of American Elephant. 167 



ers similar to those of the African elephant have actually 

 been discovered in North-America. After remarking 

 that " all parts of Virginia, at the distance of sixty miles, 

 or more, abound in fossil shells of various kinds," he says, 

 " at a place in Carolina, called Stono, was dug out of the 

 earth three or four teeth of a large animal, which, by the 

 concurring opinion of all the Negroes, native Africans, 

 that saw them, were the grinders of an Elephant : and in 

 my opinion (he adds) they could be no other; I having 

 seen some of the like that are brought from Africa*." 



Mr. Catesby, I need hardly inform you, was by no 

 means a very critical or perspicacious naturalist. In 

 particular, he seems not to have turned any of his atten- 

 tion to what may be called the anatomical part of natural 

 history. It would not be safe, therefore, to rely impli- 

 citly upon his testimony, in regard to the teeth found at 

 Stono. Naturalists, much more nice and correct than 

 Mr. Catesby, have often confounded the grinders of the 

 African and Asiatic elephant with each other. As to 

 the testimony of the negroes, who saw the Carolina . 

 teeth, I would perhaps be excused if I passed it by, al- 

 together unnoticed. Yet to that testimony, I should 

 not hesitate to attach some degree of value, were it not 

 for the circumstance which I am now to mention. 



Stono- Swamp, alluded to by Catesby, is in latitude 

 about thirty-three degrees, north. At the distance of 

 about ten minutes to the north of this, at a place called 

 Biggin- Swamp, at the head of the west branch of Coop- 

 er-River, in the year 1795, there were dug up some 



* Page vii, at the end of volume II. 



