Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-05-20

rumors of a strange land were com
mon among all the rlverine tribes. 1t
was my business to find out more"
what did you do?" My fiippancy
was all gone. This massive man com
PEELED ones attention and respect.
II overcame the extreme reluctance
Of the natlves-a reluctance which ex-
tends even to talk upon the subject
and by judicious persuasion and gifts,
aided, l will admit, by some threats
Of coercion, got two Of them to act
as guides. After many adventures
which need not describe, and after
travelling a distance which l will not
mention, In a direction which l with
hold, we came at last to a tract of
country which has never been de-
scribed nor, indeed, visited save by
my unfortunate predecessor. Would
you kindly look at this?"
He handed me a photograph, half
plate size.
"The unsatisfactory appearance Of 1t
is due to the fact" said he, "that on
descending the river the boat was up
set and the case which contained the
undeveloped films was broken, with
disastrous results. Nearly all of them
were totally ruined-an irreparable
loss. This is one Of the few which
partially escaped"
The photograph was certainly very
off cOlored An unkind critic might
easily have misinterpreted that dim
surface. 1t was dull gray landscape,
and as l gradually deciphered the de-
tails Of 1t realized that it represented
a long and enormously high line of
cliffs exactly like an immense cata-
ract seen in the distance, with a slop-
Ing tree clad plain in the foreground.
81 believe it is the same place as the
painted picture" said l.
1T is the same place." the professor
answered. II found traces of the fell
lows camp. Now look at this"
1t was a nearer view of the same
scene, though the photograph was ex-
tremely defective. / could distinctly
see an isolated, tree crowned pinnacle
of rock which was detached from the
crag.
81 have no doubt Of 1t at all, said 1.
"Well, that is something gained"
said he. 1--WE progress. do we not?
Now, will you please look at the top of
that rocky pinnacle? Do you obaervG
something there?"
"An enormous tree"
"But on the tree?"
"A large bird" said l.
He handed me lens.
"Yes," l said, peering through it, "a
large bird stands on the tree. 1t ap-
pears to have a considerable beak.
should say it was pelican"
81 cannot congratulate you upon
your eyeslght," said the professor. 1T
is not a pelican, nor, indeed, is it
bird. 1t may interest you to know
that I succeeded in shooting that par
ticular specimen. 1t was the only alb
solute proof Of my experiences which
was able to bring away with me-"
"A monstrous batl'' suggested.
Nothing of the sort" said the pro-
fessor severely. Living, as do, in
an educated and scientific atmosphere,
could not have conceived that the
first principles of zoology were so lit
tie known. Is 1t possible that you
do not know the elementary fact in
comparative anatomy that the wing
of bird Is really the forearm, while
the wing of a bat consists Of three
elongated fingers with membranes be-
tween? Now, in this case the bone Is
certainly not the forearm, and you can
see for yourself that this is single
membrane hanging upon single bone
and therefore that it cannot belong to
bat. But, If 1t is neither bird nor
bat, what is it?"
My small stock of knowledge was
exhausted.
81 really do not know" said l.
He opened the standard work to
which he had already referred me.
Here" said he, pointing to the pic
ture of an extraordinary flying mon
ster is an excellent reproduction of
the dimorphodon, or pterodactyl fly
ing reptile of the jurassic period. On
the next page is a diagram of the
mechanism Of Its wing. Kindly com
pare it with the specimen in your
hand"
A wave of amaZement passed over
me as l looked. l was convinced.
There could be no getting away from
1t. The cumulative proof was over
whelming. The sketch, the photo
graphs, the narrative and now the ac-
tual speclmen-the evidence was com
plete l said SOL said so warmly,
for l. felt that the professor was an i'll
used man. He leaned back in his
chair with dropping eyelids and a toll
Grant smile, basklng in this sudden
CLEAN Of sunshine. He purred with
satisfaction.
"And then, sir, what did you do
next?"
ut was the wet season, Mr.. Malone.
and my stores were exhausted. ! ex.
plored some portion of this huge cliff,
but l was unable to find any way to
scale it. The pyramldal rock upon
which | saw and shot the pterodactyl
was more accessible. Being something
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