DISCOVERY OF THE SKELETON. 5 



undisturbed for unknown ages. This spot belonged to the farm of Mr. 1ST. 

 Brewster, whose house, as well as the public road, are at a very short 

 distance. 



The summer of 1845 had been unusually dry ; many small lacustrine 

 deposits were exposed by the drought, and their contents removed to fertilize 

 the neighboring fields. The spot above described, though usually covered 

 by a small quantity of water, had been left dry (an occurrence never known 

 before) ; and Mr. Brewster, wishing to avail himself of its contents, had 

 employed a number of laborers to remove them. The men had dug through 

 a thickness of two feet of peat-bog, a layer of red moss about a foot thick, 

 and then fell upon a bed of shell-marl (vide Vignette). After raising about 

 a foot of this, they struck on something hard ; and a question arose whether 

 it was a rock, a bone, or some other substance. Mght approaching, it 

 was necessary to intermit their labor until the following day. 



Mr. "William C. Brewster, son of the proprietor, and Mr. Weeks, his 

 son-in-law, with assistants, in the presence of a large number of persons, 

 neighbors and travellers, proceeded to examine the object of their curiosity. 

 The stroke of a spade brought up a portion of bone, and every one was 

 then willing to believe they had discovered the last retreat of one of the 

 ancient Mastodon inhabitants. The labor of exhumation then proceeded 

 rapidly ; and the part struck was ascertained to have been the summit of 

 the head. This, being uncovered, disclosed to the eyes of the spectators 

 the full extent of the cranium, which was four feet in length. The lower 

 jaw was distorted a little towards the left side. The bones of the spine, 

 tail, pelvis, and ribs, were successively found, for the most part in their 

 natural relation to each other. The anterior extremities were extended 

 under and in front of the head, as if the animal had stretched out its 



