DEVONIAN SYSTEM: PLATEAU LIMESTONE. 



197 



request by the Burmese as charms ; and that in the time of King 

 Mindoon Min, that is to say, about the middle of the last century, 

 orders had been given to have excavations made at the spot, as 

 it was thought that such an abundance of these strange objects 

 indicated the presence of treasure of some kind hidden below ; 

 and traces of excavations were certainly still visible. On the first 

 opportunity, I caused several cartloads of the surface soil to be carried 

 down to a running stream near by and washed in baskets, when it 

 became easy to pick out the fossils scattered through the washed 

 gravel in the utmost profusion. I also had several pits opened in 

 the solid rock, but although it could be seen that it was filled 

 with fossils, it was only on the weathered surface, or in crevices 

 to which air and water had penetrated, that they were suitable for 

 collection. 



In this manner a rich and varied assemblage of fossils was 

 „ ., obtained, and the number of individual speci- 



lossils. . - 



mens in some cases was extraordinary, perfect 

 examples of some species, Cyrtina heteroclita for instance, being 

 washed out literally in hundreds. This collection was afterwards 

 sent to Mr. Cowper Reed for description, and the results of his 

 researches have been published in the Palceontobgia Indica 1 ; but 

 before proceeding to an enumeration and discussion of the fauna, 

 some description of the locality is necessary. 



The village of Padaukpin lies exactly a mile to the east by 

 „. x . .„ south from Wetwin railway station, and is 



situation oi village. if -i -i 



therefore easily accessible from Maymyo, the 

 summer head-quarters of the Government of Burma, while there 

 is a good travellers' rest house at Wetwin itself, about two miles 

 from the fossil locality. The surrounding country, up to the very 

 gates of the village, is densely wooded, except along the valley of 

 the Kelaung stream, flowing eastwards from Maymyo, which is 

 covered with rice fields ; and the people of the village are mainly 

 engaged in the felling of timber. Immediately to the north of 

 Wetwin station, and extending westwards along the railway, there 

 is a precipitous limestone scarp, but this dies away rapidly to the 

 east, and about Padaukpin the country is so featureless and the 

 forest so dense that without a guide it is easy to lose one's bear- 

 ings. In all this tract outcrops of solid rock are exceedingly rare, 



1 Tho Devonian Faunas of the Northern Shan States, Pal. hid., New Scr., Vol. II, 

 Moinoir No. 5. 



