254 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



The discovery of fossil human l•emain^^, aecompanyino: the re- 

 mains of the fossil horse, seems to establish the fact that the horse 

 exi>tc'd and was utilized by the aboriiiinos of the seetion previous 

 to the arrival of tiie Spaniards and the European horse. A num- 

 ber of fossil remains from that section were exhibited by Mr. 

 MeNeal. 



Prof. Squires, by request, spoke in a very inten^sting manner 

 upon the Miirrations of Indian Tribes. He fmds three eenties of 

 civilization, so called, upon this continent, and rei^ards it as <j;en- 

 erally^ of local growth, aud due, except in the case of Mexico, 

 almost entirely to local inlluences. 



^Ir. N. T. True gave a ))aper upon *' Physical Geography among 

 the Aljorigines of North America." It is a jx'culiarily of the In- 

 dians that they treat of generic names. Tlius, an Indian has a 

 name for his own father, but no word for fathers in general. 

 Tiiey ai)i)ly the same print;iple in geography, giviug difVcrent 

 names, for example, to dilferent parts of the same river, and no 

 one name to the whole. In answer to a question, Mr. True said 

 that Kaumkeag, the Indian name of Salem, means " lish-dr}ing 

 place." 



Mr. W. II. Dall gave a very interesting and exhaustive pa]M'r, 

 accompanied by a map, on the "Distribution of the Aborigiut;s 

 of Alaska and Adjacent Territories." 



Vertebrate Remains in Nebraska. — The locality described by 

 Prof. Marsh was the Antel()j)e Station on the Pacific liailroad, in 

 south- western Nebraska. While enjjfatjcd in sinkiuii a well at 

 that place in June, 18G8, a layer of bones was found Ijy the work- 

 men at a depth of G8 feet below the surface, which were at lirst 

 pronounced to be human, but tluring a trij) to the Rocky Moun- 

 tains Prof. Marsh examined the locality anil the bones, and found 

 thai the latter were the remains of tertiary aidmals, some? of which 

 were of great interest. The well was subsequently sunk about 10 

 feet deeper, and the l)ones obtained were secured by the profes- 

 sor. An examination proved that among them there were four kinds 

 of fossil horses, one t)f which he described in Novemlxr last as 

 Equus parvulus. Although it was a full-grown animal, it was not 

 more than 2^ feet high. It was by far the smallest horse ever dis- 

 covered. Of the other kinds of fossil horses one was of hipparion 

 type, or the three-toed horse. Including the above the number of 

 fossil horses discovered in this country was 17, although the horse 

 was supposed to be a native only of the Old World, and was tirst 

 introduced here by the Spaniards. Of the other remains there 

 were two carnivorous animals, one about the size of a lynx, and 

 the other considerably larger than a lion, — twice as large as any 

 extinct carnivora yet discovered in this country. Among the ru- 

 minants found in this locality was one with a doul)le metatarsal 

 bone, a peculiar type, only seen in the living aquatic musk deer 

 and in the extinct ana})lotherium. There were also the remains 

 of an animal like tin; hou:, a larffc rhinoceros, and two kinds of 

 turtles. These, together forming lo species of animals, anil rep- 

 resenting 11 genera, were all found in a space 10 feet in diameter 

 aiul G or 8 feet in depth. It is supposed that the locality was once 



