Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, November 8, 1924, Page 3

eo ea Some Wedding Ring Customs A opmpiers. t skull of the Gans Baluchitherium. ITH the price of eggs al- W ready scandalously high here are some to be sold at not less than $5,000 each, and it's not @ case of profiteerfng, either. The uncovering of Dinosaur eggs, millions of years old, hidden in the . bleak and barren sands of the desert of Gobi in Mongolia, the findings of the Roy Chapman Andrews’ expedi- tion of the Academy of Natural Sciences of New York, have struck the popular imagination as no other scientific discovery of the genera- tion. Imagine eggs of such age and laid by creatures as high as a tall house and with the bulk of several elephants! And yet ever since dinosaurs have been known to be reptiles, it has been suspected that they were prob- ably egg layers. All reptiles alive upon the earth today—all our snakes reproduce by means of eggs. True, the eggs sometimes hatch before they are laid, but that does not alter the fact. Science has long held the idea that the giant reptiles of the Meso- zoic age laid eggs and yet they-nev- er expected to get Renytte and exact- ~ Eees “aro extremely tragite. objects: as we all know, ‘and the ‘conditions for’their focalization. must've just right, The eggs of birds have been found preserved in the rogks, but birds are late comers compared with the gigantic creatures of the Age of Reptiles. The dry sands of the desert of Gobi and the dryer atmos- phere have preserved the eggs down to our own time. Not only are they known by theory to be dinosaur eggs, but are proven to be such by the presence of embryonic dinosaurs within the confines of the ancient shells, The discovery of Roy Chapman Andrews proyes almost conclusively that Asia was the nursery of life, and that the great dinosaurs and other animals-of later times spread therefrom to Europe and America. One may imagine the ease with which the great creatures travel to that Tegion now known as the United States, coming over the neck of land 0 It was relatively small compared to the body. are unto this day identically the same type of lizard showing both to have come from the same parents. ~ Remains Widely Scattered. The proof of existence of those Roy Chapman Andrews examining one of the eggs. then connecting Alaska and Siberia. There are still evidences to be found in this country of such an emigra- tion. In China and America there wedding rings..were not used af atan early period, the espousal ring being employed at the wedding ceremony. At a later time a signet was set in the anulus pronubus, or betrothal -ring, to signify that the spouse was to have the right of seal- ing up’ the household goods, and oc- casionally a small key formed a part of the ring, with a similar signifi- cance. The ring as a pledge of love fs said to be first mentioned in Roman, Nterature by Plautus. He refers to it as a love token. Ss’ far as we understand, special Nearest the Heart, * The custom of placing the be- trothal of wedding ring upon the third finger seems to owe its origir to the fancy that a especial nerve oF vein ran directly from this finger to the heart. During the reign of George I. of England it was not unusual to wear the wedding ring on the thumb, al- thougM it had been placed on the third finger at the marriage cere- mony. Four or five specimens of later By- zantine work in ring making are in the British Museum, These are mar- riage rings of massive gold. Wedding rings figuring two clasped hands are still yaed by the peasants of Normandy and in Galways. Also Tings bearing two hands clasping a heart have been passed down from generation to generation from moth- er to eldest daughter: In some parts of Ireland the belfef in the special virtue of a gold wed- ding ring is so strong that when the bridegroom is too poor to buy one he will hire it for the occasion and take it back after the ceremony. Strange to say, there is said to have been a superstitious fancy in Yorkshire, England, that to wed with a borrow- ed ring would bring good luck. Although the diamond ring is the one most appropriate for an engage- ment ring, nothing can replace thé hoop of precious metal which, indeed, lately has been made less plain by some very chaste and beautiful en- grtaving. A reason for the prefer- ence given to the ring without a set- ting is offered by Fuller in his “Holy State,” where he says: “Mar- with a’diamond ring fore- shadowed eyil because the interrup- tion of the circle argued that the re- ciprocal regard of the spouse might not be perpetuak” The ancients and the alchemists called gold the metal of the sun and silver the metal of the moon, but within. the past two centuries the world has become familiar with plat- inum, a metal of equal dignity with gold, but with the pure whiteness of the somewhat tarnisbable silver. gigantic creatures mostly tail and belly, known as dinosaurs, extend al- most everywhete upon the earth. Not long ago workmen found foot- steps of the reptile in some sand- stone upon the estate of former Pres- ident James Monroe near Aldle, Lou- don county, Virginia. The laborors werd digging a foundation for a ce- mont,walk when they uncovered the traces of the tracks made through ihe wet sands so many millions of years ‘ago. There have been vast changes upon the face of the earth since Roy Chap- man Andrews’ egg producers nibbled the tops of the trees on what were then the luxuriant plains of Gob! and not the deserts of Gobi. Atleust 65 million years of time had fown om since the flaming ball of fire we call the earth had been flung ifito space by the hand ofits creator, and the time when the first dinosaur crusted over a million eggs. Since then an- other 10 or 15 million years have fled like water from beneath a wheel. Of time we can not be certain, there are some scientists who fix the extent of time as eight Hundred million years, Largest Life Forms, In 1924 man ts king of the earth, but during the Mesozoic era the su- preme thing in creation was the din- osaur and allied forms, These ‘crea- tures were kangaroo-like, and mary of them attained enormous propor- tions, Life has never prodneed anything. of greater bulk, although the sea can still show in the whales, forms as large. The dinosaurs and the largest of them were herbivorous, eating the ferns and buses or nib- bling from the highest tops of she giant tree-like growths. They grasp- (Covatesy PuitapetpHia Kecoxp) —Phoros copyright by Asia Magazine and the Unearthing of an entire skeleton of the Dinosaur on the Gobi fae ed branches with their forelegs while engaged in eating. It should be rmembered that the word dinosaur is a family name, and that there wero meny different kinds and sizes of dinosaurs in the family. Among the browsers was the Diplo- docus carnegii, which attained the length of 84 feet. The Gigantosaurus, dug.up in 1912 by a German expedi- tion in East Africa, was still larger, measuring well over 100 feet. A bill- headed type was known as the trach- odon. Then we have the stagosaurus covered along to back-line with pe- cullar protectivé plates; the bronto- sauris, the camptosaurus and a host of others. Among the other inhabitants of the earth of these days was the Tricera- tops, a horned animal resembling the rhinocerous. *TLon there was the Tyrannosaurus, Which preyed upon the herb-eating animals and which was certainly a terrible creature. of these were 40 feet from nout to 1, and are supposed to have carried themselyes erect upon their hind legs kangaroo fashion. Some people even imagine that they were able to leap through the air in search of their prey. Other creatures were the Pleiosaurus and the Ichthy- osaurus, huge reptiles lying whale- like in the sea. Then there were the Mosaurs, huge marine lizards. American Museum of Natural History. The air knew no true birds—only reptiles developing into birds. The earliest known bird covered with feathers in the conventional way was the Archacoptery, which had claws on its wings, no beak and teeth like a reptile. Its tall, also, was very pe- cullar. All modern birds have their tail feathers sct in a bow rump; the archaecoptery had a long bony tall with feathers set In the sides like certain kinds of leaves. 50,000 Famous People Have “Taken Pen in ANY @ multi-millionaire rid-, - 4g in. bis Rolls-Royce isn't getting one-tenth the satis- faction and happiness out of life which comes _, to Joseph F. Mikulec, champion autograph collector of the world, trudging about on foot. For more than 23 years, Mr. Mikulec has wandered over the face of the earth obtaining the signatures of great and famous men and women. He has 50,- 000.0f them, and he is still going strong. The winding trail has led him through every country on the earth and into many strange adventures, meeting prince and pauper; king ant commoner; statesmen and prize figtiters; singers, financiers, editors, motion picture actresses and: presi- doats. John D. Rockefeller is among the very few well-known men whose autograph is not in the great book ‘Mr, Mikulec. carries; and it is no- ticeable by its absence. But this wi'l be remedied in time, unless John D. chooses to depart this lite before the determined collector reaches l‘n. The big book of autographs welsh 58 pounds, and coptains 2369 pages ot linen paper. It isa sturdily made affair, as it needs be to go through what it does, and the collector takes it about with him in a push gart. He i has covered 200,000 miles on land and sea, and more than 100,000 on foot It is Interesting to note that the book contains the signature of Calvin Coolidge as governo! president and there is a space for his name as President. Fouy other Pres- idents have signed: Taft, Wilson, Harding and Ronsevelt. Wm. Jen- nings Bryan put down his name, in case he might be President some day. Away back in 1914 the bonny Prince of Wales, signed, and be- stowed his photograph; just as smil- ing; just as debonair; just as heart- breaking as he is today, Mikulec is Sne of 14 children born ona little farm in Croatia, central Europe—the land of gypsy blvon and Bohemian adventure. As a boy, going ebout his farm tasks; watering the stock; tilling the fields of the wealthy and noble families to whom he was hired; he was forever wondering about the outside world. Whatswas it like? What lay beyond the rugged mountains which hemmed bim in? But even though he made but three guldens, which was $1,20 a month, again as vice- ° this was valuable to his father, whe refused to sign a passport to let him leave his native land. The traveler ving asked had never married. Since tiedesick O'Brien made the South Sea Islands such a wonderful maitri- monial center, one finds it difficult to picture a man withstanding the lure of those islands or of Hawaii. But he shows his wisdom by remaining free from feminine entanglements. “It would only create trouble to take why he I ask not that for me the plan of good and ill be set aside; But that the commen lot of man Be nobly borne and glorified. a wite,” he explains. “I have no accommodations for her.” Sensible men; no place to keep her; no wife! He ts now 46 years old, having trav- eled since he’was 23. He speaks six languages and has no trouble in making himself under- stood amorg the wild tribes of Bor- neo, the religious fanatics of the in- terior of India or the wild women of Hollywood. So much has happened in his life and 86 many uhveual ¢ —Phoebe Cary » hand lovingly have been met, that what would seem a thrilling event to the majority of city dwellers is only the most casua! Occurrence to him. He dismisses the subject of lis adventures with « wave of his and kos the bein, mention of merest wreck sea for 16 days. happen to anyone,” he says simply. “But not everyone can make a for- tune like this.” fnd he lays his upon the great book. ship- + in the <TR See) Se 5 WEE e rey, 076 mae wee mes ee em ns