The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-10-05

who is at all familiar with paleontologi-
cal evidence would expect such thing.
The changes were extremely slow and
gradual and when we go back ain. ost to
the dawn of mans existence we do not
expect to find, nor would it be in keeping
with the story Of other well known groups
of animals, to find the specialized or
highly developed coming before the
primitive types. The Wyoming find, as
1 have already said, will throw a great
deal of much needed light upon the early
development and connection of the print
tive group This regard as of as much
Importance in deciphering the ancestry
of the human species as the discovery of
those links which tend to connect man
with the monkeys
care these the eldest monkey remains
that have been found?
Sin speaking Of the age of a fossil it
must be borne in mind that the paleoto-
vast as almost to be beyond the conception
of the human mind. If were to tell you
that this monkey skull is one million or
million and half years old, would
be- simply guessing at it. Paleontologists
have no means of determining the age Of
fossils in the matter of years. But when
we take into consideration the rate at
which identical deposits are aocumulat-
ing at the present day at the bottom OF
the great fresh water lakes, and further
take into consideration the numerous
thickness of sediment that have been &C.
cumulated since that monkey was in ex-
istence, we must conclude that it was a
very long time ago
AGE OF THE REMAINS.
ST was few years ago particularly in.
terested in the question and made some
special studies with reference to it. In
the Big Horn Basin, in Northwestern
Wyoming, there existed in the early part
of the eocene period an extensive fresh
water lake. The basin was slowly and
gradually filled up by the wash from the
mountain sides until mass of sediment
ccumulated to the depth of 2. 500 feet.
Now the question arises, how long was
this single deposit in accumulatingf
"It has been accurately determined by
most careful survey that the Mississippi
River discharges annually into the Gulf
of Mexico mass Of material which, if
gathered up and formed into prism,
would have square mile for base, and
be 1868 feet in thickness. Now. if this
mass was spread out over the bottom OF
IL oaiv To-
less than half an inch thick. So you can
readily compute from this data the length
of time that it would require the Missis-
sippi in its present condition to have
made this formation.
"But you must remember. If you are
even going to approach the truth. that
the resources of the Mississippi and its
tributaries are more than one thousand
times greater than were the resources OF
the drainage system Of the ancient Big
Horn Lake. You will see therefore. that
while we are not able to arrive at a
definite conclusion in a period OF years,
of the length Of time that this material
was accommodating, yet every fact which
we can gather concerning it tells us of
the elapse of vast length of time.
''Sincelthat monkeys skull was deposit
ed in the bottom of Bitter Greek and lake
there have been accumulated deposits of
nearly double thickness of that I have
Just mentioned in the Big Horn, and,
1 think it fair to presume-and, in fact
the evidence is very conclusiye-that it is
of vast antiquity.
"The skeleton furnishes an important
link in the chain of the ancestor Of the
human family. When we speak Of the
links in the chain of ancestry we can not
stop with the anthropoid ape, but we
must bring it into direct association with
the lower forms of monkeys. We have a
chain that makes it extremely plausible
that we have no anatomical difference
in the way to make the chain complete.
DIR. Wortmann says that the resources
Of the North American Continent have
been exhausted, and that the scientist of
the future must make his pilgrimage to
South America for new and varied infor-
nation. Next year the Doctor will begin
a series of explorations that in time will
extend to the limit of Patagonia. He
will be in New York by the first Of the
week, New York Herald.