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Show 164 SINGULAR GEOLOGICAL CONFORMATION OF THE COUNTRY. 1 melted and formed by fire. We stayed here till noon on the 7th of June, when we again proceeded with an agreeable temperature of 77t°. We ran aground several times, and at last took in our goods, which we had deposited on the left bank. This delay gave us time to make an excursion. In company with Mr. Bodmer, I ascended the slippery, very steep eminences along the river, the singular shapes of which often appeared to form perfect craters. The earth and stones everywhere indicated that they had undergone change by fire. The earth was hard, friable, with many crevices-the stones brown, blackish, and often looking like scoriae. This clay, when wet, is exceedingly clammy and tough. The conical summits, most of which were perfectly round and pyramidal, were most singularly formed. At the top there were always very regular, parallel, horizontal rings; the lower parts of the pyramid had perpendicular furrows, or clefts, as the annexed woodcut shows. These conical hills have been evidently elevated by fire, so that many ! i III II crater-like hollows are seen between and near them. In the furrows and clefts of these singular hills, many low plants grow, and form regular net-like green stripes on the bare black clay. These lines, intersecting each other, divide the surface into regular beds. The lower part of these eminences is generally covered with plants, particularly grasses, while the upper is bare, or merely crossed with the transverse stripes of verdure, and often they are entirely bare. The climbing up these high, slippery ascents in the heat of the day was rather fatiguing. When we came into the clefts between the pyramids, we found the ground, in general, slimy, and so adhesive that we were almost compelled to leave our shoes behind. In such places, some old red cedars, groups of the bird cherry, ashes, roses, &c, were nourished by the moisture. Near the hills, and in the plain, a cactus, with roundish, flat joints, grew in abundance. It was not yet in blossom, and I cannot say whether it is the plant taken, by Nuttall, for Cactus opuntia; probably it is Cactus ferox. We found many traces of antelopes and of herds of buffaloes. The latter had everywhere trodden broad paths on their way to the river to drink. No beast of the chase presented itself as an object for our rifles, and, as the sun was going down, we set out on our return. On the way we |