BONES FOUND OF NEW PREHISTORIC MONSTER LARGEST YET KNOWN

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6808, 11 January 1929, Page 10

BONES FOUND OF NEW PREHISTORIC MONSTER LARGEST YET KNOWN

The thrilling story of the discovery of the remains of the largest land animal known to science, in the wilds of Mongolia was related to a Daily Express representative lately by Mr Roy Chapman Xndrews, the American explorer, who was in london. He has just returned from his fourth expedition to the Gobi Desert, and has left for New .York. “Central Asia,’’ he said, “was once a great incubator, where many of the great animals started existence. It may have been the birthplace of man. “It was a place called Ehrlien, in this region, that we found the first dinosaur eggs. “We found the bones of an entirely now prehistoric mammal,’ the largest animal yet known to science. The monster, which Teamed through the world not less than eight or nine million years ago was 25 feet long, 14 feet to the shoulders, as large as a freight car, weighed more than ten tons, and had a neck 12 feet high. “The monster was related to the rhinoceros family; but had a long neck, and fed on leaves from the tree-tops. They died out probably because they became too big and vast to secure food.’’ Mr Andrews and his little party of nine scientists and twenty-seven other men found a skeleton of the beast intact, but so large that it was impossible to move it. The skeleton was found on a hill-top, with its hind legs in one ravine, and its front legs, in their proper position, attached to the skeleton, in another ravine twenty-five feet away.

“The desert is swarming with brigands,’’ said Mr Andrews. “Caravan drivers were afraid to cross. For two years everything was held up. The merchants were ruined. The brigands could not obtain a living because there was nothing for them to raid. ' “An agreement was made at last between the merchants and brigands. All camels that crossed were taxed five dollars a head by the brigands, who then agreed iv>t to tv id them. T' e first day that arrangement was put into effect 15,000 camels crossed the desert. We carried a machine gun in our party.’’