SCIENCE 



Friday, February 20, 1914 



CONTENTS 



The Pleistocene History of the Missouri Biver: 

 Professor J. E. Todd 263 



Benjamin Osgood Peirce: Professor Arthur 

 Gordon Webster 274 



The Bryant Walker Expedition of the Univer- 

 sity of Michigan: Professor Alexander G. 

 SUTHVEN 277 



The President of the University of Illinois . . . 278 



The Carnegie Institution Expedition to Torres 

 Straits 278 



Scientific Notes and News 279 



University and Educational News 283 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



Tlie Cytological Time of Mutation in To- 

 bacco: H. K. Hayes, E. G. Beinhart. 

 Winter Coloration of Weasels: Ernest 

 Ingersoll. Scientific Men and Phonetic 

 Spelling : Dr. Charles P. G. Scott 284 



Scientific Boolcs: — 

 Dennis's Gas Analysis: Professor A. H. 

 Gill. Keown's Mechanism, Marshall's Ele- 

 menta/ry Machine Design: Dr. W. H. James. 

 Linolc's Kristalographie : Professor W. S. 

 Bayley 286 



Scientific Journals and Articles 289 



The Botanical Society of America: Professor 

 George T. Moore 289 



Tlie Joint Annual Meeting of the American 

 Anthropological Association and the Amer- 

 ican Folk-lore Society: Professor George 

 Grant MacCukdy 296 



Mas. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for 

 reriew should be sent to Professor J. McKeen Cattell, Garrison- 

 On-Hudson. N. Y. 



THE PLEISTOCENE HISTOMY OF TEE 

 MISSOURI BIVEB^ 



Assuming that one whom you may honor 

 by election to this position of vice-president 

 is expected to bring forward something con- 

 cerning his special line of research, I have 

 chosen the theme presented as my subject. 

 It has been my lot to study more or less for 

 the last forty years the relations of the Mis- 

 souri River to the Pleistocene Ice. 



This paper proposes to set forth some 

 facts, some of them not widely known, with 

 theories for their explanation, and to inter- 

 weave the theories with sufficient specula- 

 tion to form a consistent and not improb- 

 able story. 



My personal examination covers only 

 from the mouth of the Missouri to Bis- 

 marck, N. D., consequently I speak less in- 

 telligently of the region farther north. 



The Missouri is not an old river geolog'- 

 ically speaking. It has reached maturity 

 over most of its course, but that is the re- 

 sult of the softness of the rocks over which 

 it flows, rather than of the length of time 

 it has occupied its present course. Nor is 

 the degree of maturity proportionate to the 

 softness of the rocks. For example, 

 through the Dakotas it is in very early ma- 

 turity, the flood plains are narrow and the 

 trough is narrow and has steep sides, though 

 the rocks are very soft, while in its lower 

 course the breadth of its trough is quite 

 strictly proportional to the softness of the 

 rocks forming the bed of the present 



1 Address of the vice-president and chairman of 

 Section E, Geology and Geography, American As- 

 sociation for the Advancement of Science, Atlanta, 

 December 29, 1913. 



