The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-02-02
BY. PROF. WILHELM BoELscHE

BY. PROF WILHELM BOELsCHE
Copyright. 1909. by t. c. McCHure)
The whale is as mysterious an animal
as the ichthyosaurus. Once it was be
Heved that all the link-forrns led TO the
whale and creatures like it were in plain
sight. All mammals that had adapted
themselves to oceanic life were simply
thrown into one great group Of sea man.
mails" Thus the whales went into the
same pot with the common. well-known
seals. and with a third-most peculiar
form of animal-the ungainly sea-cows,
famous as the creatures that gave rise
to the first stories OF mermaids Since
seals and sea-cows Were so similar TO land
animals, the seal especially resembling
certain beasts Of prey. Ike the sea otter
and others, the bridge seemed a plain
one
But it was only a dream of the old
Systems" Of natural science.
Today the sea mammals have been
separated into vastly different species.
The seals have actually turned out t. be
true descendants Of beasts of prey which
have nothing at all to do with whales
The sea-cows must be considered now
as being closely related to the hoofeI
animals Of the land. Their existence IS
to be explained on the theory that genuine
hoofed land animals went into the wa
ter after The manner of the living hippo
potamus and gradually accustomed them
selves to a complete life in the water by
process Of adaptation carried to an ex-
treme point.
The whales-dolphins and true whales
remain unexplained. And to this hour no
man knows from what group Of mammals
they can have descended.
HaeckeI thinks that this group itself
must be separated into two branches and
must have descended from two different
sources. But where these sources may
be, he does not know either. The whales
appear all at oncc-as did the ichthyo-
saurians, with the one great difference
that the whales appeared just as the
ichthyosarians disappeared
The ichthyosauriaus enliveued the seas
throughout the entire Jurassic period.
The Jurassic period was followed by the
Crctaceous or chalk period. In the rem
nants we find remnants of ichthyosauri-
ans in all parts of the world where the
oceans rolled their floods. Then, with
the dawning of the Tertiary period, the
''spoor'' disappears totally
THE ICHTIIOSAUR'S LAST HOUR.
Animal bones in enormous masses re-
main on earth from that Tertiary period.
But the ichthyosaurus is missing total
ly. His hour must have been struck.
Instead of him, there appear. in the
first chapter Of Tertiary times. great
mammals belonging to The whales.
What is 1t that drove the monster
saurian. a model of perfect adaptation,
so completely from tho scene?
Such a question is as important for true
investigation as he pulling question,
''Whence came these wonderful forms?"
Why did splendidly fitted animal forms,
that had spread themselves over the
whole globe that had absolutely ruled
for long periods of time. disappear as sud-
denly as if they had been swallowed?
The most convenient solution would
be to say. Of course. the time was full
filled. room had to he made i'm the world
seas for new creatures for the time o.
the mammals had begun so ale ighthyo-
sauriars suddenly became lame and de-
crepit-as elsewhere over the single ami
maI-world, and soon the entire. once SO .
powerful, race WAS destroyed TO the les,
one.
But, young as our natural sciences are. f
we have actually seen how species die. .
And in every such case there were dis /.
tinct tangible reasons.
We know how tho bird podo of Mauri- +
thus died. Never again viii hc whom .
old Dutch menaserie owners Ted and .
showed in Holland fairs. ornament one Of /
oU theological gardens. Godo lived on .
lonely island in the Pacihcc ocean. He (
had no enemies there No larger land .
animal threatened him. That must have .
been 50 for thousands Of years and more .
thousands.
Then the dodos adapted themselves ac- I
cordinE to natural law 10 the cdro-frce
life: they became enormously fat and
lazy: their wings lost their power and .
at last became quite incapable Of rails
ing the heavy bird from tao croUnd
This surely was 81 -ssniity." This
was Hannibal In Capua the result of a
luxurious life. that was safe So long as
the beautiful days continued. and that
could have continued with them through
eternity
But one day man arrived ON the island
If Mauritius. He appeared in the form
# Dutch sailors, hungry as hears. in the
lays whea man had not begun 10 trave.
n swift steamers that carried timed
GODS.
MAN ATE THE DoDO.
Man and dodo entered into competition
- o,,ro Ma, ,r5Sfs,.7 g., r-,-. .,,7 -i.- .s,4,