112 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



such an existence dates so far back as 6000 years, or 

 7322, according to Professor Wallace, or does not 

 amount to forty-two centuries, is not, in our view, a 

 question of importance ; since, between the dates of 

 Man's creation and the present, there is abundant 

 proof, not only of one general diluvian catastrophe, 

 but also of many others more or less important ; and 

 these alone, in a great measure, are sufficient cause 

 for the dispersion of Man to all the points of the earth 

 where he is found to reside, and in many places where 

 the marks of his presence evidently date back to a 

 Tery remote period. 



