The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1877-10-25
THE BONES OF MONSTERS.
Wonderful Discoveries in the Sandstone e
Rocks of Colorado.

Nature has borne strange children in
K her day" says Shakespeare, aud he is not
far wrong If we may judge from some re
| cent discoveries in the rocks OF our neigh.
6orhood. While exploring some rocks
IN the white sandstone hog-back OF the
cretaceous period. near Morrison. Bear
Creek-the same stratum as at Colorado
Springs, few yards west Of old Colorado
City-we came suddenly upon q huge
vertebr@. lying as il were carved out in
bas relief on a slab Of sandstone. IL was
so heavy that il required two men to lit
it. Its circumference was thirty three
inches. We stood for some moments
looking in astonisbment at this prodigy.
and then hunted around for more relics.
Presently one Of the party. little in ad.
vance, cried out, why. this beats all T.
At bis feet lay huge bone. resembling a
Hercules war club, ten inches in diane
ter by two feet long On digging bere,th
1t number Of smaller vertebre were dis.
covered. and at the base OF n cliff two
enormous fragments. reminding one OF
the broken columns of some ancient tenn
pie, or a couple Of saw logs. on the ground.
possible thigh bones fifteen inches diam
eter at the butt end; and in the cliff
above them was another fragment stick
ing out OF the rock like the stump Of
tree With the help Of sledge hammer
and crowbar the rock was removed
around il, and underneath lay some ribs
three inches in diameter with other
bones.
The rocks in the vicinity were full OF
fragments. Selecting one of these. we
lifted off large cap Of sandstone above
it and disclosed perfect shoulder. ulHa
and radius. Of another somewhat smaller
animal. the thickness Of the bones aver.
aging about FIVE or six inches. This. ly.
ing as il were like n beautiful sculpture
on the sandstone. we succeeded in re
moving exactly as we found it. Several
-maller bones OF animals OF various sizes
~ere discovered. but as the sun was fact
setting behind the mountains we deferred
removing our trophies till the following
day During the night il tsnowed heavily.
but next morning we succeeded in drag.
ging our prizes on n temporary sled down
the cliff TO the road, and bringing home
TO the neighbonng village a wagon load
of bones and d~positing them In shan
~, preparatory To packing them of East
TO Prof Mar-h OF Yale College for iden-
tlication. The monster to whom the
bon' belonged could not have been less
than sixty or even eighty feet long In
the cliff above these bones. impressions
Of leaves we're found Dakota group) Of
a coty lednnous trees of very singular
shape. some resembling a Tyre, and 9th.
ers the leaves Of the tulip tree willow. /
conifers. etc. These trees grew probably I
on the shores OF small islands in the ere |
tacious ocean in which the marine mon
sters roamed aud not far off oysters l
(ostrea congesta). CLANS (inoccramus) /
FACULTIES and ammonites. and other ma /
rine shells were found in abundance
Along the shores Of this ancient sea 4
squatted and leapt the dinosaurus or the 4
terrible lizards. one Of whom, the lelaps. /
was "a feet long. From the length OF /
his hinder legs il is supposed that he 1
was able to walk upright like a biped. /
his head IL feet in the air -
There was another still larger. IS feet 4
long. and Of the same habits In the air 4
overhead, hugh bat like creatures (Pfsro.
dacfyks). combining lizard. crocodile.
and bat. tapped their leathery wings
(25 feet from tip to tip) over the sea,
plunging every now and then into the
water for fish. There were birds. too
a diver Perperornis) FIVE and one half feet
high, and some. strange TO say. with spi-
nal vert+brn like fish. and armed with
pointed teeth in both jaws. Enormous
tOrtoises and turtles were the boatmen
nf the age. One discovered by Cope. in
Kansas, was fifteen feet across the end of
one happer to the end of the other
Huge CLANS also lay scattered over those
ancient shores twenty-six inches in di
ameter Our ssurian did not fall short
Of the biggest OF these mousters he could
not have been less than sixty to seventy
feet long. and probably either a mosasau
rus or lizard allied TO the clasmosaurus.
The ocean in which these creatures
lived was gradually enclosed by the up
heayal Of the sea bottom on the west, and
soon became almost an inland sea As
the elevation continued and its area was
contra It'd, ridges would rise. isolating
portions of the sea into salt lakes aud
the life in them The strong
er soon destroyed the weaker, till the
water by evaporation becoming shallow
er, all lite finally died, became skeletons.
and, in course of ages, fossils in sand
stone Colorado Springs Gazette.