SILURIAN SYSTEM. 3I 
In the face of such difficulties in the immediate neighbourhood of 
Spiti, it might seem futile to go still further afield, and beyond 
Kashmir, in search of an equivalent of the silurian system of Muth, 
but it is necessary to refer to an interesting paper recently published 
by General McMahon and Mr. Hudleston,^ dealing with a series of 
fossils collected by Captain Gurdon on the bank of the Chitral river, 
Red sandstone, con- betvv^een Chitral and Mastuj. An account of the 
glomerate and devo- ^ j locality was contributed by Major 
man limestone of -' 
Chitral. McMahon, who mentions three distinctive hori- 
zons, viz., a conglomerate, a red sandstone, and a limestone. The 
conglomerate is the lowest, and is overlain by the red sandstone. 
The limestone, which is the uppermost member of the series, yielded 
the fossils which have been described by Mr. Hudleston, who considers 
that they are undoubtedly devonian. Major McMahon does not say 
whether the limestone immediately overlies the red sandstone or is 
separated from it by other beds, but his diagrammatic sketch^ does not 
preclude the latter possibility. Should the conglomerate and sand- 
stone correspond to the conglomerate and red quartzite of Spiti, the 
devonian limestone might be the equivalent of the limestones which 
immediately overlie the Muth quartzite, and which may very possibly 
be of devonian age.* 
[In this connection it is interesting to note that a few years ago 
a small collection of fossils was sent to the Geological Survey of India by 
Lieutenant Grant from the Baroghil Pass in Chitral. They consist of 
fragments of a trilobite {Phacops sp.), a Spirifer, Or this, and some 
Bryozoa in a compact, grey limestone. The materials are not sufficiently 
good to admit of specific determination, but they resemble devonian 
species.] 
In the annexed table will be found the correlation and subdivisions 
, ,. . . , of the lower palaeozoic beds of Spiti adopted 
Subdivision and cor- ^ r r 
relation of lower respectively by Stoliczka, Griesbach and the 
palaeozoic beds. 
present writer. 
* Gaol. Magazine, January and February 1902. 
' Geol. Magazine, January 1902, p. 5, fig 2. 
» Infra, p. 34. 
( 31 ) 
