The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1906-06-27
Worlds Largest Animal Proves Truth
Of Scriptures.

OF Scriptures.
The National Museum has long de-
sired to possess for exhibition pur-
poses the largest animal in the world.
This ambition has at last been graft
fed, and in its great Hall of Mammals
in Washington is now on view veri-
table sulphur bottom whale-ts ooun-
tcrfeit prescntment, that is to say
exactly reproducing the original,
which in life was ninety feet long and
weighed thirty tons
The counterfeit is she'll Of papier.
machc, cast from moulds taken from
the whale when the latter had been
newly killed and towed for this pnr
pose to Balena Station, on the south
coast Of Newfoundland.
More than twenty barrels Of plaster
of paris were usci in making the
moulds, which were shipped in sec
tions to Washington. there to be cm-
ploycd in the production Of the paper
pulp replica, which was finished by
painting i, in close imitation Of the
beautiful dapplc gray Of the huge ami
mails coat.
Thus for the first time au oppor-
tunity is given the public to look upon
the most gigantic Of existing crea-
lures, compared with which the larg-
est elephant is but pigmy, and it is
noticed tuat nine out Of every ten
persons who view the great whale
make the remark that Jonah certainly
might have found ample accommoda-
tion in the interior Of such monster.
1t is, indeed, undeniable, and one
might go 80 far as to say that there
would have been room enough in the
cetacean's "midst" for Mrs. Jonah Gf
there vas such person. and quite
family Of little Jonahs.
One has only to figure on the mat.
ter bit in order to perceive that the
body cavity Of ninety-foot "sulphur
bottom" such 40 this one might afford
quite satisfactory quaIters for gen.
tleman OF Jonah austeTe habits, with
rooms arranged en- suite-a bedroom,
dining-room and kitchen, say, with
possibly small bathroom in the rear.
It would be rather compact, of course.
but not more 30 than many q modern
fat. Besides, in this case the prophet
was travelling "a whale of the species
in question frequently covers sixty
miles in an hour-and in such circum.
stances one is usually willing to make
some temporary saoriice of comfort.
When poor Jumbo Of cherished
memory fell foul Of locomotive and
was killed P. T. Barnum, his owner,
with characteristic ingenuity, convert.
ed his precious remains into two jun.
bos-one the skeleton and the other
the stuffed hide Of the original ele.
phsnt. In the case Of this giant
whsle aa equ;7s!en. thing has been
done, the bones (alone weighing two
tons) being put together and separate.
ly mounted to exhibit the complete
osseous framework Of the creature,
while the papier mache cast shows
what ine bruio iooaed ike wiaen he
was alive. I. :. .
The cast referred to is interesting
Tor another reason, ineBmucn aB IL .is
made @holly Of paper money, which,
being withdrawn from circulation by
the Treasury, was reduced to pulp by
boiling. in the customary manner and
given for the purpose to the National
Museum. Unole Sans greenbaoks
are manufactured from linen rags, and
the pulp into which, they are convert.
ed is fine, tough stuff for :ach q use
as that here described. But it took
several millions Of dollars, in value
oonstructively represented, to furnish
the requisite material.
It Is. when one thinks Of it, most
interesting to. know that the remote
ancestors Of those (as we'll as other)
whales hundreds Of Thousands of years
ago were land animals-quadrupeds;
that is'so say. walking on all fours.
But they found it easier to get food
in the sea' than on terra firma, and,
like the fur seals and hair seals Of
to-day, they became amphibious,
spending most Of their time in the
water; but hauling up ON shore to
breed. AS time vent on they aban.
doued the land altogether and devel.
oped swimming tail-uhioh, how.
ever, is very different from tho tail Of
a fish, being horizontal instead Of. YER