Chapters One through Four Summary

The story begins with Dr. Lewis Vernor, a professor at a "small college in Georgia" being called on to verify facts of a story written by Carol Endermann. Chapter two shifts to extensive descriptions of the land, mostly along the South Platte River, and the Colorado town of Centennial, including how the mountain ranges and plains came into being. Chapter three turns to the inhabitants, discussing the appearance and interaction of the earliest creatures, ranging from dinosaurs to the forerunners of the modern day horse and their migration to Asia. The bison soon migrate to North America where they encounter the large beaver, the forerunner of the modern day animal.

Another important inhabitant was the rattlesnake which remained on the scene, often eating prairie dogs and other rodents as well as crippling or even killing bison, horses...