Smithsonian miscellaneous collections . uperincumbent material is washeddown by the powerful streams of water from the nozzles of thejacks. 1 McConnell, R. G.: Preliminary Report on the Klondike Gold Fields. YukonDistrict, Canada. Geol. Surv. Canada, No. 687, 1900, p. 21. i6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS The working face as we saw it varied from twenty to forty feet inheight. It is in the bottom part of the muck that the fossils arefound. Those seen in place were from twelve to eighteen inchesabove the layer of gravel, and upon inquiry it was learned that all ofthe specimens tak
Smithsonian miscellaneous collections . uperincumbent material is washeddown by the powerful streams of water from the nozzles of thejacks. 1 McConnell, R. G.: Preliminary Report on the Klondike Gold Fields. YukonDistrict, Canada. Geol. Surv. Canada, No. 687, 1900, p. 21. i6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS The working face as we saw it varied from twenty to forty feet inheight. It is in the bottom part of the muck that the fossils arefound. Those seen in place were from twelve to eighteen inchesabove the layer of gravel, and upon inquiry it was learned that all ofthe specimens taken out here had come from approximately the samehorizon. The muck and gravel, which rest unconformably upon the under-lying rocks, is solidly frozen, but thaws rapidly under the heat ofthe summer sun, and large pieces were continually dropping duringour examination of the face. This thawed material emitted the dis-agreeable odor of decomposing organic matter, a phenomenonobserved by many others, particularly Dall,1 who attributed it to. Fig. 1.—Cross-section of Fox Gulch, Bonanza Creek, Yukon Territory, Canada. a. White channel gravels and quartz drift; b. Muck; c. Bed rock; d. Layer of logs, limbs, etc.; x. Level where fossils occur. decaying animal flesh or to dung of the mammoth or other herbiv-orous animals. The present writer agrees with Mr. Maddren,2 whoattributes it to the gases from decaying vegetable matter, of whichthe deposits are largely composed. Interbedded with the muck in Fox Gulch was a layer of wood,represented by many fair-sized sticks (see (d), fig. 1), their ends inmany instances being much rounded and water-worn. Many of the fossils found here were beautifully preserved. Forexample, several of the bison skulls had the external horn, the entiredentition, and the frail, delicate bones of the anterior portion of theface remaining intact. The conditions are unusual, for, as a rule,only the horn cores and the heavier and stronger parts are found, andit is upo
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