PRESERVATION 19 



sea the materials of which rocks are made, so these universal 

 carrying agents are the means by which the bodies of many 

 animals that live in the plains, over which they wander, are 

 brought to their last resting-place. We have only to consult the 

 records of great floods to see what fearful havoc they sometimes 

 make among living things, and how the dead bodies are swept 

 away. 



Great floods rise rapidly, so that the herds of wild animals 

 pasturing on grassy plains are surprised by the rising waters, and, 

 being unable to withstand the force of the water, are hurried 

 along, and so drowned. When dead they sink to the bottom, 

 and may, in some cases, be buried up in the debris hurried along 

 by the river; but as a rule their bodies, being swollen by the 

 gases formed by decomposing flesh, rise again to the surface, 

 and consequently may be carried along for many a mile, till they 

 reach some lake, or perhaps right down to the mouth of a river, 

 and so may be taken out to sea. 



One or two examples will be given to show how important is 

 the action of such floods. Sir Charles Lyell has given some 

 striking illustrations of this. There was a memorable flood in 

 the southern borders of Scotland on the 24th of June, 1794, 

 which caused great destruction in the region of the Solway Firth. 

 Heavy rains had fallen, so that every stream entering the firth 

 was greatly swollen. Not only sheep and cattle, but even herds- 

 men and shepherds were drowned. When the flood had subsided, 

 a fearful spectacle was seen on a large sandbank, called "the 

 beds of Esk," where the waters meet ; for on this one bank were 

 found collectedr^together the bodies of 9 black cattle, 3 horses, 

 1840 sheep, 45 dogs, 180 hares, together with those of many 

 smaller animals, also the corpses of two men and one woman. 



Hurnboldt, the celebrated traveller, says that when, at certain 



