Mower County transcript., 1888-06-06
GIGANTIC FOSSILS.
The Oldest RELICS ON tho Continent to Be
- Found In California.

The Oldest Relics ON tho Continent to Bo
! Found In California. !.
At a recent meeting Of the Califor-
MIA Historical Society the subject un-
der discussion was paper on pre-
historic California;" written by Dr.
Lorenzo G. Yates.
The paper laid down three PROPOSE
tions-namely, that climatic extremes
are not favorable to human progress;
that geology furnishes pages of facts
long antedating written history and
tribal traditions, and that in Califor-
MIA have been and are found the old
est known relics on the continent. In
this State are found the relics of two
different and widely separated periods
of occupation before the arrival of
Europeans.
The first authen ticated record of the
original occupants was found on the
Table mountain region in Tuolumne
County, and is of IN age prior to
the great volcanic outburst. Fossil
remains of the rhinoceros and of an
extinct horse are found under
the lava layers forming the
Table mountains. which are l. 400 feet
thick. 100 wide. and many hundreds
of feet high. where the river beds have
been washed out and have beon COW
cred again to the depth of from 8. 900
to 4 900 feet moro since tho flow of the
lava. This lava rests on bed of
detritus, which is often entered in rum
ming tunnels. The human relics and
stone implements found in these
formations give evidence of human
inhabitants differing from any known
since. There have been found SPEAR
heads, pipe of polished stone, two
scoops of rock, resembling the gro
GERS scoop; an implement of arago-
mite resembling an unbent bow. but
the use of which is unknown and can
not be conjectured; = stone needle,
with notches at the larger end. and
the finest charm stones that have ever
been found. These relics, so acci-
dcntally found, differ so much in char
acter and workmanship as 10 indicate
the existence Of i race entirely differ
ent and possessed of more artistic
skill and mechanical ability than any
known since.
The relics of the races after foreign
habitation are plentifuily found III
bones in the DEVILS canyon. in Placer
and in Calaveras Mammal fossils
are to be unearthcd in various locali-
ties, andthere havebeen brought to light
the fossils of nine mastodons. twenty
elephants, various pachydern in the
Table mountains, numerous evidences
of animal life in the 0slcareous forma-
tions in the Texas flats, spcar-heads,
fossils of the elephant horse and
camel about Hornitas. bones and
evidences of prehis' oric human indus
try in Tulare. and in Trinity and
Siskiyou many proofs of the contcm-
porancous existence of man and cx-
tinct mammals.
The elephants were larger in size
than the largest of tropical climes;
the llama was eight feet high, beside
which the animal of Central America
would be a baby; the tiger was larger
than tho largest royal Bengal. besides
which there were monster horses and
oxen. The remains of these are
plentifully found in Alameda County.
not far from Centerville.
In the San Jose valley arc deep
layers of coniferous trees in such a
carbonizcd state that they crumblc
into dust when exposed to the air:
They are of the pliocene period and
show that the entire topography of
of the region mas changed, and that
where the valleys and mountains are
destitute of timber. there were once
coniferous and deciduous trees. Afford
ing food and shelter to monster NAM
mails in comparison to which man was
but an insignificant mite.
In the layers of the miocene period
are found in California the remains of
amphibious animals not to be found
elsewhere, but nowhere now does
there exist on the northern con-
tinent species of the man.
malta which had life and existence
there. 1t is question able, declared the
writer of the paper, whether any relics
have been left of the race which cx-
listed after the volcanic cataclysm,
after which also the country assumed
its present appearance.
Taken all in all, the prehistoric Cal
ifornian was being who enjoyed a
careless, lazy life. accounting for the
fact that there have not been found
any castles or Notifications such as
are in the Miami valley. or sy,nbolical
mounds. The ''swe at-houscs'' and
shell-mocnds are the work of a later
race, the race generally cast up near
water courses. rivers. or bay shores.
They show no design of outline OF
purpose, and are the accumulations OF
camp debris. They were used for
habitation as we'll as burial purposes.
San francisco Chronicle.
Water in Cooking.