MASTODONS, MAMMOTHS AND OTHER PLEISTOCENE MAMMALS 65 



Westchester County 



97 1906. Hartsdale. "A tooth 22 and some small fragments of 

 bone were found at Hartsdale on the property of W. H. Fish." 

 This is the only authentic record from Westchester county. A re- 

 ported discovery of mastodon bones near White Plains in June 1920 

 is here mentioned on account of the publicity it received. The so- 

 called bones proved to be weathered blocks of " Calciferous " 

 sandstone. 



Wyoming County 



98 1876. Pike. A brief statement concerning this find was 

 published by Clarke 23 in 1903 and a fuller account in 1908. 24 His 

 later account is as follows : " I append here some additional data 

 concerning the Pike skull taken from a recently published account 

 (Guide to the Genesee Valley Museum, Letch worth Park, by Henrv 

 R. Howland, 1907, p. 5) : 



These remains of a mastodon were found in the summer of 1876 in 

 cutting a farm land ditch on the farm of Charles Dennis, on the outskirts 

 of the village of Pike, which is about 7 miles from Glen Iris, and through 

 which flows the Wiscoy creek, one of the tributaries of the Genesee river. 

 The tusks were fortunately quite perfect and with them were found a part 

 of the skull, some vertebrae and some foot bones. In order that these 

 remains should be properly preserved they were at once purchased by Mr 

 Letchworth who caused them to be mounted at the natural history estab- 

 lishment of Prof. Henry A. Ward in Rochester, N. Y. The prompt action 

 taken in the matter resulted in the preservation of this valuable relic which 

 was returned to Pike and allowed to remain on exhibition at the Pike 

 Seminary until the completion of the Genesee Valley Museum Building in 

 1898. In 1904 the seminary building was destroyed by fire. The measure- 

 ments of the pike Mastodon are as follows: 



Length of skull, measured in a straight line from back to front 43^2 inches 

 Length of tusks, measured along lower curve 96^ inches 



Greatest circumference of the tusks 23 inches 



The following additional information concerning the Pike mas- 

 todon is from a letter in the State Museum files written by C. B. 

 Rieler to James Hall, dated Pike, N. Y., July 17, 1876: " Nearly 

 all the bones found are more or less decomposed. None of the leg 

 bones found have as yet been seen nor have any of the rib bones 

 been found. The bones lay much scattered at the depth of 2 to 6 

 feet in a small peat bog so that digging is difficult. The result thus 

 far is seven teeth, ten vertebrae one with a ' spine ' 17 inches in 

 length, two clavicles, one scapula, two small bones of the foot, two 

 tusks 9 and 6 feet long respectively, and each 6^4 inches in diame- 

 ter at base, and several other bones large and small, including por- 

 tions of the skull." 



Clarke, N. Y. State Mus., 3d Rep't of the Director, 1907, p. 60. 

 N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 69, 1903, p. 932. 

 N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 121, 1908, p. 45. 



