Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 March 1893 — Mining For Fossils. [ARTICLE]

Mining For Fossils.

Not the least important industry sustained by these deposits of past ages in' Texas is that of mining for fossils for scientific purposes. In the gypsum beds are found the remains of gigantic batrachians from 10 to 15 feet long, like frogs with short tails. Only a few millions of years ago these creatures were very plentiful, judging from the number of them dug up. In some parts of the same state large amounts of what is called “fossel brushwood” are unearthed. This is actually the spiny frills that grow like fins along the backs of giant lizards which lived in the distant permian epoch. Some of the spines are four feet in length. These reptiles were carnivorous and so exceedingly fierce that the myriads of them which existed anciently in Texas must have rendered things most unpleasant for other occupants of the country.—[Washington Star.