The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-15
WILD LIFE TN AMERICA

The fossil beds of the great plains
 North America and other parts of thl
 west contain eloquent proofs of the richI
 ness and variety of mammal life on thil
 continent at different periods in the past
 Perhaps the most wonderful of all thes
 ancient faunas was that revealed by thI
 bones of birds and mammals which ha}
 been trapped the asphalt pits recentll
 discovered in ,he outskirts of Los Ange
 les, California. These bones show tha.
 prior to the arrival of the present faunf
 the plains of southern Californii strange birds and beasts The mos notable of these are sabor toothed tigers lions much larger than those of Africa giant wolves; several kinds of bears, 1T cluding huge cave bears, even larger tha
 the gigantic brown bears of Alaska|
 large wild horses camels, bison (unlik' our buffalo; tiny antelope. the size o fox; mastodons, mammoths with tuski 15 feet long, and giant ground cloths; il addition to many other species, largl and small. g with these amazing mammals werI equally strange birds. including amonl numerous birds of prey giant venture i like species Gar larger than any condorl peacocks and many others.
 There is reason for believing tha;
 primitive man occupied California am
 other parts of the west during at leas the latter part of the period when tn fauna of the asphalt pits still flourishec
 The folklore of 4he locally restricted scriptions of beast which is unnistakl ably 8 bison. probably the bison of tn asphalt pits.
 ''The discovery in these pits of tn bones of a gigantic vulture like bird q prey of far greater size than the condo. Is even more startling, since the folklorl of the Eskimos and Indians of most q the tribes from Boring Straits to Cali fornia and the Rocky mountain regio' abound in tales of the thunder bird'-E
 gigantic bird of prey like a mighty eagle
 capable of carrying away people in if. talons Two such coincidences sugges the possibility that the accounts of tn bison and the thunder bird are reall and have been passed down in legendar3 history through many thousands q years.
 Among other marvels our fossil bed reveal the fact that both camels anj horses originated in North America. Tn remains of many widely different specie of both animals have been found in nr8 l merous localisties extending from coas to coast in the United States. Camel
 and horses, with many species of ante lope closely related to still existinI forms in Africa, abounded over larg'
 part of this country up to the end of tn
 geological age immediately preceding tn
 present era.
 bus this continent had only one domef| ticated animal-the dog. In most iii stances the ancestors of the Indian dog appear to have been the native coyeFs or gray wolves. but the descriptios some dogs found by the early expl1- N indicat s*ferent and unknown ar|
 cestry. Unfortunately these strange dog| became extinct at an. early period, anl
 thus left unsolvable1 the riddle of tn #
 origin.
 Before the discovery of America t6l
 people of the old world had domest
 cated cattle, horses. pigs. sheep. goal
 and cats; but none of these domestic an
 Inals, except the dog, existed in Americl
 until brought from Europe by the irl vaders of the new world"