Natural Science News, 



VOL. I ALBION, N. Y., AUGUST 31, 1895. No. 31 



Natural Science News. 



A Weekly Journal Devoted to 

 Natural History. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and Items of interest to the 

 student of any of the various branches of the 

 Natural Sciences solicited from all. 



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Entered at, Albion P. O. as 2nd 'lass m;iil matter 



Head of Prehistoric Monster 

 Embedded in Bitumen. 



A remarkable discovery was 

 made some weeks ago in the as- 

 phaltum mines in Kern county, 

 when miners working 120 feet be- 

 low the surface excavated the skull 

 of a prehistoric monster. 



The bones were embedded in 

 the asphaltum deposit, and in close 

 proximity were pieces of wood in 

 a fair state of preservation, though 

 hardened and blackened like Irish 

 bogwood of forests belonging to a 

 far away geological period. Fos- 

 sils in the earth are nothing un- 

 common, but this skull or jawbone 

 is more than a fossil, -which fact 

 give it a peculiar significance in 

 study of geology and natural his- 

 tory. There are several teeth in 

 the jawbone that still have a coat- 

 ing of enamel, which proves that 

 aeons of ages ago beasts moving 

 amid the desolation of earth had 

 teeth differing none either in text- 

 ure or form from the present age. 

 The enamel is well preserved in 

 color and substance, though inside 

 it the dentine is changed to asphal- 

 tum. 



The head is not perfect, as part 

 of it had either turned to the black 

 substance itself or rotted away, al- 

 though there remains enough to 

 show that it was larger than a 

 horse's head and shaped like that 

 of a moose. The teeth are larger 

 than those found in a horse, being 

 about three or four inches long and 

 one and one-fourth inches >wide, 

 and they are arranged in long rows, 



showing that the extinct creature 

 had a mouth built for heavy busi- 

 ness. From the forehead a mas- 

 sive horn protrudes like the spike 

 of a rhinoceros, but of a different 

 shape, being flat and resembling 

 the broad portion of the deer's 

 horns. It gives the head a formid- 

 able aspect. Now it is merely as- 

 phaltum that indicates the bone 

 fiber. 



As a scientific discovery the im- 

 portance of these fossiliferous frag- 

 ments can be appreciated when it 

 is known that scientists differ re- 

 garding the origin of asphaltum. 

 Some of the most eminent geolo- 

 gists have satisfactorily reached 

 the conclusion by inductive pro- 

 cesses that it is. a mineral formed 

 by certain chemical action, while 

 others whose standing entitles 

 their opinions to quite as much 

 respect, claim it is a vegetable sub- 

 stance, or at least organic, and 

 probably was animal matter simi- 

 lar to that found at the bottom of 

 the ocean. 



The fragments are now all pack- 

 ed ready to be sent to the Univer- 

 sity of California, where they will 

 he classified, if possible, and pre- 

 served as some of the most inte- 

 resting specimens in the Berkeley 

 Museum of Natural History. The 

 fragments embedded in asphalt 

 will also be forwarded, and no 

 doubt there will not be much diffi- 

 culty in determining its species. 

 The discovery and preservation of 

 those exceedingly valuable speci- 

 mens are mainly due to Bernard 

 Bienenfield, a civil engineer con- 

 nected with the mines at Asphalto, 

 who studied at the University. 



"It deals with the mysterious," 

 said he, while describing some of 

 the wonders of the study in the al- 

 most scientifically unknown region 

 of Asphalto. "It brings us to 

 think what might have been. The 

 mysterious study opens up a new 

 world to our view." 



"And is it really so wonderful?" 



"Well, who can explain it all? 

 Asphaltum is supposed to be of 

 animal origin, or vegetable origin. 

 The theory that it is from the ani- 

 mal matter of infusoria. 



"And here — see for yourself — 

 we have a well-preserved head of 

 an animal hewn out of the asphal- 

 tum deposit 120 feet down in the 

 earth. I would not wish to set up 

 an opinion or draw an inference 

 from this fact, but it does impress 

 me strangly that this head was 



part of the animal remains that 

 formed asphaltum. Possibly it 

 was millions of .years ago — who 

 knows? Who can count the geo- 

 logical periods by years? Time is 

 lost in it. And, think of it, here 

 are teeth with the grey enamel still 

 firm, still smooth and shiny, in 

 the asphalt." 



He unpacked the fossils with ex- 

 treme care lest pieces of the friable 

 stuff might crumble off at his 

 touch. Remember, strictly speak- 

 ing, they are more than fossils, for 

 the teeth are enameled, and fancy 

 the sensations of handling portions 

 of a creature that moved and had 

 its being countless of ages before 

 this world was ready for man! 



One package contained a piece 

 of jawbone showing the teeth on 

 the outer side, another showed 

 sections of teeth and the bone in 

 which they were imbedded with 

 mere shell-like covers for asphalt 

 that was dentine. A tooth curved 

 like a segment of a circle, full)' 

 three inches long and one inch by 

 one and one-fourth in section, and 

 weighed nearly a pound. The 

 horn is a horrible thing to look at. 

 It measures about six inches in 

 length, eight inches in width and 

 from two to half an inch in thick- 

 ness. This stood direct between 

 the animal's eyes, and must have 

 proved a most persuasive feature 

 in his way of arguing. 



Among the other interesting 

 pieces is a jawbone seven inches 

 long, in a good state of preserva- 

 tion, and clearly showing the bone 

 fiber, although really nothing but 

 so much asphaltum, save where 

 the enamel projects. They will 

 have to be put together by the 

 professors at the university, who 

 may be able to reconstruct a com- 

 plete skull of a prehistoric animal 

 that roamed over California in the 

 tertiary or quarternary period. 



Practically little geological work 

 has been done in the regions where 

 the fossils were found. Just 50 

 miles to the west of Bakersfield, 

 high up in the desolate mountains 

 skirting the western San Joapuin 

 valley, this strange land lies. 

 Blinding ashes and parched dust, 

 pools of liquid asphaltum and 

 streams of that pitchy viscid stuff 

 trickling from cracks in the hill- 

 sides; creeks and little lakes of 

 sulphurous water emiting a gas 

 that ignites and blazes, great 

 masses of bitumen protruding 

 from the ground like lava grown 



