Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-06-26
Misesllaaeous Rsaains.
HORSES THE SIZE OF DOGS
The Legend of the American Desert
Is an Omen Secret to the GeoIoqists

The Legend of the American Desert
Is an Open Secret to the Geo'ogists
Horses. some no larger than shep-
herd dogs. and others so old in history
| that until this year it had not been be-
| l!eved they had existed on the Western
Continent once cavOrted and frlSked
on the Mojave Desert, and, after ca
vorting and frisking, left traces that
have rewritten much in the science of
/ historical geology. Fossils picked up
within a twelve month on the wastes
of the desert in Nevada tell story of
queer old world when animals could
gallop, unstopped by water, the whole
measure of the worlds circumference.
In the face Of rocks all the way from
France to China have been found fos-
siliZed remains of the famous Hippa-
rion horse of the Pliocene Age, but
| until the Mojave told its story to Prof.
John Campbell Merriam, of the Uni
versity of California, this country was
thought to have been one of the newer
| lands where pliOcene animals never
| roamed. The discovery gave proof to
| the theory that the continents were
connected, and brought a tinge of au-
| thenticity to the cherished legend of
the vanished bridge of land" The
Mojave went further
A world wide search for the partic-
ular species of Dobbin that ran wild
before the Hipparion had never filled
nnti1 the Cali
fornia professor started digging again
in the Mojave, the Thousand Creeks,
Virgin Valley and Nina fossil fields of
Nevada. Then was discovered the
horse of the Middle or late Miocene
Age, the great t-granddaddy Of the Hip
parton, and proof positive that, so far
as present research can show, horses
inhabited what is now the Pacihc
Coast before they trotted over the
slopes of the Older" continent.
The story of the horse, as written in
fossils today, means that they origi-
mated not many miles from San Fran
cisco, and have roamed over world
This continent is no longer to be des-
pised as the new" one because it was
discovered by men at a later date, but
that right here was founded the time
honored genus Equus. 1t is romantic
story unfolded after many failures and
vicissitudes, false grounds for hopes
and unexpected triumphs, and in all,
story of hard work.
The Mojave desert, since Prof. Mer-
riam's visit, has taken on an interna-
tional significance as a virgin field for
research. No one knows what secrets
lie buried in the sands and, as the re-
suits so far have been so promising, 1t
is certain that natives of the oil field
regions will soon grow accustomed to
high brow" professors digging for
bones"
The man who explores the Mojave
goes back to the time when horses had
three toes and must go with knowl-
edge of the shifting sands OF ages
Centuries ago when Hipparion hors"
sought a sheltered place in which TO
die, he performed a favor to science
for in those semi sheltered spots the
preserving sand gently sifted in. In
years the accumulated sands and wa
ter covered the bones with deep con-
glomerate, which for storage purposes
has had no equal, and which preserves
to this day the record Of ages. 1t is
for this reason that deserts and noun
famous regions are the huntlnS
grounds for the geologists.
In addition to the horses OF the MO
Gene, Pliocene and Pleistocene ages.
Prof. Merriam found in the Mojave the
record of the twisted horn antelope,
likewise an evidence of the connection
of the Old World life with that or
] America. for the Gland and kudu of At
rica were but first cousins to the twist
| ed horn.
Half Of North America, then, is the
vast collecting ground for fossils which
the world of science has left to Prof.
Merriam and men who have been his
students and assistants in the UniVer-
sitv of California. The wonder is the
field has been so long neglected. the
great basin from which many more
discoveries may come extends from
the Wasatch Mountains to the Sierra
Nevada and from San Francisco noun
tains northward for $500 miles. This
great expanse was, when DR.. Merriam
started his explorations, with the en-
| ception of one small area, virgin field.
The Mojave, it is predicted, will add
more to the science world.-San Fran
| cisco World.