NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 243 



portunity of referring to one of the simplest of stone implements 

 yet in use among the Indians of Wyoming. During my stay at 

 Fort Bridger the Shoshones made a visit to the post, and en- 

 camped on Black's Fork in its vicinity for a week. They comprised 

 about 800 persons with about 80 lodges and 1 000 horses. Being the 

 first time I had had a chance of seeing a tribe of Indians, I felt 

 much interest in observing them. While wandering through their 

 camp I noticed the women engaged in dressing buffalo skins with 

 a stone implement, the only one of the material I discovered in 

 use among them. It was a thin segment from a quartzite boulder, 

 made by a single smart blow with another stone and with no other 

 preparation. Several specimens I exhibit to the Academy, ob- 

 tained by my friend Dr. Carter, who ascertained that the instru- 

 ment was called a Te-sho-a. By an accident I learned that it was 

 not a recent instrument incidental to the place and circumstances. 

 While on an excursion after fossils, I noticed on the side of a 

 bntte some weathered human bones, which had fallen from a grave 

 above. With them I found some perforated tusks of the elk and 

 one of the stone teshoa. As the grave was an old one, which had 

 become exposed by the wearing away of the edge of the butte, it 

 made it probable that the teshoa did not belong alone to the 

 present generation. 



The tusks of the elk are used by the Shoshones as ornamental 

 trophies. They form another evidence of the early relationship of 

 man, as I observe in a recent number of the American Journal of 

 Science, that similar ornaments were found together with flint 

 knives, in association with a human skeleton, in a cavern of 

 Brousse-rousse, in Italy. 



Remarks on the Action of Wind and Sand on Bocks. Prof. 

 Leidy then directed attention to some specimens of quartzite and 

 jasper, which he observed illustrated the eroding and polishing 

 effect of the conjoint action of wind and sand. They were collected 

 by him from one of the buttes of Wyoming. In some situations the 

 stones, firmly imbedded in the hard clay of the buttes, and exposed 

 to an almost incessant action of winds and sand, are all much 

 worn and highly polished. He remarked that many of the sand- 

 stone cliffs and other rocks of the West, which were supposed to 

 owe their eroded, cavernous, and often fantastic appearance to the 

 action of water, he thought was largely due to the conjoined 

 action of winds and sands. 



The death of Prof. John Frazer was announced. 



October 22. 

 Mr. Vaux, Vice-President, in the chair. 

 Twenty-two members were present. 

 The death of Constant Guillou was announced. 



