The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1877-10-18
The Bones OF Monsters.

Mature has borne strange children
in her day." says Shakspear, aud he
is not far wrong il VIC may Judge from
some recent discoveries in tho rocks
Of our neighborhood While exploring
some recks in The white sandstone
hog.back Of the cretacecus period,
near Morrison, Bear Creek-the came
stratum as at Colorado Springs, q few
yards west of old Colorado City-we
came suddenly upon a huge yertebrso
lying as 1t were carved out in bas re-
lief on slab Of sandstone. II was SO
heavy that 1t required two men to lift
it. It's circumference was thirty-three
inches. We stood for come moments
looking in astonishment at this prodi.
gy, and then hunted around for more
relics. Presently one of tho party. a
little in advance, cried out, "Wby,
this beats all !" At his feet Law a
huge bone, resembling a Hercules war
club, ten inches in diameter by two
feet long. On digging beneath Il
number Of smaller vertcbrae were dis
covered, and at the base of a cliff two
enormous fragments, reminding ono
Of the broken columns Of some ancient
temple, or couple Of SOW logs, lay on
the ground, possible thigh bones, ff~
teen inches diameter at the bu.t end
and in the cliff above them was au-
other fragment sticking out OF tho
rock like the stump of tree. With
the help Of sledge- hammer and crow
bar the rock was removed around il.
and underneath lay some ribs .hree
inches 10 diameter With other bones.
The rocks in the vicinity were full
Of fragments. Selecting one Of these.
we lifted OIL a largo cap of sandstone
above it and disclosed perfect shoul-
der, uina and radius, of another
somew hat smaller animal, the thick.
ness Of the bones averaging about Gye
or Elk inches. This. lying as it were
like beautiful sculpture on the sand
stone, We succeeded in removing cx-
actly as we fonnd IL. Several smaller
bones OF animals OF various sizes we're
discovered. but as the sun was fast
setting behind the monutalLs wo de-
ierred removing onr trophies till The
following day. During the night it
showed heavily, but next morung we
succeeded iu dragging our p'iz, . IN
Temporary oled down Tho cliff TO sho
road, and bringing home 20 the neigh
poriug village q wagon load Uf Doues
aud deposiiiug them Nju q shantg,
preparatory to packing ,hem oil East
10 Prof Marsh Of Yale Collegs FOR
Identification. The monster to who
the bones belonged could not havc
beon less than siX'Y or even eisht,
feet long /, the ci,F above tbesv
ooues, impreu ious OF leaves were
found (Dasota group)of dico' } lconous
trees OF very singular shape, some re-
sembling n lyre, aud others the leaves
Of the tulip tree, willow, conilers, etc.
These trees grew probably on the
shores of small islands in the cretaci-
Gus ocean in which the marine mons
sters roamed. end not far of oysters
(ostrea conGcstG), clans GnoceraInus),
Faculties and ammonites, and other
marine shells were found in abunds
ance.
Along the shores of this ancient sea
squatted aud leapt the dinosaurus or
the terrible lizards, one Of whom, tho
loelaps, was 24 feet long. Fro,n the
length of bis hinder legs, il is sup-
posed that he was able to walk up
right like biped, carrying his head
IL feet in the air. There was another
still larger, 35 feet long, and OF the
same habits. In the cir overhead,
hugh bat-liko creatures (ffeyodac-
tyis), combining u lizard, q crocodile,
and q bat, tapped their leathery wings
(25 feet from tip to tip) over the sea.
plunging every now and then into
the water for q fish. There were
birds, too q diver (Pe,perornis), Ave
aud one-half feet high, and some,
strange to say, with spinal vertebrW
like fish, and armed with pointed
teeth in both jaws. Enormous tor.
toises and turtles we've the boatmen
Of the ago. One discovered by Cope,
In Kansas, was fifteen feet across tho
end Of one aapper to the end of the
other. Huge clans also lay scattered
over those ancient shores twenty-six
inches in diameter. Our saurisn did
not fall short Of the biggest Of these
monsters; he could not have been less
than sixty to seventy feet long, and
probably either mosssaurus or lisard
allied to the clasmosaurus.
The ocean in which these creatures
lived was gradually enclosed by the
upheaval Of the seq bottom on the
west, and soon became almost an To-
land 500. AZ tho elevation Continued
and il ares wss contracted, ridges
would riss, isolatipg portions Of The
500 into salt lakes and lmprisoniug the
life in them. The stronger 5000 do
stroysd the weaker, till the water BY
evaporation becoming shallowsr, oil
life finally died, became skeletons,
and, 10 course OF ages, Fossils 10 sand.
stone.-- Colorado Sprin0s Gazette.