Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1893-06-15

reason Tor supposing that the dwell
. lers in the caverns ever saw either
: Of those beasts. As for the finding
of human bones mixed mp with
skeletons of the cave-bear and sa-
bre-toothed tiger, the evidence does
not endure sitting. Doubtless those
formidable animals the former
much bigger and more powerful
than grizzly, and the latter twice
as big and strong as the tiger of
Bengal-made use of caves as dens
when they lived. and left their bones
behind them. Primitive man would
have found it difficult to contend
with such terrific creatures. That
he did inhabit the same refugees for
centuries long afterward, chasing
the reindeer, manufacturing tools,
roasting water-rats and eating hu-
man flesh when he could procure
the luxury, there is every reason to
believe.
I The law of supply and demand
has established the business of in
Producing bogus antiquities on a
profitable basis. Scientists, offer
ing money for them, have been con-
stantly duped by the fakes of this
description. The workmen en-
ployed by them have commonly
been only too eager to engage in
systematic imposition on their cred
ulity. Some years ago, in Calave-
ras county, Cal, tunnel was run
under a mountain for the purpose of
getting at stratus of gold-bearing
gravel, which, once upon a time,
had been the bed of river. Sub.
sequently, hundreds of vertical feet
of material had been deposited by
water on top of this layer, and f.
nally lava flow from a volcano had
spread thick crust over the whole.
In the course of centuries streams
cut out valleys and left high hill
standing between. Into the bottom
of this hill the tunnel was dug.
Prof. Whitney chanced to be in
that locality at the time. To him
one day the workmen brought
human skull. which they said had
been got by digging from the very
heart of the mountain, where it was
found buried in the auriferous gra-
vel. Together with it were dis
covered certain implements, includ-
ing a stone mortar and pestle. This
was destined to become famous all
over the world as the "Calaveras
skull" Most satisfactory affidavits
were obtained from the laborers as
to the circumstances under which
it had been discovered. If what
they said was true the man to whom
the skull belonged mast have lived
hundreds of thousands Of years ago.
At the same time, the Uranium was
sufficiently large and well-shaped to
have contained the brain of a phil
ospher. At present the opinion
best accepted in regard to it is that
it was a cold-blooded fraud. There
is skull in the Smithsonian Insti-
tuition which is actually made of
iron. 1t was dug out of a hill of
iron-ore, the metal in solution hav-
ing taken the place of the original
particles of bone, SO as to preserve
the shape in a wonderful manner.
One might imagine it to be extrem-
ly ancient, but such a transforma-
tion could be accomplished in few
years.
What sort Of an animal was the
immediate ancestor of the speaking
and fireusing creature called man?
That is the question asked by
science. There is q beast on earth
at present that is very like man.
1t is the chimpanzee, which may
be called the man-like ape par ex-
cellence. So closely is it related to
man that there is almost no gap be-
tween man and the chimpanzee,
anatomically or intellectually. Prof.
Huxley has found that there is
much less difference between the
skull of the ape and lowest type of
human skull than there is between
the lowest and highest human
skulls. The same is true of the
brains. Likewise, there is less diff
ference in intellectual capacity be-
tween the chimpanzee and the low
est savage than between the latter
and the highest human type. 1t is
often asserted that the ape differs
from man in tho fact that it il not
susceptible of improvement by ed
ucation. That is not true. The