Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-04-04

Discovery OI the Skeleton OF . HIaatoalon
ia Nearly Perfect tState-Tvventy-Gve
Feet Long and Foarteen Feet High.
Otisville, N. T., Correspondence N. 7. Times.
The farm of Mr.. Andrew Mitchell,
about one mile from this place, is, and
and has been for weeks, visited by very
many people. The attraction is the
huge and almost entire skeleton of q
mastodon, which has been found by
piecemeal in a swamp on his land since
January last, and which has been put
together by Professor from Boston,
Mass. The farm which has so sudden.
" become famous was purchased by
MIR. Mitchell some time since, and in
January he hired man to dig muck
from a swamp to place on the uplands,
he himself being engaged in New York.
The man had excavated to the depth of
four feet when he came upon an enor-
nous bone, shaped like q rib. He
stopped work and informed Mr.. Mitch
ell OF his discovery, who, thinking it
must have belonged to some monstrous
animal, directed that deeper and more
extended digging be done.
At depth of fifteen feet the pelvis.
head and other large bones were found.
Search has been continued until almost
the entire skeleton has been exhumed,
and the scientific gentleman from Bos-
ton says it is much larger than the
famous remains in the Boston Museum.
and which was also found in this conn
try, and which was the largest known
specimen of these extinct mammalia.
The skeleton is in barn on Mr.. Mitch
ellis farm, and no train stops at this
station but brings numbers of curious
or scientifically-inclined persons, on
their way to visit the monster. The
upper jaw'and man portion of the head
weigh about 500 pounds. and measures
three feet seven inches across the top.
There are four teeth in the upper law
two on each side. The back teeth
extend seven inches along the jawbone,
and are four inches across. The open.
ings where the tusks have been are
are three feet and eight inches
deep, and eighteen inches in
circumference. The .vertebrse was
found in forty pieces, but lying alto
gether, while the pelvis was taken out
whole and uninjured. The channel
where the spinal cords lay when the
monster was alive is five inches in cir
cumference. Among the missing bones
are the tusks, the lower jawbone, and
those of the hind legs. One bone of q
leg that has been found weighs alone
$50 pounds. When the skeleton is re-
constructed, it will measure fourteen
feet from the bottom of it's feet to the
top of it's head, and over twenty-five
feet from head to tail. -: :;
Work is steadily prosecuted in the
excavating in search of the missing
bones. Great difficulty is met in the
filing in of water, a pump Of consider
able capacity being steadily worked by
horsepower to keep the pit clear.
A singular incident connected with
the skeleton is that in his stomach is
found quantity Of undigested matter.
Among it were fresh-looking and very
large leaves, of odd form, and blades Of
strange grass, of extreme length, vary
ing from an inch to three inches In
width, and looking aslf freshly cropped
from the earth. The spot where the
remains were found is low, marshy
ground.
Parties in New York have already
opened negotiations with Mr.. Mitchell
for the purchase of the skeleton, and he
has refused. 81 500 for it: .