THE MISSING LINK.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3596, 20 January 1883, Page 4

THE MISSING LINK.

THE "HITMAN"" FOOTrniXTS AT CAK3OX, NEV. The Washington correspondent of the New York Herald writes : —Having occasion to "visit the western part of Nevada a few ■weeks since for the purpo.se of prosecuting ethnologic investigation among the "Washoe Indians your correspondent's attention was called to the recently discovered footprints. ■which strongly resemble those of a human beina - , though before giving a detailed description of them it may be proper to present a few remarks as to their geologic position, &c. A sliort ridge of elevated hills, cut ofi on the north by the Carson River from the Pine Nut Mountains, places the Carson Plains like a promontory. This .spur consists principally of crystalline and primitive rocks, and is about three miles in length, with peaks rising to an altitude of 900 to 1,000 feet above the plain. Extending out from the northern point of this range is a low sandstone ridge, at the northern end of which is situated the Nevada State Prison, within the enclosures of which is the quarry. From the prison one has a clear view of Eagle Valley, in the western portion oi which the town of Carson is now situated. At the time the sandstone was formed this valley contained a lake of about three miles in diameter, having an outlet to the east. The prison is situated in latitude 39 deg. 09 mm. north, longitude 119 deg. 44 mm. 04 sec. west, at an altitude of about 459 C feet above the sea. The quarry was opened several years ago, but nothing beyond the occasional discovery of mammalian remains and fresh water shells appears to have been noted. During the past summer, however, footprints of various forms were discoverec" upon the floor of the quarry, and to these 1 desire to call special attention. The quarrj at present shows, an opening, the floor oi •which covers an area of about one and si hit If acres, and dips toward the west at ai: angle of about five degrees. In form the floor is an irregular rectangle, and at a distance of about one-third the entire distance from the eastern escarpment, or wall, the stratum is broken, so that the remaining western area appears to be another and ;i lower horizon. Upon the eastern horizon are found the finest impressions, although others just as fine and more numerous existed upon the western section, but most of these have been greatly injured by the wear of the horses and teams used in removing , the stone for building purposes. The floor of the prison yard is about fifteen feet below the surface at the eastern extremity, while at the western the height of the wall is ?about thirty-two feet. The strata of rock consists of gray sandstone, separated by seams of arenaceous clay. OJ the latter one, about eight feet from the upper surface in the southwestern corner, has yielded tusks and teeth of Elcplie*primiyenus, bones of the deer (CervusJ, teeth of excellent preservation of Equus major and fresh water shells, two Anadonta and alsc one Physa. Portions of the sandstone strata are literally filled with rootlets auc branches of plants and .shrubs. The next lower seam of clay has also yielded some bones and teeth. Passing down through the next stratum of sandstone we reach ;i seam of clay which rests upon the bed oi sandstone upon which occur beautiful and distinct impressions of the deer, horse, elephant, two species of bird tracks belonging, evidently, to the heron genus, and the wolf, Can is, indianenx'ts. Tho most remarkable, however, are the footprints of a biped which bear wonderfu] resemblance to those of a human being. The total number of the last named exceed one hundred, anel as they occur in different portions of the exposed floor they have been grouped into six .series, according to the si* different courses followed by the maker. These tracks were not all made by the same individual, but by two, at least, one being much smaller and perhaps younger. The; first series starts from under the eastern wall of rock and takes a southwestern course until it readies the broken horizon. The total number of impressions was seventeen, though one of them has been entirely obliterated by fracture. Tho tracks at the eastern end are the deepest, anel they gradually become more shallow toward tho western terminus. They appear to have been made in a layer of sediment of perhaps two inches in depth, for below this we find the compact sandstone. In each instance the mud has been raised by the pressure of the foot into a ridge Avhieh entirely surrounds it. The mud is only partially solidified, and is still flaky and easily" broken on exposure. These impressions clearly indicate rights and lefts and deviate to either side from a straight line about as much as the ordinary step of a man. The foot marks measure nineteen inches in length, six inches across the broadest part of the heel, and seven inches at the base of the toes. The hollow under the instep is remarkably prominent and characteristic of the human foot, as is also tho curvature around tho front of the toes. The impression is exactly like that of an Indian moccasin pressed into shallow mud. No separate impressions of toes are visible, from the fact that the whole interior of the impression clearly appears as if a sandal had been worn. The sharp line corresponding to the cut edge of a piece of hide is visible everywhere, and the rounded indentations of the heel and the ball of the foot arc also apparent. Where the mud was deepest and rose to tho height of an inch and a half or two inches the impress of tho bristles -was discovered, and according to their relative position to the mould of the sole the bristles were rather those of the individual himself than the hair on the piece of hide used as a sandal. In the southeastern corner of the yard is another series of tracks made by a smaller or younger individual of the same anatomical nature. Here tho mud was much deeper, some of the imprints being six inches in depth, and inclined backward'as if the marker struggled under a heavy load. In one of the series one "human " footprint has been entirely obliterated by the subsequent passage of an elephant, the footmark of the hitter showing up beautifully. The great size of these footprints naturally appear as an obstacle to any theory that they might have been made by primitive man or ananthropoid ape ; but I was shown—by Professor Harkness of San Francisco—the tracing of the sole of a shoe worn by a Sonoran which measures exactly eighteen and a half inches, just half an inch less than the fossil footprint. The only animals capable of producing impressions any way similar to these are the bear and the mylodon, or gigantic ground sloth. They are neither of these, and the theory gaining most followers is that " it is the missing link in the chain of human evolution." The distance between the feet of either side, taking the right foot for example, measures on an average two feet nine inches from the the forward to the heel of the same foot. Other series show differences from two feet three indies to three feet three inches. The straddle, or distance between rights and lefts, varies from almost nothing to sixteen inches. Neither of the above measurements is remarkable when we consider the proportions of the individual as indicated by the size of the feet. As above stated the largest mammal is considered ElepJtusprbnhjinus, the identification being based upon the dentition, as is also that of Equus major. Besides, the genus Equus was probably introduced in the Upper Pliocene and ranged through the Quaternary in successive stages. The strata somewhat resemble a lake terrace deposit, anel tho character of the surface of the floor of the prison yard present indications as if the living forms—whose tracks yet remain—had passed to and from the shores of a bed of water. The gradual increase in depth of the footprints towards the eastern and most elevated portion of the stratum presents evidence of an uplift since its formation, so that this tilting, together with the lithification of the strata and the fossilization of the plants anel organic remains may be adduced as evidence of an earlier than the Quatemarv.