EXPLORATION IN ALASKA IN I9O/ GILMORL 



l 9 



among the debris of driftwood and other vegetable material accumu- 

 lated at their mouths many disassociated bones were recovered (see 

 ( + )> fig- 2 )- The concentrating action of the water in carrying 

 away the fine silt and leaving the heavier objects behind would 

 account for thejr abundance here. 



In drifting down along the base of the cliffs in the canoe, the skull 

 of an Ovibos sp. nov. (No. 5728, U. S. National Museum) was 

 found on a narrow shelf just above the point (3 on map, see fig. 2) 

 where the underlying gravels first appear. That the skull came 



., mm 



rosst 



Fig. 2.— Sketch Map in Vicinity of "Palisades." 



1. Where section was taken, shown in Fig. 3; 2. Bison bones (Fig. 5); 



3. Musk ox skull, No. 5728, U. S. National Museum. 



down from the cliff above there can be no doubt, for it lay on a pile 

 of talus accumulated since the last high stage of water. The high- 

 water marks were still plainly evident on either side and above the 

 heaps of detritus. Moreover, the cranial and other cavities of the 

 skull were filled with the fine silt composing the bluff. This skull 

 was in fairly good condition, having, beside two of the molars, some 

 of the bones of the anterior part of the face in a good state of preser- 

 vation. The worn and abraded appearance of most of the fossils 

 here indicates that they are drift and not in a place of primary 

 entombment. 



