730 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
GEOLOGY AND PALA ONTOLOGY. 
THE JUDITH RIVER GROUP. 
BY CHAS. H. STERNBERG. 
[Read tn part before the Kansas Academy of Sczence.| 
The upper Missouri cuts its way for hundreds of miles through the great shale 
beds of the Fort Pierre group: they contain quantities of the salts of soda and 
magnesia, and all the waters flowing through them are strongly impregnated with 
these salts. On the top of this group lie the soft buff-colored sandstone of Creta- 
ceous No. 5., or Fox Hills group. So far as I have examined, they are destitute 
of fossils. Near the mouth of the Judith river and for one hundred and fifty 
miles down the Missouri, the summits of the surrounding hills are covered with 
the rocks of Cretaceous No. 6, or the Judith river group. They consist of an 
upper and lower stratum of brown sandstone, interlaid with beds of various color- 
ed clays, fresh water wvzos and Lignites. These beds were first discovered and 
described by Dr. Hayden, to whose untiring energy we are indebted for our 
knowledge of the stratagraphy and geology of the Northwest. He was driven 
out of the country by Blackfeet Indians, and was only able to save some teeth 
and turtle shells. ‘These have been described by Dr. Leidy, as follows: 
Triodon formosus, and Amblysodon horridus, Carnivorous Dinosaurs and Paleo- 
cincus costatus, and Trachodon mirabilis. _Herbivorous Dinosaurs of the Zestudin- 
ata are Trionyx foveatus, Compsemys vetus, and Emys obscurus. These specimens 
were prophetic of a rich store in wait for the fortunate explorer who would be 
able to make a collection in this interesting country and carry it away. 
Ever since Hayden's explorations this country has been looked to with inter- 
est by scientific men. In 1876 Prof. Cope resolved to goto the Juidth river, and — 
he thought he could do so safely, as the Sioux were south fighting the soldiers. I 
joined the Professor at Omaha, in August. At Ogden we took the Northern Utah 
Railroad for Franklin, Idaho, where a journey by stage of 600 miles awaited us. 
Through Idaho the alkaline dust drove in great clouds, and nearly blinded us: we 
hailed the mountains with delight. | Only persons who have made long journeys 
by stage can know of the discomforts we endured. We outfitted at Fort Bentons 
the head of navigation on the Missouri, Our party consisted of five men. One 
to act as guide, one as cook, the other three including Prof. Cope, were collectors. 
We traveled down the Missouri one hundred and twenty miles to the Judith River 
and went into camp at Dog Creek where our field work began. 
The beds of the Judith River group lay on the summits of hills or in syn- 
clinal valleys near the top. Our first work every morning was to climb to the 
summits of the Bad Lands, about 1500 feet, over beds of black shale. At first 
