Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-07-04
BONES FOR UNCLE SAM
Most Wonderful Collection of Pre-
historic Animals,
AN INTERESTING EXHIBITION.
Gigantic Beasts Of the Past-Reptilss One
HUNDRED Feet In Length and Flying Dragons
neutrality-suspicious. Of Huge Fossils In
the West.

| kNoUR WEEKS FROM NOW WILL BE
started for Washington the most extraor-
| binary procession of animals ever seen on the
lace OF the earth, upon which the ghosts of
harnum ana ForepauSh might gaze with as
wide-eyed establishment as ever the spectacle
OF their own united shows excited in the inno-
cent minds Of rural adolescence. In this won.
derful parade will be gigantic reptiles as big
as good sized houses, some of them 100 feet in
length, flying dragons with twenty -fve-foot
spread OF wings, huge birds with teeth,
mammals two or three times as great in size as
elephants. sharks as large as the hugest whales,
other fishes clad in mighty plates of armor and
countless specimens more of equal strangeness
and enormous Dimensions, such as actually in
habited the world before man arrived In it.
For nine years past the government has been
digging up and putting together the skeletons
oi THESE strange creatures and now the vast
collection. at present stored in New Haven,
Conn, is being got ready for shipment by rail
to the National Museum. The whole of it
would occupy fully one-half OF that in stitution
building here, and so only portion is to be
Immediately forwarded, the rest TO follow as
soon as quarters have been established by Con-
gress Tor its accommodation.
DIGGING FOR THE FOSSILS
The business of digging for these tremen-
dous fossils is carried on pretty much like any
other mining. In various parts OF the west
there are great deposits of them. into which
the scientific enthusiasts eagerly delve for
relics OF epOchs thousands of centuries old
One OF their chosen hunting grounds is the re-
gion between the Rockies and the Wasatch
mountains. Ages ago the upheaval Of these
mis- ny geologic action cut off the portion of
waat had been sea between these ranges from
the ocean and the water thus shut away formed
many big lakes. typical one of this sort ex-
isted IN wyoming, and around it the mighty
antediiuvlan mammals gathered in herds to
crop the succulent and luxuriant vegetation of
what was then tropical climate in that re-
gion. They died natural deaths or became
mlred In the mud when they went to drink
and the sediment slowly deposited in the
water covered up their bones and pre- eryed
them from decay. This sediment reached
mile in thickness, holding between its LAYERS
these ancient skeletons distributed like cur
rants through cake. At length the water
draining off left the land dry. and, in the case
OF the wyoming lake referred to- subsequent
Hoods washed away much of the sediment pre-
viously deposited, leaving what are now called
Dad lands picturesque with cliffs, peaks
ana columns carved ont In fantastic shapes
and OF variegated coloring
HUNTING FOR THE BONES
Through such a region as this the scientific
explorer travels, with his eyes as wide open for
fossils a. the gold hunter kesps his for the shining
metal Ii from the face of some rocky cliff he
chances 70 see bone project exposed by the
action OF water that mas cnt away the hillside
ne sets party OF men 10 quarrying with drill
blast and pickax until whatever is there in tho
way OF remains has been taken out Possibly
some great deposit of prehistoric monsters
may be struck In this way. in which case the
hhd 10 Kept as secret AS possible. being re-
garded by the discoverer as his private mine
II ne gave 1t away rival pal@ontologists would
rush To the spo. and dig ont all the animals fo-
their own study and glory. Prof. o. C. Marsh.
who directed the gathering Of the government
collection referred to. has such mines of his
own all over the west. from which he can draw
to order ;he most astonishing variety of pioan
tic creatures. He made the remark the other
day that there was one small valley he knew of
where relies OF the ancient mosasaurus were SO
plentiful that passing through 1t recently, he
noticed the skeletons Of six of those mighty
swimming lizards. each 80 feet in length, in
sight at one time.
INBEpDxD IN THE Rocx.
Usually these amazing fossils are found i'm
ped"ed In solid rock. After they have been
roughly qnarried out the sandstone or other
matrlx inc.osing them is carefully chiseled
away from the bones. The latter are given
coat of glue to keep out the decomposinc air
and any that are broken or splintered arc
bound up with Irvine. after which they are
packed for shipment; When one of these
beasts OF an.iq ait; t,fed. its carcass being COW
cred up with sediment that afterward became
stone, the skeleton was apt to be preserved en-
tire and with its parts in position. all ready for
mounting in museum. There was Il new ! ep-
tile found in Wyoming the other day in ,nch a
complete state. which has been named the
brontosaurns 1t was 60 feet long. stood Is
leet nigh when alive and Wei yhed tive Nv tons
Cast in the rock from which il was taken was
perfect mold of one Of its eyeballs VITA which it
looked upon the world 5000, 0G0 years ago
II had very small head long and flexible
neck, short body and huge tail. In the
same neignborhOod has also been discovered
recently another reptilian monster called the
"triceratops, which had an enormous bOny frill
around the back OF It's neck. This surprising
development, measuring feet across, was in.
tended for the attachment OF great muscles that
We're necessary for holding up the huge head
The animal, though tremendously massive. was
only 30 feet long; but IL was covered with plates
OF armor and had sharp and horny beak, not
to mention n horn on its nose and another ON
Its forehead, the latter two and q half feet in
length.
In Colorado have been found great denosits
OF the bones OF 'titanosaurs, the biggest land
animal that ever existed Tney grew 10 be 65
feet long and stood 40 feet high when erect
upon their hind legs. Instead OF browsing as
did the brontosaur and triceratops. upon the
luxuriant aquatic vegetation around the lake
borders, they fed upon the foliage of trees on
the mountain sides. Likewise did the .iguauo-
don. several times heavy as an elephant
which had nipping beak like turtles and
also walked erect, using ito huge tail for a sup
port and towering to the height of 40 or 30
feet.
TIE AEsOZoIC EPOCH.
In the mesozoic epoch, or ..age of reptiles"
when the creatures described lived, these and
other similar herbivorous animals we're the
biggest OF the beasts. One of them. the sat-
iantosaur," was 100 feet long. its thigh bones
many OF which have been found. measuring
eight feet in length and twenty-five inches
through. They had various methods of pur-
suing existence. Some went on all fours and,
mad backbones that were mere shells filed with
warm air from their lungs. which served them
as floats while they walked in the sea shadows
In water deep enough to cover their backs ex-
tending their long necks to crop the vegetation
along shore. OF this sort was the camersssurus.
eighty feet in length. Others had enormously
long hind legs, on which they were able to
wade out far into the ocean aztec seawseds, and
were provided with no fewer than a,OOO teeth
Tor grinding their food. Such was the mighty
kangaroo-like ''hadrosaurus." Yet other species
dwelt on land, like the triceratops and these
were usually provided with armor and horns
for defense against their ensmies
wERH PREY 70 OTHER REPrrLIs
It would seem Is II such monsters 40 are
above described need have feared no living
foes. but in fact they were common prey to
great numbers Of frightful carnivorous rep