Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-03

hanging with lloratlng p1nlons over the waters
actually in company with the dragon reptiles,
which had no teeth At all. With its fierce equip
ment OF teeth the hesperornis must have been
lord OF the air indeed. since not even a ptero-
,iactyl with spread Of twenty-five feet could
have main tanned a conflict with it, 1t Il believed
that this giant bird. like the ichthyornis was
eventually rendered extinct by the mighty
swimming lizards. for which it doubtless at
toraed choice bait.
WHERE THEIR REMAINS ARE FOUND.
Deposits of the remains of all these wonder
full creatures exist today in inexhaustib!e mines
distributed throughout the west and in various
other parts of this country. On the feaks Of
the Rocky mountains can be traced for hum
dreds OF miles a narrow belt OF strata contain
ing bones of nearly all of the great reptiles
mentioned.
WHY DIRp SKELETONS ARE SCARCE
As for the birds OF that ancient epoch. their
fossils are very scarce, for two reasons. In the
first place such OF their bodies as fell into the
water usually foated on tho surface until they
were either gobbled BY swimming lizards or
became disintegrated through decay Sec
oudly. bird bones are light, fragile and easily
DESTROYED. Thus it was only under the most
exceptional conditions that one of these feath-
cred creatures could have been preserved. On
the other hand, the land animals were always
likely to get stuck in the mud.
WHEN THEY WERE DESTROYED.
At the end of three millions of years per-
haps-for no one can gaess with any accuracy
tho duration of these past epochs-something
happened. There a tremendous convul-
sion of nature; the earth's crust in contracting
was tremendously crumpled up. upheaving the
Rocky mountains the Andes the Alps, the Py-
renees, the Balkens. the Himalayas and other
great ranges. Simultaneously, for reasons at
present unknown. all the giant reptiles were
wiped out OF existence. Only some of the
turtles, crocodiies and lizards OF the modern
type survived. They we're all like those of to-
day, but were very much bigger. Such is the
story read in the records Of geology, which are
preserved in the straits Of the everlasting hills
1t has often been imagined by fanciful persons
that few Of the old-time monsters may yet
dwell in the depth Ut the oceans, but corrobo-
| ration Of such theory is lacking.
THE SEA SERPENT.
Suggestion has sometimes been made tina,
the so-called sea serpent, so popular at sum.
mer resorts on the Atlantic coast, might be q
| survivor of the mesozoic race Of swimming
lizards. One remarkable piece of evidence
has been obtained on behalf Of the possible
| survival referred 10, which seems very difficult
| to dispose OF. A few years ago = sea captain o
l man OF no education, arrived at San Francisco
! from the southern Pacific with q wonderful
1 story Of a giant lizard twenty-five feet ia
length, which he said hs had fallen in with,
While becslmed FOR some hours in a dozen
fathoms OF water, according to his account, he
had had an opportunity to observe the extraor-
binary creature at leisure, as it crawled laxily
about on the bottom. 1t had Q very long
4 neck, q shortish tail, paddles like q tur tie s.
and resembled in every detail an actual pies.
iosaur. The description was 20 accurate down
to the smallest point. even to the number OF
/ toes on each foot, that science to this day il
unable to account for il, save on the assumption
that the sailor did really behold surviving
plssiosaur.
THE TERTIARY EPOCH.
| With the mighty convulsion which wiped Out
the giant reptiles began what il called the tsr.
tiary epoch. Mammals which up to that time
had not cut q very conspicuous figure In crea
] ton, multiplied and grew big. The Rocky
mountain region, which had swarmed with x
astounding q saurian fauna, became the homt
Of many strange crestures Of an altogether diff
ferent class, entirely unlike th0se now living ID
any part Of the world. At that timea vast iak<
Of ffs6hsning vster. which bad been cut Of