12 THE MISSOURIUM, 
The original stratum on which this former river flowed at 
the time it was inhabited by the Missourium, and up to the 
time of its destruction, consisted of quicksand; on the surface 
of its stratum, and partly mingled with it, was the deposit of 
the before described skeleton. The next is a stratum from 
three to four feet in thickness, consisting of a brown alluvial 
soil: in this all the remainder of the skeleton was contained, 
and covered by it. This stratum was mixed with a great 
quantity of vegetable matter, and most of this is in a wonder- 
ful state of preservation; but what is still more surprising, all 
the vegetable remains are of a tropical or very low southern 
production. They consisted of large quantities of cypress 
burs, wood and bark: a great deal of tropical cane and tropical 
swamp moss; several stumps of trees, if not logwood, yet 
bearing a very close resemblance to it; even the greater part 
of a flower of the Strelitzia class, which, when destroyed, was 
not full blown, was discovered embedded in this layer; also, 
several stems of palmetto leaf, one possessing all the fibres 
perfect, or nearly so. ‘To those who are not acquainted with 
the nature of this plant, it is well to remark, that it is not found 
at present farther north than the northern parts of Louisiana. 
The time when the revolution of the earth took place, during 
which this before described animal lost its life, was between 
the 15th of September and 20th of October, which is proven 
by the fact just mentioned of the cypress burs being found; - 
from which circumstance might be readily inferred, that they 
had been torn by force from their parent stem before they had 
arrived at perfection, and were involved in one common ruin 
with the trees which bore them, these having been torn up by 
the roots, and twisted and split into a thousand pieces, ap- 
parently by lightning, combined with a tremendous tempest 
or tornado, There was no sign or indication of any very large 
trees, the cypresses that: were discovered being the largest that 
were growing here at the time. 
Through this stratum ran several veins of iron ore—suflicient 
evidence of the antiquity of this deposite. Immediately over 
this was one of blue clay, 3 feet in thickness; the next was 
one of grayel from 9 to 18 inches in thickness, so hard com- 
