The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1896-08-13
SEA SERPEN7S NO Myth
Their lnhabltance Of this Country Nil.
lions Of FEARS Aso Fully Proven.
SKELETONS OF OLD-TIME MONSTERS
They Inhabited Land and Sea and
Existed tn Enormous Numbers,
and Were the Realization OF she
modern serpent OF Fact or Fancy.

St. Louis Globe Democrat: Do sea ser
penis exist?
Perhaps. At all events science does
not deny 1t. In fact, scientific men Of
late have come to admit that sreh mon
sters may prowl the seas.
That there were actually sea serpents
in days gone by is certainty. They
existed In enormous mbers--real mar
inc snakes of gigantic size, corresponding
In all important respects to the modern
monsters OF news reports. How is this
known? Simply because their skeletons
have been dug up In great numbers.
In the Peabody Museum at Yale Col
lege are the bones OF l4o0 c: these sea
serpents. some OF which were as much
as eighty feet In length. Most OF
them were collected by Prof. 0. G.
Marsh. In parts OF the west the remains
of these reptiles occur In astonishing
quantities. In one valley Prof. Marsh
came across seven of their skeletons lying
close together. When the animals were
alive the interior basin OF this continent
was occupied by sea. They fiourished
during the chalk forming or cretaceous
epoch. In the seas OF that distant period
they fairly swarmed. Excessively vora-
cious and predatory, they held a sway
that must have been undisputed. That
was the age Of the monsters, but they
we're, OF all. the most formidable.
This was the epoch at which the Rocky
Mountains were beginning to emerge
from the waters. 1t has been said that
the creatures described were masters OF
the seas. And why not? What more
formidable animals can be imagined than
a fierce carnivorous snake 80 feet In
length, able by means Of it's swimming
paddles to make its way through the
water with tremendous velocity? Such
was the character OF the mosasaurs Of the
age OF chalk. Their lower jaws were pro-
vided with an attachment of cartilage by
which they were enabled to open their
mouths to an enormous extent, In the
same manner as modern snake. Many
species Of them existed, to some Of which
the name tylosaur. lestosaur, and edes-
saur have been given by scientists who
have dug up their remains. No fewer
than ten species of mosasaurs are known
to have inhabited the United States, and
the remains OF six of these have been
found in New Jersey.
The typical mosasaur was in truth o
perfect realization of the sea serpent OF
modern fancy. II the latter be fancy and
not fact. II had only one pair OF paddles,
which were in front, but these were very
powerful. Its head was fiat and pointed,
the jaws being armed with large and
fierce teeth. The enormously long tail
was fiat and deep, like the tail OF great
eel, forming a tremendous propeller.
From what is known Of this formidable
reptile there is no difficulty in picturing
to the imagination's eye its rapid progress
through the water, its 1.-the movements
over the land when 1t chose to venture
upon terra firma, its ready coil. it's rapid
stroke, and the elevation OF its head and
| vertebral column-literally living pill
lar towering above the waves or the brush
OF the shore swamps. BY this lifting its
head on high by its long neck it was able
to decry its prey at q distance.
Now and then it happened that one of
those mighty snakes died under circum-
stances which caused its body to become
buried in mud, probably in shallow wa
ter. Eventually the mud hardened and
was transformed into stone. so that the
skeleton OF the creature was preserved
through the ages. To- day, millions of
years later, the scientists seek for such
remains in the mountains which have
been uplifted out of the depths of the
vanished seas OF long ago. A famous
hunting ground for fossil rsP:;lian mon
sters is along the slopes OF the Rocky
Mountains. Through region Of this
kind the scientific explorer travels with
his eyes wide open. II from the face OF
the cliff he chances to see projecting what
looks like bone, exposed by the act
ton of water that has cut away the hill
side, he sets party of men to quarrying
with drill and pickaxe until whatever is
there in the way of remains is taken out.
Now and then great deposit of ante
diluvian reptiles is struck in this way,
in which case the "fnd" is kept as secret
as possible, being regarded by the dis
coverer as his private mine. II be gave
it away, rival scientists would rush to the
spot and dig out all the animals for their
own study any glory.
The sea serpents of the age of chalk
we're rendered additionally formidable by
the coats of mail which they were clad
from snout to tail in bony armor plates.
Apparently they were fas more numerous
on this side 81 the world that in the east.
ern hemisphere, for 1t is very rarely tina!
q FOSSIL monster ia discovered in Europe.
In Belgium, about a century ago. they
came across skull OF one, which was
regarded as such precious curiosity that
Napoleon, besieglng town on historic
occasion, ordered his gunners to avoid