The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-08-21

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tory-and there have been a mum
Der Of them since the scientists re
turns apt to begin by exclaim
ing over the size Of this ancien
camel or that extinct turtle tina
used to roam Arizona. II he per
sists, the kindly professor will per.
haps suppress a slight yawn, ther
apologetically explain that the,
matter really very little. whai
really counts, the specimens thai
already have the fossil experts In
Europe breathlessly and impatient.
ly awaiting scientific description
are the little fellows in bottles, tn,
birds and rodents, so few of which
have ever been found for that earli-
er period. All of them are unlike
and many are wholly unrelated &c
the animals that are native to tina,
region now.
Just why so few birds are ever
found in the prehistoric deposits OF
this or any other part of the world
is difficult for the authorities to sx-
plain. Perhaps IL was because bird
bones, being fragile, quickly disin-
tegrated, but the more probable ex-
PLANTATION is that whatever natural
cataclysms of flood and earthquake
and volcanic eruption oyercame the
land-bound creatures and preserved
their skeletons. the birds by flight
were able in most cases TO escape.
Certain ii is that this find at the
edge Of the San Pedro valley in
Arizona is most important scien-
tifically because Of the birds IL re-
veals. Yet at present but few of
these specimens have been assem-
bled and analysed. Some of these
are shore birds. The largest is a
close relative Of the peacock.
THESE Arizona fossils have a
considerable amount of VOL
canic ash deposited about them,
which might of itself suggest that
the large number of birds found
was due to their being trapped by
a volcanic eruption. But the an
noying added fact is that Il is not
undisturbed volcanic ash. but ash
that at some ancient time was
washed out OF the mountains by
rains and re-deposited in the val
leys. Where the volcanoes that
blew il forth have gone no one now
knows, but II was probably ages
old ash long before the birds buried
in it lived. Prof. Gidley can offer
no satisfactory explanation.
Among his larger specimens are
the camels. there being three Of
them, in more or less fragmentary
condition. One is of a species re-
lated TO the present South Ameri-
can llama, which properly is classi-
fed as a camel. 1t offers the first
evidence, so the scientist says, of
the South American species ever
having lived in North America
This specimen Is at least one
fourth larger than any living spe-
cies Of llama. There is also a large
camel resembling the common breed,
but larger than any of the present
day draft and riding animals used
in the African and Asiatic deserts.
The usual American is apt to look
upon the camel as a foreigner. Prof.
Gidley says he is not; that, instead.
the camel probably originated in
America and spread from here 70
the other parts of the earth.
Two types of mastOdons were I'M
covered. One of them, and perhaps
both. Prof. Gidley believes. are
species never found before. The his
tory of the elephant family, to
which they belong. is so obscure
that he is still in doubt regarding
them. and may have to consult other
authorities. Along with them were
found various of the carnivore. one
related to the hyena, another of the
dog or wolf type, and a third re-
sembling the martin or weasel
Three to four varieties of horse
are represented in the specimens
brought back. ranging in size from
tiny three-toed "Hipparion.'
which was one of the last OF the
three-toed race. to variety as
large as or larger than the modern
draft horse.
engaged in their eN-
w eavations the men lived at
w the Curtis ranch house,
whose place the fossils had been
1t is a sparsely settled
region, first given over to cattle
ranges but of late years broken to
the pillow and cultivated in places.
The people they found unusually
and much interested in
the visitors and their work, but not
to confess IL. Particularly
they avoided discussion of where the
fossil deposits had come from.
Theories of evolution had no place
in their scheme OF creation. And
the scientists never
brought up the subject.
One day the older man and head
Of the Curtis family could stand 1t
no longer and announced that he
was going with them to the pit,
three miles from his house. They
welcomed him gladly. Arriving at
the place he stood a long time con-
the bones of one of the
its tusks protruding and
partly uncovered but not yet re-
moved from the original resting
place. There are no elephants today
In Arizona except with the travelling
and IL was evident that the
old Mormon was thinking. Finally,
With finger pointing at the dead
he exploded.
That's a fact!" said he, and then
again in louder voice. That's a
'actr'
1t was all that he said but IL was
taken as a confession that argument
On his side was useless.
Another Mormon rancher in the
neighborhood took great comfort
from the fact that ancient horses
were found there. The Book of Nor
mon. he explained, contains the
statement that in the promised land
70 which the latter day saints would
be led horses would be found None
of the early Mormon settlers had
ever found "a horse native 10 the
country. and all had about come to