20 University of Kansas Geological Survey. 



bra,tes are found in abundance, while below they are rare. Of 

 the Niobrara proper he gives a description of the physical fea- 

 tures and areal extent, and mentions the fossils which it con- 

 tains. The thickness is given as seventy-five feet in Trego 

 county and 200 feet in Ellis county. He makes the statement 

 that Hayden mistook exposures near Fort Wallace for Be-nton. 

 He records the occurrence of seams of calc and heavy spar. He 

 states that he discovered a bed of Baculites near Sheridan (Mc- 

 Allaster) and on referring specimens of them to Meek, received 

 the following reply : " One fact in regard to your specimens, 

 however, is curious to me. All the other forms like this that 

 I have ever seen from any part of the far west come from Nos. 4 

 and 5. Can it be possible that you have found an outlier of 

 Nos. 4 or 5? " Mudge, however, states that the beds are clearly 

 Niobrara, since characteristic fish and saurians are found not 

 more than fifteen or twenty feet above and not 200 yards 

 distant. This same error was perpetuated by both Cope and 

 Marsh in the descriptions of fossils from this region. The 

 massive beds of stratified limestone or chalk before mentioned, 

 together with all the deposits above the Dakota, he calls the Fort 

 Hays. He refers to Hayden's statement, that the Niobrara lime- 

 stone filled with Inoceramus problematicus is exposed at Wilson, 

 and states that this rests directly on the Dakota, and all that 

 which Hayden supposed might be Benton is above this stratum, 

 and thus concludes that the Benton is not seen in Kansas. He 

 remarks that the lower portion of the Fort Hays may be Ben- 

 ton, although there does not appear to be any line of demarca- 

 tion. He says that the only persistent stratum is a buff, sandy 

 limestone, never over ten inches thick (the Fence-post layer of 

 Cragin) , which is much used for building. He describes a bed 

 of blue shales containing concretions (Victoria shales) above 

 this horizon. The fossils of the formation are mentioned. The 

 total thickness of the Fort Hays is given at 260 feet. The Da- 

 kota is made to include all the Cretaceous east of the Niobrara. 

 No Triassic or Jurassic fossils having been discovered after ten 

 years' search, he concludes that the Dakota rests directly upon 

 the Permian, and is conformable with his Fort Hays group 



