New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-03-27

group of species, Their relations not well known
nor the specific characters themselves entirely
| asceTtained. opportunities for studying them have not
been BY any numerous, and although naturalists
accustomed TO construct the anatomy Of organ
Of the entire frame from small part Of the body
this Only b. successfully done with respect TO Its
prominent and essential features, and when these
details Of structure upon which minor classification Is
based require to he considered. there is often consId
cradle uncertainty about their conclusions.
For the most part maStodOnS bear much resemblance
to elephants Their average size perhaps. greater
however. and they differed from elephants I'm other
particulars. All the forms which have hitherto been
found were discovered temperate regions Of the
cart but, has been shown present zones do not
correspond with their position In past epochs. aud dur
Ing the immense period IN which this creature mhab
tied both henispheres II must have survived great
contrasts in climate. There Is nothing to show WHY,
under some circumstances. t may not have been clothed
with the dense coat Of wool and hair that covered the
primeval elephant the chambered noriled rhn0ce-
ros and at another time may have been nearly com
plccly bare. The truth is that, apart from thcr
characterl,tcally differentiated moar teeth, there Is
no absolute difference between a maStOdOn and that
| ancient elephant commonly called a mammoth more
| than this the teeth are 50 modified In both groups
that their numbers correspond and il Is Impossible To
dist neulsh them There is spiral arrangement OF the
| longitudinal bands of enamel on the tusKS mat i
never seen In Elephants but. the other hand, TINS
Is not a constant feature In the mastodon. Further
the former have incisors I'm the lower Jaw "l'e
most OF the latter have. At the same time TINS chir-
ac,er fails also since mastOdOns have been found VINO
possessed two tuslIs modified lncisor teeth in each
law or two in the upper and one In the lower "no%
fellow was normally lost in infancy or hnaiy, par
Of tusks Ike an elephant and having curves that da
| not differ specifically from those OF the latter.
With the molar teeth, this is somewhat different
There are six Of these each side ana IKE toNe vi
! the elephant they exhibit horizontal succession
| in front
| onos behind pn,h forward and di,place them. In
mastodons however, this process was much re- 'o''
| pctc than in true elephants. ana the Ver''" S"''c
SION or shedding of The teeth In certain orutr was
| likewise Irregular The dentiton OF ths s"n-ofue'
| Of proboscldia is highly complex ana uhaVoidabN
| tohn,coI ca ,I,at II NAV he dismissed with a few
general statements Ma,todons much less special
| lied in this respect than their distant eep'a'"u
| relations In them the last three moIlrS are "e'o
! lost and their dcntition in general serves ~ we"
| noc. thot anomalous form which the modern elephant
| urc,ents with those great types exhibited by al
| mammals without going inio The subject OF cu'ps
and ridges or the Characteristic patterns that wear
| produces upon the maStOdon'S tecth' IL may "c sun
| that at the extremes OF SERIES Hclu''"S a."
varieties of form and structure stand the tubercHaeu
| tooth proper and the mOlar, whose crown j. '"e"
| nv transverse wedge shaped ridges, often exhibiting
| nv \ central depression the tendency toward an as
snu,ption of the special masiOdOnc construction Inc
! former consists essentially Of an ACCOMMODATION "a
dcntne cubes orginaly-that is - say, before tey
have been tnncated by a,troninore or less ellptlc
in shupe These are covered with enamel bnt per
hans NOT 60 thlckly as the former and set in cement
| Those elevations upon The crowns when nave oc'"
described are fewer. less pronounced ana more s"p'
in their arrangement among the Whole group oi UdN'
| dons than they In elephants. In the lo'IioI
there is more enamel and less cement ara Inc ehhrc
dentitjop exhibits less specialized and evolved charac
ter Probably the habits OF both were much the same
Both were exclusively vegetable feeders ana heller
possess any trace Of canine teeth, but ONLY m"lncu
ncisiops that appear the form OF tsks and moars
Little can of course be known about the mastodohs
mode Of life II is likely That the animal biowsed
cr than fed on grasses, but with regard to temper
! and TIE manner in which il lived we Know CoH-
| parativelv nothing Neither is 1t possible 10 con-
iecture The degree OF intelligence which it possessed
| All that can be said upon that point is TINS; inc
modern elephant has in proportion to it's bulk ABOUT
700 times less brain thar man, ana TINS organ III
naStodon considerably smaller thah III VIC
present representative OF professionals. Like
them the former creatures may have gathered
| in herds composed of separate families, and IN
this rudimentary social organization they perhaps ex
hbited something OF the same suboTdnation 10 inc a-
thoity exerted By force and segacty which elephans
display similarly that sympathy and concerted acoh
strikngIy evinced by the latter in many Instances
probably marked their conduct also. Most likely they
| ouarrepd among themselves, expelled too precOcl0uS
| males from the herd and were often led upon eX-
| petitions by females Likewise old bulls presumably
became mOrOse, vicious, solitary ana sometimes insane
50 that Ouatcrnary man, wandering through the nter
mluable forests Of that age frequently became inc
victim of rogue masiodOns That the glacial elephant
was slain bv jewellers during the ice age In Europe
appears to be certain and it would be purely graf -'"'
TO DENY that contemporaries here might not nave
done the same with animal equally or perhaps sun
more formidable.
When after cold and muddy ride In the early morn
ing We descended from the heights above Singers Glen
| W. fhn -ftrf q
| ma,todOn was related 10 L, by Mr.. Frank, lis DIS
coycrer lie intended TO deepen a small and somewhat
boecv depression lug northeast Of his house iir u'
purpose Of constructing h,hpond. Having poushed
ND The alleVal deposit top LAYER OF bihc GA! Wiz
met with AID cutting away this with picks the remains
Of the creature were brought 10 light Ihcy lay scat
,ord over an area Of about fifteen feet by seven or
ech and were situated al the base Of an onlcropping
ridge If arlillaccOus Limestone Win al apparently NV'
tic:l dip At fist the massive bones wei" NOT T"CoE-
nncd a, belonging 70 an animal J." sara. I'D i"c u'''
he did not know what they and teou2it Ic "b'nt
| Them The subsequent uncaitilng OF portion "I one
,,.,, and some teeth revealed their true character Dnt
all those parts which had been removed were hcdpc"
upon the side of the excavation ana cit ucc' l"10
| they remained until the attention oi Dr. VI = "nhc
WA, attracted t. them by ruinoiS oI some Tehdlh@pc
and mysterious objects which had been dug mp III MS
ichi,rhood II is {, thL gentleman that the National
| vu.eurn Will be indebted Tor the specimen "hch IL
comes 10 be mounted and 1t was by MS cae 'h"' an
those parts BY which identified were preserved
Looking northwest from thc ilusc "Oo'e ""'so''
Glen the valley near the centre OIL "hch inc si''o
| -, i i sim, in ON the east by the elevation dcsiS
,d and v Green Mountain, while. along the western
xc.,, runs the main Cham that dNidc' At rom CapDA
I.G.t i'm Nest Virginia. cCiit'Itu odH>, IVu ny
! .'n ,,,,t with "A IrW Chcstuuts, mNtI'HS inc PNci
"r',ud cit In all directions by Limestone f1RsA anu
! shn hills ana mountains are dciscN ""outd WIN
! 'nilar growths. From many points Oh We" u'c
country Is perhaps Wild - II eyer VA, Hu "t ,
49,. Visited IL snow patchcs IN sheltered holI'"H' u,o
| "TIur,tcd oil and Whencd submits were auon9N
'.','a,.,iVc ui mat more drcarS ana Wlldcr Nihtt
ne mon winch the dead giant Oi an early "Oih
| had lOOhcl hi last. , oo,,Iy f,u.n in tls
~! =, nm almost unprecedented dcpth, together
| vuh heavy ram, that iDiiVN co. '" "i' ,.r, vs.,