152 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OP 



water origin and remarkable physical features, must render it, when fully 

 explored and studied, classic ground to the Geologist and Palaeontologist. I 

 now propose to give a brief account of the histoiy and progress of its discovery, 

 note the different expeditions which have visited it, and present, in as short a 

 compass as possible, what is now known respecting its geology. The history 

 of its esploi-ation up to 1853 I quote from Prof. Leidy's great work, "The 

 Ancient Fauna of Nebraska." 



" This extensive cemetery of eocene vertebrata in the Mauvaises Terres, or 

 Bad Lands, was first brought to our notice in a communication entitled, ^Dt- 

 scription of a fossil Maxillary Bone of a Palceotherium from near White River ^ pub- 

 lished by Hiram A. Front, M. D., of St. Louis, in the American Journal of Science 

 and Arts for 1847, page 248.' 



"Nearly at the same time Mr. S. D. Phillips, when on a visit to Chambers- 

 burgh, observed in the possession of Dr. S. JD. Culbertson, several remarkable 

 mammalian fossils, which had been sent as curiosities from the Bad Lands by 

 his nephew, Mr. Alexander Culbertson, of the American Fur Company. These 

 specimens, at the suggestion of the late distinguished Dr. S. G. Morton, were 

 obtained through Dr. John H. B. McClelland, a friend of Dr. Culbertson, and 

 were obligingly placed in my hands for examination. A description of them 

 was published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- 

 delphia for 1847 and 1848, and they were afterward presented by Alexander 

 Culbertson to the Academy. 



" The attention of Dr. D. D. Owen having been directed to the interesting 

 reo-ion whence the fossils were obtained, he requested Dr. John Evans, an as- 

 sistant in the Geological Survey in which he was engaged, to pay it a visit. 

 This gentleman brought home a magnificent collection of fossils, which form 

 the basis of one of the chapters in Dr. Owen's Report.* 



" Through the instrumentality of Prof. S. F. Baird, who from the first fully 

 appreciated the importance of a complete examination of the Mauvaises Terres. 

 and their animal remains, Mr. Thaddeus A. Culbertson, under the auspiees of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, visited the locality and brought home a valuable 

 additional collection of Mammalian and Chelonian fossils. "f 



In the spring of 1853, Dr. John Evans, U. S. Geologist, made an incidental 

 tour to the Bad Lands, while on his way to his field of labors in Oregon, and 

 obtained a very large and valuable collection; and besides re-collecting most of 

 the forms already discovered, added five new species to the Fauna. 



At the same time another expedition was fitted out and sent to the Bad 

 Lands through the liberality of Prof. James Hall, the eminent Geologist and 

 Palaeontologist of New York; and Mr. F. B. Meek and the writer were employed 

 by him to perform the trip. A large and valuable collection and much informa- 

 tion were obtained, adding greatly to our knowledge of the country. Three new 

 species of mammals were also added to the Nebraska Fauna. 



In February, 1855, while spending the winter at Fort Pierre, the writer made 

 a tour to the Bad Lands, under the patronage of Col. A. J. Vaughan, U. S. 

 Agent for the Upper Missouri Indians. A severe storm of snow, however, 

 rendered it impossible for him to go beyond Sage Creek. A few mammalian 

 remains and a fine collection of the fresh-water fossils fi'om Pinao's Spring 

 were the only results. In May of the same year the writer made a second trip 

 by a route never before taken by travellers. Leaving Fort Pierre, he took u 

 south-easterly course, struck White River about thirty miles above its mouth, 

 crossed the stream and ascended to the dividing ridge which overlooks the 

 valley of Running Water, on the south side of White River and the main body 

 of the Bad Lands. An opportunity was thus given to examine the outliers and 

 upper beds of the Bad Lands, ivhich resulted in the discovery of several new 



* See Dr. Leidy's Memoir, p. 533, of the Report of a Geological Survey of Wisconsiu. 

 &c. 



t Journal of an Expedition to the Mauvaises Terres and the Upper Missouri in 1850. 

 Fifth Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, page 84. 



[June, 



