1

,/4^-H 414

ON T H E

GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

OF THE

UPPER MISSOURI.

BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF A

REPORT MADE TO LIEUT. G. K. WARREN, T.E.U.S.A.

BY DR. F. V. LLYYDEN,

» t •

SURGEON AND GEOLOGIST OP THE EXPEDITION TO THE UPPER MISSOURI AND
YELLOWSTONE, UNDER THE COMMAND OF LIEUT. WARREN.

PHILADELPHIA:

PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON.

1862.

MMW

TOPOGRAPH

OUTLINE REDUCTION OETHE

MAP of KANSAS'NEB RA SKA and DACOTA,

T’Ol ’ O GRAPH Y byLIETTT. G.IOKARREN ,
T.K.tX. S.A. — —

GEOLOGY by D" 1YV. HAYDEN.

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CONTENTS,

PAGE

Historical Introduction, .......... 1

PART I.

Descriptive Geology of tiie Routes.

CHAPTER I. — Exploration of Platte River Valley from Bellevue to tlic mouth of the Elkhorn River, . 5

CHAPTER II. — From Bellevue to the Big Sioux River, ...... 8

CHAPTER III. — From Omaha City to Fort Laramie, ...... 11

CHAPTER IV. — Geology in the Vicinity of Fort Laramie, ..... 15

CHAPTER V. — Fort Laramie to the Black Hills, ....... 17

CHAPTER VI. — From Bear Peak to Fort Randall on the Missouri River, ... 29

PART II.

General Geology of the Country.

CHAPTER VII. — Granite, Stratified, Azoic, and Eruptive Rocks, ..... 33

CHAPTER VIII.— Potsdam Sandstone (Lower Silurian), ..... 36

CHAPTER IX. — Carboniferous and Permian Rocks, ....... 38

CHAPTER X. — Jurassic System, ........ 67

CHAPTER XI. — Tertiary Basins of the Upper Missouri, ...... 92

CHAPTER XII. — Quaternary Deposits, ........ 107

CHAPTER XIII. — Resume of the Geology of the Upper Missouri and its Tributaries, . . 114

CHAPTER XIV. — Minerals and Geological Specimens, ...... 131

PART III.

Zoology and Botany.

CHAPTER XV. — Mammals, .......... 138

CHAPTER XVI.— Birds, . 151

CHAPTER XVII. — Reptiles, Fishes, and Recent Shells, ...... 177

CHAPTER XVIII.— Botany, . 182

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

ARTICLE I.

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.*

BY F. Y. HAYDEN, M. D.

Head July 19th, 1801.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.

In presenting a report upon the geological structure of the vast country drained by the
Missouri river and its tributaries, it is hut just to those who have preceded me that I
should give a brief statement of the results of different travellers who have passed over
that region, premising, however, that no detailed account has hitherto been given of its
geological character.

The first reliable account of the Upper Missouri country was obtained by those enter¬
prising travellers, Captains Lewis and Clarke, and published in their excellent journal ;f

* Being the substance of a report made to Lieut. G. K. Warren, T. E., U. S. A., by F. V. Hayden, M.D.,
Surgeon and Geologist of the Expedition to the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone, under the command of Lieut.
Warren.

f Lewis and Clarke’s Journal of an Expedition to the Sources of the Missouri River, performed during the Years
1804, ’5 and ’6.

VOL. XII. — 1

2

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

and though they appear to have had no definite idea of the geological age of the region
examined by them, they gave so accurate descriptions of the general physical features of
the bluffs, coal-beds, &c., that their report has proved an excellent guide to subsequent ex¬
plorers. They often mention beds of “ stone coal” (lignite), different strata of sands, sand¬
stones, clays, See., yet do not suggest any idea of the age of these deposits. A small
collection of cretaceous fossils obtained by these travellers enabled Dr. Morton* to identify
the existence of the Cretaceous formation in that country.

In 1832, the Prince of Neuwied made an expedition up the Missouri river, and the re¬
sults of his travels were embodied in a magnificently illustrated work. The sketches taken
from nature present a very vivid and accurate idea of the country. He mentions the oc¬
currence, in numerous localities, of sands, clays, and lignites, and also observes that he
collected Ammonites, Baculites, and other Cretaceous fossils, all along the river from the
sources of the Missouri to Big Sioux. This statement led Yon Buch to observe that
“ this great river (Missouri) flows uninterruptedly from the foot of the Pocky Mountains
through strata of Chalk, at least as far as the mouth of Sioux river. This is the result of
the accounts and collections of Prince Neuwied and of the report of the celebrated astro¬
nomer Nicollet.”f Nothing very definite was ascertained however respecting the geology
of the country by this expedition, except to confirm the fact of the existence of a Creta¬
ceous formation on the Upper Missouri, indications of which had already been determined
from the collections of Lewis and Clarke. He also obtained a fine specimen of the remains
of a saurian animal, characterizing the Cretaceous Period, which has been described by
Goldfuss as Mosasaurus Maximiliani, fragments of which were in the collections of Lewis
and Clarke.

The next important expedition into that country was made in 1839, by the distinguished
geographer Nicollet. He ascended the Missouri no farther than Fort Pierre in lat. 44°
23', yet from his observations the first reliable information was obtained respecting the
extent and interest of the Cretaceous rocks in that region.

He secured a considerable number of Cretaceous fossils at different points along the
Missouri, but especially at the Great Bend ; all of which were described by Conrad and
Morton in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy. Although passing rapidly
through the country lie formed a tolerably accurate idea of its geology, and gave in his re¬
port a vertical section of the Cretaceous rocks, which is correct, excepting that he seems to
have had no knowledge of No. 2, and represented two of the subdivisions of No. 3 as dis-

* Synopsis of the Organic Remains of the Cretaceous Groups of the United States, &c., by S. G. Morton.

delphia, 1834.

f Silliman’s Journal. September, 1850.

Phila-

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

3

tinct formations. No. 1, he seems to have referred to the Carboniferous system. As lie
did not go above Fort Pierre he saw nothing of No. 5, though he obtained some of its cha¬
racteristic fossils, which may have been presented to him by members of the American Fur
Company.

Mr. Edward Harris, who accompanied Mr. Audubon to the mouth of the Y ellowstone
in 1843, was instructed by the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia to make
some observations on the geology of that unknown region. This communication to the
Academy on his return was very interesting, and contained many important facts, and
from his notes and collections the committee were able to arrive at still more important
conclusions. The committee, consisting of Professors Rogers, Morton, and Johnson, re¬
ported that they found incontestable proofs of a freshwater formation in that region.
From one locality Mr. Harris obtained a specimen of “ brown ferruginous rock, containing
three or four species of freshwater univalve shells of the genera Limnea , Planorbis , Szc.
One of the species of Planorbis it is conjectured may be a form extinct, but the mutilated
condition of the specimen prohibits a positive opinion. This bed of clay also contains
leaves of deciduous trees, bearing a close resemblance to those of the Beech.”

At various times, specimens of Mammalian remains were brought in by gentlemen
connected with the American Fur Company, indicating the existence of an interesting
deposit on White river; the first account of which was published by Dr. II. A. Prout of
St. Louis, in the American Journal of Science, 1847.

In 1849, Dr. John Evans, one of the assistants in the geological survey of the Chippeway
Land District, under the direction of Dr. D. D. Owen, was sent by that gentleman on an
expedition to the Mauvaises Torres of White river. He there secured a fine collection
of Mammalian and Chelonian remains, which were investigated by Professor Leidy of
Philadelphia. He also collected many interesting Cretaceous fossils, which were described
by Dr. Owen, and published in his final report in 1852. Dr. Evans’s observations embrac¬
ing a section of the Bad Lands, together with a description of their physical features, were
also published in this report.

In the following year Mr. Thaddeus A. Culbertson visited the Upper Missouri country
under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, during which expedition he collected
some interesting vertebrate remains from the White river formations. He also ascended
the Missouri on the Fur Company’s boat, to a point above Fort Union, noting the cha¬
racter of the surface of the country, and the occurrence of lignite beds at various localities.

In the spring of 1853, Dr. Evans again visited this country incidentally, while on his
way to Oregon Territory, in the geological survey of which he was engaged, under the
patronage of the General Government. During this expedition he made another extensive
collection of vertebrate remains and some freshwater Mollusca at the Bad Lands of White

4

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

river, as well as some Cretaceous fossils from Sage creek. The Mammalian remains of
this expedition were also studied by Dr. Leidy, and the invertebrate fossils by Drs. Evans
and Shumard, and published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences at
Philadelphia, and the Academy of Sciences of St. Louis.

At the same time (1853), Mr. F. B. Meek and the writer, were employed by Professor
James Hall of Albany, New York, to visit the Bad Lands of White river, for the purpose
of making a collection of the Tertiary and Cretaceous fossils of that region. Many in¬
teresting and important facts were obtained during the expedition, in regard to the geo¬
logical structure of the country from Fort Pierre to Council Bluffs, which formed the
basis of a paper read by Professor Hall before the Association for the Advancement of
Science at the Providence meeting, in the summer of 1855. The Mammalian remains
collected during this trip were placed in the hands of Dr. Leidy for examination, and the
new species of Cretaceous fossils were investigated by Messrs. Hall and Meek, in an in¬
teresting memoir published in the Transactions of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences at Boston. A brief vertical section accompanied this memoir, showing the order
of the superposition of the different Cretaceous beds.

Subsequent to all these expeditions the writer again visited Nebraska and spent two
years traversing various portions of that country ; part of which time he was aided by Col.
A. J. Vaughan, Indian Agent, and afterwards by Mr. Alexander Culbertson and other
gentlemen of the American Fur Company. During this expedition he explored the Mis¬
souri to the vicinity of Fort Benton, and the Yellowstone to the mouth of Big Horn river,
also considerable portions of the Bad Lands of White river and other districts not imme¬
diately bordering on the Missouri. The vertebrate remains collected by him, as may be
seen by reference to the various papers by Prof. Leidy in the Proceedings of the Academy,
embrace a larger number of species than all those previously known from that country,
many of which belong to new and remarkable genera.

Large collections of mollusca were also obtained from Cretaceous and Tertiary forma¬
tions, which have since been published by Mr. Meek and the writer, with remarks on the
geology of different portions of the country, in several memoirs read before the Academy
of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia. The geological results of the different expeditions
along the Missouri and other portions of the Northwest, under the command of Lieutenant
Warren, are embodied in the following report.

In regard to the geology and natural history of Kansas and the southern portions of
Nebraska, or the Platte country, important facts were secured by those enterprising ex¬
plorers, Cols. Long, Fremont, and Emory, and Capt. Stansbury. These have been al¬
ready published in their several reports.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

5

PAET I.

DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY OF THE ROUTES.

CHAPTER I.

EXPLORATION OF PLATTE RIVER VALLEY FROM BELLEVUE TO THE MOUTH OF ELKIIORN RIVER.

Landed at Bellevue, Nebraska, five miles above the mouth of the Platte river, from the
steamer Twilight, June, 1857. The scenery at this point is, perhaps, the finest along the
Missouri. The river bottoms, which are quite extensive, possess an inexhaustible fertility
and sustain a luxuriant vegetation, while the broad upland prairies, clothed with grass and
flowers of great variety and beauty, meet the eye of the traveller on every side. The yellow
silicious marl, which underlies the high prairies to a great depth, renders them exceedingly
well adapted to agricultural and grazing purposes. The limestone strata, which are so
much valued here for economical purposes, belong to the age of the Upper Coal Measures,
and constitute the basis formation of this region. A fine quarry may be seen near Col. P.
A. Sarpy’s old Trading Post, which has been diligently wrought for several years. The
following section in descending order will represent the different beds as exposed in this
vicinity :

1. Light gray limestone, well charged with fossils, Fusulina cylindrica, Product us, Chonetes, and several species

of corals. This limestone is quite useful for building purposes and forms excellent lime.

2. Yellowish drab argillaceous limestone, very hard and compact; useful in the construction of buildings, but con¬

tains too much clay for lime. Fossils : Allorisma terminalis, &c. 6 to 10 feet.

3. Argillaceous shaly limestone, of a grayish brown color. Fossils : Spirigera subtileta, Fusulina cylindrica,

Prod actus several species, Chonetes, Allorisma, and quite abundant crinoidal remains. Seen at Bellevue at
low water. 6 feet exposed.

4. Compact blue argillaceous limestone having much the character of hydraulic limestone; soft and moist in place

but hardening on exposure; contains too much clay for lime, but is quite useful for building purposes. Fos¬
sils : same as above mentioned. Seen at the mouth of the Platte, and at St. Mary’s, Iowa. 6 feet exposed.

Trip from Bellevue to mouth of Elhhorn River. — While delaying for a time at Bellevue,
in June, 1857, I took that opportunity to make a somewhat minute examination of the
Platte valley as far as the mouth of Elkhorn river, a distance of about thirty miles.
Having secured a horse through the kindness of Stephen Decatur, Esq., I left Bellevue
pursuing a southerly course across the beautiful undulating prairies bordering on the

6

OX THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Missouri to the Papillion creek. Saw at this locality, on Mr. Watson’s claim, a fine
quarry of gray ancl yellowish gray limestone, same as bed 4 of the section. On the Platte
river, six miles above its mouth, observed numerous large granite boulders scattered over
the surface of the high hills. A bed of sandstone (No. 1, Lower Cretaceous) makes its
appearance at this point, capping the bluffs. Its general character is a dark, ferruginous,
coarse-grained, micaceous sandstone, hut sometimes becoming a very tough compact sili-
cious rock. Near the old Otoe village, eight miles above the mouth of the Platte, is a
very good exposure exhibiting the sandstone resting conformably upon the Carboniferous
Limestone. We have here the following beds in descending order:

1. Gray, compact, silicious rock, passing down into a coarse conglomerate,
an aggregation of waterworn pebbles, cemented with angular grains of
quartz ; then a coarse-grained micaceous sandstone. 25 feet.

2. Yellow and light-gray limestone of the coal measures containing numer¬
ous fossils, Spirifer cameratus, Spirigera subtileta, Fusulhux cylin-
dricct, Productus, Chonetcs, and abundant corals and crinoidal remains.

a, quartz rock; b, conglomerate; c, coarse friable sandstone; d, carbonifer¬
ous limestone.

Fig. 1.

A seam of carbonaceous shale, twelve to eighteen inches in thickness, crops out occasion¬
ally near the water’s edge, and is regarded by the inhabitants as a sure indication of coal.
The great scarcity of timber throughout this region would render such a discovery of the
highest importance ; but I am inclined to the opinion that it is a geological impossibility
for a workable seam of coal to be found within the limits of the Territory of Nebraska.
The limestones of Southeastern Nebraska belong to the Upper Coal Measures, and form
the extreme northwestern rim of the great coal basin, and, inasmuch as the strata dip
toward the northwest in ascending the river at least one foot to the mile, there must be
from 600 to 1000 feet of clays, shales, and limestones, over the first seam of coal two feet
in thickness, in any part of the country near the mouth of the Platte. A bed of coal to
be really valuable for economical purposes, should he at least three feet in thickness, and
even then it would not prove profitable if a large amount of labor were required in open¬
ing the mine.

Near the mouth of the Elkhorn, the sandstone presents much the same character as
before described. At this point it reaches nearly to the water’s edge, showing that the
dip of the formations in this region is toward the northwest. Here formation No. 1
is at least eighty feet in thickness, about fifteen feet of Carboniferous limestone being ex¬
posed beneath. The latter soon passes beneath the water-level of the river, and the sand¬
stone occupies the country.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

7

Although all the rocks in this region are composed of strata
holding a horizontal position, or dipping at a very small
angle, examples not unfrequently occur in sandstone forma¬
tion No. 1 of what is usually called “false or cross stratifica¬
tion,” as is shown in Fig. 2, which was taken from the bluff
exposed at the mouth of Elkhorn river, and indicates the dif¬
ferent changes that took place in the currents of water that
deposited the arenaceous sediments. Strata a and c are formed
of thin horizontal layers of sandstone, while the lamina of
stratum b seemed to have been deposited upon an inclined surface in very shallow water.
Similar illustrations were observed by the writer in the Potsdam sandstone of the Black
Hills, and they occur frequently in arenaceous rocks of all countries.

The bottoms along the Lower Platte are quite broad and extremely fertile, possessing a
rich soil, and admirably adapted to the wants of the farmer. Fine crystal springs issue
from the limestone banks, a sufficiency of timber skirts the river or clothes the bluffs,
the climate is quite dry and healthy, and if it were not for the extreme cold of winter this
region would be one of the most desirable agricultural districts in the West, The timber
of the uplands consists chiefly of ash, elm, oak, soft maple, boxwood, &c. ; while along the
bottoms the cottonwood forms nine-tenths of the woodland. The land when in a state of
nature supports a most luxuriant vegetation, and when cultivated by the farmer brings
forth very abundant crops. The valley of the Elkhorn is similar to that of the Platte,
and the land is at this time mostly taken up by the actual settler. The bluffs are formed
of sandstone No. 1, often presenting lofty vertical walls, which, from the yielding nature
of the rock, are of great service to the Indian, upon which to record his hieroglyph ical
history.

On my return to Bellevue, I passed over the upland prairie, several miles north of the
Platte. Already nearly every valuable claim was occupied by the persevering pioneer, and
as far as the eye could reach, the plain was dotted over with farmhouses, giving it much
the appearance of an old-settled country. Very little timber, however, is to be seen except
that which skirts the small tributaries of the Platte. The soil upon the surface is com¬
posed of a rich vegetable mould, the result of the annual decay of a luxuriant vegetation,
underlaid by a yellow silicious marl, and is admirably adapted for the cultivation of all
kinds of cereal grains and for grazing purposes. When the prairie turf is broken up by
the plough and allowed to decay, the land becomes like a garden. The soil is so loose that
it is tilled with great ease, but from this very fact is liable to suffer extensively from the
wash of the heavy drenching rains of May and June.

Fig. 2.

8

ON TIIE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

CHAPTER II.

FROM BELLEVUE TO TIIE BIG SIOUX RIVER.

After having arranged my collections for transportation to St. Louis, I proceeded to ex¬
plore that portion of Nebraska which borders on the Missouri from Bellevue to the mouth
of Big Sioux river. Passing over an undulating country similar to that just described,
underlaid with Carboniferous limestone, we find that Fort Lisa is the highest point on the
river where these rocks are exposed. At Tekama, the ferruginous sandstone alone is seen
presenting its usual lithological characters and containing much iron. This entire forma¬
tion abounds with iron ore of the red hematite variety, which, if the deficiency of fuel in
the country can be supplied from any other source, might be made of great economical
importance. From this sandstone issue some excellent springs of water. The most im¬
portant one is Golden Spring at Central Bluff’s, which yields a large supply of pure cold
water, and will at some future period become a great resort for seekers after health and
pleasure.

From Dc Soto to Decatur, a distance of forty miles, the river bottom, on the Nebraska
side of the Missouri, averages about five miles in width, forming a level prairie, with here
and there a small grove of cottonwood. On the Iowa side, from Council Bluffs to Ser¬
geant’s Bluffs, a distance of one hundred miles, the bottom averages about ten miles in
width, covered in many places with heavy bodies of timber, chiefly cottonwood, with a
mingling to some extent of ash, elm, black walnut, &c. These broad bottoms possess an
inexhaustible fertility, as is shown by the annual growth of vegetation, which year by year
decaying adds still more to the richness of the soil. The subsoil seems to be composed of
calcareous and silicious marls, formed from eroded materials of the Cretaceous and Tertiary
rocks, which have been washed down by the river and mingled together upon its bottoms.

Above Fort Lisa the first cut banks we observed which afford a good section of the
beds are at Wood’s Bluffs, near Decatur.

Section of the strata in descending series :

1. Yellow Silicious marl, a recent deposit. 15 feet.

2. Yellow indurated clay, with a reddish tinge, also recent. 0 to 8 feet.

3. Heavy-bedded sandstone. 40 to 50 feet.

4. Yellow indurated clay passing down into an indurated ash-colored clay with a reddish tinge. 5 feet.

5. Ash-colored clay with a small seam of lignite at base. 25 feet.

No fossils were observed at this locality excepting quite uncharacteristic vegetable
remains. But near the Blackbird Mission, eight miles above, the sandstone is quite rich

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

9

in impressions of dicotyledonous leaves. The following section of the beds in descending
order is exposed at this point :

1. Yellow marl, recent. 10 to 15 feet.

2. Yellowish and light gray, fine indurated grit, recent. 10 to 15 feet.

3. A reddish friable sandstone, passing down into a very tough compact silicious rock of a greenish gray color.

The whole bed fully charged with vegetable impressions, quite well preserved. 10 to 20 feet.

4. Forty feet slope. The rocks though not exposed at this point are evidently formed of more friable sandstone,

as is shown by the perpendicular bluffs cut by the river, three miles above, also at Wood’s Bluffs, near Decatur.

The more compact silicious rock has been quarried during the winter and spring, and
used in constructing a fine three-story building for the Omaha Mission, and it was found
to serve an excellent purpose. The whole bed at this locality seems to be filled with im¬
pressions of leaves, mostly of dicotyledonous trees, some of them closely allied to our
recent oaks, willows, &c., with many forms not represented among living species. Frag¬
ments of silicified wood abound with globular masses of the sulphuret of iron.

Fig. 3.

The bluffs of sandstone near this locality often present the appearance shown by Fig. 3.
The whole surface being covered with projecting seams of iron, the more yielding arena¬
ceous material being eroded, giving to the face of the bluff a very rugged aspect.

After stopping at Blackbird Hill three days enjoying the hospitality of Dr. Sturgis,
the gentlemanly superintendent of the Mission, I pursued my course along the banks of
the river toward the Big Sioux, about forty miles distant. The red sandstone No. 1 is
the principal rock in that region, but upon the sandstone I often found layers of rather
VOL. xii. — 2

10

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

soft yellowish white limestone fully charged with Inoceramus problem at icus and fish remains.
Near the north side of the Omaha reserve another bottom commences, averaging about
five miles in width — greatest width ten miles — extending up the Missouri, above the vil¬
lage of St. John’s. Dacota City is located on this broad level bottom.

At Sioux City, on the Iowa side, is a fine quarry in formation No. 1, which has yielded
much excellent building-stone, and many attempts have been made to convert it into lime.
The simple application of an acid would have shown it to be nearly destitute of calcareous
matter. The whole bed presents the variation in color and structure peculiar to this
rock. The more compact stratum extends below the water level, and will at some future
day form a superior landing for steamboats. A few fossils have been found at this locality,
impressions of leaves like the common willow, and some molluscous remains. Scattered
over the high hills are exposures or outliers of formation No. 3, the rock of which is ex¬
tremely calcareous, and is eagerly sought after by the inhabitants and converted into lime.
I saw a load of this lime sold at Sioux City for the enormous price of one dollar and
twenty-five cents per bushel. In the valley of the Big Sioux river, about three miles
above its mouth, a bed of lignite is exposed, eighteen inches to two feet in thickness, but
very impure. This is the same stratum seen near the Omaha Mission, at Omadi and other
points along the river. As we pass up the valley of the Big Sioux, we see the different
Cretaceous beds, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, represented with a few of their peculiar fossils. No.
1 contains a Pectunculus, a Cytherea , a Pholas, with numerous vegetable remains ; Nos. 2
and 3 contain Ostrea congesta , Inoceramus problematicus , and abundant fish remains ; No.
4 has yielded nothing characteristic as yet at this locality, and is only thinly represented
on the summits of the bluffs.

As we pass the mouth of the Big Sioux, latitude 421°, longitude 96£0, the country
begins gradually to lose, to a certain extent, its fertile character ; many kinds of trees, as
the soft maple, several varieties of oaks, one species of elm ( Ulmus fulva), butternut, black
walnut, wild locust, &c., reach their limits, and many others have already ceased to appear.
From thence to the mountains not more than five or six species of forest trees are seen,
and these appear very seldom except along the borders of streams.

Returning again to join the expedition at Omaha City, I found the travelling very diffi¬
cult and was much delayed. A severe storm of rain had swollen all the small streams to
an enormous extent, so that the bridges were all swept away. The yielding nature of the
alluvial banks of streams, and the want of firm rock foundations, render it difficult to erect
permanent bridges which will resist the strong power of the current of the rivers when
swollen to their greatest height, as they frequently are in the months of May and June.

After an examination of that portion of Nebraska already occupied by settlers, I came
to the following conclusions :

. OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

11

1. That the portion of Nebraska east of longitude 98° possesses a very fertile soil, a
sufficiency of timber for all immediate purposes, is well watered, and is surpassed by few
portions of the West as an agricultural and grazing country.

2. That, except in the southeastern or limestone region, there are very few good quarries
of stone for building or other economical purposes.

3. That from its geological structure, the existence of workable beds of coal in the
southeastern portion of Nebraska is quite problematical.

4. That, with the exception of iron in moderate quantities, no minerals will be found
that can be rendered valuable for economical uses.

CHAPTER III.

FROM OMAHA CITY TO FORT LARAMIE.

July 3d. The country from Omaha City to Elkhorn river, as I have before mentioned,
is mostly underlaid by limestones of the Upper Coal Measures. A great thickness of
yellow marl, a modern deposit, covers the plain uniformly, concealing the limestones,
except in a few localities. The prairie is as usual undulating. On the Elkhorn, the
ferruginous sandstone (No. 1, Tower Cretaceous), occupies the country for about eighty
miles up the Platte valley. It is seldom seen, owing to a great thickness of a
superficial deposit composed of Post Pliocene marls. It is exposed in the valley of the
Loup fork, near its mouth, and is exceedingly friable in its texture. On the distant hills
remnants of No. 3 are seen, but No. 2 seems wanting. As we follow up the Platte
valley from the Elkhorn, the timber gradually disappears in the same manner as on the
Missouri. The bottom is broad and fertile, and the upland, owing to the yielding nature
of the sandstone which underlies it, becomes more uniformly rolling than the limestone
region near the Missouri.

July 20th. Indications of No. 3 were seen in the bed of Beaver creek, near the water’s
edge.

July 21st. Near the old Pawnee village, I observed No. 3 close to the water’s edge,
presenting its usual lithological characters, with a few specimens of Inoceramus problema-
ticus ; and overlying it stray masses of a pebbly conglomerate cemented with a calca¬
reous grit, undoubtedly belonging to the upper beds of the Tertiary formation. After
leaving Beaver creek I observed a change in the external features of the hills, more

12

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

abruptly undulating, as well as in their lithological characters, and am now convinced that
they belong to the upper members of the Tertiary, probably Post Pliocene, but yet holding
a lower position than the yellow marls of the Missouri.

July 22d. About two miles above our camp Loup fork cuts through undoubted Ter¬
tiary beds. The following section will show the strata in descending order :

1. Yellowish brown laminated grit; effervescing with muriatic acid.

2. Similar to the bed above but of a deeper color and containing a greater per cent, of clay with numerous calca¬

reous concretions disseminated through it. 75 to 100 feet.

3. Light brown clay, with many whitish particles like magnesia. 20 feet.

4. Gray coarse grit, forming a heavy-bedded sandstone reaching to the water’s edge. 30 feet.

In bed 2d I found fragments of the bones of mammals and turtles, and the whole series
may be referred to the Pliocene period.

At the mouth of Calamus river the strata are represented as follows :

1. Yellowish brown grit. 12 feet.

2. Limestone assuming a concretionary form. 2 to feet.

3. Calcareous clay quite indurated. G feet exposed above the water’s edge.

Lieutenant Warren explored the Calamus fork for about 30 miles above its mouth and
saw the same beds represented in the above section, sometimes with an aggregate thick¬
ness of fifty feet, and gathered from them numerous water-worn fragments of bones and
shells of turtles.

July 25th. Soon after leaving camp, a bed of arenaceous limestone was observed in
several localities apparently containing traces of organic remains. There were many silici-
fied tubes ramifying through the rock, which may have been the stems of plants, also many
seeds like cherry-stones. Sometimes the rock becomes a partial conglomerate. The inco¬
herent material above and below the more compact bed, is a yellow marl.

July 27th. Tertiary beds were observed throughout the day and a few bones and teeth
were collected.

July 28th. Passed over a country very similar to that of yesterday, but the high hills
are becoming apparently more rugged. They are cut through by numerous streams, form¬
ing ravines one hundred to two hundred feet in depth. The sandhills are also appearing.

July 29th. Passed through the sandhills all day. They have now become quite
conspicuous, rising to the height of fifty to one hundred feet.

August 1st. Measured the height of the sandhills from the bed of the Loup fork
with a pocket level, and found that the highest point was about two hundred and twenty
feet above the water level of the river. I think, however, that there is not so great a

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

io

thickness of loose material, but that Pliocene beds form the base. The middle portion is
Post Pliocene, and on the top from fifty to one hundred feet of loose incoherent sand.

August 2d. There are very few exposures of the different beds in the valley of the
main branch of Loup fork, but fifteen miles south of our road towards the Platte, a
branch of the Loup fork seems to pass between nearly vertical banks. One of them ex¬
hibits a section which shows the Pliocene character of the beds :

1. Yellowish-brown grit.

2. Whitish chalky stratum containing many freshwater shells. 3 feet.

3. Heavy-bedded gray grit. 8 to 10 feet.

From this point to the head of Loup fork the geology of the country is similar, consist¬
ing of sandhills and recent Tertiary beds. The true Tertiary beds are concealed for the
most part, by superficial deposits, a few places only being exposed by denudation. From
these 1 was able to collect some interesting vertebrate remains, as a new species of Masto¬
don (M. miri ficus), Ilipparion, Cervus, E lephas, See. The whole of this portion of the
country may be regarded as a desert, nearly destitute of wood and water. From the head
of Loup fork we pursued a northwest course to the Niobrara river. The surface of the
country is covered with a superficial deposit of loose sand, which is blown by the wind into
large conical hills rendering travelling quite difficult. Numerous freshwater and saline
lakes are scattered about among these sandhills, affording a resort for myriads of water
birds, ducks, geese, gulls, &c.

August 10th. On reaching the Niobrara we observed some of the Upper Miocene beds
exposed in the channel of the river, very rarely, however, containing any organic remains.
The more recent upper strata (Pliocene), reveal large quantities of the teeth and bones of
mammals, with fragments of a species of turtle ( Testudo Niobrarensis , Leidy).

Section of beds in descending order :

1. Alluvial and drift.

2. Quite hard arenaceous limestone ; the same rock seen on the Loup fork containing cherry-stones. 15 feet.

3. Dark gray friable coarse sandstone. 4 feet.

4. Like bed 3, but more heavy-bedded and less distinctly stratified. 30 feet.

We seem to have represented here the highest bed of the Miocene Tertiary, with a
full series of the Pliocene. A butte near our camp affording a fine section of the strata,
measured from the edge of the river with a pocket level, proved to be one hundred and
sixty-six feet in height. It is composed mostly of a gray calcareous grit, more or less
compact, sometimes quite incoherent, containing many seams of concretionary sandstone.
On the summit is a stratum formed of loose layers of limestone, similar to that which con-

14

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

tains the freshwater shells near Pinau’s spring, though holding a higher geological posi¬
tion. Indistinct traces of shells and abundant remains of fishes, as scales, vertebrae, &c.,
were observed on the surface of tabular masses. It seems to form the upper part of gray
sandstone bed E of the general section, and to vary much in its lithological characters in
different localities, presenting every variety, from a translucent chalcedony to a fine-grained
sandstone or compact limestone, and furnishing those chalcedonic masses which meet the
eye of the traveller so often on the surface of this formation, having the appearance of
erratic blocks. Further from the river and capping the hills, are beds of yellow and
yellowish gray calcareous grit, undoubtedly of Pliocene age, containing numerous fragments
of the jaws and finely preserved bones of the Mastodon and Elephant. As we pass up
the Niobrara the gray sandstone bed assumes a variety of characters, sometimes forming a
coarse conglomerate, then an aggregate of granular quartz cemented with calcareous matter.
Lithological changes are constantly occurring in the Upper Tertiary beds. About fifty
miles up the Niobrara from the point where we struck it (Aug. 10th), the Pliocene beds
cease to appear, and the whole country is occupied by the Miocene formations D and E
of the general section.

August 14th. On the distant hills saw large layers of a fine-grained arenaceous lime¬
stone, forming a bed ten to fifteen feet in thickness. At this locality we find in bed E,
alternations of reddish flesh-colored grit and light ash-colored clay with layers of concre¬
tionary sandstone and limestone. Fifty miles above our camp of August 10th, a new bed
arises above the water level of the river, composed of a flesh-colored calcareous grit with
a reddish tinge. Sometimes it is a light yellow calcareous marl, and the eroded material
gives a reddish yellow tint to the whole surface of the country. It seems to pass up quite
gradually into the sandstone above. The remains of an animal allied to the Oreodon,
named by Dr. Leidy, Meycochoerus proprius, were collected from this bed at this locality.

August 15th. One of the most characteristic and picturesque instances of the castel¬
lated appearance of the Bad Lands on the Niobrara, is seen near our camp. At this point
the thickness of bed 1) is one hundred and twenty-four feet above the river. It has the
same general lithological character as in the White river valley, where a much greater
thickness is exposed. It contains many layers of silico-calcareous concretions, sometimes
forming large ledges, which break into irregular fragments on exposure. The more inco¬
herent material has much the color and composition of the turtle bed on Bear creek, but
contains less aluminous matter.

Leaving the Niobrara for Fort Laramie we observe at Spoonbill creek the conglomerate
composing a large portion of bed E, giving a very rugged appearance to the scenery. It
consists of angular and water-worn pebbles of every variety and color, from the granitic
and metamorphic rocks of the Black hills and other mountainous portions, varying in size

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

15

from one inch to four inches in diameter, cemented together with a silicions paste. Large
masses of this conglomerate have fallen to the base of the hills or are scattered over the
plains below. We also pass through a large area covered with sandhills after leaving the
Niobrara. These hills all have a dull reddish tinge, evidently from the eroded materials
of bed 1). One of these hills was one hundred and eighty feet above the surrounding
prairie with very steep sides, its present conformation being preserved by the roots of vast
numbers of a species of Yucca ( Y. angusti folia), which cover the hill and seem to attain
their maximum growth in the sand. The sandhills are composed of the eroded materials
of the different Tertiary beds, and from the loose incoherent nature of the sand, they
suffer continual change of form and position by the action of winds.

On Rawhide Butte creek bed I) approximates more closely in its character to the
Oreodcnbed B of the general section, at Ash Grove spring and Bear creek. In the valley
of the creek, on an exposed or denuded area not more than eight or ten yards square, I
observed fragments of a species of turtle ( Tehtudo Ntbrascensis ) belonging to at least eight
individuals, with a few mammalian remains ( Oreodon Culbertsonii). The Upper Miocene
beds occupy the country in the vicinity of Tort Laramie exclusively, and extend to the
base of the Laramie mountains. Bed E attains the greatest thickness, having been eroded
away to a great extent, while bed D becomes one hundred and eighty to two hundred feet
in thickness. The channel of the Platte river cuts through Pliocene and Miocene strata
alone from Fort Laramie to longitude 98°, a considerable distance below Fort Kearney.

CHAPTER IV.

GEOLOGY IN 'I IIE VICINITY OF FORT LARAMIE.

The plain country in the vicinity of Fort Laramie is underlaid for the most part by the
upper members of the White river Tertiary beds. By referring to the Geological map, it
will be observed that west of Fort Laramie, between the two main branches, Laramie and
North Platte, but two small exposures of the Carboniferous rocks occur. As we proceed
westward toward Laramie peak the first exposure is seen near the head of Warm Spring
creek, occupying an area of not more than five or six hundred square yards. Its upheaval
is probably local, the limestone being revealed by the erosion and removal of Tertiary beds,
which are in this immediate region apparently undisturbed, and lie unconformably against
the upheaved mass. The limestone strata dip in every direction from a central axis. The
fossils are quite abundant, but the hard and brittle character of the rock renders it next
to impossible to secure perfect specimens. At the base of the exposure are two or three feet
of ferruginous shale, the lower layers of which seem to have been slightly affected by heat

16

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

from beneath. The fossils are Productus, Choneies, Spirigera , probably S. subtil ita ,
Spirifer, Retzia mormoni, Rhynconella uta, corals and crinoidal remains. Nine miles farther
to the westward we find the Carboniferous rocks again exposed by the wearing away of
the Tertiary beds in the valley of Cottonwood creek. Here we have a series of limestone
eighty feet in thickness, with a central axis similar to the exposure previously noticed, the
strata apparently dipping northeast and southwest at an angle of about 10°, while the
Tertiary beds again rest unconformably upon their upturned edges. The lower strata
which are exposed in the channel of the creek, have been subjected to considerable heat,
so that their color is changed to a brick red.

Along the base of the mountains between the Laramie fork and the North Platte no Car¬
boniferous rocks are exposed ; indeed all the older fossiliferous beds are concealed by a recent
heavy deposit, consisting of gravel and water-worn boulders, from all the geological forma¬
tions represented in this region. This superficial deposit extends along the Laramie fork
for a considerable distance from the mountains, the Tertiary beds being revealed here and
there in the channel of the river. About twelve miles above Fort Laramie, both on the
Laramie river and on the Platte, a remarkable deposit was observed, composed of a coarse
conglomerate, fifty to one hundred and fifty feet in thickness, of a recent date and evi¬
dently accumulated since the rivers occupied their present beds. Indeed the form of the
deposit is that of a basin twelve or fifteen miles in length, and reaching its greatest thick¬
ness only in the valleys of the rivers, while the elevated ridge between the rivers reveals
the true Tertiary beds. The rock seems to vary in structure from an aggregation of parti¬
cles of quartz or a quartzose sandstone to an exceedingly coarse conglomerate, made up
of every variety of material, much of which I have not yet seen in place. It appears to
have been formed during the drift epoch, possibly at a later period by the damming up of
the two streams near this junction, and the materials were doubtless transported by strong
currents from the mountains in the vicinity.

North and northwest of Fort Laramie we observe quite extended areas occupied by
Carboniferous limestones with metamorphic and granitoid rocks. These exposures lie
along the line of connection between the Laramie range and the Black hills. Surrounding
all these exposures and occupying the valleys we see the Upper Tertiary beds, but never
conforming to the older rocks. Near ILorse-shoe creek along the base of the mountains, the
Cretaceous, Jurassic, Carboniferous, and Potsdam formations are exposed, the strata some¬
times inclining high upon the sides of the ridges of elevation. The White river Tertiary
beds continue up to La Pule, when they gradually give way to the Lignite Tertiary beds,
though remnants are still seen farther up the river. Here the White river Tertiary strata
rest upon the Lignite beds, showing most conclusively their relative ages.

Southward of Laramie river along the foot of the mountains we have a continuation of

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

17

the same rocks exposed in outcropping narrow belts, sometimes expanding so as to occupy
a wide area ; again concealed or eroded away so that scarcely a trace can be seen. The
plain country is occupied by the upper members of the White river Tertiary. The nucleus
of the mountains is composed of granitoid rocks with very little variety. I shall dwell
more at length on the general geology of this region in a succeeding chapter.

In the Laramie range are beautiful valleys with streams of pure water, margined with
birches, poplars, and other trees such as are met within more northern latitudes. Not un-
frequently there are broad level plains with a soil composed of the disintegrated materials
of the granitoid rocks, sustaining a good growth of vegetation. The mountains are
covered with a fine growth of pine timber, which would furnish an almost inexhaustible
supply of lumber for economical purposes.

CHAPTER V.

FORT LARAMIE TO THE BLACK HILLS.

About seven miles north of Fort Laramie, we pass the eastern extension of the Laramie
hills, which is composed of numerous centres of upheaval, by which the granite is pro¬
truded and the overlying rocks thrown off in every direction. The elevations vary from
one hundred to eight hundred feet in height, the nucleus formed of granitic and azoic
rocks, while the Carboniferous limestones are scattered over the sides or base of the
upheaved masses, or lie unconformably upon their summits. The Carboniferous limestones
incline at various angles, depending upon the power of the disturbing force from beneath,

Fig. 4.

and when unchanged by heat contain a few fossils. We can here see every variety of the
limestone, from the unchanged fossiliferous, to the completely metamorphosed rock, with
the indications of stratification nearly or quite obliterated. Sometimes the melted ma-
vol. xii. — .3

18

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

terial is thrust up through the seams in the unchanged mass, so that in a single hand
specimen we have the changed and unchanged rock. Not unfrequently the limestones
are elevated in such a manner that the strata preserve their horizontality very nearly ;
again they dip at an angle of from 5° to 30°.

The above sketch, taken by Lieut. Warren, abont six miles north of Fort Laramie, ex¬
hibits some of the phenomena just mentioned, a. Represents metamorphic rocks distorted
at different angles, b. Strata of Carboniferous limestone capping the summit of the
upheaved peak and still retaining their horizontal position.

Passing from the Platte toward the Niobrara, the upheaved ridges seem to tend in a
northerly direction, and are for the most part capped with limestones in a more or less
changed condition. At the foot of these ridges the upper beds of the Tertiary may be
seen insinuating themselves into the valleys and ravines or deposited high up on the sides
of the elevations, thus, as it were, filling up to some extent the inequalities of surface
formed by the upheaval. In all cases the Tertiary beds are undisturbed and not unfre¬
quently rest directly upon the vertical edges of the azoic stratified or granitic rocks. Paw-
hide peak is about eight hundred feet high and of the same geological character as Lara¬
mie peak. High upon its sides may be seen remnants of the Tertiary beds, left after
denudation ; showing very clearly that all these elevations and ridges once formed rocky
islands in the great Tertiary lake.

Near Rawhide peak the quartzose limestone appears again in a more or less disturbed
condition. A section across the vertical edges of the strata would stand thus :

1. Quartzose limestone with stratification nearly or quite obliterated.

2. Laminated clay slate.

3. Alternate strata of Gneiss, Hornblende, &c.

Directly west of Rawhide peak we have the greatest thickness of stratified azoic rocks
met with on the trip. The strata were vertical and I could obtain a section only across
the upturned edges.

1. Carboniferous limestone. 100 to 300 feet.

2. Quartzose arenaceous limestone. 150 feet.

3. Soft bluish clay slate. 15 feet.

4. Very compact quartzose arenaceous limestone. 500 to 700 feet.

5. Steel gray Hornblende. 30 feet.

6. A compact crystalline limestone with a somewhat fissile structure which gives it the appearance of being

laminated, breaking into large rliomboidal masses. 80 to 100 feet.

7. Steel gray gneissoid slate with veins of white quartz disseminated through it. 150 feet.

8. Very hard gneissoid rock. 80 to 100 feet.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

19

The Carboniferous limestones at this locality present a peculiar appearance not unlike
the fused and semifused strata overlying the burned lignite beds on the Yellowstone.
The fused masses are very compact and heavy, varying in composition, red, yellow, and
mottled, oftentimes containing small fragments of partially changed rock, thus forming a
kind of conglomerate. These appearances are more fully illustrated about eight miles
west of Rawhide peak, where there is a vertical wall of limestone which exhibits every
variety of character which we have mentioned. After leaving this ridge we descend into
a valley stretching off to the northwest, and into every ravine the Tertiary beds seem to
have penetrated or to have been deposited high upon the sides of the ridges.

Fig. 6.

In the above wood-cut, a represent the azoic rocks upheaved in the form of conical
peaks; b , the Tertiary beds deposited in the valleys and jutting against the older rocks on
all sides.

At the head of Niobrara river we have indications of upheavals, but to a limited extent,
near our camp, in the following section, the unchanged sedimentary strata lie unconfor-
mably on the vertical edges of the metamorphic rocks.

After crossing the Niobrara
the Tertiary beds occupy the
country with the exception of
a few isolated exposures of Car¬
boniferous limestone. Passing
the dividing ridge between the
Niobrara and Shyenne rivers
into the valley of Old Woman’s
branch, we find that the Ter¬
tiary rocks by erosion assume a

n~i~

1 i HT

)\ 1 1

T; «

/ i i

/ F

i

,i , i c

a. Quartzose sandstone.

b. lied argillaceous slate.

22 feet.
5 feet.

cl\

c. Yellowish sandstone with reddish
tinge. 37 feet.

cl. Metamorphic and granitic rocks.

80 to 100 feet.

20

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

variety of fantastic shapes, such as domes, towers, and spires, one of which seems to be
twenty or thirty feet high, but not more than four or five feet in diameter at its base.
From this pillar the little tributary of the Shyenne derives its name. Very little timber
is. seen along our route excepting a few scattered pines among the hills.

On the north side of Old Woman’s branch is a high ridge ranging northwest and south¬
east, composed of a variegated sandstone varying in structure from a compact fine silicious
rock, to a coarse reddish conglomerate or sandstone, with no fossils but indistinct traces of
vegetable remains. This ridge is the result of a gentle upheaval and is exposed by the
erosion of the more yielding Tertiary beds from the valley. On the distant hills on each
side of the valley the naked Tertiary beds are visible, while near the bed of the stream
the Titanotherium bed is found with its usual lithological characters and containing bones
and teeth of the animal from which it derives its name. The following section of the
strata in descending series will show the details of this upheaval :

1. Layers of white oolitic limestone, doubtless Tertiary.

2. Compact ferruginous sandstone. 80 feet.

3. Yellow friable sandstone. 2 feet.

4. Light gray fine clay. 4 feet.

5. Yellowish white sandstone, quite friable. 5 feet.

6. Drab or ash colored indurated clay passing down into red clay. 6 feet.

7. Variable incoherent clays, red, yellowish, &c , which may be of Jurassic age. 50 feet.

Passing down the valley of the Shyenne, the Tertiary beds disappear and the Creta¬
ceous formation No. 5 occupies the country. At one locality an upheaval was observed
exposing all the subdivisions of the Cretaceous rocks, as will appear from the following-
section :

No. 5. Presenting its usual lithological characters with numerous fossils; strata but slightly disturbed. 100 to 150 feet.
No. 4. Presenting the same characters as on the Missouri river. 100 feet.

No. 3. “ “ “ “ “ “ 150 feet.

No. 2. “ “ “ “ “ “ 200 feet.

No. 1. “ “ “ “ “ “ 250 to 300 feet.

No. 5 is but slightly disturbed as will be seen by examining the illustrative section.
Nos. 4, 3, and 2, present only their vertical edges of their strata across which the above
measurements were taken. The strata of No. 1 seems to have been elevated so as to re¬
tain a nearly horizontal position. No. 3 at this locality contains numerous fossils, the
most abundant of which are Ostrea congest a, and Inoceram us problematic us. This bed does
not present altogether the same lithological character as on the Missouri river, but pos-

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

21

sesses a more laminated and arenaceous structure, sometimes approaching to a calcareous
sandstone.

Leaving this locality, we continue to pass over No. 5, and scattered over the surface of
the ground are numerous fossils, loose or in argillaceous concretions, as Tnocerawus, Bn cu¬
llies, Ammonites. About five miles north of our last night’s camp, near the source of the
south fork of the Shyenne, a few beds of the lignite Tertiary basin were observed.

1. Yellow arenaceous bed, holding the same position, I think, as the one at Fort Clark, which contains numerous

freshwater shells.

2. Light gray grit, with numerous iron rust concretions, same bed seen on Cherry creek, at Fort Clark, on the

Missouri above Fort Union and on the Yellowstone. 20 to 30 feet.

3. Very impure lignite. 4 to 6 feet.

4. Dark ash-colored clay passing up into lignite. 20 feet.

5. Fine yellow sand about 0 feet exposed.

These Tertiary beds rest conformably upon cretaceous formation No. 5, and no disturb¬
ance was observed in this locality.

Crossing the Shyenne on our way northward, we have the commencement of a series of
ridges of upheaval, which surround the Black hills. As we approach the southern base
of the Black hills, the strata dip very nearly to the southeast. No. 1 does not appear,
but we have a tine development of No. 2, possessing its usual characters, a plastic clay
with ash-colored arenaceous concretions and an abundance of well-preserved fossils. No.
3, with large quantities of 0. conges ta, and 1. pmblematicus , in an exceedingly comminuted
condition, No. 4 also appears, and No. 5 caps the hills on all sides. Nos. 2 and 3 are
revealed only by the upheaval. On a branch of Beaver creek we find No. 2 one hundred
and fifty to two hundred feet in thickness, and exhibiting its lithological characters in
full ; first, the summit is composed of ferruginous and gray laminated sandstone containing
1. jj rob le malleus and fragments of fishes, seeming to form a bed of passage from No. 2 to
No. 3, 6 to 10 feet in thickness; then, alternate thin layers of gray sand and black shaly
clay, with an occasional seam one inch to six inches in thickness of ferruginous sandstone,
the whole passing down into a black plastic clay, precisely like that which forms No. 2 on
the Missouri river.

We ascend, therefore, to the Black hills by a series of steps or upheaved ridges gradually
increasing in height as we approach the central ridge, and the strata more nearly approach¬
ing a vertical position. The first step or ridge is, perhaps, fifty to eighty feet in height,
revealing Nos. 4 and 5; the second shows Nos. 4 and 3; third, Nos. 3 and 2, and so
through all the series of strata until we come to the Potsdam sandstone resting uncon-
formably upon the metamorphie rocks.

22

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

In order that my remarks in regard to the Black hills may be more clearly understood,
the following general vertical section of the different beds is given, showing their order of
succession and approximate thickness. A more detailed survey would doubtless reveal facts
which would modify it to some extent, but I believe that it will show the order of super¬
position of the different strata with sufficient accuracy and detail for our present purpose.

General Section of the Geological Formations seen in and near the Blach Hills (descending).

CO

CC

P

o

o

o

o

Sx

o

I

CO

Cm

<D

P

cn

P

o

m

P

O

1 Miocene beds consisting of whitish clays and sandstones of various thickness.

No. 5. Of the Nebraska general section, with its usual characters and fossils. 150 feet.

No. 4. Presenting its usual characters and containing its characteristic fossils. 150 feet.

No. 8. Usual fossils and composition. 150 to 200 feet.

No. 2. Usual lithological characters and fossils with some new forms. 200 to 250 feet.

No. 1 Upper part yellowish and reddish sandstone, sometimes in heavy beds, passing down into alternations
of yellowish, gray, bluish, and reddish laminated shale, with seams and layers of dark carbonaceous
matter, or impure lignite; beneath which there is a heavy bed of compact yellowish and reddish sand¬
stone, with indistinct vegetable remains, and much fossil wood. Above beds variable at different
places. 300 to 400 feet.

A. Then come alternations of light gray argillaceous grit and soft sandstone, containing Ammonites Henry i,
and a small oyster; also in bluish gray compact argillo-calcareous masses, Unto nucalis, and a small
Planorbis , with other small univalves like Paludina. Layers of argillo-calcareous, somewhat gritty
mass, containing Belemnites densus, Ammonites cord iformis, Avicula ( Mo not is ) tenuicostcita, Area
( Cucullcea ) inornata, passing down into a 6 or 8 foot bed light gray or yellowish sandstone, with
ripple-marks and trails of marine worms. 50 to 80 feet.

B Light red argillo-calcareous bed, with greenish seams and nodules (sometimes wanting). 80 to 40 feet.
G. Soft gray and dark brownish sandstone passing down into about 8 feet of laminated shale of various
colors, below which there is a 6 foot bed of sandstone similar to that above, containing Avicula tenui-
costata and trails of marine worms. Then comes 30 to 40 feet of bluish or ash-colored argillaceous
shale, with great numbers of Lingula brevirostra and Serpula. Next we have a light gray calcareous
grit, containing columns of Pentacrinus asteriscus, Avicula tenuicostata, Serpula, &c., the more com¬
pact and calcareous portions often perforated by Pliolas ? the latter bed passes down into a light, yel¬
lowish gray sandstone, splitting into thin layers, and containing imperfect casts of Mytilus ( Modiola ),
Pecten, Triyonia , and other bivalves in considerable numbers. Whole 60 to 100 feet.

D. Brick-red, incoherent, argillo-calcareous, very fine, slightly gritty material containing great quantities of

gypsum in the form of seams, layers, and irregular beds. 100 to 150 feet.

E. Bluish and reddish gray, very hard, gritty limestone, in which were found a smooth spirifer like S.

lineatus, two or three species of small Pleurotomdria, two species of Macrocheilus, and one or two
species of Belterophon. This bed is variable in thickness. 10 to 50 feet.

F. Brick-red material, very similar to the bed D, excepting that it contains much less gypsum; passing-

down into a very hard compact concretionary sandstone. 250 to 300 feet.

G. Hard, more or less gritty, yellowish and whitish limestone, containing Productus, Spirifer, Euomphalus,

&c., &c., passing down into a light yellow calcareous grit. Altogether 50 feet.

II. Very hard reddish gray limestone, containing Syrinyopora, Productus, Terebratula, &c. In the middle
of this bed there is an 8 foot layer of very hard compact bluish limestone filled with comminuted
crinoidal remains. 50 feet.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

23

I. Potsdam sandstone (oldest Silurian) containing Lingula , Obohts, and fragments of Trilohites.

50 feet.

J. Highly metamorphosed strata standing vertical.

K. Coarse feldspathic granite, forming mountain masses.

SO to

As we approach the loftier ridges of the Black hills, we find them capped with an
immense thickness of very variable sandstone, which doubtless belongs to Lower Creta¬
ceous formation No. 1, though it may pass down into Jurassic strata. No fossils were
observed in it, excepting traces of uncharacteristic vegetable impressions with fragments
of wood. One of these ridges by barometrical measurement was found to be thirteen
hundred feet high, covered with pines and forming a portion of the Black hills proper.
On the east side of the ridge the strata of sandstone slope gently down to the base ; but
the west side is abrupt, revealing the edges of the different beds, so that we see the sand¬
stone before mentioned as attaining so great a thickness, passing down into alternate layers
of gray sandstone and clay ; containing fossils of the genera Ostrea , Ammonites , &c., with
a freshwater deposit composed of a calcareous grit, with hard, dark-gray concretions con¬
taining fossils of the genera Unto, Planorbis, See. Then comes a series of alternating beds
of gray and red grits, and sandstones with numerous fossils of Jurassic types. In but one
locality was any lignite observed in No. 1. Two seams were noted, one of them two to
four feet in thickness, the other, six to eight feet, alternating with variable grits.

Near the head of Beaver creek on the west side of our road, we observed a ridge about
four hundred feet in height, running northwest and southeast, presenting a nearly verti¬
cal front, the different beds of which appear to be undisturbed ; but looking upon the op¬
posite side, we find that the strata dip towards the prairie below at an angle of 20° to 30°.
This ridge is composed of a great thickness of No. 1, passing down into variegated clays
and grits one hundred to a hundred and fifty feet in thickness, from which I obtained Am¬
monites, Belemnites , and other fossils of Jurassic types in great abundance. Pursuing our
course eastward, we passed through a valley between two of the upheaved ridges which
surround the Black hills. In this valley we observed a bed of bluish ash-colored lime¬
stone (E of vertical section), which presents many peculiarities from the disturbing influ¬
ences which have elevated this portion of the country. Sometimes it forms over large
areas a sort of tessellated pavement from the peculiar fracture of its surface ; again, it is
puffed out, as it were, forming rounded protuberances thirty to sixty feet in height, the
external surface yielding so as to adapt itself to any inequalities. It thus holds a great
variety of positions. All along the valleys and on the hills are large exposures of the
brick-red grit bed D, with intercalated seams of gypsum varying in thickness from one
inch to four or five feet. In one instance I saw a local bed of gypsum twenty feet in
thickness.

24

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Our course to-day led us over a bed of blue limestone from the head of Beaver creek to
Inyan Kara Paha or Stone peak. Scattered throughout the valley and over the hills are
the incoherent materials of the brick-red grit beds, giving to the country a most pictu¬
resque appearance. Stone peak is chiefly composed of basalt, which at this locality
assumes a columnar form similar to the columnar trap in the Lake Superior region. The
rock is usually of an ashen-gray, sometimes becoming an iron-rust color, with much the
texture of granular sandstone. A portion of the rock forming a lower ridge, but more
recent, is trachytic, retains its stratification, has a much lighter color and a more porous
structure.

We remained in our camp three days, surrounded by a wall of blue limestone, which
has been disturbed in every conceivable way, yet seeming to adapt itself with wonderful
flexibility to all the inequalities of the surface ; sometimes it paves the valleys or the lower
plains, again it seems to be wrapped about some conical hill like a garment. As cut
through by the little stream near our camp, it varies in thickness from twenty-five to
thirty feet, becoming yellowish on exposure. Many portions of it have a fine silicious or
cherty structure. The following section will show the different beds seen in this vicinity
in descending order.

1. Yellowish gray argillaceous grit.

2. Light-red incoherent sand and clay. 80 feet.

8. Laminated bluish clay shale. 8 feet.

4. Gray and grayish-brown sandstone. 6 feet.

5. Bluish ash-colored argillaceous shale, with Avicu/a ( Monotis ) tenuicoatata, Lingula brevirostris. 30 to 40 feet.

6. Compact blue limestone, not fossiliferous at this locality. 25 to 80 feet.

Near the head of Beaver creek bed 2 of the above section presents the following layers:
Gypsum 1 5 feet, passing down into 25 feet of red argillaceous grit ; then 20 feet of gypsum ;
then incoherent brick-red grit, passing down into a heavy-bedded sandstone. 40 feet.

On our route to-day the blue limestone bed was very
conspicuous, attaining a thickness of forty or fifty feet,
presenting many peculiarities. Portions of it are made
up of thin laminae, which by pressure, when the mate¬
rials of which the bed is composed were in a yielding
state, have become very much contorted. These flex¬
ures in the lamina? have been quite common throughout
our day’s march. In some localities this bed contains
many fine compact silicious nodules from which the
laminae seem to bend each way, so as to clasp them,

Fig. 7.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

25

as it were. The streams cutting through this bed in various directions have formed deep
canons with perpendicular sides, rendering travelling quite difficult.

The valleys in the Black hills are quite pictur¬
esque from the incoherent character of the materials
of the brick-red bed, which are strewed everywhere.

On the hills I find the following beds represented :

1. Gray sandstone. 80 feet.

2. Yellowish, laminated, argillaceous shale, with numerous fossils.

Aviru/a (Mo it of in') tcnuicostata, Lingula breniroslris, Penta- _

criiius asterincus, and many specimens of Vcrmetes, &c. — '.s>- ^c-2r-r35=j

3. Dark bluish ash colored shale, with fossils same as in last bed. • _

30 feet.

4 White sandstone passing down into a red, coarse-grained, heavy-
bedded sandstone. 50 to 80 feet exposed.

The sandstone which caps the hills is often broken
into immense tabular masses, the surfaces of which

are covered with trails of Planarian worms or mollusks, also impressions of raindrops and
waved ridges such as are often seen on the shore of a stream.

We passed to-day over the brick-red bed beneath the blue limestone, both of which are
fully represented. This lower bed, F, of the vertical section, which is so conspicuous in
our day’s march, is most variable in its character and color, changing from a nearly white
to a deep red color, and from a friable grit to a compact silicious rock ; sometimes it be¬
comes a conglomerate composed of nodnles and slightly worn fragments of flint rock,
apparently from the Carboniferous rocks beneath. Eight miles before reaching our camp
of September, we met with the true Carboniferous limestones for the first time, though
they are everywhere revealed near the central portions of the Black hills. First an
arenaceous limestone is seen, then a bluish limestone with cherty nodules like bullets, and
a few characteristic fossils. The sandstone which we have before mentioned as so variable
seems to rest conformably on the Carboniferous rocks, though all the beds are more or less
distorted. When the Carboniferous rocks appear, the country becomes much more rugged
and uneven, being elevated into high ridges, from the sides of which the different strata of
limestone project and incline at all angles.

We remained during the day in the central portion of the Black hills. Here we find
the Carboniferous rocks and the Potsdam sandstone conforming to each other and resting
unconformably upon the metamorphic rocks. No rocks more recent than the Carboniferous
VOL. XII. — 4

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

26

were observed in this locality. The following section represents the different beds in de¬
scending order :

1. A hard compact fine-grained yellowish limestone, of an excellent quality, passing down into a yellow calcareous

sandstone somewhat soft and friable. Fossils : Spirifer Rockymontana, Spirigera like S. sv.htileta,
Cyrtoceras, &c. 50 feet.

2. Loose layers of very hard yellow arenaceous limestone with a reddish tinge; then a bed 6 to 8 feet in thickness

of very hard blue limestone, passing down into a repetition of loose layers of yellow arenaceous limestone.
The whole contains vast quantities of comminuted crinoidal remains with corals and several species of Bra-
chiopod i . 40 feet.

3. Variegated calcareous sandstone, gray and reddish quartzose with particles of mica. Some portions are very

compact and silicious, others a coarse friable grit, others a conglomerate. Fossils : Lingula prima, Lin¬
gula undetermined, Obolus and fragments of Trilobites. 30 to 50 feet.

4. Metamorphic rocks standing in a vertical position for the most part.

The main ridge of upheaval seems to have a bearing about 40° west of north. The
principal ridges appear to be nearly parallel, but the smaller upheavals cannot be brought
into any system. I think the red granite at this locality contains more mica than usual,
and might therefore be called micaceous granite. In other respects it presents much the
same characters as that which forms the main body of Laramie peak and Rawhide peak.
Here also we noticed a bed of clay or talcose slates, eight to ten feet in thickness, attached
to and passing down into the granitic mass. Alongside of the slate, and evidently of more
recent origin, is a bed of compact silicious rock, with stratification distinct, and differing
very little from the quartzose rocks seen on the Platte.

The Potsdam sandstone presents a great variety of lithological characters. In many
localities it assumes the form of a conglomerate of more or less water- worn pebbles, mostly
whitish crystalline quartz, but representing every variety of the metamorphic rock beneath.
The pebbles vary in size from an eighth of an inch to four inches in diameter, but the
greater part are from one half of an inch to two inches in diameter, cemented together
with quartzose sand. Some of the pebbles are scarcely worn, others are perfectly smooth.
At the locality where the last section was taken, the sandstone is of a gray color, tinged
with red at the base ; but, passing up, it becomes more ferruginous until its color is a dark
red, and its texture a coarse-grained friable sandstone, with many quartzose and micaceous
particles and some calcareous matter. Seams two to four inches in thickness are very
nearly composed of comminuted fragments of shells, comparatively few being sufficiently
perfect to be identified.

The metamorphic rocks were not altogether vertical to-day, but dipping at an angle of
70° to the southeast. We travelled about nine miles through the metamorphic rock,
Potsdam sandstone and Carboniferous limestone. A section taken on the southeastern

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

27

base of the Black hills represents some local changes that occur in the Carboniferous.
Dip of strata 20° south of east.

GO

c

o

rg

a

O

1. Deep yellow limestone with fossils. 60 feet.

2. Yellow argillaceous shale. 18 inches.

8. Compact yellowish cherty rock. 4 feet.

4. Light yellow argillaceous shale. 6 to 12 feet.

5. Very compact limestone with cherty nodules. 8 feet.

6. Alternate seams of yellow and drab arenaceous shale, tinged with red. 4 feet.

7. Reddish calcareous sandstone. 12 inches.

8. Very tough argillaceous limestone passing down into soft friable sandstone or Potsdam sandstone. 2 feet.

At another locality near the point where the last section was taken an upheaval shows
the following beds :

1. Alternate layers of yellow and dark brown arenaceous shale and sandstone with fossil wood. 50 to 60 feet.

2. Whitish rather fine-grained sandstone. 15 feet.

3. Reddish gritty marl passing down into a yellow shaly arenaceous marl. 50 feet.

4. Yellow and yellowish gray sand and sandstone. 30 feet.

5. Red grit with layers of concretionary sandstone. 30 feet.

6. Layers of yellow arenaceous material, alternating with sandstone and shale. 40 feet.

7. Red grit with layers of reddish sandstone, but comparatively little gypsum. 50 to 80 feet.

Bed 1 belongs to Lower Cretaceous formation No. 1 of our general section ; the others
are undoubtedly Jurassic strata.

Leaving our camp near the central ridge of upheaval of the Black hills, and taking a
southeasterly course toward the Shyenne river, we pass over ; first, me tam orphic rocks ;
second, Potsdam sandstone ; third, a belt of Carboniferous rocks, about three miles in
width ; fourth, a belt of Jurassic strata, about eight miles in width ; fifth, a complete series
of the cretaceous formations ten to fifteen miles in width ; and in the distance beyond the
Shyenne the white clays and marls of the White river Tertiary basin could be seen.

Passed over metamorphic rocks and Potsdam sandstone for the most part. The latter
assumes an unusual conglomerate character, and the exceedingly comminuted condition of
the organic remains, together with the irregularity of the laminae, indicates that this rock
was deposited in shallow and turbulent water.

Our route to-day led us over Jurassic beds chiefly. At one locality a yellowish blue
arenaceous shale, below bed B of vertical section, contained layers of rock six to eighteen
inches in thickness, composed of an aggregation of shells of the genera Ostrea, Belemnites,
Aoicula, and many undetermined species, the whole very much broken up. The entire
thickness of this bed is eighty or ninety feet, with the greatest abundance of organic
remains distributed through it.

28

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Ascended Bear peak, which is a solitary upheaval in the plain near the north fork of
the Shyenne, and seems to be cut off from the main portion of the Black hills by a valley
about six miles in width. The strata which underlie the surface of this valley are more or
less disturbed. Bear peak is composed entirely of trap rocks, no granite being seen, and
is evidently a protrusion or outburst of igneous rocks. Much of the rock is very porous
trachyte ; portions of it are more compact, breaking into irregular fragments, producing a
peculiar ringing under the blows of a hammer like clinkstone. This rock also has a
gritty structure, sometimes a dark gray or bluish gray color. Immense quantities of
broken rocks cover the sides of the peak to the depth of twenty or thirty feet ; the strata
are vertical, or nearly so, and the ridges of upheaved Cretaceous and Jurassic beds which
surround the peak in nearly a circular form, gives to the whole a crateriform appearance.
The lowest unchanged rock exposed by this upheaval is the blue limestone bed E of the
vertical section, then, alternate beds of red and yellowish gray argillaceous grits, shales,
and sandstones are revealed, containing great quantities of Jurassic fossils. From the
summit of the peak at a distance of twenty or thirty miles towards the north, the Deer’s
Ears and Slave butte are visible, and though the country in the vicinity is underlaid by
Cretaceous formation No. 4, these hills are, I am confident from their appearance, com¬
posed of the sands and clays of the Lignite Tertiary, monuments left to indicate that the
Tertiary beds once covered the surface of the country in that region. From the valley
on the south side of Bear peak we ascend to the Black hills by a series of step-like ridges,
composed of a full series of the Cretaceous, Jurassic, Carboniferous, Silurian, and meta-
morphic strata, with here and there protrusions or outbursts of igneous rocks. In one
locality basaltic columns similar to those forming Stone peak were observed, some lying in
nearly a horizontal position, others dipping at an angle of 20° to 40°. These columns are
five-sided, the sides varying from eight to twenty inches in width. The rock is quite hard
and compact in its structure, not differing from that which enters into the formation of
Stone peak.

Near Beaver Creek, formation No. 2 is very largely developed, presenting its usual litho¬
logical characters, and containing great quantities of fragmentary fish remains, but no
other fossils. No. 1 in this vicinity is composed of variegated clays, grits, and sandstones,
with indistinct vegetable impressions, fossil wood, and a few uncharacteristic saurian bones.
No. 3 is also exposed by the upheaval of the beds, containing its usual fossils, but possess¬
ing the character of a laminated calcareous sandstone, instead of the soft homogeneous cal¬
careous marl of the Missouri river.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

29

CHAPTER VI.

PROM BEAR BEAK TO FORT RANDALL ON THE MISSOURI RIVER.

October 3d. Travelled eighteen miles in a southeasterly direction over Cretaceous beds
Nos. 2 and 3. All the upland prairie surrounding the base of the Black hills is covered
with a heavy deposit of drift.

October 4th. Our route to-day led us over Cretaceous bed No. 4. Camped at night
on the Sbyenne river opposite the mouth of Sage creek. Found vast quantities of finely
preserved fossils, Ammonites , Baculites, Scapliites , Ostrea , and many unclescribed species.
In the distance eastward the naked columns of the Bad Lands are seen quite conspicu¬
ously.

October 5th. Ascending the valley of Sage creek we pass over a blending of Creta¬
ceous beds Nos. 4 and 5 for the first five miles, which contain an abundance of fossils
similar to those found on the Sbyenne yesterday. We then meet with the lowest bed of
the great Tertiary basin of White river, resting conformably upon the Cretaceous strata.
We have first the dark clays of No. 4, then the yellowish brown arenaceous shale of No.
5, with numerous ferruginous concretions ; then, the Titanotherium bed, which sets regu¬
larly upon No. 5, and reaches its greatest development in the valleys of Sage and Bear-
creeks. It is there composed first of a band of argillaceous grit, weathering to a pink
color, twro feet in thickness, passing, up into an ash-colored plastic clay, with a greenish
tinge, full of chalcedony and calcareous concretions ; third, a light-gray calcareous grit,
upon which rests the turtle bed, the whole thickness being from 80 to 100 feet. A con¬
siderable deposit of water-worn boulders and fine sand is distributed over the surface of
the Bad Lands to a greater or less extent.

' October 6th. Passing up the valley of the Shyenne, we see only the Cretaceous beds
Nos. 4 and 5, with many fossils, until we are beyond the mouth of Bear creek, when the
Tertiary makes its appearance, crossing the Shyenne and stretching off toward the base of
the Black hills in long ridges or isolated buttes. The drift material resting upon the
Cretaceous rocks along the river sometimes attains a thickness of ten or fifteen feet.

October 7th. The bed of Tertiary on the left side of the Shyenne river is about thirty
miles in width. A section about fifteen miles above the mouth of Bear creek, on the left
side of the Shyenne, presents the following strata :

j, ri r 1. Light gray indurated clay. 6 feet,
g ^ <2. Seam of gray sandstone. 18 inches.

g -a 1 3. Ash-colored plastic clay with a greenish tinge, and a pinkish band of fine grit at the base. 30 feet.

30

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

The Titanotherium bed varies much in its lithological characters in different localities.
The layer of gray sandstone is sometimes two to four feet in thickness, composed of an
aggregate of water-worn pebbles with granular quartz and small particles of mica, forming
somewhat conspicuous ledges. On the western side of the Shyenne the Titanotherium bed
presents the following characters, proceeding upward from No. 5: First, alternate seams of
small pebbles and sand, two to six inches in thickness, passing up into a fine ferruginous
grit containing small plates of mica, weathering to a light gray color ; then a band of
pinkish gritty clay six inches in thickness, passing up into an ash-colored clay, which has
also alternate arenaceous layers. The pinkish band is quite persistent, and being exposed
wherever the T. bed is worn through, marks with a great deal of precision the base of the
Tertiary. The surface in many places is covered with well-waterworn pebbles varying in
size from a granule of quartz to a rounded boulder eighteen inches in diameter, though the
pebbles are mostly small, representing all the varieties of metamorphic rocks with fragments
of silicified wood, rounded masses of limestone and flint, and indistinct organic remains, so
that the surface of No. 5, when the T. bed is eroded away, is paved with these stones.
Sometimes the pebbly bed is twenty feet in thickness. The turtle bed above does not seem
to be so marked in its character here as at Bear creek. It weathers to a light yellow color
and passes almost insensibly into the bed above. I have indicated the line of separation
at this locality between the turtle bed and the overlying stratum by a layer of very porous
argillaceous sandstone of a dull brown or drab color. The turtle bed contains much more
sand at this point than at Bear creek, and the upper portion consists of alternate layers of
calcareous concretions and indurated argillaceous grit, with one band eight feet in thick¬
ness of asli-colored clay. Disseminated all through the bed in every direction are thin
seams of silex in the form of chalcedony. A few organic remains were obtained, mostly of
Oreoclon and Rhinoceros.

On the right or east side of the Shyenne as we proceed toward White river, the Creta¬
ceous bed No. 5 presents some peculiarities which are worthy of notice. We have, first,
No. 4, black clay, laminated, gradually passing up into a dark brown clay ; then a deep
ferruginous color ; then a dull purplish hue, with red iron rust seams, half an inch to an
inch in thickness, passing up into a deep yellow arenaceous clay ; lastly, a brown clay, un¬
derlying the Titanotherium bed. I have been thus minute in describing these beds from
the fact that, although a long period must have elapsed after the close of the Cretaceous,
and prior to the deposition of the Tertiary, the transition to the Tertiary epoch from the
Cretaceous does not seem to be marked by any conspicuous physical break, but by a gradual
change of sediments. W e know, however, from observations at other localities that the
Cretaceous surface was more or less subjected to erosion prior to the. deposition of the
Tertiary beds of this region.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

31

At another locality the Titanotherium bed at the base consists of clay with a pinkish
tinge filled with angular grains of quartz and water-worn pebbles, two feet ; then a loose,
incoherent gravel with pebbles three to four inches ; then six to eight feet of light gray
clay filled with pebbles and angular grains of quartz, sometimes forming a quartzose sand¬
stone, passing up into a dark ash-colored clay with a greenish tinge.

October 8th. Between the Shyenne and White rivers, running through the turtle bed,
is a seam of fine blue grit, vertical to the rest of the strata. A large number of these
curious seams occur at different localities, which, doubtless, are caused by fissures in the
strata being filled with a fine sediment by infiltration. A section of the different beds in
descending order at this locality would be- —

-T3

o

CQ

o

pp

G

o

ro

o

O ^3
<D

o?3

EH 'P

r i.

2.

L 3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

I 9-

fio.

11.

Flesh-colored marl. 10 feet.

Bluish laminated clay with a yellowish tinge. 2 feet.

Flesh-colored indurated marl. 15 feet.

Light gray, indurated argillaceous grit, forming a conglomerate of nodules of clay. 4 to 6 feet.
Flesh-colored indurated grit. 20 feet.

Bluish argillaceous grit. 10 inches.

Flesh-colored marl. 4 feet.

Argillaceous grit. 6 to 12 inches.

Flesh-colored marl. 80 feet.

A fine light gray calcareous grit passing down into an ash-colored clay, with micaceous and silicious
sandstone at base tinged with a purplish hue. 80 to 100 feet.

Cretaceous beds Nos. 5 and 4.

In the valley of White river the Cretaceous beds Nos. 5 and 4 are exposed by the erosion
and removal of the overlying Tertiary strata. No. 5 contains numerous fossils in similar
tough argillaceous concretions to those observed on the west side of the Shyenne. All the
calcareous matter has been dissolved away from the fossils, leaving only casts. The upper
portion presents a variety of lithological characters and is destitute of fossils.

Section of Tertiary beds on White river near camp.' October 9th :

1. A calcareous grit, the lower portion seeming to contain more sand and less calcareous matter than the upper.

At this point it has a thickness of about 40 feet, with 40 to 50 feet of Post Pliocene marly grit capping it,
containing numerous freshwater shells identical with living species, like the Loess or Bluff marl near Council
Blufis. A few fragments of turtles and bones and teeth of Oreodon were found in this bed. Bed C, Upper
Miocene.

2. Variegated bed, consisting of alternate layers of dark brown clay and light gray calcareous grits, of which I

counted twenty-one at this locality, varying in thickness from one inch to two feet. 20 feet.

3. Deep flesh-colored marl, contains many concretionary layers of light gray sandstone, which gives the bed a

banded appearance when weathered. The abundance of organic remains commences in this bed and ceases
at the first dark band at the base of bed 6 above. This bed becomes much more arenaceous towards the base.
The lower half contains five layers of concretionary sandstone from four inches to two feet in thickness. 48 feet.

32

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

The above section was taken some distance from the river, and the slope prevented me
from continuing the section through the Titanotherium bed to the Cretaceous strata which
are exposed in the channel of the river.

October 10th. Leaving the valley of White river we proceeded in nearly a southeast
course, ascending gradually to the dividing ridge between White and Niobrara rivers,
where we find the largest development of bed D, which exhibits its usual lithological
characters, but contains very few fossils. This bed has been eroded so that the surface of
the country occupied by it is covered with conical hills, which are often capped with a
considerable thickness of loose material, sand or marl. A similar configuration of the
surface forms the basis of the sandhills, and the wind accumulates the loose sand around
the summits of the hills.

October 11th. Leaving Wounded Knee creek we begin to meet with indications of the
Pliocene beds, which are so well developed on Loup Fork, Platte, and Niobrara rivers. A
conical hill, left after the erosion of the surface around, reveals 42 feet of light gray and
greenish gray fine calcareous grit, containing numerous fragments, of shells and turtles,
bones and teeth of Hipparion , &c. As we approach the Niobrara we find that not only
the valley of the river but the whole country is covered with the Pliocene formation ; and
when the different strata are eroded, either in the channel of the streams or on the hills,
bones and teeth of extinct mammalia and turtles are found. A section of the Pliocene
beds from a vertical cut in the channel of one of the tributaries of the Niobrara presented
the following series of strata :

1. Dark gray or brown, loose, incoherent sand, contains remains of Mastodon and Elephant.

2. A bed of sand gravel with pebbles.

8. A yellowish white calcareous grit with many concretions.

4. Gray grit with a greenish tinge. In this stratum most of the fossils are found.

5. Deep yellowish red arenaceous marl.

6. Yellowish gray calcareous grit with many concretions in layers two to six inches in thickness. Aggregate

thickness 60 to 100 feet.

October 14th. Descended the Niobrara twenty-five miles. Sandhills cover the
surface of the country a little distance from the river, and high vertical bluffs of Pliocene
strata are revealed along the river. The banks of the river as well as those of its tribu¬
taries are very steep and high, and close together, forming deep canons. Where the river
has cut through the Pliocene bed numerous fossils were obtained. Upper Miocene bed
D of the vertical section is not unfrequently revealed in the channel of the Niobrara, pre¬
senting a very irregular outline, showing most conclusively the great erosion that must
have taken place prior to the deposition of the Pliocene beds. The irregularity in the
surface of the Miocene bed D will be more clearly understood by the illustrated section.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

33

About thirty miles above the mouth of Turtle river, the Cretaceous bed No. 4 is revealed
in the channel of the Niobrara, and at the mouth of Turtle river it covers the country
with the exception of here and there an isolated hill composed of Pliocene beds. Turtle
hill, Medicine and Bijoux hills on the Missouri are outliers of this great recent formation.
About forty miles above the mouth of the Niobrara, No. 3 Cretaceous rises above the
water-level, and on the Missouri becomes 60 to 80 feet in thickness. The country along
the Niobrara is for the most part exceedingly sterile. The surface is principally covered
with the movable sandhills, which render travelling very difficult, and very little timber
is seen except a few stunted pines along the banks of the little streams. The valley of the
Niobrara from its mouth for a distance of 30 or 40 miles, has a tolerably fertile soil with
some excellent timber ; but above that point to its source near Fort Laramie, the country,
though not destitute of vegetation, cannot, it seems to me, be considered otherwise than
an uninhabitable desert, fit only for the wild animals of the prairie and the still wilder
Indian.

PART II.

The rocks of Nebraska and Kansas, so far as they are known at the present time, are
referable to the following geological epochs :

I. Granite, Stratified Azoic, and Eruptive Locks.

II. Lower Silurian (Potsdam Sandstone).

III. Carboniferous.

IV. Permian.

V. Jurassic.

VI. Cretaceous.

VII. Tertiary.

VIII. Post Pliocene or Quaternary.

CHAPTER VII.

I. Granite, Stratified, Azoic, and Eruptive Rocks.

In ascending the Missouri river, we meet with no indications of those disturbing in¬
fluences which have wrought such changes in the physical features of the country in the
VOL. xii. — -5

34

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

vicinity of the mountain chains, until we reach a point near the mouth of Little Rocky
Mountain creek, not far above longitude 108°. We then find that the more recent fossili-
ferous rocks are thrown up and tilted at every angle, and not far distant on either hand
we can see the more immediate causes of this disturbance. On our left, about fifteen
miles from the Missouri, the Square buttes rise up out of the midst of the prairie like
gigantic castles, composed of basaltic and other trappean rocks. These buttes are from
500 to 700 feet in height and cover an area of about three miles in circumference, appa¬
rently isolated from the other upheavals in the vicinity. About sixty miles to the west
may be seen the Judith mountains, a much larger and loftier range, which seem to be of
a geological structure similar to that of the Black hills and Laramie mountains. Far in
the dim distance, just on the verge of the horizon, and white as if covered with perpetual
snow, are the Girdle and Snowy mountains, quite formidable outliers of the great Rocky
Mountain range. On our right, about thirty miles from the Missouri river, we observe
the Bear’s Paw and Little Rocky mountains, small isolated ranges, from thirty to fifty
miles in circumference, the highest peaks of which are from 1500 to 2000 feet above the
surrounding prairie. All these isolated upheavals or outliers seem to represent the dying
out of that intense subterranean power which elevated the vast central chain.

If we return and ascend the Shyenne river, the first indication of upheaval which comes
to our notice is Bear’s peak, near longitude 1031°, rising cone-like to the height of 1500
feet above the surrounding country. This peak is also composed of trachytic and basaltic
rocks, and seems to have exposed around its base the fossiliferous beds no lower down
than the Jurassic or the upper portion of the Permian. We can thus form some idea of
the vast area in the northwest, occupied by rocks with strata holding a nearly horizontal
position.

If we pass up the valley of the Platte river from its mouth, near lat. 41°, long.’ 96°, we
find the strata undisturbed until we reach Fort Laramie in lat. 421°, long. 104?°. About
five miles north of the Fort we see the eastern end of a series of ridges formed of numerous
conical peaks from 100 to 700 feet in height, the central nucleus composed of a coarse
flesh-colored feldspathic granite, surrounded by a series of beds of stratified azoic rocks
tilted at all angles. The lowest ridges or more gentle upheavals are usually capped with
beds of Carboniferous limestone, which incline at various angles from 5° to 30°. The
Tertiary formations in this region belong to the later Miocene period, and, as far as I could
ascertain, have not been disturbed in this immediate portion of the country. West of
Fort Laramie, on the south side of the Platte, sixty miles distant, we can see Laramie
peak, the highest elevation in this region.

This immense mass of rock, which is about 7000 feet in height above the surrounding
country, is composed principally of granite, while around its base and sides, as if thrown

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

35

off from the granitic nucleus by the upheaval, is a series of azoic stratified rocks, with
here and there dikes of trap or basalt. These stratified beds consist of gneiss, hornblende,

Fig. 9.

wA’fr- \V. A

micaceous and talcose slates, syenite and white quartz, with other varieties of igneous
rocks. North of Laramie peak, the Platte river cuts through a large thickness of strata,
the lower portion of which is composed of metamorphic rocks, the middle a quartzose
limestone resting unconformably upon the rocks below, and the upper 200 feet or more
formed of beds of limestone charged with Carboniferous fossils ; but along the eastern and
southeastern base of the Laramie range the recent Tertiary beds and drift jut up against
the foot of the mountains, concealing all the fossiliferous rocks. On the south side of the
Platte I observed the Carboniferous beds in but two localities, Warm spring and Cotton¬
wood creek, where they are exposed at each locality over an area of not more than five or
six hundred yards square. Proceeding northward from Fort Laramie we meet with fre¬
quent elevations revealing a nucleus of igneous rocks, while on the sides and summits are
beds of Carboniferous limestone. The highest peak in this direction, forming the eastern
limit of the Laramie group, is Rawhide peak, which is 800 feet high, and has a similar
geological and mineral ogical structure to Laramie peak and Black hills. No Carboniferous
rocks were seen immediately in contact with Rawhide peak. Continuing our course to¬
ward the Black hills the indication of the internal forces which elevated the Laramie range
seem to die out, only comparatively feeble traces remaining to show that the uplift of the
two mountain groups were connected and synchronous. After leaving the Niobrara no
rocks older than the Cretaceous formation No. 1 are seen until we reach the Black hills,

36

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

a group of elevations with a granite nucleus also and surrounded by a series of azoic strata
occasionally penetrated by dikes or outbursts of trappean rocks.

“ The Black bills, or more properly mountains, lying between the forks of the Shyenne
on the 44th parallel, between the 103d and 105th meridians, cover an area of 6000 square
miles. Their bases are elevated from 2500 feet to 3500 feet, and the highest peaks are
about 6700 feet above the ocean level.”* Juya-Kara peak is formed of vertical columns
of basalt surrounded with trachytic rocks, which seem to have been thrown off from the
summit when the columnar mass was protruded. Near Bear peak on the northeastern
side of the Black hills is another example of the protrusion of these basaltic columns, which
are five-sided, the sides varying from eight to twenty inches in width. At this locality
some of the columns lie in nearly a horizontal position, the greater portion, however, in¬
clining at an angle of 20° to 40°.

From our examinations we thus find that the important outliers on the eastern slope of
the Ilocky mountains are formed of a granite nucleus surrounded by a series of azoic strata,
composed of argillaceous and talcose slates, gneiss, syenite, quartzose, and calcareous rocks.
From these facts and from published reports of numerous explorers we think we are war¬
ranted in the conclusion that the great central Ilocky mountain range possesses a similar
geological and mineralogical character. The investigations of Sir John Ilichardson and
Mr. Isbister indicate a striking similarity in the rocks all along the eastern slope from the
Saskachewan to the Arctic sea, and the results of the other explorers show a like resem¬
blance far south to Mexico.

The azoic strata which I have described as resting upon granite on the eastern slope of
the Ilocky mountains appear to be similar in lithological characters and to hold the same
geological position as the azoic rocks so largely developed around Lake Superior and in
Canada.

CHAPTEK VIII.

II. Potsdam Sandstone (Lower Silurian).

The evidence of the existence of this formation in the vicinity of the Rocky mountains
was ascertained for the first time in the summer of 1857, during Lieut. Warren’s explo¬
ration of the Black hills, and first published in a paper read before the Academy of Natu-

* Preliminary Report of Explorations in Nebraska and Dacota, in the years 1S55, ’G, and ’7. By Lieutenant
Warren, Topographical Engineer. Page 67.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

37

ral Sciences, in March, 1858. Its largest development and only fossiliferons condition is
found in the Black hills, where, by upheaval, it is exposed in the form of a narrow belt or
zone engirdling the azoic and -granitic rocks, which form the central nucleus of the eleva¬
tion. I observed no positive indications of this formation in the Laramie mountains or at
Rawhide peak, but in most places the Carboniferous strata rested unconformably upon the
metamorphic rocks, except in a few localities where a quartzose limestone which is ot
doubtful age is interposed. From lithological characters and position, I infer that a series
of beds resting upon metamorphic rocks at the head of Niobrara river, are of the age of
the Potsdam sandstone. Proceeding northward from Fort Laramie, we do not meet again
with this formation until we reach the southeastern side of the axis of elevation, when we
find it resting unconformably upon gneiss, hornblende, argillaceous and talcose slates, &c.,
and composed of a variegated gray and reddish-gray quartzose sandstone, filled with small
plates of mica. Some parts of it are very compact and silicious, others a coarse friable
grit containing seams almost wholly composed of broken fragments of shells cemented
with a fine calcareous grit. The more compact masses contain fossils which are quite
well preserved, among which can be recognized species of Lingula, Obolus , and Trilob lies,
similar to or identical with those found in the Potsdam sandstone in other well-known lo¬
calities. The existence of this formation in some of the important outliers of the Rocky
mountains being established beyond a doubt its geographical distribution in the far A Vest
then becomes a question of the highest interest. AVe are now prepared to believe that it
is exposed by upheaval all along the eastern slope of the mountains to a greater or less
extent, and probably coextensive with the Carboniferous, Permian, Jurassic, and Creta¬
ceous rocks. I will here cite some examples from published reports of beds of sandstone
which correspond both in their lithological characters and position to the Potsdam sand¬
stone of the Black hills. Hall, in Stansbury’s Report, says that Stansbury’s island (Great
Salt lake) is three thousand feet high, capped with Carboniferous limestone, which also
rests upon a coarse sandstone and conglomerate. Again, north of Great Salt Lake city
the limestone overlies a coarse sandstone and conglomerate, which almost invariably ac¬
companies it. In several localities, as at Promontory point and near Mud island, the
metamorphic strata appear to be overlaid by a coarse conglomerate or coarse sandstone,
which is partially altered and assumes the character of a quartz rock. Marcou, in the
third volume of Pacific Railroad Reports, page 156, speaks of a sandstone occurring in the
Aztec mountains. He says: “AAe travelled seven miles upon the granite, and on our
right we found a cliff twelve hundred feet in height. From the base to the middle we
found the granite, then a band of red sandstone (Devonian or Old Red). Above this the
beds of limestone and gray sandstone belonging to the mountain limestone. The following
day we travelled three miles on the granite, the remainder on the Old Red sandstone.

38

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

The diagram showing the order of the superposition of the different rocks would apply
equally well to the similar beds in the Black hills.” Many other less evident indications
of its existence along the base of the Rocky mountains might be cited from published re¬
ports, hut what has been said will be sufficient to show, what we may hereafter expect
with regard to its geographical distribution in the far West.

Hitherto no indications of the existence of any other member of the Silurian period
has been discovered along the eastern slope of the Rocky mountains within the territory
of the United States.

CHAPTER IX.

III. and IV. Carboniferous and Permian Periods.

In a former paper I gave to the Permian rocks of Kansas the position of a distinct
system in the Kansas and Nebraska series. Subsequent examinations have rendered it
somewhat questionable whether they are entitled to the rank of an independent system as
developed in Kansas, but rather should be considered as a continuation upward of the
Carboniferous period. For this reason I have concluded to treat both subjects under one
head. In the first place I will' give a brief history of the discovery of rocks in the West
containing fossils belonging to Permian types and supposed to be on a parallel with the
Permian beds of Europe. The discoveries of Mr. Hawn in Northeastern Kansas were
announced in February, 1858, in a paper read before the Academy of Sciences at St. Louis,
in which a number of new species of fossils were described and others considered as identical
with forms characterizing the Permian rocks of Europe. March 2d of the same year a
paper entitled, “ Descriptions of new organic remains from Northeastern Kansas, indicating
the existence of Permian rocks in that Territory,” was read before the Albany Institute, by
F. B. Meek and the writer, in which were described ten new species of fossils, most of
which seemed to belong to true Permian types. At a meeting of the Academy of Sciences
at St. Louis, March 8th, Dr. Shumard stated that he had been studying a group of fossils
from a white limestone in the Guadalupe mountains of New Mexico, and arrived at the
conclusion that they are of Permian a<fe. He says that several of the species are identical
with Permian forms from England and Russia, also with species obtained from the Per¬
mian rocks in Kansas. In a letter to the Academy of Sciences at St. Louis, dated March
31st, Dr. Norwood announced the discovery of Permian fossils in Illinois; and at the
meeting- of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at Baltimore, in
April, Mr. A. II. Worthen, State Geologist of Illinois, read a paper on the Permian rocks

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

39

of that State, and exhibited a fine collection of fossils which he considered as belonging- to
that system. Prof. Hall, in his Iowa Report, thinks there is some evidence of the occur¬
rence of the same series of rocks in Western Iowa, so that we already have indications of
the existence of the supposed Permian system in Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Illinois,
and Iowa, and future investigations may reveal it in Missouri and other Western States.

During the past summer Mr. F. 13. Meek and the writer made a geological exploration
of that portion of Kansas bordering upon the Kansas river and its tributaries, for the pur¬
pose of attempting to solve the interesting problem of the relations of the Carboniferous
rocks to the supposed Permian strata of that Territory. W e found that all the eastern
portion of that Territory from the Missouri river to longitude 98° was occupied by Car¬
boniferous and Permian rocks, with outliers and overlapping edges of the Cretaceous Red
Sandstone No. 1 of our Nebraska section. The results of our labors were embodied in a
paper* read before the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, January, 1859, from
which I extract the following pages :

The route pursued by us while making these investigations, was first from Leavenworth
city on the Missouri, across the country to Indianola, near the mouth of Soldier creek, on
the Kansas ; thence up the north side of Kansas and Smoky Hill rivers, to the mouth of
Solomon’s fork. Here we crossed the Smoky Hill, and followed it up on the south side
to a point near the ninety-eighth degree of west longitude ; from which point we struck
across the country in a southeast direction to the Santa Fe road, which we followed north¬
eastward to the head of Cottonwood creek. Leaving the road here, we went down the
Cottonwood valley some thirty miles, when we turned across the country nearly due north¬
ward to Council Grove. From the latter place we followed the Santa Fe road back south-
westward about twenty-four miles to a watering-place known as “ Lost Spring here we
again left the road and struck across the country in a northwest direction to Smoky Hill
river, at a point nearly opposite the mouth of Solomon’s fork. We then travelled down
the south side of Smoky Hill and Kansas rivers to Lawrence, where we crossed the
Kansas and proceeded in a northeast direction back to Leavenworth city.

The first outcrop of rocks examined by us during the expedition is at a point just below
the steamboat landing at Leavenworth city. At this place and for some distance above
on the river, the formation is well known to belong to the upper, but not the highest por¬
tions, of the great western coal measures.

The section here near the Leavenworth landing, presents the following beds, in descend¬
ing order :

* Geological Explorations in Kansas Territory. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pa., January, 1859.

40

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

1. Bluish gray clay, exposing a thickness of about

2. Hard gray layer of Fusulina limestone,

3. Yellow laminated clay, .....

4. Hard gray argillaceous limestone with Fusulina,

Feet.

. 3

. n

. 7

. 1

5. Gray fine-grained argillaceous sandstone with fucoidal markings, sometimes contains seams of limestone, 1 to3

6. Gray, green, and blue, rather indurated clay, with sometimes near the base many compact concretions

of limestone, ................ 2

7. Hard light yellowish gray limestone, usually of bluish tinge far in beyond the effects of weathering.
Contains Spirifer cameratus, S. KentucTcensis, S. lineatus, Spirigera suhtilita, Orthisina Missouriensis,
Productus splendent,? ; P. semireticulatus? ; P. pustulosus and Fusulina cylindriea , together with columns

of Crinoids, and spines and plates of Archavcidaris ; also jaws and teeth of Xystr acanthus arcuatus, . 15

8. Dark shale, passing up into gray less distinctly laminated clay, ........ 5

9. Hard dark bluish impure limestone, containing Fusulina cylindriea, Spirigera suhtilita, Productus
Rogersi, P. Pratteuianus, Area carhonaria ? ; an undetermined Monotis, Allorisma ? Leavemvorthensis,

A. suheuneata, Myalina subquadrata, Lcptodomus granosus, and a large Bdlerophon, . . 1£— 2

10. Gray, more or less laminated clay, becoming darker near the upper part, rising above the river, . 11

Attached to the surfaces of bed No. 9 there is usually from one to two inches of soft
dark argillo-calcareous matter containing great numbers of Orthisina crassa, with the un¬
determined species of Pecten , Mytilus, Schizoclus , Pieurotomaria, See.

All this section above No. 7 appears to vary considerably, at different places some of
the beds being entirely wanting, or presenting quite different lithological characters at
other localities not far from here. Owing to the dip of the strata and partly to the fall of
the river, the bed of limestone No. 7, which is elevated eighteen feet above the river where
this section was taken, rises as much as twenty-five feet above the level of the river at a
distance of one mile or less below ; and on following the outcrop of these rocks along the
shore above Leavenworth city, they were found to sink gradually beneath the water, so
that at Fort Leavenworth landing, two miles above (in a north direction from the exposure
first examined), all of beds Nos. 8, 9, and 10, as well as two or three feet of No. 7, were
submerged. Should this dip continue at the same rate, without local undulations, the
whole of No. 7 must pass beneath the river in less than two miles above the Fort.

Immediately above No. 1 of this section, we saw no exposure of rock in place, hut on a
small stream about two and a half miles below Leavenworth city, and perhaps one and a
half miles back from the river, there is an outcrop of soft fine-grained yellow sandstone,
showing a thickness of twenty-four feet, underlaid by a bed of blue clay, of which a thick¬
ness of about four feet was exposed. We had no opportunity to determine the elevation
of these beds above the river with sufficient accuracy to form a definite conclusion whether
or not they hold a position above the section seen near the Leavenworth landing, though
we incline to the opinion that they come in above it.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

41

In ascending the hills back of Leavenworth city we observed no outcrops of rock along
the slopes until near the summit, where at an (estimated) elevation of about two hundred
feet above the highest bed of the section at the river, there is an exposure of hard bluish
gray impure limestone, weathering to a yellowish tinge, the beds of which are separated
at places by partings of clay. Of this rock we saw a thickness of sixteen feet. It is much
used for building purposes, and quarried rather extensively back of Fort Leavenworth.
At one of these quarries, amongst the loose material thrown out by the workmen, we found
specimens of Spirifer cameratus , A. Kentuchensis , S. planoconvexci , S. hemiplicata , Spirigera
subtil ita, Procluctus semireticula tits, P. Norwoodii, Leptodomus TopeJcciensis, Fusulina cylin¬
drica, Terebratula millepunctata , and fragments of Grinoids, with Chcetetes and Fenestella
of undetermined species.

Above the quarry there is a slope of some forty or more feet to the summit of the hills,
apparently occupied by clays ; and the qnarrymen informed us that there is immediately
under the bed of limestone an eight feet bed of clay, beneath which they had made no
excavations.

West of this locality the surface of the country soon descends gradually into a depression
connected on the north with the valley of a small stream flowing into the Missouri above
Fort Leavenworth. In this immediate neighborhood the face of the country is slightly
inclined to be hilly, but the soil is rich, and the long gentle slopes are clothed in the spring
and summer months with a luxuriant growth of prairie grass. From several points near
here we had a fine view of the broad rich valley, with its beautiful groves and scattering
farmhouses along the little stream to the north of ns.

Beyond this the road, after passing over some undulations, ascends to the summit of the
country, which is rich elevated prairie land. At several places near the upper part of the
slopes, some five or six miles from Leavenworth, we met with outcrops of light gray lime¬
stone, apparently in ten to twelve inch layers, containing Fusulina, Product us semireticu-
latus, Chcctctes, and small Cyathophylloid corals. These beds probably belong to the same
horizon as the limestone near the top of the bluffs back of Leavenworth, or may even hold
a higher position.

At Big Stranger creek, some fourteen or fifteen miles west of Leavenworth city, the
following section was observed in descending order :

Feet.

1. Slope, without any exposure of rocks, ............ 60

2. Layers of limestone, weathering yellowish, containing Spirifer cameratus and Fusulina cylindrica, . 8

3. Slope, probably occupied by shale or clay, ............ 40

4. Grayish yellow limestone, with Fusulina cylindrica and Spirigera suhtilita, ...... 5

5. Bluish gray soft shale, or laminated clay with occasional harder sandy seams, . . . . .38

6. Coal immediately overlaid by one inch of cone-in-cone, . . . . . . ... . i

7. Bluish gray laminated clay or soft shale, extending down to the creek, ....... 18

VOL. XII. — 6

42

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Again, on Little Stranger creek, some twelve miles southwest of Leavenworth city, there
is a somewhat similar exposure, containing a twenty inch bed of coal. This bed is worked
to some extent on the land of Mr. Charles Stone, where the following section may be seen
in the descending order :

Feet.

1. Light gray, or bluish gray, soft calcareous sandstone, with harder layers containing much argillaceous

matter, with Productus splendensf, Myalina subquad rata , an undetermined Monotis, and many fucoidal
markings, exposing a thickness of . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

2. Blue laminated clays more or less arenaceous above, .......... 26

6. Coal, .................. If

4. Bluish gray somewhat ferruginous clay rising above the creek, ........ 4

We have no means of determining what relations the rocks composing these two sections
bear to the exposure at Leavenworth, but we think they hold a position between the bed
of limestone seen near the top of the hills back of Leavenworth city, and the upper bed of
the section near the Leavenworth landing.

Between Big Stranger and Grasshopper creeks, the road passes over a beautiful rich
prairie, elevated about 350 or 400 feet above the Missouri. In crossing this prairie we
met with no exposures of rock, the whole being covered by heavy Quaternary deposits,
into which wells have been sunk at several places, from thirty to seventy feet, without
striking solid rock in situ. At one or two places, however, we saw masses of limestone
which had been quarried for building purposes along a little stream two or three miles
north of the road. These contained amongst other fossils Spirifer camera tus, Orthisina
umbraculum ?, Fusulina cylindrical and fragments of Fcnestella , with spines and plates of
Archceocidaris. We had no opportunity to examine the quarry from which this rock was
obtained, but were informed that the bed is some sixty or seventy feet below the summit
of the higher portions of the surrounding country.

In descending from this elevated prairie into the valley of Grasshopper creek, at Osawkee

village, we observed, —

Feet.

1. A bed of hard gray limestone near the summit of the slopes, containing great numbers of Fusulina,, . 8

2. Slope, no rocks exposed, about .............. 55

3. Outcrop of Fusulina limestone, apparently ........... 3

4. Slope, no rocks exposed, ............... 50

5. Gray or bluish gray limestone, weathering yellowish, containing Pleurotorrmria humerosa, P. suhturbinata,

and a large undetermined species of Bellcroplion ; also Allorisma ? Leuvenwortkensis, MyaUna sub-
quadrata, Pinna undt., Spirifer cameratus, S. planoconvexa, and Productus aquicostatus, with great
numbers of Fusulina cylindrica, ............. 3

6. Dark gray indurated clay, ............... 2

7. Rather soft argillaceous limestone, ............. 4

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

4

o

o

The fact that several of the fossils seen here in bed No. 4 are the same species found in
No. 5 of the section at Leavenworth landing, would seem to indicate that these beds
occupy the same geological horizon. It is very difficult, however, to identify the same
beds at different localities amongst these formations in consequence of the fact that the
fossils found in them usually have a great vertical range, and exactly similar strata are
often repeated in various parts of the series. Should it prove to be the case that they do
occupy the same geological horizon, it would show that there is here a gentle eastward
dip; for the lowest bed of this section on Grasshopper creek cannot he less than 100 feet
higher than the base of the section at Leavenworth city.

Still we incline to the opinion that the strata near here, if not almost horizontal or
merely undulating, have a general inclination towards the west, or somewhat north of
west, and that the exposure on Grasshopper creek is composed of much more modern beds
than those near the landing at Leavenworth city. At any rate we saw an exposure at
Lawrence landing, on the Kansas, composed of ledges of limestone, overlaid by clay, and
having a decided dip to the west or north of west, at a rate of not less than fifty feet to
the mile. This limestone consists of an upper hard gray layer, about three feet in thick¬
ness, resting on a soft gray arenaceous bed, of which some one or two feet were visible
above the surface of the river when examined by us. In these beds we saw Spirigera
subtilita, Product us splendens ?, and Myalina subquad rata. Above these, about eleven feet
of gray laminated clay were exposed, the upper part of the bed having a more yellowish
tinge, and containing more arenaceous matter than the lower.

If these beds continue to rise at the same rate towards the east, they must of course run
out on the summit of the highest part of the country not far east of Lawrence ; and the
same inclination to the west or northwest would take them far beneath the horizon of the
base of the section seen on Grasshopper creek.

Above this exposure at Lawrence landing, there is a space of about 160 feet in which
no outcrops were seen excepting some red and blue clays near the upper part of the hills,
back of the town. Just above these clays, some ledges of gray limestone were seen,
apparently altogether about eight feet in thickness, containing Fusulina cylindrical Spiri¬
gera subtilita , and Spirifer cameratus.

West of Grasshopper creek, on both sides of the Kansas, the country becomes lower
near the river, but at a distance of some ten or twelve miles back, on the north side, it
appears to be nearly as elevated as on the east of Grasshopper creek. Between this higher
country and the Kansas there is a plateau, apparently elevated not more than sixty feet
above the broad level prairie bottoms along the river ; while on the south of the Kansas,
some hve or six miles southwest of Topeka, there are some isolated hills, apparently of the
same elevation as the high country north of the Kansas.

44

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

At several places soon after crossing Grasshopper creek, we met with some highly fos-
silifcrons beds along the small streams, at an elevation of apparently about eighty feet
above the Kansas. Below we give a section of these beds seen at a locality some eight
miles southwest of the point where the exposures mentioned on Grasshopper creek were
observed :

Feet.

1. Rough seams and layers of concretionary limestone of bluish tinge with partings of clay, containing Terc-

hralula millepunctata, Sp Rig era suhtilita, Spirifer cameratus, S. KentucJcensis, Rctzia Mormonii ,
Rhynclionella Ufa, Productus Norwoodii, P. splendens?, P. semireticulatus, P. Prattenianus, Orthi-
sina, similar to O. umbracidum, also Fenestella, and Chcetetcs, of undetermined species, ... 4

2. Black shale, shading upwards gradually into laminated blue clay, . . . . . . . 2J

3. Hard blue or gray limestone, with Spirifer cameratus, Spiritjera sultilita, 31/jalina, Pecten, &c., . . 1

4. Bluish gray soft clay, with seams of hard limestone, .......... 3

5. Light gray, somewhat granular limestone, with a few round grains, and very small pebbles of quartz, . 2

At another place on the south side of the Kansas, about twelve miles southwest of the
point where the last section was seen, there is an abrupt bluff near the old Baptist Mission,
composed of the following beds in the descending order :

Feet.

1. Slope, no rocks exposed, ............... 20

2. Hard yellowish gray limestone, with fragments of fossils, ......... 4

3. Slope, no rock exposed, ............... 18

4. Light gray, rather hard, fine-grained sandstone, ........... 3

5. Slope, .................. 20

6. Fine-grained sandstone, in thin layers, not well exposed ; apparently ....... 2

7. Slope, with occasional outcrops of hard gray limestone, ......... 16

8. Yellowish and dark gray laminated clay, or soft shale, with layers and nodular concretions of argillaceous

carbonate of iron, near base,* ............. 90

9. Hard bluish argillaceous limestone, of which there was exposed in the bed of a small stream, not more

than 13 or 15 feet above the river, a thickness of .......... 1

After passing this locality, we heard of a coal mine some three or four miles south of
here, near the base of an isolated hill, known as Shunganunga mound. We did not visit
this mine, but were informed that it is considerably above the summit of the last section,
and that the bed is about eighteen inches in thickness. The coal is said to be of good
quality.

Above here, on both sides of the Kansas, the country continues to be rather low, no part
of it being, apparently, more than two hundred feet above the river. For a long distance
above this there is a beautiful broad level bottom prairie, on the north side of the

* There may be some thin beds of limestone in this portion of the section, as every part of this ninety foot bed
was not well exposed.

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

45

Kansas, extending back from four to six miles, and as much as eighteen or twenty miles
along the river. Bounding this on the north the country rises by a gentle grassy slope
to an elevation of from sixty to about one hundred feet, furnishing the most beautiful sites
for dwelling-houses.

For a considerable distance above the locality where the exposure near the old Baptist
Mission was examined, the hills, especially near the river on the south side, appear to be
mainly composed of rather heavy deposits of laminated clays and shales, with soft sand¬
stones and occasional thin beds of limestone, containing the usual fossils of the Upper Car¬
boniferous series. At the crossing of Mission creek, at an elevation of perhaps not more
than twenty-five or thirty feet above the Kansas, exposures were observed consisting first
above of five feet of light gray laminated clay, resting upon two or three feet of soft yellow
sandstone, which passes down into laminated arenaceous clays, of which some eight or ten
feet were exposed above the creek.

Some fifteen or sixteen miles west of the point where the road crosses Mission creek, at
a locality six or seven miles south of the Kansas, there is a high elevation, known by the
name of Buffalo mound, rising as much as four hundred and fifty or sixty feet above the
river. At one place a large creek, called on the maps Upper Mill creek, sweeps close along
the northern base of this elevation, and has carried away the loose debris so as to leave the
lower strata well exposed The section here beginning at the summit of this hill is, —

Feet.

1. A slope of about 160 feet, along the lower forty feet of which we found loose specimens of Spirifer
camera tus , S. planoconvexa, Retzla Mormonii, Productus splendens ?, Chenetes Verneuiliana , C. mucro-
nata, and Fusulina ci/lindrica, var. ventricosa, with fragments of CJuetetes, Crinoids, &c., of undeter¬
mined species, ................

2. Bluish gray limestone in two layers, the upper of which contains columns of Crinoids, Productus Cal-
hounianus, &c., while Myalina subquadrata, Orthisina 31issouriensis, Allorisma , Pinna, Monotis, &c.,

of undetermined species, occur in the lower, ........... 8

8. Slope, with no exposures of rock, ............. 96

4. Bather hard mottled brown and light gray compact limestone, with a few Crinoid columns; may be

thicker, but only showing a thickness of .......... .3

5. Brown, whitish, and green clays, with rugged white calcareous concretions, . . . . . ■ . 4

6. Fine argillaceous sandstone, with streaks of yellow and brown colors, . . . . . . 1 •}

7. Ash-colored clay, ................ 10

.8. Clays of red or brownish colors above ; blue and green below, . . . . . . . .34

9. Beep brown clay, with rugged concretions of same color, ......... 3

10. Hard light bluish limestone, with some rather large columns of Crinoids, Choneles, Verneuiliana, kc., . 24

11. Brown, ash-colored, and blue laminated clays, which are more or less arenaceous, with near the middle

some 5 or 6 inches black shale, . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

12. Gray and purple argillaceous limestone, with Pinna , Productus , and a few Fusidina, . . . l£

13. Green laminated clay, ............... 4

46

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Feet.

14. Two or three layers of soft fine-grained sandstone, more or less argillaceous, and separated by seams of

day, . 2

15. Bluish and ash-colored clays, . . . . . . . . . . . • • .21

16. Alternate layers of hard bluish gray limestone, and seams of clay with sandy concretions, ... 3

17. Rather hard yellowish limestone, with Fusulina, .......... 24

18. Ash-colored clay, not very well exposed, ............ 15

19. Yellowish impure limestone, with Fusulina, ........... 2

20. Ash-colored laminated clays — above the creek, ........... 5

About three hundred yards below where this section was taken, the creek was observed
to fall nearly a foot, over a ledge of hard limestone ; and one mile further down, the bed of
the creek is composed of a hard yellow limestone, containing great numbers of Fusulina .
At these localities Mill creek is probably not elevated more than thirty feet above the
Kansas.

Near half a mile east or southeast of the point where the Fusulina i limestone was seen
in the bed of Mill creek, and at a somewhat higher elevation, we saw apparently the same
bed of Fusulina limestone, showing a thickness of three feet. Under this there was at one
place exposed a thickness of some four or five feet of very fine yellow sandstone with
minute specks of mica. These exposures indicate a moderate dip of the strata towards
the west or northwest.

On the north side of the Kansas, in a direction a little west of north, and about sixteen
miles from the last-mentioned localities, we observed an outcrop, on a small stream marked
“ Last creek” on the maps, presenting the following section, descending :

Feet.

J. Seams of yellow magnesian limestone, alternating with clay, showing a thickness of about, ... 8

2. Yellow soft granular magnesian limestone, containing Productus Norwood i, and an undetermined species

of Myalina, ................. 4

3. Fine laminated black shale, .............. 1

4. Gray rather soft argillaceous limestone, ............ 1

5. Blue somewhat indurated very fine calcareous clay, containing at its junction with the next bed below CJto-

netes, Synocladia biserial is, Chcetetes, and fragments of Crinoids, ....... 9

6. Seams of hard compact gray limestone, alternating with softer argillo-calcareous matter, and containing casts

of many small Cypr icardia-Wke shells, small Murcliisonia, Pleurotomaria, Macrocliei/us, Naticopsis, Bel-
lerophon, &c., ................ 2

7. Bluish laminated clays weathering to drab color, ........... 4

8. Yellow rather soft granular magnesian limestone, with embedded fragments of harder more compact do., . 54

9. Bluish indurated calcareous clays, ... .......... 3

The base of this section is evidently not elevated much above the Kansas, as it extends
down to the bottom of a deep ravine formed by the creek, while its top appeared to be

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

47

nearly on a level with the surface of the bottom prairie in the Kansas valley. These beds
clip a little to the northwest, and are very similar, especially the magnesian limestones, to
some of the Permian strata holding a position far above this in the series, some consider¬
able distance west of here. Only about three miles further west we saw the following
exposure on Vermilion creek:

Feet.

1. Slope of about fifteen feet, with near the base some ledges of gray limestone, amongst loose fragments of

which we picked up specimens of Spirigera subtilita , Spirlfer hcmiplicata , Productus Norwood ii, and
P. splendens ? ................

2. Slope, no rock seen, ................

3. Soft bluish and gray more or less laminated clays, with irregular sandy seams and concretions,

4. Irregular hard blue calcareous seam one to six inches, ..........

5. Blue clay, .................

G. Soft decomposing more or less laminated sandstone, ..........

7. Blue clay one foot above the creek, .............

15

26

12

1

2
4
1

Almost directly opposite these localities, on the south side of the Kansas, some three or
four miles back from the river, and nearly on a line between the locality where we saw
the exposures on “ Last creek” and Buffalo mound, but considerably below the level of
the summit of the latter, we examined some exposures presenting beneath a slope of about
eighty feet, in descending order :

Feet.

1. Hard bluish gray limestone, of which there was exposed ......... 1

2. Rough yellowish magnesian limestone with cavities lined with chalcedony, ...... 3

3. Bluish and ash-colored clays, ............ 5

4. Layer much like No. 2, ............... 1

5. Yellowish green clay, ............... 20

6. Bluish gray limestone in two layers, the upper of which contains columns of Crinoids, Productus CaJ-

hounianus , &e., while Myalina subquadrata, Orthisina Missouriensis, Allorisma, Pinna, Monotis, &c.,
occur in the lower, ............... 3

7. Bluish and ash-colored clays, exposing a thickness of .......... 5

The bed No. 6 of this section is evidently the same as No. 2 of the section at Buffalo
mound (page 12), though here the dip of the strata has brought it lower. Its elevation
above the Kansas at Buffalo mound must be about two hundred and fifty feet. We had
■no means of estimating very accurately its elevation where the last section was taken,
though we do not think it as much as one hundred and seventy-five feet above the Kansas.

Ten miles farther west, on the same side of the river, along a small stream marked
“ Deep creek” on the maps, at a point some four or five miles back from the Kansas, and
elevated perhaps as much as forty feet above it, some outcrops were examined near Zean-
dale, presenting the following section, descending :

48

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Feet.

100

4

1. Long slope of about one hundred feet, no rocks seen, .........

2. Dark argillaceous limestone, stained with iron, and containing fragments of Crinoids, .

8. Soft decomposing argillaceous limestone, ............

4. Very hard light yellow compact limestone in one massive bed, containing great numbers of Fusulina, also

Productus CaUiounianus, &c., .............

5. Ash-colored laminated clay, ..............

6. Hard decomposing argillaceous limestone with Fusulina, .........

7. Blue, green, and ash-colored clay, .............

8. Gray argillaceous limestone, with more or less ferruginous matter, .......

9. Light bluish clay somewhat laminated, ............

10. "White decomposing argillaceous limestone with Productus CaUiounianus, ......

o

G

22

O

O

18

3

7

1

We heard of a bed of coal some four or five miles above this on the same creek, but
were unsuccessful in an attempt to find the locality where it crops out. We were informed,
however, by Mr. Pillsbury, an intelligent gentleman living at Zeandale, that the bed is
from four to six inches in thickness, and overlaid by about three and a half feet of blue
shale, strongly impregnated with alum. Above the latter he said there is an eight or ten
inch layer of dark argillaceous material, weathering to an iron rust color, and containing
many nodular concretions, — perhaps of carbonate of iron. From the information obtained
in regard to the location and elevation of this coal bed, we are inclined to believe it must
hold a position a little below the horizon of the middle of the slope at the top of the fore¬
going section. It is probably the highest bed of coal in the whole series of this region, —
at any rate we saw no indications of coal above it.

About a mile or a mile and a half north of the locality where this coal bed lias been
seen, the dividing ridge between the Kansas and Deep creek, rises to an elevation of near
three hundred and twenty feet above the latter stream at the nearest point. Here at the
summit of this ridge there are some thin outcrops of gray and whitish argillaceous lime¬
stone, showing on weathered surfaces a somewhat laminated structure, and containing at
places large spines of a species of Archceocidaris ; beneath this there is about two feet of
gray fragmentary limestone reposing on a more compact bed of hard gray limestone near
three feet in thickness, and often cellular in the middle. Along the slope, about one
hundred and twenty feet below the horizon of these beds, we found loose specimens of
Spirifer camemtus, Orthisina umbraculam ?, Rlnjnchonella Ufa, Adorisma, Synoclctdia
biserialis , &c. Just below these, there were many loose slabs of light yellowish fine¬
grained calcareous sandstone, containing Productus , Pecten, and Fucoidal markings.
About forty-seven feet lower down the slope, and near one hundred and fifteen feet above
the level of the Kansas, there is an exposure of light grayish yellow granular limestone,
showing a thickness of three feet, in which we only saw fragments of a Clionetes , and

OF THE UPFER MISSOURI.

49

Crinoid columns : large tabular masses of this rock were strewed along the slope for some
distance hclow.

At the mouth of the Big Blue river, on the south side of the Kansas, there is an abrupt
bluff, along which several slides have exposed many of the beds composing the high ridge
mentioned six or seven miles below here. The dip, however, of the strata towards the
west or northwest is so great that the limestone containing spines of Archceocirfaris , seen
on the summit of the ridge below this, at an elevation of about 320 feet above the Kansas,
is here, opposite the mouth of the Big Blue river, only elevated about 214 feet above the
Kansas; consequently the three feet of grayish yellow limestone cropping out 115 feet
above the Kansas along the slope of the ridge above mentioned, at the mouth of the Blue
river, has sunk beneath the level of the Kansas.

This far we have scarcely attempted to draw parallels between the various beds seen by
us at different places, in consequence of the fact that our observations were isolated, as
must necessarily be the case in a mere reconnoissance, extended over a large area in a
short space of time. In addition to this, the group of rocks examined presents no exten¬
sive beds of limestone or other hard material, forming well-marked horizons, or continuous
lines of outcrop, by which the relations between strata seen at different localities could be
traced out. This difficulty is also greatly increased by the frequent repetition of precisely
similar beds at different horizons in the scries, and above all by the great vertical range of
the organic remains. Consequently we have preferred to present separately the local sec¬
tions examined, instead of attempting to construct a continuous general vertical section
showing the order of superposition of the various strata. To do this successfully through¬
out all the various rocks of the whole Kansas valley would require much more time than
we had at our command.

As our examinations along the Kansas and Smoky Hill rivers above this point were
made in more detail, where the outcrops were more frequent and continuous, we have, as
we believe, been able to trace out the connections and order of succession of the various
strata with considerable accuracy. Hence, we give below a general section of the rocks
in this region, commencing with the Cretaceous sandstones on the summits of the Smoky
hills, lat. 38° 30' N., long. 98° W., and descending through the various intermediate for¬
mations seen along the Smoky Hill and Kansas rivers, to the base of the bluff already
mentioned, opposite the mouth of Big Blue river, on the Kansas. It is true, there are a
few gaps in this section, where we were unable to see the beds along some of the slopes,
but as we know the position in the series, as well as the extent of these gaps, it will be
easy to determine, when a greater number of exposures have been examined, the nature
of the beds occupying them.

VOL. xii. — 7

50

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

200

15

General section of the Roclcs of Kansas Valley from the Cretaceous doivn, so as to include portions of the Upper

Coal measures.

Feet.

1. Red, brown, and yellowish, rather coarse-grained sandstone, often obliquely laminated, and containing

many ferruginous concretions; also, fossil wood and many leaves of dicotyledonous trees, some of which
belong to existing genera, and others to genera peculiar to the Cretaceous epoch. Locality, summit of
Smoky hills, ................. 60

2. Whitish, very fine-grained argillaceous sandstone, underlaid by bluish purple and ash-colored clays.

Locality same as preceding, . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

3. Long, gentle slope, with occasional outcrops of ash-colored red, blue, and whitish, more or less laminated
clays, with thin beds of sandstone. Locality same as preceding, and extending doivn at places nearly
or quite to the bluffs of Smoky Hill river ; thickness about ........

4. Red sandstone, with some layers of hard, light gray calcareous, do., and both containing ferruginous con¬
cretions. Locality , bluffs of Smoky Hill river, five or six miles above Grand Saline river. Probably
local, thickness seen about ..............

5. Bluish, red, light yellow, and gray clays, and soft claystones, with sometimes a few thin layers of mag¬
nesian limestone. In many places these clays have been traversed in every direction by cracks, into
which calcareous and argillaceous matter have found their way, and subsequently become consolidated so
as to form thin seams of impure yellowish limestone, which cross and intersect each other at every angle.

The red clays are usually less distinctly laminated, contain more arenaceous matter, and often show
ripple-marks on the surfaces. Locality, Bluffs along Smoky Ilill river, above the mouth of the Grand
Saline, .................

6. Light gray, ash-colored, and red clays, sometimes arenaceous, and often traversed by cracks, filled with
calcareous matter as in the bed above, — alternating with thin layers and seams of gypsum. Locality,
near mouth of Smoky Ilill river, .............

7. Rather compact amorphous white gypsum, with near the base disseminated crystals, dark-colored do.

Locality same as last, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4$ to 5

Alternations of ash-colored, more or less arenaceous clays, with thin beds and seams of gypsum above;
towards lower part, thin layers of claystone, and at some places soft magnesian limestone. Locality same
as last, ..................

Rough conglomerated mass, composed of fragments of magnesian limestone and sandstone, with sometimes
a few quartz pebbles, cemented by calcareous and arenaceous matter; variable in the thickness and
probably local. Locality, south side of Smoky Ilill river, ten or twelve miles below Solomon's fork, seen

10. Bluish, light gray, and red laminated clays, with seams and beds of yellowish magnesian limestone, con¬
taining Monotis Hawni, Myalina perattenuata, Pleurophorus ? subcuneata, Edmondia? Calhouni,
Hecten undt., and Spirigera near S. subtilita ; also Nautilus eccentricus, Bakevellia parva, Leda sub-
scitula, Axinus rotundatus, and undetermined species of Bellerophon , Murchisonia , &c. Locality, near
Smoky Hill river, on high country south of Fort Riley, as well as on Cottonwood creek,

11. Light grayish and yellow magnesian limestone, in layers and beds, sometimes alternating with bluish and

other colored clays, and containing Solemya, a Myalina near M. squamosa, Pleurophorus? subcuneata,
Bakevellia parva, Pecten undt., and a Euomphalus near E. rugosus; also, a Spirigera allied to S. sub¬
tilita, but more gibbous, Ortliisina umbraculum?, O. Shumardiana, &c. Locality, summit of the lulls,
near Fort Riley and above there ; also seen on Cottonivood creek, . . . . . . 25 to 35

60

40

8

9

50

18

90

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

51

Feet.-

12. Light grayish yellow, rather granular magnesian limestone, containing spines and plates of Archseoci-
dctrts ; a few fragments of small Crinoid columns, Spirifer similar to S. lineatus , but perhaps distinct;
also same Spirigera seen in beds above, OrtMsina Shumardiana , O. umbraculum ? and Productus
Calhounianus. Forms distinct horizon near summit of hills in vicinity of Fort Riley , also seen on
Cottonwood creelc, . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . 7 to 8

18. Soft argillo-calcareous bed, apparently local. Kansas falls , ........ 5

14. Light grayish and yellowish magnesian limestone, containing many concretions of flint, also the same

Spirigera found in beds above, and Productus Norwoodi, P. Calhounianus, with Piscina tenuilineata
and an undetermined Mono t is. Fort Riley and below, also at Kansas falls and on Cottonwood creelc, . 38

15. Alternations, bluish, yellowish and brown clays, with a few thin seams of limestone. Fort Riley, Kan¬
sas falls ; also below Fort Riley, and on Cottonwood creelc , ........ 35

16. Light yellowish magnesian limestone, containing Fucoidal markings, fragments of small Crinoid columns,

Pecten, Allorisma , Spirigera, Orthisina umbraculum?, 0. Shumardiana, Piscina tenuilineata, &c.
Lower quarry at Fort Riley, and at other places above and below Fort Riley, as well as on Cottonwood
creelc, ................. 4 to

17. Alternations of blue, red, and light gray clays, with sometimes thin layers and seams of magnesian lime¬
stone. Fort Riley, ............... 28

18. Light gray and whitish magnesian limestone, containing Spirigera, Orthisina umbraculum ?, 0. Shu¬
mardiana, Productus Calhounianus, Acanthocladia Americana, and undt. sp. Cyathocrinus. Lower
part containing many concretions of flint. Fort Riley and on Cottonwood creelc. Whole thickness about 40

19. Brown, green, and very light gray clays, alternating; contains near the upper part fragments of Crinoid

columns, Synocladia biserialis, Spirigera, Productus Norwoodi, Chonetes mucronata, Orthisina Shu¬
mardiana, Orthisina umbraculum, &c., with teeth of Petalodus Alleglianiensis. Fort Riley, . . 14

20. Alternations of rather thin layers of light yellowish magnesian limestone, and various colored clays; the

limestone layers containing Monotis, Synocladia biserialis, &e. Locality same as last, . . .33

21. Slope, no rocks seen. Below Fort Riley, ........... 25

22. Whitish, or very light gray magnesian limestone, rendered porous by cavities left by the weathering out
of numerous Fusulina. This is the highest horizon at which any remains of Fusulina were met with.

Some four miles below Fort Riley, along a creelc on the south side of the Kansas, and apparently not

more than ten feet above it, .............. 2

23. Bluish, light gray, and brown clays, with occasional layers of magnesian limestone. Chonetes mucro¬
nata, Orthisina umbraculum ?, Monotis, Fusulina, &c. Ten miles below Fort Riley, . . .35

24. Hard, very light yellowish gray magnesian limestone, with Fusulina, and spines of Archceocidaris.

Forms a marked horizon near the same locality as last, ......... 6

25. Slope, with occasional exposures, thin layers of Fusulina, limestone, and seams of gray limestone contain¬
ing Myalina, Monotis, Pecten, and fragments of Synocladia biserialis. Near same locality as last, . 36

26. Light gray argillaceous limestone, showing on weathered surfaces a somewhat laminated structure ; con¬
tains large spines of Archceocidaris. Near Ogden ferry and Manhattan, ..... 9

27. Gray limestone, often fragmentary, with much clay above ; lower part hard, and more or less cellular in

middle. Locality same as last, ..... ........ 5

28. Whitish clays and claystones, with a thin layer of hard compact gray limestone near the middle. Lo¬
cality same as last, ............... 10

29. Light greenish indurated clays. Same locality, .......... 3

52

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

30. Hard, heavy-bedded, white argillaceous limestone, containing Monotis and Avicula. Ogden ferry, and

below there , .... ............. 5

31. Very thinly laminated dark green shale. Three miles nearly east of Ogden ferry , on McDowell's

creek • also at Manhattan on the Kansas, ........... 1

32. Light greenish and flesh-colored hard argillaceous limestone, with Spirifer cameratus. This is the

highest horizon at which we found this species. Same localities, ....... 3

33. Alternations of bluish, green, and red, more or less calcareous laminated clays, light gray limestones and

claystones, with Pecten, Monotis, and fragments of Crinoid columns. Same localities, . . .30

34. Alternations of bluish, purple, and ash-colored calcareous clays, passing at places into claystones, and con¬

taining in a thin bed near the middle, Spirifer planoconvexa, Spirigera sultilita, Product us splendens ?,
Rhynchonella Uta, &c. Locality same as preceding, ......... 12

35. Blue, light gray, and greenish clays, with occasional harder seams and layers of cla3Tstone and limestone.

Same locality, ................ 33

36. Somewhat laminated claystone of light gray color, with more or less calc spar near lower part. Manhattan, 19

37. Alternations of dark gray and blue soft decomposing argillaceous limestone, with dark laminated clays, or
soft shale, containing great quantities of Fusulina cylindrica, F. cylindrica var. ventricosa, Piscina
Munhattanensis, Ohcetetes, and fragments of Crinoids; also, Chonetes, Verneuiliana, C. mucronata,
Productus splendens ?, Retzia Mormonii, Rhynchonella Uta, Spirigera sultilita, Spirifer cameratus,

S planoconvexa, Enomplialus near E. rugosus, and Synocladia Lise rial is ; also Cladod us occidental is.

Locality, same as last, . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

38. Soft bluish shale, with yellow laminated arenaceous seams below, containing Fucoidal markings. Same

locality, ................. 25

39. Two layers gray argillo-calcareous rock, separated by two feet of dark green and ash-colored clays. The

calcareous beds contain fragments of Crinoids, Chonetes, and Myalina of undetermined species. Same
locality as last, ................ 4 ?

40. Light greenish, yellow, and gray clays and claystones, extending down nearly to high water mark of the

Kansas, opposite the mouth of Blue river, ........... 27

The foregoing general section of the strata seen along the valley of Kansas and Smoky
Hill rivers, from the mouth of Blue river to the 98th degree of west longitude, is presented
in its present form more with a view of illustrating the vertical range of the organic re¬
mains found in these rocks, than as an attempt to group the beds into formations that may
he expected to preserve their distinctive lithological characters throughout areas of any
great extent. As this has necessarily been done from a knowledge of only a portion of
the fossils characterizing these strata, it is quite probable, when more extensive collections
are obtained, that it may he found necessary, even on this principle, to classify and group
the beds somewhat differently. We are also aware that some of these beds probably in¬
crease or diminish greatly in thickness, or may even entirely thin out, at no very great
distances from the localities where we saw them.

Among the more peculiar features of the series of rocks represented by this general
section, and in part by the preceding local sections, may be mentioned, first, the great

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

53

number of thin layers and beds ; and secondly, the frequent repetition of similar beds at
various horizons. Again, the almost entire absence of heavy massive strata of limestone,
or other hard material possessing sufficient durability to form perpendicular escarpments
of much extent, is worthy of note. As a general thing, the limestones vary from only a
few inches in thickness, to from one to three or four feet, and rarely, as in Nos. 14 and 18,
attain a thickness of from thirty-eight to forty feet. Although various light-colored lami¬
nated clays and soft argillaceous shalv beds predominate, and arenaceous material is not
unfrequently present, it is somewhat remarkable that dark bituminous shales and beds of
coal are rarely met with, even among the outcrops seen along the Kansas, below the mouth
of Blue river, belonging to the upper Coal measures, and holding a position below the base
of the foregoing general section ; while through a considerable thickness of beds belonging
to higher portions of the Coal measures included in the lower part of this section, as well
as through the strata containing Permian fossils above, beds of coal and dark carbonaceous
shales appear to be almost, if not entirely wanting.

It will be observed we have in this general section, without attempting to draw lines
between the systems or great primary divisions, presented in regnlar succession the various
beds with the fossils found in each, from the Cretaceous sandstone on the summits of the
Smoky hills, down through several hundred feet of intermediate doubtful strata, so as to
include the beds containing Permian types of fossils, and a considerable thickness of rocks
in which we find great numbers of upper Coal measure forms. We have preferred to give
the section in this form because, in the first place, the upper Coal measures of this region
pass by such imperceptible gradations into the Permian above, that it is very difficult to
determine, with our present information, at what particular horizon we should draw the
line between them, while, on the other hand, it is equally difficult to define the limits
between the Permian and beds above, in which we found no fossils.

Beginning near the base of this section, we find we have in great numbers the following
well-known and widely distributed Coal measure fossils, viz. : Fusulina cylindrical Clio-
netes Verneuiliana, Productns splendens (or a closely allied species), Retzia Mormonii, Rliyn-
clionella Ufa, Spirigcra subtilitu , Spirifer cameratus, S. planoconvex a, and a Euomplialus
similar to E. rugosns of the Coal measiyes, while the few new and undetermined species
associated with these are, for the most part, also decidedly more nearly allied to Carboni¬
ferous than Permian forms. We should here remark, however, that we occasionally met
with a species of Mono t is, allied to the Permian species M. Speluncaria and Synocladia
bisericdis , also regarded in the Old World as a Permian genus, at horizons far beneath the

* In Russia, Fusulina cylindrica is said to occur only in the upper part of the lower Carboniferous series; but
the fossil generally referred to that species in this country appears to be confined to the Coal measures. We have
some doubts in regard to its identity with the Russian species.

54

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

base of this section, between Manhattan and the Missouri. We even found a single
specimen of this Monotis as low down as bed No. 9 of the section taken near the landing
at Leavenworth city, which must occupy a position several hundred feet below the lowest
beds of the above section. Still as this shell is very rare in these lower rocks, and the
Synocladia is a distinct species from the well-known Permian form of the Old World,
while they are both, at these horizons, associated with great numbers of the common well-
known Coal measure species, we can only regard their presence in these beds as establishing
the existence of these genera at an earlier period in this country than in the Old World.
This, it seems to us, is more philosophical than it would be to place all this great thickness
of strata, with their vast numbers of well-known Coal measure species, in the Permian,
merely because we also find with these occasionally a few forms which would in the Old
World be regarded as characteristic of the Permian epoch.

Taking it for granted, then, that we have carried this section down far enough to include,
not only all the beds containing almost exclusively Permian forms, but a considerable
portion of the upper Coal measures, it will be interesting to notice, as we ascend in the
series, how far each of the Coal measure species mentioned in the lower part of the section,
as well as of a few others that occur above and below, range upwards. Thus we see that
Fusulina cylindrica var. ventricosa, Chonetes Verneuiliana, and Retzia Mormonii , were not
met with above division No. 37 ; while Spiv if er planoconvexd , Productus splendens ?, and
Rhynchonella TJtct , were not observed above 34, nor Spirifer cameratus above 32. Fusulina
cylindrica , of the slender variety so common in the Coal measures of Kansas and Missouri,
was not seen above 22 ; nor was any species or variety of that genus observed above this
horizon.

Apparently the same species of Monotis , mentioned at various horizons far beneath, were
occasionally met with in 30, 25, 23, and 20, generally associated with the same species of
Synocladia, ranging far down into the upper Coal measures. In division No. 19, we again
met with the Synocladia biserialis, and a Spirigerct allied to S. subtilita, if not identical,
along with a new species of Chonetes we have called C. mucronata, which ranges down
into the beds near the base of the section. Along with these were also Productus Nor-
icoodii and Orthisina Shumardicina , both of which are common in the Coal measures far
below, and a large Orthisina similar to 0. umbraculum, but apparently more finely striate.

Ascending through the intermediate beds to No. 12, we continue to meet with nearly
all the species mentioned in 19, with the exception of Chonetes mucronata. We also have,
first in 18, a large species of Productus, called P. Calhounianus by Professor Swallow;
very similar to some varieties of P. semi ret iadatus, but thought by Prof. S. to present well-
marked internal differences. There is likewise added in 16 a large Allorisma, and a
Spiriger similar to S. subtilita, but much more gibbous; and in 14, Piscina tenuilineatus,

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

55

together with apparently the same Monotis , so often mentioned below. In 12, we also
have added a small Spirifer , similar to S. lineatus , hut perhaps more nearly allied to the
Permian species Martinia Clannyana , King.

The succeeding bed above, No. 11, appears also to contain a mingling of Permian with
Coal measure forms, for we have in it the following Permian types, viz. : Myalina very
similar to M. squamosa, Pleurophorus ? subcuneata, Balcevellia parva , and Monotis Haumi,
along with a Euomphalus near E. rugosus , the same gibbous Spirigera, similar to S. sub¬
til ita, Orthisina umbraculum?, and 0. Shumardiana.

On passing into the next division above, No. 10, we find we have lost sight of all the
characteristic Carboniferous forms, unless the Spirigera mentioned in some of the beds
below be regarded as only a variety of S. subtil ita, from which, however, we think it
specifically distinct; for with this exception, nearly all the fossils seen by us in this divi¬
sion are such as would be regarded as Permian types. Although the number of species
found by us in No. 10 is not great, individual specimens are often numerous. Above this
horizon we saw no more fossils through a great thickness of various colored clays, clay-
stones, &c., until ascending to the Cretaceous sandstones crowning the Smoky hills.

If we do not admit the existence in this region of an intermediate group of rocks, con¬
necting by slight gradations the Permian above with the Coal measures below, and must
draw a line somewhere, below which all is to be regarded as Carboniferous, and all above
as Permian, we should certainly, upon palaeontological principles alone, carry this line up
as far as the top of division No. 11. The passage from the Carboniferous to the strata
containing Permian types, however, is so gradual here, that it seems to us no one, under¬
taking to classify these rocks without any knowledge of the classification adopted in the
Old World, would have separated them into distinct systems, either upon lithological or
palaeontological grounds, especially as they are not, so far as our knowledge extends, sepa¬
rated by any discordance of stratification, or other physical break.* Indeed, the fact that
some of the Permian types occurring in No. 10, were first introduced in beds below this,
containing many Carboniferous species, would seem to indicate that even No. 10 may
possibly have been deposited just before the close of a period of transition from the condi¬
tions of the Carboniferous, to those of the Permian epoch.

The apparent absence of fossils in the beds above No. 10, renders it impossible, with
our present information, to determine with certainty the upper limits of the series contain-

* We have been informed by Dr. J. G, Norwood, former State Geologist of Illinois, that the rocks in that State,
referred by him and others to the same epoch as the Kansas Permian beds, rest unconformably upon the Coal
measures. This, however, would be impossible in Kansas, since no disturbances of the strata occurred there, until
after the close of the Cretaceous era, which would, of course, not only cause the Cretaceous and Carboniferous, but
all intermediate beds, to dip at the same angle.

56

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

ing Permian forms. It is true there is at places a kind of conglomerated mass, occupying
the horizon No. 9, which might appear to form a natural line of division between the beds
containing the Permian fossils, and those above, in which we found no organic remains ;
but this seems to be local, and although there is a new feature presented by the zone of
gypsum deposits above it, we find between the beds and layers of gypsum, and far above
the horizon at which they occur, bluish, greenish, and other colored clays, not only similar
to those between the beds and layers of limestone containing the Permian fossils in divi¬
sion No. 10, but also precisely like the laminated clays between the beds of limestone of
the upper Carboniferous series far below. Again, in these clays of the gypsum zone, as
well as through a considerable thickness of clays above it, there are occasional seams of
claystone, which sometimes pass into seams of magnesian limestone, exactly like some of
those containing Permian fossils, in division No. 10. We saw no fossils in these seams
amongst the gypsum-bearing beds, nor higher in the series, but it is probable they may
yet be found in some of the more calcareous portions.

Another fact apparently indicating some kind of relation between the gypsum-bearing
beds, as well as some of the higher deposits, and the rocks below, is, that we often find,
both in the clays between the beds of gypsum, and those between the limestone containing
the Permian fossils, the same peculiar appearance, caused by the cracking of the clays and
subsequent infiltration of calcareous matter, seen in division No. 5. At some places the
thin plates of limestone formed by the impure calcareous matter filling these cracks, may
be seen ramifying through some rather thin beds of these clays in all directions, so as to
cross and intersect each other at every angle. Where beds of this kind have been ex¬
posed for any length of time along near the tops of bluffs, the softer clays filling the inter¬
stices often weather out, so as to have a curious cellular mass, with the numerous angular
cavities.

From these facts we are inclined to suspect, — though we are fully aware that it is a
question which can only be determined upon evidence derived from organic remains,- — that
not only the gypsum-bearing deposits, but a large portion, if not all, of division No. 5,
belongs to the same epoch as the beds containing the Permian fossils below.

Between No. 5 and the Cretaceous above, there is still a rather extensive series of beds
in which we found no organic remains ; these may be Jurassic or Triassic, or both, though,
as we have elsewhere suggested, we rather incline to the opinion that they may prove to
belong to the former. As we have fully discussed the question in regard to the Cretace¬
ous age of the highest division of the foregoing section in a paper read before the Academy
in December last, and in an article in the American Journal of Science, January, 1859, it
is unnecessary for us to add anything further on that subject here.

As already stated, our observations along the Kansas valley, to within twelve or four-

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

57

teen miles of the mouth of the Big Blue river, were too isolated to determine in all cases
the relations between outcrops seen at different places. Consequently, although we saw
at several points along this part of the valley indications of a westward or northwestward
inclination of the strata, we were left in some doubt whether or not there is a general in¬
clination of the rocks in that direction, between Wabounse and the Missouri. Above this
point, however, our observations being more connected and the exposures more continuous,
we were able to determine very satisfactorily that there is at least from near Wabounse, a
uniform dip towards the west or northwest, so that in ascending the Kansas valley from
this region we are constantly meeting with more and more modern rocks, as those we leave
behind pass beneath the level of the Kansas.

To illustrate this more clearly, we would, in the first place, remark that a bed of light
grayish yellow granular magnesian limestone, occupying a horizon about 115 feet above
the Kansas, two or three miles west of Zeandale, passes beneath the level of the Kansas
before reaching the mouth of the Big Blue river, a distance of near seven miles ; while
another bed (No. 26 of the foregoing section) seen on the very summit of the hills two or
three miles north of Zeandale, at an elevation of about 320 feet above the Kansas, was
observed opposite Manhattan at the mouth of Big Blue river, only some 214 feet above
the Kansas. Again, bed No. 12 of the foregoing general section, which was seen at a
locality nearly opposite Ogden, at an elevation of about 363 feet above the Kansas, is at
Fort Biley, eight or nine miles further west, elevated only some 215 feet above the
Kansas. Above Fort Biley this bed forms a marked horizon, and can be followed by the
eye without interruption for several miles along the hills on both sides of the river. We
observed it gradually sinking as we ascended the Kansas valley, until at a point on
Chapman’s creek, some fifteen miles a little south of west from Fort Biley, we saw it
nearly down on a level with the Kansas ; beyond this it was not again met with on the
north side of the Kansas, but we saw it at somewhat higher elevations on the south side
of the river a little west of this.

As the distance by an air-line, from the locality nearly opposite Ogden, where this rock
occupies a horizon at an elevation of 363 feet above the Kansas, to the mouth of Chap¬
man’s creek, is about 23 miles, the dip would appear to be not far from 15 i feet to the
mile. It must be borne in mind, however, that the average fill of the Kansas, — at least
below Fort Biley, — according to the barometrical observations of Col. Fremont and others,
is near one and a half feet to the mile, and that if we assume the distance by the windings
of the river between Chapman’s creek and Ogden, to be about thirty miles, it would make
the elevation of the Kansas at the former locality some forty-five feet greater than at
Ogden, which would reduce the dip to a fraction less than 14 feet to the mile. Still as
the direction of the dip in this region is to the north of west, and the direction of the

VOL. XII. — 8

58

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

mouth of Chapman’s creek from Ogden is considerably south of west, it is probable the
inclination of the strata here is greater than the above figures would indicate, and that it
may not be less than twenty feet to the mile, in a northwest direction.

From the foregoing statements it will be seen that in consequence of the dip of the
strata to the northwest, and in some slight degree to the fall of the Kansas and Smoky
Hill rivers, the whole of the foregoing general section below No. 12 passes beneath the
level of the Smoky Hill, between the mouth of Blue river and Chapman’s creek. Conse¬
quently, the limestones of the succeeding beds above being thinner and less durable than
those below, and separated by heavy beds of clay, wc find, as might be expected, that the
country here in the region of the mouth of Chapman’s creek, is much lower than at Fort
Riley and below.

On reaching the mouth of Solomon’s fork, we found the face of the country characterized
by long gentle grassy slopes, no part of it near the river being apparently elevated more
than about 60 or 70 feet above its surface. A short distance beyond this, we caught the
first glimpse of the Smoky hills, which were seen in a direction a little south of west from
us, rising above the surrounding low country like dark blue clouds above the horizon.
On approaching these, we found them always situated several miles back from the river,
and rising some three hundred and fifty feet above it. The immediate bluffs of the river
here, are generally composed of divisions No. 4 and 5 of the foregoing general section, and
that portion of these hills above the level of the summits of the bluffs along the river, is
made up of division Nos. 3, 2, 1, of the same section. On the south side of the river these
hills have but a comparatively thin capping of the sandstone No. 1, but on the north side
we saw it showing a thickening on some of them of sixty feet.

From some of these hills on the north side of Smoky Hill river, between it and the
Grand Saline, we had an extensive and beautiful view of the surrounding country. In
the north and northwest, many similar hills were in sight, and as the dip of the strata here
is in that direction, it is probable some of them are not only chiefly made up of the sand¬
stone No. 1, but surmounted by the other Cretaceous beds Nos. 2 and 3 of the Nebraska
Cretaceous series ; indeed, Mr. Engleman found all these formations occupying this relation
on Republican river, not more than seventy miles north of this.*

Although this paper is merely designed to give a brief sketch of the leading geological
features of those portions of Northeastern Kansas visited by us, we cannot close it without
alluding to the truly great agricultural and other natural resources of this new and inte¬
resting territory. We mean no disparagement to other portions of the Mississippi valley,
when we state, that after having travelled extensively in the Great West, and after having

* See Report of Secretary of War, Dec. 5tli, 1857, page 497.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

59

seen many of its most favored spots, we have met with no country combining more attrac¬
tive features than Kansas territory. Her geographical position gives her a comparatively
mild and genial climate, intermediate between the extremes of heat and cold, while the
rich virgin soil of her beautiful prairies is admirably adapted to the growth of all the great
staple grain and root crops of the West.

It is true that in some districts there is rather a deficiency of timber, but as a general thing
there is along the streams sufficient for the immediate wants of the country. In addition
to this, the wonderful rapidity with which forests are known to have sprung up on similar
prairie lands in Missouri, as the country became settled so as to keep out the annual fires,
shows that the present scarcity of timber should not be regarded as presenting any serious
obstacle to the settlement of the most extensive prairie district in Kansas.

Before going out into the interior of the Territory, we had expected to find the whole
country immediately west of Fort Biley comparatively sterile; on the contrary, however,
we were agreeably disappointed at meeting with scarcely any indications of decreasing
fertility as far as our travels extended, which was about sixty miles west of Fort Kiley.
Flere we found the prairies clothed with a luxuriant growth of grass, and literally alive
with vast herds of buffalo, that were seen quietly grazing as far as the eye could reach in
every direction. Even on the high divide between the Smoky Ilill and Arkansas rivers,
south of this, we found the soil rich and supporting a dense growth of grass ; and from all
we could learn from persons who have gone further out, the same kind of country extends
for a long distance beyond this, towards the west. Hence we infer that the belt of un¬
productive lands between the rich country on the east, and the eastern base of the Ilocky
mountains on the west, is much narrower than is generally supposed ; and even this so-
called desert country is known to possess a good soil, which may be rendered fruitful by
artificial irrigation.

In regard to the mineral resources of Kansas, we have at present only time and space
to say a few words. As already stated, coal is known to exist, though its extent is not
yet fully determined, at several localities in the region of Leavenworth city, while the
geological structure of the country, as well as discoveries already made, warrant the con¬
clusion that this important and useful mineral abounds at many localities south of there.
Limestone suitable for building purposes, and the production of quicklime, exists through¬
out large areas, while inexhaustible beds of gypsum are known to occur at several places
not far west of the mouth of Solomon’s river. Near this place we likewise saw in the
lower Cretaceous rocks crowning the summits of the Smoky hills, deposits of iron ore, but
were unable to determine, in the limited time at our command, whether or not it exists in
large quantities.

Of the discoveries of gold in the mountains on the western borders of Kansas, much has

60

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

been said ; nothing, however, but a thorough geological survey, by authority of the Terri¬
torial or State government (for Kansas must soon be a State), can lay before the public
such full, accurate, and reliable information on these subjects as will bring from the older
States the capital, skill and enterprise necessary to develop the great natural resources of
the country.

Leaving the Territory of Kansas we find that the southeastern portion of Nebraska is
underlaid by limestones of the upper Coal measures. Having already described these
rocks in detail as they occur in Nebraska in a preceding chapter, I shall simply allude to
them here in a general way. The town of De Soto is the highest point known on the
Missouri river where these limestones are exposed. Ascending the valley of the Platte
river we find them quite well developed as far as the mouth of the Elkhorn, where they
pass beneath the water level of the river and are succeeded by the sandstone of Cretaceous
formation No. 1. Both the fossiliferous contents and lithological characters of these lime¬
stones show that they form the northwestern continuation of the series of rocks which seem
to be distributed to a greater or less extent over Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri,
Ohio, and portions of Pennsylvania. Leaving De Soto the Carboniferous limestones do
not again appear along the Missouri river until we reach the vicinity of the mountains,
where it is probable that they are revealed in the form of outcropping belts around the
mountain elevations, though no evidence from actual observation has yet been published to
the world sustaining the inference. Ascending the Platte river we find that the whole
country from the Elkhorn to Fort Laramie is occupied by rocks of Cretaceous and Tertiary
age, and not until we reach the Laramie mountains do we again meet with the Carboni-
ferous limestones, which here form an outcropping zone, exposed by the upheaval of the
older rocks. In the Black hills we again find them exposed around the nucleus of eleva¬
tion with the same fossils and lithological characters as at the Laramie mountains. From
these facts, and the accounts of explorers in the North and South, there is good reason for
the inference that the Carboniferous rocks are probably co-extensive with the great central
range of the llocky mountains. This subject will be again alluded to in a subsequent
portion of this report. The following catalogue embraces all the Carboniferous and Per¬
mian fossils obtained by the writer at Fort Laramie, Black hills, and Southeastern Ne¬
braska; also those collected by Air. Meek and the writer in the Kansas valley. The
catalogue published in our paper to the Philadelphia Academy, January, 1859, has been
used, with the additions of species found in the far W est, with their geographical distribu¬
tion. The descriptions of the new species have been omitted. This catalogue does not
assume to be complete, but only to embrace such fossils as are in our possession so far as
they have been determined.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

61

Foraminijfera.

Fusulina cylindrica, Fischer, Oryct. Moscow, p. 126, p. 18, figs. 1-5.

In Russia this species is said to occur only in the upper part of lower Carboniferous or mountain limestone. Yet
the species usually referred to F. cylindrica in this country, so far as our knowledge extends, is not found below
the Coal measures. From this fact, and some slight differences we observe between our specimens and the figures
of the Russian species, we suspect a careful comparison of good specimens may possibly prove them to be distinct.
Ranges in Kansas from Division No. 22, of the foregoing section, far down into the Coal measures. Found at
numerous localities between Manhattan and the Missouri, usually in great numbers. Also occurs in vast numbers
in the southwestern part of Iowa and in Missouri. Dr. George Shumard has discovered a remarkable species of
Fusulina in the white limestone of the Guadalupe mountains upwards of an inch in length, which he considers
distinct and has been named by his brother F. dontjaia.

Fusulina cylindrica , var. ventricosa, Meek and Ilayden, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. December, 1858, page
201. Division No. 87 of foregoing general section, at Manhattan on the Kansas, and at Juniata on Big Blue river.

Bryozoa.

Synocladia liserialis. Prof. Swallow refers this species with doubt to S. virgidacea, Phillips, sp. in Transactions
Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. i, p. 179, and points out some of the characters in which it differs, stating at the same
time, in case it should prove to be distinct, that liserialis would be a good specific name for it. We regard it as
quite distinct from Phillips’s species, not only in scarcely ever having more than two rows of cellules, but also
because the ? gemuliferous vesicles, instead of being merely “tubercular and open at the summit,” have the form
of short, but distinct spines, apparently closed and rather obtusely pointed at the apex. The branches or connecting
process are likewise less distinctly angulated between the longitudinal stems than in S. virgulacea.. Occurs at
Fort Riley in No. 19 of foregoing general section, and at various lower horizons on the Kansas below there, down
into the upper Coal measures.

Acanthocladia Americana. In the Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. i, p. 180, Prof. Swallow refers this species
with a query to A. anceps, Schlot. sp. and remarks that it differs from that species in having “ the rows of cellules
diagonal to the axis of the stems, instead of longitudinal, as represented by King, and on ridges like that figured
by Goldfuss.” He also further remarks that “ it is less regularly branched, and not so distinctly pinnated as those
delineated by Goldfuss and King.” In the specimens in our collection, the cellules are more numerous and much
more crowded than in A. anceps, as figured by King. The specific name Americana, was suggested by Prof.
Swallow.

We found this species in Division No. 18 of the foregoing general section, on Cottonwood creek.

Echinodermata.

Cyathocrinus - ? A few scapular plates, bearing some similarity to those of C. ramosus, Schlot. sp. were met

with by us in Division No. 18, but they are proportionably much thicker, and the articulating surfaces quite
different. Cottonwood creek.

Archcvocidaris - ? In No. 12, we found spines and detached plates of apparently an undescribed species of

this genus, but they were too much weathered to show clearly the specific characters. The spines are rather
slender, terete, nearly straight, and provided with short scattering spinous processes, directed rather obliquely
outwards and forward. Cottonwood creek.

Archceocidaris - - ? The spines of this species are much larger than the last, and apparently destitute of

62

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

spinous processes. They arc as much as from three to four inches in length, nearly or quite straight, and not
flattened or compressed.

Division No. 26, Manhattan, and in same position on Cottonwood creek.

Brachiopoda.

Discina tenuilineata , Meek and Hayden, Proceedings Acad. Nat. Sci. Pa. p. 25, January, 1859, Cottonwood
creek, Division 16.

Discina Manhattanensis, Meek and Hayden, Proceedings Acad. Nat. Sci. Pa. p. 25, January, 1859. Pound
in great numbers in Division No. 37, opposite Manhattan on Kansas river.

Productus splendens (?), Norwood and Pratten, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. N. S. vol. iii, pi. fig. 5. We
refer this shell to the above species with some doubt; it is always smaller than the figure given by Norwood and
Pratten, and rather more convex over the visceral region of the larger valve, while the smaller valve appears to
want the band-like flattening around the border mentioned in the description of P. splendens. The ears extend
beyond the body of the shell, are distinctly vaulted, and rarely have more than one spine on each, often none.
The spines, however, are more numerous over the surface of the larger valve, being in this respect more like P.
muricatus N. and P., but both valves want the concentric wrinkles represented in the figures of that species.

This neat little Productus is found in great numbers between Fort Biley and Manhattan, as well as at the latter
place, in Division No. 34; also at various horizons below that in the upper Coal measures of Kansas; also in Mis¬
souri, and along the Pecos river, in New Mexico.

Productus Nonooodi , Swallow, Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. i, p. 182. A few specimens of this species in
our possession have the extreme point of the beak of the larger valve flattened or truncate, as though it had in the
young state been attached to some marine body by that part of the shell. We have also in several instances found
other shells associated with this species, with small discs not more than 0.20 inch in diameter, attached by the
whole surface, as well as by a series of small spines seen radiating from the margin. May not these little bodies
be the young of this species ?

We think the specimen figured by Prof. Marcou in his work on the Geology of North America, plate 6, fig. 1,
as P. pustulosus, is the same as the above species, and quite distinct from P. pustulosus. It occurs in Kansas at
various horizons from No. 14 far down in the upper Coal measures. We found it at Fort Biley and numerous
places between there and the Missouri, as well as at Leavenworth city.

Productus Royersi, Norwood and Pratten, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. N. S. vol. iii, page 9, pi. 1, fig. 3. This
species is nearly related to the last, and when the shell is exfoliated, may be easily confounded with it. P. Nor-
woodi, however, appears never to have the distinct concentric wrinkles of this species, nor do the pustules at the
base of the spines have the tendency to elongate into indistinct ribs as in P. Royersi. Prof. Marcou has figured
in N. Am. Geol. pi. 5, fig. 6, as Productus scabriculus, a shell very like this.

Kansas valley below the mouth of Blue river, in upper Coal measures; at the Pecos villages in the Coal measures
or upper Carboniferous limestone.

Productus pustulosus (?), Phillips’s Geol. Yorkshire, vol. ii, p. 316, pi. 7, fig. 15. We have a specimen agree¬
ing very nearly with this species in its external markings, but it is much narrower, and the beak of the larger
valve more extended, in which respect it differs quite as much from P. punclatus.

Near Steamboat landing at Leavenworth city, in Coal measures.

Productus Prattenianus, Norwood, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. N. S. vol. iii, p. 17, pi. 1, fig. 10. In Coal
measures at Indian creek and at Leavenworth city.

Productus Calhounianus, Swallow, Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. i, p. 181. This fine large shell is scarcely

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

G3

distinguishable from P. semireticulcitus var. anti quits, but Prof. Swallow, who has seen the interior, thinks it pre¬
sents well-marked internal differences. It occurs in No. 12 and below, at Fort Riley, also on Cottonwood creek.
Prof. S. thinks it even ranges down into the lower Carboniferous.

Chonetes Verneuiliana, Norwood and Pratten, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. vol. iii, p. 26, pi. 2, fig. 6, N. S.
Occurs in Kansas in Division No. 37, at Manhattan, and perhaps in upper Coal measures at lower horizons.

Clionetes mucronata, Meek and Hayden, Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. Dec. 1838, page 262. Lower part
of the section at Fort Riley (Division 9), and down near the base of the foregoing general section, also in same
position on Cottonwood creek.

Orthisina crassa, Meek and Hayden, Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. Dec. 1858, p. 261. Occurs in Coal
measures near landing at Leavenworth city.

Orthisina umhraculum ? Schlot. sp. Petrefakt. 1, p. 256, et 2, p. 67. We find in Kansas, ranging from 16 to
19 of foregoing sections, many specimens of a large species of Orthisina, having almost exactly the form and other
characters of 0. umhraculum, excepting that the striae appear to be more numerous. According to Koninck that
species has about 108 striae on each valve, while on our Kansas specimens, we count from 160 to 200 ; consequently
we suspect it may be a distinct but closely allied species; if so, we would propose to designate it by the name of
0. multistriatci. We found it at Fort Riley and at several localities between there and Blue river; also in same
position on Cottonwood creek.

Orthisina Missouriensis, Swallow, Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. i, p. 219. This is a very peculiar plicated
species, often much distorted. When partly embedded in the matrix, it frequently bears a striking resemblance
to Plicatula striato-costata , Cox, vol. iii. Dr. Owen’s report on the Geol. Survey of Kentucky, page 558, pi. 8,
fig. 7, of Atlas. Common in the upper Coal measures of Kansas, at Leavenworth city and west of there.

Orthisina Sliumardiana, Swallow, Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci. vol. i, p. 183. Although like the last, a plicated
species, this is more symmetrical, and presents other well-marked differences. Ranges from No. 11 down some
distance in upper Coal measures. Found at Fort Riley and between there and Blue river.

Terebratula millejpunctata, Hall, Pacific Railroad Report, vol. iii, p. 101, plate 2, figs. 1, 2. We have the
impression that this species is probably identical with T. hovidens, Morton (Silliman’s Jour. vol. xxix), from Ohio.
Our Kansas specimens appear, however, to be more elongated than those figures by Dr. Morton, and may be dis¬
tinct. In form they resemble very much some varieties of E pithy r is elonyata, Schlot. sp. as figured by King, in
Perm. Fos. Eng. pi. 6, particularly the narrower varieties, such as fig. 35. The beak of our Kansas shell, how¬
ever, is not truncate but pointed, the perforation being on the outside, and a little removed from the extremity.
If it is identical with T. hovidens, Morton’s specific name will have to take precedence, being the older. It re¬
mains to be determined wdiether its internal characters agree with Terebratula, as now restricted.

This is a rather common form in the upper Coal measures of Kansas, and southward. We found it near the
summit of the hills back of Leavenworth city, also at Indian creek, near Indianola, &c. It is also found at Pecos
village (New Mexico), associated with Spirigera, Subtileta, Spirifer cameratus, and S. lineatus.

Rhynchonella Uta ( Terebratula Ufa, Marcou, Geol. N. A. p. 51, pi. vi, fig. 12). We have from the upper
Coal measures in Kansas many specimens of a species agreeing exactly with Prof. Marcou’s description of the above
species. These we suspect may possibly go into the genus Camerophoria, King, if not into Rhynchonella ; at any
rate they are certainly not Terebratula. We are inclined to the opinion that a shell described by Prof. Swallow,
in the Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. i, p. 219, under the name of Rhynchonella ( Camerophoria ) Osagensis,
may be identical also with the above; yet Prof. S. says his species has from “two to six” plications in the sinus
of the dorsal valve, while in the shell before us, of which we have quite a number of specimens, there are invaria¬
bly but two plications in the sinus.

64

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Quite common in Division No. 94 at Manhattan and at several localities between there and the Missouri, in the
upper Coal Measures. Prof. Marcou cites it as a mountain limestone species, but we know nothing of its exis¬
tence in rocks of that age. This species was also found by Mr. Marcou near Great Salt Lake city, associated with
Retzia Mormonii , Tercbratula Royssii , and S. subtilita. Also in the limestones near Fort Laramie.

Retzia Mormoni ( Tercbratula Mormonii, Marcou, Geol. N. A. p. 51, pi. vi, f. 11). We found this species
quite abundant in Division 37 at Manhattan, where it is associated with the last. It also ranges far below this in
the upper Coal measures between Manhattan and the Missouri, being quite common near the summits of the hills
back of Leavenworth city. Dr. B. F. Shumard has described a species in the Trans. Acad. Sci. St Louis, under
the name of Retzia punct Hi f era, which we suspect may possibly be a variety of the above; but as he describes it
as having usually in the dorsal valve “a moderately wide, shallow sinus, which extends from the front nearly to
the beak,” and the species before us, of which we have many specimens, has no traces of a sinus, we are left in
doubt. In other respects his description agrees exactly with our shell, and he also states that he has it from K. T.
Prof. Marcou found this species at the Salt Lake city, Utah, in a rock he refers to the mountain limestone. We
have never seen it from below the Coal measures. It is also found near Fort Laramie, Nebraska, and in the Car¬
boniferous limestones of the Black hills.

Spirifer Kentuckensis , Shumard, Geol. Survey of Missouri, part 2, p. 203. Found in upper Coal measures near
the top of bluffs, back of Fort Leavenworth, also near the landing at Leavenworth city, and at other localities
between the Missouri and Blue river.

Spirifer cameratus, Morton, American Jour. Sci. vol. xxix, p. 150, pi. 11, fig. 3. This is the same species,
as has been determined by Prof. Hall, described by Dr. Iloemer as S. Meusebachanus (Kreid von Texas, p. 88,
pi. 11, fig. 7), and subsequently by himself as S. triplicatus, in Stansbury’s Rept. p. 420, pi. 4, fig. 5. Prof.
Marcou has recently figured it in his work on the Geol. North America, p. 49, pi. 8, fig. 3, as a. variety of Spiri¬
fer striatus, Martin, from which it is quite distinct. He found it at Pecos village in a rock he refers to the lower
Carboniferous or mountain limestone. It has a great geographical range, being common in the Coal measures from
Pennsylvania to the Rocky mountains, and from Nebraska to New Mexico; we have never seen it, however, from
lower Carboniferous rocks. It is very common near Bellevue, Nebraska, at Fort Laramie, and in the Black hills.

Spirifer hemiplicata, Hall. Stansbury’s Report, p. 409, pi. 4, fig. 3. Upper Coal measures near summit of
hills back of Leavenworth, and at other localities between there and Blue river.

Spirifer lineatus. Anomites lineatus, Martin. Spirifer lineatus of Phillips. Geol. Yorks, ii, p. 219, pi. 10,
fig. 17, and of other authors. We have, from near Leavenworth landing, in the Coal measures, a Spirifer, appa¬
rently identical with the above. It appears not to range very high in the upper Coal measures of Kansas.

Spirifer - . In Division No. 12, above Fort Riley, we found a few imperfect specimens of a small, smooth

Spirifer , similar, in some respects, to S. lineatus, but apparently more like Martinia Clanvyana, King, from the

Permian of England.

©

Spirifer planocouvexct, Shumard. Geol. Report, Missouri, 2d part, p. 202. Wo found this handsome little
shell quite abundaut in the upper Coal measures (Divisions 34 and 37) at Manhattan; also at Juniata, on Big
Blue river, and near summit of hills back of Leavenworth city.

Spirujcra subtilita. ( Terebratula subtilita, Hall. Stansbury’s Report, p. 409, pi. 4, figs. 1-2.) Spiriyera
subtilita, of Dr. George Shumard. Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci. vol. i.

This is a very abundant species in Kansas; we found it ranging up at least as far as Division No. 87, at Man¬
hattan, and met with some obscure forms resembling it still higher in the series. From these horizons, it ranges
far down in the other members of the Coal measures. Several of our specimens collected at Leavenworth city show
that it was provided with internal spiral appendages, as in the Spirifer, and consequently cannot remain in the

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

65

genus Terebratula, as now restricted. It has a wide geographical range, and is almost everywhere the companion
of Spirifer camerutus. Prof. Marcou figures it in his work on the Geology of North America, pi. 6, fig. 9, from a
formation in the llocky mountains, which he refers to the lower Carboniferous; but we have never seen it from
any position below the Coal measures.

Spirigera - f At Fort Riley, and above there, as well as in the same position on Cottonwood creek, we found,

ranging from Division 18 up to 10 of the foregoing section, a Spirigera resembling S suhtilita, but much more
gibbous in form; it also appears to have a much thicker shell. If distinct from S. suhtilita this might be desig¬
nated by the specific name gibhosa.

Lamellibranciiiata.

Monotis Ilaivni, Meek and Hayden. Trans. Albany Inst. vol. iv, March 2, 1858. Prof. Swallow thinks this
species not distinct from M. speluncaria, Schlot. sp. Although, like that species, it is quite variable, and some of
its varieties are very similar to it; after a careful comparison of a large Dumber of individuals with King’s figures
and descriptions, we still regard it as distinct. We have never seen any of its various forms with the beak of the
larger valve elevated so far above the hinge, as in figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, pi. 13, of King’s work. Nor do any of our
specimens possess the peculiar oblique posterior sulcus seen in the figures cited above. High country, south of
Kansas falls; also above there, on Smoky Hill river and Cottonwood creek, in Division 10.

Myalina ( Mytilus ) perattenuata, Meek and Hayden. Trans. Albany Inst. vol. iv, March 2d, 1858. Our
description of this species was made out from one of the more slender varieties of this shell, sent to us from near
Smoky Hill river by Mr. Hawn. We were probably wrong, however, in referring to it a specimen in our possession
from a locality on the Missouri, opposite the northern boundary of Missouri ; and we even suspect the rock from
which this latter specimen was obtained may belong to an older epoch.

The species above cited is, we think, identical with M. permianus of Swallow, Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. i,
p. 187. Aud we also suspect the form he describes in the same paper as Mytilus ( Myalina ) concavus, is only a
broader variety of the same; at any rate we have these two forms, and every intermediate gradation between them,
from the same bed. Locality and position same as the preceding.

Myalina squamosa. ( Mytilus squamosa, J. de C. Sowerby. Morris’s Catalogue, p. 93. Myalina squamosa
of some other authors.)

Of the form, we refer with doubt to the above species ; we have but one imperfect specimen. As far as the
characters can be made out, it agrees with this species. We found it in Division No. 11, at Kansas falls, above
Fort Riley.

Myalina subquadrata, Shumard. Missouri Geol. Rept. 2d part, p. 207, pi. c, fig. 17. Upper Coal measures,
Leavenworth city, on the Kansas, at Lawrence and other localities in Kansas valley, below mouth of Big Blue river.

Edmond ia ? Calhouni, Meek and Hayden. Trans. Albany Inst. vol. iv, March 2, 1858. We are still in doubt
in regard to the generic relations of this species, having procured no better specimens than that first described by
us. We suspect it may be a Cardinia. Near Smoky Hill river, in Division 10.

BaJcevellia parva, Meek and Hayden. Trans. Albany Inst. vol. iv, March 2, 1858. This is probably the same
species referred by Prof. Swallow to Avicula antiqua, Munster, — BaJcevellia antiqua of King, and others. In
describing this species, we spoke of its very near relation to B. antiqua, but pointed out some characters in which
it differs. At that time we had seen but a few imperfect specimens; since then, however, we have obtained many
others, a careful examination of which causes us still to regard it as distinct from B. antiqua. Of a large number
of individuals, we have never seen any one-half the size of the smallest, nor one-eighth the size of the largest figures

VOL. XII. — 9

66

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

of that species given by King, while the cardinal area is also proportionably much narrower in our shell. Division
No. 10. On Smoky Hill river and Cottonwood creek.

Area carbonaria, Cox. Yol. iii, Geol. Report Ky. p. 567, pi. 8, fig. 5. Our fossil is smaller and less distinctly
striate, but exactly the form of the above. Near Leavenworth landing, Coal measures.

Lcda subscitula, Meek and Hayden. Trans. Albany Inst. vol. iv, March 2, 1858. Division No. 10. Smoky
Hill river and Cottonwood creek.

Plcurophorus? subcuneata, Meek and Hayden. Trans. Albany Inst. vol. iv, March 2, 1858. Our specimens
of this species being casts we are left in doubt in regard to its generic relations. We suspect it may be a Cardinia.
Same locality and position as preceding.

Axinus ( Schizodus ) ovatus, Meek and Hayden. Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. December, 1858. This is
very much like the Permian forms, S. rolundatus and S. truncatus, but we found it in a rock on Cottonwood creek
which we regard as below the Permian.

Axinus rotund atiis, Brown. Trans. Manch. Geol. Soc. vol. i, p. 31, pi. 6, fig. 29. We have referred this little
shell to the above species with some doubt, but we have seen no characters by which it can be distinguished. No.
10. Near Smoky Hill river.

AUorisma? Leavemvorthensis, Meek and Hayden. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. December, 1858, p. 263.
Upper Coal measures, Leavenworth city.

Allorisma subcuneata, Meek and Hayden. Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. December, 1858, p. 263. Locality
and position same as last.

AUorisma? altirostrata, Meek and Hayden. Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. December, 1858, p. 263. Upper
Coal measures, Grasshopper creek.

AUorisma ? Cooperi, Meek and Hayden. Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. December, 1858, p. 264. ( Panopaa
Cooperi, Meek and Hayden. Trans. Albany Inst. vol. iv, March 2, 1858.) Near Helena, in upper Coal measures.

Ltptodomus granosus, Shumard. Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. i, p. 207. Upper Coal measures, near
summit of hills, back of Leavenworth city ; also near Leavenworth landing.

Gasteropoda.

Pleurotomaria humerosa, Meek and Hayden. Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. December, 1858. In upper
Coal measures, at Grasshopper creek.

Pleurotomaria subturbinata, Meek and Hayden. Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. December, 1858, p. 264.
Locality and position same as last. In the Proceedings of the Academy above cited, the locality of this species is
erroneously given as at Helena.

BeUeroplion - ? We found a small undetermined species of this genus in Division 10. On Smoky Hill river

and near Cottonwood creek; also casts of a large species at Leavenworth landing and Grasshopper creek, in the
upper Coal measures.

Puomphalus - ? The species here alluded to was found in Nos. 11 and 37 of the foregoing general section.

Either it or a very closely allied species also ranges far below this in the upper Coal measures. It is nearly related
to, if not identical with a species Prof. Hall has described in the Iowa Report, under the name of E. rugosus.

Cepiialapoda.

Nautilus eccentricus, Meek and Hayden. Trans. Albany Inst. vol. iv, March 2, 1858. Smoky Hill river,
Division No. 10.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

67

Fishes.

Xystracanthus arcuatus, Leidy. Upper Carboniferous rocks at Leavenworth landing.

Cladodus occidentalis, Leidy. Division No. 37 of foregoing general section. At Manhattan.

Petalodus Alleylianiensis, Leidy. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. vol. iii, p. 161. Division No. 10 of foregoing general
section. Fort Riley.

CHAPTER X.

V. Jurassic System.

The Black hills have up to this time afforded the most satisfactory evidence of the ex¬
istence of this system in the West. It is there brought to the surface by the upheaval of
the older rocks in the form of a belt or zone, five to fifteen miles in width, engirdling the
principal axis of elevation. The group of rocks, which we have supposed to belong to
this period, are characterized by beds of variegated argillaceous and calcareous grits, sand
and sandstone, with seams and beds of gypsum, varying from one inch to twenty feet in
thickness. The gypsum seems to form a portion of a series of brick-red beds, composed
of argillaceous and calcareous grits, which give a remarkably picturesque appearance to
the external features of the country, where these Jurassic rocks are exposed. None of the
organic remains already discovered, which are quite numerous in species, are positively
known to be identical with those found in rocks of the same age in the Old World, but
they belong to the same genera, and many of the species are so closely allied to forms
characteristic of the Jura of Europe, that we cannot now hesitate to admit this system into
our series. In a paper by F. B. Meek and the writer, published in the Proceedings of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, March, 1858, the following list of fossils
was given with comparisons showing their affinities to well-known Jurassic forms. This
evidence I will here repeat with such additional proof as I have been able to secure by
our investigation of the undescribed fossils in the collection up to the present time.

1. Pentacrinus asteriscus, Meek and Hayden, is so nearly like the Liassic P. scalaris (Goldfuss), that it is with
some hesitation we have regarded it as new.

2. Avicula ( Monotis ) tenuicostata, M. and IL, is very closely related to M. sulstriafa of Munster, from the Lias.

3. Area ( Cucullcea ) inornata, M. and II., is very similar to C. Munsteri (Zeiten), also from the Lias.

4. Panopcea ( Myacites ) subelliptica, M. and IL, is similar to the Liassic forms M. liasensis and M. Alduincnsis
of Quensted.

68

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

5. Ammonites cordiformis, M. and II., is of the same type as the Oolitic species A. cordalus (Sowerby).

6. Belemnites densus , M. and H., is scarcely distinguishable from the Oolitic species B. excentricus (Blairville),
if indeed it is really distinct.

Among the midescribed fossils from the supposed Jurassic rocks of the Black hills, are
a species of Hettangia, a genus not known to occur in the Old World in formations newer
than the Lias, an Ostrea , scarcely distinguishable from a form figured by Quensted in his
work on the Jura, and a Trigonia more nearly resembling Jurassic types than those of any
other formation.

YI. Cretaceous System. Upper, Middle, and Lower.

This system holds a very important position in the Northwest, not only from the vast
area which it occupies, but also from the number, variety and beauty of its organic re¬
mains. The Cretaceous rocks as they appear in ascending the Missouri, have been sepa¬
rated into five divisions, which present well-marked lithological differences, and contain
for the most part, distinct species of organic remains. From the following vertical section
of the Cretaceous rocks of the Upper Missouri and the catalogue of Cretaceous fossils, it will
be seen that formation No. 1 seems to constitute pakeontologically an independent division,
none of its organic remains ranging in other formations above or below. Nos. 2 and 3
appear to form one group, the Ostrea congesta and Inoceramus problematicus passing from
one to the other. Divisions 4 and 5, which are the most fossiliferous formations on the
Upper Missouri, contain many species in common, especially of the Cephalopoda, and there¬
fore form a third group.

The Cretaceous system, as developed on the Upper Missouri, therefore forms lithologically
five well-marked subdivisions, while palseontologically it admits of separation into but
three independent groups. The age and geological position of Divisions 2, 3, 4 and 5
have been sufficiently attested by the numerous species of organic remains, which have
been published from time to time by F. B. Meek and the writer. In regard to the age of
No. 1, much doubt existed, until we had an opportunity to examine a fine series of Dicotyle¬
donous leaves, discovered by the writer in this formation near Blackbird hill on the Mis¬
souri, while attached to Lieutenant Warren’s party, in 1857. These leaves proved to us
that the formation under consideration could not be older than Cretaceous. I will have
occasion to allude to this point again in a subsequent part of this report.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

69

VERTICAL SECTION OF THE CRETACEOUS FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA TERRITORY, SO FAR AS DETERMINED.

Subdivisions.

Localities.

Estimated i

thickness. |

Gray and yellowish arenaceous clays and sand-

All around the Black hills and head

stones at many localities, very ferruginous, with

waters of the Shyenne, Moreau trading

-U

<D

.<D

id

numerous concretions and a profusion of molluscous

post, and under the Tertiary at Sage and

o

6

fossils, as Be/emnitella bullosa , Nautilus Delay i,

Bear creeks ; at the head of Teton river

o

r-H

&

Ammonites placenta, A. lolatus, Scaphites Con-

and at Long lake on the Missouri.

O

-<-»

radi, Bacidites ovatus, Ostrea sultrigonalis, and

O

o

a great number of marine mollusca.

Bluish and dark gray plastic clays, containing

Around the Black hills ; a great area

Nautilus Delcayi, Ammonites placenta, A. Halli,

around Fort Pierre, and along the Mis-

Baculites ovatus, B. compressus, with numerous

souri. Under No. 5 at Sage and Bear

6

other marine mollusca, — remains of Mosasavrus.

creeks, along the Shyenne at Great Bend;

-i-3

o

Along the Missouri river, below Fort Pierre, there

on the Yellowstone and near Milk and

-<D

is a local bed at the base of No. 4, composed of

Musselshell river.

iO>

CO

dark, very unctuous clay, containing much car¬
bonaceous matter, with veins and seams of selen-

ite, sulphuret of iron, and fish scales. 20 feet.

Lead gray calcareous marl weathering above to

In the valley of Old Woman’s creek ;

a yellowish tint; scales and other remains of fishes ;

at Bear peak; around the Black hills and

CO

o

Ostrea, congesta, passing downwards into

the sources of the Shyenne ; in the bluffs

-i-=>

along the Missouri, from Big Sioux river

'm-h

6

Light gray yellowish limestone, containing great

to Great Bend.

o

lO

r-H

<2

numbers of Inoceramus jgroblematicus, Ostrea con -

gesta, and fish scales.

Dark gray laminated clay, with teeth and scales

Old Woman’s creek ; Black hills ;

of fishes, Ammonites alp inianus, A. percarinatus,

along the Missouri river from ten miles

"o

c

Serpula tenuicarinata, Inoceramus problematicus,

above James river to Big Sioux river.

o

a small oyster like 0. congesta, &c.

Yellowish and reddish friable sandstone, with

Old Woman’s creek; Black hills; near

<D

alternations of dark and whitish clays. Seams and

the mouth of Big Sioux river; Lower

o

c

beds of impure lignite, fossil wood, impressions of

Platte; near Judith river.

o

CM

£

dicotyledonous leaves ; Bolen, Pectunculus , Cy-

o

prina, &c. Lower Cretaceous.

o

o

r-H

70

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Formation No. 1 of the Vertical Section.

In ascending the Missouri, No. 1 is first seen in the form of outliers overlapping the
Carboniferous limestones near the mouth of the Platte. At De Soto it occupies the whole
country, though concealed for the most part by grassy slopes. The first exposure along
the Missouri occurs near Wood’s bluffs, right bank, about one hundred and seventy miles
above the mouth of the Platte. We have here a yellowish gray friable sandstone, twenty
to thirty feet exposed, and overlying this, a recent deposit of water-worn pebbles, ce¬
mented by the hydrated oxide of iron, very deep rust color, 6 to 8 feet. Succeeding this
in ascending order, 30 to 40 feet of yellow silicious marl. At Chalk bluffs about forty
miles below the mouth of Big Sioux river, occurs the finest exposure of No. 1 along the
Missouri.

Feet.

1. Eight inches of earthy lignite, resting upon twelve inches of yellowish drab arenaceous clay, this in turn

underlaid by eight inches of impure lignite.

2. Ferruginous rather coarse-grained friable sandstone, . . . . . . . . GO to 80

8. Yellow plastic or unctuous clay, toward the top becoming grayish blue, contains flat argillaceous iron con¬
cretions. Seen only during low water, ............ 2

Overlying bed 1 are eight to twelve feet of ash-colored clay, which I suspect belongs to
formation No. 2 of our general section. If so, it is an outlier, and the first indication of
its appearance in ascending the river.

At this place I was unable to discover any well-preserved organic remains. In small
seams of clay interstratified with the sandstone some traces of vegetable impressions were
observed, and in some ferruginous concretionary sandstone some imperfect fragments of a
plant resembling an Equisetum.

The next exposure of No. 1 is in a range of hills about two miles below the mouth of
Big 8ioux river, on the left bank of the Missouri. The sandstone at this point is quite
variable in its character and structure. The whole forms a large concreted mass of rock
of a dark dull reddish color, sometimes red or yellow, differing according to the amount
of ferruginous matter contained in it. Only about twenty feet are exposed at this point.
About fifteen feet above the base of the exposure, the rock has a compact silicious charac¬
ter, and from this portion is obtained the stone for building purposes. Near the top it
becomes a friable coarse-grained ferruginous sandstone with dark purple nodules. These
nodules possess merely a thin shell and are formed by concretionary action. A thin
stratum occurs at this locality, filled with shells, of which casts only are obtained. The
calcareous matter which formed the substance of the shells has been dissolved away, so

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

71

that most of their specific characters have been obliterated. The most abundant fossil
is the Pcctunculus Siouxensis , Hall and Meek. Great quantities of sulphuret of iron are
found throughout the bed.

Passing up the Big Sioux river, about two miles above its mouth, the bed of lignite
before mentioned is seen, two to two and a half feet in thickness, underlaid by sandstone,
the same as seen at Wood’s bluffs, Chalk bluff, &c. Here I found in considerable num¬
bers a species of Cytherea. The lignite bed is exposed for several miles up the Big Sioux.
Six miles above its mouth we have impure lignite, about twelve inches in thickness, under¬
laid by alternate layers of ferruginous sandstone, loose sand, yellow and ash-colored arena¬
ceous clays, and fine whitish clay. The strata containing clay have quite distinct impres¬
sions of leaves, which belong to dicotyledonous trees. There were also some fine impres¬
sions in a dark gray though concretionary silicious rock. Two miles below the mouth of
Iowa creek, on the Missouri, is a fine exposure of No. 1, in a bluff cut by the river; it
contains at this locality large numbers of sandstone concretions, arranged in the coarse
sand in horizontal strata. Great quantities of the sulphuret of iron are seen here in crystals
or in large tabular masses, a fresh fracture of which has much the appearance of cast iron.

In the Platte valley, about four miles above the mouth of the Platte, No. 1 is first seen
in a thin outlier, resting directly upon the limestones of the upper Coal measures. At the
mouth of Elkhorn river, the limestones pass beneath the water-level, and No. 1 occupies
the country until we reach a point about thirty miles above the mouth of Loup fork, where
it is in turn concealed by the overlapping edges of No. 3, and the Pliocene and Miocene
Tertiary beds of the Bad Lands of White river. Continuing a northwest course we do
not meet again with No. 1 until we reach the valley of Old Woman’s creek, a branch of
the south fork of the Shyenne. It is here exposed over a small area by upheaval, and
presents the same lithological characters as on the Missouri. Around the Black hills are
a series of beds, supposed to belong to No. 1, exposed by the uplift of the mountains in
the form of a belt or zone, which attain a thickness of 200 to 250 feet.

Returning again to the Missouri river, we take leave of the sandstone, which forms the
type of our No. 1, near the mouth of Iowa creek; then succeed in regular order Creta¬
ceous formations Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5, and the Tertiary beds of the lignite basin. Near the
mouth of Milk river, Cretaceous formation No. 4 rises to the surface, but 2 and 3 are
wanting in this region. Near the mouth of Little Rocky Mountain creek, a bed of coarse¬
grained gray sandstone, variable in color and structure, rises above the water’s edge from
beneath the well-known Cretaceous formation No. 4 of section. In its lithological charac¬
ters this bed of sandstone seems to resemble our No. 1, with which we have placed it
provisionally, though we have no certain evidence that a single species of organic remains
was common to both.

72

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Although the group of beds observed along the Missouri river, near and below the
mouth of the Judith, which we have referred provisionally to No. 1, has revealed many
important facts to the geologist and pala?ontologist, yet the organic remains differ specifi¬
cally from those of any other formation with which wc are acquainted in the Northwest,
so that we are unable to fix with certainty its exact position in the geological scale. We
are confident, however, that the fossils for the most part belong to Cretaceous types,
although some of the remains seem to point to the Jurassic. We have, therefore, regarded
these beds as Lower Cretaceous, though we have no evidence as yet that they are on a
parallel with No. 1 as revealed along the Missouri below the Big Sioux.

Having given the details of the geology of this group of beds in a memoir already pub¬
lished in the Transactions of this Society, I will not repeat them here in full, but in a sub¬
sequent chapter will present such additional information as I have been able to obtain.
The following section will show approximately the lithological characters and order of
succession of these deposits. The great disadvantage under which I labored and the hos¬
tile attitude of the Indians rendered it, much to my regret, impossible for me to examine
this region over a large area to form a connected section of all the beds in detail. To
attain so desirable a result will be the object of my exploration the coming season.

Section op the older Deposits at tiie Mouth op Judith River, in descending order.

Feet.

1. Yellowish and reddish rather coarse-grained sandstone, becoming deep red on exposure, containing Inoce-

ramus ventricosus , Mactra alta, Ccirdium speciosum, &c. &c., . . . . . . . 20 to 25

2. Mixed pure and impure lignite, whole bed containing many crystals of selenite and a yellowish substance

like sulphur. The masses of lignite when broken reveal in considerable quantities small reddish crystal¬
line fragments of a substance having the taste and appearance of rosin, . . . . . 6 to S

8. Variable strata of drab clay and gray sand and sandstone. Upper part containing large numbers of Ostrea
yluhra. Near the middle there are gray or ash-colored clays with very hard bluish gray, granular, silici-
ous concretions containing Ilcttan/jia Americana , Panopcea occidentalism Mactra formosa , &c. &c., 80 to 100

A fine collection of fossils were obtained from these marine deposits, which will appear
with the catalogue of Cretaceous species. Underlying these beds, where upheaved, were
seen a series of variegated strata, clay, sands, &c., which undoubtedly are of Jurassic age.

Formation No. 2 of General Section.

This formation is first revealed in thin outliers below the mouth of Big Sioux river, and
on the Big Sioux six miles above its mouth, it caps the bluffs, apparently mingling to some
extent with the succeeding bed, and containing at this locality large numbers of [nocerawus
jproblematicus and fragments of fishes. Near the mouth of Iowa creek and above, it shows

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

lo

itself worthy of a separate position in the series. It is composed of a dark leaden gray
plastic clay, containing few fossils, but great quantities of sulphate of lime in crystals,
which assume a variety of beautiful forms. Its greatest thickness is seen about five miles
below the mouth of James river.

Below the mouth of Vermilion river we have a perpendicular exposure showing Nos. 1,
2 and 3 in their order of superposition.

a. Gray and lightish yellow calcareous marl, containing in great numbers Inoceramus problematicus and commi¬

nuted fish remains. 40 feet. No. 3 of general section.

b. Dark plastic clay, with abundant fish remains in a fragmentary condition, also Ammonites perearinatus, Serputa

tenuicarinata, and a species of Osfrea like O. coni/esta. 30 to 40 feet. No. 2 of general section.

c. Ferruginous sand-bed just above water’s edge. At low water are seen large quantities of arenaceous concretions,

with vegetable impressions and a species of Pharella. No. 1 of general section.

At this point c represents No. 1 as it dips beneath the water-level of the river; a No. 3
when it is seen for the first time largely developed and forming an independent bed.

About five miles above the mouth of Vermilion river, on the right side of the Missouri, No.
2 is finely exposed. It here contains several layers of a very hard, compact, dark gray, con¬
cretionary limestone. The fossils observed at this locality were an Ammonite , Gytherea ,
and quite numerous well-preserved teeth and other remains of fishes. At Dixon’s bluffs
I found Serpula tenuicarinata , an Ostrea , perhaps 0. congesta , and large masses of the
sulphuret of iron. Twelve miles above the mouth of James river, No. 2 is only about ten
feet above the water’s edge. At this locality overlying No. 2 is seen, quite well developed,
formation No. 3, with Ostrea congesta , and above it, capping the hills, the first appearance
of formation No. 4, in a thin outlier. No. 2 is exposed over a small area by the upheaval
of the older rocks in the valley of Old Woman’s creek, a tributary of the south fork of the
Shyenne. It is also a very conspicuous bed around the Black hills, presenting the same
lithological characters as on the Missouri, and containing a great abundance of fossils,
Ammonites , Scaphit.es, Gytherea, Ostrea , &c., with large quantities of fish remains. It here
attains a thickness of about 200 feet.

Formation No. 3 or General Section.

The geographical extension of this formation and its influence on the scenery render it
one of the most interesting on the Upper Missouri. It is first seen in thin outliers at and
a short distance below the mouth of the Big Sioux, and becomes quite conspicuous on the
summits of the bluffs ten miles above Iowa creek. At Dorion’s hills there is a fine section
of this bed, about eighty feet exposed above the water’s edge, containing its most abundant
VOL. XII. — 10

74

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

and characteristic fossil, Ostrect congesta. From there it continues to be the predominant
formation until we reach the foot of the Great Bend, when it passes by a gentle dip beneath
the water-level of the Missouri. In many places, as opposite the mouth of Niobrara river,
it is shown in the form of a long series of precipitous bluffs, giving a pleasing variety to
the general monotony of the scenery. This is one of the principal characteristic external
features of this formation. (See fig. 10.)

Fig. 10.

The upper portion of this rock is a yellowish and gray calcareous marl, very soft and
yielding, so that it is easily cut up into numerous ravines by the temporary streams, and
thus the bluffs along this part of the Missouri often present the appearance of a series of
cones. At the mouth of the Niobrara the upper portion, about twenty feet in thickness, is
much softer than that below, and is of a deep yellow color from the presence of ferruginous
matter, and the lower portion is in the form of large square masses of gray limestone, set
in the yellow material, which acts as a kind of mortar or cement. The vertical walls of
the bluffs resemble very much the labors of some gigantic mason, so regular are they in
their structure.

OF TI1E UPPER MISSOURI.

/ O

Ill the vicinity of Bijoux hills this formation seems to have been much depressed or to
have suffered denudation prior to the deposition of No. 4, not more than twenty or thirty
feet being exposed above the water-level. About twenty miles above this point a thick¬
ness of sixty or seventy feet is seen. Near the mouth of White river I found in this bed a
large mass of calcareous spar, six feet in length and eighteen inches in thickness, also
nodules of limestone formed of concentric coats, which is, I think, the same described by
Nicollet as “ cylindrical limestone resembling Arragonite.”

Although so well developed and covering so wide an area on the Missouri, the middle
and upper portions at least, of this rock can never be made useful for building purposes.
Quite soft and friable in place, when detached it absorbs moisture rapidly and crumbles in
pieces. Being a rich calcareous marl, it may be used at some future time as a fertilizer.

The fossils of this formation, although belonging to few species, so far as yet known, are
numerous in individuals. A species of oyster ( 0 . congesta) is found in great quantities
throughout the bed, and in localities Inoceramm problematicus is abundant. Fish remains,
though consisting mostly of scales and obscure fragments, are disseminated throughout the
deposit, several species of which have already been identified and described by Dr. Lcidy.

Near First Cedar island a very singular bed makes its appearance, superimposed on No.
3, which may be considered as probably forming an upper member of this formation. It
extends up the Missouri about eighty miles to a point near the Great Bend ; lithologically
it is a dull black unctuous clay, entirely destitute of any grit, and does not effervesce with
an acid. It contains some carbonaceous matter, great quantities of selenite in crystals, in
thin laminae, and in thick rhomboidal masses. In a number of localities I noticed fish
remains, but no other organic bodies. In several places the carbonaceous matter of this
bed has been ignited, producing heat enough to give to the surrounding strata a brick -red
color, and the slabs of clays thus affected by the heat give a ringing sound under a blow
of the hammer. Ten miles below the mouth of White river this rock has been subjected
to a considerable degree of heat for several yards, so that the surrounding strata present an
appearance similar to those which have been affected by the burning of the lignite beds on
the Yellowstone. The superincumbent beds have from this cause fallen in some instances
fifteen or twenty feet below their original position. Mr. Nicollet, in his interesting report
on this region, examined these phenomena with great care, and I cannot do better than to
quote his explanation of them : “ These pseudo-volcanic phenomena may be compared
with those described as occurring in other portions of the globe under the name of terrains
aniens, although they are not here accompanied by the emission of flames. They arc
evidently due to the decomposition, by the percolation of atmospheric waters to them, of
beds of pyrites, which, reacting on the combustible materials, such as lignites and other
substances of a vegetable nature in their vicinity, give rise to spontaneous combustion,

76

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

while further reactions — well understood by the chemist — upon the lime contained in the
clay bed, produce the masses and crystals of selenite that are observed in the lower portion
of this interesting deposit. This is the theory which, with some little confidence, we have
formed of these pseudo-volcanoes.”

About two miles above the mouth of White river, the burnt appearance is again visible
in this bed. Near this locality there is a seam formed of an accumulation of saline matter,
a yellow substance like sulphur, selenite, and the hydrated peroxide of iron, three feet in
thickness, the whole presenting a variety of colors. Large masses have fallen down at
the base of the bluff's.*

Formation No. 4 of General Section.

This formation is geologically the most important one in the Cretaceous system of the
Northwest, not only from its thickness and its geographical distribution, but also on account
of its influence on the agricultural capacities of the country. It is only second in interest
to the succeeding bed in number, beauty, and variety of its organic remains. Commenc¬
ing about ten miles above the mouth of James river, where it is seen only in thin outliers,
capping the distant hills and bluffs, it continues, gradually assuming a greater thickness as
we ascend the Missouri, until we reach the Great Bend, where it monopolizes the whole
region, giving to the country underlaid by it a most gloomy and sterile aspect. At the
Great Bend it attains a thickness of two hundred feet, and continues to occupy the coun¬
try bordering the Missouri to the mouth of Grand river, where, in consequence of the
northwesterly dip of the strata, it passes gradually beneath the water-level of the river.

The general lithological character of the formation, the boundaries of which have been
described above, is a dark ash-colored clay, varying, however, in color and structure in
different localities. From the Great Bend to the mouth of the Shyenne river, it shows
but little of its slialy character. Its general stratification is horizontal, but the layers are
broken into numerous irregular fragments. Not unfrequently the layers of clay have a
seam of gray sand between them. This bed contains great quantities of a whitish saline
substance, t a yellow material like sulphur, and an abundance of ferruginous matter, which

* Since this report was written I think I have obtained good evidence that the bituminous bed forms the base
of No. 4 instead of the top of No. 3. In several places near Bijoux hills the surface of the marly portion of No. 3
exhibits the appearance of erosion to a considerable extent prior to the deposition of the bituminous clays.

f This white substance is found disseminated to a greater or less extent throughout all the Cretaceous and Ter¬
tiary beds of the Northwest. It effloresces on the surface of the hills or bluffs, giving them a snow-white appear¬
ance. It impregnates the water that issues from or flows over these beds, rendering it exceedingly disagreeable in
its taste and purgative in its effects. It sometimes covers an area of considerable extent where the water has dried
away in the autumn from a depression in the surface. Near the mountains it is sometimes seen covering the

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

77

often discolors the banks of the river. At the Great Bend, a local variation occurs in No.
4, near the summit of the hills. It is a seam two to six feet in thickness, of very tine light
buff-colored clay, containing no fossils, and is visible only for a few miles.

After passing the month of Great Shyenne river, a slight change occurs in the lithologi¬
cal character of the upper portion of this formation, thence to the Moreau river it ex¬
hibits a laminated or shaly structure, and a dark silvery or leaden gray color. These cha¬
racters are seen on the Moreau river eighty miles above its mouth, also at Sage creek near
the Bad Lands.

After dipping beneath the water-level of the Missouri, between Grand and Cannon-hall
rivers, this formation again rises to the surface near Quaking Asp river, in longitude 109°,
by a reversed inclination of the strata. Its first appearance is in a little tributary of the
Missouri, and is seen only for about a hundred yards, yet presenting its peculiar characters.

Thirty miles below the mouth of Milk river it is revealed by the reverse dip above re¬
ferred to, for the first time along the Missouri, after leaving a point near Cannon-ball
river, under the northern portion of the great lignite Tertiary basin. It here has a thick¬
ness exposed of forty to sixty feet, presenting the same general character as at the Great
Bend. It contains numerous flat masses of rock arranged in horizontal layers in the ex¬
posure, with a few fossils. Just below the mouth of Porcupine river, there is a high
range of bluffs, presenting a good exposure of this bed, containing fine argillo-calcareous
concretions, fully laden with organic remains of the genera Ammonites , Baculites , Inocera-
mus , &c. I notice that the Inocerami seem to have existed in vast numbers to the exclu¬
sion of other forms. No. 4 continues to attain a greater thickness as we ascend the
Missouri, until we come in the vicinity of Bound butte, where we find it to he two hun¬
dred to two hundred and fifty feet. Here it is overlaid by a ferruginous sand-bed, com¬
posed in part of immense ledges of concretionary sandstone. No fossils were observed in
it, yet I think it is the upper portion of No. 5, or a transition bed between the Cretaceous
and Tertiary. Below the mouth of Mussel-shell river, as well as above, indeed wherever
this formation is exposed in this region, its peculiar fossils are found in great abundance.
Near the mouth of Mussel-shell river, I found an Inoceramus fifteen inches long and

ground to the depth of five or six inches, and is used by the traders in their culinary operations as a substitute for
saleratus. Dr. Hayes of Boston made an analysis of an impure specimen obtained near Fort Benton, in Gov.
Stevens’s expedition, with the following result :

C Moisture=3.20.

\ Sulphate of litne=5.60.

100 parts. S Sulphate of alumina and iron=3.25.

J Sulphate of soda=43.40.

( Insoluble sand=44.00.

78

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

twelve broacl, Ammonites eighteen inches to two feet in diameter, also the vertebrae of a
huge Cetacean. Near Little Bocky Mountain creek, No. 4 begins to rise toward the
summit of the hills, and about fifty miles below the mouth of the Judith it caps the bluffs,
still containing its characteristic fossils. It continues to be seen in thin outliers to the
vicinity of Fort Benton, perhaps even farther, but its limits in that direction have not
yet been ascertained.

On the Yellowstone river I observed this formation in but one locality, about eighty
miles above the mouth of that river. The Cretaceous strata here have an extent of only
about eight miles, and are exposed only along the banks cut by the river, yet in that space
they reveal the remains of marine mollusca in a profusion Avhich I have seen in no other
locality. In ascending the river its first appearance is a lightish blue clay, containing a few
concretions. At its best exposure above the water’s edge, we have the following section :

«. Dark ask-colored clay, upper part of a bluish cast, slightly indurated, tilled with concretions fully charged with
shells. The fossils are so abundant in the concretions that they form large masses of shell conglomerate,
cemented with a fine blue calcareous clay, exceedingly hard and breaking with an irregular fracture. This is
probably but an extension in a northwest direction of the same shell zone seen at Moreau and Grand rivers,
forks of Shyenne, Sage creek, &c. 20 feet.

b. A very dark indurated clay, presents similar characters to its equivalent at Great Bend, and contains fewer fossils
than the bed above.

The fossils of bed a indicate a blending of formations 4 and 5. The whole thickness of
Cretaceous rocks exposed on the Yellowstone at this locality is not more than twenty-five
feet, and the distant hills on either side are composed of Tertiary beds.

We will now return to White or Smoking Earth river below Fort Pierre, and trace
this formation into the interior of that interesting region. Passing up the valley of White
river, we find it occupying the country bordering upon that stream for about fifty miles
above its mouth. Near this point outliers of the White river Tertiary basin begin to
cover the highland, and No. 4 is seen along the river for about twenty miles farther, when
it is concealed by Tertiary strata. The intervening country east and northeast of the Bad
Lands to the Shyenne river, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, is for the most part
underlaid by this bed, except an extension of Fox ridge, to the sources of the Teton river,
which is composed of formation No. 5 of the vertical section. The extensive area drained
by the Shyenne river is composed of No. 4, excepting the sources of a few of its tributaries.
Sage and Bear creeks take their rise in the White river Tertiary basin, but flow mostly
through this formation, revealing large quantities of Cretaceous fossils. A few small
tributaries have their origin in the Fox ridge, and Cherry river has its source in the Lig¬
nite Tertiary basin, near the head waters of the Little Missouri.

OF T1IE UPPER MISSOURI.

7<)

In summing up the extent of country underlaid by this great formation, we find that
south of the Lignite basin, it occupies an area of two hundred miles in length and one
hundred in breadth, or twenty thousand square miles. North of the Great Lignite basin,
commencing at its first appearance near Milk river, we find it covering an area of two
hundred miles in length and sixty in breadth, or about twelve thousand square miles. I
have been thus particular in estimating its approximate limits and extent of surface, on
account of its influence on the future destiny of that region. Wherever this deposit pre¬
vails it renders the country more completely sterile than any other geological formation I
have seen in the Northwest. We see from the above estimate that it renders barren over
thirty thousand square miles of the valley of the Missouri.

The organic remains of this formation are too numerous to mention in detail. The
lower and upper members appear to be very fossiliferous, while the intervening portion, of
considerable thickness, contains only a few imperfect specimens of Cephalopoda and the
bones of Mosasaurus Missouriensis. The strata dip toward the northwest below Fort
Clark. At the Lower Bend, which seems to be formed of the lower portion of No. 4,
contains its peculiar fossils in great numbers. They are found in the loose clay or in
tough argillo-calcareous concretions, and many fine specimens are found along the shore of
the river at low water. We then have an interval of about two hundred and fifty miles,
to a point near the mouth of Grand river, wholly occupied by No. 4, in which are only
the few imperfect specimens of fossils before mentioned. Near the mouth of Grand river
the upper members yield an abundance of organic remains, many of which are specifically
identical with those occurring at the Great Bend, with many new and interesting forms.
At Sage creek and along the Shyenne river above its forks are noted localities for fossils.
Baculites are found in great perfection and beauty, Ammonites placenta occur three feet in
diameter, and a peculiar fossil, having a columnar structure like some forms of coral, Capri-
nella coraloidea (Hall and Meek), which is known only in this region. On the Yellow¬
stone many new forms are found, mostly belonging to small Acephala and Gasteropoda ,
and the only species of Echinoderm yet known in the Cretaceous rocks of the Northwest
occurs at this locality. Above Milk river this formation is filled with fossils, revealing, in
addition to many of the forms occurring in the localities already mentioned, a large
number of new species, as Gervilia subtortuosa , Ostrea patina , Ammonites Halli, &c. For
the complete list of the fossils occurring in each formation the reader is referred to the
catalogue at the close of the remarks on the Cretaceous formations.

Formation No. 5 or Vertical Section.

This very interesting bed, though differing lithologically from the preceding one, con¬
tains many of the same species of fossils. It is worthy, however, of a distinct position in

80

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

the series, not only from its extent, thickness, and difference of composition, but also from
the more favorable influence that it exerts upon the country underlaid by it. In ascend¬
ing the Missouri river it first makes its appearance near the mouth of Grand river, about
one hundred and fifty miles above Fort Pierre. Near Butte aux Gres it becomes quite
conspicuous, acquiring a thickness of eighty or one hundred feet, and containing great
quantities of organic remains. Here it forms an extension of what is called Fox ridge, a
series of high hills, having a northeast and southwest course, crossing the Missouri river
into Minnesota at this point. Its northeastern limits I have not ascertained. In its
southwestern extension it continues for a considerable distance nearly parallel with the
Missouri, crosses the Moreau river about thirty miles above its mouth, then forms a high
dividing ridge between the Moreau and Shyenne rivers, at which locality it first took its
name. Continuing thence its southwesterly course, it crosses the Shyenne, and is seen
again in its full thickness at the heads of Opening creek and Teton river, forming a high
ridge, from which tributaries of the Shyenne and Teton take their rise. The little streams
flowing into the Shyenne have a northwesterly course, while those emptying into the Teton
take a southeasterly direction. We thus find that this bed underlies an area of about two
hundred miles in length and fifty miles in breadth, or about ten thousand square miles.

The general character of formation No. 5 is a yellow arenaceous and argillaceous grit,
containing a great amount of ferruginous matter and in localities a profusion of organic
remains. It forms a much more fertile soil, sustains a more healthy and luxuriant vegetation
than formation No. 4, and abounds in springs of good water.

Like No. 4 this formation yields in the greatest abundance quite perfect and well-pre¬
served organic remains. Many of the species approximate so closely to Tertiary forms
that, did we not everywhere find them associated with Ammonites , Scaphites, Baculites , and
other genera which are not known to have existed later than the Cretaceous epoch, we
should at once pronounce the formation in which they occur to belong to the Tertiary
period. Fossils are found throughout this formation to a greater or less extent, and the
species are too numerous to mention any but the most characteristic and abundant ones.
The greatest proportion of the species are restricted to this bed ; and those which are
common to it and formation No. 4 are chiefly Cephalopoda, which everywhere have an
extensive vertical as well as geographical range. At Butte aux Gres on the Missouri we
find great quantities of fossils inclosed in tough ferruginous silicious concretions, as
Scaphites nodosus, A. Conradi, Nautilus Dehay /, a most abundant bivalve, Mactra Warrenana,
8c c. Along the Moreau river and on Fox hills, Bu.sycon Baird i, Cucullcea Nehrascensls ,
C. Shtimardi, Fusns Hay deni, occur in great numbers. At the head of Teton river, where
this formation attains a great thickness and presents its usual lithological characters, very
few fossils are found, a single fish-tooth, a small undescribed mollusc, and a few impressions

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

81

on sandstone, supposed to be trails of Planarian worms, are all the organic remains yet
known from this locality. At Sage creek and on the Yellowstone, where the Cretaceous
rocks are exposed, the fossils indicate a blending of Nos. 4 and 5. Wherever No. 5 is
exposed in the vicinity of Tertiary beds the strata of both the White river and lignite
basins repose directly upon it. It covers a large area around the Black hills, but its entire
limits are not yet known.

The following catalogue of Cretaceous fossils taken from a paper published by Mr. Meek
and myself in the Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. Oct. 1860, is so arranged as to show the
stratigraphical position as well as vertical range of each species, and the reader is referred
to the vertical section of the Cretaceous rocks of the Northwest.

“ Of the 194 Cretaceous species and varieties enumerated in the following catalogue, seven
are common to the Nebraska and New Jersey beds, viz.: Nautilus Dekayi , Ammonites
placenta, A. complexus , A. lobatus , Scaphites Gonradi , Baculites ovatus , and Gnjphaea vesi-
cularis?; and the following five species are probably common to Nebraska and foreign lo¬
calities, viz. : Nautilus Dekayi, Inoceramus problematicus , Gryphcea vesicular is , Gucullcea
fibrosa, and Microbacia coranula

CRETACEOUS SPECIES.
ARTICULATA.

ANNELIDA.

TUBICOLA.

Serpula ? t e n u i c ar i n a t a, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 134,

MOLLUSCA.

CEPHALOPODA.

TEUTIIIDrE.

Phylloteuthis subovatus, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 175, .

BELEMNITIDiE.

Belemnitella b u 1 b o s a, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 70,

NAUTILID2E.

Nautilus Dekayi, Morton, 1834, Synop. Or. Rem. 33, pi. 8, fig. 4, and pi. 13,

fig- h .

AMMONITIDAL

Ammonites percarinatus, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci.
Boston, v. N. S. pi. iv, fig. 2, .........

Ammonites vermilionensis, M. & Id. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil.

177, .

Ammonites complexus, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem, Am. Arts and Sci. Bos¬
ton, v, N. S. 394, pi. iv, fig. 1, .........

Formations

in ascending order.

1

2

3

4

5

*

■*

*

*

*

-X-

■X-

vol. xi r. — 11

* See remarks accompanying the paper from which this Catalogue is taken.

82

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

CATALOGUE OF CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations in ascending order.

1

2

3

4

5

Ammonites Halli, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 70,

Ammonites placenta, Dekay, 1827, New York Lyc. Nat. ii, pi. 5, fig. 2. (Non

*

A. •placenta Leckenby, 1858.) .

*

*

Ammonites placenta, var. intercalaris , M. & H. Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 177,

*

Ammonites lob at us, Tuomey, 1854, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil, vii, 168, .
Ammonites lenticularis, Owen, 1852. Report Iowa, Wiscon. and Min. tab. 8, fig.

■X

5. (Non A. lenticularis of Phillips, 1825.)

Scaphites Mandanensis, Morton sp .

Ammonites Mandanensis , Morton, 1841, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil, viii, 208, pi.

*

H), fig.2.

Scaphites Mandanensis, Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1836, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil.

281.

Scaphites abyssinus, Morton sp. ........

Scaphites Mandanensis ? Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1836, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil.

*

281.

Scaphites C h e y e n n e n s i s, Owen sp. ........

Ammonites Nebrascensis, Owen, 1852. Report Wise. Iowa and Min. pi. vii, fig. 2.
Ammonites Clieyennensis, Owen, “ “ “ pi. viii, fig. 2.

Ammonites Moreauensis, Owen, “ “ “ pi. viii, fig. 2.

Scaphites Conradi (pars) Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil.

*

281.

Scaphites Conradi, Morton sp. . . . . . .

Ammonites Conradi, Morton, 1834, Synop. Org. Rem. 39. pi. xvi, fig. 1, 2, 3.
Ammonites Dance, d’Orbigny, 1850, Prodrom. de Palmont. ii, 213.

X-

Scaphites Conradi, d’Orbigny, 1850, “ “ 214.

Scaphites Conradi, var. gidosus, Morton, sp., .

Ammonites var. gxdosus, Morton, 1854, Synopsis Org. Rem. 39, pi. xvi, fig. 2.

*

Scaphites N i c o 1 e t i i, Morton sp .

Ammonites Nicoletii, Morton, 1841, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phil, viii, pi. x, fig. 3.
Scaphites comprimus (.?), Owen, Report Wiscon. Iowa and Min. tab. vii, fig. 4.
Scaphites Nicoletii, Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1856, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 281.

*

•X

Scaphites (Ammonites?) nodosus, Owen, 1852, Report Iowa, Wiscon. and
Min. 581, tab. viii, fig. 4, ..........

Scaphites nodosus var. p 1 e n u s, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil.

*

177, . . .

*

Scaphites nodosus var. brevis, Meek & Hayden (MSS.) ....

*

Scaphites nodosus var. quadrangulus, Meek & Hayden (MSS.)

*

Scaphites n o d o s u s var. e x i 1 i s, Meek & Hayden, ......

Scaphites larvaeformis, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 58, .

*

*

Scaphites Warreni, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 177, .
Ancyloceras ? uncus, Meek & Hayden, ........

Ancyloceras ( Hamites ) uncus, M. & H. Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 56.

*

Helicoceras M o r t o n i, Hall & Meek sp. .......

Hamites Mortoni, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. v. N. S.

•X

pi. iv, fig. 3.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

83

CATALOGUE OP CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations

in ascending order.

1

2

3

4

5

Helicoceras tenuicostatum , M. & H. March 1858, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 56.

Helicoceras c o c h 1 e a t u m, Meek and Hayden, ......

Turrilites ( Helicoceras ) coclileatus , M. & II. March 1858, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

*

Phil. 55.

Helicoceras cochleatum , M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 185.
Helicoceras Nebrascense, Meek & Hayden, ......

Ancijloceras ? Hebrascensis, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 71.
Turrilites Nebrascensis , M. & H. Nov. 1856, “ “ 280.

■X-

Helicoceras tortum, M. & H. March 1858, il 11 54, .

-X-

Helicoceras Cheyennense, Meek & Hayden, ......

Ancijloceras f Cheyennense, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 71.

*

Turrilites Cheyennensis, M. & H. Nov. 1856, “ “ 280.

Helicoceras a n gu 1 at u m, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 176,.

Helicoceras umbili catum, Meek & Hayden.

*

Turrilites? umbilicatus, M & H. March 1858, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 56.
Helicoceras umbilicatum, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185,

*

Ptychoceras M or to n i, M. & H. May 1857, “ “ 134,

*

Baculites o vat us, Say, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil, vi, pi. v, fig. 5, 6,

Baculites g r a n d i s, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston,

•X-

*

v, N. S. 402, .

Baculites asperoides, Meek & Hayden. (MSS.)

Baculites compressus, Say, Am. Jour. Sci. ii, 41, .

Aptychus C h e y e n n e n s i s, Meek & Hayden. (MSS.) .....
Aptychus fragilis, Meek & Hayden. (MSS.) .......

*

*

■X-

GASTEROPODA.

MURICIDiE.

Fusus (Neptunea) Dakotensis, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

*

Fusus (Pyrifusus?) Newberry i, M. & H. March 1S57, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

*

Fusus subturrit us, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 139, .

Fusus intertext us, M. & H. “ “ “ 139, .

*

■X-

Fusus? flexico status, M. & H. March 1856, “ “ 66, .

*

Fusus Yaughani, M. & II. May 1857, “ “ 139, .

*

Fusus v i n c u 1 u m, Hall & Meek sp., ........

Buccinum ? vinculum, H. & M. Mem. Acad. Sci. and Arts, Boston, v, N. S. pi.
iii, fig- 5.

Fusus vinculum, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 183.

Fusus Scarborough i, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 139,

*

-X-

Fusus Culbertson i, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 66,

Fusus Haydeni, Evans & Shumard, 1857, Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, 41.

*

Fusus Galpinanus, M. & IT. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 65,

•X-

84

ON TIIE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

CATALOGUE OF CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Fusus ? tenuilineatus, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci.

Boston, v. N. S. 394, pi. iii, fig. 9, .

Busyeon B air d i, Meek & Hayden, .

Pyrula Bairdi , M. & II. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 66.

Busyeon Bairdi , M. & H. June, 1856, “ “ 126.

TURRITIDAE.

Turris mino r, Evans & Shumard sp .

Pleuroloma minor , E. & S. 1857, Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, i, 41.

Turris contortus, Meek & Hayden, ........

Fusus contortus , M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci Phil. 65.

PleiLrotoma contorta, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 183.

BUCCINID^E.

Buccinum c o n s t r i c t u m, Hall & Meek sp. .......

Fusus constrictum, II. & M. Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston, v, 391, pi.
iii, fig. 7.

Pseudobuccinum Nebrascense, Meek & Hayden, .

Buccinum? Nebrascense, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 67.
Pseudobuccinum Nebrascense, M. & H. May 1857, “ “ 140.

FASCIOLARIADiE.

Fasciolaria ? c r e t a c e a, M. & IT. March 1 856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 66, .
Faseiolaria b u c c i n oi d e s, M. & H. “ “ “ 67, .

NATICIDAE.

Natica (Lunatia) suberass a, hi. & IT. April 1856, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phil. 87,
Natica (Lunatia) Moreauensis, M. & II. Mar. 1856, “ “ 64,

Natica (Lunatia) occidentalis, M. &H. “ “ “ 64,

Amauropsis paludinseformis, Hall & Meek, sp. .....
Natica paludincef or mis, H. & M. 1854, Mem. Am. Sci. and Arts, Boston, v, 389,
pi. iii, fig. 3.

Amauropsis paludincef or mis, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 185.

SCALID2E.

Scala (Acirsa) cerithiformis, Meek and Hayden, . . . . .

Scalaria cerithiformis, M. & II. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 63.
Turbonilla cerithiformis, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 185.

CERITIIIOPSID2E.

Cerithiopsis Moreauensis, Meek & Hayden, .

Turritella Moreauensis, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 70.
Cerithiopsis Moreauensis, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

STROMBID2E.

Gladius ? Cheyennensis, Meek & Hayden, .

Postellaria fusiformis, II. & M. 1854, Mem. Acad. Sci. and Arts, Boston, v, N.
S. pi. iii, fig. 10.

(Non R. fusiformis, Pictet and Roux, 1848.)

Formations in ascending order.

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

85

CATALOGUE OF CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations in ascending order.

1

2

3

4

5

APORRHAIDiE.

Aporrliais Americana, Evans & Shumard sp. .....

Rostellaria Americana, E. & S. 1857, Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci. i, 42.

•X-

Aporrhais N e b r a s c e n s i s, Evans & Shumard, sp. . .....

Rostellaria Nebrascensis , E. & S. Aug. 1854, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 164.
Aporrhais sublevata, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 178,

-X-

■X-

Aporrhais biangulata, Meek & Hayden, .......

Rostellaria biangulata , M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 65.

•X"

Aporrhais biangidata , M. & H. May I860, “ “ 185.

Aporrhais p a r v a, M. & H. “ “ “ 118,

*

LITORINIDiE.

Fossar ? N ebrasceusis, Meek & Hayden, .......

Natica ambigua , M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 66.

(Non Fossar ambiguus, Lin. sp.)

NERITOPSID2E.

Neritopsis ? Tuomeyana, Meek & Hayden, .

Natica Tuomeyana , M. & H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 270.

•X*

TROCHIDH3.

Margarita Nebrascensis, Meek & Hayden, .......

Turbo Nebrascensis, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 64.
Margarita Nebrascensis, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

*

*Margaritella fl e x i s tri a ta, Evaus & Shumard, sp. .....

Solarium fiexistriatum, E. & S. Aug. 1854, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 163.

■X-

DENTALIADiE.

Dentalium gracile, H. & M. 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts, and Sci. Boston, v,

N. S. pi. iii, fig. 11, ...........

Dentalium pauper culum, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 178,

-X-

-X-

TECTURID2E.

Tectura occidentalis, Hall & Meek, sp. ......

Capulus occidentalis , H. & M. 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Sci. and Arts, Boston, v,

N. S. p. 385, fig. 13.

Tectura ? p a r v a, Meek & Hayden. (MS.) .

Tectura ? papillata, Meek & Hayden, ........

Capulus fragilis, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 68.

(Non Tectura fragilis, Gray & Gamard.)

•

■X"

■X-

X-

Anisomyon borealis, Morton sp. ........

■X*

Ilipponyx borealis, Morton, 1842, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. viii, pi. xi, fig. 6.
Uelcion carinatus, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 68.

Anisomyon borealis, M. & H. Jan. 1860, Am. Jour. Sci. xxviii, 2d ser. 35.
Anisomyon Shumard i, Meek & Hayden. (MS.) ......

•X-

Anisomyon patelliformis, Meek & Hayden, ......

Uelcion patelliformis, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 68.

*

86

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

CATALOGUE OF CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations

in ascending order.

1

2

3

4

5

Anisomyon patelliformis, M. & H. Jan. 1860, Am. Jour. Sci. xxviii, 2d ser. 35,
pi. i.

Anisomyon snbovatus, Meek & Hayden, .

Helcion subovatus , M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 68.

Anisomyon subovatus, M. & H. Jan. 1860, Am. Jour. Sci. xxviii, 2d ser. 35.

*

Anisomyon alveolatus, Meek & Hayden, .......

Helcion alveolatus, M. & II. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 68.

*

Anisomyon alveolatus, M. & II. Jan. I860, Am. Jour. Sci. xxxviii, 2d ser. 35.
Anisomyon s e x s u 1 c a t u s, Meek & Hayden, . ......

Helcion sexsulcatus, M. & H. March 1856, Pi\ Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 68.
Anisomyon sexsulcatus, M. & H. Jan. 1860, Am. Jour. Sci. xxxviii, 2d ser. 35.

*

SOLIDULHXE.

Solidula subelliptica, Meek & Hayden, .

Acteon subelliptica, M. & II. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 63.

*

Solidulus ( Acteonina ?) subelliptica, M. & II. May 1860, “ 185.

Solidula (Acteonina ?) a 1 1 e n u a t a, Meek & Hayden, .....
Acteon ( solididus ) aiienuata, M. & H. Mar. 1858, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 54.
Solididus attenuatus, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

*

Cinulia concinna, Hall & Meek, sp. ...

Acteon concinna, H. & M. 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston, v, N. S.

"5f

pi. iii, fig. 4.

Avellana subglobosa, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 64.

BULLIDiE.

Bulla occidentalis, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 69, .
Bulla m i n o r, M. & H. “ “ “ 69, .

*

■X-

Bulla v o 1 v a r i a, M. & H. “ “ “ 69, .

*

Bulla speciosa, Meek & Hayden, .........

Bulla subcylindrica, M. & H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 270.

(Non B. subcylindrica, d’Orbigny, 1847.)

Bulla speciosa, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 185.

*

CYLICHNIDiE.

Cylichna s c i t u 1 a, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 178,

*

CONCHIFERA.

PHOLADIDH1.

Pholas ? Stimpsoni, Meek & Hayden, ........

Xylophaga Stimpsoni, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 141.

*

Pholas (Martesia) c u n e a ta, M. & H. Mar. 1858, “ “ 53,

Xylophaga e 1 e g a n t u la, M. & H. May 1857, “ “ 141,

Teredo sell if or mis, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 178,

vr

*

*

Teredo glob os a, M. & H. March 1858, “ “ 53,

■X-

SAXICAVIDiE.

Panopsca occidentalis, M. & II. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 270, .

*

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

87

CATALOGUE OP CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations

in ascending order.

1

2

3

4

5

SOLENIDiE.

Pharella ? Dakotensis, Meek & Hayden, . .

Solen? Dakotensis, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 242.

*

CORBULID2E.

Corbula e r a s s i m a r g i n a t a, Meek & Hayden. (MSS.) .....
Corbula iuornata, M. & II. March 1858, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 52.

*

Corbulamella gregarea, Meek & Hayden, .

Corbula ? gregarea, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 84.
Corbidamella gregarea , M. & H. May 1857, “ “ 143.

■X*

■X’

Nemra ventricosa, Meek & Hayden, .

Corbula ventricosa, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 83.

Necera ventricosa, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 183.

■X*

Nemra M o r e a u e u s i s, Meek & Hayden, .......

Corbula Moreauensis, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 83.

Necera Moreauensis, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

*

ANATINIDiE.

Thracia subtort u os a, Meek & Hayden, .......

Tellina subtortuosa, M. & H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 272.

*

Thracia gracilis, Meek & Hayden, .

Tellina gracilis, M. & H. April 1855, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 82.

Thracia? gracilis, M. & H. Nov. 1856, “ “ 284.

■X-

Thracia P r o uti, Meek & Hayden, .........

Tellina Prouti, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 85.

■X-

Pholadomya (?) fi b r o s a, Meek & Hayden, .......

Avicula (?) jibrosa, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 86.
Pholadomya jibrosa, M. & H. Nov. 1856, “ “ 283.

Pholadomya subventricosa, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.

*

142, .

*

Pholadomya undata, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 81,

*

MACTRID2E.

Mactra (Trigonella?) formosa, Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat.

Sci. Phila. 271, ...........

■X-

Mactra (Trigonella?) alta, M. & II. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 271,
Mactra (Trigonella?) Siouxensis, M. & II. May I860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

*

Phila. 179, .............

-X-

Mactra (Trigonella?) Warren an a, M. & H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

Phila. 281, .............

•X-

Mactra (Trigonella?) gracilis, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.

179, .

■X-

*

TELLINIDH3.

Tellina equilateralis, Meek & Hayden, April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

Phila. 82, ... .

-X-

Tellina sci tula, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 82,

*

88

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

CATALOGUE OF CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations

in ascending order.

1 j

2

3

4

5

Tellina (?) form os a, M. & H. May I860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 179,

*

Tellina (?) s u b e 1 1 i p t i c a, M. & II. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 83,

0

*

Tellina (?) Cheyenne n sis, M. & II. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 82,

*

VENERIDiE.

Venus circularis, Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 272,
Meretrix tenuis, Hall & Meek, sp., .........

Cytherea tenuis, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston, v,

N. S. 383, pi. i, fig. 8.

Meretrix tenuis , M. & II. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 185.

-X-

•X-

Meretrix pellucid a, Meek & Hayden, ........

Cytherea pellucida, M. & H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 272.

Meretrix pellucida, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 185.

*

Meretrix D e w e y i, Meek & Hayden, ........

Cytherea Deweyi, M. & II. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 83.

Meretrix Deweyi, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

Meretrix Owenana, Meek & Hayden, .

Cytherea Owenana, M. & H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 273.

Meretrix Owenana, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

*

Meretrix orbiculata, Hall & Meek, sp., .......

Cytherea orbiculata, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston, v,

N. S. pi. i, fig. 7.

Meretrix orbiculata, Meek & Hayden, May 1860, Pr. Aead. Nat. Sci. Phila. 185.

■X-

CYPR1NIDAE.

Cyprina arenarea, Meek & Hayden, May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 143,
Cyprina subtumid a, M. & II. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 144,

*

-X-

Cyprina humilis, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 179,

Cyprina ovata, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 144, .

•X-

*

CARDIDAE.

Bucardia? Moreauensis, Meek & Hayden, ......

Cyprina cordata, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 143. (Non. B.

■X-

cordata, sp. Buckm.)

Tancredia Americana, Meek & Hayden, .

Hettangia Americana, M. & H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 274.
Tancredia Americana, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ “ 185.

Cardium speciosum, Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.

274, .

■X*

Cardium r arum, Evans & Shumard, Trans. Acad. Nat. Sci. St. Louis, i. 39, .

*

Cardium s u b q u a d r a t u m, E. & S. 11 “ “ i, 39, .

LUCINIDAE.

Lucina occidentalis, Morton, sp., .

Tellina occidentalis, Morton, 1842, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. viii, pi. xi, fig. 3.
Lucina occidentalis, M. & 11. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 272.

*

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

89

CATALOGUE OF CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations

in ascending order.

1

2

3

4

5

Lucina subundata, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston,
v, N. S. pi. i, fig. 6, ...........

Lucina ventricosa. Meek & Hayden. (MSS.)

■X-

SOLEMYIDiE.

Solemya s u b p 1 i e a t a, Meek & Hayden, .......

Solen subplicata, M. & H. Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. April 1856, 82.

■X-

ASTARTIDriE.

Crassatella Evan si, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston,
v, N. S. 383, pi. i, fig. 9, ..........

Astarte gr eg aria, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 84, .

■X"

*

MYTIL1D2E.

Mytilus subarcuatus, Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

Phila. 276, . T .... .

*

Modiola M e e k i i, Evans & Shumard, sp., ... ....

Mytilus Galpinianus, E. & S. Aug. 1854, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 164.

-X

Modiola attenuata, Meek & Hayden, . .

Mytilus aitenuatus , M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 86.

AVICULID2E.

Avicula linguiformis, Evans & Shumard, 1854, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.

163, . .

-X*

Avicula subgib bo sa, Meek & Hayden, May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.

180, .........

* 1

Avicula Nebrascana, Evans & Shumard, 1857, Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis,

h P- 38, • • . .

*

Avicula Hay deni, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Sci. and Arts, Boston,
v, N. S. 382, pi. i, fig. 5, ..........

Gervillia subtortuosa, Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

*

Phila. 276,

-X-

Inoceramus per tenuis, Meek & Hayden, Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.

Phila. 276,

*

Inoceramus venlricosus, M. & H. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 87.
(Non. I. ventricosus, Sowerby.)

Inoceramus pertenuis, var. subdepressus, Meek & Hayden, ....
Inoceramus subcompress us, Meek & Hayden, May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat.

*

Sci. Phila. 181, ............

•X-

Inoceramus fragilis, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci.

Boston, v, N. S. 388, pi. ii, fig. 6.

*

Inoceramus problem aticus, Schlot. sp. ?, .

Mytililes problematicus, Schlotkeim, Petrefaet. 312.

Inoceramus mytiloides , Mantel], 1822, Geol. Sussex, pi. xxvii, fig. 3, and pi. xxviii,
fig. 2.

Inoceramus problematicus, d’Orbigny, 1843, Palmont. Franc, t. iii, 510, pi. cdvi.
Inoceramus p s e u d o -m y t i 1 o i d e s, Schiel. 1855, ii, Pacific Railroad Report,

■X-

*

108, pi. iii, fig. 8, ...........

-X-

VOL. XII. — 12

90

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

CATALOGUE OF CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations in ascending order.

1

2

3

4 I

5

Inoceramus aviculoides, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 181,
Inoceramus sublaevis, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Acad. Arts and Sci. v, N. S.

*

386, pi. ii, fig. 1, ...........

*

Inoceramus convexus, Hall & Meek, 1854, Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. v, N. S.
386, pi. ii, fig. 2, ...........

Inoceramus tenuilineatus, II. & M. 1854, Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. v, N. S.

*

386, pi. ii, fig. 3, ...........

*

Inoceramus cuneatus, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 181, .
Inoceramus Sagensis, Owen (?), 1852, Report, Survey Min. Iowa, and Wiscon.

*

*

582, tab. vii, fig. 3, ...........

Inoceramus incurvns, M.&H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 277, .
Inoceramus umbonatus, M. &H. March 1858, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 50,
Inoceramus M o r t o n i, M. & IT. (MSS.) ........

Inoceramus Nebrascensis, Owen, 1852, Rept. Iowa, Wiscon. and Min. 582,

*

pi. viii, fig. 1, .

*

Inoceramus V anuxe m i, M. & 11. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 180, .

*

Inoceramus B a 1 c h i i, M. & H. “ “ “ “ 180, .

*

ARCIDTE.

Area sulcatina, Evans & Shumard, 1857, Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci. 39, .

Area e x i g u a, Meek & Hayden, .

Cucullcea exigua, M. & H. Nov. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 275.

*

Cucullma fibrosa, Sowerby, 1818, Min. Conch, iii, 9, .

Area fibrosa, d’Orbigny, 1843, Palmont. Franc, t. iii, 212, pi. cccxii.

Area ( cucidlcea ) Shumardi, M. & II. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 86.

*

Cucullma c o r d a t a, Meek & Hayden, ........

Area ( cucidlcea ) cordata, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 86.
Cucidlcea cordata, M. & II. Nov. 1856, “ “ 285.

*

Cuculloea N ebrascensis, Owen, 1852, Rept. Wiscon. Iowa, and Min. 582,

pi. viii, figs. 1, 1 a, .

*

Axinsea Siouxensis, Hall & Meek, sp., .

Pectunculus Siouxensis, H. & M. 1854, Mem. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston, v, N.

*

S. 384, pi. i, fig. 12.

Axincea Siouxensis, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 185.

Axincea subimbricata, Meek & Hayden, . .

Pectunculus subimbricatus , M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 146.
Axincea subimbricatus, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 185.

*

Limopsis p a r v u 1 a, Meek & Hayden, ........

Peciunculina parvula, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 86.

Limopsis parvula, M. & H. Nov. 1856, “ “ 285.

LEDIDiE.

Leda (Yoldia) scitula, Meek & Hayden, .

Nucula scitida, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 84.

Leda scitula, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

*

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

91

CATALOGUE OF CRETACEOUS FOSSILS, continued.

Formations in ascending order.

1

2

3

4

5

Leda (Yoldia) Evansi, Meek & Hayden, .

Nucula Evansi , M. & II. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 84.

Leda Evansi , M. k, H. May I860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 185.

•X-

Leda (Yoldia) ventricosa, Hall & Meek, sp., .

Nucula ventricosa , H. & M. 1854, Mem. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston, v, N. S. 385,

*

pi. i, fig. 11. (Non. N. ventricosa , Hind, 1843.*)

Leda (Yoldia) subnasuta, Hall & Meek, sp., .

Nucula subnasuta , II. & M. Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston, v, N. S. 384,

*

pi. i, fig. 11.

NUCULID2E.

Nucula equilateralis, M. & H. April 1856. Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 84, .
Nucula subplan a, M. & H. “ “ “ 85, .

■5 £

*

Nucula e a n c e 1 1 a t a, M. & H. “ “ “ 85, .

*

Nucula p 1 a n i m a r g i n a t a, M. & H. “ “ “ 85, .

Nucula o b s o le t as t r ia t a, M. & H. “ “ “ 275, .

•X'

*

PECTENIDyE.

Pecten r i g i d a, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Sci. and Arts, Boston, v,

N. S. 381, pi. ii, fig. 4 , a, b, c,

-X-

Pecten Nebrascensis, M. & H. April 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 87, .

*

*

ANOMIADiE.

Anomia o b 1 i q u a, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 181,

Anomia s u b t r i g o u a 1 i s, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 181,

«

*

OSTREADiE.

Ostrea inornata, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 181,

Ostrea t r a n s 1 u c i d a, Meek & Hayden. (MSS.) ......

Ostrea larva, Hall & Meek (non. Lamarck), 1854, Mem. Acad. Arts and Sci.

*

Boston, v, N. S. 406, .

*

Ostrea congest a, Conrad, 1843, Nicollet’s Report, Explor. N. W. Territories,

167, .

Ostrea patina, M. & II. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 277,

7T

Gryplicea vesicularis, Lamarck ? sp. .

Ostrea vesictdaris, Lamarck, 1860, Am. Mus. viii, 160, t. 22, fig. 3.

Ostrea deltoidea, Lamarck, 1860, Am. Mus. viii, 160, and xiv, t. 21, pars.

Ostrea vesicularis of numerous authors.

•X-

BRA CHI OPODA ? ’

IIIPPURITIDIE.

Caprinella? coraloidea, Hall & Meek, 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and

Sci. Boston, v, N. S. 381, pi. ii, fig. 3, .

*

RADI AT A.

FUNGIDIE.

Macrobacia coronula, Goldf. sp. Petrefact. Germ, i, 50, tab. 14, fig. 10,

■X*

*

VERTEBRATA.

Mosasaurus Missouriensis, Leidv, ........

1 *

■

92

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

CHAPTER XI.

VII. Tertiary Basins of the Upper Missouri.

This system occupies so extended a geographical area in the Northwest, that it forms
a most important feature in its geology. As far as it is now’ understood on the Upper
Missouri it may he separated into two distinct divisions or basins, exhibiting well-marked
lithological differences and containing organic remains peculiar to each.

1st. Great Lignite Tertiary Basin, commencing near the mouth of Cannon-ball river
and extending along the Missouri nearly to the mouth of the Mussel-shell, a distance of
about six hundred miles. I have traced this formation up the Yellowstone to the mouth
of Big Horn river, a distance of three hundred miles. Its limits have not been ascer¬
tained with accuracy, in several directions.

2d. Les Mauvaises Ter res, or Tertiary basin of White river, which, with its outliers, in¬
cluding the sandhills and Pliocene beds, occupy an area of from four hundred to five hun¬
dred miles from east to west, and four hundred to six hundred miles from north to south.
Exact limits not yet ascertained.

1st. Great Lignite Tertiary Basin.

This great basin occupies an immense geographical area, and when thoroughly explored
will undoubtedly be found the largest freshwater deposit in our country. Indeed the
wide extent of country which it underlies, its influence on the external features of the
country, the character and abundance of its organic remains, render it a matter of the
highest interest to determine its exact age and its true relation to other Tertiary deposits.
It has been known since the time of Lewis and Clarke that a deposit containing lignite,
&c., existed on the Upper Missouri, lleports of a similar nature have been given to us
by other travellers since that time, but no details of its lithological characters, no collec¬
tion of its fossils, or other information that would enable us to determine its age or extent.
The collections which have been already secured by the writer from this great deposit,
show most conclusively that it possesses the mixed character of an estuary and freshwater
formation, and its fossil flora indicates its age to be probably of the Miocene Tertiary.*
We will now give a few of the details of its geology, together with some views in regard
to its economical value to the country.

In ascending the Missouri river we meet with outliers of this deposit between Grand
and Cannon-hall rivers, near lat. 46°, in the form of denuded hills. These are scattered to

* The lower portion, at least, is probably Eocene.

OF THE UPFER MISSOURI.

93

a greater or less extent over the prairie, resting upon Cretaceous formation No. 5 of the
vertical section. At Long lake the Lignite Tertiary begins to assume considerable impor¬
tance. On the left side of the Missouri from a series of denuded hills we have the follow¬
ing section of strata in descending order.

Feet.

1. Yellow and drab arenaceous grit, . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 to 30

2. Impure lignite, ................ 1

3. Gray arenaceous grit, indurated, contains a small portion of clay, also vertebrate remains, as Compsemys

victus, Emys obscurus, Trionyx , &c., ............ 40

4. Impure lignite of a reddish color, with somewhat the character of a carbonaceous clay, .... 4

5. Rather fine-grained gray silicious grit, with a slight admixture of clay, contains great numbers of dull red

argillaceous concretions, fragments of turtles mentioned in bed 3, and the bones of a huge deinosaurian,
described by Dr. Leidy as Thespesius occidentalis, . . . . . . . . . 30 to 50

The lowest bed of the above section rests directly upon the well-known Cretaceous
formation No. 5 of the vertical section. Bed 5 is the same yellow sandstone seen near
Fort Clark, which there contains so many freshwater and estuary shells. On the Square
hills, thirty miles below Fort Clark, it becomes a heavy-bedded, coarse-grained, ferrugin¬
ous sandstone, containing Paludina, Melania Nebrascensis , M. Warrenana , and Corbula
mactriformis.

Near Apple creek on the Missouri, in a bank cut by the river, we have the following-
section of beds in descending order.

Feet.

1. Deep yellow grit, with some clay, caps the hills.

2. Yellow sand, passing down into a gray and dark gray grit, ......... 40

3. Impure lignite, with a shaly structure, ............ 1

4. Drab indurated arenaceous clay, ............. 8

5. Impure lignite; 2 feet. First appearance of lignite immediately along the river.

6. Gray and dark gray grit, ............... 30

Underneath the Tertiary bed 6 comes a layer of yellow arenaceous and argillaceous grit,
containing several species of Pectuncidus, Fnsus, See. This is undoubtedly the upper por¬
tion of No. 5 of vertical section, though its fossils all have a peculiar Tertiary aspect.
Indeed all the mollusca from formation No. 5 approximate so closely to well-known Ter¬
tiary forms, that I am inclined to consider it a transition or bed of passage from the
Cretaceous to the Tertiary epoch.

At Fort Clark we have a bed of lignite, two feet in thickness exposed, presenting its
usual characters.

1. Ferruginous sandstone, 30 to 40 feet. Near the base of the sandstone is a seam eighteen inches in thick¬
ness, composed of shell-marl, with fine specimens of Paludina , Melania, Corbula, &c. These shells are

CO to

94

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Feet.

distributed somewhat sparingly throughout the bed of sandstone. It also contains some fine impressions
of dicotyledonous leaves.

. Dark indurated carbonaceous clay, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2£

. Lignite, of an average degree of purity, ............ 2

4. Indurated clay with a reddish tinge containing much carbonaceous matter, ...... 2

5. Light yellow clay with seams of carbonaceous matter disseminated through it, a sort of fine clay, 4 feet

exposed above the water-level.

Thirteen miles above Fort Clark, at Fed spring, on the right side of the Missouri, are a
long series of nearly perpendicular bluffs, exposed by the river. This is the best locality
for the collection of fossil plants I have yet seen. They are finely preserved, occur in
great profusion, and belong nearly all to dicotyledonous trees. The following is a vertical
section of the different beds in descending order, as they appear in this range of hills :

Feet.

1. Ferruginous marl, ................ 10

2. Variegated bands of. argillaceous grits, ............ 80

3. Seam of impure reddish lignite, 2 inches.

4. Yellowish gray grit, with numerous concretions, in horizontal layers, filled with beautiful impressions of

leaves, . . 10

5. Seam of lignite, 2 inches.

6. Yellowish gray sand with argillo-calcareous concretions, laden with impressions of dicotyledonous leaves, 10

7. Earthy lignite, 3 inches.

8. Yellow and drab clay and sandstone, containing argillaceous concretions with vegetable impressions, . 15

9. Dark reddish earthy lignite, 4 inches.

10. Yellow argillaceous grit, ............... 20

11. Alternate layers of lignite and clay varying in thickness at different localities within a distance of four

miles, . . 4 to 15

12. Heavy-bedded friable sandstone, very ferruginous, varying in color from yellow to gray and yellowish gray.

Same bed, I think, as seen at Fort Clark and on the summit of Square hills, containing so many fossils.

Here we have Melania Nebrascensis, Paludina multilineata, and Corbula matriformis, . . .40

13. Seam of lignite, 2 inches.

14. Gray argillaceous grit, ............... 4

15. Lignite of excellent quality, .............. 2

16. Bluish gray clay, slightly arenaceous, ............ 6

17. Lignite near water’s edge, quite pure, . . . . . . . . . . 3 to 4

Beneath bed 17 may be seen at low water a heavy-bedded gray sandstone.

In speaking of lignite as of a good quality, I mean, that it contains a small amount of
earthy material, hut I have not yet seen any of it that would be of much value for economi¬
cal purposes.* Specimens from this locality and from Fort Berthold, forty miles above,

* I am satisfied that some of the beds of lignite, especially those on the Yellowstone, can be used for fuel, when
the country is sufficiently settled to induce a demand for it. There are some excellent beds of lignite on the North

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

95

present the following characters on examination : contain no bitumen ; sublaminated
structure ; compact fragments have a somewhat conchoidal fracture and a jet shining black
color ; almost always reveal the vegetable fibre ; ignites very slowly ; burns with a light
yellowish flame, and emits a sulphurous smell.

Throughout the denuded portions of this formation, great quantities of silicified wood
are found in a fine state of preservation and so close is the resemblance that it may readily
be mistaken at a distance for recent wood. Near the foot of the Great Bend of the Mis¬
souri, above Fort Berthold, I observed a silicified stump near the base of the bluff, standing
upright, three feet in diameter, with a cavity in the centre 6 inches in diameter, and so
perfectly is the original fibre preserved, that the layers of growth are as distinct as in the
stump of a tree just felled Avith the axe.

Near the Great Bend the surface of the country presents an exceedingly rugged appear¬
ance, and is called by the Indians and traders “ Les Mauvaises Terres,” or Bad Lands.
The bluffs here afford fine examples of the spontaneous ignition of the lignite beds, by
which the superincumbent strata are fused or heated to various degrees of compactness,
sometimes giving the hills the appearance of an accumulation of fragments of burnt bricks.
Oftentimes the clays and sands contiguous to the lignite beds are fused, so as to exhibit
every variety of character, from a nearly vitreous mass to a light vesicular lava with a
specific gravity less than water. Many of these light vesicular masses fall down to the
edge of the river, and the current in high water carries them down, scattering them on
sandbars and bottoms, even below St. Louis, and thus the origin of the opinion that there
were volcanic products somewhere near the sources of the Missouri.

Section of strata at Crow hills, about one hundred miles below Fort Union:

Feet.

1. Yellow and gray arenaceous marl with horizontal layers of hard concretionary rocks, containing some im¬

pressions of plants, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 to 40

2. Impure lignite, 4 inches.

8. Indurated clay, ferruginous, with many deep iron-rust concretions, ....... 80

4. Reddish drab, indurated arenaceous and argillaceous grit, . . . . . . . . .15

5. Eight inches earthy lignite. Twelve inches yellow clay. Four inches earthy lignite.

6. Yellow and yellowish gray sandstone, with irregular seams of clay. This bed contains many species of

shells, and distinct impressions of a species of fern in a black compact clay rock, exposed, . . .30

One of the most interesting portions of the country occupied by the lignite deposit is in
the region surrounding Fort Union, not only on account of its. geological peculiarities, but
also from the number and variety of its fossils. Scattered over the denuded hills on both

Platte, 18 inches to 2 feet in thickness, which has been used with success at a military station near it. It will
not, however, supply sufficient heat for welding iron.

9G

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

sides of the Missouri river are great quantities of the shells of mollusca in a tine state of
preservation, looking very much like those strewn upon the shores of our present rivers
or lakes. Silicified wood occurs everywhere in the greatest abundance, in the same perfect
state of preservation before mentioned.

A vertical section of the different beds in descending order, as exposed within twenty
or thirty miles of Fort Union, would be as follows:

Eeet.

1. Ferruginous marl, with arenaceous concretions, caps the hills, and is covered with angular blocks of

granite ; sometimes the upper part of this bed for several feet in thickness is composed of concretionary
sandstone, forming ledges. Most common fossil, Paludina trochiformis, . . . . 20 to 30

2. Drab indurated arenaceous clay, ............. 20

3. Impure lignite with numerous crystals of selenite, 12 inches.

4. Gray and drab indurated clay, contains at various localities very abundant impressions of leaves of dicoty¬

ledonous trees with a species of fern, . . . . . . . . . . . 50 to 70

5. Impure lignite with much silicified wood. One mass lay in the bed eighteen inches in diameter, and

thirty feet in length, 18 inches.

G. Gray indurated sand, with a slight mixture of clay, contains numerous freshwater mollusca, as Paludina
trochiformis, P. retusa, P. Leai, P. Leidyi, Melania Nebrascensis, also many fragments and entire
stumps of silicified trees, among the debris of which I noticed that the shells were most abundant, . 30

7. Impure lignite, 4 inches.

8. Dark gray and drab indurated sand, . . . . . . . . . . . 20 to 30

About six miles northeast of Fort Union a local bed occurs, containing a somewhat
peculiar class of fossils, of freshwater and land species, a section of which I give to show
the position of the fossils.

Feet.

1. Indurated silicious grit, variable in color and structure, sometimes light gray, drab or ferruginous, with

layers of clay and concretionary sandstone, near the lower portion of the bed. The terrestrial and fluvia-
tile shells are inclosed in a hard reddish carbonaceous matrix, thrust in between layers of the
sandstone, ............... 80 to 100

2. Impure lignite, ................ 2

3. Yellowish gray indurated clay.

The lower portion of bed 1 of the above section contains at this locality a profusion of
land and freshwater shells, inclosed in a compact matrix, well calculated to preserve them.
The bed occupies an area of only a few yards square, exposed in the channel of a little
stream, and was observed nowhere else on the Missouri.

The mollusca that occur at this locality, though belonging to extinct species, are closely
allied to forms now living on the land and in the little streams of the country. The species
as yet described from this place are Cyclas frag ills , G. subellipticus , O. formosa, Papa heli-

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

97

coides , Physci longiuscula, P. rhomboidea , P. Nebrascensis, Planorbis subumbilicattis , Ancy-
lus minuta , Valvata parvidci , Bulimus? teres, B. vermiculus. The last two species will
doubtless prove to belong to the genus Clausilia , or to an intermediate new genus
between Bulimus and Clausilia. There were also many seeds of plants in this ligneous
material. The upper portion of this bed is a dark gray silicious grit, sometimes of a drab
color, from the numerous particles of coaly matter which are disseminated through it.
It contains numerous impressions of dicotyledonous leaves, of the same species with those
found in the same bed ten miles below this point, and holding nearly the same position.
But one of the most remarkable features of this bed at this locality, is the presence of
myriads of spherical concretions, covering an area of several miles in extent. They vary
in size from half an inch to several feet in diameter, and are formed of thin layers of sand¬
stone, concentrically arranged about a nucleus. They contain much ferruginous matter,
of a grayish color internally, but becoming of a reddish iron-rust color on exposure.

About thirty miles below the mouth of Milk river the beds of the lignite basin begin
sensibly to rise above the water-level of the Missouri, by the reversed dip of the strata, and
on reaching Hound Butte they cap the hills, though still maintaining considerable thick¬
ness. Near the mouth of Mussel-shell river, the Cretaceous formation No. 4 occupies the
country, the lignite beds having entirely disappeared. At Hound Butte the lignite de¬
posit is mostly seen in outliers in the form of denuded conical hills, scattered over the
broad upland plateau, the highest about one hundred feet, resting upon No. 4 or a blend¬
ing of Nos. 5 and 4, which have a thickness of two or three hundred feet. The northern
outliers of the lignite basin pass off on the Cretaceous hills, presenting very similar litho¬
logical characters to those along the southern border.

The same deposit underlies the country bordering upon the Yellowstone, at least to the
mouth of the -Big Horn, which is the highest point to which my explorations have ex¬
tended. It presents nearly the same lithological characters as on the Missouri, and most
of its organic remains are specifically identical.

Near the mouth of the Yellowstone river are a series of hills, composed of variegated
sands and clays, with some impure lignite and large numbers of animal and vegetable
remains.

Near O’Fallon’s creek, about one hundred miles by land above the mouth of the Yellow¬
stone, is a very high rugged portion of country, called Bad Lands, which is cut through
by the river, so as to expose a fine vertical section of the strata. This section will repre¬
sent most of the Tertiary beds seen on the Yellowstone, but they vary much in thickness
and appearance at different localities.

vol. xrr. — 13

98

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL IIISTORY

Feet,

SECTION OF TERTIARY BEDS NEAR o’fALLON’S CREEK, ON TIIE YELLOWSTONE

1. Yellowish flesh-colored marl. The upper portion of the bed is a rather coarse-grained reddish sandstone,

with many large Unios, too imperfect to characterize, . 20 to 30

2. Reddish drab indurated clay, .............. 10

3. Dark drab indurated clay, . . ............ 30

Earthy lignite, 2 inches, .

Dark drab indurated clay, 4 inches,

Impure lignite, 2 inches, .

4. < Yellow clay with concretions, 2 feet, \ jn all, over
Impure lignite, 2 inches, .

Carbonaceous clay, 3 inches,

Impure lignite, 2 inches, .

5. Dark drab indurated arenaceous clay,

6. Lignite, quite pure, 18 inches.

7. Deep yellow ferruginous grit, contains a few shells, as Paludina, Corbula, &c., and impressions of leaves, 25

C Lignite, quite pure, 18 inches.

8. A Very dark carbonaceous clay, . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 to 15

V. Lignite of good quality, 2 feet.

9. Light gray sand, reaching to water’s edge at this point, though reposing on Cretaceous formation No. 4 a

few miles below, exposed, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 to 40

3

30

In bed 9 of the above local section we find numerous argillo-calcarcons concretions,
containing distinct impressions of leaves of dicotyledonous trees, Smilax , Acer, U hnus ,
&c. I think this bed holds the same position as the lowest sand-bed seen on Moreau
river near Thunder hill and on Cherry creek. Plants and shells are found to some extent
in all the strata of clay, especially near the lignite beds. Bed 8, a few miles down the
river, becomes a solid stratum of lignite, seven feet in thickness, and is the largest bed of
this material seen on the river. After passing the mouth of Powder river it diminishes in
thickness and becomes more impure, and thus continues to the mouth of Big Horn river,
the limit of my observations. I have no doubt, however, that, like the same beds on the
Missouri, the Tertiary beds soon disappear on the high hills (the strata dipping toward
the east apparently), and give place to formations of older date. In the summer of 1854,
I received from intelligent traders, specimens of Inocerdmus and Ammonites from a locality
near Clark’s fork, a branch of the Yellowstone, which is on the same parallel with Mus¬
sel-shell river, where the well-known Cretaceous formation No. 4 reaches its largest de¬
velopment on the Missouri.

Throughout the region of the Yellowstone, silicified wood is found in the greatest
abundance, so that many portions have been called by the trappers “ petrified forests.”
There is everywhere evidence of an exceedingly luxuriant growth of timber during the
Tertiary period.

The spontaneous ignition of the lignite beds, and its influence on the contiguous strata,

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

99

is nowhere better exhibited than in the country bordering upon the Yellowstone. Often
ranges of hills extending back from the river into the interior for several miles, form a
series of high bluff ledges of the fused or semifused rocks, somewhat variegated, hut
mostly of a lively red color, giving to the country the appearance of the ruins of a large
city. The light vesicular pumice-like masses have been scattered by the wind over the
plateaus surrounding these hills, and are sometimes carried a mile or more from the ori¬
ginal position. Even at the present time, I observed several places where the lignite beds
were in a state of combustion, both on the Missouri and on the Yellowstone, and the
atmosphere is filled with smoke, and the sulphurous smell which issues from these fires is
exceedingly offensive to the traveller.

The same phenomena have been observed in the far North, in the lignite beds on Mac¬
kenzie’s river. Mr. Simpson, a gentleman who travelled quite extensively in the Hud¬
son Bay territory, from 1836 to 1839, says of the beds of that region, — “ Wood-coal was
in a state of combustion for several miles on both sides of the Mackenzie, and these
natural fires seem to have spread considerably since last described by Hr. Richardson.
The jets of smoke issuing in many places from the perpendicular face of the clayey cliffs,
presented a singular spectacle. The combustion had in many places scorched the layers
of unctuous earth that interstratify the coal formation, and turned their surface to a
lively red color.”*

In regard to the age of the lignite formations described by Mr. Simpson, we have no
reliable information. It is probable that they are synchronous with those on the Upper
Missouri, but some portion of them may belong to the Cretaceous period.

We will now return to the Missouri river, and trace the lignite strata westward, into
the interior toward the Black hills along their southern boundaries. In latitude 461°,
longitude 1001°, near the mouth of Cannon-ball river, we have distinct indications of this
formation in the numerous conical hills which have been left after denudation ; and
scattered around these denuded hills are many fragments of finely preserved silicified wood,
with a few estuary shells. Proceeding in a southwest direction from the mouth of Can¬
non-ball river, we find the outliers of the lignite formation, resting upon Cretaceous bed
No. 5 of the vertical section, and on reaching Grand river, eighty miles above its mouth,
the Tertiary strata occupy the surface of the country, the Cretaceous beds appearing only
in the channels of the streams. At Thunder Butte we have a fine section of the Tertiary
beds. This is a hill left after the denudation of the surrounding country, rising above the
level prairie to the height of three hundred feet. The strata are perfectly horizontal, and
the following beds in descending order will show the character of the hill :

* Thomas Simpson’s Journal of Discoveries on the North Coast of America, during the years 1836 to 1839 ;
pages 97 and 98.

100

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Feet*.

1. Coarse-grained gray sandstone, very compact and hard at summit, but becoming more friable at

base, ................ 100 to 150

2. A variable bed of yellowish gray loose sand and clay, with here and there a small seam of lignite, and

some argillo-calcareous concretions, ............ 100

3. Dull reddish argillaceous lignite, 18 inches.

4. Gray ferruginous silicious grit, becoming yellow on exposure, with numerous argillo-silicious concretions,

some gray, others of a reddish color. This bed contains bones of vertebrate animals and estuary shells,

as Cyrena , &c., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 to 40

Bed 4 of the above local section rests directly upon Cretaceous formation No. 5, and
is of an 'estuary character. Wherever the superincumbent strata are denuded away, the
surface of this bed is covered with fragments of bones belonging to some huge sauroid or
manatoid animal. These bones are scattered very abundantly over the country about the
sources of the Moreau, Grand, Cannon-ball, and Little Missouri rivers, and are for the
most part much waterworn and uncharacteristic. On Cherry creek this bed attains con¬
siderable thickness, fifty to one hundred feet, capped with large ledges of sandstone, con¬
taining a species of Cyrena in large numbers. Near the head of the Little Missouri, an
important stream, which takes its rise near the northern base of the Black hills and run¬
ning a northeastern course empties into the Missouri river near long. 102°, we find another
species of mollusc, Cerithium Nebrascensis , which further confirms the estuary character of
this deposit. We can thus trace this lignite formation to the northern base of the Black
hills, and observe its edges overlapping the Cretaceous beds. But to return to Thunder
Butte. The summit of this hill is capped with a thick layer of sandstone, the exact posi¬
tion of which I could not determine satisfactorily. A similar rock is seen capping the
hills at Fort Union, also in many localities along the Yellowstone, and may hold the same
position in the series. On the eastern side of the hill, the bed of sandstone presents a per¬
pendicular face, from which have been detached large fragments of the rock, that have
fallen gn a terrace below. This terrace is about half the way up the hill, and about one
hundred yards broad at its widest part, and thickly scattered over it are huge masses of a
compact bluish sandstone, which look at a distance like large granite boulders.

The extent of country occupied by this great basin I have estimated at about four
hundred miles in length from east to west, and one hundred and fifty from north to south,
or about sixty thousand square miles. We thus arrive at an approximate idea of the
immense area covered by these lignite beds, though I am satisfied that future explorations
will show that the above estimate is much too small.

I have thus given a brief and imperfect sketch of this great basin, comprising all the
important facts in my possession at this time. The local sections will, I think, show the

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

101

lithological characters of the strata, and will enable the geological reader to compare them
with those of other freshwater deposits in that region. I regret that I cannot yet give a
complete general section of all the beds in the lignite basin, but, as I hope soon to continue
my explorations in that interesting country, this desire may yet be accomplished. In a
subsequent portion of this report I have reviewed in some general remarks the principal
points of interest now known in connection with this deposit.

The following catalogue comprises all the fossils yet known and examined from this
basin. The vertebrata and mollusca thus enumerated show quite distinctly that they
represent but fragments of a large and interesting fauna, the complete discovery of which
still remains to reward the future explorer. The fossil plants have not yet been described,
but the collection already secured contains about fifty species, all of which are supposed to
be new to science. These plants cannot represent more than a small portion of the flora
of this period, and future examinations must greatly multiply the number of species.

TERTIARY SPECIES.*
VERTEBRATA.

Thespesius occidentals, Leidy, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1856, 311, and Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. 1859, 151.

Ischyrotherium antiquum, Leidy, “

U

“ 89,

U

“ “ 150.

Mylognathus priscus, Leidy, “

u

“ 312,

U

“ “ 153.

Compsemys victus, Leidy, “

u

“ 73, 312,

U

« « 152.

Emys obscurus, Leidy, “

u

U U

U

“ “ 153.

GASTEROPODA.

CEPJTHIADT.

Cerithium (Ceritliidea ?) Nebrascensis, M. & H. June 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 125.

MELANIAPLE.

Melania? W arreni, M. & IT. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 137.
Melania sub tor tuosa, M. & H. “ “ “ 136.

Melania Nebrascensis, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 124.
Melania t e n u i c a r i n a t a, M. & IT. May 1857, “ “ 137.

Melania convexa, M. & PI.

Turritella convexa , M. & PI. March 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 71.

Melania convexa, M. & H. “ “ “ 125.

Melania sublevis, M. & IP. “ “ “ 136.

Melania? Anthonyi, M. & H. “ “ “ 124.

Melania mini tula, M. & II. June 1856, “ “ 123.

VPVTPARIDiE.

Vivipara C o n r a d i, Meek & Hayden.

Paludina Conradi, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 122.

Vivipari Conradi, M. & PI. May 1860, “ “ 185.

Vivipara Nebrascensis, Meek & Hayden.

Paludina midtilineata, M. & IT. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 120. (Non P. multilineata, Say, 1829.)
Vivipara midtilineati, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 185.

* Tlio Catalogue of Invertebrata here given, is extracted from a catalogue of Nebraska fossils published by Mr. Meek and myself
in the Proceedings of the Academy, in Oct. 18C0.

102

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Vivipara Leai, Meek & Hayden.

Paludina Leai, M. & H. June 185G, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 121.

Vivipara Leai, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

Vivipara Vetusta, Meek & Hayden.

Paludina vetusta, M. & H. 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 121.

Vivipara retusa, Meek & Hayden.

Paludina retusa, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 122.

Vivipara retusa, M. & H. May 1860, “ “ 185.

Vivipara trochiformis, Meek & Hayden.

Paludina trochiformis, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 122.

Paludina Leidyi?, M. & II. “ 11 “ 123.

Vivipara trochiformis, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 185.

VALVATIDiE.

Valvata subumbilicata, Meek & Hayden.

Planorhis subumbilicata, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 120.

Valvata subumbilicata, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 185.

Valvata parvula, M. & II. June 1856, “ “ 123.

HELICIDiE.

Columna? teres, Meek & Hayden.

Bulimus ? teres, M. & II. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 117.

Columna? vermiculus, M. & II. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 118.

Bulimus? vermiculus, M. & 11. “ “ “ 118.

Bulimus limnei for mis, M. & H. “ “ “ 118.

Bulimus Nebrascensisf, M. & II. “ “ “ 118.

Helix Leidyi, Hall & Meek, June 1854, Mem. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. Boston, v, N. S. 394, pi. iii, fig. 12.
Helix vetusta, Meek & Hayden.

II. vitrinoides, M. & II. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 135. (Non II. vitrinoides, Dcshayes, 1830.)

Helix o b 1 i qu a, M. & H. “ “ “ 134.

Helix E v a n s i, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 175.

Helix (Polygyra) am pi ex us, Meek & Hayden.

Planorbis amplexus, M. & II. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 21.

Ilclix ( Polygyra ) amplexus, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 185.

Helix Nebrascensis, Meek & Hayden.

H. occidentalis, M. & II. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 135. (Non II. occidentalis, Itecluz, 1845.)

LIMNAEIDAE.

Limnaea (Acella) t e n u i c os t a t a, M. & II. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 119.

Limnaea ? multistriata, Meek & Hayden.

Melania multistriata, M. & II. June 1826, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 124.

Physa (Aplexus) longiuscula, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 119.

Physa (Aplexus) s u b e 1 o n ga t a, M. & H. “ “ u 120.

Physa r h o m b o i d e a, M. & H. “ “ “ 119.

Planorbis (Segmcntina ?) Nebrascensis, Evans & Shumard, August 1854, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 164.
Planorbis (Segmentina ?) v etui us, M. & II. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 175.

Planorbis Leidyi, M. & II. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 175.

Planorbis convolutus, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 120.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

103

Planorbis planoconvexus, Meek & Hayden.

Planorbis frayilis, M. & H. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 136. (Non P. fragilis, Hunker, 1843.)
Plnnorlis planoconvexus, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 185.

Ancylus (Acroloxus) minuta, M. & II. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 120.

CONCEIFERA.

CORBULIDiE.

Corbula perundata, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 116.

Corbula (Potamomya) s u b t r i g o n a 1 i s, Meek & Hayden.

Corbula subtrigonalis, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 116.

Corbula (Potamomya) mactriformis, Meek & Hayden.

Corbula mactriformis, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 117.

CYRENIDiE.

Corbicula M o r e a u e n s i s, Meek & Hayden.

Cyrena Moreauensis, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 115.

Corbicula Nebrascensis, Meek & Hayden.

Cyrena intermedia, M. & II. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 116. (Non Cyrena ( Corbicula ) intermedia,
Melville, 1843.)

Corbicula cytheriformis, Meek & Hayden.

Cyrena (Corbicula ?) cytheriformis, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 176.

Corbicula occidentalis, Meek & Hayden.

Cyrena occidentalis, M. & II. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 116.

Sphserium planum, M. & II. May 1860, “ “ 175.

Sphserium formosum, Meek & Hayden.

Cyclcis formosa, M. & H. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 115.

Cyclas fragilis, M. & II. “ “ “ 115.

Sphcerium formosum, M. & II. May 1860, “ 11 185.

Sphserium subellipticum, Meek & Hayden.

Cyclas subelliptica, M. & II. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 115.

Spliccrium subellipticum, M. & H. May 1860, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 185.

Sphserium recticardinale, M. & II. “ “ “ 176.

UNIONID2E.

Unio prise us, M. & II. June 1856, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 117.

Unio s u b s p a t u 1 a t u s, M. & II. May 1857, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 146.

Unio De weyanus, M. & II. “ “ “ 145.

Unio D a n se, M. & II. “ “ “ 146.

OSTREADiE.

Ostrea subtrigonalis, Evans & Shumard, 1857, Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci. i, 38.
Ostrea g 1 a b r a, Meek & Hayden, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 146.

104

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

2 d. Les Mauvaises Torres , or Tertiary Basin of White and Niobrara rivers.

This most remarkable lacustrine deposit has been, comparatively speaking, but recently
made known to the scientific world, wonderful not alone for its unique scenery, but also for
the abundance and importance of its organic remains. Even at this time it has been but
partially explored, yet it has already revealed a profusion of Mammalian and Chelonian
remains belonging to species, and in many cases to genera, which though closely allied differ
from all known living forms, which has now rendered it classic ground to the geologist
and palaeontologist. A history of the progress of its exploration up to 1853, with elabo¬
rate descriptions of the vertebrata known from this deposit up to that date, may be found
in a magnificent memoir written by Prof. Joseph Leicly, and published by the Smithsonian
Institution.

In its lithological characters this deposit differs very materially from the lignite basin,
being composed of whitish clays and calcareous and silieious marls and grits, and entirely
destitute, so far as we now know, of any vegetable remains, except very rare fragments of
silicified wood. It is chiefly remarkable, however, as a vast deposit, in which were en¬
tombed immense numbers of Mammalian and Chelonian animals, for the beauty and per¬
fection with which these remains have been preserved, and its unique rugged scenery. The
few molluscous fossils which have been found in it, show most conclusively its freshwater
origin, being confined to the genera Helix , Planorbis , Limnea, See. I have already em¬
bodied the principal details in regard to this interesting deposit in a preceding chapter,
and in a subsequent portion I will briefly state such evidence as I have been able to
secure, to show that it is of Miocene age. The following vertical section comprises all the
beds known up to this time, and it is not probable that future explorations will modify it
materially.

VERTICAL SECTION, SHOWING THE ORDER OP SUPERPOSITION OF THE DIFFERENT BEDS OF THE TERTIARY

BASIN OF WHITE AND NIOBRARA RIVERS.

r-2 ^

Subdivisions.

Localities.

Estimate

thicknes

S3

Yellow silieious marl, similar in its character to

Most fully developed along the Missouri

gq

rv]

the Loess of the Rhine, passing down into varie-

river, from the mouth of the Niobrara to

O

o

o

gated indurated clays and brown and yellow fine

St. Joseph ; also in the Platte valley and

O

grits ; contains remains of extinct quadrupeds,

on the Loup Fork ; also largely exhibited

o

to

Oh

mingled with those identical with recent ones ;

in the valley of the Mississippi and in and

o

Eh

CO

also a few mollusca, mostly identical with recent

over the Southwest.

o

o

CO

o

Ph

species so far as determined.

MIOCENE. PLIOCENE TERTIAPcY.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI. 105

VERTICAL SECTION, continued.

Subdivisions. Localities.

p4

'"d

o

PP

1st. Dark gray or brown sand, loose, incoherent,
with remains of mastodon, elephant, &c. 2d. Sand
and gravel, incoherent. 3d. Yellowish white grit,
with many calcareous, arenaceous concretions. 4th.
Gray sand with a greenish tinge; contains the
greater part of the organic remains. 5th Deep
yellowish red arenaceous marl. 6th. Yellowish
gray grit, sometimes quite calcareous, with nume¬
rous layers of concretionary limestone from two to
six inches in thickness, containing freshwater and
land-shells, Succinea, Lirnnea, Paludina, Helix,
&c., perhaps all identical with living species; also
much wood of coniferous character.

Covers a very large area oy Loup fork,
from the mouth of North branch to
source of Loup fork; also in the Platte
valley. Most fully developed on the
Niobrara river, extending from the mouth
of Turtle river three hundred miles up
the Niobrara. Also on Bijoux hills and
Medicine hills. Thinly represented in
the valley of White river. In isolated
patches over a large portion of Dakota
territory, west of the Coteau de Prairie.

300 to 400 feet.

Usually a coarse-grained sandstone, sometimes

Most fully developed along the upper

heavy -bedded and compact; sometimes loose and

portion of Niobrara river and in the re-

-*-j

incoherent; varies much in different localities.

gion around Fort Laramie. Seen also on

-O

<H-<

Forms immense masses of conglomerate; also con-

White river and on Grindstone hills.

O

o

o>

pq

tains layers of tabular limestone with indistinct

o

organic remains; very few mammalian remains

o

CO

detected, and those in a fragmentary condition.

T— " f

Passes gradually into the bed below.

A dull reddish brown indurated grit, with many

Niobrara and Platte rivers; wrell deve-

o

layers of silico-calcareous concretions, sometimes

loped in the region of Fort Laramie ; also

_a>

Vi

p

forming a heavy-bedded fine-grained sandstone;

in the valley of White river. Conspicu-

o

o

<U

contains comparatively few organic remains.

ous, and composing the main part of the

o

dividing ridge between White and Nio-

o

brara rivers. Also in Green river valley.

CO

Very fine yellow calcareous sand, not differing

White river, Bear creek, Ash Grove

very materially from bed I), with numerous layers

spring, head of Shyenne river. Most

o

of concretions and rarely organic remains, passing

conspicuous near White river. Near the

M—t

d

down into a variegated bed, consisting of alternate

eastern base of the Black hills.

00

O

P

layers of dark brown clay and light gray calcareous

-3

o

grit, forming bands, of which I counted twenty-

LO

seven at one locality, varying from one inch to two

feet in thickness.

a

A deep flesh-colored argillo-calcareous indurated

Old Woman’s creek, a fork of Shyenne

o

grit; the outside, when weathered, has the ap-

river; also on the head of the South fork

-4-j

o

Os

pearanee of a plastic clay. Passes down into a

of the Shyenne; most conspicuous on

S-H

o

gray clay, with layers of sandstone ; underlaid by a

Sage and Bear creeks, and at Ash Grove

o

r-H

cS pq

flesh-colored argillo-calcareous stratum, containing

spring. Well developed in numerous lo-

o

a profusion of mammalian and chelonian remains.

calitics in the valley of White river.

o

00

d

Eh

Turtle and Oreodon Bed.

VOL. XIT. - 14

106

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

VERTICAL SECTION, continued.

'S i

Subdivisions.

Localities.

& £

S rX

*42 O

Light gray tine sand, with more or less calca-

Old Woman’s creek ; also in many lo-

reous matter, passing down into an ash-colored

calities along the valley of the South fork

<

plastic clay, with large quantities of quartz grains

of Shyenne. Best development on Sage

pq

disseminated through it, sometimes forming aggre-

and Bear creeks. Seen at several lceali-

O

g

gated masses like quartzose sandstone cemented

ties in the valley of White river.

o

.5

with plastic clay ; then an ash-colored clay with a

O

rH

o

hH

greenish tinge, underlaid at base by a light gray

O

-*->

S

o

G

C3

EH

and ferruginous silicious sand and gravel, with
pinkish bands. Great quantities of silex in the
form of seams all through the beds. Titanotherium
Bed.

O

GO

GO

E>

iri

Cretaceous beds 5 and 4, with their usual litho-

Exposed underneath the tertiary beds

G

c3

logical characters and fossils.

on the South fork of Shyenne and its

o

rH

southern branches, also in White river

E-i

H

PP

o

m

o

valley near its source.

CATALOGUE OF ALL THE FOSSILS HITHERTO DESCRIBED, FROM THE TERTIARY FORMATIONS OF WHITE
AND NIOBRARA RIVERS, WITH A TABLE SHOWING THEIR STRATIGRAFHICAL POSITION.

RUMINANTIA.

1 . Oreodon gracilis, Leidy,

2. Oreodon Culbertsoni, Leidy,

3. Oreodon major, Leidy, .

4. Agriochcerus major, Leidy, .

5. Agriochcerus antiquus, Leidy,

C. Poebrotherium Wilsoni, Leidy,

7. Leptomcryx Evansi, Leidy, .

8. Leptauchenia decora, Leidy, .

9. Leptauchenia major, Leidy, .

10. Protomeryx Haiti, Leidy,

11. Merycodus necatus, Leidy,

12. Megalomeryx Niobrahensis, Leidy,

13. Merychochcerns proprius, Leidy, .

14. Procamel us occidentalis, Leidy,

15. Procamelus robustus, Leidy,

10. Procamelus gracilis, Leidy, .

17. Merychyus elegans, Leidy,

18. Merychyus medius, Leidy,

19. Merychyus major, Leidy,

20. Cervus Warreni, Leidy,

Beds in ascending order.
A. B. C. D.E. P.

. . * * *

* * #

* *

* *

*

* *

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Beds in ascending order.
A. B. C. D.E.P.

MULTUNGULA.

21. Chceropotamus ( llyopotamus ) Americanus, L. *

22. Entelodon Mortoni, Leidy, ....

23. Entelodon ingens, Leidy, ....

24. Titanotlierium Prouti, Leidy, . . . *

2G. Paleochccrus probus, Leidy, ....

27. Leptocharus spcctabilis, Leidy,

28. Rhinoceros occidentalis, Leidy,

29. Rhinoceros ( Ilyracodon ) Nebrascensis, Leidy,

30. Rhinoceros crassus, Leidy, ....

31. Mastodon (Tetralophodon) merificus, Leidy, .

32. E/ephas ( Euelephas ) imperator, Leidy,

* *

* *

* *

* *

* * * *
* * * *

*

*

*

SOLIDUNGULA.

33. Hipparion, S. Hippothcrium occidentals, L. .

34. Hipparion, S. Hippotherium speciosum, L. .

35. Ancliitherium Bairdi, Leidy, ... *

3G. Ancliitherium (Hypohippus) affinis, Leidy, . *

37. Ancliitherium ( Parahippus ) cognatus, Leidy, *

38. Merychippus insignis, Leidy,

39. Merychippus mirabilis, Leidy,

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

107

Beds in ascending order.
A.B.C.D.E.F.

40. Equus excelsus , Leidy, .

41. Equus (Protohippus) perditus, Leidy, .

RODENTIA.

42. Steneofiber Nebrascensis , Leidy,

4.3. Ischyromys typus, Leidy,

44. Palccolagus Haydeni, Leidy,

45. Eumys elegans , Leidy,

46. llystrix ( llystricops ) venustus, Leidy,

47. Castor (Eucastor) tortus , Leidy, .

* *
* *
* *

Beds in ascending order.
A. B.C.D.E.F.

50. Fells ( Pseudcdurus ) intrepidus , Leidy, . *

57. JElurodon ferox, Leidy, .... *

58. Cauls scevus, Leidy, ..... *

59. Cauls tcmerarius, Leidy, .... *

60. Cauls vafer, Leidy, ..... 44

61. Canis ( Epicyon ) Haydeni , Leidy, . *

CHELONIA.

62. Testudo. Nebrascensis, Leidy, . . .

63. Testudo (Sty/emys) Niobrahensis , Leidy, . *

CARNIVORA.

48. llycenodon liorridus, Leidy, .

*

49. Hytxnodon enientus, Leidy, .

*

50. llycenodon crucians, Leidy, .

*

51. Amphicyon vetus, Leidy,

. *

52. Amphicyon gracilis, Leidy, .

*

53. Leptarctus primus, Leidy,

54. Heinictis felina, Leidy,

. *

55. Machairodus primccvus, Leidy,

*

MOLLUSCA.

64. Helix Leidyi, Hall and Meek, ... *

65. Planorbis Nebrasccnsis, Evans and Shumard, *

66. Lymnea diaphana, Evans and Shumard, . *

67. Lymnea Nebrasccnsis, Evans and Shumard, . *

68. Physa secalina, Evans and Shumard, . . *

CRUSTACEA.

69. Cypris Leidyi, Evans and Shumard, . . *

CHAPTER XII.

Quaternary Deposits.

Although the various superficial deposits which I include under the above caption are
very fully developed in the Northwest, and exert a great influence on the external features
of the country, I shall be able, in this connection, to speak of them only in a brief and
general way. I propose, however, to treat the subject more thoroughly in a future official
report, now in course of preparation. This division, which has been called surface geology,
is by no means greatly inferior in importance or interest to the others before treated, and
no country affords more suitable or more abundant material for a memoir on that sub¬
ject than the Northwest. The extensive area covered by deposits of sand, gravel, water-
worn boulders, and erratic blocks, the examples of the denuding and eroding power of
water, which have given such unique features to much of the scenery, the river terraces,
and yellow marl or bluff formation, — all these subjects will, when thoroughly studied, add
very greatly to the interest felt in this department of geological research.

In Prof. Swallow’s Geological Report of the State of Missouri, the Quaternary deposits
as they occur along the Missouri river, from its mouth to Council bluffs, are quite fully
discussed, and inasmuch as they are of a similar character where they are observed from

108

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

thence to the mountains, I shall speak of them in a similar manner, acknowledging my in¬
debtedness to his report for several important suggestions.

Prof. Swallow makes four subdivisions of the superficial deposits of the State of Mis¬
souri, and as seen on the Upper Missouri I will add one more, namely, Erratic Block De¬
posit. We have therefore 1st, Drift; 2d, Yellow Marl Formation; 3d, Erratic Block
Deposit ; 4th, Bottom Prairie ; 5th, Alluvium.

1st. Drift A

This deposit consists mostly of much waterworn rocks, gravel, and sand, and underlies,
to a very great extent, the broad upland prairies of the Northwest. It is usually revealed
in the channels of streams and varies in thickness from one to thirty feet. It is found to
a greater or less extent throughout the entire country drained by the Missouri river and
its tributaries, resting upon rocks of all ages, from the granite to the Tertiary inclusive,
but is most largely developed in the vicinity of the mountain ranges, as the Laramie
mountains, the Black hills, and the sources of the Missouri and Yellowstone. So abun¬
dant is the drift toward the sources of these rivers, that it changes their entire character.
The waters of the Yellowstone at its mouth are turbid, flowing over a bed of marly clay,
like those of the Missouri from Fort Union to its confluence with the Mississippi ; but
about fifty miles above the mouth of the Yellowstone smooth Avaterworn pebbles begin to
appear, small in size and few in number at first, but becoming larger and increasing in
quantity, and Avhen Ave reach a point tAvo hundred miles above its confluence Avith the
Missouri, they completely pave the bed of the river, and form the greater portion of the
materials Avhich compose the river bottoms in very large areas to the depth of thirty feet
and more. From this fact the Avaters of the YelloAvstone gradually lose their turbid cha¬
racter, and near the mountains are clear as crystal. The Avaters of the Missouri also be¬
come less opaque after passing the mouth of Mussel-shell river, and near the Judith roll
over a pebbly bed as clear as the mountain streams. The drift seems to underlie all the
vast table-land to the nortliAvard, continually increasing in extent and thickness as avc ap¬
proach the base of the mountains, and oftentimes concealing the older rocks over very
large areas.

Much might be said in regard to this deposit and the agencies Avhich have operated in

* I am well aware that the term “ Drift” as used in this connection has not a fixed or definite meaning. I have
applied it to certain sand, gravel, pebbly clay and boulder accumulations, which are always found at the base of
the Quaternary deposits of the West, filling up the inequalities of the surface of the lower rocks, and may or may
not have been accumulated by a force operating over the whole continent.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

109

its formation, but 1 prefer to delay until a larger number of facts can be gathered together
from a more widely extended exploration.

2(7. Yellow Marl or Bluff formation .

The yellow marl formation is one of great interest, inasmuch as it exerts a favorable
influence on the agricultural capacities of the country where it prevails. Its general
character is a light, rather pulverulent silicious marl, in most cases unstratified, containing
large quantities of yellowish white concretions of limestone, varying in size from half an
inch to four inches in diameter. It varies much in color, however, depending upon the
amount of ferruginous matter contained in it. In the southern and southeastern portions
of Kansas and Nebraska this deposit is quite largely developed, often concealing the older
rocks over large areas. According to Prof. Swallow it is seen throughout that portion of
the State of Missouri bordering upon the river, but reaches its highest development from
the Iowa line to Booneville. From thence to St. Louis it is very thinly represented. It
is also largely developed in those portions of Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, which border
upon the Missouri river, but attains its greatest thickness between Council bluffs and
Sioux city, on the Iowa side. There it is two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet in
thickness, forming a range of very precipitous hills, which are so steep that vegetation is
with great difficulty supported on their sides. After passing the Big Sioux this deposit be¬
gins gradually to thin out upon the summits of the hills, and after passing the mouth of the
Niobrara, it cannot be said to exert much influence on the surface of the country. It is
observed, however, in outliers even to the mountains, both along the Missouri and Yellow¬
stone rivers, is quite conspicuous near the mouth of the Judith, with a thickness of one
hundred feet, and containing its peculiar fossils. Wherever it occurs in the interior of the
country it may be readily recognized by the more luxuriant and healthy vegetation which
it supports.

About three miles above Florence the marl bluffs are cut by the waters of the Missouri
so as to present the following section :

Feet.

1. Yellow silicious marl, homogeneous in its character, containing numerous white calcareous concretions,

varying in size from half an inch to several inches in diameter, ...... 100 to 150

2. Yellowish sand and clay, very ferruginous, containing rounded pebbles sometimes forming a conglomerate, 3

3. Dark ash-colored clay, with a slight mixture of sand filled with small waterworn pebbles, usually of small

size, seldom more than one inch in diameter, ........... 2

Near the mouth of the Big Sioux there is a vertical section of the yellow marl similar to
the above. All the southeastern portion of Nebraska is covered with a greater or less

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ON TIIE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

thickness of this deposit, which extends a considerable distance up the Platte, Loup fork,
and Niobrara rivers, and passes imperceptibly down into the Pliocene grits, which have
revealed so many extinct mammalian remains. That a large portion of this formation is
synchronous in age with what we have in this chapter termed the Drift deposit I have no
doubt. A great thickness of waterworn pebbles often underlies the yellow marl, and the
two deposits seem often to pass into each other by almost imperceptible gradations. In¬
deed, in many places the drift beds vary very greatly in thickness, and at others alternating
with the marl, proving quite clearly that there is a distinct geographical difference in the
character of the deposit, rather than a difference of age.

The fossils peculiar to the yellow marl deposit are quite numerous in species. Mingled
with the remains of most of the living mammals of the plains are those of extinct quadru¬
peds, as Mastodon , Elephant, See., with large quantities offlnviatile and terrestrial molluscs
of the genera Helix, Limnea, Physa, Pallid in a , Papa, Planorhis, Succinea , Amnicola, Cy¬
cles, Sec., for the most part identical with species living in the vicinity at the present time.
One species, Succinea lineata (W. G. Binney), was first found fossil in the marl, but has
since been procured in a living state from around some small lakes in the sandhills on
Loup fork. Others will doubtless yet be found living when the living molluscous fauna
of the Upper Missouri is more thoroughly investigated.

3 d. Erratic Block Deposit.

I have given this name to a superficial deposit of rocks or boulders, which forms quite a
conspicuous feature in many portions of the Northwest. It is formed of nearly or quite
unworn rocks from all the formations in that country, but more especially from the meta-
morphic and palaeozoic series. That it is more recent than the two deposits already alluded
to is evident from the fact that it overlies them both wherever they are exposed. It seems
to be very similar in its character, though on a much smaller scale, to that of the “ Erratics”
of New England, but the rocky masses are not usually so large, seldom exceeding four or
five tons in weight. These rocks are far more numerous on the north side of the Missouri
river, thinning out and becoming smaller in a southwesterly direction until they entirely
disappear. But on the north side of the river, in Dakota and Minnesota, the whole surface
of the country may be said to be covered to a greater or less extent with these erratic
blocks. The hills that border the river opposite Fort Pierre are paved with them for
miles, so that a person could step from block to block. Sometimes they form zones or
belts with a southeasterly and northwesterly range. Near Fort Pierre these belts are from
half a mile to a mile in width, on the surface of which are scattered very thickly these
angular masses, while an intervening belt of land occurs whose surface is nearly destitute

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

Ill

of rocks. This exceedingly curious feature in the country was often pointed out to me as
a mystery by the voyagers as we ascended and descended the river. The same pheno¬
menon occurs on Pratt’s creek, about fifteen miles below Bijoux hills, though on a much
smaller scale, consisting of a series of local belts of land either entirely destitute or wholly
covered with angular or slightly worn rocks. We have, first, a belt 15 or 20 yards wide,
covered very thickly with erratic blocks ; second, an interval of 1 50 yards almost free from
rocks ; third, a belt of rocks similar to the first, and so continues for several miles. These
alternate belts occupy a large area in this region, having a northwest and southeast range,
and show conclusively the source from whence these rocks were derived as well as the
agency which transported them from their parent bed. Bijoux hills, which are from 500
to 700 feet high above the bed of the Missouri, are covered with “erratics,” many of which
are masses of limestone containing fossils, as Trilobites, Crinoids, Corals, and Brackiopoda
of palaeozoic types. The above facts show clearly the great interest which surrounds this
subject, and that it is well worthy of a careful investigation.

4 th. Bottom Prairie.

The broad fertile bottom prairies of the Missouri are included in the above division of
the superficial deposits, and constitute a most interesting geological feature. These bottom
prairies form by far the most fertile lands of the West, the vegetable soil sometimes ex¬
tending downwards to the depth of twenty or thirty feet, and covered with tall sedge grass
and flowering plants, with here and there a grove of gigantic cottonwood trees. These
bottom lands are quite extensive along the Missouri from the mouth of the Kansas river
to Council bluffs, but attain their greatest width between Council bluffs and Sioux city.
On the Iowa side of the river the bottom seems to be continuous for one hundred miles,
varying in width from five to thirty miles. The Vermilion prairie commences at the
mouth of the Big Sioux and extends with very little interruption to Dorion’s hills, a dis¬
tance of sixty miles, and varies in width from one to eight or ten miles. The materials
which compose the Bottom Prairies seem to have been derived to a great extent from the
calcareous and silicious marls of the Tertiary, mingled with the clays of the Cretaceous
strata of the Upper Missouri, and the surface is covered with a thick vegetable mould, from
the annual decay of an enormous growth of vegetation.

5 th. Alluvium.

The distinction between Alluvium and Bottom Prairie is very marked all along the
Missouri river. It is quite evident that the latter, as restricted in the previous division of
the Quaternary deposit, could not have been formed by any agencies in operation at the

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ON T11E GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

present day, while the former is subject to change from year to year and even from day to
day. The channel of the Missouri is continually changing from side to side, wearing away
and removing alluvium, bottom prairie, or any other formation with which the current
may come in contact. The materials are held in suspension in the waters and are carried
down the stream to form sandbars, islands, &c. Most of the islands which so thickly dot
the bed of the Missouri and much of the timber portions along the side of the river are
formed of alluvium. When the main current of the water changes from one side of the
bed to the other a sandbar is formed immediately, a thick growth of willow's springs up,
which is soon succeeded by cottonwood, wdiich may become a fine forest before the current
brings its eroding power again to bear upon it. Near the mouth of the Platte there is an
island, called Pilot island, formed about fifteen years ago by the wreck of a steamer on a
sandbar. The loose materials commenced accumulating upon the upper side of the broken
ship, and at the present time the island covers an area of several acres with a thick
growth of cottonwood trees from twelve to twenty inches in diameter. The Missouri,
as well as all its tributaries, furnish countless examples of this deposit, but the land thus
formed is so subject to removal that it is of comparatively little economical value to the
settler farther than to furnish a moderate supply of timber. The disadvantages arising
from their want of permanence are too well known to be mentioned in this connection.

I have thus presented a mere outline of my notes on the superficial deposits of the
Northwest, with the view of developing the subject more fully in my future investigations.
Surface geology has not yet received that attention wdiich its importance demands, and it
seems quite obvious that a clear understanding of the forces now in operation will be found
to be of the highest importance in explaining the geological phenomena of the past.

River Terraces.

So well marked a feature of the valley of the Missouri and its tributaries as the river
terraces should not be passed over in this connection without a brief notice. I will not
at this time attempt to account for their existence, but content myself with stating a few
of my observations.

All along the valley of the Missouri river, from mouth to source, these terraces are
more or less conspicuous, and they are also seen in the valley of every important tribu¬
tary. These phenomena are not, however, confined to the Northwest alone, but are ob¬
served to a greater or less extent all over the western portion of the continent, and such
is their similarity of character, that it points to some uniform cause for their existence.
In Prof. Dana’s great work forming one of the Deports of the Exploring Expedition series,
the subject is treated very fully from observations made by the author along the western

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

113

slope of the Rocky Mountains, and as they all indicate these western slope terraces to be¬
long to the same great system, the remarks that will apply to one portion of the country
will apply to a greater or less extent to all.

Near the sources of the larger streams as they flow from the steep sides of the moun¬
tains, these terraces form a very conspicuous feature of the valleys. There are usually
from three to four of them, forming quite narrow benches, and gradually increasing in
width but diminishing in height as we approach the Mississippi. For example, in the
valleys of the three forks of the Missouri, there are three and four of these terraces on
each side of the river-bed ; first terrace near the channel of the river, three feet above
water-level, varying in width from a few feet to ten or twenty yards ; second terrace ten
to twenty feet above the bed of the river, from ten to fifty yards wide ; third terrace thirty
to fifty feet high, and from twenty to forty yards wide ; fourth terrace one hundred to one
hundred and fifty feet high, and varying from one hundred yards to half a mile in
width. As we descend the Missouri, the fourth terrace seems to be wanting, and the
first, second, and third terraces vary greatly in width, often forming broad, level, plains.
Near the mouth of the Yellowstone, the first terrace is from three to six feet above the
water, and is on a level with the islands and sandbanks. Most of the timber grows upon
this terrace ; the second terrace forms what is called the bottom, and is from ten to fifteen
feet in height, and from a few yards to half a mile in width ; and the third terrace ascends
very gradually to the foot of the bluffs, varying from one mile to five miles in width, and
twenty to forty feet in height. Upon this terrace Fort Union is built, and it has never yet
been known to be overflowed. It is covered with a thick deposit of marl, underlaid with
small waterworn pebbles, generally to the depth of from ten to twenty feet, and then we
come to the Tertiary beds. The first and second terraces are in most cases composed en¬
tirely of the more recent superficial deposits. Along the valley of the Big Shyenne and
near the Black hills, we again see these terraces, forming very broad, level, beautiful plains.
Near the mouth of Plum creek, the first terrace is a fine grassy bench about four feet
above the bed of the stream, and the second terrace is fifteen to twenty feet in height, and
the third forty to fifty feet high. This last terrace is covered with a thick deposit of
pebble-stones, sand, and gravel, resting upon Cretaceous formation No. 4, which is the
prevailing rock of this region. Near Fort Randall, the first terrace is composed of fine
sand, clay, and pebbles, six to ten feet above the river ; second terrace, stratified sand and
clay, from ten to twenty feet high ; third terrace is composed mostly of dark stratified in¬
durated clay, with numerous seams of pebble-stones. It is evidently derived from the
eroded materials of Cretaceous formation No. 4, and at one point forms a series of bluffs
sixty feet in height, worn into ravines like bluffs on a larger scale. As we approach the
settled portions in descending the Missouri, we find that most of the towns and villages
VOL. xii. — 15

114

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

arc located upon the third terrace, which is far above high water mark. Near Bellevue
and Omaha city we have very tine examples of terraces, and these villages are located
upon the third. In a forthcoming official report I hope to treat this subject in detail,
illustrating it with numerous outline sketches. We regard this subject as one of great
interest, and most intimately connected with the history of the elevation of the western
portion of the continent, for we can hardly doubt that the terraces result from the gradual
elevation of the Rocky mountain range.

CHAPTER XIII.

Resume oe the Geology of the Missouri River and its Tributaries.

y

In the following chapter I desire to present a resume of the geology of that portion of
the Northwest under consideration, with the additional information obtained since the
preceding report was written. The foregoing chapters, with very slight alterations, re¬
main as they were prepared over two years since, inasmuch as I have not felt authorized to
make any important changes on account of my relations to a subsequent expedition to the
Northwest, under the command of Captain Wm. F. Reynolds, T. E., a report of which
exploration is now in a state of preparation. By permission of Captain Reynolds, a sum¬
mary of the principal geological results was published, which is now before the world, and
from it and from other sources I hope to make a condensed statement of the leading
geological discoveries up to the present time, and to harmonize some of the conflicting
opinions which may have been advanced in regard to the age of the different deposits in
the West. Opinions differing widely from those which Mr. Meek and the writer have
advanced, derived from the personal observations of the latter, and our joint investigations
of extensive collections of organic remains, have been put forth by a writer who never
visited the country explored by me, which may have had a tendency in some minds to
weaken the force of our statements. Without entering into any discussions I would simply
say, that all of my statements have been made with a conscientious regard for the truth,
and such conclusions have been derived as seemed legitimate, leaving to the future to
correct that which is wrong and approve that which is right. I cannot feel satisfied, how¬
ever, to have any geologist, after a brief exploration and even without any personal know¬
ledge of the country, pronounce my observations, which have been made with great care
and patience, through the toil of many years, as entirely at variance with the truth.

We may very properly separate the western portion of our continent into two divisions,
mountain and prairie, and a combination of the two will form the Rocky mountain district.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

115

This district may be said to commence as soon as we leave the Mississippi westward, the
ascent being gradual but continually on the increase until we arrive at the foot of the
mountains. Leaving St. Louis westward we gradually ascend, passing over a prairie
region for the most part, for the distance of nearly 800 miles, when we have reached an
elevation of 6000 feet and come abruptly to the lofty rugged mountain peaks which com¬
pose the upheaved ridges. To illustrate this statement, let us examine the profiles across
the country from the Mississippi westward, which have been constructed by the War De¬
partment. Glancing at the general map of the country west of the Mississippi, also pub¬
lished by the War Department, we will observe that the immediate Rocky mountain
region is not composed of merely a single lofty upheaved ridge extending across the conti¬
nent, but a vast series of ridges or ranges, which taken individually do not seem to have
any definite trend, but when viewed in the aggregate extend across the map in a direction
nearly northwest and southeast, forming a zone or belt 500 to 1000 miles in width from
east to west. From long. 96° westward to the foot of the mountain ridges the country
traversed exhibits the true typical prairie, no timber being found to any extent, except that
which skirts the streams. From thence to the Pacific coast we have what may be called
the true mountain portion, which is composed of a vast number of ridges of elevation,
interspersed with beautiful valleys, many of which are remarkable for their fertility. Some
of the valleys are quite large and are surrounded by mountain ridges as by gigantic walls.

If we look at the barometrical profile constructed by Gov. Stevens, from St. Paul’s,
Minnesota, to the foot of the mountains westward, we find that the former locality is 828
feet above the sea. Near the mouth of the Yellowstone, 670 miles to the westward, we
find that the elevation is 2010 feet above the sea, and that we have made a gradual ascent
in that distance of 1172 feet. As we approach the base of the mountain ridges the ascent
continues to increase, and when we reach the valley of Dearborn river, 448 miles farther
west, we ascertain that this locality is 4091 feet above the sea level, and that in that dis¬
tance of 448 miles we have ascended 2081 feet, or nearly 5 feet to the mile. The valley
of Dearborn river is just at the foot of the mountains, and to that point the country tra¬
versed belongs to the true type of the western prairie.

Again, if we examine the profile commencing at Council bluffs on the Missouri river,
we find the elevation at that point to be 1327 feet above the sea level. Thence proceed¬
ing westward to the sources of Lodge Pole creek, at the base of the Laramie range of
mountains, we have made an ascent, while thus passing over the prairie region, of nearly
5000 feet. We thus see that in the distance of 550 miles we have reached an elevation
3000 feet higher than our starting point, by an ascent of 5 feet to the mile.

Again glancing at the profile extending from Fort Leavenworth westward, we observe that
at the Missouri river the elevation is 904 feet above the sea. At the base of the Laramie

116

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

range of mountains, 659 miles west, the elevation is 6716 feet. To show the increased
rapidity of ascent as we approach the vicinity of the upheaved ridges, we see that the
elevation at the forks of the Platte is 3000 feet above the sea, making an ascent from the
Missouri river to this point, a distance of 413 miles, of 2096 feet, or about 5 feet to the
mile. From the forks of the Platte to the foot of the Laramie mountains, a distance of
413 miles, we find an increased elevation of 3716 feet, or 15 feet to the mile. After
reaching the base of the elevated ridges, the ascent is more or less abrupt, sometimes
rising to the height of 3000 to 6000 feet above the open prairie country around. We
might give many more illustrations similar to those just stated, extending them over to
the Pacific coast, but we reserve them for a future occasion. We have said enough, how¬
ever, to indicate the beautiful unity in the physical development of the western portion of
our continent. With the above brief outline of a subject which I hope to pursue much
farther at some future time, I proceed to consider the geological structure of the moun¬
tain chains.

We may at once make the statement, that there appears to be two types of mountain
elevations, namely, those elevations which have a granite nucleus and form long continu¬
ous lines of fracture with far less irregularity of outline, and those ranges which are com¬
posed of erupted rocks, which are very rugged in their outline and irregular in their trend.
We will in the first place examine the Black hills as an illustration of the first type, which
is the most eastern outline of the main mountain range. Very little was known of these
mountains until they were explored in the summer of 1857, by an expedition placed by
the War Department under the command of Lieut. G. K. Warren, T. E., U. S. A., to
which expedition the writer was attached as geologist and naturalist. A preliminary re¬
port of the results of this exploration was presented to the War Department under the
title of “ Explorations in Nebraska and Dakota, in the years 1855, 6, and 7.”

The Black hills lie between the 43d and 45th degrees of latitude, and the 103d and
104th degrees of longitude, and occupy an area about 80 miles in length, and from 30 to
50 miles in width. According to Lieut. Warren, the shape of the mass is elliptical, and
the major axis trends about 20° west of north. The base of these hills is about 2500 to
3000 feet above the sea, and the highest peaks 6700 feet above the ocean. The whole
range is clasped, as it were, by the north and south branches of the Big Shyenne river, the
most important stream in this region. The north branch passes along the northern side
of the range, receiving very many of its tributaries and most of its waters from it, but
takes its rise far to the westward of the range, near the sources of Powder river, in the
“ divide” between the waters of the Yellowstone and those of the Missouri.

The south fork also rises in the same divide, flowing along the southern base of the
range, and also receives numerous tributaries which have their sources in it. These two

OF TIIE UPPER MISSOURI.

117

main branches unite about thirty miles east of the Black hills, forming the Big Shyenne,
which empties into the Missouri about sixty miles above Fort Pierre. The Moreau,
Grand, Cannon-ball, and other rivers flowing into the Missouri north of the Shyenne and
south of the Yellowstone, rise in a high Tertiary divide north of the Black hills, and are
for the greater part of the season quite shallow and sometimes nearly dry, but the Little
Missouri derives a portion of its waters from the Black hills through a number of small
branches which flow from the northwestern slope.

We thus see that the Black hills do not give rise directly to any important stream, if
we except the Little Missouri, a few branches of which flow from springs near the base
of the hills, but afford a comparatively small supply of water from that source. The Shy¬
enne is fed for the most part from the numerous small streams which issue from copious
springs in the more elevated portions. It would seem, therefore, that the Black hills do
not have a marked influence upon the drainage of this region.

I have already noticed the geological structure of the Black hills, but will state briefly
its principal points. The nucleus or central portion is composed of a red feldspathic
granite with a series of metamorphic slates and schists superimposed, and thence upon each
side of the axis of elevation the various fossiliferous formations of this region follow in
their order to the summits of the Cretaceous, the whole inclining against the granitoid
rocks at a greater or less angle. From the above facts we draw the inference that prior
to the elevation of the Black hills, which must have occurred after the deposition of the
Cretaceous rocks, all these formations presented an unbroken continuity over the whole
area occupied by these mountains. This is an important conclusion, and we will hereafter
see its application to other ranges, and also to the Rocky mountain range taken in the
aggregate.

Proceeding in a southwest direction from the Black hills along the anticlinal, we see
ample evidences of the connection of these hills with the Laramie mountains. By the
Laramie mountains we designate those eastern ranges which extend from the Red buttes
southward to the Arkansas. This range when examined in detail is composed of a large
number of smaller ranges, all, so far as I have observed, of the true granitic type. The
trend of the whole group is very nearly north and south, northward as far as Fort Lara¬
mie, where they make an abrupt flexure around to the west and northwest, and gradually
cease or die out at the Red buttes. From this point westward and northward, there is a
space of from twenty to forty miles in width, destitute of mountain elevations, though the
strata exhibit evidence of dislocation or crust movements.

Geologically the Laramie range is also composed of a granitoid nucleus, with the fossili¬
ferous formations, Silurian, Carboniferous, Red Arenaceous beds, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and
in many places Lignite Tertiary, inclining from each side of a central axis at various angles.

118

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

It is from these mountains that the numerous branches of the Platte have their sources,
extending a distance of nearly four hundred miles. Again, the dynamical structure of
this range warrants the inference that these rocks, in a more or less horizontal position,
were continuous over the whole area at present occupied by it some time during the Tertiary
period.

The minerals of economical value are quite extensive. The gold mines of Pike’s Peak
are in this range, and the evidence is quite conclusive that this precious metal will be
found to a greater or less extent all along the eastern slope. Iron ore is found in great .
abundance and of the best quality, while along the North Platte and in the vicinity of
Pike’s Peak, lignite is known to exist in considerable quantities, and has been used for fuel.

The most important outlier of the Pocky mountains, on the eastern slope, is the Big-
Horn range, which, though somewhat irregular in the shape of its mass, has a general
trend nearly northwest and southeast. It occupies an area about 180 miles in length and
50 in breadth. Near latitude 43i° and longitude 102° the line of fracture seems to have
ceased toward the south or southeast and to have made a gradual flexure around to the
west, the whole range soon losing its granitoid character and becoming entirely composed
of more modern eruptive rocks. The eruptive portion continues westward until it joins on
to the Wind river nVngc near the sources of Wind river. At the southern end of the Big
Horn mountains, we can trace a single low anticlinal across the prairie, connecting these
mountains with the Laramie range at Ped buttes on the North Platte. We also know by
the position of the fossiliferous strata upheaved along the mountains, that the gradual flex¬
ure of the range to the west joins on to the eruptive portion, and thus forms a connection
with the Wind river range.

The central portion of these mountains is also composed of granite and granitoid rocks,
Avitli the same series of fossiliferous formations, inclining at various angles from each side
of the axis of elevation, as arc seen around the Black hills and along the Laramie moun¬
tains. Some of the more lofty peaks are from 8000 to 12,000 feet above the sea, and are
clothed Avitli perpetual snow. We think that the evidence is quite clear that up to the
time of the accumulation of a large portion of the Lignite Tertiary beds, all these
formations, from the Silurian to the true Lignite strata inclusive, Avere in a horizontal posi¬
tion, extending continuously over the Avhole area occupied by the mountains, but as they
Avere sloAvly elevated, the central portions Avere removed by the erosive action of atmo¬
spheric agencies. The eruptive portion Avhich unites the Big Horn range Avitli the Wind
river mountains is exceedingly picturesque, presenting the appearance of a connected series
of basaltic cones, and so rugged and inaccessible are they that the persevering trappers
have never been able to penetrate them in their hunting explorations.

Like the Black hills, the Big Horn range does not give rise to many important sub-

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

119

hydrographical basins. The largest stream in this region, and one which gives name to
the mountains, rises in the Wind river range, passes through the Big Horn mountains, and
unites with the Yellowstone about seventy miles to the southward. Before reaching the
mountains it takes the name of Wind river, and assumes the name of Big Horn after
emerging from them. This range, however, constitutes quite an important feeder to the
Yellowstone. Powder river, which rises in this range by numerous branches, drains a large
area, mostly Lignite Tertiary, and pours a considerable volume of water into the Yellow¬
stone, near Ion. 105z° and lat. 402°. Tongue river is the next most important stream, which,
though not draining so great an area as Powder river, empties into the Yellowstone a much
larger bulk of water.

The Medicine Bow and Sweet Water mountains appear to be of the same character, for
the most part ; but on the east side of the Sweet Water river the evidence of igneous action
is shown on a large scale. The ancient volcanic material would seem to have been elevated
to a great height in but a partially fluid condition and then to have gradually cooled,
affecting to a greater or less extent the fossiliferous strata in contact.

Year the junction of the Popo Agie with Wind river, we come in full view of the Wind
River mountains, which form the dividing crest of the continent, the streams on the one
side flowing into the Atlantic, and those on the other into the Pacific. This range is also
composed to a large extent of red and gray feldspathic granite, with the fossiliferous rocks
inclining high upon its sides. After passing the sources of Wind river, the mountains
appear to be composed entirely of eruptive rocks. Even the three Tetons, which raise
their summits eleven thousand feet above the ocean level are formed of very compact
basaltic rock. The Wasatch and Green River ranges, where we observed them, have the
same igneous origin, and the mountains all along the sources of the different branches of
the Columbia exhibit these rocks in their full force. In Pierre’s hole, Jackson’s hole,
and other valleys surrounded by upheaved ridges, these ancient volcanic rocks seem to
have been poured out over the country and to have cooled in layers, giving to vast thick¬
nesses of the rocks the appearance of stratified beds.

The mountains about the sources of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers are of eruptive
origin and in the valley of the Madison fork of the Missouri are vertical walls of these
ancient volcanic rocks one thousand to fifteen hundred feet in height, exhibiting the ap¬
pearance of regularly stratified deposits dipping at a considerable angle. As we pass
down the Madison we find some beds of feldspathic rocks and mica and clay slates beneath
the eruptive layers, dipping at the same angle. After passing the divide below the three
forks of the Missouri we see a number of partially detached ranges, which appear to be of
the same igneous character. In the Belt, Highwood mountains, and indeed all along the
eastern slope in this region, we find continual evidence of the outpouring of the fluid ma-

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ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

terial in the form of surface beds or in layers thrust between the fossiliferous strata.
These igneous beds thin out rapidly as we recede from the point of effusion. A large
number of these centres of protrusion may be seen along the slope of the mountains west
of the Judith range. The erupted material sometimes presents a vertical wall three hun¬
dred feet high, then suddenly thins out and disappears. The Judith, Bear’s Paw, and
little Rocky mountains seem to be composed for the most part of granite and other rocks,
with igneous protrusions here and there. I have in a former paper expressed the opinion
that the central portions of our mountain ranges are composed of feldspathic granite, and
to a certain extent this is true in regard to the more eastern outliers, but more recent
observations have convinced me that these rocks, which I have defined by the term erup¬
tive, compose by far the greater portion of the mountain masses of the West.

We have already alluded to the fact that the Potsdam sandstone in its western exten¬
sion, was first made known as occurring in the Black hills. It here rests upon the up¬
turned or nearly vertical edges of the schists, clay slates, and granitoid rocks, and the
inference was drawn that the same rock would be found forming an outcropping belt all
along the eastern slope of the Rocky mountains. Subsequent explorations have shown
that it also occurs along the margins of the Big Horn range, near the summit, holding the
same relative position, and exhibiting the same lithological characters. A few thin layers
of fine calcareous sandstone were observed, filled with fossils characteristic of this period.
At the head of La Bonte creek in the Laramie range, I noticed a bed resting discordantly
upon azoic slates, fifty to one hundred feet in thickness, holding the same position and
possessing the same lithological characters which it reveals at other localities. I could
discover no fossils in it at this point, but I am confident that this bed represents the Pots¬
dam sandstone. The same bed seems to occur all along the mountains from Laramie peak
to Cache la Poudre creek, underlying the well-known Carboniferous strata, and resting
upon the decomposing granitoid rocks, which form the nucleus of the first or lower ridge.
This rock (the Potsdam) is more or less changed by heat from beneath, but I was able to
trace it continuously from the source of the Chugwater creek to the source of Cache la
Poudre, a distance of over one hundred miles. It was also seen along the eastern slope
of the Wind River mountains, but did not contain any organic remains.

The above facts show very clearly that in its western extension, the primordial zone of
Barrande is represented only by a thin bed of sandstone, never exceeding one hundred and
fifty feet in thickness, and that is seen only in a very narrow outcropping belt near the
margins of the mountain crests. The stratified azoic rocks upon which it rests discord¬
antly, so far as my observations have extended, never reach a very great thickness in the
West.

On both sides of the divide of the Rocky mountains, so far as our explorations have ex-

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

121

tended, a series of calcareous, areno-calcareous, and arenaceous beds are seen, which we
have referred to the Carboniferous epoch. They vary in thickness at different points.
Without specifying localities, it will be sufficient to remark, that all along the margins of
any of the mountain elevations in the far West, these rocks are seen in a more or less in¬
clined position.

Sometimes they are not visible for a short distance (as between the Laramie and Platte
rivers, twenty or thirty miles), but it is plain that they have either been removed by ero¬
sion, or concealed by more recent deposits. Along the Big Horn mountains there are al¬
ternate layers of sandstone, arenaceous and magnesian limestones, many of which show
oblique laminae and other indications that their deposition took place in shallow and per¬
haps turbulent waters. They are here developed to a thickness of one thousand to fifteen
hundred feet, and incline high upon the sides of the mountains, at an angle of 50° to 70°.
They contain few fossils, but these indicate rocks of the same age as those in the Black
hills. Along the Laramie mountains, from the Red buttes to Pike’s peak, apparently the
same limestones are seen inclining against the sides of the elevated ridges, at greater or
less angles ; and on the opposite side of the axis sloping down to the Laramie plains, the
corresponding strata are seen, though leaning at much smaller angles, usually from 9° to
15°. Along the Sweet-water and Wind River mountains, these rocks are highly deve¬
loped, and incline against the sides of the ridges of elevation as heretofore described. The
corresponding portions are also seen on the west slope of the main range, at the sources
of Green and Snake rivers, but not as conspicuously developed, the eruptive rocks pre¬
dominating. Crossing back over the dividing crest, near the sources of the Madison, Jef¬
ferson, and Gallatin forks of the Missouri, we find similar limestones largely developed,
and covering a considerable area on the eastern slope. Near the junction of the three
forks, and along Smith’s or Kamas river, we find them reaching a thickness of eight hun¬
dred to one thousand feet, often partially changed by contact with igneous rocks beneath.
They were also observed around the Judith mountains, and also about the Bear’s paw and
Little Rocky mountains.

Nowhere in the Rocky mountain range, so far as my observations have extended, do the
Carboniferous rocks seem to abound in oTganic remains, and the few usually seen are gene¬
rally found in a bad state of preservation, and comprise a limited number of species. The
precise period to which these rocks belong, which are so persistent in all disturbed regions,
is not positively known, the evidence from organic remains pointing to the age of the Coal
measures, and sometimes to that of the Lower Carboniferous period ; probably both mem¬
bers of the system occur there.

At the foot of the Big Horn mountains, near the head of Powder river, I observed at
one locality a series of beds which indicated the presence of Permian rocks. These beds,
VOL. XII. — -16

122

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

which are composed of cherty magnesian limestone, are very much like those already de¬
scribed in Northeastern Kansas, and contain in great abundance some of the same species
of fossils, as Myalina perattenuata , and others. I have also seen similar limestones in other
localities, but no fossils were detected, and though having a Permian appearance, they
may belong to the upper portion of the Carboniferous.

The evidence is clear in many localities, that prior to the deposition of the Red Marls
succeeding the supposed Permian, a very great erosion of the surface of the Carboniferous
rocks took place. We find, for example, in many localities only a thin representation of
the Carboniferous rocks, and again a full development, one thousand to fifteen hundred
feet in thickness.

Overlying the Carboniferous rocks and equally persistent with them is a series of red
arenaceous marl beds or gypsum-bearing marls, which are co-extensive with the upheaved
sedimentary formations along the Rocky mountains. The largest development of these
beds which I have observed, occurs on the northeastern side of the Big Horn mountains,
and on the west slope of the Wind River mountains, near the source of the Gros Ventres
fork of Snake river. From the Red buttes on the North Platte to Pike’s Peak these beds
are often removed by erosion or concealed by superficial deposits, hut their appearance in
numerous places shows very clearly that beneath the surface they occupy a considerable
area throughout the country bordering the mountain ranges, possibly extending entirely
over the eastern slope. Passing over into the Laramie plains we find that the red marls
constitute the surface formation of the plain country. It has also been shown from the
investigations of Messrs. Meek and Engelmann, that these beds are revealed along the
Wasatch mountains, even south of Lake Utah, furnishing undoubted evidence that they
belong to the same great deposit. The fact also that one thousand to fifteen hundred feet
of red arenaceous beds are seen near the sources of Green river, leads to the inference
that they continue southward far down the Green river valley to that portion which takes
the name of Colorado, and are in fact a continuation of the extensive red deposits, de¬
scribed by various explorers in New Mexico.

These red beds are also seen under similar circumstances highly developed along the
mountains at the sources of the Missouri. There seems to be a change in the lithological
characters below the Gate of the mountains, the peculiar red deposits disappearing for the
most part, and a series of irregular layers of silicious limestone with a reddish tinge, and
with oblique laminae, ripple-mark and other indications of shallow water deposition. It is
through these layers of rock that the Missouri river cuts its way from the foot of the
mountains to the mouth of Ilighwood creek, about ten miles below the falls. They are
also distinctly revealed around the Judith mountains. Along the Big Horn mountains
thick layers of gypsum occur, but the gypsum beds are by no means co-extensive with the
red deposits, and indeed are present in but few localities. Near the head of Powder river

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

123

the aggregate thickness of the gypsum strata is about one hundred feet, while near the
source of Snake river there is a thickness from fifty to eighty feet. It also occurs to a
considerable extent at the foot of the mountains, on La Bonte creek, a branch of the
North Platte.

At the time of writing the preceding report, no division had been made of the red beds
separate from the Jurassic, because at that time there was no proof that they were distinct,
no organic remains having been obtained from them. We only knew that they held a
position below the well-established Jurassic rocks, and that, so far as had been observed,
there was no physical break in the sequence of the strata. These red beds, however, when
compared with similar red rocks in the Old World, had been often referred to the age of
the Triassic or New Red Sandstone. The explorations of Dr. Newberry in New Mexico
revealed quite a number of species of plants and the bones of a large saurian animal which
seem to direct his mind toward the Triassic epoch. The plants discovered by Dr. New¬
berry in New Mexico were referred by him to the genera Zamites, Pterophyllum , &c., and
regarded as similar to those of the Iveuper (Upper Trias) of Europe. Though the evidence
so far obtained points quite strongly toward the Triassic epoch, it is not yet considered
sufficiently clear to warrant a positive opinion in regard to their age. If these red arenaceous
deposits really represent a distinct geological epoch, it seems quite strange that they have
as yet yielded so few organic remains. They have already been examined with considerable
care over an area, in the vicinity of the Rocky mountains, extending from latitude 49° far
southward into New Mexico. On the west side of the Wind River mountains we have
discovered fossils beneath the red beds, which may include those in the Jurassic.

The Jurassic rocks are everywhere revealed overlying the red deposits just mentioned,
and possess an equal geographical extension.

Their fullest development and most fossiliferous condition seems to be along the margins
of the Black hills, where they have furnished the most satisfactory evidence of their age.
Along the northeastern slope of the Big Horn mountains, this group of rocks presents its
usual appearance of gray and whitish calcareous and arenaceous layers, with indurated
somewhat variegated beds of more or less laminated marls, containing in great abundance
Belemnites densus, Pentacrinus asieriscus , a new species of Ostrea, Pecten, & c.

At Red buttes we find a fair development of these beds with the same fossils, but as we
proceed southward toward Long’s Peak, the intercalated laminated marls disappear, and
the whole formation seems to be reduced to a thickness of fifty to one hundred feet, with
very few fossils. Along the southwest side of the Big Horn mountains and the northeast
side of the Wind River mountains we have a thickness of Jurassic rocks from eight hundred
to one thousand feet, containing organic remains in the greatest abundance. Crossing the
Wind River mountains we observed the strata corresponding to those upon the eastern
side with Belemnites densus, Ostrea, See. Returning to the eastern slope at the sources of

124

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

the Missouri we see occasional indications of their existence, but not so conspicuous as to
be readily identified. The age of this group of rocks may be now considered as thoroughly
established, so great a number of fossils which appear to be of undoubted Jurassic types
have been obtained.

I have remarked that the older fossiliferous beds doubtless pass beneath the more recent
Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits, and occupy a greater or less area underneath the prairie
country east of the “ divide of the Rocky mountains. I have made this inference from
the fact that where any elevations occur the complete series of fossiliferous beds are ex¬
posed aiound the axis of upheaval. For the benefit of those geologists who may be con¬
structing geological maps of this portion of the West, I would say, that I have never seen
any of the older fossiliferous rocks, from the Potsdam to the Jurassic inclusive, exposed,
except in narrow outcropping belts around the margins of the mountain elevations. The
Carboniferous rocks occupy a belt from one to two miles wide, and the red arenaceous de¬
posits are exposed over about the same area, while the J urassic form a zone never more
than one-fourth of a mile to three miles in width.

The following additional facts in regard to the Cretaceous rocks of the Upper Missouri
were obtained during the last expedition to that region. I have preferred to allude briefly
to them here, inasmuch as they will appear in detail in a forthcoming report.

The various subdivisions of the Cretaceous group in the West were observed at numerous
localities. The strata in many places occupy large geographical areas, holding a horizontal
position, in others forming a belt or zone of greater or less width around the mountain
elevations. No. 1 is a well-marked and distinct division along the Missouri river from
De Soto to a point above the mouth of the Big Sioux river in the eastern portions of Kan¬
sas and Nebraska and in the South and Southwest. But when we come into the vicinity of
the mountain ranges in the Northwest its typical lithological characters are wanting, and
apparently an increased development of No. 2 only is seen* Along the Big Horn moun¬
tains, No. 2 is eight hundred to one thousand feet in thickness, composed of black plastic
clay, with several layers of gray and yellowish calcareous sandstones, ten to fifty feet in
thickness. Along the Laramie and Wind River mountains the same characters are shown.
After leaving the Missouri near the mouth of the Niobrara river, No. 3 is never seen pre¬
senting its typical marly character. In the vicinity of the Black hills we saw a series of beds
composed of alternate thin layers of arenaceous and argillaceous sediments, with Ostrea
congesta and Inoceramus 'problematicus , which may possibly represent No. 3. Along the
Big Horn mountains and from Red buttes to Cache la Poudre creek the same fossils were
often found, and some other indications of its existence, but no well-marked typical beds

* We mean that the distinctive lithological characters of No. 1, as seen on the Missouri, do not appear along
the mountain elevations. It is probable that Nos. 1 and 2 are merged into each other, and lithologically form one
division. Further evidence is needed before we can speak positively in regard to this point.

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

125

were seen. It is now well known that 0. congesta and I. problem aticus range down into
No. 2, so that No. 3 in the West and Southwest may give place to an increased develop¬
ment of No. 2. Nos. 4 and 5 are largely developed everywhere, when not concealed by
the overlying Tertiary deposits, especially along the Laramie mountains and in the valley
of Cache la Poudre. In the valley of Wind river all the Cretaceous rocks down to No. 2
appear to have been removed by erosion prior to the deposition of the Tertiary beds, and
the characteristic fossils of No. 2 are quite abundant. As we pass over mountains, we
have inclining against the western slope six to eight hundred feet of alternations of black
plastic clays, arenaceous marls, and beds of sandstones and limestone, with a few seams of
Carbonaceous matter passing up into calcareous and arenaceous compact rocks. In some
arenaceous limestones near the middle of the series and extending upward, quite abundant
fossils were observed, among them a large Inoceramus , two species of Ostrea, a large Pinna ,
four inches in length, a Gardium , and a number of undetermined species with fragments of
silicified wood. The general dip of these rocks is about 20°. These well-marked Creta¬
ceous beds pass up quite imperceptibly into an enormous thickness of Lignite Tertiary.
Passing over the dividing crest to the head waters of the Missouri, we did not observe any
indications of Cretaceous rocks until we had descended below the three forks, where we
find traces left after erosion. They do not reveal themselves conspicuously until we arrive
within twenty or thirty miles of Fort Benton, where the black plastic clay begins to over¬
lap the Jurassic rocks with its characteristic fossils, and on reaching Fort Benton the
plastic clay is quite homogeneous, and is developed to .a thickness of eight hundred feet.
As we proceed toward the mouth of the Judith river and near the Judith mountains we
find quite thick beds of concretionary sandstone, which form the “Stone Walls,” “Citadel,”
&c. It is from these beds that we have obtained a group of fossils which we have referred
provisionally to No. 1, but which seem to be specifically distinct from all others in the
West. It may be that when this group of beds, now referred to Nos. 1 and 2, comprising
a thickness of fifteen hundred to two thousand feet in this region, are more carefully
studied, that several subdivisions will be made, having equal importance with the others.
During the past season our route led us along the “ divide” between the Missouri and
Yellowstone rivers south of the Judith mountains, so that we passed outside of any good
exposures of No. 1, as well as beyond the limits of the estuary beds at the mouth of the
Judith. We must await a more thorough and detailed exploration of this region before
we can state with entire confidence the succession of the beds.

In describing the Tertiary deposits in the Northwest, I separated them into two divisions,
but more recent investigation has added many new facts in regard to them, and rendered
the following divisions necessary. 1st, Estuary deposits ; 2d, True Lignite beds ; 3d,
Wind Biver valley deposits ; 4th, White Biver Tertiary deposits.

The estuary deposits, of which the Judith basin may be regarded as the type, are quite

126

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

remarkable and of a most interesting character. Opinions of a somewhat conflicting na¬
ture have been entertained in regard to them, owing to the peculiar character of the

*

organic remains, but recent observations have convinced me that they are all of Tertiary
age, and that they are quite widely distributed throughout the far West. The lithological
characters of the Judith deposit have already been sufficiently described, and it has yielded
many important fossils. A thin series of beds is also found near the sources of the Mo¬
reau, Grand, and Cannon-ball rivers, and at the mouth of the Big Horn river we have a
group of beds eight hundred to one thousand feet in thickness, with fossils of the same
character as those occurring at the mouth of the Judith. The collections obtained by Mr.
H. Engelmann, in Utah, while acting as geologist of Capt. Simpson’s expedition, and sub¬
sequently investigated by Mr. Meek, have also established the existence of an estuary de¬
posit of Tertiary age in the country bordering upon Green river, — scarcely less interesting
than that of the Judith. These deposits pass up into the true lignite beds without any
perceptible line of separation, gradually losing their estuary character, and ever after con¬
taining only land and freshwater shells. The lignite strata are chiefly remarkable for
yielding in the greatest abundance finely preserved vegetable remains. A few fragments
of leaves of Dicotyledonous trees and silicified Avood, Avitli very impure lignite beds, are
formed in some of the estuary deposits, but no groups to indicate the great luxuriance of
vegetation which must have existed during the accumulation of the lignite strata.

The geographical extension of the lignite deposits of the West is iioav a matter of the
highest interest, and from Avhat is already known, I am convinced that they Avill yet be
found to cover a greater or less area on both sides of the main divide of the Rocky moun¬
tains, from the Arctic sea to the Isthmus of Darien. The estuary and lignite beds seem
also to have partaken, equally Avith the older fossiliferous rocks, of the influence Avhich ele¬
vated the mountain chains. Along the Laramie mountains, and from the Red buttes to
the divide betAveen Platte and Wind rivers, along the Big Horn mountains, the strata in¬
cline at very high angles, 40° to 80°, and in some instances are very nearly vertical. The
true lignite strata seem to conform to the older fossiliferous rocks, and to have been dis¬
turbed by the same influences that elevated the mountain ranges in the vicinity. These
Tertiary beds extend over all the plain country to the north and east of the Laramie moun¬
tains, far to the northward, beyond the limits of our explorations. Crossing the Wind
River mountains, Ave find them largely developed high upon the western slope, dipping at
a high angle, from the Wind River range on the one side, and the Wasatch and Green
River mountains on the other.

Throughout the Wind river valley is a series of beds of great thickness, Avhich seem to
be intermediate in their character between the true lignite beds and the White river Ter¬
tiary deposits. We first observed them gently inclined near WilloAV springs on the North
Platte, and thence AvestAvard toward the Sweet-water mountains, and near the divide be-

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

127

tween the North Platte and Wind river they reach a thickness of four hundred feet. From
this divide, throughout the Wind river valley, they occupy the greater portion of the
country, and though inclining in the same direction with the older strata, the beds do not
dip more than 1° to 5°. They differ from the other deposits in the great predominance
of arenaceous sediments, and in the absence of vegetable remains, but they contain frag¬
ments of turtles and numerous freshwater and land shells, of the genera Helix , Planorbis,
Vivipara , &c. The entire thickness of these deposits may be estimated at from fifteen
hundred to two thousand feet. From the fact that these deposits do not conform to the
true lignite beds, and that detached portions are seen lying upon the sides of the moun¬
tains but slightly inclined, while the corresponding beds are shown in the valley below,
we infer that they were accumulated long before the mountains were raised to their
present height, or perhaps during the gradual process of elevation. This is especially
shown at the upper end of the Wind river valley. Passing over the Wind Itiver moun¬
tains, we again see them holding the same position on the western slope, and possessing
the same lithological characters. While the lignite beds on the west side of the divide
incline at a large angle, the more recent beds, although in some places occupying the very
crest of the mountains, seldom incline more than three to five degrees.

The most interesting additional facts which we have obtained in regard to the White
river Tertiary beds, are their geographical extension, and the evidence of their age in rela¬
tion to the Lignite Tertiary deposits. We can now show beyond a doubt that the former
must have been accumulated long since the latter. We have ascertained that they extend
southward along the Laramie mountains to Willow springs, within ten miles of Cache la
Poudre, that they also extend up the North Platte to the Box Elder creek, and even beyond
are small outliers, showing that much has been removed by erosion. Passing over into the
Laramie plains, we find at the source of the Box Elder, and extending over to the head of
Bates’s Fork, a large development of this Tertiary, and it also reaches far westward to the
Medicine Bow mountains. We also know from the observations of Dr. Hines, that it oc¬
cupies a considerable area among the Sweet-water mountains, extending over into the
Green river valley. We have, along the North Platte, the overlapping of the White river
beds upon the Lignite strata, thus affording the evidence of superposition for their relative
age. The same fact was noticed between the north fork of the Shyenne and the head of
Cherry creek, where beds of marl and limestone, containing Planorbis , Limnea , &c., the
same as are seen in the Bad Lands proper, repose upon true Lignite Tertiary strata.
Again, while the White river beds hold for the most part a horizontal position, those of
the Lignite Tertiary are often much disturbed. Near the Black hills, the former seem to
have been elevated to a considerable height by the upheaval of the mountains, but they
do not, in any case, incline more than one degree, while north of the Black hills the lig-

128

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

nite beds dip five to ten degrees. Along the Platte I have seen the former inclining
five degrees, especially on La Bonte creek, and about fifteen miles east of the mouth of
that creek. Often the beds seem to have been raised up several hundred feet above their
original position, without inclination, resting upon the upturned edges of the lignite beds,
which we have before observed partook equally of the disturbing influences which have
given so great an inclination to the older fossiliferous rocks. Along the Big Horn moun¬
tains and the North Platte the lignite beds sometimes incline from the foot of the moun¬
tains eighty degrees, and often the influence of the elevatory power has affected them far
out into the plain country.

In the above accounts of the Tertiary deposits of the West, we have shown that the
older members are clearly separable into four divisions, exclusive of the Pliocene deposits
of the Niobrara. Let us examine the evidence in regard to the age of these deposits. If
we study the upper portions of Cretaceous formation No. 5, when not removed by the ero¬
sive power of water to any great extent, Ave then observe, from the time we pass from No.
4 to No. 5, a gradual change in the sediments, and other indications of a slow approach
to shallow water : arenaceous sediments begin to take the place of argillaceous, so that we
have alternate thin layers of sand and clay, the sand continuing to increase until the upper
part becomes a yellow, ferruginous, coarse sandstone, with most conspicuous examples of
ripple-mark and oblique laminae. As the waters of the Cretaceous sea were gradually re¬
ceding, toward the Atlantic on the one side and toward the Pacific on the other, remnants
were left, in the form of lakes, estuaries, &c., which now afford us the last indications of
marine and brackish water deposits in the central portions of the W est. In these deposits
we have first a mingling of brackish and freshwater forms, gradually passing up to pure
freshwater and terrestrial species, with no return to the marine condition again.

In the upper part of the Cretaceous formation No. 5, on the Moreau, we find the Ostreci
subtrigonalis , and in the Judith deposits a form occurs in the greatest abundance which is
undistinguishable from it.

We have also mentioned the fact that the fossils of the upper part of No. 5 seem to
have existed upon the verge of the Tertiary period, that they sometimes present peculiar
forms more closely allied to Tertiary types than Cretaceous, and were it not for the presence
of the genera Baculites, Ammonites, Inoceramus , &c., which are everywhere supposed to
have become extinct at the close of the Cretaceous epoch, we would be in doubt whether
to pronounce them Tertiary or Cretaceous. These facts would seem to indicate a fore¬
shadowing of the Tertiary era, and that the transition from one great period to the other
was gradual and quiet, the change in the physical conditions being ultimately sufficient to
destroy the Cretaceous fauna and bring into existence that of the Tertiary. Again, in
numerous localities where No. 5 is fully developed and a large thickness of Tertiary de-

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

129

posits is superimposed, so that near some of the mountain elevations I have found it diffi¬
cult to draw the line of separation, no apparent physical break occurring in the sediments.

Will not these statements go far to show that the estuary deposits ushered in the dawn
of the Tertiary epoch, and induce the belief that they belong to the first part or Eocene
period 1 This point is an important one to establish, on account of its bearing upon the
history of the physical development of our western continent.

The estuary deposits soon lose their marine and brackish character and gradually pass
up into the true Lignite strata, of purely freshwater origin, thence by a slight discordancy
into the Wind river valley beds, which give evidence of being an intermediate deposit be¬
tween the true Lignite and White river Tertiary beds. Then come the White river bone
beds, which pass up into the Pliocene of the Niobrara by a slight physical break, and the
latter are lost in the Yellow Marl or Loess deposits. I have estimated the entire thickness
of Tertiary rocks in the Northwest at from five to six thousand feet, and their interest will
be appreciated when I venture to suggest that by thorough investigation they will doubt¬
less reveal, step by step, in a most remarkably clear manner, the history of the physical
growth and development of the central portion of this continent. I shall treat this subject
more fully in a future paper, and would refer to the forthcoming Report of Capt. Raynolds
for the details of the facts sustaining my opinions.

We have no evidence, so far as I know, of long-continued deep-water deposits in the
West, until far up in the Cretaceous period. If we examine the Potsdam sandstone we
shall find that where it reaches its greatest force, the lower portion is composed of an
aggregation of quartz pebbles cemented with silicious matter, and as we pass upward we
find it arranged in thin layers, quite compact, with fucoidal markings, ripple-mark, &c.
Everywhere are most abundant examples of oblique laminae of deposit, and ripple- and
wave-markings — evidences of shallow waters.

During the long period that elapsed between the deposition of the earliest part of the
Silurian epoch and the commencement of the Carboniferous, we have reason to believe
that dry land prevailed over a large portion of the West. The Carboniferous epoch com¬
mences with thin layers of arenaceous deposits, gradually passing up into homogeneous
silicious and calcareous beds. The latter are never more than from twenty to fifty feet in
thickness, and then the arenaceous sediments begin again to predominate, and all the
proofs of shallow as well as turbulent waters are shown. We then pass up through the
red arenaceous deposits and Jurassic beds, and find no rocks that indicate deep-water de¬
position. Cretaceous formation No. 1 commences in many places with a considerable
thickness of an aggregation of water-worn pebbles, passing up into thin alternate layers of
arenaceous and argillaceous sediments, with thick beds of sandstone with ripple-markings
and oblique laminae, then these indications gradually cease in No. 2, and through Nos. 2, 3

VOL. XII. — 17

130

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

ancl 4, the sediments show that they were accumulated in comparatively deep and quiet
waters. No. 2 is a black plastic clay, No. 3 gray marl, and No. 4 a dark indurated some¬
times laminated clay, with many calcareous concretions. In No. 5 we gradually approach
indications of shallow water, until dry land appears, as already stated.

It will not be possible at this time to mention in detail all the oscillations of surface
and other physical changes to which we have reason for supposing the country was sub¬
jected during all these periods. It is sufficient for our present purpose to show that ex¬
cept during the middle Cretaceous epoch no long-continued periods of quiet water prevailed
in these ancient western seas.

The evidence appears to me to point to the conclusion that a much milder climate pre¬
vailed throughout the western portions of our continent, during a greater part of the
Tertiary period than that which exists in the same latitudes at the present time. The
organic remains appear to indicate a subtropical climate, or one similar to that of our Gulf
States. Near the close of the Cretaceous epoch the waters of the great Cretaceous sea
receded toward the present position of the Atlantic on the one side and toward that of the
Pacific on the other, leaving large areas in the central portions of the AY est, dry land.
These areas were of course in close proximity to the sea, and comparatively but slightly ele¬
vated above the ocean waters. In regard to the Mollusca which have been found quite abun¬
dantly entombed in the Lignite-bearing strata, it is an interesting fact that the most nearly
allied living representatives of many of these species are now found inhabiting the streams
of Southern Africa, Asia, China and Siam, apparently indicating the existence of a tropi¬
cal climate in these latitudes at as late a period as the Tertiary epoch.

Again, the luxuriance of the flora, which has been so perfectly preserved in the Lignite
strata of the AYest, point to the same conclusion. It is true that until recently no forms
have been found which belong exclusively to a tropical vegetation, but during our last
expedition we obtained a species of true fan palm, very closely allied to Sabal Ictmononis,
figured by Dr. Heer in his “ Flora Tertiaria Helvetise.” “ The most northern limit of
palms is that of Chamairops palmetto , in North America, in lat. 34°-36°, and of Chamcerops
humilis in Europe, near Nice, in 43°-44° N. lat.”* The true palms of our present day
are considered as having their native land within the tropics. That this or a similar con¬
dition of climate continued throughout the accumulation of the AVind river valley depo¬
sits may be inferred from their Molluscan remains, which are more nearly allied to tropical
forms.

Again, we have in this region, as before mentioned, a vast area occupied by the Lignite¬
bearing strata. There are from thirty to fifty beds of Lignite, varying in thickness from

* Lindley’s Vegetable Kingdom, p. 136.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

131

one inch to seven feet. Over all this great district there are at the present time no large
forests, no timber except that which skirts the streams. We now know that during the
Tertiary period vast forests of timber must have covered many portions of the far West,
from the abundance and variety of the vegetable remains preserved in the rocks. Silicified
trunks of trees, fifty to one hundred feet in length and two to four feet in diameter, and
stumps which indicate gigantic forest trees, occur abundantly over hundreds of square miles
along the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. Prof. Henry and other meteorologists have
arrived at the conclusion, from a large number of well-authenticated facts, that the absence
of forest trees on the great prairies of the far West is due to the want of moisture, which
is well known to prevail all along the eastern slope of the Rocky mountains. The pre¬
vailing winds are now known to come from the west, and as the currents of air ladened
with moisture from the Pacific ascend the western slope of the mountains, become con¬
densed and deposit their burdens for the most part before reaching the eastern slope.

Prof. Henry, in his paper on Climatology, contributed to the Patent Office Report for
1856, says : “ The return westerly current, sweeping over the Pacific Ocean, and conse¬
quently charged with moisture, will impinge on the Coast Range of mountains of Oregon
and California, and, in ascending its slopes, deposit moisture on the western declivity,
giving fertility and a healthful climate to a narrow strip of country bordering on the ocean,
and sterility to the eastern slope. All the moisture, however, will not be deposited in the
passage over the first range, but a portion will be precipitated on the western side of the
next, until it reaches the eastern elevated ridge of the Rocky mountain system, when, we
think, it will be nearly if not quite exhausted.” We are now supposing that the climatic
conditions — winds, currents of air, &c., did not differ to any great extent during the Ter¬
tiary epoch from those which prevail in the same latitudes at the present day. We there¬
fore venture the suggestion that up to the time of the accumulation of the middle Tertiary
deposits the lofty barrier of the Rocky mountains did not exist.

CHAPTER XIV.

MINERALS AND GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS.

I. IGNEOUS AND METAMORPHIC ROCKS.

1. Gneiss ferruginous,

2. Mica slate, . . . .

3. Mica, more micaceous, .

4. Granite, coarse, .

5. Mica slate, with silvery mica,

6. Granite, pulverulent, .

. 12 m. N.W. Ft. Lar.
. do. do.

. do. do.

. Laramie peak.

. 4 m. N. Ft. Laramie.
. Rawhide butte.

7. Felspar, flesh-colored from No. G, . Rawhide butte.

8. Granite, fine-grained, micaceous, . do.

9. Granite, gray,

.

. Laramie hills.

10. Quartz, white,

.

. do.

11. Hornblende slate,

•

do.

12. Hornblende rock, .

, ,

. do.

132

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

MINERALS AND GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, continued.

13. Mica slate, ......

Laramie hills.

50. Metamorphic limestone, similar to No. 48, Rawhide butte.

14. Hornblende rock in granite,

do.

51. Talcose slate, .

. do.

15. Red felspar from No. 14, ...

do.

52. Felspathic granite, flesh-colored,

do.

16. Crystalline quartz from No. 14,

do.

53. Mica slate, with garnets, .

. do.

17. Flesh-colored felspar from No. 14,

do.

54. do. very fine-grained.

. do.

18. Mica slate, with garnets, ....

do.

55. Talcose slate, dark, .

. do.

1 9. Mica slate, with garnets, ....

do.

56. do. light, .

. do.

20. Mica, containing iron, ....

do.

57. Porphyritic trap,

. Black hills.

21. Flesh-colored felspar in large crystals,

do.

58. Hornblende slate,

. do.

22. Chlorite slate, ......

do.

59. Felspathic granite, pink, .

. do.

23. Mica slate, .

do.

60. Plates of mica from No. 59,

. do.

24. Granite, coarse, over No. 23, .

do.

61. Quartz vein in chlorite slate,

. do.

25. Felspathic granite, pink,

do.

62. Chlorite slate, .

. do.

26. Quartz veins in No. 25, ....

do.

63. Trachyte,

do.

27. Hornblende rock, masses in granite,

do.

64. Quartz veins in No. 63, .

. do.

28. Granite, fine-grained, ....

do.

65. do.

. do.

29. Hornblende rock, .....

do.

66. Chlorite slate, .

j Rawhide butte,

• 1 W. side.

30. Hornblendic granite, ....

do.

67. Hornblende rock, underlying

Tertiary,

do.

.31. Hornblende, with crystals of felspar,

do.

68. Schorl in quartz from clay slate,

. Black hills.

32. Mica slate, hornblendic, ....

do.

69. do. do.

. do.

33. Mica slate, hornblendic, ....

do.

70. Augite, ....

. do.

34. Mica slate, with large plates of mica,

do.

71. Quartz, with felspar,

. Laramie hills.

35. Granite, white felspathic, ....

do.

72. Porphyritic trap, columnar,

f Stone butte,

{ Black hills

36. Quartz, veins in No. 35, ....

do.

73. do. do.

. do. do.

37. Silieious limestone, Silurian or Devonian, .

do.

74. do. do.

. do. do.

38. do. highly crystalline, .

do.

75. Trachyte,

. do. do.

39. do. do.

do.

76. Vesicular trap,

. do. do.

39J. Syenite, pink, under No. 39,

do.

77. Trachyte,

. do. do.

40. Metamorphic silieious limestone,

Rawhide butte.

78. Silieious limestone, .

. Rawhide butte.

41. do. do. purplish, .

do.

79- Porphyritic trachyte,

| Stone butte,

{ Black hills

42. Quartz, in granite, . . . . .

do.

80. Compact trachyte, with scales of mica,

. Bear peak, do.

43. Metamorphic limestone, gray, .

do.

81. do. do.

do.

. do. do.

44. Mica slate, ......

do.

82. Gray basaltic trap, .

. do. do.

45. Micaceous granite, . . . . .

do.

83. Porphyritic trachyte,

. do. do.

46. do. .

do.

84. do.

. do. do.

47. Mica slate, fine-grained, .

do.

85. Quartzite,

. do. do.

48. Metamorphic limestone, crystalline, .

do.

86. Gray trachyte, .

. do. do.

49. do. purplish,

do.

87. Metamorphic sandstone, .

. do. do.

II. SEDIMENTARY ROCKS.

Silurian and Devonian.

89. Potsdam sandstone, red, with Lingula aniiqua Bear peak.

90. do. gray, fine, with Obolus, do.

91. do. porous, with Trilobites, do.

92. Metamorphic, conglomerate over granite, . Laramie hills.

93. do. with cherty pebbles, . . do.

94. do. do. . . do.

95. Argillaceous limestone, Devonian, . . Laramie hills.

96. Metamorphic conglomerate, . . . do.

Carboniferous.

97. Limestone, with spirifer, .... Black hills.

98. B1 ue cherty limestone, with Athyris subtilita, do.

99. do. with corals, . . do.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

133

MINERALS AND GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, continued.

100.

BIuechertylimestone,with Spirifer lineatus, Black hills.

138.

Chertz rock (Burch stone), with crinoidal

101.

do. with Ehynconella Monnoni,

do.

columns, ......

Black hills.

102.

do. with Cyathophyllum,

do.

139.

Saecbaroid gypsum, over No. 133, .

Smoky Hill fork.

103.

do. with Zaphreniis,

do.

140.

Monotis from No. 136, . . . .

do.

104.

do. with Syringapora , .

do.

141.

Blue limestone, porous, with fenestella.

Big Blue.

105.

do. Porites, .

do. .

142.

Cellular calcareous rock, ....

Smoky Hill fork.

106.

Yellowish do. over No. 98, with Spirifer

143.

do. more compact, .

do.

rockymontana,

do.

144.

do. with spherical cavities,

do.

107.

do. do. with Spirifers

145.

do. more argillaceous,

( Near Cotton-
l wood creek.

cameratus and lineatus,

do.

108. Cherty nodules in No. 98,

do.

Jurassic.

109.

Arragonite, in No. 98,

do.

146.

Arenaceous limestone, light brown, with

110.

Coarse, granular limestone, with crinoidal

Avicula tenuicostata,

Black hills.

columns, ......

Fort Laramie.

147.

do. bluish, overNo. 146, withHricwfa, do.

111.

Blue, compact, limestone, with Productus

148.

Ferruginous limestone, with Cypricardia,

do.

and Athyris subtilita ,

do.

149.

do. red, with Avicula,

do.

112.

do. with corals,

do.

150.

Yellow arenaceous limestone, with Serpula,

do.

do.

( Warm spring

113. do. with Spirifer lineatus,

114. Yellowish cherty limestone, with Productus, \ .

’ ( near Ft. Laramie.

115. White limestone, with Near Ft. Laramie.

116. Athyris subtilita , from No. 110,

117. Panop cea,

118. Allorisma,

119. Productus ,

120. Spirifer canieratus,

121. Athyris subtilita,

1 22. Bellerophon,

123. Chonetes, .

124. Chcetetes, .

Near Tecama, Neb.

Bellevue, Neb.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.

Permo-carboniferous and Permian.

125. Arenaceous limestone, foliated with Bakevellia Black hills.

126. Red sandstone,

soft,

very fine grain, under

No. 125,

. • . . .

do.

127.

Pink sandstone

over No. 126, .

do.

128.

Limestone, No. 125,

with Orthoceraiite, .

do.

129.

do.

with Bellerophon,

do.

130.

do.

with Pleurotomaria, .

do.

131.

do.

with Spirifer, .

do.

132.

do.

with Allorisma,

Big Blue, K.

1 33. Yellow magnesian limestone, with Nautilus ,

Monotis, Bakevellia, Myalina, Smoky Hill fork.

134. do. compact, with Mylilus, . . { e ff Ne°b.

135. Magnesian limestone, with Monotis, . . Big Cottonwood.

13G. do. with Avicida, . . 12 m.W. Big Blue.

137. Chertz rock, gray, witkAvicula and Myalina, Black hills.

151. Limestone, bored with lithophagousmollusks, do.

152. Red marl, over No. 141, containing snowy

gypsum, . do.

153. Snowy gypsum from No. 152, . . . do.

154. Crystalline gypsum from seams in No. 152, do.

155. Fibrous gypsum do. do. . . do.

156. Blue compact limestone (freshwater), in

No. 158, containing Unio nucalis and
Planorbis, ...... do.

157. Arenaceous limestone, same as No. 150,

containing pentacrinus, with serpula and
ostrea attached to surfaces, . . . do.

158. Yellowish argillo arenaceous limestone, with

ostrea, Upper Jurassic, . . . do.

159. Gray shell limestone, containing Ammonites,

J?eZewiwi7es,&c.,interstratified withNo. 158, do.

160. Snowy gypsum, with no stains, equivalent

of No. 153, .... . Big Horn river.

Gypsum, with crystals of selenite, . . do.

Snowy gypsum . {

Cretaceous.

Formation No. 1.

163. Conglomerate and sandstone, with Unios,. Bad lands of Judith

164. Conglomerate, ...... do.

165. do. fine, with Melanias and Cyclas, do.

166. Gray arenaceous limestone, with Melania

and Helix, ...... do.

167. Conglomerate, same as No. 165, . . do.

161.

162.

134

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

MINERALS AND GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, continued.

1G8.

Arenaceous limestone (No. 166), with

203.

Whitish pulverulent sandstone, overNo. 199, Sioux city.

leaves of Credneria, Melanias, &c.,

Bad lands of J uditli

204.

do. fine-graiued under No. 199,

Blackbird hill.

169.

Indurated ferruginous clay, with Melanias,

do.

205.

Indurated clay, bluish, ....

do.

170.

Ferruginous sand, with TJnio danai,

do.

206.

do. yellow, ....

Decatur.

171.

Indurated clay, with Melanias and scales

207.

do. do. .

do.

of Lepidotus above No. 166,

do.

208.

Ferruginous sandstone, with striated bi-

172.

Shell limestone, containing Melanias,

do.

valves, and Cytherea arenaria, .

Big Sioux.

173.

Impure sandy lignite (stratum D of section),

do.

209.

Indurated clay, with dicotyledonous leaves,

do.

174.

Shell limestone, same as No. 172, .

do.

210.

do. sand, fine, yellow, with leaves

175.

Cream-colored shale, burnt from over lig-

of salix, .

do.

nite beds, ......

do.

211.

Ferruginous sandstone, ....

( Mouth ot Iowa
( creek.

176.

Compact argillaceous limestone, with Cy-

212.

do. do. fine-grained, with

iherea Oiceni (marine), beneath fresh-

impressions of dicotyledonous leaves,

Mouth Big Sioux.

water beds, .

do.

213.

do. with Solen Dacotaensis,

do.

177.

Ferruginous sandstone, with Tellina sub-

214.

Lignite under No. 209, ....

do.

tortuosa, .

do.

215.

Silicified wood, bored by teredo,

Big Sioux.

178.

Rough, gray, limestone, with Ostrea glabra,

do.

216.

do. do.

Blackbird hills.

179.

Ferruginous sandstone, with Inoceramus

217.

do. do.

Smoky hill fork.

pertenuis, upper marine strata,

do.

218.

do. do.

Republican fork.

180.

Lignite, over No. 179,

do.

219.

Coarse, ferruginous sandstone, with leaves

181.

Carbonaceous sand from decomposition of
lignite bed over No. 179,

( Rocky mountain
{ creek.

220.

of Credneria, .

Sandstone, very ferruginous,

Smoky hill,
do.

182. Impure shaly lignite, with selenite, .

Near Ammel’s Is.

221.

Cellular, ferruginous, rock,

do.

183.

Limestone, with Cypris, lower part of for-

184.

mation No. 1, ....

Silicified wood, ferruginous,

Black hills, E. base,
do.

Formation Mo. 2.

185.

do. coniferous,

do.

222.

Masses of sulphuret iron, with sulphate, .

Mouth of Vermi-

186.

Bone of saurian, .....

do.

223.

Crystallized do. do.

do. [lion.

187.

do. or cetacean,

do.

224.

do. gypsum, . . . .

do.

1 88. Dense ferruginous sandstone, .

Blackballs, W. base

225.

do. do. .

dg-

189.

Quartzose sandstone, bluish, .

do.

226.

do. in plates, ....

do.

191. Conglomerate from junction of cretaceous

227.

Large crystals selenite, in black clay,

do.

and carboniferous rocks,

Platte valley.

228.

do. do. do.

do.

192.

Coarse ferruginous sandstone, with peb-

229.

Ferruginous shale, with remains of fishes, .

do.

bles, over No. 199, ....

do.

230.

do. shell limestone, .

do.

193.

Dark ferruginous sandstone, over No. 192,

do.

231.

Yellow clay, with gypsum,

do.

194.

do. containing much iron,

do.

232.

Conglomerate, with green silicious pebbles,

do.

195.

do. do.

do.

233.

do. with shark’s teeth,

do.

196.

Ferruginous sandstone, ....

Blackbird hill.

234.

Gray arenaceous limestone, with Cytherea

197.

do. fine-grained, .

Mouthof Elk Horn.

orbicidata.

do.

198.

Dark, coarse, sandstone, very ferruginous,

do.

235.

do. do. with fish-scales.

do.

199. Red, ferruginous sandstone, with many spe-

236.

Dark gray indurated clay, with fish scales,

Black hills, E. base.

cies of dicotyledonous leaves,

Black hills.

237.

Arenaceous limestone (No.234), with Ser -

200.

do. do.

pula, .......

Dixon’s bluffs.

201.

Light gray quartzose sandstone, with balls

238.

Conglomerate, with fish teeth, .

do.

of sulphate of iron over No. 199,

do.

239.

Arenaceous limestone, gray, with Inocera-

202.

do. with dicotyledonous leaves,

do.

mus problematicus, ....

Blackhills,W. base

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

135

MINERALS AND GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, continued.

274.

275.

Big Sioux.

276.

Mouth Jamesriver.

do.

277.

do.

278.

Dorion’s hills.

do.

Bijoux hills.

279.

280.

281.

282.

do.

do.

283.

do.

284.

Near Bijoux hills.

285.

do.

286.

287.

do.

288.

Great bend of Miss.

289.

do.

290.

Bijoux hills.

291.

292.

do.

293.

do.

294.

do.

295.

do.

1, do.

Shyenne river.

Fort Pierre.

296.

Mouth Shyenne.

12 m. ab.Ft.Pierre.

297.

( Mouth of Can-
( non-ball river.

298.

299.

Long lake, Miss.

300.

do.

301.

Fort Pierre.

302.

Big Shyenne.

303.

do.

Mussel-shell river.

304.

Milk river.

305.

306.

Cannon-ball river.

307.

Formation No. 3.

240. Soft yellow limestone, with Inoceramus

problematicus , . ... .

241. Gray marl, with Ostrea congesta , and fish

remains (base of No. 3),

242. do. do.

243. Scale of Cyclocladus in No. 242,

244. Fibrous carbonate of lime, with Ostrea con¬

gesta attached to surface,

245. Yellow marl, .

246. do .

247. do. lighter, .

248. Crystalline carbonate of lime, seams in marl,

249. do. do. greenish in marl,

250. Black plastic clay, upper part of No. 3, .

251. Shale, argillaceous, with fish remains over

No. 250,

252. do. calcined by combustion of

No. 250, .

Formation No. 4.

253. Blue clay, with Piyclioceras Mortoni ,

254. Yellow clay, with crystals of gypsum,

255. Whitish alum clay, seams in No. 253.

256. Hyd. silicate of magnesia, masses in forma

tion No. 4, .

257. Crystals sulphate baryta, .

258. White aluminous earth in seams,

259. Aluminous clay (No. 255),

260. Ferruginous concretions throughout F. No.

261. Crystalline argillaceous limestone (Cone in

cone), .

262. Crystals of selenite in clay beds,

263. Selenite and fibrous carbonate lime, .

264. Yellow clay, with selenite,

265. Dark, argillaceous, shale, with Inoceramus

266. Blue concretionary limestone, with Hostel

laria, .

267. Indurated clay,

268. Decomposed shale (No. 253), .

269. Brown hematite,

270. do. more earthy,

27 1 . Dog-tooth spar,

272. Gray arenaceous limestone,

273. do. with carbonized matter and
shells, .......

taining great numbers of fossils,
do. containing large crustacean

(undescribed), .

■ystallized carbonate of lime, yellow, form¬
ing nucleus of concretions, .

clay bed,

Formation No. 5.

do. softer,

Yellowstone river,
do.
do.

Forks of Shyenne.
do.
do.

Grand river.

Cannon-ball river.
Grand river.

Fort Pierre,
do.

Mussel-shell river.
Fort Lookout.

do.

do. do. decomposed, do.

oft fine sandstone, with Rostellaria, . do.

erruginous sandstone, with Cytherea, . do.

licified wood, with bark, . . . Long lake,

do. bored by Teredo globosa, do.

Tertiary.

A. Lignite Basin.

ellow arenaceous clay on Cretaceous rocks,
ellowish indurated clay, with freshwater
shells over No. 296, .... Long lake,

ray sand, fine, over No. 297, ... do.

s, do.

d, do.

11

. Cherry creek.
i, Fort Clark.

. do.

. do.

of genus Cyrena, .

136

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

MINERALS AND GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, continued.

308.

Yellow indurated sand, with Paludina and

343.

Silicified wood, partially carbonized,

Yellowstone.

Melania, .

344.

do. cavities lined with drusy quartz,

Fort Union.

309.

Grayish indurated sand, . . . .

345.

Dove-colored clay, metamorphosed by burn-

310.

Dove-colored calcareous shale, with Unios

ing out of lignite beds,

Mussel-shell river.

and other freshwater shells, .

Red spring.

346.

Brownish shale, do. do. .

do.

311.

Argillaceous limestone, with fossil plants,

Fort Berthold.

347. Scoria, black, formed by do. do. .

Yellowstone.

312.

Fine light-colored marl, under lignite bed,

do.

348.

do. yellowish do. do. .

do.

313.

Lignite, bright and compact, .

do.

349.

do. black compact do. .

do.

314.

Drab indurated clay, ....

( Higlt butte, Lit-
1 tie Missouri.

350.

do. green vitreous do. .

do.

315.

Light-colored marl, with impressions of di-

351.

do. do. do. do. .

do.

cotyledonous leaves, ....

Fort Union.

352.

do. red, very porous do. .

do.

31G.

Earthy lignite, ......

do.

353.

do. brown, very porous do. .

do.

317.

Lignite, .......

Yellowstone.

354.

Shale burned red, with vegetable impressions, do.

318.

do. more impure,

do.

355.

do. bright red, do.

do.

319.

Concretions sulphuret iron, common through

.

356.

do. vermilion, with gypsum,

do.

out Tertiary series, ....

do.

SSGj

. Shale, burned black, ferruginous,

do.

320. Septaria, spherical, .....

Fort Union.

357.

Calcareous pumice from burning of limestone do.

321.

Carbonaceous indurated clay, charged with

B. White llicer Basin.

vegetable remains, freshwater and land

Bed A.

shells, Bulimus, Physa, Pupa, &c.,

do.

358.

Red sandy clay, containing pebbles, base

322.

Mineralized wood, .....

do.

of Titanotlierium bed, ....

On Shyenne river.

323.

Carbonized wood from lignite bed, .

do.

359.

Teeth of Titanotlierium. Prouti,

Old Woman's fork.

324.

Light sandy marl, .....

do.

360.

Coarse whitish sandstone, above No. 358,

Shyenne river.

325.

Shell marl, containing freshwater shells, .

do.

361.

do. concretionary,

do.

326.

Impure lignite, .....

do.

362.

Soft whitish calcareous sandstone, with

327.

Light-colored fine clay, under lignite bed,

do.

scales of mica, .....

do.

328.

Brown shale, with vegetable impressions, .

Milk river.

363.

Greenish plastic clay, ....

do.

329.

Silicious shale, containing much vegetable

364.

do. upper part,

Sage creek.

matter, ......

do.

365.

Plates of chalcedony, ....

Bear creek.

330.

Gray shell limestone, soft,

do.

366.

do. .

do.

331.

Carbonaceous clay, with Unio, Paludina, & c.,

Yellowstone.

367.

do. .

do.

332.

Coarse gray shell limestone,

Elk Horn prairie.

368.

Fibrous carbonate of lime,

do.

333.

Compact bluish limestone, with freshwater

369. Dark chalcedony, .....

do.

shells, .......

Red spring.

370.

Magnesite, .

do.

334.

Gray calcareous sandstone, with Unio,Falu-

371.

Calcareous concretion separating bed a from

dina, &c., .

Yellowstone.

bed b, . . .

do.

335.

Soft argillaceous limestone, with Paludina

Bed B.

trochiformis, .....

Powder river.

372.

Pinkish indurated marl, .

do.

336.

Crystallized carbonate of lime in concretions,

Fort Union.

373.

Whitish do. from over No. 372,

do.

337.

Dove-colored argillaceous limestone, with

374.

Pinkish calcareous concretion, .

do.

impressions of ferns, over No. 315,

do.

375.

Decomposed marl from Nos. 372 and 373,

do.

338.

Brown calcareous shale, with Taxites,

Yellowstone.

376.

do. do. with Oreodon,

do.

339.

Silicified wood, .....

do.

Bed D.

340.

do. partially carbonized, .

do.

377.

Cream-colored marl, ....

White river.

341.

do. do. ...

do.

378.

Silicious limestone, with freshwater shells,

342.

do. do. ...

do.

Planorbis, Limnea . &c.,

do

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

O i

MINERALS AND GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, continued.

379. Tufaeeous, concretionary limestone, . . White river.

380. Cream-colored marl, containing Oreodon, . do.

Bed E.

381. Sofc white grit, ....

382. Conglomerate, above No. 381, .

383. do. with granitic pebbles,

384. Soft white sandstone, with Oreodon ,

385. Calcareous conglomerate,

386. Conglomerate, .....

387. Calcareous concretions in marl, under No

386, ....

388. Sulphate baryta, foliated crystals in No. 387,

389. Green silicious concretions in limestone,

containing freshwater shells,

390. do. do. do.

391. Coarse, whitish, sandstone,

392. Conglomerate, ......

393. Quartzose conglomerate, . . . .

394. White infusorial earth, base of bed e, local,

395. do. do. do.

397. Indurated marl, white,

398. Silicious tufa, .

399. White marl,

400. Whitish cherty limestone,

401. White foliated limestone, .

403. White tufaeeous marl, containing fresh

water shells,

404. Silicified wood,

405. do.

406. Silicious sinter,

407. Carbonate of lime, .

408. Ferruginous conglomerate,

409. Micaceous granite, .

410. Hornblendic rock, .

411. Limestone, with corals, .

412. do. with Spirifer,

413. do. with Ortlioceratite,

414. do. with Syringopora ,

415. Chalcedony, ....

416. Silicified wood,

417. Limestone, with red chert,

do.

do.

do.

do.

Fort Laramie.

Bijoux hills.

do.

do.

Medicine hills,
do.

Bad Land creek.

Grindstone hill,
do.

Running water.

Loup fork.

Warren’s fork.

Niobrara river.

Loup fork,
do.

Niobrara river.

Loup fork.

Running water,
do.

Sage creek.

Bear peak.

Yellowstone river,
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.

418. Concretions from yellow marl, .

419. Silicious sinter from springs,

420. Sand from sand hills, ....

421. Very fine gray sand, from sand dune,

422. Prismatic iron ore, .

423. Efflorescence on soil, ....

424. Compact basalt, protruded,

425. Trachyte, .

426. Bed pipe-stone, Catlinite, obtained by Maj.

H. Day, U. S. A., from near source of
Big Sioux, viz. Nicollet, p. 16,

Upper Silurian.

427. Yellowish gray silicious limestone, with

Favosites, collected by Mr. Drexler, .

428. Yellowish limestone, with undetermined

corals, .

429. Chalcedony from limestone,

430. Cherty limestone, with Sgringopora,

431. do. with Uahj sites eschar o ides,

432. do. with Streptalasmat

Carboniferous and Permian.

433. Impure coal, slaty, ....

434. Compact cherty limestone,

435. Blue cherty limestone,

436. Dark, argillaceous, shaly limestone, .

437. Impure coal, laminated, .

438. Yellowish magnesian limestone, with Mya

Una , .

439. Dark indurated clay, . . *

440. Nodular chert, .....

441. Fine yellow clay, ....

442. Yellowish gray magnesian limestone, witl

spines of Archeocidaris,

443. Blue cherty limestone with Ufonotis, .

444. “Cone in cone” overlying coal bed, .

445. Fibrous carbonate of lime in thin layers with

Ostrea congesta attached, Cretaceous
formation No. 3, .

Big Sioux.

Black hills,
do.

Powder river.
Mouth Big Horn.
Cannon-ball river.
Bad landsof Judith
do.

f Near South Pass
j Rocky Mts.

do.

do.

do.

do.

do.

j Near mouth of
( Platte river.
Fort Leavenworth.

do.

do.

f 12 m. beyond Ft.
-! Leavenworth on
( Ft. Riley road.

Deep creek, Iv. T.
do.

Fort Riley.
Cottonwood creek.

do.

do.

f Near Fort Lea-
| venworth.

(Bryan’s fork of
Little Blue
river, K. T.

VOL. XII. — 18

138

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

PART III.

ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY.

CHAPTER XV.

Mammals.

The mammals of the Upper Missouri collections have been identified and described by
Prof. S. F. Baird in his general report, which forms Vol. 8 of the P. 11. It. Surveys. The
collection comprises skins, skeletons, and skulls of nearly all the larger quadrupeds of the
plains, with a large number of specimens of most of the smaller ones. From the follow¬
ing catalogue some idea may be obtained of their geographical distribution in the North¬
west, though several species, which are well known in that country, are not included, from
the fact that they are not in the collection. The Wolverine ( Gido luscus, Sabine) has been
killed in the vicinity of Fort Benton, and is not unfrequently seen along the eastern base
of the mountains, though none were observed by our party. The little Black Mink ( Pa -
torius nigrescens ) was obtained by Lieut. Couch at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory,
and a skin of the black-footed ferret was procured at Fort Laramie by Mr. Alexander Cul¬
bertson. This specimen, from which the species was described by Audubon and Bachman,
is the only one ever known. Prof. Baird says, “ It is a little remarkable that so conspicuous
and well-marked a species should have eluded the notice of all the recent explorers in the
Platte region.”

The Black Bear ( Ursus Americanus ) is said to occur in the region ot Council bluffs.
An individual was killed near the mouth of the Vermilion in the autumn of 1856. I
cannot ascertain that it has ever been observed above that point along the Missouri. I
saw the common Striped Squirrel ( Tamias striatus ) quite abundant at Bellevue, Nebraska,
but was unable to obtain a specimen. They do not pass above the mouth of the Niobrara ;
very few are seen above Council bluffs. One or more species of Flying Squirrel occur in
Nebraska, but were not observed by me during my explorations. A species of Mouse
( Perognathus fasciatus Pr. Max.) was described by the Prince of Neuwied, from Fort Union,
near the mouth of the Yellowstone. We were unable to rediscover this interesting spe¬
cies, but it holds a place in the fauna of that region. The Moose {Alee Americanus) can
scarcely be considered as belonging to the fauna of the Upper Missouri, though several
have been killed in that region. One was shot in the valley of the Shyenne river, a second
near Milk river. These must have strayed down from the North, as they are not recog-

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

139

nized as frequenting any portion of the country drained by the Missouri and its tribu¬
taries.

Several species of quadrupeds represented in the collection do not pass above certain
limits on the Missouri river.

The Scalops argentatus has not yet been observed above the mouth of Big Sioux river,
and it is not probable that it will be seen above the rich bottom lands which extend only
to the Niobrara ; and the mouth of White river may be considered the most northern
limit of Geomys bursarius ; the Thomomys rnfescens , which has not occurred before, seem¬
ing to take its place from thence to the mountains. The Gray and Black Squirrel ( Sciurus
Caroline)) sis) has not yet passed above the mouth of Big Sioux river, and the S. Ludovi-
cianus , or Fox Squirrel, reaches its most northern limit near the mouth of White river.
This is doubtless owing to the absence of trees which bear their favorite food. Although
a single Otter was taken by our party on the Niobrara river, and is not unfrequently
caught near the mouth of Big Sioux, it is very seldom, if ever, seen above Fort Pierre.
The Fisher (Mustcla Pennantii ) is somewhat abundant along the rivers and streams flowing
from the north into the Missouri, and the Muskrat ( Fiber zibethicus ) is very common
around Council bluffs, and gradually ceases before reaching the Niobrara. I have been
told by the traders that this animal is occasionally seen along the Missouri near Fort
Union and on the Yellowstone, but I have never known of any skins being preserved to
authenticate the statements.

Sorex Haydeni, Baird.

Hayden’s Shrew. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 29.

This small species of Shrew must be quite rare in Nebraska. During all my examina¬
tions of that country, I have been able to secure but three specimens, and these are the
only ones at present known. A single specimen was caught near Fort Pierre, a second
one at Fort Union, and a third was found dead along the shore of the Missouri river, near
the mouth of Cannon-ball river, so that as far as we at present know its range is along
the Missouri from latitude 44° 20' to 48°. Specific character : Headless than eight-tenths
of an inch; acutely attenuated. Body about 1 75 hundredths of an inch; vertebrae of
tail 1.25. Tail very thick and swollen; hind feet four-tenths of an inch; teeth pitchy
chestnut. Color above, grayish chestnut brown ; beneath, whitish ; upper premolar not
imbricated ; 3d and 4th equal and decidedly less than the two anterior.

Blarina brevicauda, Gray.

Short-tailed Shrew. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 42.

The only specimen of the above species in our Nebraska collection was discovered near
Fort Berthold, on the Missouri river, in latitude 47£°, longitude 102°. Very rare.

140

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

SCALOPS ARGENTATUS, Aud. & Bach.

Silvery Mole. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 63.

Very little is yet known of the habits of this beautiful mole, though it has been known
to naturalists for several years. It was first discovered on the prairies in Michigan, and
described by Audubon and Bachman in their work on Quadrupeds of North America.
Though abundant on the rich bottoms along the Lower Missouri, it is seldom, if ever, seen
above longitude 98°. A single specimen was caught near the mouth of the Big Sioux in
the autumn of 1856. If this animal existed in large numbers, its fine glossy, silky, sil¬
very fur would render it an important object of pursuit for economical purposes. Range :
Detroit to mouth of Big Sioux river, and south to Prairie Mer Rouge 1 It was also ob¬
tained by Mr. Wood twenty miles west of Fort Riley, in Kansas Territory.

Lynx rufus, Raf.

Wild Cat. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 90.

Though seldom seen by the traveller, this animal is not rare in any part of the country
drained by the Missouri and its tributaries. It is very often caught in the traps which
the traders set for wolves. The flesh of the wild cat is not unfrequently used for food by
the Indians, and its skin for ornamental purposes. In the month of January, 1855, I at¬
tempted to cross the prairie from Pinau’s spring to the Fur Company’s trading-houses near
the forks of the Shyenne river, a distance of about thirty miles. Losing my course, I
wandered for two days without food among the innumerable ravines of the tributaries of
that river, and on the third day came to a lodge of Sioux Indians, who had separated
from their band, and were subsisting on the products of each day’s hunt. The old chief
offered me kindly the hospitality of his hut, which I gladly accepted, and on entering the
lodge found the inmates quietly watching the carcass of a large wild cat, which was roast¬
ing before the fire. As soon as the meat was cooked, the Indians ate of it with a keen
relish, and placed a portion before me, and though almost famished with hunger, one
mouthful was sufficient to satisfy me, and I gladly turned to the more palatable meat of
Black-tailed Deer. These animals are caught every year to a greater or less extent at
Fort Pierre, Fort Clark, Fort Union, Fort Benton, and on the Yellowstone. Lieut.
Warren killed two young wild cats near the “ Big Bend” of the Missouri in the autumn
of 1856. The skins were preserved and added to our collection. We also obtained the
skin of a very large individual near the mouth of Big Sioux river on the Missouri. Range :
Atlantic to Pacific. Upper Missouri to Gila river. Not on the Rio Grande'? The Canada
Lynx ( Lynx Canadensis ) has been seen in many portions of the Upper Missouri country
by Indians and traders, but no skins were obtained by our party.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

141

Canis occidentalis, var. griseo-albus.

White and Gray Wolf.

C. OCCIDENTALIS, VCtr. NUBILUS.

Dusky Wolf. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 104.

This animal varies so much in color that the traders on the Upper Missouri suppose
that there are four or five species. I have seen them differing in color from an almost
snowy whiteness to a dark brown or black, and was at first inclined to attribute this differ¬
ence to age and sex, but Mr. Zephyr, an intelligent trader, informed me that he had no¬
ticed the same variations of color in all ages. It is found more or less numerous through¬
out the country, though more abundant in those portions where the buffalo range.
Countless numbers are seen in the valley of the Yellowstone, and along the Missouri
above Fort Union, and woe to any poor buffalo, elk, or deer, which may have been so
unfortunate as to have been wounded by the hunter, or to be in the decline of life.
Descending the Yellowstone river in an open boat, in the summer of 1854, we passed an
old bull lying upon the bank, and evidently alive, surrounded with wolves, who had already
deprived him of his nose and tail. He had evidently yielded to his fate, but pitying the
poor animal, we hallooed and fired a charge of shot among the wolves, which dispersed
them. The old bull revived, started down the bank, and swam across the river to a
sandbar, where he fell exhausted. Before we were out of sight, the wolves had surrounded
him again, and undoubtedly nothing was left of him in a few hours but a parcel of bones
distributed over the prairie. I have never heard of their attacking the settlers and Indians.
Their skins are made a considerable article of trade, usually bringing one dollar apiece.
Range : Missouri river to the Pacific.

Canis latrans, Say.

Coyote, Prairie Wolf. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 113.

In the Prairie or Barking Wolf, or as called by the Indians, Medicine Wolf, there is
but little variation in color or appearance. It is much more abundant on the Upper
Missouri than the large wolf, and collects in larger bands, which seem to act in concert in
taking their prey. They are said to station themselves, when in pursuit of the antelope,
in such a manner, that when one becomes wearied, a fresh one appears and takes up the
chase, until the antelope is captured. They are also said to be very expert in cutting the
hamstrings of buffalo, deer, and not unfrequently of horses. They are great enemies of
the prairie dog. Multitudes may be seen at all times in their villages, waiting patiently
for the dogs to make their appearance. At night, they fill the air with their terrible
music. With the Indians, their barking at night always forebodes evil of some kind, and
the voyager is reminded of a lurking enemy. At first, one of them will commence a

142

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

strain, then another will take it up in some other direction, and so on, until the traveller
is convinced that he is surrounded by all the wolves in the country. Their barking sounds
much like that of a small dog. Range: From Missouri river to the Pacific, south to the
Rio Grande of Texas.

Vulpes macrourus, Baird.

Prairie Fox. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 130.

This beautiful animal is found quite abundantly throughout the Upper Missouri country,
where its fur is considered quite valuable. It presents all the different varieties of the
common red fox, cross, silver, and black, the fur of which is also very highly prized. I
have known the skin of the silver variety to sell for one hundred dollars. In the spring of
1855, I purchased a young prairie fox of the Sioux Indians, near Fort Pierre, and kept
him for some months. The troops soon took possession of Fort Pierre, and the fox passed
into other hands, and I considered him lost, but on the return of our party to Fort Pierre
from the Yellowstone, in the autumn of 1856, I was presented with the identical fox,
which I had purchased nearly two years before. He had become quite tame, readily
recognized his name, and seemed quite contented in his confinement. We brought him
on to Washington, where he was much admired for his beauty, and after a sojourn of a
few months in the metropolis, he made his escape, and if now living, doubtless forms a
part of the fauna of the Atlantic coast. Range: Upper Missouri to the Plains of Colum¬
bia, Oregon Territory.

Vulpes velox, Aud. & Bach.

Kit Fox, Swift Fox, p. 133.

This little Fox is often caught in the traps which the employees of the Fur Company
set for wolves. From fifty to one hundred are caught every winter, in the immediate
vicinity of each of the trading forts on the Missouri. Its skin is not considered very valua¬
ble, bringing only twrenty-five cents apiece. Like the prairie wolf, it is found very abun¬
dantly about the villages of the prairie dog, and is, I suppose, another of the enemies of
that little animal. For what reason it has been called “ Swift Fox,” I cannot tell, for its
speed is less than any other species of fox with which I am acquainted. It is quite
abundant all through the Northwest, extending down into Western Iowa. Range;
Plains west of the Missouri to the Cascade mountains of Oregon.

PUTORIUS LONGICAUDA, Rich.

Long-tailed Weasel. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 169.

Not uncommon throughout the Northwest, though seldom seen by the traveller. Its
skin is highly prized by the Indians, who use it for making articles of dress, tobacco

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

143

pouches, and for other ornamental purposes. Range: Upper Missouri and Platte rivers.
(Carlton House, H. B. T. Rich.)

Lutra Canadensis, Sab.

American Otter. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 184.

Not uncommon along the streams that flow from the north into the Missouri. I cannot
ascertain that it has been seen above the mouth of the Niobrara on the Missouri. The
only specimen obtained by our party, was taken in a trap set for beaver, on the Niobrara,
eighty miles above its mouth. Otter skins are imported into the country every year by
the traders, and are prized very highly by the Indians for ornamental purposes. Range :
Northern part of the United States to Florida, and west to the Rocky mountains.

Mephites mephitica.

Common Skunk. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 195.

Abundant throughout the country drained by the Missouri river and its tributaries.
There seems to be some doubt whether the Upper Missouri Mephites is specifically identi¬
cal with the one in the Atlantic States, but the habits of each appear to be alike in all
respects. They are equally as troublesome, not unfrequently entering the houses during
the night, or destroying the chickens about the forts, and committing other depredations.
Range : United States, east of the Missouri plains, and north of Texas.

Taxidea Americana, Waterh.

Missouri Badger. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 202.

Generally diffused throughout the Upper Missouri country. Of very little economical
value, though used for food by the starving Indian. It is also a great foe to the prairie
dog, haunting its villages, and extracting the little inhabitants from their deepest recesses.
Range: Iowa and Wisconsin to the Pacific coast, and from Arkansas to 49° north lati¬
tude (to 58° north latitude, Rich).

Procyon lotor, Storr.

Common Raccoon. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 209.

Has not yet been observed above White river on the Missouri. In the autumn of 1854,
while descending the Missouri in a skiff, I killed one of these animals near the edge of
the river, about forty miles above the mouth of the Niobrara. It was in a fine condition
and furnished me several excellent meals. At Council bluffs and mouth of Big Sioux it is
quite numerous, and the Indians carry on a considerable trade in the skins. Range:
Massachusetts to Florida, and west to Fort Kearney. Not in Southern Texas'?

144

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Ursus HORRIBILIS, Old.

Grizzly Bear. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 219.

This formidable animal is still quite abundant toward the sources of the Missouri. It
lives for the most part upon vegetable food ; is fond of the root of Psoralia esculenta , of
cherries, plums, bulberries, &c., which grow in great abundance throughout the West.
It seldom attacks a man unless wounded, when it becomes very fierce, and has not unfre-
quently destroyed the hunter. At the present time it is very seldom seen below Fort
Pierre. I have heard of the common black bear being killed near the mouth of the Ver¬
milion, though I have never seen it, yet am inclined to think it should be included in the
Missouri fauna. Range: Plains of the Upper Missouri to the Rocky mountains and along
their base, thence to the coast of California. (Not of Oregon and Washington 1)

Sciurus Ludovicianus, Custis.

Western Fox Squirrel. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 251.

Very abundant about Council bluffs, gradually becomes rare as we ascend the Missouri,
until it ceases to appear near the mouth of White river, in latitude 431°, longitude 99 £°.
Range: Mississippi valley.

Sciurus Carolinensis, Gm.

Gray Squirrel. Black Squirrel. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 263.

Two specimens of this Squirrel were taken, one near Fort Leavenworth, K. T., and the
other near the mouth of the Platte, N. T. It is seldom if ever seen above this point.
Range : Eastern United States to the Missouri river.

Sciurus Fremontii, Towns.

Mountain Gray Squirrel Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 272.

A specimen obtained at Laramie peak is supposed to belong to this species ; seems to be
restricted to the mountains.

Sciurus Hudsonius, Pallas.

Red Squirrel. Chickaree. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 260.

During the summer and autumn of 1857 I noticed this little Squirrel quite frequently
in and around the Black hills. It was most abundant among the oak trees, which were
quite numerous, especially on the eastern side of the Black hills. Its habits did not differ
from those of the common Red Squirrel of the States, which is familiar to every one.
Range: Labrador (latitude 56°) to Mississippi; and in the United States from the Atlantic
to the Missouri river.

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

145

T AMI AS QUADRIYITTATUS, Rich.

Missouri Striped Squirrel. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 297.

Very common in the “ Bad Lands” and ragged portions of the Upper Missouri. It is
an active little animal, lives on roots and the seeds of various plants, and is similar in its
habits to the common Striped Squirrel of the States. Range : Upper Missouri to Rocky
mountains, and west to the Cascade range. Along the Rocky mountains as far south as
Fort Staunton, New Mexico.

Spermophilus Franklini, Rich.

Gray Gopher. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 314.

One specimen of the above species was taken near the mouth of Loup fork. Very rare
in Nebraska territory. Range: Northern Illinois and Wisconsin, and to Minnesota and
Saskatchewan.

Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus, And. & Bach.

Striped Gopher. Prairie Squirrel. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 316.

Abundant on all the open prairies of the Northwest ; similar in its habits and actions to
the prairie dog, though not gregarious ; lives on vegetable food entirely, as roots and grass.
Range: Eastern Michigan to the plains of the Missouri, and south to Red river, Arkansas,
and Fort Thorn, New Mexico.

Spermophilus Townsendii, Bachman.

Townsend’s Spermophile. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 326.

A few specimens of the above species were collected near Fort Laramie, and does not
differ in its habits from the S. tridecem-lineatus. Range : Rocky mountains to the North.

Cynomys Ludovicianus.

Prairie Dog. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 331.

The first village met with in ascending the Missouri is about ten miles below the mouth
of the Niobrara, on the left side. The largest one I have ever seen is near the Black
hills, north of the Big Shyenne river. This village, though sometimes interrupted by high
ridges or hills, is connected, and covers an area of over fifty square miles. The holes are
usually about ten or fifteen feet apart, sometimes fifty feet, and are connected by well-
trodden paths, which cross and recross each other like the streets of a city. At the head
of the Little Missouri river is a village extending about eight miles in every direction.
Much has been said about the owl and rattlesnake living in harmony with these animals.
Both species are almost invariably seen about the villages. The owls find the deserted
holes a convenient place of retreat, and the rattlesnakes doubtless find the dogs to be very
palatable food. The snakes have been killed with a full-grown dog in the stomach, and in
VOL. XII.— 19

146

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

some cases they have depopulated whole villages. Range: Milk river and Upper Missouri ;
west to the Rocky mountains, south to Red river, southwest to the Upper Rio Grande.

Arctomys flaviventer, Bachman.

Yellow-footed Marmot. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 335.

This animal seems to be very rare, but one specimen having been obtained on the Upper
Missouri. But two specimens of this species are in the museum of the Smithsonian In¬
stitution. Black hills, Nebraska.

Castor Canadensis, Kuhl.

American Beaver. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 355.

The Beaver is one of the most interesting and abundant animals in the West. All the
little streams from Council bluffs to the mountains are occupied to a greater or less extent
with the indications of their existence. The Yellowstone river, from mouth to source, as
well as its tributaries, contain myriads, so that they consume literally acres of the small
cottonwood trees which skirt the streams. These animals are usually quiet during the
day, but in the far West, they are not unfrequently seen swimming about in the water
quite unconcerned. The streams that issue from the Black hills are favorite resorts of
them, and I have often known them to strip the streams of all the timber which skirted
their borders. On the Yellowstone I saw a cottonwood tree eighteen inches in diameter
that had been cut down by them. The tree had lodged ; they then took off a length of
two feet. Mr. Weld, a trader who has spent many years in the West, informed me that
he has known the Beaver to cut down trees thirty inches in diameter. On Manuel’s creek,
below the mouth of the Niobrara, a small stream about ten yards wide, I saw five
dams within the space of a few miles, one of which produced a fall of four feet. They
vary somewhat in color, sometimes nearly white. One was caught in the Mussel-shell
river in the Blackfoot country that was a perfect cream color, with red eyes, an albino ;
another from the Big Horn river spotted on the belly like a fawn, and yellowish brown on
the back. A tributary of Bear river near Great Salt lake is called Black Beaver creek,
because all the Beaver taken from it are of jet black color. Their skins bring at the pre¬
sent time from three to five dollars each. Range : Throughout the entire area of North
America.

Geomys bursarius, Rich.

Pouched or Pocket Gopher. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 372.

Very abundant on the rich bottoms of the Missouri, where they are exceedingly trouble¬
some to the farmer. One specimen was obtained near the mouth of Vermilion river, and
a second was caught near our camp fire on the Niobrara. This last-mentioned one was

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

147

taken alive, but all efforts to domesticate it were fruitless. It died after three days’ con¬
finement. Range : Missouri to Minnesota and Nebraska.

Thomomys rufescens, Maxim.

Fort Union Gopher. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 397.

This Gopher seems to take the place of the Geomys bursarius, from Fort Pierre to the
mountains, but is similar in its habits. Two specimens were taken at Fort Union, and
one at Fort Randall.

Jaculus Hudsonius.

Jumping Mouse. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 430.

Only two specimens of this species were taken during the exploration, and they were
collected near Fort Union. Range: Nova Scotia to Southern Pennsylvania, and west to
the Pacific Ocean.

Perognathus flavus, Baird.

Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 423.

Collected on the Loup fork, during the summer of 1857. Range: Upper Missouri,
along eastern slopes of Rocky mountains to Sonora and Chihuahua, and along the Rio
Grande to Matamoras.

Dipodomys Ordii, Woodh.

Kangaroo Rat. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 410.

A single specimen of the above species was taken on the Niobrara river. Range: Platte
river, along the eastern slope of the Rocky mountains, into Durango and Coahuila, Mexico.

Mus musculus, Linn. p. 443.

Already quite abundant and troublesome at all the Fur Trading Posts on the Missouri.
Mus raltus, or Common Rat, has also been introduced.

Hesperomys Sonoriensis, Leconte.

Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 474.

Very abundant near Fort Union and along the Yellowstone Twenty-five specimens
were collected. Range: Upper Missouri and Rocky mountains to El Paso and Sonora.

Hesperomys leucogaster.

Missouri Mouse. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 480.

Very rare; but two specimens secured; one near Bijoux hills, the other on Vermilion
prairie, and are the only specimens in the Musuem of the Smithsonian Institution. Very
little is known of its habits, and it has been observed only on the Upper Missouri.

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Neotoma cinerea.

Rocky Mountain Rat. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 499.

Not rare, but seldom taken ; usually found among the dry trees on the river bottoms.
The only specimen secured was captured at Fort Sarpy, near the mouth of the Big Florn
river, on the Yellowstone, in the summer of 1854. Range: Eastern slope of Northern
Rocky mountains and Upper Missouri.

Arvicola Haydeni, Baird.

Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 543.

But one specimen of this species has ever been detected. Fort Pierre, Nebraska.

Lepus campestris, Bachm.

Prairie Hare. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 585.

I found the Prairie Hare diffused throughout the Upper Missouri country, west and north
of Big Sioux river, though never very abundant. It is confined entirely to the prairie, and
from that fact derives its name. Its flesh is used for food to some extent, but is not con¬
sidered a delicacy. It turns white in winter. Range : Upper Missouri, and Saskatchewan
plains to the Cascade range of Oregon.

Lepus sylvaticus, Bach.

Gray Rabbit. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 597.

This little rabbit is exceedingly abundant all along the Missouri in the bottoms, where
its favorite resort is among the thick willows, upon which it subsists to a great extent.
It is most abundant as far up the river as the mouth of the Niobrara, but passing that
point, is begins to become rare, and is found only on the willow bottoms skirting the Mis¬
souri. Its flesh is very delicate, and affords a most delicious meal to the hungry voyager.
Range : From Massachusetts throughout the United States, and west as far as Fort Union,
Nebraska.

Lepus Artemisia, Bach.

Sage Hare. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 602.

Unlike the L. sylvaticus , the Sage Hare is seldom seen in the vicinity of streams, but is
mostly confined to the hills and “ Bad Lands,” where it finds abundant hiding-places to
escape from its numerous foes. As we approach the mountains, it becomes very plenty,
seeming to take the place of L. sylvaticus. It is also abundant on the Sage plains, where
the thick sage hedges afford it excellent hiding-places. Range : Region west of the Mis¬
souri to the Rocky mountains, and to the Cascade mountains of Oregon, along the Colum¬
bia in the north, and to the city of Chihuahua in the south.

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

149

Erethizon epixanthus, Brandt.

Yellow-haired Porcupine. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 569.

Occurs rarely throughout the Upper Missouri country. Its quills are much used by
the Indian women for ornamental purposes. Range : Upper Missouri, whole of the Pacific
coast.

Cervus Canadensis, Eixl.

American Elk. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 6B8.

Much might be said in regard to the habits of this noble animal, but they are now so
well known, that I need not dwell on them here. At the present time, the Elk is most
abundant on the Upper Missouri, above Fort Union, and in the valley of the Yellowstone.
Though rather rare, it is not unfrequently seen below Fort Pierre, throughout Western
Iowa. Range: Northern portion of the United States to Upper Missouri, and west to the
Pacific. Found in the Alleghanies of Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Cervus leucurus, Douglass.

White-tailed Deer. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 649.

The Wood Deer, or White-tailed Deer as it is called by the Indians, is rather common
along the timbered streams. Formerly, these animals were very abundant below Fort
Pierre to Big Sioux and Council bluffs, but the severity of the cold during the winter of
1855 to 1856 destroyed them so, that at the present time they are very seldom seen. A
female was killed near Fort Pierre, with six young in utero. Range : Upper Missouri and
Platte to the Columbia river and Washington Territory, Western Texas, and New Mexico 1

Cervus macrotis, Say.

Mule or Black-tailed Deer. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 656.

This is the most abundant animal of the Deer kind in the West. In the interminable
ravines that border the rivers, it is found in the greatest abundance. Though very shy,
its peculiar haunt is very favorable for the hunter. In the valley of Sage creek and in the
Bad Lands these animals are found by hundreds. The valley of the Shyenne is also a
favorite haunt for them. They are very seldom found in the prairie, but confined for the
most part to the more nigged hills along the streams. They are very prolific, usually pro¬
ducing two, often three, and sometimes four or five young at a birth. The flesh of the
Black-tailed Deer, Sin-ta-sa-pa in the Sioux language, is very delicate, and more so than
that of the G. leucurus. I have never seen this Deer below the mouth of the Niobrara.
Range : Upper Missouri and Platte to the Cascade range (head of Des Chutes river),
Oregon Territory ; not extending to the Pacific ; head-waters of the Arkansas.

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ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Antilocapra Americana, Ord.

Prong-horned Antelope; Cabrec. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 666.

The Antelope is frequently, but erroneously, called a goat by the mountaineers, who
have given it that name to distinguish it from the Mountain Sheep. Very few of these
animals are seen below Fort Pierre, none below the mouth of Niobrara river. Near the
Bad Lands, Black hills, valley of the Yellowstone, and in the Blackfoot country they are
very abundant, but, like the Buffalo, are annually on the decrease. They seem to live
mostly in the open prairie, being very seldom seen in the timbered land. In the begin¬
ning of winter they may be seen for days following each other in files (if not disturbed)
on their way towards the Northwest, leaving the prairie for the more rugged portions of
the country near the Black hills or the foot of the mountains. In the spring, usually
about March, they may be seen returning again, and distributing themselves over the open
prairie. The deep snow and severe cold winter often proves fatal to them, rendering them
an easy prey to the myriads of starving wolves. The Antelope usually brings forth two
young, less often one and three. Bange : Plains west of the Missouri, from the Lower
Bio Grande to the Saskatchewan, and west to the Cascade and Coast range of the Pacific
slope.

Ovis Montana, Cuvier.

Bighorn ; Mountain Sheep. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 673.

Confined entirely to the Bad Lands and mountainous portions of the Upper Missouri.
They occur in large herds in the Bad Lands or broken country bordering upon the Yellow¬
stone and Missouri rivers above Fort Union. In the vicinity of the mouth of the Judith,
the stone walls, &c., are noted places for them. They are the surest footed of all the
animals in this country. The meat of the female is much like that of our domestic sheep,
but that of the male is usually too highly flavored. They bring forth their young in May
or June, most commonly but one at a birth. Bange: Broken ground on the Upper Mis¬
souri and Platte ; Bocky mountains generally, as far west at least as the Coast and Cas¬
cade mountains of the Pacific slope.

Bos Americanus, Gmelin.

American Buffalo. Baird, General Report on Mammals, 1857, p. 682.

The Buffalo are confined to the country bordering upon the eastern slope of the Bocky
mountains. They occur in large bands in the valley of the Yellowstone river, and also
in the Blackfoot country, but their numbers are annually decreasing at a rapid rate. De¬
scending the Yellowstone in the summer of 1854 from the Crow country, we were not out
of sight of large bands for a distance of 400 miles. In 1850 they were seen as low down
the Missouri river as the mouth of the Vermilion, and in 1854 a few were killed near

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

151

Fort Pierre. But at the present time they seldom pass below the 47th parallel on the
Missouri. Every year as we ascend the river, we can observe that they are retiring nearer
and nearer the mountainous portions. In Kansas they are found at this time at certain
seasons of the year in immense droves on the Smoky Hill fork of the Kansas, within 60
or 70 miles of Fort Riley, and from there to the South Pass they are distributed to a
greater or less extent. It is true that these animals are at all times on the move, and fre¬
quent different portions of the West at different seasons of the year, or as they are driven
by the hunters and Indians ; but there are certain parts of the country over which they
formerly roamed in immense herds, but are never or rarely seen at the present time. The
area over which the Buffalo graze is annually contracting its geographical limits. As near
as I could ascertain, about 250,000 individuals are destroyed every year, about 100,000
being killed for robes. At the present time, the number of males to the females seems to
be in the ratio of ten to one, and this fact is readily accounted for from the fact that the
males are seldom killed when the cows can be obtained. Skins of females only are used
for robes, and are preferred for food. Beside the robes which are traded to the whites by the
Indians, each man, woman, and child requires from one to three robes a year for clothing.
A large quantity are employed in the manufacture of lodges, and an immense number of
the animals, which it would be difficult to estimate, are annually destroyed by wolves and
by accidents. The Buffaloes vary in color, white, cream, gray, sometimes spotted with
white, with white feet and legs, &c. These varieties are called by the Indians “ Medicine
Buffaloes,” and are regarded of the greatest value, often bringing several hundred dollars.
About one in 50,000 is an albino, while one robe in 100,000 is called by the traders a silk
robe, and is usually valued at from one to two hundred dollars. Range: Formerly found
throughout nearly the whole of North America, east of the Rocky mountains ; now con¬
fined to the plains west of the Missouri and along the slopes of the Rocky mountains.

Vespertilio pruinosus, Say. All over the United States east of the Rocky mountains.

Vespertilio nocti vaganp, Leconte. Common throughout the country east of the Rocky
mountains.

Vespertilio Noveboracensis, Gmelin.

CHAPTER XVI.

Birds.

Cathartes aura, Illig.

Turkey Buzzard. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 4.
Very abundant throughout the Northwest generally.

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ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Falco anatum, Bonaparte.

Duck Hawk. Baird, General Keport on Birds, p. 7.

This very rare bird in the West was killed on the Vermilion river in the autumn of
1856. No other specimen was obtained by our Expedition, and the above locality is the
most western range yet known of this bird.

Hypotriorchis columbarius, Gr.

Pigeon Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 9.

One of the most common and abundant birds in the Northwest. It is usually found
along the woody bottoms of streams, where it may be seen in large numbers perched upon
the dry limbs of trees apparently watching for its prey.

Falco polyagrus, Cassin.

Prairie Falcon. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 12.

Is found at various localities along the Missouri, though not abundant. It also occurs
on the Platte.

Tinnunculus sparverius, Vieill.

Sparrow Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 13.

One of the most abundant birds on the Upper Missouri. It is very common along the
woody bottoms of the Missouri and Yellowstone, where it may be seen at all hours of the
day darting from tree to tree or sitting upon some dry limbs almost motionless watching
for its prey. It is an exceedingly noisy and saucy bird, often provoking a shot from the
hunter when silence would have enabled it to have escaped unnoticed.

Accipiter Mexicanus, Swains.

Blue-backed Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 17.

Not abundant on the Missouri generally, though found quite numerous on the Yellow¬
stone river. It seems to be confined to Western North America. Three specimens were
obtained by our party.

Buteo Swainsoni, Bonap.

Swatnson’s Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 19.

We were enabled to secure four specimens of this rare and interesting hawk. It seems
to be confined to the sources of the Missouri and Yellowstone.

Buteo Bairdii, Hoy.

Baird’s Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 21.

This, also, like the last, is quite rare and interesting to ornithologists, of which three
specimens are included in our collection. Its range is Northern and Western North
America.

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153

Buteo borealis, Vieill.

Red-tailed Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 25.

This hawk is not uncommon throughout the prairie country of the Northwest. It may
be seen about sunset hovering quietly over the tall grass of the prairie ; sometimes sailing
along as if without an effort; again, poised almost motionless, with head directed toward
the ground as if intently searching for its prey. When thus engaged in searching for its
food, it will fly very near the hunter, and often presents itself a fine mark for the gun.
Its range seems to be, according to Prof. Baird, Eastern North America, Fur countries,
&c. Three specimens are included in our collection.

Archibuteo ferrugineus, Gray.

Squirrel Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 34.

This is one of the largest and most beautiful of the hawk kind. It is very rare in the
Northwest. The only specimen obtained in all our explorations was killed by Lieut. War¬
ren, in the summer of 1856, on the Little Missouri or Teton river, Nebraska. It is
confined to Western North America.

Circus Hudsonius, Vieillot.

Marsh Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 38.

A very common hawk throughout the Northwest. Its range is given as all of North
America and Cuba. Four specimens in our collection.

Haliaetus leucocephalus, Savigny.

Bald Eagle. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 43.

This bird was not unfrequently observed during our explorations, and it seems to be
generally distributed throughout the Northwest. A number of specimens were secured,
mostly in a young condition. It occurs throughout North America.

Bubo Virginianus, Bonap.

Great Horned Owl. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 49.

Is very common throughout the prairie country of the Northwest. In the winter it
becomes white, and is often seen by the voyageur of the prairie perched upon some coni¬
cal hill. When the prairie has been burned over by the autumn fires, this bird presents
quite a conspicuous appearance at a distance from contrast, and may sometimes be mis¬
taken for a bleached buffalo skull. It is distributed throughout the whole of North America.

Otus Wilsonianus, Lesson.

Long-eared Owl. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 53.

Not uncommon throughout the Northwest. It was not an unfrequent visitor near our
VOL. xii. — 20

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ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

camp-fires at night, where it would have been welcome but for its ominous notes, which
were anything but agreeable. It is distributed throughout all temperate North America.

Brachyotus Cassinii, Brewer.

Short-eared Owl. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 54.

This owl must certainly be very rare on the Upper Missouri. We were able to secure
but two specimens during our explorations, and these were taken on White river and near
the Bad Lands. I think I have seen the same species at other localities, but quite rarely.
Generally diffused.

Syrnium nebulosum, Gray.

Barred Owl. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 56.

Quite rare, but one specimen secured. Prof. Baird says of this bird : “ Though of fre¬
quent occurrence in the States of the Atlantic, this species has not yet been observed in
the countries wTest of the Pocky mountains. The only specimen in the present collection
is from the Territory of Nebraska, and is of especial interest, as demonstrating the most
western locality yet determined of this bird.

Athene hypugaea, Bonap.

Prairie Owl. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 59.

I do not now remember that I have ever seen a prairie dog village in the Northwest
that was not inhabited by one or more pairs of this interesting and somewhat peculiar
bird. It does not appear to live with the dogs, but to take possession of the deserted holes,
where it retires on the least approach of danger. It is not confined, however, to the vil¬
lages of the prairie dog, but is often seen near the deserted holes of wolves, foxes, and
other burrowing animals of the prairie. It probably consumes no nobler prey than insects
or small mice. Its range is from the Mississippi to the Rocky mountains.

Conurus Carolinensis, Kuhl.

Parakeet. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 67.

Very abundant in the Mississippi valley, along the thickly wooded bottoms as far up the
Missouri as Fort Leavenworth, possibly as high as the mouth of the Platte, but never
seen above that point. Mostly confined to the South and Southwestern States.

Coccygus Americanus, Bonap.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 76.

Quite common along the wooded bottoms of streams in the Northwest. Its range is
Eastern United States to the Missouri plains.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

155

COGCYGUS ERYTHROPHTIIALMUS, Bp.

Black-billed Cuckoo. Baird, General Keport on Birds, p. 77.

Six specimens of this and the preceding bird are included in our Nebraska collection.
The habits of both species are much alike, and their geographical distribution much the
same.

Pious villosus, Linn.

Hairy Woodpecker. Baird, General Keport on Birds, p. 84.

Not uncommon on the dry trees of the river bottoms of the Northwest. Six specimens
were secured. It ranges throughout the Northern and Western regions.

Picus pubescens, Linn.

Downy Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 89.

Seems to have habits and geographical distribution similar to the preceding, though,
perhaps, less abundant.

Picoides dorsalis, Baird.

Striped Three-toed Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 100.

The only specimen we observed of this species was taken near Laramie peak, and is one
of the novelties secured in our explorations. In regard to its habits, I know nothing.
The locality from which this species was obtained would well reward a more extended
examination, for I have never known a region which seemed to promise so many novelties
to the ornithologist. We were able to spend but two days in this vicinity, yet in that
period we secured, in addition to fine collections in other departments, thirty-five specimens
of birds, most of them rare ; one species, entirely new to science, and a second, of which
but one specimen had been obtained previously.

Sphyropicus varius, Baird.

Yellow-bellied Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 103.

Very abundant along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri. It ranges from the Atlantic
Ocean to the eastern slopes of the Rocky mountains, and occurs in Greenland.

Sphyropicus thyroideus, Baird.

Brown-headed Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 106.

This rare bird forms another of the results of our visit to Laramie peak. But three
specimens are contained in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. It seems to be
confined to the region of the Rocky mountains.

Hylotomus pileatus, Baird.

Black Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 107.

Though no specimens of the above species is contained in our Nebraska collections, we

156

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

often met with it along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri, especially in the State of
Missouri, and in Kansas and Iowa. It is very rarely seen as high up the Missouri river
as Fort Randall, near latitude 43°, longitude 99°, but it is never seen on the Upper Mis¬
souri.

Centurus Carolinus, Bonap.

Red-bellied Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 109.

Quite rare in the Northwest. Ranges from the Atlantic coast to the eastern slope of
the Rocky mountains.

Melanerpes erythrocephalus, Sw.

Red-headed Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 113.

This is one of the most abundant birds in the Northwest. Scarcely a dry tree is seen
along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri or its tributaries, that is not the abode of one
or more pairs of this beautiful species.

Melanerpes torquatus, Bonap.

Lewis’s Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 115.

This bird seems to be confined to the immediate vicinity of the mountains. I first ob¬
served it associated with the preceding in March, 1855, near the Black hills, and at
Laramie peak we met with it in great numbers. It seems to be common to both sides of
the Rocky mountain range.

Colaptes Auratus, Swainson.

Yellow-shafted Flicker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 118.

Abundant along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri and its tributaries.

Colaptes Mexicanus, Swains.

Red-siiafted Flicker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 120.

Unlike the last, this species is seldom seen along the valleys of streams, but is most abun¬
dant in the wooded ravines of the Bad Lands, high up towards the sources of the Missouri.
Range : From the Black hills to the Pacific.

Colaptes hybridus, Baird.

Hybrid Woodpecker. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 122.

Under the above name, Professor Baird includes a remarkable species of woodpecker,
from the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone, which seems to be a hybrid between the two
preceding. Twenty-one specimens were obtained in our explorations.

Chaetura pelasgia, Steph.

Chimney Swallow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 144.

Quite rare on the Upper Missouri. But one specimen was secured, and that was taken

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

157

near Bijoux hills. Other parties have obtained it from Independence, on the Missouri
river. Its range is Eastern United States to the slopes of the Rocky mountains.

Antrostomus vociferus, Bonap.

Whip-poor-will. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 148.

Though no specimens of the above species were obtained by us, we have heard its well-
known notes every spring in ascending the Missouri, near the mouth of Big Sioux river.
I do not think that it is found on the Upper Missouri.

Antrostomus Nuttalli, Cassin.

Poor-will. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 149.

Though rarely seen, this bird seems to be distributed throughout the Upper Missouri
country. It is usually found on the Sage plains, and rises up quickly from the ground
before the traveller, flies a short distance with great rapidity, and then settles down again
in some concealed place. I think I have never seen more than six or eight individuals in
a single season, but its familiar notes “ poor-will” are often heard about dusk, and continue
until late at night. It is found on the high central plains to the Pacific.

Chordeiles popetue, Baird.

Night Hawk. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 151.

Very abundant throughout the Northwest.

Ceryle alcyon, Boie.

Belted Kingfisher. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 159.

This bird, though not common, is seen occasionally along all the streams of the North¬
west. It usually makes its appearance about the first of May. It is universally distri¬
buted over North America.

Tyrannus Carolinensis, Baird.

King Bird ; Bee Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 171.

Very abundant, especially along the Lower Missouri, but found more or less numerous
throughout the Northwest. It ranges over Eastern North America to the Rocky moun¬
tains.

Tyrannus Verticalis, Say.

Arkansas Flycatcher. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 173.

The two species of the genus Tyrannus which occur in the Northwest, seem to have
habits very much alike, and are often found together, so much so that I at first, with my
slight knowledge of ornithology, regarded them as male and female of the same species.
The yellow-breasted Tyrannus does not make its appearance, however, until we reach a

158

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

point about 100 miles below Fort Pierre, and from there to the mountains. The T. Caro -
Unensis diminishes in numbers, while the T. verticalis becomes exceedingly abundant, oc¬
curring in vast numbers along the wooded bottoms of streams. It is peculiarly a W estern
bird, ranging from the high central plains to the Pacific.

Sayornis fuscus, Baird.

Pewee. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 184.

Quite rare along the Missouri river, though not unfrequently seen on the lower portion ;
gradually diminishes in numbers as we approach the mountains. It occurs to a greater or
less extent throughout Eastern North America.

Sayornis Sayus, Baird.

Say’s Flycatcher. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 185.

Seems to be peculiar to the West or Pocky mountain region. It is quite rare, almost
always occurring solitary among the ravines of the Bad Lands. I do not think I have
ever seen more than fifteen or twenty individuals.

Contopus Richardsonii, Baird.

Short-legged Pewee. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 189.

Distributed throughout the Northwest, though rarely seen. But two specimens are in¬
cluded in our collection.

Empidonax minimus, Baird.

Least Flycatcher. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 195.

Occasionally seen throughout the Northwest, though not abundant. Six specimens were
obtained in our explorations.

Turdus mustelinus, Gni.

Wood Thrush. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 212.

Quite abundant along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri to the mountains.

Turdus fuscescens, Stephens.

Wilson’s Thrush. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 214.

Observed along the wooded bottoms of the Lower Missouri. Not very abundant. Its
range: Eastern North America and the Fur countries north.

Turdus Swainsonii, Cab.

Olive-backed Thrush. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 216.

More abundant and more widely distributed than the preceding species, being occa¬
sionally observed throughout the Northwest. It is also found at Fort Laramie and Fort
Bridger.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

159

Turdus alicia e, Baird.

Gray-cheeked Thrush. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 217.

Was not observed above the mouth of Niobrara river on the Missouri. Most abundant
along the wooded bottoms of the Mississippi and the Lower Missouri.

Turdus migratorius, Linn.

Robin. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 218.

I have seen this common and widely distributed bird at different seasons of the year
throughout the Northwest. In the autumn it appears on the Yellowstone and the sources
of the Missouri in vast numbers, especially when the autumn fruits ripen. It arrives at
Fort Pierre about the middle of April ; and though I have seen it at all seasons of the year
I have never heard its song.

Sialia sialis, Baird.

Blue Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 222.

Not uncommon throughout the Northwest ; also in the vicinity of Fort Laramie.

Sialia Arctica, Swains.

Rocky Mountain Blue Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 224.

Very abundant in the vicinity of the mountains. At Laramie peak and from thence to
the Black hills it was one of the most abundant birds noticed. Its range is Upper Missouri
to the Rocky mountains, and south to Mexico ; rare on the coast of California.

Regulus calendula, Licht.

Ruby-crowned Wren. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 226.

Found somewhat rarely along the broad bottoms of the Lower Missouri. Range: From
the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Anthus Ludovicianus, Licht.

Tit-lark. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 232.

This species must be very rare on the Upper Missouri, inasmuch as but a single specimen
was secured, and that was observed near the Black hills. It is found throughout North
America generally.

Mniotilta varia, Vieill.

Black-and-white Creeper. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 235.

Very abundant along the willow bottoms of the Missouri, as high up as Fort Pierre at
least. Six specimens were obtained by our party.

Parula Americana, Bonap.

Blue Yellow-back. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 238.

This small bird is very abundant in the months of May and June along the wooded

160

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

bottoms of the Missouri. Its minute size and rapid flight from limb to limb among the
tallest branches of the lofty cottonwoods renders it a somewhat difficult bird to secure. It
is most abundant on the Lower Missouri below Fort Pierre.

Geothlypis trichas, Cab.

Maryland Yellow-throat. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 241.

A very abundant little bird, inhabiting the thick willow bottoms of the different streams
along the Missouri, from the mouth to the source, in the mountains. Seven specimens
were collected.

ICTERIA LONGICAUDA, Lawr.

Long-tailed Chat. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 249.

Very abundant among the low bushes of the bottom prairies along the Missouri. It
conceals itself among the foliage, so that it is seldom seen, and seems to rival the mocking
bird in the rapidity and variety of its notes. Its range is confined to the west of the
Mississippi.

Helminthophaga celata, Baird.

Orange-crowned Warbler. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 257.

Two specimens of the above species were collected by our party; one near the mouth
of the Big Sioux river, and the other on Bon Homme island. Whether it occurs high up
on the Missouri we do not know, but it has been found in Oregon and other contiguous
territories. We infer that it will be observed in other portions of Nebraska.

Seiurus aurocapillus, Sw.

Golden-crowned Thrush. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 260.

A common, quiet bird, hopping about on the ground under the thick bushes or trees of
the Missouri bottoms, below Fort Pierre. It was not observed above that point.

Seiurus noveboracensis, Nutt.

Water^Tiirush. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 261.

Less abundant than the last, and noticed very near the mouth of Vermilion river, where
two specimens were secured.

Dendroica coronata, Gray.

Yellow-rump Warbler. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 272.

Very abundant along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri and its tributaries. Some¬
what rare above Fort Pierre.

Dendroica Audubonii, Baird.

Audubon’s Warbler. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 273.

The only specimen of this species observed was collected in the Laramie mountains near
Fort Laramie. It is probably quite rare on the Missouri.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

161

Dendroica Pennsylvania, Baird.

Chestnut-sided Warbler. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 279.

Observed only at the mouth of the Platte, and is, I think, quite rare. But one specimen
was taken.

Dendroica striata, Baird.

Black Poll Warbler. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 280.

Abundant along the wooded bottoms and on the islands of the Lower Missouri, below
Fort Pierre.

Dendroica ./estiva, Baird.

Yellow Warbler. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 282.

Distributed throughout the valleys of the Missouri and its tributaries. Very abundant.
Fifteen specimens were collected.

Dendroica maculosa, Baird.

Black and Yellow Warbler. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 284.

The whole series of Warblers seem to be peculiar to the wooded margins of streams,
and are usually quite abundant during the months of May and June.

Setophaga ruticilla, Sw.

Redstart. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 297.

This beautiful little species is not uncommon along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri
and its tributaries, though most abundant on the Lower Missouri. Its range is over the
Eastern United States to the Pocky mountains, south and west to Fort Bridger.

Pyranga Ludoviciana, Bonap.

Louisiana Tanager. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 303.

But two specimens of this species were obtained, and these were from the Black hills
and Laramie peak. Dr. Cooper collected it near Fort Laramie. It ranges from the Black
hills to the Pacific, and south to Mexico.

Hirundo horreorum, Barton.

Barn Swallow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 308.

Builds its nests on the vertical sides of the bluffs along the Missouri, in countless num¬
bers.

Hirundo lunifrons, Say.

Cliff Swallow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 309.

This species is very abundant along the Missouri, often covering the vertical sides of the
river bluffs with their nests. Near the mouth of the Niobrara river, the chalk bluffs, and
vol. xir. — 21

162

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Cretaceous formation No. 3, form lofty vertical walls, which are sometimes completely
covered with their nests. A single shot is usually sufficient to supply one with all the
specimens he could desire.

COTYLE RIPARIA, Boie.

Bank Swallow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 313.

The vertical banks of yellow marl which are so conspicuous from the mouth of the Platte
to the Niobrara, furnish excellent places of resort for this bird. Not unfrequently, this
and the preceding species will be associated in the same cliff, the C. riparia in the surface
deposit of yellow marl, while the H. lunifrons attaches its nest to the harder rocks below.
Both this and the preceding species are universally diffused throughout North America.

Progne purpurea, Boie.

Purple Martin. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 314.

Most abundant throughout the Northwest, along the wooded bottoms of streams, where
the dry trees are its favorite breeding-places. They do not usually remain longer than the
months of May and June.

Ampelis cedrorum, Baird.

Cedar Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 318.

Abundant everywhere in the Northwest. A second species, A. gcirrulus , will doubtless
be found in great numbers in the mountains, as it occurs so abundantly near Fort Bridger.

Myiadestes Townsendii, Cab.

Townsend’s Flycatcher. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 321.

Seems to be confined, as far as our observations extended, to the vicinity of the moun¬
tain ranges. Specimens were obtained at Laramie peak and the Black hills.

COLLYRIO BOREALIS, Bail'd.

Great Northern Shrike. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 324.

Not uncommon from Council bluff’s to Fort Pierre, especially during the winter. Lieut.
Warren collected one specimen near Fort Pierre, and had it been abundant above that
point, our party would have obtained other specimens.

COLLYRIO EXCUBITOROIDES, Bail'd.

WniTE-RUMPED Shrike. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 327.

This species, unlike the preceding, seems to be quite abundant, especially along the
Platte to the Laramie mountains, Black hills, and Bad Lands. It is very abundant in the
hills about Fort Laramie.

Vireo gilvus, Bonap.

Warbling Flycatcher. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 335.

Abundant along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

163

VlREO solitarius, Vieill.

Blue-headed Flycatcher. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 340.

With the preceding species.

Mimus Carolinensis, Gray.

Cat Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 34G.

Abundant throughout the Northwest, from the mouth of the Missouri to the mountains.

Oreoscoptes montanus, Baird.

Mountain Mocking-Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 347.

A single specimen of the above species was obtained in the Black hills. Dr. Cooper
collected it near Fort Laramie.

Harporhynchus rufus, Cab.

Brown Thrush. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 353.

Distributed throughout the Northwest to a greater or less extent. Six specimens are
included in the Nebraska collection.

Salpinctes obsoletus, Cab.

Rock Wren. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 357.

This somewhat peculiar bird is very abundant in the rugged, inaccessible portions,
called the “ Bad Lands,” of the Northwest. It seems to build its nest among the rocks,
where it sets up an impertinent chattering at the approach of a human being, but retires
to hiding-places at the first indication of danger. Its range seems to cover the eastern
slope of the Rocky mountains to the Cascade range, also in California. Six specimens
were secured at various localities along the Missouri.

ClSTOTHORUS PALUSTRIS, Cab.

Long-billed Marsh Wren. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 364.

Quite rare, though seen occasionally around the marshy places on the broad bottoms of
the Missouri near Council bluffs and Big Sioux.

ClSTOTHORUS STELLARIS, Cab.

Short-billed Marsh Wren. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 365.

Same as preceding.

Troglodytes aedon, Vieill.

House Wren. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 367.

Not rare as high up the Missouri as the settlements extend ; seldom, if ever, seen on
the Upper Missouri. A single specimen was secured in the summer of 1857, near the
mouth of Loup fork.

164

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Troglodytes Parkmanni, Aucl.

Parkman’s Wren. Bail’d, General Report on Birds, p. 367.

This small species we found to be very abundant throughout the Northwest. Thirteen
specimens were obtained in our explorations. It seems to be peculiarly a Western species,
ranging from the Rocky mountains to the Pacific.

Sitta Canadensis, Linn.

Red-bellied Nuthatch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 376.

Quite rare in the Northwest. Seems to frequent for the most part, the wooded ravines
of the Bad Lands, and along streams. We were able to secure but three specimens, from
two localities, Cedar island on Missouri river, and Black hills.

Polioptila caerulea, Sclat.

Blue-gray Gnatcatciier. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 380.

We were able to obtain but one specimen of this species, and therefore suppose it to be
quite rare. This was found near Bald island, Nebraska. It also occurs in Kansas near
Fort Riley.

Lophophanes bicolor, Bonap.

Tufted Titmouse. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 384.

Must be very rare in the Northwest, inasmuch as but one specimen was secured by our
party. It was not observed above St. Joseph on the Missouri.

Parus septentrionalis, Harris.

Long-tailed Chickadee. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 389.

Very abundant in the willow bottoms along streams throughout the Northwest. Four
specimens were secured.

Eremophila cornuta, Boie.

Sky Lark. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 403.

Large numbers of this beautiful species are found throughout the prairie country of the
Northwest. It seems to be gregarious, and to have a special fondness for the villages of
the prairie dog, where they may be seen in large flocks. Twelve specimens are included
in our collection.

Carpodacus purpureus, Gray.

Purple Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 412.

Seems to be quite rare, as but one specimen was obtained by our party. The only lo¬
cality where we observed it was near the mouth of the Vermilion river on the Missouri,
and I suspect that it does not occur on the Upper Missouri.

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

165

Chrysomitris tristis, Bonap.

Yellow Bird. Baird, General Beport on Birds, p. 421.

Very abundant throughout the Northwest. Common from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Chrysomitris pinus, Bonap.

Pine Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 425.

This species was observed in but one locality on the Missouri, and that was between
Fort Union and Fort Benton.

CURYIROSTRA AMERICANA, Wils.

Red Crossbill. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 426.

Quite abundant in the mountain ranges, where it feeds upon the seeds of the different
kinds of Pine cones.

CURYIROSTRA LEUCOPTERA, Wils.

White-winged Crossbill. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 427.

Associated with the preceding species, with habits quite similar. Abundant in the La¬
ramie range of mountains.

Plectrophanes ornatus, Towns.

Chestnut-collared Bunting. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 435.

This species seems to be peculiar to the prairie country of the Upper Missouri, and is
quite abundant. Five specimens were collected.

Plectrophanes melanomus, Baird.

Black-shouldered Longspur. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 436.

This bird has a much wider range, extending along the eastern slope of the Pocky
mountains to Mexico. It is not abundant along the Missouri. Two specimens were col¬
lected in the Black hills, and one on the Niobrara river.

Plectrophanes Maccownii, Lawr.

Maccown’s Longspur. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 437.

Panges like the preceding species over a large area of the West. We did not observe
it along the Missouri. But three specimens were collected near the Black hills.

Passerculus savanna, Bonap.

Savannah Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 442.

Very abundant on the Western prairies.

Pooecetes gramineus, Baird.

Grass Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 447.

Abundant on the broad upland prairies of the far West. It is diffused over Kansas and
Nebraska.

166

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Coturniculus passerinus, Bonap.

Yellow-winged Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 450.

Abundant along tlie valley of the Platte river. We secured twelve specimens along
the Loup fork, a branch of the Platte.

Coturniculus Henslowi, Bonap.

IIenslow’s Bunting. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 451.

One specimen of the above species was obtained in the Platte valley, in 1857. Doubt¬
less rare.

Chondestes grammaca, Bonap.

Lark Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 456.

Occurs in great numbers throughout the prairie country of the Northwest. Nineteen
specimens are included in our collection.

ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS, Sw.

White-crowned Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 458.

Belongs to a species of sparrows which are very abundant throughout the prairie coun¬
try of the Northwest. Ranges throughout northern North America.

Zonotrichia Gambelii, Gambel.

Gambel’s Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 460.

Not quite as abundant as the preceding species, though associated with it. Peculiar to
the Western prairie countries.

Zonotrichia querula, Gamb.

Harris’s Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 462.

Same as preceding. Confined to the West, and so far as we yet know, to the country
bordering on the Lower Missouri.

Zonotrichia albicollis, Bonap.

White-throated Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 463.

Very abundant throughout the Northwest. Thirteen specimens were collected at differ¬
ent localities.

Junco Oregonus, Sclat.

Oregon Snow Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 467.

Rather rare along the Missouri, but two specimens having been secured by our party.
Its range, according to Prof. Baird, is from the Pacific coast of the United States to the
eastern side of the Rocky mountains. Wanders as far east as Fort Leavenworth in winter,
and Great Bend of Missouri.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI,

167

Junco caniceps, Baird.

Gray-headed Snow Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 468.

Rare along the Missouri, if it occurs at all. The only individuals observed by our party
were collected near Laramie peak. Peculiar to the Rocky mountain region.

Junco hyemalis, Sclat.

Black Snow Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 468.
Not uncommon throughout the Northwest.

Spizella monticola, Baird.

Tree Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 472.

Not rare along the Missouri and other portions of the West. It is also common in the
Atlantic States.

Spizella pusilla, Bonap.

Field Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 473.

The broad prairie country of the West seems to be the favorite resort for a great va¬
riety of the sparrows. The above species is quite common throughout the Northwest.

Spizella socialis, Bonap.

Chipping Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 473.

Same as preceding species. Ranges throughout North America from Atlantic to Pa¬
cific.

Spizella pallida, Bonap.

Clay-colored Bunting. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 474.

Not rare throughout the Prairie country of the Northwest. A species peculiar to the
West.

Melospiza melodia, Baird.

Song Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 477.

Not abundant in the Northwest, though common in the Atlantic States.

Melospiza Lincolnii, Baird.

Lincoln’s Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 482.

Abundant throughout the Northwest. We collected nine specimens at various localities.

Melospiza palustris, Baird.

Swamp Sparrow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 483.

Quite rare ; probably confined to the country along the Lower Missouri.

Calamospiza bicolor, Bonap.

Lark Bunting. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 492.

A species peculiar to the Western plains, and quite abundant in the Northwest.

168

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Euspiza Americana, Bonap.

Black-throated Bunting. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 494.

Very abundant along the Missouri river and its tributaries. We secured seventeen
specimens of this bird.

Guiraca ludoyiciana, Sw.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 497.

Abundant along the wooded bottoms of the Missouri, also Eastern United States.

Guiraca melanocephala, Sw.

Black-headed Grosbeak. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 498.

This beautiful and somewhat peculiar bird seems to be confined to the Western coun¬
tries. Its usual places of resort are the wooded bottoms of streams, but it builds its nest
in the thickets among the hills.

Guiraca caerulea, Sw.

Blue Grosbeak. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 499.

Like the preceding, this species is very attractive on account of its color, being a glossy
blue. I have never seen it in but one locality, the Loup fork of the Platte, and therefore
suspect that it is rare in the West.

Cyanospiza amoena, Baird.

Lazuli Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 504.

This beautiful little bird is quite abundant in the wooded portions of the Missouri river
country. It is also peculiarly Western in its range.

Cardinalis Yirginianus, Bonap.

Red Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 509.

Very common throughout the State of Missouri, where I have seen it in January. It
docs not occur above Fort Pierre on the Missouri.

PlPJLO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS, Vieill.

Ground Robin ; Towhee. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 512.

This species is quite abundant on the wooded bottoms of the Missouri, until we reach a
point about latitude 43°, when it seems to be replaced to a certain extent by the succeed¬
ing species.

Pipilo Arcticus, Sw.

Arctic Towhee. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 514.

Near the mouth of Niobrara river this species begins to make its appearance in great
numbers, and is found from thence throughout the Northwest. It is peculiarly a West¬
ern bird.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

169

Pipilo chlorura, Baird.

Green-tailed Finch. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 519.

This species must be quite rare in the Western plains. We observed it in but one lo¬
cality, Laramie peak, where we obtained three specimens. It is also peculiar to the West.

Dolichonyx oryzivorus, Sw.

Bobolink ; Reed Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 532.

One of the most abundant birds on the Western prairies. It is very common at Fort
Pierre, though I have never observed it high up toward the sources of the Missouri.

Molothrus pecoris, Sw.

Cow Bird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 524.

Abundant everywhere throughout the Northwest, visiting our herds of mules and horses,
when in camp, by thousands.

Agelaius Phoeniceus, Vieill.

Red-winged Blackbird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 526.

Like the preceding bird this species is common throughout the Northwest. Nine speci¬
mens are included in our Nebraska collection, from different localities.

Xanthocepiialus icterocepiialus.

Yellow-headed Blackbird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 531.

This species seems to be for the most part a Western bird. It is quite common through¬
out the Northwest, being found about the marshy lakes on the prairies.

STURNELLA MAGNA, Sw.

Meadow Lark. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 535.

I suspect this species does not go above latitude 43° on the Missouri, but is there re¬
placed by an allied species, S. neglecta. The only specimens we have seen, were obtained
on the Loup fork of the Platte, during the summer of 1857.

Sturnella neglecta, Aucl.

Western Lark. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 537.

This is one of the most abundant birds on the broad prairie country of the Northwest.
It appears early in the spring, and remains late in the fall, greeting the eye of the travel¬
ler by its presence, and charming him witli its song. It occurs very abundantly in the
sage plains, where it finds its choicest places for building its nest and rearing its young.
Twenty-two specimens were obtained by our party.

Icterus spurius, Bonap.

Orchard Oriole. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 547.

Very abundant throughout the Northwest, especially along the wooded bottoms of the
vol. xii. — -22

170

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Missouri. We were able to secure twelve specimens at various localities. It is quite
widely diffused throughout the United States, from the Atlantic to the Rocky mountains.

Icterus Baltimore, Daudin.

Baltimore Oriole. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 548.

Like the preceding species this beautiful and attractive bird is quite abundant through¬
out the wooded portions of the Missouri country. It is more common on the numerous
islands in the river, from the mouth to Fort Union. It is widely distributed like the pre¬
ceding.

Icterus Bullockii, Bonap.

Bullock’s Oriole. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 549.

This bird is quite rare, but one specimen having been taken in all our explorations. I
think, however, that it occurs occasionally along the Lower Missouri, but seldom passes
above Fort Pierre. Has also a wide distribution.

SCOLECOPHAGUS FERRUGINEUS, Sw.

Rusty Blackbird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 551.

I do not think this species is common on the Lower Missouri, and I suspect it is seldom
or never seen on the Upper Missouri. We were able to secure but one specimen, and
that was observed about twenty miles below Sioux city. It ranges from the Atlantic
coast to the Missouri.

SCOLECOPHAGUS CYANOCEPHALUS.

Brewer’s Blackbird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 552.

Seems to be widely diffused throughout the Western country. It is not uncommon along
the Missouri and its tributaries.

Quiscalus versicolor, Vieill.

Crow Blackbird. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 555.

Not rare along the Missouri. Ranges from the Atlantic to the Rocky mountains.

Corvus carniyorus, Bartram.

American Raven. Bail'd, General Report on Birds, p. 5G0.

Very abundant throughout the Northwest. Indeed it seems to be the favorite place of
resort, on account of the great quantities of game of various kinds which furnish them
food. These birds are always seen in the vicinity of large herds of buffalo, and have
learned to follow the hunters for hours at a time. In the lonely desert or Bad Lands
they will often hover over the traveller, and by their lugubrious croaking conjure up all
manner of unpleasant impressions.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

171

Coryus Americanus, Aud.

Common Crow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 56G.

Very abundant throughout the Northwest. It is confined mostly to the marshy places
of the interior, or along the watercourses. Quite widely diffused throughout the North
American continent.

Picicorvus Columbianus, Bonap.

Clark’s Crow. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 573.

I have never seen this bird immediately along the Missouri, though it was obtained by Dr.
Suckley high up near Milk river. In passing up the valley of the Platte in the summer of
1857, we began to meet with it near Fort Laramie, and found it very abundant in the
Laramie range of mountains. From thence to the Black hills and also in the Bad Lands
we met with it frequently. It is evidently confined, for the most part, to the rugged and
almost inaccessible portions of the West.

Pica Hudsonica, Bonap.

Magpie. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 576.

One of the most common and familiar birds which the traveller meets with in the far
West. I have never observed them below Council bluffs, and from thence to the moun¬
tains they increase in numbers. The buffalo country is their favorite region, where they
live upon the meat of the buffalo and other game, that may chance to die by the agency
of hunters or other causes. I think their favorite breeding-places are in the “ Bad Lands”
and the small outliers of the Pocky mountains. I think it is confined to the regions west
of the Mississippi.

Cyanura macrolophus, Baird.

Long-crested Jay. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 582.

This fine species of Jay is quite common in the Laramie range of mountains, but quite
difficult to obtain. I observed it in only one locality, and with considerable labor collected
two specimens. It is always moving, and must be shot on the wing. Confined to the
mountain regions of the West.

Perisoreus Canadensis, Bonap.

Canada Jay. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 590.

We observed this bird only in the mountain regions, but in those localities, very abun¬
dant and accessible. In the Laramie range and Black hills are myriads of them. It is
quite extensively distributed over the north portion of North America.

Ectopistes migratoria, Sw.

Wild Pigeon. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 600.

Although occasionally seen throughout the Northwest, I do not think this bird can be

172

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

regarded as having a far Western range. On the Lower Missouri it is quite abundant, but
on the Upper Missouri it does not meet with its peculiar and favorite food. I have seen
small flocks high up on the Yellowstone when the wild berries, which grow there in
great abundance, were ripe, but I do not think I have ever seen more than a hundred
individuals in a single season. It is doubtless a straggler in the far West.

Zenaidura Carolinensis, Bonap.

Common Dove. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 604.

Is quite common throughout the Northwest. The islands of the Missouri are its favor¬
ite breeding-places. A nest on Cedar island was found built without care on the ground
in a depression ; a second was observed on a tree about ten feet above the ground, con¬
structed with very little care, of a few spires of grass. Distributed throughout the United
States from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Tetrao obscurus, Say.

Dusky Grouse. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 6’20.

I have seen this fine bird in but one locality, the Laramie range of mountains. We there
saw several flocks, from which we managed to shoot a dozen or more. Its flesh is white
and exceedingly delicate for food. I am told that it lives in the Black hills, though it
was not observed by any of the members of our party. Its range is from the Laramie
mountains to the Cascade mountains of Oregon and Washington.

Centrocercus urophasianus, Sw.

Sage Cock. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 624.

This species seems to be confined to the Sage plains of the West. I have never seen it
in great abundance. In my wanderings in the valley of the Yellowstone river, during the
summer of 1854, I saw but one flock, of about a dozen individuals, and I do not think I
have seen more than eighty or a hundred in all. It is said to occur in large numbers in
the Green river country. It is confined mostly to the vicinity of the mountains, and seems
to be decreasing annually.

Pedioecetes phasianellus, Baird.

Sharp-tailed Grouse. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 626.

This bird is seldom seen below Council bluffs. From thence to the mountains it is very
abundant, and often supplies the hungry voyager with a delicious meal. In the winter
season it may be seen in great numbers sitting upon trees, apparently motionless, and thus
they permit the hunter to approach very near them.

Cupidonia cupido, Baird.

Prairie Hen. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 628.

The highest point on the Missouri that I have observed this bird, is the mouth of the

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

173

Niobrara river. It may pass lip as high as the mouth of White river, though rarely. In
the vicinity of Council bluffs it occurs in flocks of myriads, sometimes doing considerable
injury to fields of corn.

Ortyx Yirginianus, Bonap.

Partridge; Quail. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 640.

Like the preceding the Quail does not pass far up the Missouri. I think it may occa¬
sionally be seen as high up as the mouth of White river, though seldom, and never above
that point. Around Council bluffs, Big Sioux, Vermilion and James rivers, &c., it is
quite abundant.

Grus Canadensis, Temra.

Sand-hill Crane. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 655.

Not rare, especially in the sand-hills of Nebraska.

Ardea Herodias, Linn.

Great Blue Heron. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 668.

Generally distributed throughout the West, along the watercourses.

Botaurus lentiginosus, Steph.

Bittern; Stake Driver. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 674.

Not uncommon where marshes or lakes are found in the West.

Charadrius Virginicus, Borck.

Golden Plover. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 690.

Abundant anywhere on the upland prairies of the West, from Fort Pierre to the moun¬
tains.

Aegialitis vociferus, Cassin.

Ivilldeer. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 692.

Also abundant throughout the country drained by the Missouri river and its tributaries.

Aegialitis montanus, Cassin.

Mountain Plover. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 693.

Quite abundant in the vicinity of the mountains, where it occurs in large flocks.

Aegialitis melodus, Cab.

Piping Plover. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 695.

Very abundant on the sand-bars in the broad, shoal channel of the Platte river. I saw
them in no other portion of the West.

Becurvirostra Americana, Gm.

American Avoset. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 703.

This seems to be a rare bird in the West; but two specimens were observed : one of
them was killed on the Yellowstone, the other on the Platte.

174

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Phalaropus Wilsonii, Sab.

Wilson’s Phalarope. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 705.

Quite abundant during the spring months, along the marshy bottoms and lakes of the
Lower Missouri.

Philohela minor, Gray.

American Woodcock. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 709.

Very rare south of the Missouri, though not uncommon near Council bluffs in the
Northwest. We obtained one specimen near the mouth of Loup fork.

Gallinago Wilsonii, Bonap.

English Snipe. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 710.

We saw this well-known bird quite rarely. A few were killed in low, marshy places,
near the mouth of Loup fork, others in the Black hills.

Thing a Wilsonii, Nuttall.

Least Sandpiper. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 721.

Observed in the Platte valley. Probably rare.

Tringa Bonapartii, Schlegel.

Bonaparte’s Sandpiper. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 722.

More or less abundant throughout the watercourses of the Northwest.

Ereunetes Petrificatus, Ill.

Semipalmated Sandpiper. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 724.

Three specimens of the above species were collected along the Loup fork, and one near
Bijoux hills on the Missouri river.

Gambetta melanoleuca, Bonap.

Tell-tale; Stone Snipe. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 731.

More or less common along the watercourses of the West.

Hhyacophilus solitarius, Bonap.

Solitary Sandpiper. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 733.

Abundant along the Missouri river and its tributaries.

Tringoides macularius, Gray.

Spotted Sandpiper. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 735.

Abundant along the watercourses in the West.

Actiturus Bartramius, Bonap.

Field Plover. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 737.

This bird is met with all over the high plains of the West, oftentimes at a great distance
from any of the principal watercourses. It also rears its young on the upland prairies.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

175

Limosa fedoa, Ord.

Marbled Godwit. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 740.

Not very common in the West, as far as our observations extended. Two specimens
were taken by us, one at Council bluffs, and the other at Fort Union, Nebraska.

J .0

Numenius Borealis, Latham.

Esquimaux Curlew. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 744.

Not uncommon high up toward the sources of the Missouri. Our specimens were
taken near Fort Union.

Numenius longirostris, Wilson.

Long-billed Curlew. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 743.

Very abundant on the upland prairies of the far West, where it feeds in considerable
numbers.

Porzana Carolina, Yieill.

Common Rail. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 749.

One specimen was secured near Durion’s hills, below Niobrara river. Very rare.

Fulica Americana, Gmelin.

Coot. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 751.

Not uncommon throughout the Northwest.

Cygnus buccinator, Rich.

Trumpeter Swan. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 758.

Seen at certain seasons of the year in large flocks throughout the Northwest. A few
breed in the valley of the Yellowstone.

Bernicla Canadensis, Boie.

Canada Goose. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 764.

Abundant on the Yellowstone in the spring and autumn. A few breed along that river.

Anas boscii as, Linn.

Mallard. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 774.

Abundant along the Missouri and its tributaries.

Dafila acuta, Jenyns.

Sprig-tail j Pin-tail. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 776.

Generally diffused throughout the West.

Nettion Carolinensis.

Green-winged Teal. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 778.

Very abundant throughout the valleys of the Missouri and its larger tributaries.

176

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Querquedula discors, Steph.

Blue-winged Teal. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 779.

Distribution same as last.

Spatula clypeata, Boie.

Shoveller. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 781.

One specimen only collected, near the mouth of Iowa creek. Very rare.

Mareca Americana, Stephens.

Baldpate. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 783.

Quite rare. One specimen taken in the Missouri river near Bijoux hills.

Aix sponsa, Boie.

Summer Duck. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 785.

Abundant throughout the West.

Erismatura rubida, Bonap.

Ruddy Duck. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 811.

Collected near mouth of the Platte and in the valley of White river. Not abundant.

Mergus Americanus, Cass.

Sheldrake. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 813.

More or less abundant throughout the Upper Missouri country.

Lopiiodytes cucullatus, Reich.

Hooded Merganser. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 81C.

One specimen was collected from the Yellowstone river.

Larus Delawarensis, Ord.

Ring-rilled Gull. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 846.

Very rare, but one specimen secured.

Sterna frenata, Gambel.

Least Tern. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 864.

Not abundant, though widely distributed along the Western streams. We collected it
from the Platte and Yellowstone valleys.

Hydrochelidon plumbea, Wils.

Short-tailed Tern. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 864.

One specimen collected on the Loup fork.

Podiceps Californicus, Heermann.

California Grebe. Baird, General Report on Birds, p. 896.

Quite rare. Two specimens collected in 1856, between Fort Union and Fort Berthold.

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

177

CHAPTER XVII.

REPTILES, FISHES, AND RECENT SHELLS.

A. Reptiles.

TESTUDINATA.

Trionyx,

Emys elegans,

Emys,

Cistudo,

OPHIDIA.

Gaudisona Lecontei, Cope,

Crotalus tergeminus, Say,

Thamnophis sirtalis var. parietalis, B.
Thamnophis Haydeni, Cope,
Tropidonotus sipedon,

Heterodon nasicus, B. & G.,

PlTYOPIIIS SAYI, B. & G.,

Lampropeltis multistriata, Kenn.,
Lampropeltis Sayi, Cope,

Natiiix obsoleta, Cope,

Natrix rhinomegas, Cope,

Bascanium flaviventris, B. & G.,
Liopeltis venalis, B. & G.,

SAUPIA.

Yellowstone river.

44 44

Mouth of Powder river.

« u i(

Yellowstone river.

44 44

& G., Loup fork.

Sand hills.
Yellowstone river.
Sand hills of Loup fork.

u u u

Port Benton on the Missouri.

Missouri river.
Missouri river to valley of the Platte.

u 44 u u

Head of Loup fork.
Yellowstone river.

SCELOPORUS CONSOBRINUS, B. & G.,
Sceloporus graciosus, B. & G.,
IIolbrookia maculata, Girard,
Holbrookia Douglasii,

Cnemidophorus sexlineatus, Dum., Bibr.,
Plestiodon leptogrammus, Baird,
Plestiodon multivirgatus, Hallow.,
Plestiodon inornatus, Baird,

Plestiodon septentrionalis, Baird,

B ATRAC HI A.

Rana iialecina, Kalrn,

Helecetes triseriatus, Max.,

Bufo Americanus, Lee.,

Bufo cognatus, Say,

Sand hills, valley of the Platte.

u u u

u u u

4; 44 44

44 44 44

44 44 44

44 44 44

44 44 44

44 44 44

Mouth of Yellowstone.
Along the Missouri river.

44 44 44

YOL. XII. — 23

178

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Bufo Woodhousei, Grd.,

SlREDON LICHENOIDES,

Amblystoma luridum, Baird,

B. Fishes,

PERCOIDS.

Stizostedion boreus, Girard,

SCIAENOIDS.

Haploidonotus grunniens, Eaf.,
GASTERASTEOIDS.

Apeltes inconstans, Gill.,

CYPRINOIDS.

Pimepiiales fasciatus, Girard,

Hybognathus argyrites, Girard,
IIybognatiius Evansi, Girard,

Rhinichthys dulcis, Gill,

Platygobio (Pogonichtiiys, Girard) communi
Gobio gelidus, Girard,

Leucosomus dissimilis, Girard,

Leucosomus macrocephalus, Girard,

Nocomis Nebrascensis, Girard,

Semotilus speciosus, Girard,

Plargyrus Bowmani, Girard,
CATASTOMOIDS.

Catastomus Sucklii, Girard,

Acomus lactarius, Girard,

Acomus grisens, Girard,

Ptychostomus Haydeni, Girard,

Carpiodes damalis, Girard,
HYODONTOIDS.

Hyodon tergisus, Lesueur,

SILUROIDS.

ICTALURUS OL1YACEUS, Gill,

Noturus flayus, Raf.,

ACIPENSEROIDS.

SCAPHYRHYNCIIOPS PLATYRIIYNCIIUS, Gill

Rafinesquii, Iieckel),
POLYODONTOIDS.

POLYODON FOLIUM, Lac.,

Along the Missouri river.
Sand hills, valley of the Platte.

U (C U

Fort Union, Missouri river.

Milk river.
Yellowstone river.
Milk river, Upper Missouri.

tt U U

Fort Pierre.
Sweetwater river.
;, Gill, Milk river.

U

U

Fort Pierre.
Sweetwater river.

Platte river.
Sweetwater river.

Milk river.

Platte river.
YYllowstone river.
Fort Pierre.

Fort Sarpy, Yellowstone.

Yellowstone river.

u cc

(SCAPIIYRHYNCHUS

Upper Missouri.
Fort Pierre.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

179

C. Recent Mollusca.

Recent shells are not abundant on the Missouri except in the streams that flow from
the North. Terrestrial shells seldom occur above the mouth of the Niobrara river in a
living condition. The waters of the Missouri to a point above the mouth of Milk river
are so turbid that molluscous life does not exist, but in the little streams that issue from
the mountains, a few Unios are found. The rivers that flow from the north, James, Ver¬
milion and Big Sioux, abound with Unionidce , and other freshwater shells. Vast numbers
of shells are found in the alluvial deposits throughout the Northwest. In the bank of a
little stream about two miles below the mouth of the Big Sioux, called Clay creek, there
is a bed of shells about fifteen feet above the bed of the creek and six feet below the sur¬
face, three feet in thickness, composed almost entirely of different species of freshwater
mollusca, Unio, Paludina, Pliysci , Cyclas, Papa , very finely preserved, many of them deli¬
cate and friable, but as perfect as when living. In the alluvial just above the shells, are
great numbers of bones, probably belonging to the buffalo, and over these are growing
large forest trees, elm, black walnut, oak, &c. Throughout the great thickness of yellow
marl, which has been deposited along the Missouri, from the Niobrara to the mouth of
the former river, are disseminated large quantities of terrestrial and fiuviatile shells, so far
as is yet known, mostly identical with recent species. Near Fort Berthold, the fine vege¬
table material washed on the shores of the river contains myriads of minute Helices, Papas,
&c. From my collections in this region, Mr. Binney has described two new species of
Papa, P. NehrasJcanci, and P. Blandi. In the Black hills very few living shells were ob¬
served, but the alluvial soil composing the banks of the little streams is filled with fresh¬
water and land shells, from which a new species, Helix Cooperi, was described by Mr.
Binney. The freshwater shells were kindly examined by Mr. Lea of Philadelphia, and in
regard to the above collection and a series obtained by Mr. Kennicott from the Red river
of the North, Mr. Lea made the following remarks before the Philadelphia Academy.

“ It is not to be understood that either of these collections, made under adverse circum¬
stances, and at times of great personal danger, should be full representatives of this branch
of the fauna of these countries. But they are sufficient to prove that zoological life, so far
as represented by molluscs, is nearly, if not quite the same, as that of the Ohio river basin,
as well as that of the Missouri river and a part of the Lower Mississippi and Red river of
the South. The knowledge of a part of the species from these remote districts proves to
us the wide-spread distribution of the same species, as we find every one of them in the
Ohio river at Cincinnati, Marietta, and Pittsburg, and this is the more remarkable, as the
waters of the Red river of the North are embraced in a different system of drainage, flow¬
ing as they do into Hudson’s bay at about 52° north latitude. Here is seen an immense

180

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

area of country producing in its waters nearly the same life as regards the molluscs, a fact
highly interesting to the zoologist.”

To Mr. W. G. Binney were transmitted the land shells, which were examined by him
with great care. I quote the following remarks from his letter : “ These shells are all of
value, as they form the first contribution to our knowledge of the species found in those
regions. They are, however, for the most part alluvial. Succinea Haydeni is the only
perfectly fresh species, the animal being preserved in alcohol.

“ Helix costata was found in myriads, probably the contribution of many small streams
above. Of the previously known species it is the most interesting, having been noticed
previously in few localities and in small numbers. If any argument were needed to establish
the point of Id. minuta (Say), being identical with the European II. pulchella (Mull.), it
might be found in the fact of the ribbed variety being also found in this country.”

The following catalogue comprises all the freshwater and land shells known to us on the
Upper Missouri :

FLUVIATILE SHELLS.

1. Unio alatus, Say,

2. Unio levississimus, Lea,

3. Unio luteolus, Lam.,

L Unio asperimus, Lea,

5. Unio rectus, Lea,

6. Unio elegans, Lea,

7. Unio zigzag, Lea,

8. Unio anadontoides, Lea,

9. Magaritana complanata, Lea,

10. Anadonta Eerussaciana, Lea,

11. Lymnea elodes, Say,

12. Lymnea Nuttalliana, Lea,

13. Lymnea iiumilis, Say,

14. Lymnea Haydeni, Lea,

15. Lymnea Kirtlandiana, Lea,

16. Lymnea umbrosa, Say,

17. Lymnea lubricoides, Lea,

18. Lymnea Philadelphica, Lea,

19. Planorbis bicarinatus, Say,

20. Planorbis trivolvis, Say,

21. Planorbis lentus, Say,

22. Planorbis parvus, Say,

Big Sioux river.

u u

44 44

44 44

44 44

James river.
White-earth river.
James river.
Fort Clark, in Missouri.
White river, Nebraska.
Mouth of Big Sioux river.

44 44 44

44 44 44

44 44 44

44 44 44

Grindstone creek, Nebraska Territory.

44 44 44 44

44 44 44 44

Mouth of Big Sioux river.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

181

23. Planorbis campanulatus, Say,

24. Physa heterostropha,

25. Physa Integra! Haiti.,

26. Physa elongata, Say,

27. Physa ampularia, Say,

28. Psidium — 1

29. Cyclas — 1

30. Cyclas — 1

31. Amnicola porata, Say,

32. Amnicola lapidaria, Say,

LAND SHELLS.

33. Helix minuscula, Binney,

34. Helix lineata, Say,

35. Helix striatella, Anthony,

36. Helix inflecta, Say,

37. Helix iiirsuta, Say,

38. Helix solitaria, Say,

39. Helix alternata, Say,

40. Helix elevata, Say,

41. Helix fallax, Say,

42. Helix concava, Say,

43. Helix ligera, Say,

44. Helix profunda, Say,

45. Helix multilineata, Say,

46. Helix monodon, Rackett,

47. Helix pulchella, Mull,

48. Helix costata, Mull.,

49. Helix arborea, Say,

50. Helix cheresina, Say,

51. Helix electrina, Gould,

52. Helix Cooperi, Binney,

53. Pupa Nebraskan a, W. G. Binney,

54. Pupa Blandi, W. G. Binney,

55. Pupa armigera, Say,

56. Pupa pentodon, Say,

57. Pupa modest a, Say,

58. Pupa badia, Adams,

Month of Big Sioux river.

44 44 44

44 a u

44 44 44

u u u

Grindstone creek.

44 44

u u

Fort Berth old.

44

Council bluffs, Nebraska Territory.

44 44 44

u u u

u u u

u u u

u u u

a u u

u u u

Ci u u

c; u u

U 6C

Near Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory.

c; u u

4; c; 44

44 44 44

44 44 44

Drift on the Missouri near Fort Berthold.

44 44 44

44 44 44

Black hills, Nebraska Territory.
Fort Berthold, Nebraska Ter.

44

44

Council bluffs,

44

4 4

44

44

44

44

44

182

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

59. Bulimus lubricus, Mull.,

60. Succinea venusta, Say,

61. Succinea retusa, Lea,

62. Succinea Haydeni, W. G. Binney,

63. Succinea lineata, W. G. Binney,

64. Succinea Nuttalliana, Lea,

65. Succinea obliqua, Say,

CHAPTER XVIII.

BOTANY.

BY GEORGE ENGELMANY, M.D.

BANUNCULACE.F.

Clematis Virginiana, Linn. Very abundant from the mouth of the Missouri river
to Council bluffs.

Clematis iigustici folia, Nutt. Fort Pierre to the mountains. Very abundant about
Fort Union, Fort Laramie, and head of the Platte.

Pulsatilla patens, 13. C. This plant is called by the Indians the harbinger of spring.
I saw it on the south side of Bear Peak, March 9, 1855, just coming into bloom.
It is found quite abundantly in the White river valley ; also in the sandhills of
Loup fork.

Anemone Pennsylvanica , Linn. Abundant from the mouth of the Missouri to the
mountains, though most common below latitude 43°.

Anemone Caroliniana , Walt. Quite common around Council bluffs to Niobrara river.

Anemone cylindrica, Gray. This plant is quite rare ; only a few individuals were
seen near the mouth of the Big Sioux river, and on Loup fork.

Ranunculus repens var. Marylandicus, Torr. & Gray. Low, wet places on the Upper
Missouri.

Ranunculus Pennsylvanicus, Linn. Council bluffs, Niobrara, Platte valley.

Ranunculus recurvatus, Poir. Mouth of the Missouri to Niobrara river ; also spar¬
ingly in White river valley.

Ranunculus abortiv us, Linn. Wet and sandy places to Niobrara; sparingly to the
mountains.

Ranunculus sceleratus , Linn. Not rare throughout the Upper Missouri country.

Ranunculus glaberrimus , Hook. The only locality in which I ever saw this plant
was at Grindstone hills, near Bad Lands, where it was in bloom on the 9th of
April.

Ranunculus cymbal aria, Pursh. Seen on the Yellowstone and Missouri.

Fort Berthold, on Missouri.

Arellowstone.

Fort Union and Yellowstone.

Fort Union.
Fort Berthold, Nebraska Ter.

OF TI1E UPPER MISSOURI.

183

Ranunculus aquatilis , Linn. Very abundant in the White river valley, in the streams,
and little lakes.

Myosurus minimus , Linn. Missouri bottoms, opposite St. Joseph’s; also on the up¬
land prairie near Fort Pierre.

Aquilegia Canadensis , Linn. Does not extend above Council bluffs or the Big Sioux.

Isopyrum biternatum , Torr. & Gray. Seen sparingly as far up the Missouri as the
mouth of the Platte.

Delphinium tricorne , Mich. Extends to the mouth of the Big Sioux; range to Nio¬
brara, in latitude 43°.

Delphinium azureum , Mich. Abundant on the open prairies to the mountains.

Delphinium virescens , Nutt. Fort Pierre.

Thalictrum cornuti , Linn. Not rare to mountains.

Thalictrum dioicum , Linn. Abundant to Niobrara river.

Hydrastis Canadensis, Linn. Found only in the carboniferous limestone region to
Council bluffs ; perhaps rarely to Big Sioux river.

Actea rubra, Bigelow. Council bluffs.

Aconitum napellus , Linn. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

MAGNOLIACEvE.

Liriodendron tuiipifera, Linn. In Eastern Kansas.

ANONACEiE.

Asimina triloba, Dunal. Common Papaw. Extends up the Missouri to the mouth
of the Big Sioux river.

MENISPERMACEiE.

Menispermum Canadensis , Linn. Most abundant in the limestone regions to Council
bluffs; seen rarely on wooded banks to the Yellowstone.

BERBEBIDACEvE.

Berberis aqui folium, Pursh. A very abundant shrub in the Laramie range of hills
and Black hills.

Podophyllum peltatum, Linn. Abundant along the lower part of the Missouri river,
gradually ceasing at the mouth of the Platte.

NELUMBIACEvE.

Nelumbeum luteum, AVilld. Lower portion of the valley of the Platte, and on the broad,
wet bottoms about Omaha city. It is now quite rare, on account of the great
use of both roots and seeds for food by the Omaha, Otoe, and Pawnee Indians.
NYMPHEACEAE.

Nymphea odorata, Ait. Found by Dr. Cooper in Kansas.

papaveraceae.

Argemone Mexicana , Linn. Found only at Bellevue, Neb. Ter. ; fine yellow flowers.

184

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Argemone hispid a. Gray. Bad Lands, White river, Loup fork, Fort Laramie.

Sanguinaria Canadensis, Linn. Rich woods about Council bluffs.

FUMARIACEvE.

Corydalos aurea , Willd. Not seen on the bottoms to mountains.

Dicentra cucullaria, I). C. In shady woods to mouth of Big Sioux.

CRUCIFEILE.

Nasturtium palustre, D. C. Not uncommon to mountains.

Nasturtium obtusum, Nutt. On the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone.

Nasturtium sinuatum, Nutt. Fort Clark, Upper Missouri.

Nasturtium sesilifiorum , Nutt. Along Missouri.

Nasturtium limosum , Nutt. Along low bottoms near to Council bluffs.

Nasturtium calycinum * Engelmann. N. sp. Annuum erectum seu diffusum, hir-
sutulum ; foliis caulinis anguste oblongis sinuatis seu subpinnatifidis basi au-
riculata arete sessilibus vel semi amplexicaulibus ; racemis confertifloris demum
elongatis ; pedicellis flore flavido et silicula ovoidea acuta parva hispidula cum
stylo gracilis vix longioribus ; calyce persistente. In aspect as well as in the
style (fully a line long on a silicle li line in length), this species resembles some
Vesicariae, but the numerous seeds are those of a Nasturtium. The stem is about
a foot high, often much branched and diffuse. The ovate lanceolate acutish
sepals commonly persist until the valves of the pod have fallen. The pubescence
of the pod consists of very short and pointed thick-based simple hairs. (A. Gray.)
Sandy bottoms of the Yellowstone river; Fort Sarpy to Fort Union.

Arab is Canadensis, Linn. Common along the Missouri to Fort Union.

Ar aids hirsuta, Scop. Fort Union and Bad Lands.

Arabis laevigata, 1). C. Shady woods to mouth of Platte.

Arabis dentata, Torr. and Gray. Council bluffs.

Sisymbrium canescens, Nutt. Fort Pierre and the Yellowstone.

Dentaria laciniata, Muhl. Shady woods around Council bluffs.

Erysimum asperum, 1). C. Abundant on the high prairies to Fort Pierre and Fort
Union.

Erysimum cheiranthoides , Linn. Yellowstone and Bad Lands.

Stanley a pinna, tifida, Nutt. Abundant on the marl banks near Niobrara River, Fort
Pierre, rarely on the Yellowstone.

Stanleya integrifolia, James. Dr. Gray thinks it is a different form of last species.

* First published in Preliminary Report of Explorations in Nebraska and Dakota, 1855, ’6, and ’7 ; Lieut. G.
K. Warren, T. E. Catalogue of Plants.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

185

Vesicaria ludoviciana, D. C. Sterile hills, Fort Pierre and Yellowstone.

Vesicaria alpina , Nutt. Same as preceding.

Vesicaria diclymocarpa , Hook. Bad Lands.

Sinapis nigra , Linn. About old houses and cultivated fields, Council bluffs and F ort
Pierre.

Capsella bursa-pastor is, Linn. Same as preceding.

Dr aba micrantha, Nutt. Bad Lands.

Draba Garoliniana , Walt. Council bluffs.

Draba brachycarpa , Nutt. Lower Missouri.

Lepidium ruderale, Linn. Along Missouri to mountains.

Lepidium Virginicum, Linn. Fort Pierre and Yellowstone.

Lepidium intermedium , Gray. Bad Lands of the Judith, Blackfoot country.
Thelypodium integri folium. Very abundant near saline lakes in sand hills of Loup fork.
CAPPAUIDACEtE.

Cleome integrifolia , Torr. and Gray. Bad Lands, Fort Union, Yellowstone, Bad
Lands of Judith, Platte valley, Fort Laramie. Not a generally diffused plant,
but growing abundantly in localities.

Polanisia uniglandulosa. Gray. First seen on gravelly hills about Fort Pierre ; also
on Loup fork.

Cristatella Jamesii, Torr. and Gray. Gravelly hills on Loup fork, August 1st.
VIOLACEBE.

Viola pahncita, Linn. Fort Pierre.

Viola cucullata. Sit. Fort Pierre.

Viola Nuttallii , Pursh. Bad Lands.

Viola Canadensis, Linn. Fort Pierre.

Viola tricolor , Linn. Council bluffs.

Viola delphini folia, Nutt. Prairies around Council bluffs.

CISTACEBE.

Relianthemum Canadense, Michx. Black hills, August 24th.

Lechea major, Michx. Sand hills, Loup fork.

Lechea minor, Lam. “ “

CARYOPHYLLACEiE.

Silene Drummond i , Hook. Loup fork.

Silene antirrhina, Linn. Council bluffs.

Silene stellata, Ait. Dixon’s bluffs.

Alsine MicJiauxi, Fenzl. Mouth Big Sioux.

Gerastium nutans, Raf. White river, Bad Lands.
vol. xii. — 24

186

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Cerastium arvense , Linn. Council bluffs.

Moehringia lateriflora , Linn. Along Missouri to Council bluffs.

Paronychia sessiliflora, Nutt. Fort Union, Laramie peak, Black hills.

Stellarici longipes , Goldie. Council bluffs.

Arenaria Franklini, Douglass. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Paronychia sessiliflora , Nutt. Elkhorn prairie, Bad Lands of the Judith, Blackfoot
country, August 22d.

Paronychia James ii, Torr. Black hills, September 15th.

PORTULACACEBE.

Portulaca oleracea, Linn. On saline clay soil, Teton river, near Fort Pierre ; also
near base of Black hills (indigenous).

Claytonia Yirginica , Linn. Rocky woods, as high up the Missouri as Council bluffs.
Talinum parviflorum , Nutt. Sand hills on Loup fork.

MALVACEAE.

Ahutilon Avicennae , Gaertn. Naturalized near Council bluffs.

Malvastrum coccineum , Gray. Makes its appearance on the Missouri about latitude
43°, and continues to the mountains.

Callirhoe macrorhiza , Gray. Loup fork, July 22d.

Callirhoe involucrata, Gray. Platte river.

T1LIACE2E.

Tilia Americana, Linn. Abundant to Big Sioux ; seen sparingly to mouth of Nio¬
brara river, where it ceases.

LINACEaE.

Linum rigidum , Pursli. Throughout the prairie portion of the Upper Missouri.
Linum per enne, Linn. Fort Pierre and Fort Union.

Linum Bootti , Planchon. Found by Dr. Cooper in Ivansas.

GERANIACEaE.

Geranium caespitosum , James. Black hills and Laramie mountains.

Geranium maculatum , Linn. Common to Niobrara.

Geranium Garolinianum , Linn. Mouth of Big Sioux.

OXALIDACEiE.

Oxalis stricta , Linn. Generally diffused.

Oxcdis violacea , Linn. Rich prairies and cultivated fields around Council bluffs ; seen
nearly as high as Niobrara in full bloom, June 20th, 1857.

Oxalis corniculata , Linn. Upper Missouri.

BALSAMINACEiE.

Impatiens pallida, Nutt. Shady woods to mountains.

Impatiens fulva, Nutt. Council bluffs and Big Sioux.

OF TEE UPPER MISSOURI.

187

RUTACEiE.

Xanthoxylum Amerlcanum , Mill. Woody bottoms and islands of the Missouri, to
Fort Pierre.

Ptelia trifoliata, Linn. Around Council bluffs.

ANACARDIACEiE.

Pit us glabra , Linn. Council bluffs, White river valley.

Rhus copallina, Linn. Abundant in Missouri and Kansas.

Rhus toxicodendron, Linn. Abundant in woody places to the mountains.

Rhus aromatica, Ait. Along Missouri.

Rhus trilobata, Nutt. First makes its appearance about latitude 43°, and occurs abun¬
dantly on sterile hills to the mountains.

VITACEvE.

Vitis cord, folia , Michx.

Vitis riparia , Michx. Banks of Missouri, Bellevue, N. T.

Vitis indivisct , Willd. Big Sioux river.

Am pelopsis quinque, folia , Michx. Very common in woody bottoms throughout the
country, but grows most luxuriant in the rich woods from the mouth of the
Missouri to Big Sioux, where it often so clothes old dry trees that they seem still
alive.

RHAMNACEiE.

Geanothus Fendleri. Laramie mountains.

Geanothus velutinus , Douglas. Black hills.

Geanothus sanguineus, Pursh. Mouth of White river.

Geanothus ovalis , Bigelow, var. yubescens. Common on the cretaceous hills below
Fort Pierre ; also in the sand hills of Loup fork, on the Niobrara river.
Rhamnus lanceolatus, Pursh. Council bluffs.

CELASTRACEvE.

Celastrus scandens, Linn. Along Missouri to Fort Union.

Euonymus atropurpureus , Jacq. Woody bottoms to Fort Union.

Euonymus Americanus , Linn. Mouth of Platte.

SAPINDACEiE.

Staphylea trifolia , Linn. Council bluffs.

Aesculus glabra , Willd. Missouri bottoms to Big Sioux river.

Acer glabrum, Torr. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Acer dasycarpum , Ehrhart. Bellevue, Nebraska.

Acer rubrum, Linn. Highest limit on Missouri, latitude 42°.

Acer saccharinum, Wang. Limestone regions of Kansas and southern portion of
Nebraska.

188

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Negundo aceroides , Moench. One of the few trees which extend to the mountains.
POLYGALACEiE.

Polygala alba , Nutt. On sterile hills to Fort Union.

Poly gala verticillata , Linn. Moist places on prairies, Fort Pierre, Bad Lands.
Polygala senega , Linn. Council bluffs.

LEGUMIN OSiE.

Vicia Americana, Muhl. Upper Missouri generally.

Lathy rus linearis , Nutt. Upper Missouri generally.

Latliyrus polymorphic, Nutt. White river valley.

Lathyrus venosus , Muhl. Rich bottoms, Big Sioux.

Phaseolus pauciflor us, Benth. Ball Lands.

Amphicarpcea monoiea , Nutt. White river valley, Fort Clark.

Apios tuberosa, Moench. Along sandy woody bottoms of Missouri. A species of
mouse gathers large numbers of the tubers of this plant for his winter store.
These “ caches” (as they are called) are eagerly sought by the squaws, and the
tubers taken and used as food. I have seen several bushels of the roots in a
single lodge. Cooked with buffalo meat they make a very palatable dish.
Glycyrrhiza lepidota , Nutt. Diffused generally.

Psorcdea lanceolcita, Pursh. From Bellevue to Yellowstone.

Psoralea fioribunda , Nutt. Big Sioux river to Bad Lands.

Psoralea campestris, Nutt. Bad Lands.

Psoralea argophylla , Pursh. A most beautiful plant, covering the plains as with sil¬
very velvet. Big Sioux to mountains.

Psoralea cuspidata, Pursh. Fort Pierre to Bad Lands.

Psoralea esculenta , Pursh. Affords the Indians a very nourishing farinaceous root,
upon which they subsist almost entirely in the spring and early summer months,
when game is scarce. It is also a great favorite of the grizzly bear.

Psorcdea digitata, Nutt. Sand hills on Loup fork.

Amorpha fruticosa, Linn. A common shrub, above Missouri to mountains.

Amorpha canescens, Nutt. Very abundant on the upland prairies, Loup fork, and
Niobrara river.

Amorpha nana , Nutt. Fort Laramie and high up the Missouri.

Dalea aurea , Nutt. Bad Lands.

Dcdea alopecuroides , Wi'lld. Big Sioux river.

Dcdea laxiflora , Pursh. Fort Pierre to the Yellowstone.

Petalostemum candidum , Mich. Big Sioux river.

Petalostemum multiflorum , Nutt. Fort Pierre to Bad Lands.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

189

Petalostemum violaceum , Mich. Upper Missouri to Bad Lands.

Petalostemum villosum , Nutt. Bad Lands ; also sand hills on Loup fork.
Petalostemum macrostachyium , Torr. Sand hills along the Loup fork and Niobrara.
Trifolium stoloniferum , Muhl. Bad Lands.

Trifolium pratense, Linn. Lower Missouri.

Trifolium repens , Linn. Lower Missouri.

Hosaclda Purshianci , Benth. Sandy bottoms of Missouri.

Astragalus hypoglottis , Linn. White river to Bad Lands.

Astragalus gracilis , Nutt. Bad Lands to the Yellowstone.

Astragalus striatus , Nutt. Fort Pierre to Bad Lands, covering prairies like clover fields.
Astragalus Missouriensls , Nutt. Fort Pierre to Fort Union.

Astragalus caryocarpus , Ker. Fort Pierre to Bad Lands.

Astragalus Plattensls , Nutt. Fort Pierre.

Astragalus Canadensis , Linn. Fort Pierre to Bad Lands.

Astragalus racemosus , Pursh. Abundant in the sandy bottoms of Missouri ; Cedar
island.

Astragalus mollississimus, Torr. Niobrara river, August 18th.

Astragalus Drummondi , Douglass. Sterile hills around Fort Union.

Astragalus adsurgens, Pall. James river.

Phaca caespitosa, Nutt. Bad Lands.

Phaca longifolia , Nutt. Bad Lands.

Phaca pectinata , Hook. Upland prairies on the Yellowstone river; abundant.

Phaca elongata, Hook. Fort Pierre to Fort Union.

Phaca bisulcata , Hook. Fort Union.

Orytropis Lambert i, Pursh. Very abundant on prairies around Big Sioux and Nio¬
brara rivers.

Oxytropis splendens , Douglass. James river.

Ilornalobus midtijiorus , Nutt. Big Sioux to Bad Lands.

Kentrophyta montana, Nutt. Abundant in sandy river-bottoms on the Yellowstone.
Hedysarum boreale , Nutt. Abundant; mouth of Yellowstone.

Desmodium Canadense , D. C. Fort Clark.

Desmodium Dillenii, Dark Big Sioux river.

Desmodium paniculatum , D. C. Bellevue, W. T.

Desmodium nudiflorum , D. C. Bellevue, W. T.

Lespedeza capitata, Michx. Abundant on the rich bottoms about Council bluffs, Big
Sioux.

Lespedeza hirta , Ell. On Missouri.

190

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Crotalarici sagittalis, Michx. Big Sioux river.

Lupinus pusillus, Pursh. Common on the Yellowstone.

Lupinus ornatus , Douglass. Niobrara river, August 18th.

Lupinus decumbens , Torr. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Tilia Americana , Linn. Abundant to Big Sioux ; seen sparingly to mouth of Nio¬
brara, where it ceases.

Lupinus per ennis, Linn. Platte valley.

Lupinus — ? Bad Lands of the Judith.

Thermopsis rhombifolia , Nutt. From Council bluffs to Fort Pierre ; Bad Lands, &c.
Sophora sericea, N utt. White river valley ; F ort Pierre.

Gleditschia tricanthus , Linn. Occurs as high on the Missouri as Big Sioux.

Cercis Canadensis , Linn. Same as preceding.

Cassia Chaemacrista, Linn. Sandy bottoms of Missouri, from Council bluffs to White
river.

Desmanthus brachylobus , Benth. Council bluffs and Platte valley ; rich bottoms.
Schranlcia uncinata, Willd. Gravelly hills on the Upper Missouri generally.
Gymnocladus Canadensis, Lam. Abundant in woody bottoms to Big Sioux.

Baptism leucophea , Nutt. Platte valley.

Baptisia leucantlia , Torr. and Gray. Lower Platte river, June 25th.

BOSACEiE.

Pj ■units Americana, Marsh. Fort Pierre.

Prunus pumila, Linn. Abundant in the sand hills of Loup fork ; along Missouri
river near Little Soldier’s camp.

Prunus serotina , Ehrh. Council bluffs.

Prunus Virginiana, Linn. Generally diffused.

Millenia stipidcicea, Nutt. Mouth of Big Sioux.

GiUenia trifoliata, Moench. Mouth of Big Sioux.

Agrimonia eupatoria, Linn. Bellevue, N. T.

Agrimonia parviflora, Ait. Around Fort Union.

Spircea opulifolia var. pauciflora. Black hills, September 3d.

Spirceci betula folia var. cor tjmbosa. “ “

Cer cocarpus parvifolius, Michx. Laramie mountains, August 20th.

Horhelia Gordoni. Laramie mountains.

Cliaemorliodcts erecta, var. Nuttalli, Torr. and Gray. Big Bend and Yellowstone.
Geum strict um , Ait. White river to Yellowstone.

Geum album, Gmel. Fort Pierre and Mandan village.

Geum triflorum , Pursh. Fort Union.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

191

Geum rivale, Linn. Laramie mountains.

Potentilla glandulosa , Nutt. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Potentilla Norvegica, Linn. Council bluffs to Yellowstone.

Potentilla paradoxci, Nutt. Along banks of Missouri.

Potentilla effusa , Dougl. X Prairie near Fort Clark.

Potentilla Pennsylvanica, Linn, var. s trigosa. Bad Lands.

Potentilla diversifolia, Lehrn. Bad Lands.

Potentilla rigida, Nutt. Yellowstone.

Potentilla Canadensis , Linn. Big Sioux river.

Potentilla anserina , Linn. Niobrara river to Fort Pierre.

Potentilla fruticosa , Linn. On the Yellowstone.

Potentilla arguta, Pursh. Fort Clark and Fort Union.

Sibbaldia procumbens , Linn. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Fragaria vesca , Linn. Along Missouri to Yellowstone.

Fmgaria Virginica, Ehsh. Fort Union.

Sanguisorba annua , Nutt. Fort Union.

Rubus occidentalism Linn. Council bluffs.

Rubus strigosus, Mich. Sparingly on Yellowstone.

Rubus villosus , Ait. Council bluffs.

Rosa blancla, Ait. On prairies generally.

Rosa lucida , Elirh. White river ; Fort Pierre.

Crataegus punctata, Jacq. White river; Big Bend, &c.

Crataegus tomentosa , var mollis , Gray. Mouth of Big Sioux.

Amelanchier Canadensis, Torr. and Gray. Common throughout the Upper Missouri
country ; bears a delicious fruit, which ripens in June.

LYTHRACE^E.

Lythrum alatum, Pursh. Rich alluvial bottoms, Platte valley, June 3d.
ONAGRACE2E.

Epilobiurn minutum , Lindl. Black hills, September 10th.

Epilobium angusti folium, Linn. Not uncommon in Ivansas ; also near Council bluffs.
Oenothera pinnatifida , Nutt. Bad Lands to Yellowstone.

Oenothera albicaulis, Nutt. Same localities.

Oenothera caespitosa, Nutt. Bad Lands, See. ; the common form with large flowers,
and another one with flowers not more than one inch in diameter.

Oenothera montana , Nutt. Yellowstone; a small pubescent form of the latter \
Oenothera cor onopif alia, Torr. and Gray. Niobrara, August 15th.

Oenothera serrulata, Nutt. Fort Pierre, and through the whole region in different
varieties.

192

ON TI1E GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Oenothera biennis, Linn. Common along the valley of the Missouri to the mountains.

Oenothera rhombijpetala , Nutt. Sand hills, August 4th.

Oenothera lavandulaefolia , Torr. and Gray. Niobrara river, August 15th.

Oenothera spinulosa, var. Drummondii. Loup fork of the Platte, July.

Gayophytum ramossissimum , Torr. and Gray. Black hills, September 10th.

Ludwig ia palustris, Ell. Wet places in Platte valley, near mouth of Loup fork.

Gaura coccinea, Nutt. Throughout the territory ; different forms, canescent. Very
small-leaved, or almost glabrous, with larger leaves.

Gaura parvi flora, Dough Bad Lands and Yellowstone country.

Gaura biennis, Linn. Along Missouri river to Council bluffs.

Gircea Lutetiana, Linn. Bad Lands.

Myriophyllum spicatum , Linn. Common in ponds throughout the Upper Missouri.

Hippuris vulgaris, Linn. In standing pools, Upper Missouri.

LOASACEAL

Mentzelia ornata, Torr. Sc Gray. Common on bluffs about Fort Pierre.

Mentzelia nuda, Torr. Sc Gray. Bad Lands.

CACTACEiE.

Mamillaria vivipara , Haw. From the mouth of White river to the Yellowstone.
In the bottom lands it forms large ciespitose masses, but on the arid hills along
the Yellowstone a simple depressed variety is noticed ; both belong to the sub¬
species which I have named vera, and the latter may be distinguished as var.
simplex.

Mamillaria Nuttalli, Engl., forma borealis. Cactus mamillaris, Nutt., Mam. simplex,
Torr. Sc Gray. On White river, Fort Pierre, &c.

Opuntia Rafinesqui, var. fusiform is, Engl. & Big. Near Big Bend of the Missouri,
below Fort Pierre.

Opuntia Missouriense , D. C. Different forms noticed in the Synopsis of the Cactaceic
of the United States. (Proceedings Am. Acad. vol. iii, 1856.) a, rufispina ; b,
platycarpa ; c, microsperma ; d, suhinermis. Found all over the territory ex¬
plored by the Expeditions. Durion’s hills was about the most eastern locality
of this species.

Opuntia fragilis, Nutt. D. C. Bad Lands to Yellowstone. This species is very nearly
allied to the last, and not to the glomerate Opuntice , with which it is usually
united. It is seldom found in flower or fruit, being abundantly propagated by
the fragile joints which even the wind breaks and scatters. The fruit is at first
fleshy, and becomes dry only at last, while the fruit of Opuntia Missouriensis be¬
comes dry and papery as soon as ripe.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

193

GROSSULACEiE.

Biles hirtellum , Michx. On Powder river, on rocks ; a spineless, small-leaved form.
Riles oxyacanthoides , Linn. On the Yellowstone.

Biles floriclum , L’Her. Abundant about Fort Pierre, &c., and all along the Missouri..
Riles aureum, Pursh. With the last.

Biles rotundifolium, Michx. Niobrara river, June 5th.

Biles Missouriense , Nutt. Only a variety of the last.

CUCURBIT ACEiE.

Echinocystis lolctta, Torr. & Gray. Uurion’s hills, on the Missouri.
CRASSULACE.E.

Sedum stenopetalum, Pursh. Laramie mountains.

Penthorum sedoides, Linn. In wet places. Platte valley ; Loup fork.
SAXIFRAGACEiE.

Heuchera hispida, Pursh. Fort Pierre to Yellowstone.

Heucherci Americana , Linn. Not rare in woody places along the Missouri.

Ileuclera Richardsonii, R. Brown. Black hills.

HAMAMELACE.E.

Hamamelis Virginica, Linn. Abundant in limestone woods along the Missouri to
mouth of the Platte river.

UMBELLIFERiE.

Sanicula Canadensis, Linn. Bellevue, N. T. June 20th.

Sanicula Marilandica, Linn. Council bluffs to Fort Mandan.

Slum lineare , Michx. Moist places from the mouth of the Missouri to mountains.

Si uni angustifolium , Linn. Council bluffs.

Thaspium larlinode, Nutt. Rich woody places along the Missouri.

Thaspium aureum, Nutt. Near Council bluffs.

Cicuta metadata, Linn. Sargent’s bluffs, Mandan village, &c.

Cymopterus glomeratus, D. C. Mouth of White river, and Bad Lands.

Cymopterus montanus, Nutt. Bad Lands.

Peucedanum foeniculaceum, Nutt. Common on high prairies around Council bluffs.
Peucedanum carnifolium, Torr. Sc Gray. Niobrara river.

Peucedanum nudicaule, Nutt. White river valley ; in flower about the middle of April.
Osmorrhiza longistylis, D. C. Council bluffs to Niobrara.

Osmorrliiza Irevistylis, D. C. Council bluffs.

Musenium divaricatum , Nutt. Fort Pierre, Bad Lands, &c.

Leptocaulis patens, Nutt. Loup Fork.

ARALIACEiE.

Aralia nudicaidis, Linn. Bellevue, N. T.

vol. xir. — 25

194

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

CORNACEBE.

Cornua floridci , Linn. Along the rich wooded bottoms as far as Fort Leavenworth.
Com us stolonifera , Michx. Wooded bottoms of Missouri from month to source.
Cornus sericea, Linn. Abundant along Missouri bottoms. The inner bark is much
used by the Sioux Indians with their tobacco in proportion of three to one ; called
by them the “ red osier.”

CAPRIFOLIACEiE.

Symphoricarp us occidentalism 11. Br. The most abundant shrub along the rivers and
streams from the mouth of the Missouri to the mountains ; often called “ blue
wood much used for making brooms ; sometimes covers the river bottoms almost
exclusively.

Lonicera hirsuta, Eat. Bellevue.

Triosteum perfoliatum, Linn. Not rare as high up the Missouri as mouth of Big Sioux.
Sambucus Canadensis, Linn. Common along Missouri ; seen in the valley of Yellow¬
stone.

Viburnum Lentago , Linn. Fort Union, Blackfoot country.

RUBIACE.E.

Galium aparine, Linn. Kansas river.

Galium trijidum , Linn. Council bluffs.

Galium triflorum , Michx. Fort Pierre, Fort Union, &c.

Galium asprellum, Michx. Council bluffs.

Galium circaezans, Michx. Bellevue, N. T.

Galium boreale, Linn. Fort Clark, Fort Union.

Oldenlandia angustifolia, Gray. Along Missouri to Council bluffs.

Oldenlandia purpurea, Gray. Bellevue, N. T.

COMPOSURE.

Vernonia fasciculata, Michx. Quite common on prairies, valley of Missouri.

Kuhnia eupatoroides, Linn. Council bluffs to Niobrara.

Eupatorium perfoiliatum , Linn. On rich bottom prairies near mouth of Big Sioux.
Eupatorium purpureum, Linn. Council bluffs to James river.

Eupatorium ageratoides , Linn. Woody bottoms Council bluffs to Fort Pierre.
Eupatorium serotinum, Michx. Bellevue, N. T.

Liatris squarrosa, Willd. A smoothish and a rough hairy form; prairies in Kansas
and Nebraska, common ; root tuberous.

Liatris punctata, ITook. Common on prairies along the Yellowstone; root ligneous,
elongated, horizontal.

Liatris pycnostachy a, Michx. Common on prairies. Bellevue, N. T.

OF TI1E UPPER MISSOURI.

195

Liatris scariosa , Willcl. Western prairies, abundant.

Pectis august if olia, Torr. North Platte.

Brickelia grandiflora , Nutt. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Machoer anther a tanaceti folia, Nees. On Powder river, Yellowstone, and Bad Lands
of the Judith.

Machcer anther a canescens, Gray. ( Aster canescens , Pursh.) Along the Missouri, at

the mouth of the Big Shyenne, at Fort Clark, &c.

Machoer anther a viscosa (Dicferia viscosa, Nutt.). Common in prairie dog villages on
the Yellowstone river ; only the lowest leaves are sharply and divaricately toothed,
all others are linear and entire ; the plant is annual or biennial, six to ten inches
high, divaricately branched, the heads much smaller than in the foregoing species.
Aster cordifolius, Linn. Not uncommon, Big Sioux and Niobrara.

Aster saggitifolius , Willd. Big Sioux and Niobrara.

Aster azureus, Lindl. Council bluffs.

Aster multiflorus , Ait. Council bluffs.

Aster sericeus, Vent. Fort Pierre.

Aster Novce- Anglice, Ait. Low places on Missouri.

Aster laevis, Linn. Upper Missouri.

Aster ptarmicoides, Nees. Black hills.

Aster angustus , Torr. & Gray. Bad Lands of Judith.

Aster pauciflor us, Nutt. Near Fort Union, September.

Aster simplex, Willd. Shyenne river, September 3d.

Aster glacialis, Nutt. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Townsendia grandiflora, Nutt. Eagle Nest butte, White river.

Erigeron pumilum, Nutt. High hills around Fort Pierre.

Erigeron strigosum, Muhl. Low places, Vermilion prairie.

Erigeron Philadelpliicum, Linn. Alluvial bottoms of Missouri.

Erigeron Canadense , Linn. Common all over Missouri country.

Erigeron composition, Pursh. Sterile hills at Fort Union, without flower or fruit.
Erigeron glahellum, Nutt. Prairies around Fort Pierre and the Yellowstone.
Erigeron bellidiastrum, Nutt. Niobrara river, August 12th.

Erigeron macranthum , Nutt. Black hills, September 10th.

Aplopappus Nuttalli, Torr. and Gray. Bad Lands.

Aplopappus lanceolatus. Fort Union.

Aplopappus spimdosus, I). C. High prairies of the Upper Missouri.

Boltonia g last if olia, L’Her. Bellevue, N. T.

Gutiernezia Euthamiae, Torr. and Gray. Yellowstone country; also Black hills. A
smoothish and a scabrous form.

196

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Solidago rigida, Linn. Bellevue to the Yellowstone.

Solidago incana, Tori’, and Gray. Fort Pierre to Yellowstone.

Solidago Missouriensis, Nutt. Bellevue to Fort Pierre.

Solidago gigantea, Ait. Common along the Missouri and Yellowstone.

Solidago speciosa , Nutt. Black hills, September 3d.

Grindelia squarrosa , Dunal. Common on high prairies from latitude 43° to the
mountains ; medicinal among Indians.

Ghrysopsis villosa, Nutt. Common on dry hills, Fort Pierre.

Ghrysopsis hispida , Hook. Bad Lands and Yellowstone.

Diaperia prolifer a , Nutt. Common on Yellowstone.

Silpldum laciniatum , Linn. Called by the inhabitants of the country, “ Compass
plant reaches its healthiest growth on the rich fertile bottoms of Missouri, but
often found in great abundance on the high prairies. The highest point on the
Missouri river that I have observed this plant, is near latitude 44°, mouth of
White river ; most abundant in the Platte valley, and on the broad rich bottoms
between Council bluffs and Niobrara river, where it sometimes occupies large
areas to the exclusion of other vegetation. That the leaves of this plant set
their edges north and south, may be proved by a pocket compass. Forty-nine
plants out of fifty exhibit this peculiarity. It thus becomes an excellent guide
to the traveller across the pathless prairies.

Silpldum integri folium, Michx. Bellevue, N. T.

Silphium perfoliatum, Linn. Seldom seen above the mouth of Niobrara river.

Euphrosyne xanthifolia, Gray. Yellowstone and Upper Missouri in bottoms ; a green
and canescent form.

Tea axillaris , Pursh. Dry argillaceous hills. Fort Pierre and Fort Union.

Ambrosia trifida, Linn. Along streams and borders of woods, from mouth of Mis¬
souri to mountains. Quite abundant.

Ambrosia coronopifolia, Torr. and Gray. Fort Pierre.

Franseria Hooker iana, Nutt. Sandy bottoms of Yellowstone river.

lid 'tops is laevis, Pers. Along streams in Kansas and Nebraska to Fort Pierre.

XantJdum sirumarium, Linn. Sandy bottoms of Yellowstone.

Echinacea purpurea, Moench. Purple cone flower, called Battlesnake Weed in the
West, and is found abundantly throughout the country. Boot very pungent.
Used very effectively by the traders and Indians for the cure of the bite of the
rattlesnake.

Echinacea angustifolia, D. C. Fort Pierre, Bad Lands, Yellowstone. Mostly very
hispid ; hoary.

OF TEE UPPER MISSOURI.

197

Lepachys cotumnaris, Torr. and Gray. Common throughout the Missouri country,
but most abundant from Council bluffs to Niobrara river, on the rich broad
bottom prairies. In flower, July 8th. Rays usually yellow, sometimes of a
deep purple velvet.

Lepachys pinnata, Torr. and Gray. Vermilion prairie. Rare.

RudbecJda Iiirta, Linn. Council bluff's.

Helianthus petiolaris, Nutt. Common from Sargent’s bluffs to Fort Union.

Ilelianthus rig ictus , Defs. From Bellevue to Yellowstone.

Helianthus lenticular is, Dough Fort Pierre. Abundant in Indian cornfields at Fort
Mandan.

Helianthus Maximiliani, Schrad. Fort Pierre to Fort Union.

Helianthus hirsutus , Raf. Big Sioux river.

Coreopsis palmata, Nutt. Bellevue, N. T.

Bidens bipinnata, Linn. Bellevue, N. T.

Bidens chrysanthemoides , Michx. Yellowstone river.

Bcdsamorrhiza sagitteda, Nutt. Black bills.

Linosyris viscidiflora, Torr. and Gray. Fort Union.

Linosyris graveolens , Torr. & Gray. Sterile bills on the Yellowstone ; very common ;

also Bad Lands; the larger glabrous, and the smaller a stinted canescent form.
Thclespermci jilifolia, Gray. Platte valley, July 30th.

Thelesperma gracile , Gray. Sand bills, July 24th.

Dysodia chrysanthemoides, Michx. On the Yellowstone.

Gaillardia aristata, Pursh. Fort Union.

Hymenopappus tenuifolius, Pursh. Big Sioux to Fort Union and Bad Lands.

Bahia appositi folia, N utt. Common on roadsides and in prairie dog villages, from
Fort Pierre to Bad Lands and to the Yellowstone.

Actinella acaulis, Nutt, On high sterile bills, Bad Lands, and Yellowstone.

Actinella Richarclsoni, Nutt. Fort Union.

Actinella lancda , Nutt, Niobrara river.

Helenium autumnale, Linn. Kansas and Southern Nebraska.

Anthemis arvensis , Linn. Naturalized to Fort Leavenworth.

Achillea millefolium, Linn. Found all over the prairie country of tile West ; must
be indigenous west of the Mississippi.

Antennaria plantaginea, R. Br. Upper Missouri and Black bills.

Antennaria dioica, Gaertn. Fort Pierre to Yellowstone.

Antennaria margaritacea, R. Br. Laramie mountains.

Antennaria dimorpha, Nutt. Bad Lands.

198

ON THE GEOLOGY ANI) NATURAL HISTORY

Gnaphalium uliginosum, Linn. Council Bluffs.

Artemisia longifolia, Nutt. Common on high hills along the Yellowstone.

Artemisia draciincvloid.es , Pnrsh. Bellevue to Yellowstone.

Artemisia fili folia, Torr. Gravelly hills along the Platte ; Bad Lands.

Artemisia Canadensis, Michx. Near Fort Laramie; also Durion’s hills to Yellowstone.

Artemisia Ludoviciana, Nutt. In the Bad Lands and along the Yellowstone; always
white, with deeply serrate or entire leaves.

Artemisia cana, Pursh. Abundant on the Yellowstone, and on the Missouri above
Fort Union. This is the species which is properly called “ sage” on the Upper
Missouri ; it grows shrubby, two to four feet high.

Artemisia frig id a, Willd. From latitude 43° to mountains.

Artemisia tridentata , Nutt. Common in Bad Lands.

Artemisia biennis , Willd. In Platte valley.

Senecio aureus , Linn. Council bluffs and Big Sioux.

Senecio integerrimus , Nutt. About Council bluffs to mountains.

Senecio lobatus, Pers. Fort Leavenworth to Fort Pierre.

Senecio canus , Hook. Bad Lands to Yellowstone, with the upper leaves serrate or
entire, tomentose, canescent or almost glabrous.

Senecio fil if ol ins, Nutt. Black hills.

Senecio spariioides , Torr. & Gray. Niobrara river.

Senecio rapifolius , Nutt. Laramie mountains.

Senecio eremophilus , Richards. Black hills.

Cacalia atripliei folia, Linn. Bellevue, N. T.

Cacalia tuberosa, Nutt. Not uncommon on the rich bottoms of the Missouri and
Platte.

Lygodesmia juncea , Don. A very abundant plant all over the sterile hills of the
Upper Missouri and its tributaries; grows most luxuriantly on the second upland
prairie. It makes its first appearance near Council bluffs, and extends to the
mountains.

Cirsium cdtissimum, Spreng. Bellevue to Fort Pierre.

Cirsium undulatum , Spreng. Arid hills and prairies from Niobrara to Fort Pierre
and Bad Lands. The var. S Torr. & Gray, with smaller heads and more deeply
divided and spiny leaves, was found on the Yellowstone.

Cirsium canescens, Nutt. Bad Lands; certainly biennial with a long root ; perhaps
belonging to C. undulatum, as Torr. & Gray suggest ; distinguished by the deeply
pinnatifid and decurrent leaves ; decurrent part £-lA inch long, undulate and very
spiny; peduncles leafy; involucre pubescent.

OP THE UPPER MISSOURI.

199

Nabalus asper , Torr. & Gray. Bellevue, N. T.

Nabdlus racemosus , Hook. Black hills, September 3d.

Mulgediu ni pulchellum , Nutt. Big Sioux river.

Troximon cuspidatum , Pursli. Council bluffs and Big Sioux, Bad Lands. The white
tomentose margin on the bright green leaves gives the young plant especially a
very peculiar aspect.

Troximon glaucum, Nutt. Upland prairies on the Yellowstone, with long and short
leaves, villous or glabrous scales of involucre.

Crepis runcinata, Torr. & Gray. Yellowstone.

Lactuca Ludoviciana , D. C. Fort Mandan (Nuttall’s original locality), Bad Lands,
down to the mouth of the Big Sioux river. A very distinct and well-marked
species and a true Lactuca. Apparently biennial or perennial ; 1-3 feet high ;
cauline leaves oval, runcinate or almost entire, clasping witli an auriculate base ;
heads paniculate, much larger than in any other North American species, about
9 lines long.

Sonchus asper, Vill. Fort Leavenworth, K. T.

Stephanomeria runcinata. Bad Lands of Judith.

Villanova cJirysanthemoides , Gray. Planted Wright iana , Plate 2. Laramie moun¬
tains, August 24th.

Hieracium scabrum , Michx. Laramie mountains.

Hieracium Cana dense, Michx. Laramie mountains.

lobeliaceh:.

Lobelia cardinalis , Linn. Moist places along the Missouri to the Big Sioux ; in
Kansas, on Big Cottonwood creek.

Lobelia spicata , Lam. Mouth of the Platte.

Lobelia inflata , Linn. Yellowstone valley, where it is cultivated by the Crow Indians,
and used in their religious ceremonies.

CAMPANULACE.E.

Campanula rotundi folia , Linn. Prairies near Fort Clark ; abundant, but very rare
elsewhere.

Campanula aparinoides , Pursh.

Specular ia per foliata, A. L). C. Bad Lands, &c.

Specularia paradoxa, Nutt. {Sab prism ato carpo.) Bad Lands.

ERICACE2E.

Vaccinium Myrtillus , Hook. Black hills.

Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi, Spreng. Very abundant on the high rocky hills about Fort
Clark ; also abundant in the mountains. It is the real “ Kininkkinnick” of the

200

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Indians, and used by them to mix with their tobacco, in preference to any other
plant. The bark of Comas sericea is used as a substitute only in the absence
of the A. uva-ursi.

Chimaphila umbellata , Nutt. Black hills.

Pyrola minor , Linn. Laramie mountains, August 20th.

Pterospora Andromedea , Nutt. Laramie mountains.

EBENACEaE.

Diospyros Virginiana , Linn. Occurs in Kansas.

PL ANT AGIN ACE A5.

Plantago major , Linn. Along Missouri and Yellowstone rivers.

Plantago eriopoda , Ton*. Saline marshes near Fort Union.

Plantago Virginica , Linn. Fort Pierre.

Plantago Patagonic'a , var. gnaphalioides . Very abundant in sandy soil and gravelly
places on the Upper Missouri.

Plantago pusilla, Nutt. On prairies near Fort Pierre; also on the river opposite St.
Joseph, in Kansas.

PRIMULACEiE.

And rosace occidentalism Pursh. Bad Lands, Fort Pierre.

LysimacMa stricta , Ait. Platte valley, and along Missouri.

Lysimachia ciliatci, Linn. Common from Council bluffs to Bad Lands.

Glaux maritima , Linn. Bad Lands of the Judith, Blackfoot country.
BIGNONIACE.E.

Martynia proboscidea, Glox. Fort Pierre.

LENTIBULACE.E.

JJtricularia infiata, Walt. In ponds, Council bluffs, White river valley.
ORQBANCHACEiE.

Phelipcea Ludovicicina, Don. Sandy prairies, Yellowstone.

Apliyllon fascicidatum, Ton*. & Gray. Great Bend of Missouri.

Aphyllon unifiorum, Ton*. & Gray. Council bluffs.

SCROPHULARIACEtE.

Scropliularia nodosa, Linn. Common in prairies throughout the Upper Missouri
country.

Scropliularia nodosa, var. discolor . Smaller, with firmer leaves, lower side of leaves
pubescent and very pale; Fort Pierre.

Chelone glabra, Linn. Along valley of Missouri to latitude 43°.

Pentstemon grandiflorus , Fraser. A beautiful plant found along the bluffs of the Platte,
banks and sandy bottoms of Missouri to mountains.

Pentstemon coeruleum, Nutt. Eagle Nest hill, White river valley.

OF TIIE UPPER MISSOURI.

201

Pentstemon eruwthum, Nutt. Hills around Fort Pierre.

Pentstemon albidum, Nutt. Low with glabrous calyx. Hills around Fort Pierre.
Pentstemon cristatum, Nutt. On high prairies ; Upper Missouri.

Pentstemon gracile, Nutt. Prairie bottoms, near Fort Pierre.

Pentstemon pubescens, Solander. Fort Pierre; June.

Pentstemon levigatus, Solander. Fort Leavenworth ; May.

Pentstemon acuminatus, Lindl. Sandhills on Loup fork.

Pentstemon Fendleri, Gray. Sandhills on Loup fork.

Pentstemon confertus, Lindl. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Pentstemon - f undetermined. Niobrara.

Mimulus ringens, Linn. Council bluffs and Pig Sioux.

Mimulus Jamesii , Torr. On the Platte. Hr. Cooper.

Gratiola Virginica, Linn. Quite common along the Missouri.

Veronica anagallis, Linn. Common ; Council bluffs.

Veronica scutellata, Linn. With the preceding.

Veronica per eg rina, Linn. Fort Pierre.

Veronica Americana, Schwein. Niobrara river.

Veronica arvensis, Linn. Council bluffs to Bad Lands.

Ilysanthes gratioloides, Benth. Yellowstone country.

Limosella aquatica, Linn. Wet places on the banks of the Yellowstone. This is the
same as the European plant.

Synthyris Houghtoniana, Benth. Black hills.

Gerardia purpurea, Linn. Council bluffs.

Gerardia tenuifolia, Vahl. Fort Pierre.

Gastilleia sessiliflora, Pursh. Fort Pierre, Bad Lands, Yellowstone, See.

Castilleia septentrional is, lindl. Black hills.

Gastilleia linariafolia, Benth. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Castilleia argutifolia, Nutt. Laramie mountains.

Melampyrum America num, Miclix. Extends up the Missouri as far as the mouth of
the Ihatte.

Pedicularis lanceolata , Michx. Fort Pierre, Yellowstone, &c.

Orthocarpus luteus. Near Powder river on Yellowstone.

AC AN TH ACEfE.

Dipter acanthus strepens , Nees. Fort Leavenworth to mouth of Niobrara river.
Dianthera Americana, Linn. Platte valley.

VEPBENACEiE.

Verbena urtici folia, Linn. Dixon’s bluffs, on Missouri.
vol. xii. — 26

202

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Verbena bipinnatificla, Nutt. Bad Lands and Yellowstone river. Some forms of
Verbena were found near the mouth of Kansas river, and at Sargent’s bluffs,
which are evidently hybrids, probably between V. urticifolia and V bracteosa.
Numerous hybrids between the species of Verbena are not rare in the vicinity of
St. Louis, which I have noticed in Silliman’s Journal, Jan. 1844, page 99.

Verbena bracteosa , Michx. A very common plant about prairie dog villages on the
Upper Missouri.

Verbena Jiastata, Linn. Platte valley.

Verbena stricta, Vent. Idatte valley; July.

Verbena Aubletia , Linn. Along the Missouri in Kansas.

Lippia lanceolata , Michx. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory.

Phryma Leptostachya , Linn. Not rare along the Missouri to latitude 43°.

LABIATvE.

Te tier ium Ganadense , Linn. Bad Lands, &c.

Mentha Canadensis , Linn. All along the Missouri to the Yellowstone.

Mentha borealis , var. glabrata. Loup fork, July 6tli.

Lycopus sinuatus, Ell., Benth. Council bluffs to above Fort Pierre. Some forms are
very deeply pinnatifid.

Lycopus obtusifolius, Michx., Benth. Common along the Yellowstone. Abundantly
distinguished from the former by the larger flowers with included stamens.
Sterile filaments reduced to mere warts and naked throat of corolla. The leaves
are somewhat clasping with a sessile base, the lowest ones obtuse, but the upper
ones acute and even acuminate, regularly serrate and on both sides abundantly
glandulo-punctate.

Isanthus coendeus , Michx. Fort Kiley. Found by Dr. Cooper.

Pycnanthemum lanceolatum , Pursh. Loup fork, July 31st, 1857.

Hedeoma pulegioides , Pers. Bad Lands.

Hedeoma hispid a- , Pursh. Council bluffs to Bad Lands and Yellowstone. Leaves
strongly ribbed on the lower side, scarcely punctate, longer than the verticils ;
teeth of punctiferous calyx spreading.

Hedeoma Drummondi , Benth. Sandy soil on the Yellowstone river, common. Simi¬
lar to the preceding but perennial with a long tap root ; leaves nerveless, strongly
punctate on both sides, shorter than the verticils ; teetli of fructiferous calyx
connivent.

Salvia trichostemoides , Pursh. Fort Pierre, Bad Lands.

Salvia Pitcheri, Torr. Collected by Dr. Cooper near Fort Kiley.

Monarda Bradburiana , Beck. Fort Pierre.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

203

Monarda fistulosa, Linn. The form usually named M. allophylla, Fort Pierre and
Bad Lands to Yellowstone.

Monarda aristata , Nutt. Sandhills on Loup fork, August 1st.

B lephilia ciliata, liaf. Bad Lands.

LopWanthus nepeioides , Benth. Council bluffs.

Lophanthus scrophulariaefolius , Benth. Bad Lands.

Lophanthus anisatus, Benth. Yellowstone.

Physostegia Virginiana , Benth. Fort Pierre.

Scutellaria parvula, Michx. Fort Pierre.

Scutellaria galericulata , Linn. Fort Berthold to Fort Union, a smooth and a pubescent
form.

Brunella vulgaris , Linn. Loup fork, J uly 30th.

Brunella officinalis , Linn. Loup fork, July 30th.

Marrubium vidgare, Linn. Council bluffs, See.

Stachys palustris, Linn. Bad Lands, Yellowstone.

BOR AGIN ACEiE.

Onosmodium Virginianum , 1). C. ' Prairies from Bellevue to Fort Pierre.

Onosmodium hispid urn, Michx. Prairies around Teton river, near Fort Pierre.

Onosmodium mode, Michx. Loup fork, July 24th.

Lithospermum brevifiorum , Engl. & Gray. (Plant. Linheim.) Fort Pierre, Bad Lands,
Yellowstone. Flowers smaller than in the original Texan specimens, only about
one line long ; style shorter than corolla ; no trace of scales, nuts large, shining, im¬
pressed, punctate only on the ventral side. Some forms are decumbent, others
erect ; these latter resemble in fruit very closely Lithospermum longiflorurn,
which may be distinguished by the more canescent pubescence. The somewhat
larger calyx, the rather less turgid nuts, and especially where it has not fallen
off, the very long style. Is this plant really distinguishable from L. angustifolium ?

Lithospermum brevifiorum , var, punctulosum , Engelmann. Hispidum, caulibus e ra-
dice perpendiculari pluribus, erectis foliis linearibus ; floribus pseudo-axillaribus
minutis; nucibus minoribus undique exsculpto punctulosis. Sandy bottoms
about Fort Union at the mouth of the Yellowstone river. The flowers are abso¬
lutely identical with those of the last, otherwise the much greater roughness and
the curiously punctate nuts would seem to indicate specific difference.

Lithospermum hirtum , Lehm. Council bluffs.

Lithospermum canescens , Lchtn. Same place.

Lithospermum longiflorurn, Spreng. Council bluffs to Bad Lands.

Lithospermum Mandanense , Nutt. Mouth of Big Sioux river, in May.

204

ON TIIE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Lithospermum angusti folium , Michx. Near mouth of Powder river on Yellowstone.

Mertensia lanceolata , D. C. White river and Bad Lands to Fort Pierre.

Myosotis vernct , Nutt. Bad Lands and Fort Pierre.

Echinosperm urn Lapp ala, Lelnn. Fort Pierre.

Echinospermum patulum, Lelnn. From Niobrara and White river to Bad Lands,
Fort Pierre, and Yellowstone. More abundant than the last.

Echinospermum strictum , Nees. Fort Pierre.

Eritrichium glomeratum, I). C. Fort Pierre, Bad Lands to the Yellowstone. The
young specimens from White river are white cancsccnt, the old ones from Fort
Union are very rough and green ; the seeds are more or less tuberclcd, style per¬
sistent, much thickened below.

Eritrichium jioro-cinereum , Torr. (ined. Fendler plants.) On Platte river near Fort
Laramie.

Eritrichium micranthum , Torr. (Fendler, 635.) Niobrara river, August 16th.

Eritrichium suffruticosum , Torr. Fort Laramie, August 13th.

Ggnoglossum Morrisoni, D. C. Fort Pierre and White river.

HYDKOPHYLLACEiE.

HydrophyUum Virginicum , Linn. Council bluffs and higher up on the Shady river
banks.

Ilydrophyllum appendiculatum , Michx. Fort Pierre.

HydrophyUum macrophyllum , Nutt. Shady woods as high up the Missouri as mouth
of White river, and in White river valley. Most abundant in the carboniferous
limestone regions of Council bluffs, April.

Ellisia ambigua , Nutt. Prairies and woods from Fort Leavenworth to the Yellow¬
stone. The larger specimens, have the flowers frequently in naked racemes.

Ellisia Nydelea , Linn. About old houses and gardens to Big Sioux, and along old
roads in prairie dog villages on the Upper Missouri.

Phacelia circinata , Jacq. In Kansas; Ur. Cooper.

POLEMONIACEiE.

Phlox rcptans , Linn. Above Council bluffs.

Phlox pilosa, Linn. Above Council bluffs.

Phlox Hoodii , Hook. Fort Union to Bad Lands.

Phlox divaricata, Linn. Council bluffs and Platte valley.

Collomia linearis, Nutt. Common about Fort Pierre; Fort Union.

Gilia longiflora, Torr. In sandhills of Niobrara river.

Gilia congesta , Hook. White river to Yellowstone.

CONVOLVULACEzE.

Calystegia sepium , P. Br. Council bluffs to Yellowstone, Loup fork.

OF THE UPFER MISSOURI.

205

Calystegia spithamaea , Pursh. Council bluffs to Fort Pierre.

Convolvulus argentea , Pursh. Bad Lands, Fort Union, and Yellowstone.

Ipomea leptophylla, , Torr. I have seen this plant in hut one locality along the Mis¬
souri; Bear creek near “ Bad Lands.” But in the sandhills on Loup fork, along
the Niobrara, and around Fort Laramie, it is very abundant.

Guscuta glomcrata , Choisy. Abundant on sandy bottoms of Missouri.

Cuscuta Gronovii , Willd. Woodlands on Missouri.

Guscuta decora , Choisy. Bottoms of Missouri.

SOLAN ACE.E.

/Solarium heterandrum , Pursh. Fort Pierre to Yellowstone.

Solanum nigrum , Michx. Not rare on the sandy bottoms of Missouri.

/Solarium triflorum , Nutt. Very abundant in prairie dog villages on Upper Missouri.
Solanum Garolinense , Linn. Along Missouri to Council bluffs.

Physalis lanceolata , Michx. Sandy bottoms of Missouri to Fort Pierre.

Physalis viscosa , Linn. Sandy bottoms of Missouri to mountains.

Androcera lobata , Nutt. Very abundant about old trading houses, along old roads,
and in prairie dog villages on Upper Missouri.

Datura stramonium, Linn. Introduced as high up the Missouri as Council bluffs.
GENTIAN ACEvE.

Genticma alba, Muhl. Fort Union.

Gentiana affinis, Griesb. Black hills, Sept. 21st.

Eustoma Russelianum, G. Don. Around saline lakes in the sandhills of Loup fork
and Niobrara. Very abundant. August.

APOCYNACEJE.

Apocynum cannabinum, Linn. Abundant on low bottoms of Missouri to mountains.
Apocynum anclroscemifolium, Linn. Black hills, September 4th.
ASCLEPIADACEtE.

Asclepias macrantJiera, Torr. Not rare on the moist prairies of the Upper Missouri,
Loup fork, and Platte valley; July 16th.

Asclepias incarnata , Linn. Moist places on the Loup fork and Platte.

Asclepias speciosa, Torr. Fort Pierre, &c.

Asclepias p/urpurascens, Linn. Council bluffs.

Asclepias pubescens. Forts Pierre and Clark.

Asclepias Meadi, Torr. Loup fork, sandhills.

Asclepias tuberosa, Linn. Mouth of Big Sioux, and in Platte valley.

Asclepias verticillata, Linn. Abundant on prairies, Fort Pierre.

Ananilierix vivid is, Nutt. Platte valley, Loup fork, July 16th.

206

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Acer ales Ion ej [folia, Nutt. Common around Fort Pierre.

Acer cites angusti folia, Nutt. With preceding.

Acerates viridi flora, Ell. Dwarfed. Loup fork, July 27th.

QLEACEaE.

Fraxinus Americana, Linn. Generally diffused throughout the Northwest.

ARISTOLOCHIACEE.

Ascirum Canadense , Linn. Near Council bluffs.

NY CTAG IN ACEaE.

Oxybaphus nyctagineus, Sweet. Fort Pierre, &c.

Oxybaphus flo ribund us , Choisy. Fort Clark.

Oxybaphus hirsutus, Sweet. Yellowstone.

Oxybaphus angustifolius, Sweet, and var. decmnhens. Fort Pierre to Yellowstone.
Abronia frag vans , Nutt. Yellowstone.

Abronia cycloptera. Gray. Yellowstone.

CHENOPODIACEaE.

Chenopodium album, Linn. Common all along the Missouri.

Chenopodium glaucum, Linn. Along the Yellowstone.

CJienopodium ambrosioides, Linn. Mouth of Milk river.

Chenopodiuni urbicum , Linn. Big Muddy, Fort Union.

Atriplex liastata , Linn. Little Pocky Mountain creek.

Cycloloma platyphyllum, Moquin. Laramie mountains, August 24th.

Monolepis Nuttalliana, Moquin. Fort Union.

Monolepis che nopod ioides, Moquin. Below Fort Pierre, along Missouri and Yellow¬
stone to Fort Sarpy.

Obione speciosa, Moquin. Bad Lands to Yellowstone.

Obione canescens , Moquin. Throughout the Missouri and Yellowstone region.

Obione argentea, Moquin. Abundant on arid hills near mouth of Yellowstone.
Obione Suckleyana, Torr (in Stevens’s Report, P. R. Surveys, in ed. fig. 3), Fort
Union

Eurotia lanata, Moq. Bad Lands to Yellowstone, Fort Laramie.

Kochia clioica, Nutt. Fort Pierre to Yellowstone.

Corispermum. hyssop folium, Linn. Yellowstone ; hairy variety on sandbars along
Missouri, Fort Union, August 15th.

Suceda furticosa, Forsh. Saline places on Yellowstone.

Suasda maritima, Dumort. Milk river.

Chenopodina depressa, Moq. Saline places, Yellowstone.

Salicornia herbacea, Linn. Saline places, Fort Union.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

207

Sarcobatus vermicularis , Nees. This is one of the most abundant shrubs on the Upper
Missouri. It makes its first appearance near latitude 44°, and seems to thrive
best in the saline clays of the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations. It is some¬
times called “ grease-wood” by the traders, and is often used for fuel by them on
the Yellowstone river, where it grows to the height of ten or twelve feet, with
trunks two to three inches in diameter. On the Yellowstone and along the
Missouri, it sometimes covers many square miles to the exclusion of other plants.
ScJioberia calceoliformis , Moq. Yellowstone.

AMARANTHACEiE.

Montelia tamariscina , Gray. Sandhills on Loup fork.

AmarantJius albus , Linn. Sandy bottoms and shores of Missouri.

AmarantJius retroflexns ? Linn. Bad lands.

AmarantJius Jiybridus. Fort Union.

AmarantJius blitum. Fort Union.

FrcelicJiia Florid ana, Moq. Sandhills.

POLYGONACEiE.

Rumex cdtissimus , Wood. All along the Missouri to Bad Lands.

Rumex maritimus, Linn. Along Missouri and Yellowstone.

Rumex persicarioicles, Linn. Sandy bottoms of Missouri.

Rumex venosus, Pursh. Old Ponca village, Loup fork.

Polygonum ampliibium , Linn. Low wet places along the Missouri.

Polygonum aviculare , Linn. Council bluffs, along the Missouri.

Polygonum tenue , Michx. Council bluffs to mountains.

Polygonum orientate, Linn. Council bluffs.

Polygonum Pennsylvanicum , Linn. Bad Lands.

Polygonum per sicaria, Linn. Fort Sarpy on the Yellowstone.

Polygonum ramosissimum, Michx. Bad Lands.

Polygonum dumetorum , Linn. Council bluffs.

Polygonum convolvulus , Linn. Black hills.

Polygonum nodosum. Chardon’s creek in Blackfoot country.

Eriogonum annuum , Nutt. Yellowstone and Bad Lands.

Eriogonum flavum, Nutt. Bad Lands to Yellowstone.

Eriogonum gnaphaloides, Benth. On arid hills, Fort Union, and Bad Lands.
Eriogonum alatum , Torr. Fort Laramie.

Eriogonum aureum. Shycnne river.

Eriogonum umbellatum, Torr. Laramie mountains.

Eriogonum ejfusum , Nutt. Platte valley.

208

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Eriogonum Jamesii , Benth. Sandhills.

Eriogonum rotundi folium, Benth. Bad Lands of the Judith.

Eriogonum brevicuide , var. lyptophyllum, Torr. Laramie mountains.

Oxyria digyna , Canrpd. Black hills.

LAUBACEiE.

Benzoin oclorifevum , Nees. Woody bottoms along Missouri, below Niobrara.
ELAEAGNACEiE.

Shepheixlia argentea , Nutt. Very abundant from mouth of Big Sioux river to the
mountains. It bears a profusion of red, acid fruit, called buffalo berries.
Eleagnus argentea, Pursh. I have seen this shrub in but one locality in Missouri,
near Fort Clark, on the high Tertiary hills.

SANTALACE/E.

Gomandra umbellata, Nutt. Fort Pierre and on the Yellowstone.
EUPHOBBIACE2E.

Euphorbia corollata, Linn. Quite common on Missouri to latitude 45°.

Euphorbia marginata , Pursh. Very abundant to mountains.

Euphorbia maculata, Linn. Same as last.

Euphorbia poly goni folia, Linn. Along old roads, Upper Missouri.

Euphorbia dictyosperma , Fisch & Moq. Fort Pierre.

Euphorbia glyptosperma, Engel. Common all over Western plains.

Euphorbia incequilatera, Souder in Linnea. With the last.

Euphorbia Geyeri, Engel. Near mouth of Powder river, on Yellowstone.

Euphorbia hypericifolia , Linn. Sandhills on Loup fork, also along Missouri.
Euphorbia hexagona , Nutt. Sandhills of Loup fork, Niobrara. Abundant.

Croton muricatum, Nutt. Sandhills.

UETICACEiE.

Elm us fulva , Michx. Abundant on the rich bottoms of Missouri to Big Sioux, and
ceases to appear at the mouth of Niobrara river.

Ulmus Americana, Linn. Along rivers and streams to mountains.

Celtis occidental is, Linn. Abundant near to Niobrara river.

Monts rubra, Linn. Very abundant to mouth of Big Sioux ; seen sparingly, and of
small growth to the mountains.

Urtica gracilis , Ait. Thickets and streams to Niobrara.

Urtica Canadensis, Linn. Same as preceding.

Parietaria Pennsylvanica, Muhl. Missouri and Yellowstone.

Ilumulus Lupidus, Linn. Most abundant in the Upper Missouri country.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

209

PLATAN ACEiE:

Platanus occidentalism Linn. Abundant on the rich bottoms of Missouri and Kansas ;
but ceases to appear about one hundred miles above Council bluffs.

JU GLAND ACE AE.

Juglans cinera, Linn. Big Sioux.

Juglans nigra , Linn. Does not extend above latitude 43°.

CUPULIFEILE.

Quercus tinctoria, Bartram. Council bluffs and Big Sioux.

Quercus rubra , Linn. With preceding.

Quercus macrocarpa, Michx. Extends to mountains.

Quercus obtusiloba, Michx. Bad lands.

Corylus Americana, Walt. Abundant around Council bluffs.

BETULACErE.

Betula glandulosa, Michx. Laramie mountains, August 26th.

Alnus - ? Black hills.

SALICACEAE.

Salk c longifolia, Muhl. In different forms along Missouri and Y ello wstone.

Salix nigra, Marshall. Council bluffs.

tSalix - ? Fort Pierre.

Salix - ? Forks of White river.

Salix - ? Fort Pierre, June 18th.

Salix - ? Medicine creek.

Popnlus tremuloides , Michx. Black hills.

Populus monilifera, Ait. A large tree, constituting by far the greater portion of the
timber along the valley of the Missouri.

Populus - . Called in the West “hitter Cottonwood.” Makes its first appear¬

ance near Fort Laramie. Have never observed it along the Missouri. A few
small trees observed near the head of the Shyenne, at the base of Bear Peak.
CONIFE1LK.

Pinus Engelmanni , Torr. On the Yellowstone.

Pinus ponderosa, Douglass. Black hills.

Abies Douglassi. Bad lands of the J udith.

Juniperus Virginiana, Linn. Along Missouri to mountains.

Juniperus communis, Linn. Fort Union.

vol. xii. — 2T

210

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

LIST OF NEBRASKA CARICES.

BY PROF. CHESTER DEWEY.

C. vulpina , Linn. A well-known European species, first found in Ohio in our country
some years since, abounds in Nebraska of large size : cannot be confounded with
C. stipata, above Fort Pierre.

C. vulpinoidea , Michx.

C. multiflora , Michx. Fort Pierre.

C. stipata , Muhl. Little Sioux Fiver.

C. rosea , Schk. Southern Nebraska.

var. radiata , Dew. Southern Nebraska.

C. setacea , Dew. Southern Nebraska.

G. teretiuscula, Good. Southern Nebraska.

C. Muhlenbergi, Schk. Missouri, below Fort Pierre.

C. cephaloidea , Dew. Near Fort Leavenworth.

C. Hookeriana, Dew. Missouri, below Fort Pierre.

G. stenophylla, Wahl. Upper Missouri. Well known in the Tyrol; found also in the
Pocky Mountains, and in Nebraska, Dr. Hayden. First published as American also
by Dr. Boott.

C. Douylasi , Boott. West of Fort Pierre. From N. AY. Coast and Rocky Mountains,
first described by Dr. Boott ; since found so far south, like C. Richardsoni in its wide
diffusion.

G. Nuttalli , Dew. Yellowstone river. This species, found by Mr. Nuttall in his
botanic explorations on the Pocky Mountains, had escaped my memory, and I gave
to the specimens from Nebraska the name of my young friend, Mr. Meek, in Silli-
man’s Journal. Its spikes are closely aggregated into a head; its fruit small, ovate
and short-lanceolate, and much shorter and narrower than the broad long-lanceolate
scale ; culm 3 to I inches high, with almost setaceous leaves. These characters
separate it from the next preceding species.

C. marcida , Boott. Abundant over Southern Nebraska.

G. cristata , Schw. Little Sioux river.

G. straminea , Willd. Above Fort Pierre,
var. minor , Dew. Above Fort Pierre.

G. scirpoides , Schk. Near Fort Leavenworth.

G. mirabilis , Dew. Common.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

211

G. fistucacea , Schk. Missouri, below Fort Pierre.

C. scoparia , Schk. Common over East Nebraska.

G. tenera , Dew. Missouri, below Fort Pierre.

61 leporina , Linn. Credited before to the Arctic Regions, and not very common.

61 petasata , Dew. Upper Missouri, collected first in Arctic America, and is abundant in
Nebraska.

C. /estiva? Dew. (Too old to decide.) Near Fort Leavenworth.

6. curta , Good. Yellowstone river.

61 obtusata , Lily. Long known in Europe, and found on the Rocky Mountains and in
Nebraska.

61 grisea, Walk.

C. laxiflora , Schk. Fort Leavenworth.

61 arctata, Boott. Missouri, near Fort Pierre.

C. Meadi , Dew. In Michigan, and now in Nebraska.

61 eburnea, Boott. Missouri river.

61 Grawei , Dew. Missouri river.

61 Steudeli, Kunth. Missouri river. First found in Ohio.

61 Davisi, Torrey. Yellowstone river.

61 Shortiana , Dew. Kentucky, and in Nebraska.

61 marginata , Muh. Missouri, near Fort Pierre, as figured by Schk.

61 hystricina, Willd. Eagle-nest creek.

01 laxiflora , Lam., not of Schk. O. (triceps, Schk., and of American authors for years.
Near Fort Clark.

O. blanda, Dew. O. conoidea , Muh. Near Fort Clark.

O. aristata R., Br. Abundant at the “ Bad Lands.”

var., longo-lanceolata , Dew. The scale as long as and often longer than the fruit,
narrow. “ Bad Lands.”

O. lanuginosa , Michx. On the Yellowstone.

0. riparia , Good. Along the Missouri.

G. vesicaria, Linn. Along the Missouri.

O. lacustris, Willd. Common on the Weters.

61 longirostris , Tor. Along the Missouri.

6. piliformis , Good. Eagle-nest creek.

61 ampidlacea , Good. Along the Missouri.

6. monile, Tuckerman. Along the Missouri.

61 utriculata , Boott. Abundant along streams.

61 tricliocarpa , Muh. Along the Missouri.

212

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

C. Icevi-conica , Dew. Along Big Sioux. Staminate spikes 2 or 3, cylindric and slender ;
pistillate spikes 2, sometimes 3, cylindric, erect, oblong, subdensi-flowered, leafy-
bracteate, the lowest short pedunculate and vaginate ; stigmas three; fruit long-conic,
slender and tapering, scarcely inflated at base, bifurcate, and oblique at the orifice,
smooth and obsoletely striate, as long or a little longer than the ovate and lanceolate
scale ; culm tall and slender. (American Journal of Science, Yol. XXIV, p. 47,
Second Series.) The smooth and slender conic fruit and scale remove this plant
from G. trichocarpa .

C. acuta, Linn. Eagle-nest creek.

G. vulgaris ? Fries. Eagle-nest creek.

G. stricta, Lam. Eagle-nest creek.

G. strior, Dew. Eagle-nest creek.

C. recta , Boott. Near Fort Pierre. Discovered by the English Exploring Expedition in
Arctic America, and described by Dr. Boott.

G. Nebraslcenis, Dew. Near Fort Pierre. Staminate spikes two, oblong and near, the
lower small and sessile ; pistillate spikes two to four, oblong, short-cylindric, densely
flowered, the upper often staminate at their apex and sessile, the lower short-peduncu¬
late, all with leafy bracts ; fruit with two stigmas, convex, obovate or elliptic, short-
pointed above, and tapering at the base, a little shorter than ovate and acute, or
lanceolate scale; stem about a foot and a half high, sharp-triquetrous edges, and
smooth, leafy towards the base. (American Journal, Yol. XVIII, p. 102, Second
Series.)

C. Haydenii , Dew. Near Fort Pierre, and at Eagle-nest creek. Staminate spike single,
sometimes two, cylindric, the lower sessile, and sometimes with flowers at the base ;
pistillate spikes three to five, long-cylindric, erect, graceful or slender, 2 to 3 inches
long ; base flowered, especially at the lower part of the spikes, one or more staminate
at the apex, sessile except the lowest ; fruit, distigmatic , elliptic, convex, short-beaked,
and entire at the orifice, about half the length of the scale, which is lanceolate, black,
white line on the back, culm 2 to 3 feet high, rather slender, leafy at the base.'*

* When Sprengel printed his Systcma Ycgetabilium, Yol. Ill, in 1826, it contained 267 species of Carex,
all the lteed grasses or sedges then known to him, — a very host of species of one genus. Since that time the
number has increased to 800 or more. Perhaps 850 of these have been found in North America, and about 250,
to speak in general terms, have been found in the United States, east of the Mississippi. The above Catalogue
contains more than 50 species, collected in Nebraska Territory, most of which are spread over a wide extent of
our country, so prolific in vegetable life. C. D.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

213

N O T E.

The foregoing Report was written, for the most part, over three years since, and contains a condensed state¬
ment of the geological information concerning the Upper Missouri which had been secured up to that time. It
may be regarded as a report of progress, and will be followed by the more complete and more matured results of
the Expedition of 1859 and ’60, under Capt. Win. F. Raynolds, which are now in an advanced stage of preparation.
The cost of publication has rendered it necessary to omit the illustrative sections, and many other details, which
would have added materially to the value of the work.

A detailed account of the geology of the White River group, Loup River beds, and the Judith River depo¬
sits, has been omitted, on account of the intention of the author to visit those localities again at no distant day,
and to make a thorough exploration of them.

The Map accompanying the memoir is reduced from the military map of Nebraska and Dakota, by Lieut. G.
K. Warren, T. E. Many of the details of the topography have been omitted.

It remains now for the author to acknowledge his indebtedness to several gentlemen who have aided him
during the progress of the Report. To Lieut. G. K. Warren, under whose direction, as commander of the Expe¬
ditions, the greater portion of the information was obtained, the writer is indebted for every facility and assistance
that could be afforded, consistent with the public service. The memoir itself bears ample evidence of the kind
aid and counsel, ever freely given, by my friend and associate, Mr. F. B. Meek. Messrs. Baird, Cope, Gill, Lea,
and Binney revised the Catalogues in their respective departments. Dr. Engelmann and Prof. Dewey prepared
the Catalogue of Plants. Dr. J. S. Newberry furnished some valuable information for the Map in regard to
Southern Kansas.

To the Smithsonian Institution, and to its distinguished Secretary, Prof. Henry, the writer, during all his
investigations in regard to the geology and natural history of the Upper Missouri, is indebted for the use of
rooms, books, and every facility essential to the successful prosecution of his labors.

ERRATA.

Page 14, last line of second paragraph, for “ Meycocharus" read, “ Merychochccrus
Page 1G, fourth line from bottom, for “La Pule” read “La Prele.”

Page 18, fifth line from top, for “above” read “preceding.”

Page 36, sixth line from top, for “ Juya-kara Peak” read “Inya-kara Peak.”

Page 68, second line from bottom, for “will” read “shall.”

Page 69, for “ Ammonites alpinianus ” read “ Ammonites Galpinianus .”

Page 94, for “ Corbula matriformis ” read “ Corbula mactriformis .”

Page 116, first line of second paragraph, for “appears” read “appear.”

214

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Academy, Pa., 2, 4.

Academy of Sciences, St. Louis, 38.
Acanthocladia, 61.

Acepliala , 79.

Acer fossil, 98.

Acirsa, 84.

Acroloxus, 103.

Actcon, 86.

Agricultural resoui’ces of Kansas, 59.

“ “ Nebraska, 79.

Agriochccrus , 106.
uElurodon, 107.

Albany Institute, 38.

Allorisma terminalis, 5.

Alluvium, 111.

Amauropsis , 84.

Ammonitidce, 81.

Ammonites , 2, 22, 23, 81, 82.
Amphicyon , 107.

Anatinidai , 87.

Anchitherium, 106.

Ancyloceras, 82.

Ancylus , 103.

Anisomyon, 85.

Annelida , 81.

Anomiadce, 91.

Anomia, 91.

A plexus, 102.

Aporrhaidce, 85.

Aporrhais, 85.

Aptychus, 83.

Area, 90.

Archceocidaris, 40, 42.

Arcidce , 90.

Arkansas, 117.

Arragonite, 75.

Articulata, 81.

Ashgrove Spring, 15.

Asia, 130.

Astartidce, 89.

As/orrte, 89.

Atlantic, 119.

Audubon, Mr., 3.

Avellana, 86.

Avicula, 89.

Aviculidce, 89.

Axmce, 90.

Axznws, 50.

Azoic rocks, 18, 19, 35, 120, 131.
Aztec Mountains, 37.

INDE X.

Baculitcs, 2, 21, 83.

Bad Lands, 8.

Bad Lands on the Niobrara, 14.
Baird, Prof. S. F., 138.

Ba/cevellia, 50.

Baptist Mission, 45.

Barometrical profiles, 115.

Basaltic rocks, 24, 28, 35, 120,
131.

Basaltic columns, 35.

Bates’s fork, 127.

Bear creek, 29.

Bear’s Paw, 34, 120.

Bear Peak, 28.

Beaver creek, 11.

Beech, fossil leaves of, 3.
Belemnitella, 69, 81.

Belemnitidce, 81.

Bellevue to the mouth of Elkhorn, 5.
Bellerophon, 22.

Belt Mountains, 119.

Big Blue river, 49.

Big Horn river, 4, 119.

Big Sioux river, 1,9.

Big Stranger creek, 41.

Bijoux Hills, 33.

Bituminous clays of No. 4, 76.
Black Hills, valley of, 25, 116.
Blackbird Hill, 9.

Blackbird Mission, 8.

Black Mink, Putorius nigrescens,
138.

Blue limestone, flexibility of, 24.
Bottom prairie, 108, 111.

Bos Americanus; limits; decreasing
in number, 150; number of in¬
dividuals killed annually, 151.
Boulder, granite, 6.

Box Elder creek, 127.

Bracbiopoda, 62.

Bryozoa, 61.

Bucardia , 88.

Buccinidce, 84.

Buccinum, 84.

Buck, Yon, 2.

Buffalo mound, 45, 47.

Bulla, 86.

Bullidce, 86.

Bulimus, 102.

Busycon Bairdi, 80.

Butte aux Gres, 80.

Canada, 36.

Cache la Poudre creek, 120.
Calamus river, section of Pliocene
strata, 12.

Cam's, 107.

Cannon-ball river, 77.

Capulus, 85.

Caprinella , 79, 91.

Carboniferous, ft, 6, 15, 16, 17, 27,
35, 38, 121, 129, 132.

Cardium, 88.

Card id ae, 88.

Castor, 107.

Catalogue of Cretaceous fossils, 81.
Catalogue of Tertiary fossils, 101.
Catalogues ; Carboniferous fossils,
61 ; Cretaceous fossils, 81 ; Ter¬
tiary species, 101, 106; Minerals
and geological specimens, 131;
Mammals, 138; Birds, 151.
Central Bluffs, 8.

Cephalopoda, 79, 80.

Cerithiopsis, 84.

Cerithiopsidce, 84.

Cerithiadce, 101.

Cerithium, 101.

Cervus, 113, 106.

Cetacean, Vertebrae of, 78.
Chalcedony, seams of, 30.

Chalk bluff, 71.

Chalk, 2.

Chamcvrops humilis and palmetto,

130.

Chapman’s creek, 58.

Cherry creek, 21.

China, 130.

Chcetetes, 41.

Chccropotamus, 106.

Chonetes, 5, 6, 54, 63.

Chugwater creek, 120.

“ Citadel,” 125.

Cladodus occidentals, 52.
Climatology of the West during the
Tertiary Period, 130, 131.

Coal mine, Kansas, 44.

Coal Measures, upper, 5.

Coal in Southeastern Nebraska, 6,

11.

Coast range, 131.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

215

Colorado, 122.

Columna, 00.

Compsemys , 101.

Columbia, 119.

Company, American Fur, 8.
Conchifera, 86.

Conglomerate, 6, 105, 133.

Conrad, T. A., 2.

Corhula, 87, 103.

Corbulidce, 87, 103.

Cottonwood Valley, 39.

Cottonwood Creek, 16, 39.

Corbicula , 103.

Corbulamella, 87.

Couch, Lieut., 138.

Council Grove, 39.

Crasscitella, 89.

Cretaceous formation No. 1, 70;
formation No. 2, 72; formation
No. 3, 73; formation No. 4, 76;
formation No. 5, 79.

Cretaceous, 4, 6, 9, 20, 82, 48, 56,
57, 68.

Cretaceous No. 1, lower, 6, 70;

Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 20.

Cretaceous system, upper, middle,
and lower, 68.

Crinoids, 40.

Cuccidlcea, 90.

Culbertson, Thaddeus A., 3.
Culbertson, Alexander, 4.
Cyathocrinus, 51.

Cyathophylloid corals, 41.

Cyclas, 103, 181.

Cylichna, 86.
tylichnidce, 86.

Cyprina, 88.

Cypris, 107.

Cyprinidce, 88.

Cyrena, 103.

Cyrenidse, 103.

Cytherea, 10, 88.

Dakota city, 10.

Dearborn river, 115.

Decatur, Stephen, 5.

Deep creek, 47.

Deer’s Bars, 28.

Deinictis, 107.

Dentalium, 85.

Devonian, or Old Red, 37.
Dicotyledonous trees or leaves, 9,
94, 97, 98, 126.

Dicotyledonous leaves, fossil, 68, 71.
Dip of Carboniferous beds in Kan¬
sas, 57.

Discina, 51.

Dixon’s bluffs, 73.

Dorion’s hills, 73.

Drift, deposit of, 29, 108.
Ecliinoderms , 79.

Ecliinodermata , 61.

Edmondia, 50.

Elephas, 13, 106.

Elkhorn river, 5.

Emys, 101.

Engelman, Mr., 58.

England, fossils from, 38.

En telodon, 106.

Eocene period, 129.

Epicyon, 107.

Equisetuni, 70.

Equus, 107.

Erratic block deposit, 108, 110.
Eruptive rocks, 83, 119.

Eucastor , 107.

Eueleplias, 106.

Eumys, 107.

Euomphalus, 22, 66.

Europe, Permian beds of, 38.
Evans, Dr. John, 3.

Fasciolaria, 84.

Fasciolar idee, 84.

Felis, 107.

Fenestella, 41.

First Cedar island, 75.

Fish remains, fossil, 28.

Flora Tertiaria Helvetia), 130.
Foraminiferu, 61.

Forest trees, limits of, 10.
Formation No. 5, vertical section,
79.

Formation No. 4, general section,
cretaceous, 76.

Fort Benton, 4, 125.

Fort Berthold, 95.

Fort Clark, 21.

Fort Laramie to the Black Hills,
geology of, 17.

Fort Leavenworth, 40.

Fort Lisa, 8.

Fort Pierre, 3.

Fort Riley, 50, 51.

Eossar, 85.

Fossil leaves, 28.

Fox ridge, 78, 80.

Fremont, Col., 57.

Fresh -water deposit, 23.

Fucoidal markings, 48.

Fung idee, 91.

Fusilina cylindrica, 5, 61.
I'usidina, occurs in Russia, 53.
Fusus, 83.

Eusus Haydeni, 80.

Gallatin fork, 121.

(J asteropoda , 79.

General section of the rocks in Kan¬
sas Valley, from the Cretaceous
down, so as to include portions
of the Upper Coal Measures, 50.
Geological sections, general ; gene¬
ral section of the geological for¬
mations seen in and near the
Black Hills, 22.

Vertical section of the Creta¬
ceous formations of Nebraska
territory, so far as deter¬
mined, 69.

Vertical section, showing the
order of superposition of the
different beds of the Tertiary
basin of White and Niobrara
rivers, 104.

Geological sections, local ; Carboni¬
ferous, 5, 6, 26, 27, 40, 41, 42,
44, 45, 46, 47, 48.

Cretaceous, 8, 9, 20, 70, 72,
73, 78.

Tertiary, 12, 13,20,21,29,31,
32, 93, 94,95,96, 98,100.
Azoic rocks, 18, 19, 26.
Geographical distribution of mam¬
mals, 138, 139.

Gcrvilia, 79, 89.

Girdle Mountains, 34.

Gold discoveries, 59.

Golden Spring, 8.

Goldfuss, 2.

Grand river, 78.

Grand Saline river, 50.

Granitic rocks, description of, 33.
Granite, feldspathic, 23.
Grasshopper creek, 42, 43, 44.
Great Bend, 2, 69, 76.

Great Salt Lake City, 37.

Great Lignite Tertiary basin, 78,
79, 92.

216

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY

Green river, 121.

Green river mountains, 119.

Green river valley, 105.

Grindstone hills, 105.

Gros Ventres fork, 122.

Guadalupe mountains, 38.

Gulf States, 130.

Cryphcea vesicularis, 81.
Gypsum-bearing beds of Kansas,
56.

General description of Kansas, 59.
Hall, Prof., 4, 37, 39.

Samites, 82.

Harris, Mr. Edward, 8.

Hawn, Mr., 38.

Heer, Dr., 130.

Seldom, 85.

Helena, 66. .

Seliddce , 102.

Selicoceras, 82.

Selix, 102, 101, 105, 181.

Henry, Prof., 131.

Settangia, 68, 88.

Highwood Mountains, 119.

Hines, Dr., 127.

Ilipparion, 13, 106.

Sipponyx, 85.

Sippotherium, 106.

Sippuritidce, 91.

Hornblende, steel gray, 18.
Horseshoe creek, 16.

Sycenodon, 107.

Hydrated peroxide of iron, 76.
Syopotamus, 106.

Sypoluppus, 106.

Syracodon, 106.

Systrix, 107.

Systricops, 107.

Illinois, Permian fossils of, 38.
Impressions of leaves, fossil, 9.
Indianola, 39.

Inoceramus, 21, 89.

Inoceramus problematicus, 10, 69,
81, 89.

Introduction, historical, 1.
Inyankara Paha, or Stone Peak, 24.
Iowa report, 39.

Isbister, Mr., 36.

Ischyromys, 107.
lschyrotherium, 101.

Isthmus of Darien, 126.

Jackson’s hole, 119.

James river, 69.

Jefferson fork, 121.

Johnson, Prof, 3.

Judith mountains, 34, 120.

Judith river, 109.

Jura of Europe, 67.

Jurassic System, treated of, 67.

Zone around Black Hills, 27.
Jurassic, 16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26,
27, 33, 56, 67.

Kansas, 38, 39.

Keuper (Upper Trias), 123.

King, Prof., 61.

Lake Superior, 36.

Lake Utah, 122.

La Bonte creek, 120.
Lamellibranchiata, 65.

Laramie range, description of, 17.
Laramie range, beautiful valleys of,
17.

Laramie Peak, 18, 35.

Last creek, 46, 47.

Lawrence, 39, 43.

Leavenworth City, 39.

Leda, 50, 90.

Led idee, 90.

Leidy, Prof., 3.

Leptarctus, 107.

Leptauchenia , 106.

Leptochcerus, 106.

Lcptodomus, 40.

Leptomeryx, 106.

Lewis and Clarke, 1, 2.

Lias, 68.

Lignite Tertiary beds, 16, 28, 92,
93, 94, 129, 130.

Lignite, cretaceous, 71.

Lime, sulphate of, 73.

Limestone, magnesian, 51.
Limestone, gray, 74.

Limestone, carboniferous, 6, 28.
Limestones, fused, 19.

Limits of some forest trees, 10.
Limnea, 3, 102, 104, 180.
Limopsis, 90.

Limncedce, 102.

Lingula, 25, 37.

Little Missouri river, 100.

Little Rocky Mountain creek, 34.
Little Stranger creek, 42.

Lodge Pole creek, 115.

Loess of the Rhine, 104.

Long Lake, 69.

Lost Spring, 39.

Loup fork, 11.

Section of beds, 12.

Loup fork, geology of, 13.

Lucina, 88.

Lucinidce, 88.

Lvnatia, 84.

Machairodus, 107.

Mackenzie river, 99.

Macrocheilus, 22.

Macrobacia, 91.

Mactra, 72, 87.

Mactridce, 87.

Mactra, 87.

Madison fork, 119.

Margarita, 85.

Margaritella, 85.

Mammalian remains, 15.
Manhattan, 51.

Marcon, Jules, 37.

Marl, calcareous, 74.

Martinia Clannyana, 55.
Mastodon, 13, 106.

Medicine Bow mountains, 119.
Medicine Hills, 33.

Meek, F. B., 4.

Megalomeryx, 106.

Melania, 101.

Melaniadce, 101.

Merychippus, 106.

Merychyus, 106.

Merychochcerus, 14, 106.
Merycodus, 106.

Meretrix, 88.

Metamorphic rocks of Black Hills,

14.

Mexico, 36.

Microbacia coramda, 81.

Milk river, 69.

Mill creek, 46.

Minnesota, 80.

Miocene beds, 14, 104.

Upper Miocene, 13.

Mission creek, 45.

Mississippi, 115.

Missouri river, 1.

Modiola, 89.

Moreau trading post, 69.

Moreau river, 77, 80.

Morton, Dr., 2, 3.

Mosasaurus Maximiliani, 2, 91.
Mud island, 37.

Multungula, 106.

Mureliisonia, 46.

OF TIIE UPPER MISSOURI.

217

Musscl-shcll river, G9, 77.

Myalina , 40.

Mylognathus, 101.

Mytilidce , 89.

Mytilites, 89.

Mytilus , 22, 89.

Natica , 84.

Naticopsts , 4G.

Naticidcc, 84.

Nautilidce, 81.

Nautilus, 50, 6G, 69, 81.

Necera, 87.

Nebraska, conclusions about, 11.
Ncritopsis, 85.

New Mexico, 38.

Newberry, Dr., 123.

Neuwied, Prince of, 2.

Nice, 130.

Nicollet, report of, 2.

Nicollet on Pseudo Volcanic Phe¬
nomena, 75.

Niobrara, sandhills of, 15.

Norwood, Dr., 38.

Norwood, Dr., in regard to Permian
beds in Illinois, 55.

North Platte, 15.

Nucleus of mountain ranges, 117.
Nucula, 90.

Nuculidce, 91.

Obolus, 23, 37.

O’Fallon’s creek, 97.

Ogden ferry, 51.

Old Woman’s branch, 19, 20.
Omadi, 10.

Omaha City, 10.

Omaha Mission, 9.

Opening creek, 80.

Oi’egon, 131.

Oreodon, 14, 10G.

Oreodon Culbertsoni, 14.

Orthisina, 40.

Osawkee, 42.

Ostrea , 91, 103.

Ostreadce, 91, 103.

Ostrea congesta, 10, 91.

Otoe Village, 6.

Owen, Dr. D. D., 3.

Pacific Railroad reports, 37.

Pacific coast, 115.

Paleochccrus, 106.

Palceolagus, 107.

Paludina, 102, 105.

Panopoea, 72.

VOL. XII. — 28

Papillion creek, 6.

Parahippus , 106.

Patent Office report, 131.

Pawnee Village, 11.

Pebbles, water-worn, 31.

Pecten, 91.

Pectenidce, 91.

Pcctunculina, 90.

Pectunculus, 10, 90.

Pentacrinus, 25, 123.

Permian, 33, 34, 38, 55.

Permian fossils, reference to, 53.
Petalodus, 51.

Pharella, 73.

Pholadidce, 86.

Pholas, 10, 86.

Pholodomya , 87.

Pliysa , 102.

Pierre’s hole, 119.

Pillsbury, Mr., 48.

Pike’s Peak, 118.

Pinau’s spring, fresh-water shells
of, 14.

Pinna, 45.

Planarian worms, trails of, 25.
Planorbis, 3, 102.

Plastic clay, with fish remains and
other fossils, 21.

Platte Valley, 5.

Platte, Lower, 7.

Platte river, 5.

North Platte, 118.

Platte country, 4.

Pleuropliorus, 50.

Pleurotoma , 84.

Pleurotomaria , 22, 66.

Pliocene, 13, 105.

Paibrotherium, 106.

Polygyra, 102.

Popo Agie, 119.

Porcupine river, 77.

Post Pliocene marls, 11, 13.

Post Pliocene, 12, 104.

Potsdam sandstone, 16, 26.
Potsdam sandstone, conglomerate
character, 26.

Potamomya, 103.

Powder river, 116.

Procamelus, 106.

Productus, 5, 6, 16, 62.
Promontory Point, 37.

Protohippus, 107.

Protomeryx, 106.

Prout, Dr. H. A., 3.
Pseudobuccinum, 81.

Pseud celurus, 107.

Pterophyllum, 123.

P/ychoccras, 83.

Pyrula , 84.

Quaking Asp river, 77.

Quaternary deposits, 42, 107.
Quartz, white, 35.

Quensted, Prof., 68.

Iladiata, 91.

Rawhide Butte creek, 15.

Raynolds, Captain Wm. F., 114.
Red arenaceous beds, 117.

Red buttes, 118.

Remains, vertebrate, in superficial
deposits, pliocene, 13, 110.
Remains, mammalian and cbelo-
nian, 3, 104, 106, 107.
Republican river, 58.

Rctzia Mormoni, 16, 64.
Rhinoceros, 106.

Rhynconel/a uta, 16, 63.
Richardson, Sir John, 36, 99.
Ridges of elevation, Black Hills, 21 .
River terraces, 112, 113.

Rocks, trappean, 34.

Rocks, granite, stratified, azoic, and
eruptive, 33.

Rodentia, 107.

Roemer, Dr., 64.

Rogers, Prof., 3.

Rostel/aria, 84.

Round Butte, 77, 97.

Ruminantia, 106.

Russia, fossils from, 38.
Saballamononis, 130.

Sage creek, 4, 29.

Saline substance, analysis of, 76.
Sandstone, gray, 25.

Sandstone, micaceous, 6.

Sandstone, ferruginous, 8.
Sandstone quartzose, 16.

Sandstone, red, No. 1, 9.

Sandstone, Potsdam, of Black Hills,
7.

Sandstone, white, 25.

Sandstone Potsdam, 25.

Sandhills, notice of, 15.

Santa Fe road, 39.

Sarpy, P. A., trading post, 5.
Saskachewan, 36.

Saurian bones, 28.

218

ON THE GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

Saxicavidce, 86.

Scala, 84.

Scalar ia, 84.

Seal idee, 84.

Schizodus, 40.

Scaphites, 73, 82.

Section of Pliocene beds, 32.
Section, vertical, of the Cretaceous
formations of Nebraska, so far as
determined, 69.

Section, general, Black Hills, 22.
Section at Wood’s Bluffs, 8.

Section of Carboniferous limestones,
5, 40-52.

Section Cretaceous rocks, 20, 69,
70, 72.

Section of Tertiary beds of O’ Fal¬
lon’s creek on the Yellowstone, 98.
Section Tertiary rocks, 21, 96, 105.
Selenite, 76.

Shale, ash-colored, 25.
Shunganunga mound, 44.

Shyenne river, 19, 69, 105.

Siam, 130.

Silurian, Potsdam sandstone, 21, 26,
28, 33, 36.

Similarity of Cretaceous forms to
Tertiary, 80.

Simpson, Capt., 126.

Simpson, Mr., travels in the Hud¬
son Bay territory, 99.

Sioux City, 10.

Slates, talcose, 26.

Slate, argillaceous, 19.

Slave Butte, 28.

Smilax, fossil, 98.

Smith’s, or Kamas river, 121.
Smithsonian Institution, 3.

Smoky Hill, 39.

Smoking-earth river, 78.

Snake river, 121.

Snowy Mountains, 34.

Solarium, 85.

Soldier creek, 39.

Solcmy a, 50, 89.

Solemyidcv, 89.

Solcn, 69, 89.

So/cnulae, 87.

Solidula, 86.

Solidulidcc, 86.

Solidungula, 106.

Solomon’s fork, 39.

Southern Africa, 130.

Splicer him, 103.

Spirigcra, 5, 6.

Spoon Hill creek, 14.

Spontaneous ignition of Lignite beds,
75, 98, 99.

Square Buttes, 34.

St. Louis, 115.

St. John’s, 10.

Stansbury’s report, 37.

Steneofiber, 107.

Stevens, Gov., 115.

“Stone Walls,” 125.

Stratification, cross or false, 7.
Strombidce, 84.

Sturgis, Hr., 9.

Sfylemys, 107.

Succinea, 105.

Sulphur, 76.

Swallow, Prof., 54.

Sweet-water Mountains, 119.
Syenite, 35.

Synocladia, 46.

Syringopora, 22.

Tancredia, 88.

Tedura, 85.

Tekama, 8.

Tcllina , 87.

Tellinidce, 87.

Terebratula, 22.

Teredo, 86.

Torres, Mauvaises, of White river, 3.
Tertiary, 12, 15, 16, 21, 29, 33,
92, 124, 125, 129, 130.

Tertiary Basins of the Upper Mis¬
souri, 92.

Tertiary Basin of White and Nio¬
brara rivers, Les Mauvaises Tor¬
res, 104.

Tertiary deposits, Loup fork group,
12, 14.

White river group, 16,20,21,27.
Tertiary beds jutting against older
rocks, 19, 35.

Test udo, 107.

Testudo Nebrascensis, 14.

Teton river, 69.

Tctralopliodon, 106.

Teuthidce, 81.

Thespesius, 101.

Thracia, 87.

Thunder Butte, 99.

Tilanotherium, 106.

Titanotherium bed, 29, 30, 31, 32.
Tongue river, 119.

Topeka, 43.

Trap dikes, 35.

Triassic, or New lied Sandstone,
123.

Trilobitcs, fragments of, 26, 111.
Trois Tetons, 119.

Tubicola, 81.

Turbo, 85.

Turbonilla, 84.

Turrilites, 83.

Turn's, 84.

Turritella, 84.

Turritidce, 84.

Turtle River, 38.

Turtle Hill, 33.

Ulmus, fossil, 98.

Unio, 103, 110.

Union idee, 103.

United States, 38.

Upper Missouri country, 1, 73.
Upper Mill creek, 45.

Valvata, 102.

Valvatidce, 102.

Vaughan, A. J., 4.

Vermetcs, 25.

Vermilion creek, 47.

Veneridce, 88.

Venus, 88.

Vcrtebrata, 91, 106.

Vivipara, 101.

Viviparidce, 101.

Wabounse, 57.

War Department, 115.

Warm Spring, 15.

Warren, Lieut. G-. K., 12, 18, 86.
Wasatch Mountains, 119.

White river, Bad Lands, 4, 16, 17,
30, 31, 104, 105, 129.

White river Valley, 14, 104, 105.
Willow Springs, 126.

Wind river, 118.

Wind river mountains, 118, 119.
Wolverine, Gulo luscus, 138.

Wood, silicified, 9.

Worthen, A. II., 38.

Wounded Knee creek, 82.
Xylopliaga , 86.

Xystracanthus, 40, 67.

Yellow marl formation, 108, 109.
Yellowstone, 8.

Yoldia , 90.

Yucca, 14.

Zamites, 123.

Zeandale, 47, 48.

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GEOLOGICAL SKETCH

OF THE

ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT FORMING
THE RAD LANDS OF JUDITH RIVER,

WITH SOME REMARKS UPON THE SURROUNDING FORMATIONS.

By F. V. HAYDEN, M. D.

( Read before the American Philosophical Society, March Ath, 1859.)

EXTINCT VERTEBRATA FROM THE JUDITH RIVER,

AND

GREAT LIGNITE FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

By JOSEPH LEIDY, M.D.

( From the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society.)

PHILADELPHIA:

WILLIAM S. YOUNG, PRINTER TO THE SOCIETY, 52 NORTH SIXTH STREET, BELOW ARCH.

1859

ARTICLE XII.

GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT
FORMING THE BAD LANDS OF JUDITH RIVER, WITH SOME REMARKS
UPON THE SURROUNDING FORMATIONS.

BY F. V. HAYDEN, M. D.

Read March 4th, 1859.

Near the mouth of the Judith River, not far from the sources of the Missouri, in Lat.
47i°, Lon. 109 J°, is a wild, desolate and rugged region which I have called the “Bad
Lands of the Judith,” in contradistinction to those of White River. No other portion of
the Upper Missouri country exhibits the effects of erosion and denudation on so large a
scale, and to add to the picturesque effect of the scenery, the variegated strata are distorted
and folded in a wonderful manner by the action of the subterranean forces that have ele¬
vated the mountain masses in the vicinity. The surface of the country occupied by the
deposit I am about to describe, is cut up into ravines and canons, with nearly vertical sides,
rising to a height of 400 to 600 feet above the bed of the river, with scarcely a tree or a
shrub to greet the eye of the explorer. A few scattering pines cap the summits of the hills
and draw a scanty nourishment from a thin dry soil, but it may be regarded for the most
part as an inaccessible desert suited only as a retreat for the buffalo and mountain sheep.

The area occupied by this peculiar basin I could not determine with precision, but have
estimated it at about forty miles from east to west, and from fifteen to thirty from north
to south, and it is separated into two nearly equal portions by the Missouri. The Judith
River rises in the Judith Mountains, pursues a course nearly due north, for the most part
through cretaceous strata, and empties into the Missouri in Lat. 48°, Lon. 106°. The
Judith River forms the northern boundary of this basin. The Muscle Shell River also
rises near the Judith Mountains, but takes a course a little east of north, flows through
Cretaceous Formation No. 4, and empties into the Missouri near Lat. 472°, and Lon. 108°.

124

GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT

That portion of the “ Bad Lands ” which is formed of the estuary deposit under considera¬
tion, lies between these two streams. About thirty miles north of the entrance of the
Judith River into the Missouri, is the Bear’s Paw Mountain, a small range, the highest
peak of which is elevated about 2000 feet. On the same side of the Missouri, and in
nearly a north-easterly direction, are the Little Rocky Mountains; a range similar to the
Bear’s Paw, though apparently disconnected from it. On the south side of the Missouri,
about fifteen miles south-west of the mouth of the Judith, the Square Buttes may be seen
rising 400 or -’00 feet above the surrounding prairie, and are the nearest upheaval of trap-
pean rocks to the Missouri in this region. From thirty to fifty miles south, is quite an
extensive range, called the Judith Mountains, which have not yet been explored geologi¬
cally. Here comparatively small local upheavals seem to' represent the dying out of the
intense subterranean forces which uplifted the vast Rocky Mountain chain. It will be
important to understand the geographical position of these mountains in order to fully
appreciate the sources of the power which has disturbed the strata of the more recent
fossiliferous rocks, a point which will be again referred to in this paper.

Lewis and Clarke in their interesting account of an expedition to the sources of the
Missouri, give a brief but accurate description of the physical features of this remarkable
region, but dwell more in detail on the picturesque portions near the “ Stone Walls,” which
are composed of the basis strata upon which the estuary deposits of the “Bad Lands” of
the Judith rest, which are doubtless of the age of Cretaceous Formation No. 1, or Upper
Jurassic. The Prince of Neuwied also notices this unique scenery, and in his folio atlas
of Plates are some beautiful delineations of the external features of the country.*

On page 228, he says: — “ Near Lewis and Clarke’s Big Horn Island, we again saw most
singular summits on the hills. Entire rows of extraordinary forms joined each other, and
in the lateral valleys we had interesting glimpses of this remarkable scenery, as we were
now approaching the most interesting part of the Mauvaises Terres. I have already de¬
scribed these mountains when speaking of the White Castles, but here they begin to be
more continuous, with rough tops, isolated pillars, having flat slabs or balls, resembling
mountain castles, fortresses, and the like, and they are more steep and naked at every
step. Often one may plainly perceive hills or mountains that have evidently sunk into
the marshy valley. Many strata are inclined at an angle of 30° to 60°, and others per¬
fectly horizontal. The course of the Missouri among these mountains is pretty strait,
only narrow plains or prairies covered with artemisia arid the prickly bushes of the pulpy
thorn, lie on its banks before the mountains, which frequently come very near the river,
with large blocks of sandstone at their foot, between which fragments of selenite are seen.

* Travels in the interior of North America: By Maximilian, Prince of Wied, with a folio atlas of eighty-one
plates. English Edition.

FORMING THE BAD LANDS OF JUDITH RIVER.

125

It were to be wished that the geologist and the painter might devote a considerable time
to examine this part of the country, step by step; they would furnish a work of the high¬
est interest.”

Again, in speaking of the sandstone (No. 1,) which forms the “Stone Walls,” about
thirty miles above the mouth of the Judith River, page 236: “This sandstone formation
is the most striking when it forms the tops of more isolated mountains, separated by gentle
valleys and ravines. Here on both sides of the river, the most strange forms are seen,
and you may fancy that you see colonnades, small round pillars, with large globes or a flat
slab at the top, little towers, pulpits, organs with their pipes, old ruins, fortresses, castles,
churches with pointed towers, &c., &c.; almost every mountain bearing on its summit some
similar structure.”

Lieutenant Grover, United States Army, in his Report* to Governor Stevens, thus speaks
of this region : — “On leaving camp to-day, we took leave for a while of many wild beauties
of nature which lay scattered along the river in an ever-varying panorama, to take a view
of the other side of the picture of Nature’s wild deformities, a master-piece in its way.
The Mauvaises Terres or Bad Lands which this section is very appropriately called, are
characterized by a total absence of any thing which could by any possibility give pleasure
to the eye or gratification to the mind, by any associations of utility. Not an island nor
a shrub of any account — nothing but high bare piles of mud, towering up as high as they
can stand, and crowding each other for room. The banks, varying from 200 to 300 feet
in height, were of this nature on both sides of the river all day.”

The external features of the country have thus been described with great accuracy and
fulness, but none of these writers seem to have given us any clue to the geological age of
these deposits. During the writer’s explorations of this region in the summer of 1855, he
observed the basin-like form of this deposit and the limited area which it occupied, also the
difference in its lithological character from the Cretaceous strata which surrounded it,
and the Miocene beds which reach their most northern limit, some distance below the
mouth of the Muscle Shell River.

From a small collection of vertebrate fossils made at that time, and placed in the hands
of Dr. Leidy for examination, he (Dr. L.) was inclined to the opinion that the deposit in
which these remains were found was of the age of the Wealden of Europe. Many species
of Molluscous fossils were also obtained, but as they seemed more allied to Tertiary than
Wealden types, the evidence became conflicting in its character. I will, however, present
all the facts as yet secured in regard to its age or position, leaving the final determination to
be made after a more thorough and detailed exploration which I hope to accomplish during

* Pacific R. It. Report, Vol. I., page 492.

VOL. XI. — 17

126

GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT

tlie coming season. The want of proper facilities for exploration, the wild and desolate
character of the country, the numerous bands of roving Indians which were constantly
wandering over this region on their predatory excursions, rendered it impossible for me
to make any thing more than a mere superficial examination of this locality.

So intimately do the Estuary beds at the mouth of the Judith seem to be connected with
Cretaceous Formation No. 1, that it will be important to present such facts as are known
in regard to it; and, in order to show their true relations to other geological formations
of the Upper Missouri, I will briefly review the boundaries of these formations as they are
revealed along the Missouri River. At the mouth of the Platte River we have the lime¬
stones of the Upper Coal Measures with their characteristic fossils. Thirty miles west on
the Platte, these limestones are succeeded by a coarse, friable, ferruginous sandstone of
Cretaceous age. About twenty-five miles north of the mouth of the Platte, on the Mis¬
souri, these same limestones are succeeded by the same sandstone just mentioned, which
sandstone extends up the river to a point about ten miles above the mouth of Big
Sioux. The Cretaceous rocks of the Upper Missouri have been separated into five divi¬
sions upon lithological and palmontological grounds, and the sandstone formation at the
mouth of Big Sioux and below, forms the type of No. 1. Nos. 2 and 3 are seen reposing
upon No. 1 at the mouth of Big Sioux, and near the mouth of the Niobrara River, No.
4 appears upon the summits of the bluffs, surmounting No. 3. At the foot of the “ Big Bend,”
No. 3 passes beneath the water level of the river, and is succeeded by No. 4, which occupies
the country to Grand River, where No. 5 makes its appearance on the summits of the hills.
Near the mouth of the Cannon Ball River, the Lignite Tertiary beds begin to overlap
the Cretaceous strata, but do not entirely conceal them along the banks of the river until
we reach “Square Buttes,” about thirty miles below Fort Clarke. From this point to
Milk River in Lat. 48°, Lon. 106°, only the Miocene beds of the Great Lignite basin are
exposed. The country in the vicinity of the mouth of the Yellow Stone River is covered
by the Tertiary beds of the Lignite basin alone, containing their peculiar Fauna and Flora.
The Tertiary beds continue uninterrupted until we reach the mouth of Milk River,
wrhere, by a reversed dip of the strata, the Cretaceous Formation rises to the surface from
beneath the Tertiary. The Tertiary beds continue to overlap the Cretaceous, gradually
thinning out upon the summits of the hills, until we reach the mouth of the Muscle Shell
River, where the Cretaceous bed, No. 4, occupies the whole country. We thus see that
in ascending the Missouri, the dip of the strata is north-west as far as Fort Union or some
point in that vicinity, and on reaching Milk River we can very distinctly observe the dip
south or south-east, by which the underlying Cretaceous beds are exposed. We can also
note the basin-like form in which both Tertiary and Cretaceous rocks were deposited.
Passing the mouth of the Muscle Shell we soon observe a somewhat remarkable bed rising

FORMING THE BAD LANDS OF JUDITH RIVER.

127

above the water level of the Missouri, near the mouth of Little Rocky Mountain Creek,
which, from its lithological character and position, we have hitherto considered as belong¬
ing to Formation No. 1. It first makes its appearance as a seam of carbonaceous grit, of
a dull reddish colour, very light and loose, like ashes, about one foot in thickness, separating
No. 4 from a bed of sandstone beneath. As we ascend the river, a bed of sandstone rises
rapidly above the water level, very variable in its lithological character. It is a yellowish
gray friable sandstone, with small concretions of iron in yellow seams, layers of fine
grained compact rock, turning reddish brown on exposure, also gray coarse grained con¬
cretions of sandstone. No fossils were found at this point, though some local seams of
lignite occur, from one to two inches in thickness. J ust below Ammel’s Island, is an ex¬
cellent exhibition of lignite and sand bed. The dip toward the south-east is at least ten
feet to the mile.

Section of Beds in Descending Order.

1. — Cretaceous Formation, No. 4, with its usual lithological characters and a great pro¬
fusion of fossils, Ammonites, Baculites, Inoceramus, Ostrea, &c.

2. — Lignite. 1st. Dark gritty shale, 4 inches. 2d. Excellent coal, bituminous, very
hard, of a jet black colour, 1 inch. 3d. Coarse gritty lignite with small seams of carbon
disseminated through it, which have a somewhat crystalline appearance, also considerable
selenite in crystals, 5 inches.

3. — A variable sandstone, generally gray or ash-coloured, coarse grained and friable,
with compact fine grained concretions. But throughout the bed are streaks or seams of
ferruginous sand, some small globular masses of oxide of iron, and occasionally a local seam
of lignite one or two inches in thickness, 50 to 80 feet.

About five miles above Ammel’s Island, on the left bank of the Missouri, we have the
following section descending :

1. — Cretaceous Formation, No. 4, capping the hills.

2. — 1st. A seam of lignite, 10 inches. 2d. Stratum of clay, 15 inches. 3d. Earthy
lignite, 12 inches.

3. — Grayish brown ferruginous sandstone, containing numerous fossil mollusca of unde¬
scribed species, 60 to 80 feet.*

4. — A bed of earthy lignite, rising just above the water’s edge, 2 feet.

A little farther up the river, the lower bed of lignite becomes three feet in thickness, and
of a purer quality. The bed of sandstone varies from 80 to 100 feet in thickness. Where
No. 1 first appears near the mouth of Little Rocky Mountain Creek, the upper seam of
lignite separates No. 4 from the bed of sandstone. Fifty miles farther up the river, the
same lignite bed is overlaid by 40 to 60 feet of ferruginous arenaceous clays with concre-

* Nearly all the fossils collected from this bed were unfortunately lost.

128

GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT

tions of sandstone. The evidence is quite clear that the surface of No. 1 was much eroded
prior to the deposition of No. 4. We also find that Formations Nos. 2 and 3 which are so
well developed between the Great Bend and mouth of Big Sioux River, are entirely want¬
ing in this region. Some uncharacteristic fragments of large bones were found in the debris
near the water's edge, which appear to have been washed from No. 1, and doubtless belong
to some immense saurian animal. Thus far up the river we have observed no indications
of disturbance of strata by subterranean influences; but on reaching a point about five
miles above Grand Island, a great thickness of rocks not before seen, is uplifted so as to ex¬
hibit the beds, inclining at every angle from a horizontal to a vertical position. The beds
are composed of variegated sands, clays, and earthy lignite, and some of them are fully
charged with organic remains. Toward the north the Bear’s Paw and Little Rocky Moun¬
tains are full in view, rising out of the midst of the prairie, and toward the south we can
see the Square Buttes, Judith, Girdle and Snowy Mountains, revealing at once the fact
that the elevating forces, which uplifted these mountain peaks, disturbed the surrounding
strata also.

The local sections already given, will show with sufficient clearness the lithological cha¬
racters of the formation upon which the fresh water and estuary beds rest. A large num¬
ber of local sections of the fresh water and estuary strata were taken at different points,
and from them the following general section has been constructed; which, though future
examination may modify to some extent, will be sufficiently accurate for our present
purpose.

FORMING THE BAD LANDS OF JUDITH RIVER.

129

Section of Fresh Water and Estuary Deposits at the Mouth of the Judith River.

A

80 feet.

Yellow arenaceous marl passing downwards into gray grit, with seams of impure
lignite; contains great numbers of a species of Ostrea, like O. subtrigonalis of
the lignite basin, Cyrena occidentalis, Melania convexa, Paludina Conradi , &c.

This bed caps the hills, and varies much in thickness.

B

10 feet.

Impure lignite, containing much sand; a few specimens of Ostrea like the above,
with much silicified wood.

C

80 feet.

Alternations of sand and clay with particles of lignite; also reddish argillaceous
concretions with a few saurian teeth and fresh water shells.

D

20 feet.

Alternate strata of sand and clay, with impure lignite and silicified wood, in a good
state of preservation.

E

100 feet.

Variable bed, consisting of alternations of sand and clay, with large concretions,
containing great numbers of Melania, Paludina, Ilelix, Planorbis, Cyclas, &c.,

&c., associated with saurian remains resembling the Iguanodon and Meg'alosaurus,
and Trionyx, &c.

F

25 feet.

Alternations of impure lignite and yellowish brown clay, the latter containing great
numbers of Unix), Paludina, Melania, Cyclas, and the fish remains referred by

Dr. Leidy to the genus Lepidotus.

G

100 feet.

Ferruginous sand and clay, having in the upper part a seam 3 or 4 inches in thick¬
ness, composed mostly of shells of Unio. Lower part ferruginous, and coarse
gray grit, with a seam near the base entirely composed of remains of Unio Danai,
and U. Deweyanus, and U. subspatulatus.

All the beds vary in their lithological characters at different localities. At one point,
bed A. contained large ledges of reddish concretionary sandstone, in which were most beau¬
tiful fragments of silicified wood, sometimes in nearly cylindrical masses, twelve inches in
diameter and several feet in length. Near Cow Island vast quantities of shells occur in
argillaceous and arenaceous concretions, in a very comminuted condition, as if they had
been transported from a distance, very few of the fossils being sufficiently perfect to show
clearly their specific characters. The beds of lignite in the Estuary deposit are very im¬
pure, containing a large proportion of coarse sand; they have ignited spontaneously in
few localities. The lignite beds of the Marine Formation No. 1, are quite pure in many
places, and exhibit the action of fire in the same manner as the lignite beds on the Yellow
Stone and those on the Saskatchewan, so minutely described by Sir John Richardson.

130

GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT

About ten miles "below the mouth of the Judith River, the Marine strata of No. 1, are
seen to rise rapidly from beneath the Estuary and fresh water beds, and on reaching the
mouth of the Judith we have the following vertical section of No. 1, the Estuary and fresh
water beds only capping the hills and soon ceasing to appear.

1. — Yellowish and reddish, rather coarse grained sandstone, becoming deep red on ex¬
posure, containing Inoceramus ventricosus , Mactra alta, Cardium speciosum , &c., Ac. — 20 to
25 feet.

2. — Mixed pure and impure lignite — whole bed containing many crystals of selenite
and a yellowish substance like sulphur. The masses of lignite when broken, reveal in
considerable quantities small reddish crystalline fragments of a substance having the taste
and appearance of rosin. — 6 to 8 feet.

3. — Variable strata of drab clay, and gray sand and sandstone; upper part containing
large numbers of Ostrea glabra. Near the middle, there are gray or ash-coloured clays?
with very hard bluish gray granular silicious concretions, containing Hetangia Americana,
Panopoea occidentalis, Mactra formosa, &c. — 80 to 100 feet.

The above section will show very clearly both the lithological and pala3ontological dif¬
ferences in the two deposits under consideration. It will be seen that the beds represented
by the last section contain only marine fossils, while the fresh water and estuary beds,
with one exception, have furnished only terrestrial and tiuviatile, with a few estuary shells.
In regard to the age of the marine strata, it is still impossible to arrive at a positive con¬
clusion. Most of the fossils as yet obtained, have a decided Cretaceous aspect, a species
of Mactra found here being so closely allied to a species occurring in No. I near the mouth
of Big Sioux, which we think we have proved to be of Cretaceous age, that we can find
no well marked characters to distinguish them. A species of Baculite is also found in
these beds, scarcely distinguishable from B. ovatus (Say.) This genus has hitherto been
considered in the Old World as restricted to the Cretaceous epoch; while, on the other
hand, the genus Hetangia which occurs in bed 3 of section, has never been found in the
Old World in formations newer than the Lias. With evidence so conflicting before us, it
would be premature to give any decided opinion, and we can only wait for the results of
a second exploration of this interesting region. As we have already said in a former
paper,* “We are inclined to think they hold a position near the base of the Cretaceous sys¬
tem, and are probably on a parallel with the Neocomien of the Old World, though they may
be older.” That wrell marked Jurassic beds occur at many places along the eastern base
of the Rocky Mountains from the Saskatchewan to New Mexico, we have little doubt.

In regard to the age of the fresh water and estuary deposit, the evidence is even more

* Proceedings of Academy of Natural Sciences, Pa., Memoir by F. B. Meek and F. V. Ilayden, 1857, 125.

FORMING THE BAD LANDS OF JUDITH RIVER.

131

conflicting. Mr. Meek and the writer have expressed in several papers an opinion based
upon an inference drawn by Dr. Leidy from an examination of the vertebrate remains, that
it might be contemporaneous with the Wealden of England. In a recent letter Dr. Leidy
has very kindly given me the evidence upon which he based his inferences, with the per¬
mission to use it in this paper.

1st. — “ Trachodon and Deinodon, two remarkable genera, are most closely allied with
Iguanodon and Megalosaurus of the Wealden.”

2d. — “In both formations remains of Lepidotus are found.”

3d. — “Remains of Crocodiles and Turtles are discovered in both.”

4th. — “ The remaining two genera from the Judith, Paheoscincus, an herbivorous lacer-
tian, and Troodon, another lacertian, are peculiar, and would not be unfit companions for
the denizens of the Wealden world.”

Again, the Molluscous fossils, though of a somewhat similar character, terrestrial, fluvia-
tile and estuary, in most instances referrible to the same genera, do not seem to belong
to types very closely allied to those characterizing the Wealden of England. On the con¬
trary, they appear more related to tertiary types, and two species are very nearly identi¬
cal with species common in the Lignite basin which we regard beyond a doubt as of the
age of the Miocene Tertiary. Paludina vetula of the Judith deposit is so like P. multi-
lineata of the Lignite basin, that it is with much hesitation we have regarded them as dis¬
tinct, the only difference observable is that the volutions of P. vetula are a little more com¬
pressed and the umbilicus a little more open. Paludina Conradi of the Judith deposit is
so closely related to P. peculiaris of the Lignite basin that almost no well marked differences
can be pointed out. Indeed, had they been found associated in the same strata, we should
have considered them identical. Fragments of a Trionyx occurring in bed E. of section, are
undistinguishable from similar fragments found in the Lignite strata, near Square Buttes,
below Fort Clarke. On the other hand, the only strictly marine fossil is scarcely distin¬
guishable from Ostrea subtrigonalis from the upper cretaceous beds on Moreau and Grand
Rivers.

Again, in no portion of the Upper Missouri have we met with any disturbance of strata
belonging to well known Tertiary beds. The Tertiary beds of the White River deposit
are found in the region of the Black Hills and Laramie Mountains, resting unconfonnably
upon all rocks, from granite to Upper Cretaceous, and in no instance have the strata been
disturbed. As far as my observations have extended, the same remark may be made of
the Great Lignite Basin. We have, therefore, arrived at the conclusion, that the last great
convulsion that uplifted the fossiliferous rocks on the Missouri, occurred after the Creta¬
ceous epoch and prior to the deposition of the Tertiary. The fresh water and estuary beds
at the mouth of the Judith, as has already been mentioned, are tilted at every angle, from

132

GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF TOE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT

a horizontal to a vertical position. It is also evident that the convulsion was synchronous
with that which uplifted the surrounding Cretaceous strata of No. 1, and that the moun¬
tains in the vicinity were raised up by the same forces that elevated the Black Hills, La¬
ramie Mountains, &c. These facts strengthen the opinion that the deposits of the Judith
basin, if not an American representation of the Wealden of Europe, are, at least in part,
as old as Cretaceous.

Table Showing the Stmt (graphical Position of the Fossils from the Bad Lands of the Judith.

VERTEBRATA.

Palseosc incus costatus, Leidy.
Trachodon mirabilis ,
Troodonformosus,

Deinodon horridus,
Crocodilus humilis,

Trionyx foveatus,

Lepidotus occidentalis,
Lepidotus Iluy den i,

A B C D E F G

MOLLUSCA.

Cyrena occidentalis,
Corbula subtrigonalis,
Corbula perundata,
Physa subelongata,
Paludina vetula,
Paludina Conradi,
Melania subtortuosa,
Melania omitta,
Melania subloevis,
Melania invenusta,
Yitrina obliqua,

Helix occidentalis,
Helix vitrinoides,
Planorbis tenuivolvis,
Planorbis amplexus,
Uuio Hanai,

Unio Deweyanus,
Unio subspatulatus,

Meek and Hayden

*

*

*

*

i

1

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

The remains described by Dr. Leidy in this Memoir from the Great Lignite Basin, wrere
obtained from the lower beds, which partake somewhat of an estuary nature. In order
that the lithological characters of this deposit may be understood and comparisons made
with the other deposits of a somewhat similar character, I have added a section of the
strata, mostly constructed from a local section taken about ten miles above Fort Clarke
on the Missouri River. A few localities showing the geographical distribution of the beds
which occur at this point, are also given, but it is impossible with the materials in our pos-

FORMING TIIE LANDS OF JUDITH IlIYER.

133

session at the present time, to construct a complete general section. The immense area
occupied by this basin is shown on a geological map:i: published in the Proceedings of the
Academy of Natural Sciences, June, 1858. Even yet it has not been fully explored, only
the south-eastern and north-western boundaries being known by actual observation. I
have traced its south-eastern outlines as they overlap the Cretaceous strata from the Mis¬
souri to the Black Hills, up the Yellow Stone River as far as the mouth of the Big Horn,
but its northern and western limits are as yet unknown. In a former paper I estimated
the area occupied by this basin at about 60,000 square miles, and at the same time ex¬
pressed the opinion that when more fully examined, this estimate would be found too low,
and I am now satisfied that it will be found to cover a much larger surface. It is a very
interesting feature in the geology of Nebraska, that within the limits of the same territory
there should be found such remarkable deposits with some characters in common,
but so far as we know, entirely independent of each other. These basins may be charac¬
terized briefly as follows:

1st. — Bad Lands of the Judith; fresh water and estuary deposit; strata composed of
friable or indurated sands, clays, and very impure earthy lignite; contains estuary, fresh
water and land shells, with much silicified wood and a few leaves of dicotyledonous trees;
chiefly remarkable for its peculiar saurian fauna. It is the upper portion of this deposit
that seems to possess the estuary character.

2d. — Great Lignite Basin ; also composed of loose sands and indurated layers, with many
arenaceous and argillaceous concretions disseminated throughout the deposit; is chiefly
remarkable for the beauty and extent of its fossil flora, only the lowest beds exhibiting
an estuary character, gradually passing up into purely fresh water strata. It contains
many beds of lignite, more or less pure, varying from one inch to seven feet in thickness,
and in the vicinity of the lignite are found great quantities of silicified wood.

3d. — Tertiary Basin of White River; light and flesh-coloured indurated clays and grits,
with many calcareous and argillaceous concretions; remarkable for its Mammalian and
Chelonian fauna. This deposit is purely fresh water or lacustrine, and the few species of
Mollusca which have been obtained from it, belong to the same genera and the same types
as those living in the tributaries of the Missouri at the present time. The only indications
of vegetable remains are a few fragments of silicified wood.

The Molluscous fossils of the Lignite Basin, though in many instances belonging to the
same genera with those occurring in the White River deposit, are of quite different types.
“ It is an interesting fact, that the most nearly allied living representations of many of

* Explanations of a Second Edition of a Geological Map of Nebraska and Kansas. Proceedings Academy Na¬
tural Sciences of Philadelphia, June, 1858.

VOL. XI. — 18

134

GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT

these species are now found inhabiting the streams of Southern Africa, Asia, China and
Siam; apparently indicating the existence of a tropical climate in these latitudes at as
late a period a,s the tertiary epoch.”* The flora is also of quite a modern type, many of
the leaves very strongly resembling those of our existing forest trees, and seem to belong to
the genera Platcinus, Acer , Uhmis, Alnus , Populus, Betula , Smilax, Ac., and to be of a sub¬
tropical character. The following section of the strata, as revealed by the channel of the
Missouri at Red Spring, near Fort Clarke, will show quite clearly the lithological charac¬
ters of the beds of the Lignite Basin, and comparisons can be made with sections of the
other two deposits.

* Remarks, &c., by F. B. Meek and F. Y. Hayden. Proceedings of Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadel¬
phia, June, 1856.

FORMING THE BAD LANDS OF JUDITH RIVER.

135

Vertical Section , Exhibiting a Portion of the Strata of the Great Lignite Basin , near Fort

Clarke, on Missouri.

A

i

I 30 feet.

Ferruginous sandy marl, passing downwards into varie¬
gated argillaceous grits; contains Paludina Leal,

P. return , P. Leidyi, P. troehiformis.

| Fort Union, Yellow Stone, Bed
Spring, ten miles above Fort Clarke.

B

2 inchs’.

Seam of impure reddish lignite.

Bed Spring to Fort Union.

C

10 to 12
feet.

Yellowish gray, friable grit, with numerous argilla¬
ceous concretions in horizontal layers, containing
beautiful impressions of leaves of the genera, Pla-
tanus, Acer, Ulmus, and Ferns.

Best developed and mostfossiliferous
at Bed Spring, ten miles above Fort
Clarke. It occurs also along the Mis¬
souri to Fort Union, where it contains
fiue impressions of Ferns as well as Di¬
cotyledonous leaves.

D

3 inchs’.

Seam of lignite, very much mixed with clay and sand.

Bed Spring and up the Missouri

E

If

10 feet.

Yellowish gray grit, very friable, and containing lay¬
ers of argillo-calcareous concretions, charged with
leaves of the same species of plants, as in bed C.

Bed Spring, &c.

3 inchs’.

Seam of earthy lignite.

Bed Spring, &c.

Gr

15 feet.

Yellow and drab clay and friable sandstone, contain¬
ing argillaceous concretions, with impressions of
leaves like those in beds C. and E.

Bed Spring to Fort Union.

ii

4 inchs’.

Dark reddish, earthy lignite.

Bed Spring, &c.

i

20 feet.

15 feet.

Yellow arenaceous grit, very friable, with some small
Paludinas , Corbulas,

Bed Spring.

j

Alternations of lignite and cloy. This bed is vari¬
able in thickness as well as in the proportions
of the materials at different localities; contains
large quantities of fresh water shells.

Fort Clarke, Bed Spring, and other
localities along the Missouri.

K

40 feet.

Heavy bedded gray and ferruginous friable sand¬
stone, with great numbers of fossils, forming seams
of shell marl ; Melania Ncbrascensis, Paludina
multilineata, P. peculiaris, Bulimus limnea-
formis, Corbula mactriformis, with numerous
impressions of Dicotyledonous leaves in argillo-
calcareous concretions.

Very largely developed at Fort
Clarke, Bed Spring; is also seen
where the Tertiary beds are exposed
along Missouri and Yellow Stone.

L

M

2 feet.

Seam of impure lignite, probably local.

Bed Spring; not seen at many lo¬
calities.

4 feet.

Gray argillaceous friable grit, usually passing down¬
wards into a dark brown carbonaceous clay.

Fort Clarke, Bed Spring, and along
Missouri.

N

2 feet.

Lignite, purest in the section.

Fort Clarke to Fort Berthold, to
Fort Union.

0

6 feet.

Very dark carbonaceous clay passing down into very

bluish gray arenaceous clay, contains at Fort
Berthold a species of Paludina, also Planorbis
fragilis, and a few impressions of leaves, petri¬
fied wood, &c.

Fort Clarke, Bed Spring, Fort Ber¬
thold and Fort Union. It is also seen
above Fort Union along the Missouri.

P

2 feet.

Bather pure lignite. This bed is local.

About 7U miles below Fort Clarke,
near the point where the Tertiary beds
first appear in ascending the Mo.

Q

40 to GO
feet.

Gray compact or somewhat friable concretionary
sandstone; contains Gy vena Moreauensis, C. in¬
ter-media, Thespesius occidentalis, Compsemys
victus, &c.

Near Long Lake on the Missouri.

On Moreau Biverand Cherry Creek.

13G

GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT

Thespesius occidental is, Leidy.
Ischyrotlierium antiquum, “
Compsemys victus, “

Emys obscurus, “

Gyclas formosa, Meek and Hayden.
Cyclas frayilis, “

Gyclas subellipticus, “

Gyrena moreauensis, “

Gyrena intermedia, “

Corbula mactriformis , u

Unio priscus, “

Bull in us teres, “

Bulimus vermicuhus, “

Bulimus limneaformis , u

Bulimies nebrascensis, u

Pupa helicoid es, “

Limnea tenuicosta, u

Physa longiuscula, “

Pliysa nebrascensis, “

Planorbis subumbilicatus, “

Planorbis convolutus, u

Planorbis frayilis, u

Velletia ( Ancylus ) minuta, “

P aludina multilineata, “

Paludina Leai, “

Paludina retusa, u

Paludina peculiaris, u

Paludina trocliiformis, “

Paludina Leidyi, “

Valvata parvula, “

Melania minutula, “

Melania Anthony i, “

Melania multistriata , “

Melania nebrascensis, “

Melania Warrenana, “

VERTEBRATA.

Proc. Acad.

. Nat. Sci.

, Pa .

, yin. P.

311.

U

U

a

89.

u

U

u

312.

u

u

u

312.

MOLLUSC A.

Proc. Acad.

Nat. Sci.,

Pa.,

VIII.. p.

115.

U

U

a

U

u

a

u

u

a

u

u

a

116.

u

u

u

117.

a

u

u

u

u.

u

u

u

a

118.

u

u

a

u

u

a

u

u

u

u

a

u

119.

a

a

a

u

u

a

u

a

a

120.

u

a

a

u

u

a

cc

u

a

120.

u

u

a

u

u

a

121.

u

u

a

122.

a

u

a

a

u

a

u

u

a

123.

u

u

a

u

u

u

u

a

u

124.

cc

u

u

u

a

u

u

a

1857,

137.

FORMING THE BAD LANDS OF JUDITH RIVER.

137

Melania tenuicarinata , Meek and Hayden. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Pa., 1857, 137.
Cerithium nebrascensis , “ “ “ “ “ viii. p. 125.

Explanation of the Geological Map.

I am indebted to the kindness of Lieutenant G. K. Warren, U. S. Topographical En¬
gineers, for the beautiful Geographical Map which accompanies this paper.

A large portion of the map has been coloured inferentially, and therefore can hardly
be accurate in detail. The formations along the Missouri River to Fort Benton are laid
down correctly from the result of my own observations. It will be seen that I have re¬
presented no rocks of any age between Igneous and Cretaceous. The reason of this is,
that we have no positive evidence of the existence of any intermediate deposits in that
region. The discoveries in the Black Hills have rendered it more than probable that
not only Jurassic, but Carboniferous Silurian, and perhaps rocks of other epochs are ex¬
posed by upheaval around the mountain elevations. If they are revealed they occupy
but a small area, in the form of a narrow belt engirdling the metamorphic rocks which
constitute the nucleus of elevation. I know, from personal observation, that the broad
prairie country, very near to the foot of the mountains, is underlaid, for the most part,
with Formations 1 and 4 of the Cretaceous Period; and it is quite probable that future
explorations will not make any important changes in the map, excepting in the immedi¬
ate vicinity of the mountains. The Cretaceous Formations 1 and 4 are represented by
one colour, from the fact that we have comparatively little knowledge of their boundaries
in that region.

Note. — Through the kindness of my friends, Prof. Baird and Mr. Drexler, I am per¬
mitted to refer to an exceedingly interesting group of fossils, recently obtained by the
latter in the neighbourhood of Fort Bridger, and presented to the Smithsonian Institution.
In a hasty examination of this collection some weeks since by my associate, Mr. Meek and
myself, we at once recognised Ilalysites catenulata, ( Catenipora escharoides.) In a subse¬
quent examination recently, I think I was able to detect three other species of corals, re-
ferrible to the genera Favosites, Syringopora, and Streptelasma , an association of fossils which
at once points to the existence of Silurian rocks in this far western locality. The fossils
are completely silicified, and the matrix is a compact siliceous limestone, corresponding
very closely in its mineralogical characters to the description given by Prof. Hall of the
Niagara limestone in New York and Iowa. The locality where these fossils were obtained,
is about twenty miles east of the South Pass.

A still more interesting group of fossils, with reference to this paper, forms a portion of
the collection of Mr. Drexler, discovered near Fort Bridger. The material is composed

138 GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE ESTUARY AND FRESH WATER DEPOSIT OF JUDITH RIYER.

of an aggregation of casts of Melanias and large bivalves like Unios, held together by a
slightly coherent, fine, gray calcareous clay, and indicates a fresh water deposit in that
region very similar to that of the Bad Lands of the Judith. Mr. Drexler informs me,
that the strata were uplifted and tilted in every direction like the beds of the Judith de¬
posit, and the evidence indicates to my mind a fresh water formation of Lower Cretaceous
or Upper Jurassic Age. We can thus see, that we have, as yet, but caught a glimpse of
the interesting discoveries which await the geological explorer in the Far West.

ARTICLE XIII.

EXTINCT VEETEBEATA FROM THE JUDITH RIYER AND GREAT LIGNITE

FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

BY JOSEPH LEIDY, M. D.

The present communication consists of descriptions, apparently of twelve new extinct
species of fishes, saurians, chelonians, and mammals, from the territory of Nebraska. All
of the fossil remains upon which these species are founded, with the exception of a single
specimen, were discovered by Dr. F. V. Hayden, the zealous geologist and naturalist. The
single specimen referred to, was obtained by Captain Alfred Sully, U. S. A., and was by
him presented to the Academy of Natural Sciences of this city.

Of the fossils collected by Dr. Hayden, those referred to, Trachodon, Deinodon, Palcco-
scincus, Troodon, Crocodilus, Lepidotus, and part of those of Trionyx were obtained from
the vicinity of the Judith River, one of the tributaries near the source of the Missouri
River. The other specimens were obtained from the Great Lignite Formation, considered
to be of Miocene Tertiary age by Messrs. Meek and Hayden, and were collected by the
latter gentleman, during an expedition to Nebraska, under the command of Lieutenant G.
K. Warren, Top. Eng. U. S. A., by whose permission the author has examined and de¬
scribed them.

The association of the remains of Trodiodon, Deinodon , Crocodilus and Lepidotus, cor¬
responding with the association of the remains of the closely allied Iguanodon, Megalosau-
rus, Crocodilus, and Lepidotus of the Wealden Formation of England, led the author to sus¬
pect the Judith River Formation was of cotemporary age, though he was fully aware of the

140

EXTINCT VERTEBRATA FROM TI1E JUDITH RIVER

fact, that totally dissimilar animals have occupied different portions of the earth at the
same period. The recent discovery of remains of the Hadrosaurus, another animal allied
to the Iguanodon, in the Green Sand Formation of New Jersey, now inclines us to suspect
that the Judith River Formation forms part of the great Cretaceous series of Nebraska,
though we should not feel surprised if future explorations should determine it to be of
Tertiary age.

1. Extinct Vertebrata from the Judith River Formation.

SAURIA.

Trachodon MIRABILIS.

With comparatively few exceptions, the living reptiles, whether turtle, saurian, serpent,
or batrachian, are carnivorous in habit, and so far as we have been able to learn, such
also appears generally to have been the case with the extinct forms of the same class, if
we may judge from the anatomical structure of their remains.

In all the living forms of reptile life, when they are in possession of teeth, these organs
are observed to be constructed for the penetration and cutting of food, whatever the na¬
ture of the latter may be; and in no known instance are they adapted to the crushing or
mastication of substances. Even in the family of Iguanians, in which we find genera,
such as the Iguana r of South America and the Amblyrhynchus of the Galapagos Islands,
using exclusively vegetable food, the teeth with their trenchant, jagged crowns, together
form an instrument adapted to cutting like a saw, rather than one intended to bruise sub¬
stances.

In the same category indicated in the preceding paragraph, it had been ascertained that
all extinct reptiles belonged, until the discovery in the Wealden Deposit of England, by
Dr. Mantell, of the great Iguanodon. It was therefore not at all surprising when the
illustrious Cuvier first observed a tooth of the latter, that he pronounced it to be the in¬
cisor of a Rhinoceros , more especially as the specimen, which was in a much worn condi¬
tion, really bore a strong resemblance to the corresponding tooth it was supposed to be.
Nor did the determination at the time excite any degree of wonder, though it was a matter
of much surprise that remains of the Rhinoceros should have been found in a formation so
ancient as the Wealden.

Dr. Mantell afterwards, having sent a number of teeth of the Iguanodon for the ex¬
amination of Cuvier; the latter was led to remark, — “It is perhaps not impossible that
they may belong to a saurian, but to one more extraordinary than any of which we pos-

* In an Iguana tuberculata from St. Thomas, W. I., I found the stomach distended with vegetable matters
alone, consisting of entire seeds, berries, fragments of soft stems, leaves and flowers.

AND GREAT LIGNITE FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

141

sess knowledge. The character which renders them unique, is the wearing away of the
crown transversely, as in the herbivorous quadrupeds.”

Subsequent researches of Dr. Mantell led to the conclusion that the Iguanodon was a
huge herbivorous saurian, which masticated its food in the manner of the existing pachy¬
derm mammals.

Among the most interesting palaeontological discoveries of Dr. Hayden in Western Ame¬
rica, are several fossil specimens from the Judith River, which prove the former existence
of a large herbivorous lizard, nearly allied to the great extinct Iguanodon of Europe.

The specimens, consisting of the unworn crown of a tooth, and portions of several much-
worn teeth, at the time they were sent to the author for examination, were noticed in the
Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of this city, as characteristic of a new
genus of extinct herbivorous saurians, with the name of traciiodon mirabilis. Subse¬
quently a large collection of remarkably well preserved remains of another huge saurian,
closely allied to Traciiodon and Iguanodon , were obtained by our fellow member, W. Parker
Foulke, Esq., from the green sand clay, in the neighbourhood of Haddonfield, New Jersey,
not far distant from this city. The collection was presented by Mr. Foulke to the Aca¬
demy of Natural Sciences, and was the subject of a short communication, in which the ani¬
mal was characterized with the name of Iladrosaurus Foidlcii.

Of the specimens of teeth referred to Traciiodon , the unworn crown is the most im¬
portant. It is represented in plate 9, figures 1 — 3, and is conical in form and slightly
curved in its length. An examination of more perfect teeth of Iladrosaurus has led me
to consider the specimen as having belonged to the lower jaw. Its inner face, (fig. 1,) is
alone invested with enamel, is lozenge-shaped in outline, and is divided by a prominent
median carina or ridge. The surfaces between the latter and the lateral borders of the
crown are slightly depressed, smooth and shining.

The upper borders of the lozenge-like enamelled surface are the longer, but are neither
serrated nor tuberculated, though they are slightly rugose towards the outer aspect of the
tooth. The apex of the latter as formed by the enamelled surface is rounded, the lateral
angles are obtuse, and the inferior angle is notched.

The portion of the tooth exterior to the enamelled surface is subtrihedral above and be¬
comes pentahedral below, (figs. 2, 3,) . The lateral or innermost divisions of the pentahedral
portion of the crown, apparently exhibit the impress of the summits of laterally succeeding
teeth, (fig. 2, a,) and the remaining surfaces of the exterior of the tooth are roughened
with granular tubercles.

The broken base of the specimen is irregularly hexahedral in outline, and presents at
its middle the open pulp cavity in the form of an ellipsoidal figure, with the long diameter
VOL. xi. — 19

142

EXTINCT VERTEBRATA FROM THE JUDITH RIVER

directed from without inwardly. The walls of the cavity are from one to one and a half
lines thick, and appear quite roughened on their interior surface.

A transverse section of the crown, about the middle, gives an outline such as is exhi¬
bited in figure 4, a section of the bottom of the crown, as in figure 5, and a section of the
broken extremity of the specimen, as in figure 6.

The measurements of this specimen are as follows : — Length of the enamelled surface,
13 lines; greatest breadth at the lateral angles of this surface, 54 lines; diameter at base
of crown, from within outwardly, 5 lines; diameter, laterally or antero-posteriorly, 4 lines.

Three much worn specimens of teeth of Tmchodon , (figs. 7 — 15,) are apparently the
remains of fangs; the crowns or portions of the teeth faced with enamel having been worn
away. The specimens have the form of transverse fragments of a parallelogram, with
concave sides, and with one border bevelled oft’. The triturating surface (figs. 9, 12, 15,)
is concave, and presents a slightly elevated crucial ridge, with smaller diverging branches.
The ridge is of a harder substance than the including dentine, and was no doubt intended
to preserve a rough condition of the triturating surface as this is worn away. The under
part of the specimens, (fig. 8 e,) is more or less hollowed, apparently from the pressure of
succeeding teeth.

The length of the specimens is from 3 to 4 lines; the breadth of the triturating surface,
from the parallel sides, from 24 to 3 lines.

Two additional specimens, (figs. 16 — 20,) found with the preceding, may perhaps belong
to a different animal, but it is quite probable also that they belong to a different part of
the jaws of the same animal.

One of these specimens, (figs. 18 — 20,) consists of the crown of a tooth with a small por¬
tion of one side broken away. The crown is a broad four-sided pyramid, with an acute
summit rising to a short point. The outer surface, as it is presumed to be, is nearly ver¬
tical, devoid of enamel, and elevated into a longitudinal ridge on one side, as represented
in figure 20. This surface has been slightly roughened, but is worn smooth for part of its
extent from attrition of an opposing tooth. The inner surface, (fig. 18,) is concave, and
elevated into a longitudinal ridge, opposite that on the outer surface; besides which, it has
three short ridges extending from the summit of the tooth. On the unbroken side of the
specimen, it is likewise embraced by a ridge, curving from the summit to the base of the
crown. The unbroken side of the latter, (fig. 19,) is triangular, convex, and tuberculated;
is separated from the inner surface of the tooth by the curving ridge just mentioned; and
from the outer surface by a ridge, which is transversely notched in the manner of the la¬
teral borders of the teeth of Iguanodon. Below this side of the crown, the base of the
specimen presents a sort of osseous envelope or thickening, which becomes obsolete on the
outer face of the specimen. The base of the crown beneath and on each side is hollowed,
apparently from the pressure of three successors.

AND GREAT LIGNITE FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

143

The length of this specimen, on the outer side, as represented in figure 20, is 54 lines;
the breadth, 4 lines; the width at base, 41 lines.

Another specimen consists of the longitudinal fragment of a tooth, as represented in
figure 16. The triturating surface, (figure 17,) is level and smooth, and corresponds
with the transverse section of the fragment. This section is quadrate, with one of the
sides formed by the broken border of the tooth. The other sides are concave, with the
intervening angles prolonged; one of them being bevelled, and the other doubly so. The
base of the fragment is enveloped in a thick, rugged osseous layer.

Explanation of Figures, Elate 9.

Figures 1 — 20, Teeth of Traciiodon mirabilis.

Figures 1 — 6, of the size of Nature.

Figures 7 — 20, magnified two diameters.

Figure 1. Inner view of an inferior tooth, exhibiting the lozenge-shaped enamel surface divided by a median
carina. The form of the fang restored in outline.

Figure 2. Lateral view of the same specimen, exhibiting the roughened outer surface, and at a a portion of the
surface impressed by the crown of a lateral successor.

Figure 3. Outer view of the same specimen.

Figure 4. Section of the crown at the position marked b, fig. 1.

Figure 5. Section at the position marked c, fig. 1.

Figure 6. Section at the brokeu extremity c7, fig. 3.

Figure 7. Remains of a much worn tooth, apparently from the upper jaw, external view.

Figure 8. Internal view of the same specimen, exhibiting at e the hollowed base.

Figure 9. Triturating surface of the same specimen, exhibiting the crucial ridge of harder dentinal substance.
Figures 10, 11, 12. Similar views to those last indicated, of another tooth.

Figures 13, 14, 15. Similar views of a third tooth.

Figure 16. Outer view of the remainder of a much worn tooth; the base enveloped by a thick osseous crust-
Figure 17. Triturating surface of the same specimen.

Figure 18. A slightly worn tooth, of peculiar form; apparent inner view.

Figure 19. Lateral view of the same specimen.

Figure 20. Outer view.

Deinodon HORRIDUS.

In association with the remains of the huge herbivorous Tguanodon, Dr. Mantell found
remains of a fit carnivorous cotemporary, the Megalosaurus. This great saurian, named
by Dr. Buckland, and first discovered by him in the Oolitic Formation of England, pos¬
sessed sabre-shaped teeth, with trenchant serrated edges, over three inches in length and
an inch in breadth, supported in the jaws by an outer parapet wall, and passing one an
other like the blades of scissors.

144

EXTINCT VERTEBRATA FROM THE JUDITH RIVER

With the remains of Trachodon, Dr. Hayden likewise discovered those of a representa.
tive of the Megalosaurus , to which the name of Deinodon has been applied.

The specimens upon which the latter genus is based, consist of fragments of about a
dozen teeth, of which three-fourths are nearly identical in form with those of Megalosaurus ,
while the others are more or less peculiar. The uniformity in shape of the teeth of Me¬
galosaurus would appear to indicate that the three-fourths of the specimens alluded to, be¬
longed to, at most, another species of the same genus, while the remaining specimens
would typify a distinct genus. However, from the variety in form of the latter specimens,
together with the fact that all the specimens present the same general appearance, as re¬
gards colour, texture, and constitution, I have been induced to regard them as belonging to a
single animal, and feel that it must be left for further discovery to ascertain whether such
a view is correct.

The teeth of Deinodon, resembling in form those of Megalosaurus, (figs. 21 — 34,) are
laterally compressed conical, with a curvature backward, and with the anterior and pos¬
terior borders trenchant and cremated. In transverse section they are quadrately ellip¬
tical, with acute poles corresponding with the trenchant edges of the teeth. These spe¬
cimens, as indicated in figures 25, 29, are generally worn off at the summits, the borders
extending therefrom, and in several instances at the sides. The attrition of the teeth in¬
dicates those of the upper and lower jaws to have closed upon one another like the blades
of scissors, so that they were well adapted for penetrating, tearing and cutting their animal
food.

Of the remaining specimens of teeth, whose form is peculiar in comparison with that of
the others, one is the crown of a conical tooth, with feeble lateral compression, and is re¬
presented in figures 46, 47. Its transverse section, (figure 48,) is quadrately rotund, with
two acute angles, corresponding with crenated ridges, one of which occupies the inner side
of the tooth, while the other is situated postero-externally. The summit of the specimen
is worn off in a sloping manner anteriorly. The tooth probably occupied a position in
the back of the jaw.

A second specimen, represented in figures 37 — *40, consists of the greater portion of the
crown of a tooth whose transverse section forms the half of an ellipse. The anterior bor¬
der is obtusely rounded; the sides are compressed, and the posterior border forms a
plane, elevated at the middle and bounded by acute crenated margins. The apex of the
tooth is worn off in a sloping manner posteriorly.

A third specimen, represented in figures 35, 36, consists of a small fragment of a large
tooth, like that just described. The latter two specimens perhaps represent canine teeth.

The last of the aberrantly formed specimens, represented in figures 41 — 45, consists of
the crown of a comparatively small tooth, possessing nearly the shape of the two teeth

AND GREAT LIGNITE FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

145

just mentioned, but its posterior margins are not crenated, and the intervening back sur¬
face is more elevated. The apex of the specimen is worn off in a sloping manner an¬
teriorly. This tooth I suspect to represent an incisor.

As the entire dentition of Megalosaurus has not yet been ascertained, it may turn out
to be the case, that in other parts of the jaws than those known, it possesses teeth like
the ones above described as peculiar. Should on future discovery such a condition of things
be proved to exist, Deinoclon would then cease to be any thing more than a second species
of Megalosaurus.

As anatomical and geological evidence favour the view that Iguanodon , Trachodon, and
Eadrosaurus, were amphibious, i.t is not unlikely that Megalosaurus and Deinodon infested
the shores, upon which the former quietly grazed or browsed, and proved to them fierce
and destructive enemies. The two carnivorous saurians perhaps held the same office in
relation to the more bulky herbivorous lizards, that we find to exist between the larger
existing feline animals, and the pachyderm solipedal and ruminant mammals.

Explanation of Figures, Plate 9.

Figures 21 — 48, Teeth of Deinodon iiorridus; all the size of Nature.

Figure 21,/. cj. Two fragments of a large sabre-shaped tooth; lateral view.

Figures 22, 23. Transverse sections at the positions marked /. <j.

Figure 24. Front view of the same fragments.

Summit of a sabre-shaped tooth.

Section at h.

Summit of another specimen.

Section at i.

Lateral view of the summit of a sabre-shaped tooth, exhibiting the enamel partially worn off.
Section of the tooth at j.

A similar tooth.

Section at 7c.

A small tooth of the same form.

Section at l.

Fragment of a large tooth, with its posterior border forming a plane surface as indicated in the sec¬
tion, Figure 36, taken at m.

Figure 37. Lateral view of the summit of a tooth like the preceding specimen.

Figure 38. Posterior view of the same specimen.

Figures 39, 40. Sections at n. o.

Figure 41. Posterior view of the crown of a tooth, perhaps an incisor.

Figure 42. Lateral view of the same.

Figures 43, 44, 45. Sections from the positions indicated.

Figure 46. Postero-internal view of a conical tooth.

Figure 47. Antero-external view of the same specimen.

Figure 48. Section atyj.

Figure 25.
Figure 26.
Figure 27.
Figure 28.
Figure 29.
Figure 30.
Figure 31.
Figure 32.
Figure 33.
Figure 34.
Figure 35.

]46

EXTINCT YERTEBRATA FROM THE JUDITH RIVER

CllOCODILUS HUMILIS.

With the remains of Trachodon and Deinodon, Dr. Hayden discovered half a dozen
teeth, apparently of a small species of Crocodile, though they may probably belong to an
acrodont lacertian reptile.

Five of the teeth, (figures 9 — 17, plate 11,) are conical and moderately curved; and on
their inner part, in front and behind, they present the usual pair of acute ridges. About
the middle of the crown, their enamelled surface is slightly folded, especially on the inner
side of the teeth. They are solid, except that a small conical cavity occujhes the centre
of their base. The latter is slightly concave and eroded in appearance; the borders only
being broken, indicating that the teeth were about to be shed or actually were so, although
most of them appear unworn.

One of the specimens of teeth, (figures 18, 19,) is mammilliform, slightly compressed,
and finely rugous in the length of the crown. It is likewise solid, and has the base pre¬
senting the same appearance as the other specimens.

Explanation of Figures, Plate 11.

Figures 9 — 19. Teeth of Crocodilus humilis, of the size of Nature.

Figures 9, 10. Inner and lateral views of a conical tooth.

Figure 11. Section of the same at base.

Figures 12, 13. Inner and lateral views of another conical tooth.

Figure 14. Section at base.

Figures 15, 16, 17. Inner, lateral, and sectional views of a third tooth.

Figures 18, 19. Outer and lateral views of a mammilliform tooth.

PALiEOSCINCUS COSTATUS.

In association with the remains of the great extinct saurians, Trachodon and Deinodon,
Dr. Ilayden discovered the tooth of a true and gigantic representative of the family of
Iguanians. The tooth is constructed on the same general plan as those of the existing
Iguanas, consisting of a sub-palmate crown, with a compressed cylindrical fang.

The crown of the fossil tooth, (figs. 49 — 52, plate 9,) is compressed pyramidal with the apex
truncated, and is broader than long. Its base is elevated into a ridge; and from the sides,
ridges extend to the free borders of the crown, where they end in points, some of which
are acute and others are blunt. From the basal ridge of the crown, the tooth gradually
narrows into a compressed cylindrical, hollow fang, the lower part of which, in the spe¬
cimen, is broken away.

The breadth of the crown of the fossil tooth is 4 lines; its length from the basal ridge
is 2i lines; and its thickness in the position of the latter, is 11 lines. The breadth of
the fang at its broken end, is 2 lines; its width, 11 lines.

AND GREAT LIGNITE FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

147

In structure, the tooth appears wholly composed of dentinal substance, and exhibits
no trace of enamel upon the crown.

A proportionate increase in length of Palceoscincus with the size of the teeth, in com¬
parison with those of Iguana tuberculata, would give the animal a length of over thirty
feet, which is however not probable, as we observe no necessary relation of length of ani¬
mals in proportion with the size of their teeth.

In the same formation from which the tooth of Palceoscincus was obtained, there were
found about a dozen vertebral bodies, which may belong to the same animal, and if this
is the case, we may obtain from them a more just idea of the size of the latter. These
vertebral bodies are cylindroid, comparatively slightly constricted, and have the extremi¬
ties slightly concave. In the true Iguanas the vertebral bodies have a totally different
form, as they interlock with one another by a ball and socket joint; this, however, is no
positive evidence that the fossil specimens do not belong to Palceoscincus. Some of these
vertebrae are represented in figures 56 — 61, and they measure from 7 to 9 lines in length.

Accompanying the vertebral bodies, there is an ulna, represented in figure 8, plate 11,
which is solid, and perhaps belongs to the same animal.

Palceoscincus , probably like the marine Amblyrhynchus of the Galapagos Islands, was
aquatic and fed upon plants.

Explanation of Figures, Plates 9, 11.

Figures 49 — 52. Tooth of Pal^oscincus costatus; magnified two diameters.

Figures 49, 50. Outer and inner views.

Figure 51. Apparently the forward view.

Figure 52. Section at the broken extremity of the specimen.

Figures 56 — 61. Vertebrae; of the size of Nature.

Figure 56. Anterior view of a dorsal vertebral body.

Figure 57. Lateral view.

Figure 58. Anterior view of an anterior caudal vertebra.

Figure 59. Lateral view.

Figure 60. Anterior view of a posterior caudal vertebra.

Figure 61. Lateral view.

Figure 8, plate 11. An ulna, natural size, suspected to belong to Palceoscincus costatus.

Troodon FORMOSUS.

In association with the remains previously described from the Judith River, Dr. Hay¬
den discovered the tooth of a large Monitor, to which the above name has been applied.
Probably aquatic like many of the living Monitors, the voracious Troodon was most likely
a troublesome enemy to the peaceful plant-eating Palceoscincus.

148

EXTINCT YERTEBRATA FROM THE JUDITH RIVER

The fossil tooth (figs. 53-55, plate 9,) bears much resemblance to one of the lateral
denticles of the teeth of the great extinct shark, Carcliarodon angustidens , and under
other circumstances might readily have been mistaken for such.

The specimen is black and shining, and is laterally compressed, conical, and curved
backwards, as observed in the Monitor ornatus. The margins of the tooth are trenchant,
and strongly denticulated; the denticles possessing the same form as the crown itself.
On the convex border of the tooth there are eleven denticles, and on the concave border,
seven; and on both borders the points of the denticles diverge upwardly.

The broken base of the crown is elliptically trapezoidal, and is hollowed on the interior.
The crown is invested with enamel, which on one side of its summit is worn off by the
attrition of an opposing tooth passing it like the blades of a pair of scissors. The length
of the specimen is 3 lines; its antero-posterior diameter at base, 2 lines; and its trans¬
verse diameter, 14 lines.

I have no evidence that part of or all of the vertebne sujaposed to belong to Paloeoscin-
cns, do not really appertain to Troodon. This question must be left for future investiga¬
tion to determine.

Explanation of Figures, Plate 9.

Figures 53 — 55. Tooth of Troodon formosus; maguified three diameters.

Figure 53. Outer view.

Figure 54. Inner view, exhibiting the enamel worn from the summit.

Figure 55. Section at the base of the specimen.

CIIELONIA.

Trionyx foveatus.

Among the fossils of Dr. Hayden’s Judith River Collection, there are a number of small
fragments of costal and sternal plates, having much resemblance to the corresponding parts
of our living soft-shelled Turtles, forming the genus Trionyx.

The exterior surface of the fragments of costal plates, (figure 2, plate 11,) is impressed
with shallow pits, except near the borders of the plates. The pits are smaller and rounded
at the vertebral extremities of the latter, and become larger outwardly, assuming a poly¬
hedral, often oblong and reniform outline. The fragments of the sternal plates, (figure
1, plate 11,) have their exterior surface covered with short vermicular ridges, which re¬
call a remote appearance to Arabic letters. One of the fragments of a costal plate,
apparently the third or fourth, represented in figure 2, is almost 11 lines wide, and 2
lines thick. Two fragments of a hyposternal plate, (figure 1,) are 3 lines in thickness.

AND GREAT LIGNITE FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

149

In association with the remains of several other genera of Turtles, and of some other
animals in the Great Lignite Tertiary Basin, near Long Lake, below Fort Clark, Nebraska,
Dr. Hayden obtained small fragments of the carapace or osseous shell of a Turtle, not dis¬
tinguishable from those referred to, Trionyx foveatus. The specimens are too imperfect
positively to determine whether they actually belong to the same species. Fragments of
a last costal plate, represented in figure 3, plate 11, measures 4 lines in thickness, and are
closely foveated on the exterior surface, in the manner described in the account of the cor¬
responding plates of Trionyx foveatus from the Judith River.

Explanation of Figures, Plate 11.

-3. Fragments of the carapace and sternum of Trionyx foveatus, of the natural size.

Two fragments of a lvyposternal plate; an ideal outline given in the restored condition.

Fragment of a left costal plate.

Fragment of the last right costal plate, supposed to belong to the same species as the preceding.

FISHES.

Lepidotus occidentalis.

The genus of ganoid fishes Lepidotus, appears to have come into existence during the
Liassic period, to have extended through the Oolitic, Wealdean, and Cretaceous periods,
and to have become extinct in the Eocene Tertiary period.

As if to keep up the association, in the manner that Dr. Mantell found together in the
Wealdean deposits the remains of Iguanodon, Megalosaurus, Crocodilus, and Lepidotus , Dr.
Hayden discovered with the remains of Trachodon, Deinodon, and Crocodilus, a half dozen
ganoid fish scales, which appear to belong to the genus Lepidotus. The specimens may
indicate two species, but with equal probability they may appertain to a single one.

Four of the scales, (as represented in figures 20, 21, plate 11,) are lozenge-shaped, with
their root prolonged from one side in the direction of the longest diameter of the lozenge.
Two of the scales, (as represented in figures 22, 23,) are square, with their root projecting
from one of the longer sides. All the specimens are invested with thick, shining, enamelled
substance; and one of the square scales exhibits on its free surface, parallel square lines of
growth.

The largest lozenge-like scale has the sides of its free or enamel surface about 4 lines
long; and the smallest has two of the sides 3 lines long, the other sides 2 lines long. The
larger square scale has its long sides 5 lines, and its short sides 34 lines.

Explanation of Figures, Plate 11.

Figures 20 — 23. Scales of Lepidotus occidentalis, of the natural size.

VOL. XI. — 20

Figures 1
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.

150

EXTINCT VERTEBRATA FROM THE JUDITH RIVER

2. Extinct Vertebrata from the Great Lignite Formation.
MAMMALIA SIRENIA?

ISCHYROTHERIUM ANTIQUUM.

Among the most enigmatic fossil remains of vertebrata collected by Dr. Iiayclen, in Ne¬
braska Territory, are a number of fragments of bones, obtained from an out-lyer of the
Great Lignite Tertiary Formation, between the Moreau and Grand Rivers.

The specimens consist of two vertebral bodies, the half of a third one, two apparent
transverse processes, and numerous fragments of ribs. We cannot positively determine
the affinities of the animal represented by these bones, but from their solidity of structure
and the cylindroid form of the ribs, we suspect Ischyr other ium to be more nearly allied to
the Manatee than to any other known animal.

The vertebral bodies, (figs. 8 — 11, plate 10,) apparently posterior dorsal, are segments of
a cylinder compressed from above downward, so that their articular faces are transversely
oval in outline. They are comparatively slightly constricted at the middle; and in this
position present a number of orifices of large vascular canals, which converge to the cen¬
tre of the bodies. Both articular faces are slightly concave, with obtuse margins. The
dorsal surface, (figure 8, plate 10,) exhibits a narrow tract corresponding with the spinal
canal, and on each side, a broad, concave, porous articular surface for conjunction with
the sides of the vertebral arch.

The broken vertebral body, (figure 11, plate 10,) presents an equally dense structure
throughout, except at the articular surfaces, which are finely porous. The large vascular
canals are seen in this specimen converging from the middle circumference to the centre of
the bone, and smaller ones are observed pursuing a like course from the borders of the ar¬
ticular surfaces.

The specimens of transverse processes, (figs. 12, 13, 14, plate 10,) are remarkable for
their robust character and cylindroid form. The outer extremity of the longer specimen,
though abruptly truncated, appears nevertheless to be entire. The inner extremity of the
specimens, inferiorly, presents a broad, convex, porous, articular surface, for conjunction
with the corresponding surfaces of the vertebral bodies. Above this surface, there is a
smooth arching one forming the side of the vertebral canal and overhung by the abut¬
ment for the articular and spinous processes.

The numerous fragments of ribs, generally indicate these bones to have a curved fusi¬
form shape, as seen in fig. 15, plate 10, representing one of the more perfect specimens.
In structure they exhibit the same remarkable solidity noticed in the corresponding bones
of the Manatee.

AND GREAT LIGNITE FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

151

Though I have supposed the remains above described to indicate the former existence
of a mammal allied to the Manatee, they yet appear to me of such a singular character,
that I have suspected they may have belonged to an aquatic reptile, unlike any known,
and perhaps foreshadowing in its constitution the Sea Cows, just as Iguanodon appears to
have foreshadowed the herbivorous pachyderms of the Eocene Tertiary Period.

Explanation of Figures , Plate 10.

Figures 8 — 15. — Vertebra) and rib of Ischyrotherium antiquum; two-thirds the diameter of nature.

Figure 8. Dorsal view of vertebral body. Articular surface on each side.

Figure 9. Anterior view of the same vertebral body.

Figure 10. Ventral view of a second aud similar specimen.

Figure 11. Broken surface of a third specimen, exhibiting its dense structure and converging nutritious canals.

Figure 12. Inferior view of a vertebral half arch and transverse process, exhibiting the articular surface,
adapted to a corresponding one of figure 8.

Figure 13. Anterior view of same specimen as the last.

Figure 14. Anterior view of another specimen like that indicated in figures 12, 13.

Figure 15. Fragment of a rib, with outline sections (16, 17,) of the size of nature, from the upper end and
middle.

SAURIA.

Tiiespesius occidentalis.

Several vertebrae, together with a first phalangial bone, from Nebraska, appear to indi¬
cate a deino-saurian as colossal as the Iguanodon of England, or the Iladrosaurus of New
Jersey. Two of the specimens are exceedingly like mammalian lumbar vertebrae, espe¬
cially those of the Elephant or Mastodon, and might readily be taken for such, were
it not that they possess well marked processes for the articulation of chevron bones.

One of the vertebrae from near the trunk, and another, which I suspect to belong to the
same animal, from near the end of the tail, together with the phalanx, were discovered
by Dr. Hayden, in the Great Lignite Formation, at Grand River, Nebraska. Another large
vertebra from near the trunk, was obtained by Captain Alfred Sully, U. S. A., from an
Indian, and presented to the Academy of Natural Sciences of this city. This specimen
Dr. Hayden supposes to have been derived from the same locality in which he discovered
the others.

The bodies of the two large vertebrae, viewed in front, (fig. 2, plate 10,) are quadrately
oval in outline, and notched above; the notch corresponding with the spinal canal. One
of them measures about 5 inches transversely and vertically; the other, 4i inches trans¬
versely and 4£ vertically; and their length is about 21 inches. Theyxare narrowed con-
cavely from their articular borders, (fig. 1,) and are bounded below (fig. 3) by articular
processes, for chevron bones, an inch in diameter. Their anterior articular face, (figs. 1,
2,) is moderately convex; and their posterior face concave, with a depth of nearly

152

EXTINCT YERTEBRATA FROM THE JUDITH RIVER

half an inch. Robust transverse processes broken off in the specimens, projected from the
conjunction of the vertebral arch and body. The spinal canal, retained entire in -the
smaller specimen, is circular and one inch in diameter.

The smaller caudal vertebral body, (figs. 6, 7,) has its anterior surface nearly plain or
slightly depressed, while its posterior surface is moderately concave. Its length is about
equal to its height, which is 2 inches, while its breadth is 24 inches.

The first ungual phalanx, (figs. 4, 5,) resembles the corresponding bones of Iguanodon
and Hadrosaurus. It is 5 inches long; 41 wide at base, by 31 thick; and 4 inches wide
at the distal end, by 21 thick. Deep concavities exist each side of the distal extremity
for the attachment of lateral ligaments. The proximal articular surface is a transverse
reniform concavity; the distal articulation a transverse convexity slightly depressed to¬
wards its middle.

Had the bones of Tliespesius been found in association with the remains of Trackodon
or Deinodon, or in the same geological formation, I would have suspected that they be¬
longed to one of the latter.

■f

Explanation of Figures, Plate 10.

Figures 1 — 7. Vertebra; and phalanx of Tiiespesius occidentalis; one half the diameter of nature.

Figure 1. Lateral view of an anterior caudal vertebra.

Fig ure 2. Anterior view of same specimen as the last one.

Figure 3. Ventral view of same specimen, exhibiting the articular processes of the chevron bones.

Figure 4. Upper view of a first phalangial bone.

Figure 5. Lateral view of the same.

Figure G. Lateral view of a posterior caudal vertebral body.

Figure 7. Posterior view of the same specimen.

CHELONIA.

COMPSEMYS YICTUS.

The above name is proposed for a species of turtle, indicated by several fragments of a
carapace, obtained by Dr. Hayden, from the Great Lignite Tertiary Basin, near Long Lake,
Nebraska. The more characteristic specimens consist of a vertebral plate, and the greater
portions of the fifth and last right costal plates.

The vertebral plate, (fig. 5, plate 11,) is about an inch in its antero-posterior and trans¬
verse diameters. The fifth costal plate, (figs. 6, 7, plate 11,) is much arched, is an
inch and a quarter wide, two lines thick, and when perfect, appears to have been about
four inches long. The fragment of a last costal plate is three lines thick.

Marks upon the fifth costal plate, of the fourth and fifth vertebral scutes, indicate these
to have been about two inches in width.

The peculiarity of the specimens which has led to the proposal of the genus, consists in

AND GREAT LIGNITE FORMATIONS OF NEBRASKA.

153

their exterior surface being closely studded with uniform granular tubercles, which give
to them a shagreened appearance, quite different from any thing I have had the opportu¬
nity of seeing in other turtles.

Explanation of Figures, Plate 11.

Figures 5, 6, 7. Fragments of plates of the carapace of Compsemys victus, of the natural size. The cara¬
pace represented as partially but ideally restored, with the relative position of the fossil fragments.

Figure 5. A vertebral plate. Figure 6. A portion of a right costal plate.

Figure 7. Marginal view of the same specimen as the last, giving an idea of the curvature of the carapace.

Emys OBSCURUS.

Associated with the remains of Compsemys, and fragments of the shell of another tur¬
tle previously mentioned as not being distinguishable from those of Trionyx foveatus, Dr.
Hayden found fragments of a carapace, sufficiently characteristic only to determine that
they indicate a species of Emys. The best of the fragments, represented in figure 4, plate
11, consists of the greater portion of a costal plate, wdiich is sixteen lines wide, a line and
a half thick, and in its perfect state may have been about five inches long.

Explanation of Figure, Plate 11.

Figure 4. Fragment of a right costal plate of Emys obscurus; restored in outline.

FISHES.

Mylognathus priscus.

The very singular-looking fish, Chimccra, of the European seas, was represented during
the Miocene period in Nebraska, by a genus for which the above name has been proposed.
Its former existence is indicated by specimens of dental plates, like those of Chimcera,
adapted to the crushing of mollusca and Crustacea, used as food. The specimens, consist¬
ing of an upper maxillary and a premaxillary plate, were obtained by Dr. Hayden from
the Great Lignite Basin near Long Lake, Nebraska.

The upper maxillary plate, (figs. 24, 25, 26, plate 11,) consists of a narrow triangular
bone, containing two teeth. The specimen is broken at its two extremities, and when
perfect appears to have been a little over an inch in length. Its posterior part is 34 lines
wide, and about 4£ lines thick. The free convex surfaces of the peculiar porous teeth,
occupy nearly the entire length and breadth of the bone, (fig. 25, plate 11,) and are sepa¬
rated from each other by an oblique, linear tract. The anterior tooth is lozenge-shaped
in outline, and when perfect appears to have been about 4 an inch in length, and 14 lines

154

EXTINCT VERTEBRATA FROM THE JUDITH RIVER

in breadth. The posterior tooth, somewhat ellipsoidal in outline, appears, when perfect,
to have been about 8 lines long, and is three lines wide.

The premaxillary dental plate, (figs. 27 — 30, plate 11,) is irregularly lozenge-shaped in
its vertical outline antero-posteriorly, is a little over an inch in its long diameter, 5 lines
in its depth, and 3 lines in its greatest thickness. Its anterior border is convex, the inner
and outer surfaces are vertical, slightly depressed planes, and the crushing surface is con¬
cave.

Explanation of Figures, Plate 11.

Figures 24 — 30. Upper maxillary plates of Mylognathus priscus, of the natural size.

Figure 24. Inner view of the maxillary plate, exhibiting the surfaces of the two teeth projecting below.

Figure 25. Oral or inferior surface of the same.

Figure 26. Posterior extremity of the same, exhibiting the columnar structure of the teeth.

Figures 27, 28. Outer and inner view of a pre-maxillary plate.

Figures 29, 30. Triturating surface and upper view of the same.

In Commodum Lectoris, Synopsis Qenerum et Specierum Qucb in hoc Opere et Alibi

Discribuntur.

Mammalia Sirenia?

1. Ischyrotherium antiquum, Leidy; Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1856, 89.

Sauria.

2. Trachodon mirabilis, Leidy: Proc. Acad. Nat.. Sci., Phila., 1856, 72.

3. Deinodon horridus, Leidy : Ibidem.

4. Pal^eoscincus costatus, Leidy : Ibidem.

5. Troodon formosus, Leidy : Ibidem.

6. Crocodilus humilis, Leidy: Ibidem.

7. Thespesius occidentalis, Leidy: Ibidem, 311.

Chelonia.

8. Trionyx foveatus, Leidy: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1856, 73, 312.

9. Compsemys victus, Leidy : Ibidem.

10. Emys obscurus, Leidy : Ibidem.

Pisces.

11. Lepidotus occidentalis, Leidy: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1856, 73. Lepidc-
tus Haydeni, Leidy: Ibidem.

12. Mylognathus priscus, Leidy: Ibidem, 312.

7S///.J i V/7,

Jos Leiiy, Del- On Stone "by A Hey. 1 Sinclair’s lith., Phil3-

1—20. Trachodon iturabiiis 21.-48 Demodon "horridas.

49-52 PalaEosciticus costalus. 53 —55. Troodon fonaosus

A Trey, Del.

T . Sinclair’s litK,?hiL^

1 — 7. Hiespesms occidexitalis. 8-17 Iscliyrotlierium atiiiquum.

Sd . m y* / // :-W„

T. Sinclair's Ml, Phil* * 9-

Dr.Leidy 8c A. "Frey, del.

.1— 3. Iriopyx fcrveatas 4 Emys o"bscurus 5-7.

9 — 19 Crocodilns Iruxaflis. SO- 23, Lepidotus occidentalis

Comp s emy s victus .

24-30 MylodiLath-Us prisons .

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