The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-15

A Gigantic skeleton From the Brooklyn
Institute Of Arts and Sciences.
From The Rochester Post EtpreSa

From he Rochester POa Etpress.
lie rose twelve fee, al In. shoulder, wore q
hairy hide and looked like n haystack with ,usks'
That was 5000 years ago, Now a cluster oil
dub like bones il all hat bears testimony to MS
HE as a fre ponderous rover oil the immense
wastes in those dim. historic days when the EARN
was young and man a vague possibility living
In Trees. Tn. mastodon We call him. aud out oil
awe for his supposed immensely, We have enfrhrd
the language by an adjective which Is apphed u
everything big, from theatrical productions 70
bargain sales. The osscous remains are slowly
but accurately being fitted into one another AZ
Wards natural science establishment In ms
city, where a mammoth or a mastodon Is such a
commonplace sort Of a thing that it is treated
with little respect even when its venerable dignity
weighs in the balance
This mas,odon was discovered by a gardener
near Newark last spring. He was turning over
his garden patch with a spade one morning ana
nearly tainted when i, struck a bone so huge
that it took three men 10 carry II oil. The Newark
savants immedia ,ely decided that the discovery
was OF great sSiIe, lhe yr apnn IIu and p III ,nf
columns, with pictures Of II feeding placldly or
waging combat fercely with a nyal. these same
new spapers made guesses AS To 'he value OF me
skeleton. The average price was decided to he
$50, 900, The market gardener az once began, 10
build an extensive addition 10 his house The
real price did not reach on" Twentieth Of That
amount. The bones were bid in by the Brooklyn
Institute Of Arts and Sciences. The Ward es'ab-
li,hnlent received the order. for their mounting
ltw ill be completed along IN June. The masiod9n
and the I issot pictures may be ga7ed upon IN The
same visit 10 the Brooklyn Institute They viii
not, however, occupy the same room,
II Is quite likely that IN the Imagination OF the
great majority a mammoth and a m~astodon are
two names for the same beast Both are huge,
both existed in prehistoric days and both are
pictured in encyclopedias and stand In nckety
grandeur IN muse unls. But the two are alike only
in form and mass. The mas iodon Is an earlier
animal than the mammoth, although a relative
by distant ties Of consangulnlty Ouiwardly
they were much alike, The modern elephant IS
a pretty fair representative Of them. II he could
be covered with curly hair, wear tusks curved like
hooks and range over the State OF New ! ork ana
the city Of Rochester in careless ease, the elephant
would be exceedingly like his prototype Of 800
centuries ago In point Of fact he is the modern
representative OF the mammoth. II II were not
for his teeth, ne might be hkewlSe a close relative
Of the maslodon. but the tee III break the cnaln.
\ mammoih's teeth and an elephants teeth are
almos, exactly alike. They are Hat and oval on
Top The grinding surfaces are crossed ny patal
section Is made, give 10 the upper edge a slight
wavy outline The mastodons teeth are totally
unlike this lie won hs name rom their pecullar,
shape. II comes from two Greek words, "mastos, -"
breast, and "odous." tooth. This means that the
molars Of the mhstodon are shaped like the breast
with conical knobby caps, which stick up two
INV lFF VI N' WI NV ioS" ~ ~ wv h'''''t
this. the mastodon's tusks,. simply elongated
incisors, are s,raighrr than the mammoth's,
The remains Of the mastodon are found in
nearly all parts OF the globe. lie used to roam
over the forests. crashing in among the dense
foliage, feeding in solitary massiveness or hgh,ing
until the ground quiyered with his plunges. The
very weight OF the huge creature often proved his
ruin. Wandering into some marshy place, he
would become mired and slowly sink IN helpless
ness until the ooze closed over him, 10 remain hid
den from ken for 3,OO0 years. when chance should
uncover his mighty homes 10 human sight
The skeleton Of this Newark mas,Odon is I'M
usually complete: The vcrtebrae, great ring
were almost all present The tail, which looks
like a full grown alligator. was perfect The
pelvis, eight or nine feet from edge 10 edge, the
Skull. tooth and tusks were in a singularly ON
plete state If preservation. Thelegs were missing
and will have to be supplied by the mounters,
This, however, is not 50 difficult Leg bones on
the mastodon are frequently found and from
them may be- taken plaster casts, which when
made up are so like the real bones that an expert
are huge objects, They look like warerworn,
knotty logs, four feet long, twelve inches thick,
and a hundr d pounds in weight. The measlreless
strength Of the maStodon may he imagined best
when one thinks what power he must have pos
sessed simply to carry himself
The mounting Of the skeleton IL slowly pro-
crossing The vertebrac and nbs are strung
Upon a heavy iron bar. bent 10 match the curves
Of the great back. As the legless barrel hangs
from the ceiling by, chains and tackle, i looks
Ike the inverted keel ana nDS Oh a Drodu- nthUtu
catboat in process 81 construction.
Among the most interesting parts Of this huge
skeleton are the first few %yer'ebrae Of the spinal
column, Just back of the base Of the skull and
neck Their diameter is nearly a foot. From
the top rise spiky projections as long again, whose
tops make an undulating curve not unlike The
top Of a harp. Farther back these projecting
homes become shorter and shorter. Now, between
the tallest Of these spikes and the base OF The
skull is a dip perhaps two feet down. This was
filled with thick muscles and iendons. Their
apla ttaro tralHaI iptp tho Gnil.pa IN firmly TINT
the upper part Of the bones is rugged as the broken
end Of wrought iron columns These immense
muscles were needed 10 support the great weight
Of .ihe tusks, which. when their own mass and
the leverage caused by their jutting length are
taken into consideration, needed all the strength
the mastodon could summon to keep them man
agcable.
When the bones are put in their position and
the missing parts replaced the skeleton will stand
about twelve feet at the front leg, perhaps thirty
from tnsk tip Ia tail tip. Surmolnt this with a
bulky layer Of flesh. fat and hide, and one can
picture the hugencSS OF his maStodonShip when
lie rcigned supreme.