The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-02
ANCIENT HORSES NO
 LARGER THAN DOGS
American Desert Gives Secret to the GeOlogists-Dobbin Then
 Had Toes

Horses, some no larger than shepherd dogs, and others so old in history that until this year 1t had not been believed they had existed on the western con tinent, once cavorted and frisked on the Mojave desert, and, after cavorting and frisking, left traces that have rewritten much in the science of historical geology, says the San Francisco Chronicle. Fossils picked up within twelvemonth 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 circum- ference.
 In the face of rocks all the way from France to China have been found fos- sillzed remains of the famous Hipparion horse of tl1e Plfocene Age, but until the Mojave told it's story to Prof. John Camp bell Merriam of the University of Cali fornia, this country was thought to have been one of the newer lands where plio- cene animals never roamed. The dis covery gave proof to the theory that the continents were connected, and brought a tinge of authenticity to the cherished leg end of the vanished bridge of land" The Mojave went further.
 A worldwide search for the particular species of Dobbin that ran wild before the Hipparion had never filled the gap in knowledge until the California professor started digging again in the Mojave, the Thousand Creeks, Virgin Valley and Nina fossil fields of Nevada. Then was discov- cred the horse of the Middle or late Mio- cene Age, the great-granddaddy of the Hipparion, and proof positive that. so far as present research can show, horses habited what is now the Pacific coast before they trotted over the slopes of the "older' continent
 The story of the horse, as written in fossils today means that they originated not many miles from San Francisco, and have roamed over a world. This conti- nent Is no longer to be despised as the new one because it was discovered by men at later date, but that right here was founded the time-honored genus Equus. It Is a romantic story unfolded after many failures and vicissitudes, false grounds for hopes and unexpected tri- umphs, and in all story of hard work.
 The MoJave desert, since Prof Mer- riam's visit has taken on an fnterna- tional significance as 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 Thigh 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 A knowl- edge of the shifting sands of ages. Gen. turies ago when a Hipparion horse sought a sheltered place in which to die he performed favor to science for in those semi-sheltered spots the presery- ing sand gently sifted in. In years the accumulated sands and water covered the bones with deep conglomerate, which, for storage purposes. has no equal. and which preserves to this day the record of ages. It is for this reason that deserts and mountainous regions are the hunting grounds for the geolo- gists.
 Tn addition to the horses of the Mio- cene, Piiocene 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 of America. for the eland and kudu of Af- 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 Untyer- sity of California. The wonder Is the field has been so long neglected. The great basin from which many more dis coveries may come extends from the wasatch mountains to the Sierra Ne vada and from San Francisco mountains northward for 1000 miles. This great expanse was. then Dr. Merriam started his explorations. with the exception of one small area, virgin field
 The Mojave. 1t is predicted, will add more to the science world