The Loess of Natchez, Miss. — Shiinck 285 
. Wailes, in his first report, said :"'' "The following list of 
the mammals found in a solid blue clay, said to belong to this 
formation ("bluff," or loess), was furnished by Dr. Leidy : 
Felis atrox, Leidy. Tapinis ha^sii, Leidy. 
Ursus americanus, foss. Eqmis dmericanuSj Leidy. 
Ursiis ai'iplidens, Leidy. Bootlierium cavifrons, Leidy. 
Megalonyx jefFersonn, Harlan. Cervus virginianiis, foss. 
Megalonyx dissimilis, Leidy. Bison latifrons, Leidy. 
Alylodon Jiarlani, Owen. Eleplias primigenuis. 
Ereptodon priscus, Leidy. Mastodon giguntcus. 
Tapinis americanus, foss. 
Of these the last named is by far the most common 
They are found about twenty feet below the surface, and the 
bones of other animals are associated with them." 
A comparison of the two citations shows that the two lists 
are practically the same. The "solid blue clay" is in all prob- 
ability not loess. The writer found no trace of these mammals 
in the loess at Natchez, though molluscan remains were 
abundant. But even if it proves that these mammals are found 
in true loess the problem herein discussed will not be aft'ected, 
as they are terrestrial and, if in true loess, only in its lowest, 
or oldest, parts. 
The characteristic fossils of the loess at Natchez, as else- 
where, are land snails. They are found in all fossiliferous 
Icsss-exposures north and south, and the writer at least, has 
failed to find any other fossils in undoubted loess in the south. 
These fossils have already received some attention. Lyell's 
references to them have already been quoted. Wailes t gives 
the first specific list of species, from the southern loess, identi- 
fied wholly or in part by Conrad. They were obtained from 
the "blufT formation," or loess, of Mississippi, and most of 
them were probably from Natchez. The}- are : 
Helix albolabris Helix perspectiva 
" altcrnata " profunda 
concava " thyroidcs 
elevata " tridental a 
" fratcrna 
To this list Hilgard addst. Helix monodon and "a large 
Achatina found in Wilkinson county." Of these species 
♦See also Hilgard, 1. c. p. 19C. 
tP. 283, 1. c, also quoted in Hilgard, 1. c, p. 196. 
JP. 195, 1. c. 
