ILLUSTRATIONS. 73 



mates ; the bones of the elephant and the rhinoceros are discovered almost 

 all the way where he would designate the ancient equator ; that in colder lati- 

 tudes the frozen bodies themselves on the banks of the Genesee and the Lena 

 and in masses of ice lying upon the shores of the asiatic continent, and there - 

 Hbouts, have attracted the attention of the naturalist; that in America, the val- 

 ley of the Mississippi was the place of the former equator, in which direction the 

 fossil skeletons are most frequent, and that the creatures to whom they belong, 

 may be supposed to have perished at the grand catastrophe in their proper and 

 natural climates ; that the migration of the human race, and the passage of 

 animals from Asia to America, find a solution by this theory of easy and rational 

 comprehension. 



Dr. Mitchill descants largely and philosophically upon the causes of this 

 change ; but as these remarks would be too voluminous to insert here, I shall 

 forbear to enlarge further on a subject involving so many considerations neces- 

 sary ia the examination of the causes and effects producing such vast geological 

 phenomena. 



This hypothesis of dr. Mitchill will easily and readily explain the phenomena 

 of these, as well as of others found in our northern and some southern regions. And 

 if we can admit that these skeletons are nothing more than elephantine relics of 

 a well known, or even an unknown, species; the difficulties now presenting them- 

 selves disappear. For my own part, I have reasoned myself into a different 

 opinion ; but, after all, the fact must remain encompassed with so many doubts 

 and difficulties as to perplex the learned and curious. 



It is important abo to add, that with the discoveries of these skeletons have 

 been found considerable locks and tufts of hair : having been buried a great 

 length of time in a calcarious substance, it retained its natural appearance, and 

 was brought to light in a tolerable state of perfection ; the length was from one 

 and a half to two inches and a half, of a dunnish brown colour. In one 

 iustance the hair was much longer, measuring from four to seven inches in length ;. 

 of the same colour and resembling, in appearance, the shorter and-was conjec- 

 tured to have been the mane of the mammoth. Whether a discoloration had 

 not taken place, from its native appearance, must remain a matter of conjecture. 

 Ju every instance, au exposure to air caused it to moulder away into a kind of 

 impalpable dust. This fact would seem to render it certain that the auimal, 

 ihe relics of whose body were here found, appertained to a race totally different 

 from any elephants now known to naturalists. 



Having thus detailed to you the information, as far as is practicable in the form 

 of a letter, permit me to congratulate you on the prospect which ia opzning for 

 . scientific research in our state. Much has been done to elevate the character of 

 ^nr beloved country ; but it is certainly not saying too much to observe that 



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