stated that at Neals, near Newberry, teeth had been collected which
probably belonged to a species of _Odocoileus_. These were found while
phosphate rock was being mined; but they, with a tooth of a tapir and
one of _Equus littoralis_, doubtless belong to the early Pleistocene.
3. _Archer, Alachua County._—In 1896 Leidy (Trans. Wagner Free Instit.,
vol. IV, p. X), in a note on the species of vertebrates found in the
Alachua clays, included among these a tapir, a mastodon, and a
megatherium. In his list furnished for Dr. W. H. Dall’s report (Bull. U.
S. Geol. Surv. No. 84, p. 129), is included _Cervus virginianus?_. The
tapir, the deer, and the megatherium have been regarded as Pleistocene
fossils which became mixed with those of the Pliocene. For that reason
_Odocoileus_ is here credited to Archer. See also Sellards’s conclusion
(6th Ann. Rep. Florida Geol. Surv., p. 162). It is not certain exactly
where the species above named were found. One locality mentioned by
Leidy is 10 miles south of Archer, now Williston; another is 10 miles
north of the same town, now Newberry. For the geological age of the
species found at Archer, consult page 375.
4. _Ocala, Marion County._—From a fissure in a limestone rock at Ocala,
Sellards (8th Ann. Rep., p. 103) secured some remains of _Odocoileus_,
but it was not determined to what species they belonged.
5. _Dunnellon, Marion County._—The writer (8th Ann. Rep. Florida Geol.
Surv., p. 43, plate VIII, figs. 3–5) described some teeth of a deer
found near Dunnellon, in the “Cullens river mine.” These were referred
provisionally to the species or subspecies now living in that region,
_Odocoileus osceola_.
6. _Palmetto, Manatee County._—In a small collection of fossil
vertebrates sent from this place by Mr. Ernest Leitzel to the U. S.
National Museum for identification were some fragments of antlers of
_Odocoileus_.
7. _Palma Sola, Manatee County._—From Mr. Charles T. Earle the U. S.
National Museum received, in 1921, many fragments of antlers found on
the beach at Palma Sola, about 10 miles below Palmetto and on the south
side of Manatee River. With these came teeth of _Equus leidyi_, _E.
complicatus_, _E. littoralis_, teeth and bone of _Bison latifrons?_, a
tooth of _Elephas columbi_, and a fragment of the beak of a ziphoid
porpoise. The last and various sharks’ teeth probably originated in
Miocene deposits not far away. A list of the species found at this place
and believed to belong to the Pleistocene is presented on page 379.
8. _Arcadia, De Soto County._—In 1889 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila.,
1889, p. 96; U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. No. 84, p. 129), Leidy reported the
discovery of antlers of deer, _Odocoileus (Cervus) virginianus_, at
Arcadia. These may have belonged to _O. osceola_ or _O. sellardsiæ_. In
1884 (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. VI, p. 428), Mr. S. T. Walker reported
the finding of fossils, among them fragments of deer antlers, on
sand-bars in Peace River, from a point about where the town of Hull now
is to a point 8 miles by land above Fort Ogden, apparently not far from
the present town of Owens. On this matter see Sellards (8th Ann. Rep.
Florida Geol. Surv., p. 109). This locality and its fossils are further
described on page 381.
9. _Vero, St. Lucie County._—Numerous remains belonging to one or two
species of _Odocoileus_ have been found at Vero. Fragments of various
parts of the skeleton and some teeth have been found in the two upper
strata, No. 2 and No. 3, which lie above the marine marl. The writer
(9th Ann. Rep. Florida Geol. Surv., 1917, pp. 50–57, plate III, fig. 3)
referred some of these bones to the new species, _O. sellardsiæ_.
Possibly only this species is represented at that locality, but probably
some of the bones belong to _O. osceola_. Lists of the species found in
the two deposits bearing fossil vertebrates will be found on pages 381
to 383.
MISSISSIPPI.
(Map 22.)
1. _Natchez, Adams County._—Dr. Leidy wrote (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.,
Phila., 1854, p. 199) as follows:
“Fossil bones of a deer not larger than the _Cervus virginianus_
have been found in association with bones of the _Megalonyx_,
_Mastodon_, etc., in the vicinity of Natchez, Mississippi. In the
cabinet of the Academy mentioned there are several specimens from
the locality, consisting of a portion of a lower jaw, a fragment of
an antler, and the posterior and inferior portions of two crania.”
The geology of this important locality is discussed on pages 389 to 393.
2. _Aberdeen, Monroe County._—In 1869 (Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., ser. 2,
vol. VII, p. 376), Leidy stated that remains of a deer had been found at
this place in a railroad cutting. No details were given.
TENNESSEE.
(Map 22. Figure 23.)
_Whitesburg, Hamblen County._—In 1920 (Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum, vol.
LVIII, pp. 85–95), the writer described bones and teeth of Pleistocene
animals which had been found at Whitesburg. A list of the species is
given on page 395. In the collection are 21 teeth which were referred to
_Odocoileus virginianus_, but their small size suggests that they may
belong to another species of deer.
_Nashville, Davidson County._—On page 201 is presented an account of a
collection made at Nashville. Among the fossils was an antler of a deer
which is referred by the writer to an undetermined species of
_Odocoileus_ (p. 399).
KENTUCKY.
(Map 22.)
1. _Bigbone Lick, Boone County._—The bones and teeth of the Virginian
deer have been reported with some doubt from Bigbone Lick; even if found
it is not certain that they belonged to Pleistocene deposits.
2. _Bluelick Springs, Nicholas County._—In the collection made in
cleaning out Bluelick Springs, in Nicholas County, remains of a deer
were secured. The geological age of these can not be determined with
certainty, but they were probably of Late Wisconsin time. For a list of
the associated species see page 405.
3. _Henderson, Henderson County._—In a letter to Dr. Joseph Leidy,
published by the latter (Smithson. Contrib. Knowl., vol. VII, art. 5, p.
7), Dr. D. D. Owen stated that many antlers and bones of deer had been
found about 6 miles below Henderson, associated with bones of _Megalonyx
jeffersonii_.
FINDS OF CERVUS CANADENSIS IN THE PLEISTOCENE OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA.
ONTARIO.
(Map 23.)
1. _Hamilton, Wentworth County._—On Burlington Heights, near Hamilton,
many years ago antlers of the elk were found associated with a jaw of a
beaver. They were discovered 30 feet from the surface and at a level 7
feet higher than the jaw of _Elephas columbi_ described on page 147. The
age of all these bones is late Pleistocene. The elk had, therefore,
spread over the northern part of our country before the close of the
Wisconsin stage.
The geology of this locality and the species found there are considered
on pages 284–285.
2. _Near Strathroy, Middlesex County._—In 1901 (Ottawa Naturalist, vol.
XV, pp. 95–97, fig.) L. H. Smith wrote on the occurrence of the elk in
Ontario. None had been known to exist there since the settlement by
white men. The writer of the article had a number of specimens of
antlers collected in the neighborhood of Strathroy and the neighboring
county, Lambton. A fine pair of antlers and a part of a skeleton of an
elk had been discovered in a boggy spring in lot 15, 12th concession,
township of Lobo. It was evidently not deeply buried. This and the
others, notwithstanding shallowness of burial, may have been buried in
Late Pleistocene times; but there is no assurance that they did not live
during the early Recent.
3. _Kingston, Frontenac County._—In 1898 (Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., vol.
IX, p. 377), Robert Bell stated that remains of the elk had been found
in shell marl in at least two places near Kingston.
VERMONT.
(Map 23.)
1. _Grand Isle, Champlain Lake._—In 1840 (Rep. on Quadrupeds,
Massachusetts, p. 82), Emmons reported the finding of an antler on this
island, which he concluded belonged possibly to a young elk. It had been
thrown out by the plow from an elevated piece of ground, near a spring
of water. He concluded that it was the antler of the second year, and
stated that it had no branches. It was somewhat curved and had a total
length of 849 mm. The diameter just above the burr was given as 183 mm.;
but this is much greater than that in any specimens of young elks at
hand. Possibly some other species is represented and it may not have
belonged to Pleistocene.
NEW YORK.
(Map 23.)
1. _Racket River, St. Lawrence County._—J. E. De Kay, in 1842 (Zool. N.
Y., Mamm., p. 120, plate XXIX, fig. 1), described a part of a skull, to
which were attached the damaged antlers of an elk, which had been dug up
near the mouth of Raquette River. This must have been not far from the
town of Racket River. Nothing appears to be known regarding the
conditions under which the skull was found. Leidy (Jour. Acad. Nat.
Sci., Phila., vol. VII, 1869, p. 377) refers to the specimen. It was at
one time in the Lyceum of Natural History, New York, but is probably no
longer in existence.
2. _Seneca Castle, Ontario County._—Mr. E. Hitchcock (Science, vol. VI,
1885, p. 450) reported the finding of an antler of an elk at this place.
It was associated with supposed remains of a mastodon, in a peat morass,
near Flint Creek. It is to be credited to the Late Wisconsin.
3. _Farmington, Ontario County._—James Hall, in 1887 (6th Ann. Rep.
State Geologist, New York, p. 391), reported the discovery of about
two-thirds of the skeleton of an elk at the place named, in a cedar
swamp, buried in peat at depths of from 6 to 18 inches. The antlers had
projected above the surface and had been gnawed by rodents. Hall
remarked that the elk had not been known to live in that region since
the coming of the white race. The skeleton may or may not have been
deposited there during the late Pleistocene.
4. _Livingston County._—In the collection at Princeton University is a
calvarium of an elk labeled as found in Livingston County. The finder
had, with a tool, chopped off the antlers and otherwise hacked the
skull. One can not be certain as to the geological age of the specimen.
5. _Cuba, Allegany County._—In 1843, James Hall (Geol. 4th Dist., p.
367) reported that several horns of deer and one of an elk had been
found at the summit of the Genesee Valley Canal. The place given was New
Hudson, 4 miles from Cuba; but this town is about 10 miles from Cuba and
apparently not on the canal. The antlers were found at a depth of 12
feet, in muck.
6. _Jamestown, Chautauqua County._—Hall (op. cit., p. 365) stated that
Dr. Emmons had in his possession a tooth which he regarded as belonging
to this species. De Kay (Zool. N. Y., Mamm., p. 120, plate XXIX, fig. 4)
describes and figures this tooth. Emmons, in 1840 (Rep. Quadrupeds of
Massachusetts, p. 82), first mentioned the tooth and said it had been
found in a clay bed with several others. The tooth may belong to the
Pleistocene, but this can not be proved. It is of value, as are the
other cases, as showing the former distribution of the species.
7. _Boonville, Oneida County._—In 1884 (Trans. Linn. Soc. N. Y., vol.
II, p. 46), Dr. C. Hart Merriam reported that Mr. Calvin V. Graves, of
Boonville, had parts of elk horns, plowed up in an old beaver meadow.
These may have belonged to very late Pleistocene time or to any part of
the Recent.
8. _Third Lake of Fulton Chain, Herkimer County._—In the publication
just referred to and on page 45, Merriam stated he had seen a number of
elk antlers, found in a bog near the place mentioned. Their geological
age can not be determined any more closely than in the preceding case.
9. _Steele’s Corners, St. Lawrence County._—On page 46 of the paper just
cited, Merriam reported that Dr. C. C. Benton, of Ogdensburg, had parts
of antlers discovered at the place named. No details as to mode of
occurrence were given. The antlers were discarded by their owners some
time after the clearing away of the Wisconsin drift.
NEW JERSEY.
(Map 23.)
1. _Deal, Monmouth County._—In 1869 (Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vol.
VII, p. 377), Leidy stated that there were in the museum of the
Philadelphia Academy portions of two antlers of the elk obtained in the
earth just above the Cretaceous greensand near Deal. No further
information was furnished. Deal is about 5 miles south of Long Branch.
The antlers may have belonged to the Pleistocene or to the Recent.
2. _Trenton, Mercer County._—In 1911 (Papers Peabody Mus., vol. V, p.
123), Mr. Ernest Volk detailed the finding of a fragment of an antler of
an elk in the glacial gravels at Trenton, at a depth of 5.5 feet. For
the geology of this locality see page 304.
Cope (Cook’s Geol. N. J., 1868, p. 742) wrote that this species has left
antlers and bones in various parts of the State in the gravel drift, but
he mentions no localities.
PENNSYLVANIA.
(Map 23.)
1. _Stroudsburg, Monroe County._—In 1899 (Ann. Rep. Geol. Surv.,
Pennsylvania, for 1887, p. 6), Leidy reported the discovery of various
fragmentary remains of this species in the Crystal Hill (Hartman’s)
Cave, near Stroudsburg. This cave and its contents will be considered on
page 310.
2. _Riegelsville, Bucks County._—From Durham Cave, situated near
Riegelsville, there was sent to the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia, about 70 years ago, a collection of bones. They were
examined by Leidy, who reported on them (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.,
1880, p. 349). In this list the elk was not mentioned. In 1889 (Ann.
Rep. Geol. Surv. Pennsylvania, 1887, pp. 18, 19), further attention was
given to the collection, and the elk was included. The bison, which was
mentioned in the first list, was omitted in the second.
MICHIGAN.
(Map 23.)
1. _Adrian, Lenawee County._—In 1880, Professor J. Kost, of Adrian
College, sent to the U. S. National Museum a skull of _Castoroides
ohioensis_ and a jaw of a mastodon found in a marsh in the town of
Adrian, at a depth of 4 feet. At the same place another mastodon,
together with bones of a deer and of an elk, had previously been
secured. These belong to a late period in the Wisconsin.
2. _Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County._—In 1908 (Folio 155, U. S. Geol. Surv.,
p. 9), Russell and Leverett told of the finding of bones of elk and deer
in a peat-swamp, 3 miles south of Ann Arbor. In the same swamp, at a
depth of 5 feet, a skull of _Castoroides ohioensis_ had been discovered.
The bones of the elk and deer were at a somewhat higher level. While
they are probably of late Pleistocene age, one can not be wholly sure of
it.
INDIANA.
(Map 23.)
1. _Cambridge City, Wayne County._—In the collection of Earlham College,
at Richmond, Indiana, is a part of the skull of an elk (No. 5070)
labeled as found a mile northwest of Cambridge City, and as presented by
Lee Ault, superintendent [of schools?]. It is recorded on the specimen
that it was found in Little Simond’s Creek and lay partly exposed in a
bed of gravel 4 rods below the mill-dam, and 0.25 mile from where the
creek empties into the West Fork of Whitewater River. The specimen is
pretty thoroughly mineralized and stained with iron oxide. The
geological age of the skull is uncertain, but it has the appearance of
being old. Found in that region, it must, however, be younger than the
Shelbyville and Bloomington moraines, which are nearby.
2. _Fountain City, Wayne County._—In Earlham College is the rear of the
skull of an elk recorded as found on Nolan’s Fork, near the border of
the Bloomington moraine. It has the No. 5069 and is credited to Mr.
Isaac Thomas. The remark made in the preceding paragraph about the age
of the specimen from Cambridge City may be repeated here.
3. _Harrisville, Randolph County._—In the collection at Earlham College,
Richmond, are some bones which belong to _Cervus canadensis_ and
reported found in May 1893, by Messrs. Shoemaker, Graves, and Moore, in
a ditch or canal being put through the swamp known then by the name of
“The Dismal,” apparently about 6 miles east of Winchester, near the town
of Harrisville. It was here that was found the fine specimen of
_Castoroides ohioensis_ which is at Earlham. Just at what depth the elk
bones were found is not known. With them came some bones of the
white-tailed deer, _Odocoileus virginianus_. Of the elk there are a
dorsal and two lumbar vertebræ, most of the sacrum, some pieces of ribs,
the articular end of the scapula, a complete humerus, most of the right
side of the pelvis, most of the left pubis, the left cubo-navicular
bone, the distal end of the left cannon-bone, and three phalanges.
We can not be certain that the animal lived at that place during
Pleistocene times. At most, it lived after the Wisconsin ice had
withdrawn from that vicinity. Dr. A. J. Phinney (Geol. Surv. Indiana,
vol. XXI, p. 181) stated that in draining swamps in this county elks’
antlers had been found, but no details were given. At any rate, in that
region all such remains would belong to a time following the middle of
the Wisconsin stage.
4. _Pennville, Jay County._—McCaslin, in his report on the geology of
Jay County (Geol. Surv. Indiana, vol. XII, p. 169), stated that the
bones of the mastodon and post-glacial deer, or elk, had been frequently
met with. “The gigantic antlers of the latter have been found in size
indicating an animal 8 or 9 feet high and 10 or 11 in length. These have
been picked up in a bog north of Camden.” Making proper allowances for
miscalculations, we must conclude that these antlers belonged to the elk
(_Cervus canadensis_). The antlers had probably been laid out so as to
give their maximum extent. This township (24 north, range 12 east) is in
the northwest corner of the county. The name Camden no longer appears on
the maps, being apparently a former name for Pennville. The bog referred
to was evidently north of the Salamonie River and close to or on the
moraine bearing the same name. The elk must have lived there after,
probably a long time after, this moraine was laid down.
5. _Wabash County._—Elrod and Benedict reported in 1892 (Geol. Surv.
Indiana, vol. XVII, p. 240) that a Mr. Longnecer had unearthed the head
and antlers of an elk in a swamp on his farm “near the west county
line.” The antlers measured 8 feet from tip to tip. In this case they
probably were given their greatest possible span. It is to be regretted
that no more definite locality was given. For those in that region who
might be interested, it would be possible to learn the location more
accurately by searching the office of the county surveyor or of the
county clerk. At any rate, the animal lived there in Late Wisconsin
time.
6. _Foresman, Newton County._—In the State Museum at Indianapolis is the
left antler of an elk said to have been found in 1884, at Foresman. It
is credited to D. E. Howe, and the writer has not been able to get any
additional information. Foresman is on Iroquois River; and, according to
Leverett’s map (Monogr. LIII, plate VI), the region about there is
occupied by clay of a glacial lake bottom. The antler may be of the
Recent period, but more probably of Late Wisconsin times.
7. _Rensselaer, Jasper County._—In the State collection at Indianapolis
just mentioned is a part, about 16 inches long, of the antler of an elk,
presented by Dr. Loughridge, of Rensselaer, but no additional
information is furnished. The animal may have lived at any time during
or since the Late Wisconsin stage.
8. _Lake County._—In the Twenty-second Annual Report of the State
Geologist of Indiana, page 90, Blatchley stated that antlers of the elk
had been found in this county, but no details were given.
9. _Kouts, Porter County._—In the report just cited, on page 90,
Blatchley, State geologist, reported antlers of a large elk found close
to teeth of a mastodon. This was somewhere near Kouts.
The reports of fossil remains of _Cervus canadensis_ in Indiana are not
very satisfactory. In few cases has any effort been made to record
anything like exact information as to the locality and the depth of
burial and the nature of the deposit and to preserve the specimens.
Nevertheless, in most instances at least, it is quite certain that the
remains referred to this species were really such. While, again, some of
the remains have possibly belonged to the Recent period, probably most
of them date back to late Pleistocene; that is, Late Wisconsin times. In
many cases the remains have been found at a depth of several feet in
swamps that were being drained. It is certain that these swamp deposits
accumulated with exceeding slowness. Not infrequently fossil mastodon
bones and teeth have been found within a few inches of the surface. In
the case of none of the finds of elk materials is there any indication
of an age beyond that of the Late Wisconsin.
ILLINOIS.
(Maps 23, 38.)
1. _Niantic, Macon County._—in 1873 (Geol. Surv. Illinois, vol. V, p.
308), A. H. Worthen reported the discovery of remains of mastodon, elk,
buffalo, and deer in a bog near Niantic. The exact locality and the
conditions are described on page 102. In that account it is concluded
that the mastodon remains went to the museum of C. F. Günther, of
Chicago, and from there to the collection of the Chicago Academy of
Sciences. What became of the bones of the elk, the buffalo, and the deer
is not known. As no record appears to have been kept of the depths at
which each of the species was found, we do not know whether or not the
others were as old as the mastodon. However, it is certain that these
old ponds and marshes left on the surface of the Wisconsin drift filled
up very slowly.
2. _Near Whitewillow, Kendall County, 5 miles west by north of
Minooka._—Dr. E. S. Riggs, of the Field Museum of Natural History,
informed the writer that he had found here bones of the elk. These were
also reported by him in Netta C. Anderson’s list (Augustana Coll. Publ.,
No. 5, page 11). Mr. George Langford, of Joliet, has likewise found elk
antlers here and remains of _Cervalces_ and _Alces americanus_.
For the location of this place and its geological situation page 337 may
be consulted. All the species found are without doubt of Late Wisconsin
age. Riggs’s statement referred to appears to indicate that the elk,
buffalo, and deer bones found are of more recent age than those of the
mastodons, but Mr. Langford writes that the antlers were mixed up with
the mastodon bones.
3. _Palos Park, Cook County._—This place is on the Wabash Railway, about
20 miles southwest of Chicago. Dr. E. S. Riggs wrote the author that in
October 1915, the Field Museum of Natural History had received a fine
head and antlers of the elk from the Sag Drainage Canal near Palos Park.
It was found in peat at a depth of 13 feet. One can hardly doubt that
the animal lived there during the latter part of the Wisconsin stage.
4. _Batavia, Kane County._—Dr. E. S. Riggs, writing April 3, 1916,
informed the author that he had picked up the jaw of an elk along a
ditch, somewhere about Batavia, in which mastodon bones had been found.
At what depth the bones had been buried could not be determined. In this
case all that can be said is that the animal lived there after the
Wisconsin ice had retired from that place.
5. _Union Grove, Whiteside County._—In the U. S. National Museum, No.
7335, is a right astragalus of an elk found near Union Grove, 3 feet
below the surface of a bed of peat, in an old channel of the Mississippi
River. This astragalus was presented by Mr. Leo B. Lincoln, of Chicago,
through the peat expert of the U. S. Geological Survey, Professor
Charles A. Davis.
The locality is said to be in the southeast quarter of the southeast
quarter of section 7, Union Grove Township, apparently township 21
north, range 4 west. This section appears to be about 5 miles away from
the present bed of the river. Although the area is outside of the
Wisconsin drift-sheet, it is not probable that the elk antedates the
Wisconsin stage. Its age is more probably Late Wisconsin.
6. _Lead Region of Illinois._—In 1876, J. A. Allen (Amer. Jour. Sci.,
vol. XI, p. 48) stated he found in a collection made in this region by
J. D. Whitney an imperfect radius that seemed not to differ at all from
that of a young male _Cervus canadensis_. This collection is that
reported on by Jeffries Wyman in 1862 (Geol. Surv. Wisconsin, vol. I,
pp. 421–423). It is impossible to say whether the specimen was found in
Wisconsin, Iowa, or Illinois.