the other hand, the prevalence of very early life-forms was singular in the highest degree.Though the limestone formation was, on the evidence of such typical imbedded fossils as ventriculites, positively and unmistakably Comanchian and not a particle earlier; the free fragments in the hollow space included a surprising proportion from organisms hitherto considered as peculiar to far older periods—even rudimentary fishes, molluscs, and corals as remote as the Silurian or Ordovician.The inevitable inference was that in this part of the world there had been a remarkable and unique degree of continuity between the life of over 300 million years ago and that of only thirty million years ago.How far this continuity had extended beyond the Oligocene age when the cavern was closed, was of course past all speculation.In any event, the coming of the frightful ice in the Pleistocene some 500,000 years ago—a mere yesterday as compared with the age of this cavity—must have put an end to any of the primal forms which had locally managed to outlive their common terms.
Lake was not content to let his first message stand, but had another bulletin written and despatched across the snow to the camp before Moulton could get back.After that Moulton stayed at the wireless in one of the planes; transmitting to me—and to the Arkham for relaying to the outside world—the frequent postscripts which Lake sent him by a succession of messengers.Those who followed the newspapers will remember the excitement created among men of science by that afternoon’s reports—reports which have finally led, after all these years, to the organisation of that very Starkweather-Moore Expedition which I am so anxious to dissuade from its purposes.I had better give the messages literally as Lake sent them, and as our base operator McTighe translated them from his pencil shorthand.
“Fowler makes discovery of highest importance in sandstone and limestone fragments from blasts.Several distinct triangular striated prints like those in Archaean slate, proving that source survived from over 600 million years ago to Comanchian times without more than moderate morphological changes and decrease in average size.Comanchian prints apparently more primitive or decadent, if anything, than older ones.Emphasise importance of discovery in press.Will mean to biology what Einstein has meant to mathematics and physics.Joins up with my previous work and amplifies conclusions.Appears to indicate, as I suspected, that earth has seen whole cycle or cycles of organic life before known one that begins with Archaeozoic cells.Was evolved and specialised not later than thousand million years ago, when planet was young and recently uninhabitable for any life-forms or normal protoplasmic structure.Question arises when, where, and how development took place.”
“Later.Examining certain skeletal fragments of large land and marine saurians and primitive mammals, find singular local wounds or injuries to bony structure not attributable to any known predatory or carnivorous animal of any period.Of two sorts—straight, penetrant bores, and apparently hacking incisions.One or two cases of cleanly severed bone.Not many specimens affected.Am sending to camp for electric torches.Will extend search area underground by hacking away stalactites.”
“Still later.Have found peculiar soapstone fragment about six inches across and an inch and a half thick, wholly unlike any visible local formation.Greenish, but no evidences to place its period.Has curious smoothness and regularity.Shaped like five-pointed star with tips broken off, and signs of other cleavage at inward angles and in centre of surface.Small, smooth depression in centre of unbroken surface.Arouses much curiosity as to source and weathering.Probably some freak of water action.Carroll, with magnifier, thinks he can make out additional markings of geologic significance.Groups of tiny dots in regular patterns.Dogs growing uneasy as we work, and seem to hate this soapstone.Must see if it has any peculiar odour.Will report again when Mills gets back with light and we start on underground area.”
“10:15 P.M.Important discovery.Orrendorf and Watkins, working underground at 9:45 with light, found monstrous barrel-shaped fossil of wholly unknown nature; probably vegetable unless overgrown specimen of unknown marine radiata.Tissue evidently preserved by mineral salts.Tough as leather, but astonishing flexibility retained in places.Marks of broken-off parts at ends and around sides.Six feet end to end, 3.5 feet central diameter, tapering to 1 foot at each end.Like a barrel with five bulging ridges in place of staves.Lateral breakages, as of thinnish stalks, are at equator in middle of these ridges.In furrows between ridges are curious growths.Combs or wings that fold up and spread out like fans.All greatly damaged but one, which gives almost seven-foot wing spread.Arrangement reminds one of certain monsters of primal myth, especially fabled Elder Things in Necronomicon.These wings seem to be membraneous, stretched on framework of glandular tubing.Apparent minute orifices in frame tubing at wing tips.Ends of body shrivelled, giving no clue to interior or to what has been broken off there.Must dissect when we get back to camp.Can’t decide whether vegetable or animal.Many features obviously of almost incredible primitiveness.Have set all hands cutting stalactites and looking for further specimens.Additional scarred bones found, but these must wait.Having trouble with dogs.They can’t endure the new specimen, and would probably tear it to pieces if we didn’t keep it at a distance from them.”
“11:30 P.M.Attention, Dyer, Pabodie, Douglas.Matter of highest—I might say transcendent—importance.Arkham must relay to Kingsport Head Station at once.Strange barrel growth is the Archaean thing that left prints in rocks.Mills, Boudreau, and Fowler discover cluster of thirteen more at underground point forty feet from aperture.Mixed with curiously rounded and configured soapstone fragments smaller than one previously found—star-shaped but no marks of breakage except at some of the points.Of organic specimens, eight apparently perfect, with all appendages.Have brought all to surface, leading off dogs to distance.They cannot stand the things.Give close attention to description and repeat back for accuracy.Papers must get this right.
“Objects are eight feet long all over.Six-foot five-ridged barrel torso 3.5 feet central diameter, 1 foot end diameters.Dark grey, flexible, and infinitely tough.Seven-foot membraneous wings of same colour, found folded, spread out of furrows between ridges.Wing framework tubular or glandular, of lighter grey, with orifices at wing tips.Spread wings have serrated edge.Around equator, one at central apex of each of the five vertical, stave-like ridges, are five systems of light grey flexible arms or tentacles found tightly folded to torso but expansible to maximum length of over 3 feet.Like arms of primitive crinoid.Single stalks 3 inches diameter branch after 6 inches into five sub-stalks, each of which branches after 8 inches into five small, tapering tentacles or tendrils, giving each stalk a total of 25 tentacles.
“At top of torso blunt bulbous neck of lighter grey with gill-like suggestions holds yellowish five-pointed starfish-shaped apparent head covered with three-inch wiry cilia of various prismatic colours.Head thick and puffy, about 2 feet point to point, with three-inch flexible yellowish tubes projecting from each point.Slit in exact centre of top probably breathing aperture.At end of each tube is spherical expansion where yellowish membrane rolls back on handling to reveal glassy, red-irised globe, evidently an eye.Five slightly longer reddish tubes start from inner angles of starfish-shaped head and end in sac-like swellings of same colour which upon pressure open to bell-shaped orifices 2 inches maximum diameter and lined with sharp white tooth-like projections.Probable mouths.All these tubes, cilia, and points of starfish-head found folded tightly down; tubes and points clinging to bulbous neck and torso.Flexibility surprising despite vast toughness.
“At bottom of torso rough but dissimilarly functioning counterparts of head arrangements exist.Bulbous light-grey pseudo-neck, without gill suggestions, holds greenish five-pointed starfish-arrangement.Tough, muscular arms 4 feet long and tapering from 7 inches diameter at base to about 2.5 at point.To each point is attached small end of a greenish five-veined membraneous triangle 8 inches long and 6 wide at farther end.This is the paddle, fin, or pseudo-foot which has made prints in rocks from a thousand million to fifty or sixty million years old.From inner angles of starfish-arrangement project two-foot reddish tubes tapering from 3 inches diameter at base to 1 at tip.Orifices at tips.All these parts infinitely tough and leathery, but extremely flexible.Four-foot arms with paddles undoubtedly used for locomotion of some sort, marine or otherwise.When moved, display suggestions of exaggerated muscularity.As found, all these projections tightly folded over pseudo-neck and end of torso, corresponding to projections at other end.
“Cannot yet assign positively to animal or vegetable kingdom, but odds now favour animal.Probably represents incredibly advanced evolution of radiata without loss of certain