Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-09-17

The life history and habits Of SWIM
ming rabbit is the subject OF recent
report to the American Society Of Man,
malogists from Ivan r. TompkinS OF
the United States dredge Morgan, sta
toned at Savannah, Ga.
The animal is the little known marsh
rabbit Of the South Carolina coast. 1t
spends most of its life on the tidal
marshes and hence, perhaps alone of
the rabbit family, has become partially
aquarium animal. Almost strictly noe
turnal in its habits, its way Of life had
escaped naturalists.
BY far the best known trait Of the
species is its liking for water. 1ndivid-
uals are sometimes encountered in day.
time far out in one of the coastal rivers.
Mr.. Tompkins found one swimming
strongly more than TOO feet from either
shore. In Summer, when the water is
warm, they take to it readily. They are
seldom observed, however, swimming in
cold water.
In Fall and Winter the little creature
the favorite food of the great marsh
hawks continuously circling over the
marshes. But when Spring comes the
bLI0S ACoVC AVA VIC VIC oCdSCo
grow tall so as to completely conceal
the timid little animals, and they are
left in peace until the froSts Of Autumn.
Generally. Mr.. Tompkins records, the
marsh rabbit is a ome-loving creature
but floods in the fresh water area of its
habitat sometimes force migration.
It Is natural swimmer. On land 1t
walks with swimming motion. Other
rabbits are practically helpless in the
water and try to swim with the hopping
motion they use on land The rare
species appears to be holding its own,
Mr. Tompkins says, in spite of its many
enemies.
nection between the American Indians
and the grotesque Neanderthalers-the
ogrelike humans who were scattered
over much Of the Old World in the early
glacial period just before the appearance
of the present human species.
Such is the deduction of DR.. Ales
Hrdlicka, curator of physical anthro-
pology of the Smithsonian Institution,
from the discovery Of scattered Indian
remains with decided Neanderthal char
dCJCIloLlCo, obviously "a @SASs
lively recent origin. The finding OF such
material sometimes Is attended with I'M
founded claims that it proves the exist
ence Of true ancient man in the Amer
icas, although the weight Of evidence Is
In favor of the hypothesis that man Is
q relatively late arrival from Asia by
way Of Alaska. But the migrants might
very well have brought a Neanderthal
heritage Of countless generations. to crop
out occasionally in individuals and con-
fuse Psychologists.
DR.. Hrlicka expresses this opinion from
the study of fragment of skull dis
covered by Earl H. Bell of the Uni
versity of Nebraska in large mound
of unknown age near the site Of pre-
historic Indian village in that State.
The owner was middle-aged man. Ex-
cept in one respect it was a normal
Indian skull The abnormality consisted
of large, bony ridges over the eyes-the
so-called supra-orbital ridges. These are
one of the outstanding characteristics
of the true Neanderthal skull, as they
are in the skulls Of the great apes. They
are greatly diminished in modern man.
In this Nebraska skull the ridges were
rather pronounced and were about inter-
mediate between those Of the modern