Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-07-24

CLIMATE Mi DER T HEN


-: IRy. latest, AEalli :.'.~ O.. =
/ . ,MASHINGToN.rA thP time of the
discovery 'iIf. America 'horsea and cam.
eIs we're entirely. unknown: H.. otffs
nestern:. he:Hisphsts.:' The Indians
had. eTer::seen: Z hersg, ;atld .-tfs herr
est living american represe ptatire. OF
/ the camel was the. llama: ::
/. It has long been known to zoolo-
gists, however; that both horses and
camels existed in North America in a
geological age not very remote,
though one would hardly look for
them in Arctic regions Within year
discoveries have been made which in
dictate that camels once inhabited the
Yukon region of Canada, and skull
of an Alaskan horse has been found.
In the summer. of 1872 while col
lecting specimens of modern land ami
mails along the Yukon-Alaskan bound
airy for the United States National
Museum, Copley Amory Jr. obtained a
small collection of fossil bones of the
pleistocene age, or that Immediately
preceding the age of man. r.
These bones include several parts
of mammoth, horse, bison and cam
ell, and altogether prove to be of no
little Importance, since the bones Of a
camel have never before been found
in this region. There is little doubt,
however that the camel is pleisto-
Gene on account of the fact that the
bone found by Amory agrees exactly
in color and degree of fossilization
with those of the mammals known to
be of that epoch which were found
with It. =.
camels North of Arctic Circle.
In a paper of the Smithsonian mis-
cellaneous collections describing this
specimen ]. w. Gidley remarks that
while the specimen itself is insigniti-
cant, yet its presence in the collec-
Ftion proves unquestionably that cam
els once existed in locality north OF
the Arctic Circle. The find was To-
Gated at point about fifty miles from
the mouth of the Old Crow river In
the Yukon territory, Canada, not far
from the Yukon-Alaskan boundary
line. ~
The old Grow rises in Alaska,
crosses the dividing line and joins
the Porcupirie river, branch of the
/ Yukon flowing from Yukon INTO Alas
ka. Heretofore the northern limit OF
| the range of fossil catnels in Amer.
| lea has been Silver Lake or Chritmas
Lake, Ore, which is just north of the
forty-third parallel of latitude and
some 20 degrees to the south of the
new northern limit
1t is known that several large spe.
cies of camels were very abundant
on this continent during the pliocene
and the p1eistocene periods, and the
discovery Of their remains in the
pleistocene deposits of the Alaskan
peninsula was not altogether unlock
! ed for, although their occurrence sc
far within the Arctic circle was
| scarcely expected.
This verification of their former
presence within that region, there
fore, is of special interest in that il
| greatly extends the known geographic
distribution of this important group
| of mammals in America during this
period, incidentally adding proof in
support of the supposition that mild
er climatic conditions prevailed in
Alaska during probably the greater
| part of the pleistocene period.
1t also tends to support the theory
of the existence of a wide Asiatic
Alaskan land connection of compare
| lively recent date, which for a great
length of time served as highway
| for the migration of mammals from
the Old World to America
The foot bone found by Mr.. Amory
is Enthusiastically that of camel and
closely resembles similar bones of q
living species.
A not less interesting acquisition oil
the National Museum is the fossil
skull of a horse which is reported or
by DR.. o. P. Hay of the Carnegie
Institution in the Smithsonian miscel
laneous collections, under the title
Description of the Skull of an Elk
tinct Horse Found in Central Alas
! ka." 49,. 49,. ..-. -. .:.:.>. BE- :
| This skull was found by c. p. Sny
der in the course of a mining oper
ations near Tofty,N Alaska, a small
mining town twenty-four miles south
west of Rampant, and seven miles
northwest of Hot Springs. 49,. -.
Skull is Well Preserved. .... 49,.
The skull is remarkably we'll pre-
served, stained brown, and although
thoroughly mineralized, retains its or
iginal structure. 1t is somewhat brok
en- on the top part of the nose. and the
lower jaw is missing, but the teeth
are in fine condition. !.
Its importance is enhanced by the
| fact. that hitherto our knowledge oil
Alaskan horses has been based or
iHery scant remains, such as single
teeth. or a very few teeth associated
together. and a few bones or frag
ments of them. Such remains had
been found, however. al a number OF
places; and. m"ager as they were
they showed that at some time in the
Ipast horses bad been wiiely Gistrib
rted in this apparently barren region
With his report, DR.. Hay published
a map showing the localities where
evidences OF fossil horses have. been
found in Alaska and Yukon, as far as
they have cone to his notice, and also