50 THE HYDRARCHO?. 



how long- ago is tliat ?" Ah ! that is the question. It was doubtless be- 

 fore Adam was a father. I would not like to give a more definite an- 

 swer. 



Dr. Kock, an enthusiastic German geologist, is the fortunate discov- 

 erer of this unique fossil. He is the same gentleman who brought to 

 light the immense mammoth skeleton, which he called the Missourlum, 

 which now graces the British Museum, and for which the British gov- 

 ernment gave him the handsome sum of ^5,000. He found this ser- 

 pentine skeleton in a small rocky prairie, in Washington Co., Ala., in a 

 stratum of yellow limestone, mingled with a great number and variety 

 of marine fossils. He was led to this discovery by observing a number 

 of huge bones used in the vicinity for various purposes. He saw sev- 

 eral used as andirons in a fire place, one as a door-sill, and one even as 

 a pillow by a negro. This put him on the scent, and he did not cease 

 his researches and labors, until he had exhumed an entire skeleton of 

 this enormous reptile. He called it Hydrarchos (Water King) Silli- 

 mani, in honor of Prof Silliman, but at the Professor's own suggestion, 

 he changed it to H. Harlani, in honor of the late celebrated American 

 Geologist and Naturalist, Dr. Harlan. 



This relic is, without exception, the largest of all fossil skeletons 

 ever found. Its length now is upwards of one hundred and fourteen 

 feet, without estimating any space for the cartilage between the bones, 

 and its length, when living, must have been over one hundred and thirty 

 feet. Who knows but it is the great progenitor of the sea-serpent, that 

 is said, to show himself occasionally on the coast of Massachusetts ? 

 This animal was probably a frequent visitor of large rivers and bays, on 

 whose surface it sported with its head and neck elevated above the water 

 seeking what it might devour. A whole shoal of herrings would hardly 

 suffice for one meal, and a couple of the hugest alligators just served 

 for a moderate lunch before dinner. It would seize the biggest of them 

 across the back and hold the struggling monster with as much facility 

 as a mole does an earth worm. 



The eyes of the Hydarchos were situated in such a manner as to 

 assist in seeking and catching its prey with more ease, for they were of 

 the size of an ordinary dinner-plate and prominently placed on the fore- 

 head. The propelling motion of the animal, was like that of the ser- 

 pent tribe : depending on the action of its powerful vertebrae and the 

 strong muscles and ligaments acting in harmony with them. The strong 

 and lengthy tail was used as a rudder to direct its course, as well as for 

 the purpose of propelling. What an amazing power that tail must have 

 had ! With one sweep of it he could knock off the stoutest main mast 



