The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-11-16
THE ANTIQUITY OF man
Father MacGOldrick's Brilliant Lee
ture at College Hall.
LARGE ASSEMBLAGE PRESENT
Illustrations We're Exceedingly Interest
ing and Contained Much Historic In
formatiou-Third Of His Series OF
Lectures ON Geological Subjects.

evening. A cultured ana discriminat-
ing audience was accorded an lntei-
lectual treat on the subject, 'The An
tiquity of Man."
This question, the speaker said, 1t Is
impossible to fathOm with any degree
of conclusion from the inde1niteness
of the data. Some have gone into II
from the standpoint of spirituality. put
Father MacGoldrick would take 1t up
to prove the materiality of the human
so far as investigation and science Will
enable, with the complete satisfaction
animating the student that the matter
shall be understood as far as one delves
into it.
Man was endowed with reason by
God that he might reach Him, ana the
highest prerogative is the exercise OF
this faculty; the lowest degradation is
when one is conscious of unreasonable
ness, Time cannot be comprehended
from the standpoint of years when the
antiquity Of man Is the probleI. ING
geological measurement or the age OF
matter Is more accurate. BY studying
the degree of cooling that has gone on
in order to bring the earth, crusted as
it now Is, from the molten condition OF
it when first precipitated into space. 1t
is estimated that the time required was
One Way of an Estimate.
s5O. .OO0. 900 years. The lava Of Southern
Europe furnishes unit OF measure
ment.
When this first flowed from it's vol
canic bed and rolled own the sides of
the mountain it's temperature was in
tense and as time passed the process
of cooling went on by degrees until
eventually the lava crusted and soiid- :
fed. BY computing the gradation OF
cooling and then considering the crust
of the earth it is capable of being com.
mensurately determined how long II
has taken the earth to cool as 1t now ex-
lists from its primeval molten condition.
The coral reefs of the torrid oceans
are constructed at the rate of one
sixteenth of an inch in year. If the
reef Is 1000 feet deep 1t would take
Is. 900 years to build it. This is geolog-
ical measurement. The great Fails OF
niagara were at one time six miles
farther down the Niagara river; the
constant wearing away OF the earth
and rocks in the precipice are lnral-
lible arguments. There Is no evidence
of its rate of secession; Inc cary
Jesuit explorers located the falls below
where they now are but how far Is not
correctly known. The bed of the river
for six miles below the falls Is consid-
erably deeper than 1t Is the rest or the
way to its mouth.
The Mississippi river drains terri
tory covering 100000 square miles, ana
only very little of the rain that falls
in this region goes to the gulf OF Mex
leo. There Is a large amount or Silt IN
the waters of the Mississippi. so much
that thirty-six quadrillion cubic feet
OF sediment are brought down every
year in the current. That volume OF
silt Is sufficient to cover square mile
of ground and reach 26S feet high. The
Gulf of Mexico is a larger basin, ex-
tending from the coast of Texas to
the West Indies and from New Or
leans to the coast Of South America.
It's area Is 100000 square miles and 1t
is an average depth of $500 feet.
Found Prehistoric villages. o..
It would take the Mississippi 1000
years flowing into the Gulf to NIL II
I'M. and IL all the sediment carried In
the rivers waters were deposited with
out disturbance it would require clever
billion years to fill it up. In 1854 Eur
ope had dry season and the lakes were
constantly at q low ebb. In Switzer-
land the people, like the Belgians. took
advantages Of the low water and en-
croached upon the land from which the
water had receded. They build sea
walls and in SO doing came upon the
ruins of prehistoric villages. finding
aTIlCIeS VI DTOIlLC hOAA eShN sAa>
conclusion took hold that very an
cient race had inhabited the place.
Evidences Of a race of ancient people
were at the same time discovered
around lakes in Ireland, bupt many
of the fossil remains found In Ireland
went to prove that the inhabitants were
not lave dwellers, but took to the
mountains Another discovery along
the same line was found in Denmark,
but much more auspicious discovery
was found in Italy in subterranean
caves where savage men lived who had
no time to build houses
The bones Of the elephant, the man,
moth, the hyena, and rhinoceros were
found, but there Is q good deal of
doubt cast upon the contemporaneity
of these men and animals. That the
bones Of the animals were found proves
they were once in those caves. That
the men lived at the same time as
thse animals Is not so positive, but that
troglodytic race existed is certain
from the evidence of fires found In
the caves. The embers had long been
covered over with tempest dust waited
into the innermost recesses of the Ia
byrinthine passages.
Blood Flowed from tho Mastodou.
A mastodon was found not long ago
in solid body of ice in Siberia on
the mountain slope; blood flowed from
the animals flesh, and was relished by
the dogs Of the hunters, as soon as the
gigantic remains were freed from i'm
prisonment. How long ago since the
creature had died, was It centuries, or
was 1t sycles? the speaker would not
presume to say.
Two artistic proflles, one Of the
stratas of the earth, and the other CIV
inf three views of river beds, were en-
ployed to lead the minds of the au-
dience to clearer grasp of the forma-
tion of the earth's crust. They were
the artistic handiwork of Architect
Percival ]. Morris, of the firm of Brown
& Morris. Father MacGoldrick ex-
planned how river beds are changed
from one place to the other In the
lapse Of time.
The stratas of the earth were repre-
scented in the Palezoic, Silurian, De-
vonian, Carboniferous, Reptian, Mann
malian periods, and lastly the human
period. The question Is how far back
In that period did man go? Was he
extant in the Palezoic age?
He must delve for the truth and find
the fountain. As God made all things
man being one of His creatures, can
discover the source and truth cannot
clash with truth.
The jury In the Jessup case agreed
upon verdict at o'clock in the even.
ing, sealed It and will hand ft to court
this morning. Judge MCPHERSON has
gone home and the verdict will be taken
by Judge Edwards.
ilis Legs Ffasturcd.
Chariea johnson. a young man 26