Show A Remarkable J Geode of THE collection of in in the I Desere J Museum is perhaps the largest and most perfect collection in the J ff W NI J ir i I b J rY f 1 H W 7 ii y i it i y t 1 fF r I tJ P 01 1 1 lA If 7 0 P c r r. r v 4 Jt A ij j Jt sao q j li I. I liZ I fI FIG 1 F r- r w world d. d The crystals exhibited vary in inform form from from regular prisms to to the most complicated structures of compound terminations and in size from the ordinary prism a few inches long to and thick ones and long and comparatively comparatively comparatively slender ones The twins are of both the 1 tail swallow and cruciform and penetration varieties Many of the crystals are of perfect trans- trans par en c y Sometimes the prisms sand and clay which is so distributed ed as really to add to the beauty of the crystals in the eyes of all save the miner miner- When f fracture r act u r e planes are made visible by striking a crystal containing such impurities the particles particles particles parti parti- cles appear on the internal planes as on shelves of glass The collection was made by Dr Talmage in Wayne County in Southern Utah during the winter of 1892 His attention on was first called to the deposit deposit deposit de de- posit by cowboys who brought him thin layers of the which the they called isinglass The doctor by the stupendous group weighing weighing weighing weigh weigh- ing nearly seven hundred pounds There are a large G number of perfect crystals p F s f p d a varying in length from one oneto oneto to five feet and in in weight Y from ten to one hundred pounds One of the most regular forms exhibited is four feet long and has uniform uniform uniform uni uni- form faces six six inches wide Another almost perfect prism prism extends one fifty-one inches and f has sprouting from one of its faces nineteen smaller crystals Among the collection collection collection tion are several cleaved slabs over six feet long b by two and one-half one wide There are also several twin crystals and a few very large and f still more complicated forms v- v The prisms are of numerous varieties There are short J. J ilk i r holding a bit of the n ate rial in a candle candle candle can can- dle flame easily convinced them that it was not isinglass nor even mica so commonly called isinglass He was led to visit the deposit and discovered it to be the most remarkable geode of ever found in the world The deposit as stated above is in inI t Wayne in what is locally known as the South Wash a formation connected cont con con- x t- t with the canyon of the Fremont I r River a tributary of the Colorado The doctor discovered the formation in the neighborhood of the deposit deposit deposit de de- i posit to be mostly sandstone 44 and argillite wi with th a top top dressing of erratic boulders a 7 of lava Ripple marks and s other evidences of lake formation formation formation for for- mation are common throughout through through- out the region and innumerable innumerable innumerable erable fantastic forms in the ther I r soft stone declare the cutting cut cut- 41 Y ting ling power of water and 1 wind There are numerous outcroppings outcroppings outcroppings out- out of gypsum along 17 the gorges indicating that that seams of the material cut d i 01 through the country rock in all directions In some places veins of of satin spar can be WY moo 4 traced for hundreds of yards R t. t along the surface of the W ground On the w walls of Y the ravines and J canyons canyons places are seen where spar FIG 3 3 s veins cross each other wi with th bewildering confusion Figure 1 represents represents represents rep rep- resents a sketch of such seams seams' in an exposed face eight by twelve feet on the steep side of a ravine Gypsum in all varieties may be found within a short a radius fibrous and scaly lamin plaster plas plas- ter stone or rock gypsum in masses r lumps of pure alabaster and fragments of crystals are scattered along f the washes and the bench lands as they have been left by the a ic f j lif J fierce floods which tore them loose from t the place of formation The crystals from which our museum collection has been made occur in a cave and this is by a thick shell forming a mound which stands in relief on the side of a hill bounding the Wash Of this formation a good idea may be gained from Figure 2 which is reproduced from a photograph The mound is somewhat of an shape egg-shape thirty-five thirty feet in length east and west ten feet in breadth and of an average height of twenty feet from the ground on the lower side all outside measure measure- ments This mass seems to have been left exposed by the weathering weathering weathering weather weather- ing of the loosened sand and clay of which the hill whereon the mound is situated is composed The mound consists entirely of the outside having a somewhat battered and roughened roughened roughened rough rough- ened appearance from the action of the wind driven sand yet the whole exterior exterior exterior ex ex- A is made up of the exposed ends 5 p t y L and sides of crystals and in the sunlight sunlight sunlight sun sun- light the formation gli glistens tens with indescribable indescribable indescribable inde inde- beauty The outer walls are generally regular though there are a afew afew afew few depressions and sheltered niches within which small prisms of nestle snugly in groups The entrance to the cavern before any of the crys crystals were removed was about six feet in height and three halt in width The cave itself can be traversed to a depth of twenty-six twenty feet Generally the crystals project from either side ot of the floor are the terminations of many superb crystals Inside the cavern a yard from the en entrance trance the crystals descend to within three feet of the bottom so that one has to stoop to pass but near the back wall a person ma may clamber up to a height of fifteen feet Looking upward from the bottom of the cavern one sees a mass of mammoth mammoth mammoth mam mam- moth prisms suggesting but for their singular beauty the heavy timbers of a adeep adeep adeep deep mine The entire deposit is a colossal group of superb crystals 1 r The lie ne magnificent group weighing nearly seven hundred hundred hun hun- hun hun- hundred dred pounds above referred to was taken from the bottom bottom bot bot- tom torn of the cave and for r. r fear of breaking in in transportation transportation t tation was set up on the 1 side and photographed Fi Fig 4 The group however tJi reached here safely and andi i i may be seen with the museum museum mus mus- 1 eum collection It should be distinctly remembered that the formation forma forma- 7 tion hon is a geode and one of mammoth proportions It Itis Itis 1 is interesting not only because because bei be be- f i AN cause the crystals found are t in point of size and pers perI per- per I superior to any of oft r s t similar natural occurrences ever reported but also because beever be be- I f cause the deposit disproves F FIG 4 the old theory that geodes toward the central line of the cavern approaching each other to within about J three feet though some of the largest crystals extend entirely across the cavern like huge beams r Figure 3 is from a photograph of the interior of the cave one massive crystal having been sawn off to afford a better r view The floor of the cavern consists mostly of sand probably deposited by bywater bywater bywater water in flood times and carried in at atall atall all seasons by winds Projecting out f exist in very small forms only The geode is seven days' days travel by team from the railway and the scenery passed through in this weeks week's journey is described by Dr Talmage as possessing possessing possessing posses posses- sing a beauty and grandeur beyond There are verdure covered hills and plains displaying a wealth of flowers shrubbery and animal life mountains and gorges bare of Vegetation vegetation vegetation tion but which blaze with every conceivable conceivable conceivable con con- color from pink though red it carmine and intense vermillion to light i green blue chocolate and black In 4 canyons the weathering effects are conspicuous conspicuous conspicuous con con- on all sides One needs but little imagination to see in the fantastic F forms palaces castles and cathedrals forms of animals and birds and even the busts of favorite heroes At night the weird effect of the moonlight adds greatly to the grandeur of the tall mountains and fantastical figures C The geode and surrounding land belongs to Dr Talmage who was forced to obtain legal possession to prevent t the destruction and defacement of the crystals by cow-boys cow sheepherders sheepherders sheep- sheep j herders and others The management of the Deseret Museum transported over twenty tons of the crystals to Salt Lake City and besides fitting up its own museum have presented many ofa of a the the leading universities of f the country a with numerous specImen specimens specimen r The find which is in every very way a remarkable one was described by Dr Talmage in Science from which article J most of the above has been taken and since SInce then has been discussed by many of the scientific journals of the worl world J I |