The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-11-19
Interesting Fossils in Nevada.

Interesting Fossils in NeYada.
The state prison of Nevada is stu
ated in Eagle Valley. between the
Sierra Nevada Mountains on the west
and the Carson River on the east.
The prison yard is quarried out from
the face of one of the numerous sand
stone knobs that intersperse the val
ley. AS work in the query has adj
yanced fossils of various kinds have
been brought to light. Occasionally
immense bones have been dug out of
the rock, but no care has been taken
to preserve them. Some of the fossils
lately extracted with the utmost care
to prevent their crumbling, the sand
stone in which they are found being
damp and soft when first dug up,
and falling to pieces when made dry
by exposure to the air. They tell OF
enc bone of some monstrous animal,
that roamed these regions untold ages
age that was as thick as large man
across the shoulders. In the state
museum at this place there is per-
feet shank bone of some extinct cow
or horse, of which nothing is known
IN the earliest history of Washoe.
But to substantiate the traditions
of the penitentiary, I shall give you
description of what are probably
the most remarkable fossil tracks
ever discovered. The megatherium
footprints are nearly circular In out
line, and bear no resemblance to the
track made by any known living
animal except that of the elephant;
and this resemblance is in shape on
ly, the former being immensely
larger than the latter. The tracks
are seven in number; that is, there
are seven that are visible. They are
made IN senrr Of what WAS plastic
sands,Jns lcng ago, or mud which
marked the interval Of tive strata b.
native rock, and they made an IN
pres an from au inch and a-haif 10
two Inches deep. They are nearly
rourG, sad measure shade more
thar q 1e1g ID diam2,o
H. uraa these track taa uDd
the 4ps o the greet ba 1a
quite regularly taken. Eae q loa
betw aea aay tvs scg.aasiY2 tes. 9n
eithe le rect tta distance De
tweer foremost ana h.uamoat Of
any g. four tracks J i3o16 Frs 9e
Is fee. hence the maker sfaa iraca
canno have beed less tbaa 20 s-gt .a
length u also must 1av. .a.
quadr ped, 20 the GracEs fa.ue
double lieg Of 1iTecha. Taa
apart, . faet inches. .ar4vs
from outer lines o tae ua
sion Uiped making tracks g.mas
directly one in Froul G. ite ether.
I exs mined another s.a5 af fossil
tracks on The gFopad a.ag Of tha
prison yard These are nun r1ae
and ext I'd conspicpoue
yard, f9cept where sis
have buin obliteratea us
not in .jze, tRese beHs s. .1r. To-
semblarhe 10 the human foot Cnay
sink dc per into the c.lyy mud
than the others by hal AZ iaeb.
Across what may be called the Bali
of the fees the measure is clever
inches an R-haif, across he cea.u.
nine inch~a anu across the heel seven
inches. From the center of the foot
to the bulge of the heel there is an
inward curve (as of the instep,) the
narrewest part Of which measures
five inches across. The transverse
distance between two parallel lines
making the outer limits of these
tracks is two feet six inches hence
this monster also must have been of
the four-footed sort. The prison yard
is marked by number of imprints,
the most noticeable of which is that
of a mammoth four-toed waterfowl.
The track made are rectangular, and
measure ten inches on either line.-
San Francisco Chronicle.
Mr.. Heating has had fair oppor.
tunity Of testing the length and
breadth of his popularity at home
He losses his own county, Queen
Anne's, by eight votes; in Talbot
the next county on the South, he il
beaten by 1923 votes in Kent, ad.
joining on the north, his majority i.