Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-05-21
About the Ancient~.

Prince Kraptollln. in the Nineteenth
Century. gives much attention 10 the
discovery made by DR.. Eugene Dubois
Of certain remains Of man or ape iound
m lava. 4 brief account OF the charac-
ter OF these fossil bones may be FOUND
In the Times. Of September %, 1885. These
remains are OF exceeding interest, be-
cause they might help in forging the
chain of evolution. So far we have not
succeeded I'm finding that link which JOINS
man TO the ape We are pretty certain as
10 other branches Of natural history
that we find I'm the feathered lizards or
Uzardllke birds, the beginning OF inc
birds OF to-day; nor IS there any question
as to the common origin OF both the IN
,,,,lates and the rodents. During the last
twenty years we have then' recohstruct
ga genealogical trees Of whole classes
Of animals. but man, so far. has eiuded
research. What are the very most an
Gent remains Of man, as the Neanderthal
and Spy skulls, the jaw found AT Id
T-atelle. and the Cannstadt skull may
show man in his very lowest form. but
low as these remains are, they are I'M
mensely superior 10 the headpiece OF the
apes.
In our researches for the most remote
TYNE of man. il Is not safe 10 place TOO
trent stress on the implements found. We
know to-day OF savage races using both
rough and smooth hint tools, ana so
there IS overlapping. II Is rather an exact
studv Of the bones themselves when may
lead to the truth, the geological surround
frqs being thoroughly understood. Man
of the Paleolithic age, so we believe, knew
how TO make fire, and could fashion rough
fints. The simian characteristics are 10
be sought. so Huxley thought IN the
Plelstocene deposits. and even before
them. We may believe that man llVed
during the Miocene times-though Il Is
not yet proved. Evidently some results
might be acquired by searching back for
the slman forms. In the Miocene, num-
Der OF years ago. one apelike creature
was brought 10 light, and II has been
called the Dryopithecus fontani In size
II must have been nearly as tall as a man,
with small incisor teeth, and these, with
cusps which did not differ so very much
from those Of the Australians OF to-day.
Nevertheless. this particular ape OF the
past was immensely remote from the man
and not OF the type OF the Hominidae.
The vegetarian faddi,t ventllates his
theory IN twisting antnropological data.
III man was once a monkey and the
the only climbing animal Ergo. since
| fsh swim and the first living creatures
were possibly aquatic. that is the reason
why man can swim to-day. The monkey
cats fruit and nuts. therefore man runs
| counter 10 his nature when he deyours
/ mutton-chops. II man In the primitive
age ate mastodon. providing he could
| XII II, that does prove. says the crankist,
that raw or singed mastodon was a whole
some or a necessary diet Because the
chlmpanzee VIII take toddy and smoke a
| pipe. that does not show that he likes
rum or tobacco II IL vicious habit, and
the monkey has been ruined By his as
sociations with man. DO not dogs thrive
on biscuits. and cats on catDip: There Is
the New-Zealand parrot. that has de-
graded Itself by showing a liking f0I
sleeps kidneys. Man. says our faddist
when he eats meat Is degrading himself
and departing from his original dainty
J anthropold ape ancestor.