The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-12-29
FOSSIL CORKSCREWS
ot!EER FREAKS OF NATURE THAT
ABOUND IN NEBRASKA.
Gigantic spiraIs Of Mineral FASH
Toned So MsthemsiicsIIy ms 10 Do
Easily Mistakes at First Glance
For Works of Art.

Nobody knows with certainty what
the DO called devils corkscrews" real
ly are. They are found by tens Of thou
sands in Nebraska, most particularly
in Sioux county, aud some Of them are
as much as forty feet in height, without
counting the gigantic roots" presently
to be described. Quartz is the sub
stance Of which they are made, but
how they came to be imbedded, num-
bers of them together, in the sandstone
cliffs of that region IL more than any
body can tell, unless, perhaps, one the
ory, TO be mentioned later, Is to be ac-
cepted as correct.
You are travelling, let us say, on
horseback through that part of the
country, and, as often happens, you
see, standing out from the face OF
sandstone cliff, a gigantic spiral. If, as
geologlsts have proved, the sandstone
rock be- Clipped away a corkscrew
shaped thing Of quartz Is exposed to
view, fashioned so mathematically as
10 be easily mistaken at first glance
for a work Of art. The white spiral
may be free, as sculptor would say.
or, in other cases, may be twined about
IA sort Of axis, as vine would run
aronnd q vertical pole.
Somebody awhile ago gave to these
spirals the name devils cOrkscrews'
for want Of better and as expressive
tk. -
lists discussed them in vain, and many
theories were formed in regard to them.
There were authorities who declared
they were fossil burrows excavated In
tertiary times by gophers Of huge
and extinct species And, TO confirm
this notion, the bones OF some burrow
ing animal were actually found lmbed-
ded In the substance Of one Of the
screws" This seemed to settle the
matter for awhile, until the controversy
was started again by the discovery Of
the osseous remains, under like condi-
tlons. OF small deer Nobody could
assert that Il deer was ever a burrow-
ing animal, and so that notion had to
be abandoned.
Other theorists declared that the "fos
sill twisterS," MS some folks called them,
represented the prehistoric borlngs OF
gigantic worms that lived in the very
long ago. Yet others suggested that
they were petrified vines, though 1t was
difficult To explain how or why the
poles" on which the alleged vines
seemed In many cases To have been
trained had been 50 admirably pre-
served, or for that matter, originally
erected
In the midst of SO many contradictory
theories the problem seemed likely to
defy solution Indefinitely. The one that
held ont longest and gained most adj
hcrents was that OF the extinct gophers.
1t accounted for the 'rOOt"-a shape
less appendagc often nearly AS big IA
the "twster" itself and attached to the
lower end OF the latter-which obvious
ly. as il seemed, had been the nest OF
the rodent animal, the "corkscrcw" rep
rcscntng the spiral hole by which it
made its way To the surface Of the
ground. What could possibly be more
easy To comprchendI
Professor T. II. Barbour however,
has declared and his decision is ac-
ccptcd Professionally until somebody
offers "A bcttcr-that the corkscrcws are
OF vegetable origin. They are, he as
scrtS, the fossil remains of ancient
water weeds OF gigantic size, which
grew millions OF years ago on the bot
70, ~ nf hn
cred all Of Nebraska. These must have
been the biggest aquatic plants that
ever existed, and when the huge lake
that overtlowed the region in question
dried up the remains of many Of the
plants were left behind buried in the
accumulated detritus at the bottom.
In the course of time-ages after the
bottom OF the ancient lake had been
into solid rock--rivers plow-
ell their way through the land, cutting
this way and that and exposing TO the
view of the modern traveller on the
prehistoric water weeds just as they
stood when they grew hundreds OF
thousands and probably millions OF
years ago. Their tissues were replaced
rs they dccaycd by silica from the wa
ter particle 10y particle, and thus, as II
10y magical means, their likencsses
have been preserved for the wonder
and admiration of the present surviv-
ors on the earth.
Such is the theory now pretty we'll
accepted by scientists in regard To the
origin of the fossil corkscrews.' Pos
sibly IL Is not correct but if otherwise
there is room Cor the exercise Of any
body's imagination IN the consideration
OF this vcritablc romance OF the an
cient history of the world.-New York