3o6 The American Geologist. ^^^y- ^^oi- 
in 1859. Of this exploration, also, no detailed record or re- 
port is on file. 
Xo field work was done b\- Dr. Little in 1868, partly be- 
cause by consent of the governor he was acting as professor of 
geology and mineralogy at the University in addition to the 
survey work in the laboratory and collection rooms. In Oc- 
tober, 1870, however, he definitely resigned the state geologist- 
ship for the professorship of geology and natural history in the 
University, and in order to prevent the survey from being 
either abolished or falling into the wrong hands, I again as- 
sumed its direction without additional compensation ; it being 
understood that I should be under no obligation to take the 
field personally. In November, 1868, the assistantship had 
been most fortunately filled by the api)ointment of Dr. Eugene 
A. Smith, of Alabama, then just returned from his studies in 
Europe. Dr. Smith took hold of the work with his character- 
istic energy-, although the first work in order was not of the 
most interesting character ; namely, the farther prosecution of 
the analyses of soils and marls selected so as to cover as nearly 
as possible all parts of the state. This work was carried on 
by him through the year 1869 ^"d a portion of 1870. In Sep- 
tember of that year he took the field, with the usual outfit of a 
two-mule ambulance and driver. There were then two regions 
in the state that had not been at all satisfactorily explored : one 
the belt northward of the Jackson area, of which only the por- 
tions lying in Neshoba and Lauderdale counties on the eastern 
border of the state, and a small area in Attala county, near the 
Central railroad, had been somewhat minutely examined by 
me. This being the connecting link between the "northern 
hgiiitic" and calcareous marine stages, its examination was of 
special interest, but at the same time a difficult task on account 
of the extreme variability of its materials and fossils, and the 
scarcity of outcrops. The other comparatively unknown re- 
gion was the great "Yazoo bottom," the geological exploration 
of which had become of especial interest in connection with 
the question of the age of the fomiation of the gulf coast and 
delta. 
While the Bottom region was to be the chief objective point 
of the first expedition. Dr. Smith availed himself of the oppor- 
tunity of observing a section across the older tertiary in pass- 
