Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-05-24
GIGANTIC FOSSILS.
The Oldest Relics on the Continent Found
In California Tigers Much Bigger
than the How'll Len.ll.

]
At the monthly meeting Of the Cali
/ fornia Historical society the subject
under discussion was q paper on Pre-
historic California; written by DR..
Lorenzo G. Yates
The paper laid down three propo-
sitions namely, that climatic eN-
| Temites are not favorable TO human
progress; that geology furnishes pages
Of facts long antedatingwritten history
and tribal traditions, and that i'm Cali
! fornia have been and are found the
! oldest known relics on the continent
In this state are found the relics of two
different and widely-soparated periods
| Of occupation before the arrival OF
| Europeans.
The first authenticated record Of the
original occupants was found on the
| table mountain region in IuOlumO
county. and of an age prior to the
| great volcanic outbmst. Fossil re-
mains of the rhinoceros and of an eX-
! tinct horse are found under the lava
LAYERS forming the Table mountains,
which are l, 400 feet thick, LOO feet
wide, and many hundreds Of feet high,
where the river beds have been washed
| ont and have been covered again tothe
! depth of from 5000 TO 1000 feet more
since the flow of the lava. This lava
rests on a bed Of deuitus, which is
often entered in running tunnels. The
human relies and stone implements
| found in these formations give evidence
of human inhabitants differing from
/ any known since. There have been
found spcar-heads, a pipe Of polished
stone, two scoops of rock resembling
! the grocels' scoop; an implement Of
aragonitc resembling an unbent bow,
| but the use Of which is unknown and
| can not be conjecturcd; stone needle,
with uotches at the larger end, and the
! finest charm stones that have ever been
| found. These relies. SO accidentally
| found, differ 50 much i'm character and
Workmanship as to Indicate the exist
cnce of race entirely different and
possessed of more artistic skill sand
mechanical ability than any known
since.
The relics of the races after foreign
habitatiou are pIcutifullY found in
bones i'm the Devils cannon, in Placer,
and i'm Calavcras. Mammal fossils are
to be uuearthed i'm various localities,
and there have been brought to light
| the fossils of nine mastodous, twenty
elephants, various pachyderms in the
| Table mountains, numerous evidences
| of animal life i'm the calcareous forma-
tons in the Texas fats, spear heads,
| fossils of the elephant, horse and camel
about Ilolntas bones and evidences
of prehistoric human industry in
Tulme. and In lrinity and Sj9kiyou
many proofs Of the contemp0raneous
existence of man and extinct mans
mails.
The elephants were larger In size
/ than the largest of tropical chimes; the
| llama was eighteen feet high, beside
which the animal of Central America
would be q baby; the tiger was larger
than the largest royal Bengal, besides
which there were monster horses and
oxen. The remains of these are plcnt-
fully found in Alameda county, not far
| from Centervillc.
In the San Jose valley are deep lay
ers of cOuifcrous trees in such n car
| bombed state that they Crumble into
| dust when exposed to the air They
are of the pliocene period, and show
( that the entire topography Of the rcgion
valleys and mountains are destitute of
! timber there were once conliorOuS and
deciduous trees, aiording food and
| shelter to monster mammals. i'm COM
paIison to which man was but an in
significant mite
In tine layers Of the miocene period