past the plains but gradually they became rarer and more frequent. There when we come in the bad-lands themselves the buttes were joined in great chains like miniature mountain ranges. The ground between these butte-ranges is cut into ridges of all shapes & sizes making a network of hills & valleys. The sides of the buttes have been chiefly vegetation other than brown bunch green and sage brush, and its types are usually completely varied. Here & there outcroppings of stratified red sandstone appear, giving beauti- fied reds & purples, which contrasted with the olive green of the sage brush, put a dash of rich color into the sullen broders of the landscape. At one place almost on the border between Dakota & Montana, I noticed a typical little cowboy town backed up against a high chain of buttes with a narrow stream of brown water in front. I had just re- marked what a typical place it was when a sign came into view bearing these words.