DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. 49 



so great in this last case, on account of the 

 numerous islands interposed between Malacca, 

 Cochin-china, &c. and the North Coast of New 

 Holland, but then it is unaccountable, if the 

 transit of these animals was gradually effected by 

 natural causes, and following that of mankind 

 from island to island, till they reached the country 

 to which their range is now limited, that they 

 should have left no remains of their race in the 

 countries and islands which they must have tra- 

 versed in their route ; and those that would have 

 accompanied man would be a different tribe of 

 animals, more fitted to minister to his wants, so 

 that with respect to these the difficulty still re- 

 mains they could not have reached the country 

 unless under the guidance of Providence, and 

 the same power that accomplished their removal 

 to that appointed for their residence, prevented 

 their leaving any of their race in the regions 

 through which they passed. 



There is only one supposition that will enable 

 us to account for the transport of these animals 

 in a natural way, which is this, that immediately 

 subsequent to the deluge, America and New Hol- 

 land, and the various other islands that are inha- 

 bited by peculiar animals, were once connected 

 with Asia and Africa, by the intervention of lands 

 that have since been submerged. Plato, in his 

 Timseus, relates a tradition concerning an island 

 called Atlantis, which he describes as bigger than 



VOL. i. E 



