Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1845-09-04
REMAINS OF A MASTODON.
correspondence of the Commercial Advertiser.
NEwBuRGH, (N.Y.) August Is. 1915.

correspondence Vi inc commercial Advertiser.
NEwBUReH, (N.Y) August Is, 1915.
have just returned from an inspection of tho
remains OF mastodon which were discovered or,
tuesday, last, within few miles of this place
and lake the liberty usually granted to a constant
reader 10 send you brief account of them. This
skeleton, remarkable alike for its immense size
ire number OF It's parts which have been fonnd
anc their high Stale of preservation, well deserves
the careful examination of naturalists.
Inc remains were discovered upon the farm Of
Mr.. Nathaniel Brewster, (who resides about civ
miles directly west of Newburgh.) in a boo mead
ow, forming the bottom of narrow yalley. SIM.
posed to have been once one of the outlets of n.
ange Lake. MIR. Brewster's workmeD were At
the time engaged in digging for mari thew had
eXcavaled the earth TO the depth of about five feet
when they suddenly came upon part of the
sheietoh. III was eXhumed with as much care
probably as the circumstances of the case allow
ed; and the result is that Mr. Brewster is in nos.,
session OF slnguar!y complete skeleton of the
huge animal about which SO little is known but
whose structure and habits can now be more ca.
ts,iactorlly studied than at any previous time.
The whole number of bones, large and small.
winch have been found, is 22O; all Of these. in.
ciuolng the TWO bones of the tongue, are nearly
In as good state of preservation as ;f tho az;
NAL had been killed yesterday. You will be ahio
10 form some idea oil the vast dimensions of th;s
pony structure from the following accurate s,.,o
inent oil the weight of its component paris W.
mead and tusks weigh 500 lbs; shoulder HI ado
"a MP bones l65; fore legs 1870; hind Ices I64.
ribs l2O; back and neck 1877; feet and otbsr
bones 3S3 the whole being ,995,
The tusks, both of which have sufferod son.
what from exposure to the air, are each feet IN
inches long, and at the poin; of entrance into The
bead are "a Inches In circumference. The shoul-.
der blade measures feet across, feet @ incbo.
long, Inc skull 3 feet 10 inches long, feet \
inches broad, the lilac bone, or the hip bone &.
ieet inches across, the pelvis is foot II inches
In diameter. There are "a vertebra, and tho die
lance from the neck to the rump is III feet.
y scientific friend who ACCOMPANIED mo IN The
spot, and who was present during the exhuming
oil The bones, observed to me that, from the posi,
tion OF the skeleton, the animal appears to have
entered the pond from the west, and becomino
mlred In the deep mud, had lain down and died,
Inc question when 1T died is one 10 which no
very ueci1ed answer can be given. Yet there
are seFefal circumstances which seem to Justify
'ne assertion that the date is by no means very
remote Among these may be mentioned the
preservation OF the enamel of the teeth, which is
as perfect as when the animal was alive, the con-
dltlon OF number of the bones which appear to-
retain some animal matter, the fact that some
bushels of the contents Of the stomach, showing.
by the way, the kind of food on which The mas.
todon lived, were found quite unmixed with the
earth, and lastly the nature of the ground, and
the slight depth beneath the surface at which the
remains were obtained. These circumstances
show conclusively to my mind that the mastodon.
lived long after the deluge.