220 



THE GEOLOGIST. 



bones and teeth ; but the mud and water accumulated so fast, they soon became 

 discouraged with the difficulties attending the search, and gave it over. Some 

 of these facts came to my knowledge in March, 1840, on my return to St. 

 Louis from an excursion to the south-western part of the country, when I 

 immediately repaired to the spot, and found the facts as I have here stated. 

 * * * it is well known by all persons acquainted with geology, that is 

 admitted as a fact, that the mastodons, together with the generality of ante- 

 diluvian animals, existed and became extinct previous to the creation of the 

 race of men ; which supposition was founded on the fact that no evidence of 

 human existence could be traced back to, or found with, those antediluvian 

 animals. The positive cause of this I do not know. _ My opinion, however, is 

 that this want of evidence of a former human race is, that those relics of the 

 ancient animal world generally have been found accidentally by persons who 

 were not aware of the importance of a minute and critical examination of the 

 deposits disinterred by them, and therefore the scientific observer was deprived, 

 no doubt, often of the facts necessary to be known in order to form correct 

 opinions on this subject. In view of this I deem it my duty to lay before the 

 world what facts I have been able to gather on this interesting subject, which 

 will be strong evidence in favour of my belief, that there was a human race 

 existing contemporary with those animals. These facts are as follows : — In 

 October, 1838, I disinterred the remains of an animal which had clawed feet, 

 and was of the size of an elephant. This deposit was in Gasconade county, 

 Missouri, on the shores of the Burhois river. The principal part of this ani- 

 mal had been consumed by fire, which fire evidently had not been produced by 

 a volcanic eruption, but had been formed and kindled mechanically by human 

 hands, as it appeared, for the purpose of destroying the before-mentioned ani- 

 mal, which had been mired here and was unable to extricate itself. The par- 

 ticulars of the transaction are as follows. A farmer in Gasconade county, 

 Missouri, perceived for some time a disagreeable taste in the water which he 

 had used for his household. The water was taken out of a clear spring, situated 

 in what is usually called a bottom, near his house. For the purpose of reme- 

 dying this evil, he dug around and into the spring, thus to be enabled to enclose 

 it afterwards as a well. By doing so, he found several bones belonging to an 

 animal of an unusually large size. Some were whole, and some in fragments. 

 Also, at the same time, he found a stone knife and an Indian axe. This cir- 

 cumstance created some excitement in the neighbourhood ; and these transac- 

 tions were mentioned to me some time afterwards by a Mr. Wash, who lived 

 in the vicinity. On hearing this, I immediately made arrangements to proceed 

 to the place. On my arrival there, in October, 1838, I found the prospects 

 rather dull, as the bones which had been dug out of the spring were principally 

 destroyed. They had been removed from their place of embedment without 

 the Least care, and were, of course, more or less broken; then exposed to the 

 aii- without any kind of preservation being applied to them; and eventually 

 a\ hat few remained tolerably whole, were broken by their curious visitors, to 

 ascertain if they contained marrow; until the few remaining fragments were 

 collected together by an intelligent gentleman, by the nameof Bailey, residing 

 in the neighbourhood, who presented them to me, and assisted me in my farther 

 researches. 1 found, nine feet beneath the surface, a layer of ashes from six 

 to twelve inches in thickness, mingled with charcoal, large pieces of wood 

 partb burned, together with Indian implements of war, as stone arrow-heads 

 tomahawks, &c, &c. Also more than one hundred and fifty pieces of rocks 

 varying from three io twenty-five pounds in weight, which must have been 

 carried hero from the rocky shores of the Burbois river, a distance of three 

 hundred yards j as there was no rock, stones, or even gravel near to be found, 

 and as those pieces of rocks taken out of the ashes were precisely the same as 



