GEOLOGY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY, INDIANA. 31 



vada and the Wahsatch Range ; (4) along the Pacific border, in the coast ranges 

 west of the Sierra Nevada; (5) in British America,* on the Saskatchawan and 

 Assiniboine; also, (6), on the Arctic Ocean, near the mouth of the Mackenzie, 

 and in North Greenland. On the Atlantic border they are unknown north of 

 Cape Cod." — Dana. 



Although the fossils of the cretaceous are found in this locality, yet there are 

 no rocks of this formation in considerable quantities nearer than Fort Dodge, 

 Iowa, where it crops out prominently. Being of a soft nature, it is easily carved, 

 and many beautiful ornaments are made. The station-house, or depot, at the 

 above city is built of this material. 



"The cretaceous rocks comprise beds of sand, marlite, clay loosely aggre- 

 gated, shell limestone, or 'rotten limestone,' and solid limestone. They include, 

 in North America, no chalk, excepting in Western Kansas, where, 350 miles west 

 of Kansas City, a large bed exists." — Dana. 



Judging from the fossils of both the fauna and flora of the cretaceous period, 

 there seems to have been a decided change in the vegetation of the continent. 

 While there yet remained the cycads (plants between the palms, ferns and coni- 

 fers), of the Triassic, Jurassic, they were contemporaries of the " first yet known 

 of the great modern group of angiosperms," such as the oak, maple, willow, and 

 the common fruit trees indigenous to the temperate regions, inclusive of all trees 

 having a bark but the conifers and cycads. Of the angiosperms, fossils of the 

 Sassafras cretaceum, Liriodendron meekii, and Salir meekii are found. 



Not wishing to dwell longer upon the flora, I will describe some of the cre- 

 taceous fauna among the protozoans of this epoch. The most important fossil is a 

 rhizopod, Orbitolina Texana. This species are disk-shaped, closely resembling 

 some of the nummulites. Under the sub-kingdom of molusks, the most common 

 brachiopods are of the terebratula family, Terebratulina plicato and Terebratula 

 harlani. The most predominant genera of samellibranchs are three of the oyster 

 family, Ostrea larva, Gryphaeavesicularis and G. pitchere; also, another conchifer, 

 Tnoceramus problematicus. A limited number of the gasteropod family, Pyttfussus 

 ■nerolern i and Fasciolaria buccinoides, are occasionally to be found. No fossils of 

 the largest type of animals of cretaceous origin are found in this locality. Al- 

 though this fact is apparent, yet there are some fossils belonging to this period 

 that I think should be mentioned in connection with what has been stated before. 

 Among the denizens of the cretaceous existed huge and formidable monsters — 

 Enaliosaurs, or sea-saurians, belonging to the reptiles. These were exceedingly 

 numerous. They were provided with flippers, with which they propelled them- 

 selves through the water with wonderful speed. One species of these animals, 

 called by Leidy Ducosaur, was fifty feet in length. It had a neck of over sixty 

 vertebras, measuring over twenty-two feet from one extremity to the other. The 

 Mosasaur, a great swimming snake-like reptile, literally one of the "sea-ser- 

 pents" of the era. Says Dana: "Remains of over forty American cretaceous 



*It is quite probable that the fossils of the Cretaceous period, found in our vicinity, may have been 

 brought in the drift from this locality (?) or at least some of them. 



