As  one  walks  up  and  down  the  creeks  and  ravines  which  come  into  the
valley  of  the  Des  Moines  River  there,  he  sees  the  gypsum  exposed  on
either   side   of  them,  jutting   out  from   beneath    the    drift    in   the   form  of


132  HISTORY  OF  THi;  STATE  OF  IOWA.
ledges  and  bold  quarry  fronts,  having  almost  the  exact  appearance  of
ordinary  limestone  exposures,  so  horizontal  and  regular  are  its  lines  of
stratification,  and  so  similar  in  color  is  it  to  some  varieties  of  that  rock.  The
principal  quarries  now  opened  are  on  Two  Mile  Creek,  a  couple  of  miles  below
Fort  Dodge.
