GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TEERITORIES. 37 



give some idea of its size, as well as the surface of the surrounding- 

 country: 



From Tecum seh to the source of the l^emaha, about forty-five miles, 

 I did not discover a single exposure of rock, and I could not ascertain 

 that any had ever been observed by the settlers. We must conclude, 

 therefore, that building-materials in the shape of rock are not well dis- 

 tributed over the county ; indeed, I do not know of any one in which I 

 observed less. 



The soil is very fertile, however, and in that respect will compare 

 favorably with any in the State. In what are called the alluvial clays, 

 near Tecumseh, were discovered some interesting remains of extinct 

 animals, which appear to have been abundant all over the West at that 

 period. Just over the cap-rock of the coal-seam^ in stripping away the 

 alluvial clay, Mr. Beatty discovered two molar teeth of a mastodon, 

 in a fine state of iDreservatiou, one of which I was fortunate enough to 

 secure. 



About six miles west of Tecumseh, Mr. Caldwell, in digging a cellar, 

 unearthed a fine molar tooth of an elephant, which probably belongs to 

 the well-known species JElephas americanus. This huge animal seemed 

 to have ranged all over America, east of the Mississippi, and of late 

 years its remains have been found in Oalifornia and Colorado. This is 

 the first specimen ever found in the Missouri Valley, to my knowledge. 



In 1858 I was fortunate enough to discover the remains of a number 

 of species of extinct animals, in some Pliocene Tertiary deposits on the 

 ^Niobrara River, and among them was a species of mastodon which Dr. 

 Leidy, of Philadelphia, described as M. mirijicus, and an elephant a third 

 larger than any ever before known, extinct or recent, Elephas inperator. 

 These two species have never been found at any other localities, and 

 were geologically much older than those first mentioned. 



There are many fine farms in this county, and some of them are under 

 a good state of cultivation. The best one I saw is improved by Mr. 

 Luke Corson, about one and a half miles from the village of Tecumseh. 

 He has i3lanted with success almost all the common varieties of forest- 

 trees of this latitude, and his experiments in all kinds of hardy fruits have 

 been eminently successful. Apples, pears, peaches, cherries, apricots, 

 plums, blackberries, strawberries, gooseberries, and currants, have been 

 raised in great perfection. 



He has surrounded his farm with the willow hedge, which in his case 

 has been remarkably successful. The willow makes a most beautiful 

 hedge to the eye. Five years ago he put the cuttings, three or four inches 

 long, in the ground, and now these willow-trees are fifteen feet high, 

 and often four to six inches in diameter at the base, and in most cases 

 as a fence it is capable of turning cattle. Although fully as handsome 

 in its appearance to the eye, it does not equal the Osage-orange hedge 

 as a fence. The attention of farmers in this county has been directed 

 to the importance of planting hedge-fences as soon as possible. One 

 gentleman put out fourteen miles of Osage-orange hedge this season ; 

 another two and a half miles, and there is probably from one hundred 

 to one hundred and fifty miles of young fence in Johnson County at this 

 time. 



Building materials, as clays, sands, &c., with the exception of lime- 

 stone, are abundant. The water is excellent all over the county, and 

 on the Nemaha there are some good mill-sites. Peat is found in limited 

 quantities. Fuel is scarce, and must be supplied by the planting of 

 forrest- trees. 



In conclusion, I would say that there is no county in the State with 



