110 [Jan. 



ent tribes. Among the Sioux, it is large and grey, resembling the 

 Buffalo Wolf. He supposes that the Indian dog is crossed with that 

 Wolf All Indian dogs have small, sharp, erect ears. They cross 

 M'ith our domestic dogs. He does not believe that the dog crosses 

 with the small Wolf (C. frustror?) or the Fox. The Indian dog is 

 most analogous to the grey wolf, and breeds freely with the European 

 dog. 



Dr. Morton also read extracts from a letter from Dr. Cooper, of the 

 U. S. Army, dated Fort Duncan, Texas, Dec. 4, 1^50. " The Giant 

 Wolf or Lobo, [Lupus gigas] is found in this region. Its color is dark 

 grey, nearly black. It is very fearless of man. 1 have seen several 

 in the interior of Mexico. It is always solitary in its habits. The 

 small wolf or Coyote, [C. frustror] is found in great numbers here. 

 It is never more than eighteen inches or two feet long, nor more than 

 fifteen inches high." 



It resembles somewhat a grey fox-hound, and is always in packs of 

 from ten to two or three hundred. It is the most greo-arious animal 

 of the dog kind on this continent. Its voice is not like that of the 

 wolf. It feeds on the carcases of dead animals, and is very meagre. 

 It became necessary to destroy one in camp to prevent its crossing 

 with the dogs. Every rancho has a dog resembling the Coyote, and 

 a bitch to which no dog had had access, produced whelps, evidently a 

 cross with the Coyote. 



In further remarks on this subject, Dr. Morton adverted to the fact 

 that where a race is the result of a cross between two different species 

 of animals, the characteristics of one or the other race will occasionally 

 be exhibited with peculiar force in generations more or less remote 

 from the origin. 



Dr. Leidy called the attention of the Society to three fossil bones 

 from Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, belonging to the collection of organic 

 remains of the American Philosophical Society, arid now deposited 

 with the Academy, which he stated were the vertebra dentata, left os 

 calcis, and iha first phalanx of the left hind foot of the Equus Ameri- 

 canus, described by him in the Proceedings several years since. These 

 bones are about the size of the corresj)onding bones of the largest sized 

 English dray horse. 



Dr. Elwyn asked permission, which was granted, to introduce a let- 

 ter which he had received from Prof Sheppard, of Charleston, S. C, 

 requesting Dr. Elwyn to procure for him a portion of the Meteorolite, 

 found in New Jersey some years since, and presented to the Academy 

 by Dr. McEuen. Prof Sheppard was desirous of making an analysis 

 of this specimen and a comparison with other meteorolites in his posses- 

 sion, and offered in return a fragment from one of the latter specimens. 



On motion the subject was referred to the Curators, with instruc- 

 tions to comply with the request of Prof. Sheppard. 



