Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/38

 12 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY Later he amplified the article, but the managers of this publica- tion present the former paper as the one which comes within the scope of this work, and one well suited to popular reading by those not familiar with the story of the formation of this county from the time when the earth was a mass of liquid fire down to the age when it was suited to the occupation of man. The paper follows : "It is with considerable reluctance that I assented to discuss this subject, because my pursuit of knowledge in this realm has been prompted by a love of nature and recreation, by a desire for relief from the wearisome routine of the daily vocation, by a wish for increase of culture and the pleasures that spring from contact with nature, rather than from a desire to perfect myself in any particular study. These investigations are a splendid field for training the powers of observation and judg- ment, and a lesson in patience in slowly spelling out the silent pages of nature's book, wherein is imprinted the geologic history of prehistoric Goodhue county. "The subject is so vast and the material that can be com- manded so abundant that the greatest difficulty in discussing it lies in knowing what to omit, rather than in finding sufficient material. The object in the following is an attempt to present the broad outlines of our natural environment. Let us endeavor first to read the story of the rocks and hills, of the uplands and the valleys, of the artesian wells and the gravel terraces, of the fossils and of the rocks, and see bow nature fashioned our present abode upon the ancient sea floor and turned it from a barren sea of waste waters into the picturesque spot that makes Red Wing famous for its beauty, cheers us with its never wearying aspect, and makes it a suitable location for industrial and educa- tional enterprises. If we ascend Barn bluff near Webster's Way, Ave pass over strata of various materials. Some layers are com- posed of quite pure quartzoze sand, others of sand mixed more or less with earthy impurities. Other layers present shaly lime- stone, others more massive and finer grained lime. Nodules of chert and cavities filled with crystals can be seen at various elevations. Some of the strata also contain fossils." The lime- stone that caps the bluff can be traced up Cannon river, where, in the vicinity of Welch, it is surmounted by a hardened layer that seems to be a mixture of sand and the limestone that can be seen still further up the valley as distinct strata. At Cannon Falls Mr. Scofield will gladly take you to the top of the bluffs, where an outcrop of different limestone reveals a cemetery of ancient creatures, lying exposed on one of the farms. It might here be noted that our sandstones are composed of more or less angular fragments, worn smooth with a tendency to round-