who appears to agree in part with Williston, although he expressed the
opinion that some of the deposits were earlier than the others. Osborn
supported the view of the existence of two faunas, that of the “_Equus_
zone” and that of the “_Megalonyx_ zone.” The former fauna was regarded
as the older, but overlapping somewhat during the “mid-Pleistocene” the
_Megalonyx_ fauna. He presented a catalogue of deposits belonging to his
_Equus_ zone (his page 453) and another of those of the _Megalonyx_ zone
(p. 467). In the latter he included deposits that he would now doubtless
refer to the earliest Pleistocene, for example, the Ashley River beds.
It was necessary for the geologists to come again to the rescue of the
palæontologists. They established the fact that there had passed, not a
single glacial stage, but a series, and that these had been separated by
corresponding interglacial stages. They were able to show also that
between the drift-sheets there were to be found remnants of old gravels
and fossil-bearing soils. In Iowa, through the careful researches of
Calvin and Shimek, numerous remains of fossil mammals were discovered in
gravels lying between the earliest drift, the Nebraskan, and the second
drift, the Kansan. Among these mammals were identified horses, camels,
elephants (_E. columbi_, _E. imperator_), _Mylodon_, _Megalonyx_, and a
large ruminant which is certainly a species of bison. This fauna, known
as the Aftonian, was correlated by Calvin with that of the Sheridan beds
of Nebraska (Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., vol. XX, p. 354). The writer has
had the opportunity to study this Aftonian material (Iowa Geol. Surv.,
vol. XXIII), and, although it is not as abundant as might be desired, he
agrees with Calvin’s correlation.
Making due allowances for environment and the hazards attending
preservation and collection, the Aftonian and Sheridan fauna is
practically the same as that found at Fossil Lake, Oregon. Furthermore,
it may be traced along the plains into Texas and to the shores of the
Gulf. Here, at or near tide-level, or not far away, may be found horses,
camels, elephants (_E. columbi_ and _E. imperator_), _Mammut
americanum_, and mastodons with teeth presenting trefoils. In Texas,
within a mile of the Louisiana line, _Elephas imperator_ has been
collected. The fauna reappears on the west coast of Florida; also on
Peace Creek; on the east coast at Vero; at Brunswick and Savannah,
Georgia; along Ashley River, near Charleston; probably also on the banks
of Neuse River, 16 miles below New Bern, North Carolina; and again
probably at Long Branch, New Jersey, where _Megatherium_ has been found;
and finally at Port Kennedy, on Schuylkill River, about 25 miles above
Philadelphia. All along the coast, apparently from the Rio Grande to
Long Branch, the localities which furnish Aftonian fossils are within a
few feet of sea-level.
XII. THE YARMOUTH INTERGLACIAL STAGE.
Up to the present time the interglacial soils found in a few localities
between the Kansan and the Illinoian drifts have furnished only scanty
remains of vertebrate fossils—a rabbit and a skunk at the type locality
in Iowa. Certainly, however, the same animals were living then that were
found at later stages.
XIII. THE ILLINOIAN GLACIAL STAGE.
To the Illinoian glacial stage the writer refers the collection of
fossil vertebrates which was described in 1908 by Barnum Brown (Mem.
Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. IX, pp. 157–208) and which had been obtained
in the Conard fissure near Willcockson, Newton County, Arkansas. It is
placed here rather than in the Sangamon stage, because of the number of
species present which suggest a rather cold climate. A list of these
species will be found on pages 31–32 of volume XXIII, of the Iowa
Geological Survey.
XIV. THE SANGAMON INTERGLACIAL STAGE.
This was the warm stage which succeeded the glacial Illinoian. Between
the Illinoian and the Wisconsin there passed a long period of time. It
is now believed that it was interrupted by the Iowan ice-sheet, but this
appears not to have lasted long nor to have occupied any considerable
area. Associated with it in some way was the accumulation of much loess.
This was formerly supposed to have been deposited to a large extent at
least during the Sangamon; but, as Leverett informs me, it appears to
have been laid down at a time nearer the Wisconsin than the Illinoian.
This Iowan drift and the loess has been the subject of a special
investigation by Alden and Leighton (Iowa Geol. Surv., vol. XXVI, pp.
49–212). Few vertebrate fossils have been found in the loess. Their
bones may have been dissolved out by the percolating rain-water, and yet
the delicate shells of land mollusks are abundant. A collection which
the writer regards as belonging rightfully to the Sangamon was made at
Alton, Illinois, many years ago, by William McAdams. A list of the
species and an account of the geological conditions connected with it
are presented on page 339. The remains appear to have accumulated in a
pond on the Illinoian drift and to have been covered by loess. The horse
was yet in existence, as well as the deer _Sangamona_ and the antelope
_Taurotragus americanus_. Two-thirds of the 15 species are extinct. A
smaller number of species have been collected near Kimmswick, just below
St. Louis, Missouri. The remains found in a cave in Bexar County, Texas,
are believed to belong here (Hay, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. LVIII, p.
129). It is, however, in the Alleghany Mountains that most of the
vertebrates have been collected which the writer refers to the Sangamon
stage. These have been found in caves and fissures from northern
Pennsylvania to northern Alabama. Unfortunately, although mostly
discovered several years ago, some of these collections have not yet
been well studied and have not been accessible to the writer. They
contain two or three species of horses, two or three genera of
peccaries, tapirs, the deer _Sangamona_, the antelope _Taurotragus_, and
one or more species of saber-tooth tigers. Half or more of the species
are extinct. To the writer these assemblages seem to fit into the
history nowhere so well as into the Sangamon stage.
Another assemblage that probably belongs here is that made at Toronto
(p. 282). This indicates a warm climate, since the pawpaw and the osage
orange grew there.
XV. THE PEORIAN INTERGLACIAL STAGE.
This is the interglacial interval between the Iowan glacial and the
Wisconsin. It was probably not of long continuance and is chiefly
remarkable for the deposition of loess. This has not furnished any
important collections of vertebrate fossils. The type locality for the
Peorian stage is a locality east of Peoria, Illinois. Leverett (Monogr.
XXXVIII, U. S. Geol. Surv.) mentions several cases in which old soils
believed to belong to the Peorian were observed in Illinois. None of
these has furnished vertebrate fossils. It is usually difficult to
distinguish the Sangamon from the Peorian soils.
XVI. THE WISCONSIN GLACIAL STAGE AND THE WABASH BEDS.
The next stage which furnishes abundant vertebrate fossils is the
Wisconsin. These remains are found most abundantly in the old soils and
mucks which accumulated in the swamps, ponds, and lakes left on the
uneven surface of the Wisconsin drift as the ice retired. To such
deposits the writer has given the name Wabash beds. They are often
called post-glacial deposits; but that term ought in strictness to be
applied only to deposits of the present epoch. They may be called Late
Glacial, but that expression has been used for the drift and moraines
produced by the second half of the Wisconsin glaciation. It might be
better to use for the divisions of the Wisconsin the terms Lower and
Upper.
In the late Wisconsin, or the Wabash, deposits there may be found
remains of any of the existing animals of the region; also often the
bones and teeth of mammals now living in more northern regions. Besides
these, there may occur the relics of animals which were able to endure
the rigors, changes, and competitions of the Glacial period, but
succumbed at its end. These are, especially, two species of elephants,
one or two species of mastodons, four or more species of musk-oxen, the
moose _Cervalces_, one or more species of peccary, and the giant beaver.
XVII. ON THE THEORY OF THE PLEISTOCENE TERRACES OF THE COASTAL PLAIN.
The writer will discuss briefly the widely accepted theory that along
the sea-coast from New Jersey to southwestern Texas there occurs a
series of terraces and corresponding escarpments, three or more in
number, representing successive emergences of the borders of the
continent from the sea. The theory was first proposed by Dr. W. J. McGee
(Amer. Jour. Sci., ser. 3, vol. XXV, 1888, p. 367; 12th Ann. Rep. U. S.
Geol. Surv., pt. I, 1891, pp. 353–521). He included in the initial
submergence not only the area occupied by the supposed Pleistocene
terraces, but also the borders of the coasts to an elevation
corresponding to the Lafayette (Appomattox) formation, which he referred
provisionally to the late Pliocene. This submergence required a
depression of the eastern half of the continent amounting to 500 feet or
more. The theory was accepted especially by the geologists of Maryland
in their excellent reports (Shattuck, Maryland Geol. Surv., Pliocene and
Pleistocene volume, pp. 62–137, with maps). It has likewise been applied
to the geology of Virginia (Clark and Miller, Va. Geol. Surv. Bull. No.
IV, pp. 48–56, 179–189), North Carolina (Stephenson, N. C. Geol. Econom.
Surv., vol. III, 1912, pp. 266–290), Georgia (Veatch, Geol. Surv. Ga.,
Bull. No. 26, 1911, pp. 35–50), as Okefenokee and Satilla; (Stephenson,
ibid., pp. 425–445), Florida (Matson and Clapp, Fla. Geol. Surv., vol.
II, 1909), and to Texas (Deussen, Water Supply Pap. U. S. Geol. Surv.
335, pp. 78–83).
_Conspectus of the Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of the Pleistocene._
┌────────────────┬─────────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────┐
│ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │
│Drift-sheets and│ Representative │Disappearance of │ Characteristic │
│other deposits. │ collections. │ genera and │ genera. │
│ │ │ species. │ │
├────────────────┼─────────────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────┤
│ _Wisconsin │ │ │ │
│ Stage._ │ │ │ │
│Atlantic to │Made in swamps and │Megalonyx, │Existing mammals, │
│ Pacific in │ old lakes on │ Elephas, │ plus those of │
│ Wisconsin, │ Wisconsin drift │ Mammut, │ column 3 │
│ Illinois, │ (Wabash beds) from │ Cervalces, │ │
│ Iowa, Indiana,│ Illinois to │ Symbos, │ │
│ Ohio, New │ Massachusetts and │ Boötherium, │ │
│ York, New │ Cape Breton Island.│ Mylohyus, │ │
│ Jersey (Cape │ Leda clays, Canada.│ Platygonus │ │
│ May, Trenton │ │ Bison │ │
│ gravels), │ │ occidentalis, │ │
│ Ontario, │ │ Castoroides │ │
│ Quebec, etc., │ │ │ │
│ Maine, │ │ │ │
│ Massachusetts.│ │ │ │
│_Peorian Stage._│ │ │ │
│Old soils │Fossil mammals rarely│None certainly │Few recognized. In│
│ between the │ found. │ known. │ general, those │
│ Iowan and the │ │ │ of the │
│ Wisconsin │ │ │ Wisconsin. │
│ drifts where │ │ │ │
│ the former is │ │ │ │
│ present. │ │ │ │
│ Reported by │ │ │ │
│ Leverett (Mon.│ │ │ │
│ U. S. Geol. │ │ │ │
│ Surv., vol. │ │ │ │
│ XXXVIII) from │ │ │ │
│ localities in │ │ │ │
│ Illinois. │ │ │ │
│ Usually hard │ │ │ │
│ to distinguish│ │ │ │
│ from Sangamon.│ │ │ │
│ Abundant loess│ │ │ │
│ in Mississippi│ │ │ │
│ Valley. │ │ │ │
│ _Iowan Stage._ │ │ │ │
│Known certainly │None. │Mylodon, Tapirus,│None known; but in│
│ only from Iowa│ │ Equus, │ general those of│
│ and Wisconsin.│ │ Taurotragus, │ the later │
│ Supposed to be│ │ Sangamona, │ stages. │
│ present along │ │ Bison │ │
│ New England │ │ latifrons, B. │ │
│ coast, Gay │ │ antiquus, │ │
│ Head to Maine.│ │ Ænocyon, │ │
│ │ │ Dinobastis, │ │
│ │ │ Smilodon, │ │
│ │ │ Smilodontopsis.│ │
│ _Sangamon │ │ │ │
│ Stage._ │ │ │ │
│Sangamon River, │Alton, Illinois; │None known to │Mylodon, a few │
│ Illinois. Old │ Kimmswick, │ have become │ horses, tapirs, │
│ soils just │ Missouri; cave in │ extinct during │ peccaries, │
│ above the │ Bexar County, │ this stage. │ Sangamona, │
│ Illinoian │ Texas; bluffs at │ │ Taurotragus, │
│ drift. Some │ Natchez, │ │ Symbos, Bison │
│ loess of this │ Mississippi; salt │ │ latifrons, B. │
│ stage. Cave │ mine at Petite │ │ antiquus, │
│ deposits in │ Anse, Louisiana; │ │ Elephas and │
│ Texas and in │ Cavetown and │ │ Mammut. │
│ the Alleghany │ Corriganville, │ │ │
│ Mountains. │ Maryland; Ivanhoe, │ │ │
│ │ Virginia; │ │ │
│ │ Whitesburg │ │ │
│ │ Tennessee; │ │ │
│ │ interglacial beds │ │ │
│ │ at Toronto, │ │ │
│ │ Ontario. │ │ │
│ _Illinoian │ │ │ │
│ Stage._ │ │ │ │
│In Illinois, │Conard fissure, │May include some │Equus, Mylohyus, │
│ Wisconsin, │ Newton County, │ accredited to │ Symbos, Felis, │
│ eastern Iowa, │ Arkansas. Otherwise│ the Kansan. │ Smilodontopsis, │
│ Indiana, Ohio.│ none recognized. │ │ Dinobastis. │
│ Supposed │ │ │ │
│ glacial drift │ │ │ │
│ from Long │ │ │ │
│ Island to │ │ │ │
│ Massachusetts │ │ │ │
│ (Montauk till,│ │ │ │
│ etc.). │ │ │ │
│ _Yarmouth │ │ │ │
│ Stage._ │ │ │ │
│Interglacial │Few vertebrates yet │Not known. │Few known. │
│ soils and │ recognized. Skunk │ │ Doubtless those │
│ mucks between │ and rabbit at │ │ which became │
│ the Kansan and│ Yarmouth, Iowa. │ │ extinct during │
│ Illinoian in │ │ │ Illinoian and │
│ Iowa and │ │ │ Iowan and later.│
│ Illinois. │ │ │ │
│ Gardner clay │ │ │ │
│ and Sankaty │ │ │ │
│ from Long │ │ │ │
│ Island to │ │ │ │
│ Boston. │ │ │ │
│_Kansan Stage._ │ │ │ │
│Iowa, Missouri, │Fossil vertebrates │Megatherium, │Doubtless those in│
│ Kansas, and │ rarely found. │ Glyptodon, │ the later stages│
│ northwestward.│ │ Stegomastodon, │ of this column │
│ Loess │ │ Anancus, │ and some of │
│ overlying the │ │ Gomphotherium?,│ those of this │
│ drift; │ │ Elephas │ stage in column │
│ Jerseyan │ │ imperator, │ 3. │
│ drift. New │ │ Eschatius, │ │
│ Jersey (may be│ │ Camelops, │ │
│ Nebraskan); │ │ Camelus, │ │
│ Pensauken. │ │ Hydrochœrus │ │
│ Jameco gravels│ │ Aftonius, │ │
│ on Long │ │ Leptochœrus, │ │
│ Island, New │ │ Trucifelis. │ │
│ York, and Cape│ │ │ │
│ Cod, │ │ │ │
│ Massachusetts.│ │ │ │
│ _Aftonian │ │ │ │
│ Stage._ │ │ │ │
│Gravels and │Along Missouri River │None recognized. │Mylodon, │
│ soils between │ in Iowa; Fossil │ Probably some │ Megalonyx, │
│ the Kansan and│ Lake, Oregon; │ of those cited │ Megatherium, │
│ the Nebraskan │ Grayson, Sheridan │ under the │ Glyptodon, │
│ in Iowa, │ County, Nebraska; │ Kansan. │ Chlamytherium, │
│ Missouri, │ La Brea, │ │ Elephas │
│ Nebraska, and │ California; Lake │ │ imperator, │
│ Kansas. Lake │ Lahontan and Walker│ │ Anancus, │
│ and river │ River, Nevada; │ │ Gomphotherium, │
│ deposits in │ Lavaca and │ │ Tapirus, Equus, │
│ Nebraska and │ Galveston Bays, │ │ Hipparion, │
│ Oregon; river │ Texas; Peace Creek,│ │ Camelops, │
│ deposits, │ Caloosahatchee │ │ Camelus, Bison │
│ Pittbridge, │ River, and Vero, │ │ regius, │
│ Texas; asphalt│ Florida; Brunswick │ │ Hydrochœrus. │
│ beds near Los │ and Savannah, │ │ │
│ Angeles, │ Georgia; Beaufort │ │ │
│ California. │ and Ashley River, │ │ │
│ Sands, etc. │ South Carolina; │ │ │
│ bearing │ Neuse River, North │ │ │
│ vertebrate │ Carolina; Fish │ │ │
│ remains at or │ House clay near │ │ │
│ near sea-level│ Camden, New Jersey;│ │ │
│ from mouth of │ Long Branch, New │ │ │
│ the Rio Grande│ Jersey; Port │ │ │
│ to Sandy Hook,│ Kennedy, │ │ │
│ New Jersey. │ Pennsylvania. │ │ │
│ _Nebraskan │ │ │ │
│ Stage._ │ │ │ │
│Drift in Iowa │Collections made in │Gomphotherium │Megatherium, │
│ and Nebraska │ southwestern Idaho;│ floridanum, │ Elephas │
│ beneath more │ “Oregon Desert,” │ Protohippus, │ imperator, │
│ recent drifts;│ Oregon; Anita, │ Parahippus, │ Mammut, │
│ Idaho │ Coconino County, │ Procamelus, │ Gomphotherium │
│ formation, │ Arizona; Ringgold, │ Teleoceras, │ floridanum, │
│ Idaho; New │ Yakima County, │ Aphelops. │ Protohippus, │
│ Jerseyan? and │ Washington. In │ │ Parahippus, │
│ Bridgeton, New│ clays in Alachua │ │ Hipparion, │
│ Jersey; │ and Levy counties; │ │ Equus, Tapirus, │
│ Mannetto │ Dunnellon, Ocala, │ │ Teleoceras, │
│ gravels, New │ Brewster, and │ │ Aphelops, │
│ York. Long │ Mulberry, Florida. │ │ Procamelus, │
│ Island, and │ Horse at Martha’s │ │ Agriotherium, │
│ Cape Cod, │ Vineyard?. │ │ Canis, │
│ Massachusetts;│ │ │ Trucifelis │
│ “First │ │ │ floridanus, │
│ Glacial” at │ │ │ Chasmaporthetes.│
│ Martha’s │ │ │ │
│ Vineyard; │ │ │ │
│ Arcadia marls,│ │ │ │
│ on Peace │ │ │ │
│ Creek; │ │ │ │
│ Alachuan clays│ │ │ │
│ and │ │ │ │
│ phosphates, │ │ │ │
│ and Bone │ │ │ │
│ Valley │ │ │ │
│ phosphates; │ │ │ │
│ marine marl │ │ │ │
│ bed at Vero; │ │ │ │
│ Coquina at St.│ │ │ │
│ Augustine, │ │ │ │
│ Florida; │ │ │ │
│ Quarantine │ │ │ │
│ Station, │ │ │ │
│ Southport, New│ │ │ │
│ Hanover │ │ │ │
│ County, North │ │ │ │
│ Carolina; │ │ │ │
│ Dismal Swamp, │ │ │ │
│ North Carolina│ │ │ │
│ and Virginia. │ │ │ │
├────────────────┴─────────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────┤
│ UPPER PLIOCENE—BLANCO, TEXAS; THOUSAND CREEK, NEVADA; ETCHEGOIN-TULARE, │
│ CALIF. │
├────────────────┬─────────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────┤
│_Upper Pliocene │ │ │ │
│ Stage._ │ │ │ │
│Texas, Nevada, │Lists published by J.│Glyptotherium, │Glyptotherium, │
│ and │ C. Merriam in │ Pliohippus, │ Megalonyx, │
│ California. │ Bulletin of │ Tephrocyon, │ Gomphotherium, │
│ │ Department Geology,│ Hyænognathus, │ Pliohippus, │
│ │ University of │ Ilingoceros. │ Hipparion, │
│ │ California, vol. x,│ │ Teleoceras, │
│ │ p. 425 │ │ Platygonus, │
│ │ (Etchegoin-Tulare);│ │ Pliauchenia, │
│ │ p. 425 (Thousand │ │ Procamelus, │
│ │ Creek); p. 434 │ │ Ilingoceros, │
│ │ (Blanco). │ │ Tephrocyon, │
│ │ │ │ Hyænognathus. │
└────────────────┴─────────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────┘
In Maryland and the District of Columbia there have been recognized
three Pleistocene terraces (Shattuck, as cited above). The uppermost is
the Sunderland, the next the Wicomico, the lowest the Talbot. These are
not correlated by Shattuck definitely with glacial divisions of the
Pleistocene, but the Sunderland is the oldest, while the Talbot is
regarded the most recent, probably about the age of the last glacial
stage, the Wisconsin.
When the writer began his study of the Pleistocene he accepted the
theory proposed by McGee and the Maryland geologists, and traces of this
acceptance may be found in this work; but he is now convinced of its
falsity. It is hardly to be believed that the coastal region could have
been occupied, even at intervals, since the late Pliocene, when the
depression is supposed to have been at least 500 feet, and 200 feet
during the Sunderland, down to the end of the Wicomico and even the
Talbot, without its having left other traces of marine occupation than
the supposed terraces and escarpments. There ought to appear somewhere
in the long border from New Jersey to Mexico abundant and extensive
deposits of stratified materials, clays, sands, and gravels. Such
deposits appear to be relatively rare.
A still more serious objection to the theory of submergence beneath
marine waters is the absence of marine fossils. In the materials forming
these terraces one might with confidence expect to find at least marine
mollusks, mussels, clams, and beds of oysters; probably also remains of
fishes, of porpoises, and of whales. Leaving out of consideration the
Talbot terrace, which is near sea-level (Shattuck, op. cit., p. 10), the
supporters of the theory under consideration admit that not in the
Lafayette, nor the Sunderland, nor the Wicomico, have any traces of such
fossils been met with. On the other hand, all over these terraces are
found remains of land animals and plants. Mastodons, elephants, and
horses are by no means rare. Conditions favorable for the preservation
of teeth of proboscideans must have been quite as well adapted to
preserve shells of oysters. In the Sunderland and Wicomico a few land
plants have been secured, an abundance of them in the Talbot. Map No. 39
shows the distribution of Pleistocene mammals, mollusks, and plants on
the Coastal Plain of North Carolina.
It seems evident, therefore, that the sea has had nothing to do with the
formation of the Lafayette, the Sunderland, and the Wicomico terraces,
and little with that of the Talbot. It was natural that the advocates of
this theory of the formation of these terraces during the Pleistocene
should distribute them somewhat impartially over the time of this epoch,
assigning the Talbot to a late interval. On page 11 the writer has
called attention to the fact that in many places along the coast from
southeastern Texas to New Jersey, at or near sea-level, there are beds
which contain a vertebrate fauna of the Aftonian or first interglacial
stage. Probably nowhere do these beds have any large amount of later
materials overlying them; it is often extremely little. So far as the
writer can judge, this means that all the terraces and escarpments were
produced before the time of the first interglacial; not since that
distant time has there occurred along the Gulf or Atlantic coasts south
of New Jersey any considerable elevation or depression of the Coastal
Plain.
FINDS OF PLEISTOCENE CETACEANS IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA.
(Map 1.)
ONTARIO.
1. _Nepean Township, Carleton County._—In 1914, Mr. L. M. Lambe, of the
Canadian Geological Survey, stated (Summ. Rep. for 1913, p. 299) that
Walter Billings, of Ottawa, had presented to the Survey a caudal
vertebra of _Delphinapterus leucas_, found in Pleistocene gravel on lot
15, concession 5, of Nepean township. The locality is near Jock River, a
stream which flows northeasterly and enters Rideau River about 11 miles
south of Ottawa. With it was sent the lower end of a femur, supposed to
belong to the bison.
2. _Ottawa East, Carleton County._—In 1910, Mr. L. M. Lambe reported
(Summ. Rep. Geol. Surv. Can. for 1909, p. 273) that Mr. A. Penfold had
presented to the Survey a caudal vertebra of _Delphinapterus leucas_,
which he had found at Ottawa East, at a depth of 25 feet, while digging
a well.
3. _Smith’s Falls, Lanark County._—In 1883 (Amer. Jour. Sci., ser. 3,
vol. XXV, p. 200) Dr. J. W. Dawson announced the finding of two
vertebræ, a part of another, and a fragment of a rib of a large whale,
in a ballast pit at Welshe’s, 3 miles north of Smith’s Falls. This whale
he identified as _Megaptera longimana_ (_M. boöps_). The bones were
found in gravel at a depth of 30 feet and about 50 feet from the
original face of the pit. The elevation of the place is given as about
440 feet above sea-level. Dawson stated that this corresponds exactly
with the height of one of the sea-terraces on Royal Mountain at
Montreal. He added that this animal might have sailed past that
mountain, then only a rocky islet, when a wide sea, 400 feet above the
lower levels of Montreal, covered all the plain of the lower St.
Lawrence. Inasmuch as the highest terrace containing marine fossils at
Montreal stands at a height of about 625 feet (Stansfield, Mem. 73,
Canad. Geol. Surv., 1915) above sea-level, the region had apparently
risen about 160 feet at least above its lowest submergence when the
whale was buried. The discovery of this whale is mentioned by Dawson in
his “Canadian Ice Age,” 1894, page 268; also by Professor G. H. Perkins
in his Report of the State Geologist of Vermont, 1907–8, page 83.
4. _Pakenham, Lanark County._—This locality is about 42 miles
north-northwest from Welshe’s, where the whale remains just discussed
were found. At Pakenham, in 1906, there were discovered bones, including
a nearly perfect skull, of a white whale. The discovery was reported in
1906 and 1907 by Dr. J. F. Whiteaves (Summ. Rep. Geol. Surv. Can. for
1908, p. 171; Ottawa Naturalist, vol. XX, pp. 214–216). The remains were
found by a well-digger on a farm (lot 21, 11th concession), and were
embedded in blue clay at a depth of 14 feet. Immediately about the bones
was a mixture of clay and shells. The animal has been referred to
_Delphinapterus leucas_. As one of the ear-bones was secured, the
determination of the species would appear to be possible. According to
Perkins, the ear-bone in the type of _D. vermontanus_ differs from that
of the existing white whale, _D. leucas_. The writer is unable to say
more than that the whale found at Pakenham belongs to the Late
Wisconsin.