35 



material difference in animal bulk, nor to encou- 

 rage the theory of partial extinction ; especi- 

 ally we may presume, that the wise Creator of 

 every thing would not suffer so o;reat a link in 

 the chain as tlie megalonyx to be entirely bro- 

 ken off. He continues every created species, 

 nor can they cease while the earth remaineth, 

 any more than seed time and harvest, cold and 

 heat, summer and winter, day and night. 



But to proceed in the manner of my first 

 memoir, I shall revert to the observations of 

 others, before I intrude on you those of my 

 own. 



Stralenberg relates, that an entire skeleton 

 of an incognitum was found in Siberia, near 

 Lake Izana Osero ; that it was 36 Russian ells 

 long ; and so great was the distance between 

 the opposite ribs, that a man standing upright 

 on the concavity of a rib, as the skeleton rested 

 on its side, could not quite reach the opposite 

 one, even with the aid of a pretty long battle 

 axe, which he held in his hand. This account 

 is given as coming from the mouth of the man 

 himself, and who was one of thirty others all 

 eye-witnesses of the fact. Dr. Misserschmidt 

 fi2 



