The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-06-24

F8 a FOSSIL
|8 BY Frederl'
|: ssnnneuanenuse1esea1a1ss
/ a vedtab4e glimpse Into a prea1s-
tordc age when sa6ertoofhed cass as
;:bsx as COWS preyed on grant Srouao
SONS and elephants thrreen feet tai
I IN these United States; when camess
\ ranged the western plains m heros
as great as those OF the ouEaio
hundred years ago: when man. ~ ne
textsted at al. was a covering, didtas:
|. low-browed cave dweller, IS a4fordec
{ by the discovery OF remarkable de-
post OF bones In Los Angeles couny.
Catif Tnder the auspices Oh the
1 county museum, these relics o6 an age
/ millions Of years gone by are pesS
Carefully exhumed and preserved
This prehistoric b0neyard is bed
II OF asphalt on a tract or land Kn so'11
las the Rancho La Brea, located 1nst
\ oIrtstde the corporate limits OF Los
Angeles. The asphalt beds DATE 1ro a,1
the Paefstocene era, which occurred
Eoaiy q few million years ago, immedi-
aSely ante-datns the modern period
K at sometime during the Pfetsrocene,
u on began seepinS to the surface
\ throush fauIt 10 some buried SUa1a
\ of rock The more volatile portions OF
the Oh quickly eyaporated, leaTtng
Lakes and pools OF tar WHICH remain
to this day much as they were during
\ P1efstocene times. And just as fns
prehistoric animals were trapped
MSons Of years ago, 50 Jack rabbits
and prairie dogs and birds are trapped
|Eby the asphalt today. so tenacious
are these puddTes OF tar that a
Swimming swallow dips his wing, he
lis more than apt to be held fact
H SO Through the ages creatures or all
Il kinds have been caught IN this 1lat-
rral trap. Their bones have SUM- +
|Itnto the wiscid mass which permeated
and preserved thems while the Sorter
portions remained on the Su1tace ENC
ldecayed In this way whole skeletons
of creatures that were dead a million
years before man came to Eve upon
the earth, have been preserved IN
their natural substance These are
not. strictly speaking. fossils; tney
are the actual bones preserved IN
asphalt, their color changed but their
substance unahered-
The tremendous significance OF this
find to science may be judged from
| t41e fact that most OF our knowledge
I cleaned from Scattered remnants OF
bone. uatneralized by the slow action
/ of water. When creature dies m
line ordinary way, Inns bones are quick
liz scattered; most OF them are de-
1 stroyed. Perhaps a single tooSh, OF
the skeleton of foot IS buried IN
the sand and turned to stone by the
slow process OF ages Found 10y a
scientist, this fossil VIII AFFORD yatu-
able clue as to the kind OF creatures
I|ttat lived In that remote age But IN
|ithe Rancho Ia Brea deposits complete
skeletons OF q great variety OF Great
|ures are preserved as perfectly as any
EcoIIector could desire. From this 11ch
mass of Evidence the scientist can
.lverftably reconstruct a vanished age
One OF the dominating types OF the
-lP1festoceue OF which numerous com
4 pIete skeletons have Been found was
4 the giant saber-toothed cat, a preda-
4 tory beast 1arger than the largest
African lion. and having its upper
front teeth developed into saber-i1ke
ltusks about q foot long. In build and
general characteristics 1t resesntbled
la modern tiger. A more fOrmfdable
3Ebeast could scarcely be designed. and
!. the sabertoothed cat was probably
!. the most feroctouS creature that ever
iIHTed upon the continent In Hne Ii
iIBrea deposits its skeleton is found
/ I'm close proximity with those OF the
llprehistoric bison, the giant ground
sloth bigger Tran a horse and even
The mastodon, the ancient form OF the
!. elephant 1t IS believed that the
Isaber-toothed cat, with It's unique and
! destructive dentition. successfully
!; Ipreyed upon all of these creatures.
Nothing SURPRISES the average lay
imam more than to Learn that in the