Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-10-18
NUMBER ~.
Interesting Fossil Discovery az
C. Gilman Quarry.

Two men employed by MIR. Gill
mann in his quarry on Brewery St,
while turning over some displaced
rocks with their heavy iron bars,
suddenly exposed to view, imbedded
in the upturned rock, a large fossil
fish, some seven or eight feet long.
The find was so sudden and uneA-
pected TO them, that in turning i
over it broke into three cross sec
tions; added to this misfortune, il
was lacking the head and tail por-
tions of the fish, broken off, no
doubt, by the rude operations in
prying up the rock. The missing
parts have not been, as yet, found,
and the mutlated body lies exposed
for the inspection of the culions,
free Of charge,
Surrounded as we are with 80
many interesting geological novel-
ties, it may not, perhaps, be consid-
cred AN unimportant object of in
quiry that forces into our minds the
desire to investigate, and make
known, something about creature
that once swan in the wave, and
sported in the clear and tranquil
waters Of the great inland lacustrine
lakes and estuarios,
With their rushy frngcd bank.
Where once grew The willow and the osier dam.
There are scattered throughout the
rocks of earth numerous animals
and Vegetable remains which show,
conclusively, that the earth has been
successlyely supplied and replenish-
ed by animals and plants, altogether
different from those now living.
In general, their hard parts arc
the only relics of them which have
been preserved-the skeletons and
teeth of vertebrates, the shells OF
Mollusks and Radiata, aud strange
to say, sometimes only the winged
cases of insects These most com
monty having lost their original
chemical composition have been
changed into stone, receiving the
name of petriiications of fossils, be
ing the bodies of former epochs oh
tanned from the rocks of earth. Now,
such lore as this should never b
without some interest To those
who delight To know something OF
the history Of the world, previous to
the existence of man.
There is much ignorance among
people, generally, regarding the
creatures which held dominion over
land, seas and rivers before a human
being trod the soil or ventured in
frail barxs on the waters. 1t may,
probably, be unnecessary to observe,
here, that the writer Of these re
marks must be understood as laying
la claim to the position Of II paleon-
toiogist, mere observer, AMI
learner himself, he can offer no
other guidance to the lovers of na,-
ural science than the pleasant task
awaiting us all, if we chose to open
our eyes to the realities--the won
derful realities--of the world we
/ live IN, by observation and consult
ing the published authorities or
those subjects within our reach ana
capacity
1t may perhaps, startle the belief
of some who have never considered
the subject before, to assert what Is
positive fact, that a large portion
Of the rocks and cliffs that oppose
and control the steady advance of
ocean, or protrude through its water,
are of animal origin.
The limestone rock, or calcareous
| formation, Of the Gilman quarrY,
where this fossil-fsh was found, is
the upper stratum, consisting Of :
pale gray, hard and compact lime
rock, evenly bedded, the result of
the sedimentation that produced i,
and being a fresh water deposit OF
carbonite Of lime, magnesla anil
clay, clearly proving that the orig
nal material Of it's substance was de
rived from the deep waters of an In
land lake Of which this fossil-fish
was once fnny inhabitant. As a.
ready stated, the head and tail be
ing lost, the general guide to
the species and character Of the
fish, we are obliged to depend on
what the microcope reveals to us, in
reference to its external covering,
which / think points to the Gan o.
dian order, having angular scales,
an order having now no representa-
tive except the sturgeon and the
bony pike Of the North American
lakes, to which latter species our
fossil fish undoubtedly belongs.
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