East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1861-09-24
Sir Humphrey Dayy on the Creation of the
World.


The globe, in the first state in which
the Imagination can venture to consider
il, appears to have been fluid mass,
with an immense atmosphere revolving
in space around the sun.
BY its cooling, portion Of its atmos-
phero was probably condensed into water,
which occupied part Of its surface. In
/ this state, no form of life, such as now
belongs TO our system, could have inhab-
tied it.
The crystalline rocks-or, as they are
called by geologists, the primary rocks
which contain no vestigo Of former
order Of things, were the result OF the
/ first consolidation on its surface. Upon
its further cooling, the water which, more
or less had covered it, contracted; depo-
sition took place; shell-fish and coral in
sects began their labors. Islands APP
pcarcd in the midst of the ocean, raised
from tho deep by the productive energies
of millions of zoophytes.
These islands became covered with
vegetables fitted to bear a high Temporal
ture, such as palms and various species OF
plants similar to those which now exist in
the hottest parts of the world
The submarine rocks of these new
formations of land became covered with
aquatic vegetables, on which species of
shell-fsh and common fish found their
nourlshmeht. AS the temperature OF
the globe became lower, species OF the
oviparOus reptiles appear to have been
created to inhabit it; and the turtle, croc-
odile, and various gigantic animals OF the
saur;an Qizard) kind seem to have haunt
ed the bays and waters of the primitive
lands.
But, in this state of things, there ap-
pears to have been no order of events
similar to the present. Immense Volcanic
explosions seem to have taken place, &C
companied by elevations and depressions
of the surface of the globe, producing
mountains, and causing new extensive
dispositions from the primitive ocean.
The remains of living beings, plants,
fishes, birds, and oviparous reptiles, are
found in the strata of rocks which are the
monuments and evidences of these
changes When these revolutions be-
came less frequent, and the globe became
still more evolved, and inequalities of
temperature were established by means
of the mountain chains, more perfect ami
mails became its inhabitants, such as the
mammoth, megulomise, megatherium,
and gigantic hyena, many of which have
become extinct.
Five successive races of plants and
four successive races of animals appear
to have been created and swept away by
the physical revolutions of the globe,
before the system of things became so
permanent as to fit the world for man.
In none of these formations, whether
called secondary, tertiary, or diluvial,
have the fossil remains of man, or any OF
his works been discovered.
At last, man was created, and since
that period there has been little altera.
ton in the physical circumstances of the
globe.
In all these various formations, the
corprolites Tor the dung of the saurian
reptiles in fossil state, exhibits scales Of
fishes and other traces of the prey which
they had devoured) form records or war
fare waged by successive generations OF
inhabitants of our planet on one another
and the general law of nature, which
bids all to eat and be eaten in their turn
is shown to have been co-extensive upon
our globe-the carnivora, in each period
of the worlds history, fulfilling this
destined office, to check excess in the
progress of life, and maintain the balance
of creation.