~ 
56 REV. D. GATH WHITLEY, ON THE 
and higher. The tops of the highest bills were at last sub- 
merged, and the destruction was complete. After a time the 
land began to rise slowly, and the New Siberian and Liakoff 
islands, which had formed mountains in the land, rose above the 
waters. As they had formed a last refuge of the animals when 
the land was submerged, they were naturally covered with the 
bones, teeth, and tusks of the animals which had been drowned 
upon them. Currents also, in the waters, swept the bones into 
various places, accumulating them here and there in large 
deposits. The climate also at this time underwent a great 
change, and altered from one of a mild and genial character to 
one of intense cold and Arctic severity. 
Sir Henry Howortu stated that many of the facts in Mr. Whitley’s 
paper were to be found in his book The Mammoth and the Flood, and 
proceeded to mention the historical references to ground ivory as 
far back as the days of Herodotus. There was proof of a con- 
siderable trade in this article in A.D. 1000. In China it was used as 
a medicine. It is generally supposed that most of it is the remains 
of the mammoth, or Behemoth of Job, which means “a great, big 
beast.” Cuvier refers to this ground ivory in some of his geological 
arguments, and to the flesh when thawed being good enough for 
wild animals to eat, even the eye in some cases had been found in 
good preservation, Sir Henry had himself corresponded with 
Darwin on this subject, who considered the problem insoluble. He 
further stated that the contents of the stomachs had been carefully 
examined ; they showed the undigested food, leaves of trees now 
found in Southern Siberia, but a long way from the existing deposits 
of ivory. Microscopic examination of the skin showed the red 
blood: corpuscles, which was a proof not only of sudden death, but 
that the death was due to suffocation either by gases or water, 
evidently the latter in this case. But the puzzle remained to 
account for the sudden freezing up of this large mass of flesh so as 
to preserve it for future ages. 
These notes of Sir Henry’s speech are felt to be very inadequate, 
but owing to his subsequent prolonged illness they have not had the 
benefit of his personal revision. 
The Meeting adjourned at 6.15 p.m. 
