The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-25
SCIENTISTS IN BAD LANDS,
They Discover the Original Type of
the American Hog.

4
the American Hog,
| The strangest of all earthly spots is the
bad Lands" of the west. Until now it
has never been known. But with the re-
turn of a successful expedition, composed
of scientists it will be recognized as a
| place where prehistoric nature lies dis
closed and where wonders of the past are
associated with the picturesqueness of
| the present.
These important finds are the result of
a carefully planned geological exploration
| Of the bad Lands" made by Prof. j. Il.
| Todd, state geologist of South Dakota,
and five scientists of the State University
e. c. Eckert, r. w. Ellis, P. A. Jor-
| dan, b. S. Payne and r. j. Wallace
| These explorers followed the valleys Of
| the White. Cheyenne and Bad rivers,
| crossed their divides and covered the
| famous trail between the Black Hills and
| Chamberlain. From Rosebud, Porcupine
creek and the noted fossil ground of In
| dian Draw, they collected above a ton Of
many rare and several new specimens,
which they shipped from Hermosa to Yer
| million.
First and foremost, that much discussed
| 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 resemblance to
| is descendant common to this country
| There the resemblance ceases for it Is
almost as large as a medium sized ele-
| phant, and is armed with two horns, sew
| eral inches in length. one on each side
Of it's long. flexible nose.
Scientists recognize this interesting
| orute as the brontotherium. a compromise
| between the elephant and tapir on one
side and the rhinoceros and hog on the
| other Skulls were dug up which meas
| Ired two and half feet in length, and
nearly as much in breadth. They are
| saddle-shaped, much like that Of the rhi-
| noceros, the back of each rising in "A
| prominent transverse crest.
| Fortunately for prehistoric man, the
| lrontotherium was almost exclusively a
| vegetarian. 1t was a powerful beast ana
| must have been a hard fighter Had II
| been carnivorous 1t would have discour-
| aged immigration and interfered argey
| With the census 1t abounded in the
| White river region and was a very quick
| breeder. The scientists say its habits
| we're mostly those of the rhinoceros of to-
| day. but they unite in classifying it as
! The common ancestor of the wild and DO
| nestle hogs.
Above the brontotherium beds Prof
| Todd and the others found plenty of fos.
| sis of oreodons and turtles, most of the
| latter OF enormous size, though some were
| only few inches in length. Many skele
| tOns of the oreodon, a prehistoric animal
| combining the characteristics of the hog
| and deer, were as large as a sheep
Four or five species of rodents and as
| many OF carnivora were unearthed none
| # the latter being larger than dog The
professor found complete specimen of
| hat size, but 1t was in very small frae-
nents They also discovered incomplete
| specimens of a species of rhinoceros n
| camel and one of the ancestors of the
| horse the miohippus, which was no big
ger than a Southdown sheep. In the Loun
| Fork beds, everything the White river thev
| dug up specimens of water plants and
| fresh water shells and a few of the large
| bones of the mammoth and mastodo,
most Of which were very much under the
weather.
"Of the picturesque features of the Bad
! Lands, " said Prof. Todd to the writer
there can scarcely be an exaggeration in
| language. Words. fail to convey the con
| rinuai change of outlines. both beautiful
| and grotesque, which meet the eye of the
! iraveler as he passes through this strange
region.
Every one, as he passes through mile
| after mile of these startling FORMS" con-
| tinued the professor, asks what could
have caused this region to be so different
| from those which bound it upon every side
| The question is answered as follows:
| "The country is largely barren. because
| he formations are nearly mpervlous to
water, so that most of the surface quickly
| becomes dry: and although some species
| have evidently in certain seasons sue
| ceeded in establishing themselves upon
| these barren surfaces, yet the usu-
| ally prevailing dryness of the region al
most completely prevents vegetation, ex-
| cept on the lower fats, where moisture
| is retained for a longer time"
| Speaking of the enormous fossil beds
| Prof. Todd went on: THE thickness of
| these beds is from three hundred to five
| hundred feet, and they were deposited by
| the waters of a vast fresh water lake A
| natural explanation of tine occurrence of
| fossils near the margin of the lake, espe-
| cially on the Black Hills side, would seem
| to be that herds of animals at times were
| overwhelmed on it's shores during severe
| storms. The rarer remains Of other species
may be accounted for by the supposition
| that tributary streams occasionally car
| ried their bodies into the lake"