pretended Mammoth, a fabulous animal, 

 supposed to inhabit the regions of the north, 

 where are frequently found bones, teeth, and 

 tusks resembling those of the elephant." 



This paragraph of Mons. de Buffon has 

 given rise, in an extraordinary manner, to 

 several errors. Inasmuch as these bones and 

 teeth, which are found in Siberia, differ from 

 those of the living elephants, they are to be 

 taken as proofs of the former existence of 

 another species no longer known, having the 

 same generic characters, but differing speci- 

 fically. We are not compelled to adopt M. 

 Bufion's aversion to the idea of any race of 

 animals becoming extinct, but we are forced 

 to submit to concurring facts as the voice of 

 God — the bones exist — the animals do not ! 

 The Russian peasants, when they were inter- 

 rogated as to the bones found in Siberia, 

 attributed them, in a fabulous manner, to the 

 Mammoth, " of whom, (says Strahlenburgh) 

 they told and believed the most extraordinary 

 stories:" we must all, therefore, ao-ree with 

 Buffon, that as these Siberian bones were 

 really elephantine, the tales of the Mam moth, 



c 



