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HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



fuppofed to have pafTed by fwimming, then the difficulty 

 of the fea paffage to land animals comes in the way. 

 If all the animals are fuppofed to have paffed, even 

 thofe of South America by the north, then, inftcad of 

 making a journey of fix thoufand miles, they muft have 

 made one of more than fifteen thoufand, for which 

 length of way their floth would have had occafion for 

 more than one thoufand feven hundred and forty years. 



We anfwer then to the above objections, i. That as 

 all the quadrupeds of the earth are not yet known, we 

 cannot fay how many are in the one or in the other 

 continent. The count de BufFon numbers only two 

 hundred fpecies of quadrupeds. Bomare, who wrote a 

 little after that author, makes them two hundred and 

 fixty-flve: but to fay how many more there may be, 

 until we have examined the inland regions of Africa, of 

 a great part of Tartary, the country of the Amazons, 

 North Louifiana, the countries beyond the river Color a- 

 do, the country of the Apaches, the Salamon ifles, New 

 Holland, &c. which countries make a confiderable part 

 of our globe. It is not wonderful that the animals of 

 thefe unknown countries are ftill ftrangers to us, when 

 thofe of countries which have been known, and inha- 

 bited for thefe two hundred and fixty years by the Eu- 

 ropeans, are yet unnoticed by zoologifts. The count 

 de BufFon, although he is the mod informed on this 

 fubjecl, omits fome quadrupeds of Mexico, places many 

 out of their native country, and confounds others to- 

 gether, as we (hall fhew in our Differtation on animals. 

 But with refpecl: to the animals which are certainly not 

 original in America, fuch as camels, elephants, and 

 horfes, feveral reafons may be afTigned for this want. 

 Poffibly thofe animals did pafs to the new world, but 

 were deftroyed by other wild beads, or extirpated by 



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