WHEN WERE THE MYLODONS ALIVE? 



the soft dung of the Mylodon, are preserved un- 

 changed. It is quite certain that in any known 

 cavern in Europe such remains would be 

 destroyed in the course of fifty years by putre- 

 factive bacteria, and were the conditions too dry 

 for that process to continue, the remains would 

 have been consumed by scavenger beetles and 

 other insects within the hke period. The 

 chmate of South Patagonia^ where the cavern 

 exists, is similar to that of Devonshire. It is a 

 moist climate, although the cavern itself is not 

 damp nor subject to inundation by streams. 

 There is nothing in the sandy soil of a preser- 

 vative nature, and it seems at first sight impos- 

 sible to suppose that the soft dried remains, 

 skin, claws, blood, etc., can be more than fifty 

 years old. Yet the horses' hoofs and bones seem 

 to belong to the extinct Onohippidium, and 

 there is no record or tradition among the present 

 race of Indians (in spite of some statements to the 

 contrary) of any huge beast corresponding to 

 the Mylodon. Altogether the case is a very 

 puzzling one, and excites a very eager desire for 

 further exploration. A noticeable fact bearing 

 on the matter is that the whole of the southern 

 part of South America has been submerged 



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