AURIFEEOUS TRAVEL MAN IN CALIFORNIA. 409 



resent a Tertiary race of men. If the existence of Tertiary man in 

 California is finally proved, it will be on evidence other than that fur- 

 nished by the Calaveras skull. 



Notwithstanding the above decided averments I must allow that 

 with respect to the question of Tertiary man in California no final 

 conclusion can as yet be drawn. 1 do not regard the investigation as 

 satisfactorily completed and desire in the present writing only to state 

 the problems and present the evidence in a way that will tend to brino- 

 out and establish tlie truth. 



SinviMAHY. 



A brief summary of the arguments for and against the great antiq- 

 uity of man in the gold belt of California may well be presented here 

 for convenience of reference. The principal considerations arraj^ed in 

 support of the affirmative are as follows: 



(1) During the three or four decades succeeding the discovery of 

 gold in California the miners of the auriferous belt reported many 

 finds of implements and human remains from the mines. The forma- 

 tions most prominently involved are of Neocene age; that is to say, 

 the middle and later portions of the Tertiary. 



(2) Most of the objects came from surface mines, but some were 

 apparently derived from tunnels entering horizontally or obliquelj' 

 and to great depths and distances beneath mountain summits capped 

 with Tertiar}" lavas, leading to a belief in their great age. 



(3) The finds were very numerous and were reported by many per- 

 sons, at various times, and from sites distributed over a vast area of 

 country. They were made, with one exception, b}' inexpert observers — 

 by miners in pursuit of their ordinary calling — but the statements 

 made hx the finders are reasonably lucid and show no indications of 

 intentional exaggeration or attempted deception. 



(■i) The stories as recorded are uniform and consistent in character, 

 and the objects preserved are, it is claimed, of a few simple ty})os. such 

 as might l)e expected of a very ancient and primitive people. The 

 evidence, coming from apparentlv unrelated sources, is described as 

 remarkable for its coherency. 



(5) The reported finding of an implement in place in the l:i(c Tt-rliary 

 strata of Table Mountain by Mr. Clarence King is especially inq)()rtant 

 and gives countenance to the reports of inexpert observers. 



(6) The osseous remains recovered are, in some cases, said to be fossil- 

 ized, having lost nearly all their animal matter, and some are coated 

 with firmly adhering gravels resembling those of th(> ancient deposits. 

 Tliese conditions give rise to the impression of great age. 



(7) The flora and fauna with which the human remains and relics 

 appear to be associated indicate climatic conditions and food supi)ly 

 favorable to the existence of the human species. It is a uotewortiiy 



