El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-27

had become distributed all the way
from southern Asia to southern Eu-
rope and northern Africa, but Where
they came from is puzzle ,.s
All over what is now the Unlleo
states were distributed those remark
able creatures known as giant slolhs,
many species OF hem some OF men
were as big as a gOOd-slZed eIep I.
In Texas and Florida las well as IN
Central and South America) were Ihe
huge glyptodons. which, though mann
mails. bore rather the aspect OF Tor
toises. with massive tails They We're
as a matter Of fact, predecessors VI INC
close of the Tertiary Epoch.
This brings US to the close of what
biologists call the Tertiary epOch, anu
TO the beginning Of recent Jl.lS'
which NAV have been half million
years ago, possibly somew nat leS res
Here we find the actual bones OF ear
" human beings, who were unuouDI-
edIv contemporary with the nam
moth. the mastOdon, the cave non
fof massive build, and bigger than any
modern lion). the woody rhinoceros,
and a strange and gigantic beast
called the elasmOt here, with Skull
over a yard in length. an enormou
horn on its forehead, and rather long
legs-a herbivOre-
World. The human remains aoOt
mentioned are more or less apellke- IN
Switzerland might be mentioned IN ms
connection the famous hessefiocn
cave, on the edge Of a valley Whlch
contained the bones OF plSIny IneI
not more than four feet high, mixed
up with those Of several eNIlhCt
species OF mammals, including the
woody rhinOcerOs-
In North America by this time was
an array of proboscidians more varied
aud quite as majestic as those OF the
old world. The imperial mammoth,
ranging from Nebraska TO the CITY o.
Mexico, stood thirteen and one nan
feet high at the shoulder, or two Feet
higher than the largest African ele-
plant of today. The Columbian mann
moth attained a stature Of II feet ana
was found all the way from the lall-
tude Of the City Of Mexico TO Jhat OF
Washington. u. c. The northern, or
hairy. mammoth. ranged from Alas
ka to Washington.
In those days herds Of camels and
uamas and enormous troops or horses
browsed on the plains OF the interior
OF this country Reindeer were wide
" distributed in the middle states, and
in the forests there were taptrs. Oh
bison there were many species Giant
sIoths were still cOnspiculusly numer-
Gus, likewise the armored glyptodons
Of the south. saber-tOOthed tigers and
other cats rivaling the modern lion
and tiger in size, led the list OF the
carnivores-
EHrE ELagGQ Dg NoAGlMoG1s
It is difficult for US To realize now
important a part in the development
Of our own country, zOologtcally as
well as geographically, has been
played by volcanoes In earlier days
their plutOnic activities were manifest
ed on an enormous scale over vast
areas, the ashes accommodating in
beds (Which are still to be seen ana
studied) Of astonishing thickness Re
cent observation of the eruptive per
fOrmances of Mont Pelee has shown
in a very striking way how ashes may
be carried high in the air by explosive
discharges of steam and gas and scat
tered far and wide by the wind. one
such wiud-distributed deposit in Al
aska covers $3.50 square miles, and
is 100 feet deep in placesl
Where in the earlier history OF the
earth volcanic Outbursts were often re-
peated over the same areas immense
accumulation Of ashes resulted, and in
parts of the west such deposits have
reached a depth OF nearly a mile and
a half. Whole landscapes were built
up in this way and il is not surpris-
ing that incidentally there should have
been a wholesale destruction OF ami
nal life, resulting in the wiping out
Of entire genera Very likely ii was
owing largely to happenings OF this
kind that many Of the types Of crea-
lures here discussed left no modern