The herald., 1895-08-18
The Story of the Worlds
Formation as Told
by the Rocks
FROM FLUIDS TO SOLIDS
From the Period Of Fire to One OF Ice.
The Strange Creatures That
Formerly Lived Upon
This Earth
BY Pred r. r1iner

In the rocks and soils OF our planet Is
recorded the history OF ages past. 1t
might we'll be called the diary of nature,
and from 1t we learn the manner Of con-
struction of this world and Of the forms
OF life that existed upon it at various Pc
riods. We're it not for geology we would
have no evidence to show that life had
ever been different from that of the pres
ent time, nor that the blazing world has
changed its character. that the continent
Of North America at one time wns GOV.
cred with ice over one mile in thickness.
Geology reveals to us the former presence
Of curious creatures the like OF which no
human being ever looked upon, and OF
immense forests where now are grassy
plains. 1t has shown us that life has
been progressive from the azoic period
until the present time, rising from the
lowest zoophyte to the highest order Of
man.
The order OF progression as it is found
in the rocks is: Radiates articulates,
mollusks. fishes, reptiles. birds, mammals
(fellowman) and man. The ages of man
have been divided. In Europe, iuto three
PERIODS, the stone, the bronze. and the
iron, showing the progress OF civilization.
On the banks of the Nile borings were
made to great depth and quantities of
works of art were found showing a high
state of civilization anong the makers of
them and by the layers OF silt passed
through it was clearly proved that they
had lain there over 10000 years: yet this
was but short period compared with the
time that man had been upon earth.
Fossils have shown that living beings
have inhabited the globe for millions OF
years. beginning in very simple forms in
the ocean.
Thrown off from the central mass Of
tho universe, together with millions OF
other bodies. the earth from its burning
gaseous state, became cooler and con-
densed into state of fuidity. Becoming
still colder 1t contracted. sending up
great masses of land above the ocean.
Taking up the subject by continents, the
first land to appear in North America was
that OF the Pacific coast, and on the east
Greenland, Canada, Labrador and q mar
row strip Of land extending as far south
as Virginia. These bodies of land made
two long islands separated by several
thousand miles of sea Norway, Sweden,
anu iOIIuluk Ouc ldTk6
island, with numerous small islands scat
tered over the various countries now &C.
cupying the continent. was the beginning
of Europe. And it began with one great
island which included the present north
ern and western coasts. Three large isl
ands first appeared in South Am erica
the first formed tho western coast from
Cape Horn to the Isthmus of Panama;
the second formed the territory now
known as Brazil, and the third extended
across the northern coast of the conti-
nent. In Africa an immense island first
appeared. which included all the south
ern half of the continent. and formed the
western coast of the Red esea. Only a
small portion of Australia, in the shape
of a crescent, appeared in the first up
heaval, and at the same time the islands
Of Tasmania, Borneo, New Zealand and
New Guinea rose above the ocean. All of
the lands OF these continents and islands
were composed of silurian rock. proving
them to have been the first to make their
appearance. 1t is noticeable that the in
clines of the land in the northern part of
most of tho continents is toward point
in the south. This would seem to indl-
cate that at some time there had been a
great flow of water from south to north,
which had worn away the land on the
east and west coasts, leaving the conti-
nents as they appear today.
The Arctic ocean seems to have been
surrounded by land at this time. over
flowed from some unknown cause. ana
its waters broke through the strips of
land that confined them at Spitzbergen.
Baffin's bay and Bering strait. This ire.
mendous overflow did much to change
the map of the world, separating England
from Europe and America from Asia, and
leaving numerous fragments of land scat
tered about the globe.
The same forces which threw up tho