Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1892-06-14
4 3O-Foot Monster.

Tuesday morning last the Examiner
published statement made by George
Nav. of Needles, in relation to large
reptile that had been seen in the vicin-
ity of Daggett. According to Mr. Nay,
+. W. Spear had discovered peculiar
trail. and, following it, came upon q
gigantic creature, unlike anything he
had ever had the pleasure of meeting.
He described it as thirty feet long and
thoroughly unprepossessing. Spear
withdrew without formality and told
his story only to be laughed at. Later,
Harry Brown saw the monster, and Mr..
Brown scratched the desert sands quite
hastily in retreat. AT the time Mr..
Nay left Daggett party was being or
qanized to hunt this strange denizen of
the valley. Now appears Oscar W,
Clark, scientist, with Il weird tale and
word painting of the animal.
The announcement of the expert
cnces of Messrs. Spear and Brown rath-
er anticipated me" said Mr.. Clark yes
tcrday. II had Il fine opportunity of
seeing this strange denizen of that mys
terious land known as Death Valley
Desert, and | desire to say that this
animal is the most wonderful living
proof of the exact authenticity of the
researches made by savants into the
field of archaeological study.
This animal is really the only living
link between prehistoric times and the
present 1t is virtually marvel of the
ages the eighth wonder of the world, a
marvellous illustration of the profound
economy of nature 1t was six weeks
ago that | had the pleasure of seeing
this remarkable animal. Twas some 80
miles distant from Daggett, and stopped
at o'clock in the evening to rest, hav-
ing made some valuable additions to
my collection of fossil remains.
Happening to glance to the south
wcst through the haze peculiar to the
desert | saw a strange body moving
along about one mile away. Iwent to-
ward it and was soon both elated and
Mortified by seeing an animal fully 30
feet long that differed from any of the
known forms of the present epoch. 1t
was an immense monster, walking part
of the time on its hind feet and at times
dragging itself through the sand and
leaving tracks Of a three-toed foot and
Il peculiar scratchy configuration in the
sand whenever it changed its form of
locomotion and dragged itself.
The forelimbs of the animal were
extremely short and it occasionally
grasped the nearest shrub and deyoured
it. The thumb of the three-pronged
fore foot was evidently Il strong conical
spine that would be dangerous wea-
pom of attack. Whenever the animal
stood upright it was fully IA feet high.
THE head was as large as good
sized cask, and was shaped somewh at
like horse, while the body was rs
large as that of an elephant, with tail
extending from the hind quarters some
dihing like that Of an alligator.
-When saw it the strange animal
was on the edge of great sink-hole, of
alkaline water-a sin]-hole, by the
way, that my guides told me was a bot
tomless pit, and evidently q remnant OF
the days when Death Valley was in in
land sea. approached within 300
wards of the monster, crawling cautious
" over the sand, and watched it for full
ly half an hour. Suddenly the beast
began to below, and the sound was OF
most terrifying and blood-curdling
character. Its immense eyes, fully as
large as saucers, projected from the
head and cleaned with a wild and
furious fire, while from the enormous
mouth of the monster streams ofsteam-
like vapor were exhaled, and as they
drifted toward me the cffiuvia was
something awful.
''1'he animal was liver color, with
bronze-lille spots. The monster dragged
itself to the edge of the sink-hole and
lashed its tail, and finally fell off into u
quiescent condition. | left the scene
and attempted to secure the assistance
ofmy guides in an effort to capture the
monster, but they were absolutely ter
rified and refused to do anything.
From what | saw of the animal /
am perfectly satisfied that it is one OF
the species of the Iguanodon Dennis
santensis, of the European Jurassic, an
animal presenting many points OF struc-
ture in common with the iguana of to-
day. In fact, that is the report that l
have sent in, and knowing full well the
geological environments of the Pacific
slope and the very remarkable and pc
culiar conditions regarding the Death
Valley section, l am satisfied that my
deductions are correct and that there is
to-day living in the desert of Death
Valley one of the most remarkable an
imals now on the face of the globe
none other than one of the monsters OF
the prehistoric epoch, a wonder of the
centuries. n-Sm Francisco Examiner.