5. Wabash County.—Elrod and Benedict reported in 1892 (Geol. Surv. Indiana, vol. XVII, p. 240) that a Mr. Longnecer had unearthed the head and antlers of an elk in a swamp on his farm “near the west county line.” The antlers measured 8 feet from tip to tip. In this case they probably were given their greatest possible span. It is to be regretted that no more definite locality was given. For those in that region who might be interested, it would be possible to learn the location more accurately by searching the office of the county surveyor or of the county clerk. At any rate, the animal lived there in Late Wisconsin time.
6. Foresman, Newton County.—In the State Museum at Indianapolis is the left antler of an elk said to have been found in 1884, at Foresman. It is credited to D. E. Howe, and the writer has not been able to get any additional information. Foresman is on Iroquois River; and, according to Leverett’s map (Monogr. LIII, plate VI), the region about there is occupied by clay of a glacial lake bottom. The antler may be of the Recent period, but more probably of Late Wisconsin times.
7. Rensselaer, Jasper County.—In the State collection at Indianapolis just mentioned is a part, about 16 inches long, of the antler of an elk, presented by Dr. Loughridge, of Rensselaer, but no additional information is furnished. The animal may have lived at any time during or since the Late Wisconsin stage.
8. Lake County.—In the Twenty-second Annual Report of the State Geologist of Indiana, page 90, Blatchley stated that antlers of the elk had been found in this county, but no details were given.
9. Kouts, Porter County.—In the report just cited, on page 90, Blatchley, State geologist, reported antlers of a large elk found close to teeth of a mastodon. This was somewhere near Kouts.
The reports of fossil remains of Cervus canadensis in Indiana are not very satisfactory. In few cases has any effort been made to record anything like exact information as to the locality and the depth of burial and the nature of the deposit and to preserve the specimens. Nevertheless, in most instances at least, it is quite certain that the remains referred to this species were really such. While, again, some of the remains have possibly belonged to the Recent period, probably most of them date back to late Pleistocene; that is, Late Wisconsin times. In many cases the remains have been found at a depth of several feet in swamps that were being drained. It is certain that these swamp deposits accumulated with exceeding slowness. Not infrequently fossil mastodon bones and teeth have been found within a few inches of the surface. In the case of none of the finds of elk materials is there any indication of an age beyond that of the Late Wisconsin.
ILLINOIS.
1. Niantic, Macon County.—in 1873 (Geol. Surv. Illinois, vol. V, p. 308), A. H. Worthen reported the discovery of remains of mastodon, elk, buffalo, and deer in a bog near Niantic. The exact locality and the conditions are described on page [102]. In that account it is concluded that the mastodon remains went to the museum of C. F. Günther, of Chicago, and from there to the collection of the Chicago Academy of Sciences. What became of the bones of the elk, the buffalo, and the deer is not known. As no record appears to have been kept of the depths at which each of the species was found, we do not know whether or not the others were as old as the mastodon. However, it is certain that these old ponds and marshes left on the surface of the Wisconsin drift filled up very slowly.
2. Near Whitewillow, Kendall County, 5 miles west by north of Minooka.—Dr. E. S. Riggs, of the Field Museum of Natural History, informed the writer that he had found here bones of the elk. These were also reported by him in Netta C. Anderson’s list (Augustana Coll. Publ., No. 5, page 11). Mr. George Langford, of Joliet, has likewise found elk antlers here and remains of Cervalces and Alces americanus.