Capt. Cautley on the Sevdlik Hills. 271 



of vertical pressure. The lignite, in these cases, constitutes merely the outer 

 covering; the interior of the trunk being composed of the sandstone matrix. 

 The bed is enveloped in strata of the marl, abounding in the remains of ani- 

 mals ; and both the lignite bed and the marl, appear at this point most dis- 

 tinctly to have been deposited in a hollow ; the beds, at their lateral extremi- 

 ties gradually attenuating, until they meet the sandstone rock ; and the lower 

 surface being concave. Although the marl is evidently limited at this spot, it 

 seems to exist so generally in extended strata, that, supposing it to have formed 

 tracts of marsh land, those tracts must have been very extensive. I have be- 

 fore remarked, that I have seen the marl only on the southern limits of these 

 hills, between the Jumna and Ganges. In crossing the former river, how- 

 ever, the same stratum, with the same organic remains, is met with on the 

 north of the mountain ridge, on which the town of Nahun stands. Here the 

 upheavement has been more violent than elsewhere ; and the point of junction 

 of this tract with the higher Himalayas is consequently much dislocated. It is 

 necessary to state, that there are appearances of trap* in the neighbourhood 

 of these disturbances ; a fact which may lead hereafter to an interesting 

 geological disquisition on the point of junction. Fossil wood, apparently dico- 

 tyledonous, abounds in the sandstone. The woody fibre is generally perfect, 

 but impregnated with the sandstone, and frequently mixed with carbonaceous 

 matter ; in which case the fossil is black, and on fracture has the appearance 

 of an intimate mixture of coal and sand, or of an imperfect coal. The only 

 remains of animals yet found are fragments of tortoises. 



Marl, with Organic Remains. — As the marl is in greatest abundance in 

 this section, I will now give an account of its organic remains ; confining 

 myself to classes and genera. These fossils are in appearance perfect, and 

 the deep black colour which they have derived from hydrate of iron, renders 

 them ornamental. The medullary cavities are, in many cases, filled with 

 pyrites, and in others with pure white crystallized carbonate of lime. The 

 greater part of the fossils, already procured, is from the deposit in the Kalowala 

 Pass ; and as my collection is not only large, but abundant in different genera, 

 the number already found in such a limited space, indicates the great variety 

 of animal remains, which a diligent and extensive search may produce. 

 Teeth, and the more solid part of the bones, are found in the greatest quan- 

 tity. Most of the former are perfect, and as sharp in their outline as when 

 the animals existed ; and even in the fragments, the sharpness of the fracture 



* Dr. Falconer has made the same observation. Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. iv. p. 50 ; 

 date of communication, 3rd Jan. 1835. 



