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8 THE PACIFIC MINERALO .GIST

BONES
By JAMES c; ARNOLD

This is no fireside chat-it is not to see if we were right in our sur-
even a skeleton in a closet-it is mises.
about bones in a natural cemetery.
The reason I like to talk about these It is yet a mystery to me how
in particular is that I discovered the these could have lain down to die,
deposit myself and that these strange could have been covered with thous-
morphological characters will per- ands, yes tens of thousands of feet
haps add one more chapter to the of sediments and detritus, squeezed
history of life. It also broadens the flat with the thousands of pounds of
vision of man to have to stretch the pressure, replaced with burning and
imagination to the conditions of life destroying chemicals until in some
during the time these strange crea- cases they are even made over into
tures roamed the earth. It also another substance entirely, folded
stretches the intellect to conceive of with the uplifts and recessional
geologic time, especially when it waves of geologic movement and
is known that it has been only a finally been exposed to the view of
few hundred years since Columbus man, still recognizable as a part of
discovered something that once was.
this country of Why, for a matter of fact, (if we
ours, and that are to believe the evidence of our
I'm going to own eyes) skeletal remains of the
speak of things last breakfast is sometimes found
that happened lying in position, together with the
in the tens of stones ·used to grind it up with.
thousands o f
years, yes, even in tens of millions One of the strangest things about
of years ago. these finds though, is the fact that
no young have been found! Perhaps
The oil interests in their search for there was insufficient bone harden-
existence and profit have uncovered ing materials (such as the medics
are howling about) calcium and
many of the facts relating to the
phosphorus to hold them up until
age of these sediments and havs they could be preserved for the in-
established for their own reference spection of posterity.
many of the terms and time sched-
To give you a more definite pic-
ules for their own convenience, but ture of this discovery, suppose you
this much is easily understood, that go along with me while the location
it must have been a long time since is found. While roaming over thc 0 ,
these old bones had flesh and skin hills in search of a good spot to de
on them. Another reason I like to a piece of magnetic research, my
talk about these materials is that partner and I were struck with the·-
they were once alive, breathing, and odd appearance of several of the
fighting just like the rest of us. Some- rocks found in that locality., and it
times I dream at night and envisage was while we were waiting for our
hills rolling with bones or monsters instruments to settle down and get
crawling over each other and I try into temperature equilibrium that
to make out their form and habits we had time to break into a few.