56 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



the refuse oyster shells, into Old Place creek, from whence it was 

 recovered by Mr Freeman." (Page 18). 



" Mr Arthur Hollick stated that the mastodon's tooth, shown at 

 the March meeting, has been submitted to Prof. R. P. Whitfield, 

 of the American Museum of Natural History, who had kindly 

 identified it as a sixth molar of Mastodon gigantea 

 Americanus. It contains the second, third and fourth crests. 

 The first crest and heel on fifth crest are broken off." (Page 32). 



Rockland County 



85 1817. New Antrim (now Suffern). The first account of 

 this find was in a letter written shortly after the discovery of the 

 mastodon, by Edward Suffern to the Hon. Samuel L. Mitchill and 

 printed in the American Monthly Magazine 1 . The text of the letter 

 is as follows: 



On Saturday last, a man in the employ of my father, in digging a drain 

 or ditch through a miry swamp, discovered, about 3 feet from the surface 

 of the earth, several pieces of teeth of enormous size : — from their appear- 

 ance, shape, and the manner they are worn away, the animal must have lived 

 I suppose to a great age, and belonged to the Granivorous species; who 

 have probably inhabited this region, and become extinct previous to the 

 discovery, or at least the settlement of this country by the Europeans. 

 The largest piece appears to belong to the extreme back tooth of the 

 under jaw, and is 8 inches in length, 4 inches in breadth, and 3 inches in 

 height, from where it has rested on the jaw bone to the head or top of 

 the tooth, (though it evidently appears that one-half of its original size 

 is worn away by mastication), weighing 3 pounds 6 ounces, Avoirdupois 

 weight. The enamel is the principal part of the tooth that is preserved; 

 the root or periostium is chiefly decayed and, upon being exposed to the 

 air, moulders away. The ditcher, before he discovered the teeth, broke 

 them while digging with the spade: these are full of marrow resembling 

 lard. If you should deem a further discovery necessary to aid you in your 

 scientific pursuits, T shall be happy to see you at my residence, or I will 

 carefully preserve the pieces, and bring them with me to New-York for 

 your inspection and examination. 



The mastodon remains were presented to Mitchill and by him 

 donated to the New York Lyceum of Natural History. Mitchill 

 states 2 that the bones were found on " E. Suffern's farm, 32 miles 

 from New York City, and 11 miles west of the Hudson river, in 

 New Antrim, Hemstead town" (now Ramapo). The locality is 

 near the west border of the Triassic area (Newark formation) of 

 Rockland county and within a mile of the New Jersey state line. 



1 1817, 2:46. See also p. 56, 57. 



2 Catalogue of Organic Remains presented to the iNew York Lyceum 

 of Natural History by Samuel L. M'itchill, New York, 1826. Cat. no. 3» 

 p. 11. 



