A BATTLEFIELD OF MONSTERS. BY A BANKER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2288, 6 January 1898, Page 55

A BATTLEFIELD OF MONSTERS. BY A BANKER.

M'llions of jears ago, in the f-r-away periods known to geologists a.H the Mesczoic or Secondary age — the fifth " day," or cc .n, tf tie Biblical account of the creation, when " Gcd crcatt-d the great sea monsters " V.) — England presented a very different iippearanre from that which exists at the preseht time. The gracual cooling of the surface of the earih, which had been progressing for long ceans siiice the primordial time when the *'eai(h wss without form and \oiri,"had now con-iderably advanced, and the temperature was somewhat similar to ihafc of trcpical countries i.t the present time ; though as this heal; was in great measure evolved horn the earth itself, and no!; from the sun, which at that iime was practically in the same slate a« now, the atmosphere waf, especially in the earlier days of tlrs period, more or less in a tbi.be of mist, "there went up a mist from the earth," though not so dense and continuous aa that which prevailed during ihe peeviou? carboniferous period. The scenery was d flierenb altogether to It at of the present day. There were no chslk chfii", for cfca'-k. did not yet exist ; there were no,(true placenta') mammal"!, no lions, elephants, horses, ca'tle or sheep; the trees were mainly various forms of tropical conifers, which grew in luxuriant vigour in the warm humid soil ; snd the general appearance j of the scene must have been far less beautiful and attractive than the diversified beauty which j the English landscipe now exhibits, j

But the country was altogether unfitted for tbe habitation cf man, who would Eoon have been exterminattd by the gigantic monsters wh ; ch roamed over ifc in countless numbers — giant mailed reptiles of astounding eize and strength, enormous frrgs as large as a greit ox, moi'Strous beasts, somewhat like lizards (Ichthyosaurus and others), some of the;n 50ffe long, with jaws 6ft or more in length and of sufficient cape city to devour a couple of men at one mouthful, and which for a substantial meal would require nearly a d zen men, their eyes being as large ss a man's head, and their teeth powerful 'weapons which could ciush a young elephant And there were aniai'ls like tremendous bats, ore variety of which (Pt~erodictjl) had a skull sft in length and great wings in prcpoition, and cou'd probably have carried off a man to his lair and devoured him at bis ease; a terrible- monster (^he Megiloeautus), whose colossal frame must have weighed at least two tons ; a huge amphibian (the Pleciosauru3), with a neck 10ft loner, of which Cuvier remarked that "it presented the moat monstrous assemblage of characteristics that has Leen met with among the races of the ancient; world " ; and a dreadful and enormous devouring monster, the Ceteosaurus, 50ft long and 10fi high. But probably the largest airm-tl which ever trod the earth was the Atls.uto-saurus, the length of which, according to Gtikie, is supposed to have beeu not much short of 100 ft, with a height of 30ft or more. Assuming this to bave been a carnivorous animal, it is easy to imsgme the number of men, women, and children this appalling mons'er would devour in the course of jv day if man had then existed on the earth.

Lyme Regis, on the south coasi of Eogleud, appears to have been a veritable babt Infield of these prodigious and ferocious animals, for there a stratum of liaß is exposed which has jielded a rich harvest of many kinds of fotsils, numerous perfect skeletons having been exhumed ; and there are abundant ind'c&tions that these great animals f ought against and preyed upon esch other, for the foss-il coprolites reveal the fact indisputably. In one instance the undigested broken bones of an ich^hjosaurus were found enclosed within the ribs of a larger animal, proving that soon after devouring his prey he must have met his death in some way before his meal had time to be digested. Happily for mankind these terrible monsters were, by the overruling power of D.vine Providence, completely exterminated previous to the, creation of man. Bat there are other existences on earth which, though invisible, yet are far more powerful and destructive than ever these were — ever going about seeking whom they can devour, dragging their victims down to a lurid perdition, whence no escape is possible, and wilh consummate craft concealing from them and shutting out from their minds the horrors which inevitably await them. Happily, however, the power to resist and overcome these malignant intelligences is promised to all who will but seek help of Him who so loved the world that He gave His Son to die as a substitute for all those who will but believe and serve Him, and to whom will be granted an armour impregnable and wholly unassailable.