Description of the Bones of a new Fossil Animal. 71 



Geological position. — We copy Mr. K.'s description of the 

 location of these bones, which he exhumed with much labor and 

 expense, about two years since. The bones were found by the 

 proprietor near the shores of the "Pomme de terre" or " Big- 

 bone River," a tributary of the Osage River, in Benton County, 

 state of Missouri, lat. 40°, long. 18°. 



" There is every reason to suppose that the ' Pomme de terre 1 

 at some former period was a large magnificent river, from one 

 half to three fourths of a mile in width, and that its waters then 

 washed the high rocky bluffs on either side, where the marks of 

 the waves are still perfectly plain : they present a similar appear- 

 ance to that of the Missouri and Mississippi. Since the deposit 

 of these bones, the bed of the ' Pomme de terre' has received 

 several different strata, which occur" as follows : 



" Up to the time of the destruction of these animals, the origi- 

 nal stratum forming the bed of the river consisted of quicksand. 

 On the surface of this, and partly mixed with it, the bones were 

 found. The next stratum is a brown alluvial soil, three or four 

 feet in thickness ; this contained and enveloped the bones. This 

 stratum was mixed with a great quantity of vegetable matter, gen- 

 erally in a fine state of preservation ; and what is still more sur- 

 prising, all these vegetable remains are tropical, or of very low 

 southern latitudes. They consist of large quantities of cypress 

 burs, wood, and bark ; a great deal of tropical cane, and tropical 

 swamp moss ; several stumps of trees, resembling logwood. 

 Even the greater part of the flower of the Strelitzia class, which 

 when buried was not full blown, was discovered imbedded in 

 this layer ; also several stems of palmetto leaves, one in which 

 the fibres were nearly perfect. This stratum also contained 

 iron ore. 



" Next came a stratum of blue clay three feet in thickness ; then 

 succeeded one of gravel, from nine to eighteen inches in thick- 

 ness, so densely compressed as to resemble pudding-stone. Then 

 occurred a layer of light blue clay from three to four feet thick. 

 On this, was another stratum of gravel, of similar thickness and 

 appearance to the one first mentioned. This was succeeded by 

 a layer of yellowish clay, from two to three feet thick ; over this 

 a third layer of gravel, of the same appearance and thickness; 

 and lastly, the present earth's surface or soil, consisting of brown- 

 ish clay mingled with a few pebbles, and covered with large oaks 3 



