﻿CRETACEOUS 
  SERIES 
  

  

  Ripley 
  Stage 
  

   Prei,iminary 
  Remarks 
  

  

  la 
  our 
  historic 
  review 
  we 
  have 
  called 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  Judge 
  Bry, 
  early 
  in 
  this 
  centurj^ 
  mentioned 
  the 
  occurrence 
  

   of 
  Cretaceous 
  fossils 
  on 
  the 
  Ouachita 
  river 
  ( 
  see 
  p. 
  i6 
  ). 
  Morton 
  

   (seep. 
  17) 
  soon 
  followed 
  with 
  references 
  to 
  other 
  localities 
  of 
  

   this 
  formation 
  in 
  the 
  State, 
  namely 
  between 
  Alexandria 
  and 
  

   Natchitoches. 
  

  

  But 
  there 
  is 
  every 
  reason 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  these 
  early 
  references 
  

   were 
  based 
  on 
  fault}^ 
  evidence, 
  the 
  former 
  on 
  improper 
  identifica- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  fossil 
  remains, 
  the 
  latter 
  on 
  merelithologic 
  resemblances. 
  

   Hilgard's 
  references 
  to 
  two 
  characteristic 
  Cretaceous 
  species 
  

   found 
  in 
  dumps 
  from 
  salt 
  wells 
  in 
  northern 
  Louisiana 
  have 
  fre- 
  

   quently 
  been 
  pointed 
  to 
  as 
  the 
  first 
  satisfactory 
  proofs 
  of 
  the 
  

   Cretaceous 
  series 
  in 
  Louisiana. 
  But 
  when 
  it 
  is 
  seen 
  by 
  his 
  Supple- 
  

   mentary 
  and 
  Final 
  Report 
  (p. 
  28) 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  King's 
  salt 
  works 
  that 
  

   yielded 
  these 
  fossils 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  Gryphcea 
  pitcheri 
  is 
  really 
  

   Ostrea 
  pulaskensis 
  a 
  characteristic 
  Midway 
  Eocene 
  species 
  ; 
  and 
  

   the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  material 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  are 
  embedded 
  is 
  

   precisely 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  Eocene 
  beds 
  near 
  Prairie 
  bluff 
  and 
  

   Snow 
  hill, 
  Alabama, 
  we 
  are 
  led 
  to 
  surmise 
  that 
  the 
  E. 
  costata 
  

   was 
  in 
  reality 
  something 
  else 
  or 
  was 
  brought 
  up 
  from 
  some 
  

   distance 
  below 
  the 
  surface 
  or 
  from 
  some 
  altogether 
  different 
  

   locality. 
  

  

  We 
  must 
  therefore 
  include 
  King's 
  salt 
  works 
  under 
  the 
  

   next 
  stage, 
  namely, 
  the 
  Midway 
  Eocene. 
  

  

  Localities 
  

  

  RayMirns 
  saltivorks. 
  — 
  Mr.Lerch's 
  report 
  for 
  1892 
  (p. 
  13) 
  this 
  

   locality 
  is 
  described 
  as 
  in 
  Section 
  24, 
  15 
  N., 
  5 
  W., 
  about 
  10 
  miles 
  

   southeast 
  of 
  Bienville. 
  An 
  ideal 
  section 
  of 
  the 
  rocks 
  at 
  this 
  

   locality 
  is 
  given 
  which, 
  by 
  the 
  wa}' 
  is 
  considerably 
  at 
  variance 
  

  

  