The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-12-10
whale ON LAND.
eTRANoG DISCOVERIES MADE IN
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

pec&oFs Dirco<ett-h his'ofs "bee1h An
1hs uiIls and tho Rocks.
Once while watching the excavation
|of street through one of tho steep hills
that constitute feature of the oity of
Los Angeles I saw something project
ing from the soil which, when unoov-
cred by the workmen. proved TO DO the
skeieton Of whale that had been lying
there for untold agos. Its huge length
stretched ACROSS the street, its tail lost
beneath the fashionable houses Of the
vicinity.
There was something irresistibly fas-
cinating In this idea-walking up a
street and running foul" as the sail
ors put it, of whale, and whenever /
passed that way almost expected 10
hear some ono shout, 'Thore she blowsp
and could see in my minds eye the
giant rising from the deep water that
unce flowed over the now populous City
cf the Angels and the surrounding hills
Having had this shght experience
with whales On dry hand, was not sur
prised when a friend related similar
experience TO me and the astonishment
its discovery produced. He was an old
resident and in former years had been a
prospector, and at times the old fever
for discovery came upon him, upon
which he would wander OFF ON the edge
of tho desert or up among the noun.
'tains of southern California in search
of color.
On one of these expeditions no fol.
lowed up dry wash, which in winter
was q roaring torrent. and which for
ages had sent down the rock and gravel
of the adjacent mountains 10 the val.
ley below, finally turning into a branch
canyon, which gradually grew narrower
and narrower until he found himself at
the top of the range near the divide
overlooking deep amphitheater. On
the north side the mountain had been
cut down vertically, and from whore he
stood it looked as though gigantic
knife had cleft the mountain side, leav-
ing the edge bare and the red earth
filed with great bowlders ready TO roll
down after each winter rain.
This ledge and the deposit ut its base
attracted the attention Of the prospect
or. and coming to the latter he found
among the heaps Of stones a huge bone,
which might have passed for the limb
of O tree imbedded in the soil Follow
ing up the slope, he raised his eyes to
the cliff and saw protruding from il
other bones. Gradually. TO his amaze.
ment they took shape. and he saw the
skeleton OF q gigantic whale stretched
along the side Of the mountain, stand
ting ont in strong relief against the red
karth. Some Of the bones had fallen
down, but tho greater number stood in
The naturA position, as the monster had
died, and the whale that had once swum
over this spot and exposed its enormous
length to tho hot sun now lay stretched
along the ancient sea bottom. It had
been lifted by some mighty cataclysm
2, 500 feet into tho air. the roots Of the
great trees clasping its bones, the win
Der rains undermining ii. whilo the sea
hhat was once its homo had reoeded and
lay blue in tine summer haze 90 miles
away.
The old prospector couldlhardly real
ne for moment that the skeleton Of
the monster was before him. Then, TAX
ing his pick and attaoking it, he became
. whaler literally among tho pines Of
the southern Sierras
/ have since seen portions Of an
other whale in branch Of tho coast
Sange near San Juan Capistrano, and
not far distant, In quioksand. was
discovered the remains of a large ele-
phant allied to the mammoth, while ten
miles from San Juan visited bed Of
large shells that covered acres of coun-
try, SO closely packed together that they
were shoveled out in solid masses and
ground up into lime.
Along The southern Sierras, especial
~ in the coast range. it is possible 10 60
whaling, fishing and she'll hunting from
900 to 5000 feet above the present
level Of the ocean and with positive
assurance of finding the remains Of
some of these stranded animals. That
this extraordinary oonvulsion Of nature
did net cesar so vary long ago Is eYi.
dent from the good preservation of the
bones, and on the seashore shells arc
found 40 feet above high water mark
almost identical with those living be-
low them.
Several thousand years ago came the
birth Of the coast range of mountains.
They were forced upward, and with
them the entire coast was elevated.
Previous to this the ocean undoubtedly
plowed over the orange groves of south
ern California, and the great deserts
may have been arms Of the sea from
which projected isolated peaks.
The island Of Catalina probably ap-
peared at this time, and upon it's sum
NIT are found great deposits of shells
1000 feet above the sea- With them
are found the teeth Of gigantic sharks
that must have been nearly 100 feet in
length. capable Of attacking the largest
whales.
The entire country of northern Cali
fornia presents the details Of its history
an stone, and one familiar with those
evidences may turn tho leaves and read