ITS CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS. 
19b 
sentatives, yet, on the whole, the earlier Mamma 
lia were giants in comparison with those now liv- 
ing. The Mastodon and Mammoth, as compared 
with the modern Elephant, the Megatherium, as 
compared with the Sloths, or Ant-Eaters of pres- 
ent times, the Hyenas and Bears of the European 
caverns, and the fossil Elk of Ireland, by the side 
of which even the Moose of our Northern woods 
is belittled, are remarkable instances in proof of 
this. One cannot but be struck with the fact 
that this first representation of Mammalia, the 
very impersonation of brute force in power, size, 
and ferocity, immediately preceded the introduc- 
tion of man, with whose creation intelligence and 
