Show UTAH the latest number of satnos Sot enoe a periodic published in NOW new yorks york and whose object to sufficiently expressed by its title gives the place of honor to an article from the pen of D dr J E talmage of this city on aca A remarkable cmrk occurrence of del enite eutte this deposit has been already d referred re errea to in the columns of the NEWS ewa mention having been made of the securing and transportation of the to this city for the deseret museum much that la is interesting on the subject Oct however has baa not been published and at the risk of offending some readers who would prefer a description written in lose lees scientific language we quote a few paragraphs from the Boc doctor torys article the unusual compliment paid him and his hie subject by Soto noo namely the publishing of numerous sketches illustrative of the text the cilwa to compelled for obvious reasons to withhold the writer is pleased to report a de deposit 1 it of in southern utah which vis is remarkable for the size perfection and variety of the crystals there to be found it is situated in the newly created county of wayne in what to is locally known as the south wash which to is connected with the canyon of the fremont Frena ont river and this in turn is in tributary to the colorado the formation in the neighborhood of the deposit in question is mostly sandstone and argillite with a top dressing pt 01 erratic errario boulders of lava innumerable fantastic forms in stone atone declare the cut power of water and wind indeed the entire region has been the site of w wonderful ond erful eroding action the crystals occur in a cave and this is in by a thick shell forming a mound which stands in relief on the side of a hill bounding the wash the mound is somewhat of an egg shape 35 feet in length east and west 10 feet in breadth and of an average height of 20 feet from the ground on the lower side all outside measurements this selenito mais seems to have been left exposed by the weathering of the loosened friable sand and olay clay of which the hill whereon the mound is situated is oom composed posed the mound consists entirely of the outside having a somewhat battered and roughened appearance from the action of the wind d riven driven sand yet the whole exterior is made up of the exposed ends and sides of ory crystals andin the sunlight the formation glistens with indescribable beauty the outer walls are generally regular though there are a few depre depressions and sheltered niches within which small prisms of nestle snugly in grow groups the entrance to the cavern faces the east and when first observed by the writer it was about six feet in height and three and a half in width the cave can be traversed to a depth of 26 feet generally the crystals project fro from meither either side toward the central line of the cavern approaching each other within about three feet though some of the largest crystals extend entirely across the cavern like huge beams the floor of the cavern consists con sista mostly of sand probably deposited by water waier in flood times and carried in at all seasons by winds projecting out of the sandy floor are the terminations of many superb u erb crystals inside the cavern a ya yard r d kom from the entrance the crystals descend within three feet of the that one has to stoop to pass but further iu in there is room to stand erect and near the back wall a person may clamber up a height of fifteen feet upward from the bottom of the cavern one beesa mass of mammoth prisms suggesting but for their singular beauty the heavy timbers of a deep mine the entire deposit is a colossal group of crystals the like ot of which is seldom seen the writers attention was first attracted to the place through receiving several small specimens of the selenito from sheepherders who had discovered the deposit while searching for feeding places and who claimed to have found a mine of mica which they called isinglass p their disgust was great when assured by the conclusive experiment of holding a bit of the material in the flame of a candle that the stuff was not what it seemed I 1 first visited the place in april last and mv my rapture at the superb display of crystal beauty was checked by the evidence ot of vandalism on every hand some of the finest crystals had bad been hacked and carved and cowboys initials were scratched and out on almost every prismatic lace face which the light could reach visiting the place again six months later I 1 found that still greater destruction had been waged and becoming convinced that good crystals would soon be difficult to obtain I 1 took steps to secure legal claim to the land and and proceeded to remove the remaining crystals of greatest value to a place ot of safety under the auspices of the deseret museum Muse of salt lake city the work of removal is still in progress already over twenty tons of most beautiful tul crystals have been taken out and shipped to this city prisms of perfect form and varying in length from one to five feet and in weight from ton ten to one hundred pounds are of frequent occurrence one of the most regular yet out Is ia four feet long and the widest faces are six inches across cleaved labs are obtainable six alx feet in length and two and a half feet in breadth one of the longest perfect prisms isma yet obtained extends extend fifty on olm inches ei and from one of its faces nine nineteen toon smaller crystals broat sprout twine twin ore are common as are also compound of very complicated structure A may mag ent group weighing over six alx huh dred pounds was removed from the floor of the cavern some of the 4 finest specimens will probably be on ex hibi tion in chicago next summer |