Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1853-03-24
MONTPELIER, VERMONT, THURSDAY,

| sir J0hh hlCnarusOn-ahp IL ls very conclusive
rs to the icy nature of the cliffs They have
undergone considerable alteration since the
| time when they were visited BY Koizabue and
by Capt. Beechey, M. Seeman describes them
as being from forty to ninety feet Highland
consisting # three distinct layers, the lower
one being ice, the middle one clay containing
f'ssil homes, and the upper one peat, The icy
basis is from twenty to SKY feet in height and
Capt. Kelleit states that on digging into the
soil at the distance Of quarter of mile from
this edge of the cliff he found pure ice at the
depth uf not more than thee or four feet The
data are at present insufficient for obtaining az
idea of the extent nj this mass of ice; but suffi.
ciont Il know to affnrd interesting materials for
estimating The influence of such a formation on
the condition Of the earths surface, of which
it forms part.
/ THE interest, however, Of this volume does
not consist so much in its descriptions Of the
physical structure of E>choschotz Bay, as in
its account of the fossil bones which have been
found in such numbers in its cliffs. These re-
mains were IN no instance found imbedded in
the ice; hut they generally lay upon the surface
the hinge tusks and horns not unfrequently
showing through the sol-whst many we're
gathered from the sand at the base of the cliffs
where they were exposed to the wash of the
tide The animals to which these remains be-.
low seem 10 have formed part of that great mass
of life of which so many indications exist in
extreme northern ATTITUDES. The discovery Of
the entire carcass IF rhinoceros and of those
of two mammoths IN Arctic Siberia is q fac,
familiar to most pesons-whlle inexhaustible
deposits OF organic remains are known to exist
in the Kotelnoi, or New Siberian Archipelago
lying off the Svatol Moss. This latter district
promises rich harvest to the naturaIist-.a
would we'll repay the expense of scientific
exploration. The remains for Eschschotz Bay
have not their soft parts so well preserved as
many OF the other specimens; but when dug
ou: OF the soil in which they are contained, they
exhaled "a strong and disaereeable odor of Le
composing animal matter, like that of well.
filled cemetery"
The history of the creatures that have left
these remains forms an interesting problem,
They belong to families which now inhab
tropical or snb-troplcal regions. Are we, then
to conclude that they have been brought frou
warmer parts of the earth by some great food
Their perfect state of preservation in some
instances torbids thus conclusion, for they could
not have been brought from tropical regions
preserved in ice. Can we suppose that tht
Arctic regions we're once waImer than now
and actually produced vegetation sufficient tc
support vast creation of herbivorous animal
snch as we now Gad entnmhad thnre;nf Thi.
Is the conclusion TO which we are driven; ant
without supposing that the temperature of thes'
regions was tropical, 1t WAS probably yet wara
enough to encourage vegetation on which thes,
creatures could live. By some catastrophe
some vast deluge, or wave Of succession-w
must supposed that they were suddenly en-
gulphed on the shores of sea wherein the
had their pasture grounds. Such ls the theory
To which sir Richardson gives his adhenslu
and which must be adopted as the most prob
able I'LL further light shall be thrown upon tn
subject.
The number of species of animals brongh
from ESchschoz Bay are not numerous-b,
they belong chiefly to an order of the Mamma
lla-the RumInantla-whOse identity il is mos
difficult To determine by the structure of the
skeletons. No pains have been spared by Sir
Richardson himself to make his description {
these remains al perfect as he could The co
ections described by him, or made available f,
the observations, are those not only of Cap
Keet, but Of Capt. Beechey and Mr. Coll
also. The COLLECTIONS OF Capt. KelIeu are d.
posted in two localities--a portion in the Brtis
Museum, and part at Haslar Hospital
.4theneum.