THE MASTODON. IT 



swampy valley, where animals were not infrequently en- 

 trapped and mired. The summer of 1845 had been un- 

 usually dry ; many small lacustrine deposits were exposed 

 to the drouth, which afforded the farmers an opportunity 

 for removing their contents to fertilize the neighboring 

 fields. While some laborers were removing the contents 

 of this small valley they struck upon the skull of the mas- 

 todon. At once they suspected what it was, and then 

 proceeded with great care until the whole of the skeleton 

 had been obtained, with the exception of a portion of the 

 sternum, a few bones of the feet, and a number of the 

 caudal vertebra, some of which were recovered afterwards. 

 The animal evidently had been mired, for the anterior ex- 

 tremities were extended under and in front of the head, 

 as if the animal had stretched out its arms in a forward 

 direction in order to extricate itself, and the posterior ex- 

 tremities were extended forward under the body. In this 

 morass, scarcely covered by the soil and a few feet of water, 

 this animal had remained undisturbed by any intrusion 

 for unknown ages. The bones were in an almost perfect 

 state of preservation. Mastodon bones, when discovered, 

 are usually black, but these were of a brown color, like 

 those of a recent human skeleton, which had been in use 

 a considerable length of time. The bones after having 

 been cleansed and dried, were articulated by Dr. Prime, 

 and afterwards exhibited in N ew York and a number of Ncav 

 England towns, and then came into the possession of Dr. 

 Warren. As the skeleton was not properly put together, 

 Dr. Warren secured the services of Dr. Shurtleff, who dis- 

 articulated and re-arranged the bones — a work which was 

 successfully completed after an unremitting labor of four 

 weeks. (For description see Appendix). 



III. NAME. 



When the bones of the mastodon were first discovered 

 in quantity they were supposed to belong to the same ani- 



