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LIMESTONE PINNACLES IN BIG HORN RIVER CAÑON.—The Big Horn River, in its course through Wyoming, passes through as fine a scenic region as can be found in America, or, indeed, in any other country. A fine example of the wild picturesqueness of this scenery is given on this page, where we see turrets and towers and battlements piled one upon the other until they present a view unlike anything else in existence, unless it may be some of the most rugged portions of the famous scenery along the Rhine River, in Germany. ]
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A RANCH ON THE LITTLE MISSOURI RIVER.—Scenes like this are not uncommon in the rich valleys of the Far Northwest, where stock- raising and farming have proved to be even more profitable than mining for the precious metals. Enterprising pioneers, who were attracted to that region by the discovery of gold and silver, have turned their attention to the more certain and desirable pursuit of agriculture, and the green valleys are now dotted with modest homes and thrifty farms, where peace and plenty go hand in hand with happiness and contentment. ]
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Examination of the remains found therein reveals the fact that bears, deer, wolves, a mountain lion, and numerous small animals have died of asphyxiation in trying to pass over the accursed ground. But as these sulphurous gases have the power to kill, they have also, to a certain extent, the virtue to preserve, the bodies of creatures thus destroyed exhibiting slight evidences of decay for a month or more after death. On account of the danger attending a critical investigation of this noxious plague-spot, those who have visited the place have been compelled to exercise great caution, and to use field-glasses in making their examinations. One rash person is known to have attempted a passage of the basin, but he was unable to advance more than twenty yards, and had he not retained the presence of mind to hold his breath, when he found himself affected by the gas, escape from certain death would hardly have been possible. No scientific investigator has ever visited the spot, so far as I have been able to learn, and reports of the deadly exhalations which characterize it therefore come from the few persons who have approached the place out of curiosity. It is also, and fortunately, no doubt, very difficult to reach, that portion of the Park being almost inaccessible by reason of the rugged topography, the jagged stones and almost impassable crevices which surround it. No roads have been surveyed in the locality, and only the intrepid, venturous and agile can reach the malignant basin, at the expense of great effort and endurance; for it is easier to climb the Tetons than to surmount the grim barriers which guard Death Valley. Assuming that the reports made by several persons who claim to have visited the spot are true, and which there is not lacking reason to believe, an explanation of its deadly character is not difficult to give, because similar conditions, though in much lesser degree, are found in many localities within the Park.