The Lincoln County leader. [volume] (White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M.) 1882-189?, 1884-05-10


Mark Twain ON the Carson Fossil
Footprints. The Young Man
Was There.
1t may bo all very we'll for Pro
fessor Marsh and Professor Hark-
ness to talk their scientific talk
about the Carson footprints, and
try to saddle them on tile primOval
man, the Irish elk and others who
are gone and cannot now defend
themselves; it may be all very
we'll, | say, and entertaining, and
within the just limits Of scientific
SANDER and research, but it 10 not
moral. For | know the cold facts
about the footprints, and | know
they were not made by the prime
val man, or the Irish elk, or any
OF that sect; they weis made by
the Nevada legistatu. e, and | was
there when it was done. 1t was
done at the time ofths sine die ad-
,iournment. 1t had rained rain all
the evening outside, and it had
ralned whis~ey all the evening on
the inSide-insids of the fence |
mean, for there was no buildi ngS
III that early day-and neither you
nor = much older man could have
told on which side Of the feuce
the weather was most inclem-
ent. | was on both sides of it, and
sometimes on it, for a brief uncer-
tain season, and | couldn't tell.
The footprint quarry, where that
legislature sat-Stood where they
could, | mean-was a dry alkali
fiat, with a fence around it when
the ram began !; Just a dry alkali
hlt, containing a fence full of dry
honorable alkaiied flats from all
over the territory ; and in three
hours the first mention d fiat
was absolutely soaked to the depth
of three inches I; and the others all
the way through. l make no ex-
ceptions; | say all. l was there,
and know. So the place was be-
come a regular marsh, full of irreg-
ular Aarshers, SO to speak-mean-
ing the Legislature, but intending
nc disrespect. And when the
weather moderated so that no one
could venture outside-outside the
fence-those latter adjourned.
They ad%journedi in the usual form
form used by territorial Legislatures
OF that day-the speaker bringing
down his gAvel on the head OF the
member mistaken by these scien-
fists for the Irish elk-which he,
the speaker, mistook tor the fence
post = and thus, as you see, is the
gloom and sorrow of q double
error spread over this moldering
historic incident-and said-com-
mon time, four beats to the meas
urs, that is to say four hiccoughs
to the sentence: "The modder
having weatherated, and so on, in
= similar strain, till he got through.
| remember it as fit were but yes
terday. Thus dissolved, they de-
parted thence.
1t was then they made the tracks.
They couldn't help making them /;
for the place vas q marsh, az |
was telling you. | saw it done;
for | was there. | was there, and
| shall now cast upon this pale dim
void Of scientific conjecture the lu-
rid glare Of history. | was there
and | saw them march The pri-
meval man was absent, the Irish
elk did not arrive the cave bear
responded not to the summons; the
old silurian ass got left. The men
Agerie was wholly local. Part of
it | saw, and tho rest of it | a
This is history; and history csnnot
lie.
The speaker went first. He
made the large tracks-the eight
inches broad and eighteen inches
long, and roSembled the footprint
of champagne basket. lie was a
prime man in two or three ways,
and evil in forty, but he was not
tho primeval man, just the same;
reflect upon this. | was there, |
was there all the time, and knew
him well. lie made the large
tracks. And he did it without an
effort He could have done it with
one hand tied behind him. He
said so himself; he didn't tell me
so, but hO told others 80, though |
knew him well. His name was
Welsh; either Welsh or Sanders, !
don't remember which; but it wss
name that sounded like those.
He wa' a rancher, kept a ranch;