70 EESOUKCES OF CALIFOKNIA. 



skeletons have been brought to light — only fragments here and 

 there. Of quadrupeds, we have the remains of a mastodon, an 

 elephant, and a new species of horse. Of birds and reptiles, 

 nothing noteworthy has been found. We have no entire fossil 

 hshes, but a few teeth. Dr. W. O. Ayres found near Pit River 

 the teeth of a shark, of tlie genus Lamna — a genus now extinct 

 on this coast. There are luinierous beds of marine shells, the 

 most remarkable being on the shores of San Pablo Bay, on the 

 sides of Mount Diablo, and on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. 

 In the bluffs of the coast, near the Lake House, are sliells iden- 

 tical with those now^ found alive in the vicinity. All our fossils 

 are of the tertiary period, save a few ammonites of the second- 

 ary era, found in the northern part of the state. 



§ 49. Relics of Early Humanity. — In May, 1859, an Indian 

 arrow-head was found, eighty feet below the surface of the 

 earth, at Buckeye Hill, Nevada county. About the same time, 

 another arrow-head was found three feet deep, in undisturbed 

 alluvium, near Freeman's Crossing, in the same county. 



In April, 1859, the skeleton of a man was found sixteen feet 

 deep, at Tehaehepe, in Los Angeles county. 



In October, 1855, two stone mortars, such as were used by 

 the Indians for grinding acorns and grass-seeds, were found 

 near Diamond Springs, El Dorado county, at a depth of one 

 hundred feet below the surface. 



In October, 1854, the skeletons of two men were found at 

 Rattlesnake Bar, fourteen feet below the surface, and under 

 ancient strata, which had apparently not been disturbed from 

 the time of their deposition. 



These are a few only of the fossil evidences that California 

 has been inhabited by men many thousands of years. 



§ 50. Mineral Springs. — Mineral springs are very numer- 

 ous in California. The greatest number are found in the coast 

 valleys, from latitude 40° southward to 32°. Nearly every 

 little vale has one or more; many of them warm or hot. The 

 most common temperatures range from 60° to 120°. Some of 

 these springs yield a large quantity of water, and are in ro- 



