Fossil Remains of the Mastodon. 881 
ty, I took means to procure correct information on the sub- 
ject, and now send to you the result. In addition to the an- 
swers received by myself, a gentleman has placed at my dis- 
posal a satisfactory letter from one of his friends. 
he discovery of these fossils is by no means a very ex- 
‘traordinary event, and yet such facts are worthy of perma- 
nent record ; I therefore transmit the following short account, 
and remain truly yours,  . JER: VAN RENSSELAER. 
that has some elevation above the surrounding country. 
The tusks were first seen, and then the head, but these, 
as indeed the whole skeleton, were in such a state of almost 
total decomposition, as to defy all attempts at preserva- 
tion. The skeleton lay in the direction ‘so frequently 
North East. The head rested upon the lower jaw. The 
tusks were much decayed ; their points were five feet apart, 
and curved at least a foot from the center. They were four 
feet and two inches in length ; the largest diameter could not 
be ascertained on account of their decay—but it was pre- 
served a considerable distance and then gradually diminish- 
ed, so that at five inches from the point, the diameter was 
three inches. The laminated structure of the tusk was ren- 
f the two (superior) incisors, no trace could be discover- 
Of the om ars were insitn. ‘The length of the 
ring away of the surface. 
d. ‘The animal could not have 
‘ d decaye ‘ 
were all broken an ele were found ; old animals have 
The pelvis was twenty ches | 
ter aaa the acetabula at theinferior opening. The epi- 
physes of the large bones, and the patella were found nearly 
perfect, pot having suffered from decay. 
