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Show 4 234 BITTER CREEK- BITUMINOUS COAL BEDS. stacle to the easy construction of* a good road: tbe soil being porous, and mixed with a large proportion of gravel, can be readily graded. So rapid is the disintegration of the eandstone bluffe, and so constant the. wash of the soil, that the valley, so far, is almost entirely destitute of even a spear of grass, and presents a most desolate appearance. After passing this mauvaue terre the route is quite level, presenting no obstruction of consequence, except the necessity of occasionally crossing the creek, which will be somewhat difficult, as the bed of the stream is not unfrequently at a depth of twenty feet below the level of the bottom, with perpendicular banks on each side. But the earth is. easily removed, and very little labour will render these crossings by no means formidable. At a point thirteen miles frond the mouth of Bitter Creek, we found a bed of bituminous coal cropping out of the north bluff of the valley, with every indication of its being quite abundant. For the first seven or eight miles after entering the valley, the formation was similar to that of Rabbit Hollow and Green River, and the strata horizontal: they then began to dip gradually to the west and north- west, until, at this point, the elevation had reached 20°. The coal was of the same character as that found on Sulphur Greek, near the crossing of Bear River, alternated in beds of various thickness, from a few inches to several feet, with yellowish and light- gray sandstones. Major Bridger informed toe that, about a mile from the mouth of the creek, a large bed existed, which, from his, description, resembled lignite, but which, owing to other occupations, I had passed without observing. One of the men reported to me that he had noticed it, and had seen a piece of coal lying in the bed of the creek as long and as thick as a man's body. This had apparently fallen froni an outcrop in the south bank, which was about four feet in thickness. Major Bridger also stated that a similar bed is to be found to the south of the mouth of Black's Fork, that he had used it for years, and that it burned freely, with a clear, white blaze, leaving little residuum, except a small white, ash. From this outcrop, as we ascended the valley, the strata became more nearly horizontal; and at the termination of the day's march, some four miles beyond, had nearly rec6vered its level position. . * The valley of Bitter Creek generally has but little snow in it luring the winter, and was formerly a rendezvous for the trappers and traders, on account of the abundance of buffalo. None of |