NO. 3 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I9I5 29 



away as curiosities by people of the vicinity. These were, however, 

 for the most part recovered. Mr. Pattison, reco.e:nizinp^ the value 

 for public exhibition of such a specimen if j^roperly handled, and 

 judging correctly that the greater part of the skeleton might be 

 secured by an experienced collector, very generously packed and 

 shi])ped the bones then in his possession to the National Museum, 

 at the same time extending an invitation to the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution to send an expedition to his farm to recover, if possible, the 

 remaining parts of the skeleton. A small appropriation was set 

 aside for this purpose, and the first expedition to the Pattison 

 farm, under the direction of J. W. Gidley of the National Museum, 

 was undertaken in June, 191 5. This resulted in securing the lower 

 jaws, most of the remaining vertebrae and ribs, parts of the pelvis, 

 and a few more limb and foot bones. The undertaking was too exten- 

 sive for the funds then available, and Mr. Gidley was obliged to return 

 to Washington before the search was completed. Most of the bones 

 secured on this trip were found in working over the material thrown 

 out by the steam shovel on either side of the ditch at the time the 

 dredging was done. 



In October a second appropriation was made available, and Mr. 

 Gidley again visited the locality of the find, this time completing the 

 work wdiich resulted in securing from the undisturbed deposit at 

 the bottom of the ditch the last of the missing sections of the vertebral 

 column, several more foot bones, and other important fragments. 



At this time it was necessary to sink a cofl:'er-dam across the 

 ditch, which is about 20 feet wide, and at this place contains about 

 six feet of water and mud before coming- to a hard sand bottom. 

 Mr. Gidley thus was enabled to study the formation and make an 

 accurate estimate of the conditions of deposition of the skeleton. 



On assembling in the laboratory the bones of this skeleton received 

 from all sources, it has been found that, with comparatively little 

 artificial restoration, a much more than usually fine and complete 

 specimen of the American mastodon can be assemljled. This is now 

 being mounted and will soon be placed on exhibition as one of the 

 striking features of the T^ossil A'ertebrate Hall. 



PALEONTOLOGICAL AND STRATIGRAPHIC STUDIES IN THE 

 PALEOZOIC ROCKS 



Dr. E. O. Ulrich, associate in paleontology in the U. S. National 

 Museum, was occupied for several months during the field season 

 of 191 5, under the auspices of the U. S. Geological Survey, in a 

 study of the Lower Paleozoic deposits of the Mississippi \'alley. He 



