The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-08-25

Immediately above these remains, which We have not
repeated elsewhere In the section This would seem
TO Indicate the existence OF current ef UNUSUAL turbu-
ience Or tnat there was renewal Of the causes BY
which the bouiders were transported after the inter
There are two other points within the xuskngum val.
Ross bias small nolar, In high state OF preservation
which found the mouth OF salt Creek nine miles
below Zanesviie had been washed from the adjoIu.
ing bank but was not traced 70 its At Beverly
forty miles below GAINESVILLE three polars were taken
from the valley DRIFT.
Let examine the order or events which has hap
pened here That order, rightly interpret the pheno-
ma follows First the valley was scooped out OF
the coal rocks which form the great framework Of this
gon next was ned from side 10 aide the height 60
feet with sand and pebbles and occasional bouders-a
derived from regions far angular blocks
lower level than at Then the country was eeva
ed, during which the valley was party re.excayated
leaving behind the dr terraces as record Of the event
Again sank when the commnuted sand aud clay torn
ing the river bottom, was deposited and rose az
successive intervals, leaving behind len than three
sets Of alluviu terraces After the formation OF the most
ancient dr terraces the waters ceased to transport
pebbles and angular blocks. The river new winds ITS
way through this sllIval bottom which formed IN
der different physical conditions from those which
preval-hat is, when the waters were higher or what
amounts to the same thing when the country lower
have taken place within the human epoch The latest OF
the terraces, We may presume are older than man but
when compared with the rs formed, which contain the
remains OF the elephant they comparatively modern
10 estimating the antiquity this deposit should also
bear ia mind that the highest drift and that fsrthest
moved the Oldest As the country first depressed
then by repeated oscillations it follows that the
higher portions. and those the most remote from the
sourcs Of the drift would be first exempt from It's ra
wages We here its southern confines latitude
degree'). aud in region which has penetrated only
through the deeper valleys and as these deposits are
etuated nearly $50 feet above lake Erie must assign
to them higher antiquity than the uppermat Of those
which occur at lower levels.
In the year 1853 Mr. Briggs and myself then employed
va the geological survey OF Ohio, exhurnec portion 81
the skeleton Of the fossil elephant from the banks Of
OF the rbn'ares OF Salt Creek tn jackson county, South
ern Ohio. Tie fragments consisted Of two moags
several RIBS, portions OF Uranium, one incsor two
peteli;e aud several vertebra.
Mr.. Alfred Sears, lately engineer the Baltimore
and Ohio Raiiread has deposited in the museum OF the
Smithsonian Institution few fragments OF tie skeleton
or the fossil elephant and from him derive the follow
ing accouot Of their geological position =
Above Wheeling the river bottom il very narrow; but
as we descend the Ohio il widens gradually, rising with
one step until we reach point 4 miles from Wheeling
creek when another step begins and continues beyond
the place where these relics found. The bottom
very level and consists Of deposit OF gravel aud sand
A; point intermediate between Wheeling and the place
where this section other bones OF the ee
phart were found IL the upper bottom, y twelve or
thirteen feet below the surface.
With gard to the pebbles Mr remarks that he has
N this part OF the Ohio any Of granite origin
but they are for the most part sandstone and lime
stone the debris Of the neighooring formation Between
these deposits and those OF the Maskngum valley there
is coincidence in this respec.that the elephant remains
occur in the upper Oldest terrace and to show that
they possess higher antiquity than the works Of man.
would state that upon this upper terrace and within
few feet in linear direction from the lower deposit Of
ioss bones, there an aboriginal mound thus proving
that the features OF tnis vicinity must have
been the same as We row behold Them at the time OF the
talding OF this structure
Hitherto the Big Bone Lick IN Kentucky, has proved the
great charne house OF the remains OF the mastodon
elephant This locality has often been described q
.oosssi pachyderms together with the bison and deer
belonging 10 existing species, were mired. This view
,owever, is erroneous The deposits very similar to
hose in jackson county, Ohio, hitherto described,
s,ing first Of yellow clay. fifteen twenty feet ia
h.ckpcss with dark coored clay below containing the
,achycerm remains. At the place where most OF the
have been made the yellow clay has been
,enrted leaving the blue clay the surface aud al
norgh IN this swamp the bones OF the deer and the
astodon and the elephant yet they belong 10 two dis
nct geological erochs. The latter entombed be-
after ns cenuda,on 1t is undenabe fact tina, the
paohyderm remains have been found, penetrating
through the yellow clay in tie blue clay beneath but
IS not u at the remains Of the ruminan have
been found Gatey these conditions.
According 10 DR. stevens, IN the excavation along the
line OF the Illinois Central Railroad about Is feet deep
near Beacoafs, the workmen found the remains OF q
masodon IN the prairie dr below the yellow clay, in
the older reddish clsy.
maii we're found about IL feet below. in ,imlar pcsi
ton.
AT Bloomfield, Edgar county the remains Of jaw and
hree teeth found in the yellow clay about three
feet below The surface.
The Of the fossi elephant have thus lar been
ornd IN only instance in the Provinces, AMI that
n Burlington Heights, the head OF Lake Ontario
indebted 10 Mr. Mcqueen for the following account Of
he conditions under which they found, commun-
Gated by L. Billings Esq, OF B. town
Burlington Heights Is narrow peninsula, about
hree fourths OF mile in length and not more than half
frrlorg IN width, which divides Burlington bay aud the
marshes an area OF several thousand
ylug between the head OF tho bay and the town OF Dun
las, four miles distant. The marsh is sill partially
yered with water, and recent experiments have shown
hat The bottom Is soft floating mud extending 10 q depth
50 feet rs present surface scarcely above the wa
ets OF the bay siuggsh stream nom the high lands
A aV rtnda
round the head oil the peninsula into the bay aud
orms the les aTdines canal have doubt that the
large mass Of aiuyal matter has been formed by the
IN It's uniring perseverance, The peninsula i Ito
FEET Ia height The land each side OF the amph,hea
Ire In which the marsh enclosed rises great height,
ray $50 fee, above the level OF the peninsula The great
przz.e 10 Is the cementei gravel begins at the sur
lace Is 90 feet thick, Is regularly becded Ike the strata
IN limestone quarry, has considerable dip inclna-
lion, and ~ oil but impene,rabe. II Is dicutt 10 drill
or blast as any limestone, The sand which II ~ in
camben Z TOO clean and TOO fine tor building purposes
81 this qualify continues for perhaps 80 feet ards
and then turns into loose, gravel Ike the beach
Df the lake The bones were teposied 10 the the sand
q which there was not vesise Of shell any descrp
Whether these deposits belong TO the old dr, know
not, bet Is evident that they formed ri time
WHEN the waters stood at q much higher level and by
which have ceased to operste 10 the character
u the fossil bones the reader referred TO the letter OF
Mr.. Co,ile 70 the Editors OF the Annals OF Natural dis
DRY aud then copied ino The XIV vol ofthe Amer.
an Journal Of Science p. 2s2.
ound only IA Vermont In The construction OF the Rat
and and BuTlng ton Railroad the partial fragments OF
.keCtou were found al Mount Holly, t,e very summit
II the inc lao feet above tide water $50 feet ABOVE
AXE Chsmpain. There here the remains OF q small
pest swamp bit Dr. Warren informs me tnat Mr. Hen.
hsw. who was mainly instrumental IN bringing these
relics before the world st under the in pres ION tha,
some Of them were taken from below a very large
boulder
There here deep cui through tie ursra,aed a,ir,
md the surrounding hills which attain much higher e,e.
walton, ere sirevn with large boulders.
IN New York and New Jersey the remains OF the mas
odon have been found IN high degree OF ierva on
peat swsmps repo NC beds II shell mari ard the
shells IN 81 Instances OF fresh water rgn and
ong TO exxnz species; but thus Tar no fragments OF
keSoD Of tue FOSSIL elephant have been lou ca Ia this con
necion Ia the valley OF the Ohio, however the re-.
mans OF these two classes Of Tnchydcrms have been
ound side by side thus leaving doubt that they were
rDnte poI The remains 81 the elephant al the
West certainly IN the drn materials which occupy
The valleys, While those Of the masiodon are found ia
what often appeared to be erosions u the ola Drift
The presence ~ the remains of fresh water shells or
existing species ought not however 10 be Yelled upon
proof Of the extreme modern origin oil these depo ts
iiIce il Is an undoubted fact that Europe aud South
America, where river aud land shells occur assoc sted
with fossil mammala, even OF the pliocne period
they are found 10 belong TO existing species. Thus at
fgrA flo afT mt