﻿I] 
  Historical 
  Review 
  : 
  Second 
  Period 
  29 
  

  

  In 
  1873 
  Hilgard 
  published 
  a 
  " 
  Supplementary 
  and 
  Final 
  

   Report 
  of 
  a 
  Geological 
  Reconnaissance 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  Louisiana. 
  ' 
  ' 
  

   It 
  is 
  a 
  large 
  octavo 
  phamphlet 
  of 
  44 
  pages, 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  regarded 
  

   as 
  the 
  most 
  complete 
  statement 
  of 
  the 
  geology 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  

   heretofore 
  published. 
  No 
  brief 
  review 
  can 
  give 
  an 
  adequate 
  

   idea 
  of 
  the 
  contents 
  of 
  this 
  work. 
  It 
  should 
  be 
  consulted 
  by 
  

   any 
  and 
  all 
  who 
  care 
  to 
  become 
  familiar 
  with 
  the 
  geology 
  of 
  the 
  

   State. 
  It 
  gives 
  soil 
  analyses, 
  topographic, 
  geologic, 
  vegetation 
  

   and 
  other 
  characteristics 
  of 
  the 
  regions 
  traversed 
  en 
  route 
  as 
  out- 
  

   lined 
  in 
  his 
  previous 
  report. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  preceding 
  page 
  Hilgard's 
  section 
  at 
  Sabinetown, 
  Tex. 
  

   is 
  given. 
  

  

  " 
  At 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  bluff, 
  where 
  at 
  high 
  stages 
  of 
  water 
  it 
  is 
  

   difficult 
  to 
  find 
  passage, 
  it 
  is 
  lined 
  with 
  blocks 
  of 
  dark 
  colored 
  

   rock, 
  tumbled 
  from 
  above. 
  These 
  are 
  mostly 
  derived 
  from 
  

   No. 
  7 
  of 
  the 
  section, 
  a 
  porous, 
  concretionary, 
  ferruginous 
  sand- 
  

   stone, 
  with 
  casts 
  of 
  fossils, 
  now 
  unrecognizable. 
  There 
  are 
  

   besides, 
  blocks 
  of 
  hard, 
  limy 
  sandstone 
  or 
  sandy 
  limestone 
  

   derived 
  from 
  No's. 
  2 
  and 
  4. 
  The 
  former 
  is 
  generally 
  poor 
  in 
  

   fossils, 
  the 
  latter 
  in 
  places 
  very 
  rich, 
  and 
  the 
  fossils 
  well 
  

   preserved, 
  but 
  very 
  difficult 
  to 
  detach 
  from 
  the 
  rock. 
  Among 
  

   them, 
  a 
  small 
  variety 
  of 
  Rostellaria 
  velaia 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  fossil 
  

   usually 
  characterizing 
  the 
  Jackson 
  group. 
  But 
  this, 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  

   of 
  my 
  visit, 
  I 
  failed 
  to 
  identify, 
  and 
  was 
  inclined 
  to 
  consider 
  the 
  

   fauna 
  found 
  here 
  more 
  nearly 
  related 
  to 
  the 
  Vicksburg 
  than 
  to 
  

   the 
  Jackson 
  group. 
  But 
  at 
  a 
  subsequent 
  visit 
  Prof. 
  Hopkins 
  

   found 
  on 
  a 
  tributary 
  entering 
  the 
  Sabine 
  just 
  above 
  the 
  ferry, 
  a 
  

   bed 
  of 
  shells 
  bearing 
  most 
  distinctly 
  the 
  Jackson 
  character. 
  

   While 
  it 
  is 
  thus 
  proven 
  that 
  the 
  lower 
  (marine) 
  portion 
  of 
  this 
  

   profile 
  is 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  age, 
  the 
  upper 
  (lignitic) 
  part 
  is 
  thereby 
  

   parallelized 
  to 
  the 
  lower 
  division 
  of 
  the 
  Vicksburg 
  bluff, 
  to 
  

   which 
  it 
  bears 
  a 
  close 
  lithological 
  resemblnace. 
  And 
  if 
  we 
  define 
  

   the 
  area 
  actually 
  underlaid 
  here 
  by 
  the 
  Vicksburg 
  marine 
  rocks 
  

   proper, 
  we 
  cannot 
  assign 
  to 
  it, 
  on 
  an 
  average, 
  a 
  width 
  greater 
  

   than 
  about 
  three 
  miles 
  in 
  a 
  northwest 
  and 
  southeast 
  direction." 
  

  

  We 
  are 
  quite 
  at 
  a 
  loss 
  to 
  know 
  what 
  shells 
  Dr. 
  Hopkins 
  could 
  

   have 
  found 
  here 
  that 
  would 
  have 
  a 
  ' 
  ' 
  most 
  distinctly 
  ' 
  ' 
  Jackson 
  

   character 
  for 
  they 
  are 
  purely 
  upper 
  Lignitic 
  species 
  as 
  will 
  be 
  

   shown 
  later 
  on 
  in 
  this 
  report. 
  Moreover, 
  Hilgard 
  is 
  still 
  misled 
  

  

  