Mr. George Langford, of Joliet, states that he made a collection of bones 15 miles west of Joliet and 5 miles west by north of Minooka. The more exact locality he gave as township 35 north, range 8 east, and probably section 27, on the farm of John Bamford. Apparently both Riggs and Langford obtained their materials at the same spot. The latter has sent the writer some bones from this place, including those of Cervalces, Alces americanus, and a leg-bone of some undescribed species of sheep or goat. He also reported the finding of the elk. For other remarks see page [269]. This locality is in the region mapped by Leverett as having been occupied, after the retirement of the Wisconsin glacial ice, by temporary lakes. The presence of the moose here seems to indicate a climate somewhat severer than that now prevailing in that region. Since the occupancy of the country by the European race the moose has not been known to come further south than northern Wisconsin. The list of species obtained is as follows: Mammut americanum, Ovis sp. indet., Odocoileus virginianus, Cervus canadensis, Alces americanus, Cervalces roosevelti?.
A brief description of the bone referred to Ovis is presented. The lower epiphysis is missing, but an allowance is made for this (fig. 13).
| Comparisons of the metatarsals of a sheep, of a goat, of Næmorhedus, and of Orvis sp. from Whitewillow, in millimeters, together with indices in one-hundredths of the length. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurements taken. | Næmorhedus. | Indices. | Capra hircus 155623. | Indices. | Sheep. | Indices. | Whitewillow animal. | Indices. |
| Length on outer border of bone | 170 | 100 | 120 | 100 | 152 | 100 | 185± | 100 |
| Side-to-side width of upper articular surface | 36 | 21.2 | 23 | 19.2 | 23 | 15.1 | 37.5 | 20.3 |
| Fore-and-aft width of upper articular surface | 30.5 | 17.4 | 20 | 16.7 | 21 | 13.8 | 37.5 | 20.3 |
| Side-to-side width, at middle of length | 23 | 13.5 | 15 | 12.5 | 14 | 9.2 | 19.0 | 10.3 |
| Fore-and-aft width at middle of length | 17.5 | 10.3 | 11.5 | 9.1 | 13 | 8.6 | 20.0 | 10.8 |
| Side-to-side width at lower end just above epiphysis | 38 | 22.4 | 27 | 22.5 | 27 | 17.8 | 35.0 | 19.5 |
| Side-to-side width across lower articular surface | 41 | 24.1 | 27.2 | 22.5 | 25 | 16.4 | ||
Fig. 13.—Metatarsal of undetermined species of Ovis? From Kendall County, Illinois.
From Alton, the U. S. National Museum has come into possession of a collection which furnishes 15 species of fossil mammals. This was made some time before 1883 by Hon. William McAdams, of Alton. It was briefly mentioned by him at the Minneapolis meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1883 (Proceedings, vol. XXII, p. 268). Apparently the collection was secured for the U. S. Geological Survey by Professor O. C. Marsh and remained at Yale University until after his death. The species were described by the writer in 1920 (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. LVIII, pp. 109–117). This collection seemed especially valuable because the species were found inclosed in supposed nodules of loess. In our country the loess has furnished few such remains. The following is the list of the species as determined. Those marked by a dagger are extinct.
- †Megalonyx jeffersonii (p. [33]).
- †Equus sp. indet. (p. [187]).
- †Platygonus cumberlandensis? (p. [219]).
- †Sangamona fugitiva.
- †Cervalces roosevelti?.
- †Rangifer muscatinensis? (p. [246]).
- †Taurotragus americanus.
- †Symbos cavifrons (p. [254]).
- †Bison sp. indet. (p. [259]).
- †Mammut americanum (p. [102]).
- Castor canadensis.
- Marmota monax.
- †Castoroides ohioensis (p. [279]).
- Geomys bursarius.
- Ursus americanus.
Of these 15 species at least two-thirds are now extinct. This large number might appear to indicate that the time of their existence was rather early in the Pleistocene. However, it is quite certain that the loess belongs somewhere about the middle of the Pleistocene; and there are no species that require an earlier date.
After the writer’s descriptions of the fossils had been published, an important paper on the geology of the locality was issued (Jour. Geol., vol. XXIX, 1921, pp. 505–514) by Professor Morris M. Leighton, who had been commissioned by the Illinois Geological Survey to visit and study the deposits involved. With the aid of Mr. John D. Adams, son of the collector of the mammalian fossils, Professor Leighton succeeded in finding the quarry in which most of the fossils had been collected.
At one quarry in Alton Professor Leighton obtained the following geological section, the description of which is here somewhat abridged: