650 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NEW YORK MEETING 



mission of the author to Section E, American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science, where it was read December 31, 1906 : 



CHARLES WILLSON PEALE'S PAINTING, "THE EXHUMING OF THE FIRST 



AMERICAN MASTODON" 



BY ARTHUR BARNEVELD BIBDINS 



Charles Willson Peale, who was born iu Queen Anue county, Maryland, in 

 1741, and who became knowu as "The Artist of the Revolution," was one 

 of the pioneers — perhaps the Nestor — of American vertebrate paleontology. 

 Although very few of his scores of paintings relate to this subject, one which 

 has lately come to the writer's notice, with the correspondence by the Peales 

 and others relating to the subject of the painting, clearly demonstrates the 

 artist's keen, intelligent, and practical interest in this direction — tlie most 

 advanced of his time in this country. 



The canvas measures 5 by 6 feet and is kuown as "The Exhuming of the 

 First American Mastodon." It is signed "C. W. Peale" and dated 1806. 



The scene portrays the unearthing of the iirst of the two mastodons which 

 the artist obtained near Newburg-on-the-Hudson in 1801, and which were the 

 first approximately complete skeletons found in this country. This ceutury-old 

 picture lias recently been brought to scientific notice, since it has come into 

 the possession of the family of one of the artist's lineal descendants, by whose 

 kind permission this reproduction of the painting is shown. 



The canvas is well preserved and its detail clear and distinct. The artist 

 is represented as personally supervising the excavation. Members of his 

 family, including his wife, Rembrandt and his wife, Titian and .Tames Peale, 

 and several scientific worthies of the day, are in attendance, and the wliole 

 countryside is, as will be seen, astir with the unwonted activity in their 

 midst. 



Rembrandt Peale. the no less celebrated son of the elder Peale. has left a 

 very graphic account of the labors attending the excavation. This rare little 

 pamphlet was written in London in 1803, while the incidents were vividly in 

 mind. A copy of it was brought to my notice at the JNIarylaud Historical 

 Society, in Baltimore, and I have been mucli gratified to find yet another 

 copy here, in the library of the American Museum of Natural History, which 

 has been kindly loaned me for this occasion. I will refer to a few paragraphs 

 from it. 



Accoi'ding to Rembrandt Peale's account, his father had received word in 

 the spring of 1801 that iu tlie previous autunm an old farmer, in digging into 

 a marl pit in the vicinity of Newbiirg, had discovered a number of gigantic 

 bones, which he heaped on the floor of his granary or garret. 



The thigh bone, 3 feet 9 inches in length, was first discovered, and for 

 several succeeding days 100 men were encouraged by the physicians in the 

 neighborhood to continue their efforts with very considerable success. 



By the use of "rnm" in too great abundance, however, the men became 

 unruly and impatient and nearly destroyed the skeleton, and by using oxen 

 and chains to drag the bones forth from the clay or mai'l, the liead, hip.s, and 

 tnslvs were much broken and many parts left behind. So great a quantity 



