90 MEMOIRS OF 



tion of the bones, decided that this fossil was no 

 other than that of an aquatic salamander, of a 

 gigantic size and nnknown species. In 1811, 

 having the power of examining the stone which 

 contained this " witness of the deluge," he, in 

 presence of several distinguished savans, and 

 with the drawing of a salamander before him, at 

 every stroke of the chisel verified his asseition. 



But to return to the elephants : Asiatic Russia 

 swarms with these monstrous remains, and the in- 

 habitants explain the phenomenon by supposing 

 that they belong to some living snbterraneous ani- 

 mal partaking of the nature of the mole, and which 

 they call Mammout, or Mammouth. This fable 

 also extends to China. Besides the relics of 

 true elephants, found in America, there have 

 been yet two other gigantic animals discovered ; 

 the Mastodon and the Megatherium, the former 

 bearing great affinity to the elephant. These 

 animals have also formed a foundation for many 

 absurd stories, all of wliich have been refuted 

 by M. Cuvier's luminous researches : lie states, 

 *' that the great animal of Ohio was very similar 

 to the elephant in its tusks and its osteology, 

 with the exception of its jaws ; that it very pro- 

 bably had a trunk, but that in height it did not 

 exceed the elephant. It was, however, longer 



