7C 



THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER. 



with tnose now existing alive, are never found 

 except in the very latest alluvial depositions, or 

 those which are either formed in the sides of 

 rivers, the bottoms of ancient lakes and marshes 

 now dried up, in peat beds, in the fissures and 

 caverns of certain rocks, or at small depths be 

 low the present surface, in places where they 

 may have been overwhelmed by debris, or even 

 buried by man. Human bones are never found 

 except among those of animal species now liv 

 ing, and in situations which show, that they 

 have been, comparatively speaking, recently de 

 posited.&quot; Supp. to Ency. Brit. vol. 6. 



More than thirty different species of animals 

 have been found imbedded in the secondary stra 

 ta no living examples of which are now to be 

 found in any quarter of the globe. Among the 

 most remarkable of these are the following. 



1. The Mammoth, which bears a certain re 

 semblance to the Elephant, but is much larger, 

 and differs considerably in the size and form of the 

 tusks, jaws, and grinders. The fossil remains 

 of this animal are more abundant in Siberia than 

 in other countries ; there being scarcely a spot, 

 from the river Don to Kamtschatka, in which 

 they have not been found. Not only single bones 

 and perfect skeletons of this animal are fre 

 quently to be met with ; but, in a late instance, 

 the whole animal was found preserved in ice. 

 This animal was discovered on the banks of 

 the frozen ocean, near the mouth of the river 

 Jena, in 1799 ; and in 1805, Mr. Adams got it 

 conveyed over a space of 7000 miles to Peters- 

 burgh, where it is deposited in the Museum. 

 The flesh, skin, and hair were completely pre 

 served, and even the eyes were entire. It was 

 provided with a long mane, and the body was 

 covered with hair. This hair was of different 

 qualities. There were stiff black bristles from 

 12 to 15 inches long, and these belonged to the 

 tail, mane, and ears. Other bristles were from 

 9 to 10 inches long, and of a brown colour ; and 

 besides these, there was a coarse wool, from 3 

 to 5 inches long, of a pale yellow colour. This 

 mammoth was a male : it measured 9 feet 4 

 inches in height, and was 16 feet 4 inches long 

 without including the tusks. The tusks, mea 

 suring along the curve, are 9 feet 6 inches ; and 

 the two together weigh 360 Ibs. avoirdupois. 

 The head alone without the tusks, weighs 414 Ibs. 

 avoirdupois. The remains of this animal have 

 been found likewise in Iceland, Norway, Scot 

 land, England, and in many places through the 

 continent onwards to the Arctic ocean. 



2. The Megatherium. A complete skeleton 

 of this colossal species was found in diluvial 

 soil, near Buenos Ayres, and sent to Madrid. 

 The specimen is 14 feet long, and 7 Spanish 

 feet in height. 



3. The great Mastodon of the Ohio. This 

 species appears to have been as tall as the ele 

 phant, but with longer and thicker limbs. It had 



tusks like the elephant, and appears to have lifv 

 ed on roots. Its remains abound in America, 

 particularly on the banks of the Ohio. 



4. The Tapir, which also abounds in Ame 

 rica. The one named Gigantic Tapir, is about 

 18 feet long, and 12 feet high. 



5. The Irish Elk, or Elk of the Isle of Man. 

 This gigantic species, now apparently extinct, 

 occurs in a fossil state, in Ireland, Isle of Man } 

 England, Germany, and France. The most 

 perfect specimen of this species, which was 

 found in the Isle of Man, may be seen in the 

 Museum of the University of Edinburgh. It is 

 6 feet high, 9 feet long, and in height to the tip of 

 the right horn, 9 feet 7^ inches. An engraving 

 of this skeleton may be seen in vol. 6 of Supp. to 

 Ency. Brit. 



From a consideration of the phenomena above 

 described, geologists have been led to conclude, 

 &quot; that rocks now buried at a great depth, consti 

 tuted, at one time, the surface of continents, and 

 the seat of organic life ; and that many orders of 

 beings have been called into existence, and after 

 wards destroyed by great revolutions, which 

 introduced new classes of mineral deposits, ac 

 companied with new tribes of organic beings.&quot; 

 It has also been concluded by some, that the ap 

 pearance of man upon the face of the globe, is, 

 geologically speaking, a very recent event ; be 

 fore which the earth had been inhabited thousands 

 of years by various families of plants and tribes 

 of animals, which had been destroyed and re 

 newed in a long series of successions. Whether 

 these conclusions be necessary inferences from 

 the phenomena of organic remains and other 

 geological facts, I shall not, at present, stop to 

 inquire. It is sufficient for the Christian philoso 

 pher to show, that though they should be admit 

 ted in their full extent, they are not inconsistent 

 with the records of sacred history, as some di 

 vines have been disposed to maintain. Though 

 it could be proved to a demonstration, that the 

 materials of which the present system of our 

 globe is composed, have existed for millions of 

 years, it would not, in the least, invalidate 

 the Mosaic account of the arrangement of our 

 world. For Moses no where affirms, that the 

 materials or substance of the earth were created, 

 or brought from nothing into existence, at the pe 

 riod when his history commences. His language, 

 on the contrary, evidently implies, that the ma 

 terials which enter into the constitution of our 

 globe did exist, at the epoch at which he com 

 mences his narration. &quot; The earth was with 

 out form, and void ; and darkness was upon the 

 face of the deep.&quot; This passage plainly implies 

 the following things 1. That the original atoms, 

 or materials, out of which the terraqueous globe 

 in its present state, was formed, were then in 

 existence, or had been previously created. How 

 long they had been in existence is not stated. 

 We may suppose them to have existed for a 



