Art. TV. Descriptions of New Organic Remains from Norih- 

 Eastern Kansas, indicating the Existence of Permian Rocks in 

 that Territory ; by F. B. Meek and F. V. Hayden, M. D. 



Read before the meetiDg of March 2, 1858. 



Some six or eight months since, Major F. Hawn, of 

 Weston, Missouri, who has kindly furnished us much inte- 

 resting information respecting the geology of north-eastern 

 Kansas, with the privilege of publishing the same, sent on 

 to one of us* a collection of fossils from a locality near the 

 mouth of Smoky Hill fork of Kansas river. A portion of 

 this collection was found to consist of fossils charac- 

 teristic of the western Coal measures ; but along with 

 these there were several masses of a hard, rather compact, 

 yellowish, brittle, magnesian limestone, containing a very 

 peculiar group of fossils, differing from forms known to us 

 in any part of the Carboniferous system, yet more nearly 

 like Upper Carboniferous than Triassic or Jurassic types. 



Suspecting this rock might represent the Permian system 

 of the old world, a hasty comparison was made with some 

 of the figures, and descriptions of Permian fossils, which 

 almost established the conviction that they belonged to that 

 epoch. Having other engagements to attend to at that time, 

 however, and wishing to obtain some additional collections 

 Major Hawn had written he hoped to be able to send on for 

 us to investigate and describe from this rock, these speci- 

 mens were, for the time being, laid aside. Major Hawn was 

 informed however, of the fact that they were probably Per- 



* Mr. Meek. 



[Trans, iv.] 



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