THE MASTODON. 13 



pamphlets were exchanged on the subject. In the year 

 1832 the skeleton was removed from Bordeaux to the Mu- 

 seum of Natural History in Paris, where De Blainville 

 recognized it as belonging to the mastodon. 



The gigantic bones discovered in 1705, thirty miles south 

 of Albany, New York, were regarded as additional proof 

 of the ancient stories relative to the past existence of a 

 race of giants. One of the teeth was shown to Governor 

 Dudley, of Massachusetts, who was "perfectly of opinion 

 that the tooth will agree only to a human body, for whom 

 the flood only could prepare a funeral ; and without doubt 

 he waded as long as he could keep his head above the 

 clouds, but must, at length, /be confounded with all other 

 creatures." * The bones of the mastodon found near 

 Santa Fe' de Bogota, in the " Field of Giants," were 

 formerly taken for human remains. And, in like manner, 

 the great quantity of bones of this animal found in the 

 Cordilleras originated the Spanish tradition that Peru was 

 formerly inhabited by men of colossal stature. 



The mastodon first attracted the attention of the scien- 

 tific men of Europe about the middle of the last century. 

 M. de Longueil, a French officer, in 1739, while traversing 

 the forests bordering on the Ohio River, discovered in 

 Kentucky some bones, which, on account of their magni- 

 tude, excited his curiosity to such an extent that he carried 

 them along with him, and on his return to France presented 

 them to D'Aubenton and Buffon. It is worthy of notice 

 that these were the first relics of the mastodon which 

 received the attention of the scientific men of Europe, and 

 also the first taken thither. D'Aubenton ascribed the thigh- 

 bone and tusk to the elephant, but attributed the teeth to 

 the hippopotamus. On the other hand, Buffon declared 

 that the teeth as well as the tusk and thigh-bone belonged 

 to an elephant which had existed "in the primitive ages 



* Extract from Governor Dudley's letter to Cotton Mather. 



