52 HOLDERNESS. 



But the other class of remains, the bones of animals which were in 

 existence on the surface of the earth at the period when the deluge was 

 permitted to overwhelm it, and the shells which, during the agitation, 

 were dragged up from the deep, and mixed with the general spoils of 

 the flood, lead us to still more interesting conclusions. For when 

 among hard stones which have been worn to pebbles, we find the tusks, 

 teeth, and bones of antediluvian quadrupeds comparatively uninjured, 

 retaining their characteristic shape, and often their original surface, we 

 must surely be convinced, that such remains have not been removed far 

 from the places where the animals lived. The only reliquiae of this kind, 

 which I have been able to assure myself were found in this clay, are 

 those of the mammoth, (elephas primigenus.) Teeth and tusks of this 

 animal have been collected in many places on the sea-coast, and I once 

 found a small fragment of a tusk at Hessle. This deposit of clay is not 

 confined to the flat district of Holderness, but is found in some of the 

 vallies of the wolds, thus indicating the extent of the diluvial action, and 

 determining the antiquity of these vallies. 



It was observed that, occasionally, patches of gravel and sand were 

 found lying enclosed in the great deposit of clay. Such are seen in 

 many places on the sea-coast, particularly near Dimlington, near Skip- 

 sea, and toward Bridlington. In several places, inland, these accumu- 

 lations are much more considerable, and compose hills of a remarkable 

 appearance, as at Brandesburton, and in the neighbourhood of Paul and 

 Keyingham. An elephant's tusk has been found at Brandesburton, and 

 in the neighbourhood of the latter places I have observed abundance of 

 antediluvian marine shells, intermixed with the gravel. As this occur- 

 rence is seldom witnessed, it may be proper to give the results of a 

 careful examination of the attendant circumstances. 



Some vague reports concerning these shells induced Mr. Smith to 

 consider them as indications of the crag formation, and he expressed this 

 opinion on his map of Yorkshire, (18gl.) In 1824, I saw specimens 

 collected by Mr. Smith and Mr. Salmqnd, from a quarry which will be 

 described ; and was immediately convinced that they were not specifically 



