96 THEORY OF THE EARTH. 



can still exist alive in that quarter of the world, 

 They could not fail to be observed by the hunting 

 tribes, which continually wander in all directions 

 through the wilds of America. Indeed they them- 

 selves seem to be fully aware that these animals 

 no longer exist in their country, as they have in- 

 vented a fabulous account of their destruction, al- 

 leging that they were all killed by the Great Spirit, 

 to prevent them from extirpating the human race. 

 It is quite obvious that this fable has been invented 

 subsequently to the discovery of the bones; just 

 as tjie inhabitants of Siberia have contrived one 

 respecting the mammoth, whose bones have been 

 found in that country, alleging that it still lives un- 

 der ground like the mole: and just as the ancients 

 had their fables about the graves of giants, who 

 were thought to have been buried wherever the 

 bones of elephants happened to be dug up. 



From all these considerations, it may be safely 

 concluded, as shall be more minutely explained in 

 the sequel, That none of the large species of qua- 

 drupeds, whose remains are now found imbedded 

 in regular rocky strata, are at all similar to any of 

 the known living species : That this circumstance 

 is by no means the mere effect of chance, or be- 

 cause the species to which these fossil bones have 

 belonged are still concealed in the desert and unin- 

 habited parts of the world, and have hitherto es- 

 caped the observation of travellers ; but,-^-That 

 this astonishing phenomenon has proceeded from 



