The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-12-04
MONSTER CATS.
Carnivorous Fclines Which Used to Roam
Over This Country.

There used to be cats in North Amerl-
ca 100000 years ago, said a Washington
paleonologist, recently. Great carnivor-
GUS feline creatures Of the tribe roamed
over this country then in enormous num-
bers. They are all extinct and have lett
only their bones behind to tell the story
Of how they lived and what they fed
upon. one often reads of the art by
which the naturalist Is able TO restore the
skeleton of an animal from single bone
and, in fact, good many mistakes nave
been made through over-conildehce on the
part Of learned gentlemen in reconstruct
ing fossils by theory from insufficient ma
terial. But there is no possibility Of mis-
taking the testimony afforded by the
teeth They tell all about the manner
Of existence led by their former owner,
giving accurately the habits, diet ana
approximate age of the beast.
thus il is very fortunate that teeth last
longer than any other objects in nature
At this day are found in a perfect state
of preservation the molars and incisors
which were used to chew with by the
mighty reptiles Of millions Of years ago
1t is from his dentition that science de-
clares man to be carnivorCus only by
habit, and not by nature. l spoke or that
the other day to young man In search
is a hen" When / asked him what he
meant by that he said that the dentition
of a hen would certainly not indicate
that it was carnivorous by nature, ana
vet it evidently was 50, judging from us
addiction to worms and preference lot
flesh in general. However, as l was gong
TO remark, the piercing and cutting teeth
Of these cats Of long ago are the most
perfectly adapted instruments for cutting
nn1nW
eoualed by any manufactured tools ior
such uses.
For example there was the gomphodus,
which was as big as the larg st panther,
and had two teeth in its upper Jaw re-
sembling dagers, each five inches IN
length. As weapons for penetrating fesh
they are unrivalled among carniVorous
animals. recent or extinct. They are
rather like the teeth Of some huge hesh.
eating dinosaurs, the terrible reptiles OF
the mesozoic epoch, which had cutting
teeth that nothing could resist.
Doubtless this creature was inconcelN-
ablv bloodthirsty. Quite as fierce, how
ever. and even more formidable by rea-
son Of its greater size, was the contem-
porary pOgOnodon, which was as large as
The biggest jaguar. There were TWO
species of this animal which held the lield
I'm Oregon during the period / speak or
against all rivals. 1t was undoubtedly
treat destroyer of life among the her
LiVOrous beasts.
Our knowledge Of one OF these species
is due to q very fortunate chance. some
years ago an exploring party was sent 10
the John Day river, in oregon, Tor the
nurpose OF looking for fossils. That Is a
famous region for such treasures water
having cut big slices out Of the nils
nj
being deposited during myriads of years.
If happened that the attention Of one
member of the expedition was attracted
bv something that looked like skull hair
projecting from the pinnacle of a crag.
Ii was, in fact, skull, and the shining
of the great teeth was what caught his
eve. lie climbed up the cliff and fetched
it down with much difficulty and danger
to life and limb. 1t was the Uranium OF
once formidable pogonodon.
During this same epoch there were hu-
merous other species of cats, ali or thenl
since extinct, which varied in size all
the way from that Of a household pussy
of to-day to the huge sabre-tootied tiger.
Not a few of them were astonishingiy
fierce and correspondingly destructive.
The teeth they have left behind tell the
story Of the way they lived describing as
well as words could do it their extreme
ferocity They attained the climax OF
their type in the sabre-toothed tigress,
bigger than either the lion or the tiger or
to-day, which had CANNES Il foot III
length and shaped like curved knives with
saw-like edges. They roamed the CONT
nent in the time of the gigantic sloths.
ouch as the mCgatheria, and doubtless did
much to eXteiminate the latter helpless
and notwithstanding beasts They were
plentiful in Texas, where the remains OF
good many have been dug up
1t Is interes ting 10 consider the fact
that these sabre-toothed tigers-like the
cave bears, which were twice as heavy as
grizzlies and probably quite as ferocious-
were contemporary with human beings
on the earth, and the latter were obliged
10 fcht them Their bones are found in
considerable numbers in the caves of
Southern France. which were the resi-
dences Of primeval men and women In the
onclent stone age, 10000 years and more
ago.