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TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

WISCONSIN ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS

VOL. XXIII

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Mi. IJiriOHAL

MADISON, WISCONSIN

1927

CONTENTS

Page

The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut Curtis

Nettels _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ — 1

Thomas Murner’s Attitude in the Controversy between

Reuchlin and the Theologians of Cologne, Based

on his Translations from the Hebrew and the

Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum, Vol. II, Nos. 3,

9, 59. Ernst Voss _______ _ 29

The Development of the Theory of Multiple Glaciation

in North America. F. T. Thwaites _ _ 41

A Century of Temperatures in Wisconsin. Eric

Miller _ _ 165

The History and Hydrography of Lake Ripley. Way-

land J. Chase and Lowell E. Noland _ 179

The Temperature of the Bottom Deposits of Lake Men-

dota. E. A. Birge, C. Juday and H. W. March__ 187

Phosphorus Content of Lake Waters of Northeastern

Wisconsin. C. Juday, E. A. Birge, G. I. Kem-

merer and R. J. Robinson _ _ _ 233

Notes on the Chemical Composition of Some of the

Larger Aquatic Plants of Lake Mendota. II.

Vallisneria and Potamogeton. Henry A. Schu-

ette and Hugo Alder _ _ 249

Linguistic Aberrations. E. T. Owen _ _ _ 255

A Bacteriological Study of Salad Dressings. Freda

M. Bachmann _ _ _ 529

A Case of Phenomenal Zoospore Behavior of an Appar¬

ently Sterile Isoachlya and a Description of the

Plant. (With Plates 1-3.) James A. Lounsbury 539

iv

Contents.

Page

A Survey of Watermolds Occurring in the Soils of

Wisconsin, as Studied during the Summer of 1926.

(With Plates 4-7.) James Vernon Harvey _ 551

Cytological Studies of Some of the Short-cycled Rusts.

(With Plates 8-10.) Ruth I. Walker _ 567

A New Species of Diaptomus from the Philippine

Islands. (With Plate 11.) Stillman Wright__ 588

A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Genus Pseudo-

diaptomus. (With Plate 12.) Stillman Wright 587

Water Mites from China. (With Plates 18-15.)

Ruth Marshall _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 601

The Development of the Compound Eye of the Con¬

fused Flour Beetle, Trilobum eonfusum Jacq.

(With Plates 16-19.) Wm. S. Marshall _ 611

Yellow-headed Blackbirds at Lake Koshkonong and

Vicinity. Angie Kumlien Main _ _ _ _ 631

Notes on the Summer Birds of Door Peninsula, Wis¬

consin and Adjacent Islands. (With Plates 20-

22.) Hartley H. T. Jackson _ _ 639

The Rotifer Fauna of Wisconsin. IV. The Dicrano-

phorinae. ( With Plates 23-49.) H. K. Harring

and F. J. Myers _ _ _ _ _ 667

Proceedings of the Academy, 1926 _ 809

THE BEGINNINGS OF MONEY IN CONNECTICUT

Curtis Nettels

The very process of founding the first Connecticut towns

created a scarcity of money in the infant settlements. The

original proprietors were not men of wealth, but ordinary

farmers from Massachusetts Bay. When they went into

the Connecticut Valley, they had to take with them the

things essential for life in their new homes. What money

they may have had at the start they were obliged to ex¬

change for goods wherewith to stock the detached farms

onto which they were settling anew.1 In 1660, John Win-

throp Jr. advised emigrants to bring over ready money,

saying that there was then in the colony “a cofortable sup¬

ply of all sorts of corne & provitions necessary ... so

as it is not now as in our beginnings, when we were ne¬

cessitated to bring wth vs provitions sufficient for a long

tyme. . . .”2

The same lack of money, the same stress on provisions

marked the founding of New Haven. Its proprietors were

men of substance, but their ready money went into the

costs of the voyage and the purchase of articles necessary

for sustaining the new colony. Governor Eaton, who was

worth about £4000 in England, invested £3000 in the enter¬

prise. After his death, his inventory showed property val¬

ued at but £1440, and only about £2 in money. The other

planters received their returns, not in money, but in land,

1 The factor of money supply in the founding' of a town is illustrated by

the case of Stamford. In reference to its beginnings, the record has it that

since the purchase and viewing of the land were “first mayde by our frends

of new hauen and we stand indebted to them for it ; it is ordered

that 100 bushels of corne ... be paid toward it.” — E. B. Huntington,

The History of Stamford etc. (Stamford, 1868) 17-18. The proprietors of

Norwalk bought their land from Roger Ludlow, agreeing to pay him £15

“shortly after the first planting” and to give land to the value of £200 to his

sons. — E. Hall, The Ancient Records of Norwalk (Norwalk, 1847) 32-33.

2 “The Winthrop Papers” Collections of the Massachusetts Historical So¬

ciety, 5th series, VIII, 65.

2 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arfs, cwid Letters.

partly in proportion to the amount of estate that each had

given in.8

Although lack of money was the rule, some traces of coins

appear in the early annals of the towns. The English

coins in common use at the time were the crown, the half

crown, the shilling, the six pence, and others of less value.

All of these were silver coins, for gold was then usually

undervalued at the mint in England, and accordingly did

not circulate. The various records of the time point to

an acute scarcity of English coins, explained partly by the

fact that prior to 1663 England prohibited the export of

coin and bullion from the mother country. Spanish pieces

of eight circulated freely. In April 1643, the general court

of New Haven colony, following the lead of Massachusetts

Bay, evaluated them at five shillings apiece. Later, the

individual coins varied in value. In 1660, Winthrop ad¬

vised newcomers to bring over money, suggesting “eyther

English or Spanish, wch may be advantagious, especially

gold or Spanish peices of 8 ; if they be good & of full weight,

12 or 25 u p cent; for Mexico peices will pass for 5sh apeice,

but there is much deceipt in that kind of mony, & some are

not worth 2 shillings.”3 4

Several Dutch coins found their way into Connecticut.

Such evidences as appear show that these coins were most

commonly exchanged between 1640 and 1660. In June

1643, the general court ordered that “good Rialls of | and

Reix Dollars shall passe betwixt man & man att fiue shil¬

lings a peece, in all payments” for debts made after the

publication of the order. Another Dutch coin was the

guilder, worth about 20d in 1660. The popularity of these

coins is explained by the disturbance of English trade at

the time of the Civil War, and the consequent growth of

New England's commerce with the Dutch.5

3 S. EL Baldwin, “Theophilus Eaton,” Papers of the New Haven Colony

Historical Society (New Haven, 1908) VII, 17 ; L. Bacon, “Civil Govern¬

ment in the New Haven Colony,” New Haven Historical Society Papers,

(New Haven, 1865) I, 16 ; C. J. Hoadley (editor) Records of the Colony or

Jurisdiction of New Haven (2 vols. Hartford, 1857, 1858), I, 27, II, 258; E.

E. Atwater, History of the Colony of Neto Haven, (New Haven, 1881), 212.

4N. H. Col. Rees., I, 86; 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. VIII, 66.

0 C. J. Hoadly and J. H. Trumbull (editors) The Public Records of the

Colony of Connecticut (15 vols., Hartford, 1850-1890) I, 86; N. H. Col. Rees.,

I, 33,413 ; P. B. Dexter (editor) Neio Haven Town Records (2 vols., New

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut. 3

It is difficult to determine the number of coins in cir¬

culation. A few acts of the town or colony governments

required that certain payments be made in money.6 Occa¬

sionally, wills contained bequests that were to be paid in

coin. One woman gives her cousins 20s each “in gold or

sylver if yt can be made vpp att my decease.”7 A few com¬

mercial transactions indicate the presence of some specie.8

Theft of money in New Haven colony was not uncommon,

but the amount in cases recorded did not exceed a few

pounds.9 Some of the wealthier men of the colony may

have had fairly large sums on hand at times. In 1642,

George Wyllys sent over £400 in money from England to

his father, Governor Wyllys of Hartford.10 One of the

sons of Governor Haynes sold his Connecticut estate in

1665 to his brother for £170 in “lawfull money of Eng¬

land”, acknowledging receipt of £25 in advance.11

But instances of large sums are rare. Most of the evi¬

dence points to a paucity of money. In New Haven in

1653 the officials of the colony were dubious about secur¬

ing £15 in silver needed for paying a colony debt. The

court named two men “to see if they can gett silver or

beavor for other paye, though with good allowance . . . ;

but if that cannot bee, that then so much butter bee gott

to cary into the Bay as will sell for money to make vp this

some. . .” The following year the general court author¬

ized the borrowing of £5 from the Widow Wigglesworth,

the debt to be repaid in “the same kinde [silver] or in

other paye to her satisfaction, so as neither she nor her

children should suffer by it”. It was reported in 1656

that silver was “difficult to attayne” for repairing the New

Haven meeting house. As a rule, the general courts of

Haven, 1917, 1919) I, 480; G. L. Beer, The Origins of the British Colonial

System (New York, 1922) 357-58.

6N . H. Col. Rees., I, 2301 N. H. Town. Rees., I, 98; Col. Rees. Cornu. II,

190.

7 Ibid., I, 457.

8 Ibid., I, 144; N. H. Rees., I, 28, 32, 41, 51, 142.

9 Ibid., I, 26, 120, II, 410-11.

10 The will of the Governor, made in 1644, directed that £360 in money be

paid to his children. ‘The Wyllys Papers,” Collections of the Connecticut

Historical Society (Hartford, 1924) XXI, 50, 80; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 469-71.

11 A. C. Bates (editor) ‘‘Original Distribution of the Lands in Hartford

etc.” Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, (Hartford, 1912) XIV,

265-66.

4 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

New Haven and Connecticut did not bother to name silver

in the list of articles in which taxes were to be paid, as¬

suming apparently that silver would not be paid in by its

possessors.12

Some idea of the amount of money in Connecticut may

be ascertained from a study of the inventories of estates

taken before 1649. The colonial records give 38 such in¬

ventories. The total value of the property of these estates

amounted to £9683. Only eleven inventories show the

presence of money, the actual amount of which did not

exceed £139.13

The printed probate records for 1649-75 contain but

nine inventories showing amount and kinds of property in

detail. In these nine estates the total value of all prop¬

erty was £1031. Not a single trace of money appears in

any of the inventories.14 A large number of wills of this

period reveal the same condition. In only one case did

the author of a will order that a bequest be paid in coin.

Many of the wills (22, to be exact) show that the estate

to be divided consisted wholly of real and personal prop¬

erty.15 Quite commonly, the will stated that payment of

legacies was to be made in commodity money. Fourteen

wills direct that 24 legacies, amounting to £846, be paid in

this way.16

12 N. H. Col. Rees., II, 23, 102; N. H. Town Rees., I, 303.

13 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 448-49, 457, 462, 474, 477-78, 483, 485, 489, 491,

496-98, 507.

14 C. W. Manwaring (editor) A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate

Records, (3 vols., Hartford, 1904) I, 94, 101, 102-03, 174-76, 202, 244, 248.

15 Ibid., I, 92, 108, 117, 120, 171-72, 174, 188, 192, 194, 207, 219-20, 222,

-228, 232-33, 234, 235, 242-43, 244, 255-56, 260-69.

16 Ibid., I, 37, 98-99, 131, 141-42, 145, 154-55, 156, 164-65, 182, 215, 220-21,

229-30, 238, 249. Very frequently wills stated that fixed sums should be

paid to named beneficiaries. There is evidence, that these grants did not de¬

note the presence of coin. In many instances the payment of the bequest was

deferred until some time in the future. Children ordinarily did not receive

their inheritance until the ages of 16, 18, or 21. Some legacies were to be

paid in installments, or as annuities. Grants to servants were to be paid at

the end of the term of service. Other legacies did not become effective until

a few years — usually between two and four — after the death of the grantor.

All of these conditions indicate that the legacies stated in terms of money

did not call for payment immediately in coin, and hence do not reveal its

presence in the* colony. Another common practice betrays a lack of money.

When a grantor desired to make small gifts to several persons, but did not

have sufficient money or commodities, he gave a tract of land to some person

on the condition that the grantee pay the small legacies which the grantor

desired to provide. Occasionally, a will directed that specific grants be paid

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut. 5

The absence of coin prior to 1675 led to the use of com¬

modities in its place. In this use, two separate features

appear. The first was simple barter. The settler ex¬

changed something he produced for another commodity he

desired to consume. In the second case, he exchanged

goods in order to secure commodities he did not intend to

consume but which he expected to exchange again in re¬

turn for some other article. In the second exchange, the

intermediate commodity thus performed the function of

money.

In early dealing with the Indians, the exchange of Eng¬

lish goods and wampum for lands was partly barter and

partly a money transaction. Both parties desired and

could use English goods and the land; hence the exchange

of one for the other was barter. Wampum, however, had

value with the English only for exchange purposes; conse¬

quently, when they dealt with it, it assumed the character

of money.17

Soon after the founding of New Haven and Connecticut,

the general court of each colony authorized the payment of

rates in commodities. Cattle, corn, and beaver were made

acceptable at New Haven in 1641. Wampum, Indian corn

and cattle received the seal of approval in 1643. From

1653 to 1663 the list remained unchanged, and consisted of

beaver, peas, rye, beef, pork, and wheat.is The Connecticut

court accepted Indian corn for rates in 1641, and in Novem¬

ber approved of wheat. In 1642 we find that wheat, rye,

peas, Indian corn, and wampum were receivable, and from

that time forward these commodities were known as “coun¬

try pay.”19

They were used in all sorts of transactions. Both col¬

onies made contributions for poor scholars at Harvard Col¬

lege in grain. When Connecticut formed its land-buying

agreement with George Fenwick in 1645 he was paid by

by debtors to the estate, again indicating the lack of money in possession

of the author of the will. Ibid., I, 110-252, passim.

17 For such land purchases see N. II. Col. Rees., I, 2, 4, 45; Atwater, 163-

64 ; Hall, Norwalk , 20, 31, 35—36 ; H. R. Stiles, The History and Genealogies

of Ancient Windsor (2 Vols., Hartford, 1891) I, 128; S. Orcutt, A History of

the Town of Stratford etc., (New Haven, 1886), 24, 271-72.

18 N. II. Col. Rees., I, 55-56, 120-21 ; II, 15, 104, 149, 181, 221, 304, 376-77,

457, 489.

™ Col. Rees. Conn., T, 61, 69, 79.

6 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

being allowed to collect certain revenues in wheat, peas,

rye, wampum, and barley. In September 1644 a proposal

for creating a joint stock trading company was placed be¬

fore the commissioners of the United colonies. Shares

were to be bought with “money English comodities fitt for

Trade wampom Beauer English corne or cattell fitt for the

Butcher or markett. . . .” The New Haven general court

ordered a ship sold in 1654 “and that the price . . .

shall be paide in beefe, porke, wheat, pease, of each a like

quantity, all of it good and merchantable. . . John

Winthrop wrote in 1667 — “and corne is not only the proui-

tion for subsistance, but that which is in use amongst us

for payements instead of money.”20

One other form of payment by use of commodities is in¬

teresting. In March 1663 the Connecticut court ordered

that “each Miller in the Colony . . . shal be allowed

for grinding of each Bushell of Indian Corne, a twelf part,

and of other graines, a sixteenth part. . . .” This prac¬

tice obtained also in New Haven, and indicates again how

commodities were made to take the place of money.21

The commodities thus used fall into three or four con¬

venient groups. Those of one group — beaver and wam¬

pum — were derived through the Indians. The former pos¬

sessed more uses than the latter, for beaver could be ex¬

changed in Europe or the other colonies, whereas wampum

found its market only among the Indians and the Indian

traders. New Haven in 1641 made beaver legal tender,

and after 1645 received it for rates.22 The trade of the

colonies with England gave beaver its high value. John

Winthrop writes to his son in 1660: “I canot possibly

promise any more bills for you, for you know all returnes

that will answer bills hither must be mony or beavor.”23

When New Haven sent Mr. Gregson to England in 1644

to procure a charter, it called on the town of New Haven

to pay in £110 in beaver for his expenses.24 The scarcity

20 Col' Rees. Conn., I, 121, 271-72; N. B. Shurtleff, D. Pulsifer (editors)

Records of the Colowy of New Plymouth (12 vols., Boston, 1855-1861) IX,

22-23; N. H. Col. Rees., II, 74-75; 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., VIII, 119.

21 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 393; N. H. Town Rees., II, 167-68, 327-29.

22 N. H. Col. Rees., I, 56, 181-82, 230, 482, II, 15.

28 5 Coll Mass. Hist. Soc., VIII, 50.

24 N. H. Col. Rees., I, 149-50; II, 318, 519.

Nettels—The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut. 7

of this commodity also enhanced its value. The inven¬

tories of estates rarely mention it, and then only in small

quantities. It was not used widely in local transactions.

After New Haven had built a small trading post for de¬

veloping the beaver trade, Governor Eaton had to report

in 1646 that they had “not yet traded 20 skinns of beaver

in it, from the first to this day, yet the Duch talke of hun¬

dreds nay thowsands of skins.” Beaver is reported scarce

in New Haven in 1656, and again in 1660 by John Win-

throp when referring to the condition of the colony as a

whole.25

The high value of beaver naturally created a preference

for it as a form of money. One example will illustrate.

Goodwife Martin of New Haven town was owed £9 6s in

beaver. The town meeting ordered that she be paid £12

in wampum, “wth wch she was satisfyed, seeing it could not

be other wise, but said she had rather haue her 91 in

beauor wth due forbearanc then this 121” in wampum.26

In the early days wampum passed as readily as specie.

Connecticut received it for taxes in 1638, classing it with

money and beaver. It was payable as late as 1650. New

Haven accepted it for rates from 1643 to 1649, and made

it legal tender in 1645. 27 It is mentioned frequently in in¬

ventories, and appears in the records of a great many local

dealings — often enough to prove it one of the main forms

of money prior to 1656.28 After that date the use of it de¬

creased.29 The fur trade declined, and other products — -

meat and grain— -became more abundant and took its place

as country pay. In 1856 wampum was referred to in New

Haven as a drug on the market, and in 1659 it might be

used in exchanges with the Dutch but was “not otherise

tradeable.”30

25 4 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., VI, 346 ; idem, VIII, 70, N. H. Town Rees. I, 303,

26 Ibid-., I, 76-77, 373.

37 Col. Rees . Conn., I, 12, 563 ; N. H. Col. Rees., I, 120, 182, 183, 230, 487.

23 Ibid., I, 225-26, 462; Col. Rees., Conn., I, 477-78, 485, 491, 497.

39 For evidence of wampum see N. H. Col. Rees., I, 379, 416-17, 436, 441 ; N.

H. Town Rees., I, 1, 9, 29-30, 82, 140, 144-45, 246, 308, 322, 333; II, 25 ;

Col. Rees. Conn., I, 119, 362 ; C. J. Hoadly (editor) “Hartford Town Votes’'

Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society (Hartford, 1897) VI, 77, 95,

99, 101—02 ; Wyllys Payers, 137 ; F. M. Caulkins, History of New London

(New London, 1860) 82, 108.

30 N. H. Toicn Rees., I, 293; N. H. Col. Rees., II, 344.

8 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

The use of grain as money began early. The grains com¬

monly used were Indian com, wheat, rye, and barley.

Peas and beans — called simply peas — were likewise im¬

portant. New Haven received Indian corn for taxes be¬

tween 1643 and 1653 ;81 Connecticut from 1640 to 1675,

making it legal tender for all payments in 1642. In the

early days it appears to have been widely used as money in

small transactions. Occasionally the colony ordered that

fines be paid in corn.82 As a form of money it was the

least desirable of the grains. After 1650 the Connecticut

general court usually provided that only one-third or one-

fourth of the rates be paid in corn. As early as 1647 the

prejudice against it had appeared. The Fenwick contract

of that year prescribed payment of duties in peas, rye,

wheat and barley, with this proviso-— '‘only this present

yeare, some Indian corne shall bee accepted, but as little

as may bee. . . .”33

Perhaps the most useful commodities were peas and

wheat. Connecticut accepted them for rates in 1642 and

did so regularly thereafter; New Haven from 1645 on¬

wards.84 Debts, gifts, legacies, wages, salaries, and rents

were paid in them, court fines and duties imposed, and pur¬

chases and loans made in one or the other, and often in

both.33 It is quite clear that peas and wheat were the pay

used when the exchange called for a fairly large sum.86

They appear to have been prized as money next to coin

and beaver. A special rate levied in Connecticut in 1647

required the towns to pay either all or two-thirds of the

31 Ibid., I, 120, 182, 230, 482.

33 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 61, 72, 131, 147, 148, 158, 182, 229, 249, 266, 279,

307, 385, 391, 484, 563, II, 25, 163, 241 ; Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 164 ;

Caulkins, New London, 82 ; Hartford Town Votes, 112 ; Hall, Norwalk, 54 ;

N. H. Col. Rees., II, 216 ; N. H. Town Rees., I, 352-53, II, 252-53 ; H. R.

Stiles, T$ie History of Ancient Wethersfield (2 vols.. New York, 1904) I,

177, 220.

33 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 271-72.

34 Ibid., I, 34, 79, 156-158, 229, 249, 266, 279, 285, 307, 385, 391, 415, II, 25,

163, 241 ; N. H. Col. Rees., I, 182, 482, 503 ; II, 15, 46.

35 Ibid., I, 149, 225, 415-18; II, 25; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 119, 131, 143, 162,

183-84, 484, 491 ; Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 104, 164, 182 ; Hartford Town

Votes, 77; 116 ; N. H. Town Rees., I, 16-17, 42, 215, 322, 413 ; Hall, Nonealk,

54; Stiles, Wethersfield, I, 177, 178, 220.

36 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 271-72, 460-61; N. H. Town Rees., I. 254, 306, 501;

Hartford Land Distribution, 2, 58-59, 279, 486, 521. N. II. Col, Rees., I, 343 ;

Hartford Town Votes, 115.

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut. 9

rate in peas and wheat- — a common practice thereafter/'7

On one occasion the town of New Haven desired to secure

some rope which could be bought only with the best kind

of money. Lacking beaver and coin, the town ordered

each planter to contribute either two pounds of hemp or a

half bushel of wheat.38

Rye and barley were the other grains used. Both Con¬

necticut and New Haven accepted rye for the rates after

1645. Barley was not made tax money by either colony,

but it appears to have been used in private dealings as

frequently as rye.39

A third group of commodities consisted of live stock,

prepared meat- — beef and pork— and dairy products. In

1641 New Haven ordered that purchases and wages might

be paid for in cattle “of any sort as they shall be indiffer¬

ently prized,” and from 1640 to 1653 received cattle for

rates. As a result, live stock was also used in private ex¬

changes. Connecticut did not take cattle for rates, and

there is not much evidence indicating its use in other deal¬

ings.40 Beef could be paid in for rates in New Haven

after 1649, and was a common form of money. Pork pos¬

sessed a higher worth as country pay than beef ; as it con¬

tained the higher food value per pound, it enjoyed a wider

market and demand. It was made tax-paying money by

New Haven in 1649, and by Connecticut in 1662, and con¬

tinued afterwards to be so used. It appears to have been

prized as money less than wheat and peas, but more com¬

monly exchanged than rye or barley.41 On one occasion,

in 1646, New Haven put butter and cheese on the list of

money commodities. Butter was one of the best media of

exchange in the trade between Connecticut and Massachu-

31 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 156.

5 N. H. Town Rees., I, 303.

39 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 79, 121, 156, 164, 249, 271-72, 563; N. H. Col. Rees.,

I, 182, 482, II, 15 ; Early Conn. Prol). Rees., I, 164 ; Hall, Norwalk, 49 ; N. H.

Town Rees., I, 42 ; 322 ; Stiles, Wethersfield, I, 177.

49 N. H. Col. Rees., I, 41, 55-56, 120, 230, 379, II, 15; N. H. Town Rees., I ,

123, 156-57, 258, 377.

41 Ibid., I, 254, 3,06, 318, 322, 481, 501, II, 252-53; N. B. Col. Rees., I, 436.

482, II, 15, 119, 46, 296, 408; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 391, II, 25, 241; Early

Co7m. Prob. Rees., I, 182 ; Hall, Norwalk, 49, Hartford Land Distribution,

521-22 ; Caulkins, New London, 110.

10 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

setts Bay. But in local transactions neither it nor cheese

was a favorite form of money.42

Of the commodities thus used, beaver, the most valuable,

was generally scarce. Wheat and peas circulated widely

and had a high exchangeability. Pork and beef came next.

They were usually classed together and formed an im¬

portant element in the early money supply. Rye and bar¬

ley, though good pay, always maintaining their value, were

not popular, nor were butter and cheese. Indian corn and

wampum had much in common. Both were valuable at

first, but each lost its standing as money as the colony pro¬

gressed.

The use of these commodities as money produced many

problems. The monetary value of a commodity depended

on several things — the supply of it within the colony, its

price as fixed by the general court, and the supply of other

commodities. Hence commodity money did not afford a

fixed standard of value. The prices of a given product

changed from time to time, often by action of the legisla¬

ture. The general courts of both colonies fixed the price

at which the main commodities were to be taken for taxes,

so that these products always had a legal as well as a

market value. As a general rule, nobody was forced to

accept such products in private payments at the value set

by the colony. In the beginning, prices of money com¬

modities were high but they soon fell and remained stable

after 1645.43

The New Haven colony gave a higher legal value to com¬

modities than the standard prevailing in Connecticut, prob¬

ably because the basic commodities were scarcer in the

former colony and this practice may have served to draw

42 N. H. Town Rees., I, 42, 408; N. H. Col. Rees., I, 230; Hall, Norwalk,

230.

43 Thus in Connecticut the legal value of wheat fell from 4sh 4d a bushel

in 1642 to 4sh in 1644, and peas and rye from 3sh 6d to 3sh during the same

years. These prices did not change materially afterward, in either public or

private dealings. Indian corn by action of the general court in 1638 was

evaluated at 5sh a bushel, but by 1640 had dropped to 3sh. From 2sh 8d in

1642 it fell to 2sh 6d in 1644, where on the average it stayed till the time of

King Philip’s war. For evidence respecting values see Col. Rees. Conn., I,

13, 18, 61, 72, 79, 116, 118, 184, 205, 241, 249, 266, 272, 307, 390, 444, 448,

464, 478, 482, 487, 492, 507-08, 663, II, 190, 241; Wyllys Payers, 74-75; Hart¬

ford Town Votes, 77, 112, 486 ; Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 104, 141 ; Hart¬

ford Land Distribution, 521-22; 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., VIII, 65; Hall, Nor¬

walk, 49 54.

Nettels—The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut. 11

them in.44 It appears that at times commodities were ac¬

cepted for rates at different prices in different towns. In

May 1662 a deputy of Stamford presented a proposition

“about paying rates equally at one price in euery planta¬

tion”, but the general court did not see cause “to make any

alteration in that for ye prsent”. Different units of a com¬

modity were not always equal in value, the difference de¬

pending on the condition of the product. Thus old Indian

corn was worth more than new, winter wheat more than

summer wheat, and blue and black wampum more than the

white.45 Moreover, the settlers took advantage of the In¬

dians in regulating the exchange value of certain products.

Connecticut once evaluated wampum shells at three a penny

in trade with the Indians and at four a penny for other

transactions, at the same time fixing the price of corn pur¬

chased from the Indians at 4s a bushel while allowing 5s

to merchants of the colony.46

The general courts also attempted to control the supply

of commodities used as money. At the beginning in Con¬

necticut, grain was scarce and the price high. Accord¬

ingly the towns made an agreement with Mr. Pyncheon

whereby he was to supply them with corn obtained from

the Indians up the river. Other persons were excluded

from this trade. An order of February 1638 explains the

reason for this bargain: “wee conceiue if every man may

be at liberty to trucke with the Indians vppon the River

where the supply of Corne in all likeliwood is to bee had

to furnish or necessities, the market of Corne amonge the

Indians may be greatly advanced to the preiudice of these

plantations. . . .”47

In only a few years this scarcity was followed by an

oversupply, and prices fell. The lull in immigration caused

the change. During the first few years, the increasing

44 Complaint was made in 1657 that the legal price of corn in New

Haven was too high. When wheat was worth 4sh a bushel in Connecti¬

cut, it was worth 5sh in New Haven. Peas and rye brought only 3sh a

bushel in the former at the time they were worth 4sh in the latter. Indian

corn passed in private dealings in New Haven at slightly higher prices than

in Connecticut. — N. H. Col. Bees. I, 182, 175, 362, 482, 500, II, 15, 104, 149,

181, 221, 241, 304, 376-77, 410, 457, 489, 542; N. H. Town Rees., I, 213’, 303*

333-34, II, 212.

46 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 69 ; N. H. Col. Rees., II, 211, 452-53.

M Col. Rees. Conn., I, 12, 13.

«7 bid., I, 11, 14.

12 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters .

supply of grain had been disposed of among newly arriving

settlers in return for English products. The check on im¬

migration closed this market for surplus grain and cut off

the supply of manufactured goods. The effect on prices

and commodity money is stated by Governor Wyllys to the

effect that £100 brought over from England in 1644 would

go farther than £300 in 1638. 48

This fall in values worked a hardship on debtors. If

property were sold in order to pay debts, it was under¬

valued in respect to the property value of the debt at the

time it was incurred. In the use of commodities as money

a peculiar condition arose. Ordinarily, prices — including

the price of land — advance when the value of money falls.

But with country pay, the value of land fell with the fall

in value of the money commodities. Oversupply of grain

and falling prices, together with the check on immigration

and lessened competition for lands, brought down their

value. What happened may be illustrated by an imagi¬

nary example. A debt of £50 made in 1638 for the pur¬

chase of land so evaluated at that time remained at the

same nominal figure in 1644, although the value of the land

had fallen, say to £30. If the purchaser bought in 1638,

he paid in wheat at the rate of 5s a bushel, or 200 bushels

in all. In 1644, with wheat at 4s a bushel, he would

have to repay 250 bushels. But in the meantime the value

of the land had fallen to £30. Hence if he sold the tract

purchased, he would secure only 150 bushels. In order to

secure the remaining 100 bushels he would have to sell

other property or perhaps lose it by distraint. Naturally

the debtor considered this a hardship.49

The general court sought to remedy the unhappy condi¬

tion of falling prices by several measures. It prohibited

the importation of Indian grown corn, and encouraged the

exportation of wheat, rye, and peas to England in the

hope of finding a market for them there.50 It also made

the common grains legal tender in the colony at fixed val¬

ues. The last policy was inaugurated in 1641 when the

general court ordered that “whatsoeuT debts shall be made

-*« Wyllys Papers, 75.

4* Col. Rees. Corm., I, 69.

Ibid ., I, 68, 116.

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut . 13

wth in the libertyes of these Plantations, after the publish¬

ing of this Order, either by labour of men or cattle or con¬

tract for comodityes, yt shall be lawfull for the buyer or

hierer to pay it in marchantable Indean corne at three shil¬

ling fower pence the bush* 1 This order was modified

and extended from time to time so that eventually Indian

corn, rye, peas, wheat and wampum became legal tender.51

At the same time the general court regulated in detail

the wages of artisans, and thereby its control over the eco¬

nomic life of the colony was well-nigh complete. Some

dissatisfaction with this policy appeared. Laborers com¬

plained that merchants would not take commodities paid as

wages at the rate at which they had been received by the

workmen. Accordingly, the colony ordered that anyone

selling commodities for corn should take it at the rate fixed

by the general court. That this general policy did not

prove popular is indicated by its abandonment in March

1650 after the internal economic balances of the colony

had been restored. Early in 1653 a new shortage of pro¬

visions occurred, and the general court placed a ban on

the export, without license, of several commodities, in¬

cluding peas, corn, wheat, beef, and pork. The order was

repealed in March 1663, thus ending the colony’s interfer¬

ence with the supply of basic commodities in its attempt

to secure a stable form of money.52

There is another aspect of the problem — the disparity

between the legal value of commodities and their value, on

the market, in terms of English goods, coin, and beaver.

John Winthrop advised outcoming settlers in 1660 that

“• . . those yt will fall into any way of trade may bring

over comodities of severall sorts, as linins, woollen, &

stuffs, & almost any kind of English goods, wch will advance

so much as may affoard a good living to such as can man¬

age matter of trade. . . .”53 When country pay was ex-

51 Ibid., I, 61. The order of Feb. 1641 was repealed in Nov. 1641. Ibid.,

I, 69. In May 1642 it was renewed, but the value of corn was put at 2sh 6d

instead of 3sh. Ibid., I, 72. In a few months, wheat, rye, wampum, peas

and corn constitute the list: wheat at 4sh 4d, rye at 3sh, corn at 2sh 8d, and

wampum at six a penny. Ibid., I, 79. The schedule was changed in Feb.

1645, peas and rye remaining the same, but wheat falling to 4sh and corn to

2sh 6d. Ibid., I, 118.

25 Ibid., I, 65, 96, 100, 205, 237, 379, 383, 392.

63 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc VIII, 66.

14 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , omd Letters.

i

changed for English goods, its legal value had to be dis¬

counted. In 1656 a New Haven town court awarded that

a debt of £13 in English values be paid in £20 in com¬

modity money. Another record indicates that cattle sold

for purchasing English goods “were prised below ye ordi-

narie price, in refference to pay in England”. So it was

with beaver and commodities. In a transaction in 1659,

£45 in beaver had the value of £61 in ordinary country

pay, and in 1662 2s 6d in beaver equalled 3s in wampum.54

As early as 1638, the difference between the nominal

values of coin and commodities appeared — for in that year

the price of imported Indian corn was set at 5s 6d a

bushel in money, at 6s in wampum. The sale of a certain

house was effected at Hartford in 1664, the buyer agreeing

to pay in commodities or money, and “for what Shall be

payd in money . . . he is to be alowed Two pence on

the Shilling aduance between money & wheat pease Indian

Corne & porck. . . .” The use of the term “merchant's

price” in contrast to the term “country pay” reveals this

disparity of values. A contract with the New Haven

school teacher in 1674 states that “he is to have 18lb per

annum out of the towne treasury at ye ancient towne price

. . ., or if the price be altered to ye merchts price then

but 16lb out of ye towne treasury.”55

Obviously the general courts placed the legal value of col¬

ony products, when used as money, higher than their

market value in reference to coin, beaver, and English

goods. One effect of this policy was to drive hard money

away. It was undervalued in the colony; hence the set¬

tlers felt no incentive to use it for tax paying and other

local dealings when country pay served as well.

The bulk and weight of the commodities used as money

created another problem — that of transportation. In the

early days in Connecticut, each town had to pay the cost

of sending its tax money to Hartford. This led to com¬

plaints, and a change in 1651. The general court then

stated that “it doth appeare . . . that those Townes

that are more remoate are at more and greater charge in

SiN. H. Town Rees., I, 176-77, 286, 295, 421-23, 480.

58 Col Rees. Conn., I, 18 ; N. H. Town Rees., II, 244, 318-19 ; Hartford Land

Distribution, 522.

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut. 15

bringing the [ir] Corne ... for the ordinary Coun¬

try Rates, than those Townes or persons that are nearer to

the Treasurer”, and ordered each town should be given a

certain allowance for transportation costs, determined by

its distance from Hartford. This rule stood during the

next twenty five years. The colony in 1663 tried to im¬

pose the charge of carrying the special taxes for Governor

Winthrop’s charter mission on the towns, but soon had to

allow three of them a small sum toward the expense. This

sort of outlay was partly avoided after 1670 by a law

which ordered that deputies should be paid out of the col¬

ony rate at the places of their residence. New Haven did

not adopt the Connecticut plan, for when the suggestion

was made in 1662 that “ye charge of transport ... be

borne by the general!’ ’ the court replied 'They see not

cause to make any alteration in that for ye pTsent”. In

private dealings the burden of delivering commodity money

rested on employers, debtors, and purchasers.56

After the commodities had been delivered there arose

the further problem of storing them for future use. In

the towns, the tax-collectors often kept the money in their

own barns. Thus the Connecticut legislature voted that it

“frees ye Constable of N. London and acquits him for the

corne that he makes appears to be burnt, of ye Countreys,

in his house”. Windsor built a special barn for its treas¬

ury. Connecticut in 1667 ordered “that what shall be

justly due for the hyer of a chamber for the keeping of

the Country Rate in the respective Townes, from the time

of the gathering of it till it is payd, it shall be allowed &

payd by the Countrye”. The train band of Hartford at

one time collected Indian corn to the value of £8 10s.

When the treasurer disposed of it he put in a claim of £1

10s “ffor the howsing & his bearing the wast of it a 11

moneths” — a rather high banking charge.57

Another serious defect of commodity money was the

varying quality of its different units. Bad wampum early

50 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 215, 392, 400, II, 142 ; N. H. Col. Rees., II, 452 ;

Hartford Toivn Votes, 77 ; Stiles, Wethersfield, I, 220 ; Hartford Land Distri¬

bution, 59, 521-22.

67 Col. Rees. Conn., II, 50, 64; Stiles, Wethersfield, I, 175; N. H. Town

Rees., II, 255, 277, 308 ; Hartford Town Votes, 112-119.

16 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

appeared on the scene. The Indians seem to have made

counterfeit beads of stone and other “unalowed mater”,

which they passed off on the English. And the “English

Trayders after it comes to theire hands chosse out what

fitts theire markett & occasions & leaue theire Refuge to

pass twoe and fro: in the Colonyes”. The Indians, being

the best judges of wampum, refused to accept the bad;

hence it soon lost all value. Accordingly, the United col¬

onies recommended “that noe peage neither whitte or

blacke bee payed or Rescaiued but what is strung, & in

som measure strung sutably Not smaule & great vncomly

& disorderly mingled as formerly. . . .” Connecticut em¬

bodied this suggestion into law.58

New Haven had much trouble with bad wampum. In

1645 the general court provided that in case of dispute

about the goodness of wampum, the parties were to refer

the question to an umpire. The town of New Haven

adopted in 1650 the recommendations of the Commission¬

ers, but with little avail, for in 1652 a “complaint was

made that ye most of the good wampome is chosen out and

sent away . . . , and that litle other but refuse wam¬

pome passes in ye Towne for payement of workemen debts

and other occasions. . . .” An alarming condition had

already arisen in the church, for it had been reported that

what wampum “goes too & fro, is so bad, that men cannot

paye it way but it is returned, and some refuse to take it

at all, and the deacons informed the Court that ye wam¬

pome that is put into the Church Treasury is generally so

bad, that the Elders to whom they pay it cannot paye it

away but it is returned to them againe”. This “corrupt

frame” and “respect wthdrawne from so bounden a duty”

persisted until the town meeting ordered that bills and

silver be paid into the church treasury instead of wam¬

pum.59

The defect of meat and grain as money was somewhat

different. Pay once good might deteriorate, and this con¬

dition had to be guarded against. One precaution was the

stated requirement that the commodity be merchantable,

or fit for the market, or that “the corn ... be Sweet

58 Plym. Col. Rees., IX, 136-37; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 546.

59 IV H. To ton Rees., I, 17-18, 21-22, 23, 98, 128, 211.

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut. 17

& clean & euery way well conditioned”. That bad meat

and grain often found their way into use is indicated by

several acts of the general courts designed to preserve the

quality of the products. New Haven directed in 1655

that “during this time of the scarcitie of salt, no man in

the jurisdiction shall paye to the treasurer any flesh for

rates vnless he haue salt to pack it vp or be willing to

receiue it, haueing due meanes to dispose of it to some

to whom the jurisdic. is indebted, and that ... no

beefe be paid for rates at aboue two penc three farthings

a pound, and porke at three penc three farthings, vnless it

be paid with tallo and suit round, and then it shall goe at

three penc and foure pence, and if it be paid in barrells, it

is to be after the same proportion”. Likewise the colony

enacted, in 1654, that “in euery plantation . . . there

shall be a viewer of corne, that in case of differrenee may

judg whether it be well dressed and merchantable or no,

wch man is to be chosen by each plantation, and shall bee

vnder oath to judg faithfully when called to it, and is to

be paide for his time spent and paines therein by him whose

corne is faulty, or who vnnecessarily occasions the trouble”.

Connecticut adopted the same device in 1674, extending it

to pork as well as grain.60

Commodity money lent itself to still another abuse. It

frequently happened that when contracts were made, one

party promised to pay in a specifically named commodity.

But when the time of payment arrived, the debtor found

himself without the designated form of money. If he of¬

fered some other commodity in exchange, the creditor

might refuse to take it. When this happened, both parties

felt themselves aggrieved. The debtor may have tried to

secure the right money, but failing did the next best thing

and offered what he had. But the creditor naturally re¬

fused to take an inferior form of pay. Hence many cases

of this kind came into the local courts for decision, and in

1660 Connecticut protected creditors by ordering that “In

consideration of much inconvenience that appeares to acrew

to many” because debtors had “not attayned their end in

80 Hartford Land Distribution , 59; N. H. Col. Rees., II, 98, 154; Col. Rees.

Conn., II, 224.

2

18 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

satisfying creditors in a sutable way, according to ye nature

of contracts or bargaines, men conveighing away the kind

of pay that many times is preingaged”, it was lawful for

such creditors to secure an attachment on the property of

the debtors, “the valuation whereof shalbe regulated ac-

cordinge to ye worth and nature of ye pay contracted for.”61

An additional limitation of commodity money lay in the

fact that at times it was powerless to buy rare and excep¬

tionally valuable articles. The New Haven town physician

reported that medical supplies could not be obtained with

ordinary country pay. In the same town, in 1656, the con¬

tractor for building a new bridge “informed that aboute

these workes there will want ropes, wch are not in the

Towne, nor can be procured but for beauour, or siluer.

. . . .” Gunpowder belonged in this class of rare com¬

modities. John Winthrop writes in 1667 : “I wish allso

that we could say, that we had ammunition to spare, or

knew how to supply our selues with more”, and again in

1674 he suggests to his son “If you could light vpon some

way of procuring a barrell of good gunpowder it might be

well, but doe not ingag0 mony for it.”62

Since the exchangeability of country pay depended on its

market, its usefulness as money was limited by the extent

of that market. It was useless in direct English exchange

because it had no market in England. Winthrop states

the difficulty thus: “The ordinary estates wch we have in

plantations cahot readily be converted into such as may

suit correspondence wth Europe, or carying on such works

as require the labour & helpe of such artifcers & workmen,

who expect pay of the comodities of England, or such as

will presently procure them. . . .”63

The defect was widely recognized and many attempts

were made to correct it. The Connecticut general court

sought to develop a trade in cotton and the local produc¬

tion of hemp for use in direct exchanges with England,

and in 1651 encouraged Winthrop in his search for min¬

erals — lead, copper, tin, alum, vitriol — promising him the

01 Ibid., I, 349, Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 138; Caulkins, New London ,

233; N. H. Town Rees., I, 82, 83, 353, 365-66, 374, 504, II, 32-3.

02 Ibid., I, 303, 433; 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., VIII, 119, 148.

63 Ibid., VIII, 135.

Nettels—The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut . 19

lands, woods and waters for two or three miles around the

mines he discovered. He speaks of the prospects for fu¬

ture production as they appeared to him in 1660, listing

tobacco-raising, fishing, mining, lumbering and shipbuild¬

ing as industries that would yield in foreign exchange.

Finally, the general court extended a blanket encourage¬

ment to promoters of new commodities when it enacted in

1665 that if any person discovered a new product which

might “be of use for ye Countrey for bringing in a supply

of goods from forreigne parts, that is not as yet of vse or

raised amongst vs, he yl discouers it shal haue ye benefit

thereof. And ye commodity shalbe regulated according to

ye mind of ye Court, and due incouragenfi shalbe granted

to ye adventurers herein.”64

The shortage of money was offset to some extent by sev¬

eral practices of the early time. The New England land

system tended to minimize the use of money. The original

grants were made without cash payments. The common

lands were neither sold nor rented. Often the towns paid

part of the salaries of ministers by land grants.65 Con¬

necticut rewarded veterans of the Pequot war with land

bounties. Between 1663 and 1671, 29 grants were made,

bestowing 1810 acres on survivors or their heirs.66 The

ordinary military officers of the colony seem to have been

remunerated in the same way. Such grants appear from

1660 onwards. They gave to sergeants, lieutenants, en¬

signs, captains and majors tracts varying from 50 to 400

acres.67 During the first decade in Connecticut, civil offi¬

cers were not paid for their services— -another means of

avoiding the use of money. After 1648 salaries were paid

to the governor, deputy governor, and treasurer, but they

were small and designed to compensate for expenses in¬

curred rather than for services performed. The general

64 Col. 'Rees. Conn., I, 59, 64, 223 ; II, 19 ; 5 Coll Mass. Hist . Soc VIII, 67.

68 Orcutt, Stratford , 169; Caulkins, New London, 69, 131, 140; Stiles,

Wethersfield , I, 219 ; Huntington, Stamford, 129 ; J. R. Simonds, A History of

the First Church and Society of Branford, (New Haven, no date) 20 ; N. H.

Col. Rees., I, 42 ; N. H. Town Rees., II, 230, 291-92.

MCol. Rees. Conn., I, 413, II, 162, 147, 149, 150, 151, 154, 187.

34 such grants appear between 1660 and 1675. The total number of acres

bestowed reached the figure of 6530. Ibid., II, 74, 77, 86-87, 90, 91, 100, 101,

113, 123, 133, 160, 171, 193, 194, 196, 200, 214, 230, 241, 246, 251, 254, 376,

377, 391.

20 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters .

court, after the charter had been secured, granted tracts

of land varying from 600 to 200 acres to governors, deputy

governors, secretaries, and assistants. Such grants must

be regarded as compensation for the arduous duties per¬

formed by these officials in the 17th century.08

Land grants often discharged miscellaneous debts. Thus

New London voted one of its deacons a piece of land “which

is for his satisfaction for his journey to Boston”, and Con¬

necticut gave one John Ginings 40 acres “for his service

in attending the members of this Court”. Land grants

were the most common form of subsidy extended to semi¬

public projects such as mills, iron-works, ferries, and

bridges.09

Occasionally the colonies avoided the use of money by

allowing exemption from taxes. Connecticut in 1666

granted that one Edward Higby, for making a certain road,

should have his property free from the country rate for

two years. In 1669, persons whose estates were wholly

engaged in the New Haven iron-works were exempted from

taxes for a period of seven years — the advantage to the

colony to come from a supply of “good iron and well

wrought, according to art”. That this practice prevailed

in New Haven appears from a request made in 1658 that

“it might be propounded by ye Deputies to ye Generali

Court, yfc henceforward when there shall be any allowance

given to men for publique service, yt it might be don some

other way . . . but that rates might be paid by all

men according to or orders in yl behalf.”70

Another elimination of money was effected through the

payment of debts. The colonists did a great deal of busi¬

ness on credit. Many estates, when settled, proved to be

debtor to more than a score of persons, and the amount

owed often equalled the value of the property on hand.

But these debts were not always paid. In some cases, cred¬

itors cancelled or reduced debts out of regard for the family

68 Between 1643 and 1675, 20 grants were made, totalling 8,370 acres.

60 S. L. Blake, The Early History of the First Church of Christ, New Lon¬

don (New London, 1897) 120 ; F. M. Caulkins, History of Norwich, (Hartford,

1866) 59; Col. Rees . Conn., I, 223, II, 78, 98, 111-112, 147-48; N. H. Town

Rees., I, 242, 279, II, 35, 249, 302.

’"Ibid., I, 316, 321, 357; N. H. Col. Rees., II. 17, 302; Col. Rees. Conn., II,

52-53, 91, 108, 238.

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut . 21

of the deceased In others, debts were paid out of goods,

for the estates did not possess the coin wherewith to dis¬

charge them.71 It often happened in ordinary dealings

that one person would pay a debt of his creditor, thus dis¬

posing of two debts with one remittance. A splendid ex¬

ample of this occurred in New Haven. The colony was in¬

debted to the keeper of the town inn, the town was in¬

debted to the colony, and the citizens would soon be in¬

debted to the town for taxes. Accordingly, the town or¬

dered that all three debts should be cancelled if several tax

payers would furnish the innkeeper “with aboute forty

bushell of wheat and some rye.”72

Many of the wealthier men had incomes from English

estates which supplied them with goods without any ex¬

change of money in the colony.73 Quite frequently men¬

tion of such estates appears, but rarely is the income given.

The son of Governor Haynes wrote in 1675 : “It is suffi¬

ciently knowne how chargeable the government was to the

magistrates in that first planting wherein my father bore

a considerable part to the almost ruin of his family . . .

for he has transmitted into these parts between 7000 and

8000 pounds.”74 It also happended that colonists and co¬

lonial projects were granted legacies by Puritan friends in

England.75

That a large part of such gifts and investments came

over in goods instead of money appears from the financial

records of Governor Wyllys. The Governor owned prop¬

erty in England and his son George acted as his agent

there, making sales, collecting rents and debts, buying Eng¬

lish goods and sending them to his father. The English

property of the Governor netted approximately £2860. Of

this sum, £400 was sent over to Connecticut in money and

£800 in bills of exchange bought for his father's use. On

71 Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 27-28, 32, 150-51, 183, 189, 251-52, 253; N.

H. Town Rees., I, 375, 418, 471-72, 519-20, 522, II, 252-53.

73 2V. II. Town Rees., I, 293, For other examples see Atwater, 212-13;

Hartford Town Votes, 42-43, 59 ; Hartford Land Distribution, 407-8 ; Caul-

kins, New London, 110; N. H. Town Rees., I, 14, 71, 77, 135, 215, 184, 195

421, II, 258.

73 Ibid., II, 80-81, 104; Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 198, 184; 4 Coll. Mass.

Hist. Soc., VI, 43-45 ; R. C. Norton, The Governors of Connecticut (Hartford,

1905) 7-8; Wyllys Papers, 38, 75, 96, 121; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 395.

74 Norton, Governors of Conn., 1-3.

78 N. H. Town Rees., I, 358, II, 129, 231.

22 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters.

the other hand, goods and servants costing £740 were sent

out, and debts contracted by Governor Wyllys to the extent

of £920 were paid in England. Thus of the £2860 realized,

£1660 came to New England in the form of English goods

and servants, without the exchange of any money within

the colony. The debts of Governor Wyllys, contracted in

both England and the colony, were paid by his agent to

merchants in England. The Governor even purchased in

excess of his assets and became indebted to his son for

about £400. This debt was eventually paid by Mrs. Wyllys

after the death of the Governor when she sold her share

in the family estate in England to her step-son and cred¬

itor.76

The defense system of the colony in the early days tended

to minimize the use of money. All male residents between

the ages of sixteen and sixty were required to bear arms

and train for a certain number of days each year. Thus

the colony maintained a permanent fighting force without

hiring soldiers in time of peace. Each soldier, moreover,

had to supply his own arms and military stores. This

feature of defense policy appeared at the very start in

Connecticut, and was carefully defined in the code of 1650.

At that time, members of the train band had to have ready

for use a good musket or other gun, a sword, rest, and

bandoleer. Every man in the colony, even though exempt

from training, was required to have on hand a stated

amount of powder, bullets, and match. The way deficien¬

cies were made up illustrates how this practice eliminated

the use of money. If a person lacked the required arms,

he was called upon to pay corn or goods sufficient for buy¬

ing his allotment. Or, if because of poverty he failed to

supply himself, the law held that he should be equipped,

and put to work by a magistrate in order to pay for what

he had received.77 It is true that the colony and the towns

maintained a small public supply of ammunition, but the

chief burden of defense fell on the soldier-settlers, and thus

the colony avoided the payment of money for this import¬

ant service.

* Wyllys Papers, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 27-53, 69-70, 74, 99, 108-09, 112.

77 Col. Rees. Conn., I, 542, 544. For other evidence see Ibid., I, 16, 165, II,

19-20, 45— *46, 181 ; N. H. Col. Rees., I, 25-26, 97, 131, 503, II, 219, 602.

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut. 23

The same plan served for the local police. In both col¬

onies the law required that each town maintain a night

watch. Every member of the train band was expected to

perform this duty, supplying his own arms and receiving

no pay. The number of the watchmen varied, depending

on the dangers of the time. The question of payment for

this work arose in New Haven in 1653. The town of

Stamford reported that it had to maintain a watch during

the day time, and at great cost, because the soldiers were

being paid. On appealing to the general court for aid, the

court replied that payment for this work was contrary to

custom but granted the town a small sum in view of its

frontier position. The problem does not appear to have

arisen again.78

In the labor system of the colony, money occupied a place

of minor importance. Indian and negro slaves of course

did not receive wages.79 Boys were commonly bound out

as apprentices. By this means, workmen secured help at

reasonable rates and the community was freed from the

charge of maintaining orphan children. The labor of the

apprentice was paid for in food, clothing, shelter, medical

care, and education, together with a small money payment

at the close of the term of apprenticeship. In other cases,

boy servants were sent over from England. The hiring

of such a servant called for an initial payment to cover the

cost of sending him to the colony, but the payment — £8 or

so — was small in comparison with the amount of service

given. The practice of apprenticing children was an im¬

portant feature of the economic life of Connecticut and

helped to fill the void caused by the absence of hard money.80

Ibid., II, 16, 603 ; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 560.

79 They however formed an unimportant group, their number in 1680 be¬

ing estimated officially at not more than thirty.— J. H. Trumbull (editor)

Memorial History of Hartford County (2 vols., Boston, 1886) I, 319. For

data on negro and Indian servants see W. C. Fowler, Tihe Historical Status

of the Negro in Connecticut (Charleston, S. C., 1901) 3, 45, 20; Col. Rees.

Conn., I, 349 ; Hartford Land Distribution, 523, Blake, First Church New

London, 130 ; Huntington, Stamford, 72 ; N. H. Col. Rees., I, 335, N. II. Town

Rees., I, 8.

80 For terms of apprenticeship see Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 94, 114, 142 ;

Orcutt, Stratford, 267 ; Col. Rees. Cornu, II, 76 ; Hartford Town Votes, 175 ;

N. H. Col. Rees I, 365, II, 384 ; N. H. Town Rees., I, 89-90, 112, 129, 200,

167, 249, 312, 361-63, 368-69, 385, 504, II, 59-60, 63, 80, 236, 237; 5 Coll.

Mass. Hist. Soc., VIII, 67.

24 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

Indentured adult servants met the same need. The laws

of New Haven mention servants “not receiving wages”.

Items in the codes of both colonies indicate that the in¬

dentured status was a common thing.81 The local records

reveal a strong determination on the part of the settlers

to force servants to fulfill their contracts,82 and show that

they were of high importance in the life of the colony.83

Many servants were sent over as such from England.

George Wyllys supplied his father with nine in the years

1640-1643, usually paying in England for their passage to

America.84 When the passage was paid in England it

often amounted to securing labor without a money ex¬

change in the colony. Moreover, wages afterward were

partially paid through the practice whereby the master fed,

clothed, housed, and cared for his servant during the time

of the indenture.

In such cases what the master gave his worker took the

place of money. In other cases labor was used as a sub¬

stitute. New Haven colony ordered in 1641 that commodi¬

ties might be purchased and wages paid in labor. Hart¬

ford gave a blanket authority to the townsmen to call out

“the teames or psons of anie of the inhabitants” for work

on projects “that doe conserne the whole”. The towns

usually required all able bodied men to work a few days

each year on the highways. In 1674, the general court de¬

fined a former law so as to make “such as are of sixteen

yeares and upwards till sixty” liable for this service.85 The

general government and the towns at different times pro¬

vided that the labor of the settlers be used for building

bridges, improving harbors, repairing meeting-houses,

erecting mills, constructing dams, and clearing the town

81 Col. Rees., Conn., I, 539, N. H. Col. Rees., II, 360, 582, 601.

sa Ibid., I, 380, 146-47, II, 318-19; N. H. Town Rees., I, 13, 179, 192, 334-35,

425, 427, 428-29, 476-77, II, 23 ; Early Conn . Prob. Rees., I, 29, 112, 116, 44,

124, 164, 165, 159, 177, 196 ; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 446 ; Orcutt, Stratford, Ill.

^Atwater, 153—54; Col. Rees. N. H., I, 26, II, 489; Baldwin, Theophilus

Eaton, 23 ; N. II. Town Rees., I, 1, 3, 13, 46-47, 50, 58, 125, 277, 283, 477 ; II,

52, 91-92, 148, 186. 3 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., X, 12-13.

81 Wyllys Papers, 11, 17, 52. For other items see 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc.,

VIII, 240 ; N. H. Toivn Rees., I, 482 ; Orcutt, Stratford, 122-23.

86 N. H. Col. Rees., I, 55, 227, 231; Col. Rees. Conn,, II, 229; Caulkins,

Norwich, 62; Hartford Town Votes, 55, 69, 71, 75, 81, 82. N. H. Town Rees.,

I, 202; II, 321, 326, 296.

Nettels — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut . 25

lands for cultivation.8* Compulsory labor, however, had its

drawbacks. Complaints arose in New Haven that laborers

for the mill did not appear at the appointed times, and that

the burden of a uniform labor tax rested too heavily on the

poor. Consequently, the town ordered that rates be levied

“according to euery mans proportion, wch is to be paid,

either in laboure or in other pay, such as shall sute ye

worke. . . .”87 In this practice of compulsory labor we

see another means by which the local governments got

along without money. In the bargain the settlers often

voluntarily gave their labor without a money return — par¬

ticularly at house-raisings, at huskings, and when misfor¬

tune disabled a neighbor for caring for his fields.88

All of the practices just described bear witness to a dis¬

tressing shortage of coin. This shortage was offset to

some extent, however, by the use of commercial paper —

both bills of exchange and local notes. The latter appear

to have been particularly common in New Haven. The

codes of both colonies held that a debt due on a bill when

assigned to another person “shall be as good a debt, and

estate to the Assignee” as to the assigner, and declared it

lawful for the assignee to sue for the debt “as fully as the

Original Creditor might have done.”89 The town of New

Haven in 1651 ordered all planters to put silver or bills

into the church collection. About the same time we find

the Connecticut court appointing two men to act for each

of the towns “to receive, allowe & signe to the Treasurer,

such bills of debts from ye Country to any particular per¬

son as shall bee brought in to them in theire severall

Townes.”90

These and other bits of evidence reveal several things.

The debt recorded in the bill generally did not exceed £50.

Frequently payment was required in a specified form — in

beaver, wampum, goods, or country pay, but not in money.

The bills did not bear interest, but the creditor could col-

86 Ibid., I, 177-78, 188, 200, 204, 228, 234, 279-80, 336-37, 348, 356, II, 296;

N. H. Col. Rees., I, 143 ; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 417, II, 139 ; Atwater, 158-59 ;

Hall, Norwalk, 49, 50—51 ; Caulkins, Norwich, 61.

87 N. II. Town Rees., I, 354-56, 391.

88 Ibid., II, 238; Atwater, 374, 380.

89 N. H. Col. Rees., II, 574-75; Col. Rees. Conn., I, 512.

90 Ibid., I, 273, N. H. Town Rees., I, 98.

26 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters.

lect damages if he were not paid within the stated time.

Most important, the bills were transferable, and conse¬

quently served as money if the original debtor and other as-

signers were men of good standing in the colony.91

The bills of exchange used fall into two groups. One

type of bill was drawn by a colonist on an English agent,

used for a local purchase, sent over to England by the ac¬

ceptor, and paid there by the drawer's agent, or by goods

shipped in by him from the outside.92 The other type of

bill was bought in England by a colonist or his agent. It

was drawn on an English merchant or a colonist in Amer¬

ica, sent over to Connecticut, used to purchase outside

goods, and paid in either England or America, according

to the residence of the drawee.93 George Wvllys consid¬

ered the bill of exchange the safest means of remittance

between England and the colonies. The money value of

bills usually did not exceed £300 or fall below £50. 94 Only

certain forms of pay could purchase them. Thus John

Winthrop wrote to his son in 1658: “I canot possibly

promise any more bills . . ., for you know all returnes

that will answer bills hither must be mony or beavor, wch

I am not in any way of procuring ... I being in no

way of trade. . . .” He wrote again in 1660 that bills

were very difficult to obtain, and advised newcomers to

bring them to the colony — “to be paid heere, by wch they

may also have 10 or 12 or 15H advantage, as they can

agree."95

Governor Winthrop directed a good part of his economic

interests and pursuits to solving the problem of a deficient

money supply. Among other things he reflected on a proj¬

ect for creating a paper money. By 1660, the prospects

for England's securing precious metals directly from her

colonies had been pretty well shattered. Hence traders and

promoters were turning in other directions for substitutes.

91 Ibid., I, 71, 122, 203, 204, 229, 195-196, 235-36, 262, 285-86, 294, 367-68,

377, 382, 480 ; Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 110, 140 ; N. H. Col. Rees.,

II, 274, 275, 417; Wyllys Payers, 80.

M Ibid., 9, 35, 38, 39, 40, 53, 80; Early Conn. Prob. Rees., I, 125; 4 Coll.

Mass. Hist. Soc., VI, 371, 87.

93 Wyllys Payers, 14-15, 17, 42, 50, 56, 109, 113, 115.

94 Ibid., 81.

93 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., VIII, 50, 66, 70.

Nettels • — The Beginnings of Money in Connecticut . 27

Among persons interested in such things was William Pot¬

ter, who published in 1650 a work which he called The

Key to Wealth. Governor Winthrop possessed a copy of

this book, and we find him interested in establishing a

bank somewhat along the lines of Potter’s ideas. When

he went to England on the charter mission, he presented the

subject before the Royal Society. Unfortunately, no full

account of his plan has survived, but from Potter’s book

and from scattered passages in the Governor’s correspond¬

ence some conception of it may be formed.

Winthrop apparently believed that money was simply an

evidence of wealth. As neither gold nor silver mines had

been found in America, the colonies were in the predica¬

ment of having their actual wealth increase faster than its

monetary equivalent. They needed money for the sake of

trade, for the volume of trade depended largely on the

amount of money available for exchanges. He felt that a

money could be created which would meet their needs.

This new money should take the shape of securities, based

on property, and issued by a group of individuals forming

a bank. Such a security would be simply a promise to

pay made by the person on whose property it was issued

and who obtained the first return upon its issue. The se¬

curities were to be interchangeable, but not redeemable un¬

til the end of a stated term. They might be issued for

fairly large amounts, and possibly should bear some rela¬

tion to the property increases within the colony. In 1668

Winthrop still hoped to “proceed to the copleatinge of that

I had intended, if tyme & oportunity may suit.”96

The scheme had so many novel features that England did

not hurriedly adopt it for the colonies. In 1661, the gov¬

ernment, however, prepared to establish a similar bank in

Barbadoes, but distinctly as an experiment.97 The episode

is significant for Connecticut because it throws light on the

colony’s early economic problems as well as on the origins

of paper money.

96 W. B. Weeden, The Economic and Social History of New England (2 vols.

Boston, 1890) I, 318-22; Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society ,

(1884) III, 270—72 ; Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1878,

213-16 ; 5 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc ., VIII, 86-87, 136.

97 Calendar of State Payers, Colonial, 1661-1668, 59, 60, 62.

28 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

When King Philip’s War broke out in 1675, Connecticut

had passed through the period of beginnings. The main

thing about her money supply during this period was its

inadequacy — a condition arising from several causes: the

exchange of money for provisions at the time of the found¬

ing of the towns, the fact that the colony did not have

commodities for a direct trade with Europe, and the under¬

valuing of coin in the regulations of the general court.

Commodity money therefore took the place of coin, but it

proved to have many defects. The acuteness of the early

money shortage was mitigated partly by many local prac¬

tices which eliminated the use of money altogether. Com¬

mercial paper also helped the colonists out of their diffi¬

culties. Nevertheless the thoughtful men of the colony

were aware of the drawbacks of the prevailing condition,

and were casting about for some dependable remedy.

THOMAS MURNER’S ATTITUDE IN THE CONTRO¬

VERSY BETWEEN REUCHLIM AND THE THE¬

OLOGIANS OF COLOGNE, BASED ON HIS

TRANSLATIONS FROM THE HEBREW

AND THE EPISTOLAE OBSCURO-

RUM VIRORUM, VOL. II,

NOS. 3, 9, 59

Ernst Voss

Thomas Murner, Franciscan (1475-1537) born near

Strasburg ; he led the life of a wandering scholar in France,

Germany, Bohemia, and Poland — studying theology at

Paris and law at Freiburg. In 1505 he received a poet’s

crown from the emperor Maximilian. Though later the

bitter opponent of Luther, none attacked the abuses of the

Church more violently than Murner. He is best known by

his rhymed sermons, the Narrenbeschworung (Exorcism of

Fools) and the Schelmenzunft (Rogues’ Guild), 1512, and

his satire Von dem grossen Lutherischen Narren, 1522,

against the Reformation.

Among the numerous writings of Thomas Murner there

are also two that deal with the Hebrew language and things

Hebrew. They betray the great ease, if not to say the great

haste with which he worked and like his other writings they

have aroused the praise of his admirers and the criticism of

his enemies.

While the famous Willibald Pirckheimer in his letter to

Laurentius Beheym of August 30th, 1517, (published in

Booking’s edition of Ulrich von Hutten’s works, Vol. I, 151-

153) numbers Murner amongst the scholars, who with

Staupitz, Erasmus, Eck, Cochlaeus, Luther and others have

expressed themselves in favor of Reuchlin, and who con¬

sidered the study of Hebrew as absolutely necessary for the

student of theology, Utz Eckstein, the witty opponent of

Murner in his Reichstag (Scheible, Kloster VII, 890),

makes fun of him by telling us that Murner, while at the

30 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

university of Krakau, stole some books from a Jew, as if

he wanted to insinuate that Murner’s pretended knowledge

of Hebrew was not acquired by hard study, but that it was

stolen property.

In his book entitled: Ob der Konig von England ein

Liigner sei oder der Luther, Murner takes the floor in his

own defense with regard to his knowledge of Hebrew when

he remarks: You (Luther) are just as poor a student of

law as you are a student of Hebrew. If perchance you

should have read a Hebrew word in a shop window, you

would have put it into your books and paraded with it as if

you had made a close study of all the twenty-four books of

the Holy Writ. I have studied Hebrew for thirty years and

yet know mighty little about it, but you apparently got it

all in a moment's notice and you want us to consider you a

great Hebrew scholar. If you really want to be such a

great Hebrew light, let me give you some good Hebrew ad¬

vice that will serve you well if you should use it.

“Negor leschoneka meva vsfasecha midber mirmah.” I

should have liked to print it for you in Hebrew characters,

but we have none here. The Hebrew reference refers, as

the Professor of Hebrew at our university informs me, to

Psalm 34, 13 and reads as follows : Keep thy tongue from

evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

However, Murner has given us an opportunity to test his

real knowledge of Hebrew. He has translated two books

from the Hebrew, which he could not have done, if he had

been entirely ignorant of the Hebrew language. The large

one deals with the Easter customs of the Jews; it is in

Latin and bears the title: Ritus et celebratio phase jude-

orum cum orationibus eorum et benedictionibus etc. and

was published by his brother Batt Murner at Frankfort in

1512, although no date is given. In the preface to the book

which is addressed to the fathers of the Franciscan Order,

Murner tells us that the Fathers gave him 24 tracts to

translate, while he was engaged in defending Nicolaus of

Lyra against the insinuations of Paulus Burgensis, that he

did not know anything about the Hebrew language. “Here

is", he continues, “the translation demanded of me and I

trust, Holy Fathers, that it may not be distasteful neither

to the hypersensitive Jews nor to the Christians. If how-

Foss — Murner’ s Attitude to Reuchlin and Theologiam. 31

ever I should have made mistakes, you must forgive me, be¬

cause I was not early enough instructed in the Hebrew lan¬

guage, but what I know about it I have picked up here and

there late in life.”

Now follows a translation of the prayers spoken by the

Jews in the celebration (at home) of the first and second

Easter evening, the so-called Hagadah. In the introduction

he says (simply stating the facts) that these prayers really

were meant only for Jerusalem, and to speak them outside

of the Holy Land is therefore a crime against the command

of God. About this translation Ludwig Geiger in his arti¬

cle: Zur Geschichte des Studiums des Hebraischen in

Deutschland, published in the Jahrbuch fur Deutsche Theo-

logie, 1876, pp. 190-223, remarks, that it is a wonder that

amongst the many faulty renderings one actually finds here

and there a really correct one. And the same compliment

he pays to the second book translated by Thomas Murner

from the Hebrew into German, the Benedicite Judaeorum,

the Jewish blessings for the meals. His knowledge of

Hebrew, says Geiger, is very defective, even compared with

that of his contemporaries, who throughout knew very little

indeed about Hebrew.

But these two translations of Murner from the Hebrew

demand a far greater interest, when considered not from a

linguistic point of view, but from that higher point of view,

the history of civilization.

Three years before Murner issued his booklet, there had

appeared under a similar title a pamphlet by Johannes

Pfefferkorn, the baptized Jew who has become famous

through his controversy with the great German humanist

Reuchlin and the letters published in Reuchlin’s defense by

his friends and admirers, known as the letters of the Ob-

scuranti, the Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum. Most of

these letters as we know now, * were written by Crotus

Rubianus and Ulrich von Hutten, some probably by Her¬

mann von dem Busche, and addressed to Magister Ortwin

of Graes, who was hated and despised by the rising genera¬

tion of humanists, not only as an anti-Reuchlinist pam¬

phleteer, but as a renegade. Like Mutianus Rufus and

:W. Breckt, Die Verfasser der Epist. Obsc. Vir. Strassburg, 1904.

32 Wiscoyisin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

many another he had enjoyed the privilege of being a pupil

of the great scholar Alexander Hegius. His scholarship

was sound for the day, his Latinity was respectable, yet

was his crime unforgivable. The fact that Ortwin had

abased himself to become the kept humanist of the Cologne

theologians suffices to explain all. “The light of the new

day had shone upon his face/’ says Stokes in his English

edition of the Epistolae,” as upon the other Poets and yet —

perhaps for a handfull of silver — he had prostituted his

scholarship in the defense of the Barbarians.”

After describing briefly in this Easterbook the customs

of the Jews during the Passah festivals and after referring

to the fact, that these customs rightly interpreted are noth¬

ing but further proof and justification of the Christian Re¬

ligion, Pfefferkorn, the baptized Jew and rabid Christian,

turns with great length to a subject that has nothing to do

with the contents of the book, but which was always very

near and dear to his heart, his obsession or mania to in¬

sult the Jews and to paint them as black as possible.

In the third chapter of his Easterbook he tries to prove

that the Jews do not obey the law of Moses to which they

always refer as the foundation of their faith, and for that,

he says, they deserve to be called heretics of the old testa¬

ment. He stresses especially that they violate the laws

against usury and that they will not open their ears, will

not listen to the Messianic prophecies.

The same favorite subject he dwells upon in the fourth

chapter of his Easterbook, exposing especially the cunning

trickery of the Jews against the Christians.

And in the fifth and last chapter he admonishes all Chris¬

tians and especially those named Johannes like himself not

to tolerate the Jews any longer amongst them, in order that

they cannot any longer repeat their blasphemies against

the Saints.

This is only one of the many writings of Pfefferkorn,

directed against the Jews, in which he finally demands that

all the books of the Jews, printed in the Hebrew language,

should be burned, which demand gave rise to the famous

controversy between himself and Reuchlin, a lover and de¬

fender of Hebrew literature.

In this Reuchlin Controversy that took on greater dimen-

Foss — Murner’s Attitude to Reuchlin and Theologians. 33

sions from year to year, until finally the humanists of all of

Europe were involved in this struggle, we find Thomas

Murner on the side of Reuchlin. Without declaring him¬

self directly for him, he meant to work for him indirectly

by exposing the ignorance and malice of Reuchlin’s op¬

ponent Pfefferkorn.

Since Pfefferkorn had tried to convey the idea that every¬

where in the prayers and customs of the Jews in connection

with their Easter celebrations could be detected signs of

heresy, or of animosity against the Christian religion,

Murner now published in a translation these prayers so

that everybody interested might see for himself whether

they were actually as dangerous as Pfefferkorn had made

them out to be.

For there can be no doubt that Murner was on Reuchlin’s

side. At three different places in the Letters of the Obscure

Men (lib. II, epp. 3, 9, 59) he is mentioned as friendly to

Reuchlin and opposed to the theologians of Cologne and

Johannes Pfefferkorn.

The first letter is addressed by Magister Stephan Rume-

lant to Magister Ortwin Gratius and reads as follows in

Stokes’ translation: “Forthwith and without preface, I

would have your worthiness to know that a Doctor of The¬

ology hath just come hither, Thomas Murner by name. He

is of the order of St. Francis, an Oberlander, and he is vain¬

glorious beyond belief. It is said that he maketh certain

cards and whosoever playeth with these cards learneth

grammar and logic. He hath contrived a game of check¬

ers, too, which dealeth with the quantities of syllables. He

boasteth that he knoweth Hebrew and he composeth verses

in German. And the report goeth that this Doctor wotteth

somewhat of every art.

But when I heard this, I said, ‘Jack-of-all-trades, and

master of none’ and some that stood by laughed.

Now this Doctor is a great crony of Johann Reuchlin’s —

devil take him. I fear that here he will so work upon the

Canons and other Clerks that they will side with Reuchlin.

He declared before many who heard, that a child could dis¬

cern the folly, and the stupidity, and the malice of the The¬

ologians of Cologne and their adherents. And he swore by

the Holy of Holies that unless the Pope took heed, and cor-

3

34 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

reeled them in their perversity, a schism would spring up

in the Church and the Christian Faith ; for if the Pope per¬

mitted them to act thus, it would come to pass that no man

would study, nor desire to gain knowledge. Moreover he

said that Reuchlin could in one day be of more profit to the

Church of God than could his enemies in a hundred years.”

“And if”, he went on, “they are upright men, and have

any just cause against Reuchlin, wherefore do they not act

for themselves? Why do they need a baptized Jew to do

their work for them, and why do they write scandalous

books against the worthy doctor, and father them on that

renegade? If they could have lighted upon a viler or more

malicious man in all Germany they would have joined them¬

selves to him! Yet this is nothing strange. ‘Like draws to

like’.

Thereupon I could no longer hold my peace, but said:

“Herr Doctor, by your favour, Johann PfefferJcorn is an

honorable man; he is the trusty counsellor of his Imperial

Majesty, and he cometh of the tribe of Naphtali. That, be

well assured, is a most ancient stock. He might, and he

would, boast himself to be of noble birth — but doth not for

humility's sake.” Then said the Doctor : “Take a spoon and

bib your words.” Then said I, “Think you that I know

naught of men ? I am a Magister of Paris, and I have stud¬

ied Theology at Cologne for two years. Be not so arrogant,

Herr Doctor, ere you know to whom you speak.” Doctor

Murner made answer that he knew not that I was a Mag¬

ister, and he added : “Of Johann Pfeffer horn's honour, I

have heard but little, but from what I have heard of him I

can safely say that unless the Jews had sought to put him to

death by reason of his crimes, he would never have become

a Christian.”

Said I, “Herr Doctor, hear me yet a little: the Jews do

Johann Pfefferkorn an injury, for he never stole aught, nor

did he commit any crime, even when he was a Jew— -as is

piously to be believed. And to prove that this is true, I

may tell you that two Jews once sought to saddle him with

the shame of theft — merely out of envy and execrable malice

— whereupon he cited them before the Imperial Chamber,

and they handed him thirty florins for costs, wherewith he

was content. Johann Pfefferkorn was indeed born of a

Voss — Mumer’s Attitude to* Reuchlin and Theologians. 35

good stock, but when he was a Jew he did as other Jews.

For as the proverb says, “He who is among wolves, must

howl with the wolves”. But now he eateth swine’s flesh,

and behaveth like a good Christian.” Then answered Doctor

Murner, “Doth Pfefferkorn also eat sausages ?”

I answered, “I have not with mine eyes beheld him eating

them, but it may be piously presumed that if he eateth pork,

he also eateth such things as are made of pork.” Quoth he,

“You have made good apologies for Johann Pfefferkorn :

hath he still two ears?”

I answered him that he had them still when I was at

Cologne, and that I believed he still had them, and he will

have them for ever. Then said he, “What opinion do you

hold concerning Johann Reuchlin ?” I replied that I knew

him not, but that I was well aware that the Theologians and

the Church for the most part regarded him as a heretic ,

because he hath assailed with undeserved calumnies Johann

Pfefferkorn and other very eminent men. Then quoth he,

“By the Lord, you do right well in defending Johann Pfef¬

ferkorn and the other very eminent men.”

Then said I, “Hear yet more; this Pfefferkorn is very

useful to the Church, for he hath won twelve souls for God,

as he hath himself candidly confessed.” Quoth Doctor

Murner: “Where gave he those souls to God? In the

Bohmer Wald? Maybe he, with other robbers, slew sundry

folk whose souls passed to God.”

I replied: “Not at all; but by converting them to the

Christian Faith.” Said he: “And how do you know that

these souls were added to God?” I answered that this

might be piously presumed. Then asked Murner: “And

what doeth Pfefferkorn now?” I answered that he per¬

chance visiteth the church, and attendeth Masses and Ser¬

mons, and, while defending himself against Johann Reuch¬

lin , awaiteth the Day of Judgment.”

“Think you”, saith he, “that Pfefferkorn will live that

long?”

“Ay,” said I, “with respect to his soul, but not with re¬

spect to his body.” Doctor Murner made answer “Good!

Pfefferkorn deserves to have such a champion!” There¬

upon he dismissed me, and all who stood around laughed,

and said: “Pardy, Herr Stephan, you have answered him

36 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

stoutly.” Then said I, “I will write every word of this to

Magister Ortwin” — and this, as you see, I am now doing.

Write to me in reply. I am yours to command.

Now follows under II, 9, Magister Philipp Schlauraff s

Rhythmical Poem that he composed and compiled when he

was Cursor in Theology and perambulated the whole of

Upper Germany. Toward the end of the poem, which is

7 pages long, we find the following passage:

“As beside the Rhine I wandered, Doctor Murner met

my sight!

In a boat upon the river — Thomas Murner, Minorite!

“ ‘Tis my dignity that saves thee !” cried he, “or thou

straight shouldst lie,

Underneath the rolling waters.” Shivering I made

reply :

“Wherefore?” “Knave and fool!” he shouted,

“Reuchlin’s wrongs will tell you why !”

In the last letter vol. II, 59, we find another reference to

Thomas Murner. Johann Loffelholz sendeth greetings to

Magister Ortwin Gratius. “You desired me to inquire

of the merchants who flock hither from all parts during

the fair, concerning that complot you have heard of ; to wit,

the conspiracy entered into by sundry poets and jurists to

defend Johann Reuchlin, and write against the Theolo¬

gians of Cologne and Dominicans, unless they forthwith

leave the aforesaid Johann Reuchlin in peace.

You must know, therefore, that I made great diligence

in inquiring and searching out, and at last I lighted upon a

bookseller from the Oberland who told me many astonish¬

ing things. He named me sundry of the conspirators, and

said that he had seen the writings that they send to one

another. In the first place he declared Doctor Murner to

be the head of the junto, and he assured me that this

fellow was the author of a book concerning the misdeeds

of the Friars Preachers, and of another in defence of

Reuchlin.

Then he mentioned Hermann Busch , and said that he had

seen a letter of his, in which he promises his companions

that he will not be backward, but will stand up boldly for

Reuchlin. Next he specified the Graf von Neuenar, Canon

Voss—Murner’s Attitude to Reuchlin and Theologians . 37

of Cologne, as being of the plot; this man hath concocted

wondrous accusations against the Theologians, and they

are shortly to be published.

Then there is Wilibald— something or other— who, I

suppose, lives at Nuremberg, he hath uttered many

threats; declaring that he will send all the Theologers

packing with his writings.

Then he named to me one Eoban Hesse , of Erfurt— a

young man, it seemeth, and a poet of great skill. He hath

a comrade, Petreius Aperbach by name, and the twain

are now composing certain books that they will forthwith

publish unless the Theologians make peace with Reuchlin.

Then there is at Leipsic an Englishman— I know not

what his name may be, but I know that it is he who two

years ago dwelt at Cologne, — and he also is one of them.

Resides these, there is Vadianus at Vienna, who is said to

be a woundy great poet. At the Cardinal’s Court, too,

there is one Caspar Ursinus , who knoweth how to make

Greek verses, and hath promised Reuchlin his aid: he is

among the band. The bookseller moreover told me that he

had heard that Philipp Melanchthon and Jakob Wimphe-

ling, and Reatus Rhenanus and Nicolas Gerbellius were all

of the plot. He averred, moreover, that they write letters

to Ulrich Hutten, who studieth at Rologna, seeking that he

should join them. Resides these he had heard of none.

Then I inquired in other quarters whether Erasmus of

Rotterdam taketh their part? And a certain merchant

answered, saying: Erasmus taketh his own part; but, be

assured he will never be the friend of those Theologians

and Friars; and he hath, evidently, in his words and writ¬

ings, defended and vindicated Johann Reuchlin and hath

addressed letters to the Pope on his behalf. From others I

learnt that Paul Ricius is also of the number. Some say

that Johann Speisshammer and Konrad Peutinger who are

in high favour with the Emperor— also consort with this

crew and do all in their power against the Theologians of

Cologne and in honor of Johann Reuchlin. A certain

student of Erfurt, a friend of mine, tells me that Konrad

Mutianus is the bitterest of all, and that Theologians are

so hateful to him that he cannot endure to hear those of

Cologne as much as named ; he saith, too, that he hath seen

38 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

full twenty letters of his, in which he urgeth certain stu¬

dents to join the Reuchlinists. This is all the information

I have gathered so far; when I learn more, I will impart

it to you.

Farewell in Christ.” Frankfort on Main.

In the 59th letter of the second volume of the Epistolae,

almost all of them credited to Ulrich von Hutten, it is men¬

tioned that Murner wrote a book to defend Reuchlin (com-

posuit unum librum in defensionem Reuchlini). The ques¬

tion is which book, which pamphlet does this notice refer

to?

Ludwig Geiger in his article mentioned before is of the

opinion that it can only refer to Murner’s translation of

the Jewish prayers, if one may call it at all a book in de¬

fense of Reuchlin, for in no place does Murner refer in it

to Reuchlin’s controversy with Pfefferkorn. If Murner

meant to defend Reuchlin in this pamphlet, it was indeed

a rather lame defense. For that reason, Spanier in an

article “Ueber Thomas Murner’s Uebersetzungen aus dem

Hebraischen,” published in the Jahrbuch fur Geschichte,

Sprache and Literatur Elsass-Lothringens, 1 8 9 2, 63-75,

comes to the conclusion that the book referred to in the

59th letter could not possibly have been his translation of

the Jewish prayers. It cannot be regarded as a polemic

of Murner in the Reuchlin controversy, for he definitely

states in the introduction that he is afraid that it will

neither be pleasing to the Jews nor to the Christians.

From this one might deduct the conclusion that the

translation was made, sine ira et studio, quite impartially

by a man who wanted to give the layman a chance to con¬

vince himself whether these prayers were really as bad,

as vicious and dangerous, and hostile to the Christian

Faith as the baptized Jew Pfefferkorn in his fanaticism

had pictured them.

The Jewish prayers are not the only translation that

Murner published from the standpoint of fair play or for

the illumination of those who could not read the originals.

I refer to his translation of Luther’s De Captivitate Bab-

ylonica Ecclesiae, of Justinian’s Roman Law, of Virgil’s

Voss— Murner’s Attitude to Reuchlin and Theologians. 39

Aeneid, of Hutten’s treatise on the use of the Guaiacum

wood by which he thought the uninitiated might profit.

To accuse him of improper motives, that he did it for

mercenary reasons or vain glory, as Spanier seems inclined

to do, is certainly very unjust and unfair, although in keep¬

ing with the treatment that Murner has received from his

opponents from the sixteenth century down to the middle

of the nineteenth, when at last men like Karl Goedeke and

Ch. Schmidt came to the rescue of this much maligned

Franciscan, who was by no means an unworthy opponent

of Martin Luther.

In recent years Murner has received a great deal of at¬

tention from eminent scholars, but there still remain some

moot points in the life of this certainly interesting and pro¬

lific writer of the Reformation period.

As a student of Thomas Murner of long years, I am in¬

clined to think that Goedeke is much more nearly right,

when he remarks in the introduction to Murner’s Narren-

beschworung that whatever we may think of Murner as a

scholar of the Hebrew language, we must certainly give

him credit for his courage of openly confessing his interest

in Jewish literature in such a critical period. That he ac¬

tually met a need is proved by the fact that of Murner’s

translation of the Jewish prayers the first edition was soon

exhausted so that a second printing became necessary.

However unimportant these translations from the He¬

brew may appear to us nowadays, they certainly created

quite a sensation amongst Murner’s contemporaries. For

they formed a supplement to the famous Memorandum of

Reuchlin about the books of the Jews and a refutation of

Pfefferkorn’s hate inspired Osterbuch, in which he strong¬

ly had advocated that all books of the Hebrews should be

destroyed. To this no doubt came local interests. In

Frankfort was one of the richest and most numerous Jew¬

ish congregations. Here Pfefferkorn had actually begun

the confiscation of the Hebrew books to which he was au¬

thorized by a special order of the emperor. On that ac¬

count there was in Frankfort a lively interest in this con¬

troversy.

Murner’s translation must have been very welcome in¬

deed to the general public and those not versed in the He-

40 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

brew language. The service that Murner rendered then

was that he made accessible to the general public some of

these writings about which the controversy centered. This

popularizing appeared to his contemporaries who did not

weigh every word on the gold scale, as a real service.

To the educated Jews he did not render a great service

because his translation lacked exactness, and besides he

had made in the introduction the remark that these pray¬

ers were really meant only for Palestine and that to speak

them outside of the Promised Land was against the com¬

mand of God.

Murner was by no means a Hebrewphile. In his Baden-

fahrt he ridicules the conception of the Israelites, who

claim that the picked stear (shore harbor) and the Levi¬

athan were saved as favorite dishes for the Pious Ones in

Paradise.

In his translation from the Hebrew Murner wished to

act as translator only, not as a spokesman of the Jews nor

as their prosecutor. He satisfied the curiosity of the mul¬

titude in this controversy but not the demands of the He¬

brew scholars. It would have been much safer for him to

have kept quiet in this affair, but Murner was a fearless

man who had the courage of his convictions.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY OF

MULTIPLE GLACIATION IN NORTH

AMERICA

F. T. Thwaxtes

Contents

Introduction - - — __ - - - 42

Purpose of investigation _ _ _ _ . _ _ 42

Literature examined _ _ _ _ _ _ 43

Acknowledgments _ _ — - - 43

Field work _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 43

Order of presentation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 44

The central district _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ,___ 44

Pioneer exploration _ _ _ ____ 44

The naming of the drifts _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 62

Attempts to reduce the number of glacial stages _ _ _ 91

Summary of the central district _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 122

The eastern district _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 124

Summary of the eastern district _ ___ _ 143

The Toronto formation and allied interglacial formations _ 144

Summary of the Toronto formation etc. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 152

The western mountains _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 152

Summary of the western mountains _ _ _ _ _ _ 162

General conclusions _ _ _ _ _ 163

Abstract

Some doubts having been raised as to the validity of the

current subdivisions of the Pleistocene into glacial and in¬

terglacial stages, the literature on this subject was reviewed

so far as it concerns North America. The influence of

Croll’s hypothesis of the cause of glaciation started the

search for evidences of interglacial intervals. On the other

hand, those who rejected that theory in favor of elevation

of the continents always favored a single short episode of

glaciation so that rival views on the origin of the glacial pe¬

riod colored the opinions of students of the Pleistocene. The

first to publish descriptions of organic remains in the drift

which are called interglacial were N. H. Winchell and Ed-

42 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

ward Orton in 1873. In 1893 Salisbury published the only

categorical summary of the criteria for the determination of

different ages of glacial drift that has ever appeared. In

the following year Chamberlin gave geographical names to

three ages of drift. By 1898 six glacial stages and four of

the five interglacial intervals between them had been

named. Since 1909, however, a spirit of conservatism has

appeared and Leverett has attempted to reduce the number

of glacial stages to four. This has precipitated a contro¬

versy over the Iowan stage. The subject is discussed upon

an areal basis in order to make the great number of refer¬

ences more clear. No extended discussion of criteria is

attempted, but the conclusion is reached that, while com¬

plexity of the glacial succession in southern latitudes and

long duration of the Pleistocene have been well established,

there is still room for question as to the number of distinct

glacial stages in the United States and as to the disappear¬

ance of the ice from the glacial centers in Canada more than

once.

Introduction

Purpose of investigation . Glacial geology is one of the

younger branches of the science of geology and has been in¬

vestigated by relatively few geologists. Lacking until re¬

cently the stimulus of economic importance, the number of

students in this branch has steadily declined. Judging

from the number of papers published annually the peak of

interest was passed in the 90’s. One of the most hotly de¬

bated questions was the extent to which the Pleistocene

epoch of glaciation might be divided into stages separated

by intervals during which the great ice caps largely or

wholly melted away. The old-time advocates of a relatively

brief, single episode of glaciation have now nearly all

passed away ; long since they were overwhelmed by a mass

of evidence which demonstrated the opposing view. Nev¬

ertheless, although public discussion of this question has

largely ceased, whenever the subject is brought up one

hears many expressions of skepticism, particularly from

students of the Alaskan glaciers. It has been charged

that the greatest disagreement exists as to the value of

criteria for determining the existence of interglacial stages,

that correlations have been made on flimsy evidence, that

incorrect values have been placed on the climatic signifi¬

cance of organic remains in the drift, that important facts

Thwaite&— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 43

have been so buried in a mass of local details that their

true meaning is difficult to ascertain, and that complex ex¬

planations have been favored instead of simple ones. It

is with the idea of setting at rest some of these doubts that

the writer has attempted to summarize all of the literature

on the subject of multiple glaciation in North America. It

should not be thought that the present paper passes judg¬

ment upon the opinions of the numerous authors; it does

in some instances call attention to alternative views not

discussed in the original papers, but every effort has been

made to keep away from the personal prejudice which has

unfortunately been injected into some of the discussion.

Literature examined . In addition to the bibliographies

of North American geology published by the United States

Geological Survey1 the writer has examined all of the

volumes of the Bulletin of the Geological Society of Ameri¬

ca, the Journal of Geology, the American Geologist, the

Iowa Geological Survey, the Iowa Academy of Science, and

the Minnesota Geological Survey. In addition many titles

were obtained from incidental reference in other papers.

It is believed that substantially all the published material

has been examined but that on glaciation in the western

mountains has not been read in as much detail as that on

the rest of the continent since it is not regarded as of so

much importance. A few papers, particularly brief ab¬

stracts and county reports, have been intentionally omitted.

Acknowledgments. The manuscript of this paper was

submitted for criticism to Frank Leverett and William C

Alden, both of the United States Geological Survey, and to

George F. Kay, State Geologist of Iowa, and the writer is

indebted to each of them for many constructive sugges¬

tions.

Field Work. The writer has done detailed mapping in

various parts of Wisconsin; has traveled many thousand

miles of roads in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan;

has visited the type localities of the Peorian, Aftonian,

1 Nickles, J. M., Geologic literature on North America, 1785-1918: U. S.

Geol. Survey Bull. 746, 1923; Bull. 747, 1924; Nickles, J. M., Bibliography of

North American geology for 1919-1920 ; U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 731, 1922 ;

Nickles, J. M., Bibliography of North American geology for 1921-1922, U. S.

Geol. Survey Bull. 758, 1924 ; Bibliography of North American geology for

1923-1924, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 784, 1927.

44 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

Loveland, Nebraskan, Buchanan, Iowan, and other forma¬

tions; has visited many sections of the western mountains

as well as Alaska, Norway, and Switzerland; has taught an

advanced course in glacial geology at the University of

Wisconsin since 1921, and has worked in company with

William C. Alden, Samuel Weidman, Lawrence Martin, and

other experienced students of the Pleistocene. The eastern

part of the United States is the sole region with which he

has not had more or less personal contact.

Order of presentation. For clarity the material here

presented has been divided on an areal as well as on

a chronological basis. The first area discussed has been

termed “The Central District” and includes the basins of

the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi Rivers and of the Great

Lakes, in fact all the territory from the Dakotas east to the

great reentrant angle of the glacial boundary in western

New York. Next follows a discussion of New York, New

England, and adjacent areas which lie east of the re¬

entrant, and whose extra-morainic drift is not areally con¬

tinuous with the larger expanse of the pre-Wisconsin drift

of the central district; this is the “Eastern district.” The

famous Toronto interglacial deposits are treated separately.

Discussion of the foothill region of the Rockies is combined

with a very brief sketch of papers dealing with glaciation

in the entire western mountain region and near Puget

Sound. From a chronological point of view works on the

central district may be divided into (a) pioneer explora¬

tion, (b) the period of the expansion of the Pleistocene suc¬

cession and the naming of the different drifts, and (c) the

more recent attempts to lessen the number of glacial stages,

a period of increasing conservatism.

THE CENTRAL DISTRICT

Pioneer Exploration

General. The central district extends from the plains of

North Dakota to western New York; it embraces the vast

expanse of old eroded drift outside of the marked terminal

moraines of Wisconsin age. This ancient drift finds its

maximum southern extension in Illinois, Kansas, and Mis-

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 45

souri. This district has received the most study since it

best exhibits those evidences which demonstrate that there

was more than one great glacial advance and that the Pleis¬

tocene was a very long and complex period. As only a few

of the papers on this region also deal with problems far¬

ther east, little confusion will result from postponing the

discussion of the eastern sea-board states.

1873

Croll’s hypothesis of the cause of glaciation was pub¬

lished in the late sixties. Since an obvious test of its valid¬

ity was to search for evidence of the numerous intergla¬

cial intervals which it postulated, attention must soon have

been directed to finding such evidence. The honor of the

first reference to interglacial deposits in the drift of North

America must apparently be divided between N. H. Win¬

ched and Edward Orton, although a number of others had

noted such deposits without calling them interglacial. The

former2 stated that he had found leaves and wood in clay

in the midst of the till of southeastern Minnesota saying

that these deposits “may consist of the remains of a pre¬

vious glacial sheet” upon which rested “vegetable growths

of the surface, accumulating between the period of two gla¬

cial epochs”. Orton3 published an account of a forest bed

buried under some of the gravels along the Ohio. Although

he nowhere described two separate glacial invasions of Ohio

he ascribed the deposits “to that great division of the drift

that is coming to be clearly recognized both in Europe and

America, viz: the interglacial stage .” A threefold divi¬

sion of Glacial time was given with a mild stage interven¬

ing between two cold periods. The drift above this and

other similar deposits was ascribed by Orton to water work

associated with floating ice.

2 Winchell, N. IT., The surface geology : Minnesota Geol. and Nat. Hist.

Survey, First Ann. Rept., pp. 61—62, 1873.

3 Orton, Edward, Hamilton County: Geology of Ohio, vol. 1, pp. 425-434,

1873.

46 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts , and Letters.

1875

Winchell4 in discussing some of his early work in Minne¬

sota described an “ancient peat” under 50 feet of till which

“seems to mark a period of interglacial conditions when

coniferous trees and peat mosses spread over the country.”

1876

In the next year Winchell5 summarized the reports of

vegetable remains in the drift which had in many places

been called “forest beds” or “Noah's barnyard”. No men¬

tion was made of the origin or significance of these deposits

but in discussing another county survey the same author6

described two ages of drift in southern Minnesota which

were separated by an “interglacial epoch” during which

peat and coniferous forests occupied the region.

Sutton7 announced that there were glacial deposits “of

two distinct and widely distant periods” in Boone County,

Kentucky. It would appear however, that the deposits in

question should more properly have been classed as glacio-

fluvial. Distinction was made on the basis of the lower po¬

sition of some of the material.

1878

In 1878 Winchell8 mentioned other evidences of buried

soils “between two drift periods” although he also sug¬

gested that some of the vegetation might have been cov¬

ered by mud flows.

4 Winchell, N. H., The geology of Mower County: Minnesota Geol. and Nat.

Hist. Survey, Third Ann. Rept., pp. 20-36, 1875.

5 Winchell, N. H., Vegetable remains in the drift deposits of the northwest:

Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc., vol. 24, pp. 43-56, 1876.

6 Winchell, N. H., The geology of Fillmore County : Minnesota Geol. and Nat.

Hist. Survey, Fourth Ann. Rept., pp. 13-74, 1876.

7 Sutton, George, Glacial or ice deposits in Boone Co., Kentucky, of two

distince and widely distant periods: Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc., vol. 25,

pp. 225-231, 1876 ; Geol. Survey Indiana, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Ann.

Repts., pp. 10'8-115, 1879, with discussion by E. T. Cox.

3 Winchell, N. H., The geology of Rock and Pipestone Counties: Minnesota

Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, Sixth Ann. Rept., pp. 105-106. 1878 ; Geology of

Goodhue County: Idem, pp. 44-45.

Thwaites « — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 47

McGee9 announced that the “forest bed” of northeastern

Iowa could not be the same as that described by Newberry10

in Ohio since the latter was covered by ice-rafted materials

and water deposits while in Iowa well records showed that

the vegetable deposits lay between two tills and were there¬

fore interglacial.

Chamberlain* 11 has begun to recognize the differences be¬

tween the younger and the older, or extra-morainic, drifts

since he described the kettle moraine of Wisconsin as mark¬

ing “a secondary period of glaciation, with an interval of

deglaciation between it and the epoch of extreme advance.”

He further stated that “Outside of the moraine, the exist¬

ing surface contour was formed in the presence, and, to

some extent, under the modifying influence, of a fairly es¬

tablished drainage system. But on the interior, the drain¬

age system has not, even yet, become fully established, much

less impressed itself upon the surface configuration, except

in the vicinity of main rivers.” Chamberlin also recog¬

nized the fact that the drift outside the moraine showed a

greater degree of surface alteration than did that within,

and that buried vegetal deposits had been found in such

varying relations that they could not serve as a constant

and reliable line of division of the drift while “the moraine

constitutes a definite historical datum line, in the midst of

the glacial epoch”. “Its great extent indicates that what¬

ever agency caused the advance was very wide spread, if

not continental in its influence. The moraine, therefore,

may be worthy of study in its bearings upon the interest¬

ing question of glacial and interglacial periods.” Thus we

have here the first application of the study of topographic

forms and weathering of the drift to the question of age,

methods in strong contrast to the attempts to treat the

9 McGee, W. J., On the relative positions of the forest bed and associated

drift formations in northeastern Iowa: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 115, pp. 339-341,

1878.

10 Newberry, J. S., Surface geology : Ohio Geol. Survey, vol. 2, pp. 1-80,

1874.

11 Chamberlain, T. C., The extent and significance of the Wisconsin kettle

moraine: Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Trans., vol. 4, pp. 201-234: 1878; Le kettle

moraine et les mouvements glaciares qui lui donne naissance : Cong. Geol.

Intemat., Sess. 1 878, Compte Rendu, pp. 254-268. 1880. The former paper

appears to heve been read in 1875.

48 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

drift deposits as if they were stratified rocks and to reduce

them to a definite sequence of beds.

Two papers by McGee12 illustrate the latter or strati¬

graphic method of attack. The author listed in descend¬

ing order: (1) loess-like clay, (2) clay mixed with gravel

and sand, (3) stony clay with some striated rocks (till),

(4) blue and black clay, sand and gravel with wood — the

forest bed, (5) clay, sand, and gravel with some striated

stones, (6) brown gravel and conglomerate, and (7) bed

rock. This section was supposed to extend from Iowa into

Illinois. Particular attention was devoted to the forest

bed which was ascribed to an interglacial interval. Pine,

cedar, oak, maple, elm, linden, hickory, willow, and sumac

were found in it. As the author was primarily an arche¬

ologist he sought long for remains that would indicate the

presence of interglacial man in America but wisely re¬

jected many hearsay reports of “squared timbers”, chips,

rude implements, etc. Reasoning from the known slowness

of the migration of vegetation, McGee concluded that the

forest bed represented an immense lapse of time, far too

great for the relatively brief interglacial epochs postulated

by Croll. He thought that the underlying till might well

be of Miocene age.

1880

The sole contribution of 1880 seems to have been a state¬

ment by Upham13 on the presence of vegetable and animal

remains between tills in southern Minnesota declaring that

they were “indisputable evidence that animals and plants

occupied the land during temperate interglacial epochs,

preceded and followed by an arctic climate”.

12 McGee, W. J., On the complete series of superficial formations in north¬

eastern Iowa: Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc., vol. 27, pp. 198-213, 1879; Notes

on the surface geology of a part of the Mississippi valley : Geol. Mag., vol. 6,

pp. 353-361, 412-420, 528, 1879.

12 Upham, Warren, Preliminary report on the geology of central and west¬

ern Minnesota: Minnesota Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, Eighth Ann. Kept.,

pp. 115-116, 1880.

Thivaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 49

1882

In 1882 McGee and Call14 described the loess deposits of

Des Moines, Iowa, which they had found between two tills

in the city and on top of the till to the south. Believing

that loess was an aqueo-glacial deposit they thought that the

fossil shells in it must be “depauperate” on account of the

nearness of the ice. The overlying till was ascribed to a

readvance of the ice at a time not much later than the

formation of the loess and underlying drift. The same au¬

thor15 also summarized the results of his study of two type

sections, one along the 92nd meridian in Iowa and the other

along the 89th meridian in Illinois. He found two tills at

the north which were separated by a forest bed and con¬

cluded that: (1) the drift was bipartate, (2) each till was

uniform in composition in corresponding latitudes, (3) the

Champlain deposits and loess were equivalent to the upper

till of the northern part of the areas, (4) the top of the

lower till was exposed toward the south and was covered

with hardpan or gumbo, (5) the Champlain deposits varied

in thickness inversely as the distance from waterways, (6)

the forest bed represented a longer time lapse than that

since the upper till, (7) the color and character of the

lower till were due to the decomposition of the forest bed,

(8) Croll’s hypothesis was untenable for the succession of

glacial and interglacial deposits, but was valid for the

cause of glaciation, (9) the ice originated in the Lauren-

tides and not in Greenland, (10) the thickness of ice in

Iowa and Illinois was a small fraction of that in the east¬

ern part of the country. He was evidently well satisfied

with these conclusions for he stated that “months of inves¬

tigation in the field failed to reveal a single inaccuracy or

to disclose a single unlooked-for phenomenon.”

Chamberlin10 declared that the kettle moraine “marks

a second glacial advance separated from the former by a

14 McGee, ~W. J.,and Call, R. E., On the loess and associated deposits of Des

Moines : Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 124, pp. 202-233, 1 882.

14 McGee, Wr. J., The relations between geology and agriculture : Iowa

state Horticultural Sac., Trans., vol. 16, pp. 227-240, 1882.

162Chamberlin, T. C., The bearing- of some recent determinations on the cor¬

relation of the eastern and western terminal moraines : Am. Jour. Sci.,

vol. 124, pp. 93-97, 1882.

4

50 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

considerable interval of time” equal to, if not longer than,

postglacial time.

1883

Chamberlin17 reaffirmed the view that there were two sep¬

arate glacial advances in Wisconsin saying that “Our pres¬

ent firmness of conviction arises (1) from the disco verey

of an extended moraine, stretching across the whole of the

glaciated area, and belonging to a system of glacial move¬

ments which differ in many important respects from the

earlier ones; and (2) from the differences of surface con¬

tour, due to the greater erosion of the earlier”. The Pleis¬

tocene was divided into first and second glacial epochs in

this report. The same conclusions were also set forth in

another paper18.

Upham19 stated that in Minnesota “two principal glacial

epochs can be especially distinguished” the border of the

later being marked by a terminal moraine. The two tills

were found to be separated by either stratified materials or

a forest bed. Erosion during the interglacial interval was

shown by chains of lakes in the blocked valleys of Martin

County.

1884

Newberry20 described two bowlder clays in Indiana

which were separated by sand, clay, peat, and logs of trees

and stated that “the retreat of the great ice sheet _

was not uniform, but was marked by many alternations of

retreat and advance _ Some of these were of long

duration _ These are styled interglacial tv arm

periods _ ” He also recognized that some of the

buried vegetation might be preglacial.

Upham21 in writing on the geology of Minnesota detailed

17 Chamberlin, T. C., Geology of Wisconsin, vol. 1, pp. 271-272, 1883.

18 Chamberlin, T. C., The terminal moraines of the later epoch: Am. Assoc.

Adv. Sci., Proc., vol. 32, pp. 211—212, 1884.

w Upham, Warren, The Minnesota valley in the ice age : Am. Assoc. Adv.

Sci., Proc., vol. 32, pp. 213-231, 1883 ; Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 127, pp. 34-42,

104-111, 1883.

20 Newberry, J. S., The drift deposits of Indiana: Indiana Geol. and Nat.

Hist. Survey, Fourteenth Ann. Rept., pp. 85-97, 1884.

21 Upham, Warren, The geology of Fairibault County ; Geology of Minnesota,

vol. 1, p. 466, 1884; The geology of Watonwan and Martin Counties: Idem,

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 51

the evidence on which he had divided the drift and laid

special stress on the chains of lakes saying “they mark in¬

terglacial avenues of drainage, occupying portions of val¬

leys that were excavated in the till after ice had long cov¬

ered this region and had deposited most of the drift-sheet,

but before the last glacial epoch, which again covered this

area beneath a lobe of the continental glacier, partially fill¬

ing these valleys, and leaving along their courses the pres¬

ent chains of lakes.” It was thought that other epochs of

glaciation might have left no trace as the interglacial beds

were eroded by the readvancing ice.

1885

The sole contribution of 1885 was the “preliminary” re¬

port of Chamberlin and Salisbury22 on the Driftless Area.

In this the Pleistocene was divided into two principal gla¬

cial epochs separated by a long interglacial epoch. Of these

the first glacial deposits were subdivided by the forest bed

since that deposit had been found to lie outside of the ter¬

minal moraine. It is evident that the authors placed much

less emphasis on the forest bed than did some of their con¬

temporaries but instead stressed the topographic differ¬

ences of the older and newer glacial drifts and buried zones

of oxidation. The paucity of glacio-fluvial material in the

old drift area was also believed to be an important criterion

although it was recognized that outwash terraces of such

antiquity must necessarily have been much eroded. The

second and last epoch was also subdivided and certain

vegetal deposits correlated with oscillations of the retreat¬

ing ice.

1886

In 1886 Chamberlin23 announced that the preliminary

tracing of both the terminal moraine and the drift border

pp. 479-485; The geology of Cottonwood and Jackson Counties: Idem, pp.

507-508; The geology of Brown and Redwood Counties: Idem. pp. 580-582.

23 Chamberlin, T. C., and Salisbury, R. D., Preliminary paper on the Drift¬

less Area of the upper Mississippi valley: U. S. Geol. Survey, Sixth Ann.

Rept., pp. 212-213, 1885.

83 Chamberlin, T. C., An inventory of our glacial drift : Science, vol. 8, pp.

156-159, 1886 ; Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc., vol. 35, pp. 195-211, 1887.

52 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

had been completed. Two major ice invasions had been dis¬

criminated ; these differed in manner of termination of the

drift and in vigor of ice action. Corroborative testimony

on the existence of an interglacial interval was found in

the differences in erosion and weathering in the two types

of drift and in the existence of buried vegetal deposits.

The subdivisions within each of the two principal epochs

yet remained to be worked out but some evidence such as

the soil line or “Noah's barnyard” within the older drift

pointed to a dual division of the first epoch. It was sug¬

gested that the later drift might be subdivided by some of

the aqueous deposits of the Great Lakes region. It will be

noted that Chamberlin laid much more stress on the ter¬

minal moraine and the fresh topography of the later drift

than he did on forest beds and allied phenomena.

1888

The year 1888 saw little added to the subject. McGee24

in writing on the Atlantic coastal plain summarized condi¬

tions in the Quarternary lake basins of the western moun¬

tains and in the Mississippi valley and laid much stress on

a postulated submergence during which gumbo had been

deposited upon the older drift. The Pleistocene section

was given as: (1) first drift, (2) gumbo, (3) unconformity

with the forest bed, (4) second till, (5) loess, (6) incon¬

spicuous unconformity, (7) oscillation of the ice front ov¬

erriding the loess and forming the terminal moraine. It

is obvious that McGee was using what may be called the

stratigraphic method of the study of the drift, a method in

sharp contrast with Chamberlin’s topographic studies; the

probable explanation of this difference lies in the fact that

morainic topography is far more prominent in the stony

drift of Wisconsin where the latter had worked than it is in

the clay drift of Iowa where, on the other hand, buried

vegetal deposits are much more abundant.

M McGee, W. J., Three formations of the middle Atlantic slope: Am. Jour.

Sci., vol. 135, pp. 457-463, 1888.

Thioaitcs — Theory o f Multiple Glaciation in N. America, 53

1889

The first publication on the subject of multiple glaciation

by Leverett25 appeared in 1889. Judging from the title,

the term “forest bed” must then have had a stratigraphic

meaning to some geologists. Leverett found peat, muck,

soil, wood, etc. in three belts in central Illinois inside of a

terminal moraine of what is now called Wisconsin drift.

He concluded that these materials, which could only be stu¬

died in wells, were in situ because of (1) a leached subsoil

beneath them, and (2) an underlying sand with mollusean

shells. The leaching he found to extend to a depth of two

to four feet. No more than two soil horizons had been

found in any one section. Some of the deposits had been

found below all the drift next to the rock but others lay be¬

tween two tills. A great readvance of the ice was deduced

from these phenomena.

The first published objection to the theory of more than

one glacial invasion and to the existence of warm intergla¬

cial epochs came from G. F. Wright26 in the same year. In

a book on the ice age Wright stated that his rejection of

Croll’s hypothesis of the cause of glaciation did not in itself

invalidate the idea of two distinct Pleistocene glacial

epochs. He was then, as always, a strong adherent of the

theory of a brief Pleistocene with glaciation ending only a

few thousand years ago and caused by high elevation of the

continents. Inasmuch as multiple glaciation would be

hard to explain under such an hypothesis he brought for¬

ward many objections to the views of Chamberlin and Mc¬

Gee. Wright minimized the importance of wood and soil

in till saying that most of the reported phenomena could

easily be explained by glacial transportation of preglacial

vegetation. Having visited the Muir glacier in Alaska he

concluded that vegetation could follow close upon the re¬

treat of the continental glacier so that minor readvances of

the ice front explained the proved burials of vegetal ma¬

terial in situ. So far Wright appears to have made out a

25 Leverett, Frank, On the occurrence of the “forest bed” beneath intra-

morainic drift: Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc., vol. 37, pp. 183—184, 1889.

“Wright, G. F., The Ice Age in North America, 1889. First edition not

read but information derived from third edition, 1891.

54 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters .

good case but his discussion of the causes of the differences

in topography of the intra-morainic and extra-morainic

drifts appears much weaker. He urged that the area out¬

side the terminal moraine had been occupied by the ice for

a relatively brief time and that the superior degree of

weathering of the marginal drift was due to its derivation

from the weathered preglacial surface by the initial ad¬

vance of the glaciers. It was stated that there are just as

well-marked striae outside the moraine as there are inside

but that the heavy cover of loess prevents as many observa¬

tions of the bed rock in the marginal drift area as may be

made farther north. The good state of preservation of the

organic remains in the drift was regarded as inconsistent

with as great an age as others had ascribed to them. It

seemed strange to Wright that a second distinct epoch could

have so nearly duplicated the work of the first. He said

“most of the facts adduced to support the theory of dis¬

tinct epochs are capable of explanation on the theory of

but one epoch with the natural oscillations accompanying

the retreat of so vast an ice front.”

1890

Chamberlin27 soon 'presented more facts bearing on the

controversy which thus developed by describing the high-

level, much eroded terraces along some of the rivers in the

eastern United States. The differences between these and

the lower outwash terraces associated with the terminal

moraine were cited as important evidences of a very long

lapse of time between two great ice advances during which

the rock floor of the valleys was deeply eroded.

Leverett28, describing the results of this study of forest

beds and associated phenomena, was undecided as to the

number of interglacial intervals although certain that there

had been at least one. This was demonstrated by (1) a

27 Chamberlin, T. C., Some additional evidences bearing on the interval

between the glacial epochs: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 1, pp. 469-480,

1890; Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Trans., vol. 8, pp. 82-86,1892. The paper appears

to have been written in 1888.

28 Leverett, Frank, Changes in climate indicated by interglacial beds and

attendant oxidation and leaching: Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Proc., vol. 24, pp.

456-459, 1890.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 55

soil or forest bed with associated fossiliferous sands and

gravels between two tills, and (2) the unconformable re¬

lations of the younger drift to the hills and eroded ridges

of the old drift. He did not decide how much of the ero¬

sion of the marginal drift had been accomplished by gla¬

cial waters but regarded the evidence of surface conditions

shown by oxidation and leaching of a zone between the tills

as much better evidence of a long interval. This zone,

with some soils and forest beds, had been traced back 150

miles under the young drift. The old till was found to be

hard and partially cemented. While oxidation might pos¬

sibly be regarded as due to the superglacial transportation

of the upper part of the drift, leaching with a gradual

transition to unaltered drift below could not be so explained

and was conclusive evidence of exposure to the weather.

The effect of the position of the water-table and of erosion

on depth of leached material was explained. Forest beds

had been found in the younger drift; these did not have a

leached subsoil and were formed by minor oscillations of

the ice border.

Wright's29 report on the glacial border was published in

the same year and reaffirmed the view that the glacial period

had been a unit. The high level gravels of the Ohio valley

were ascribed to deltas in a lake shut in by the ice near Cin¬

cinnati. These views did not meet with the approval of

Chamberlin, and in an introduction to Wright’s report he

set forth the opposing theory. Chamberlin pointed out that

the nature of the gravels, their slope, and their relation to

the terminal moraine were not in harmony with the idea

of relatively recent deltas but pointed to a fluvial origin at

an ancient date. Even if the rock bottoms of the valleys

had been far lower than the shelves of bed rock under the

terraces still an immensly long period of erosion must have

elapsed between the formation of the two groups of ter¬

races. Attention was also directed to the differences in

border conditions of the old and new drifts, the latter alone

showing a terminal moraine. It was suggested that there

might be several drifts of different ages each with an at-

29 Wright, G, F., The glacial boundary of western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Ken¬

tucky, Indiana, ami Illinois: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 58, 1890.

56 Wisconsin Academy of Science's, Arts, and Letters.

tenuated border, and that the ice epochs differed in vigor

and manner of ice action. Doubt was cast on the existence

of an ice dam at Cincinnati as a tunnel might have carried

water through the ice.

1891

In 1891 McGee’s30 final report on northeastern Iowa ap¬

peared ; the area lay outside of the terminal moraine. Two

tills were described ; of these the upper reached a maximum

thickness of 80 feet, and, except below marshes, had a yel¬

low collor. Less than one percent of its pebbles were of

local origin. Beneath the “Upper Till” was a forest bed

which had been found in 40 to 50 percent of the wells. A

considerable variety of vegetation had been found in this

deposit but most of the trees were conifers. The forest

bed was regarded as marking a very long lapse of time ; of

it McGee stated: “The interglacial period was long: how

long may not precisely be said; certainly most of the time

from the first great ice invasion to the present elapsed be¬

fore the interglacial period ended.” The “Lower Till”

was found to contain stones different from those of the la¬

ter drift; it reached the surface only in the extreme south

of the area. It was stated that : “the general facies of the

deposit — that appearance readily caught by the eye of the

experienced geologist though impossible clearly to describe

— is ancient.” This older till had a maximum thickness of

200 feet. Here we see introduced one of the criteria later

destined to play an important part in attempts to subdi¬

vide and correlate drifts: lithologic appearance determined

by kinds of pebbles and by general impressions. McGee

regarded the loess as of glacio-aqueous origin and contem¬

poraneous with the upper till.

1892

In the next year Wright31 published a condensed version

of his former book but added little new to the controversy.

He discussed some instances of buried peat and wood found

30 McGee, W. J., The Pleistocene history of northeastern Iowa: U. S. Geol.,

Survey, Eleventh Ann. Kept., pp. 199-586, 1891.

31 Wright, G. F., Man and the glacial period, New York, 1892.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 57

by Todd and concluded that many supposed interglacial

soils were (a) not material in situ, (b) were of preglacial

age, or (c) not buried under till. The law of parsimony

was invoked against drawing too far-reaching conclusions

from such limited and equivocal phenomena. He thought

the amount of weathering of the marginal drift had been

much exaggerated, and justly attacked the theory of less

vigorous ice action during the maximum extension of the

ice showing that the regions in question were not occupied

by the ice for as long a time as the district farther north.

In another publication Wright32 explained his views in still

greater detail, but added little to what has already been

reviewed. As Chamberlin had changed his opinions on the

location of the terminal moraine in Illinois that feature

could not be considered to be important. The buried for¬

ests are ascribed to conditions like those in Alaska where

trees thrive close to and on the ice. The climatic changes

shown by the lakes of the western mountains were believed

to be purely local.

Winchell33 ascribed the rock valley of the Minnesota river

at St. Paul to interglacial erosion and attempted to make

a quantitative estimate of the time involved in its forma¬

tion, but just how the age of this valley had been deter¬

mined was not made clear.

1893

The most important paper of 1893 was one by Salis¬

bury34 stating in detail twelve criteria for the recognition

of distinct glacial epochs. An epoch was defined as an ad¬

vance of the ice after it had receded at least as far as the

Canadian border. The criteria were (1) forest beds, (2)

remains of land animals, (3) inorganic products formed

during ice recession, (4) lacustrine or marine beds, (5)

subaerial gravel, sand, and silt beds, (6) differential weath¬

ering, (7) differential subaerial erosion, (8) valleys exca-

32 Wright, G. F., Unity of the glacial epoch: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 144, pp.

351-372, 1892.

33 Winchell, N. H„ An approximate interglacial chronometer: Am. Geolo¬

gist, vol. 10, pp. 69-80, 1892.

34 Salisbury, R. D., Distinct glacial epochs and the criteria for their recog¬

nition: Jour. Geology, vol. 1, pp. 61-84, 1893; abstract: Am. Geologist, vol.

11, pp. 171-175, 1893.

58 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

vated between successive depositions of drift, (9) differ¬

ent directions of ice movement, (10) differences in charac¬

ter of drift, (11) varying altitude of the land, and (12)

differences in vigor of ice work. Qualifications and limi¬

tations of each criterion were discussed in a theoretic man¬

ner without any illustrations from the field, and the areas

where each might apply were outlined in a general manner.

It was decided that several criteria were needed to give

cumulative force to any definite conclusion.

In the papers presented at the 1892 meeting of the Geo¬

logical Society of America35 McGee and Salisbury appear to

have been the foremost advocates of complexity of the

Pleistocene. Upham noted the influence of Croll’s hypoth¬

esis in leading to the state of affairs at that time; he as

well as Hitchcock and Emerson, minimized the value of

buried forests as indicating interglacial conditions and re¬

marked on the paucity of such in the eastern part of the

country. Bell mentioned the lignites of the Hudson Bay

region but denied their importance in indicating deglacia¬

tion.

Chamberlin36 entered a rejoinder to Wright and asked

for definite direct evidences of unity of the glacial period.

Four points of view of the Pleistocene were taken up: (1)

the primitive idea of unity when elevation was regarded as

the cause of glaciation, (2) modifications of the preceding

view involving minor changes in the level of the land to ex¬

plain oscillations of the ice border, (3) the theory of duality

of glaciation based largely on the Quarternary lakes of the

west with possible minor oscillations within both epochs,

and (4) plurality of glacial invasions. In the judgment of

the author it was not necessary to prove complete disap¬

pearance of the ice to demonstrate an interglacial interval.

Chamberlin stated that he had abandoned the idea of unity

on account of the lack of a constant relation between the

terminal moraine and the drift border, as well as because

of the differences in amount of erosion and weathering and

in the general character of the drift within and without

the moraine. He divided the drift with attenuated border

30 Am. Geologist, vol. 11, pp. 171-203, 1893.

36 Chamberlin, T. C., The diversity of the glacial period: Am. Jour. Sci..

vol. 45, pp. 171-200, 1893.

Thivaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 59

into four classes in some of which the scattering of material

was ascribed to streams or to icebergs in lakes along the

glacial margins. The lack of evidence of a lake in the

upper Ohio valley was pointed out and it was shown that the

erosion of the outer drift and of the high terraces could not

all be due to glacial waters since it also affected valleys not

followed by ice drainage. Duality of the Pleistocene was

well supported by the testimony of the western Quarternary

lakes. Chamberlin called the cases of vegetation close to

modern glaciers merely local phenomena and unlike condi¬

tions during the Pleistocene continental glaciation. Refer¬

ence was made to McGee's work and to unpublished results

of Leverett's studies.

Some of the results of Leverett's37 field work showed that

he had been able to apply nine out of the twelve criteria

suggested by Salisbury. There was clear and unmistak¬

able evidence of discontinuity of glaciation. The “attenu¬

ated border” of the extra-morainic drift was ascribed

mainly to original deposition rather than to erosion, but as

a whole, the marginal drift area showed much more ero¬

sion than did the region within the moraine. More altera¬

tion of the old drift had been accomplished before the cov¬

ering of silt (loess) had been deposited than after the ice

left the later drift. The alteration was purely superficial

and hence postglacial. The older drift might prove to be

subdivided by a forest bed but this had not been proved.

The valleys in the old drift were in places wholly in drift

and so could not be masked preglacial valleys but were en¬

tirely postglacial. A soil line was found below the new

drift with its bordering moraine, and locally a fossiliferous

silt occupied the same position. The striae of the young

drift pointed toward the moraine and not the drift border.

Intervals of deglaciation followed by readvances had been

found in the young drift. The same writer38 also presented

other evidence along the same line mainly in reply to

Wright's answer to a review by Salisbury39. Attention

3TLeverett, Frank, The glacial succession in Ohio: Jour. Geology, vol. 1,

pp. 129-146, 1893.

^Leverett, Frank, Relation of the attenuated drift border to the outer mo¬

raine in Ohio: Am. Geologist, vol. 11, pp. 215-216, 1893.

80 Salisbury, R. D., Man and the glacial period: Am. Geologist, vol. 11, pp.

13-20, 1893.

60 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

was called to the width of the interval between the moraine

and the drift border, to the lack of parallelism of the two

lines, and to the postglacial oxidation and leaching of the

outer drift. The deposition of the loess on the marginal

drift, then ascribed to depression of the land, was regarded

as an important criterion for the separation of the two ages

of drift. Differences in the ages of the outermost moraines

were also announced.

Another of Chamberlin's field workers, Hershey40, made

a distinct contribution in describing the rock gorges due to

stream diversions followed by long postglacial erosion. He

concluded that the size of some of these valleys indicated a

much greater age than the time since the ice left the United

States.

Swezey41 described gravel conglomerates under the till

along Rock River in northern Illinois but his statements

were not very explicit.

A number of papers were presented before the “World's

Congress of Geology" of which only abstracts seem to be

available42. Robert Bell stated that the drift of Canada

had not been divided into glacial and interglacial epochs

and that moderate oscillations of the ice border were prob¬

ably sufficient to explain all the observed phenomena.

Chamberlin called attention to the rock gorges of the Dela¬

ware, Susquehanna, and upper Ohio as evidences of a very

long interglacial erosion interval. Upham declared that

the glacial period was of short duration and a unit, but

seems to have presented little real evidence on these points.

He thought that the conditions near the Malispina glacier

in Alaska were the key to the origin of forest beds by slight

oscillations of the ice border. Leverett described two drift

sheets in Illinois, both of them older than the loess. Cham¬

berlin said that his view at that time favored a tripartate

division of the Ice Age with the longest interglacial inter¬

val just before the last epoch of glaciation. Salisbury dis¬

counted the value of observations in Alaska on the question

of climatic conditions during the Pleistocene.

"“Hershey, O. H.. The Pleistocene rock gorges of northwestern Illinois:

Am. Geologist, vol. 12, pp. 314-323, 1893.

41 Swezey, G. D., Evidence of two pre-morainic glacial movements : Science,

vol. 21, p. 216, 1893; Nebraska Acad. Sci. Pub. 3, p. 11, 1893.

42 Am. Geologist, vol. 12, pp. 223-231, 1993.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 61

Meantime the advocates of unity, most of whom lacked

the support of the National Geological Survey, had not been

idle in publishing their views. Upham43 had announced

his conversion to that view during the preceding year. He

thought that Croll’s hypothesis had led to an exaggerated

importance being placed on forest beds. In another paper

he44 reiterated these ideas and listed a number of others

who held the same opinions.

Wright45 replied very vigorously to Salisbury but added

little to what has been reviewed above.

Dana46 stated that both unity and diversity of the glacial

period were good working hypotheses but that, with the

possible exception of a case in Maine, he had never been

able to find any evidence of diversity in New England. He

regarded the advocates of unity as the more moderate in

tone and remarked on Upham’s change of front. The fact

that the principal exponents of diversity had worked in the

west was noted and the suggestion advanced that regional

differences in ice conditions might be the cause of this areal

relation. There might have been greater variations in

precipitation in the west than nearer the sea in the east

so that greater oscillations of the ice front had taken place

in the former district.

Hitchcock47 also expressed similar views.

Chamberlin48 replied to his critics in a series of editorials

in his new publication, the Journal of Geology. He stated

that the lack of old drift in New England was probably ex¬

plained by glacial erosion and that the greater extent of

the continental glaciers in the central states was due to

more favorable climate than existed in the east. He also

attacked the views of Wright along much the same lines as

previously.

42 Upham, Warren, Comparison of Pleistocene and present ice sheets : Geol.

Soc. America, Bull., vol. 4, pp. 191-204, 1893.

44 Upham. Warren, Epirogenic movements associated with glaciation : Am.

Jour. Sci., vol. 146, pp. 114-121, 1893.

46 Wright, G. F., Some of Prof. Salisbury’s criticisms on “Man and the gla¬

cial period”: Am. Geologist, vol. 11, pp. 121—126, 1893.

46 Dana, J. D., On New England and the Mississippi basin in the glacial

period: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 146, pp. 327-330, 1893.

47 Hitchcock, C. H., A single glacial epoch in New England: Am. Geogo-

gist, vol. 11, pp. 194-195, 1893.

48 Chamerblin, T. C., Editorials: Jour. Geology, vol. 1, pp. 198-201, 620,

847-849, 1893.

62 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters.

The naming of the drifts

General. The practice of applying geographic names to

drifts of different ages was begun in 1894. From that

date to 1909 the number of recognized ages of drift was

greatly increased ; from a maximum of three distinct

epochs of glaciation claimed at the beginning of this period

six drifts were listed at its close with five interglacial in¬

tervals between them. With one exception these intervals

were also given geographic names. In the meantime the

word “epoch” was changed to the more conservative term

“stage”. One of the striking features of this time was the

rapidity and apparent ease with which far-reaching con¬

clusions were attained and with which long-distance corre¬

lations of drifts were made. It was the time of maximum

interest in glacial geology.

1894

In 1894 Wright49 continued his advocacy of the unity of

Pleistocene glaciation. The special point of argument was

the high terraces of the upper Ohio valley which Chamber¬

lin had declared to be separated from the lower terraces by

a very long interglacial erosion interval during which the

rock bottoms of the valleys had been lowered at least two

hundred feet. Wright pointed out that there are drift-

rilled valleys as deep as the rock bottom of the Ohio and

that in some places gravels extend continuously from the

highest terraces to the rock floor. The deserted oxbows

and the rock shelves he ascribed to preglacial erosion. He

also claimed that it was difficult to discriminate between

preglacial and postglacial erosion of the valleys in the mar¬

ginal drift area. The fact that other factors than time in¬

fluence the amount of oxidation was brought out. The au¬

thor concluded that McGee’s estimate of 200,000 to 2,000,-

000 years as the age of the forest bed of Iowa was much

too great and that the vegetable remains of that deposit in¬

dicated a cooler climate than that of the same region today.

« Wright, G. F., Continuity of the glacial period: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 147,

pp. 161-187, 1894.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 63

Other arguments were the same as those used in earlier

papers.

Upham50 also attacked the theory of interglacial epochs

arguing that inasmuch as the glacial period was demon¬

strably brief no such prolonged intervals could have ex¬

isted. The attenuated border he ascribed to original pau¬

city of deposition, while the moraines were regarded as a

later phase of glaciation during recession from the maxi¬

mum. The greatest oscillations of the ice front took place

on the windward or west side of the ice cap where it was

first affected by climatic changes. This explained the pres¬

ence of supposed evidences of interglacial conditions in that

general region only. The earlier drift was made of old

weathered material, and high elevation of the land ac¬

counted for the erosion of the outer drift deposits. For¬

ests grew close to the ice as in Alaska today, and were over¬

whelmed by minor readvances. He thought that loess had

been deposited continuously up to the time of the last mo¬

raines and discounted the value of the stream diversions de¬

scribed by Hershey as criteria of great age.

Chamberlin and Leverett51 answered Wright on the much-

argued question of the high terraces of the upper Ohio.

They divided the drift into two types : (a) drift with an at¬

tenuated border, and (b) drift with a moraine at its edge.

The high terraces had been traced 250 miles downstream

from the former but had no connection with the latter as

did the lower terraces. While it was true that gravel could

be found connecting the two series of terraces all such in¬

stances were in locations where the gravel might have been

redeposited during erosion. If the filling had been as deep

as postulated by Wright the authors thought there would

have been more diversions across rock spurs than had been

observed. Four hypotheses of the relation of the high ter¬

races to the rock floor were considered: (1) rock bottom at

base of the high terraces, (2) present rock bottom reached

in preglacial time with two periods of filling and subsequent

erosion, (3) slight preglacial trenching of a high rock bot-

50 Upham, Warren, The diversity of the glacial drift along its boundary :

Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 147, pp. 358-365, 1894.

81 Chamberlin, T. C., and Leverett, Frank, Further studies of the drainage

features of the upper Ohio basin: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 147, pp. 247—283, 483,

1894.

64 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

tom, and (4) two old drifts. All these views, involved two

ages of drift.

Chamberlin52 prepared a portion of the third edition of

Geikie’s book, “The Great Ice Age.” This publication in¬

troduced the epoch-making innovation of applying geo¬

graphic names to drifts of different ages. A tripartite di¬

vision of Pleistocene glaciation in North America was an¬

nounced. The oldest drift was termed Kansan and was

described as the product of a glacier which accomplishes

little erosion and built no terminal moraine. This drift,

which has been greatly eroded, extended from the Dakotas

along the drift margin to Ohio. McGee’s forest bed was

placed above the Kansan drift and marked an interglacial

epoch of temperate climate. The drift above the forest bed

was named East Iowan; it had been mapped only in the re¬

gion after which it had been named. The interval of ero¬

sion and weathering after this drift had been formed was

correlated with the fossiliferous interglacial deposits at To¬

ronto, Canada. The succeeding drift was named East Wis¬

consin; it possessed a terminal moraine and out wash depo-

posits, features lacking in the older drifts. It was not main¬

tained that all three divisions of the ice age were of equal

rank nor that there might not prove to be more than three,

but the author was certain that there had been at least two

major ice epochs in the Pleistocene.

1895

1895 was marked by the giving of names to the intergla¬

cial intervals. Chamberlin53 gave the Pleistocene succession

as (1) Kansan drift, (2) Aftonian interglacial deposits

with type locality of Afton Junction, Iowa, (3) loivan drift,

(4) Toronto interglacial deposits, and (5) Wisconsin drift.

It will be noted that the prefix “East” had been dropped

from the names of the last two drifts. It was believed that

the Iowan drift was the same age as the loess or was closely

related to it. It was also suggested that the Toronto forma-

53 Geikie, James. The Great Ice Age, 3rd edition, pp. 724-775, London, 1894;

review by Salisbury, R. D., Jour. Geology, vol. 2, pp. 730-747, 1894.

58 Chamberlin, T. C., The classification of American glacial deposits: Jour.

Geology, vol. 3, pp. 270-277, 1895.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 65

tions might prove to be younger than the outermost moraine

of the Wisconsin drift.

Upham54 contributed a large number of papers in few

of which, except possibly the first, was any or new or direct

evidence offered. He evidently attempted to harmonize

the work of others with his own ideas of unity and brevity

of the Pleistocene.

Wright55 returned to the argument stating that he re¬

garded it as very strange that the old drift should have

been so widespread if it had been deposited by a weak

glacier as others had suggested. He also thought the

oxidation of the marginal drift too deep and thorough to

be postglacial. The main theme was a review of an arti¬

cle by Holst, a Swedish geologist, who supported Wright's

views.

Hitchcock56 stated that he believed in the essential unity

of the glacial period at the centers of ice accumulation as

opposed to McGee's idea of complete disappearance of the

ice during interglacial intervals.

On the other hand, Dawson57 urged that Upham had

misinterpreted the meaning of the remains of vegetation

in the Toronto interglacial deposits.

Gordon58 announced that unpublished work by Leverett

had shown that the drift of southern Illinois was younger

than that of southern Iowa with which it had formerly

been correlated, saying that “evidence thus far available

54 Upham, Warren, Climatic conditions shown by North American intergla¬

cial deposits: Am. Geologist, vol. 15, pp. 275—295, 1895; Correlations of

stages of the ice age in North America and Europe : Am. Geologist, vol. 16,

pp. 100-113, 1895; Minor time divisions of the ice age: Am. Naturalist, vol.

29, pp. 235-241, 1895; Epochs and stages of the glacial period: Am. Jour.

Sci., vol. 149, pp. 305-306, 1895; Late glacial or Champlain subsidence and

reelevation of the St. Lawrence river basin : Minnesota Geol. and Nat. Hist.

Survey Twenty-third Ann. Rept., pp. 188-193, 1895 ; Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 149,

pp. 1-18, 1895 ; View of the ice age as two epochs, the glacial and Cham¬

plain: Science, n. s., vol. 2, pp. 529-533, 1895, Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc.

vol. 44, pp. 140-145, 1895; Warm temperate vegetation near glaciers: Am.

Geologist, vol. 16, pp. 326-327, 1895.

65 Wright, G. F., Dr. Holst on the continuity of the glacial period : Am.

Geologist, vol. 16, pp. 396-399, 1895.

66 Hitchcock, C. H., Divisions of the Ice Age in the United States and Cana¬

da: Am. Geologist, vol. 15, pp. 330-335, 1895.

57 Dawson, G. M., Interglacial climatic conditions: Am. Geologist, vol. 16,

pp. 65-66, 1895.

58 Gordon, C. H., Buried river channels in southeastern Iowa : Iowa Geol.

Survey, vol. 3, pp. 239-255, 1895.

5

66 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

points to a long interval of erosion between the two inva¬

sions.”

The same author59 stated that the drift of Van Buren

County, on the south line of Iowa, was divided into “two

well marked divisions of boulder clays” each of them with

a yellow oxidized top.

Buell00 in describing the bowlder trains of Waterloo

quartzite cited what he regarded as evidence of four ice

invasions of southeastern Wisconsin each with a different

direction of movement. Of these the first moved from east

to west, the second from north to south, the third from

northeast to southwest, and the last from north-northeast

to south-southwest. The last was the glacier that had

formed the terminal moraine, the third was correlated with

either the Shelbyville moraine of Illinois or with McGee’s

“Upper Till”, the second and the first were correlated with

different extra-morainic drifts, possibly with subdivisions

of McGee’s “Lower Till.”

1896

Calvin61 described gravel deposits in northeastern Iowa

* which he placed between the Kansan and Iowan drifts and

named Buchanan gravels. These were called deposits by

the waters of the melting Kansan ice, — deposits which

would today be called outwash and kames. The practice of

giving formational names, begun earlier by Chamberlin

in naming the Aftonian gravels, was here continued; it

was, like the attention given to lithology and to forest beds,

an outgrowth of habits acquired in the study of marine

sediments.

Leverett62 described the overlap of the drift of Illinois

upon the older drift of Iowa so that there had not been any

59 Gordon, C. H., Geology of Van Buren County : Iowa Geol. Survey, vol.

4, pp. 230-236, 1895.

60 Buell, I. M., Bowlder trains from the outcrops of the Waterloo quarzite

area: Wisconsin Acad. Sci., Trans., vol. 10, pp. 485-509, 1895.

61 Calvin, Samuel, The Buchanan gravels : an interglacial deposit in Bu¬

chanan County, Iowa: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 3, pp. 58-60; Am. Geolo¬

gist, vol. 17, pp. 76-78, 1896.

82 Leverett, Prank, The relation between ice lobes south from the Wisconsin

Driftless Area: Science, n. s., vol. 3, p. 54, 1896 ; Jour. Geology, vol. 4, p. 244.

1896.

Thivaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 67

closing of the ice across the region south of the Driftless

Area. Later, however, glaciation was simultaneous on

both sides of the Mississippi and drainage may have been

blocked for a short time.

The year 1896 is also noteworthy for the announcement

of Shimek’s63 eolian theory of the loess. Up to that time

loess had universally been regarded as of glacio-fluvial or

glacio-lacustrine origin and many false conclusions re¬

garding depression of the land and distribution of the ice

had been worked out on that assumption. Now Shimek

showed that the fossils, texture, and topographic relations

of the loess indicated that it was an interglacial terrestrial

deposit due to catchment of wind-blown dust by vegetation

and favorable topography. While the subject of the loess

has a direct and close relation to the discrimination of

drifts the present writer has not followed it out in detail

in this summary.

Leverett64 published a map of the drifts of Illinois with¬

out any discussion.

Wilson05 described the anomaly of the deeply eroded

stream valleys between the smooth glaciated uplands of

eastern Iowa suggesting that the valleys had been filled

with stagnant ice, formed by the freezing of the streams,

and thus the valley sides had been protected from glaci¬

ation — an ingenious but hardly convincing explanation.

Chamberlin66 summed up the results of the field season

in an editorial. The existence of a pre-Kansan drift had

now been established and it was probably to be correlated

with Dawson's Albertan drift of the western foothill re¬

gion. Recent work had shown that the Aftonian deposits

lay below the Kansan instead of between the Kansan and

the Iowan as had formerly been assumed. In other words,

the name Kansan was shifted from the drift below the

Aftonian gravels to that above them. This confined the

63 Shimek, Bohumil, A theory of the losses ; Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 3,

pp. 82-86, 1896.

64 Leverett, Frank, The water resources of Illinois : U. S. Geol. Survey Sev¬

enteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 706-711, 1896.

65 Wilson, A. G., Frozen streams of the Iowa drift border: Am. Geologist,

vol. 17, pp. 364-371, 1896.

68 Chamberlin, T. C., Editorial: Jour. Geology, vol. 4, pp. 872-876, 1896.

68 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

Iowan drift to northeastern Iowa. Work by Leverett had

also disclosed a drift intermediate in age between the Kan¬

san and the redefined Iowan ; this was the Illinois till sheet.

The following column was given, ascending: (1) Albertan

or sub-Aftonian till sheet, (2) Afonian interglacial beds,

(3) Kansan till sheet, (4) Buchanan interglacial deposits,

(5) Illinois till sheet, (6) interglacial deposits, (7) Iowan

till sheet, (8) Toronto interglacial deposits (?), and (9)

Wisconsin till sheets, earlier and later. In addition to

formulating this succession, which is essentially that fol¬

lowed to the present day by Chamberlin and his associates,

Chamberlin gave a system of time ratios based upon his

impression of the relative amounts of erosion and weather¬

ing suffered by the various drifts. These were as follows :

time since the close of the Wisconsin, 1 unit; since the

earliest Wisconsin, 2*/2 units; since the Iowan, 5 units;

since the Illinoian in Iowa, 8 units; and since the Kansan,

15 units. No attempt was made to estimate the age of the

sub-Aftonian.

1897

Much of the data on which Chamberlin had based the

foregoing column was published in 1897. Leverett07 an¬

nounced the results of work he had started in 1886. He

outlined a column of 15 separate stages, some of which

were divided into substages. It should be noted that this

was the first use of the word “stage” instead of “epoch”

in referring to subdivisions of the Pleistocene. The col¬

umn was in brief, ascending: (1) Oldest recognized drift

sheet — the Albertan of Dawson, (2) First, or Aftonian,

interval of recession or deglaciation, (3) Kansan drift

sheet of the Iowa geologists, (4) Second interval of reces¬

sion or deglaciation, (5) Illinoian drift sheet, (6) Third,

or pre-loessial, interval of recession or deglaciation, (7)

Iowan drift sheet and main loess deposit, (8) Fourth, or

post-loessial, interval of recession or deglaciation, (9)

Early Wisconsin drift sheets with four substages, (10)

Fifth interval of recession shown by shifting of ice lobes,

67 Leverett, Prank, The Pleistocene features and deposits of the Chicago

area: Chicago Acad. Sci., Bull. 2, 1897.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 69

(11) Late Wisconsin drift sheets with three substages,

(12) Lake Chicago submergence, (13) emergence of Chi¬

cago area, (14) resubmergence at Chicago, and (15) pres¬

ent stage of Lake Michigan. The author made it clear

that the different stages might have various time values

and that further work to the north might reveal more sub¬

stages or even new stages. The several glacial and inter¬

glacial stages were described in some detail. The relations

of the Albertan were imperfectly known. The Aftonian

interval had been described and named by Chamberlin.

The Kansan till, derived from the Keewatin center, had

been leached to a depth of several feet before the coming

of the Labradorian Illinoian ice. A marked difference in

degree of erosion could be observed between the areas of

Kansan and Illinoian drifts. It was intended to make

careful measurement of this “for erosion studies made with

proper analytical method promise to furnish the most satis¬

factory means available for measuring such time inter¬

vals.” The Illinoian drift was found to be about 40 feet

thick, thinner than the Kansan. Since the loess had been

determined to be of the same age as McGee’s “Upper Till”,

or Iowan drift, the soil between the Illinoian till and the

loess marked the next interval of ice recession. Iowan

drift was believed to be present in Illinois along Rock River

valley. The Iowan stage was followed by erosion of val¬

leys, then filling of these valleys, and last reexcavation be¬

fore the coming of the Early Wisconsin ice which latter

was marked by terminal moraines. That the Iowan drift

was younger than the Illinoian was shown by its having

been leached to a depth of only two feet and eroded only

half as much as the older deposit. The interval between

the Early and the Late Wisconsin had not been found to be

marked by differences in weathering and erosion but by

changes of ice fronts and shifting of the lobes. The evi¬

dence was found best developed in western Indiana where

the moraines of the two stages crossed one another at a

large angle. This phenomenon was thought to represent

a considerable lapse of time between the two divisions of

the Wisconsin.

An important series of papers before the Iowa Academy

70 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

of Science by Finch, Beyer, McBride, and Calvin68 gave

the results of studies of a new railway cut at Oelwein, Iowa.

This cut exposed McGee's forest bed between his two tills.

The later investigators decided, mainly upon lithologic

characters of the drift, that the till above the peat should

be correlated with the Kansan. The section was given

as, ascending: (1) sub-Aftonian till, (2) Aftonian peat,

sand, etc., (3) Kansan till, (4) Buchanan sand, and (5)

Iowan till. This correlation left the Iowan a thin veneer

over the older drifts, and placed the forest bed between the

two lower tills instead of at the base of the Iowan.

Calvin69 used the above correlation in two county reports.

He stressed the difference between the rough, eroded,

loess-covered Kansan topography and the smooth, bowl¬

der-strewn Iowan prairies. The till of the latter stage was

said to be calcareous to the grass roots.

Beyer70 appeared to regard gravels between tills as suf¬

ficient evidence upon which discrimination of different

stages of drift might be based. Some drifts had been as¬

sociated with gravel formation and others with silt depo¬

sition, in his opinion.

Calvin’s71 annual report summarized the work of 1896.

Bain had found a till below McGee’s “Lower Till”; this

was the till below the Aftonian gravels. The column for

Iowa was given as (1) Albertan drift, (2) Aftonian inter¬

glacial deposits, (3) Kansan drift, (4) Buchanan gravels,

(5) Illinois drift, (6) unnamed interglacial interval, (7)

Iowan drift, (8) Toronto formation (?), (9) Wisconsin

drift, and (10) recent. This classification had been en¬

dorsed by Chamberlin and his followers.

One of the most important papers of the year was by

68 Finch, G. E., Drift section at Oelwein, Iowa : Iowa Acacl. ScL, Proc. vol.

4, pp. 54—58, 1897 ; Beyer, S. W., Evidence of sub-Aftonian till sheet in north¬

eastern Iowa: Idem, pp. 58-62; McBride, T. H., A pre-Kansan peat bed:*

Idem, pp. 63-66; Calvin, Samuel, Summary of above papers: Idem, pp. 66-68.

60 Calvin, Samuel, Geology of Johnson County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 7,

pp. 35-108, 1897; Geology of Cerro Gordo County: Idem, pp. 119-195.

70 Beyer, S. W., Geology of Marshall County : Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 7, pp.

199-262, 1897.

71 Calvin, Samuel, Report of the state geologist : Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 7,

pp. 18-20, 1897; Synopsis of the drift deposits of Iowa: Am. Geologist, vol.

19, pp. 270-272, 1897.

Thwaitea— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 7 1

Bain73 in which was attempted one of the very few quan¬

titative estimates of the age of drift sheets. The region con¬

sidered lay near Des Moines, Iowa, on the border of the Wis¬

consin and Kansan drifts. The work of past investigators

was reviewed in detail and the tracing of the border of the

Wisconsin drift was credited to Upham. The topographic and

lithologic differences of the two drifts were summarized.

The burial of the loess and of a forest bed by Wisconsin

drift was described, as well as the weathering and erosion

of the Kansan area. A mathematical analysis was made

of the curves developed by weathering and erosion of val¬

leys in drift. It was decided that the older the topography,

the greater the proportion of concave as opposed to convex

curves. The extra-moranic drift was correlated as Kan¬

san rather than as Iowan as had formerly been done, on

the basis of its relation to the loess, and this involved

making the drift below the Aftonian gravels a still older

drift which was not known at the surface. It was sug¬

gested that McGee's “Lower Till" might prove to be of pre-

Kansan age, reference being made to the section at Oelwein,

Iowa. Other efforts to determine time ratios were re¬

viewed; after which the author took up the study of a val¬

ley which had been excavated before the Wisconsin ice

entered the region, had next been partly filled with Wis¬

consin outwash, had then been somewhat eroded, and had

finally been partially refilled with alluvium. By making

various assumptions regarding the relative speed of ero¬

sion and deposition, the ratios 1 to 6 up to 1 to 18 were de¬

duced as representing the relative ages of the two valleys.

“It is believed that the truth in this case lies between 1 :10

and 1:15, and nearer the latter than the former figures.

This is less than the writer would have given as a result

of general field impressions." A sketch map of Iowa com¬

piled by Bain was included and showed Iowan drift in the

northwestern part of the state.

73 Bain, H. R, Relations of the Wisconsin and Kansan drift sheets in cen¬

tral Iowa, and related phenomena: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 6, pp. 433-473,

1897.

72 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

1898

The work of Bain73 on which the correlation of the

Aftonian had been based for some years was not published

until 1898. In this paper Bain made a somewhat fuller

statement of the criteria used than had been the custom in

most contemporary works. He stated that forest beds in

the drift were of little value in separating stages of glaci¬

ation unless they demonstrated a temperate climate. He

also pointed out that all buried soils may not be in situ

and that the depth of leaching of a drift is not determined

by time alone, but by the amount of water passing through

the material. He described the “ferretto” or oxidized

surface of the drifts and declared that water-laid beds be¬

tween tills must be proved to be interglacial by fossils, for

he recognized that water worked at the same time as the

ice producing stratified deposits which contained striated

stones and graded into adjacent tills. Bain also found

that gravels were more easily altered by weathering than

the dense tills and stated that “all the processes indicated

might leave their marks upon a really young gravel.”

Topographic changes were declared to be the “best indices

of time relations”, but Bain defended the use of lithologic

character of the drift as a criterion by saying: “Aside,

however, from the differences in the bowlders, there are

certain differences in the physical aspect of the drift itself

which come to mean much to the field worker. Such dif¬

ferences are hard to put into words, and it is not always

possible to analyze them and so detect the underlying cause.

They cannot always be detected and there are many things

which may be deceptive; yet the character of the drift is

often very helpful.” In describing the waterlaid beds

near Afton Junction and Thayer he decided that they lay

in some places on certain silts or beds of loess and in others

on fresh till which had probably been eroded. The gravels

were found to grade laterally into the overlying till which

had been shown to be of Kansan age because of its ferretto

73 Bain, H. F., The Aftonian and pre-Kansan deposits in southwestern

Iowa: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 5, pp. 86-101, 1898; Am. Geologist, vol.

21, pp. 255-262, 1898.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 73

zone, loess cover, and erosion topography ; evidences which

left “no doubt whatever that the drift is Kansan.” He

also found beds of fine sand in the Kansan till. Although

he had failed to find the soil between the gravels and the

overlying till that had been claimed by Chamberlin and

McGee, there was a buried peat nearby which might be

equivalent and there was therefore some evidence of a

time break above the gravels which themselves gave evi¬

dence of having been deposited near to the ice. The till

beneath the gravel was declared to be “wholly unlike any

known phase of the Kansan”. Recent work had shown

that two different interglacial formations in Northeastern

Iowa had been confused and regarded as McGee’s forest

bed. The new classification of that area as having topo¬

graphic forms “now recognized as Iowan” had resulted in

“dividing the formation which McGee called his ‘upper

till’ ” into Kansan and Iowan. In any event, it was de¬

clared, “there are in Iowa traces of a drift sheet older than

the Kansan and separated from it by an unknown but prob¬

ably considerable interval.”

Calvin74 described the interglacial deposits of north¬

eastern Iowa, namely McGee’s forest bed and his own

Buchanan gravels. These had formerly been confused

and both correlated with the Aftonian but it was now rec¬

ognized that they constituted “two district horizons in the

glacial series.” McGee had first recognized more than one

age of drift in the area and had introduced “methods of in¬

vestigation that finally furnished the key to the interpre¬

tation of the complex Pleistocene system. _ He

furnished criteria for discriminating the two till sheets by

their color and contents.” “McGee looked upon the forest

bed as the plane of division between his lower and upper

tills, but later investigators _ reached the conclusion

that his lower till embraces two distinct drift sheets, and

that it is between these two that the forest bed invariably

lies.” It should be noted that this statement did not cor¬

respond with that of Bain in the last paper where he spoke

M Calvin, Samuel, The interglacial deposits of northeastern Iowa : Iowa

Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 5, pp. 64-70, 1898 ; Am. Geologist, vol. 21, pp. 251-254,

1898.

74 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

of dividing the “upper till” of McGee. Calvin went on to

say that Bain had shown that the Aftonian gravels lay be¬

low the Kansan so that they were now correlated with the

forest bed instead of with the Buchanan gravels as had

first been supposed. The latter marked the beginning of

an interglacial stage between the Kansan and the Iowan.

The lapse of time was marked by the weathering of the

gravels. This correlation left the Iowan drift very thin.

The same author set forth similar conclusions in the

county reports of the same year. In these Calvin75 de¬

scribed the Iowan drift as resting on both weathered grav¬

els and weathered Kansan till. Its margin was marked by

moraine-like ridges of loess and inside of the Iowan area

“islands” of loess-covered Kansan rose above the smooth

plains. The Iowan ice had been too thin to pass over these

although some of them were as low as 50 feet in height.

The Iowan till was marked by huge fresh granite bowlders,

by the slight weathering, and by smooth, little-eroded topo¬

graphy.

Bain76 in describing another county in Iowa mentioned

a gumbo which he ascribed to water deposition as it was

“compacted or puddled”. He also urged caution in inter¬

preting hillside exposures of drift on account of slumping

and slope-wash. The same author77 found difficulty in clas¬

sifying the drift of the area west of the Des Moines lobe of

Wisconsin drift. In this report he entered quite fully into

a discussion of criteria. He had found a drift evidently older

than the loess but which on the basis of erosion and weath¬

ering might be classed with the Wisconsin; as the loess had

not been shown to be post-Wisconsin he thought the balance

of probabilities favored an Iowan or Illinoian age for this

drift. Bain also presented a map of the drift sheets of

Iowa which showed no Iowan drift in the northwestern

part of state.

Calvin, Samuel, Geology, of Delaware County : Iowa Geol. Survey, voL

8, pp. 121-192, 1898 ; Geology of Buchanan County: Idem, pp. 203-253.

77 Bain, H. F., Geology of Decatur County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 8, pp.

257-309, 1898.

77 Bain, H. F„ Geology of Plymouth County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 8,

pp. 317-366, Map of drift sheets, pi. Ill, 1898.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 75

Leverett78 gave names to several of the interglacial

intervals which had previously been simply denoted by

number or by local terms. Inasmuch as there were no known

exposures of interglacial deposits between the Iowan

and Wisconsin tills a type locality was chosen where the

contact between the loess and the Wisconsin till could be

studied. This involved the correlation of the loess as

equivalent in age to the Iowan drift as thought by McGee.

On that assumption the soil and zone of weathering be¬

tween the loess and the overlying Wisconsin was called the

Peorian interval from exposures near Peoria, Illinois. This

interval was correlated tentatively with the Toronto for¬

mation of Ontario. Similar reasoning correlated the soil

and weathered material (Sangamon formation) below the

loess of Illinois with the interval between the Illinoian and

Iowan drift which were not known to be in contact with

one another. The type locality was Sangamon County,

Illinois. The Yarmouth interval was defined as that be¬

tween the Kansan and Illinoian drifts; its type locality

was a well in southeastern Iowa but exposures of an erosion

contact and a leached soil with black gummy clay had been

found in ravines west of the Mississippi River. Rones of

the rabbit and the skunk had been found in peat of this

age.

Tood79 pointed out the danger of accepting limited ex¬

posures of a buried forest as indicating a continuous hori¬

zon since landslides in ravines might readily simulate gla¬

cial burial.

1899

The year 1899 was marked by the appearance of the first

of Leverett’s80 series of monographs on the Pleistocene.

78 Leverett, Frank, The weathered zone (Sangamon) between the Iowan

loess and the Illinoian till sheet: Jour. Geology, vol. 6, pp. 171-181, 1898;

Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 5, pp. 71—80, 1898 ; The weathered zone (Yar¬

mouth) between the Illinoian and Kansan till sheets: Jour. Geology, vol. 6,

pp. 238-243, 1898; Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 5, pp. 81-86, 1898 ; The Peo¬

rian soil and weathered zone (Toronto formation?) : Jour. Geology, vol. 6,

pp. 244-249, 1898.

79 Todd, J. E., Degradation of the loess: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 5,

pp. 46-51, 1898.

80 Leverett, Frank, The Illinois glacial lobe: U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 38,

1899.

76 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

In this voluminous publication the Pleistocene column

given by the author two years before was modified only by

the introduction of the names of the interglacial stages

that he had proposed in the preceding year. No name was

given, however to the interval between the Early and the

Late Wisconsin stages of glaciation. Remarks were added

on the possible relations of the Albertan and the sub-Af-

tonian drifts and on the relations of the different gather¬

ing grounds of the ice. The column was in brief as fol¬

lows: (1) Albertan or sub-Aftonian drift, (2) Aftonian

interglacial interval, (3) Kansan drift, (4) Yarmouth

interval, (5) Illinoian drift, (6) Sangamon interval, (7)

Iowan drift and loess, (8) Peorian or Toronto?, (9) Early

Wisconsin drift, (10) unnamed interval, (11) Late Wis¬

consin drift. The author had distinguished the Illinoian

drift as younger than the Kansan as early as 1894. The

Yarmouth deposits clearly indicated .an interglacial inter¬

val below this drift, while the relation of the Sangamon

and the loess demonstrated a much greater age than that

of the Iowan. Deposits of gumbo had also been found

below the Sangamon deposits but no definite statement was

made as to their origin. The younger topography of the

Illinoian as compared with the Kansan was described. The

presence of moranic ridges and the lesser weathering of

the Illinoian were also regarded important distinctions

from the older Kansan. An area along Rock River valley

in northern Illinois was correlated as the Labradorian

equivalent of the Iowan. This drift did not show the evi¬

dence of a long period of weathering before the deposition

of the loess and possessed definite drumlins and other gla¬

cial features. It had an ill-defined outer border and a dis¬

tinctive lithological character. There was no discussion

of the relation of the lithologic character to bed rock ge¬

ology or of conditions affecting weathering and erosion.

Interglacial silt had been found in some places between this

drift and the underlying Illinoian till. Well records indi¬

cated soils between the Iowan drift and the Wisconsin till,

The exact relation to the original Iowan area had not been

determined. It was not thought that the interval between

the Early and the Late Wisconsin drifts was as long as the

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America, 77

earlier ones for little or no difference in weathering or

erosion could be detected.

An important paper of this year was Calvin’s81 defini¬

tion of the Iowan drift. He stated that it had “certain

individual characteristics that differentiate it sharply

from the other drift sheets of the Mississippi valley.” He

explained the confusion of nomenclature that had grown

up from the dividing of McGee’s “Upper Till” into Kansan

and Iowan. The Iowan drift had been found to possess

an extremely irregular border; “the free edge of the Iowan

ice, _ , flowed out in numberless digit-like lobes, some of

which were surprisingly long and narrow, and so its

boundary lines along the terminal margins are irregular

and sinuous to the last degree.” Calvin found that the

loess was absent from the Iowan drift except near the bor¬

der, where islands of Kansan drift rose above the Iowan

plain. Just outside the Iowan border the loess was very

thick. The pecular boundaries of the Iowan glacier were

explained as due to very thin ice supported by water. “This

is offered, with many misgivings, merely as a suggestion

to account for the remakable power of flowing out in long

tongues and meeting around prominent elevations”. The

Iowan till was described as thin, yellow colored, and cal¬

careous to the grass roots; it contained many immense

fresh granite bowlders, some trap rocks, and some quart¬

zite, while the Kansan till contained greenstones and rot¬

ted granites. The Iowan surface topography was due to

ice moulding and showed very little erosion compared with

the Kansan drift area. The author thought that the Kan¬

san drift was certainly fifteen, and possibly as much as

fifty, times as old as the Iowan. The Iowan he believed to

be at least twice as old as the Wisconsin drift, which latter

showed “no detectable signs of even the incipient stages of

oxidation and leaching.” No forest bed had been found be¬

tween the Iowan and the Kansan tills but there was a line

of oxidation of the older drift beneath the Iowan.

Calvin82 also presented a popular article on the Pleisto

81 Calvin, Samuel, Iowan drift: Geol, Soc. America, Bull., vol. 10, pp. 107-

120, 1899.

83 Calvin, Samuel, Pleistocene Iowa: Annals of Iowa, vol. 3. pp. 1-22, 1899.

78 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , cwid Letters.

cene of Iowa. He stated that the Neocene peneplain in Iowa

has been trenched with deep valleys before the earliest ice.

The Pleistocene column stood as follows: (1) Ozarkian

stage of uplift and erosion83, (2) pre-Kansan or Albertan

till “of marked individual characteristics”, (3) Aftonian

interglacial soils and gravels, (4) Kansan drift with green¬

stone bowlders, (5) Buchanan interglacial weathered

gravels, (6) Illinoian drift, (3) Third unnamed intergla¬

cial stage, (8) Iowan stage of glaciation, (9) Toronto (?)

formation and deposition of sand and loess, (10) Wisconsin

drift. It is interesting to note that Calvin did not use Lev-

erett’s names for the interglacial intervals and that he was

beginning to place the loess as interglacial rather than as

the same age as the Iowan drift. This drift was described

as “fundamentally a bright yellow clay.” Calvin further

explained that “the glaciers by which it was distributed

often rode over the pre-Iowan surface materials without

cutting into or disturbing them to any appreciable extent.”

A map indicated a smoother outline for the Iowan than was

later given and showed possible Iowan drift in northwest¬

ern Iowa.

Udden and Norton84 published detailed accounts of parts

of the Illinoian area in Iowa. Much of Leverett’s evidence

was restated and the pronounced difference in the topog¬

raphy of the Illinoian and Kansan areas was described.

Norton said : “erosion has, for the most part, only nibbled

at the edges (of the Illinoian plain). Even to its margins,

overlooking two master rivers, remnants of the original

plain surface are left.” He also distinguished an area of

uneroded Iowan drift.

Beyer83 in a report on a county in central Iowa endeav¬

ored to divide the Wisconsin drift into two stages separated

by an interval which “measured in terms of oxidation and

83 This Ozarkian is the early Pleistocene erosion interval of Hershey

(Hershey, O. H., Ozarkian epoch — a suggestion : Science, ri. s., vol. 3, pp.

620-622, 1896.) not the Ozarkian of Ulrich which embraces part of the early

Paleozoic.

84 Udden, J. A., Geology of Muscatine County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 9,

pp. 249-380, 1899.

Norton, W. H., Geology of Scott County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 9, pp.

391-514, 1899.

88 Beyer, S. W., Geology of Story County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 9, pp.

157-239, 1899.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 79

leaching, was certainly greater than the time which has

elapsed since the retreat of the ice from the country.”

In another paper the same author86 described loess, which

he regarded as “the silty apron of the Iowan”, buried under

the Wisconsin till.

Bain87 again took up the problem of the drift of western

Iowa outside of the Des Moines lobe of Wisconsin drift. In

his report on Carroll County he described two phases of the

extra-morainic drift, one weathered and the other fresh to

the top. Inasmuch as no vertical or horizontal line of divi¬

sion could be discovered between these he considered that

erosion had removed the weathered material as fast as it

had been formed. The same conclusions were also set forth

in another paper in which he explained the rate of carbonate

leaching as governed by porosity and the relation of amount

of weathered material to the rate of erosion. He explained

the method of formation of the ferretto or oxidized zone

which occurs at the surface of the older drifts. Bain con¬

cluded that more water ran off in the region under consid¬

eration than in localities to the south and east, and there¬

fore the rate of leaching was less. The danger of confusion

of old and new drifts if weathering alone was considered

was pointed out. Bain did not think the extra-morainic

drift was of Iowan age.

Todd88 expressed doubt on the subject of the supposed in¬

terglacial deposits of South Dakota but added little new to

the subject now under consideration.

1900

Wilder89 followed up the same line of argument as Bain

in the preceding year. He has found far less leaching of the

drift in northwestern than in southern Iowa and said:

“from this it does not necessarily follow that the drift is

88 Beyer, S. W., Buried loess in Story County : Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol.

6, pp. 117-121, 1899.

87 Bain, H. F., Geology of Carroll County : Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 9, pp.

53-105, 1899; Notes on the drift of northwestern Iowa: Am. Geologist, vol.

23, pp. 168-176, 1899.

88 Todd, J. E., New light on the drift in South Dakota: Iowa Acad. Sci.,

Proc., vol. 6, pp. 122-130, 1899; Am. Geologist, vol. 25, pp. 96-105, 1900.

^^Wilder, F. A., Geology of Byon and Sioux Counties : Iowa Geol., Survey,

vol. 10, pp. 89-157, 1900.

80 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

young. The amount of leaching is determined in part by

the quantity of water that circulates through the lime-bear¬

ing stratum, and if the surface of a given region is relative¬

ly low so that there is little or no tendency for water to

penetrate the soil, long lapses of time may result in very

little leaching. On the other hand, if the gradients were

high, surface drainage would be increased and little water

would penetrate the drift. This would also account for the

absence of leaching. Leaching goes on most rapidly where

slopes are moderate. High gradients also result in rapid

erosion, and for this reason Mr. Bain, in Carroll County,

accounts for the absence of ferretto and leaching in parts

of the Kansan drift.” The lighter rainfall of western Iowa

would also tend in the same direction of little leaching, ac¬

cording to Wilder. He concluded that it was best to cor¬

relate the drift with the Kansan although from a topo¬

graphic standpoint it resembled the Iowan. Wilder was

one of the first to adopt Shimek’s eolian theroy of the

loess.

Calvin and Bain90 writing on Dubuque County, Iowa,

mentioned the effect of the permeability of gravels on oxi¬

dation.

1901

The new century opened with the publication of a map of

the drift sheets of Iowa by Calvin91 which showed a smooth

Iowan boundary, an area of extra-morainic Wisconsin drift

in the northwestern part of the state, and the distribution

of the terminal and recessional moraines of Wisconsin age.

Udden92 described three drifts in Louisa County, Iowa, as

pre-Kansan, Kansan, and Illinoian. The first two had been

found to be separated by sands and gravels of Aftonian age.

Especial attention was paid to the supposed differences in

kinds of erratics in each of the drifts, a criterion upon

which the author laid much stress.

90 Calvin, Samuel, and Bain, H. F., Geology of Dubuque County : Iowa Geol

Survey, vol. 10, pp. 381-623, 1900.

91 Calvin, Samuel, Preliminary map of the drift sheets of Iowa : Iowa Geol.

Survey, vol. 11, plate II, p. 16, 1901.

82 Udden, J. A., Geology of Louisa County : Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 11, pp.

58-126, 1901.

Tliwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 81

Norton98 writing in another county report declared that

other factors than time influenced the amount of alteration

of the drift, and that manganese oxide could look very much

like the organic matter of a buried soil. Slopewash deposits

were also recognized. The loess-covered islands or “paha”

within the Iowan area were thought possibly to be eskers

for the author believed that the absence of loess from the

Iowan plains was due to their being covered by ice at the

time of the deposition of the loess.

Hershey94 sought to make more definite Leverett’s state¬

ments on the relative ages of the Kansan and the Illinoian

drifts. The border of the latter was marked by a broad

ridge. Even on the banks of the Mississippi where condi¬

tions were favorable for erosion, the Illinoian was little

touched, while the Kansan area to the west had most of its

ridges reduced below the original drift plain. No full

statement was made of the factors that govern the speed of

erosion.

1902

Calvin's95 annual report published in 1902 called Iowa

classic ground for glacial geology. Since his report in 1897

many new facts had been ascertained largely through the

work of Leverett. The column of glacial and interglacial

stages given by Calvin differed from that of Leverett only

in the omission of any subdivision of the Wisconsin. The

author declared that the Kansan drift was at least twenty

times as old as the Wisconsin and that some of the inter¬

glacial intervals might have been many times longer than

the time since the Wisconsin. Judging from erosion the

southwestern part of Iowa might well have pre-Kansan

drift at the surface, but recent studies of railway cuts in

that region had shown that the drift was divided by the

Aftonian gravels which were regarded as outwash of the

pre-Kansan glacier. The mapping of the border of the Iow¬

an drift has been completed.

93 Norton, W. H., Geology of Cedar County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 11,

pp. 282-396, 1901.

91 Hershey, O. H., The age of the Kansan drift: Am. Geologist, vol. 28,

pp. 20-25, 1901.

95 Calvin, Samuel, Report of the State Geologist : Iowa Geol. Survey, vol.

12, pp. 18-23, 1902.

6

82 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

MacBride96 in reporting upon part of northwestern Iowa

stated that the age of the drift outside the Wisconsin mo¬

raine was “still a matter of conjecture.” The criterion of

topography was used, for the author stated in regarding to

the mapping of the border of the Wisconsin : “in our effort

to delimit a glacial drift sheet such as the Wisconsin we

must always be guided to a very considerable extent by

purely surface indications, the presence or absence of sur¬

face bowlders, and above all by the configuration of the sur¬

face as expressed in general topography.”

Udden97 writing on a county in the Kansan area of Iowa

gave the results of the study of 1000 pebbles from the pre-

Kansan and Kansan drifts. A slight difference was noted

in that Keeweenawan rocks were more numerous in the

Kansan, and Huronian rocks more numerous in the pre-

Kansan. Differences in surface leaching ranging up to 300

percent had been noted within a few rods distance and were

thought to be possibly “due to difference in texture, or per¬

haps also to difference in drainage.” The relation of size

of stones to kind of rock was also investigated, showing an

increasing percentage of limestone with decrease in size.

The most important production of the year was the sec¬

ond of Leverett’s98 monographs, this time on the region

westward from the great reentrant in the drift margin in

southwestern New York. The outline of time relations and

succession of drifts was unchanged from the earlier mono¬

graph. Pre-Kansan or Kansan, Illinoian, Early Wisconsin,

and Late Wisconsin drifts had been found., The controver¬

sy over the depth of preglacial erosion of the upper Ohio

was discussed, and it was concluded that most of the rock

erosion had been completed before the Illinoian drift was

deposited. The extra-morainic drift of northern Pennsyl¬

vania had an attenuated border unlike the Illinoian and

showed deep erosion little of which could have been due to

glacial waters since “casual observation shows that the

98 MacBride, T. H., Geology of Cherokee and Buena Vista Counties: Iowa

Geol. Survey, vol. 12, pp. 303-353, 1902.

87 Udden, J. A., Geology of Jefferson County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 12,

pp. 355-437, 1902.

93 Leverett, Frank, Glacial formations and drainage features of the Brie

and Ohio basins: U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 41, 1902.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glacia tion in N. America. 83

streams which have been unaided by glacial floods have

nevertheless opened valleys of sufficient size to warrant the

inference that glacial floods are responsible for only a minor

part of the erosion displayed by the glaciated tributaries.”

Leverett thought that the gravel conglomerates described

by Sutton were really stony till and of no particular signifi¬

cance in dividing the drifts. He could not find Orton’s

forest bed in till but only a soil below the loess. This was

the Sangamon, and showed that more weathering had taken

place before the formation of the loess than since the Wis¬

consin. The Peorian interval was not thought to have been

as long as the Sangamon. Doubt was expressed that all the

loess was Iowan outwash. The differences between the

Early and Late Wisconsin drifts were not as well shown as

farther west, but there had been some erosion of the former

before the deposition of the latter.

1903

Calvin’s" county reports published in 1903 added little

new. The constructional character of the Iowan topography

was affirmed by stating that: “erosion was in no way con¬

cerned. Erosion has not effected any general modification of

the surface since the glacial ice disappeared from the re¬

gion.” In speaking of a buried soil he stated : “the organic

matter of the peaty soil was capable of more than counter¬

balancing any effects of oxidation which might have taken

place before the Kansan surface was covered and protected

from further change by the deposition of the Iowan drifts.”

The Iowan till was declared to carry “quite a large amount

of lime carbonate even at the surface.” It was recognized

that all loess need not be of Iowan age. The occurrence of

loess on Iowan drift was described as “so unusual as to ex¬

cite surprise.”

Savage100 writing on another county of Iowa with Iowan

drift stated that “to discriminate between such Iowan areas

and those of the less eroded Kansan surface is not always

99 Calvin, Samuel. Geology of Howard County : Iowa Geol. Survey, vol.

13, pp. 25-79, 1903; Geology of Chickasaw County: Idem, pp. 258-291;

Geology of Mitchell County; Idem, pp. 296-338.

100 Savage, T. E., Geology of Tama County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 13,

pp. 188-253, 1903.

84 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

an easy task. Usually, however, the Iowan ice left large

bowlders of gray granite at more or less frequent intervals

on the surface over which it passed. Wherever these ap¬

pear - there are topographic features accompanying them

which together constitute distinctive criteria. So constant

is the presence of occasional bowlders over the Iowan area,

even where it left but slight traces in topography, that its

outlines could almost be mapped from the presence of these

fresh granite bowlders _

The same author101 also described one of the lobes of the

Iowan drift stating that the “Iowan ice did not generally

carry such a large amount of drift and debris as the Kan¬

san.”

Holzinger102 described some of the mosses from the Af-

tonian peat at Oelwein, Iowa, but did not discuss their cli¬

matic significance.

1904

1904 saw very little published on the subject under dis¬

cussion. Shimek013 wrote on the loess. He noted Lev-

erett’s use of the loess for dating drift sheets and stated that

inasmuch as there is no blending of loess and till the former

could not be regarded as contemporaneous with any par¬

ticular drift. The testimony of the fossils was incompati¬

ble with such an origin. The thickening of the loess and

its association with sand dunes along the Iowan border was

no different than along several of the main streams where

no connection with Iowan drift could possibly be claimed.

Shimek had found loess between the Kansan and Illinoian

drifts and believed that there was evidence of several loess

deposits of different ages.

Savage104 described a buried peat deposit in southern

Iowa near the original Aftonian locality. He had the wood

101 Savage, T. E., The Toledo lobe of Iowan drift : Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc.,

vol. 10, pp. 123-128, 1903.

102 Holzinger, J. M., On some fossil mosses : The Bryologist, vol. 6, pp.

93-94, 1903.

103 Shimek, Bohumil, Papers on the loess, Loess and the Lansing man.

Loess and the Iowan drift: Univ. of Iowa, Lab. of Nat. Hist., vol. 5, pp.

298-381, 1904.

1<M Savage, T. E., A buried peat bed in Dodge township, Union County, Iowa:

Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 11, pp. 103-109, 1904.

Thwaites— Theory o f Multiple Glaciation in N. America, 85

and moss examined by competent authorities who found the

former to be spruce and the latter to be of two species, of

which one was north-temperate and the other sub-arctic

in its present habitat. The cool climate thus indicated was

ascribed to the time of the approach of the ice toward the

end of the Aftonian interval. The deposit was correlated

with the peat bed of the Oelwein cut on the basis of the

organic remains. The drift below the peat had been

oxidized before the formation of the former.

1905

1905 was almost as poor a year for publications as was the

preceding. Savage105 wrote on another part of northeast¬

ern Iowa describing some of the Iowan drift. The eleva¬

tions along the border of that deposit he declared “can

scarcely be called a moraine as that term is usually under¬

stood, for they contain no proper unspread Iowan drift.”

The loess and sand of this belt were ascribed to water depo¬

sition. Speaking of the loess-covered hills within the

Iowan, Savage said : “If they did determine in some meas¬

ure the distance southward which the Iowan glacier at¬

tained, the ice near the margin must have been exceedingly

attenuated for its flow to be influenced by such slight in¬

equalities in the surface. If the Iowan ice movement was

thus influenced near the margin by the presence of hills we

have a possible explanation of why, within a few miles of

its border, there are left paha-like hills and pre^-Iowan

island areas, both overlain by loess _ ; of why the Iowan

border presents such a large number of narrow, digitating

lobes. - ; of why its margin in so many places coincides

for some distance with one of the bordering banks of a pre¬

glacial stream _ ; of why in other cases the Iowan ice

seemed to avoid the immediate vicinity of the larger

streams,-. - ” Little real Iowan till was found in this

area.

Shimek106 in a short abstract declared that the loess was

105 Savage, T. E., Geology of Benton County : Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 15,

pp. 129-225, 1905.

108 Shimek, Bohumil, The loess and associated interglacial deposits (ab¬

stract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 16, p. 589, 1905.

86 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

related to times of ice retreat and that the order of deposi¬

tion had been first residual gravels, then sand dunes, and

last loess and soil.

1906

The most important publication of 1906 was Chamberlin

and Salisbury’s107 text book of geology in which a some¬

what extended summary of the glacial succession was given.

Six separate stages of ice invasion were listed. The sub-

Af tonian was correlated with the Jerseyan of New Jersey.

The possibility was recognized that the Aftonian beds

might not be really interglacial but might be sub-Aftonian

outwash. Great masses of Aftonian gravels had been

plowed up by the advancing Kansan ice. The Kansan drift

was described as a clay till with little sand or gravel. “No

great deposit of sand and gravel have been found in, or on,

or leading away from the edge of this formation.” The

Illinoian drift was stated, however, to be associated with

more stratified drift than its older neighbor. The main

loess deposit was correlated with the Iowan drift and the

Peorian interglacial deposits were held to be equivalent to

the Toronto formation. The criterion of differences in the

kind of work and in the drainage conditions around the

several glaciers was emphasized. “A part of this difference

is due to the greater freshness of the Wisconsin forma¬

tions; but the larger part, apparently, is assignable to a

stronger original expression.” Karnes, eskers, drumlins,

outwash, and moraines were described as characterizing

the Wisconsin drift, which also was unique in its lobate

outline. “This drift-sheet, far beyond all the others, bears

the stamp of the great agency of the period.” The loess

was ascribed to both water and wind work, but the asso¬

ciation with the Iowan was explained by sluggish drainage

during that stage of glaciation. The table of time ratios

was restated with slight modifications as “a collation of the

judgment of five of the glacial geologists who have most

studied the data in their most favorable expressions”. It

was as follows: time since the late Wisconsin, 1 unit; since

107 Chamberlin, T. C., and Salisbury, R. D., Geology, vol. 3, pp. 383-394,

1906.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 87

the Early Wisconsin, 2 to 2*4 units; since the Iowan, 3 to

5 units ; since the Illinoian, 7 to 9 units ; since the Kansan,

15 to 17 units; and since the sub-Aftonian, no estimate.

Somewhat similar ideas ascribing a difference in kind of

glacial action to the several stages of glaciation were also

put forward by Tight108 who suggested that ponding of

preglacial north-flowing streams by the earlier glacial ad¬

vances might explain the differences in topography of the

different drift sheets.

The work of the Iowa Survey published in 1906 contained

no new principles but attempted to explain a number of

different areas of Iowan drift. Calvin109 remarked again

on the “very erratic and curiously lobulate character of the

margin of the Iowan drift sheet”. He explained the pres¬

ence of erosion valleys between glaciated uplands by the

hypothesis that the ice lodged in the valleys and became

stagnant while it continued to move along the divides. The

rock valleys were regarded as of pre-Kansan age.

Norton110 still adhered to McGee’s ideas on the loess stat¬

ing that if it had accumulated in forests it was difficult to

see why it was neither carbonaceous nor leached. He noted

that the low water table in the paha hills promoted more

rapid leaching than on the adjacent plains.

Savage111 found -difficulty in explaining a small isolated

area that resembled Iowan drift. He fell back upon ice¬

rafting of bowlders which he supposed to be characteristic

of drift of that stage.

Finch112 contributed a rather extended discussion of a

part of the Iowan drift area. He remarked on the sand

along the border, the sloughs filled with bowlders, and the

local stratified materials on the plains. The valleys which

lead away from the Iowan area were divided into three sec¬

tions: (1) broad, smooth, shallow valleys, (2) V-shaped

108 Tight, W. G., Pleistocene phenomena in the Mississippi basin ; a working

hypothesis (abstract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 17, p. 130, 1906.

10U Calvin, Samuel, Geology of Winneshiek County : Iowa Geol. Survey,

vol. 16, pp. 43-146, 1906.

110 Norton, W. H., Geology of Bremer County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 16,

pp. 323-405, 1906.

m Savage, T. E., Geology of Jackson County: Iowa Geol. Survey, voi. 16,

pp. 567-649, 1906.

113 Finch, G. E., A study of a portion of the Iowan drift border in Fay¬

ette County, Iowa: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 13, pp. 215-218, 1906.

88 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

rock valleys with some drift in the bottoms, and (3) deep

rock valleys in the loess-Kansan area. Part of the depth

of the last division was ascribed to banks of loess on the val¬

ley sides. The round rock sides of the second division were

ascribed to glaciation although no striae had been discov¬

ered. It seemed strange to the author that there were no

Iowan valley trains, but this he explained by slow melting

of the ice. The border relations of the Iowan and Kansan

transition zone were declared to be “intricate and puzzling”.

1907

In 1907 Calvin113 published the results of a restudy of the

original Aftonian locality in southern Iowa. New expos¬

ures had been made since it was first seen by Chamberlin

and Bain. Only three possibilities were considered: (1)

pre-Kansan outwash, (2) Kansan outwash, and (3) inter¬

glacial deposition. In the first two cases it was assumed

that the outwash was formed during the final retreat of the

ice and the hypothesis of formation during a minor oscilla¬

tion of the glacial front was ignored. Because the drift

below the gravels was not leached, because the top of the

stratified beds showed as iron crust, and because of other

signs of oxidation it was decided that the gravels were pre-

Kansan outwash instead of Kansan outwash as concluded

by Bain. The work of modern ground water in making

the ferruginous band was, however, considered. No soil

had been found at this horizon although Chamberlin had

reported such. The apparent gradation of the gravels into

the overlying till that had been observed by Bain was now

ascribed to plowing up by the ice of the stratified deposits

as gravel bowlders. Calvin apparently regarded all the

gravels in the till as transported masses and not as lenses ;

it is possible that both occur and it is certain that expos¬

ures were much better at the time of his study than they are

today. The Aftonian interval was correlated by Calvin

with peat beds elsewhere in Iowa.

113 Calvin, Samuel, The Aftonian gravels and their relation to the drift

sheets in the region about Afton Junction and Thayer: Davenport Acad.

Sci., Proc., vol. 10, pp. 18-31, 1907.

Thwaites- — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 89

Weidman114 of the Wisconsin survey published a volum¬

inous report on part of that state. Inasmuch as the area

was mainly underlain by non-carbonate rocks the leaching

test could not be used to discriminate drifts and the

phenomena of oxidation and disintegration of stones could

alone be employed. Weidman wisely did not attempt to

correlate the several drifts that he thought he could dis¬

tinguish with the glacial stages that had been recognized

in other districts but instead he numbered them. Dis¬

crimination was made mainly by “difference in character,

location and thickness of the drift sheets”. The “First

Drift” was found to be very thin, and had been much

eroded; it was devoid of moraines. The “Second Drift”

was bordered by a thick moraine at Marshfield ; its till had

been declared by Chamberlin to show weathering “as great

as any ever observed by him.” Rock hills within the area

of this drift had been eroded into crags since glaciation.

An interglacial stage following this drift was indicated

only by differences in erosion and in weathering. The

“Third Drift” occurred in indefinite local patches but had a

mapable border. It showed kames, outwash, knobs, ba¬

sins, and loess. “Over large parts of the area it is but a

few feet thick, merely a mantle of 2 or 8 feet, and in other

parts of the area the drift of this formation is absent.”

Weidman’s description and illustrations showed that nearly

all, if not all, of this supposed drift is really kames associ¬

ated with the “Second Drift”. A relatively short inter¬

glacial interval shown by erosion intervened between this

drift and the Wisconsin drift with its marked terminal

moraine. Perhaps the most striking and unusual feature

of Weidman’s report was the denial that any appreciable

amount of outwash had been deposited by the waters from

the Wisconsin ice sheet. This conclusion was based upon

the fact that some outwash terraces were supposed to have

been overridden by the Wisconsin moraine, upon supposed

glacial deposits of “Third Drift” on some terraces, and on

the fact that certain terraces did not extend up to the mo¬

raine. The outwash plains were described as “alluvial de-

114 Weidman, Samuel, The geology of north central Wisconsin: Wisconsin

Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 16, pp. 433-571, 621-631, 1907.

90 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

posits” and ascribed to interglacial stream aggradation due

to depression of the land during the interval between the

Second and Third Drifts. Most of the evidence on these

points was reserved for a proposed second report. This

report was never published but the manuscript was read

by the present writer in 1917.

Goldthwait115 described a forest bed under red till at Two

Creeks, Wisconsin. Underneath the fallen trees were la¬

minated clays with stumps in situ. Goldthwait concluded

that: “A natural inference is a series of slight advances

and retreats of the ice front in its last stages by which al¬

ternating red silt deposits and morainic beds (both derived

from the ice) were laid down, and when the newly exposed

drift country was freshly yet abundantly clothed with for¬

est growth.” In earlier years many geologists would have

at once called this deposit interglacial.

1908

1908 was a poor year in the subject here under consider¬

ation. Shimek116 announced the discovery of another area

of Aftonian gravels and sands in western Iowa which con¬

tained fossils that indicated a mild climate.

The same author117 discussed the loess of northeastern

Iowa, the region of the Iowan drift. He found that the

fossils in the loess precluded the possibility of nearby ice

at the time of its formation. He stated : “In this portion

of the state any comparatively flat area in which bowlders

appear at the surface has been referred to Iowan, especially

if loose sand is also present. But flat areas of Kansan are

not uncommon in the southern part of the state. _ and in

the western part. On some of these areas bowlders ap¬

pear at the surface, and Kansan surfaces without loess are

not uncommon in the Kansan areas within or near the

Iowan drift _ ” Shimek recognized the occurrence of

sand dunes and explained the loess on the paha hills as due

115 Goldthwait, J. W., The abandoned shore-lines of eastern Wisconsin :

Wisconsin Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, Bull. 17, pp. 61-62, 1907.

118 Shimek, Bohumil, Aftonian sands and gravels in western Iowa : Science,

n. s., vol. 28, p. 923, 1908.

UT Shimek, Bohumil, The loess of the paha and river ridge: Iowa Acad.

Sci., Proc., vol. 13, pp. 117-135, 1908.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. AmeHca. 91

to their having been first drained and covered with vegeta¬

tion which held the wind-blown dust from the adjacent flats

which he found to be everywhere free of loess. A photo¬

graph showed the pebble line at the bottom of the loess of

the Iowan area.

Attempts to reduce the number of glacial stages

General . The period from 1909 to the present appears to

have been marked by greater conservatism than had form¬

erly obtained. Up to this time drifts had been discrimi¬

nated and correlated with amazing rapidity and over great

distances; now more scrutiny was given to the validity of

these conclusions. To quote the opinion of a well known

foreign authority, W. B. Wright118: “It is interesting to

note that the apparent ease and definiteness with which the

Americans have read the record of their glacial deposits is

gradually becoming reduced to a state of agnosticism very

similar to that of the European glacialists toward their

northern drifts.” Leverett proposed either (a) the abola-

tion of the Iowan stage which would involve correlating

this area as Kansan, or (b) the correlation of the Iowan

with the Ulinoian. He also proposed the elimination of the

division of the Wisconsin into two separate stages.

1909

The year 1909 saw a number of very important papers.

Calvin119 summarized the Pleistocene of his home state in

his presidential address before the Geological Society of

America. He stated that Iowa was the best state for the

study of the Pleistocene and reviewed the several drifts in

detail. The pre-Kansan he thought might be the same as

the Albertan or the Jerseyan ; it consisted of a dark blue or

black till. The overlying Aftonian had been shown by fos¬

sils to have been deposited during a time of forest growth

and hence of mild climate. The beds had been much

weathered before the coming of the Kansan, but it was not

probable that the time involved had been very long. The

118 Wright, W. B., The Quarternary ice age, p, 167, 1914.

119 Calvin, Samuel, Present phase of the Pleistocene problem in Iowa : Geol.

Soc. America, Bull., vol. 20, pp. 135-152, 1909.

92 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

Kansan was described as a light blue or gray till. The

Yarmouth interval was also a time of forests and was also

indicated by the differences in erosion of the Kansan and

the Illinoian drifts. This interval had been longer than all

post-Illinoian time. The Illinoian till was yellow and three-

fourths of its area had not been eroded. Weathering was

also much less than in the Kansan. The Sangamon interval

was not well shown in Iowa. The Iowan drift had not been

eroded or weathered although it had a deep black soil ; this

soil alone was present locally. The Iowan till was light

yellow and never had been as calcareous as the Kanson ; its

maximum thickness was 20 feet. The boundaries were in¬

accurately drawn. The large, fresh, striated bowlders had

been subglacial and there was not enough drift to conceal

them. The Kansan was thought to be a hundred times as

old as the Iowan. No contacts between the Iowan and

Wisconsin tills had been found but the drifts were distinct.

The Wisconsin consisted of lighter yellow till; the ice of

that stage had been thicker and more energetic than was

the Iowan ice. There was more limestone drift in the

Wisconsin and more moraines had been formed than in the

earlier ice invasions. The Iowan had weak drainage with

sand outwash while the Wisconsin streams deposited

gravel. In concluding Calvin forecasted that the future

would reveal still more separate stages of glaciation.

The same author120 also described the fossils of the newly

discovered Aftonian deposits of the Missouri valley. The

fauna wTas considered to be inconsistent with the former in¬

terpretation of these deposits as pre-Kansan outwash.

Large herbivorous animals were found which indicated the

presence of much vegetation. Correlation with the Sheri¬

dan beds farther west was suggested.

Shimek121 the discoverer of these new Aftonian localities,

also described them. After reviewing what had formerly

been known of Aftonian deposits, he described cross-bedded

sands and gravels with some bowlders which occurred in

the till along the Missouri valley north of Council Bluffs.

120 Calvin, Samuel, Aftonian mammalian fauna : Geol. Soc. America, Bull.,

vol. 20, pp. 341-356, 1909.

m Shimek, Bohumil, Aftonian sands and gravels in western Iowa : Geol.

Soc. America, Bull., vol. 20, pp. 399-408, 1909.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 93

These deposits were stained with iron and manganese

oxides. The abundance and good preservation of the fos¬

sils were said to indicate that the animals had lived at the

time of the formation of the deposits. Shells of modern

species of fresh water mollusks had been found. The po¬

sition of the beds bewteen two dissimilar tills had been

demonstrated by exposures and by well records. The top

of the gravels had been weathered before Kansan time and

as the fossils indicated a mild climate the formation must

have been interglacial. The name Nebraskan was sug¬

gested for the till below these beds.

Up to this time every suggestion of a new glacial stage

had been accepted almost without question ; now Leverett122

introduced a new spirit and instead of the multiplication of

stages suggested by Calvin a movement towards elimina¬

tion began. Leverett stated that the application of weath¬

ering and erosion to the correlation of drifts involved cer¬

tain qualifications since other factors than time had influ¬

enced the results. The speed of erosion was governed by

stream gradients, and the speed of weathering by climate.

Formation of loess at different times during the Pleisto¬

cene indicated intervals of arid climate for he now regarded

loess as eolian. A number of illustrations taken from to¬

pographic maps were presented to show the variation in

amount of erosion of the several drifts under different con¬

ditions. It was demonstrated that the great amount of

erosion of the Kansan drift was postglacial and not due to

unfilled preglacial valleys. The most striking feature of

the paper was an attack on the existence of the Iowan drift.

The author declared that field study by him had shown that

the topography of the Iowan area was one of erosional

type but without tabular divides and that no fresh till was

present. A filling of the valleys by slope-wash was sug¬

gested as the explanation of the difference of this area from

the recognized Kansan drift topography to the south.

The Iowan area of Rock River valley in northern Illinois

originally defined by Hershey while working for Leverett,

had up to this time not been questioned in public. Now

122 Leverett, Frank, Weathering and erosion as time measures : Am. Jour.

Sci., vol. 177, pp. $49—368, 1909.

94 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

Alden128, who had been working to the north in Wisconsin

where the present writer assisted him in 1907, restudied

the area north of the latitude of Rockford and demolished

much of the basis on which the original mapping had ap¬

parently been made. He found that fresh till was con¬

fined to slopes where erosion had carried away the weath¬

ered material as fast as it was formed. On undissected up¬

lands the depth of residual material was quite normal for

the Illinoian drift. The area was further confused by

differences in preglacial topography and in original amount

of drift ; east of Rock River a limestone upland still showed

drumlins, while to the west a more rugged limestone-sand-

stone area had never been buried under a drift plain. Dif¬

ferences in the rate of weathering of open gravels and of

close-textured tills were also noted. Caution was urged

in the use of some of the criteria which had been employed

up to that time. Although the relation of erosion to

depth of weathered material had never been stressed in

teaching or in most publications, the matter was not

original with Alden; Leverett had mentioned it in 1890,

Bain in 1899 and Wilder in 1900.

1910

The results of Leverett’s124 work in Europe appeared in

full in 1910. From this paper one would infer that com¬

parison with the European succession had caused the at¬

tack on the existence of the Iowan drift, although as a mat¬

ter of fact the study of northeastern Iowa had been started

to see if a Keewatin Illinoian drift could not be discovered.

Leverett had found that the Iowan till was not “calcareous

to the grass roots” and thought it strange that a glacier

would not have picked up any of the calcareous Kansan

till below. The fresh granite bowlders he found to be all

of a very resistant type of granite. The surface material

was regarded as no different from the weathered Kansan

drift. The question was why there was no loess on the

123 Alden, W. C., Concerning’ certain criteria for discrimination of the age

of glacial drift sheets as modified by topographic situation and drainage rela¬

tions: Jour. Geology, vol. 17, pp. 694-709, 1909.

13-1 Leverett, Frank, Comparison of North American and European glacial

deposits: Zeitschrift fur Gletscherkunde, B. 4, pp. 241-295, 321-342, 1910.

Thwaites — - Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 95

Iowan plains; Shimek’s suggestion that vegetation was ab¬

sent on these after it had started on the hills might be the

correct explanation. If any post-Kansan drift was pres¬

ent it was probably of Illinoian age. The loess he now re¬

ferred to the Sangamon interglacial stage. Notes were also

given on all the drifts. The Jerseyan was correlated with

the Nebraskan and doubtfully with the old drift of north¬

western Pennsylvania. The Aftonian mollusks showed

a climate like the present but with northern mosses and

with spruce the most common tree. The climatic signi¬

ficance of the coniferous trees, rabbits and skunks of the

Yarmouth was doubtful. Loess and silt had been formed

in this interval. Loess had been found on the Early Wis¬

consin drift but not on the Late Wisconsin. In comparing

weathering porosity and slope were mentioned.

Chamberlin125 in reviewing the foregoing paper did not

take a firm stand on either side of the Iowan question but

declared that the phenomena were '‘singularly puzzling/’

He further complicated the matter by suggesting the desir¬

ability of the older nomenclature in which the name Iowan

had been applied to the till immediately above the forest

bed of McGee.

Meantime publications on the Aftonian of the Missouri

valley continued. Calvin126 declared that the fossils were

of contemporaneous animals since they could not have stood

glacial and river transportation.

Shimek127 also wrote again and gave the name Love¬

land to a red joint clay above the Kansan drift of that

region. The same author repeated his statements in two

other reports128. He also urged the name Nebraskan in¬

stead of pre-Kansan since the term Albertan had been

abandoned after the investigations of Calhoun in the west.

125 Chamberlin, T. C., Review of comparison of North American and Euro¬

pean glacial deposits: Jour. Geology, vol. 18, pp. 470—474, 1910.

130 Calvin, Samuel, The Aftonian age of the Aftonian mammalian fauna :

Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 17, pp. 177-180, 1910.

127 Shimek, Bohumil, Evidence that the fossiliferous gravel and sand beds

of Iowa and Nebraska are Aftonian : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 21, pp.

119-140, 1910.

128 Shimek, Bohumil, The Pleistocene of Missouri valley: Science, n. s., vol.

31, pp. 75-76, 1910; Geology of Harrison and Monona Counties: Iowa Geol.

Survey, vol. 20, pp. 277-483, 1910.

96 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

R. T. Chamberlin129 described pre-Wisconsin drifts in

northwestern Wisconsin and adjacent parts of Minnesota.

Discrimination from the young drift was based on erosion

contacts and locally on buried soils as well as upon the

lithological character of drifts.

1911

Calvin130 appears to have been considerably disturbed by

the doubts thrown upon the Iowan drift and the sugges¬

tion that if any post-Kansan drift existed it was of Illinoian

age and not a product of a separate glacial stage. In a

very ably written article which did not appear until after

his death, Calvin discussed the confusion of nomenclature

which had resulted from the separation of the Iowan till as

distinct from the entire body of till above McGee’s forest

bed. He started out to prove that (1) there is an Iowan

drift, (2) it is young as compared with the Kansan, (3) it

is not a phase of the Kansan, (4) it is intimately related to

the loess, and (5) it is not related to the Illinoian drift. The

first point he thought did not need proof; there was a till

which was yellow in color unlike the Kansan and was sep¬

arated from the Kansan beneath by a ferretto zone and by

weathered gravels. There were two gravel horizons in the

region, the Aftonian below and the Buchanan above. The

granite bowlders of the Iowan drift were very fresh. The

Iowan till was calcareous to the grass roots but locally it

had never contained much carbonate. The area had

not been eroded and Leverett’s example of Iowan topog¬

raphy had been chosen from an area where little drift

was present above the bed rock. The loess had been de¬

rived from silt left by the melting of the Iowan ice which

had later been redistributed by the wind. The loess rested

on fresh Iowan till and on weathered Illinoian till and

therefore the two drifts could not be of the same age. This

paper well illustrated the stress placed on lithologic char¬

acter of the drift and the use of the loess as a datum plane

for dating drifts.

129 Chamberlin, It. T., Older drifts in the St. Croix region: Jour. Geology,

vol. 18, pp. 542-548, 1910.

130 Calvin, Samuel, The Iowan drift: Jour. Geology, vol. 19, pp. 577-602,

1911.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 97

1912

In 1912 Wright1*1 again came forward to prove the unity

of the glacial period. After advancing evidence which

tended to show the relative recency of the close of that

period, he explained the high level terraces of the upper

Ohio region by the unique hypothesis that the valleys had

never been filled with sediment to their level but that the

gravels had been thrown up on the banks by vast floods.

The erosional topography of the marginal drift he called

mantling of preglacial surfaces. He had found many sur-

ficially oxidized stones in the drift with one side worn

through into the fresh core as a result of glaciation, thus

showing that the weathering was preglacial. Several con¬

ditions which might control the relative position of the pre-

glacially decayed materials in a drift deposit were dis¬

cussed. Wright declared that “Absolute uniformity in

characteristics of a deposit of glaciated material at all lev¬

els in a vertical section shows recency of formation, and it

is immaterial whether the deposit consists of entirely fresh,

entirely oxidized, or mixed fresh and oxidized material”.

The greater amount of oxidation of the upper part of the

till was ascribed to its superglacial transportation which

led to weathering during glacial times. The material of

the weathered preglacial surface had been carried to the

drift margin and in places buried by later fresh materials

on account of the faster movement of the upper ice. The

glaciated bed rock had not been oxidized even at St. Louis,

Missouri. In discussion Leverett presented evidence show¬

ing that the valleys of the upper Ohio region had been filled

to the level of the flat-topped terrace remnants and that the

incorporation of preglaciaily weathered material in the

drift was insufficient to explain the facts seen in the field.

Shimek132 showed that ice erosion and plowing up of drift

by readvances might lead to erroneous conclusions from

limited data.

131 Wright, G. F., Postglacial erosion and oxidation : Geol. Soc. America,

Bull., vol. 23. p. 277-296, 1912.

132 Shimek, Bohumil, Mingling of Pleistocene formations : Geol. Soc.

America, Bull., vol. 23, pp. 709-712. 1912.

7

98 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

Todd133 gave evidence of two stages of ice invasions in

South Dakota and northeastern Nebraska with a lowering

of the valley bottoms of 100 feet between them.

Hay134 described the Pleistocene mammals of Iowa with

lists of fossil localities and a bibliography.

Udden135 in describing the Peoria quadrangle, Illinois,

added little new but expressed the idea “that a more par¬

ticular knowledge of the drift sheets may make it possible

to recognize each by its composition wherever it may be

seen.” Studies of the pebbles were made “with this as

yet distant end in view”.

A new map136 of the drift sheets of Iowa was published

in connection with a report on the underground water re¬

sources of that state. It differed from older maps in show¬

ing no Wisconsin drift outside of the moraine in northwest¬

ern Iowa, the change having evidently been made on the

basis of unpublished work.

1913

In 1913 Leverett137 returned to the question of the Iowan

drift. This time the matter of discussion was Weid-

man’s “Third Drift” which had now been correlated with

the Iowan drift. Leverett stated that the drift in question

was unlike the Kansan and lay in post-Kansan valleys. On

account of its loose texture and gravel it was little eroded.

The amount of weathering corresponded to the Illinoian

and he had found the same kind of drift in southern Wis¬

consin and northwestern Illinois. It was suggested that

the Iowan drift might be a late substage of the Illinoian

with no definite interglacial interval between.

Weidman138 published a note correlating four pre-Wis-

133 Todd, J. E., Pre-Wisconsin channels in southeastern South Dakota and

northeastern Nebraska: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 23, pp. 463-476, 1912.

134 Hay, O. P., The Pleistocene mammals of Iowa: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol.

23, 1912.

135 Udden, J. A., Geology and mineral resources of the Peoria quadrangle,

Illinois: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 506, pp. 52-66, 1912.

138 Map of Iowa showing drift sheets: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 21, plate

III, 1912 ; U. S. Geol. Survey Water Supply Paper 293, plate III, 1912.

137 Leverett, Frank, Iowan drift (abstract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol.

24, pp. 698-699, 1913.

138 Weidman, Samuel, Pleistocene succession in Wisconsin (abstract):

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 23, pp. 697-698, 1913 ; Science, n. s., vol. 37, pp.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 99

consin drifts in central Wisconsin. The first or oldest

drift, very much altered and very thin, he thought might

be pre-Kansan. The second drift, very old and thick was

placed as Kansan, and the third, relatively old and thin, he

correlated as Iowan. The fourth thin fresh drift was

Early Wisconsin. The loess had been deposited in the in¬

terval between the third and the fourth drifts. It must

be noted that this succession did not correspond to that used

in his earlier report and that much stress was laid on rel¬

ative thicknesses of drifts.

Leighton139 contributed his first articles to the discussion

of the Iowan controversy. He described disturbed gravels

between two deposits of till near Iowa City, Iowa. These

gravels were weathered uniformly and so were interpreted

as weathered Buchanan gravels plowed up by the Iowan

ice.

IJdden140 discussed the effects of leaching on drift pebbles

and showed that chert, quartz, quartzite, sandstone, granite,

and gneiss survived best. Limestone was found to have

been totally eliminated from the altered drift.

Tilton141 described some new railway cuts south of Des

Moines, Iowa. He found a gumbo clay on the Kansan drift

to which he gave the name Dallas deposits and which he

correlated with Shimek’s Loveland formation apparently

because of its similar relation to the underlying drift. Sub¬

sequent investigators have found the former deposit to be

gumbotil and the latter to be loess, so that there seems to

have been no basis for such a correlation.

Carman142, in mapping the Wisconsin drift border near

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, found difficulty in applying the

criteria which were generally used at that time. He said :

“We are accustomed to think of the drifts of different ice-

epochs as presenting each its own characteristic lithological

139 Leighton, M. M., An exposure showing post-Kansan glaciation near

Iowa City, Iowa: Jour. Geology, vol. 21, pp. 431-435, 1913; Aditional evi¬

dences of post-Kansan glaciation in Johnson County, Iowa : Iowa Acad.

Sci., Proc., vol. 20, pp. 251-256, 1913.

140 Udden, J. A., The effect of leaching on drift pebbles : Jour. Geology,

vol. 21, pp. 564-567, 1913.

141 Tilton, J. L., Pleistocene section from Des Moines south to Allerton :

Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 20, pp. 213-220, 1913.

143 Carman, J. E., The Wisconsin drift-plain in the region about Sioux Palls :

Iowa Acad. Sci.. Proc., vol. 20, pp. 239-250, 1913.

100 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

features, but if two ice sheets advanced over the same route

and eroded the same rock formations, there is little reason

why the drifts should differ.” He used amount of erosion

and presence or absence of loess in mapping the drifts and

these appeared to check one another.

1914

Although the question of the importance of interglacial

intervals had been one of the subjects for discussion at the

International Geological Congress at Toronto in 1913, only

one article appeared in the proceedings which bore in any

way on the area under discussion. Upham143 restated

(some of his old ideas without adding any definite evidence.

He correlated the Sangamon interval with the period of

aridity which caused the drying up of the Quaternary lakes

in the Great Basin. In discussion his views were criticized

severely.

Trowbridge144 published a brief note which declared that

his recent studies had shown that the entire inner gorge of

the Mississippi between Iowa and Wisconsin was later than

the earliest drift in eastern Iowa.

1915

The most important event of 1915 was the appearance of

a monograph by Leverett and Taylor145. The treatment of

the several divisions of the Pleistocene in this work showed

plainly a new spirit of conservatism. Leverett had been

unable to find any drift older than the Illinoian in the re¬

gion described. He also definitely abandoned the division

of the Wisconsin into two distinct stages. Restudy of the

overlapping moraines had caused him to doubt that there

had been any great time lapse between the maxima of the

Huron and of the Michigan lobes; this had been the basis

143 Upham, Warren, The Sangamon interglacial stage in Minnesota and

westward: Cong. Geol. Internat., Compt. Rend. Xlle Sess. pp. 455-465,

1914.

144 Trowbridge, A. C., Preliminary report on geological work in northeastern

Iowa: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 21, pp. 205-209, 1914.

145 Leverett, Prank, and Taylor, F. B., The Pleistocene of Indiana and

Michigan and the history of the Great Lakes : U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 53,

1915.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 101

of the original separation of the Early and the Late Wis¬

consin. The term Early Wisconsin as a separate stage was

accordingly suspended.

Trowbridge146 stated again that there had been no pre-

Pleistocene Mississippi River between Iowa and Wisconsin

and that the Upper Iowa River had cut a valley 600 feet

deep during the Aftonian interval. This conclusion was

based on the fact that what he interpreted as pre-Kansan

drift did not enter the valleys in question while Kansan

drift did.

1916

In 1916 Leighton147 discussed the leaching of the drift

and listed the following conclusions : (1) precolation of

water through clay causes saturation within a few inches

of the top of the calcareous zone, (2) leaching takes place

by gradual descending of this zone of leaching, (3) the

rate of leaching in this way is greatest from surface to wa¬

ter table of wet seasons, (4) the rate is much less rapid

down from that level to permanent ground water level, (5)

the bottom of the leached zone in a young drift may not

mark the level of the permanent water table, (6) the strati¬

graphic level and topographic position must be noted in

giving figures on depth of leaching, (7) rise of ground wa¬

ter into the leached zone with deposition of carbonate is

rare, (8) deposition of carbonate in an old buried leached

zone by ascending waters is rare, and (9) leaching is one of

the practical and legitimate criteria for discriminating

drifts but “Like all other criteria it must be used guarded¬

ly.” The same author148 also discussed another exposure

of McGee's forest bed in a railway cutting at Delmar Junc¬

tion, Iowa. Between two tills an old soil had been found

with the once oxidized subsoil reduced to a blue color. Some

carbonaceous silts had also been found as well as a miner¬

alized stump in situ. A marked lithological difference was

146 Trowbridge, A. C., Physiographic studies in the Driftless Area (ab¬

stract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 26, p. 76, 1915.

147 Leighton, M. M., Leaching of the Pleistocene drifts of eastern Iowa (ab¬

stract) : Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 22, pp. 19-20, 1916 ; Science, n. s. vol.

41, p. 951, 1915.

148 Leighton, M. M., Superimposition of Kansan drift on sub-Aftonian drift

in eastern Iowa : Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 23, pp. 133-139, 1916.

102 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

noted between the two tills. The faunal evidence caused

correlation with the Aftonian. The leaching of the sub-

Aftonian drift was found to be deeper than that of the Wis¬

consin.

Kay149 discussed some of his recent work on the origin

of the gumbo which caps the uplands of southern Iowa.

This deposit was described as a sticky gray clay with a few

pebbles which graded downward into the weathered till. He

though the origin was mainly weathering of till in situ.

This weathering must have taken place before the erosion

of the valleys which had cut away the gumbo layer. In

discussion Alden stated that gumbo was not laminated and

that it contained some bowlders. He said that it had been

found between the Kansan and the Illinoian drifts and lo¬

cally beneath the Iowan drift thus indicating the distinct

character of the latter. Leverett, however, was more con¬

servative and urged microscopic examination of the gumbo

to see if it were really residual because he had found no

transition to normal till and no resistant minerals in the

gumbo such as it should have if of residual origin.

Miss Ogilvie150 told how she had investigated the Iowan

drift. She said that drifts had been added to the list until

Leverett went to Europe and found there one less glacial

stage than in this country so that on his return he omitted

the Iowan drift from his section. She had been in Iowa

and was convinced that there had been a distinct Iowan

stage because of the difference in color from the Kansan

till, the character of the Iowan till, the erosion features of

that area, the gradation of the till to loess, and the disturbed

beds near Iowa City.

Leonard151 described the drifts of North Dakota. The

old eroded dark gray drift he classed as Kansan. The

Wisconsin till was blue below the surficial yellow and he

thought that there might be both Early and Late Wisconsin

drifts.

149 Kay, G. F., Some features of the Kansan drift in southern Iowa: Geol.

Soc. America, Bull., vol. 27, pp. 115—119, 1916.

150 Ogilvie, Ida H., (on Iowan drift) : New York Acad. Sci., Annals, vol. 26,

pp. 432-433, 1916.

161 Leonard, A. G., The pre-Wisconsin drift of North Dakota: Jour. Geol-

ogry, vol. 24, pp.. 521-532, 1916.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 103

Kay152 presented a brief note on the Yarmouth intergla¬

cial interval. That it had been very long was demonstrated

by a thickness of as much as 20 (a figure reduced by later

studies) feet of gumbo on the Kansan, by the elevation and

subsequent erosion of the gumbo plain, and by the erosion

of a mature topography on the Kansan before the coming

of the Illinoian ice. The same author153 proposed a new

technical term gumbotil to express his conclusion that the

gumbo on the drift had been derived from the weathering

of the till.

Leighton154 described some of the drift deposits near Iowa

City, Iowa. Well records showed the presence of Nebras¬

kan drift, although it was recognized that sands and wood

are not necessarily proofs of interglacial conditions. The

variable depth of the oxidized zone in the drift, the weath¬

ered Buchanan gravels, and three flat areas free of loess

were all described. Leighton thought that only a more re¬

cent glaciation could explain the topography of these areas.

Terraces of sand and gravel were found to lead away from

these tracts ; the material of these terraces graded upward

into loess. The existence of an Iowan stage of glaciation

had been thus demonstrated.

Martin155 in writing on the physical geography of Wis¬

consin ignored the subdivisions of the pre-Wisconsin drift

made by Weidman on the ground that they had not been

proved. He also demonstrated that the stream deposits

along rivers that drained the ice sheets were glacial out-

wash and not interglacial alluvium and concluded that the

crags within the area of old drift were not postglacial but

were nunataks, since their degree of erosion was too great

to be consistent with the moderate erosion of the adjacent

drift.

162 Kay, G. F., Some evidence regarding the duration of the Yarmouth inter¬

glacial epoch: Science, n. s., vol. 43, p. 398, 1916.

153 Kay, G. F., Gumbotil, a new term in Pleistocene geology : Science, n. s.,

vol. 44, pp. 637-638, 1916.

154 Leighton, M. M., The Pleistocene history of Iowa River valley, north

and west of Iowa City in Johnson County: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 25, pp.

107-181, 1916.

188 Martin, Lawrence, Physical geography of Wisconsin : Wisconsin Geol.

and Nat. Hist. Survey, Bull. 36, pp. 314-315, 378-380, 1916.

104 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters.

1917

Although a war year, 1917 was marked by the appear¬

ance of some of the most notable reports on the Pleistocene

of any date. Carman156 presented the results of his work

in northwestern Iowa in a very conservative report. In

summarizing the earlier work in the region it was shown

that there had been many changes in opinion on the corre¬

lation of the drifts and that a compilation of the county re¬

ports made a curious patch-work map. These reports did

not in all cases state the criteria which had been employed

in tracing some of the boundaries. The Wisconsin drift

was described and mapped, its border having been traced

by the difference between erosional and constructional

topography; undrained depressions were found to be con¬

fined to the young drift. In addition, the last till was more

sandy and stony than the older deposits. Part of the area

mapped as Kansan was the debatable region that had

caused not only so much argument in the past but also a

long delay in the publication of this report. An attempt

had been made to divide this region into two parts but

with the accumulation of more data this could not be ac¬

complished. The differences in topography between the

rugged erosional topography typical of the Kansan and

the smoothly rolling or fairly level type were the cause

of the difficulty. Portions of the latter had small fea¬

tures that might be considered of constructional origin

but no distinction of material or even a mapable hori¬

zontal boundary had been discovered between the types.

Some of the flat areas had been found to have been

aggraded with Wisconsin outwash deposits. As no gum-

botil had been found on any of the uplands it was con¬

cluded that the area had been more deeply eroded than had

that to the south. Excessive oxidation or ferretto was also

lacking and this fact was also explained by erosion, as was

the presence of areas of slight relief. A number of inter-

bedded outwash gravel beds were found in the till as well

as gravel bowlders formed by ice disruption of such beds.

156 Carman, J. E., Pleistocene geology of northwestern Iowa : Iowa Geol.

Survey, vol. 26. pp. 233-445, 1917.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 105

The fossiliferous valley gravels were found to be of post-

Kansan age and were ascribed to climatic changes. The

Aftonian gravels had not been discovered. Nebraskan till

was distinguished beneath the Kansan on the basis of lith¬

ology but Nebraskan gumbotil had not been discovered for

it had not been sought at the time of the survey.

Alden and Leighton157 published their report on a reex¬

amination of northeastern Iowa because of the question of

the presence and age of a post-Kansan, pre-Wisconsin gla¬

ciation. It is not possible in the present summary to pre¬

sent a complete review of this important work. The writ¬

ers concluded that “it is a pleasure to report that the con¬

clusion has been reached that there is what seems to the

writers to be good evidence of the presence of a post-Kan¬

san drift sheet in northeastern Iowa and that this drift ap¬

pears to be older than the Wisconsin and younger than the

Illinoian drift.” “Were the phenomena entirely clear and

decisive the question would not have so long remained open.

The evidence is not, however, like a chain whose maximum

strength is that of the weakest link, but may rather be

likened to a rope composed of strands none of which alone

may be able to support the burden but whose combined pull

in the same direction brings conviction.” The peculiar

topography of the Iowan areas was described and il¬

lustrated in a very clear manner. It was termed “a mant¬

led, mature-erosion type.” The convex smooth outline con¬

trasted with the abrupt V-shaped valleys of the Kansan

region farther south. “The impression gained by the

writers from a careful study of this topography is that a

dendritic-branching system had developed to maturity

throughout the region by erosion, but that it was later

masked in the Iow^n drift area as though overridden by an

ice sheet which left a relatively thin mantle of drift thereon

— and that the amount of erosion which has occurred since

the disappearance of the last ice sheet has been relatively

insignificant.” The fact that the Iowan area is underlain

by resistant limestones was also mentioned. “In the study

in the field it was found that the eastern boundary (of the

167 Alden, W. C., and Leighton, M. M., Iowan drift, a review of the evidences

of the Iowan stage of glaciation: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 26, pp. 55-181,

1917.

106 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letter's.

Iowan drift) as mapped by the Iowa Survey _ had been

placed at the point where the stream ceases meandering

from side to side in the bottom of a broad open swale and

begins cutting sharply downward into the Niagaran lime¬

stone/’ The hypothesis of topography controlled by rock

sills in the main streams was discarded because limestone

barriers elsewhere in Iowa did not seem to have smooth

areas above them. Gravels in the rock gorges leading

away from the Iowan area were interpreted as Iowan out-

wash. It was not believed, however, that the ice margin

had been so extremely lobate as Calvin had mapped it but

that the drift in the stream valleys had either been removed

or “left mostly as water-laid sand and gravel.” It was

suggested that the Iowan drift had been eroded from the

loess-covered “islands” before they were covered by loess.

Thorough studies were made of the depth of leaching in the

Iowan area, a soils augur having been employed to get

measurements on uplands where no cuts could be found.

It was concluded that it was not safe to discriminate Iowan

till on the basis either of color or of lithology of the pebbles.

Differences from the Kansan drift, such as a lesser depth

of leaching and the absence of any ferretto zone were

pointed out, as well as the greater amount of alteration of

the Iowan as compared with the Wisconsin. The effects of

(a) the high table in much of the Iowan area and of (b)

differences in original composition of the Iowan till in ex¬

plaining these phenomena were not discussed. Particular

attention was paid to the super-Kansan gumbo which was

recognized as marking the weathered zone at the top of the

Kanzan drift. A number of exposures of gumbo beneath

a fresh till had been found in the Iowan area. These gum¬

bos were correlated as super-Kansan rather than super-

Nebraskan on the basis of their elevations. It was decided

that the huge granite bowlders were not entirely confined

to the Iowan drift. Their distribution on uplands as well

as in swales indicated that they were not residual from the

erosion of the finer material of the accompanying till. The

authors found that the loess lies on weathered Kansan and

Illinoian tills, is buried by Wisconsin till, and rests upon

unleached till in the Iowan area. These facts were taken

to show that its deposition followed closely that of the

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 107

Iowan drift although it was recognized that the fossils in

it were incompatible with the presence of nearby ice. The

pebble line discovered by Shimek between the loess and the

Iowan till was ascribed to rain and wind action. The dis¬

tribution of the loess was explained as due to the control of

vegetation as originally suggested by Shimek although it

was thought that winds radiating from the melting ice dur¬

ing a time of relatively mild climate which caused the re¬

treat of the ice might have brought about the same results.

The areal extent of the Iowan drift was not remapped but

its outline was believed to be smoother than formerly

shown and to include a smaller area. The differences

from the Illinoian in erosion, leaching, and in relation to the

loess were noted to prove that the Iowan drift is not of the

same age as had been suggested by Leverett. Tables of

pebble counts are interesting as they show that earlier in¬

vestigators evidently studied only the weathered drift ex¬

posures where there are few limestone pebbles.

The junior author158 of the last publication also stated

that the “valley phase” of Calvin’s Buchanan gravels were

now explained as Iowan outwash. In another paper, the

results of which have been set forth above, he156 discussed

the relation of the loess to the Iowan drift.

Kay160 describes some new railway excavations in west¬

ern Iowa. Special attention was devoted to the gumbo and

associated weathered zones at the top of both the Kansan

and the Nebraskan drifts.

Wickham161 described beetles from the Sangamon peat

of central Illinois. These he had compared with those from

the Toronto formation and concluded that “the differences

are not great enough to indicate any wide dissimilarity in

ecological conditions nor separation by a long period of

time” but “do not prove the deposits to be synchronous.”

168 Leighton, M. M., The Buchanan gravels of Calvin and the Iowan valley

trains: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 24, p. 86, 1917.

““Leighton, M. M., The Iowan glaciation and the so-called Iowan loess de¬

posits: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 24, pp. 87-92, 1917.

100 Kay, G. F., Pleistocene deposits between Manilla in Crawford County

and Coon Rapids in Carroll County, Iowa: Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 26, pp.

213-231, 1917; Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 24, pp. 99-100, 1917; Geol. Soc.

America, Bull., vol. 29, pp. 77-79, 1918.

101 Wickham, H. F., Some fossil beetles from the Sangamon peat: Am. Jour.

Sci., vol. 194, pp. 137^145. 1917.

108 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

1918

The second year of the war was marked by the appear¬

ance of Alden’s162 report on southeastern Wisconsin, field

work on which had been started twenty years before. Al-

den concluded that only one age of drift was exposed at the

surface outside of the terminal moraine of Wisconsin age

in the region which he had examined and that this drift

was of Illinoian age. In the Lake Winnebago region and

along the Lake Michigan shore a readvance of the Wiscon¬

sin ice plowed up red lake clays into a red till. A buried

soil was locally found below this red till along with asso¬

ciated stream and lake deposits. On the southern boundary

of the state the border of the last Wisconsin advance, the

Darien moraine, was mapped so as to agree with Leverett’s

earlier map to the south. This made it cross an earlier

Wisconsin moraine, the Marengo Ridge, at right angles.

1919

Cable163 discussed work in search of Iowan till beneath

the Wisconsin drift. He had failed to find any such but

thought that the interglacial deposits he had discovered

were more likely of Yarmouth than of Peorian age. Sev¬

eral possible explanations of this fact were suggested, but

none of them involved the assumption that there might be

no such a thing as an Iowan drift.

Leverett and Sardeson164 published a brief account of

their results in Minnesota. The old gray tills of the south¬

eastern part of the state they divided into (a) drift with a

pebbly border and (b) thick loess-covered till farther west.

Farther still to the west they found the same till without

a loess cover ; this was the northern extension of the Iowan

drift of Iowa. The authors did not commit themselves

on the age of this drift but stated that some evidence, like

16aAlden, W. C., Quaternary geology of southeastern Wisconsin: U. S.

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 106, 1918.

188 Cable, E. J„ Relation of the Wisconsin drift to the Iowan drift as re¬

vealed in Worth County: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 25, pp. 539-544, 1919.

164 Leverett, Frank, and Sardeson, F. W., Surface formations and agricul¬

tural conditions of the south half of Minnesota : Minnesota Geol. Survey

Bull. 14, pp. 45-58, 1919.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 109

old soils in the drift of northern Iowa and the presence of

constructional knolls, indicated that there might be post-

Kansan drift in this area. An “old red drift” of north¬

eastern derivation was mapped near the Mississippi River;

this was said to “correspond in degree of weathering of the

Illinoian drift,” and was described as “very stony and it

seldom assumes a clayey constitution. It is usually but

a few feet in depth, and scarcely makes a continuous

cover over the Kansan drift.” It was declared that this

drift “is an extensive outlying deposit in western Wiscon¬

sin.” How it was distinguished from weathered kames

and outwash was not stated; and neither was the pos¬

sibility considered of its being the northeastern correl¬

ative of the Keewatin Kansan drift, nor was the effect on

weathering of the difference in material mentioned. The

Wisconsin drift was found to be the product of a complex

series of overlapping lobes from the Keewatin, Patrician,

and Labradorain centers.

1920

Kay165 stated in his annual report that he had concluded

that inasmuch as gumbotils were the result of prolonged

weathering they constituted more important markers of

interglacial conditions than did other phenomena. A re¬

study of the original locality of the Aftonian had disclosed

the fact that the gravels were lenses of outwash in the

Kansan or the Nebraskan till and not interglacial.

In another paper the same author166 declared that large

granite bowlders were not confined to the Iowan drift as

they had been discovered in other parts of the state.

Schoewe167 discussed some gravels in eastern Iowa and

concluded that as the alteration had preceded the deposition

of the overlying till and the deposits were on the same level

as adjacent Nebraska gumbotil occurrences, the gravels

108 Kay, G. F., Some large boulders in the Kansan drift of southern Iowa:

Geol. Survey, vol. 27, pp. 3-6, 1920.

163 Kal, G. F., Some large boulders in the Kansan drift of southern Iowa :

Iowa Geol. Survey, vol. 27, pp. 347-353, 1920.

187 Schoewe, W. H„ The interpretation of certain leached gravel deposits in

Louisa and Washington Counties, Iowa : Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 26, pp.

293-398, 1920.

110 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

>

were interglacial. The effect of escaping ground waters on

the gravels was not considered.

Cable168 published further on the lowan-Wisconsin bor¬

der. He had failed to find Iowan till below the Wisconsin

till although well records showed two pre-Wisconsin tills

east of the moraine. In discussing criteria he stated that

surface topography and depth of weathering had formerly

been most used but that lithologic character of the drift

could not be relied upon. He remapped the boundary of the

Wisconsin drift.

The most important paper of 1920 was a statement by

Kay and Pearce169 on the origin of gumbotil. After defin¬

ing that substance as gray to dark, leached, non-laminated

clay, previous interpretations of its origin were given. The

Dallas formation was now classed as gumbotil. The gum¬

botil was found to be confined to the uneroded portions of

the original drift surfaces ; it had been found on the exposed

and buried surfaces of the Nebraskan, Kansan, and Illinoi-

an tills. The gumbotil contained only a few small pebbles

of very resistant rocks. It was underlain by leached and

oxidized till which graded downward through unleached

oxidized till to fresh unaltered till. Chemical analyses

which had been made of these three types of material

showed a decrease in alumina with depth with a correspond¬

ing increase in calcium and magnesium. Some results

seemed to be contradictory but this could be explained by

waters percolating through the overlying loess. An exten¬

sive discussion of the chemistry of weathering was entered

upon. The leaching of the iron and the masking of its color

by colloidal material was the last step in the formation of

gumbotil. It was concluded that gumbotil constituted the

best evidence of an interglacial interval.

Kay170 also discussed the original Aftonian locality. He

168 Cable, E. J., The lowan-Wisconsin border: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol.

26, pp. 399-404, 1920.

169 Kay, G. F., and Pearce, J. N., The origin of gumbotil: Jour. Geology,

vol. 28, pp. 89-125, 1920.

170 Kay, G. F., Further discussion of the Aftonian gravels and their relation

to the drift-sheets in the region about Afton Junction and Thayer, Iowa (ab¬

stract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 31, pp. 132-133, 1920. The full manu¬

script of this paper has been read by the present writer through the courtesy

of Dr. Kay.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. Ill

stated that Chamberlin had originally interpreted these

gravels as kames overridden by the Kansan ice. The au¬

thor had found that they were not interglacial but were

lenses of outwash in the Kansan and possibly in the Nebras¬

kan tills. Although this conclusion robbed the type locality

of the Aftonian of its significance, there was ample evi¬

dence elsewhere of a long interval between the Nebraskan

and the Kansan stages of glaciation where gumbotil and

peat beds marked this horizon.

Baker171 published a very comprehensive summary of the

life of Pleistocene but added little new to the question of in¬

terglacial intervals since virtually all of the geology dis¬

cussed was given on the authority of others. He found no

life in Lake Chicago while the ice was near the southern

end of the lake but some had been present whenever the

glacier had retreated far to the north. “The Aftonian was

a time of luxuriant forest, the climate was moist, and the

winters were not too severe for such animals as the ele¬

phant, horse, and peccary. The types of mollusks indicate a

climate not essentially different from that of today.” Two

types of faunas, warm and cold temperate, were ascribed to

different portions of this interval. Speaking of the Yar¬

mouth interval, Baker declared : “As far as the plants and

mollusks are concerned the life of the Yarmouth interglacial

interval was very little, if any, different from that of to¬

day.” The Sangamon was correlated with the Toronto de¬

posits of Canada. “The evidence accumulated during the

preparation of this volume indicated that the interglacial

intervals, especially the Yarmouth and the Sangamon in¬

tervals, were of wide extent and long duration.” “It is

probable that conditions during these intervals were not

largely different from those of today at least during the

temperate period of the intervals”.

1921

The most important publication of 1921 was a thesis by

Cable172 on the drifts of Iowa. Publications down to 1917

m Baker, P. C., The lif e of the Pleistocene or Glacial period : Illinois

Univ., Bull., vol. 17, 1920.

1T* Cable, E. J., Some phases of the Pleistocene of Iowa with special refer¬

ence to the Peorian interglacial epoch, privately published, no date.

112 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

were reviewed. The drift on the uplands of eastern Iowa

near the Mississippi River was classed as Nebraskan follow¬

ing Trowbridge. A graph showing the average depths of

leaching and of oxidation in the several drifts was present¬

ed. Although Cable stated that lithologic character of

drifts could not be depended upon for recognition he called

the granite bowlders “one of the outstanding differences”

of the Iowan drift. The drift of that age was ascribed to

a thin glacier which did not form a terminal moraine. The

Iowan drift was so thin that it had been wholly oxidized.

The Wisconsin drift was deposited by a “vigorous ice sheet

that was heavily loaded” and which had “vigorous out-

wash”. Study of the interglacial stages had been carried on

by means of (1) erosion unconformities, (2) faunal and

floral changes, (3) physical changes, and (4) petrological

and lithological differences in successive drifts. The reality

of the Aftonian interval had been established by finding as

much as thirteen feet of gumbotil on the Nebraskan drift.

Factors which determined the rate of leaching were listed

as (1) porosity, (2) height of ground water, (3) amount of

soluble material in the drift, and (4) effect of plant and ani¬

mal life. Referring to the second of these Cable stated:

“so important is this factor in determining the depth of

leaching and oxidation of drifts, that to overlook it is to

give an incorrect interpretation to the fundamental facts of

oxidation and leaching.” The Yarmouth interval was

marked by gumbotil and it was said that “no interglacial

epoch has a more marked forest horizon than does the Yar¬

mouth.” He had found these deposits between the Wiscon¬

sin and the Kansan drifts of Iowa., The Sangamon was

marked by gumbotil, an erosion unconformity, peat beds,

and insect remains. He had failed to find any Peorian de¬

posits between the Iowan and the Wisconsin drifts. The

loess was discussed and the following conclusions reached

with regard to it: (1) the source was fresh drift, (2)

differences in texture did not imply differences in age, (3)

all loess was originally gray, (4) the ferruginous zone be¬

tween the yellow and the gray loess was due to leaching and

redeposition of iron oxide, (5) some of the pebbly clays of

southern Iowa might not be loess, (6) distribution of the

loess was controlled by vegetation and topography, (7) fos-

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 113

sils indicated the manner of distribution of the loess, and

(8) there was only one time of deposition of loess on a large

scale, the Peorian, which closed when the rate of weather¬

ing and oxidation began to exceed the rate of deposition of

dust. In Iowa the Peorian interval was marked by differ¬

ences in the amount of erosion of the Iowan and the Wiscon¬

sin drifts, by differences in the amount of weathering of

these drifts, by erosion of the Iowan before the deposition

of the Wisconsin drift, by differences in the outwash of the

two drifts, and by interglacial deposits. It was decided that

the Peorian had been the shortest of the interglacial inter¬

vals for the Peorian loess had been weathered to a very

slight depth before the burial of parts of it by the Wiscon¬

sin drift.

Kay173 described some elephant bones from Iowa. The

remains had been found in till above the level of the Ne¬

braskan gumbotil ; this relation was taken to mean that the

animal had lived close to the ice. It was suggested that the

silicified bones in the gravels, which were now regarded as

outwash lenses in the tills, hacl been better preserved than

those in the till. The evidence was believed to destroy the

significance of the Aftonian fossils as indications of inter¬

glacial conditions. No mention was made of the opinions

of paleontologists on the types of animals that could or

could not have lived close to a large ice sheet.

Lees174 discussed some of the gravel deposits which had

formerly been called Aftonian. He found that they were

younger than the Kansan drift, probably derived from ero¬

sion of that drift, and then buried by loess.

Savage and IJdden175 in describing the vicinity of Rock

Island, Illinois, mentioned the occurrence of loess of Yar¬

mouth age.

Trowbridge176 reiterated his former statements on the

173 Kay, G. F., Significance of the relation of the proboscidian remains to the

surface of the Nebraskan gumbotil. near Osceola, Clarke County, Iowa :

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 32, pp. 80-83, 1921.

174 Lees, J. H., Valley gravels of northwestern Iowa (abstract): Geol.

Soc. America, Bull., vol. 32, pp. -19-50, 1921.

175 Savage, T. E., and Udden, J. A., The geology and mineral resources

of the Edgington and Milan quadrangles: Illinois Geol. Survey Bull. 38,

pp. 55-57, 1921.

its Trowbridge, A. C., The erosional history of the Driftless Area : Iowa

Univ. Studies, Studies in Nat. Hist., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 123-125, 1921.

8

114 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , tmd Letters.

post-Nebraskan age of the valleys of the Driftless Area. He

stated that west of the Mississippi there were two drifts,

one of them older than the Kansan; how these were dis¬

criminated was not stated. The older drift was nowhere

found in the valleys which were therefore thought to be

younger than this drift. Leverett did not agree with this

conclusion but the similarity to the old drifts of New Jersey

and Montana was urged in support of this suggestion.

1922

Sardeson177 described Leverett’s recent work in Minne¬

sota. The discovery of three drifts in southeastern Minne¬

sota was credited to Winchell although as shown in this

summary he nowhere definitely announced such a view. The

outermost pebbly drift was correlated as Nebraskan, the

thicker drift farther from the boundary as Kansan, and the

fresh drift still farther west as Wisconsin. The Iowan

could not be found. An Illinoian drift which did not touch

the supposed Iowan drift of Iowa had been discovered.

Maps showed this drift as extending beyond the Kansan in

Wisconsin. The greatest merit in this paper is the explana¬

tion of the difference in lithology and topography of the

original surface of the several drifts. The Nebraskan gla¬

cier advanced over old residual clays and picked up few

stones, thus forming a till much like an alluvial deposit.

The later glaciers advanced over outwash plains, glaciated

rock ledges, and stones concentrated by erosion; thus as

time went on the drift of successive glaciers became pro¬

gressively more and more stony in composition. This

change in material caused the topography to become more

and more accentuated, as stony drift forms steeper slopes

than clay drift; moreover, there was more and more stony

material to be formed into glacio-fluvial deposits. This

simple and reasonable explanation of phenomena that had

long puzzled geologists is worthy of the highest praise.

Kay178 stated that the lithological difference between the

Kansan and the Nebraskan tills of Iowa was true only in

177 Sardeson, F. W., Glacial drift sheets in Minnesota : Pan-American Geol¬

ogist, vol. 38, pp. 383-402, 1922.

178 Kay, G. F., Comparative study of the Nebraskan and Kansan tills in

Iowa (abstract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 33, pp. 115-116, 1922.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 115

spots and that unless gumbotil or other interglacial deposits

were present there was no means of separating the deposits.

Thus was destroyed another of the criteria that had been

used for many years.

Two papers by Leverett179 discussed the drift of south¬

western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. The second

was accompanied by a map on which questionable Iowan

drift was shown in the latter district.

Upham180 returned to one of his old themes and discussed

the divisions of the Pleistocene without giving any clear

evidence of any kind.

Cable181 added a brief note on his studies in eastern Iowa

stating that he had found a buried forest in the Wisconsin

drift of Worth County.

Visher182 presented a discussion of the loess in its relation

to interglacial conditions in which he accepted some of the

long-disproved theories of McGee and Call on the depauper¬

ate condition of the loess fossils. As the loess was far from

the deserts Visher concluded that it must have been derived

from the freshly deposited glacial drift soon after the ice

retreated. It was thought that vegetation followed up the

retreating ice and stopped the formation of loess. The as¬

sociation of loess with the Iowan drift was ascribed to un¬

usually rapid retreat during the close of that stage.

MacClintock183 described the terraces along part of the

Wisconsin River; these he divided into three groups. The

low, little-eroded sandy terraces were classed as Wisconsin,

the lower high eroded gravel terraces as Nebraskan, and

the highest terraces near the mouth of the river as Kansan.

Of these the first two were regarded as deposited by a

stream which flowed in the same direction as the present

Wisconsin, but the last was thought to have been laid down

179 Leverett, Frank, Glacial formations on the Coteau des Prairies (ab-

tract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 33, p. 101, 1922 ; What constitutes the

Altamont moraine? (abstract) : Idem, pp. 102-103.

180 Upham, Warren, Stages of the Ice Age: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol.

*3, pp. 491-514, 1922.

181 Cable, E. J., A note of progress on the study of the Iowan-Wisconsin

border: Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc., vol. 27, pp. 184-186, 1922.

182 Visher, S. S., The time of glacial loess accumulation in its relation to the

climatic implications of the great loess deposits: did they chiefly accumulate

during glacial retreat?: Jour. Geology, vol. 30, pp. 472-479, 1922.

188 MacClintock, Paul, The Pleistocene history of the lower Wisconsin River :

Jour. Geology, vol. 30, pp. 673-689, 1922.

116 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

when the ice from the Iowa side crossed the Mississippi and

reversed the flow of the Wisconsin. Outwash of Illinoian

age had not been discovered but was thought to have been

buried under the Wisconsin valley train.

Keyes184 attacked Kay and Pearce on their theory of

the origin of gumbotil, ascribing it to poor drainage and the

formation of colloidal matter. The argument overlooked

the evidence of leaching and the gradation to normal till be¬

low and in no way invalidated the other interpretation.

1923

In 1923 Leighton185 presented a paper on his work in

northern Illinois. The principal line of evidence used was

the depth of leaching as shown by augur holes on uplands.

It was concluded that there were two distinct drifts west

of the Marengo Ridge which had been the limit of the Wis¬

consin drift as mapped by Leverett. Of these the older had

been covered by loess after considerable weathering; it lay

mainly west of Rock River and was of Illinoian age. This

was the region examined by Alden in connection with his

work in Wisconsin. East of this drift was one that had

a somewhat thinner coating of loess resting on fresh till.

Weathering in this area extended to a markedly less depth

than to the west. It was declared that differences in

porosity and in ground water level were inadequate to ex¬

plain this difference. A fossiliferous silt had been found in

one place that might mark an interglacial interval between

these two drifts, but the character of the organic remains

was indecisive. The less weathered till had been less eroded

and was correlated as early Wisconsin. A somewhat simi¬

lar till in the Green River basin farther to the southwest

showed somewhat more weathering than the till just de¬

scribed and might possibly be classed as Iowan; this was

part of what Leverett and Hershey had mapped as Iowan.

Lees186 had reexamined some of McGee and Call's original

184 Keyes, C. R.f Ceramics of gumbo soils : Pan-American Geologist, vol.

38, pp. 403-408, 1922.

188 Leighton, M. M., The differentiation of the drift sheets of northwestern

Illinois: Jour. Geology, vol. 31, pp. 265-281, 1923.

188 Lees, J. H„ Some Pleistocene exposures in Des Moines : Iowa Acad.

Sci., Proc., vol. 28, pp. 59-63, 1923.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 117

sections of loess under the Wisconsin drift at Des Moines,

Iowa. He checked their observations but remarked on the

modern “abolition of the very comfortable criterion of phy¬

sical character” of drift, which “throws the geologist back

into the realm of uncertainty unless he can substantiate his

claim by stratigraphical methods, such as the presence of

gumbotils or soil bands.”

Leverett187 mentioned scattered drift in Missouri from

ten to thirty miles in advance of the border of the Kansan

till; this he thought might represent an earlier glaciation.

Schoewelss reported on Lake Calvin, the supposed dam¬

ming of the Iowa and Cedar Rivers by the Illinoian ice. In

his discussion of the geology he followed older authors but

discriminated Nebraskan gumbotil in eastern Iowa at levels

so low that it could not be Kansan in age. Much stress was

laid on elevations and slopes in correlating exposures of this

material. Question had been raised on the matter of the

existence of the prongs of Iowan drift near Iowa City but

a low gravel terrace was classed as Iowan outwash. One

of the most interesting hypotheses was that gumbotil had

been formed on the Illinoian drift while Lake Calvin was

still in existence for it had not been found in the area sup¬

posed to have been covered by that body of water.

Hay189 published the first of his monographs on the

Pleistocene vertebrates. His ideas on the climate of that

epoch are worthy of note. “A glacial sheet, stretched across

the continent or a large part of it, was not local in its ef¬

fects ; it was not a cap of ice merely concealing a part of the

land and covered possibly by forests and allowing occupa¬

tion by certain hardy animals, while beyond, up to its foot,

the country was pleasantly cool, wooded, and abounding

with animated creatures.” “When the walrus had been

driven as far south as Charleston, South Carolina, one can

hardly doubt that the whole continent was chilled”. The

Sangamon had been “interrupted by the Iowan ice-sheet”

187 Lverett, Frank, Glacial deposits of Missouri and adjacent districts (ab¬

stract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 34, pp. 91-92, 1923.

188 Schoewe, W. H., The origin and history of extinct Lake Calvin : Iowa

Geol. Survey, vol. 29, pp. 55-222, 1923.

189 Hay, O. P., The Pleistocene of North America and its vertebrated ani¬

mals from the states east of the Mississippi River and from the Canadian

provinces east of longitude 95° : Carnegie Inst. Washington Pub. 322, 1923.

118 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts , ana l Letters.

which “appears not to have lasted long nor to have occupied

any considerable area. Associated with it in some way was

the accumulation of much loess.”

1924

Hay190 published the second of his reports on Pleistocene

vertibrates. His discussion of the Aftonian is of most in¬

terest in the present connection. “The writer regrets that

he can not accept Doctor Kay's opinion that all these ani¬

mals — lived in the immediate vicinity of an ice-sheet —

“The theory held by Doctor Kay and not a few others impels

us to consider, not so much the question whether the ani¬

mals found in the deposit heretofore called Aftonian could

endure a climate a little more or less unfavorable or wheth¬

er the climate was more or less unfavorable, as it is to de¬

termine whether or not the climate was such that it was im¬

possible for them to exist there”. The distribution of plants

and animals was controlled by temperature and some

species could not accept wide changes. Hay thought that

the climate near to the ice must have been arctic in char¬

acter. That the Aftonian climate was like that of today was

shown best by the mollusks.

Leverett191 again mentioned the old marginal drift of Mis¬

souri and adjacent regions which occurred in patches of

“much older, indurated and kaolinized till” and was thought

to be Labradorian Nebraskan, or Jerseyan in age.

Kay192 added a further note on his investigations in west¬

ern Iowa. The conclusions were : (1) The Nebraskan till

was marked by gumbotil on its surface and had been traced

to the Missouri River, (2) it was not possible to distinguish

Nebraskan from Kansan till by its physical character, (3)

the so-called Aftonian sands and gravels were masses in the

tills and not interglacial in age, (4) the mammals whose

bones were found in these deposits lived near the ice, (5)

the Loveland formation of Shimek contained volcanic ash,

190 Hay, O. P., The Pleistocene of the middle region of north America and

its vertibrated animals: Carnegie Inst. Washington, Pub. 322A, 1924.

191 Leverett, Prank, Oldest (Nebraskan?) drift in western Illinois and

southeastern Missouri in relation to “Lafayette Gravel” and drainage de¬

velopment (abstract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 35, p. 69, 1924.

192 Kay, G. F., Recent studies of the Pleistocene in western Iowa (ab¬

stract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 35, 71-74, 1924.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 119

sand, and gravel, and was fossiliferous ; it was an old loess,

and (6) the fossiliferous silts in the Aftonian of Shimek

were volcanic ash of the Loveland formation. In discussion

Alden defended the Aftonian interval citing Hay’s opinions

on the climate indicated by the fossils.

Jilson193 described certain high-level bowlders in Ken¬

tucky which he ascribed to a very old drift, possibly the

Nebraskan.

1925

Jilson194 added further details with regard to the old

scattered bowlders of the drift border in Kentucky.

Keyes195 mentioned the existence of the two pre-Kansan

drifts at Des Moines. Iowa but gave no definite evidence

on which the conclusion was based, He namer the older

Moingonan after the name of the pre-glacial valley in

which it had been found. Scattered bowlders on the drift

border of Missouri were ascribed to a still older drift, the

Gravoisan, named after Gravois Creek. He expected the

finding of such very old drifts because he had adopted a

modified form of Croll’s hypothesis which demanded them,

1926

Keyes196 suggested an elaborate correlation table for

drift sheets from the different glacial centers of North

America and Europe which introduced several names not

employed by other geologists.

Leighton197 described the type locality of the Peorian

interglacial interval. The section w!as found to be (1)

Illinoian till with gumbotil surface, (2) Sangamon peat,

(3) Peorian loess, and (4) Wisconsin till and gravels.

103 Jillson, W. Rf Glaciation in eastern Kentucky: Pan.Am. Geologist, vol.

42, pp. 125-132, 1924.

184 Jillson, W. R, Early glaciation in Kentucky: Pan-Am. Geologist, vol.

44, pp. 17-20, 1925,

196 Keyes, C. R, Periodicity of glaciation: Pan-Am. Geologist, vol. 44, pp.

139-142, 1925.

i96 Keyes, C. R, Editorial — how shall we classify our glacial till-sheets :

Pan-Am. Geologist, vol. 45, pp. 149-152, 1926.

187 Leighton, M. M., A notable type Pleistocene section: The Farm Creek

exposure near Peoria, Illinois: Jour. Geology, vol. 34, pp. 167-174, 1926.

120 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

MacClintock198 had also discovered a buried old loess and

gumbotil in southern Illinois thus proving the presence of

a drift much older than the Illinoian.

Sardeson109 denied the existence of the Iowan stage in a

brief review of the history of the discrimination of the

different glacial drifts. He claimed that at the famous Olwein

cut the Iowa geologists mistook an old dump of excavated

material for a thin drift unconformable above McGee's

“Upper Till” and named this deposit the Iowan drift. He

noted the influence of the early erroneous ideas of the or¬

igin of loess upon the question of the Iowan drift, which

he described as “exceptional or irregular phases” of the

Kansan till. The confusion of nomenclature arising from

the later definition of the Iowan drift was noted. The fol¬

lowing correlations were suggested.

Sardeson’s namesWeidman’s nam- Usual names

es

Younger till Wisconsin Wisconsin

Young till Third drift Illinoian

Old till Second drift Kansan

Older till First drift Nebraskan

Glacial center

All

Labrador

Keewatin

Keewatin

McGee's forest bed was placed between the “old till” and

the “older till”. Correlation with the four European

drifts was desired.

Leverett200 also argued in favor of only four glacial

stages. After reviewing the history of the discovery of

the several glacial stages the author recognized the im¬

portance of gumbotils in discriminating drifts. The Illi¬

noian was distinguished as younger than the Kansan by

showing both less erosion and thinner gumbotil. Evidence

that the Peorian interval was short was found in the slight

leaching of the loess. The Iowan question was considered

in some detail. The drift of that region had not been cor¬

related with the Illinoian because of the different relation

to the loess, which deposit was described as carrying a

temperate climate fauna. However, in the Iowan district

the pebble concentrate between the till and the loess repre-

198 MacClintock, Paul, Pre-Illinoian till in southern Illinois: Jour. Geology,

vol. 34, pp. 175-180, 1926.

199 Sardeson, F. W., Four-stage glacial epoch: Pan-Am. Geologist, vol.

46, pp. 175-188, 1926.

200 Leverett, Frank, The Pleistocene glacial stages : were there more than

four?: Am. Philosophical Soc., Proc., vol. 45, pp. 105-118, 1926.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 121

sented considerable erosion before the formation of the

loess. He thought that this process took a long time and

that it could not have been accomplished rapidly by wind

as had been suggested. The greater amount of pebbles

on slopes than on uplands demonstrated water work which

had transported the stones. The moderate depth of

wleathering precluded the correlation of the till as Kansan.

Little Iowan drift could be found in Minnesota but it had

been discriminated west of the Des Moines lobe of Wiscon¬

sin drift. There a moraine marked the edge of this drift

which had formerly been confused with the Wisconsin

drift in Minnesota. Differentiation was made on the ba¬

sis of a loess cover and deeper weathering than in the Wis¬

consin. It was separated from the Kansan drift by an

older loess, the Loveland formation. No Iowan drift ex¬

isted in Illinois so that the known drift of that age came

from the Keewatin center only. The several centers had

been confluent at the climax of each stage but during the

Wisconsin the maximum of the Keewatin center was

reached after the Labradorian ice had begun to shrink.

The outer moraine of the Des Moines lobe was correlated

with the Port Huron readvance in the Great Lakes re¬

gion. If a similar relation obtained during the Illinoian,

the Iowan drift might be regarded as a late phase of the

Illinoian. The absence of gumbotil on the Iowan could be

explained by the lack of summit flats. Leverett therefore

concluded that there had been only four glacial stages.

There was a very old kaolinized drift beneath and just

outside of the Illinoian drift; this probably explained the

scattered erratics south of parts of the drift boundary.

This drift contained erratics from the northeast and was

therefore Labradorian like the Illinoian and the earlier

Wisconsin. The distribution of copper showed a pre-Illi-

noian movement from the Keewatin center probably dur¬

ing the Kansan. The tremendous expansion of the Kee¬

watin center during the Kansan might possibly be explain¬

ed by lowness of the western mountains at that time which

permitted moisture to come from the west.

Quirk-’01 discussed the difficulty of finding evidences of

201 Quirke, T. T., Some features of continental glaciation: Illinois Acad.

Sci., Proc., vol. 18, pp. 394-400, 1926.

122 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts , and Letters.

multiple glaciation near to the glacial centers. He found

a hanging valley in Canada that had been crossed at right

angles by the last ice. The following history was inferred :

(1) glacial erosion, (2) glacial deposition burying a cliff,

(3) interglacial erosion by a superposed river forming

the valley, (4) erosion of drift from face of cliff leaving

a hanging valley, and (5) glaciation by the Wisconsin ice.

Leighton202 described studies by several geolgists

which had been carried forward in the past year. Evi¬

dence derived from the fossils of the Aftonian did not

check with the study of the sediments themselves.

He himself had begun a detailed study of the conditions

of origin of the interglacial soils of Illinois. Diversity of

opinion had arisen as to the time required for the forma¬

tion of the pebble line at the base of the loess in the Iowan

drift area of northeastern Iowa, some ascribing it to

wind erosion and others to long-continued slope wash.

Leverett and Schoewe had found drift older than the

Kansan along the drift border in Kansas. Pre-Illinoian

drift had been found in Kentucky and it had been demon¬

strated that the course of the Ohio had been opened before

the Illinoian invasion. Very much eroded silts in valleys

of the upper Ohio basin were ascribed to blocking of the

drainage by the first ice advance; they were older than

the Kansan drift judging from the amount of erosion by

small streams.

Summary of the central district. In judging the work

in the central district it is well to realize that thoughts

expressed in published writings were dominated to a very

large extent by two men, Chamberlain and Calvin. Even

today the influence of these pioneers affects much of the

work on Pleistocene geology in the Mississippi valley. The

advocates of complexity of the Pleistocene enjoyed an im¬

mense advantage over their opponents in having the sup¬

port of public funds for field work and publication. This

disparity of advantages cannot, however, explain the en¬

tire failure of the advocates of unity and brevity of gla¬

ciation to prove their case. It is apparent that they al-

203 Leighton, M. M., Studies of glacial sediments in 1925, Researches in

sedimentation in 1925-1926, National Research Council, 1926.

Thwaitea — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 123

lowed preconceived ideas of the origin of glaciation to

warp their judgment to such an extent that they failed to

realize the importance of facts seen in the field. In some

instances the evidence of complexity was not very clearly

stated. An instance of this was that geologists virtually

lost sight of the factors that control the speed of weather¬

ing and erosion, and the amount of weathered material

left in place. It is also well to remember that proof of

a very long Pleistocene period is in itself no evidence of

nearly or quite complete deglaciation during recessions of

the ice from its southern border. Weathering and ero¬

sion phenomena, long ago noted by Chamberlain and re¬

cently emphasized by Kay, do prove that the marginal drift

is vastly older than the drift farther north but they do

not demonstrate restoration of climatic conditions like

those of the present. These processes surely went on while

ice occupied much of the country to the north. Then too,

in the nature of things it cannot be expected that buried

zones of weathering and vegetal growth could alwfays be

found far enough north to prove complete disappearance

of the ice from the United States, let alone from the cen¬

ters of accumulation in Canada. In interpreting organic

remains found near the southern limits of the drift it was

not made clear that the far-flung ice lobes of the Missis¬

sippi valley might well have been thrust south far into the

zone of wastage just as mountain glaciers descend into fer¬

tile valleys or that there never were local glaciers in either

the Driftless Area or the southern Appalachians. The

question of wind directions around the ice cap has never

received adequate discussion. If the winds were anticy-

clonic, as over Greenland and Antarctica today, then the

current views of the paleontologists must be accepted and

life could never have been abundant near to the glacial

front. If, on the other hand, winds usually blew! toward

the ice, whose southern extent was doubtless covered by

melted-out drift, the conditions of Alaska might have pre¬

vailed. Differences in the significance of land animals and

of denizens of streams were never stressed. Glacier-fed

streams were doubtless very cold and devoid of life far

from their sources. On the other hand, Baker found that

life invaded the Great Lakes whenever the ice front re-

124 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

tired a few hundred miles to the north. The buried forest

within the Wisconsin drift of northeastern Wisconsin has

also not been adequately considered. Although it has

been proved beyond serious question that there were sev¬

eral ice advances into the Mississippi valley at widely dis¬

tant times little was there discovered of the extent of ice

recession between those advances. There has been con¬

siderable discussion regarding the number of distinct gla¬

cial stages, and the Iowan drift has been correlated with

the Illinoian by Leverett in order to reduce the number to

four. It is evident that the Iowan drift question is still

an open one and that all factors which affected that region

have not as yet been evaluated. It would also seem that a

revision of nomenclature is desirable since some of the

type localities seem to have been ill-chosen. An instance of

this is the term Aftonian, since, although the original Af-

tonian gravels are now known to be glacial outwash len¬

ses, there is other evidence of a long time lapse between the

Nebraskan and the Kansan drifts.

The Eastern District

General. All of the territory east of the reentrant in

the drift border in western New York is included in the

eastern district. Within this area there is a long narrow

belt of drift outside of the Wisconsin terminal moraine ; this

strip, or “fringe” as some have called it, is not areally con¬

tinuous with the western extra-morainic drift. This mar¬

ginal area attracted the attention of many geologists and a

long-drawn-out controversy was waged over it. Some as¬

serted that this drift is very old and others maintained

that it had been deposited by a temporary advance of the

Wisconsin ice not long before the formation of the moraine.

The islands along the coast of New York and New England

have been a still more fertile field in which geologists have

searched for evidence of complexity of the glacial period.

An elaborate succession of events has been made out by

certain investigators who have sought to correlate their

column with the section in the Mississippi valley.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 125

1877

The earliest geologists quite generally failed to notice

the drift outside of the terminal moraine. The first de¬

scription of such as due to ice work appears to be that by

Cook1 in 1877. He said that “south of the glacial drift,

few boulders are found.” “Their origin is not known at

present. They must belong to some older drift deposit.”

1880

In 1880 the same author2 stated that “older glacial, or

possibly preglacial drift” existed in New Jersey.

1884

In 1884 Lewis3 stated that he had not found true glacial

drift outside of the terminal moraine of Pennsylvania. He

ascribed all the scratches to slickensides and creep of

talus and declared that all the supposed drift was either

residual or aqueous.

1886

In 1886 Merrill4 suggested a division of the drift of Long

Island. He had found sands and gravels of post-Tertiary

age unconformable beneath the later drift and disturbed by

ice thrust.

1888

Shaler5 in describing the geology of Marthas Vineyard

ascribed the folded strata of Gay Head to the Tertiary.

He distinguished the Weyquosque series of sands and clays

which he thought “may have been deposited during the

first stages of the glacial period”.

1 Cook, G. H., Report of State Geologist : New Jersey Geol. Survey, Kept.

for 1S77, p. 19, 1877.

2 Cook, G. H., Report of State Geologist: New Jersey Geol. Survey, Rept.

for 1880, p. 81, 1880.

3 Lewis, H. C., On supposed glaciation in Pennsylvania south of the termi¬

nal moraine: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 128, pp. 276-285, 1884.

4 Merrill, F. J. II., On the geology of Long Island : New York Acad. Sci.,

Annals, vol. 3, pp. 341-364, 1886.

“Shaler, N. S., Report on the geology of Marthas Vineyard: U. S. Geol.

Survey Seventh Ann. Rept., pp. 297-363, 1888.

126 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

1889

The same author* 6 described the fossiferous deposits of

Sankaty Head, Nantucket ascribing them to deposition

between two advances of the ice but not using the word

interglacial.

1890

Shader7 in describing the Tertiary and Cretaceous of

the New' England coast took up the Gay Head section on

Marthas Vineyard. The Weyquosque deposits he found

to be both folded and horizontal so that there might be

ground for subdivision. The question of the age of the

deformation was taken up, with the conclusion that the

two periods of erosion and the one of deposition which

followed it indicated that it was very old. The possible

glacial origin of some of the folded beds was discussed; it

was suggested that they might have been due to either

Tertiary or early Pleistocene glaciation.

1892

Salisbury8 began detailed work on the glacial geology

of New Jersey in 1891. He did not know of any earlier

mention of drift outside of the terminal moraine, and de¬

scribed disintegrated glacial stones and disturbed bed

rock as evidence of glaciation in that district. Remnants

of drift had been found on uplands. These were so deeply

weathered that he regarded them as several times as old

as the Wisconsin drift. The limits of these deposits had

not been determined.

In the same year A. A. Wright9 denied that any glacial

drift existed outside the terminal moraine of New Jersey

but ascribed all the striae to slickensides.

®Shaler, N. S., Geology of Nantucket: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 53, pp

30-43, 1889.

7 Shaler, N. S., Tertiary and Cretaceous deposits of Eastern Massachusetts :

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 1, pp. 443-452, 1890.

8 Salisbury, R. D., Certain extra-morainic phenomena of New Jersey:

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 3, pp. 173-183, 1892 ; Drift or Pleistocene for¬

mations: New Jersey Geol. Survey, Ann. Rept. State Geologist, 1891, pp.

35-108, 1892.

’Wright, A. A., Extra-moranic drift in New Jersey: Am. Geologist, vol.

10, pp. 207-216, 1892.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 1 27

1893

G. F. Wright10 ascribed some of Salisbury’s drift to talus

accumulation and the remainder to water work. If there

were any real glacial drift he believed it to be the same

age as the moraine.

A. A. Wright* 11 admitted that some drift occurred out¬

side the moraine but thought that it could not be much

older than that feature since it had not been shown that

the oxidation was postglacial.

Salisbury12 replied to his critics in two articles. He said

that his statements had been misinterpreted. He did not

claim that striated stones alone were proof of glaciation

at the point where they were found. The old drift out¬

side the moraine whs confined to hill tops. It was not

residual material and was unlike the younger drift. The

presence of stones too much weathered to now stand

transportation was proof that alteration of the drift had

followed its deposition. “The areal and topographic dis¬

tribution of much of the extra-morainic drift, its physical

and lithological constitution, its structure and relation¬

ships, point to a glacial origin, antedating by a long meas¬

ure of time the drift whose approximate if not exact bor¬

der is the terminal moraine. It is not easy to see how the

two types of drift can be mistaken the one for the other.’ ’

E. H. Williams13 mapped part of the drift border near

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and decided that the drift out¬

side the terminal moraine was deposited by a temporary

advance of the ice that formed the moraine.

1894

In the following year the same author14 contributed

three papers on the subject. He stated that(l) oxida-

10 Wright, G. F., Extra-morainic drift in the Susquehana, Lehigh and Dela¬

ware valleys: Philadelphia Acad. Nat. Sci., Proc., 1892, pp. 469-484, 1893.

n Wright, A. A., Older drift in the Delaware valley: Am. Geologist, vol.

11, pp. 184-186, 1893.

12 Salisbury, R. D., The older drift in the Delaware valley : Am. Geologist,

vol. 11, pp. 360-362, 1893; Surface formations; extra-morainic till and asso¬

ciated drift which is not till : New Jersey Geol. Survey, Ann. Rept. State

Geologist, 1892, pp. 60-72, 1893.

“Williams, E. H., Jr.. Glaciation in Pennsylvania: Science, vol. 21, p. 343,

1893.

14 Williams, E. H., Jr., The age of the extra-moraine fringe in eastern

Pennsylvania: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 147, pp. 34-37, 1894; South Mountain

128 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

tion was uniform throughout vertical sections and must

therefore have preceded deposition of the drift, (2) more

w/eathered material was found as one went south so that

the ice must have removed this material from the north,

(3) the glaciated bed rock surfaces were fresh, a fact in¬

compatible with postglacial alteration of the drift, (4)

the surface clays either graded into till or lay on fresh

rock, and (5) since drift extended to the bottom of the

Leheigh valley it was younger than that depression.

A. A. Wright15 supported the same views. He traced

the drift boundary in New Jersey. He concluded that

the marginal drift had been largely formed of local ma¬

terial, had always been discontinuous, had few bowlders,

and had been deposited by a temporary advance of the

ice not long before the formation of the terminal mor¬

aine.

Salisbury16 stated that he had completed the tracing of

the drift border in New Jersey and had found that with¬

in that line the drift deposits were discontinuous and con¬

fined to hills more than 160 feet above sea level. The

amount of postglacial erosion was enormous as the val¬

leys were quite broad. Old terraces had been found in

some of these valleys. The matrix as well as the stones

of the old drift had been oxidized and no limestone peb¬

bles were present.

Shaler17 discussed the disturbed strata of the islands

along the New England coast and ascribed the cause of

the folds to earth movements in a depressed belt. There

had been too much erosion of the folds for the movement

to have been very recent.

1895

Williams18 again stated his conclusion that the thin drift

outside the terminal moraine was not much older than that

glaciation: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 5, pp. 13-15, 1894 ; Extra-mo¬

rainic drift between the Delaware and the Schuykill : Idem, pp. 281-296.

15 Wright, A. A., Limits of the glaciated area in New Jersey : Geol. Soc.

America, Bull., vol. 5, pp. 7-13, 1894.

M Salisbury, R. D., Surface geology; extra-moranic drift: New Jersey

Geol. Survey, Ann., Rept. State Geologist, 1893, pp. 73-123, 1894.

17 Shaler, N. S., Pleistocene distortions of the Atlantic seacoast : Geol. Soc.

America, Bull., vol. 5, pp. 199-202, 1894.

18 Williams, E. H., Jr., Notes on the southern ice limit in eastern Pennsyl¬

vania : Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 149, pp. 174—185, 1895.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 1 29

feature. He thought that the first advance of the ice into

the region would pick up much preglacially weathered ma¬

terial and that a readvance would place fresher drift on top

of the weathered material. He said that he did not consid¬

er rusty gravel a valid criterion of great age.

1896

The year 1896 was marked by the appearance of a report

by Shaler and Woodworth19 on the New England coast in

which the idea of complexity of the drift deposits was first

definitely expressed. Woodworth thought that “there were

several clay-making periods, each marking a retreat of the

ice, followed by a readvance.” The first glacial epoch was

represented by a bowlder bed on Nantucket. Over this

were the Sankaty interglacial beds which had been dis¬

turbed by an unknown agency. The horizontal Tisbury

beds overlay these deposits; they contained bowlders and

marked another ice advance. The Tisbury and Sankaty

beds were equivalent to the Weyquosque of Shaler. The

Vineyard erosion interval followed. Last the ice came

again and left a relatively thin coating of drift over the old¬

er erosion topography. Woodworth referred a part of the

folded beds to the Pleistocene, making the bowlder bed mark

the beginning of that period. Shaler concluded that there

had been three ice advances along the coast, of wThich “the

interval between the first and the third — was many times

as long as that which has elapsed since the ice passed away

from the district/' The interval between the first and

second invasions was not so well marked as between the

second and third. He deplored the tardiness of the dis¬

covery of evidences of multiple glaciation in this country.

Williams20 again declared that the drift along the glacial

border was not very old by citing the presence of stones

that had been worn by the ice after partial weathering so

that the fresh center was exposed and of deep drift filled

valleys whose bottoms lay lower than the modern streams.

19 Shaler, N. S., Woodwoi’th, J. B., and Marbut, C. F., Glacial brick clays

of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts: U. S. Geol. Survey Seven¬

teenth Ann. Rept., pt. 1, pp. 957-1010, 1896.

30 Williams, E. H.» Jr., The "Kansan” glacial border: Science, N. S., pp.

229-230, 1896.

9

130 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters .

He concluded that the “Kansan and Wisconsin advances, as

far as the State of Pennsylvania is concerned, were closely

allied and not very remote.”

In the following year Woodworth21 published more data

on the same region. He discriminated the base of the

Pleistocene by the presence of undecomposed feldspar and

by likeness to the recognized drift deposits. The Vineyard

erosion interval had been long ; it was illustrated by a map.

1898

Shaler22 appeared somewhat more cautious in his paper

on Cape Cod which was published in the following year.

While admitting that the bowlder bed of Gay Head meant

ice action he argued that it was not vigorous glaciation. As

the last ice did not erode, it could not have folded the older

deposits. He thought that while the older beds of arkosic

sands with little vegetal material denoted rapid mechanical

erosion there was no evidence of ice close at hand during

their deposition. The folding was believed to be of pregla¬

cial age and due to earth movements. A number of different

series of Pleistocene strata were distinguished and named;

all of these suggested ice not far distant. There had been

a long time gap between deformation and glaciation.

Williams23 once more discussed the outer drift of Penn¬

sylvania. He used the term Kansan as meaning simply the

outermost drift without implying that it meant great age.

He showed how a change in relative strength of two centers

of ice dispersion within a single epoch could explain the

lack of parallelism of the moraine and the drift border. Up-

ham’s change from belief in complexity to advocacy of unity

of the glacial period was noted and some well records were

given to disprove the existence of rock shelves under some

of the high-level gravel terraces of the region.

21 Woodworth, J. B., Unconformites of Marthas Vineyard and of Block

Island: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 8, pp. 197-212, 1897.

22 Shaler, N. S., Geology of the Cape Cod district : U. S. Geol. Survey

Eighteenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, pp. 497-593, 1898.

23 Williams, E. H., Jr., Notes on Kansan drift in Pennsylvania: Am. Phil.

Soc., Proc., vol. 37, pp. 84-87, 1898.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 131

Prest24 announced the discovery of three glacial drifts in

a part of Nova Scotia. The deposits were: (1) lower

cemented, oxidized, and denuded till, (2) interglacial clay,

gravel, and iron ore, (3) slightly oxidized till, (4) intergla¬

cial interval, possibly only a retreat of the ice for a few

miles, and (5) local fresh till.

1899

Upham25 disagreed with Woodworth on the glacial origin

of the Sankaty bowlder bed. He ascribed the folding of the

older beds to ice work but recognized that much erosion had

followed the deformation.

1900

Woodworth26 announced the discovery of striated and

far-traveled stones in the bowlder bed of Gay Head, Mar¬

thas Vineyard. Water action in the formation of this de¬

posit had been feeble. Correlation with McGee’s Columbia

formation was suggested.

1901

Fuller27 described what he believed might be pre- Wiscon¬

sin till in Massachusetts, These deposits were unlike the

usual surface till in being highly oxidized and mainly com¬

posed of local material which had largely been altered in

preglacial time. The decay of some rock ledges was ascrib¬

ed to interglacial time.

Woodworth28 published a report on part of Long Island

in which he described (1) pre-Pleistocene yellow gravels,

(2) older Pleistocene sands and gravels with a “till” bed

*•* Prest, W. H., Glacial succession in central Lunenburg1 : Nova Scotia

Inst. Sci., Proc. and Trans., vol. 9, pp. 158-170, 1898.

25 Upham, Warren, Glacial history of the New England Islands, Cape Cod,

and Long Island: Am. Geologist, vol. 24, pp. 79-92, 1899.

28 Woodworth, J. B., Glacial origin of older Pleistocene in Gay Head cliffs,

with note on fossil horse of that section : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 11,

pp. 455-460, 1900.

27 Fuller M. L., Probable representatives of pre-Wisconsin till in south¬

eastern Massachusetts: Jour. Geology, vol. 9, pp. 311-329, 1901.

28 Woodworth, J. B., Pleistocene geology of portions of Nassau County and

Borough of Queens: New Yoi'k State Museum, Bull. 48, pp. 617-670, 1901.

132 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

due to floating ice, (3) erosion period resulting in formation

of large valleys, and (4) Wisconsin glaciation which alter¬

ed the valleys and formed the moraines.

1902

Williams119 again published on the marginal drift of Penn¬

sylvania giving more data on the preglacial depth of the

river valleys ; the paper was devoted entirely to local details.

Salisbury’s30 final report appeared in the same year but

added little to the facts outlined in his annual reports of

earlier years. He thought that there might be local patches

of Wisconsin drift not far outside the terminal moraine.

The older drift might be of two ages. It was suggested that

it might be of Kansan age, or possibly both Kansan and

pre-Kansan.

1903

In 1903 Veatch31 reported on evidences of complexity of

the glacial period as shown by the deposits on Long Island.

The original discoveries were credited to Shaler and Wood-

worth, and Gardiners Island was the connecting link with

the earlier work. Veatch there found an old series of gla¬

cial gravels and bowlders overlain by the Sankaty inter¬

glacial sediments, which in turn were covered by gravelly

Wisconsin till. The old gravels were disintergrated and iron

stained. Fossils from the Sankaty deposits indicated a cool

climate. Folding of the older beds was ascribed to ice

shove. On Long Island he distinguished from the base up :

(1) Pensauken gravels, (2) Jameco gravels, (3) Sankaty

interglacial beds, (4) Manhasset or Tisbury beds, and (5)

Wisconsin drift. Of these the Manhasset was unconform-

able over the older disturbed beds and uncomformable be¬

low the Wisconsin drift. Tentative correlations were ad¬

vanced : Pensauken as pre-Kansan, Jameco as Kansan, and

28 Williams, E. H., Jr., Kansas glaciation and its effect on the river system

of northern Pennsylvania: Wyoming (Pa.) Hist, and Geol. Soc., Proc. and

Coll., vol. 7, pp. 21-28, 1902.

80 Salisbury, R. D., The glacial geology of New Jersey: New Jersey Geol.

Survey, vol. 5, pp. 187-189, 751-782, 1902.

81 Veatch, A. C., The diversity of the glacial period on Long Island: Jour.

Geology, vol. 11, pp. 762-776, 1903.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 133

Manhasset as Iowan. In a note Salisbury denied that he

had discovered any definite evidence correlating the Pen-

sauken gravels with the pre-Aftonian drift.

The same author32 also published a short article and

another in collaboration with Fuller33 in both of which es¬

sentially the same conclusions were set forth.

The principles upon which the correlations mentioned

above had been made were outlined by Fuller34 in a more

detailed report. Of the two pre-Wisconsin gravel depos¬

its, the older Pensauken gravels contained few granite

pebbles and were more weathered than the Kansan drift.

Accordingly these deposits were correlated as pre-Kansan.

The younger, or Manhasset, gravels were much less

weathered; they were separated from the older deposits

by an “immense erosion interval” and from the Wisconsin

by a lesser one. For these reasons correlation had been

made with the Iowan drift. Veatch had found a gravel of

intermediate age between the Manhasset and the Pen¬

sauken and this was placed as of Kansan age.

1904

The year 1904 saw very little added to the subject un¬

der discussion. Matson35 presented a paper on the gorges

beneath some of the hanging valleys of the Finger Lake

region of western New York. The results of the study of

some of these were given and it was suggested that they

might have been due to interglacial erosion.

Cushman30 described some of the fossils from the San-

katy deposits of Nantucket. He found four distinct and

separate faunas, all of which showed freedom from ad¬

jacent ice.

33 Veatch, A. C., Notes on the geology of Long Island: Science, n. s.. vol.

18, pp. 213-214, 1903.

33 Fuller, M. L and Veatch, A. C., Results of the resurvey of Long Island,

New York: Science, n. s., vol. 18, pp. 729-730, 1903.

34 Fuller, M. L., Probable pre-Kansan and Iowan deposits of Long Island,

N. Y. : Am. Geologist, vol. 32, pp. 308-311, 1903.

23 Matson, G. C., A contribution to the interglacial gorge problem: Jour.

Geology, vol. 12, pp. 133-151, 1904.

38 Cushman, J. A., Notes on the Pleistocene fauna of Sankaty Head, Nan¬

tucket, Mass.: Am. Geologist, vol. 34, pp. 169-174, 1904.

134 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letter's.

1905

In 1905 Fuller37 published more of his results from the

survey of Long Island and vicinity. Although Fishers

Island was entirely covered by terminal moraine of Wis¬

consin age it was found that “the morainal features are,

on the whole, mainly superficial, the broader lineaments

of the landscape belonging clearly to an older topography,

which appears to have been due to subaerial erosion.”

Several gravel and clay formations were discriminated and

named. Ice-rafted bowlders were found in the older beds

which had been followed by a long erosion interval, too

long for the Peorian in the opinion of the author. The

Wisconsin ice was described as less powerful than the

earlier invasion and as having deposited only a few feet

of drift. Degree of weathering and supposed elevation of

the land were used to correlate the deposits of Fishers

Island with the western section “with a fair degree of cer¬

tainty”. The column was given as from base up: (1)

Manetto gravels-Albertan, (2) erosion interval-Aftonian,

(3) Jameco gravel-Kansen, (4) Jacob sand and Gardiner

clay-Yarmouth, (5) Montauk drift and Herod gravel-

Illinoian, (6) erosion interval-Sangamon, Iowan, and Peo¬

rian, and (7) Wisconsin drift. The Gardiner clay and the

Jacob sand were correlated with the Sankaty beds. Not

all of this section was found in Fishers Island.

Wilson38 described the fossils of Sankaty Head, Nan¬

tucket. He found that the animals lived at the time of

deposition of their remains as the shells were perfect and

fresh. The faunas were not mixed and indicated a pro¬

gressively cooler climate as the beds were laid down. The

deposit had been made in a lagoon on top of an old till. The

dip was regarded as initial and the change of climate was

ascribed to the oncoming Wisconsin ice.

87 Fuller, M. L., Geology of Fishers Island, New York : Geol. Soc. Ameri¬

ca, Bull., vol. 16, pp. 367-390, 1905.

88 Wilson, J. H., The Pleistocene formations of Sankaty Head, Nantucket :

Jour. Geology, vol. 13, pp. 713-734, 1905.

Thwaites—Tkeory o f Multiple Glaciation in N. A merica. 185

1906

Wilson30 published the material noted above in book

form. | M

Fuller40 described the Cape Cod region which he had

studied with Clapp. It was concluded that the bulk of the

drift was pre-Wisconsin but no details were given to show

the basis on which the different formations had been dis¬

tinguished or correlated. The Long Island section was ex¬

tended to the mainland.

Veatch41 discussed the Long Island section and gave it as,

ascending: (1) Manetto gravels, (2) erosion interval, (3)

Jameco gravels, (4) Sankaty interglacial deposits, (5) Gay

Head folding, (6) Gardiner interglacial erosion interval,

(7) Tisbury glacial deposits and outwash, (8) Vineyard

erosion interval, (9) Early Wisconsin drift, and (10) Late

Wisconsin drift. The folding was ascribed to ice push

where the glacier passed over clays; as the Wisconsin ice

advanced over sands and gravels it did not cause similar

phenomena. The bowlder bed in the Tisbury formation

was due to floating ice. The valleys of the north shore

were reexcavated pre- Jameco depressions due to spring ac¬

tion.

Fuller42 extended the above section to the mainland with

some minor changes as: (1) Manetto gravels, (2) erosion

interval, (3) Jameco gravels-Kansan, (4) Yarmouth red

and black clays, (5) Sankaty sands, (6) Herod gravel, (7)

Montank drift-Illinoian, (8) granitic gravels, (9) great

erosion interval corresponding to the Sangamon, Iowan,

and Peorian, and (10) Wisconsin drift. The Montauk

drift was described as the principal till of New England

making up, for instance, the drumlins at Boston.

Clapp43 wrote along much the same lines and said that

39 Wilson, J. H., The glacial history of Nantucket and Cape Cod, Columbia

University, Geol. series No. 1, pp. 10-30, 1906.

40 Puller, M. L., Clays of Cape Cod, Massachusetts: U. S. Geol. Survey

Bull. 285, pp. 432-441, 1906.

41 Veatch, A. C., Underground water resources of Long Island : U. S. Geol.

Survey Prof. Paper 44, pp. 31-52, 1906.

42 Fuller, M. L., Glacial stages in southeastern New England and vicinity :

Science, n. s., vol. 24, pp. 467-469, 1906.

48 Clapp, F. G., Evidences of several glacial and interglacial stages in north¬

eastern New England: Science, n. s., vol. 24, pp. 499-601, 1906.

1 36 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and 1 Letters .

there was “no longer any doubt that in northern New Eng¬

land — there have been at least three distinct ice advances,

separated by interglacial stages — The section was,

ascending: (1) Pre-Pleistocene pure white clays, (2) un¬

conformity, (3) very ancient till, mainly local stones, cor¬

related with Manetto gravel and the Kansan or pre-Kansan

of the interior, (4) unconformity, (5) fossiliferous clays,

as under some of the Boston drumlins, correlated as the

Gardiner clay, (6) a thick deposit of till oxidized from five

to fifteen feet and correlated as the Montauk or Illinoian

drift of Fuller, (7) a great thickness of coarse gravels,

deeply eroded, (8) unconformity, (9) fossiliferous blue

clay, the “Leda clay” of Jackson, Hitchcock, Packard and

others, locally folded and correlated with the Iowan loess

which it resembled, (10) a few feet of stratified sands, the

Saxicava sands, (11) unconformity, (12) a few feet of

gravelly till oxidized from 3 to 5 feet, the Wisconsin, (13)

sands and clays deposited during the retreat of the Wiscon¬

sin ice, and (14) deposits of local alpine glaciers.

1907

Carney44 discussed drift deposits in western New York

which from their semi-indurated character he thought

might be of pre-Wisconsin age, the weathered top having

been eroded by the last ice.

1908

The most important paper of 1908 was an elaboration of

Clapp’s45 announcement of 1906. A bibliography of earlier

writings on glacial geology in that region opened the dis¬

cussion, credit being given to Woodworth and Fuller as the

principal exponents of the hypothesis of multiple glacia¬

tion on the eastern coast. There had been three ice sheets

separated by long interglacial intervals. Evidences given

of this were (1) tills of different characters, (2) the stra-

44 Carney, Frank, Pre-Wisconsin drift in the Finger Lake region of New

York: Jour. Geology, vol. 15, pp. 571-585, 1907 ; Denison Univ. Bull., Sci.

Lab., vol. 14, pp. 3-18, 1907.

45 Clapp, F. G., Complexity of the glacial period in northeastern New Eng¬

land : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 18, pp. 505-556, 1908.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 137

tigraphic position of the “Leda” clay, (3) differences in

the distribution and the topography of the clays, (4) ero¬

sion unconformities, (5) relation of moraines to marine

clays and sands, (6) folding and ice erosion of clays, (7)

differences in oxidation and weathering, and (8) buried

soils. The following column was given ascending: (1) very

old till-Manetto or pre-Kansan, (2) unconformity-Kansan

and Aftonian, (3) Gardiner clay-Yarmouth, (4) unnamed

sand-Montauk and Herod-Illinoian, (5) Leda clay-Peorian,

Iowan, Sangamon, (6) Wisconsin till, (7) Wisconsin re-

treatal deposits, and (8) latest Wisconsin local glacial de¬

posits. The correlations with the Mississippi valley section

were declared to be “simply postulated.” Much stress was

laid on the “old-looking” till which had mainly local stones

and had been deeply oxidized; it lay below all other tills

in hollows in the bed rock. No contact between this till

and the Gardiner clay had been discovered. This clay un¬

derlay the drumlins of the Boston region and was corre¬

lated with the Sankaty. Study of the fossils had been in¬

sufficient for correlation purposes. The principal part of

the New England till, including the drumlins, was believed

to be Montauk or Illinoian in age ; this correlation was based

on(l) extension to the Long Island Montauk deposits, (2)

clays above this till which were in turn overlain by Wiscon¬

sin till, (3) deeper oxidation than that of the Wisconsin till,

and (4) presence of a less weathered overlying till, the Wis¬

consin. The clays were called “Leda” although it was ad¬

mitted that there had been some confusion in the use of that

name. A resemblance between this marine clay and the

western loess was urged as an evidence of its Iowan age.

The pre-Wisconsin age of the clay was determined by (1)

its greater weathering and oxidation than that of later

clays, (2) burial by till, (3) buried oxidized zone, (4) fold¬

ing and erosion by later ice which Clapp thought could not

have been accomplished by a minor readvance, (5) sup¬

posed reworking of the upper part of the clay without for¬

mation of till, (6) old topography and high elevation, and

(7) presence of a buried soil on top of the clay. Most of

the cases of oxidation were not under a till. The absence

of till over the clay in many places was explained by citing

a description of Alaskan glaciers by G. F. Wright. The

138 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters.

Wisconsin till was described as containing few striated and

many rounded stones and very little clay. The drumlins

that did not rest on clay were regarded as having a thin

coating of this slightly weathered till. Clapp's illustrations

strongly suggest that he mistook slope-wash and reworked

drift for true glacial till. Clapp admitted that many of the

phenomena could be explained on the basis of oscillations of

the border of the Wisconsin ice but urged that this simple

explanation be rejected because of (1) the large scale of the

folding of the clays and sands, (2) the extent of the buried

clays, (3) the evidence of weathering of the clays before

burial, (4) the unstratified stony upper part of the clays

which indicated covering by ice where there was no till,

(5) the changes of sea level needed to explain the clays, and

(6) the evidences of multiplicity of glaciation observed in

other parts of the country. He found it hard to explain

why he found no evidence of the Iowan drift.

1909

Fairchild46 stated that there were several evidences of

multiple glaciation in New York state as follows: (1)

differences in color, texture, and composition of the surface

and deeper tills, (2) weathered glaciated surfaces scraped

by later ice, (3) old planation surfaces without a glaciated

character, (4) probable stream channels not made by the

last ice, and (5) “physiographic features of anomolous

relationship". No interglacial deposits had been dis¬

covered.

Carney47 discussed further an argument similar to the

first advanced by Fairchild. He had found blue tills which

differed in texture and structure from the looser surface de¬

posits. The color might be due to reduction by ground

water but on the whole it was concluded that the tills were

very old and had been altered by a second ice advance.

Crosby48 disagreed with the geologists who had described

46 Fairchild, H. L., Multiple glaciation in New York : Geol. Soc. America,

Bull., vol. 20, p. 632, 1909; Science, n. s.f vol. 29, p. 626, 1909.

4T Carney, Frank, The metamorphism of glacial deposits: Jour. Geology,

vol. 17, pp. 473—487, 1909 ; Denison Univ., Sci. Lab., Bull., vol. 16, pp. 1-14,

1910.

48 Crosby, W. Q., Outline of the geology of Long Island; N. Y. : New

York Acad. Sci., Annals, vol. 18, pp. 425-429, 1909.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N . America . 189

a complex succession of glacial stages to explain the de¬

posits of Long Island. He had worked for one of the big

water companies on the island and so was familiar with the

geology. He said that '‘contrary to the views of several of

the later workers in this field, I hold that the Pleistocene

glacial history of Long Island is relatively simply. The

known facts appear to be satisfactorily accounted for by a

single ice invasion ; and correlation with the complex Pleis¬

tocene stages of the Mississippi Valley is certainly not de¬

manded.” Crosby placed all of the beds below the Manhas-

set in the Tertiary and explained the Manhasset as in part

outwiash of the advancing Wisconsin ice. Temporary ice-

dammed lakes on the north shore of the island were also

suggested as an explanation of some of the supposed tills.

Some of the gravels were thought to have accumulated

while the ice still lay in the Sound to the north.

1913

Baker49 discussed the known interglacial deposits of New

York state pointing out two localities where such had been

discovered, as will be described in connection with the sum¬

mary of papers on the Toronto formations.

1914

The most important paper of 1914 was Fuller's50 final re¬

port on Long Island. This paper was the most elaborate

attempt on record to apply stratigraphic methods such as

have been used on marine formations to the study of glacial

deposits. After reviewing former publications in great

detail the section was given as: (1) Manetto gravel-pre-

Kansan, (2) erosion unconformity-Aftonian, (3) Jameco

gravels-Kansan, (4) Gardiner clay- Yarmouth, (5) Jacob

sand-transitional, (6) Manhasset gravels with Montauk till

member-Illinoian, (7) Vinyard interval and formation-

Sangamon to Peorian, and (8) Wisconsin drift. The char¬

acter of the country had rendered “the decipherment of

49 Baker, F. CM Interglacial records in New York : Science, n. s., vol. 37,

pp. 523-524, 1913.

80 Fuller, M. L., The geology of Long Island : U. S. Geol. Survey Prof.

Paper 82. 1914.

140 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters.

(these formations) a work of great difficulty. ” The Ma-

netto was described as a yellow quartz gravel with some

boulders, hence interpreted as glacial outwash. The Jame-

co gravel was granitic and filled a valley in the older forma¬

tion and was known only in wells. The Gardiner clay was

conformable above it and not above the Manetto. This clay

was the same as the Sankaty of Veatch but older than the

original Sankaty which was correlated with the Jacob sand

and the Herod gravel members of the Manhasset. The clay

was lignitic and hence interglacial; the only known expo¬

sures were where it had been folded up by later ice work.

The Manhasset formation was the same as the Tisbury of

Veatch but was not all horizontally bedded like the original

Tisbury. It was divided into, ascending, the Herod gravel,

the Montauk till, and the Hemstead gravel. The second of

these members was Woodworth’s bowlder bed of the Colum¬

bia formation. It was not clear whether the author re¬

garded this deposit as true till or as due to floating ice ; de¬

scriptions and illustrations showed it mainly stratified.

The lamination was regarded by Fuller as characteristic of

the formation and as a means of identification because it

was not present in the Wisconsin till. Little was known of

the Vineyard clays. Deep valleys were eroded in the Man¬

hasset before the Wisconsin ice arrived. These were found

to be pre-Wisconsin by their blunt shape and by the pres¬

ence of till on the sides. A prominent exception to these

conditions, near Smithtown, where delicate erosion forms

had been preserved was explained as having been “pro¬

tected from erosion by a filling of snow or ice.” The Wis¬

consin till was thin and sandy.

Salisbury51 again described the new Jersey drifts. The

Pensauken was non-glacial early Pleistocene. The Jer¬

seyan drift occurred in two belts of which the southern had

been the more eroded. The great age of this drift was

shown by oxidation, deep coloration, disintegration of stone,

and by the fragmentary and eroded disposition of the de¬

posits. It was said that There is little doubt but that

(these deposits) are equivalent in age to one of the earlier

drift sheets of the Mississippi basin, not improbably to the

“Salisbury, R. 3")., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. atlas, Raritan Folio (no. 191),

pp. 16-18, 1914.

Thwcbites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 141

pre-Kansan (sub-Af Ionian) or possibly to both that and the

Kansan.” Interglacial alluvial deposits had been found in

valleys cut in the old drift.

Wright52 returned to his old theme of the recent origin

of the same drift but added nothing new to his older ex¬

planation.

Foshay53 described some drift in New Hampshire that

had been deeply weathered before having been covered by

fresher drift.

1915

Rich and Filmer54 presented a discussion of the supposed

interglacial gorges of the Finger Lakes of western New

York. The number of gorges due to glacial diversions was

suggested as a means of determining the minimum number

of glacial advances in the region. This involved the accept¬

ance of the glacial erosion theory and the deepening of the

main valley during every glaciation. The authors had

found tw!o pre-Wisconsin gorges as well as the post-Wis¬

consin gorge in the valley they had studied. The size of

one of these indicated an interglacial interval longer than

postglacial time.

Wentworth55 described some unusual till at Boston which

he thought was unconformable below the surface till.

Lewis and Kummel50 in writing on the geology of New

Jersey summarized the Pleistocene as follows : (1) Bridge-

ton non-glacial deposition, (2) post-Bridgeton uplift re¬

sulting in Somerville peneplain, (3) Pensauken non-glacial

deposition, (4) Jerseyan glacial stage, (5) post- Jerseyan

interglacial stage resulting in dissection of Somerville pene¬

plain, and (6) Wisconsin glacial stage.

r.a Wright, G. F., Recent date of the attenuated glacial border in Pennsyl¬

vania: Cong. Geol. internat., Compte Rendu Xlle Sess., pp. 451-453, 1914.

53 Foshay, P. M., A moraine of Kansan or Nebraskan age at Jackson, New

Hampshire: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 188, pp. 345-348, 1914.

54 Rich, J. L., and Filmer, E. A., The interglacial gorges of Six Mile Creek

at Ithaca, New York: Jour. Geology, vol. 23, pp. 59-80, 1915.

55 Wentworth, R. P., Pre-Wisconsin glacial drift in the Boston basin :

Science, n. s., vol. 42, p. 58, 1915.

66 Lewis, J. V., and Kummel, H. B., The geology of New Jersey : New Jer¬

sey Geol. Survey, Bull. 14, pp. 109-120, 1915.

142 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters,

1917

Williams57 published a booklet on the results of his long

study of the Pennsylvania drift border. The work is rather

vague and filled with local details without definite conclu¬

sions but it is clear that Williams remained unconvinced of

the great age of the marginal drift. He stated that the

“aged appearance is inherent and not acquired” and noted

the effect of pyrite both in iron staining and in decay of

drift and that of organic matter in deoxidizing the drift.

The paper was reviewed by G. F. Wright58 without adding

anything new to the discussion.

1921

Coleman59 in discussing the northeastern part of Labra¬

dor suggested that the degree of weathering of the glacial

deposits and the glaciated rock ledges as well as the indura¬

tion of the till indicated that the last glaciation failed to

reach the coast in that latitude.

1925

After a lapse of several years during which nothing ap¬

pears to have been published on the subject now under dis¬

cussion Antevs60 mentioned weathered lake clay beneath

fresh till in one of the valleys of Vermont.

Sayles and Clark81 considered the hypothesis that each

glacial stage was accompanied by a lowering of the mean

sea level and increased wind work on islands like Bermuda.

With this idea they had sought for buried soils which they

considered as marking interglacial intervals; they found a

maximum of three such soils but seem not to have consider-

67 Williams, E. H,, Jr., Pennsylvania glaciation, first phase, materials for

a discussion of the attenuated border of the moraine described in volume Z

of the Second Geoloigical Survey of Pennsylvania, Woodstock, Vt., 1917.

08 Wright. G. F., Report of Dr. E. H. Williams on the first phase of Penn¬

sylvania glaciation: Science, n. s., vol. 46, pp. 37-39, 1917.

69 Coleman, A. P., Northeastern part of Labrador and New Quebec: Can¬

ada Geol. Survey Memoir 124, pp. 26-27, 1921.

80 Antevs, Ernst, Pleistocene pre-Wisconsin beds in Vermont (abstract):

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 36, pp. 154-155, 1925.

« Sayes, R. W., and Clark, T. H., Pleistocene Bermuda (abstract): Geol.

Soc, America, Bull., vol. 36, pp. 141-142, 1925.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 143

ed that they might have been formed by other causes nor¬

mal to the deposition of dunes.

1926

Coleman62 found that the drift of Newfoundland had

been deposited at two widely separated times since the older

deposits and associated glaciated rock ledges had suffered

a great amount of weathering. He had also discovered in¬

terglacial marine sediment in one locality.

Summary of the eastern district. In the east the older

glaciers extended only a comparatively short distance far¬

ther than did the last ice. There certainly seems to have

been ample ground for the controversy over the age of the

narrow belt of extra-momainic drift; indeed the descrip¬

tions of the lowest and oldest drift in New England which

present it to be largely of local material weathered in pre¬

glacial time tend to support the views of Williams and the

Wrights. However, Salisbury, who came from the west,

demonstrated that these opinions neglected the evidence of

erosion which plainly showed the great age of the south¬

ernmost drift. The study of the interbedded glacial out-

wash and marine clays of the New England coast has shown

definitely that there were several oscillations of the ice

border in that region but, in the opinion of the present

writer, there is little to prove which of the retreats were

very prolonged, very extensive or marked true interglacial

intervals. The students of this region had previously

worked with marine sediments and it seems decidedly ques¬

tionable if their attempts to split up a complex of stream,

beach, and deep-water sediments into stratigraphic units

with formation names was justified or workable over a

large area. It seems fair to suggest that the folding of

some of the beds by ice action was not due to mere over¬

riding by ice but to shove against an escarpment or against

gravels banked in front of the ice; it is certainly not a

good means of correlating deposits for it must have been

essentially a local phenomenon. There also seems to be

some reason for doubt regarding the location of the base

“Coleman, A. P„ The Pleistocene of Newfoundland: Jour. Geology, vol.

34, pp. 193-223, 1926.

144 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters.

of the Pleistocene and several geologists seem to have mis¬

used the word “glacial” and applied it to deposits in which

bowlders once carried by floating ice had been concentrated

either by stream or beach erosion. In considering weather¬

ing and erosion no account seems to have been taken of

ground water conditions or of the loose nature of the ma¬

terials situated as they are so near to the sea in a compara¬

tively humid climate. The assignment of some of the ero-

sional topography to an age preceding that of the last

glaciation seems strange. A similar doubt affects the

writer in respect to confining the Wisconsin drift to a thin

veneer which is absent over large areas. No fossils have

been discovered which seem conclusively to demonstrate

mild interglacial intervals. Questions arise, however, re¬

garding the methods employed in correlating the supposed

glacial stages with those of the west; no account appears

to have been taken of the profound differences in material

and climate between the ends of this thousand mile gap.

The writer wishes to suggest that the conclusions set forth

by the writers on the New England coast have not been as

well established as have been the glacial and interglacial

stages discriminated in the interior of the continent.

The Toronto Formation and Allied Interglacial

Formations

General. Lying to the north of the great reentrant in

the drift margin in western New York are the famous in¬

terglacial deposits in the vicinity of Toronto, Ontario.

Farther north there are less well known beds of lignite

between tills. The careful study of the Toronto deposits

and the far-reaching implications of all the occurrences

demand special treatment. Some papers which deal simply

with the paleontology of these beds have been omitted.

1878

The first important description of the Toronto deposits

was that of Hinde1 who declared them of interglacial age.

1 Hinde, C. J., The glacial and interglacial strata of Scarboro Heights and

other localities near Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Journal, vol. 15, pp. 388-

413, 1878. Not available at Madison, Wisconsin.

Thw elites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 145

1894

Here the matter rested until Coleman2 took up the study

of these deposits in 1894. He found fossiliferous clays rest¬

ing upon a thin till and decided that they were true inter¬

glacial deposits.

1895

In the following year the same author3 * published more

information. He had found that the fossils examined from

the upper parts of the deposits indicated a climate like that

of Labrador. No evidence of floating ice during the time

of deposition had been found. An erosion valley in the

deposits was filled with a later till. The till below had

not been observed at all places but some exposures showed

its existence. The beds along the Don valley were found

to be the lowest part of the interglacial series. These con¬

tained fossils from a climate as warm if not warmer than

that of Toronto at the present time. Stratified beds be¬

tween the layers of till above the highest interglacial or

Scarboro beds contained no fossils and must have been de¬

posited during cold periods. Correlation with the Aftonian

was suggested.

A controversy with Upham and others in which Dawson

defended Coleman now developed ; some of the papers have

been cited under the central districts

1898

Coleman5 6 in a brief abstract referred the Toronto forma¬

tion to a position above the Iowan drift.

2 Coleman, A. P., Interglacial fossils from the Don valley, Toronto : Am.

Geologist, vol. 13, pp. 85-95, 1894.

2 Coleman, A. P., Glacial and interg'lacial deposits near Toronto: Jour.

Geology, vol. 3, pp. 622-645, 1895.

* Dawson, G. M., Interglacial climatic conditions: Am. Geologist, vol. 16,

pp. 65-66, 1895. Upham, Warren, Warm temperate vegetation near glaciers:

Am. Geologist, vol. 16, pp. 326-327.

6 Coleman, A. P., Glacial and interglacial deposits at Toronto : British

Assoc. Adv. Sci., Rpt., 1897, pp. 650-651, 1898.

10

146 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

1900

The same author0 described the results of further studies

including test drilling which failed to show till below the

deposits at all places. The succession was given as (1) till

of Iowan age from the northeast, (2) warm climate clays,

(3) cool-temperate interglacial lake deposits, (4) erosion

interval, and (5) a complex of tills, sands, and gravels of

Wisconsin age. A complete list of fossils was included.

The Toronto deposits were declared to be certainly inter¬

glacial and their formation must have taken thousands of

years.

1901

Coleman* * 7 argued that it was a question if an elevation of

Labrador would be sufficient in itself to cause glaciation.

Upham8 again urged that the Toronto deposits were due

to minor oscillations of the ice front. Depression of the

land and west winds were given as explanations of the

warm climate. Upham thought that the deposits were

formed in a few hundred years.

Coleman9 described the Toronto deposits in detail. The

lowest till was found to be very thin and to have been

eroded before the deposition of the warm climate Don beds.

These contained remains of mastodons, bison, fish, beetles,

cyprids, unios, and 38 species of trees. The overlying

Scarboro beds contained moss, beetles, and spruce leaves,

all of which indicated a cool climate. 196 feet of inter¬

glacial deposits had been formed in a lake which later sub¬

sided and exposed them to erosion. Afterward a glacier

filled the valleys in the interglacial deposits with till. Os¬

cillations of the ice front explained the stratified beds be¬

tween the tills that were deposited above the Toronto de¬

posits. No fossils had been found in these. It was dem-

0 Coleman, A. p., On the Pleistocene near Toronto : British Assoc. Adv.

Sci., Rept., 1900, vol. 70, pp. 328-334, 1900.

7 Coleman, A. P., Relation of changes of levels to interglacial periods :

Geol. Mag., vol. 9, pp. 59-62, 1901.

8 Upham, Warren, The Toronto and Scarboro’ drift series : Am. Geologist,

vol. 28, pp. 306-316, 1901.

• Coleman, A. PI., Glacial and Interglacial beds near Toronto : Jour. Geol¬

ogy, vol. 9, pp. 285-310, 1901.

Thwaites— Theory o f Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 147

onstrated by the character of the fossils in the Don beds

that the dam which caused the lake could not have been

made of ice.

1902

Chalmers10 described the glacial deposits of part of On¬

tario as ascending: (1) bowlder clay, (2) Erie clay, inter¬

glacial, (3) Saugeen clay, partially oxidized, interglacial,

(4) interglacial sand and silt, (5) bowlder clay, locally ab¬

sent, and (6) surface sand, clay, and gravel.

Coleman* 11 answered Upham in great detail. The erosion

of the till below the Toronto formation and the much deeper

erosion of the deposits themselves both indicated very long

lapses of time. He had counted 120 annual rings in four

inches of tree trunk and had found trees up to 18 inches

in diameter. Basing an estimate upon the laminae in the

clays, he reached the conclusion that 564 years was the

minimum possible time for their formation. Coleman

could not estimate the entire period of deposition at less

than 1300 years and the erosion must have taken at least

2500 years. The deposits of micaceous non-calcareous

clays without ice-rafted stones were unlike glacio-fluvial

deposits. They must have been derived from a weathered

land surface. UphanTs comparisons with the Malispina

glacier, Norway, etc., were declared to be inappropriate

because the great relief of those regions was never present

at Toronto. The continental ice cap must have entirely

disappeared during the formation of the Toronto deposits.

1904

Wilson12 described three sheets of till in central Ontario

separated by stratified beds. The middle till was uncon-

formable on the underlying deposits. The water deposits

had not been carefully studied and no decision was given as

to their glacial or interglacial age.

10 Chalmers, Robert, Surface geology of part of Ontario : Canada, Geol.

and Nat. Hist. Survey, Sumra. Rept., 1901, pp. 158-168, 1902.

11 Coleman, A. P., The duration of the Toronto interglacial epoch: Am.

Geologist, vol. 29, pp. 71-79, 1902.

13 Wilson, A. W. G., Physical geology of central Ontario: Canadian Inst.,

Trans., vol. 7. pp. 165-183, 1904.

148 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters .

Bell18 discussed the lignites of the James Bay region

which had been mentioned by earlier explorers. Beds of

lignite 60 feet in thickness had been found to lie between

tills in association with sands and clays. Stumps of trees

had been located in some places and the deposits had been

much disturbed by the ice that had buried them.

1905

Chalmers14 gave the Pleistocene section in Ontario as¬

cending as: (1) bowlder clay, (2) Erie interglacial clay,

(3) gray or brown stratified sand, (4) bowlder clay with

sand and silt at the bottom, and (5) clay, sand and gravel.

Wilson15 described three tills with dividing stratified ma¬

terials which he had studied in Ontario. An erosion un¬

conformity was found at the top of the lower sands but no

fossils had been discovered and no correlations were at¬

tempted.

1907

In 1907 Coleman10 summarized the information on inter¬

glacial deposits in Canada. These were known throughout

the Dominion but had been studied only at Toronto, where

five till sheets separated by fluvial and lacustrine deposits

had been found. The interglacial deposits between the two

lowest tills were fossiliferous and had been eroded before

the deposition of the second till. The lignites of the James

Bay district were mentioned. The differences between the

Toronto deposits and conditions close to small mountain

glaciers were pointed out. Coleman thought that there were

three interglacial stages in Canada, the oldest in the west,

and two in the east, below and above the Iowan drift. This

view apparently correlated the Toronto with the Sanga¬

mon. During at least one of the intervals the ice must have

entirely disappeared.

13 Bell, J. M., Economic resources of Moose River basin : Ontario Bur.

Mines, Rept. 1904, pt. 1, pp. 135-197, 1904.

14 Chalmers, Robert, Pleistocene geology : Canada, Geol. and Nat. Hist.

Survey, Rept., vol. 14, p. 16 8 A, 1905.

16 Wilson, A. W. G., A forty-mile section of Pleistocene deposits north of

Lake Ontario : Canadian Inst., Trans., vol. 8, pp. 11—21, 1905.

« Coleman, A. P., Interglacial periods in Canada : Cong. geol. internal.,

Compte Rendu., Xme Sess., pp. 1237-1258, 1907.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 149

1908

In 1908 Miss Maury37 described some interglacial fossils

from clay between two tills near Lake Cayuga, New York.

The till beneath the deposits had been oxidized before their

formation. The fossils were similar to those of the Don

beds and could be matched in the present lake but the au¬

thor did not think that they indicated quite so mild a cli¬

mate as did the original Don fossils. As the mollusks came

from the north and west no slight oscillation of the ice front

could explain the phenomena.

1909

Coleman18 gave the general section of the Pleistocene in

Ontario. Here again the Toronto formation was correlated

with the Sangamon. The section was, ascending: (1)

oldest till, (2) Toronto interglacial deposits, (8) Iowan

drift, (4) Clarke interglacial deposits, (5) Wisconsin drift,

and (6) lacustrine deposits.

1910

Spencer19 discovered some interglacial remains in a test

boring in the drift-filled gorge at Niagara Falls. White

spruce was definitely identified and the relation of these

deposits to the Toronto formation was discussed.

1911

Baker20 reported on the lignites of the James Bay region

which he had found to lie between two tills. Tree trunks

up to 17 inches in diameter occurred; the wood had been

carbonized before the last ice invasion. These facts proved

a long interglacial interval.

17Maury, Carlotta J., An interglacial fauna in Cayuga valley and its rela¬

tion to the Pleistocene of Toronto: Jour. Geology, vol.. 16, pp. 565-567, 1908.

18 Coleman, A. P., Classification and nomenclature of Ontario drift : On¬

tario Bur. Mines, Kept., vol. 18, pp. 294-297, 1919.

19 Spencer, J. W. W., Relationship of Niagara river to the Glacial period :

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 21, pp. 433-440, 1910.

30 Baker, M. B., Iron and lignite in the Mattagami basin : Ontario Bur.

Mines. Rept., 20, pp. 228-238, 1911.

150 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts , and Letters .

1913

Coleman21 summarized the information on the Toronto

deposits for the benefit of visitors to the International Geo¬

logical Congress in that city. Little new was given except

that the basal till did not lie on a glaciated surface and that

shells had been found in one of the stratified beds above

the Toronto formation proper.

1914

Coleman’s22 paper before the International Geological

Congress appeared in 1914. Various opinions on the dura¬

tion of the Pleistocene were reviewed. The duration of the

Toronto interglacial stage was determined in part by an¬

nual layers in the clays of which 672 had been counted in

19 feet. The total time of deposition was estimated at 4300

years. The valleys eroded in the Toronto were described

as more mature than were the post-Wisconsin valleys of

the same region and the time required for their excavation

estimated at 50,000 years. This made the total of inter¬

glacial time two or three times longer than postglacial time.

Although it could not be definitely proved, the Toronto was

now correlated with the Aftonian. The interglacial lignites

of James Bay, which were only 300 miles from the Labra¬

dorian ice center, were described. Coleman said : “The con¬

clusion is irresistible that in at least this inter-Glacial pe¬

riod the Labrador ice-sheet completely vanished, to return

again after many thousands of years when the earlier cli¬

matic conditions were repeated.” In discussion Baker stat¬

ed that he had found spruce, cedar, and poplar trees in the

lignite beds.

Wright23 attacked Coleman’s interpretation of the To¬

ronto deposits stating that the latter’s estimate of postgla¬

cial time must be too long. Wright ascribed the fossils to

31 Coleman, A. P., Glacial phemonena of Toronto and vicinity : Ontario

Bur. Mines, Kept., vol. 22, pp. 238-255, 1913: Cong. geol. internal., Xlle Sess.,

Guide Book No. 6, pp. 7-34, 1913.

22 Coleman, A. P., An estimate of post-glacial and inter-glacial time in

North America: Cong. geol. internat., Compte rendu, Xlle Sess., pp. 435—

449, 1914.

39 Wright, G. F., Age of the Don river glacial deposits, Toronto, Ontario:

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 26, pp. 205-214, 1914.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 151

reworked of transported Tertiary material, and thought

that the tills above and below the fossilifereous beds had

come from different glacial centers.

1915

In the next year Coleman24 replied to Wright. He stated

that there were five distinct till sheets at Toronto separated

by interglacial deposits. Fossils had been found in two of

the latter but only the earliest deposits were discussed. The

stones in the lowest till proved its northeastern derivation.

The paired shells, leached clay, and the large area of the

interglacial deposit were cited to prove that fossils were

of animals which had lived at the time of the deposition of

the beds and that this had accumulated under interglacial

conditions. The whole hundred square miles of Toronto de¬

posits could not have been glacially transported and no

Tertiary deposits were known as a source for them. The

interglacial valley cut in these deposits was cited to demon¬

strate a long lapse of time before the next coming of the

ice. The lignites of James Bay must have been formed at

the same time as the Toronto formation. Correlation with

the Aftonian was made on the basis of some of the fossils

and on the fact that the Toronto had only one till beneath

it. No ice could have been present during the Toronto time

unless on the western mountains.

1926

In 1926 Coleman25 summarized his conclusions regarding

the Toronto and other interglacial deposits but added little

new except that he mentioned the presence of marine shells

in the deposits near James Bay.

Paleontological references on the Toronto formation, etc.

Scudder, S. H., Description of two species — in the interglacial deposits of

Scarboro Heights, near Toronto, Canada : U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Sur¬

vey Terr., Bull., vol. 3, pp. 763-764, 1877.

Penhallow, D. P., and Dawson, J. W., On the Pleistocene flora of Canada :

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 1, pp. 311-320, 1890.

94 Coleman, A. P., Length and character of the earliest interglacial period:

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 26, pp. 71-73, 243-264, 1915.

25 Coleman, A. P., Ice ages recent and ancient, pp. 3-32, 1926.

152 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

Simpson, C. T., On some fossil Unios and other freshwater shells from the

drift at Toronto, Canada — • — : U. S. Nat. Mus., Proc., vol. 16, pp.

591-595, 1893.

Penhallow, D. P., Note on interglacial plants from the Don valley, Toronto :

Am. Geologist, vol. 13, pp. 93-95, 1894.

Penhallow, D. P., Contributions to the Pleistocene flora of Canada: Royal

Soc. Canada, Proc. and Trans., vol. 2, pp. 59-77, 1896.

Penhallow, D. P., Pleistocene flora of the Don valley: British Assoc. Adv.

Sci., Kept., vol. 68, pp. 525-529, 1899.

Penhallow, D. P., The Pleistocene flora of the Don valley: British Assoc.

Adv. Sci., Kept., 1900, pp. 334-339, 1900.

Scudder, S. H., Canadian fossil insects (from Toronto) - : Canada, Geol.

Survey, Cont. to Canadian Paleontology, vol. 2, pp. 1-90, 1900.

Coleman, A. P., Canadian Pleistocene flora and fauna : British Assoc. Adv.

Sci., Proc., vol. 68, pp. 522-525, 1899; vol. 69, pp. 411-414, 1900 ; vol. 70,

pp. 328-339, 1900.

Penhallow, D. P., Contributions to the Pleistocene flora of Canada : Am.

Naturalist, vol. 41, pp. 443—452, 1907.

Bensley, B. A., A Cervalces antler from the interglacial : Toronto, Univ.,

Studies, Geol. Ser., vol. 8, 1913.

Summary. The Toronto interglacial deposits are unique

among American formations in definitely proving the oc¬

currence of a mild interglacial interval. If, as seems prob¬

able, the James Bay lignites are of the same age, then the

conclusion that the ice cap wholly disappeared from Labra¬

dor is well sustained. The matter of the correlation of the

Toronto with the succession in the central district has al¬

ready been mentioned. Modern opinion is apparently

trending toward equivalence with the Sangamon rather

than with the Aftonian. The fossils of the Toronto appear

to show a progressive cooling of the climate in advance of

the second coming of the ice. The significance of the inter¬

glacial lakes is as yet unknown but it may mean that the

Great Lakes are not strictly of glacial origin. Had all fos¬

sils in the drift been as carefully studied as have those from

Toronto the knowledge of the Pleistocene of North America

would be much farther advanced than it is.

The Western Mountains

General. The area designated as the western mountains

is divided into four parts : (1) the foothills of the Rockies

and the adjacent plains where the Cordilleran ice adjoined

the continental glacier, (2) the mountains proper, (3) the

Columbia Plateau, and (4) the lowlands of Puget Sound.

No attempt has been made, however, to divide the discus¬

sion in this manner. Throughout the entire western dis-

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 153

trict glacial study is far less advanced than in the re¬

mainder of the continent south of Canada. Many of the ob¬

servations have been incidental to other geological work,

the result of hasty reconnaissance, or the product of inex¬

perienced students. Connection between even the best-

worked-out glacial stages of the mountains and those of the

continental glaciers is open also to serious doubt on other

grounds. It is evident that growth and recession of glaciers

in high altitudes may have depended upon other factors

than those climatic changes that caused the glacial climate

of Greenland to spread to Labrador and to central Canada ;

local elevations or the cutting off of moisture by the rise of

other ranges may well have had a part in some localities.

For these reasons the writer has not attempted as thorough

a search of the literature of the western mountains as he

has with the literature of the regions farther east.

1883

The earliest work on the eastern foothill region which

appears to bear on the question of multiple glaciation is a

report by Dawson1 in 1883. He found the following section

ascending: (1) quartzite shingle, non-glacial, (2) lower

bowlder clay of eastern origin, (3) peat, lignite, sands, etc.,

the “first evidence of an interglacial period found on the

plains”, and (4) upper bowlder clay.

1885

Two years later the same author2 published his official

report on the same territory in which he suggested that the

inclination of the interglacial beds was the result of an up¬

lift for he assumed that they had originally been horizon¬

tal.

1887

In 1887 Tyrell3 mentioned the finding of lignite between

bowlder clays in northern Alberta.

1 Dawson, G. M., Glacial deposits of the Bow and Belly river country ;

Science, vol. 1, pp. 477-478, 1883.

* Dawson, G. M., Report on the region in the vicinity of the Bow and Belly

rivers, Northwest Territory: Canada, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey and Mus.,

Rept., 1882-83-84, pp. 139-152, 1885.

8 Tyrell, J. B., Report on a part of northern Alberta : Canada, Geol. and

Nat. Hist. Survey. Rapt., vol. 2. p. 143E. 1887.

154 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

1890

In 1890 the same author4 reported the discovery of fos-

siliferous silt between two tills in northwestern Canada. He

stated that these deposits “leave no room for doubt that the

glacier retired for a considerable time from the greater

part of the western prairie region ; and perhaps during this

interglacial period conditions may have been much as they

are now — ”,

Dawson5 attempted to frame an hypothesis of two main

epochs of glaciation caused by continental elevation.

1892

Tyrell6 mentioned beds containing plants and freshwater

shells which lay beneath the till of the Great Plains and

were probably interglacial.

1895

In 1895 Dawson7 declared that he had found that the

bowlder clay of the mountains changed into the Saskatche¬

wan gravels which lay beneath two tills. Interglacial de¬

posits had been found between these two tills of eastern

origin of which he thought the upper was the Iowan and

the lower the Kansan, He thus distinguished a pre-Kan¬

san drift for which he suggested the name Albertan , a term

destined to be long used by American geologists before its

final abandonment. Similar results were also announced in

a paper by the same author in collaboration with McCon¬

nell8.

4 Tyrell, J. B., Post-Tertiary deposits of Manitoba and the adjoining terri¬

tories of northwestern Canada: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 1, pp. 395-

410, 1890.

8 Dawson, G. M„ On the glaciation of the northern part of the Cordillera,

with an attempt to correlate the events of the glacial period in the Cordil¬

lera and Great Plains: Am. Geologist, vol. 6, pp. 153-161, 1890.

•Tyrell, J. B., Report on north-western Manitoba with portions of Assini-

boia and Saskatchewan: Canada, Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, Rept., 1890-

1891, p. 217B, 1892.

T Dawson, G. M., Note on the glacial deposits of southwestern Alberta:

Jour. Geology, vol. 3, pp. 507-511, 1895.

8 Dawson, G. M., and McConnell, R. G., Glacial deposits of southwestern

Alberta in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains : Geol. Soc. America, Bull.,

Vol. 7, pp. 31-66, 1895.

Thwaites— Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 155

1898

In 1898 Willis8 9 described the drift deposits of Puget

Sound. He found the following succession ascending: (1)

Admiralty till, old and decayed, (2) Puyallup interglacial

epoch of weathering and erosion, and (3) Vashon till. The

mild climate of the interglacial interval was demonstrated

by the phenomena of weathering and formation of lignite.

1906

Calhoun10 reported on the area immediately east of the

Rockies and south of the international boundary. He found

no evidence that the quartzite gravels were glacial as he had

found no striated stones in them. These gravels also ex¬

tended into unglaciated territory and he therefore regarded

them as preglacial. He found that the continental drift was

only slightly younger than that of the mountain glaciers.

This continental drift had been called Iowan or Kansan by

older investigators but he concluded that it was Wisconsin

on account of its slight depth of weathering and its un¬

altered glacial topography. Except for one exposure of a

buried soil he found no definite evidence of two ages of con¬

tinental drift. The existence of an Albertan drift older

than other northeastern drifts was explicitly denied; the

supposed Albertan was really stream gravel.

1910

In 1910 Coleman11 reached conclusions different from

those of Calhoun and reported that he had found intergla¬

cial deposits between the mountain drift and the younger

Keewatin deposits.

8 Willis, Bailey, Drift phenomena of Puget Sound : Geol. Soc. America

Bull., vol. 9, pp. 111-162, 1898.

10 Calhoun, F. H. H., The Montana lobe of the Keewatin ice sheet : U. S.

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 50, 1906.

11 Coleman, A. P., The drift of Alberta and the relations of the Cordilleran

and Keewatin ice sheets: Canada, Royal Soc., Proc. and Trans., vol. 3, 3rd

ser.., sec. 4, pp. 3-12, 1910.

156 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

1912

Atwood and Mather12 stated that they had found evidence

of three distinct glacial epochs in the San Juan Mountains

of Colorado. Discrimination was based on erosion of deep

canyons between the successive ice advances. There had

been a progressive decrease in the size of the glaciated area.

It was suggested that records of other stages might have

been entirely swept away by erosion. The different glacial

stages were named but no correlation was attempted with

the eastern succession.

Hole13 reported that he had found evidence of only two

glacial stages in a part of the same region.

Alden14 published his first report on work in Glacier Na¬

tional Park. He had found high-level remnants of the

“Blackfoot peneplain” which were covered by deeply weath¬

ered glacial drift. To the east of these deposits extended

quartzite gravels all of which had been laid down before

most of the dissection of the peneplain had been accom¬

plished. While it was thought possible that not all the

depth of the 600 to 1600 foot valleys had been excavated

since this early glaciation it was nevertheless a very old

drift.

1913

In the following year Alden and Stebinger15 discussed the

results of further studies in the same region. They found

that the peneplain on which the old drift rested had been

entirely cut away in Canada. Several sets of gradation

plains had been discriminated, the last of them older than

the Wisconsin drift. The continental Wisconsin drift over¬

lapped the mountain drift with no great time lapse between.

12 Atwood, W. W., and Mather, K. F., The evidence of three distinct glacial

epochs in the Pleistocene history of the San Juan Mountains, Colorado:

Jour. Geology, vol. 20, pp. 385-408, 1912.

13 Hole, A. D., Glaciation in the Telluride quadrangle, Colorado: Jour.

Geology, vol. 20, pp. 502-529, 605-639, 1912.

14 Alden, W. C., Pre-Wisconsin glacial drift in the region of Glacier Na¬

tional Park, Montana: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 23, pp. 687-708, 730-

731, 1912.

15 Alden, W. C., and Stebinger, Eugene, Pre-Wisconsin glacial drift in the

region of Glacier National Park, Montana: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol.

24, pp. 529-572, 1913.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 157

It was this fact which had made Dawson think that the

Cordilleran drift had been the earliest but no connection

with his supposed Albertan drift could be found. Farther

north in Alberta a pre-Wisconsin eastern drift had been

found but such was seen at only one place south of the

boundary. The Saskatchewan gravels were regarded as

possibly old drift redeposited by interglacial streams ; some

might have been preglacial. The possibility of there being

two very old mountain drifts was considered without reach¬

ing any conclusion.

Bretz16 published a very full report on the glacial geology

of Puget Sound. His conclusions did not differ materially

from those of Willis. Nine-tenths of the exposed Pleisto¬

cene deposits were found to belong in the Puyallup inter¬

glacial series, which had largely been outwash from the

waning Admiralty glacier. Long-continued erosion inter¬

vened before the last or Vashon glaciation.

1915

Blackwelder17, in writing on Wyoming, sounded a note of

caution on the discrimination of separate glacial stages in

the mountains. He had found a “graded series leading by

almost imperceptible steps from the least modified glacial

deposits which have been practically unaffected by post¬

glacial changes, to those which have lost most of their gla¬

cial characteristics and have been eroded to isolated rem¬

nants.” Local conditions were so variable, he thought, that

one could not apply any general classification. He found a

three-fold division of the glacial deposits which he thought

might represent Late Wisconsin, Early Wisconsin, and eith¬

er Illinoian or Kansan.

Capps18 thought that he had found evidence of two glacial

stages in Alaska where he had discovered tilted and cement¬

ed tills and gravels under the more recent loose drift.

16 Bretz, J. H., Glaciation of the Puget Sound region : Washington Geol.

Survey Bull. 8, 1913.

17 Blackwelder, Eliot, Post-Cretaceous history of western Wyoming: Jour.

Geology, vol. 23, pp. 321-339, 1915.

18 Capps, S. R., Two glacial stages in Alaska: Jour. Geology, vol. 23, pp.

748-756, 1915.

158 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters .

Bretz19 stated that he had found two glaciations in west¬

ern Washington the younger of which, the Vashon drift,

had not obliterated the interglacial topography. There

were no true interglacial deposits in the region as the

Puyallup sands were older outwash.

1917

Leverett20 presented a brief statement on a trip which he

had made in 1916 to visit some of the western drift deposits.

In the San Juan Mountains the drift seemed to him to in¬

clude the Kansan, Illinoian, and Wisconsin stages of glaci¬

ation ; in Puget Sound, Kansan and Wisconsin ; near

Spokane, Kansan, and the drift west of Missouri River in

North Dakota he thought to be either Iowan or Illinoian.

No data were presented to show just how these results were

reached in such various climates and different materials.

1918

Wright21 stated that the continuous formation of peat in

Alaska as described by Tyrell was evidence in favor of unity

of the glacial period.

1922

Berry and Johnston22 described some interglacial deposits

near Vancouver. They had found the following section,

ascending: (1) glacial outwash, (2) sand and silt, weath¬

ered, with peat beds, (3) glacial outwash, (4) unconform¬

ity, and (5) glacial till. The flora of the Point Grey forma¬

tion, as they named the vegetal deposits and associated

sediments, indicated an arctic climate. The deposits might

have been formed during an oscillation of the last glaciation

in the opinion of the authors.

19 Bretz, J. H., Pleistocene of western Washington (abstract) : Geol. Soc.

America, Bull., vol. 26, p. 131, 1915.

20 Leverett, Frank, Glacial formations in the western United States (ab¬

stract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 28, pp. 143-144, 1917.

21 Wright, G. F., Evidence from Alaska of the unity of the Pleistocene gla¬

cial period: Science, n. s., vol. 47, p. 364, 1918.

22 Berry, E. W., and Johnston, W. A., Pleistocene interglacial deposits in

the Vancouver region, British Columbia: Canada, Royal Soc., Proc. and

Trans., vol. 16, sec. 4, pp. 133-140, 1922.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America. 159

1923

Johnston23 described in somewhat more detail the inter¬

glacial deposits near Vancouver. No till had actually been

found beneath them but they were probably interglacial.

The climate indicated was not much different from that of

the present time and the deposits might represent an oscil¬

lation of the last ice sheet.

Bretz24 in writing on the glaciation of the Columbia

plateau described three drifts: (1) an old, loess-covered

drift found only in patches, (2) the Spokane drift whose

drainage channels had been filled with much talus, and (3)

the Wisconsin drift whose outwash channels had been less

altered.

1924

The same author25 discussed in detail the comparative

ages of the Spokane and the Wisconsin drifts of the Colum¬

bia plateau. The canyons that had carried drainage of the

former were banked with talus to three-fourths of the

height of the cliffs ; those that had borne Wisconsin waters

had talus at a steeper angle to only half the height of the

sides. Mathematical analysis demonstrated that neglect¬

ing changes in climate, the time occupied in the formation

of the talus deposits varied as the square of the heights.

This made the Spokane glaciation about 2% times as old as

the Wisconsin. In the opinion of the author this correlated

that drift with either the Early Wisconsin or the Iowan

drifts of the Mississippi valley.

Alden26 presented a comprehensive account of his re¬

searches on the northern Great Plains and the adjacent

mountains. The very old drift of Glacier National Park

rested on a gradation plain of late Tertiary age, the Flax-

ville plain. This level had not been much dissected before

23 Johnston, W. A., Geology of Fraser River delta map-area: Canada

Geol. Survey, Memoir 135, pp. 39-47, 1923.

24 Bretz, J. H., Glacial drainage of the Columbia plateau : Geol. Soc.

America, Bull., vol. 34, pp. 573-608, 1923.

35 Bretz, J. H., The age of the Spokane glaciation: Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 208,

pp. 336-342, 1924.

26 Alden, W. C., Physiographic development of the northern Great Plains :

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 35, pp. 385-424, 1924.

160 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

this ancient mountain glaciation, which was probably con¬

temporaneous with the Nebraskan continental glaciation.

An uplift then caused dissection of this level making a very

broad terrace ; the amount of erosion seemed to be too great

for the interval between the Nebraskan' and the Kansan.

The Yellowstone and upper Missouri rivers were probably

diverted from their preglacial course to Hudson Bay by the

Nebraskan or Kansan continental drift. After the erosion

of the Missouri gorge in North Dakota a Keewatin ice sheet

entered Montana ; this may have been as late as the Iowan

for the drift had been comparatively little weathered and

eroded. A third terrace level had been made before this

continental glaciation and had been dissected before the

Wisconsin stage. The Wisconsin drift was divided into

earlier and later portions since the outermost terminal

moraine to the east was not represented in Montana. Post-

Wisconsin uplift was suggested as a possibility.

Matthes27 stated that there had been two glacial stages in

the Sierra Nevada Mountains for he had found very old

moraines with erosion pedestals capped by bowlders. The

glaciated rock surfaces associated with these moraines had

been deeply weathered and postglacial monoliths had been

formed.

Other references on mountain glaciation. The following

references include a number of papers not read by the pres¬

ent writer; they are of varying merit and the failure to

summarize them should not be taken to mean that they were

all believed to be of little value for this present study. In ad¬

dition, a considerable number of incidental references to

glacial phenomena are contained in the Folios of the Geo¬

logic Atlas of the United States, particularly those in Col¬

orado, as well as in many other geological reports on the

region in question. The great majority state that the

authors found evidence of only two separate stages of

glaciation and that traces of the older had suffered much

from weathering and erosion. It is generally believed that

the stages of glaciation corresponded with the stages of

37 Matthes, F. E., Evidences of two glacial stages in the Sierra Nevada

(abstract) : Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 35, pp. 69-70, 1924.

Thwaites ■ — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N, America , 161

high water in the Quaternary lakes of the Great Basin28

In recent years Keyes29 has attacked the climatic change

theory and suggested crustal warping which cut off the

supply of water but this view has not met with any en¬

couragement from other workers in the region. It could

not explain either the great number of lakes or the sim¬

ilarity of the history of those that have been carefully

studied. A recent paper by Meinzer30 held to the earlier

interpretation and promised further investigations.

Antevs31 agreed with the earlier conclusions of Gilbert

and Russell as to the origin of the Quarternary lakes of the

Great Basin but stated that Lake Lahontan showed evi¬

dence of “three or perhaps four distinct moist stages”

while Lake Bonneville, where the exposures w,ere poor,

had so far yielded evidence of only two such stages. Each

stage of high water was correlated with a time of glacial

expansion while the arid periods represented interglacial

conditions. No attempt was made to correlate this his¬

tory with particular stages of the Mississippi valley Pleis¬

tocene.

Turner, H. W., Pleistocene geology of the south central Sierra Nevada - - :

California Acad. Sci., Proc., 3rd ser., vol. 1, pp. 261—321, 1900.

Salisbury, R. D., Glacial work in the western mountains in 1901: Jour.

Geology, vol. 9, pp. 718-731, 1901.

Salisbury, R. D., and Blackwelder, Eliot, Glaciation in the Bighorn Moun¬

tains: Jour. Geology, vol. 11, pp. 216-223, 1903.

Hershey, O. H., Some evidence of two glacial stages in the Klamath Moun¬

tains of California: Am. Geologist, vol. 31, pp. 139-156, 1903.

Hershey, O. H., The relation between certain river terraces and the glacial

series in northwestern California: Jour. Geology, vol. 11, pp. 431-458,

1903.

Hershey, O. H., Certain river terraces of the Klamath region, California :

Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 166, pp. 240-250, 1903.

Smith, G. O., Contributions to the geology of Washington : U. S. Geol. Sur¬

vey Prof. Paper 19, 1903.

Capps, S. R., and Leffingwell, E. D. K., Pleistocene geology of the Sawatch

range near Leadville, Colo.: Jour. Geology, vol. 12, pp. 698-706, 1904.

28 Russell, I. C., Geological history of Lake Lahontan : U. S. Geol. Survey

Mon. 11, 1886.

Russell, I. C., Quaternary history of Mono valley, California: U. S. Geol.

Survey Eighth Ann. Rept., pp. 261-394, 1889.

Gilbert, G. K., Lake Bonnevile: U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 1, 1890.

29 Keyes, C. R., Orographic origin of ancient Lake Bonneville : Geol. Soc.

America, Bull., vol. 28, pp. 351-374, 1917.

30 Meinzer, O. E., Map of the Pleistocene lakes of the basin-and-range prov¬

ince and its significance: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 33, pp. 541-552,

1922.

31 Antevs, Ernst, On the Pleistocene history of the Great Basin, Carnegie

Inst. Washington, Pub. 352, pp. 52-114, 1925.

11

162 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters

Westgate, l* G„ The Twin Lakes glaciated area, Colorado: Jqur. Geology,

vol. 13, pp. 285-312, 1905.

Howe, Ernest, and Cross, Whitman, Glacial phenomena of the San Juan

Mountains, Colorado: Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 17, pp. 251-274,

1906.

Darton, N. H., Geology of the Big Horn Mountains : U. S. Geol. Survey Prof.

Paper 51, pp. 71190, 1906.

Ball, S. H„ Geology of the Georgetown quadrangle, Colorado : U. S. Geol..

Survey Prof. Paper 63, pp. 83-87, 1908.

Atwood, W. W., Glaciation of the Uinta and Wasatch Mountains : U. S.

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 61, 1909.

Capps, S. R., Pleistocene geology of the Leadville quadrangle, Colorado :

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 386, 1909.

Atwood, W. W., Physiographic studies in the San Juan district of Colorado :

Jour. Geology, vol. 19, pp. 449-453, 1911.

Hershey, O. H., Some Tertiary and Quaternary geology of western Montana:

Geol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 23, pp. 517-536, 1912.

Clapp, C. H., Geology of the Victoria and Saanich map areas, Vancouver

Island, British Columbia: Canada, Geol. Survey, Mem. 36, 1913.

Clapp, C. H., Vancouver Island: Cong. geol. internal., Xlle Sess., Guide

Book No. 8, pp. 280-342, 1913.

Clapp, C. H., Geology of the Nanaimo map area: Canada, Geol. Survey,

Mem. 51, 1914.

Alden, W. C., Early Pleistocene glaciation in the Rocky Mountains of Glacier

National Park, Montana : Cong. geol. internat., Compte Rendu, Xlle

Sess., pp. 479-484, 1914.

Burwash, E. M. J., The geology of Vancouver and vicinity, Chicago, 1918.

Meinzer, O. E., The glacial history of Columbia river in the Big Bend region

(abstract) : Washington Acad. Sci., Jour., vol. 8, pp. 411-412, 1918.

Howell, J. V., Twin Lakes district of Colorado : Colorado Geol. Survey Bull:

17, 1919.

Leighton, M. M,, The road-building sands and gravels of Washington :

Washington Geol. Survey Bull. 22, 1919.

Leverett, Prank, Old glaciation in the Cordilleran region : Science, n. s.,

vol. 56, p. 388, 1922.

Large, Thomas, The glaciation of the Cordilleran region : Science, n. s., vol.

56, pp. 335-336, 1922.

Large, Thomas, Glacial border of Spokane : Pan-American Geologist, vol.

38, pp. 359-366, 1922.

Pardee, J. T., Glaciation in the Cordilleran region: Science, n. s., vol. 56,

pp. 686-687, 1922.

Lee, W. T., Peneplains of the Front Range and Rocky Mountain National

Park, Colorado: U. S. (^eol. Survey Bull. 730, pp. 13-14, 1923.

Fuller, Margaret B., The bearing of some remarkable potholes on the early

Pleistocene glaciation of the Front Range, Colorado : Jour. Geology, vol.

33, pp. 224-235, 1925.

Summary of the western mountains. None of the west¬

ern mountains show;s more than three periods of great

advances of the ice and most show only two. Nowhere

has any direct evidence been found which indicates the

extent of ice withdrawal during the intervals between

these advances. The testimony of the Quaternary Lakes,

however, is convincing regarding at least one arid inter¬

glacial stage and the recent work of Antevs would in¬

crease the number of such periods to two or possibly three.

Thwaites — Theory of Multiple Glaciation in N. America . 163

- 4P^!j

Evidence of other dry times may lie buried under the old¬

er alluvial cones. At present there is no known evidence

connecting these climatic oscillations with the Pleistocene

history of the Mississippi valley.

General Conclusions

The case for a number of Pleistocene ice advances

as opposed to a single great invasion has possibly suffered

as much from its friends as from its opponents. Since

1893 no complete categorical discussion of criteria has

ever appeared. There seems to have been much confusion

of thought both on the matter of criteria and on the cli¬

mate during times of ice recession. A number of Salis¬

bury ’s criteria are demonstrably incompetent evidence, par¬

ticularly those dealing with changed directions of ice move¬

ment, differences in character of the drift, elevation of the

land, and vigor of glacial action. Sardeson’s rational ex¬

planation of the cause of increase in stoniness of the drifts

with decrease in age and its effect on the accentuation of

original topography should dispose of one question that

long puzzled the early geologists. The old erroneous in¬

terpretation of loess likewise has cast its shadow across

the entire field of Pleistocene geology. Long after the true

nature of this deposit was positively known, correlations

on the basis of relation of drifts to the “main body of loess”

have been in vogue. Separation and correlation of tills

on the basis of thickness were manifestly very question¬

able, and attempts to demonstrate a definite and charac¬

teristic lithology for each drift could only serve to cast

doubt on the entire question. Drifts described as consist¬

ing originally of scattered stones or wholly of assorted ma¬

terials could hardly be regarded seriously. Some geologists

appear to have called all water-deposited sediments be¬

tween tills “interglacial” and one went so far as virtually

to deny the existence of such a thing as outwash. Forest

beds and zones of oxidation were established in some

cases by the interpretation of well records given from

memory. This list of invalid criteria might be consider¬

ably extended but suffice it to say that, with a few notable

exceptions there has been little correlation of the work of

164 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

geologists, paleontologists, and climatologists. Witness

the differences of opinion with regard to the Aftonian

gravels, deposits which physically cannot be differentiated

from outwash gravels but to which mild-climate mollusks

have been assigned. Certain paleontologists seem to have

freely correlated deposits beyond the drift margin with

those within, seemingly a very hazardous proceeding.

Worse yet, there has been a confusion of thought by which

mere great difference in age of drifts has been translated

into the assumption of complete deglaciation between

their depositions. When the limitations of the occurrence

of positive evidences of complete deglaciation are consid¬

ered, and it recalled that Greenland is still buried under-

an ice cap, we should hesitate to draw definite conclusions

from scattered organic remains found near the southern

limit of glaciation. When all is said and done, the Tor¬

onto and James Bay interglacial deposits stand alone in

proving deglaciation to somewhere near the present condi¬

tions. Were more known of the number of stages of aridity

demonstrated by the Quaternary lakes of the Great Basin we

would have an important confirmation of conclusions obtain¬

ed by study of the glacial drifts. It is apparent that there

has been considerable ground for skepticism with regard

to the glacial succession as currently given in text

books although the fact is clear that the Pleistocene period

was much longer and included much more pronounced

climatic oscillations than was believed by the old-time ad¬

vocates of unity of glaciation. However, there is still

reason to doubt that there w!ere more than four distinct

glacial stages in the United States, and if anyone chose to

doubt that deglaciation of the north ever proceeded to its

present condition more than once during the Pleistocene

there is little direct evidence to disprove such a view.

Pending the accumulation of more data we should not re¬

gard the Pleistocene glacial and interglacial stages as

matters settled beyond dispute.

A CENTURY OF TEMPERATURES IN WISCONSIN

Eric R. Miller

Sources of data.

Long and homogeneous series of temperature observa¬

tions are especially needed for studies of climatic change

and climatic cycles. Thanks to the occupation of the “mid¬

dle border5' by the soldiers of the United States soon after

the close of the War of 1812, series of weather observations

were begun in Wisconsin and adjoining states about a hun¬

dred and seven years ago, as a routine duty of the surgeons

of the Medical Department of the Army. Before these ob¬

servations ceased on the withdrawal of the troops for the

Mexican War in 1845 and 1846, the pioneer civilian observ¬

ers, the first in 1837, began observing mostly in cooperation

with the agricultural service of the U. S. Patent Office.

Their number increased on the organization of a corps of

volunteer observers by the Smithsonian Institution in 1849.

The meteorological work of the Signal Corps of the Army,

initiated in 1870 with paid professional observers, acquired

the Smithsonian observers by transfer in 1874, and both

together became the Weather Bureau of the U. S. Depart¬

ment of Agriculture on the organization of these in 1891.

It may be remarked that all of these observations were un¬

der government supervision, and were verified and pub¬

lished by the government. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5.)

Object and method of reduction.

Practically continuous series of observations are avail¬

able at Fort Snelling-St. Paul, Minn, from October, 1819,

Milwaukee, Wis. from 1837, Muscatine, Iowa, from 1839,

Manitowoc, Wis. from 1852. The hours of observation

have varied from time to time, and there is no doubt that

the exposure of the thermometers was imperfect, and that

instruments and exposure were changed from time to time.

Under these conditions it is necessary to look for systematic

and accidental errors.

166 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

Method of reducing temperatures to Madison.

The present writer has made the experiment of reducing

the series of observations made at the twenty places listed

in Table 1 to Madison, Wisconsin, by applying to the mean

for each month at each place the average difference for the

same month observed at both places during the 33-year

period 1873-1905. (6) It was necessary to treat the records

at Fort Dearborn separately, since they average about four

degrees colder than the current Chicago observations, eith¬

er on account of being at a lower level, and nearer the lake

or on account of different standards. These were compared

with observations at Fort Armstrong and connected with

Madison through the Davenport, Iowa records.

Table I. Comparison stations used in estimating temperatures at

Madison , Wisconsin.

Degree of approximation in the reduction.

It should be understood that the use of the average dif¬

ference as a reduction correction in the way just described

really involves an approximation. This can be understood

by reference to Fig. 1, in which each dot shows the relation

of the mean January temperature at Madison, measured on

the vertical scale, to the mean January temperature at Mil¬

waukee for the same month, measured on the horizontal

scale. The January temperatures included in the diagram

are the 33 in the period 1873-1905 inclusive. The continu¬

ous line shows the approximate relation assumed here for

Miller— A Century of Temperatures in Wisconsin. 167

use in obtaining Madison temperature estimated from Mil¬

waukee temperatures when no observations were made at

Madison. The correlation coefficient for the relation be¬

tween the Madison and Milwaukee January temperatures

is 0.99. From this the “regression equation” (Eq. 2) has

been formed, and this is the equation of the straight line

(dotted in Fig. 1) that not only best fits the line of dots but

is the best approximation to the desired functional relation

for use in estimating temperatures. The first, represented

below by Eq. 1, has been chosen in preference to the second

in order to avoid the labor of calculating the latter. The

equations are :

y = 1.00 x- 3.7 (1)

y = 1.08 x- 5.3 (2)

It will be seen from the diagram, or the equation, that the

approximate relation errs at most by little more than a de¬

gree.

Each series of monthly mean temperatures was reduced

to the mean of 24-hourly observations by adding or sub¬

tracting the average difference between the 24-hour mean,

and the mean for the particular combination of observation

hours that were in use in the month. In the period consid¬

ered no less than seven different combinations of hours were

used at these twenty stations. The reduction corrections

were mostly obtained from the 5-year means published in

the Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau for 1896-

97. These corrections do not, however, produce the desired

result, since it is easily seen, on inspection of the means for

the separate observations hours, that these do not even ap¬

proximately fit the present-day march of temperature.

There are clear indications of disturbing influences, such as

direct rays of the sun on the thermometers, warming by

heated buildings, and sudden changes of exposure. Fur¬

thermore, the thermometers were then exposed at lower

altitudes above the ground, consequently the night tempera¬

tures were lower. This effect is quite marked at lake shore

stations. Some extreme instances of these disturbances are

shown in Figures 2, 3. These errors have been studied in

detail, but no practicable way of eliminating them has been

devised.

168 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters.

Instrumental eiTors .

Instrumental errors appear to be remarkable for their

absence. The records at Fort Winnebago appeared to be

separable into three “chapters” of marked deviation from

the average of the other estimated temperatures, and were

corrected.

Example of the results of reduction.

The result of these computations was a set of from one

to eight estimates of the mean temperature for each of the

months from October 1819 to 1872 inclusive. Discordant

values were remarkably few in number, and when checked

up were mostly found to be due to obvious errors, misprints,

or to incomplete records. As an example of the working

method the following table of the estimates for the year

1845 has been taken at random :

♦Omitted from mean.

Characteristics of the reduced data.

The monthly mean estimates computed in this way are

exhibited in Table 2 for the period October, 1819 to Decem¬

ber, 1868. The figures for the following years are from

actual observations made at Madison under the following

conditions: January, 1869 to September, 1878 by Dr. W.

W. Daniells, at Bascom Hall, University of Wisconsin; Octo¬

ber 1878 to March 1883, by the observers of the U. S. Sig¬

nal Corps in the “Brown Block” the site of which is now

occupied by the “First-Central” building at South Pinckney

and East Washington Streets ; April and May, 1883 estimat¬

ed; June 1883 to August 1883 by Mr. J. C. Officer, at North

Hall, University of Wisconsin. From September 1883 to

September 1904 by the Washburn Observatory, University

of Wisconsin, and from October 1904 to date by the U. S.

Weather Bureau, North Hall, University of Wisconsin. The

Miller — A Century of Temperatures in Wisconsin. 169

mean temperatures from October 1904 on are the means of

24-hourly readings of the thermograph. These differ slight¬

ly from the “official” temperatures, which are obtained by

averaging the daily maximum and minimum temperatures.

Table 2. Mean Temperatures for each month, reduced to mean of

24-hourly observations , at Madison, Wisconsin.

170 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts, and Letters .

Table 2. Mean Temperatures for each month , reduced to mean of

2^-hourly observations , at Madison , TFiscowsm — Continued.

Miller— A Century of Temperatures in Wisconsin . 171

Comparison of estimated and observed temperatures .

The accuracy of the estimated temperatures may be

judged by several lines of internal and external evidence.

The process of estimation was intentionally carried out for

143 months when observations were actually made at Madi¬

son. For these months the estimated means differ from the

observed means by less than one degree in 94 instances,

less than 2 degrees in 42 more cases, less than 3 degrees in

5 more cases, and less than 4 in 2 more cases.

Comparison of the several series of Madison observations.

Comparison of the means of the several series of observa¬

tions, and estimations, tabulated as follows :

In this table “Est.” “Dan” etc., refer to the estimated series

from 1819 to 1868, to the series made by Daniells, 1869-

1878, Signal Corps, 1878-1883, Washburn Observatory,

1883-1904, and Weather Bureau, 1904-date, respectively.

It will be seen that the differences among the summer

mean temperatures are insignificant. The differences

among the winter temperatures are probably explainable to

a considerable extent by the differences in the manner of

exposing the thermometers. The exposure at Washburn

Observatory was at the window of an unheated room, the

“Meridian Circle Room.” The Signal Corps exposure was

at the window on the 3d floor of an office building. The

Weather Bureau exposure is in a louvred shelter, 75 feet

above the ground, and 15 feet above the roof of a heated

building.

Extremes of monthly, seasonal, and annual mean tempera¬

tures.

The ten warmest and coldest seasons and months have

been picked out of Table 2, and are exhibited in Table 3, in

order of intensity, the most extreme being placed first,

172 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

Table 3. Extreme seasons and months.

Warmest winters and winter months .

Coldest winters and winter months.

Warmest springs and spring months.

Coldest springs and spring months.

Miller— A Century of Temperatures in Wisconsin . 173

Warmest summers and summer months .

Coldest summers and summer months.

Warmest autumns and autumn months and warmest years.

Coldest autumns , and autumn months, and coldest years.

174 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters ,

Literature Cited.

1. Lawson, T. M. D. Meteorological register for the years

1826-1830 from observations made by the surgeons of

the Army and others at the military posts of the United

States. To which is appended the meteorological reg¬

ister for the years 1822-1825 compiled under the

direction of Joseph Lovell, M, D. late Surgeon General,

U. S. A. Philadelphia, 1840, 8 °, 161 pp.

2. Lawson, T. M. D. Meteorological register for twelve

years from 1831 to 1842 inclusive; compiled from ob¬

servations made by the officers of the Medical Depart¬

ment of the Army. Washington, 1851, 8° 324 pp.

3. Lawson, T. M. D. Army meteorological register for

twelve years from 1843 to 1854, inclusive, compiled

from observations made by the officers of the Medical

Department of the Army at the military posts of the

United States., Washington, 1855, 4° 763 pp.

4. Bishop, W. D. Results of meteorological observations

made under the direction of the U. S. Patent Office and

the Smithsonian Institution from the year 1854 to

1859, inclusive, being a report of the Commissioner of

Patents made at the First Session of the 36th Con¬

gress. Vol. 1 Meteorological Observations. Washing¬

ton, 1861, 4° 1219 pp.

5. Schott., C. A. Tables, distribution, and variations of

the atmospheric temperature in the United States and

some adjacent parts of America. Smithsonian Con¬

tributions to Knowledge No. 277, Vol. 21, Washington,

1876.

6. Bigelow, F. H. Report on the temperatures and vapor

tensions of the United States reduced to a homogene¬

ous system of 24 hourly observations for the 33-year

interval, 1873-1905. Weather Bureau Bulletin S.

Washington, 1909, 4° 302 pp.

Miller — A Century of Temperatures in Wisconsin. 175

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35°F

Fig. 1. Dots show observed temperatures, 1873-1905.

Continuous line shows Eq. 1, dotted line shows Eq. 2. p. 167.

176 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

Fig. 2. Normal daily march of temperature at St. Paul

in April (continuous curve) and distorted march given by

observations at 7 a. m., 2 p. m. and 9 p. m. in April 1887, at

Ft. Snelling (dashed curve.)

Miller — A Century of Temperatures in Wisconsin. 177

Fig. 3. Normal daily march of temperature at St. Paul

in July (continuous curve) and distorted march given by

observations at 7 a. m., 2 p. m. and 9 p. m. in July 1833

(dotted curve) and July 1838 (dashed curve) at Fort

Snelling.

12

I

THE HISTORY AND HYDROGRAPHY OF LAKE

RIPLEY

(JEFFERSON COUNTY, WISCONSIN)

Wayland J. Chase and Lowell E. Noland *

I. History

Lake Ripley lies about one-half mile east of Cambridge,

Wisconsin, on the western edge of Jefferson county. To¬

day the nearest railroad is the Chicago and Northwestern,

about four and one-half miles away, with London as the

nearest station of that road. In 1895 a railroad track of

standard guage was built from London to Cambridge,

within about one-half mile of Lake Ripley; and, until 1916,

when this railroad enterprise was given up for lack of

business, it facilitated access to this lake region from Mil¬

waukee, Chicago and connected points. Now that auto¬

mobiles rival the steam railroads as agencies of transpor¬

tation, it is worthy of mention that the concrete state high¬

way 12 passes parallel with the south shore lines of the

lake at a distance often less than one-eighth of a mile, and

within full view of it. State highway 41 also runs not far

from the southeast end of the lake, affording the best views

obtainable of the one and one-half miles of beautiful water.

The charms of this body of water very early made a

strong appeal to mankind. On its shores Indians of the

Pottawatomi and Winnebago tribes built their villages and

hunted the abundant game of early days, and in and on

its waters they found a rich supply of fish and waterfowl.

The presence of these aborigines in this section is attested

by abundant and varied evidences, one sort of which is the

group of Indian effigy mounds, which crown the hills close

to the shore at the northeast curve of the lake. These are

•The senior author prepared that part of the manuscript dealing with the

history and general description of the lake, while the junior author wrote the

section on hydrography and prepared the plate. Both authors had a part

in the work of sounding the lake.

180 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and Letters.

believed to be the work of remote ancestors of those Win-

nebagoes whom the first white settlers found in this re¬

gion.

In the settlement of the southern section of Wisconsin

between 1880 and 1840 the fertile high-lying land around

the lake early attracted pioneers, prominent among whom

was a Scotchman, George Dow, who took up a considerable

holding of land near the lake. Because of him for a time

the name given by some to this body of water and to the

first group of settlements close to it was Lake Dow. But

in point of fact before his arrival the lake had already

been given the name it now! bears, for on the land-map of

this region made October 1, 1836 for the federal govern¬

ment under the direction of Robert H. Lytle, Surveyor-

General, it is marked Ripley Lake. In the surveyors’ data

on the margin of the same plat it is referred to as Ripley’s

Lake, and in the notebook of the deputy-surveyors, from

which the land map was made, their little sketch of the

lake is marked Ripley’s Lake. It is evident, therefore,

that the lake was named for someone called Ripley. Who

this individual was no evidence points out. Three deputy-

surveyors, one linesman and one marker made this sur¬

vey between 1834 and 1836 and their names are appended

to the record, but the first, middle and last name of no

one of them is Ripley. Apparently, too, at the time the

lake received its name no white man had yet settled on

its shores, for it was the practice of the government sur¬

veyors in those territorial days to indicate on their sketch

of the shore line of a lake, about which they were survey¬

ing, the locations of the white settlers who had habita¬

tions near it. None are indicated on this sketch of Ripley’s

Lake. So it seems not to have been named for a first set¬

tler.

According to tradition this lake years ago was connect¬

ed by a thoroughfare with a smaller and much more shal¬

low and more reedy lake situated to the south and called

Red Cedar Lake. This former connection no longer func¬

tions, though the configuration of the country between

the two lakes reveals signs of its early significance.

Besides the settlers of Scotch origin there came others

at about the same time, representatives of that western

Chase & N oland— History of Lake Ripley. 181

migration from New England which brought so influen¬

tial an element into Wisconsin’s earliest population. The

decade between 1840 and 1850 saw the entrance into Wis¬

consin of settlers of both Norwegian and German stock,

some of whom took up claims to land along this lake shore.

The decendants of a few of these earliest pioneers still

possess farm land along the lake, but for the most part

the shore property has passed out of the hands of farmers,

and is occupied by hotels and summer cottages. Indeed

the hotels are mostly of the cottage type, each consisting

of a group of buildings comprising a dining room struc¬

ture and small separate lodges.

In 1846 the Reverend William Cargen, a clergyman of

the Presbyterian church, recently arrived from Scotland,

made his home on the west shore of the lake, and this

became the center of the religious group which accepted

him as its pastor. Later the church of this denomination

was built on the very edge of the nearby town of Cam¬

bridge, and the burying ground at the older site on the

shore of the lake has become the cemetery for the people

of Cambridge and vicinity.

In 1848 Christian Willerup, a Danish Clergyman of the

Methodist Episcopal denomination, organized among the

citizens of Cambridge and vicinity the first Norwegian

Methodist church in America, and indeed in the world.

A substantial stone building for their worship was erected

in Cambridge, and land on the lake shore was acquired

for camp meeting purposes. This tract was named “Will¬

erup Park,” and is now supplied with buildings for the

accommodation of many who attend the summer religious

meetings held there.

Between Willerup Park and the cemetery is the con¬

siderable frontage upon the lake, which the village of Cam¬

bridge has acquired and is developing as a public park.

Further along the shore toward the south a tract of land

with lake frontage accessible from highway 12 has been

devoted by its owner to the uses of a tourist camp.

2. General Description of the Lake

For almost the entire shore line the lake is girt by hills

and ridges thirty to forty feet high. The principal ex-

182 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts , and betters .

caption to this is on the southeast, where through a marsh

area a little stream with many windings meanders its

way and makes its rather slight contribution to the waters

of the lake. Another is on the northwest side where,

through a small brook-like outlet, the surplus waters flow

into the Koshkonong River. Very much of the shore line

is sandy, gravelly or pebbly, and a number of springs are

to be found in its length. The water is uniformly clean

and clear.

Pioneer records tell of the grandeur of the timber that

flourished on the high shores of the lake, and survivors of

this primeval growth still stand in the form of majestic

burr oaks, white oaks, basswood, hickory, and elms. Wil¬

lows and red cedars add variety, and two tamarack swamps

fringe portions of the southeast shore.

This lake has long had renown for its abundance of

fish life. The broad and extensive bay at the east is sur¬

rounded by a wide belt of lily pads, and at many points is

fringed with rushes. It is shallow enough throughout to

be the home of many subaqueous plants. In consequence

both this and a smaller bay of like sort at the south shore

have constituted safe coverts for fish fry, very many of

which in these watery jungles are able to grow to matur¬

ity and lustiness.

Of game fishes the great northern pike, popularly known

as the pickerel, the wall-eyed pike, the large mouth black

bass, and calico or silver bass are probably native to it.

At any rate they have long been found there. Coarse fish,

like bluegills, sunfish, catfish and yellow perch are plentiful,

especially the first named, which attain large size in these

waters. Garpike and dogfish, together with huge snap¬

ping turtles and their leather-back relatives, thrive there

also. It is believed that some German carp have worked

their way up the outlet from Koshkonong River, but as

yet their number seems small.

The waterfowl that live upon the lake are various.

Gulls, terns, kingfishers, several varieties of bittern and

heron, mud hens, rails, and several varieties of ducks spend

the summer season upon it. Occasionally an osprey or

two come to it; and loons, geese and ducks in their migra-

Chase & Noland — History of Lake Ripley. 183

tory flights visit it in spring and fall, the last in great

numbers.

As is often the case where a body of water has more

than ordinary depths, local belief has been that this lake,

if not bottomless, was at least a hundred or more feet in

depth; but the sounding line has found no depth greater

than 47 feet and 10 inches.

3. Hydrography

Lake Ripley is located in Jefferson county, Wisconsin,

in the town of Oakland, range 6 north, and 13 east of the

4th principal meridian. Meridian 89° 00" touches the lake

on the west, and parallel 43° 00" runs through the center

of the lake. According to a Wisconsin Geological Survey

map, the surface is 836 feet, i. e., 254.7 meters, above sea

level.

The lake is 1.43 miles or 2.31 kilometers long. Its main

axis lies in a northwest-southeast line. The maximum

breadth, taken at right angles to the main axis, is 0.82

miles or 1.32 kilometers. The single inlet enters the lake

at the extreme southeast end, and the outlet is located at

the northwest extremity. The maximum length, accord¬

ingly, lies between inlet and outlet. Both the inflowing

and outflowing streams are small. The creek which serves

as the outlet leads into the Koshkonong River, which emp¬

ties into Lake Koshkonong, a dilated portion of the Rock

River. Lake Ripley, therefore, belongs to the Mississippi

drainage area.

Except for the Island and Inlet Bay, the outline of the

lake is fairly regular. The shore line measures 4.13 miles

or 6.67 kilometers. Calculation of the shore development

gives the figure 1.37. By shore development is meant the

actual length of the shore line divided by the circumfer¬

ence of a circle whose area equals that of the lake. The

shore development accordingly is a measure of the regular¬

ity or irregularity of the shore line.

The surface area of the lake is 0.723 square miles, or

462.7 acres. Expressed in metric units this gives 1.872

square kilometers, or 187.2 hectares.

The shores of Inlet Bay and South Bay are low and weedy.

184 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters.

A tamarack swamp lies between the two bays and between

the Island and the mainland on the south. Another tama¬

rack swamp lies to the south of Inlet Bay. The north side

of the Island is a cutting shore. Except for a small, low-

lying, swamp area of a few acres on the shore at the base

of the bar, there is little swampy ground on the west shore

of the lake from the tourist camp to the ice-house. Gentle

cutting is evident on the shores near the tourist camp, in

front of Willerup Park, and beside the cemetery, where

the land rises somewhat more abruptly from the water

than at other points on the west shore. A rich growth of

submerged aquatic vegetation covers the bottom of Inlet

Bay, and of South Bay, extending northward from the

latter over the shallow waters of the bar. The remainder

of the west shore and much of the north shore is sandy,

with only a moderate development of submerged vegeta¬

tion. At Ingleside on the east, the shore is steep and cut¬

ting. Moderate cutting is observable along the whole

eastern shore, as far south as Cargen’s Point, especially

marked, however, near Cedar Lodge.

The survey for the accompanying map of the lake was

made in winter over the ice by the triangulation method,

using an open sight alidade, and sighting from two points

in the middle of the lake and one on the north shore of the

Island. The distance between the two points in the middle

of the lake was 900 feet, measured in a straight line, using

a 75 foot steel tape. Forty -four easily recognizable objects

(bushes, boat landings, etc.) on the shore at fairly uniform

distances from each other were used as sighting points.

After preparing a first draft from the field map thus ob¬

tained, a tour of the shore line was made to determine

minor curvatures, and make slight corrections where the

objects used as sighting points were not exactly on the

shore line. The sighting station on the north shore of the

Island was used to complete the map of the bay and to

serve as a check on the other two sighting stations. As an

additional check the distance between two sighting points

on the shore was actually measured off with the steel tape

The distance shown on the map was 1980 feet. The actual

distance was found to be about ten feet less.

To ascertain the depth of the lake in its various parts

Chase & Noland — History of Lake Ripley. 185

241 soundings were made. Eighteen of this number were

made through the ice in the area north of the Island. The

remainder were made from a boat on quiet days in summer

in the following way : starting at one of the original sight¬

ing points on the shore the boat was rowed in a straight

line toward another original sighting point on the opposite

shore. At each twenty-five strokes a sounding was taken.

In this way the soundings could be plotted at equidistant

points along a straight line connecting the two sighting

points on the map. The trips across the lake from point

to point were so planned that the soundings were fairly