Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-01-10
ANCIENT AMERICA.
Wonderful Discoveries OF Ancient An
finals I'm Nebraska, Dakota and Col
OradO.

For the past twenty years or more tn
various expeditions to the far Yves
have been accommodating the material
which viii enable the geologist to re
construct the physical history of thes,
now barren, treeless plains. Numerous
cemeteries of the ancient inhabitants
have been discovered, whose remains
have been more or less disentombed by
the action of the elements. 1t is now
known that vast cham of fresh water
lakes covered the surface of this cont
nent to a greater or less extent, from
the Mississippi to the Pacific coast, and
from the Arctic Sea to Mexico. Some
of these lakes were of enormous size
The great ancient lake basin, known as
Mauvaises Terres, or the bad Lands, -
covered a large portion Of Nebraska,
Dakota and Colorado, an area of 100,-
600 to 10000 square miles. As far
back as 1853, the writer visited one of
these far-famed bone deposits ON the
White Earth river, in Dakota, near the
northeastern base of the Black Hill. 1t
is one of the widest and most desolate
regions on this continent.
1t has been very appropriately named
by the Dakota Indians, Ma Ko Seetcha,
or bad Lands, which signifies very
difficult country TO travel over; not
only from the ruggedness of the sur
face, but also from the absence of any
good water, and the small supply of
wood and game. 1t Is only TO the ge-
ologist that this place can have any
permanent attractions. He wends his
way through its wonderful canons
among some of the grandest ruins in
the world. 1t resembles, indeed, a gi-
gantic city fallen to decay. Houses,
towers, minarets and spires may ap-
parently be seen on every side. These
fantastic piles assume the greatest
variety Of shapes when viewed in the
distance, and not unfrequently the ris-
lngor the setting sun lights up these
grand old ruins with wild, strange
beauty. In the summer the sun pours
Its rays on the bare white walls, which
reflect them on the weary traveller with
a double intensity, not only expressing
him with the heat, but SO dazzling his
| eyes that he is not unfrequently affected
with temporary blindness. Il is at the
foot of these ruins that the fossil treas
ures are found. In the lower strata We
find the teeth and jaws of hypopota-
mus, a river horse much like the hippo
potamus, which must have lived In the
marshes that bOrdered this lake. Here
too, the titanotherium, a gigantic
pachydern, was associated with a species
of hornless rhinoceros. Higher up in
some of these lake sediments, thousands
of turtles were imbedded and are pre-
served to the present time with surpris-
ing perfection, their harder portions
being as complete as when the animals
were swimming about in tertiary waters
hundreds Of thousands of years ago.
They vary IN size from an inch or two
across the back to three or four feet.
Associated with the remains of turtles
are those of a number of ruminants,
all belonging to extinct genera, and
possessing peculiar characters which
ally them to the deer and hog. Indeed,
DR.. Leidy calls them Illuminating hogs.
Like the domestic species, they were
provided with cutting teeth, and ca
mines, but the grinding teeth are con-
structed after the same pattern as those
Of all living ruminants. The feet Of
these animals were provided with four
toes, and none Of them possessed horns
or antleTs. They appear to have ex-
listed IN immense numbers, and TO have
lived in great herds, like the bison of |
the West. Remains of more than |
seven hundred individuals of one spe-
cies have been already studied and de- |
scribed by Dr. Leidy Their enemies
were numerous. Among them were |
wolves, hyanOdons, and saber-toothed |
tigers.
AN ANCIENT GRAVEYARD.
In the summer of 1857, while the
writer was attached to the exploring ex-
petition under the command Of Lieut.. |
Warren, he discovered on the Niobrara
another Of these remarkable gTaveyards, |
IN which was entOmbed fauna closely /
allied to, yet entirely distinct from that |
on White river, and plainly intermedi-
ate between that Of the latter and of |
the present period. Several species Of
camels, and great variety Of the horse
family characterized this fauna. One
of the horses was about the size-of the
common domestic animal. while another
allied form, about the SIZE of a New
foundland dog, was provided with three
hOOfs TO each foot, though the lateral
hOOfs were rudimental.' DIR. Leidy has
already identified twenty-seven Of the
horse family which are thus known to
have lived on thiscontinent prior TO the
advent Of man-abOut three times as
many as are now found living through
out the world. Among the carnivores
there were several species of foxes and
wolves, five varieties Of the cat family,
and three species of hyena. Some of
the skulls of the tiger-ike animals ex-
hibited the marks of terrible conflicts
with the hyenas. Among the rodents
were a pOrcupme, small beaver, rabbit,
mouse, etc.
The pachyderms, or thick-skinned
were very numerous, and are
Of the greatest interest, from the fact
that none of them are living on the
continent at the present time. Five
species OF rhInOcerOs are found; a mas
tOdon, an elephant, and numerous forms
allied to the domestic hog, varying in
size from that of the African hippOpo-
tamus down to that of the domestic
cat. From the discovery of this group
of extinct animals we may draw the in
ference that Nebraska and Dakota were
the homes Of a race closely allied to
those inhabiting Asia and Africa at
the present time. From their charac-
teristics we are led to believe that the
climate during that period was consid-
erably warmer than 1t Is now. The In
ference is also drawn that America, in
stead of being as it is usually called,
the 'New World" is really older
than the Eastern Hemisphere
The discoveries in Kansas and Wy
oming are still more wonderful. Dur
ing the past summer Prof. Cope has
occupied considerable time, under the
Of the Survey, in exploring
another Of these wonderful graveyards
of a long past period, from which he
has taken the osseous remains of more
than one hundred species, more nearly
those of White and Niobra-
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