FOURTH REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I907 4^ 



Perkinsville swamp and ^4 i^^ile north of the railroad station of 

 Portway. This swamp is a nearly equilateral triangle about i^ 

 miles on the side. It occupies a shallow depression in a mass of 

 morainic drift of unknown depth at the head of the Cohocton 

 valley and is adjacent to the west side of a low ridge that separates 

 the drainage area of the Cohocton river from that of the Cana- 

 seraga creek. It has an altitude of 1360 A. T. The surface layer 

 of the swamp is black muck to a depth of 6" — i^ beneath which 

 is a bed of nearly white marl 6" — 6' in thickness. The bones 

 were found about 26 rods from the highway and 4 or 5 rods from 

 the north edge of the black soil or border of the swamp. In digging 

 about a small boulder Mr Morsch came upon one of the larger leg 

 bones and proceeded to take out the remains of the skeleton. These 

 bones lay largely in their natural position and while perhaps the 

 numerical two thirds of the skeleton were preserved, the more con- 

 spicuous bones were fragmentary or wanting. At the conclusion 

 of the excavation it was found that all four legs and feet, a large 

 number of ribs and vertebrae, parts of the shoulder girdle and 

 one ramus of the lower jaw with teeth had been recovered. The 

 skull with tusks, greater parts of pelvis and scapulae were gone. 

 It would seem that the animal in sinking into the mire had been 

 left with the more protuberant portions of the body, the head 

 probably thrown up and back, exposed to the air and inviting the 

 attack of rodents. The absence of these parts when all the other 

 bones had so compactly kept together, left little likelihood of theii 

 being found in any other part of the swamp. The preservation ot 

 the bones recovered was excellent for mounting and it is to be 

 regretted that the specimen just missed being a desirable acquisition 

 to a scientific museum. 



1876. Pike, Wyoming co. [See Report Paleontologist, 1903 

 p. 932]. I append here some additional data concerning the Pike 

 skull taken from a recently published account [Guide to the Gene- 

 see Valley Museum, Letchworth Park, by Henry R. T lowland, 



1907. P- 5]- 



These remains of a mastodon were found in the summer of \?^J0. 

 in cutting- a farm land ditch on the farm of Charles Dennis, on 

 the outskirts of the village of Pike, which is about 7 miles from 

 Glen Iris, and through which flows the Wiscoy creek, one of the 

 tributaries of the Genesee river. The tusks were fortunately quite 

 perfect and with them were found a i)art of the skull, some verte- 

 brae and some foot bones. In order that these remains should bo 

 properly preserved they were at once i)urchased by Mr fA'tfliu mtli 



