Le C. (Plate LXVI, Fig. 3.)—Eating holes in tie leaves and making blotches on them; a small beetle nearly two lines in length; black, with two broad yellow stripes along the back. This beetle I have only noticed in Colorado, where I observed it in a field of potatoes at Idaho Springs, July 5. It was very abundant on the leaves, eating holes in them and making blotches. As they were pair- ing it is evident that the eggs are laid at this time, and soon after the larve should be looked for, either upon the leaves or at the roots or in the stalk. Description.—Body rather flat, and rather long and narrow; blackish-brown; head with yellow orbits; a broad dark band between the eyes, anda dark patch behind the 730 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. eyes. Antenne and head in front yellowish ; upper lip (labrum) black; both pairs of — palpi reddish-brown. Prothorax yellow, especially on the hinder edge, and tinged with brown on the sides and in the middle. Wing-covers black, each with a broad yellow longitudinal stripe one-half as wide as the wing-covers. Body beneath black. Legs” yellowish, tinged with brown on the hind femora, which are much swollen, and beg ! come paler toward the tip. Length, 0.18 inch, or nearly two lines. The species has been identified by Dr. Horn. THE THREE-LINED PoTaTo-BEETLE, Lema trilineata, (Olivier. Plate LXVI, Figs. 4, 5.)—Thick-bodied grubs, much smaller than those of the Colorado beetles, feeding on — the leaves and disguising themselves with their own excrement, becoming black beetles _ striped with yellow, and with a reddish head and prothorax. This beetle need not be confounded with the Colorado beetle, as itis _ about half the size of the latter, and is only occasionally destructive in the Hastern States, especially New England. The beetle is black, striped — with yellow, with a reddish head and prothorax. - The grub or larva is a soft-bodied, thick grub, but slenderer than that of Doryphora. It conceals itself by covering its body with accumulations of its own ex- crement. It matures in two weeks, and transforms in the ground, the beetle appearing about the 1st of August. Hand-picking in the early part of July is a sufficient remedy. BLISTERING BEETLES, Epicauta cinerea Fabricius (Plate LXVI, Fig. 6); E.macrobasis | murina Le Conte; atrata Fabricius (Fig. 7); £. fabricii Le Conte (Fig. $).—Long, slen- der, gray, striped or spotted, or black beetles, with a prominent head, feeding on the leaves, and sometimes even more destructive than the Colorado beetle. These beetles are allied to the Spanish fly, and, like that insect, all secrete the blistering substance called “ cantharadine.” ' The gray blistering beetles (Plate LXVI, Fig. 6) in Massachusetts appear, according to Harris, about the 20th of June, and sometimes do a great deal of mischief. In the night-time and in rainy weather they leave the plants and burrow at the roots for shelter, and eat in the morning and evening. Common as these insects are in the beetle state, the larva of some of | our native species have not yet been discovered, and the only informa- tion available to me is a brief account of the young of the European — Spanish fly Lytta vesicatoria in Westwood’s Modern Classification of | Insects, where it is stated that thelarve live underground, feeding upon | the roots of vegetables. ‘‘ They have the body soft, and of a yellow- ish-white, composed of thirteen segments, with two short filiform an- | tennee, and six short, scaly feet.” While the gray blistering beetle is common northwards, the black species, HL. pensylvanica, is equally or more so, while H. cinerea (Forster) « (Plate LX VI, Fig. 8,) is more common southward, and EL. vittata (Plate LXVI, Fig. 9) is very destructive in potato-fields in the Middle, Western, and Southern States. Epicauta pennsylvanica is perhaps our commonest species northward, and is totally black, and slightly smaller than J. cinerea; it is black, but ash-colored on the head and prothorax and on the under side of the body. It occurs as far west as Kansas. — (£. vittata is longer and slenderer than the others named, and is clay-yellow, with six , black longitudinal stripes.) Macrobasis muria is found west as far as Northern New Mexico, and is to be looked for in Colorado and Wyoming. The following is Fay’s description: ‘‘ Lake Superior, two males. ; Kasily distinguished by its more sparse pubescence; the thorax is shorter, more convex, and more narrowed anteriorly, and the upper sur- face is more distinctly punctured ; theantenne are one-half the length of ‘ the body, the first joint reaching the occiput, the second joint equal to the two following. With this species I doubtfully associate a female , from Missouri Territory, agreeing in form and punctation, in which the a Sn. So — | PACKARD. ] THE SPOTTED AND LEOPARD BLISTER-BEETLE. tam i i | antenne are a little stouter than in C. fabricii, with the second joint about one-third longer than the third.” M. fabricii (cinerea of Fabricius) is of a uniform dull-ash color. It is | found usually east of the Mississippi, but also occurs in Kansas and | New Mexico, according to Dr. Le Conte. RKemedies.—Hand-picking and brushing the insects off the leaves in | the morning and evening is the best remedy. Harris says: “I have - repeatedly taken these insects in considerable quantities, by brushing | or shaking them from the potato-vines into a broad tin pan, from which they were emptied into a covered pail containing a little water, which, | by wetting their wings, prevented their flying out when the pail was un- covered. The same method may be employed for taking the other kinds 'of cantharides when they become troublesome and destructive from | their numbers; or they may be caught by gently sweeping the plants they frequent with a deep muslin bag-net. They should be killed by throwing them into scalding-water for one or two minutes, after which _thev may he spread out on sheets of paper to dry, and may be made profitable by selling them to the apothecaries for medical use.” THE SpPoTreD BLIsTER-BEETLE, Epicauta maculata (Say). (Plate LXVI, Fig. 10.) Feeding on beets and liable to devour potatoes ; a light-gray blister-beetle, spotted with | black; destructive about Manitou, Colo. While none of the preceding species have yet been found to be injuri- ous in Colorado or adjacent Territories, there are a number of species of _blister-beetles which inhabit the Rocky Mountain Plateau, and two have been found to be injurious to field-crops. While at Manitou during the middle of July I visited a large farm and found this spotted blister- beetle in abundance on the leaves of the beet, and was told that on the Ist of July they swarmed upon the leaves so that ‘the plants were gray with them.” I also found this beetle at Golden, and it is evident that it is destined to be more or less annoying to garden-vegetables and probably potatoes. Description of the beetle—Pale yellowish-gray varying to a dark gray, being dark, covered with a gray powder, consisting of minute short hairs when examined under a hand-lens, and finely spotted with black on the wing-covers, the spots being nearly obsolete on the head and prothorax as well as the under side of the body. The legs are of the same color as the rest of the body, but the toe-joints (tarsi) and the tips of the shanks (tibiee) are blackish, as well as the antennee and feelers (palpi). It is usually about half an inch long, but varies from a quarter to half aninch. Itis rather slenderer in form than any other of the species here named except the striped species (L. vittata). It also occurs in Kansas and Hastern New Mexico. This species has been named by Dr. Horn. THE LEOPARD BLISTER-BEETLE, Hpicauta pardalis Le Conte. (Plate LXVI, Fig. 11.)— Injuring the potato-leavesin Southern Colorado, and doing more damage locally than the striped Colorado potato-beetle; a beautiful gray-spotted shining-black blister- beetle. I received from Mr. T. Martin Trippe, a well-known naturalist, numerous specimens of this blister-beetle, with the following account, dated How- ardsville, Colo., July 25, 1875: I send you herewith some specimens of a beetle that has lately destroyed the potato- plant in this vicinity. They are worse than the Doryphora decemtineata in the extent and rapidity of their devastations, and seem to have driven the latter out of the country. Before the appearance of this new potato-bug the latter were quite nu- merous, and had already begun to injure the crops somewhat; but these new-comers stripped the vines in a week, and a few days after they appeared in numbers the Doryphoras were nowhere to be seen. No one seems to know of or to have seen them before. Before immersion in alcohol they were spotted with white, the spots being quite small—size of a pin-point; the head unspotted. They feed on wild Solanaceae. (32 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. a ii The same remedies may be employed against this and the spotted ' blister-beetle as suggested for the eastern species. 3 ; Description of the Beetle..—lt differs from E. maculata in being shining black, with | pale-gray scalloped lines across the elytra, which unite to form about seven or eig. pale-gray irregular ringlets, inclosing black spots, whence the name pardalis, or leop- ard-like. The thorax is black, but gray around the edges, and spotted with gray on the | sides and beneath. It is of the usual form, but a little shorter and stouter than EE ~ maculata. Length, 0.45 inch. Identified by Dr. G. H. Horn. te THE FLEa-BEETLE, Haltica (Epitrix) cucumeris Harris. (Plate LXVI, Fig. 13.)— © Eating holes in the leaves, sometimes riddling them, and causing them to turn rust- | color; minute black beetles, which on being disturbed leap off like fleas. . This minute beetle not only infects the potato but also injures » beans, beets, tomato-plants, and especially young cucumber-vines. At: tacking the leaves when small, and-eating round holes in them, by their numbers and the pertinacity of their attacks they each year do much | harm, and certain seasons carry off whole beds of young beets and j cucumber-vines, as well as seriously injure the potato-plants. The habits of the young of this species are not known, but it is very probable that the eggs are laid on the leaves, and that the larvee bore into and mine ° the leaves feeding upon the pulpy substance. The larve of other species — of the genus known to have such habits are, according to Harris, “little slender grubs, tapering toward each end, and provided with six legs. ' They arrive at maturity, turn to pups, and then to beetles in a few weeks. Hence there is a constant succession of these insects in their various states throughout the summer.” Description.—It is only one-sixteenth of an inch long, of a black color, with clay-yel- low antenne and legs, except the hindmost thighs, which are brown. The upper side i of the body is covered with punctures, which are arranged in rows on the wing-cases 5 and there is a deep transverse furrow across the hinder part of the thorax, (Harris. ) 7 U | REMEDIES.— Water the leaves with a solution of lime. THE STRIPED GARDEN Bue, Lygus lineolaris (Beauvois) Uhler. (Plate LXVI, Fig. 14.)—Puncturing and poisoning the leaves of the potato and all sorts of garden-vege- tables, causing them to wither and turn back; a medium-sized bug. 1s This bug is very widely disseminated, and is everywhere abundant and annoying in the United States from Maine southward to Alabama, and © westward to Colorado and Wyoming. Uhler states that specimens were collected above the timber-line in Colorado by Lieutenant Carpenter; and it occurs on the bald summits of the highest mountains in North Carolina. It hibernates, and in New England appears in April. Description.—Head yellowish, with three narrow, longitudinal, reddish thorax, bor- \ dered with yellow, with five longitudinal yellow iines. The male is much darker- * colored ; 4 inch in length. Kemedies.— Harris advises sprinkling the leaves with alkaline solutions, such as strong soap-suds, or potash-water, or with decoctions of tobacco | and of walnut leaves, or of dusting the plants with air-slaked lime or sulphur. Besides these insects the sphinx (Macrosila 5-maculata) whose horned: caterpillar is called the ‘potato-worm,” and the larva of the golden- helmet beetle (Cassida aurichalcea) teed on the leaves. BORING THE ROOTS. THE Porato-STaLK WeEviL, Baridius trinotatus Say. (Plate LXVI, Fig. 12; a, larva; b, pupa.)—Boring into the stalks and causing them to wilt and die; asmall, | white, footless grub. This is a common insect in the Middle and Western States, where it is at times quite annoying. The female, according to Riley, deposits a i} E | fain THE HAIRY POTATO-MAGGOT. 7133 jsingle egg in an oblong slit in the stalk about one-eighth of an inch long, / which she has previously formed with her beak in the stalk of the potato. The grub afterward hatches and bores into the heart of the stalk, work- ‘ing downward toward the root, causing the stalk to wilt. When ob- ‘served to suddenly die the stalks should be cut down and burned. | Beeile.—Bluish or ash-gray, with three shining, black, impressed spots at the lower edge of the thorax. The grub (larva) when fully grown :is a little over one-fourth of jan inch long, and is soft, whitish, footless, with a scaly head.—(Riley.) Besides these insects the “‘ potato-worm,” or caterpillar of the five- jspotted hawk-moth, and the caterpillar of the Gortyna nitela, which bores in corn, and the helmet-beetle (Coptocycla awrichalcea), which ‘usually feeds on the sweet-potato and morning-glory, occasionally prey ‘on the potato-leaves. | The clubbed tortoise-beetle (Deloyala clarata) was found in 1871 by |Mr. A. G. Smith, of Berlin, Mass., to be feeding on the leaves of the fh. “ eating indifferently different varieties.” \ | THE Harry PoTato-MaGGoT, Homalomyia tuberosa Curtis? (Fig. 13.)—Feeding in |\decaying (?) potatoes and cabbages; a flat, hairy maggot, which transforms to a fly like the common house-fly, but paler and smaller. A few years ago specimens of a hairy jmaggot taken by Mr. C. A. Putnam Au- jgust 15, 1875, in defective potatoes, were ‘sent to the museum of the Peabody Acad- emy of Science, at Salem, Mass., and shortly jafter the museum received a number of maggots of the same species found, July |2, 1875, in the Savoy cabbage, by Mr. John H. Sears, of Danvers, Mass. The latter \lot consisted of two broods, 1. e., of maggots fully grown, and others one-quarter grown. 3, They are very similar, if not identical, with Sy 'Curtis’s Homalomyia tuberosa. Our species is probably the one referred by Harris to Pe ‘the Anthomyia canicularis of Hurope, and me FORD Eabeetue pee oe ‘is perhaps, as suggested by Baron Osten },ithesameenlarged twice. After Sacken, H. scalaris. Curtis. Description of the larva (Fig. 13: a, natural size; 6, magnified twice).—Head minute, fleshy, not seen in the pupa-case. Body flattened, cylindrical, ovate. Prothoracic seg- | ment flat, square, trapezoidal. On the body are two rows of long, slender dorsal spines or hairs, two rows of lateral longer hairs (seen under a high magnifying power to have short spiracles), one subdorsal, the other subvential. The last four dorsal are longer | than those in front. The end of the body forms a flat, smooth declivity, on each side | of the front edge of which is a thick, stout, short spine (a produced spiracle), much thicker than the others, and ending suddenly in four short, blunt spines. Behind these | two spines, on the side of the declivity, are six hairs, with short, slender respiratory hairs on the basal half. Some of the lateral hairs have similar lateral respiratory fila- ments, but they are less distinct than on the six terminal hairs. The underside of the | body is flattened. The spiracles at the base, on each edge of the first segment behind | the head, have six long, slender respiratory processes. Length, 0.27 inch. This descrip- tion will also apply to the pupa-case. | Itis easy to see how maggots like these, which bury themselves in -cabbages and potatoes, may become swallowed with the food, and if | the latter is only partially cooked and hastily swallowed, how the living 'worms become conveyed into the stomach, and become so annoying that the doctor has to be sent for. The European Homalomyia scalaris, or '“ladder-maggot,” is not unfrequently voided from the bowels of boys and adults in both countries. 134 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. a I append the following account of several potato-insects of Europe, taken from Curtis’s Farm Insects, and which may prove of interest, since | the same or ciosely-allied species are likely to occur in the United — States : — “Dead and silent as the earth appears to be, it teems with life; for nob | only is the soil full of seeds, which merely require light and heat t start them into life, but it must abound with the eggs of insects so m nute that even with the assistance of a lens they escape one’s notice. To be convinced of the truth of this, if a flower-pot be filled with mold from a field or garden, and then tied over with the finest muslin, the experimentalist will be astonished to find the multitudes of little flies . which are constantly making their appearance, bred no doubt from larve, | nourished on the vegetable matter which such soils contain. Where | crops are grown, and any portion of them become decayed, the num- | ber of these minute insects is vastly multiplied, and thus where the deceased potatoes have existed additional swarms of various little flies have been the consequence. As a proof of the incredible numbers that must be thus generated, I may mention that from one growing and par- tially-rotten potato I bred in August, 1845, 128 flies, independent of - many more which had died in the pupa state, or been destroyed by damp and mites before I discovered them in the vessel in which the tuber was | placed, as well as multitudes of smaller flies, all of which I will now | describe. mo “The whole belong to the order DipTERA. The first I shall notice is included in the family TrepuLIpa and the genus Psychoda and has ° been named— | “ P. nervosa.—The males are twice as large as the females; they are ashy-white, ' clothed with longish wool; the little head is buried under the thorax; the black eyes are large and lunate ; the two horns areas long as the thorax, and composed of eleven (?) small points, black at the base, giving them an annulated appearance ; the abdomen — is short, and of a dirty color; the two wings when at rest meet over the back slant- ing; they are iridescent, very large, oval, and lanceolate, with numerous longitudinal, | hairy nervures; the entire margin is also hairy ; balancers small, clubbed, and white; | six legs woolly; the feet fine-pointed, the tips black ; length, $ line ; expanse, 3 lines. “In February, 1846, the larvee and pup were abundant in the rotten | potatoes, also in decaying leaves and dung-hills, and the flies have been — bred by Mr. Haliday from putrescent fungi. These flies sometimes swarm in out-houses and about drains in spring and autumn. ‘The larvee are not 4 line long, yellowish-white, cylindrical, spindle- shaped, with eleven distinct annulations besides the head, which is triangular; the tail is elongated and tubular. The pupa is about 3 line long, ocherous, and ferruginous; it is elongate-ovate in repose, but the : body can be stretched out and attenuated when disturbed; from the fore- — head project two slender appendages, like horns; on either side are laid _ the short, stout antennz, and the wings meet over the breast, with the . legs stretched out between them; the abdominal segments are ciliated . and the tail is forked. “¢ Several species of a little swarthy two-winged fly were bred from the - decaying potatoes in multitudes. They are called Sciara by Meigen and Molobrus by Latreille. The larve I received from Mr. Graham 5 they are slender worms, about 4 inch long, whitish, and opaque, but when immersed in water they become perfectly transparent, exhibiting | the ocherous viscera and the food digesting in the stomach; when im motion they taper toward the head, which is oval, horny, black, and shining; the body is composed of thirteen segments, with seven OF ~ eight spiracles on each side; the tail is broad and rounded, but slightly . pointed in the center. The pupa is shorter, cylindrical, elliptical, and of a — a PACKARD. | POTATO-INSECTS OF EUROPE. 135 a dull-ocherous tint, becoming darker as the period approaches of the birth of the fy; the antenne, eyes, wings, and legs are visible beneath their horny sheaths. At this period they are deprived of locomotion, but the larvee, although perfect maggots, and destitute of feet, are able to move along in moisture, at the same time waving about and thrust- ing out their heads with great energy. There are thirty species of these flies which inhabit England, and three or four of them have been bred from putrid potatoes. One is called— “ Sciara fucata Meig.—When alive itis 1 line long. The male is ofa pale inky black, the head is small and spherical, with two triarticulate feelers bent under, the two horns are not longer than the thorax, tapering, pubescent, inserted in front of che face, and sixteen-jointed ; two basal joints the stoutest, the remainder oblong, apex conical ; eyes lateral, kidney-shaped, and coarsely granulated; ocelli three, but unequal; trunk gibbose, subquadrate, scooped out at the base, with two indistinct lines of short ochreous hairs down the back ; scutel lunate, postscutel oval, of a grayish color; abdomen slen- der, greenish-black, brownish after death, seven-jointed; the margins of the segments pale, apex obtuse, and furnished with two inecurved biarticulate lobes; two wings, in- ecumbent in repose, parallel, longer than the body, iridescent, slightly smoky, but transparent and clear at the base; nervures brown, excepting the central one, which is scarcely visible, but forked and dark at the margin; the costal nervure does not reach the base of the forked cell; balancers pale, dirty yellow or ochreous; six legs, leng, slender, and of a dirty-yellow or pale-olive tint. Jemale similar, but larger, being 14 line long, the wings expanding nearly 3 lines, the thorax is not narrowed behind ; the abdomen is spindle-shaped, attenuated, and conical, terminating in two little par- allel sheaths; the two balancers are dusky when dry. “This was bred in the winter of 1845-46, and again in 1848, in vast quantities; the flies are also found throughout the summer in fields and gardens, on umbellate flow- ers and on erasses. I have likewise bred them from rotten turnips in March. “8S. quingue-lineata of Macquart is 14 line long. ‘It is black, with five lines on the thorax of a deep dull gray ; anterior hips testaceous; wings almost hyaline ;’. balancers brown or dirty white. ** Specimens agreeing with this description were bred from rotten potatoes in March, 1848, and sent to me with the tubers containing the larve and pupe also. The pota- toes were like old rotten cheese, and portions of the outside were covered with slimy threads, which Mr. Graham saw the larve spin. He thinks they cause the ‘scab’ in potatoes ; but I saw not the least vestige of the insect on one variety of my potatoes, which was very scabby. “§. pulicaria? Meigen, Hoff., is 4a line long or upward, and is distinguished from the two foregoing species by its longer antennz, which are equal in length to the rest of the body. It is black,.with testaceous legs; the wings almost hyaline; balancers brown. : ‘‘My specimens being as big again as Meigen’s, with ochreous balancers, I am doubt- ful if they be the S. pulcaria of that author. I bred them in August, 1845, from arotten otato. PM Another dipterous insect was bred from the potatoes in less quantities. It also be- longs to the family TrpuLID#, and the genus Scathopse. It appears to be Meigen’s. “ §. punctata.—It is black and shining, the head is small, the eyes are kidney-shaped, with three little ocelli on the crown; the antennz are short, stout, cylindrical, and composed of eleven cup-shaped joints; thorax elongated and somewhat compressed, with a white dot on each side; scutel small and rough; abdomen broad, oval, and de- pressed; wings ample, resting horizontally, transparent and iridescent, with a black. costal, subcostal, and basal nervure, the first and second united beyond the middle, and divided near the base by an obsique nervure; there are also four other very faint longitudinal nervures, the apical one forked, the anal one waved; balancers yellowish ; legs simple, longish, and rusty; extremity of thighs and shanks variegated with fuscous ; feet brown, five-jointed, terminated by a pair of minute claws; length, 14 line; expanse, 3} lines. _ The larve from which these flies proceed live in various putrid sub- stances, and even in dung; they have also been bred from the cocoons of silk-worms, in all probability containing decomposing caterpillars or rotten pups; they are from 2 lines to nearly 4+ inch long, flat and narrowed at both ends, of a dirty grayish-yellow color; the head is brown and oval, with two short feelers; the body is composed of twelve pubescent segments, the first thoracic one with a prominent spiracle on 736 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 4 each side as well as the penultinate, which, with the apex, is covered — with radiating bristles. The pupa is 14 line long; it is inclosed in the skin of the larva, and little depressed, and yellowish-brown; from the thorax projects a branched spiracle like a buck’s horn, and the tail has _ a stout spine. It remains from a week to a fortnight in this state, and — the flies are often exceedingly abundant in the autumn. ‘Two large species of flies belonging to the family Muscip@ I also t bred from a single potatoe, as previously stated. There were forty-eight specimens of one which was named by Fallens— “‘VWusca stabulaus.—The male is 34 lines long, and the wings expand 4 an inch; it is of an ash-color, and clothed with black bristles; the feelers are ferruginous; the anten- nx drooping, five-pointed, and rust-colored, pitchy at the base, third joint elliptical and heavy, except at the base; the seta black and feathery, the basal joint minute ; eyes large, approximating, naked, and chestnut color, the margins silvery white as well as the face, witha black stripe tapering from the antenne to the three ocelli on the crown; thorax hoary, with four black longitudinal stripes before, the two central ones the longest, with a spot on each side beyond the center; scutel hoary, with a dark stripe at the base, ferruginous at the tip; abdomen ashy-ochreous, shining, the back variegated with brewn patches; wings with the apical cell not angulated, but suddenly rounded, scales at the base with pale tawny margins, and concealing the ochreous-clubbed balances ; legs black, apex of thighs and tibie ferruginous; pulvilliat the extremity of the feet elongated. Female similar, but the eyes do not approximate, the face has a yellow tinge, and the stripe on the crown is broad and elliptical; the abdomen is broader, with an oviduct at the tail, and the pulvilli are small. ‘The maggots had bred and accumulated among the slimy matter of the rotting potato, just as meat-maggots are found, together with the horny pupe. Indeed, the largest maggots were exceedingly like those of the flesh-flies, being flat and whitish, the ochreous food and white lines of viscera shining through the transparent skin; the head was pointed with a black proboscis formed of two horny claws, and the two spiracles at the blunt tail were like two black horny knobs. The tough and oval pup were of a bright chestnut color, the segments slightly marked, the head end rounded and wrinkled to a point; the tail furnished with two black specular tubes. ‘‘ Of the other fly I bred fifty-eight specimens from the same potato in the middle of August. The larve escaped my notice at first from being so very like the earth in color, and they are still more difficult to detect from their sluggishness. They must be in the greatest force in July, but J have met with them in rotten potatoes in the end of November. The eroup of flies with these singularly spiny larve have been formed by Bouché into a genus called Homalomia, being a section of Anthomyia. The parent fly of our species is exceedingly like Musca cunicularis of Linnzeus; still there are differences, and as the larve are also dissimilar, I have named this potato-fly— “ Anthomyia tuberosa.—The male is 2} lines lorg, and expands 54; it is grayish-black and bristly; the eyes are chestnut color, naked, approximating on the crown, the inner margin silvery white; antenn drooping, five jointed, third joint oblong, fourth a slender elongated basal joint to the longish pubescent seta; thorax with five indis- tinct broad stripes down the back, second and third abdominal segments with bright ocherous spots on each side, third rarely with two similar minute spots; wings trans- parent, nervures dark, the two transverse ones not very remote ; balancers pale tawny ; legs black, base of shanks indistinctly ferruginous. Female, ashy slate-color; the eyes smaller than those of the male and remote; the face not silvery ; thorax with five distinct broad blackish lines down the back ; abdomen ovate-conic, with two indis- tinct ocherons slightly-diaphanous spots on the second abdominal segment; in other respects this sex is similar to the male. “The larvae, although indolent, can crawl well; they are of a dull tawny color, clothed with long bristly spines, somewhat depressed, elliptical, tapering to the head, which is waved about, and when thrust out is whitish and fleshy, armed with two minute hooks like ebony, and - PACKARD.) | POTATO-INSECTS. onl | there is a little fleshy horn on each side; on the following segment is a spiracle on either side, surrounded by several stout short rays; the two next segments have tubercles on the back; the remainder have a double series down the center, producing bristles, with a double row on each and eight of the segments have a pair of short spines. each beneath, which enable it to walk; the apex is armed with six long bristles a little spiny at the base, but most of the others are - naked, or with the slightest appearance of pubescence or little spines. at the base; on the apical segment are two spiracular tubes. The pupa | being formed within the indurated skin of the larve, it varies from it only in being more convex above, and the fly escapes by a lateral open- ing in the thorax. ** These larve and purpe I find occasionally in my garden where cab- | bages have long occupied the ground, and Dr. Harris remarks that the hairy maggots of Anthomyia cunicularis, or an allied species, live in rot- ten turnips; they also abound in privies, and the purpe-cases are found in multitudes under boards. “From the large quantities of these maggots which have been ejected - from the human stomach and intestines, accompanied by the most dis- tressing symptoms, I am led to conclude from their economy that the _ eges or larve are conveyed into the stomach in badly or half cooked _ vegetables, for it is evident they subsist upon decomposing vegetables and excrementitious substances, and I have found similar but very small larve on cabbage-leaves in October. It is, therefore, very probable that, under certain morbid conditions of the constitution, they are able to live in the human body until they have arrived at their full growth, when they are necessarily ejected to become pups, and after a short time to be transformed into flies. It is not a little remarkable that the maggots of Musca stabulans should have been also voided from the in- testines, and that fact tends to substantiate the view I have taken of the subject and the cause of their presence in the human system, for that is the other species of large fly which I bred from maggots gen-- erated in the same potato. “T also detected the larvee and pup of a smaller species of fly called Drosophila, which hatched in the middle of August with the foregoing insects. They are also inhabitants of cellars, as their specific name implies, where the larve are usually very abundant all the year round. They will breed in stale beer, and probably are generated where there: is any leakage from the tap and oozing about the bung, as well as from the fungi which spring up round rotten wood, etc., in cellars. I have also known them to be bred from vinegar, and it will be remembered that one species, D. flava, lives on the pulpy substance of the turnip- leaves, and another, D. graminum, I have bred from cabbage-leaves. In spring and autumn the flies abound, and are not unfrequently on the inside of our windows. They belong to the family Muscip@ and the genus Drosophila. That bred from the potatoes appears to be the Linnean species named “Drosophila cellaris.—It is 14 line long, and expands 4 lines; the general color is ochre- ous ; the head is broad as well as the face, in the center of which are inserted the two little drooping pubescent horns, the third joint is oval, and from the back arises a feathery bristle jointed at the base; the orifice forming the mouth is very large ; eyes large, hemi- spherical ; ocelli three on the crown; thorax globose-quadrate ; scutal semi-ovate ; abdo- men small, depressed, oval, blackish, and six-jointed, with four orfive ochreous bands; the apex pointed in the female; wings incumbent in repose, very long, and ample, yel- lowish and iridescent, with a very short marginal cell, and four longitudinal nervures, the second and third united toward the base, the third and fourth toward the mar- gin; _balancers small, clavate; six legs, tapering ; feet long, slender, and five-jointed, terminated by minute claws. 47GS8 = 738 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. “ The larve are 24 lines long, of a whitish color, tapering toward the head, composed of twelve joints; on each side of the thoracic segment is a short branching spiracle, and the tail is furnished with four divaricating blunt spines, the edges of the seg- ments being serrated with hooked ones. When full grown this skin becomes horny, changing to a rust color, the maggot is transformed to a pupa within an internal horny shell of a chestnut color, and of course the pupa greatly resembles the larva. ‘¢ There is also an extensive group of flies called Borborus, the larve of which live upon decomposing vegetables, and probably animal sub-— stances also; at all events they are generated in fungi. A portion of these flies is now distinguished by Macquart, under the generic name of Limosina ; one of them I have bred from rotting potatoes, and it seems to be identical with that author’s— “T. geniculata.—It is only 1 line long, and expands a little more than 2 lines. It is black; the head is moderately large, with an ample cavity beneath to receive the mouth; the eyes are hemispheric and rust-colored, and there are three minute ocelli on the crown; the face is concave, with two little horns in the center, the third joint orbicular, with a tomentose seta; thorax broader, very convex; scutel semi-orbicular and flat; abdomen very short, the segments equal in length; wings rather small, smoky, nervures pitchy ; costal the strongest ; submarginal cell not extending to the apex, second and third longitudinal nervures united at the middle, third and fourth formirg a loop with two minute branches at the extremity ; balancers small and ochre- ous; legs pitchy ; hips ochreous, as well as the tips of the anterior thighs and the base of the shanks; hinder with a few spines outside ; feet long, five-jointed, especially the hinder, which are slender and longer than the shanks; dull ochreous, basal-joint very long and pitchy, terminal one very short, and furnished with short claws. ‘¢M. Rayer also observed a species in the infected potatoes which has been named by Guérin Limosina payenti, and it is not improbable that it may be the male of Macquart’s species, for it agrees very well with our female, except in the color of the wings and the structure of the hinder feet. ‘* With the foregoing Diptera I often bred a parasitic insect in consid- erable numbers, but to which it is attached, or whether to any of them, I am unable to ascertain. It belongs to the order HYMENOPTERA, the family PROCTOTRUPID®, and the genus Cerapsiion, which has been divided by Mr. Westwood into three genera, one of which is called Paramesius, and to that section our insect belongs. It is included by Nees ab Esenbeck in the genus Diapria, and has been named by him— “P. brachialis—The male is scarcely 1 line long and expands 12; it is very glossy black; the head is globose, the face short, ovate, and at the bottom are attached the antenne, which are nearly as long as the body, ferruginous and fourteen-jointed, basal joint long, second short, obovate, third notched or comma-shaped, remainder short and obovate, apical joint conical; eyes small, lateral, with three ocelli on the crown in a triangle; thorax very globose, scarcely larger than the head; scutel small, semi-oval, deeply hollowed at the base; metathorax ferruginous and uneven; petiole forming a ferruginous knob, woolly behind; abdomen small, ovate-conic, pitchy, base ferruginous, with four longitudinal channels on a very large segment, apical segment very short; fore wings dusky and pubescent, with a few nervures at the base of the superior, forming an elongated cell; six legs short, slender, and ochreous, pitchy at the base; thighs thickened, as well as the anterior shanks, and pitchy at the middle; feet slender, five-jointed, tips dusky. Female: Above 1 line long, and expanding 1%; this sex is not only distinguished by its larger size, but the horns are shorter, with only twelve joints, the third being simple like the second; and the extremity of the abdomen is acuminated, and very acute. “This insect belongs to a family which is very serviceable in keeping down wire-worms and other subterranean larve, as will be seen by a reference to a former chapter and the Gardener’s Chronicle. Nees also Says that the Diapriw breed in the subterranean larve of Tipula, or gnats. ‘J must not omit to record another fly, called Dilophus febrilis, which is exceedingly abundant every year, the larve causing much mischief PACKARD.| THE SWEET-POTATO HELMET-BEETLE. 739 in gardens; and at the close of the year 1845, many of them were sent to me as abounding on decayed portions of planted potatoes, and I have met with them likewise about the tubers and in flower-pots, where they burrow in all directions. Some I received in July were about 4 of an inch long, of an ochreous-brown or snuff color, and Shagreened ; the back is slightly convex, with twelve well-defined wrinkled segments, and a horny, shining head, much narrower than the body, intensely black or inclining to chestnut color, and slighty hairy ; there are eight distinct spiracles on each side, the penultimate segment is rounded, with four teeth on the margin, and the anal one has four smaller teeth, with two large spiracles near the base; it has no feet. “They were transformed to pups in the earth in the beginning of August, and were then yellowish-white; the thoracic portion was very thick, with two horns in front; the body slender and subeylindriec, the Segments very distinct, with spiracles down the sides, and the tail spiny. “The flies hatched on the 21st of August, but they abound in fields, hedges, especially under trees, and even in the highways around Lon- don, the whole of that month; and there must be two broods of them, as they are found likewise in May. They belong to the family TIPULID A, and to the genus Dilophus. The species was named Jebrilis by Lin- ngus, from the generally-received opinions in Sweden of these flies resorting to houses where intermittent fevers existed. “D. febrilis is intensely black, shining, and hairy. The head of the male is hemis- pheric, and covered with large densely pubescent eyes of a reddish-brown color. There are three minute ocelli forming aa elevated triangle near the base; the tip is broad, and the feelers incurved; the trunk is oval and gibbose, with two transverse rows of minute teeth before; the scutel is short and broad; abdomen sublinear, eight-jointed, the apex clubbed ; the two wings are incumbent in repose, perfectly transparent and white but iridescent, the pinion only is slightly tinged with brown, the costal nervures pitchy, the others very faintly marked; a radial nervure uniting with the costa at the widdle forms a brown spot at the extremity; two balancers, with a large compressed. brown club; it has six long legs; anterior thighs the thickest, the shanks very short, the apex surrounded by a coronet of teeth. There are also several short spines outside ; feet slender, five-jointed, terminated by claws and suckers; length, 24 lines; expanse, 5 lines. The female is larger and very different, the head being much less, with small oval eyes not meeting on the crown; the abdomen is brownish and elongated, ovate at the extremity but narrowed at the base, and the tip is furnished with two minute tuber- cles; the wings are much longer and very ample, entirely brown, the pinion being the darkest, with a brown stigmatic spot; ull the nervures are pitchy ; the anterior thighs are incrassated. “These insects fly heavily, their hinder legs hanging down, and in the evening they become sluggish, resting on herbage and bushes. The larve also inhabit cow-dung and horse-muck ; it is therefore very possi- ble they may be introduced into potato-grounds with the manure, or the flies may be attracted to highly-manured ground to deposit their eggs; for so little is known of the economy of many insects, that it is impossible to determine their exact habits; indeed, no description or figures were to be found of the larve and pupz of this fly until I sent them to the Gardener’s Chronicle.” INJURING THE SWEET-POTATO. THE HELMET-BEETLE, Coptocycla aurichalcea (Fabricius)—Feeding on the leaves; _ broad, flattened, spiny grubs, holding their cast-off skins over their backs. | This beetle, which usually feeds on the leaves of the morning-glory, will sometimes destroy whole fields of sweet-potatoes, and is specially injurious to plants transferred from hot-houses. The larva is broad and flat, with a row of large, long, barbed, spines along the edge of the body, sixteen on each side, the two posterior of 740 © REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. “a which serve as a fork to hold the cast skin, covered with excrement, over its body, probably as a protection from its enemies, the birds. The eggs’ are irregular, flattened, with three spines behind, sometimes, however, wanting, and they are laid on the leaves. The larva matures in three weeks after hatching, molting three times. The larva, when about to | change to a pupa, adheres by a mass of silk to the surface of a leaf, with | its cast-skin about it. The pupa is smooth, its tail movable, and the | limbs, according to Riley, are soldered to the body, as in the chrysalids . | of moths and butterflies. The pupa state lasts a week. In Massachu- — setts, during the last week in July, I have found the larve in all stages | of growth very abundant on the morning-glory (Convolvulus), eating | holes in the leaves. They pupated late in July and early in August; | the beetles appear from the 7th to the 12th. Hand-picking is obviously ‘ amply sufficient to destroy them if too numerous. i q Description of the beetle.—Of a rich amber-yellow, with a reddish tinge over the body. Two black spots on the back and two on each side, disappearing a few days after cast- ing off the pupa-skin. The wing-covers are ornamented with finely-impressed punc- tured lines. Body beneath shining black ; antenne pale on the basal half, dark beyond. : Legs pale amber. Length a little less than a quarter (0.22) of an inch. THE Two-StRIPED SWEET-PoTATO BEETLE, Cassida bivittata ‘ Say.—In the Western States the most common helmet-beetle found on ' the sweet-potato, and, according to Mr. Riley, feeding exclusively upon ' it, is the above-named beetle. The grub or larva is dirty-white or yel- ! lowish-white, with a more or less intense neutral-colored longitudinal ' line along the back, usually relieved by an extra light band on each side. _ It differs from the larve of all other known species in not using its fork | for merdigerous purposes. Indeed, this fork is rendered useless as a ' shield to the body, by being ever enveloped, after the first month, in — the. cast-off prickly skins, which are kept free from excrement. The . beetleis of a pale yellow, striped with black. (Riley.) Besides these two | helmet-beetles, two other species (Cassida nigripes and Coptocycla gut- ' tata) prey to a certain extent upon the sweet-potato. The cucumber flea-beetle, Epitrix cucumeris (Harris), and a few caterpillars are said | by Riley to feed on this plant. Besides these, Harris states that plant- | lice sometimes infest the leaves, and to drive them off he recommends | dusting the leaves with lime. INJURING THE ONION. | THE ONION-FLyY, Anthomyia ceparum Meigen. (Plate LXVII, Fig.1.)—Killing the tops, causing them to turn yellow and wilt; asmooth, conical, white maggot, attacking the bulb soon after the leaves appear early in June, and afterward through the summer, and changing to an ash-gray fly, a little smaller than the house-fly, and with a row of black spots along the middle of the hind body, which lays its eggs on the leaves, close to the earth. The onion-fly has been an inhabitant of this country for about forty years, having been imported from Europe. Fitch remarks that ‘in many parts of New England and New York it was extremely numerous and destructive about the year 1854, and again in 1863.” In Hssex County, Massachusetts, it has been for a number of years, and still is, very annoying and destructive. Having had little opportunity of ob- serving the habits of this fly, I avail myself of the quite full account given by Dr. Fitch in his Eleventh Report on the Noxious Insects of New York, often using his own words: “In June, as soon as the young seed- ling-onions are only an inch or two in height, these insects commence their depredations and continue them through the wlole season, getting their growth and coming out in their perfect state one after another, PACKARD. ] THE ONION-FLY. VAl whereby some of the flies are liable to be always present in the garden, in readiness to deposit their eggs; and maggots of widely-different sizes are commonly met with in the same onion. “The eggs or ‘fly-blows’ are loosely placed upon the onion slightly above the surface of the ground (Fig. —), some of them being dropped _ along the thin edge of the sheath or white membranous collar, which is formed by the base of the lower leaf clasping around the stalk, and others are crowded into the crevices between the bases of the leaves, slightly above where they issue from this sheath. From two to six or more eggs are usually placed on particular plants here and there through the bed. They are perceptible to the eye, being white and smooth, - four-hundredths of an inch (0.04) long, and a fourth as thick, and of an oval form.” When the minute maggot hatches from the egg, it works its way downward inside of the sheath, its track being marked by a Slender, discolored streak, till it reaches the root, on which it feeds till it is wholly consumed, only the thin outer skin remaining. After eating the bulb of one plant they attack the next, until sometimes a third or a balf of the bed is destroyed. The first indication that the plant has been attacked is afforded by the leaves turning yellow and wilting. ‘On carefully digging up and - examining the affected plant, if it is young and the root small and cylindrical, we commonly find it completely cut asunder as represented in Fig. —, only the thin outer skin remaining, whereby the slightest pull- ing upon the top draws it up out of the ground. Later in the season, when the round bulb is beginning to be formed, as in Fig. —, we find a hole perforated in its side, opening into a cavity in the interior, and the earth around this perforation is wet and slimy, forming a mass of filthy mud in which those worms are lying which are not engaged in feeding. And by this interior cavity the central leaves of the plant are severed from their connection with the fibrous rootlets, as shown in the figure, whereby it is now these central and not the outer leaves which first turn yellow and die, and all the upper portion of the root soon becomes soft and putrid, while the bottom part, continuing to be nourished by the fibrous rootlets, remains sound, and the worms now crowd into this part to feed, whereby it sometimes presents a wonderful appearance, being thronged with worms wedged together side by side in a compact mass, all with their heads downward, eagerly consuming the last remains of food there is there, and only the rounded hind ends of their bodies exposed to view, these forming an even surface similar to the cobble-stones of a street-pavement, as represented in Fig.—.” The maggot attains its growth, in summer, in about a fortnight, and changes to a pupa either in the cavity in the onion or in “the wet, slimy earth which is in contact with the onion. It here ceases to move, it becomes contracted and shorter in length, its skin hardens and changes to a tarnished yellow and finally to a chestnut color with a stain of black at each end.” ‘This is the pupa-case, and the true pupa is inside. In this condition it lies about two weeks before the fly escapes. In Essex County, Massachusetts, this fly is very destructive. The maggots appear about the middle and last of May, and by the third week in August the larve are not found, only the pupa-cases. Description.—The larva or maggot is shining, dull white, cylindrical, tapering to a point in front, and when crawling and elongated, nearly the whole length of the body becomes tapering. At the forward end the jaws appear under the skin as a short black stripe. The hind end is cut off abruptly in an oblique direction, forming a flattened surface, on which, slightly above the center, are two elevated dots of a cinnamon-brown color, and appearing somewhat like a pair of eyes; and around the margin are eight small projecting teeth, of which the two lowest ones are largest; and a little forward 742 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. of these, on the under side of the body, are two additional teeth, like minute feet, by the aid of which the maggot shoves itself forward when crawling. (Fitch.) Speci- © mens from Essex County, Massachusetts, are long, conical, the end of the body squarely — docked, with barrel-shaped spiracles projecting from the end of the body. On the — under side of the segments are raised folds, one to each segment, and of service in loco- — motion. The spiracles and termination of the trachez or air-tubes are very distinct ~ on the prothorax, while there are no traces of antennae. The fly is like the common ~ house-fly, but smaller and slenderer. The two sexes are readily distinguished from each other by the eyes, which in the males are close together and so large as to occupy almost the whole surface of the head, while in the female they are widely separated — from each other. These flies are of an ash-gray color, with the head silvery, and a rusty-black stripe between the eyes, forked at its hind end. The species is particu- larly distinguished by having a row of black spots along the middle of the abdomen or hind body, which sometimes run into each other, then forming a continuous black stripe. This row of spots is quite distinct in the male, but in the female it is very faint or is often wholly imperceptible. This fly measures 0.22 to 0.25 inch in length, the females. being usually rather larger than the males. (Fitch.) Remedies.—AS a preventive measure worth trial the seed should be sown two inches deeper than usual, so that the fly cannot so readily get to it to lay its eggs. Sow also on ground on which straw has been pre- viously burned. Rotation of crops is also a most important preventive measure. When the roots are infested pour boiling water along the drills near the roots, or even on the plants, going over the bed four times during one season. ‘The diseased onions should be pulled up and burned. Fiteh recommends cultivating the onions in hills, scattered among the other vegetables in the garden. ‘ With only three or four seedlings in a hill it is evident that the young worms could nowhere find a sufficient amount of food to nourish them to maturity. Having consumed all the young plants in one hill, they will be unable to work their way through the ground to come at another hill except it be by the merest chance, and will thus perish.” Tue Buack ONION-ELY, Ortalis fleca Wiedermann. (Plate LXVII, Fig. 2.) —Infesting the bulb in the Western States; a more slender, less conical maggot than the Euro- pean onion-maggot, with the head blunter; killing the tops and causing the onions to decay; changing to a black fly, with three oblique white stripes on each wing. This native onion-fly was first found to be destructive to onions in Illinois by Dr. Henry Shimer, who writes in the Practical Entomologist (i, 4) as follows regarding it: ‘In the latter part of June I first observed the larva or maggot among the onions here; the top dead, tuber rot- ten, and the maggots in the decayed substance. From them I bred the fly. They passed about two weeks in the pupa state. At that time 1 first observed the flies in the garden, and now few are to be found. Their favorite roosting-place is a row of asparagus running along the onion-ground, where they are easily captured and destroyed, from day- light to sunrise, while it is cool and wet. During the day they are seat- tered over the ground and on the leaves and stalks of the onions, and not easily captured. Their wings point obliquely backward, outward, and upward, with an irregular jerking, fan-like movement; flight not very rapid-or prolonged. They are not very numerous, probably not over 200 or 300. All that I observed originated in one part of the bed, where- they were doubtless deposited by one parent fly. Two broods appear in a season.” Tue Onton-THRIPS, Limothrips tritici Fitch. (Plate LXVII, Figs. 3-5.)—Attacking the leaves, causing them to turn yellow and wilt and die; minute, yellow, slender insects, living on the leaves in all stages of growth. The following account is taken from my Second Annual Report on the Injurious and Beneficial Insects of Massachusetts: “About the middle of August my attention was called by Mr. B. P. | PACKARD.) THE ONION-THRIPS. 143 Ware, of Swampscott, to his serious loss of onions from the attacks of a minute insect. The leaves were observed to suddenly turn yellow and wilt, and the plant died. In this way large patches became infested and turned yellow, until in two or three days these prolific insects spread over the whole field. They seemed to increase most rapidly during the unusual dry, hot weather that we experienced about the middle of last | August. On the 11th of August a whole acre was thus cut off. Mr. Ware informed me.that the onion-plants have been more or less infested in this way for some fifteen years, but the damage done this year was greater than ever before. This evil seems wide-spread in Essex County, as not in Swampscott alone, but in Lynn, Salem, and parts of Danvers, _ the onion-crop has been similarly infested. About $100,000 worth of - onions are raised in Essex County alone, and Mr. Ware judged that at least a tenth part was destroyed by this new pest; so that in one county alone and by one kind of injurious insect we have in one season lost $10,000. The onion-crop is next to the hay-crop in value, as it is sold for cash. “On examining the specimens brought into the Museum of the Peabody Academy of Science the leaves were found to be covered with hundreds of a minute thrips, which, by gnawing the surface of the leaves, had - caused them to turn white in spots, aud subsequently yellow; where they were most numerous the outer skin of the fleshy leaves was entirely eaten off, and though it was difficult to imagine that so minute insects could have caused the death of so stout and thick-leaved a plant, yet here were hundreds of the culprits in all stages of growth plying their jaws before our eyes in proof. “This insect, which occurred in both sexes and in all stages of growth from larve of minute size, proved to be the wheat-thrips of Fiteh (Lim- othrips tritic!), who gives an account of its appearance and habits in his ‘Second Report on the Noxious, ete., Insects of New York,’ p. 304. His attention was first called to this insect by a correspondent in Wisconsin, who found them in great numbers in blossoms of various plants. He wrote Dr. Fitch that they first ‘made their appearance about the middle of June, or at least they were then first noticed, so far as I have heard. For about two weeks they were found in the biossoms of wheat and of clover, causing numbers of the blossoms to wither, and in some cases the kernel was also attacked’ Dr. Fitch himself never seems to have noticed this insect in New York, nor that it has ever been found in the onion, but thinks it is the species to which Dr. Harris refers in his treatise. In that work the author speaks of a ‘ pernicious insect in the ears of growing wheat,’ which ‘ seems to agree with the accounts of the Thrips cerealium which sometimes infests wheat in Europe to a great extent.’ From his brief description it is probably the insect now under consideration to which Dr. Harris refers. “The various kinds of thrips are minute, narrow-bodied insects seldom exceeding a line in length, and remotely allied to the bed-bug and squash- bug in structure, but differing from them in having free jaws adapted to biting, while those of the bed or squash bug form with the other meuth- organs a sharp, hard beak, with which they puncture leaves, or the flesh of their victims, when carnivorous in their tastes. These thrips are further distinguished by their wings being very long and narrow, and beautifully fringed; and when folded over their back they do not conceal the body beneath, as is usually the case. Moreover, they are exceed- ingly active in their habits, running or leaping like fleas. “Description.—The females alone are winged, the males being wingless and closely re- sembling the larve. The body of the female is smooth and shining, uniformly green- 744 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ish-yellow, with no other markings; the legs area little paler toward the articulations, ; The antenne are eight-jointed, slightly longer than the head; the two basal joints are the — largest; the three succeeding joints equal, regularly ovate, the sixth alittle longerthan the fifth ; seventh and eighth minute, seventh a little shorter than eighth, each joint y bearing four large bristles. This species differs from the European L. cerealium in hav-_ ing but eight joints, the seventh and eighth being minute, and with no intermediate short one, as described in the European insect. “The prothorax is square, the scutellum short, crescent-shaped, and the abdomen is — long and narrow, smooth and shining, ten-jointed. Length, four one-hundredths of an — inch, or less than half a line. “The larva (Plate LX VII, Fig. 46) is entirely greenish-yellow, the head and prothorax © of the same color as the rest of the body ; the eyes are reddish ; the feet and antenne are whitish, not annulated, as in L. cerealium,; the feet (tarsi) consist of but a single joint ending in a point. “The male (Plate LXVII, Fig. 4 a) differs from the larva in having two-jointed feet (tarsi) and seven-jointed antenne, those of the larva being four-jointed. Thesecond joint is exactly barrel-shaped, with two ridges or lines surrounding it, third and fourth joints long, ovate, the third being a little larger than the fourth, and with about twelve trans- verse lines, there being about eight on the fourth joint, from the end of which projects a remarkable tubercle, as seen in the figure. The fifth joint is square at the end, with about eleven transverse lines, and three or four stout hairs externally; sixth joint minute and spherical, while the seventh is three times as long as the sixth, and is finely striated, and with four unequal stout hairs. It is just twice the length of the female, measuring 0.08 inch. ‘‘Remedies.—The best remedy of a preventive nature against further ravages, after this insect has made its appearance, is to build a bonfire upon the diseased patch, pull up the onions about, and throw them into it. By thus sacrificing a few onions at the outset, the evil may be nipped in the bud. As remedies less effective we would recommend showering the plants with strong soap-suds, or sprinkling them with sulphur, or the use of a solution of copperas, such as is used in killing the currant saw-fly, 7. e., a solution of a pound of copperas to ten gallons of water. The use of a carbolate of lime or air-slaked lime may also be recommended. ‘‘ A heavy shower of rain will cause them to disappear for a while, and they probably only appear in such overwhelming numbers as this past year in consequence of the summer being an unusually dry and warm one.” INSECTS INJURING THE TURNIP. Tue TuRNIP FLEA-BEETLE, Haltica (Orchestris) striolata Iiger.—Feeding on the seed-leaves in the sping and later; small, yellow-striped, flea-beetles. In June, the plants die from the attacks of the grubs which live in the roots. This is a very annoying little beetle, universally abundant in gardens, and especially injurious to the seed-leaves of the turnips, cabbage, and other garden-vegetables. The fullest account which we have of its habits is that given by Dr. Shimer in the American Naturalist, vol. 2, p. 514, which I copy: “This beautiful little beetle, also called striped turnip-fly (Haltica striolata Fabricius) at the West, is well known and abundant. Every gardener is conversant with the fact that, like fleas, grasshoppers, ete., it springs away to a great distance when he attempts to put his finger upon it. It appears in early spring, and is a constant annoyance to the gardener during the whole summer. ‘‘Hrom my notes I see that on June 14, 1865, I put a number of the larvee into a breeding-box, with a supply of their natural food. June 17 some of the larve had disappeared beneath the ground. July 4,1 found in the box the beetle. This gives us seventeen days from the time the larva entered the ground, having ceased eating, until I ob- tained the perfect insect. I did not open the breeding-box every day, iy pickARD | THE TURNIP FLEA-BEETLE. 745 but as the insect was yet quite pale and soft, conclude that it was not more than a day or so out of the ground. The actual time, however, in the pupa state, was less than seventeen days, for, like the larva of the | eucumber-beetle and other beetles, these worms pass a kind of inter- | mediate state, in a quiet, motionless condition, in their little dirt-tombs | beneath the ground. During this time they decrease in length very much, becoming a shorter, thicker ‘ grub.’. This period is a peculiar | part of the larval State, and may be called the quiescent, or ‘shortening period,’ in contrast with the feeding period. At the end of this pre- paratory shortening period, the little larva casts its skin and becomes a upa. 4 “ During the past summer I bred a good number of these beetles from the larva and pupa, taken from their breeding-places beneath the ground; but as I took no precise notes of the date, I can say no more regarding the time of the pupa state, except that it is short, only a few days. ‘Hivery gardener knows that these insects are very injurious to young cabbages and turnips as soon as they appear above the ground, by eat- ing off the seed-leaves; he also almost universally imagines that when the second or true plant-leaves appear, then the young plant is safe from their depredations, then the stem is so hard that the insect will not bite it, and the leaves grow out so rapidly as not usually to be injured by them ; but if we would gain mach true knowledge of what is going on around us, even among these most simple and common things, we must learn to observe more closely than most men do. : ‘““The gardener sees his young cabbage-plants growing well for a time, but at length they become pale or sickly, wither and die in some dry period that usually occurs about that time, and attributes their death to the dry weather; but if he will take the’pains to examine the roots of the plants, he will find them eaten away by some insect, and by searching closely about the roots will find the larva, grub, worm, or whatever else he may choose to call it; from this he can breed the striped turnip-beetle, as I have often done. “J have observed the depredations of these larve for ten years, and most of that time had a convincing knowledge of their origin, but only proved it in 1865; since that time I have made yearly verifications of this fact. ‘¢ very year the young cabbage-plants and turnips in this region re- ceive great damage from these larve, and often when we have dry weather, in the latter part of May and early in June, the cabbage-plants are ruined. A large proportion of the plants are killed outright in June, and the balance rendered scarcely fit for planting; but when the ground is wet to the surface all the time by frequent rains, the young plant is able to defend itself much more effectually, by throwing out roots at the surface of the ground, when the main or center root is devoured by the larva; but-in the dry weather these surface roots find no nourish- ment and the plants must perish. ‘This year I saw these beetles most numerous in early spring, but have often seen them in August and September so abundant on cab- bages that the leaves were eaten full of holes and all speckled from their presence, hundreds often being on a leaf, and at this time the entire turnip-crop is sometimes destroyed by them, and seldom a year passes without their doing great injury.” These observation are not entirely in accordance with the teachings of the masters in entomology. From Westwood’s Introduction we learn that the Chrysomelians feed on the leavesof plants; that some of them attach themselves to the leaves to transform, and that others descend 746 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. into the ground for this purpose; but he has no notes of species feeding beneath the ground. Harris was of the opinion that the striped cucum- bre-beetles, in the larval state, fed on the roots of plants, but was never able to find them. I have demonstrated many years ago that they feed on the roots of melon, cucumber, squash, and pumpkin vines, and ever since I attempted to raise any kind of vine my greatest trouble has been not to find them. ‘The Chrysomelians, probably, as a rule, feed on the leaves of plants in the larval state, but in my limited researches I have found the major- ity of them beneath the ground. According to undisputed authority, they often congregate together in great numbers and do great injury to the leaves of plants, even so as to compare with the ravages of cater- pillars. I, myself, have observed some of this work. “‘As the cucumber-beetle exclusively raises its young on the roots of the Cucurbitaceous (gourd) family, so from these observations I am led to believe from analogy that the striped turnip beetle raises its young always on the roots of the Cruciferous (mustard) family. “The striped turnip-beetle (Fig. 14) is less than one-tenth of an inch inlength. Its general appearance is black, with a broad, wavy-yellowish or buff colored stripe Gon each wing-cover. The larva (Fig. 14) is white Ui with a faint darkened or dusky median line on * the anterior half of the body, being probably y the contents of the alimentary canal seen through Fic. 14.—Turnip Flea- the semi-translucent skin. The head is horny beetle, larva and and light brown. On the posterior extremity is pupa: a brown spot equal to the head in size; and there are six true legs and one proleg. In its form and general appear- ance it somewat resembles the larva of the cucumber-beetle, but it is much smaller. Its motion is slow, arching up the abdomen slightly, on paper or any smooth surface, in such a position that its motions are necessarily awkward and unnatural, because in a state of nature it never crawls over the surface, but digs and burrows among the roots in the ground. Its length is 0.35 of an inch, and breadth 0.06 of an inch. it feeds upon roots beneath the ground. ‘The pupa is naked, white, and transforms in a little earthern cocoon, pressed and prepared by the larva, in the ground near its feeding-place. This period is short.” THE TURNIP-BUTTERFLY, Pieris oleracea (Harris).—Devouring the leaves of the turnip; a velvety dark-green caterpillar, changing to an unspotted white butterfly. Though this butterfly is spread all over the northern portion of our conti- ¢ cx, nent from Maine to Utah, and is moreabun- ; ably recently been introduced there) than © 7 in the Eastern States, so far as my observa- SEs” tions haveextended, it is nowhere particu- : larly distinctive. As [ am somewhat de- pendenton my own observations regarding the transformations of this delicate-tinted butterfly, I extract the following notice eet of it from my Guide to the Study of In- = ee «Sects: ‘We have found the larvee of this Fic. 15.—Turnip Butterfly species on turnip-leaves in the middle of and Caterpillar. August at Chamberlain Farm, in north- ern Maine. They are of a dull green, and covered with dense hairs. PACKARD. ] THE EUROPEAN CABBAGE-BUTTERFLY. 147 They suspend themselves by the tail and a transverse loop, and their ehrysalids are angular at the sides and pointed at both ends (Harris). Pieris oleracea is white, with the wings dusky next the body. The tips of the fore wings are yellowish beneath and the hind wings are straw- colored beneath. The yellowish, pear-shaped, longitudinally-ribbed eggs are laid three or four on a single leaf. In a week or ten days this larve are hatched. They live three weeks before becoming full-fed. The chrysalis state lasts from ten to twelve days. ‘There is an early (May) and a late summer (July) brood.” Kemedies.—lt should be borne in mind that the caterpillar feeds on the under side of the leaves, so that if they are turned over in June and again in August and carefully examined, the dark-green caterpillar, whose color blends with that of the turnip-leaf, can be picked off and trod under foot. INSECTS INJURING THE CABBAGE. THE EUROPEAN CABBAGE-BUTTFRELY, Pieris rape Schrank.—Feeding not only on the outer leaves, but boring into the heads in all directions; a green, velvety cater- pillar with a yellowish stripe along the back and side, and turning into a white butter- fly with four (male) or six (female) conspicuous black spots. While the caterpillar of our native cabbage (and turnip) butterfly (P. oleracea) feeds on the outer leaves, the present species is much more de- structive and difficult to destroy, from its habit of boring into the inte- rior of the cabbage-head. It also devours the cauliflower and feeds on the mignonette. It was introduced from Europe to Quebec about the year 1857, having been captured in 1859 by Mr. Bowles, of that city. It rapidly spread into New England along the different railroads leading in from Canada, and 3s now common about Boston and New York and southward to Philadelphia and Washington. During the year 1870 it did much damage in gardens in Monmouth County, New Jersey, as I am informed by Dr. 8S. Lockwood. About Quebec it annually destroys $250,000 worth of cabbages, according to the Abbé Provancher. A correspondent of the American Agriculturist for November, 1870, states that “it is estimated that the loss from this insect will, in the vicinity of New York [city] alone, exceed half a million of dollars, and already the price of cabbages has advanced.” He says that Mr. Quinn, the owner of a large plantation, ‘“‘has found carbolic powder, superphos- phate, and lime together to destroy them. The carbolic powder appears to be sawdust impregnated with carbolic acid. Salt has been recom- mended, but Mr. Quinn did not find dry salt efficacious, though lime has been reported by others as useful.” It is evident that in this newly-arrived insect we have another for- midable pest added to our list of imported insects. It is to the parasites of this butterfly that we are to look for the natu- ral means of keeping this insect pest within bounds. Mr. Curtis has described and figured several parasites of the three species of cabbage-butterflies found in England, and he shows how thoroughly they keep in check these troublesome worms. Certain mi- nute ichneumon-flies (Chalcids) lay their eggs in those of the butterflies. Another chaleid fly (Pteromalus brassice) lays its eggs on the outside of the chrysalis of the white cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassice), and sometimes 200 or 500 of the little chalcid maggots have been found liv- ing riotously witbin a single chrysalis. They turn into minute brilliant flies, which multiply in excessive quantities. Mr. Curtis remarks that *‘ some species of this extensive genus (Pteromalus), probably comprising 748 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. nearly 1,000 species (!), swarm even in our houses, especially in the coun- try, where in October and November I have seen immense numbers in- side of the windows, and I believe that they hibernate behind the shut- ters, in the curtains,” etc. . Were “ not for the native ichneumon parasite, (Fig. 16, a, male; D, female,) which has been found to prey upon :| it very extensively, the cultivation of the cabbage would have to be given up in some districts. This invaluable ichneumon is one of the chalcid family, and is the Pterom- alus puparum of Linneeus. It is well known — that the cabbage-caterpillar (Pieris rape) was introduced into this country about the year 1857. I had supposed that the par- — asite had perhaps been imported with its host, but now find that it is undoubtedly a native of this country as well as Europe. Having been favored by Mr. Francis Walker with specimens of both sexes from England, labeled by him Pé. puparum, I found that our specimens did not differ specificially. Further, Mr. Walker wrote me that there Fic. 16.—Parasite of the im- were specimens of the same species in ported Cabbage Butterfly. the British Museum, taken in Hudson’s Bay territory in 1844. During the past summer Mr. P. S. Sprague, sent me specimens which had been raised from the rape caterpillar in Vermont. Mr. J. A. Lintner has also published a note in the Ameri- can Naturalist stating that he had reared this parasite from the same kind of caterpillar, and previously to this Mr. S. H. Seudder had re- ceived numerous specimens from Mr. A. G. T. Ritchie, of Montreal, Canada, who, if I understand his letter aright, first observed these chaleids upon the cabbage-leaves in July, 1870, when the caterpillars were abundant. On the “93d of August of the same year he had some of the parasites hatch out. To Mr. Ritchie, then, is due the credit of being the first to make known the history of this invaluable insect. It seems that the parasite covers even a wider field than its host, and probably preys on our native cabbage-butterfly, the Pieris oleracea, as in Europe it preys on Pieris brassice, the caterpillar so destructive to the cabbage there. Description.—The male of this Pteromalus is a beautiful pale-green fly, with the body finely punctured and emitting metallic tints; the abdomen, or hind body, is flat, in dried specimens with a deep crease along the middle of the upper side, and it is much lighter in color and with more decided metallic reflections than in the rest of the body. The antenne are honey-yellow, with narrow black wings. The legs are pale honey-yellow. It is .08 inch to a tenth in length. The body of the female, which would be thought at first to be an entirely different kind of insect, ismuch stouter, broader, with a broader oval abdomen, ending in a very short ov ipositor, while the under side of the body near the base has a large conical projection. It is much duller green than the male,and the body is more coarsely punctured. The scutellum of the metathorax is regularly convex, not keeled, in both sexes. The antennze are brown, and the legs brown, becoming pale toward the ends, the ends of the femora being pale ; the tibize pale brown in the middle, much paler at each end, while the tarsi are ; whitish, though the tip of the last joint is dark. It is from a line to a line and a third in length. It differs from Harris’s Pleromalus vanesse in the little piece known as the scutellum of the metathorax being smooth, not keeled, and by its darker legs. The larva is a little white m aggot about a sixth (.17) of an inch in length. The body consists of thirteen segments, exclusive ‘of the head, and is cylindrical, taper- ing rapidly toward the head, while the end of the body is acutely pointed. The ehrysalis is whitish, the limbs being folded along the under side of the body, the Ps ee PACKARD.] THE EUROPEAN CABBAGE-BUTTERFLY. 149 antennx reaching to the end of the wings; the second pair of legs reaching half-way ‘between the end of the wings and end of abdomen; while the tips of the third pair of feet reach half-way between the second pair of feet and the end of the abdomen. It is from a line to a line and a third in length. In the middle of September Mr. F. W. Putnam handed me one hundred and ten chrysalids, all but two of which were infested by these parasites | in both the larval and pupal states; while from other chrysalids the adult chalcid flies were emerging. They continued to emerge until late in the autumn. Theinfested chrysalids of the butterfly could be easily distin- guished by the livid and ctinerwise discolored and diseased appearance of the body, while those unattacked had preserved the fresh color, and the tail moved about readily ; the diseased ones becoming stiff and more or less dried. Mr. Putnam thinks that at least two-thirds of the chrys- alids of this butterfly, hundreds of which had in the early autumn sus- pended themselves about his house and fences, had been attacked by these useful allies. On opening the body of the infested chrysalids I found about thirty parasites in different stages of growth, in one case thirty two, in an- other only twelve. We can readily see how efficient these minute in- sects become in reducing the numbers of their hosts. . The moth is clear reddish-brown, with a purplish tint, on the head, thorax, and fore wings, while the hind wings are whitish, contrasting strongly with the rest of the body. The hind body, or abdomen, is dull ash-gray. Fore wings with a conspicuous, light, round spot in the middle of the ring, beyond which is a kidney-shaped light spot, containing a dark ring. The veins are darker than the rest of the wing, and “firmly oe with light scales. It expands a little over an inch and a half. THE CABBAGE-PLANT LOUSE, Aphis brassice Linn.—Sometimes gathering in immense numbers on the outer leaves; a woolly, greenish louse, the winged ones spotted with — black, disfiguring the heads. This insect is called by Curtis, in his ‘‘ Farm Insects,” the cabbage and Swedish turnip-leaf plant louse; the species that [ have observed in Maine and Massachusetts is without much doubt the same as the Euro- pean. It has not yet been known to be specially injurious in the New England States, though liable at any year to be so. In New York, however, in one case it ‘has proved very destr uctive, as in the following case cited by Dr. Fitch: ‘J. L. Edgerton, of Waverly, N. Y., states (Country - Gentleman, July, 1857, p. 80) that his patch of cabbages the year before, comprising three hundred and fifty large, thrifty plants, were attacked by lice just as they were beginning to head, and in three weeks every plant was covered by these vermin and he lost the whole, neither ashes nor salt hay- ing any effect upon them.” From July, says Fitch, to the close of the Season it may be found on the plants, either solitary or in clusters, inhab- iting for the most part the upper sides of the inner leaves and the under sides of the outer ones. Itisin the former case that itis most pernicious by sucking the juices from and weakening this part, wher eby it heads tar- dily and imperfectly, or, if thel ice are numerous, no head is formed and the plant is worthless. The ruta-baga, er Swedish turnip, is also in this country, says Dr. Fitch, subject to its attacks, ‘ the under side of the the fully-grown larva. Length, a: Deseription.—I have observed this caterpillar in different stages at Amherst, Mass., — ep ee OS He ee are much as in the fully-fed larva, — PACKARD.] HARLEQUIN CABBAGE-BUG. 155 curled leaves being sometimes densely covered with them, of all sizes.” Dr. Fitch shows that it was known in this country as early as 1791. Description.—These winged females measure 0.075 in length to the tip of the abdomen, and 0.14 to the end of the closed wings, and their width from tip to tip of the extended wings is 0.18. They are of a dull greenish color, varying to pale, dull yellowish, and largely varied with black.. The head, neck, and fore body on its upper side are black and shining. The horns, or antenne, are two-thirds the length of the body, more slender toward their tips, and black. On the neck one or two pale yellowish bands are some- times perceptible. The hind body is usually pale green, with dark-green or black bands on the back, which are often narrowed or somewhat broken asunder in the middle, and have one or two dots or small spots at their outer ends in a longitudinal row; the honey-tubes scarcely equal the distance to the tip and are black, with their bases pale yellowish. The legs are black; with the basalhalf of the shanks and of the thighs pale yellowish. The wings are hyaline and iridescent, their stigma pale green- ish, and their veins black or dark brown. The distance between the first and second veins at their base is a little more than half that between them at their tips; third vein farther from the second at the tip than at the base, and a little nearer to the second at the base than the second is to the first; first fork a little nearer to the second fork than to the third vein, and alittle nearer to the third vein than the third is to the second ; second fork very little nearer to the fourth vein than to the first fork; fourth vein slightly curved, and very little nearer to the second fork than to the tip of the rib-vein. temedies.—W hen specially destructive, Dr. Fitch recommends driving short stakes and spreading a sheet, a large piece of canvas, or old carpeting over as many plants as the cloth will cover, and fumigating with tobacco until the space is filled with smoke. The plants may then be cleaned with water from a watering-pot. The remainder of the cab- bage-patch can be treated in the same way. Soap-suds will only kill the young lice, leaving the old ones unhurt. ‘ Watering the plants with equal parts of tobacco-water and lime-water is said to be the best mode of destroying the Aphides in gardens; and if plants be washed with tobacco-water alone—about half a pound of tobacco to a half-gallon of hot water—it will kill the Aphides; and if applied warm, it will kill them the sooner.”—(Fitch.) THE COMMON GARDEN PLANT-BuG, Lygus lineolaris (Beauvois); Capsus lineolaris Beanuvois. (Plate LXVI, Fig. 14.)—Pucturing with its beak the cabbage and all sorts of succulent garden-vegetables and the shoots of shrubs and fruit-trees, causing them to wither and shrivel ; flying from April to October, and clustering on the flowers of the cabbage in summer. Though this plant-bug is indiscriminate in its attacks upon all sorts of garden-vegetables, more complaints have been made of its injuries to the cabbage than any other vegetable. Itis especially abundant during warm, dry seasons. On examining the insect, a long, slender beak will be found resting on the breast; this it inserts in the leaf or shoot and sucks the sap. Frequent repetitions by great numbers of these bugs cause the leaves to wilt and die, and as they abound during a season of drought when the plants are weak, they are at times very destructive. Mr. Riley has found that it injures the tender shoots of pear-trees, while it has long been known to attack asters, dahlias, marigolds, balsams, and other flowers. The larvz appear in the spring and acquire the rudi- ments of wings late in May or early in June in. New York, becoming fully fledged by the 10th of June, according to Fitch. Mr. Uhler says that it is almost as common in the cultivated districts of Colorado as it is in the Eastern United States. I have found it to be common in Col- orado and Utah. For remedies and other facts see page . THE HARLEQUIN CaBBAGE-BuG, Murgantia histrionica (Hahn).—Destroying, in the Southern States, by its punctures, cabbages, turnips, radishes, mustard, and other crus ¢eiferous plants; a bright black and orange-colored bug, This pretty bug has been found to be very destructive in Texas by 4 756 REPORT UNITED STATES ‘GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. in the Practical Entomologist (vol. 1, p. 110) the following account of its habits: “The year before last they got into my garden and utterly destroyed my cabbage, radishes, mustard, seed- turnips, and every other cruciform plant. Last year I did not set any of that order of plants in my garden. But the present year, thinking that the bugs had probably left the prem- = ises, I planted my garden with rad- z 2 ishes, mustard, and a variety of cab- — Renee ateiie Tene Bug. % pages. By the Ist of April the mus- size and magnified; g,h,adult. After tard and radishes were large enough Riley. for use, and I discovered that the in- sect had commenced on them. I began picking them off by hand and tramping them under foot. By that means I have preserved my four hundred and thirty-four cabbages, but I have visited every one of them daily now for four months, finding on them from thirty-four to _ sixty full-grown insects every day, some coupled, and some in the act of depositing their eggs. Although many have been hatched in my garden the present season, I have suffered none to come to maturity, and the daily supplies of grown insects that I have been blessed with are immigrants from some other garden. _ «The perfect insect lives through the winter, and is ready to deposit its eggs as early as the 13th of March, or sooner, if it finds any cruci- form plant large enough. They set their eggs on end in two rows, cemented together, mostly on the under side of the leaf, and generally from eleven to twelve in number. In about six days in April—tour days in July—there hatches out from these eggs a brood of larva re- sembling the perfect insect, except in having no wings. This brood immediately begins the work of destruction by piercing and sucking the life-sap from the leaves; and in twelve days they have matured. They are timid, and will run off and hide behind the first leaf, stem, or any part of the plant that will answer the purpose. The leaf that they puncture immediately wilts, like the effects of poison, and soon withers. Half a dozen grown insects will killa cabbagein aday. They continue through the summer, and sufficient perfect insects survive the winter to: insure a full crop of them for the coming season. * * * * Lhave as yet found no way to get clear of them but to pick them off by hand.” | It has spread northward from Texas into Missouri, appearing there, ac- cording to Riley, in 1870. Mr. Ubler (List of Hemiptera, p. 24) says that it inhabits Guatemala, Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Indian Territory, Califor- nia, Nevada, Colorado, and from Delaware to Florida and Louisiana.. “Inthe Atlantic region,” he adds, ‘this species seems to be steadily but slowly advancing northward. Its introduction into Maryland has: been effected since the late war, and now it is known as far north as the vicinity of the Pennsylvania boundary-line in Delaware. In the Mississippi Valley it appears to be equally common, particularly in the States of Illinois and Missouri.” I found it- to be not uncommon at Golden, Colo., in the summer of 1875, and it will probably be destract- ive there soon. Description.— The larva is of a uniform pale-greenish color, marked with polished’ black. ‘The pupa differs from it only in some of the pale marks inclining to orange, and in the possession of conspicuous wing-pads; and they both differ from the mature: « cially the cabbage and radish, eating holes in the leaves. PACKARD.] COLORADO GREEN FLEA-BEETLE. 157 bug, not only in the non-possession of wings, vut in their antenna being but four instead of five-jointed, as they afterward become.” The mature bug is prettily marked with polished orange and blue-black, the relative proportion of the two colors being very variable and the orange inclining either to yellow or red (Riley). Ubhler says that various patterns of markings and colors, ranging from yellow to steel-blue, are con- spicuously exhibited in this pretty but unstable and pernicious insect. Remedy.—The best and surest, though most costly, remedy is hand- picking. Tur COLORADO GREEN FLEA-BEETLE, Orchestris albionica Le Conte.—Very abundant in Colorado at different elevations, eating holes in the leaves of cabbages and radishes, etc.; a small green flea-beetle, about one-tenth of a line in length. This little flea-beetle is very abundant in Colorado at all elevations, and is destined to become a great plague. At Denver it was very abundant in June and July on cruciferous plants, espe- At Golden it was extremely abundant on young cabbage and radishes. At Idaho it was abundant on young tur- nips and potatoes, eating holes in the leaves. At Manitou these little beetles swarmed on beds of radishes and cab- bages; the plants were small, just coming up, and these little pests were eating them up. Multitudes of them were found on the summit of Pike’s Peak, on the grass and Fie. 28—Colo- Alpine flowers, among the patches of snow, having prob- rado green ably been borne up from the plains and parks below by Filea-Beetle. currents of air. Its habits are probably nearly identical with those of the turnip flea-beetle, to the account of which the reader is referred. The larva is to be looked for in the roots of the plants on which it feeds. Description.—It is avery small, green beetle, not quite one line in length; uniformly deep, shining olive-green. The surface of the body, especially the wing-covers, is. coarsely punctured with little pits. Antenne pubescent, dark, with the third, fourth, and fifth joints reddish-brown. Legs concolorous with the body; tarsi with a brown- ish tinge. Remedies.—The use of Paris green on beds of young plants, and dusting ashes, or air-slacked lime over them, together with the planting of abundant seed. THE PircHy-LEGGED WEEVIL, Otiorhynchus picipes (Fabricius).—Damaging young cabbages, kale, broccoli, and other garden-vegetables; a pitchy-brown weevil, a quarter of an inch in length. A weevil has for several years been not uncommon in Eysex County, Massachusetts, which in England, from which it has been imported, is often, as Mr. Curtis says, ‘‘a dreadful pest in gardens, committing sad ravages on vines in hot-houses and on wall-fruit, during the night, when they emerge from their hiding-places in old walls, from under the bark, and clods of earth, to revel upon the branches of the new wood in April, or to feed upon the young shoots, which soon become black. They likewise injure raspberry plants in spring, by eating through the - flowering stems and leaves, and they nibble off the bark, and eat out the buds of apple and pear trees as early as February or March.” But they are said by Curtis to do still more damage to pease, turnips, and young winter-plants, as savoy, kale, broccoli, ete. I have detected this weevil on the beach-pea during the last week in July at Salem, Mass., and it is not uncommon in gardens, and even, if i am not mistaken as to the identity of the insect, will enter ferneries 758 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. and nibble the ferns and make considerable havoc among the plants before its presence is suspected. On July 16 I found one in a thin silken semi-transparent cocoon at- tached to a leaf of Lathyrus maritimus ; the cocoon was large and fall, being nearly half an inch long, cylindrical, both ends being rounded alike. Description.—This insect (Fig. 29, enlarged) is pitchy brown, and covered with microscopic, pale scales, resembling a scallop- shell, being marked with a few prominent ribs. Indeed, many of the ‘weevils seem to be provided with scales like those of butterflies, Poduras, and a few other insects. The beak, so short and slender in the radish-weevil, is here broad and short, square at the end, from which the elbowed reddish-brown antenneg arise. The head is a little darker than the rest of the ulated, the granulations being arranged in irregular rows. The wing-covers are adorned with about eleven high, rounded, longi- tudinal ridges on each cover, and with coarse punctures along the furrows between them. There are also about twenty rows of pale dots along the wing-covers, consisting of scales. The legs, includ- : _ing the claws, are rather paler than the rest of the body. The body Fig. 29.—Pitch Y- is also covered with scattered pale hairs bent down on the surface, Legged Weevil, especially on the top of the head; these hairs remain after the enlarged. scales are rubbed off. It is a quarter of an inch in length. WIRE- WORMS AND CutT-WorRMS.—Larve of various snapping-beetles, Hlater, Agrotis, etec.—Although these insects have been fully described among those preying on wheat, corn, and grass, they are very destruc- tive to young cabbages and allied garden-plants. Wire-worms feed on the roots, and sometimes destroy the whole crop in Kentucky. In En- gland wire-worms are destroyed for many successive years by sowing salt over the surface of the ground at the rate of six bushels per acre just as the small grain is coming up. Cut-worms are more difficult to contend with than wire-worms. They are active at night, hiding by day in the soil around the roots of the plants they infest. It would be well, therefore, to examine the soil around the young cabbage-plants, or to inclose the plants in tubes of stout paper to prevent the attacks of the worm. As a remedy for wire-worms, J. H. Charnock, of Canada, advised the use of rape-cake. ‘The remedy consists,” says Mr. Riley, “in applying 3 ewt. per acre of rape-cake broken into small lumps, and not crushed into dust. It is spread on the land and plowed in before sowing the seed. The worms are said to be so fond of it that they leave all other kinds of food, while the cake is said to act upon them as a vermifuge and to kill them, as they are found in it afterward in all stages, ‘ from re- pletion to death and decay.’ Rape-cake is extensively used in England as a fertilizer, and I have not the least doubt but that it attracts the wire-worms, and may be used as a trap for this purpose like sliced pota- toes, etc.” Riley questions whether it is so efficacious as has been claimed, but considers that it ‘‘is, however, well worthy of further trial, for even if, as I suspect, it does not kill, it has the advantage over the other sub- stances to be strewn as traps and then collected, in that it at the same time acts as a fertilizer. Where it can be safely done, rape-cake as well as Sliced potatoes, turnips, etc., that can be used as baits for these in- sects, might be poisoned with Paris green, and the necessity of collecting the worms to destroy them thus avoided. I know of nothing manufact- ured in this country that has the character of rape-cake, or could take its place.” body, and is coarsely punctured. The prothorax is coarsely gran- . PACKARD. J FLATTENED MILLIPEDE. 759 THE FLATTENED MILLEPEDE, Polydesmus canadensis Newport.—“ Eating the roots of plants and other tender vegetations, and probably causing the anbury (club-root) disease in cabbages; small, slender, white and brown worms, from one to five-tenths of an inch long, flattened upon the back, and with numerous small legs appearing like afringe along each side of the body; crawl- ing everywhere over the damp surface of # the ground by night, and withdrawing into the crevices under chips, stones, and similar situations during the day-time.”— (Fitch. ) F1G. 30.—Many-lined Thousand-legs. Although the myriapods are in general harmless, feeding either as in the.case of the centipedes on other insects, or as in the millepedes on decaying vegetables or animal matter, one species of millepede (ulus multistriatus) injures the roots of the strawberry in [llinois, and either this or another species, it is not known which, eats the bulbs of the carnation pink, according to a writer in the American Agriculturist. As it has been generally thought that the millipedes are harmless, feeding on dead and decaying animal and vegetable matter, I insert the state- ment of this writer, who lives at Montreal, Canada: “I planted out last Spring a good-sized bed of carnations; two-thirds of them were cut down in about a fortnight, and I could trace it to nothing else than these worms, with which I found the bed to be infested. I removed the bal- ance to another part of the garden, and saved them. I then examined some of the lily-bulbs in the next bed and found some of the living bulbs partly eaten, with the worms in them. I have destroyed large quantities this autumn, by slicing apples and turnips and laying them on the infested beds, the worms collecting under them in masses, which were removed and burned.” It is generally stated in systematic works on entomology that the millepedes feed on decaying vegetable or animal substances,* but there are some exceptions to this rule, which | will give. Curtis in his “ Farm Insects” tells that Zulus londinensis “ infests the roots of wheat in Surrey,” while of Iulus latestriatus Curtis, “ thousands were infesting a garden at Nantwich.” Of another species, ulus pilosus, he remarks: ‘‘I have found it more than once infesting the roots of cabbages in gardens in March.” A species of another genus, Polydesmus complanatus Linn., is, he says, ‘‘ reported to be by far the most destruc- tive species. In April, considerable numbers of the smaller ones were detected eating the roots of wheat, and in the spring and autumn they were injuring the roots of onions and pansies. They propagate rapidly when the earth is undisturbed; and specimens measuring three- quarters of an inch have been found under garden-pots at the roots of anemonies.” The iuli, or snake-millepedes, Curtis adds, ‘‘seem to be both carnivorous and herbivorous, for they have been detected feeding upon small snails, as well as upon the pupa of a fly; and they are be- lieved to live also upon larve, acari, earth-worms, etc.; and there is such abundant evidence of their destroying the roots of many vegetables, being found clustered together in multitudes at the roots of corn, pota- toes, turnips, cabbages, etc., that there can be little doubt of their doing great mischief to many crops of the gardener, and apparently to the farmer alsv. In order to confirm this generally received opinion, which appeared formerly to rest upon doubtful evidence, I shal] enumerate the different proofs which have come to my own knowledge. A garden at Ledbury, Herefordshire, was infested by Iulus pulchellus, which congre- gated in masses at the roots of the Brassica tribe. On pulling up some Bes says that Zulus gattatus of Fabricius has been observed feeding ona small elix. 760 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. rotten cabbage-stalks in the beginning of March I found the Iulus pilo- - | sus among the roots; they were then of a large size, and had, as well as" I could ascertain, one hundred and fifty-six feet, being thirty-nine pairs on each side. At theend of the same month Tulus londinensis was de- tected at the roots of wheat; they were at that time an inch long, and Tulus pulchellus was observed with them; these I buried at the roots of some potatoes and wheat, which I dug. up in August, when the former were completely decayed, but the latter were not in the least injured; and I could not detect any of the snake-millepedes. I received some roots of the scarlet-bean from Ullswater, in Westmoreland, which were eaten through and through by the Iulus pulchellus and Polydesmus com- planatus, which were still sticking in the holes formed by them in the cotyledons, and the party who transmitted them stated that thousands of those species infested his garden, destroying the pease and kidney- beans also. Near Nantwich, in Cheshire, the Iulus latestriatus was in countless myriads in January, 1844, destroying the potted plants in the — green-houses by eating the rind just at or under the surface of the soil; and cauliflowers and cabbage-plants shared the same fate in the gar- den. Nearly at that period of the year the Iulus londinensis was doing great injury to the early potato-crops near Chester. My friend, Mr. W.. W. Saunders, who is too able a naturalist to be deceived, has ascertained that the iuli are very destructive in his garden at Wadsworth, where they devoured the young shoots of the heart’s-ease just below the surface. I have more than once observed the snake-millepedes and polydesmi in September infesting the roots of onions which had been attacked by the maggots of aflv; and the polydesmus injures the carrot-crops by eating various labyrinthsin the roots. The iuli are also found in pears, apples, ete., but I believe not in sound fruit. A few similar proofs the reader will have observed appended to the descriptions of the various species. These animals are also found in considerable numbers under the loose bark of decaying trees, in company with wood-lice, earwigs, etc.; also among the moss which clothes the base and holes in the trunk and stumps of trees, and likewise under stones in humid situations. In his “ Entomologie horticole,” Boisduval tells us that Iulus sabulosas Linn., “‘sometimes enters pots, enaws the plants at the necks of the root, and, like the sowbugs, makes it die of feebleness.” Bianniulus g guttulatus tis usually found under the straw in strawberry-beds; it introduces itself into the fruit at the time of maturity, devours the pulp, and remains coiled up in the interior like a small snake. The hole by which it penetrates is not always very large; thus it often happens that straw- berries are picked which undoubtedly contain iuli. We only know it when eating them by their cracking between our teeth. This small myria- pod prefers the larger species of strawberry, but the small ones which grow ou Fragasia vesca are not exempt; we have very often found them in autumn in the variety called des quatre saisons.” The most auther- tative writer on the subject of the food of the millepedes is Prof. F. Plateau, of Gaud, Belgium, from whose ‘“ Researches sur les Phénomenes de la Digestion et sur “la Structure de Appareil digestif chez les Myri- apodes de Belgique,” Belgium, 1876, we quote as follows: ‘It is com- monly understood that the juli live on vegetable matters; but the notion is general, vague, and I have found nothing exact in the works devoted to this eroup of animals. This leads me to state with some detail what’ I have myself observed. I do not believe that any iulus feeds naturally on green leaves like a caterpillar. One of our smallest species, the Blaniulus guttulatus (Gervais, Lulus Jragariarum of Lamarch), eats strawberries in spring-time. Before and after the season of straw- ea THE EARTH-WORM. 761 berries it contents itself with a food less choice; thus I have found it in abundance in the decayed bulbs of Gladiolus communis. The Iulus lon- dinensis, So common in heaps of dead leaves and decaying vegeta- bles, feeds on decaying vegetable tissues, and if it has to choose between green and fresh vegetables and the débris of rotten vegetables, it selects the latter: an individual placed in a box with green leaves of the pear, lilac, grape-vine, and grass, gnawed exclusively an old, dry, and brown pea-leaf. The Julus sabulosus lives under heaps of the dried leaves of the elm, ash, oak, beach, and is nourished by them. M. Gervais has found the Zulus lucifugus in the tan of the green-houses of the Museum of Paris.” From this statementit will be seen that as a rule these mnille- pedes are scavengers, and more beneficial than injurious, as they live principally on decaying vegetable matter. Returning to Dr. Fitch’s account of the Polydesmus canadensis, he States that it eats the skin of cucumbers, and he thinks that stunted, gnarly, deformed, and bitter cucumbers are the result of the wound of these. millepedes. Onions, when thickly growing together, having attained but a third or half their growth, in many cases stop growing, and the tops graduaily wither and die. ‘On pulling up those which are thus affected, it is found that most of the thread-like rootlets underneath have been severed at the point of their junction with the bulb as smoothly and evenly as though they had been cut off with a knife, only a few of the central ones retaining their connection with the bulb.” He has no doubt but that the millepedes do this. He also thinks that the disease in cabbages called anbury, or club-root, is caused by the bite of these millepedes. THE EARTH-WoRM, Lumbricus terrestris Linn.—Drawing young cabbage, lettuce, and beans into their holes; the common earth-worm. It is a well-known fact that earth-worms, in the main beneficial from their habits of boring into soil of gardens and plowed lands, and thus allowing the air to get to the roots of plants, occasionally injure young seed- ling-plants of the cabbage, lettuce, beet, % etc., by drawing them into their holes or uprooting them, working by night. They are also sometimes known to eat large holes in the tender leaves of plants. Mr.R. P. Knight thus describes the habits of the earth- worm (American Naturalist, vol. 3, p. 388): ‘Last spring (and this) Lwasledtowatchthecommon X, ’ earth-worms in my garden, and on the Q plot of grass saw their manner of feed- By a ing. I was within ten inches of their mee ; bodies. I saw one prepare to feed on a Ee Rb i young clover-leaf from a clover-stock ; F Hee ole bear one ae ee he kept his tail secured to the hole (a8 eee) eee eee ee ls / mentation o e yolk; b, embryo a base line) in the ground, by which he further advanced; (0, mouth); ¢, em- retreated quicker than the eye could bryostillolder; (x, primitive streak) ; follow him. Finding all quiet, hecame % &™brye still older; (0, mouth, after again. Within a few inckes of my eye omalenssy ) to) ' the pointed head of the worm changed, and the end was as if cut off square. I then saw it was a mouth. He approached the leaf and by a strong and rapid muscular action of the rings of the whole body drew the leaf and one inch of the tender stock into his mouth, and then by a | | 762 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. violent muscular action drew the whole stock of young and tender clover . toward him, and when all the substance was sucked out he let the plant | go and it (the stock) flew back to its former place. The leaf and stem — were entire, but looked as though it had been boiled. I then laid a small piece of cold mutton down, and he appeared to feast both on the fat and lean, dragging them after him as his powers of suction could not act as. well as if they had been held like the clover-leaf. I also find that when the male and female are together, they appear as one worm of double the size.” The earth-worm, like snails and slugs, is hermaphrodite. In Lum- bricus agricola ot Kurope, the female sexual apparatus consists of two: ovaries lying in the thirteenth segment, and two oviduects (segmental organs), which, beginning in a trumpet-shaped opening, collects several eggs into a small sac, which is ejected through an opening on each side of the ventral surface of the fourteenth segment. Moreover, we find in — the ninth and tenth segments two pairs of pyriform seminal recepta- — cles, which open into as many openings on the edges of the ninth and tenth, as well as the tenth and eleventh, segments, and during copula- tion are filled with sperm. The male sexual organs consist (1) of two. pairs of testes, which, formed like the ovaries, lie in the tenth and elev- enth segments, and (2) two seminal ducts, which begin with four trum- | pet-shaped openings, and terminate externally on the fifteenth segment, and (3) two seminal vesicles with several flaps and united by a cross- band and enveloped by the testes and trumpet-shaped mouths of the | seminal ducts. Sexual union is reciprocal, each worm impregnating the other, and it takes place in June and July in the night-time. The worms lie with their ventral surfaces opposed, each stretched out so. that the opening of the seminal receptacle of one is opposed to the girdle of the other. (See Fig. 31.) During the act the sperm passes out to the opening of the seminal | ducts, flows in a groove along the body to the girdle, and from thence > into the seminal receptacle of the other worm. The eggs are very small, and contained in acapsule (Fig. 31); but, asa rule, only one egg develops. | a worm, the others addling. Fig. 31 illustrates the mode of pairing in the earth-worm and the development of the embryo from the egg of — Iumbricus rubellus Grube, observed in Russia by Kowalevsky. The eges of Lumbricus rubellus were found in dung, inclosed one in a single capsule. The European JL. agricola lays numerous egg-capsules, each containing sometimes as many as fifty eggs, though only three or four embryos are to be found in a capsule (Kowalevsky). INSECTS INJURING THE RADISH. THE RaDISH-FLY, Anthomyia radicum Bouché, A. raphani Harris.—Eating the roots. — of young radishes, particularly in old soils; small white maggots, which change {to | barrel-shaped, reddish pupa-cases, from which about the first of June emerge small, ash-colored flies, with a silvery-gray face, copper-colored eyes, and a brown spot on the front of the head, with faint brown lines on the thorax, and a longitudinal black line on the abdomen, crossed by narrower lines. Soon after early-sown radishes come up, the roots are attacked by small white maggots, and when the plants grow inold soil the maggots are especially destructive, as I have found them in Maine over twenty years since, when the cup was badly infested. The plants were not al- ways killed, but the roots were so worm-eaten as to be unfit for — the table. Though we raised the fly in abundance, we made no notes of | it at the time, and copy a description of the larve, pupa, and fly from Dr. Fitch’s Eleventh Report. Our figures (Plate LXIII, Fig. 2) are copied — E i PACKARD] THE RADISH SEED-WHEEVIL. 763 from Curtis’s ‘‘ Farm Insects.” Dr. Fitch regards our species (A. raphant Harris) as identical “in every particular with the European A. radicum.” In Europe it guaws the roots of the turnip. The larve appear in the spring as soon as the radishes get partly grown. ‘* When full-grown, they change in the ground to reddish-brown pupe, similar to those of the onion and cabbage maggots. The insect remains in this state two or three weeks, when the fly hatches and crawls up out of the ground, with its wings crumpled up, and climbing up the side of a clod or any perpendicular surface which it finds, these members expand and assume their proper form before they become dried and firm.” (Fitch.) Description of larva.—The larva is 0.20 inch long, elongating itself to 0.25 inch when erawling. It is about three times as long as thick, appearing to be more short and broad than larve of the onion-fly. ~It is white, shining, cylindrical, and tapering to a point anteriorly, where the jaws appear under the skin as a short, black, movable line, _ its anterior end when protruded forward becoming split, and then seen to be two- _ sharp hooks, which are curved downward, and when the animal is crawling these hooks are pressed downward against the surface to aid in locomotion. The body is divided by transverse lines into eleven or twelve segments, and when the head is ex- serted thirteen segments can be counted. At the hind end of the back a pale, tawny- yellowish dorsal stripe is faintly visible. The hind end is abruptly cut off, obliquely downward and slightly backward, forming a flat surface, having above its center two _ conspicuous spiracles, or elevated dots, their surface opaque and rugose, and their color sometimes tawny-yellow, sometimes black. This flattened hind end has a number of small acute teeth around its outer margin, of which the two lower ones are thicker, of a brownish color, and slightly notched or two-toothed at their tips in the large but not in the smaller young larve. Above these on each side are three teeth, distant from. - each other, the middle one nearer to the upper than to the lower one. The fly.—In these radish-flies the two sexes differ materially. The male is ash-gray and very bristly ; the large compound eyes occupy most of the surface of the head and are almost in contact upon thecr own. ‘Thereare also three minute eyes at the base of the crown. The face is silvery-gray, almost white in some reflections of the light, with a long black streak on the forehead, which is pointed at its hind end. Below this. streak are the black three-jointed antennz, the basal joint being small, the second large, the third largest and oval, with a two-jointed pubescent bristle on the back, the first of the joints being very minute. The fore body is oblong, whitish on the sides, with three faint, interrupted dusky stfipes upon the back. The hind body is shining gray, rather small and elliptical, tapering to the apex, with a black stripe down the back, the edges of the segments and the region of the scutel being also black. The two rings are large, transparent, iridescent, laid the one upon the other in repose, the longitudinal veins extending to the margin, with two transverse veinlets in the disk. The poisers are pale yellowish. The six legs are black and bristly, the feet five-jointed, ending in two little claws and two large pale leathery lobes. The female is of a uniform ash-gray color, excepting the silvery-white face and pale sides of the fore body. The eyes are widely apart, with a broad black stripe between them, which is shaded into chestnut color in front. The hind body is larger than in the male and conical toward its apex. The wings have a tinge of yellowish at their bases. The species measures 0.22 inch in length and 0.45 inch in width across the ex- _ tended wings. Remedies.—The best preventive is undoubtedly early sowing and the rotation of crops; while infected roots should be pulled up and burned with the maggots in them, hot water should be poured on the roots, and salt and lime applied. THE RADISH SEED-WEEVIL.—Devouring the seeds, gnawing ahole through the side of the pod; the small white grub of a pale-gray, broad, short weevil. In the year 1857 I found in Maine upon the radish-leaves a specimen of a weevil, which I cannot distinguish by Curtis’s description and fig- ure from the Huropean Ceutorhynchus assimilis Payk. In Europe this weevil was first observed among turnip-seed, where, as a white maggot, it devours the seed in the pods; when fally fed it gnaws a hole through the side of the pod, out of which it escapes, and makes. its way into the ground two or three inches below the surface, where it 164 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. © forms a brown, oval cocoon of grains of dirt. Here it remains three | weeks in the pupa state, and by the third week in July the beetle | appears. Mr. Curtis, } whose account we | have reproduced, | thinks thatthe female } lays its eggs in the. embryo pods. i As it has not before { been noticed in this | ( country, and may be- | | come in future years | 3 more or less of a’ Fic. 32.—a, beetle; c, larva; b, pupa; e, pod with hole out of plague, we give a4 which the grub has come; d, earthen cocoon. From Curtis. brief description of | The right-hand figure drawn from an American specimen. the insect: ao Description.—The beetle is minute and pale gray, with a remarkably long, slender, curved snout, from the middle of which arise the long elbowed, slender antenne ; the i basal joint is long and slender and succeeded by seven spherical joints; the oval club y pale at tip, consisting of four joints. The body is black, but so densely covered with | gray, flattened hair and scales that it seems to be uniformly pale gray. These hairs become broad, flattened scales on the sides of the body. The -prothorax is triangular, | seen from above, swollen on the sides, and the head, exclusive of the snout, is very) small. The body behind is unusually broad; the wing-covers have each nine (Curtis | mentions only eight) longitudinal, fine, punctate furrows, the ridges between being | much flattened. The legs are rather short, and pale gray, like the rest of the body. | Curtis mentions that the hindermost thighs have ashort, thick tooth beneath. I find | one on the thighs of both the middle and hind legs. However, the insect may be } considered identical with the European species, until proved otherwise by comparison § of specimens, as it has probably been imported in radish and turnip seed. INSECTS INFESTING LETTUCE. Tue LETTUCE Eartu-Louse, Rhizobius lactuce Fitch.—On the roots of lettuce often } in great numbers; very smal], oval, white and pale-yellow lice, with dusky legs and } antenne, their bodies dusted over with a white powder. These little lice belong to the family of true plant-lice (Aphide), but are always wingless, and with more of a white powder on the body than} usual in the family, in this respect resembling the coccus or scale-insects. | These little root-lice cluster about the roots of the lettuce, appearing’ soon after the plants are up, and becoming more numerous toward the} end of the season. I have found them on the roots of the aster, and} they also occur on those of the verbena. By watering the earth around) the plants with tobacco-water they can be easily destroyed. INSECTS INFESTING ASPARAGUS. i Tue EvurRopEAN ASPARAGUS-BEETLE, Crioceris asparagi Linn.—Eating irregular, | rounded holes in the bark; an oblong, shining blue-black beetle a quarter of an inch; long, with a red prothorax and head and three bright-yellow spots on each wing-cover 5, with a soft-bodied larva, thrice as long as thick, larger behind, of a dull ash-gray or} obscure olive, with a black head and legs. { iW This beetle was first found in New York in 1858 or 1859, and in 1862) became very destructive on Long Island. Early in May, soon after the|| season for cutting the asparagus for the market has begun, these beetles, says Fitch, come forth from their winter-quarters and commence feed- | ing upon it, gnawing and marring it, and scattering their eggs upon the stalks. The eggs are dark brown, small,.and are attached to the| stalk or leaves. ‘ They hatch in eight days, and the larva becomes fully | | PACKARD.| THE PARSNIP-BUTTERFLY. 765 fed in ten or twelve days. The grub feeds upon the asparagus, gnawing | through the outer bark, “ preferring the tender bark on the ends of the stalks and on the branches to the more tough.and stringy bark toward the base of the stem.” In about thirty days from the time the egg is laid the beetle appears, and is found through the summer and autumn, hibernating in the winter in crevices in fences, etc. The beetles “feed upon the bark, eating irregular oval or oblong holes through it, length- wise of the stalks, and varying in size from about an eighth to a quarter of an inch in length. These holes are most numerous toward the top of | the stalks and on the branches, where, frequently, nearly the whole of | the bark is consumed.” | | Description of the larva.—tt attains a length of about a quarter of aninch. It is of | an obscure olive or dull ash-gray color, often with a blackish stripe along the middle | of the back. Itis soft and of a flesh-like consistency, about three times as long as | thick, thickest back of the middle, with the body much wrinkled transversely. The head is black and shining, and the neck, which is thicker than the head, has two shin- ing black spots above. ‘Three pairs of legs are placed anteriorly upon the breast, and | are of the same shining black color with the head. As will be seen when it is crawling, | the larva clings also with the tip end of its body, and all along its under side may then _ be seen two rows of small tubercles, slightly projecting from the surface, which serve as prolegs in addition to the tip of its body. Above these tubercles on each side is a row of elevated shining dots like warts, above which the breathing-pores appear like a row of minute black dots., _. The beetle is oblong, blue-black, the prothorax bright tawny-red; the wing-covers broadly bordered with orange-yellow, while along the middle is a row of three lemon- yellow spots. The legs and under side of the body are shining blue-black, and there is _ frequently a dull yellowish band below the knees, and a spot of the same color on the : pase of the hind thighs.—(Fitch.) Remedy.—Hand-picking and the aid of hens and chickens. INSECTS INFESTING THE CARROT AND PARSNIP. THE PARSNIP-BUTTERELY, Papilio asterias Drury.—Feeding upon the leaves of the carrot, parsley, and parsnips ; a large yellow caterpillar, smooth, cylindrical, striped and _ spotted with black, and changing to alarge and black swallow-tailed butterfly, spotted with yellow. Our large, common asterias butterfly is not usually common enough to _ be injurious, but is liable in certain seasons to be locally so. It appears in the Northern States in June, when it lays its eggs on the leaves of the carrot, parsley, and parsnip. From this brood a new set of butter- flies appear in August. The larva is yellow, striped and spotted with black, and when irritated, pushes out from a slit just behind the head a V-shaped, yellow, fleshy scent-organ, used as a means of defense. The chrysalis is free, attached by the tip of the abdomen and supported by a loose silken thread, which is passed over the back. It has two ear-like projections on each side of the head and a prominence on the back of the thorax. Ii lives in this state from nine to fifteen days. The butterfly is black, with a row of yellow spots across the wing and a similar row near the hinder edge, with a row of large blue patches on the hind wings between the two rows of yellow spots. The female is larger and differs from the male in wanting the inner row of yellow spots on the fore wings. The wings expand from 34-4 inches. The obvious remedy is hand-picking. A large ichneumon fly, Trogon exesorius, preys © upon it. The seeds of these umbelliferous plants are often infested by minute Beers flies, and small moths, but we know as yet but little about . them. 766 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. INSECTS INFESTING THE PHA. TuE PEA-WEEVIL, Bruchus pisi Linn. (Fig. 33).—Infesting seed-peas, living in the pe its whole life; a rusty black weevil-like beetle, spotted with lighter shades; a little ‘over a tenth of an inch long. The pea-weevil belongs to a small family of beetles called Bruchide, | from Bruchus, the name of the principal genus, of which there are 300 | species known. They differ from the true weevils in the proboscis being , folded on the chest, the antenne being short and straight and inserted | in a cavity next to the eyes. The beetles are short and broad, and are | noted for their activity and readiness to take flight when disturbed. , The pea-weevil is oval in form, about an eighth of an inch long, rusty | black, with a white spot on the hinder part of the prothorax, and four , or five white dots behind the middle of each elytron and a T-shaped , white spot on the tip of the abdomen. : They frequent the pea during and just after the flowering season. | Harris states that “after the pea-vines have flowered, and while the pods | are young and tender, and the peas within them are just beginning to . swell, the beetles gather upon them, and deposit their tiny eggs singly , in the punctures or wounds which they make upon the surface of the F ivy pods.” Other authors | state that with their beak they puncture the base of the flower and ' lay an egg in the punct- — ure.. Riley tells us in . his Third Report (p. 47) , that ‘‘the eggs are deep ; yellow, 0.035 inch long, ; three times as long as , wide, fusiform, pointed Fic. 33.—Pea-Weevil, natural size; b, much enlarged; e¢, in front, blunt behind, larva, natural size and enlarged: d, pupa seen from above, but larger anteriorly natural size and enlarged ; g, the beetle coming out of than posteriorly. They the pea (after Curtis); f, egg (after Riley). are fastened to the pod by some viscid fluid which dries white and glistens like silk. As the ; operation of depositing is only occasionally noticed during cloudy , weather, we may safely assume that it takes place for the most part by | night. If pea-vines are carefully examined in this latitude (Missouri) , during the month of June, the pods will often be found to have from , one to fifteen or twenty such eggs upon them, and the biack head ; of the future larva may frequently be noticed through the delicate shell. * * * * The newly-hatched larva is of a deep yellow color with a black head, and it makes a direct cut through the pod into the 4 nearest pea, the hole soon filling up in the pod, and leaving but a mere speck, not so large as a pin-hole, in the pea.” The cylindrical, thick, } fleshy grub hatches, and perforates the pod, entering the pea, and there : lives until it changes to a weevil; and in stored peas, hibernates within ! them. Their presence in the pea may be detected by a discoloration | made by the larva within, corresponding to a dark spot on the pea. The grub becomes fully grown by the time the pea ripens and dries. It then bores around hole from the hollow in the center of the pea, leaving the hull and generally the germ untouched; hence infested peas will spring up and grow. The grub changes to a pupa within the pea in the autumn, and before the spring casts its skin, becomes a weevil, and gnaws a hole through the pea; it often does not appear until after the oe ae eee \ | | PACKARD] THE BEAN-WEEVIL. 767 | pea is planted. Sometimes every pea in a pod contains a grub. So numerous at times is it that the cultivation of the pea has been aban- | doned. By diminishing the weight of the pea it causes a great loss in the crop, The pea-weevil is a native of this country, and has been introduced into Southern and Central Europe. It was first noticed by gardeners as | injurious in Pennsylvania, but is now abundant all over the Northern and Western States. Remedies.—The seed should be kept sealed up in tin cans over one year before planting. In this way the weevils, which live but a single year, would die before being liberated. It is also customary to soak peas in boiling water for a few minutes before planting; by so doing the sprout- ' ing of the seed will be hastened and the peas get their growth in part before the weevils attack them. As the weevils appear only once during | the summer, at the time when the pea usually flowers, if a second crop is planted, they will be free from the attacks of weevils. The crow blackbird is known to destroy great numbers of weevils in spring, and the Baltimore oriole splits open the green pods in search for | grubs. INSECTS INFESTING THE BEAN. THE BEAN-WEEVIL, Bruchus fabe Riley (Fig. 34).—Injuring beans in the same manner as peas, except that the beans are tenanted by several weevils; a similar but smaller weevil. This very destructive weevil seems, according to Mr. Riley, to be indig- enous, and has become injurious in the vicinity of New York, in Illi- nois, and in Missouri, bidding fair to become a most formidable pest of our bean-crop. Mr. Angus has been the first to detect its ravages, having found it to be already very destructive at West Farms, N. Y. Sev- eral years since he sent me specimens, and in 1870 wrote me more particularly about its ravages, as fol- lows: “I also send you a sample of beans, which I think will startle you, if you have not seen such be- fore. I discovered this beetle in the kidney or bush beans a few years ago, and they have been greatly on the increase every year since. I might say much on the gloomy prospect before us in the cultivation of Fic. 34.—Grub of this important garden and farm product, if the work | Bean-Weevil. _ of this insect is not cut short by some means or other. The pea bruchus is bad enough, but this is worse.” Description.—It closely resembles the pea-weevil (Bruchus pisi). It is rather smaller _ than the pea-weevil, measuring 0.15 of an inch in length, while the latter is 0.20 of an inch in length: Compared with that insect, it is lighterand more uniform in color, be- ing of a tawny-gray, without the white spots so conspicuous in B. pist. The uniform | tawny-gray elytra are spotted with a few oblong dark spots, situated between the | strie ; the antenne also differ in having the four basal joints more reddish than in B. | pisi, while the terminal joint is red, being blackish-brown in B. pisi. The fore legs are much redder, and the two hind pairs are reddish where they are dark brown in B. pist. The spine on the hind femora is smaller but longer, and the antenne are flatter, the | joints being farther separated, and the whole body narrower than in B. pisi. The larva (Fig. 33) is short, thick, fleshy, footless, and about + inch long. The pupa | 1g white, and measures 0.17 of an inch in length. The head is laid upon the breast, | the red tip of the mandibles reaching to the base of the tarsi of the first pair of feet. | ‘The two front pair of legs are folded on the breast at right angles to the body, tho tarsi of the second pair reaching a little beyond the anterior third of the body, while the hind pair are concealed beneath the wings. ‘The elytra are laid along the side of the body, directed obliquely downward, and are marked with deep longitudinal ribs; the under or hind pair of wings, which are much narrower than the elytra, project 768° REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. beyond the elytra, nearly meeting on the median line of the body. The eyes are dark - and conspicuous, being red, horseshoe-like spots. The antenne are laid upward and backward on the base of the elytra and behind the legs. The tip of the abdomen is smooth and unarmed. Length, 0.17 of an inch. ie The chrysalis lies in a cavity in the bean just large enough to receive . its body, there being as many as eight ortwelvein asingle bean. (Fig. —.) This cavity is indicated by a round, sometimes oval; semi-transparent spot 0.08 of an inch in diameter, the insect escaping through a thin orbic- ular, almost transparent, lid, previously gnawn by thelarva, which falls — | off when the beetle emerges. The chrysalis is surrounded by a thin cocoon-like case, consisting of the castings of the larva (which are long, cylindrical, when highly magnified), closely packed together. Though most of the pupze had, November 25, changed to. beetles, which had deserted the beans, many had not changed, and two or three out of the whole lot were in the semi-pupa state, the head and posterior part of the body being unchanged. By this we could determine that the larva closely resembled the larva of the true weevils in form. It is a short, thick, fleshy, cylindrical, footless white grub. The tip of its abdomen is rather blunt; its head is rather small, white, with a pale yellowish clypeus, while the mandibles are flat, short, and broad and red in color. The rudimentary antenne form a flattened round area on each side of the clypeas. The segments of the body are not convex, being rather flattened, but the sutures are slightly impressed. The body is a little flattened beneath and very convex above, while the lateral or pleural region of the body is well marked. Length, 0.16; thickness, 0.07 of an inch. Remedies.—The best remedy against its attacks is to carefully exam: ine the beans in the autumn and before sowing time, when their pres- - ence can be easily detected by the transparent spots made by the larva. These should be burned, and such beans as are apparently uninjured should be soaked for a minute in boiling-hot water, so that no beetles be overlooked. Another Bruchus which is not uncommon in Colorado has been sent me by Mr. F. G. Sanborn, and is Bruchus prosopis Le Conte (Fig. 35). As it is liable to attack the pea or bean in Colorado and the Western Territories, [add a description and figure of it. It resembles Bruchus fabe, the body being of nearly the same proportions. It is larger than that species, but the mark- the entire under side of the body being uniformly whitish. identitied for me by Dr. E. H. Horn, is Bruchus amicus », Horn. It was inclosed in the same bottle with B. prosopis. Fic. 35.—Bru- Lt may at once be distinguished by its uniformly slate- chus prosopis gray color above and beneath, not being spotted as usual Le C in the genus. It is slightly smaller than prosopis. Tur BEAN Lear-Hoprer, Empoa fabe (Harris).—Pancturing the leaves, causing them to wither and die, and the pods to become rough and scarred ; a small pale-green leaf- hopper. As I have had no personal experience with this insect, I copy Harris’s ings are very similar. It may be distinguished, however, by _ Length, 0.20 inch. Another species, like the other kindly _ account and description of it: “I have found that the Windsor bean, a — variety of the Vicia faba of Linnzeus, is subject to the attacks of a species of leaf-hopper, particularly during dry seasons, and when culti- vated in light soils. In the early part of summer the insects are so - small and so light-colored that they easily escape observation, and it is | not till the beginning of July, when the beans are usually large enough ~ pACKARD.| THE SQUASH-BORER. 769 to be gathered for the table, that the ravages of the insects leads to their discovery. A large proportion of the pods will then be found to be rough, and covered with little dark-colored dots or scars, and many of them seem to be unusually spongy and not well filled. On opening these spongy pods we find that the beans have not grown to their proper size, and if they are left on the plant they cease to enlarge. At the same time the leaves, pods, and stalks are more or less infested with little leaf-hoppers, not fully grown, and unprovided with wings. Usually between the end of July and the middle of August the insects come to their growth and acquire their wings; but the mischief at this time is finished, and the plants have suifered so much that all prospect of a second crop of beans from new shoots, produced after the old stems are cut down, is frustrated. These leaf-hoppers have the same agility in their motions, and appar- ently the same habits, as the vine-hoppers; but in the perfect state they are longer, more slender, and much more delicate. They are of a pale- green color; the wing-covers and wings are transparent and colorless ; and the last joint of the hind feet is bluish. The head, as seen from above, is crescent-shaped, and the two eyelets are situated on its front edge. The male has two long recurved feathery threads at the extremity of the body. The length of this species is rather more than one-tenth, but less than three-twentieths of an inch wide. It may be called Tetti- gonia fabe. Probably it passes the winter in the same way as the vine- hopper. INSECTS INJURING THE SQUASH AND PUMPKIN. THE SquasH-BoreEr, Ageria (Melittia) cucurbite Harris (Fig. 36).—Often suddenly killing the vine; a borer in the stalk, short and 2 thick, with a dark head and a dark horny patch just behind it; changing to a beautiful narrow-winged, , orange-colored moth spotted with black. \ During the last of summer when the vines are nearly fully grown and the squashes have nearly attained their full size, they suddenly die as if cut off at the roots. This is the work of the caterpillar of the beautiful moth here Fie. 36.--Squash-Borer; a, grub. ficured.. This Agerian appears in New England from July 10 to Au- gust 15, when it deposits its eggs on the stalk of the vine close to the roots. The larva on hatching bores into the stalk, and when nearly grown occupies the center near the ground, devouring the interior, and thus killing the plant. Here it lives until the last of Septem- ber or early in October, when it either deserts the vine and spins a rude earthen cocoon near the roots, or, as is often the case, remains | in the hollow it has made in the stalk, and then changes to a chrysalis. From this fact the means of prevention against its attacks are com- paratively easy, for if the vines are collected and burned in the autumn, in many cases the worms or chrysalides will be destroyed with them. = Description—The larva is a short, thick, fleshy, white caterpillar, with short legs, and a dusky head, with a horny dark scale on the segment next behind it. The moth is exceedingly beautiful, being a member of the family of Zgerians, in which the wings are very narrow. The body, for one of this family, is unusually thick. It is dark green with a bluish tint. The antennz are steel-blue. In the male the antenns are pectinated, and the abdomen dark above. In the female the abdomen is orange-red above and beneath, except on the basal segment; on the upper side are five large dark spots. The legs in both sexes are thick, with dense stiff hairs, black and orange, forming brushes, some white hairs, and four stiff spines; a large white spot at the base of the hind legs and on the breast. Head in front white; palpi, orange. It expands nearly an inch and a half. 49GS 770 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Tue STRIPED SQUASH-BEETLE, Diabrotica vittata Fabricius (Fig. 37).—Appearing on the squash pumpkin, cucumber, and melon vines as soon as the leaves are up, eating holes in the leaves and killing the young plant; a small yellow-striped beetle, whose larva is a long, slender grub, which bores in the roots in June and July. This universal pest is so familiar in the Northern States as to scarcely need description. The beetle hibernates under leaves or in the crev- ices in the bark of trees or in — fences, appearing among the earliest insects of spring, at _the time that the shad-bush (Amelanchier canadensis) is in blossom, on the pollen of whose flowers it feeds, afterward de- a ¢ : serting wild flowers for the Fig. 37.—Striped Squash-Beetle; a, larva; b, garden. Assoon as the seed- pupa ¢, adult; d, 12-spotted Deabrotica. leaves of the squash, pump- kin, melon, or cucumber are formed, and even before they appear above the surface of the soil, they devour them, and until the plant is about six inches high it is liable to be devoured by them. I take the follow- ing account in part from my ‘Guide to the Study of Insects.” Dr. H. Shimer has given an account of the habits of this insect in its different stages. He states that the grub, in June and July, “eats the bark and often perforates and hollows out the lower part of the stem which is beneath the ground, and the upper portion of the root, and occasionally, when the supply below fails, we find them in the vine just above the ground.” It hibernates in the pupa state. “The larva arrives at maturity in about a month after the egg is laid; it remains in the pupa state about two weeks, and the beetle probably lives several days before depositing her eggs, so that one generation is in existence about two months, and we can only have two, never more than three, broods in one season.” Dr. Shimer has found them boring in the squash and musk-melon vines as late as October 1. A generation appears in two months, and there are two or-three broods in a season. In an article in the American Naturalist (vol. v, p. 217), Dr. Shimer gives further information concerning the habits of this beetle. Theeggs, he says, are deposited on the root at the surface of the ground, or on the root just below the upper loose particles of earth, for although the perfect beetle does not burrow into the compact ground, yet it often is found down along the stem or root, just below the surface, under the loose, dry clots or finer particles of earth which are not pressed closely or beaten down by rains and hardened in drying. Description of the larva.—lit is a long, slender, white, cylindrical grub, with a small, brownish head. The prothorax is coreous. The thoracic legs are very slender, pale brown; the end of the body is suddenly truncated, with a small prop-leg beneath. Above is an articular brown space, growing black posteriorly and ending in a pair of upceurved, vertical, slender, black spines. It is 0.40 of an inch long. . In its boring habits, and its remarkably long, cylindrical, soft, white body this larva widely differs from that of Galleruca, to which the beetle is closely allied. The pupa is 0.17 of an inch long, white, with the tip of the abdomen ending in two long acute spines arising from a common base. A Tachina parasite (Melanoshora diabrotice Shimer) preys upon this beetle in the adult state, materially reducing its numbers. A single maggot fills almost the entire cavity of the abdomen of its host, the beetle. When about to transform into the pupa, the maggot leaves the body of the fly, and its pupa-case is found in the surface of the ground, ' the fly appearing late in July. PACKARD.] THE SQUASH-BUG. TAG i Description of Melanosphora diabrotice Shimer.—Pitch black. Eyes and proboscis light brown. Halters pale brownish. A crescentic line on each side of the face bordering the eye, almost meetifg in the medial line, silvery-gray. Anterior portion and sides of the prothorax in some lights give the same lustrous gray reflections as the face; in others, blackish. Body mederately clothed with stiff black spines. Wings hyaline, iridescent, with a smoky yellowish shade toward the base. Expanse of wings, 0.24 of an inch; width of wing, 0.06 of an inch; length of body, 0.13-0.15 of an inch; described from five dry specimens.—(Shimer. ) Dr. Shimer has also found a small red mite attached to the posterior end of the body of the beetle, which is very annoying to its host. Remedies.—Covering the vines with cotton or a high frame covered with muslin or milli- net is the only sure preventive, while pow- dered charcoal, hellebore, or lime may be sprinkled on the leaves.. Mr. Grerory, says the American Agriculturist, ‘‘relies upon plaster or oyster-shell lime, which may be shaken from a small sieve while the leaves are wet with dew or rain; to be applied as soon as the plants are up. He objects to the use of air-slacked stone-lime as it is apt to be too caustic and injures the plant.” Tue Squasu-Buac, Coreus tristis De Geer (Fig. 39).—Sucking the sap of the stems; large black bugs, often surrounding in large numbers the stems of squash-vines in August. oS While the squash-beetle is a coleopterous insect, the large black bug which is so abundant and destructive to the squash is a hemipterous insect, not having free-biting jaws as in the beetles, but a long, slender, sharp beak, lying, when at rest, on the breast, which it thrusts into the stem or leaf-stalks of its food-plant. I extract the following account of it from the ‘‘ Guide to the Study of Insects.” The squash-bug is very destructive to squash-vines, collecting in great numbers around the stem near the ground and sucking the sap with its stout re, 39.—squash- beak. It is a large, blackish-brown insect, six-tenths of Bug, nat. size. an inch long, and dirty yellowish beneath. It hibernates in the adult condition, leaving the plants in October. About the last of June the sexes meet, and the females “lay their eggs in little patches, fastening them with a gummy substance to the under side of the leaves. The eggs are round and flattened on two sides and are soon hatched. The young bugs are proportionally shorter and more rounded than the perfect insects, are of a pale ash color, and have quite large antenna, the joints of which are somewhat flattened. As they grow older and increase in size, after molting their skins a few times, they become more oval in form, and the under side of their bodies gradually acquires a dull ocher- © yellow color.” (Harris’s Treatise). The youngattack the leaves, causing them to wither. Successive broods are said to appear during the sum- mer. The odor of this bug is very offensive. Professor Verriel has found, with the assistance of Prof. S. W. Johnson, of Yale College, that the odor of this and other hemipterous insects bears the most resemblance to that of the formate of amylicether. It is probable that this substance is its most essential and active ingredient. Remedies.—This insect is so conspicuous that it can readily be con- trolled by hand-picking, especially when fully grown. Fig. 38.—Tachina parasite of the Squash-Beetle. Tz REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. THE SquasH Lapy-BirpD, Epilachna borealis Thunberg (Fig. 40).—Feeding on the leaves of the squash and pumpkin; a yellowish grub, with long branched spines. While all the other species of the family of ‘* lady-bird” (Coce- cinellide) are carnivorous, preying on other living insects, as plant-lice, etc., the present species is injurious to cucurbita- Fre, 40. Ceous plants. The beetle is yellowish, with seven large black Squash La- Spots on each wing-cover. ‘The larva is yellow, with long, dy-Bird. brown, branched spines, arranged in rows of six on each segment, except the first thoracic segment, which has only four. The pupa instead of spines has short bristles, especially on the thorax.”7— (Ostensacker.) Besides this beetle, the common black flea-beetle, Haltica (Epithrix) cucumen’s Harris, punctures the seed-leaves, causing at times a great deal of mischief. THE PICKLE-WorM, Phacellura nitidalis Cramer (Fig. 41.)—Boring cylindrical holesin — cucumbers, causing the fruit of the cucumber, melon, or squash to decay; a pale, greenish yellow caterpillar, with a pale reddish head. According to Riley, the pick- . le-worm begins to appear in the latitude of Saint Louis, Mo., about the middle of July, and continues its destructive work until the end of Septem- ber. ‘They bore cylindrical holes into the fruit and feed on its fleshy parts. They are grass-feeders, and produce a large amount of soft exere- ment. Ihavefound as many as four in a medium-sized cucum- ber, and a single worm will == often cause the fruit to rot. SSS —S—t—é«~T'‘ey' eel Very rapidly, and Fie. 41.—a, pickle-worm; b, head and prothoracic Come to their growth in from segment, enlarged; ¢, d, e, f, 9; markings; h, three to four weeks. When cocoon; i, male moth.—(After Riley.) about to transform they for- sake the fruit in which they had burrowed, and drawing together portions of some leaf that lies on or near the ground, spin a slight cocoon of white silk. Within this cocoon they soon become slender, brown chrysalides, with the head parts prolonged, and with a very long ventral sheath which incloses the legs. If itis not too late in the season the moths issue in from eight to ten days afterward. "The late individuals, however, pass the winter within their cocoons; though from the fact that some moths come out as late as November, I infer that they may also winter over in the moth state.” (Riley.) The moth is yellowish-brown, with golden, yellow spots on the fore wings, and the hind wings yellow, with a broad, dark border. Ltemedies—The cucumbers, melons, or squashes can be examined and the infested ones destroyed with the worm within. € UD, INJURING THE HOP. THE APHIS OF THE Hop.—Clustering often in vast numbers on the branches and leaves of the hop-vine; small, greenish, wingless or winged plant-lice. The most destructive insect of the hop at times in New Bngland is an aphis, which it is very difficult to exterminate. The best remedy is, PACKARD.] THE HOP-VINE CATERPILLAR. 173 when possible, to turn a powerful stream of water upon the leaves, or to shower them with soap-suds. So abundant is it in certain years in New Egland that the hop-crop has almost been cut off. The following figure of the apple aphis is intro- duced to illustrate the usual form of the plant-louse. Tur Hor CATERPILLAR, Hypena humuli (Harris).—Devouring the leaves in June, and again in July or August ; active, slen- der, glass-green caterpillars, with but four false legs and nearly half an inch long. The following account of this de- Fre, 42.—Apple Aphis, natural size and structive caterpillar is taken from my enlarged. ‘Guide to the Study of Insects.” Late in May or in June, as soon as the leaves expand, they are often devoured by the caterpillar of a grunt- moth, which, on being disturbed is very active, wriggling off the leaf to the ground. It is double-brooded, the first lot of caterpillars appearing late in May and early in June, the moths flying about late in June and early in July. Asecond brood of caterpillars appear in July and August, in Massachusetts, the moth flying in September. Whe is fully grown it forms a loose ge silken cocoon within a folded leaf or any crevice, the moth ap- pearing three weeks after. I haveraised aspecies of parasitic fly (Tachina) from the chrysali- ta des, which probably somewhat Fic. 43.—Hop-vine caterpillar, pupa, and moth, reduce the number of the moths. natural size. Remedies.—Hand-picking and shaking the vines vigorously twice a day would, if systematically pursued, be sufficient; while, in addition, show- ering the leaves with whale-oil soap, or a similar wash, would be effi- cacious. Description of the caterpiller.Body long and slender, with the segments rather con- yex, and with long, sparse hairs. It is uniformly of a glassy, pea-green color. The head is rather large, and deeply divided into two lobes by the median suture ; it isa little more yellowish-green than the body, which tapers gradually toward the tail, while the last pair of legs are long and slender. As there are but two pairs of abdom- inal legs, the caterpillar walks with a looping gait like the span or measuring worms. The body is striped with a narrow whitish line, edged broadly below with dusky, and with two white lines on the sides of the body, though specimens vary in the number of lines, some haying no lateral whitish stripes. It is nearly half an inch (0.45) in length. When half-grown the caterpillar is of a pale, livid, flesh color, not greenish, with a broad, dark, dorsal line, bounded on each side by a whitish line. ; Description of the moth.—It has remarkably long feelers (palpi), and when the wings are folded is triangular in outlike like the Greek letter 4. It is marbled with gray beyond the middle of the fore wings, with a distinct oblique gray stripe at the apex; and the fore wings are crossed by two wavy blackish lines formed of elevated black tufts, while there are two similar black tufts in the middle of the wings; the hind wings are paler than the rest of the moth. It expands one inch and a quarter. Tar Hop-Vine Harr-STREAK BUTTERFLY, Uranotes melinus (Hiibn.); Thecla humuli Harris.—Frequently feeding on the heads of the hop; a small, short, thick, green and downy caterpillar with very short legs, transforming into a small, delicate, brown but- terfly with four linear tails, two on each hind wing. As I have never seen this caterpillar, my account is taken from that of Harris. Allhe says of the larva is given in the preceding paragraph. Description of the butterfly —The wings on the upper side are dusky brown, with a tint of blue-gray ; and, in the males, there is an oval darker spot near the front edge; 774 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. the hind wings have two short, thread-like tails, the inner one the longest, and tipped with white; along the hind margin of these same wings is a row of little pale-blue spots, interrupted by a large orange-red crescent inclosing a small black spot; the wings beneath are slate-gray, with two wavy streaks of brown edged on one side with white, and on the hind wings an orange-colored spot near the hind angle, and a larger spot of the same color inclosing a black dot just before the tails. It expands one inch and one-tenth. (Harris.) It ranges, according to Scudder, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico and southward to Ven- ezuela. Besides the hop, it feeds on Crategus apiifolia, Hypericum auream, and Phaseolus. THE SEMICOLON BUTTERFLY, Pylygonia (Grapta) interrogationis (Fabr.).—A brown caterpillar with a red head and pale-yellow or brownish spines, sometimes defoliating the vine, and changing into a large tawny-orange butterfly with jagged and anvular wings. ; Though the caterpillars of this common butterfly lives on the Ameri- can elm and lime trees, it is also at times quite destructive to the hop- vine, sometimes abounding “ to such a degree as totally to destroy the produce of the plant.”—(Harris.) The caterpillars are so conspicuous early in August that they can be easily plucked off with the hand. The chrysalides, which late in August suspend themselves beneath theleaves and to the stems of the vine, can be picked off, though Harris recom- mends that the vine “should be cut down, stipped of the fruit that is sufficiently ripened, and then burned.” Caterpillar.—* Browish, variegated with pale yellow, or pale yellow variegated with brown, with a yellowish line on each side of the body; the head is rust-red, with two blackish branched-spines on the top; and the spines of the body are pale yellow or brownish, and tipped with black.”—( Harris.) Chrysalis.—“ Ashen brown, with the head deeply notched, and surmounted by two conical ears, a long and thin nose-like promin2nce on the thorax, and eight silvery spots on the back. The chrysalis state usually lasts from eleven to fourteen days; but the later broods are more tady in tbeir transformations, the butterfly sometimes not ap- pearing in less than twenty-six days after the change to the chrysalis.”—( Harris.) Butterfly.—Tawny orange, wings very angular, though less dentate than in Polygonia comma and progne, but the “ tails ” of the hind wings are longer and more pointed. The fore wings are tawny orange, but dark brown along the outer margin, with the extreme edge washed with violet. Beneath ash-colored like old unpainted pine wood, with a “large heavy silver mark of interrogation. It is much larger than P. comma and progne, expanding over two and a half (2.60) inches. Harris states that ‘great numbers of the chrysalides are annually destroyed by little maggots within them, which, in due time, are trans- formed to tiny four-winged flies, (Pteromalus vanessce,) which make their escape by eating little holes through the sides of the chrysalis.” THE CoMMA BUTTERFLY, Polygonia (Grapta) comma (Harris).—This is a smaller butterfly than the pre- ceding, appearing in May and lay- ing its eggs on the leaves of the hop-vine, as well as other plants (the elm, nettle and Baehmeria cylin- drica). The caterpillars change to chrysalides in the middle of July, their butterflies lay eggs for a new brood of caterpillars, which change to chrysalides the first of Septem- ber and the butterflies hibernate. Fie. 44.—Progne Butterfly. Description.—The caterpillar closely resembles that of G. interrogationis. The but teifly is much smaller than P. interrogationis, and the fore wings of much the same shape, but the hind wings are more toothed, with a broad, less sharp “tail.” The spots and color are mueh the same but darker. Hind wings with an angular, slender, silvery mark, somewhat like a comma, The inner half of both wings darker wood-ash color than in P. interrogationis. Expanse of wings, 2} inches. It is very closely allied to P. progne (Fig. 44). i rs PACKARD] THE COTTON ARMY-WORM. 775 THE Hop VINE Root-BoRER, Hepialus mustelinus Packard.—This moth is closely allied to the Hepialus humuli of Europe, which bores in the roots of the hop. No borer has yet been detected in our vines, but it is not improbable that the above-named species will be found to attack this plant. It flies in Maine from the middle of July to the middle of August. Description of the moth.—Female with the body and wings sable-brown. Fore wings with three broad silvery spots on the costa, margined with black; a broad silvery line along the internal margin, which is continued as a submarginal oblique straight line, dislocated near the middle of the wing, and margined with yellowish-brown with some black scales. A marginal series of triangular spots. Fringe dark at the base, spotted externally with silver. Beneath, the body is yellowish-brown, as is the front edge of the fore wings, which is banded with three dusky patches, the middle of the wing is flusky, while the legs are dark externally. It expands a little over one and a quarter (1.30) inches. _ Hepialus pulcher of Grote is a species which is common in the foot- hills and mountains of Colorado during July, August, and September. lt may prove destructive to the hop when cultivated in Colorado. INJURING THE COTTON-PLANT. THE CoTTON ARMy-WorMm, Aletia argillacea Hiibner; Anomis xylina Say (Fig. 45).— Feeding often in vast numbers upon the leaves of the cotton-plant; a caterpillar with a looping gait, hairy, green, dotted with black along a subdorsal yellowish line, and with black dots beneath, changing to a pale reddish-brown moth. Although this moth, and especially the caterpillar, are so abundant and destructive in the cotton-growing States, there is much that needs to be known about its habits and transform- ations, as good authorities differ. The follow- ing account and illustrations are taken from my ‘‘Guide to the Study of Insects,” with some additions from Riley’s Second Report on the Noxious Insects of Missouri, and Mr. Grote’s account in Smith’s Report on the- Geology of Alabama for 1875, p. 199. The parent of the cotton-worm is a red- dish brown moth, with a dark discal oval Spot centered by two pale dots. She de-Fre. 45.—Cotton Army-Worm, posits, according to Mr. Glover, a low, Egg, and Moth. much-flattened, vertically-ribbed egg upon the surface of the leaf. “ Hach female moth deposits from 400 to 600, and, according to the late Thomas Affbek, of Brenham, they hatch two days after being deposited, if the weather be moist and warm. The worms at first feed upon the parenchyma or soft, fleshy parts of the leavés, but afterward devour indifferently, not only any portion of the leaves, but also the blossom-bud and blossom, together with the calyx leaves at the base of the boll, thus causing the lobes which hold the cotton to fall entirely back and allow the cotton to drop at the slightest touch. While young these worms readily let themselves down by a web when disturbed, but when older they make less use of this web, and jerk themselves away to a considerable distance when suddenly touched. They cast their skins at five successive periods, and come to their growth in the incredibly short space of fifteen or twenty days.” . The larva is a looper, four (the two foremost pair) out of the sixteen abdominal legs usually present in the family being wanting, so that the 776 - REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. caterpillar resembles the germetrid or measuring-worms in its gait. In this way it can readily be distinguished from either the northern army- | worm or the boll-worm. Its body is thickest in the middle, very hairy, green, dotted with black along a subdorsal yellowish line, and with black dots beneath. “In Central Alabama,” says Grote, ‘‘I have watched the growth of the worms on the cotton-plant. The worm appears there in certain seasons, as early as the latter part of June. After feeding for a period of about fourteen days, the cotton-worms commence preparations for shedding their skin to pass into the chrysalis stage of growth. For this they spin a few loose threads of silk on the plant itself, which they rarely forsake for that purpose. Within this light web the lost larve skin is thrown off, and the brown chrysalis skin is exposed. In this state the worm passes from a week to ten days.” Riley states that, ‘‘according to the best authority, there are three different broods of worms during the year, the first.appearing in June or July, and the last which does the most damage, appearing in August or September, or even later.” Like our northern army-worm (Leucania unipuncta), the cotton army- worm, the early stages of the caterpillar having been unnoticed, owing to the fact that it simulates the leaves on which it feeds and is so small, becomes suddenly visible in great numbers in a single day, committing the greatest havoc in a few hours. I extract the following account of an invasion of these cotton-worms, written by Prof. J. Darby, of Auburn, Ala., and quoted in my Guide: “Saturday, September 19, I was in the field examining the forms (buds before flowering) and the young bolls (fruit after the floral organs have fallen off). I examined all care- fully, with no signs of eggs or worms. On Sunday I did not see it. On Monday I passed it as usual and observed nothing unusual. On Tues- day morning I passed it and noticed nothing unusual. On Tuesday noon every plant in the field was stripped of all its upper leaves, not i one remaining as far as could be seen, and the plants were covered with — millions of worms. J counted on one plant forty-six worms. They com- mence at the top of the plant, eating every leaf. When the leaves were gone they attacked the young bolls, eating through the perianth and consuming the young cotton. In the course of four days the work was done. They did not touch the grape. nor any other plant in the field. Many left the field and thousands were in the road and on the fences, but not one in a thousand thns escaped. To-day, September 23, there is searcely one to be seen. Their disappearance is as mysterious as their coming. They have left no signs that I can see, either on the stalks or in the ground. They have extended over hundreds of miles, and nothing has proved a barrier to them, having been as destructive on islands in the river as elsewhere. One-third of the cotton-crop has been destroyed. Nothing of the kind has occurred in thirty years past to my knowledge.” In 1788 the cotton army-worm destroyed, at a low estimate, 200 tons of cotton in the Bahamas; in Georgia, the crop was destroyed in 1793, and it was very destructive in 1800, 1804, 1825, and 1826, and since then has been destructive in certain localities nearly each year, though not always in the same State. The average annual loss in this country is probably some years $50,000,000. So great is the annual loss that it would be well if the cotton States would each employ a salaried ento- mologist to investigate and report on the insects injurious to the cotton- plant. The United States Government should also employ competent entomological talent, and have the subject investigated from a broad, PACKARD.) THE COTTON ARMY-WORM. 177 scientific standpoint, as it is a matter of national interest to arrest the immense annual loss resulting from the attacks of the army-worm. As to the original habitat of this insect there is some question. Mr. Grote believes that it is ‘‘an imported insect, and not indigenous to the Southern States.” He claims that, as in our climate cotton is an intro- duced plant, and has become an annual, the cotton-worm has been im- ported with it. Ashe says: “ The first herald of the cotton-worm I have found to be always the flight of the parent moths. These would come to light in houses, and in a few days thereafter I found the young worms on the plants. This, in Central Alabama, was in June or July, and previously I had always heard of the appearance of the worm to the southward. Before it, the cotton in my vicinity had shown no signs of worm, and, had any existed in the country, it must have showed itself during the preceding three months, while the young cotton-plants were growing. In favorable seasons the broods were successive until frost, and the death of the cotton-plant. Where food failed on one plantation the worms wandered to another, and not till then. The first brood in one locality is irregular, skipping some plantations, invading others. Again, | have noticed that, while there was yet leaf enough left, and the season yet warm, whole sections would be forsaken by the freshly- disclosed moths. There is no doubt on my mind that the cotton-worm has a yearly migration northward, from the facts in the case. The cold weather finally kills the moths, without their being able to provide for a further brood. I have noticed the moth in the fall as far north as Canada and the great lakes, and on the coast of Maine.* Always ar- riving there late in the season, it must perish; there is no food for its progeny ; it is too late for it to retrace its Steps. » This supposed migra- tion northward of the cotton army-worm is an interesting and practical subject for further investigation. As yet I am hardly inclined to sup- pose that this particular species should not live in all its stages where it is now found, and I think that further research will prove that it is so. It should be remembered that the caterpillars of a good many species of this family do not hatch out until toward midsummer, for example, the northern army-worm. Its larva should be looked for in the North- ern States where it occurs, and, if found, the food-plant ascertained. It is possible that the chrysalides ‘have been carried north in cotton- -bales, but under the circumstances in which I have seen the moth flying on an island in Salem Harbor, I do not doubt but that the caterpillar will be found. I have taken several specimers of this moth on Coney Isl- and in Salem Harbor. Mr. Edward Burgess informs me that it flew aboard his yacht in Boston Bay, September 9, 1873. Mr. Grote records it from Buffalo, N. Y., and Mr. Riley from Chicago. In the accompanying map showing the area of distribution of the cot- ton army and boll worm, I have indicated the area in which it is per- manently destructive, being the cotton-growing portion of the Southern States, taken from Walker's Statistical Atlas. Description of the moth.Pale brown, with a slight reddish tinge; hind wings some- what paler. lore wings with three indistinct irregularly scalloped reddish lines, the basal one on the inner third of the wing composed of four or five scallops; the second is situated deyond the middle of the wing, and branches out behind the middle (trans- versely) of the wing, and sends a branch just beyond the discal dot, forming a third line. The scallops differ in size, but the line curves out mest just below the costa, and again opposite the discal spot, which is large, dark, conspicuous, obliquely oval, and centered with two unequal bluish spots, Expanse of wings, 1.55inches. Salem, Mass. bp Demopolis, Ala., and Waco, Tex., September 5, October 12, and November 15. ”(Bel- frage.) * This is most probably a mistake tor Massachusetts, as I am quite sure it has not _ been observed north of Salem, Mass. 778 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Remedies.—Picking the caterpillars off the plants by hand, ditching, ; and the use of burning straw when the caterpillars migrate from one | field to another, are remedies that can be applied in the cotton States, | when labor is cheap, to good advantage. By these means, and the use | of Paris green, the evil can be stamped out, provided co-operation is practised among adjoining plantations. The same means should be ! used as with the northern army-worm and potato-beetle. The most | serviceable remedy has been the use of Paris green, either dry, mixed with cheap flour, or in water, in proportions sufficient to kill the eater- pillars without injuring the plants. This remedy has been successfully tried in the South. I take the following modes of using this poison from Mr. Riley’s Sixth Report. In Texas, by the use of Paris green mixed with-lime or plaster, or even fine sand, “‘a neighbor has picked already 10 bales of 500 pounds each from 13 acres, while freedmen on the same farm lost their whole crop by refusing to use it.” Repeated applications should be made after the appearance of successive broods of worms. By some, it is said application should not be made after the bolls are open, lest it become dangerous to picker and ginner.” Mr. J. R. Maxwell, of Alabama, writes to the Southern. Farmer: ‘‘I have been successful in the use of Paris green on the cotton-worm. I had 100 ucres of cotton on swamp-land that would have been ruined, but on their first appearance I commenced on them. I put eight hands on mules, with two-gallon watering-pots, and had ten more hands and two wagons engaged in keeping them supplied with water and poison, and went over my cotton twice, up one side of a row and down the other, going thus twice to each row. Poison, labor, and all cost me about $300. It has saved me at the very least 20 bales of cotton. I used the poison by putting to each canful of water half a table-spoonful of poi- son and three table-spoonfuls of flour, stirring it well. I tried it first without flour, but every shower would wash all the poison off.” Another Alabama farmer successfully used the powder-mixture on 50 acres at a cost of 68 cents an acre. Mr. D. F. Prout says that the cost of material — an acre “for two applications will not exceed $1.75, viz: 40 pounds of flour, at 24 cents per pound, and 2 pounds of Paris green, at 374 cents.” He found, in his own experience, that an expenditure of $100 on about 89 acres increased the crop at least 10 bales. THE BOLL-WorM, Heleothis armigera Linn.—HKating the boll of the eotton-plant, corn in the ear, tomato-fruit, etc.; a rather large, thick-bodied, pale-green or dark- brown caterpillar, with longitudinal light and dark lines, and with a broad yellow pane below the breathing-pores, and marked with black spots, from which arise fine airs. This moth is a cosmopolitan, being injurious in Europe, and inhab- iting Japan and even Australia. It feeds on a variety of plants, not only devouring the calyx of the flower but the boll, and corn in the ear as well as the stock, unripe and ripe tomates, green pease, string-beans, and young pumpkins. It bores into-the stalks of the gladiolus,.and in Europe is known to devour the heads of hemp and leaves of tobacco and of lucern, as well as chick or coffee pea.—(Riley.) ‘¢The egg from which the worm hatches is ribbed in a somewhat similar manner to that of the cotton-worm, but may Fic. 46.—Boll-Worm and Parent readily be distinguished by being less Moth. (After Glover.) flattened and of a pale straw color in- — =) ee Sf bbe 4 Sherer =. _ =a eo eS eS eee 4 CS oe foe | THE BOLL-WORM. T719 | stead of green. It is usually deposited singly on the outside of the involucel or outer calyx of the flower or young boll, and each female moth is capable of thus consigning to their proper places upward of five hun- dred eggs.”—( Riley.) «¢ Some eggs of the boll-worm hatched in three or four days after being brought in from the field, the inclosed worms gnawing a hole through | the shell of the egg, and then escaping. They soon commenced feeding upon the tender, fleshy substance of the calyx near the place where the ' egg had been deposited. When they had gained strength, some of the worms pierced through the calyx and others through the petals of the closed flower-bud, or even penetrated into the young and tender boll itself. The pistils and stamens of the open flower are frequently found to be disturbed and injured without any apparent eause. This has been done by the young boll-worm; when hidden in the unopened bud, it has eaten one side only of the pistils and stamens, so that when the flower is open the parts injured are dis- torted and maimed, and very frequently the flower falls without form- ing any boll whatever. In many cases, however, the young worm bores through the bottom of the flower into the immature boll before the old flower falls, thus leaving the boll and involucel, or envelope, still adhering to the foot-stalk with the worm safely lodged in the growing boll. The number of buds destroyed by this worm is very great, as they fall off when quite small, and are scarcely observed as they lie brown and withering on the ground beneath the plant. The instinct of the boll-worm, however, teaches it to forsake a bud or boll about to fall, and either to seek another healthy boll or to fasten itself to a leaf, on which it remains until at length it acquires size and strength sufficient to enable it to bore into the nearly-matured bolls, the interior of which is nearly destroyed by its attacks, as, should it not be completely devoured, rain penetrates through the hole made by the worm, and the cotton soon becomes rotten and will not ripen. * S * One thing is worthy of observation, and that is whenever a young boll or bud is seen with the involucre spread open and of a sickly yellow color, it may be safely concluded that it has been attacked by the boll-worm, and will soon perish and fall to the ground. * * * * * * * “The buds injured by the worm may be readily distinguished by a minute hole where it has entered, and which, when cut open, will be found partially filled with small black grains, something like coarse gunpowder, which is nothing but the digested food after having passed through the body of the worm.”—(Glover, Monthly Agricultural Report, July, 1866.) When fully grown, the worm descends into the ground, there forming an oval cocoon of earth interwoven with silk wherein it changes to a bright chestnut-brown chrysalis with four spines at the end of the body, the two middle ones being stouter than the others. In this state it re- mains three or four weeks when the moth escapes. Mr. Glover says that ‘there are at least three broods each year in Georgia, the last brood issuing as moths latein November. With us (Missouri) there are usually but two, though as already hinted there may be exceptionally three. Most of the moths issue in the fall and hibernate as such, but some of them pass the winter in the chrysalis state and do not issue till the following spring. I have known them to issue in this latitude after the first of November, when no frost had previously occurred.”—(Riley.) Description of the moth.—I regret that there is no good description of the caterpillar in existence and that I have no opportunity to study these caterpillars either ina 780 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. State of nature or preserved in alcohol. Specimens in allstages would be very welcome, - The moth is pale tawny, the hind wings whitish. The fore wings are uniformly pale tawny yellowish, with a small, not very distinct, oval, dark discal dot. Half-way between this and the outer edge of the wing is a row of whitish points, shaded with black within; fringe, flesh red. Hind wings whitish, blackish on the outer two- | thirds, with a white fringe. Expanse of wings, 1.40 to. 1.60 inches. I have received. specimens from Mr. Belfrage, of Waco, Tex., taken May 18, June 22, July 29, and Aug || gust 6. | Remedies——This caterpillar is difficult to manage, as itis hidden MOS¢ || of its life. Hand-picking, if thoroughly tried, will save much loss. The moths may be trapped by spreading a mixture of vinegar and sugar over foods or in plates, and moth-traps should be liberally used. A moth closely allied to this and which in the caterpillar as well as | moth state may be easily confounded with the boll-worm, is the so-called pllox worm, originally described by Messrs. Grote and Robinson under the name of Heliothis phloxophaga. It occurs all over the South and west as far as California and Oregon. Professor Riley, in the Prairie Farmer, states that there are “two broods a year, the first appearing in July and becoming moths by the middle of August, the second passing the winter in the chrysalis state. The eggs are deposited singly on all por- tions of the plant, and the caterpillar when about to become a chrysalis enters the ground and interweaves grains of sand with a few silken threads, forming a very slight elastic cocoon.” Description of the moth.—It is usually a little smaller than H. armigera and with a large black discal spot fully twice as large as in that species. A dark tawny band | runs from the discal spot to the inner edge of the wing. In front of the discal spot are two dark, small costal spots, and a third much larger, one near the apex. Hind wings with a very large, black lunate ‘discal spot, almost entirely wanting in H. armigera, while as in that species the black border incloses a white spot, usually, however, much better marked than in H. armigera. Expanse of wings, 1.00-1.40 inches. INSECTS ATTACKING THE TOBACCO-PLANT. THE ToBacco-WorM, Sphinx 5-maculata Haworth.—Devouring the leaves; a large green caterpillar as thick as one’s little finger, with a stiff horn on the end of its body, and changing to a chrysalis in the earth, the moth flying in June to September. About the only serious enemies of the tobacco-plant are the two Species of Sphinz moths, Macrosila carolina Linn., and Macrosila 5- maculata, or the Carolina and five-spotted hawk-moth. The Carolina worm is confined to the Middle and Southern States, while the cater- pillar of the five-spotted hawk-moth occurs in the Northern and Western States, as well as the Southern. I have received M. 5-maculata from Salt Lake City, through Mr. Joseph L. Barfoot, curator of the Salt Lake museum. So far as my personal knowledge extends, the tobacco-worm is inju- rious to the tobacco-crop of the Connecticut Valley in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, and is only kept under by watchfulness, being picked off by hand. In the Middle States, for example Tennessee, the ravages of the “tobacco-worm,” as stated by the Scientific Farmer, which may refer either to this insect or the Carolina sphinx, is a great hinderance to the successful cultivation of tobacco in Tennessee. “ But,” adds the editor, ‘‘an enemy to it has appeared in the person of an ich- neumon-fly, which destroys the worms in large numbers. It is thought if this ichneumon keeps at its work, that certain lands will possess a high value for the cultivation of tobacco.” The accompanying cut (Fig. 48) represents an ichneumon-parasite, a species of Jicrogaster, bred by PACKARD.] THE TOBACCO-WORM. 181 Mr. J. H. Emerton, from Macrosila 5-maculata ; the cross-lines represent: the natural size, and a, the cocoon, natural size. Fic. 48.—Ichneumon-parasite of the Northern Tobacco-Worm. 782 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Fig. 49 illustrates an ichneumon-para- site of the vine-dresser, Chenocampa pam- pinating, reared at Salem, Mass., by Mr. Emerton, by whom the drawings of both were made. Professor Riley notices a species of Microgaster and ichneumon, an undescribed species of Blacus, a braconid ted sphinx. pears in June, without doubt, though I have not personally seen them, lays its eggs on the leaves, probably the under side, and the caterpillar lives about six Fic. 49.—Ichneumon-p arasite of Weeks, attaining its full size from the ichneumon, which preys on the five-spot- | The moth in the Northern States ap-- : 7 Vine-Dresser. middie of August until the first of Sep- . tember, going under ground in September and early October. During | this month I have frequently seen the moths at twilight in Amherst, | Mass., flying about the: flowers of the petunia, probing their deep tubular cerollas with their long tongue. Our figure, (47,) copied from | Harris, will sufficiently indicate the size and transformations of this common moth, the caterpillar of which, in the Northern States, often passes under the name of the tomato or potato worm. The caterpillar is rather dark green, with seven oblique greenish- yellow stripes on the side of the body.. The chrysalis may be known by the large, conspicuous tongue-case which projects from the body like the handle of a pitcher. In the Macrosila 5-maculata there is no white spot at the base of the fore wings, and on the hind wings are two distinct angulated bands. The Carolina moth is ash-colored, with a white spot at the base of the fore wings, while the central band of the hind wings is indistinet. The - caterpillar feeds on the tobacco and the tomato. It is dark green, with | lateral, oblique, white bands, edged above with bluish and short trans- | verse black stripes. The tongue-case is shorter and less curved than in the five-spotted sphinx. INSECTS INJURING THE GRAPE. THE GRAPE PHYLLOXERA, Pemphigus vitifolie Fitch; Phylloxera vastatrix Planchon.—What the Colorado potato-beetle is to the potato, the Hessian fly to wheat, and the canker-worm is to the apple, the phylloxera is to the grape. This amounts to saying that the vine is in | danger of extermination from the latter insect. My attention has been drawn for two years past, while spending a few weeks in September at the Agricultural College in Amherst, to the ravages of this pest, by Professor Maynard. In the autumn of 1875, we found it in abundance on the leaves of several varieties in the vineyard on the college farm, while this year, in company with Professor Maynard, I examined the roots and found the following varieties more or less infested by the root- variety of this plant-louse: Clinton, Agawam, Concord, fona, Delaware, Adirondack, Israella, Isabella, Wilder, and the native grape under cultivation; the Clinton was affected more than the others, and the Concord much so when growing in a slightly damp, ill-drained and par- tially shady place. I am not aware that this formidable pest, which has occasioned such consternation in Europe, has been detected before in New England, | PACKARD. ] THE GRAPE PHYLLOXERA. 783: except in Connecticut, where it has been found by Mr. Riley. I received it several years ago from Philadelphia, and it has done much damage in the Middle and Western States, while it is known to affect vines in California. As we are destined to be greatly annoyed by it, a brief description condensed from the excellent account by Mr. Riley in his sixth, seventh, and eighth report of the insect in its two forms, may be timely. The insect was first found in this country, and was described by Dr. Fitch in 1856, under the name of Pemphigus vitifoliw. Its proper name is Phylloxera vitifolie, though most authors speak of it as Phyl- loxera vastatrix. It exists in two forms, one raising irregular galls on the leaves, and the other forming small swellings on the rootlets. The root-form is both wingless and winged, the latter very rare. The leaf- form is said to be always wingless. 7 The wingless female of the leaf-form lays, on an average, 200 eggs, and sometimes 500. There are perhaps five generations ina year. This leaf-form produces round, irregular galls, sometimes as large as a pea, but it does little damage compared with the root-form, which is much more abundant than the leaf-form (especially on native vines) in France, where its ravages have been so alarming that the French government have offered a reward of 300,000 francs for a simple available remedy. The leaf-form descends to the roots in the autumn, and there hyber- nates. The larve of the root-form are at first smooth and like the young of the leaf-form, but afterward molt and become warty, so as to become readily distinguishable from them. Professor Riley and certain French observers have lately proved that the gall-producers (or the leaf-form) come from the impregnated or winter egg. The winged females begin to appear in July, but are most abundant in August and September. Like the wingless females, they reproduce by budding (parthenogenesis), the eggs not being fertilized by males, no males being in existence. Having issued from the ground while in the pupa state, they rise in the air, and spread to new vineyards, where they lay two or three, sometimes eight eggs. Theseeggs are of two sizes, and,in about a fort- night, from the larger eggs are hatched wingless true sexual females, and from the smaller eggs wingless males. “The abdomen of the fe- male, after impregnation, en- larges somewhat, and she is soon delivered of a solitary egg, which differs from the ordinary eggs of the parthe- - nogenetic mother, only in becoming somewhat darker. He dere galionts. a, B, en Waa This impregnated egg gives AAPL tk Nam facia ect apoarne AA Cdk ie Dah birth toa young louse, which ious eet ah eee : te a becomesa virginal,egg-bear- antenna; j, her two-jointed tarsus. The figure ing, wingless mother, and on the side of each enlarged drawing represents thus recommences the cycle the natural size. (After Riley.) of the species’ evolution. But one of the most important discoveries of Balbiani is that, during the latter part of the season, many of the wing- less, hypogean mothers perform the very same function as the winged 3 784 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ones; i. é., they lay a few eggs, which are of two sizes, and which pro- duce males and females, organized and constructed precisely as those born of the winged females, and, like them, producing the solitary impregnated egg. Thus, the interesting fact is established that even the winged form is by no means essential to the perpetuation of : : ye the species; but that, if all such winged individuals — they issue from the ground, the species could still go on. multiplying in a vineyard from year to year. We have, therefore, the spectacle of an underground insect, posses- sing the power of continued existence, even when con- fined to its subterranean re- treats. It spreads in the wingless state from vine to vine, and from vineyard to vineyard,when these are ad- _w< _‘jacent, either through - Fic. 1.—Type radicicola. a,roots of Clinton vine, Hs Les ae ie oun Fi Hale showing the relation of swellings to leaf-galls, s § e the power of resisting decomposition; b, larva, or over the surface ; at the as it appears when hibernating; c¢,d,antenna same time it is able, in the and leg of the same; ¢,f,g, forms of more mature winged condition to migrate lice; h, granulations of skin ; i, tubercle; j, trans- t 2 hh ‘ aiceant verse folds at border of joints; /, simple eyes. OF ea: : _more stan (After Riley.) points.’ —(Riley.) The solitary egg above referred to is the winter egg. As autumn ad- vapeces, the winged individuals become more and more scarce, and only egos, newly-hatched larve, and afew wingless, egg-bear- the species in winter is repre- sented by the larve and a few were destroyed as fast as ing mothers are seen. The | latter are said to die during | the winter, and consequently | / “eggs. In spring the larvee molt | attaining maturity, lay eggs. The eggs laid by the winged females are placed in thedown more commonly in the earth around the roots. As to remedies, one hun- dred and forty have already been proposed in France, but none are infallible. The best general remedyisfloodiag the vineyards in autumn or win- Fic. 52.—Type radicicola. a,b, pupa and imago of a problematic individual, orsupposed male ; ¢, d, its s : 5 antenna and leg; ¢, vesicles found in the abdomen. ter. The best specific appli- (After Riley.) cation has been found to be the bisulphide of carbon, two ounces to be placed in a hole near the root, the earth becoming impregnated, the insects are killed. Mr. Biley bas urged their winter coat, and, after of the leaf of the vine, but» \ the Ba _ PACKARD.] THE GRAPE FORESTER. _ 785 the use of resisting American vines as stocks, and this is undoubtedly one of the best preventive measures which can be adopted. The writer would like to know how extensive in the Hastern States is the distribu- | tion of the phylloxera. The galls are at once recognizable, and appear in midsummer, while the root-form may be detected by little swellings on the rootlets, in which the small greenish-yellow lice may be detected after close examination. The following recapitulation of the different forms in the insect is | taken from Professor Riley’s article on the Phyollexera in Johnson’s | Cyclopedia: ; 1. The gall-inhabiting type (gallecola), forming galls on the leaves, and presenting— a, The ordinary egg (Fig. 50, c), with which the gall is crowded; b, The ordinary larva, (Fig. 50, a, b); | ce, The swollen parthenogenetic mother, without tubercles (Fig. 50, g, h); | 2. The root-inhabiting type (radicicola), forming knots on the roots, and presenting— a a, The ordinary egg, differing in nothing from a, except in its slight large average size ; b b, The ordinary larva, also differing in no respect from } ; d, The parthenogenetic, wingless mother, the analogue of c, but covered with tubercles (Fig. 55, 9, f) ; - ¢, The more oval form, destined to become winged ; Jf, The pupa, (Plate LXVIII, Fig. 1 e); g, The winged, parthenogenetic female (Plate LXVIII, Fig. 1 g, h); h, The sexual egg deposited by g, being of two sizes, and giving birth to the two males and females; i, The male (Plate LXVIII, Fig. 2 e); j, The true female (Plate LXVIII, Fig. 2, a, b); k, The solitary impregnated egg deposited by 7 ; bb b, The larva hatched from k, which, so far as known, does not differ from the ordinary larva, exeept in its greater prolificacy ; 1, The hybernating lai1va, which differs only from 0 in being rougher and darker. ? THE GRAPE ForESTER, Alypia octomaculatuFabr. (Fig. 53).—Devouring the leayes ; bright orange, blue and black banded caterpillars. By the time the syringa is in blossom, the eight-spotted, or grape- forester moth flies about. It is easily known by its black hue, with eight large spots on the wings, two on each wing, those on the fore wings being yellowish, those on the hind wings white. The cat- erpillar is banded with whitish-blue, with black lines, and on the middle of each segment is a broader orange-yellow band dotted with black, with a conspicuous white spot on each side behind. Itis an | inch and a quarter long. By the middle of July it becomes fully fed, and pupates ' in slight webs on the ground or in earthen cocoons. Hand-picking is the best rem- fre, 53.—The Grape Forester. a, edy. Thisinsectis briefly mentioned here, caterpillar; b, side view of aseg- from the fact that a similar caterpillar was ment enlarged. very common at Golden, Colo., July 3, 1875, on the wild grapes by the side of the railroad, and when the cultivated varieties become reared extensively, it will probably transfer its affections from the wild to the cultivated varieties. The caterpillars of several species of similar moths which oceur in California, the genus Alypia being more numerously represented on the Pacific coast than elsewhere, may ultimately be found injurious to the cultivated grape. 50GS 786 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. THE GRAPE-VINE COLASpPis, Colaspis flanda, Lay. (Fig. 54).—Eating the terminal buds and young leaves, also riddling the leaves. A cream-colored and black beetle. This little beetle is one of the worst of the forty or fifty different insect- | enemies of the grape-vine. ; The beetle ranges from New | York to Illinois and Missouri. It is cream-colored and black, ) yx with long club-shaped feelers | ; 3 nearly a fifth of an inch long; | the head and prothoray arered- ; dish-yellow, while the wing- , Fic. 54.—Grape-Vine Colaspis. 2 nat. size; 1, covers are black. Hand-pick- . the same magnified ; a, the larva; b, end of body j ing is the best remedy. ‘The ' enlarged. (After Riley.) larva (Fig. 57 a) has been ; found by Professor Riley to feed on the roots of the strawberry. It , transforms in the ground. THE VINE-LEAF HopPER, Lrythionenis vitis Harris. (Fig. 55).—Swarming upon the |! leaves in August and early September ; a small, pale yellow leaf-hopper, with two broad red bands on the wings, causing the leaves to wither. : This little insect, which I have seen abounding in the vineyard of ' the Massachusetts Agricultural ! College early in September, when | the grapes were ripening, is pale | yellow, with two broad red bands. . and a third dusky one at the apex. Itisa little over a tenth - 4, of an inch long. It swarms on ‘ _ the leaves in August, puncturing ' them with its tiny beak and drayw- | FiG. 55.—Vine-Leaf-Hopper. ing out the sap until the leaves i turn yellow and become dry and stiff. "The young appear in June, and | the leaves are thus depleted for a period of nearly three months. They wither, and hence the plant becomes enfeebled, little new wood is formed, the canes do not ripen well, and the fruit is stunted and easily mildews, ) while in a few years the vines become exhausted and barren. The leaf- , hoppers hibernate, and lay their eggsin the spring. As aremedy, wash the vines with soap-suds in June, and, if possible, fumigate the leaves with tobacco. ” THE RED-SHOULDERED SINOXYLON, Sinoxylon basillare Lay. (Fig. 56).—Boring under the bark and into the middle of grape- stems ; , ashort, thick maggot. This blight insect sometimes bores under the bark of the grape, as well as in the heart of grape-stems. It also tunnels in apple-trees and in the shag- , bark hickory, bering holes straight \ toward the heart of the tree, and, ¢ & changing to the pupa state at the: Fic. 56.—Red shouldered Sinorylon. a, inner ends of their burrows. (Harris.) larva; b, pupa; c, beetle. (After Asa remedy, burn the infested twigs Riley.) ' or stems. — ices "_PACKARD.] THE EUROPEAN CURRANT SAW-FLY. 187 INJURING THE CURRANT. THE EUROPEAN CURRANT SAW-FLY, Nematus ventricosus Klug. (Figs. 57-59).—Devour- ing the leaves from June until August ; a green false caterpillar, changing to a pale honey-brown saw-ifly. This destructive insect was imported from Europe into nurseries at Toronto, Canada, and was detected at Rochester, N. Y., during the year 1857. It seems since that time to have spread westward and east- ward, arriving in Hastern Massachusetts about 1865, as I am informed by Mr. F. G. Sanborn. For eight seasons past it has been very de- structive in gardens in Massachusetts as well as in Illinois and Michi- gan, where it seems destined to spread farther west. The parent of this worm is a saw-fly, so named from bearing a saw- like sting, or ovipositor, with which it pierces the leaves or stalks of plants, cutting a gash, in which it deposits an egg, the egg passing out from the ovary through the oviduct, and thence through the blades of the ovipositor into the wound made in the plant. While most of the members of this family cut a gash in the leaf, into which an egg is pushed, a few, as in the present insect, simply place them on the under surface of the leaf, as seen in Fig. 59. (1.) The fly has four wings, and belongs to the same group of insects (Hymenoptera) that comprises the bee, wasp, and ichneumon-fly. The following account of its habits is taken from the writer’s Guide to the Study of Insects: “‘There are about fifty species of Nematus in this country, of which the most injurious one, the gooseberry saw-fly, has been brought from Europe. Professor Winchell, who has studied this insect in Ann Arbor, Mich., where it has been very destructive, observed the female on the 16th of June, while denosiyes her cylindri- eal, whitish, and transparent eggs in Ns regular rows along the under side of the veins of the leaves, at the rate of about one in forty-five seconds. The embryo eseapes from the egg in four days. It feeds, molts, and burrows into the ground within a period of eight days. It remains thirteen days in the ground, being most of the time in the pupa state, while the fly lives nine days. The first brood of worms appeared May 21; the second brood, June 25.” Fig. 57 shows the eggs deposited along the nie side of the midribs of the leaf; 2, the holes bored by j the very young larve; and, 3, those Fre. 57._Currant-leaf with (1) eggs; 2 8 eaten by the larger worms. holes eaten by the larvee. (After Riley.) Fig. 58 (a, enlarged) represents the worm when fully grown. It is then “cylindrical, pale green, with a pale-green head, with the segment next behind the head, and the third segment from the end of the “body, together with the last or anal segment yellow ; the 16 false or abdom- inal legs are also yellow; the six thoracic legs are horn-colored. The body is transversely wrinkled, especially on ‘the back, and is slightly hairy. The eyes are black, and the jaws (mandibles) are black, and on the inner side of the edge reddish... It is about three-quarters of. an inch in length. | 4 788 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. ) i Previous to the last molt, however, and before it had gained its full! size, preparatory to! passing into the adult ! or winged condition, | the body is covered : with black tubercles ; } from each of which) arises a stiff black hair. There is alsal a supraanal or dorsal black patch on the last segment of the’ body, from which! arises a pair of black spines. On the back: of the false caterpillar | the tubercles become | smooth and trans-- versely oval, and ar- ranged in two regular | rows» Moreover, a} still more important : characteristic of the Fig. 58.—Currant saw-fly larva, natural size; a, enlarged. orm in this stage is the jet-black head, which in the fully-grown insect is pale pea-green. In Salem, my attention was drawn to the ravages of this worm by Dr. William Mack, who found them feeding on the currants in his garden | ; June 8. At this time they were spin- | ning their cocoons, which were of siik, tough, dense, like parchment, and at first green, then becoming blackish, and covered with particles of dirt, and at- tached to the leaves in the breeding-box. | Out of doors they may be found the first | week in June, and again during the first | week in July among the leaves and | stalks on the bushes, or among the | leaves lying on the ground, or perhaps more frequently a little under the sur- | face of the ground. Here they remain | MS between two and three weeks in June, | the adult flies (in Salem) appearing | eS June 25. At nearly the same date (June | . 29) the worms of the second brood were | b spinning their cocoons. These cocoons | Fic. 59.—European Currant Saw-Fly. (belonging to the second brood) remain | a, male. b, female. (After Riley.) under ground or on the leaves about the roots through the winter, the flies appearing in the spring and laying | their eggs as soon as the leaves unfold. Not having specimens of both sexes of this saw-fly at hand, I compile | the following description (often using their own words) from Messrs. | Walsh and Riley’s account in the American Entomologist, vol. ii, p. 16, | from which these illustrations (Fig. 59 a, b) are taken. The female (Fig. 59 b) is a quarter of an inch long (23-324), and is | of a bright honey-yellow color. The head is black, with all the parts | between and below the origin of the antenna, except the tip of the | PACKARD] THE EUROPEAN CURRANT SAW~-FLY. 789 mandibles (jaws), dull honey-yellow. The antennez are brown-black, often tinged with reddish above, except toward the base, and beneath | entirely dull reddish, except the two basal joints. They are four-fifths as long as the body; the third joint, when viewed sideways, is four times as long as wide; the third, fourth, and fifth joints are equal in length, the | remaining joints slowly diminishing in length. On the thorax are four conspicuous black spots and other smaller ones. The legs are bright | honey-yellow; the basal or hip-joints (cox and trochanters) whitish, | while the extreme tips of the hind shanks (tibiz) and the whole of the hind toe-joints (tarsi) are blackish brown. The wings are glossy, with dark veins, and expand a little over half an inch. The male (Fig. 59 a) is rather smaller (2°, inch in length), and is black. The head is dull honey-yellow. The antenne are brown-black, often a little reddish beneath, except toward the base; they are as long as the body, and while longer than in the female, are also somewhat flattened out. The thorax has the wing-scales and the prothorax, or collar, honey-yellow. The under side and tip of the abdomen are honey- yellow. The injury done to currant-bushes during the past year was very great. In.June, we saw them in great numbers in a garden at Law- rence, where they had stripped the bushes, eating the leaves down to the leaf-stalk, myriads clustering upon the branches. The birds evi- dently do not feed upon them, and thus, in dealing with this insect, we are deprived of one of the most powerful agencies in nature for restrain- ing a superabundance of insect-life. As this is an important and practical subject, let us digress for a moment to notice some facts brought out by Mr. J. J. Weir, of the London Entomological Society on the insects that seem distasteful to birds. He finds by caging up birds whose food is of a mixed character (purely insect-eating birds could not be kept alive in confinement), that all hairy caterpillars were uniformly uneaten. Such caterpillars are the “ yellow bears” (Arctia and Sptlosoma), the salt-marsh caterpillars (Leucarctia acrea), and the caterpillar of the Vaporer moth (Orgyia), and the spring larvee of butterflies; with these may perhaps be classed the European currant saw-fly. He was disposed to consider that the “flavor of all these caterpillars is nauseous, and not that the mechanical troublesome, ness of the hairs prevents their being eaten. Larve which spin webs- and are gregarious, are eaten by birds, but not with avidity; they ap- pear very much to dislike the web sticking to their beaks, and those completely concealed in the web are left unmolested. When branches covered with the web of Hyponomenta evonymella (a little moth of the Tinea family) were introduced into the aviary, those larve only which ventured beyond the protection of the web were eaten.” ‘‘Smooth- skinned, gaily-colored caterpillars (such as the currant Abrazas, or span worm), which never conceal themselves, but on the contrary appear to court observation”, were not touched by the birds. He states, on the other hand, that ‘‘all caterpillars whose habits are nocturnal, and are dull-colored, with fleshy bodies and smooth skins, are eaten with the ereatest avidity. Every species of green caterpillar is also much rel- ished. All Geometrw, whose larve resemble twigs, as they stand out from the plant on their anal prolegs, are invariably eaten.” Mr. A. G. Butler, of London, has also found that frogs and spiders will not eat the same larvze rejected by birds, the frogs having an especial aversion to the currant span-worms (Abraxas and Halia). The natural enemies of the currant saw-fly are three kinds of ichneu- mon-flies, of which one is a minute egg-parasite. Mr. Lintner, of New 790 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. York, states that of fifty eggs laid by the parent saw-fly, only four or ‘ five hatched out the currant-worm. We see, then, that though the birds apparently destroy none, an immense number are carried off, even before they have a chance of doing any mischief, by minute insects of ' their own order. One of the best remedies next to picking them off by hand, and which is really the most practicable method of getting rid of them, is to dust powdered white hellebore over the bushes, by sprinkling it from a muslin bag tied toa stick, as it otherwise excites violent sneezing. Used in this small quantity it is not poisonous. This is the remedy used with most success in the West, and recommended by Messrs. Walsh and Riley. I have used it with good success in my own garden, and it is a thorough remedy if thoroughly and persistently applied. Dr. W. Mack, of Salem, tells me that he has used a solution, consisting of a pound of copperas to six gallons of water, with much success. It blackens the leaves, but does not injure them permanently. Dr. E. Worcester, of Waltham, according to the Boston Journal of Chemistry, finds that this worm “may be fully and almost immediately destroyed by the use of carbolate of lime. The doctor tried the powder in many instances during the past summer, and found that while it was fully as effective as hellebore, it was less disagreeable, less costly, and perfectly safe. The method of using it is to sprinkle it over the vines as soon as the worm makes its appearance, bringing it well in contact with the leaves, and soon the insect is destroyed. It will need but two or three applications, and the work is done.” This worm attacks the gooseberry as well as the currant, though in Massachusetts its ravages have been more confined to the latter shrub. As a preventive measure against its further spread, in buying or transporting gooseberry and currant bushes, Walsh recommends that the roots be earefully cleaned of dirt, so that the cocoons may not be carried from one garden or nursery to another. THE NATIVE CURRANT SAW-FLY, Pristophora grossulane Walsh.— As this species may be confounded with the European saw-fly, though belonging to a different genus (Pristiphora), the following brief account of it is extracted from my Guide to the Study of Insects: This saw-fly (Fig. 60 a, larva; b, female, from the “American Entomologist”; P. grossularie of Walsh) “is a widely diffused spe- cies in the Northern and Western States, and injures the currant and gooseberry. The female fly is shining black, while the head is dull yellow, and the legs are honey-yellow, with the tips of the Six tarsi, and sometimes the ex- “, larva’ treme tips of the hinder tibie, and of the tarsal joints, pale dusky for a quarter of their length. The wings are partly hyaline, with black veins, a honey-yellow costa, and a dusky stigma, edged with honey- yellow. The male differs a little in having black coxe. Mr. Walsh States that the larva is a pale grass-green worm, half an inch long, with a black head, which becomes green after the last molt, but with a lateral brown stripe theeting with the opposite one on the top of the head, where it is more or less confluent; and a central brown-black spot on its face. It appears the last of June and early in July, and a Fig. 60.—Native Currant Saw-Fly. b, female. i —- a or <= PACKARD.] THE CURRANT SPAN-WORM—THE CANKER-WORM. CoE second brood in August. They spin their cocoons on the bushes on which they feed, and the fly appears in two or three weeks, the speci- mens reared by him flying on the 26th of August.” This worm may at once be distinguished from the imported currant-worm by the absence of the minute black warts that cover the body of the latter. The same remedies should be used for this worm as are recommended for the pre- ceding insect. THE CURRANT SPAN-WoRM, Lufitchia ribearia Fitch. (Fig. 61, moth; Fig. 62, 1, 2, caterpillar; 3, pupa, from the “American Entomologist.”)—Devouring the leaves; a span-worm, about an inch long, bright yellow, spotted, being nut-black. 5 Many persons, in speaking of the ‘“ currant- worm,” confound the caterpillar-like saw-fly larva with the well-known geometer caterpillar, which @= is a native species, and was long since described | by Dr. Fitch, under the name of Abraxas ribea- via. AS soon as the leaves of the currant are . fairly expanded, late in May or early in June, the : wry young caterpillars, scarcely thicker than a horse- Sern re ar hair, may be found eating little holes in them. P16. 61—Moth of Currant. In about three weeks after hatching it becomes fully grown, being about an inch long, and bright-yellow iu color, the body being covered with large, black dots. The chrys- . Ni . alis is shining reddish-brown, about : ~\s half an inch long, and may be found late in June, either upon the ground or just under the surface. \, SH In two weeks after entering the fy chrysalis state the moth may be ay observed flying about the garden Ws ee , or resting upon the leaves during Ci cloudy weather. The moth is yel- \WW “American Entomologist,” states ¥ that by sprinkling powdered helle- bore upon the leaves, or applying a solution of eight or twelve ounces to a bucketful of water, the cater- pillars will be killed. Hand-pick- ing assiduously followed up, and a vigorous shaking of the bushes F1c.62.—Currant Span-Worm. (After Riley.) over a sheet or a newspaper, repeated twice a day, will keep the insect within moderate bounds. ~ INSECTS INJURING THE APPLE. THE CANKER-WorM, Anisopteryx vernata Peck, and A. autumnata Packard. (Plate LXIX Figs. 1-4.)—Devouring the leaves ; a dark-striped span-worm, varying in color to pale green, transforming in the earth, and with wingless females and winged males. Next to the apple-tree borer, which has almost cut off the apple-crop of the Hastern States in certain localities, the canker-worm, always local in its distribution, is the most injurious. Originally confined, as 792 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY. an injurious insect, to Eastern Massachusetts and Connecticut, it is mows | injurious in Ilinois and Missouri. It must originally, at least A. ver nata, » have occurred all over the United States east of the Mississippi, as I, have received it from Texas. It may possibly be introduced into the Territories, and therefore I refer to it simply in this connection. Let us now examine the life-history of a canker-worm. And here we will confine ourselves to a single species, the Anisopteryx vernata of | Peck, which appears in the spring, not touching at present on the autumnal species. About the Ist of May, at the time when the leaves — of the apple are unfolding, the young canker-worms break through the eggs, which have been laid earlier in the season, in March and April, in patches on the bark of the trunk and limbs. They may be soon found clustering on the terminal buds and partly unfolded leaves, and are then about a line in length, and not much thicker than a bit of thick thread. How they grow and devour every green thing on the tree is too well known to the fruit-raisers in the eastern part of Massachusetts. Fortu- nately, owing to the want of wings, the female is exceedingly sedentary, and year after year the trees of particular orchards and towns are defo- liated and turned brown, while adjoining orchards and towns scarcely suffer. By the 20th of Jt une, in Essex County, Massachusetts, the orch- ard looks as if a fire had run through it. At that date the worms are fully fed, and they then descend to the ground, letting themselves down by a silken thread. At this time I have destroyed thousands by jarring the tree and collecting those which fall down. I have watched old and young robins busily engaged in eating them, and from the number of toads in my garden, gathered about ‘under the trees, I feel confident that they eat multitudes of them. The worms at once enter the ground, change to chrysalids several inches below the surface, near the trunk of the tree, and there remain until the early days of March and April, when the wingless females ascend the trees, and the winged males may be seen fluttering about. I took pains one spring, in the middle of Apri], to count the number of these moths on my apple-trees, fourteen in number, averaging from 6 to 7 inches in thickness, besides three elms. They were more abund- aut on the apple-trees than the elms. But on those seventeen trees there were counted, adhering mostly to the tarred paper, 1,000 males and 200 females. The spring of 1875 was cold and backward, and few moths were seen before this date. From these data we can ascertain approximately the relative numerical proportions between the sexes, which seems to approximate five males to one female. The species I have referred to is the spring moth, the Anisopteryx vernata of Peck, but not of Harris. The other species is much less abundant in the adult condition, and only appears in the autumn. The wings are thicker than those of vernata, and the caterpillar has an addi- tional pair of prop-legs, though so short as to be useless. I find that most of the damage is done by the caterpiliars of vernata. On June 15, 1875, I collected 557 caterpillars from the apple-trees in my garden. Of these 520 were vernaia, and 27 were the young of the autumn species. Peck, in his account published in 1795, states that vernata does the principal damage. As for remedies, the use of printer’s ink laid on tarred paper is the cheapest, though the ink should be applied every day or two. The use of tin troughs of oil surrounding the tree is almost sure to stop the ascent of the females, while wooden troughs of oil built around the bot- tom of the trunk is almost equally efficacious. Care and attention, and, i PACKARD. | THE AMERICAN TENT-CATERPILLAR. 793 _ above all, co-operation among those sutiering from these worms, would enable us to check their ravages. Plate LX VIX, Fig. 1, a, represents the caterpillar of vernata ; b, egg; c, a, side and dorsal view of a segment of the caterpillar. Fig. 2 dy the male moth ; b, the wingless female ; ce, three joints of the antenna ; d, dorsal view of an abdominal seoment. Figs. 3 and 4 the different stages of the autumnal species (A. autumnata). Tur AMERICAN TENT-CATERPILLAR, Clisiocampa americana Harris. (Plate LXIX, Figs. 5, 6.)—Devouring the foliage and forming conspicuous tent-like webs or nests in the forks of the branches ; ; a large, hairy caterpillar with a dorsal white stripe and numer- ous fine, wrinkled black lines on a yellow ground, united below into a common black band, with a blue spot on the side of each 1 ring. At the same time that the canker-worms are breaking out of their egg- shells, the young tent-caterpillars are following suit. This occurs usu- ally about the 1st of May, in the region of Boston, or a month or six weeks earlier in the latitude of Saint Louis, just as the leaves are un- folding. At this time, if one will examine closely the conspicuous bunches of eggs on the twigs of the tree, he may be able to see the little caterpillars clustering about on the outside of the egg-mass. When hatched, they have large heads, and the body is provided with long, scattered hairs. They at once betake themselves to the opening buds, congregating at noon-time, when the sun is hot among the axils of the branches, there forming a tent of silk for protection from the sun and rain. As they increase in size, they make extended journeys over dif- ferent branches, laying pathways of silk wherever they go. The tent or nest increases in size until it becomes the conspicuous, but by no means ornamental, object so noticeable on the grounds of slovenly farm- ers early in June. The caterpillars become fully grown by the middle of June. Then they spin dense, tough, white cocoons under loose bark, or under boards and rails of fences, and the moth appears about the 1st of July. I once experimented with a worm to see how persevering it would be in spinning its cocoon. After one cocoon was finished 1 removed it, when by another day a new one was spun like the other. Upon my re- moving this, it spun a third one which was thin and slight, the supply of silk having been exhausted. The silk is secreted by two glands one- half longer than the body when drawn out, but which are folded up beneath the digestive canal, and open out on the under lip. The silk is fluid, becoming solid on exposure to the air. The American tent-caterpillar is about two inches in length, with long, rather dense hairs. Along the back runs a white stripe, accompa- nied by numerous fine, wrinkled black lines on a yellow ground, united below into a common black line. On the side of each segment of the body is a conspicuous blue spot. The moths hide by day about the garden, and when the lamps are lighted, in they dart and tumble about on the table under the light, in an insensate way, as if frightened out of their wits. So peculiar is their mode of entering a lighted room, that one can usually tell what moth is coming by its “peculiar, noisy mode of entrance. The moth is reddish- brown, very thick-bodied, clothed in a thick coat of long hairs, and with short, ’proad, strong wings, as it flies swiftly. It is reddish-brown, with ‘two oblique, dirty- white lines on the fore wings, which expand when outstretched, about an inch and a half. Early in July the female lays her eggs, in bunches of from three hundred to four hundred. They are placed side by side, in a mass surrounding the twigs (Plate LXIX, Fig. 5, ¢), and after they are thus stuck on so as to surround the branch like 794 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. a collar, the entire mass is covered over with a gummy secretion, which hardens, and serves as a protection to the eggs. Remedies.—In the early spring as well as late autumn the bunches of eggs should be picked off and burned. When the tents are formed in June the nest should be removed with a mop dipped in oil or kerosene, at noon-time, when the caterpillars are in the tent. By discharging a gun close to the nest it can be destroyed with a small charge of powder. Plate LXIX, Fig. 7, represents the caterpillar of Clisiocampa disstria Hiibner (sylvatica Harris), which rarely occurs on apple-trees, being more common on the oak. It is a light blue, with a dorsal rim of eleven white oval spots. The moth, with the eggs, is represented at Fig. 8. There are two species of Clistocampa in California (C. californica Pack., and C. constrictu Stretch), and one is troublesome to apple-trees at Salt City, Mr. Barfort tells me, which may in time leave the oak on which it feeds and attack the apple. Both of the eastern tent-caterpillars orig- na ly fed on the oak. ‘ THE Fatt Wes-WorMm, Ayphantria textor Harris. (Fig. 63.)~Forming large webs on fruit and forest trees in August; a hairy, slender, greenish-yellow caterpillar dotted with black, changing to a snow-white unspotted moth. This common and annoying cat- erpillar is universally abundant, weaving its conspicuous web or tent- like structure on the branches of the apple, pear, and cherry, etc., in Au- gust, the worms remaining about until the leaves are nearly ready to fall. They usually eat the leaves ¥ on one entire branch and then pass yf z 0 the next, tying the leaves to- gether with silken threads. They are easily exterminated by hand- ’ picking. Ee Ziv. y & her iS YM SSS Tig. 63.—Fall Web-Worm. a, larva; 0 chrysalis; c, moth. (After Riley.) THE CODDLING Motu, Carpocapsa pomonella Linn. (Plate LXIX, Fig. 9.)—Eating holes in apples, causing them to fall prematurely; a small flesh-colored worm, trans- forming into a small gray moth. This moth, which is such a universal pest in the Eastern States, has for five years past, Mr. Barfort tells me, been injurious to the apples in Salt Lake City. Indeed, it is the only considerable pest of the apple in the Territory, but one that attracts a good deal of attention. Mr. Henry Edwards, of San Francisco, writes me that it has not yet occurred in California. The moth lays usually one egg on the blossom end of the fruit early in summer, and the caterpillar hatches in a few days, burrowing di- rectly into the core of the forming fruit. It attains its full size, becom- ing fully fed, in about three weeks, when the apple drops to the ground, and the larva transforms in a thin or sometimes quite thick cocoon in crevices in the bark of the tree, etc., and in a few days after another brood of moths appear, though most of them, as I have found in Maine, remain in their cocoons through the winter in the caterpillar state. In this condition I have found them under the loosened bark early in May. Many of the worms, Dr. Le Barm, in his Illinois report, says one-half, instead of waiting for the immature apples to fall, desert the apple and let themselves down by the web or walk down the trunk of the trees. The moth is gray, with numerous darker, transverse lines, and with a PACKARD]. THE APPLE-WEEVIL—PLUM-WEEVIL. 195 curved black line before the ocellated patch on the inner angle, which line is edged with a coppery tint. Plate LXIX, Fig. 9, represents the caterpillar, with the worm-eaten apple, the cocoon (7), and the chrysalis and moth. Remedies.—This troublesome pest may be partially destroyed by gath- ering the “ windfalls,” though the larva often deserts the worm-eaten apples before it falls. The best remedy is that suggested by Dr. Trim- bie, who binds bands of hay about the trees from July until the middle of September. The larve crawl under these bands and there spin their silken cocoons, when every fortnight the bands can be removed and the worms destroyed. Dr. Le Barm recommends for Northern Illinois that the bandages be in place a month after the blooming of the trees; that they be examined seven weeks after the falling of the blossoms; that three subsequent examinations be made at intervals of twelve days, and a final one after the leaves of the tree have fallen. In the latitude of Saint Louis, Mr. Riley suggests that the first examination be made not later than six weeks after the falling of the blossoms; and that four subsequent examinations, at intervals of twelve days, be made between it and the final one in the autumn when the apples are gathered. THE APPLE-WEEVIL, Anthonomus quadrigibbus Say. (Figs. 64,65.)—Boring in the apple; a long, slender maggot, transforming in the apple into a weevil, with a snout nearly as long as the body. é o Fic. 64.—Apple-Weevil, adult. a, Fic. 65.—Apple-Weevil. a, pupa; 3), nat. size; b, c, enlarged. (After maggot; both enlarged. Riley.) This weevil, which need not be confounded with the plum-weevil, is smaller, and has a longer beak. With its long snout it drills holes into the apple, deposits an egg, and the grub goes right to the heart of the apple, feeding around the core for nearly a month, when it trans- forms in the fruit, which does not fall. It remains two or three weeks in the pupa state, not leaving the fruit until it becomes a beetle.— (Riley.) INSECTS AFFECTING THE PLUM. THE PLUM-WEEVIL, Conotrachelus nenuphar Herbst.—Puncturing the young fruit; a weevil, like a dried plum-bud in general appearance, whose grub in the plum causes the fruit to prematurely fall. The plum-weevil has nearly cut off the fruit in the Eastern States, so that comparatively little is raised. The following condensed account is taken from “ The Guide to the Study of Insects:” “ This beetle is a short, stout, thick weevil, and the snout is curved, rather longer than the thorax, and bent on the chest when at rest. It is dark brown, spotted with white, ochre-yellow and black, and the surface is rough, from which the beetle, as Harris says, looks like a dried bud when shaken from the tree. When the fruit is set, the beetles sting the ! 796 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. plums, and sometimes apples and peaches, with their snouts, making a curved incision, in which a single egg is deposited. Mr. F. C. Hill shows that the curculio makes the crescent-shaped cut after the egg is pushed in, ‘so as to undermine the egg, and leave it in a kind of flap formed by the little piece of the flesh of the fruit which she has under- mined. Can her object be to wilt the piece around the egg, and pre- vent the growing fruit from crushing it ?’—(Practical Entomologist, Vol. ii, p. 115.) The grub hatched therefrom is a little footless, fleshy white grub, with a distinct round light-brown head. The imitation set up by these lavee causes the fruit to drop before it is of full size, with the lava still within. Now full-fed, it burrows directly into the ground and transforms during the last of the sammer. In three weeks it becomes a beetle. It also attacks other garden-fruits, such as the cherry, peach, — and quince. Ltemedy.—The best remedy is jarring the trees, and catching the larva. — in sheets and burning them. Dr. Hall’s “curculio catcher” is an excel- lent invention for destroying these insects ; it consists of a large inverted white umbrella, fixed upon a large wheelbarrow, split in front to receive the trunk of the tree, against which it is driven with force sufficient to jar the curculios from the tree into the umbrella. INSECTS INJURING THE STRAWBERRY. THE JUNE BEETLE, Phyllophaga fusca (Fréhl.). (See Fig. 10, p. 720.)—Eating the roots; the large, fleshy white grub of the common May or June beetle. The following account is taken from my third annual report as State Entomologist of Massachusetts: ‘With the increasing attention paid to the culture of the Strawberry, it has been found that several insects not before suspected to be inclined to feed on this plant, now habitually frequent it. Of these perhaps the most injurious is the strawberry saw-fly, which in this State, but more especially the Western States, as in Illinois, does in some cases the most grievous damage. Then a few moths which have been known to feed on fruit-trees, the currant, etc., have transferred their affections to the strawberry; such are the apple-leaf-roller or Tortrix, the saffron measuring-moth (Angerona crocataria), and several other caterpillars found in the Western States, and described in the entomological reports. of Messrs. Walsh and Riley, and also in ‘ Harris’s Treatise on the Inju- tious Insects’ of this State, and the reporter’s ‘Guide to the Stady of Insects.’ ‘Next, however, in importance to the Strawberry saw-fly (Hmphytus. maculatus), is one of the most common and familiar of all these insects. which everywhere force their attention upon us. This is the common May beetle, June beetle or ‘ dor bug,’ the American representative in its abundance and-injurious qualities of the European cockchafer. “Dr. Harris has given a brief sketch of its habits and transformations. in his Treatise, and referred to the injury the grub, sometimes called ‘white-worm,’ does to the roots of grass, remarking that ‘in many places the turf may be turned up like a carpet in consequence of the destruction of the roots’ He, however, does not say that it attacks the strawberry-roots, which it has for several years been known to do in gardens about Salem. My attention was especially called to its ravages. by Mr. D. M. Balch, of Salem, who has lost many strawberry-plants by the white grub. It seemed evident that they were introduced in the manure plaved around the roots, as during July and late in summer a “PACKARD.] THE JUNE BEETLE. Co manure-heap near by swarmed with the well-known white grubs, in va- rious stages of development, some apparently in the second year and others in the third year’s growth. They eat the main roots of the plant, thus destroying one plant after another. From this it will be obvious that if we observe the plant to wilt and suddenly die, we may look for the white grub and at once kill it to prevent further ravages. It is evi- dent, so large and voracious are these worms, that one plant would be a mere trifle to one of them. “Tt also eats down in much the same manner young squash-plants, as I am told by Mr. C. A Putnam, of Salem, who has been obliged to plant the seed over once or twice. They attack young plants at the time when they have thrown out three or four leaves. It is obvious that in dealing with this destructive insect we must become familiar with its habits. Every one knows the larva or grub of this insect, so that a detailed de- scription is not necessary. It is a large, soft-bodied, thick, white worm, nearly as large as the thumb. Its head is yellowish or pale horn-col- ored. Its skin is so thin and transparent that the air-vessels and viscera can be seen through it, while, though it has three pairs of legs, it is so gross and unwieldy that it lies, when dug out of its retreat, flat upon its side. : ‘¢ How many years the grub lives before changing into the beetle we do not know, but probably at least three. It arrives at maturity in the autumn, and early in May in this state the chrysalis may be found in little rude cells or chambers about six inches under the mold, in which position we have found it in Maine late in May. During the latter part of May and early in June, 7. ¢., for about a month, it flies about at night, especially on warm nights. By day it hides in fruit and other trees, clinging to the under side of the leaves by its long, curved claws, which are admirably adapted for the purpose. Here it does at times much in- .- jury, especially, as Harris remarks, to cherry-trees. *“ Where it lays its eggs is not definitely known, but it is probable that it burrows in the soil and there lays its eggs, as does the European cockchafer, of whose habits Harris gives a summary, and also the gold- smith beetle, of which we give ‘an account farther on. Riley, however, says that ‘soon after pairing, the female beetle creeps into the earth, especially wherever the soil is loose and rough, and after depositing her eggs to the number of forty or fifty, dies. These hatch in the course of a month, and, the grubs growing slowly, do not attain full size till the early spring of the third year, when they construct an ovoid chamber, lined with a gelatinous fluid, change into pups, and soon afterward into beetles.’ ‘‘Tn the autumn at the approach of cold it descends to a considerable depth below the surface to avoid the frost, probably about two feet be- low the usual depth at which the ground is frozen in the winter. At the approach of warm weather, however, it makes its way up near the sur- face, where it forms a slight cell by wriggling about, and then passes into the pupa state. It is said to sometimes pupate and appear in the winged state in the autumn. ‘As to remedies against this grub, the careful gardener will in the first place destroy all those that he sees by crushing them to death. When the manure is spread over the strawberry-bed, he must watch it nar- rowly for the grubs so easily seen, and kill them. When a vine is seen to die down suddenly in summer he must then dig around the roots and search for them, and go over the bed carefully, even if help has to be employed. Itis better to spend even much time and money for iwo or three years in succession, in endeavoring to exterminate these grubs, 198 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. than to yield passively to the scourge. The remarks of Mr. Lockwood, that we reprint in our account of the goldsmith beetle, are eminently practical as applied to this insect. As for special remedies, we have none to propose. Watchfulness and care in culture are better than any special nostrums. ‘Undoubtedly the natural enemies of this grub are many, but we have no observations bearing on this point. A fungus attacks the grubs in certain seasons, often in considerable numbers. We have received speci- mens from Missouri of dead and dried grubs, with a long stem growing out from them, the result of the attacks of this fungus. It has been figured by Mr. Riley, who states that another fungus attacks this worm in Virginia. Itis well known that caterpillars and even the common house-fly are sometimes attacked by a fungus which replaces the animal portion with its own vegetable substance. ‘While many animais, such as skunks, moles, crows, ete., prey on the beetles, the only insect-enemy I have personally observed is the fierce carnivorous Calosoma beetle (C. calidwm) which I have noticed on a blueberry-bush busily engaged in tearing open the hard, horny sides of one of these beetles, which was in vain struggling to escape; on taking up the May beetle a large hole had been eaten into its side, disclosing the viscera. ‘‘Occasionally the beetles appear in immense numbers. Itis then the duty of the agriculturist to pick them off the trees and burn them. If the French take the pains to practice hand-picking, as in one instance ‘about eighty millions were collected and destroyed in a single portion of the Lower Seine’ (Riley), our gardeners can afford to take similar pains. ‘A description of the May beetle is scarcely necessary. Fig. 10 (p. 720) gives a good idea of its appearance and size. It is bay-colored, or chestnut and brown, with yellowish hairs beneath, and is nearly an inch in length. Its scientific name is Lachnosterna fusca, or, literally translated, the brown woolly-breasted beetle. The pupa is white.” TuE GOLDSMITH BEETLE, Cotalpa lanigera, Linn.—Feeding on the roots as grub; very similar to that of the June beetle. ‘We also have in the Eastern States an insect allied to the preceding, and with much the same habits, both in the adult and preparatory states. It is the Cotalpa lanigera. It is nearly an inch in length, bright yellow above, with a golden metallic luster on the head and thorax, while — the under side of the body is copper-colored, and densely covered with white hairs. ‘Dr. Harris says that it is very common in this State. remarking that it begins to appear in Massachusetts about the middle of May, and continues generally till the 20th of June. ‘In the morning and evening twilight they come forth from their retreats, and fly about with a hum- ming and rustling sound among the branches of trees, the tender leaves. of which they devour. Pear-trees are particularly subject to their at- tacks, bunt the elm, hickory, poplar, oak, and probably also other kinds. of trees, are frequented and injured by them.’ Dr. Lockwood has found it on the white poplar of Europe, the sweet. gum, and has seen it eating the Lawton blackberry. He adds that the larve of these insects are not known; probably they live in the ground upon the roots of plants. ‘Tt has remained for the Rev. Dr. S. Lockwood to discover that the grub or larva of this pretty beetle in New Jersey devastates strawberry- beds, the larva feeding upon the roots, in the same manner as the May PACKARD. ] THE GOLDSMITH BEETLE. 799 beetle. His account was first published in the American Naturalist (vol. ii, pp. 186, 441). He says that in the month of May in the ordinary culture of his garden the spade has turned up this beetle generally in company with the May beetle. He found that some of the beetles, as in the case of the May beetle, assume the adult beetle state in October and remain under-ground for seven months before appearing in the spring. “Tarva.—The larve he describes as ‘ whitish grubs, about one inch and three-quar- ters long and over half an inch thick, with a yeilowish-brown scale on the part cor- responding to the thorax.’ I may add that it so nearly resembles the young of the May beetle that it requires a close examination to tell them apart. The proportions of the two are much the same; if anything the Cotalpa is slightly shorter and thicker, and its body is covered with short, stiff hair, especially at the end, while in the May beetle the hairs are much finer, sparse, and the skin is consequently shiny. They also differ in the head, being fuller, more rounded in Cotalpa, the clypeus shorter and very convex, while in the May beetle itis flattened. The upper lip (labrum) is in Cotalpa longer, more rounded in front and narrower at the base, and full convex on the surface, while in the young May beetle it is flat. The antenne are longer and larger in the goldsmith beetle, the second joint a little over half as long as the third, while in the May beetle grub it is nearly three-quarters as long; the third joint is much longer than in the latter grub, while the fourth and fifth are of the same relative length as in the May beetle, but much thicker. The jaws (mandibles) are much alike in both, but not quite so acute in the Cotalpa as in the other, nor are the inner teeth so prominent. The maxilla is much longer and with stouter spines, and the palpi are longer and slenderer in the grub of Cotalpa than in the other, though the joints have the same relative proportion in each; the basal joint is nearly twice as long as in the May beetle. The under lip (labium) is throughout much longer, and the palpi, though two-jointed in each, are much longer and slenderer in the grub of Cotalpa than in that of the May beetle. The feet are much larger and more hairy in the Cotalpa. Both larve are about an inch and a half long, and a third (.85) of an inch thick at the widest part. “Asregardsthe number of years in the life of this insect, Dr. Lockwood remarks that ‘ when collecting the larve in May, I often observed in the same places grubs of the Cotalpa of at least four distinct ages, each representing a year in the life of the insect, judging from Renny’s figures of the larve of the English cockchafer, or dor beetle (Melolontha vulgaris). But the cockchafer becomes an imago in January or February, and comes forth into active life in May, just four years from the deposit of the egg. Supposing our Ootalpa to take on .the imago form in autumn, and to spend its life from that time to the next May in the ground, it would be five years old when it makes its début as an arbo- real insect.’ Itis possible that Dr. Lockwood may be in error regard- ing the age of this beetle, as M. 'T. Reiset says in France this insect is three years in arriving at its perfect beetle state. The following remarks on the habits of the European chafer may aid observers in this country in studying the habits of our native species. M. Meiset says (see ‘Cosmos’.as translated in the American Naturalist, vol ii, p. 209) ‘that this beetle in the spring of 1865 defoliated the oaks and other trees, while immense numbers of their larve in the succeeding year, 1866, devoured to a fearful extent the roots of garden-vegetables, etc., at a loss to the department of the Lower Seine of over five millions of dollars. This insect is three years in arriving at its perfect beetle state. The larve, hatched from eggs laid by the beetles which appeared in such numbers in 1865, passed a second winter, that of 1867, at a mean depth in the soil of forty one-hundredths of a meter, or nearly a foot and a half. The thermometer placed in the ground (which was covered with snow) at this mean depth, never rose to thirty-two degrees F. as minimum. Thus the larve survived after being perfectly frozen (prob- ably most subterranean larve are thus frozen, and thaw out in the spring at the approach of warm weather). In June, 1867, the grubs 800 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. having become full-fed, made their way upward to a mean distance of | about 13 inches below the surface, where, in less than two months, they — all changed to the pupa state, and in October and November the per- fect beetle appeared. The beetles, however, hibernate, remaining below the surface for a period of five or six months and appearing in April | and May. The immature larvee, warned by the approaching cold, began to migrate deep down in the soil in October, when the temperature of the earth was ten degrees above zero. As soon as the snow melted they | gradually rose toward the surface.’ “As regards the time and mode of laying the eggs, we quote from Dr. Lockwood as follows: ‘On the evening of the 13th June last we caught in the drug-store, Keyport, whither they were attracted by the | profusion of light, four Cotalpas, representing both sexes. These were taken home and well cared for. On the 16th a pair coupled. A jar of earth was at once provided, and the beetles placed on top of the dirt. In the evening the female burrowed and disappeared. Near midnight she had not returned to the surface; next morning she had re-appeared. — The earth was then very carefully taken from the jar, and, as removed, — was inspected with a glass of wide field but low power. Fourteen eggs were found, not laid (as we expected) in one spot or group, but singly and at different depths. I was surprised at their great size. Laid lengthwise, end touching end, two eggs measured very nearly three- sixteenths of aninch. They were like white wax, Semi-translucent; in form, long-ovoid and perfectly symmetrical. On the 13th of J uly one | had hatched ; the grub was well formed and very lively. Its dimen- sions were about five-sixteenths of an inch in length and about three- thirtieths of an inch in thickness. It was a dull white, the head-plate precisely that dull yellow seen in the adult grub, the legs the same color, and the extremity of the abdomen lead-color, the skin being transparent. For food, a sod of white clover (Trifolium repens) was given them, roots downward, knowing that the young larve would come upward to eat. They were then left undisturbed until August 19, when the sod was removed, and it was found that the grubs had eaten into it, thus making little oval chambers, which were enlarged as the eating went on.. They were carefully picked out and a fresh sod of grass and clover supplied. They had now grown five-eighths of an inch in length, preserving the same colors. ‘It is quite possible that a few of the eggs escaped me in the search. Tam of opinion, however, that from fifteen to twenty is the average number laid by one beetle. In short, the insect lays her eggs in the night, probably not more than twenty. The hatching of these required in the present instance twenty-seven days. It must be remembered that a large portion of this time was remarkably cold and wet. Itis almost certain that with favorable thermal conditions this might be lessened fully seven days. ‘Regarding its ravages in strawberry-beds, I cannot do better than quote from Dr. Lock wood’s excellent account in the American Naturalist: ‘When on a visit in September last to the farm of a celebrated straw- berry-grower in Monmouth County, New J ersey, my attention was directed to certain large patches badly thinned out by, as the phrase went, “‘the worm.” The plants were dead on the surface and easily pulled up, the roots being eaten off below. It was observable that the fields which presented the worst appearance were all of the same kind of plant—that known as Wilson’s Albany Seedling. Besides this there were nine other varieties under culture, Barnes’ Mammoth, Schenck’s © Excelsior, the Agriculturist, Triomphe de Gand, Cutter’s Seedling, the |PACKARD.] THE STRAWBERRY CROWN-BORER. 801 Bygennda, Pineapple, Early Scarlet, and Brooklyn Scarlet. While the Wilson stood second to none of these as a prolific fruit-bearer, yet it fell behind them in vigorous plant-growth. Hence, while every kind was more or less affected, the other varieties seemed saved by their own |growth and energy from a destruction so thorough as was that of the | Wilson. These patches were all planted in the spring and all received the same treatment, the ground being kept open and free from weeds. The amount of the spring-planting was seven and a half acres. Of the | Wilsons there were three different patches in places quite separated from each other, and on not less than five different kinds of soil. These patches were among and contiguous to those of the other varieties. While all suffered more or less, the chief injury befell the Wilsons, of ' which not less than two acres were irretrievably ruined. An examina- i turned up the depredator, who was none other than the larva of the goldsmith beetle, now engaged in the first one of its allotted three- ae campaigns of mischief. These grubs were from the eggs de- posited in June in the well-tilled and clean soil, which, I have said else- | where, I thought the Cotalpa preferred to meadow or grass lands. Compared with others, the larva of this beetle is sluggish and easily captured. The black grub of the spring, which is such a pest, attacking almost indiscriminately the early tender plants, inflicts its injuries chiefly ‘in the night, the exception being that of dull and cloudy days. The night’s mischief done, it descends into concealment atearly dawn. Know- ing this, the wise farmer is in search of it at an early hour, ere the warmth of the sun gives it warning to retreat. But the goldsmith grub can be taken at any hour of the day simply by scratching away the earth from around the roots of those plants whose dark, shriveled leaves tell of | the enemy’s presence. It is my belief that this devastation might have _been spared by an outlay of from $20 to $30 for labor, much of which, under proper direction, could have been done by children. Therein would have been saved a strawberry-crop for the ensuing summer, worth searcely less than $2,500, for from this same farm the crop of a single acre has been sold for $1, 500. Then, however valuable such labors are in the immediate results, that is but a fraction of their worth as respects the future. These Cotalpa grubs, with all their mischief, had not more than a third of their ultimate size; hence their real ravenousness is yet tocome. Besides, what a prospect of increase of numbers, should even a moderate share of them reach maturity! Why should not our farmers seek to know something about their insect-enemies, and, when practica- ble, put forth some energy to meet such ?” THE STRAWBERRY CROWN-BoRER, Analcis fragarie Riley.—Boring from the crown | of sae plant down into and killing it; a small, soft, fleshy grub, transforming to a | weevi _ weevil in the crown of the plant, From the middle of June until the middle of July in Southern Illinois, the grub hatches from an egg, sup- posed to be deposited by the parent and bores downward into the pith, ” where it remains until fully grown, “ working in the thick, bulbous root, and often eating through the more woody portions; so that when frost sets in, the plant easily breaks off and is heaved out of the ground.”— Fie. 66.—Strawberry Crown - Borer and | (Riley.) A remedy is difficult to Beetle. (After Riley.) | apply, but infested plants should be burned. 51 Gs 802 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. INSECTS INJURING SHADE AND FOREST TREES. So important to the Western Territories is the preservation and culti-- vation of forest, as well as shade and ornamental, trees, that a slight sketch of what is known of the insects found in Colorado to be injurious | to them will be of some importance until more definite information is obtained. On Plate LXX, I have given outline figures of a number of | _ insects either found living in forest-trees in Colorado, or, from the habits — of their allies in the Eastern States, supposed to be injurious. INJURING CONIFEROUS TREES. THE SPRUCE-TIMBER BEETLE, Dryocetes affaber, Mannh. (Plate LXX, Figs. 1-3.) . This beetle occurred (July 7) in abundance in all stages in a growth of Abies menziesit,* the common spruce of the Rocky Mountains, at Kelso’s Cabin, 11,200 feet elevation, on the road to Gray’s Peak. It bores into the back and near the sap-wood in all directions, its burrows resembling those of Tornicus pint, with which it is associated, being irregular, but much smaller. The larva(Plate LXX, Fig. 1) is cf the usual form of those of the family, being cylindrical and of the same thickness throughout, with the end of the body fuil and suddenly rounded; segments convex, especially — the thoracic ones, and slightly hairy.. Head two-thirds as wide as the body, rounded, honey-yellow. Length, 0.15 inch. The pupa is much like that of 7. pini, with two anal soft, sharp tubercles. As my specimens are farther advanced than those of T. pint, the wings being free from the body, and the abdomen longer, it is im- possible for me to draw up a good description. In one example, the pupa had retained the larval head, but it was split behind so as not to | interfere probably with the development of the adult beetle. The beetle (Plate LXX, Fig. 3) differs from 7. pint in its much smaller and slightly slenderer body. The head and prothorax are two- thirds as long as the rest of the body. The abdomen is not scooped out at the end as in 7. pint, but truncated, moderately rounded, and the end of the abdomen reaches to the end of the wing-covers, which are square at the end instead of excavated as in T. pint. Color reddish-brown, much as in 7. pint. The body is covered with fine, stiff, straight hairs. Length, 0.14 inch. THE PiInn-TIMBER BEETLE, Tornicus pint Say. .Pupa and_ beetle. (Plate LXX, Figs. 4, 5.) This timber-beetle was common, boring irregularly into the inner - bark of Abies menziesti. The burrows are like those made by the same insect in the white pines from Maine to North Carolina. On the Atlan- tic coast the more regular burrows radiate from a common center. Those observed on Gray’s Peak were 0.08 inch in diameter. In the pupa the body ends in two long, pointed, horn-like appendages arising from each side beneath. The ends of the hind tarsi extend to the terminal third of the wings. The antenne are clavate, not extend- *This tree was kindly identified for me by Mr. Sereno Watson, from specimens of the leaves. and cones sent him for identification. PACKARD. | THE STOUT PINE-BORER. 803. ing beyond the cox of the first legs. It is larger, more bulky than the adult. Length, 0.22 inch. The beetle (Plate LXX, Fig. 4) is cylindrical, with the head and pro- thorax together three-fourths as long as the rest of the body; end of the abdomen suddenly truncated, slanting, forming a scoop, the decliv- ity smooth, concave, and bounded by high walls, which are four-toothed on each side, the third from the top the largest. On each wing-cover are eight lines of fine, raised tubercles ; prothorax with concentric rows of fine tubercles, but smooth on the posterior third. Seen from beneath, the wing-covers project well beyond the end of the abdomen. Color, pale tan-brown, a little paler on the thorax than on the wing-covers. Body covered with stiff, dense hairs. Length, 0.20 inch. THE Stout PINE-BoRER, Dendroctonus obesus Mannh. (Plate LXX, Fig. 16.) This beetle is not uncommon in Colorado. I met with it at Blackhawk and at Manitou. It probably bores in the pines and spruces of the mount- ains. It is short and stout, reddish-brown, the head and prothorax Smooth and shining, though finely punctured, while the wing-covers are coarsely punctured and dull-colored, being a little darker than the rest of the body. Length, 0.35 inch. It scarcely differs from the Dendroctonus terebraus of the Eastern States, which I have found in all stages in great abundance under the bark of the white pine, associated with Pissodes strobi. It mines the inner surface of the bark, slightly grooving the sap-wood, and pupates in April, appearing as a beetle in great numbers on warm days early in May. On a cursory examination I am unable to see any difference be- tween the eastern species and D. obesus, except that the latter is slightly larger. ! INJURING DECIDUOUS SHADE AND ORNAMENTAL TREES. The following beetles are common in Colorado and the Rocky Mount- ains, and in most cases will probably be found ere many years to be injurious to the trees in towns and on farms. Knowing as yet nothing of their habits I have thought it well to select a few of the more com- mon species and present such figures and brief descriptions of them as may prove useful to western gardeners and farmers hereafter. I will not attempt to coin English names for them. The localities are given in the List of Coleoptera collected by me in Colorado, at the end of this report. PRIONUS EMARGINATUS Say. (Plate LXX, Fig. 6.) ‘¢ Body castaneous; head, thorax, and breast covered with long yellow- ish-ferruginous hair; antennz fourteen-jointed, glabrous, perfoliate, im- bricate; the imbrications emarginate beneath ; mandibles black at tip ; thorax but slightly margined, one-toothed on the middle of the lateral edge; angles obtusely rounded ; elytra somewhat unequal, punctured ; feet and venter subglabrous. Length nearly seven-tenths of an inch. Female glabrous; antenne simple. Length four-fifths of aninch. This species exhibits the general form of brevicornis, but the thorax is pro- portionally much narrowed, and the characters above detailed prove it to be very distinct from that species. The lepaceous processes of the antenne are so profoundly emarginate beneath as to appear each bilo- bate. I obtained it on the Arkansas River near the mountains.’”—(Say.) 804 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. CRIOCEPHALUS PRODUCTUS Le Conte. (Plate LXX, Fig. 7.) Varying from dark brown to black-brown; unspotted, with two high, thin, raised lines or ridges on each wing-cover. It is closely allied to the eastern C. agrestis, but is somewhat narrower, and the ridges are much more prominent. Length, 0.80-0.85 inch. DECTES SPINOSUS (Say). (Plate LXX, Fig. 8.) ‘Head deeply indented between the antenne; labrum piceous; antennz longer than the body, black, each joint gray at base; thorax cylindrical, immaculate; an acute, slightly-recurveq spine near the posterior angles; elytra (wing-covers) with numerous small impressed punctures, attip trun- cated ; venter with a series of almost concealed black spots on each side. Length more than three-tenths of an inch.”—(Say.) ‘I formed a special genus, Dectes, for this insect, but it seems to be scarcely distinet from Liopus.”—(Le Conte.) POGONOCHERUS MIxTUS Haldeman. (Plate LXX, Fig. 9.) ‘‘ Head sparsely hairy, black, with an indistinct yellowish spot before the eyes; frontal line impressed; antennz testaceous, with the tip of the articulations blackish; scutel black; elytra hispid; base, middle, €, tarsus, greatly en- larged ; d, shrunken anal joints as they appear after oviposition ; e, male caryecaulis, dorsal view; the dot in the circles indicates the natural size of the insect-—(Atter ' Riley.) Rep. U. 8. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Bioware eee SE Plate LXVIII. —— a WITTENBERG & SPREER sc Fig. 2. —— = STLOWS TEN bPeray. } da Witaaanh Pe aser SSS Leva es AA Pepe ta Aye act Piet EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXIX. h1G. 1. Anisopteryax vernata Peck. Canker-Worm.—-a, caterpillar; 6, a mass of i natural size, and one much enlarged; ¢, lateral, d, dorsal view of a segment enlarged.-— (After Riley.) x Wig, 2. Ansopieryx vernaia Peck.—a, male, 6, female; ¢, three antennal joints; d, an Rees seg ment showing the 4 t : WO TOWS Of spines not present in the female of A. autumnate ; ; @, Ovipositor.—(After Riley.) Fic. 3. Anisopteryx autumnata (A. pomeiaria of Morrison & Mann).—a, b,e,egg; ¢, d, f, caterpillar ; 5 9,h, female chrysalis—(After Riley.) ; _ Fic. 4, Anisopter ‘yx autumnata.—e, male; b, female; ¢, portion of antenna, opined , a female abdominal segment, dorsal view, e1 nlarged. .—(After Riley.) Fic. 5. Clisiooampa emericana.—eé, b, American Tent-Caterpillar: ¢, eges; d, cocoon.— | (After hiiey. ) Fig. 6. Female moth of American Tent-Caterpillar.—( After Riley.) Fie. i Caterpillar of Clisiocampa disstria, Htibner.—({ After Riley.) | Fic. 8. 6, Female Clisiocampa dissiria ; a, c,d, eges.—(After Riley. ) Fie. 9.—Co dadling moth, Carpocapsa pomonella Linn.—a, apple injured by the cater-— pillar e, which hatches from an egg laid at the point b; d, chrysalis; k, head and Bext segment of the larva; f, g, moth; 7, the cocoon —(After Riley. ) : a ta ou — ee ] ‘ Rep. U.S. Geol. and Geogr.Sury. Plate LXIX. leavin lie eagle? a 5 UH \ . Ww ay Z SE \ \ \ SY We \ \ \ \\\\ My ul Insects inj urious to the Apple. Beye EXPLANATION OF PLATE LXX. Fig. 1. Larva of Dryocetes affaber Mannh. Fic. 2. Pupa of the same. Fig. 3. Adult of the same. Fig. 4. Pupa of Tomicus pini Say. Fig. 5. Adult of Tomicus pint. Fig. 6. Prionus emarginatus Say. Fig. 7. Criocephalus productus Le Conte. Fic. 8. Dectes spinosus (Say). Fig. 9. Pogonocherus mixtus Haldeman. Fic. 10. Mecas pergrata Say. Fie. 11. Chrysobothris trinervia (Kirby). Vic. 12. Buprestis rusticorum Kirby. Fig. 13. Dicerca prolongata Le Conte. Fig. 14. Melanophila drummondi Kirby. Fie. 15. Dermestes marmoratus Say. Fie. 16. Dendroctonus obesus Mannh. Fig. 17. Cocoon of Donacia proxima. Fie. 18. Larva of Donacia proxima. Fig. 19. Adult (enlarged twice) of Donacia proxima Kirby. i Fic. 20. Pleotomus patlens Le Conte, male.—a, dorsa! and side view of the larva; } dorsal, and ¢, ventral view of the mouth-parts. ; Fre. 21. Female of Pleotomus pallens. Fic. 22. Phryganidia californica Pack.; male. NoTE.—Figs. 1-16 and 20 were drawn by Mr. J. 8. Kingsley, and Figs. 17-19, 21, and 22 were drawn by Mr. J. H. Emerton. . | Plate LXX. ) Rep. U.S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Fig. 4. Fig. 6. Fig. 11. Fig. 16. ‘Big. 15. Fig. 13, Wig. 17. Fig. 19. Fig. Fig. 21. Insects injurious to Western Forest Trees. ; MAP SHOWING APPROXIMATE DISTRIBUTION of the [AN FLY & WHEAT MIDGE. AS.PACKARD JR. Fly =lWheat Midge sstan He ultivation Limit of Wheat ¢ States, tern United Scale of Statute Miles i €as 50 100 150 + 350 400 250 300 > | i | a — ea Ann. Hep. U. 8. Geolo. and Geogr. Surv. for 1°75. MAP SHOWING APPROMIMATE DISTRIBUTION 62° 67° eae: LT aareee b artes | MAP SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION 30 of the CHINCH BUG (BLISSUS LEUCOPTERUS) | AS PACKARD Jn. »” Regions most ravaged. Limit of Wheat culti- vation in eastern U.S. Scale of Statute Miles SEO or rn 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Pou Russell & Struthers.N.Y. J Sia tty Ann. Rep. U. 8. Geolo. and Geogr. Surv. for 1875. South oDervyer Manitoby WINIPEG Z. MAP SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION 0 of the CHINCH BUG (BEISSUS LEUCOPTERUS) AS.PACKARD JR. Regions most ravaged. — we Limit of Wheat culti- vation in eastern U.S. Scale of Statute Miles sliea =p 0 e020 9 400 ee a ee 1 ema i ie ala Ani io} 30 (e) 50 ° 49 0 i) ° oo) Wate ¢ | a ae ee i 572 ue) \ A e i 79\\ . , ay WAKO Aiea Sore PENI 0 \ 3 Gi a CY atteras 3 (ee & A” Mi /]} 7 Is] mm i United 20 00 50 200 By astern 200 Scale of Statute Miles of the HERN ARMY WORM |CHELIOPHILA UNIPUNCTA) MAP )HOWING-THE DISTRIBUTION 20d tn A.S.PACKARD Jr. 60 100 150 Regions most ravaged. Limit of Wheat cul- S$ — | | I} 117 R= 1k is in} —) 5 lf ae By & gy a y Ss 0} I CORT. Surv, Chal a LP trl NL | d. eat cul- ited Wh Lastern Un States — seate of Statute Miles of the CKARD In. NORTHERN ARMY WORM Iv 200 250 OW KO 400 S.PA ns Most TAvAGE of A eyio imit in R ~—TL (HELIOPHILA UNIPUNCTA) SHOWING-THE DISTRISUTION 10 tivation etou — Sayvilminy ksonyille Jac REA RNY ie) ORY ions yew=Oleans s BOM aod EOF 7. shat oo) ana a 3 SO 07 ps = x yy Ted] Bsap me 3 an Toe rs a2: Re rt Sally For Ss | Cheyenne R. r 1875. Ml, atl] ae eine ee > 5 & _ - 5 ; é Ss a deceienamee betes al + sean. — s —s x (owe ‘ae SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION of the [TON ARMY WORM, (ALETIA ARGILLACEA) and BOLL WORM. (HELIOTHIS ARMIGERA) AS.PACKARD Ir. — FN pu Worm ‘2249 Cotton Army i Scale of Statute Miles W Orie 50 100 150 200 250 3800 350 400 450 Limits of Cotton cultivation pe ae Surv. for 1875. d Geogr. Marquette y - q + Escanaba, \) A + A ) SS siirinaw 5 Cit, 4 “| Gra rs | Detroit et : MAP SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION of the COTTON ARMY WORM, (ALETIA ARGILLACEA) and BOLL WORM, ELIOTHI8 ARMGERAD AS.PACKARD ‘ > ig ee ee Sh we Pa : ee ' ’ 5 { 5. anes P Ann. we ee . LAWN Ot. \ sts BIG Vey se Ree reas \\ ae >) U (sr dap Tm 30 MAP: SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION of the JOINT WORM l= (ISOSOMA HORDE]I) A.S.PACKARD JR. Aveu most devastated — Limits of Wheat cult OW ee oO cy Se eastern U ton in Scale of Statute Miles vat | mA Zi a » » a = 3 3 na 3 S = = Pl 3 3 a ° = r] os) r= r=) wo a I i) ww a = i) 2S \ Geogr. Surv. for 1375. Marquet! S - Escanaba, — S: ae jones Za | d Haven See roie bow: Detroit _ SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION Savannah, ; of the Mongomery \ JOIN i WORM : S Jacksonville (ISOSOMA HORDE}I) A.S.PACKARD Jr. ‘Areu most devastated —-—-—Limits of Wheat culti- vation tn eastern U.S. Scale of Statute Miles — Ann 2 Ns ee SM \ aw ws y raat nea aS 30 MAP OWING THE DISTRIBUTION of the OINT WORM (ISOSOMA HORDE!) A.S.PACKARD JR. rea most devastated imrits of Wheat culti-~ ia): stern TO ion in ea at g g i; °° 250 Scale of Statute Miles 0 100 150 Russel] & Struthers,N.Y. Surv. for 1875. mre : to 172 2” 107 1022 07° too 37> eS = —— : = = Soi = \ 2 <2 : — ; ‘ LAR; — oko ARE N , 7, = 2 Simpoon fy ives UAB ao == | tf Vo = f ‘ LL ergy > = ls 08 ate | Hy X 0,2 Seen = * s h SB / s P A ~ < | WS y Ree : Wa Be = | ~ Xe Yip0 AG = = = ta es | JAMES | cos = BAY SS ‘ %, | x s WINIPE, : ¥ “ Warmridgge mae 2 AP ; tee L. A Manito xe cops | ep ; tan Sty use Alan RR. a \ b < Many Sa A \ows uM x Zs Es — G ae LSAL Lucena R. EEO ae =. =* ex i Nig —— FE.Ga. ; | @ So a z "Y D> LAKE OF THE AA ‘i | 2 Oetker — Woops Quedes UO y Trt ouxe yy embina. = = ae Et. Union si | = pee _ ‘ = My Yellow mune) Rr ismare 2) = a : 4 =) = - fy & ay; ! Marquette . Escanaba, ‘e ~ aera m, = OAR 4 SS ; poneyune 4 Fort suny Wt A Alpent ae Sua pO oN = =a | | i t ‘ , _}a0 ¥ | =: Yankto f = See S en Coe | eax \ beyenn ! ‘ Nz 7 2 Du nau ana \ = EN wy, \ ee ee ‘ omaha! ei Chicano cS amen slo —= \, ee = ‘i - \ Atlanta. ; rs eA ie SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION | [a = ; Augusta Gharleston ae Dallas ea el eS of the ‘ 2 “S ; | \ Vieksburg gJackson Savanna] <== F a eu 4 bi = al om :. ch \ Mongoyery JOINT WORM a S \ | A —. ile. an i %, es es Mobile. —— 4 } Jacksonville (ISOSOMA HORDE!) ks mix SUMS Lake: AS.PACKARD Jn. 1d NeweOrlean SS pa = jalveston: = S ‘Area most devastated wo —-—-— Limits of Wheat culti- ie ee : vation in eastern U.S. ead Conse: <1 7 J : Seale of Statute Miles — sr W 10 1H 20 2 wD 400 : ackarp.] LIST OF COLEOPTERA COLLECTED IN COLORADO. 811 APPENDIX. LIST OF COLEOPTERA COLLECTED IN 1875, IN COLORADO AND UTAH, BY A. 8. PACKARD, JR., M. D. ‘The collection of beetles which I made in the summer of 1875, while attached to Professor Hayden’s Survey, was submitted to Dr. G. H. Horn for examination and identification. CICINDELID Ai. Cicindela longilabris Say. Georgetown, Colo. Cicindela punctulata Fabr. Garden of the Gods, Colo. Cicindela repanda Dej. Boulder, Colo. Cicindela hemorrhagica Lec. Salt Lake Point. CARABID Ai. Carabus teedatus Fabr. Kelso’s Cabin, foot of Gray’s Peak, elevation 11,200 feet ; Idaho Springs, Colo. Pasimachus elongatus Lec. Denver, June 27. Brachinus minutus Harr. Denver, Colo. Calathus dubius Lee. Idaho Springs, Colo. Platynus placidus (Say). Idaho Springs, Colo. Pterostichus luczotit (Dej.). Idaho Springs, Colo.; Georgetown, Colo., 9,000 feet elevation. Pterostichus riparius (Dej.). Gray’s Peak, at an elevation of about 12,000 feet. Amara terrestris Lec. Idaho Springs, Colo. Amara brunnipennis Dej. Arapahoe Peak, 11,000-12,000 feet elevation ; summit of Pike’s Peak and lower down, about 13,000 feet ele- vation. Amara interstitialis Dej. Idaho Springs, Colo. Amara obesa Say. Idaho Springs, Colo.; Manitou, July 12; Golden, Colo. Amara avida (Say). Idaho Springs, Colo. Dicaelus sculptilis Say. Manitou, Colo. Nothopus zabroides (Lec.). Denver, Colo. Harpalus pensylwanicus (Dej.). “Denver, Colo.; ‘Salt Lake City, Utah. Harpalus furtivus Lec. Golden, Colo.; Idaho Springs, Colo.; Manitou, Colo., July 12. feats Jy Lee. Idaho Springs; Kelso’s Cabin, Gray’s Peak, ,200 feet elevation, July 6. i ae Lec. Idaho Springs, Colo.; Manitou, Colo. Cratacanthus dubius (Beauv.). Denver, Colo., June 27. Agonoderus comma (Kabr.). Denver ; Idaho Springs, Colo. Discoderus parallelus (Hald.). Shores of Great Salt Lake at Lake Point, Utah. Patrobus longicornis (Say). Boulder, Colo. Patrobus aterrimus Dej. Idaho Springs, Colo. 812 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Bembidium bimaculatum (Kirby). Idaho Springs, Colo. Bembidium rupestre Dej. Idaho Springs, Colo. Bembidium bifossulatum Sec. Denver, Col. DYTISCID A. Hydroporus vilis Lee. Colorado. Hydroporus sellatus Lee. Denver, Colo. Tlybius confusus Aubé. Denver, Colo. Gaurodytes disintegratus Cr. Denver. HYDROPHILID Ai. Helophorus linéatus Say. Arapahoe Peak, 11,000-12,000 feet elevation. Tropisternus lateralis Hb. Denver. Berosus styliferus Horn. Denver. STAPHYLINID A. Creophilus villosus (Grav.). Georgetown, Colo.; Lake Point, margin of Great Salt Lake, Utah. Philonthus californicus Mann. Margin of Great Salt Lake, Utah. Philonthus pederoides Lec. Colorado. Philonthus sp. Idaho Springs, Colo. Tachinus sp. Idaho Springs, Colo. SILPHID 4. Silpha lapponica Hb. Idaho Springs, Colo. Catops sp. DERMESTIDZ. Dermestes marmoratus Say. Utah. Mr. Barfoot. Cryptorhopalum ruficorne Lec. Garden of the Gods. NITIDULID 2. Carpophilus pallipennis (Say). Denver. COCCINELLID &. Coccinella 5-notata Kirby. Idaho Springs, Colo. Coccinella 9-notata Hb. Denver, Colo. Hippodamia 5-signata (Kirby). Denver; American Fork Cafion, Utah. Hippodamia convergens Guér. Denver, Colo. Hippodania parenthesis (Say). Manitou, Colo. HISTERID Al. Saprinus lugens Er. Margin of Great Salt Lake, Utah. Saprinus estriatus Lec. Margin of Great Salt Lake, Utah. SCARAB ANID AL. Canthon hudsonias (Forst.). Denver, Colo. Canthon ebenus (Say). Denver, Colo. PACKARD.] LIST OF COLEOPTERA COLLECTED IN COLORADO. 813 “Rhyssemus scaber Haed. Diplotaxis obscura Lec. Utah (Mr. Barfoot). Polyphytla decemlineata (Say). Utah (Mr. Joseph L. Barfoot). Ootaipa lanigera (Linn.). Utah (Mr. Barfoot). Tostegoptera lanceolata (Say). Boulder, Garden of the Gods. Liggrus gibbosus (De Geer). Denver, June 27; Utah (Mr. Barfoot). Huryomia inda (Linn.). Trichius piger Fabr. Manitou, Colo., July 15. BUPRESTIDZ. Buprestis lauta Lee. Utah (Mr. Barfoot). Buprestis rusticorum Kirby. Manitou, Colo., July 16. Dicerca prolongata Lec. Denver, Colo.; Idaho Springs, on populus, July 6. Melanophila drummondi (Kirby). American Fork Caton, Utah. Chrysobothris trinervia (Kirby). The Divide (on the railroad), Colorado, July 12. Acmeodera mixta Lec. Manitou, and Garden of the Gods, July 15. ELATERID &. Asaphes coracinus Cand. Golden, Colo. Melanotus castanipes (Payk). LAMPYRID &. Photinus nigricans (Say). TELEPHORIDZ&. Podabrus (near puncticollis Kirby). Gray’s Peak, about 12,000 feet. Podabrus (not determined). Georgetown, Colo. MALACHID &. Collops vittatus Say? var. shore of Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake Point, July 26. Dasytes hudsonicus Lec. Pristocelis antennatus (Motsch). Golden, Colo. CLERID. Clerus ornatus (Say). Georgetown, Colo., on flowers, July 8. PTINID A. Dinoderus cribratus Lec. Boulder, Colo. CERAMBYCID &. Prionus californicus Motsch. Salt Lake City (Mr. Barfoot). Prionus emarginatus Say. Salt Lake City (Mr. Barfoot). Asemum moestum Hald. Mederland, Colo., June 30. Criocephalus productus Lec. Colorado. Shores of Great Salt Lake. Batyle ignicollis (Say). Golden; Garden of the Gods, July 13. 814 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Batyle suturalis (Say). Denver; Garden of the Gods, July 13. | Neoclytus muricatulus (Kirby). "Boulder, Colo. | Acmcops pratensis (Laich.). Manitou, Colo. ; ; Georgetown, Colo., 9,500 feet elevation, July 8; Pike’s Peak, summit and 13, 000 feet eleva- | tion ; Arapahoe Peak, 1, 000-12,000 feet elevation. Acmeops proteus (Kirby). Georgetown, Colo., 9,000 feet elevation, » July 6. Pachyta nitens Kirby. Georgetown, Colo. Leptura chrysocoma Kirby. Manitou, July 15. Leptura sanguinea Le Conte. Manitou. Dectes spinosus (Say). Denver, Manitou. Pogonocherus miatus Hald. Idaho Springs, J ie 5, on populus. Mecas pergrata (Say). Denver. Zetraopes basalis Lec. Common in gardens in Salt Lake City, Utah. CHRYSOMELID A. Coscinoptera dominicana (Fabr. ). Pachybrachys (not described), American Fork Cafion, Utah. Chrysochus cobaltinus Lec. Denver, Colo., Salt Lake City (Mr. Bar- foot). Chrysomela 10-lineata (Say). Common; eggs, larva, and imago. Golden, Denver. Chrysomela adonidis Fab. Georgetown, Colo., about 9,000 feet eleva- tion. Chrysomela scripta Fabr. (var. confluens Rog.). American Fork Cafion, Utah. Chrysomela exclamationis Fabr. Denver, Colo. Graptodera punctipennis Lec. Idaho Springs, Colo. Graptodera plicipennis (Mann.). Manitou, Colo. Graptodera (not determined). Luperus meraca Say. (Does not appear to differ from ‘¢meraca ” Horn.). Georgetown, Colo., 9,000 feet elevation. Orchestris albionica (Lec.). Idaho Springs, Colo., July 6; Pike’s Peak, on summit, abundant. Orchestris ? Denver. Systena mitis Lec. var. ligata Lec. Idaho Springs, Colo., July 5, on po- tato-vines. TENEBRIONID &. Husatius muricatus Lec. Utah (Mr. Barfoot). Coniontis obesa Lec. Manitou. Eleodes extricata (Say). Denver, Manitou, Idaho Springs. Lleodes pimelioides Mann. Idaho Springs, Colo. Eleodes suturalis (Say). Denver, June 27. Hleodes nigrina Lee. Idaho Springs, Colo. Lleodes planipennis Lec. Manitou, Colo. Hleodes quadricollis Esch. Manitou. Lleodes tricostata (Say). Kansas Pacific Railroad, Colorado, June 26. Embaphion elongatum Horn. Utah (Mr. Barfoot). Iphthimus serratus (Mann.) var. Lewisii Horn. Blackhawk, Colo. MORDELLID 4G. Diclidia letula Lee. “ Mammoth Cave,” Manitou, Colo. Anaspis rufa (Say). Georgetown, Colo., about 9,500 feet elevation. Mordella seutetians ts Fabr. American Fork Cation. ‘packarp] LIST OF COLEOPTERA COLLECTED IN COLORADO. = 815 Mordellistena cmula Lee. Golden, Manitou, Colo. Mordellistena unicolor Lec. Denver, June 27. Mordellistena pustulata (Mels.). Denver, June 27. Pentaria fuscula Lec. Manitou, Colo. - MELOID 2. Epicauta pardalis Lec. Southern Colorado (T. M. Trippe). Epicauta maculata (Say). Golden, Manitou, Colo., on beets. Epicauta puncticollis Mann. American Fork Caton, Utah. Cantharis sphericollis (Say). Blackhawk, Colo. Nemognatha dichroa Lec. Denver. Nemognatha sparsa Lee. Manitou, Colo. Gnathium minimum (Say). Denver, Golden, July 3. CURCULIONID Ai. Rhynchites bicolor Fabr. Georgetown, Colo., about 9,500 feet elevation. Ophryastes latirostris Lec. Salt Lake City (Mr. Bartoot). Dorytomus brevicollis Lec. Denver, Colo. ; Anthonomus (not described). Golden, Colo. Tychius lineellus Lec. var. Denver, Colo. Baris transversus Lec. Golden, Manitou, Colo. Sphenophorus pertinax Oliv. Salt Lake City (Mr. Barfoot). SCOLYTID A. Dryocetes affaber (Mannh). Gray’s Peak, 11,200 feet elevation (Kelso’s Cabin). Tomicus pini (Say). Gray’s Peak, elevation 11,200 feet (Kelso’s Cabin). Polygraphus rufipennis (Kirby). Gray’s Peak, elevation 11,200 feet (Kel- — so’s Cabin). . Dendroctonus obesus (Mann). Blackhawk, July 2; Manitou, July 19. ANT Pansies yo 1 eed Page. Abies menziesii .........-..-..-..- 802 }). TEGRDS onea5 eopoo9 Kodene ao oneese 789 AbiaKas TIA a... 6:2 sie -2 eos 791 Acanthocephalus .........--....-- 666 BCCMPES A mete ns se eieeiwa sisicieais Seine 292 ps\ CERO UIESIAEED a oace odceee Gobo Bane 719 Acrydium americanum............ OB Acrydium femur-rubrum..-......-- 684 Acrydium peregrinum -..-:-.....656, 657 LGR camden eaes opoooy BH bO0 OSes 250 Maeovd daly... sc2c2. .2 PSA Sate oiSele 456 Aigeria CUIGIESIURS: conc aA andes Beee 769 Acrydium americanum.........--- 690 Ai-culus californicus......---.---. £07 Age of the coal-bearing groups, geo- InN SS eacencouseesbeSoo ene: e 205 Meno ya LGC co 26 wenn a2)t2 sone 716 PEM LIS en (ove tic /steteisis--c 55. 91, 99 OLR p ASS eal a Re ne ar 226-235 | Dakota, the locust in 1876 in ..-.-. 621 Colorado green flea-beetle......-.- Vo? | Dectes spinosus.........-...----- SeasU4 WolorakomEoup = -s-6255 -./2- IVE E3187 | Deloyala clarata.ce-..--+ss6 --oee2 733 Colorado, Gustavus R. Bechler’s Dendroctonus obesus ...--...---.- 803 geographical report on the Middle Dendroctonus terebralis...--.-.-..- 803 and South Parks in...--..----. 371-440 | Deposits, mineral........-...---.- 138 Colorado, list of Coleoptera collected Dermestes marmoratus............ 807 in 1875, by A. 8. Packard, jr., in Derniestida Veo eee ce em ae ee ce 812 Mialcand 220, Speck SEED .811-815 | Destruction of the buffalo, histor- Colorado potato-beetle....-.---.. 721-728 ical and statistical remarks re- Colorado, prominent peaks of -...299, 300 BPCCOING, ChE. ee tincs toc cme = 561-566 Colorado Springs and Parrott City, Destruction, recent, of the buffalo in synchronous barometric observa- IKAMCHS Hac eeseesbacacesecoasss 954-558 LON Spells se eaw eves sel eeeiam 8 ob? |) IDO yOu sae aye h Sees oa obos Hess 70 Colorado Springs, computation of Diabrotica wittatas soos sees eee el height of Parrott City from..---- BOo HW MOLaApLial em esoe ae cies seminas «ee ooce 738 Colorado, the locust in...--..-.-..592-6U1 | Dicerea prologata ...........-.... 803 Golorado.the locust in 1876 ins 2226225623 | Dikes .22.2-2.22222. -2ee-25-. se. 132-136 SOM OUDNIS eS eee snisaies weber ne = 943 pas feDrilis=s sees see eee 738 Colotaxis cristatus.-.-....-------- 948 PIOSIS: CLIGI CIS see settee acne se 709 Comma buliterity, 22 522.-- 4-22) 7A Tictaniees and elevations of wagon- Common wheat-fly..-.--......---- 709 road from Los Pinos to Uncom- Conotrachelus uenuphar.-.....---- 795 DaAlOKe ACONC Ver aes see es se ae 347 Continental divide ....-.-...---- 381-383 | Divide, continental. (See Conti- ConvolvMlis sosese sas oe sn (25s oe eee 658 Tulus multistriatus...---.-.--.---- 799 | Locust, red-legged.....------..---- 637 inns pilosuseassesce secs sere ee 760 | Locust, return migration of the.... 644 Inlus pulchellus . /..--. .-.--.---.759, 760 Locusts, migratory, of Central and ; ulus sabulosusy: + s2sssns2sesssceee 761 South America. ....222. 2222-2. oe Locust, summary of our -present } Sim (Creek woe eee adhe sa Si 436 | knowledge Of ss oa eee 675, 676 JountawyOnmechoes Shai ee ot eee 693,694 | Locust, embryo ..-.....----..----- 63: MMV DOE Ome oe eee een 720, 796-798 | Locust in Colorado....-. ..-. ---.592-601 MULASSIG Ro. coho a eee ee Oe 86, 87 | Locust in Colorado in 1876..---. -. 622, 62 LOraULDAg. ee eae 123,210 | Locust in Dakota in 1876.......-.. 621 | Locust in Towa in 1876.----..-.-- = 26L a Locust in Kansas in 1876....---- . 615, 61 Kanosha Range-..-.....--- seiceceee 410-414 | Tocust in Minnesota in 1876.. Pea We 617-621 Kansas, notes on the Tertiary and Locust in Montana in 1876 .._...- 623-625 Cretaceous periods of. ...-....-- 277-294 | Locust in Nebraska in 1876....--. 610, 615 Kansas, recent destruction of the Locust in New Mexico. .....- .----. 604 buffaloin..-.-.. wee cress ce eeee 554-558 | Locust in Utah........-.-.------ 602-604 Kansas, the locust in 1876in..:-... 615, 616 | Locust in Utah in 1876..--...----- 623 Locust in Wyoming. .....-...----. 601 Labidomera trimaculata............ 727 | Locust in Wyoming in 1876.....-.. 623 Lachnos*erna fusca....--.....---.. 720,798 | Locusts of the Old World. ...-.-..- 650-658 adder marr oieesers esa see a 733 | Locust, Rocky Mountain, east of the [DAN Ral Bord eee Gea aaa htt 38 plains uucekescc esc Conan eee 635-639 - Lakes of San Luis Valley, former..147-149 | Locust, western migratory......--- 591 ham pyridie: see js2c5 cee sense sce 813 | WMoess.22 22 =- e222 nee 9 SSS Se 277 Wan fasta sacs caeci cee oeieecere cos 648 |) hes Pinos: agency -~--4.c. sss -e= rad apelatasWommbanns see ee eee oe 268-272 | Los Pinos wagon-toad. (See Un- apblatanViailleyesss copies sence een 245-248 compahgre Agency.) Lapper moth, Californian........-. 807 | Lost Park 223022225) ce eree eens 425 Hanvaadescription oni - esse oss see 634 | Louse, cabbage-plant .-.......--.- 754 Lathyrus maritimus.-2--.s:.--2-.- 758 | Lower Carboniferous...-.......... 278 aumoplaliumeneses scenes ae. 292 | Lower Cretaceous formations. -88, 259-263 © Wemsnirilnnedtacmmsce scenes eae >. 9730 | Loxomylis'ss. 22s eee 948° Leopard blister-beetle...--.....--- 731 | Loxomylus latidens..........2...- 948 Leptinotarsa craspiena ....-.-.--.. 727 | Loxomylus longidens ..,.-...----. 948 Leptinotarsa decemiineata...-.---- ol | ucina 2222 sesccooseeoceee secon 201 Leptinotarsa juncta........-..--. 728,729 | ugus lineolaris 22222 cee eee 755 Lettuce earth-iouse.-...-..--.---- 764 | Lumbricus agricola ...-...-.-.--.. 762 Mencania unipuncta..----=--- ---- 699,776 | Lumbricus rubellus-...-.. 2.2.2.2... 762 WencaLchia achwedes see sees nae 720 | Lumbricus terrestris .......-..--.. 761 Limosina genicnlata.-.---.....---- 738 | Lydella doryphore...--..-...2.---. 727 imosina payenit 22-2. e--- -- eee 738 | Lygeus leucopterus ..-... 2... 222. 697 in gulateeet eer ceecen oe noe eee 89.) Lygus lineolaris—.-. ~-seesueeeeees 732 imo thw psauuuiteiess = sae 714, 742 | Lytta vesicatoria ...-......-..---. 730 ihiphonellaobera-.-- 4222+ -15--ee 709 List of Coleoptera collected in 1875, Macvobasis muria ...-.. SUL ES 730 in Colorado and Utah, by A. 8. Macrosila carolina ........-------- 780 Rackard soc csecesstes es ae 811-815 | Macrosila 5-maculata ---..732, 780,781, 782 Little red mite....-.-s+ +s. eee. 660 | Maggot, description of the tachina. 661 Little Thompson River..---....--- 437 | Maggot, locust-egg-eating.... =... 661 Locust, A. S. Packard’s, jr., report on Malachidae) 75222) 02ee So actten eo nneee 813 injurious insects and the Rocky Mamestra pictas. / S20 eee 752 IMountatmeesas asso ees 590-810 | Mancos Cafion..---.-..---.--.- --25 94-257 Locust, eastern red-legged-.-..-..- 684 | Manitou Creek... 522253222522 422-424 Locust egg-eating maggot......-... 661 | Mastodon giganteus-..--..---. 2... 280 Locust, habits of the-.----...-... 625-635 | Meeas pergrata ....--...--5..-22-. 804 Locust, habits of the young..-.-.630-633 | Medicine Bow Rapnge...-.....----- 387 Locust, history of migrationsofthe. 641 | Melanophila drummondi .--....... 805 : Locust in 1876, the Rocky Mouunt- Melanophora diabrotic#..-.....-.. 770, 771 Bn. Wee. Nos a here steerer ee ee 609/610 | Meloide ee. 5. 2S ae 815, Locust in Nevada, the Rocky Mount- Me'olontha vulgaris.............-. 799 BID. Sc tsde eek oe eae ene retest 6045605 |) "Mermis:..2 22.22. 2 Soo ee eee 666 INDEX. 823 : Page. Page. Mermis acuminata ........---.---. 668 | Native cabbage-butterfly .......... 750 Mermis, American species of-...-.. 668 | Native currant saw-fly -....--.---- 790 Mermis crassicaudata .-.--.-...... 668 | Nebraska, the locust in 1876 in..610, 613 Mermis elongata ...--.....-...---. GOS) | Negundoides ioe eicclae wee in oracle arate 292 Meromyga americana .....--.--.-- DUD | WieineNTONGER? Bas4 Baws Sk Sco oedees 666 I! 352 ERO) Gon Aa OSS O Be eeE AGE rcs 253-263 | Nematus ventricorus --.....-...... 787 Mesochorus vitreus ...........---- 705) || Neonymiphay~ 22222 =. eet 720 Mesozoic formations. ........---.-- 80-92 | Neritina phaseolaris --....-....... 37 Metamorphics .........-.110-113, 164-176 | Neritina powelli ..............-.-. 87 Meteorological data for report on Nevada, the Rocky Mountain lo- the Rocky Mountain locust. ..--. 677-683 cCustunts 2 ie eer Sie sot 604, 605 MHUNOSASUER an ees. sce cn species: 780-782 | New Mexico, the locust in.....-..-- 604 Microgaster militaris..........---.. “05° |) Nip brang os sobs ec ttetere = See cee 281-289 Middle and North Parks, dividing Niti@ulidee Go 2 eee a a wees are 812 range bebween...--.--..-2-2-.! 381-383 | Noctua clandestina......--... ebibee 7ley Middle and South Parks, Colorado, Noctua unipuncta-...--..--..----. 699 Gustavus R. Bechler’s geograph- North and Middle Parks, dividing BEA TOPONG Ole coe woos sae eee 371-440 RATS! OCUVIEC Meet alate eel eaete 381-383 Middle Blue River Valley..-..-.-- 401 | Northern army-worm ..---....--. €99-708 Middle Cretaceous formations. .91, 253-259 | Northern range of the locust...... 605-609 Middle Fork of South Platte River.419-422 | North Fork of South Plaste River 429 Middle Park cafions.----....---..- GOO NW INUTC epee cece eine terra eRe Nae 487 Middle Park district, geographical Nupharadvena neo. . 2 2-22--)seee-) C00 peetious and elevations of points ‘ Nyctosaurus gracilis -.....----..- 287 eo ois ace ett d oe 408 Middie ae drainage aud charac- @aonicles. 9a8 BENMAtICS Of 2222. 550402 328 SUL Scan ens pets Sat ESR A aNt ih. oe aay 5 Middle Park, hydrographictablefor 409 Gepaternithes PRIM ee kA A zee Middle Park, mountain groups of.. 386 Gaia aie BE ree seat oi ace Migration of the locust, return.. 644 Odivoda ee Se et Teams 594, 625, oe Migrations of the locust, history of. 641 GEA BodG Bete aida ies a et a 637, 2B Migrations of the Rocky Mountain aD ‘i olfa BE aid. dase agi cie: 625.6 69 locust of the West.-.....---....641-648 (dive a Poe Ee eae Ease ; 84, pe Migratory locusts of Central and G Hipoda BURG De nog 22 20n2 ba: ol pPoubh Americas --~ a0 .n coc. 648-650 JOU WESEESUT gcae 222522 se=a52 653 Migratory locust, western ...-...-. 591 Ono: Walley, on the age of the As 461 < RQ | SV¥H 1-2 eee - cee eee ee ee ee seee oe on Mineral deposits <<. 22222222222, 138 | Old World, the locusts of the. -*-"650-G58 Minerals of Colorado, catalogue of .226-235 ued ae GME UEEDS oo 2202 si aa es ete Minera's of Grand River District, Non.) a Cae cmt aN Batalocue:Of .2o22. 622 sseee sca 58: 109 | QMon-thrips. ------- 2-2 -ene= a2 wae Mines of Sawateh Range 12. rig | Qiblon nurgatg = oozzces ooo ie ines of Trinidad region.....----. 215 : asi att Fie heweetel ee | Ea Fey se Minnesota, the beeen 1876 in. ..617-621 | Orchestris gions eee isla ou Mere, little red... .-:00.¢- 2s. cee. Gj) | (2 PSSST SURI ooo boc oes cos oo Mite, scarlet silky .......-..-.-221 660 Geenac - SEP TRET IPP RTs TET eee ee (TAT eR NEE DURA Tena be oh Mal Molluscs. 22022222, Bot | Orpithoobiras barpia 2202020220 287 Montana, the locust in 1876 in-. . .623-625 pap hog iiens Hea DNS es We ris Oracles. nt ae 400 rographic eatures of San Juan Dis- “ Monuments” of Sawatch Range. 156-158 O WENO cS oc 8 ooo 9 Soca Sat So cae euleee ss SiS a a 505 romis esopi --..-. Hodes Badcadsees 949 MUS COOS ses ct osam cen soe cid sce ae 456 ps Hexa chen ee ee Ge Moandeidie:. + Peel eS ots 814 PES LE SET ee poe: Se aeiac : Spee Otiorhynchus picipes....-..-.--..--. 757 Mrartoniceras: 222-22 css002 27 TILL: 290 pOuy pe, ‘ Mountain groups of Middle Park.. 386 Caan Reet aa ee MAO SATE 7 pe ao Mountain ranges, orders of...-.--- 388 Ontinie Me ‘a ie CSS E SOP Tate ere 708 Muddy River and its valley .--..... 397 Oites vee He ieciaea tai ok Wi gha oat 5 4 Mudge, B. F., geological report of .277-294 See OO Be Uane Spar gaagecle pase ae Murgantia histrionica.........--.- 755 Ostrea Byoounibens 3e Gena Sa an 87 Musca stabulans .............-.-.. 735 eee oe ae BEERS Serene Shere 90 Miya arenaria «12222 2.22 2. an | Ga rine, audi Ob Gal we Mipacites: 22220 2S e oe es eet cece 87 wy) aes : Mivalina ampla .-...0s.0.2. 1.02... m9 Lake wagon-road from Salina, Myer, A. J., Chief Signal-Officer, me- O ene 10 pai Pie SSG ATT RSS IRE Te a re teorological data for report on the eR C ee Renee bs eye oe ETS Tee : Rocky Mountain locust ......-. 677-683 SVOPUOL Ass 22 gue enezcce es’ te 87 | Packard, jr., A. S., list of Coleop- Myophoria ambilineata eerie ss 87 tera collected in 1875, in Colorado Biyeilus edulis ...--s....-.02L2.... 486 and: Utahsbyieeate sascee ececee 811-815 (ORedShrauuMee ee sees eee 160, 172 824 INDEX. Page. Pago. 4 Packard, jr., A. S, report on the Polydesmus complanatus....-...- 759,760 Rocky Mountain locust, ete., by-590-810 | Polydesmus canadensis...-........ 759 Pachytylus stridulus ---.-....----- 653 | Polygonia comma......--...--.--- 774 Pachytylus migratorius. .651, 654, 655, bay Polygonia interrogationis ...-...-- 774g | Pachytylus cimerascens.....----..-- Gal 1 Populites. <2. 2525-2 soe eee 292 TPNAOVAONG TROCIES) occa cacoos coos se6c 70 | Porphyritic trachyte.----- ---222-- 93,94 © Papilio asteriasee-- 5 see sse es —— 765: | Portheusg<.-<8 .22 22402 eee YR5 | Paramesius brachialis....-....-..--- 738 | Positions of points in Middle Park | PARISI s65o56 ococce oe coosuc 710, 711, 712 District, geographical elevations Parasites of the Rocky Mountain BNG s2265. ses ceclvc eee 408 1OCUSHL 225 oukaeeee seems e eeeees 658 | Positions of points in South Park IPP IRAN) SaaS 8 ceooau cece conde: 378-381 District, geographical elevations Parrott City and Colorado Springs, . aNd 22 ien cde ao. eee eee eee 418 synchronous barometric observa- Positions of points on eastern slope TONS ate ane cae 360 of Rocky Mountains, geograph- | Parrott City, computation of ical elevations and...-....---..- 440 height of, from Colorado Springs. _ 363 | Positions of points on crest of main | Parsnip- butterfly ai edinakaeces 3o% 769 Rocky Mountains, geostaphice | Passes on crest of main Rocky elevations and =-=-ssee=eeeeeee 388 Mountainsie oe. sae a teeee eee 388 | Post-Cretaceous ---. .--.---------- 211 Peaks of Colorado, prominent ....299, 300 | Post-Cretaceous beds of Trinidad | ReakeouspamiShus=eeres seer ere 128-136 LOG 1ONA. fees ee eee eee 192-203 Peale, A. C., geoiogical report on Potato-beetle, Colorado ...-.. ---. 721-729 Grand River District cakemeeeee 33-101 | Potato-beetle, three-lined --....--- 730 PER -AWOGWI Gebobe oSec6n 65550 cbbS0s 766 | Potato-maggot, hairy ..-...---.--- 733 Pectenislandicus *22-):2----- ------= 4&7 | Potato-stalk weevil...--....------ 732 Pedicecetes columbianus .....----- G59) | Potato=worm\ == ee eee eee 132) iPeecheelss haan atae sats teat eee 456 | Praotherium palatinum.-..-.----. 377,949 | Pclocorapis varius ---.------------ 291 | Prionocyclus woolgari ..--...----. 290 Pemphigus vitifoliz ..-....---.--782,783 | Prionotropis woolgati...-.-.------ 90 Pentacrinus asteriscus .........--.- 87 | Prionus emarginatus.--....--.-.--- 803 OMIM, ss605 5455 se06nde00c09 coee 273 | Pristophora grossulane ..--.- --..- 790 | Pegomachus minimus....-...----- 705 | Products of the buffaio......---.- 566-574 EOIN MOINES se5oepooocesoes (Pos) || JARO) s 55645 o5e556 obeccc Gcoss- 71 Phacellura nitidalis.....---..----. . 772 | Productus nodosus..----- ig Bara Jonictoete 72 | Phenomena, glacial......-..-...-. 215 | Productus punctatus......-..-..-. 72 Phieothrips cenalium.-...-....--. 714 | Productus rogersi...-.--.---.---.- 72 Photinia arbutifolia ...----....--- 807 | Productus scabriculus..-........- E 7 Phryganidea californica......-.--- 808 | Productus semireticulatus....-..--. 72 Phyllophaga fusca--.2.--5.--.----- 796) broteoides pees a= shee e eee eee 89 Pinvllomeraeeece sce sscee ea seer 782-775 | Proteoides acuta...-.....---.----- 89) | Phylloxera vastatrix......--.--... 7€2 | Protostega gigax. 2-2-2. .--saseeee== 285 Phy lloxera witifoliz 225222225. ---- 783 | Psychoda nervosa..--...-..-.-.--- » 734 | BicGkleswonmlseeasese see see eee . 772 | Pteranodon comptus......---.-..-. 287 IPIETHNS RASHES» so SS oh ogpoSes osocse 747 | Pteranodon ingens..--.....--.-..- 287 Ienisiolenacedin ase seer =e clearer 746,748 | Pteranodon longiceps .--.---.---.- 287. IRieLiS Tape aasoeses = oe ees 747, 748,750 | Pteranodon occidentalis.-.-..-..-- 287 ilke/sizcakecroup yee nero ee eee 404 | Pteranodon velox....-....--..---- 287 Pine-Dorereee. ce ee cee eee see 203 | Pteromalus brassice ...----.----- TA7, 748 Pine-timber beetle... “----=5----- 802 | Pteromalus puparum..--.--.-..------ 748° IPN ce aco: AEA Soy vat oe ae ae 87,90 | Pteromalus vanesse ..-.--.-------- vi Pinnalimonlageseesesssseeaoe ee 91 | ‘Ptinide... 222s. ceheee eee eee 813 JENSIO CIS ROW soa aaoeoe soade s6u6 803 | Ptyches lineatus....-......-......- _ 720 Pitcby-legged weevil .........--.- 757 | Ptycodus mortoni.-.---.-.------.- 284 Plaut-bug, common garden.. -..--.. 755 | uma Ebllseesas- -= 2 seeeee eee 412 Plates, explanation Ot soos eco onooeU Oh teil) || Eb RiScos cnonns Goodao sods naccte 225 634 Platte River, South Fork of ..---. 423, 424 Plabyoasterict-escmese usec eenaee 696 | Quercus agrifolia ...-.. ---------- 807 Pleotomus pallens, transformations Ola NRE aumaneEonood cid sedsauenoseL 805) Radish=tlys-cecs see ees Sao eeeeeiee 762 Plesiosauble sec as sec cese neers 286 | Radish seed-weevil ..---.--.-.---- 763 Pleurotomaria excelsa ..---..-.--. 72 | Railroads, influence of, upon de- Plicatula arenaria .-2------2---- <- 90 crease of the buffalo....-.----.- 533-537 Plicatula hydrotheca-.....--....-. 90) |) Ralston(Canone2=s--eeeeeeeeeeee 434 Pliocenes 25225 5 ease eae seers 277 | Red Carboniferous sandstone....--. 114 Plum-weevilysos eso e secs sciseialenen 795 | Red-legged locust, eastern ..---. --- 684 Blusitaporassiere sce ese ee eae 1) 752) Red. mite; little.-5- ees ese seeeeer 660 Plutella, xylostella.--------- --.--- 751 | Red-shouldered sinoxylon sei eae 786 ~ Pogonochertis mixtus ....-.....-.- 804 INDEX. 825 ; Page Page. Region of San Juan.....----.-.-. 176-191 | San Juan drainage....-.--...--.. 167-171 Return migration of the locust..-. 644 | San Juan region..--....----...-- 176-191 Rhizobius lactuce ......------.--- 764 | San Juan region, drainage of . ---. 176-130 Rhoda, Franklin B., Topographical San Juan Valley.---2: 22-2. 2s. 248-251 - report on the Southeastern Dis- San Lis Valley... --202.5522--26% 140-149 Be We eco) eines SR. wie clayseretes 302-333 | San Luis Valley, drainage.....--.. 140 Rhynchonella gnathophora.-..---- 87 | San Luis Valley, former lakes of.. 147-149 - Rhynchonella myrina.....-...--.- Sv Sant Mioueli River eess-aeeeeeneese 51 Huo delasiV ACs, .5.< =