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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



in the pits the pupils see the embedded skulls and teeth of the imperial 

 elephant and of mastodons, and the bones of saber-toothed tigers, lions, 

 wolves, sloths, giant oxen, camels, and many birds. Here too, beside the 

 trunk of a large cypress tree, a human skeleton has just been found, its 

 bones intermingled with those of the giants of the past. It is not yet 

 determined whether this rare discovery will antedate the earliest remains 

 of man previously recorded. We may then more vividly realize how 

 these strange creatures roamed over our mesa several hundred thousand 

 years ago. These bones have been as perfectly preserved by the infil- 

 trated tar, as if from animals only recently dead; and in the county 

 museum we observe with delight the rare collection of their mounted 

 skeletons. Frequently some bird, deceived by the brightly reflecting 

 surface of a tar pool, alights and is drawn to death and burial in the 

 sticky tar, thus repeating the story of the ages. 



Another story from this wonderland of ancient days is added in that 

 of the gigantic reptiles of the past, like the thunder lizard, twice as long 

 as the school-room and so tall that its back-bone would go through the 

 ceiling. The toothless hen, with arms as wings, adapted to flight, a rudi- 

 mentary free thumb, and the other fingers fused into one piece, has 

 descended from the first bird, with many teeth, three free clawed fingers 

 and a long lizard-like tail having a row of feathers on either side. The 

 ancestor of the first bird was a reptile with five fingers on each hand and 

 five toes on each foot. 



Looking Down into a Rancho La Brea Asphalt Pit, to a Depth op Ten Feet. 

 To the left ; skull, femur and jaws of the imperial elephant. To the right ; below, 

 femur and teeth of mastodon and femur of giant ground sloth ; above, tar seepage 

 through side wall. Photographed by L. E. Wyman, through the courtesy of Frank 

 S. Daggett, Director, Museum of History, Science and Art. 



