Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-07-23
PROF. WRIGHT.
AN EMINENT AUTHORITY DISCUSSES THE
GREAT BONE DISCOVERY.
His Opinion Of the Glacial Flows-ln All Probability
Either the Bone Of a MaStOd0n or Mammoth
An Interesting Study Of the Geology
Of the Ohio Valley.

The prehistoric bone which IS exhibited
in the windows of the REGISTER office stiIl
continues TO excite wonder and surprise.
Although but little additional light has
been thrown on its identity, II has Afforded
to thousands a very novel and pleasant
field for study The theory that the REG
lsTER maintained az the beginning that the
bone belonged 10 4 race OF much larger au-
imals that has long since become extinct,
as well rs the idea OF the glacial now, mas
been shared by no less an authority imam
President G.. Frederick Wright, OF ODerlln
College. Ohio Mr.. Wright besides oelng
Professor of the New Testament Language
and Literature, is also Assistant on the Unl-
ted States Geological Survey and author OF
a very elaborate and graphically illustrated
work on THE Ice Age in North America
In fact. Prof. Wright may Justly claim to
be a counoisseur in all that pertains to the
geological science After the publication
Of the find in the REGISTER, marked copy
Of the paper was forwarded TO Prof.
Wright, who in turn. kindly responded IL
the following interesting letter:
OBERIIN, ONO, July p, lssO.
To he E,itor ofhe R,gisfer:
DEAR SIR am much interested in the
account contained in your paper of the 10Th
inst. concerning the large bone found by
the workmen in the blue clay near Wheel
ing. : feet below the bed of the river.
Whether it is the bone of the mastodon or
mammoth, / would not attempt to say. But
il is the position in which il is found which
is of special interest.
Before the glacial period the Ohio
River through all its course, occupied bed
considerably lower than at the present time.
I'm the vicinity of Cincinnati the rock bot
tom is more than hundred feet below the
present bottom of the river At wheel
ing. / learn from the engineers OF the
Union Bridge CO., rock is reached III the
middle of the river b feet below the bot
tom This extensive amount OF tlllng up
OF the old channel was connected with the
Glacial period and brought about partly,
perhaps, by a general subsistence OF the
land towards the north which reduced the
rate of descent Of the river, or more prob
ably. by the excessive amount OF gravel
and coarse sediment brought down from
the terminal mOraine by the floods which
accompanied the final melting away OF the
ice. the southern border of which ran
through Lawrence county, Pa, and Col
umbiana and Stark counties, Ohio, about
sixty miles north Of Wheeling The high
terraces lining the river all the way
down from Beaver. Pa, and appearing
with special prominence in the upper part
of Martins Ferry, are the results OF
those glacial floods You will notice that
much Of the gravel and the majority of
pebbles in the terraces at Martins Ferry
are Of granite origin, and so must have
been brought into the drainage basin OF the
Ohio by the glacier from Canada. When
once within the drainage basin they could, |
by water action alone, be carr ed down the
streams. and the tendency Il first would be |
q. lt hgf- nf those No
will notice that from Beaver down to |
Wheeling there is gradual dininution Of
the height Of the terrace, and aSO of the |
size of the pebbles constituting il. This is /
rs IL should be. If the filling up has bccl due /
10 the ordinary action of the floods, rather /.
than TO any subsistence of the land 10 the |
north for. whenever an excessive amOuut |
of solid material offers itself 10 u running
stream for transportation, It at first clogs
the bottom. and so raises il TO higher /
level That is what took place 1T the closo
of the glacial period. The river IS now
gradually lowering its bed. but has not had
time 10 fully remove the oOStructlng ma
terial Many more thousands OF years will
be required to accomplish that task
As YOU say ia your comments upon the
gigantic bone referred 10, the mammoth,
and the mastodon, together with a marvel
Gus assemblage of other animals, became
extinct in America in connection with the
glacial period. though the mammoth lin
gered somewhat after IL. as is shown by the
frequent occurrence in the pcat-Dogs which
characterize the present surface OF the
glaciated area. But the individual whose
bones YOU report from the excavation Of
the Wheeling Bridge Company must have
died about the time the glacial period wa
at It's full height. and when the channel 81
the Ohio AT Wheeling was only partially
filled up with glacial debris. Overwhelmed
by the floods that then. from the melting
ice above. periodically filled the va Hey OF
the Ohio TO a great height, he lost his life |
at a time when the whole northern portion /
of ONO above New Lisbon and Canton pre- /
scented substantially the same conditions as |
are now found in Greenland. Apparently |
the mammoth followed up the retreating |
ice far 10 the north, since great quantities /
of his bones arc found in Central Alaska.
An interesting thing in connection with |
these discoveries of the bones of the mann |
moth and other animals in the glacial ter |
races of our rivers is that occasionally hu- I
man implements of rude character are |
found in the same gravel deposits. 1t is /
only a few weeks ago that ! visited New |
on the Tuscarawas river, |
where a very fine specimen Of the same /
class Of rough stone implements which oc- .
cur i'm the glacial gravelS Of northern /
France had been discovered ia the glacial /
gravels short time before by Mr. w. Q. /
Mills, of that place. | still hope that such .
implements will be found in the glacial ter /
races Of the Ohio river, and | trust that /
wherever the railroads or other parties are /
making excavations in he gravel in your F.
vicinity that local observers will be on the |
look ont for such implements, as they may /
occur In the undisturbed strata If any |
such discoveries are made, it would be i'm /
portant to have the facts carefully noted, /
and il possible photograph of the gravel /
beds taken at once.
q. FREDERICK WRIGHT
-fThc glacial period ended some ten or cl"tcn /
thousand years ago. ~ 40 the extent 90 the ]
glacinl epoch. Pr4i Wright. ia hl> hook on he /
leo Au,, North America. SAYS. IL think % ]