The herald., 1895-02-05
A BIG WHALE ON LAND
5TRANGE DISCOVERIES MADE IN
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

Street In Los Argelcs-The Old Pros
pector's Discoyery-History Written In
the Hills and tho Rocks.
Once while watching the excavation
IF street through one of tho steep hills
Mat constitute a feature of the city OF
Los Angeles l saw something project
ing from the soil, which, when uncov-
cred by the workncn, proved to be the
skeleton of whale that had bsen lying
there for untold ages. Its huge length
stretched across the street, its tail lost
beneath the fashionable houSes of the
vicinity.
There was something irresistibly fas-
chatting in this ides--walking up
street and running FOUL, as the saii-
ors put it, of whale, and whenever
passed that way | almost expected to
hear some one shout, There she blows!"
and could sec in my minds eye the
giant rising from tho deep water that
once flowed over the now populous City
of tho Angels and the surrounding hills.
Having had this slight experience
with whales on dry land, was not sur
priscd when friend related similar
experience to me and the astonishment
it's discovery produced. He was an old
resident and in former years had been
prospector, and at times the old fever
for discovery came upon him, upon
which he would wander Off on the edge
of the desert or ND among the noun
tains of southern California in search
OF color
On one of these expeditions he fol-
lowed up a dry wash, which in winter
was a roaring torrent, and which for
ages had sent down tho rock and gravel
of the adjacent mountains to the val
ley below, finally turning into branch
canyon, which gradually grew narrower
and narrower until he found himself at
the top of the range near the divide
overlooking a deep anphitheater. On
the north side the mountain had been
cut down vertically, and from where he
stood it looked az though q gigantic
knife had cleft the mountain side, leav.
ing the edge bare and tie red earth
allied with great powders ready to roll
down after each winter rain.
This ledge and tho deposit at its base
attracted the attention of the prospect
Or, and coming to tho latter he found
among the heaps of stones u hugo bone
which might have passed FOR the limb
Of tree imbedded in the soil. Follow
ing up the slope, he raised his eyes to
the cliff and saw protruding from it
other bones. Gradually, to his amaze
ment, they took shape, and he saw the
skeleton of q gigantic whale stretched
along the sido Of the mountain, stand
ing out in strong relief against the red
earth. Some of the bones had fallen
down, but the greater number stood in
the natural position, as the monster had
died, and the whale that had once swum
over this spot and exposed its enormous
length to the hot sun now lay stretched
along the ancient sea bottom. 1t had
boen lifted by some mighty cataclysm
1850 feet into the air, the roots of the
great trees clasping its bones, the win
ter rains undermining it, while the sea
that was once its home had reccded and
lay blue in the summer haze 90 miles
away.
Tho old prospector could hardly real
Ize for moment that the skeleton Of
the monster was before him. Then, tax
ing his pick and attacking it, he became
a whaler literally among the pines Of
the southern Sierras.
l have since seen portions Of an
other whale In branch of the coast
range near San Juan Capistrano, and
not far distant, in quioksand. was
discovered the remains of a large ele-
plant allied to the mammoth, while ten
miles from San Juan visited q bed Of
large shells that covered acres of coun-
try, so closely packed together that they
we're shoveled out in solid masses and
ground up into lime.
Along tho southern Sierras, especial
ly in the coast range, it is possible to go
whaling, fishing and shell hunting from
1000 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 CONFUSION Of nature
did not occur SO very long ago is evil
dent from the good preservation OF the
bones, and on the seashore shells are
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 tho 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 its sum-
NIT are found great deposits of shells
2,O00 feet above the sea- With them
are found tie 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 tho details Of its history
in stone, and one familiar with those
evidences may turn the leaves and read
them as a book. Among the hills that
contained the bones of these leviathans
l found deposits of fine clay, the bed Of
an ancient lake in which were the re-.
mains of myriads of fishes that had been
left by the water and buried in the bot
10, 80 ,o in, Of 20 ko1v