The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1896-11-14
IN THE "5AD LANDS"
Return OF a sosenttnc Expedition
From That Barren REGION.

ia kbSNA1uNOU
From That Barren Region.
New York Herald.
The strangest of all earthly spots IL
the Bad Lands" of the west. Until
now II has never been known. But.
with the return of a successful expedi-
ton composed of scientists 1t will be
recognized as a place where prehistoric
nature lies disclosed and where won.
ders OF the past are associated with the
picturesqueness of the present.
The important finds are the result OF
a carefully planned geological explora-
ton of the Bad Lands made by Prof.
]. E. Todd, state g~eologist Of South
Dakota, and five scientists of the state
university, +. c. Eckert, r. w. Ellis, P.
A. Jordan. b. s.. Payne and Z. j. Wall
lace. These explorers followed the val
leys of the White, Cheyenne and Bad
rivers. crossed their divides and Gov
cred the famous trail between the Black
Hills n Chamberlain. From Rosebud,
Porcupine creek, and the noted fossil
ground of Indian Draw, they collected
above a ton of are and several new
specimens, which they shipped from
Hermosa to Fermillion.
First and foremost, that much dis
cussed animal, the Great American
Hog. has been found at last. For Prof.
Todd and his associates unearthed its
remains in the fossil beds of the Bad
Lands" 1t bears in general outline re-
semblance to Its descendant common
to this country. There the resemblance
ceases, for it is almost as large as a
Medium sized elephant and is armed
with w horns, several inches in
length, one on each side of it's long, fex.
lille nose.
Scientists recognize the interesting
brute as the brototherium. a compro-
mise between the elephant and the rhi-
noceros and hog on the other. Skulls
We're dug up which measured az feet
in length and nearly as much in
breadth. They are saddle shaped, much
like h a OF the rhinoceros. the back of
each rising in a prominent transverse
crest.
Fortunately for prehistoric man the
brontotherium was almost exclusively
q vegetarian. 1t was a powerful beast
and must have been a hard fighter. Had
1t been ~carnivorous 1t would lave dis
couraeed immigration and interfercd
largely with the census. It abounded
in the White river region and was a
Very quick breeder. The scientists say
Its habits were mostly those Of the rhi-
noceros Of today, but they unite in olas-
styling it as the common ancestor OF
the wild and domestic hogs.
Above the brontotherium beds Prof,
Todd and tine others found plenty Of
fossils OF oredons and turtles, most of
the latter of enormous size. though
some We're only a few inches in length.
Nanv O1Sa1atnrr rf @ho @.11l1.o - 900
teristics Of the hog and deer. were as
large as sheep.
Four or five species of rodents and
as many Of carnivora were unearthed,
none of the latter being larger than a
dog. The professor found a complete
specimen of that size. but it was in very
small fragments. They also discovered
Incomplete specimens Of a species Of
rhinoceros. a camel and one of the an>
cestors of the horse, the miohippus.
which was no bigger than a southdown
sheep. In the Loup Fork beds overly
ing the White river the dug up specl-
mems of water plants and fresh water
shells and a few of the large bones OF
the mammoth and m~astodon, most OF
which were very much under tho
weather.
Everyone, as he passes through mile
after mile OF these startling forms"
continued the professor, asks what
could have caused this region to be 80
different from those which bound it
upon every side. The question Is an
swered as follows:
The country Is largely barren, be-
cause the formations are nearly imper-
vious to water SO that most OF the sur-
face quickly becomes dry: and, although
some species have evidently in certain
seasons succeeded in establishing them
selves upon these barren surfaces, yet
the usually prevailing dryness Of the
region almost completely prevents veg
citation. except on the lower flats, where
moisture is retained for q longer time"
Speaking Of the enormous fossils,
Prof. Todd went on: THE thickness Of
these beds is from thirty to 500 feet, and
they were deposited by the waters Of q
vast fresh water lake. A natural eI-
PLANTATION of the occurrence OF fossils
near the margin OF the lake, especially
on the Black Hills side. would seem to
be hat herds OF animals at times were
overwhelmed on its shores during Sc
We're storms. The rarer remains Of
other species may be accounted for by
the supposition that tributary streams
occasionally carried bodies into the
AXE"