MASTODONS, MAMMOTHS AND OTHER PLEISTOCENE MAMMALS 43 



Large Animal, found near Hudson's River." Bones and teeth were 

 found in the fall of 1780 during ditching operations intended to 

 drain a deep swamp on the Annan farm, located on the banks of 

 the Wallkill river about 15 miles west of the Hudson. 



A considerable part of the skeleton was unearthed, including 

 vertebrae, leg bones and four teeth, the descriptions of which give 

 undoubted evidence of the identity of the animal. The remains 

 were examined by Gen. George Washington while he was encamped 

 at Newburgh in 1782-83 after which some of the bones were car- 

 ried to Germany by Doctor Michaelis, physician general of the Hes- 

 sian troops; other bones were sent to a museum in Philadelphia. 



The locality of the Annan farm has been given more definitely 

 by other writers as being 3 miles south of Ward's Bridge 59 in the 

 town of Montgomery. 



Dr Johann David Schoepf, 60 writing of travels made in America 

 (luring 1783-84, mentions a tooth from Ulster county. This very 

 likely came from the Annan farm, then probably in Ulster county 

 but annexed to Orange in 1798 when five towns were added. 



Under the date of September 10, 1800, Dr James G. Graham, 

 writing to Doctor Mitchill, proprietor of the Medical Repository, 

 said the bones were found in 1782, and later writers have perpetu- 

 ated the error 61 . 



Graham (ibid) listed additional Orange county remains, found 

 between 1782 and 1794, giving the localities of them in terms of 

 miles from Ward's Bridge (Montgomery) as follows: 



50 Montgomery (3 miles east). "About 3 miles east of Ward's 

 Bridge, some other bones were found." 



51 Montgomery (7 miles east). "About 7 miles east of said 

 bridge, a tooth (one of the grinders), and some hair, about 3 inches 

 long, of a dark dun color, were found by Mr Alexander Colden, 

 4 or 5 foot below the surface." Sylvanus Miller, in a letter ad- 

 dressed to De Witt Clinton in 1814, mentions specimens of mas- 

 todons from Ulster and Orange counties with which were found, 

 " locks and tufts of hair, in tolerable preservation." 62 It is probable 

 that Miller referred to the remains above noticed. 



69 The village of Montgomery, which was incorporated in 1810, was, 

 prior to that date, known as Ward's Bridge. 



60 Reise durch einige der mittlern und siidlichen vereinigten nordaraeri- 

 kanischen Staaten, 1788, 1:413. 



01 Medical Repository, 1801, 4:213-14. 



62 De Witt Clinton, An Introductory Discourse Delivered before the 

 Literary and Philosophical Society of New York, on the Fourth of May 

 1814. New York, 1815. 



