Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1845-08-23
rsss OrsrirursoN-srAr RIGHTS.
RICHMOND DAILY WING.
THE "MASTODON."


The fossil remains Of an individual Of this OK.
tinct mss,sser tribe. have been recently cshumed
In tho cosnty Of Orange, State Of New York, in
q state Of more entire preservation than any yet
discovered, aud therefore Of much value TO natu.
ralists, a. affording basis for their specu.
lations upon It's size, habits, pecuartics of life
and formation, AM above all, the period of time
when the species probably disappeared from the
face Of The earth. Tho discoveries Of Geology
have lcit little doubt that this Mt the time OF
the dcluge: Sergeant Crane Of the Star, is sup
posed to be ofopinion that they nnd the Mammoth
were too large to he taken on board the ark of
Noah, which probably was scarcely Of capacity
to hold n couple of each species, TO say nothing
Of the danger Of their trampling inferior aamals
under foot and that there fore the two perish
ed in the waste Of waters This theory is plausi-
BILE, especially us we know from scientific explo-
ration, that many other species of animals, ovipa.
rous and mammferous, quadrupeds and serPens,
disappeared about the same time, rs their organic
remains and their relative positions in secondary
formations, demonstrate philosophicaliy. The
perfect preservation OF the Mastodon skeleton un-
der consideration, offers officially in the way
OF this theory the singular state of preservation
during the lapse Of four thousand years was doubt
less occasioned by the antiscp,ic qualities of the
soil in which it was imbedded The entire re-
mains of the Mammoth, even the skin being pre-
served, have in more than one instance been dis.
covered ON the shores of Siberia imbedded in ice,
which had protected them from decomposition
through hundreds OF ages. In Asia all tradition OF
the existence of the Mammoth had persisted 1900
years ago, for neither HerodotUs any ancient
historian (save the Old Testament in some passa.
ges Of doubtful allusion) make any mention of it:
If therefore the Mammoth i, still preserved entire
even with the skin and flesh adherinC in the arc.
tic regions Of Asia, may suppose that the Mas
todon skeleton NAV be here, withou, assigning
to the animal more modern existence than the
delugc.
In size the MAstolon would seem 20 have a.
much exceeded the Mammoth, a. the Mammoth
did the horse. OF its incredible size and stupen-
dous appearance, we may form some though no
doubt very inadequate conception, by the length
of a tusk, feet 10 inches That Of horse is
something we suppose about all inch and half
in length. If the proportions were preserved,
the Masiodon must have been walking tower,
a marching mountain. To all living races they
were Bobdignag TO Lillipui. and Swift must
have had the phenomenon Of their existence in
his head when he projected hs unique Gullrers
Travels. Even the elephant, the Mastodon of our
degenerate age, would stand by the side of Mas
todon Pigmy by that Of GOliah, or the smallest
poodle by that of 4 horse L., the reader ina
gine i herd Of these animals grazing CUr luckily
tor the people OF their day they were not carniyo-
rou-) in an Antediluvian Forest OF Prare What
We call saphngs would pass between their legs, OF
be crushed under their beet. and the lotest oaks
would be grazed nearly to their tops. Like the
host OF Xerxes, they would drink common rivers
dry in their march, and tie widest and deepest
would be ioried at few bounds. Did they aP-
proach village, the inhabitants would feel no
alarm of an assault for Providence had made them
gentle and tinid but the utmost CONSERVATION lest
they might crush and overthrow their houses in
their progress
We quote the following account of the recent
discovery, from the correspondent OF the CONNER
cial Advertiser Of the l9Ib.
Correspondence COnap'ercal .idssrii,er.
NEwBUKsH, l5th August lsI5.
have Just returned from inspection OF Of
mnstOdon which were discovered Tuesday last, within
few miles Of this place take the liberty usually granted
n constant reader. 10 send you bnef Of them.
The skeleton remarkable alike for its immense ze tie
number which have beea found and their ih
state Of preservation well deserves the careful examination
Of nsturallsts.
The remains were discovered upon the farm Of Mr Ma
thanie Brewster yho resides miles directly west
Of Newburgh,) in bog meadow forming the bottom OF
narrow valley, supposed have been Of tbe
lets OF Orange Lake. Mr.. BIewslers wOrkmen at
the time engaged in digging tor mari; they had eXeavaed
he earth 10 the depth OF about five feet when they sud
denly upon part Of the skeleton. Ii eNnumed
with much probably the circumstances OF the
case allowed; and the result that Mt Brewster pos
session OF singuary complete skeleton Of the huge
NAL about which little il known, bu' whose structure
and habits can now be more satisfactorily studied than
any previous time
The whole number Of bones large and small which hsve
been found is 220; all OF these including le bones
OF the tongue, nearly good VI preservation
rs II the animal had been killed yesterday. You will be
able 10 form idea Of the dimensions this bnny
structure from the following accurate Of the
weight Of IT. component parts. The heed and usss weigh
693 bs; shoulder blade "a; hip bones les; o,egs loO;
hlndegs l64 ribs 100; back and neck 1877 feet and other
bones 363; the whole being 1898
The tusks both OF which have suffered somewhat from
exposure 10 the each feet 10 inches long aud al
the point OF enhance into the bead - inches
ference The shoulder blade measures feet across feet
inches long. the skull feet 10 inches long, feet in
ehes brood, the lilac bone the hip bone fcetf inches
across, the PelSs s foot II inches diameter. There
are 80 Verebi0 and the distance from the neck to the rump
scientific friend who accompanied me to the spot
and who was present during the eGhuming Of the bones
observed TO me That from ihc petition Of the skeleton o
animal appears TO have entered The pond from the West
aud becoming mifed ~ the deep mud had lain down aud
Died The question when d'd one 10 which no very
decided smwer can be given. Yet there several
eumsiances which Justify tue assef, tat the d,to
II ny no means very remut'. Among these may bc mem
uoned the preservation Of tic enamel OF the teeth. which
as Pehectas when This animal alive, tie condition Of
number Of the bones which appear to retain -re sp,
mattel the fsct that some bushels Of The contents OF tic .to
mach, showing by the way Kind o food on which the
mss'odon yed' were found quite unmiScd with ie clr
and lastly The nature Of the ground. snd slight de- ph
beneath the surface Of which remains were ubtaned
These circumstances show usycy ~ my mind that
She nsstodon died long after the deugc.
remain yours. T.. 4.
WOOL.