Imperial Valley press., 1914-01-10
LA BREA POOL RECORD
OF MANY AGES AGO

Following is an address by Rev.
Thomas Clayton in Fresno on the pre-
historic deposits on the La Brea ranch:
IA few weeks ago, the whole ma
ton hung with breathless expectation
upon the latest reports of the worlds
championship baseball news. Every
morning for months we have eagerly
scanned the front page Of the news
papers for the latest news from Mex
leo, whether Huerta is still dictator
or not.
"While these things have been
transpiring, and many other events,
a small band of men have been quiz
city at work in Los Angeles, digging
out of the black pitch of the petrol
cum pits the most wonderful collec-
ton of the complete skeletons of ex
tinct animals and birds the world has
ever seen. A small depression on the
outskirts of the city, about one mile
from the long line of oil derricks WIS.,
ible on the horizon, contains num-
Der of small petroleum pits, making
one think seriously Of the old legend
of Sodom and Gomorrah. About forty
acres has been fenced in and leased to
the Museum of History, Science and
Art, which has a fine large building
in the old Exposition Park, with the
privilege Of excavating all they choose
for period of three years. Already
many tons of we'll preserved bones
have been taken out, and several fine
skeletons have been articulated and
placed on exhibition in the hall of the
museum, together with multitudes of
bones and fragments of bones Of ami
mails and birds, who long ages ago
finished their career on this earth.
Conspicuous among these stand the
sabre-toothed tiger, the giant sloth,
also the American mastodon.
Out at the pits band of men un-
der the supervision Of Mr.. Wynemann,
an expert anatomist, are patiently
working with pick and shovel, dig
cling out the clods of earth, and care
fully extracting the bones, both small
and great, that are glued together by
the sticky petroleum, which, mixed
with earth, has held them and pre-
served them from decay for ages and
ages.
The bones are first sorted out and
placed in boxes, which are labeled with
the names of the animals they are sup
posed to represent. They are next
taken into some rough sheds, and
there washed in kerosene, then being
shipped into the workrooms of the
museum.
$50 far the results of the excava-
tions furnished me by the kindness of
Mr.. Frank S. Daggett, director of the
museum, are as follows:
"Over 200 specimens of the sabre
toothed tiger (Smiledon California;;
100 wolves (Canis Dirus); three mas
todons; twenty-one skulls and eight
complete skeletons of the giant slOth;
fourteen bisons, seven lions, one skull
being Is inches from base to end of
jaw, probably the largest specimen of
lion ever known; eight horses; seven
camels, and between fifty and sixty
specimens of birds, many of them car
nivorous, and of gigantic size, and at
least three specimens hitherto UNI
known to science.
Of the imperial elephant, tusk and
a half have been recovered, which were
10 feet in length and 8 inches in d.
ameter, also gigantic skull, forming
the greatest elephant known in his
tory. To crown all, there has been
dug out complete and well-preserved
trunk of a tree, which the superinten-
dent believes must be more than 200,-
900 years old. 1t is species of cyp-
ress tree now extinct, except very
small variety in northern California.
What is the history of this wonder
full pit? Ages ago, the petroleum
dubbed up through the ground in this
depression, and into this hole the wa
ter ran in wet weather; then the harm
less herbivorous animals came down
to drink of the water, but were caught
by their feet in the sticky pitch Of
the pit, This brought down upon them
the herds of fierce sabre-t oothed ii
gers and gigantic lions and wolves,
who jumped onto their backs and de-
voured their flesh. In the struggle,