The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-11-18

Old Troy had Its wooden horse and our
Troy may now boast Of its mastod0n. TIE
latter, indeed, conceals EO danger in lis tanks,
but it has excited no less wonder among the
modern Trojans- Our correspondent from
Troy has given In the HERALD an interest
ing account Of The discovery at Cohoes IN ad-
Iacent manufacturing village, first, Of man.
mosh-like jawbOne, embedded eighty feet be-
low the surface OF the earth, about one hun
dred feet from tho banks Of the Mohawk
river, and also on Thursday last Of the re-
mains of complete skeleton of huge
nastodon, eighteen feet further down in the
same excavation. Distinguished fossilists from
Yale and Union colleges and from the Rensse-
laer Polytechnic Institute have already ex-
amined these remains, and q savant of world
wide renown, Professor Agassiz, of Harvard
University, is expected to examine them this
week. Professor Marsh, of the Yale College
scientific school, pronounces them to be the re.
mains Of the great North American mast0don,
declaring that they correspond in every par
ticular TO the descriptions of the animal in sol
entiflc works.
Fragments Of the mastodon were early dis
covered on this continent, and In 1901 a COM
paratively complete skeleton was found near
Newburg, in this State. 1t was secured by
MIR. Peale, who transported 1t to London for
exhibition and afterwards brought 1t back to
this country, exhibiting it for many years in
Philadelphia. Several other specimens have
since been found in Kentucky, South Carolina
and other parts of the United States. One was
sold by DR.. Koch for two thousand pounds to
the British Museum. Another was exhibited at
the old New York Lyceum. A third, with. the
missing parts artifcally supplied is in the Phil
adelphia Museum. fourth is in Baltimore.
fifth is at Harvard University, and the
sixth, which belongs to DR.. Warren and Is Of
anomalous structure, with the feet Of a camel
as the skeleton Of an early settler of 'tbe
Hub" and is duly worshipped, with the great
organ, among the tutelary divini,ies of the Bos-
tonians. But the Trojans will now compel it to
hide lie diminished head, for no specimen Of the
mastodon hitherto found is so perfect and COM
plete as that which they have just dug up at Co.
hoes. Ii cannot fail to revive everywhere an
interest in psychological studies, and it may
serve to elucidate many problems of science
which still remain unsolved.
The mastodon is often but enormously con-
.ounded with the mammoth. Of which specimens
have frequently been discovered, from the
mountains by which Asia is bounded to the
frozen shore of the Arctic. The best fossil
ivory is found abuDdantly in countries nearest
TO The Arctic circle. 10 Siberia whole carcasses
have been hidden and preserved for ages, to
reappear at length covered with flesh and skin,
and even with hair, short and crisped like wool,
and long like bristles, as In the case of the
elephant embedded in ice near the mouth of
the Lena, and whose flesh, it was said, was
found in such high state of preservation that
it was eaten by dogs. But not only in Siberia,
in Germany, France, and Italy as well-in fact,
according to Pallas, ON the banks or in the
bed Of almost every river in the immense plain
from the Tanais TO the continental angle
nearest America, extinct specimens of the
elephant and the rhinoceros and other animals
besides either wholly extinct or existing only
in altogether different climates, have been
found. The fossil bones which have been exca-
waited from time to time have often occasioned
fables Of an extinct race Of giants. Indeed, in
Switzerland and on the western coast Of Europe
bones have lately been found which incline
scientific men to believe that these fables were
ming to yield up remnants Of a gigantic pre-
AdaInite race. However this may be, tho
bones OF gigantic kind Of deer (but thanks
to ST. Patrick, no snake skins) have been dis
covered In Ireland. In Scotland the remains
have been found Of the elk, and OF . kind Of OK
larger than the urus.
Not only the fossil remains OF the pachy-
dermata have been found, but also those Of the
carnivora, birds, crocodilcs, the megatherium
Of Paraguay, the megalonyx Of Virginia, and
those Of innumerable marine animals, with
hills and mountains mainly composed Of shells
as perfect as ever in structure and in
stristed beauty. These phenomena have
long captivsted the attention Of fossilists.
from xenophanes, who four hundred years be-
fore Christ deduced from them an argument
for the eternity Of the universe, and Herodotas.
who attested the existence Of fossil shells In the
mountains Of Egypt and Of the remains Of an
extinct species of marine animals in the stones
with which the Pyramids are built down TO the
modern discoveries OF quadrupeds Of the lizard
tribe, the icthyo.aurus OF reptile form, the me-
galosaurus, the plesiosaurus Of Conybesrs, and
last, not least, the hydrargus, partly discovered
and partly reconstructed" by DIR. Koch. Tbe
latter was truly wonderful creature, for we
can bear witness that it was only twenty-seven
feet long when first dug mp in Washington
county, Alabama. and we remember that Il
miraculously grew TO the length Of one hun
dred and lwenty-seven fec, before il reached
New York and Boston on Its way to Europe.
What with meteor falling from tho sky, and
the n1asfndnna and nfbnr nlonstnra risins from