OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 165 
only the surface of the marl torn up, and thus scattered. That their dispersion took place at a 
comparatively recent period, is evident from the fact that they are found, in St. Thomas’s Parish, 
resting on the Post Pliocene; and they also occur on John’s Island, which must be referred to the 
same period. The recession of the waters of the ocean, at the time of the elevation of the Post 
Pliocene to its present level, would be quite sufficient, as a cause, to produce such a phenomenon 
as this. 
I have more than once alluded to the removal, by solution, from calcareous rocks, of a portion or 
allo the lime. ‘This has taken place, to a great extent, in the beds under consideration. In many 
instances there is little more left than the silica and alumina of the marl, with a trace of lime; and 
the latter ingredient rarely exceeds six percent. At Castel’s Landing a white, porous substance 
occurs in contact with the marl, from which every particle of lime has been removed. 
Many of the fossils of the Ashley are found on the Cooper, and elsewhere, but, as a group, they 
are very distinct from those of every other bed in the State. Mr. Ruffin was struck with the 
absence of all the more common Eocene forms of Virginia, and even of the Santee, such as O. 
selleformis, C. planicosta, &c. but the most remarkable feature in the Fauna of the period of the 
deposition of these beds was the vast number of cartilaginous fishes. It would seem as if, about 
the close of the Eocene period, these voracious monsters, conscious of their approaching end, had 
congregated here to die; and it is no exaggeration to say that more than a bushel of fishes’ teeth 
have been collected at Bee’s Ferry, within the last few years. I have visited the locality several 
times, and never without finding a large number of specimens. As the marl is washed away by 
the river and tides, the fossils are left exposed at low water, and in this way the locality appears 
almost inexhaustible, and well deserves the name of the “Fish Bed” of the @harleston Basin. 
It was here, aided by the zeal and industry of my friend, Mr. Holmes, that I was enabled to 
enrich the Paleontology of the State with the materials now in the hands of Agassiz, for determi- 
nation. Below the ferry we found three costal plates of a large Chelonia, that must have rivalled 
in size Chelonia Midas, of the coast. The free scutes prove it to have been a marine species. 
Fragments of this fossil are common in the marl, higher up the river, but [had not before an oppor- 
tunity of seeing any considerable portion of the carapace. 
Teeth of a fossil horse are not uncommon at the ferry ; and I owe to the kindness of Capt. Bow- 
man and Lieut. Kurtz, of Fort Johnson, several fragments of the teeth of a tapir, found in the sands, 
in the bottom of the river. 
Where the land is low, as it is some distance back from the river, marl is exposed on the creeks, 
as at Springfield, and on the plantation of the Rev. Dr. Hanckel. 
Ascending, the marl rises gradually, and at Mr. J. A. Ramsay’s it is exposed on the banks. 
This is a noted locality for the remains of the Manatus. I saw in Mr. Ramsay’s possession a rib 
nearly entire, and he presented me with a fine [chthyodorulite of the genus Ptychodus, related to 
P. spectabilis, of the English chalk. In front of the house, and to the left of the road, the bed of 
marl stone is again exposed. 
The marl now rises into a steep bluff, eight feet in height, on the land of P. Clements, Esq. 
Fragments of lignite are found here, embedded in the marl, and the remains of Chelonia are fre- 
quent. Beautiful specimens of the teeth of Myliobatis have been found at this interesting locality, 
42 
