270 
On the Organic Remains 
[Sept, 
ever it was Captain S. Webb, then surveyor in Kemaoon. He took home a collec- 
tion of them, which from an incidental notice in the Reliquiee Diluviance we learn 
was inspected by the Rev. Dr. Buckland, whose speculations on the subject of 
bones found in caves excited so much interest some years a go. Mr. Traill, Com- 
missioner in Kemaoon, subsequently made what appeared to me a very interesting 
and valuable collection, which was presented to Mr. H. T. Colebrooke. These 1 
had an opportunity of examining, and I shall here state what occurred to me, as 
well as what I could learn of their locality, &c. 
They consisted of bones of sizes, including crania or fragments of crania of differ- 
ent animals. One specimen, which was a very perfect one, was a cranium apparent- 
ly of a & oat 01 deei , the cavity of the skull being occupied with a congeries of 
crystals of calcareous spar. In like manner, the larger bones had their cancel Is filled 
with these crystals, which appeared to have taken the place of the medullary sub- 
stance All these bones were completely mineralised, being converted into carbo- 
nate of lime, with occasional incrustations of an arenaceous or coarser carbonate. 
Or Buckland says of those he examined (the bones taken home by Captain Webb), 
and of which he referred several to a species of horse and a species of deer, that 
ey were unchanged except by the loss of their animal ingredients, being dry and 
absorbent like grave bones. Mr. Traill’s collection was evidently of a very differ- 
ent nature . the mere handling them was sufficient to convince any one of the com* 
Plete change they had undergone. 
ometime afterwaids I was foitunate enough to make some acquisitions of the 
same land by Mr. Traill's assistance, and as far as I could understand derived from 
re same localities. These, as they were described to me, were on the northern faceof 
11 ge w ic separates the basin of the Ganges from that of the Sutluj, and not 
far from the town of Dnmpu. This ridge is several days journev beyond the 
me of snowy peaks forming the zone of greatest elevation. On one of the passes 
examined, the Uta Dhura, elevated 17000 ft. was found a bed of limestone 
containing organic remains though not well defmed-such a limestone as in Europe 
d , ca ? led tran sition. This limestone belongs to a gray-rvaeke schist, which 
succeeds a micaceous schist, following in order the Himmalaya gneiss: yet these 
bones were asserted to have been brought from a spot not 5 days journey to the 
north of this, and considerably elevated above the bed of the Sutlnj. I am sorry I 
have not the means of submitting this collection to the Society, hut the accompany 
ng two specimens may give some idea of the nature of these remains. One ap- 
S, 10 ^ fragment ° f a b0ne 0f a lar Sn animal — it is, as is evident from its 
ther ,t LmT a mineraIise<1 ' The other * a specimen of silicified wood. Wto- 
similar specimen).' ' C ! ’“’“ CpIaCe 1 knOW not > but the collection contained sereral 
of JmLrt/Jand 7 ' ri, ° m ! beSe bones *«e obtained, ft™! numbers 
ellipsoidal shaped ^ ^ former wbe “ unbroke “ "" 
slate. Outside thev o e f ‘ , aC Jron clay, approaching to the nature of clay 
ing them 2 Ln ) 7*°' 7 Sm °° ,h > aS if rou " ded attrition, but on break- 
which Iter„17 7 A "”'° is Covered. Many of hern, however, 
~4?i„1he We 7 " 0t d ; St “« uishab >a from the others yet contained no 
I never 77 “ f 7 ■ locality of these or of the AMK 
of the ra„~ hef “ ny m “° D b ^°" d fact of their being found North 
u is tbe boundaryof the Hooorable 
J, waamvewise mat oi my investigations. 
