New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-06-20

Marve1s or tsss pre-A Aaan.sss eseatisa,
Couid we bHt see the prsduesians Of our own
country as they once really cxigtsA- we
ravei backwards into the vanished pzat, az We can
descend into the strata that contain their REMAINS
and walk out into the woods or aaung tae sea.
BY xsueceazioD Of rnarvels strange beyond Che esn
cepuoaa of the poet, on at least only equalled BY
the creatHna Of him who, in bis Adventurous song,
gent gent p iersn " Lady Una 70 wander over fairy
cayerns were hauAts of dragons and sasyrs and fss
hills the abodes
e.;t etSrssass s,;ss ID sss;s MI
Pa "a y ss sss ss .sssssss .sssss mass ssas
Aas Il sessfiaae. sas .sss sisn ss III ssisy III M s
Bodies Of fnonstrons horribiu and vss4s
Let as, however, ere we part for de evening,
adventure short walk into the wilds of tho 0olfte
in that portion Of space NOW occupied 69 the sar-
face Of the globe by The northeastern hills q enth-
erland, where they sbut on the PERCEPTIONS Ord.
We atand on an elevated wood-covered ridge, that
on the one hand 0yerlooks the blue sea, and de-
scends ON the other towards broad river, beyond
which there spread vide exgsnse q mountain
distant hills arc dark with pines; and save that
the sun already low in the sky, ID finging athwart
them his yellow Light and gliding. high shaded
Sa Ssrs M mcssy w summit. lie General csorine Il the
background would be blue and gold.
Bat the ray falls bright and waTm on the rich
vegetation around ~ FERNS, tress, and tall club
m6saes, and graceful palms, and the strangely pro-
portioned eycadAceH, whose leaves seem frouds OF
the hracksn axed upon decapitsted etnmps; and
along The banks cf re river w ~ tall intensely
cones and withersd spiky 1seyss stzsw the ground,
and scarce hundred yards away tAere p noble
ArahcaxAns that raises aphexeIils III proud head
more tan Ian ssassa tsss eys " fsIIoxs snd
giistens to the sun. The ez nlf1iasnl Of de aif
makes itself family audible n ~ dSeWxy hnm Of
insects; there y gorgeous llght dfzspnny
gnatlike groups; It settles fof moment ON ons Of
the lesser ferns, and small cEeatme,
scarce larger than rat issues n0iselesaly from III
hole and creeps stealthiiy toward i
But there IS the WhIrr Of wings heard overhead,
and 10! monster aeacends, and the Little mammal
starts back into his kole. sTia winged drEE0n of
the Oolite, a carniverous reptile, keen Of eye and
sharp of tooth, and that to the head and 5sHs Of
tho crocodile adds the neck of bird The ~ of sa
ordinary mammal and that foatS through The air
ON leathern wings resembling those of the great
vampire bat. We have seem IN the minute, rat.
the yast land Of the oolite--the inaect-satng Am
pitherium; end in the flying reptile one Of it,
strangely organized Pterodaetyls
But bark! what sounds are these Tramp,
tramp, tramp-erash, crash, crash. Tree fsrn md
club moss, cycas and zana, yield 70 the force and
momentum Of some immense reptile, and the CO.
lossa Iguanodon breaks through. Hs is tall A the
talIest elephant but from tail to anout greatIy
more than twice al long bears like fhe rEinoce-
rous a short horn on lis snout and has hi laws
thiekly implanted with saw like teeth i
But, though formidable from his grent weight
Of the herffyorous aliraIs
md viii no desire ID attack. and no necessity to
defend. % he moves slowly onward, deliberately
mnncb;no AZ he Masses the snccuIenf stems of the
cycadaceae. The ann Il fast sinkinr. and as the
iight thckens ma reaches n tle ye;ehborfi,r river
disnjay tiseir fre0uent iupes a1d ever md anon
long scaay haeIa are raised over its surfaee ia
nnmerons crncodisans are assi,. ana nnw t,,sv
| asit the stream and We zee its thick hedxelfke
lines Of eauisetacee open ana akuin cloas as shsy
rustic through to scour in quest Of prey he dark
meadows that line its banks. Thers srs tsrtoises
that viii this evening find their protecting araior 81
carnaee and plastron siI too weak md cIose TIER
| long lives Of centuries.
And now we saunter fownwards to the shore,
and zee the ground swells brealing white ID ths
calm against the ridges of coral scarce ess white
| The shores are strewed with shells of pearl the
| whorIey Amrnouite and the Nautilus; and amid the
4 gleam of ganodaI scales reflected from the green
gnths gs.a hayand ~ NAV ~ the nashori trii II
Inc Belemite and its path is over shells Of strange
| form and name-the sedenfary Gryphms, the Perna
4 and the pIagiostona Bnt io vet another monster.
/ 4 snake-like form. surmounted BY q croc0dilean
head. rises high ont Of the water within wonder
corai 1adge and tha fiery sinister eyes neer inuur-
;nriu ro,,n ID II ii suest of nrav THE BODY n hui
diTnIy seen but il Is short and bulky compared
4
insteaJ Of limbs no that the entire creature wholly
nnJika anvtbinp rich now exsts has been iikened
II bnaconstrictor threaded through the body Of
tnrtie. - =.
w We have ,ooked mon the plesiosaurus. And
now cnisides N She le5re there Il 4 huge croce
iiiiean head raised: ana 4 monstrous eve, iargei
than that Of any other living creafure-for 1t mea
snras q f,lI foot aoross-alares anon the slimmel
and less nowerful reptile. and In an instant The
long neck and small head disappear. That mon.
ster of the immense eye-an eve SO Constructed
that ifs facus can he altered at will and made d
camnyiss either near or distant objects. and tbs
erran Itself adapted either to examine microscopi
cailv or to exnIore "a telescoue-is another be.
4 naddjed reptile of the sea. the Icbthyosaurus OF
@ Rsh Isard. ~ - 7'', "a y
mt the night cannes ON. and the shadows az the
woods and roeks deepen there are uncouth saunds
along the beach and I'M the forest; and new mon
stsrs soff vat stranger ahane ara .iuv IisooyereS
mov;na 10 amid Tia nncertairs gloom. Keptes. rep
tiles. rsnt;Ies~aging. swimmine, waddiinc. walk
ng the age a thaf of coldblooded. unreniai rem
L =