Topographical Features of the New Haven region. 105 



daut ; but farther south along the coast of West Haven clam shells 

 prevail. At Fair Haven, the shells are mainly oyster shells. 



I have looked among these heaps thus far in vain for flint arrow 

 heads and other Indian relics. 



Along the West Haven shore on the bay broken shells of the scal- 

 lop {Pecten irradians) and of the large "winkle" {Fulgur carica), are 

 occasionally met with. Two bones were found among the shells that 

 had fallen from the edge of the terrace, which I have put into the hands 

 of Professor Marsh, our pahvontologist, for examination. One he re- 

 ports is from the leg of a deer, and the other is probably from that of 

 a wild goose. No distinct traces of charcoal or of burnt shells have 

 been observed, except along the coast south of Halleck's place. The 

 Indian evidently ate his clams as well as oysters in general without 

 cooking. This is evident also from the broken condition of the clam 

 shells. They look as if they had been treated like walnuts. 



The shell beds often lie directly upon the brown or yellow sand or 

 gravel of the drift formation, evincing that the Indian inhabited the 

 plains before the alluvium had been covered with, or converted at 

 top into, soil. But no instance is yet known of their occurrence 

 beneath any of the beds of the stratified drift, or under the drift of the 

 hills. They carry back the appearance of man in the region to the 

 commencement of the Terrace or Recent era ; and not beyond this. 



7. Wells in the New Haven plain. — Hard-pan beneath the bat. 



There are two series of facts bearing upon the geological struc- 

 ture of the New Haven region which should be here alluded to, 

 although the subjects require forther investigation. One relates to 

 the depth and source of the subterranean waters ; and the other to 

 the existence and nature of a compact layer, or hard-pan, beneath 

 the muddy bottom of the bay and the beds of the adjoining parts 

 of the rivers. 



1. Wells. — The following facts with regard to the subterranean 

 waters of the plain., as illustrated by its wells, I have from Mr. D. 

 W. Buckingiiam, and Mr. Philo Chatfield, whose personal observa- 

 tions in this direction liave been extensive. 



(1.) The water is spread widely beneath the plain, and is not 

 collected in local channels ; this accords with the sandy nature and 

 horizontality of the deposits that afford it. 



(2.) The height of the water varies with the degree of humidity 

 of the seasons, the extreme difference amounting to about two feet; 

 it is ordinarily about three years in reaching its lowest level, and 

 as many in regaining its highest. 



