44 Prehistoric Races. 



another then, as they do somewhat freely now, and 

 that with teeth which could scrape one another's 

 bones pretty incisively. Scientific men go to the 

 trouble of pointing out effective teeth of that age, 

 such as seem to suit the incisions exactly, those of 

 the lusty beasts called carcharodon megalodon, sargus 

 serratus, and others. These dreadful names insinu- 

 ate nothing but teeth ! In fine, the critics urge the 

 importunate question: Did the beasts of prey spare 

 man himself, and not scrape his bones for him ? 

 If so, where are they, — be they scraped or un- 

 scraped ? 



45. It is easy to ask questions, and for irreverent 

 minds to ask irrevent ones. But professors of Ber- 

 lin, and scientists of the French school 



Science 111 itself, nimble as that school is in its logic 

 and its fancy, have thought it was rather 

 easy to make random statements, and scandalize 

 science by settling things with a vote. If things 

 are true, they need no vote. And the only result 

 of the pronounced discredit which this controversy 

 has thrown upon the tertiary unknown, is to show 

 him unknowable, probably because he is not there. 

 Twenty years of contention about him have left 

 him where so many are leaving the missing link 

 generally; and that is nowhere. 



46. It really makes very little difference where the 

 first appearance of man is placed, and how it came 

 about, if only he was there. We shall learn much 

 that is useful, when we ascertain where it was, in the 



