The evening times., 1900-03-09
EXTINCT LIFE IN KANSAS.
The Grey Wolf Now Remains the old
est Inhnbitant.
tFrOm the Kansas City >tJr.)


Time was when the moose, the elephant
and the bison furnished the sport and pro-
vided the food for the inhabitants Of the
territory now known as Kansas. There
were wolves much larger than the grey
wolves which occasionally make "A report
in Couanche county and horses very unlike
those which do menial service on The
round-ups OF the short grass country But
all of these roamed on what is now Kan
sas soil before the coyote and the poliu-
clan.
Where the big packing houses now stand
in Kansas City. Kan, was range Tor
moose. and there is proof in plenty that
men OF that time slaughtered them as ruth
lessy as a more advanced generation, per-
haps. did the buffaloes.
Some 80 coo years before all this occur
red the rhinoceTos was common type and
tigers one-third larger than any of these
which dance TO the whip OF the queenIy
tanner in circus held forth. But homo
sapients did not sport with them 1t is a
melancholy fact that he did not. for the
short grass country produced figs and or
anges and bananas and overfowed with
honey and reptiles.
But il is this later period that most In
terests those who are restlessly moving
about the Sunfiower State at this time
Scarcely a month passes without some one
announcing through the newspapers re-
markabIe find which he subsequently
learns is a part of an extinct type OF ami
NAL life.
Cove and Phillips counties in the ex
treme northwestern part of the State have
been the most prolific parts of Kansas for
fossil hunting but in nearly every nook
and corner is found evidence of what man
ner of creatures inhabited the State 5000
years ago. Kansas. although young as
States are reckoned has one of the finest
geological collections in the country and
additions are being made with marvellous
rapidity.
1--WE have TWO great difficulties TO over
come said DR.. Williston. professor of his
torical geology of Kansas State University,
The other day In the first place many Of
those who find the fossils do not know their
value and destroy them. Occasionally
some one finds something that would be Of
value to us and. knowing that we want it,
puts such high value on it that We can
not afford TO add it to our collection
But for all that the evidence of former
life is being rapidly collected. Contempor-
aneously with the rhinoceros. which was by
far the commonest species of time Jo,UOo
wears removed were the three-toed horse
the four-tusked small elephant and the
earliest species of bear and camel. These
came after the sea had dried ana the land
had been elevated 1t was some 45.O05
years after this before any evidence can
be found in Kansas 10 show that man
counted among the animals of earth. The
lakes and ponds dried up and We come to
another type of mammal life which is elise
Iy allied to that found in various parts OF
the world today.
The mastodon which the magazines nave
recently called upon to form subject for
imaginary stories, elephants larger than
any now living, four distinct species OF
buffaloes. a half dozen extinct species OF
horses and camels were the larger types
of animal life and along with them came
the living gray wolf and pocket gopher
In all twenty three species OF vertebrate
fossils found in the later deposits are IN
the Kansas geological collection These
deposits prove that the gray wolf IS The
Oldest inhabitant OF Kansas. for he con-
meets us with the period 5.Gc0 years ago.