The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1906-02-26
GIANTS OF THE PAST
PREVIOUS AGES SUPPLY US WITH
ENORMOUS FOSSIL BONES.

once almost universal Even To-Day
large skeletons when found are some
times reported as being those Of giant
human beings This was especially |
true OF the period abut the tenth and
eleventh centuries, and In the latter u
most amazing discovery was reported,
which threw the scientific world OF the
time into great excitement IL was said
that the body Of Pallas. the son Of
Evapder. had been discovered beneath
the tomb Of the Emperor Henry III.
The bones were enormous aud proved
TO have belonged 10 a huge fossil elc-
phant. AZ late as the fifteenth century
war Of words was waged over tind
OF large bones, one party claiming that
they belonged TO the giant Tcutobochus
In 1857 a giant was discovered in
Switzerland The council Of Luccrno
requested learned scientific man. FRO
fessor Felix Platter Of Basel 20 report
upon IT,. aud he not only announced the
bones ns part Of a human giant, but
made n complete restoration. showing
the man twenty feet high, which the
proud city adopted as an ancestor in
the arms OF the commonwealth. Unfor
tunaiely for the theory and much TO the
d'.romfure or ,,r people who had
raised t,.a h.h l'uuHclc this mighty
ancestor 90 -ss found TO be the re-
mains ~ am elephant
Nearly all the mastodon finds were
attributed 70 g,euts. but there * no evil
dCrcc that a human giant ever existed
~. L.. IL
tremcly doubtful II ,hiS height was
ever attained
Giants othCr th1a human are very
common Ia an branches of the animal
klngdom-g giants In every sense when
compared to their pygmy representa-
tlvcs OF today Some years ago some
laborers In the Scnalik hills Of India
were engaged upon a government
work when they came upon the re-
mains Of turtle that proved beyond
question that these animals had their
giants in the days Of old The shell
which the men exposed might have
been used as a shelter for several men.
and at first, before its bony nature
was observed, II was thought by the
natives TO be a hut Of some kind. For
tunately the bones were uninJured. and
they were taken out and removed to
the British museum, where complete
restoration of the animal may be seen.
The length Of the turtle was ten feet,
It's horizontal circumference twenty
five feet and its girth fifteen feet, but
Il was cstimltcd by scientists that
this was not an adult and that when
fully grown this huge creature would
display II domc-liic back eight or nine
feet high, giving a total lcnSth Of
twenty feet.
one Of the common animals In cqua-
toral South America and In Central
America is the lizard iguana, which
nttains length of -four or five feet
aud Is considered rather large. but
II was pygmy when compared to an
ancestor that once wandered over Eng
land and various portions OF the world.
A number of years ago some working
men were excavating and blasting in
quarry near Maidstone England, when
some bones were uncovered that cnus-
cd profound astonishmcnt ON the part
OF the finders The skeleton was per
feet, and ns II was lifted out, bone by
bone, their amazcment increased, and
the news was spread all over the coun-
try. attracting large numbers OF peo-
pie. When the bones were placed IN
their proper position they were found
TO be the skeleton OF Il gigantic lizard
that when alive must have been three
times MS bulky as the largest living Gle
phnnt and stood upon It's hind legs like
"A kangaroo. tearing down branches
from the highest trees. such an ant
nal was slow mover and sluggish
and must have fallen an easy prey IL
the human hunters, IL they existed.
The marine giants were even more
bizarre and remarkable than the land
forms. II We can imagine the little
iguana heightened out to thirty feet, It's
back spincs changed TO broad Unlike
objects, we form some idea of the ap
pearuncc of one of the small dinosaurs
Stogosaurus ungulatus one Of the most
uucaRny and remarkable creatures ever
found. Ii Is called the plated lizard
and the best skeleton was found ON the
enstern flank of the Rocky mountains
Some OF the plates with which this ar
mored lizard were protected were TIVE
or three feet IN diameter and the spine'
over two feet in length. From the fac
that the hind limbs were the largest Il
Is evident that this strange creature
could lift Itself up and sit like kan
garoo, resting upon its powerful tail
which, with its enormous splnes. mus
have been terrible weapon.
A giant from America had a skull
that measured eight feet In length. Al
most over the eyes We're two large
horns. a third placed over the nose The
great length Of the skull was given 10y
huge crest that was protected 10y q
ridge OF long plates, The mouth OF th'
tricaratops was protected by a horny
heak In life II must have presented 4