DESCRIPTION OF THK misu®'umti^M on MISSOURI LEVIATHAN SECOND EDITION, ENLARGED. LOUISVILLE, KY. PKENTXCE AND WE|SSINGER, PRINTERS 1841. UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH U7K76 Darlington Memorial Lit rary DESCRIPTION OF THE MISSOURIUM, OR MISSOURI LEVIATHAN; TOGETHER WITH ITS SUPPOSED HABITS. AND INDIAN TRADITIONS CONCERNING THE LOCATION FROM WHENCE IT WAS EXHUMED: ALSO COMPARISOxNS OF THE WHALE, CROCODILE AND MISSOURIUM, WITH THE LEVIATHAN, AS DESCRIBED IN 4l£T CHAPTER OF THE BOOK OF JOE. BY AI.BERT KOCH LOUISVILLE, KY. PRENTICE AND WEISSINGER, PRINTERS 1841. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from University of Pittsburgh Library System htt|D://www.archive.org/details/descriptionofmisOOkoch THE MISSOURIUM This gigantic skeleton measures 32 feet in length and 15 in height; the head measures, from the tip of the nose to the spine of the neck, 6 feet; from one zygomatic arch to the other, 4 feet; from the lower edge of the upper lip to the first edge of the front tooth, 20 inches; from the front pomt of the lower jaw to the first edge of the front tooth, 8 inches; from the edge of the upper lip, measuring along the roof of the mouth to the socket of the eye, 3 feet; from thence to where the atless joins the head, lOi inches. The whole number of teeth is eight — that is, four upper and four lower, not including the two tusks. The two upper fore teeth are 4 inches broad and 4i inches in length, and are situated in the head in such a manner that they slant towards the roof of the mouth, insomuch that their outer edge is H inch higher than their inside edge. The back teeth in the upper jaw are 7 inches in length, and where they unite with the front teeth, they are like those 4 inches broad, and from thence run nar- rower back until they end almost in a point. The formation of the nose is very peculiar: it consists of a bony substance interwoven with cells, and presents a broad, flat appearance: it projects 13 inches over the lower jaw, and ends in two nostrils, which are somewhat raised on the face. This nose rests partly on the roof of the mouth and partly on the up- per lip, which latter is somewhat arched on both sides, and forms a ridge in the centre. As I was successful in finding the right tusk solid m the head when I first discovered it, and as it remained fixed in its socket during its excavation and transportation over a very rough and wilderness country, I am enabled, therefore, to give a correct and indisputable description of the position and situation which the tusks occupied in the skull of the animal O THE MISSOURIUM. inches at the inferior part; its diameter in the middle of the shaft is 5i inches. The fibula— the whole length of this bone is 2 feet 6h inches. There is a process connecting the tail with the os sacrum which is 1 foot 8 inches in length; the said process is com- posed of six joints, which are inseparably joined together. Each of these joints is 3i inches in length; the one adjoining the OS sacrum is 7i inches in breadth, but the remaining five joints of the process are rather narrower. The tail is com- posed of thirteen vertebrce, and is very short in proportion to the body of the animal, its whole length measuring only 2 feet 7i inches, but has been very broad and flat, and possessed of great strength. The fore foot has four toes and a thumb: the longest toe measures 1 foot 8 inches; the shortest, 1 foot; the thumb, 7 inches. Each toe is possessed of four joints, and the thumb of two. The smallest and last of the joints of each toe, shows plainly that it was armed with a nail; the nails of the right foot turned out towards the right, while those of the left were reversed and turned towards the left. The hind foot is much smaller than the fore foot; it has also four toes, but is destitute of the thumb. Its longest toe measures 1 foot 2 inches; its shortest, 9i inches. Both the fore and hind feet have been webbed. PECULIARITIES OF THE BONES. All the bones, without exception, are firm, and contain no marrow; I believe the marrow was superceded by an oily fluid, which circulated through the bones. All the vertebrae are remarkably narrow, and must have given the animal a superior degree of action in the back; this is more purticularly observable in the veriebra3 of the neck, which gives it the appearance of being very short. The two posterior vertebrae adjoining the os sacrum are united in one, which appears to have given the back more elasticity. The ribs are remarkably slender and short in proportion to THE MISSOURIUM. 7 the size of the animal, and have had a great deal of carti- lage attached to them: the six first are the strongest, and all have the singular peculiarity of standing half reversed in the body; that is, the edge of the rib bends in towards the intes- tines, and the opposite edge outwards, showing great lateral action. COMPARISON OF THE LEVIATHAN WITH THE MASTODON. The most striking difference between the Leviathan and the Mastodon, are, 1st, the Leviathan had no trunk, therefore could not be classed under the Probossa genus; 2d, its toes were armed with claws or nails, and this circumstance pre- vents its being classed with the hoofed animals, to which class the Mastodon belongs; 3d, the Leviathan has 24 dorsil vertebrae and 48 ribs, together with two collar bones or clavicles; whereas the Mastodon has 19 dorsil vertebrae and 38 ribs, and no clavicles; 4th, the scapula or shoulder blade is materially shorter in the Leviathan than in the Mastodon, also the ribs are much smaller; 5th, the dental system at the first view somewhat resembles that of the Mastodon, but up- on a close examination the observer will perceive that the teeth of the Leviathan are much smaller in proportion to the maxilary bones than those of the Mastodon, and also better calculated for masticuiating softer substances. SUPPOSED HABITS AND NATURE OF THE ANIMAL. The animal has been without doubt an inhabitant of water courses, such as large rivers and lakes, which is proven by the formation of the bones: 1st, his feet were webbed; 2d, all his bones were solid and without marrow, as the aquatic an- imals of the present day; 3d, his ribs were too small and slender to resist the many pressures and bruises they would be subject to on land; 4th, his legs are short and thick; 5th, his tail is flat and broad : 6th and last, his tusks are so situ- ated in the head that it would be utterly impossible for him O THE MISSOURIUM. to exist in a timbered country. His food consisted as much of vegetables as flesh, although he undoubtedly consumed a great abundance of the latter, and was capable of feeding himself with the fore foot, after the manner of the beaver or otter, and possessed, also, like the hypopotamus, the faculty of walking on the bottom of waters, and rose occasionally to take air. The singular position of the tusks has been very wisely adapted by the Creator for the protection of the body from the many injuries to which it would be exposed while swim- ming or walking under the water; and in addition to this, it appears that the animal has been covered with the same ar- mor as the alligator, or perhaps the megatherium. THE LOCATION AND EXCAVATION OF THE BONES. The bones were found by me near the shores of the river La Pomme de Terre, a tributary of the Osage river, in Ben- ton county, in the state of Missouri, Latitude 40 and Lon- gitude 18. There is every reason to believe that the Pomme de Terre, at some former period, was a large and magnificent stream, from one half to three-fourths of a mile in breadth, and that its waters washed the high rocky bluffs on either side, where the marks of the rolling surges are now perfectly plain : they present a similar appearance to that of the Mis- souri and Mississippi. It appears from the different strata, that since the Missourium existed, six or seven different changes have taken place here, by which the original bed of the Pomme de Terre was filled with as many different strata, which are as follows: The original stratum on which this former river flowed at the time it was inhabited by the Missourium, and up to the time of its destruction, consisted of quicksand; on the sur- face of this stratum, and partly mingled with it, was the de- posite of the before described skeleton. The next is a stra- tum from three to four feet in thickness, consisting of a brown alluvial soil : in this all the remainder of the skeleton was THE MISSOURIUM. » contained, and covered by it. This stratum was mixed with a great quantity of vegetable matter^ and most of this is in a wonderful state of preservation ; but what is still more sur- prising, all the vegetable remains are of a tropical or very low southern production. They consisted of large quantities of cypress burs, wood and bark : a great deal of tropical cane and tropical swamp moss ; several stumps of trees, if not logwot>d, yet bearing a very close resemblance to it; even the greater part of a flower of the Strelitzia class, which, when destroyed, was not full blown, was discovered embed- ded in in this layer; also, several stems of palmetto leaf, one possessing all the fibres perfect, or nearly so. To those who are not acquainted with the nature of this plant, it is well to remark, that it is not found at present farther north than the northern parts of Louisiana. The time when the revolution of the earth took place, du- ring which this before described animal lost its life, was be- tween the 15th of September and 20th of October, which is proven by the fact just mentioned of the cypress burs being found ; from which circumstance might be readily inferred, that they had been torn by force from their parent stem be- fore they had arrived at perfection, and were involved in one common ruin with the trees which bore them, these having been torn up by the roots, and twisted and split into a thou- sand pieces, apparently by lightning, combined with a tre- mendous tempest or tornado. There was no sign or indica- tion of any very large trees, the cypresses that were dis- covered being the largest that were ever growing here at the time. Through this stratum ran several veins of iron ore — suffi- cient evidence of the antiquity of this deposite. Immedi- ately over this was one of blue clay, 3 feet in thickness ; the next was one of gravel from 9 to 18 inches in thickness, so hard compressed together that it resembled pudding stone; the next was a layer of light blue clay, from 3 to 4 feet in thickness : on this was another stratum of gravel, of the same thickness and appearance of the one first mentioned ; this was 10 THE MISSOURIUM. succeeded by a layer of yellowish clay, from 2 to 3 feet in thickness ; over this, a third hyer of gravel, of the same ap- pearance and thickness; and, at last, the present surfrce, con- sisting of a brownish clay, mingled with a few pebbles, and covered with large oak, maple and elm trees, which w^ere as near as I could ascertain, from 80 to 100 years old. In the centre of the above mentioned deposite was a large spring which appeared to rise from the very bowels of the earth, as it was never affected by the severest rain, or did it become lower by the longest drought. About 200 yards from said deposite stands a singularly formed rock, which not only bears the appearance, but can be considered as a monument of great antiquity, formed by nature, against whose rough and rugged sides can be dis- tinctly traced, in deep and furrowed lines, the former course of angry waters; yet its summit is full 30 feet above the present level of the Pomme de Terre. The rock has the appearance of a pillar, on whose top rests a table rock far projecting over on every side; from the base of the pillar to the lower edge of the table is 30 feet, and from the base down to the deposite of the bones, is 16 feet — making, from the stratum on which the bones were deposited to the edge of the table 46 feet. By a minute and close examination,! found that the forma- tion of the said rock, as it now appears, was produced by the long action of the river against and around it; and had the river continued to act with the same force for one or two hundred years longer, the pillar would have been so far worn away, that the table must have fallen. It now stands as an indisputable witness, that the water, at the time these animals existed, was at least 46 feet in depth. INDIAN TRADITIONS. It is perfectly true that we cannot, with any degree of cer- tainty, depend on Indian traditions; but it is equally true that generally these traditions are founded on. events which THE MISSOURIUM. 1 1 have actually transpired, and according to their importance in relation to the welfare of the aborigines among whom they occurred, and in absence of any better method of per- petuating them, are transmitted with great care in their le- gends from generation to generation; but in the course of time, as might reasonably be expected, these traditions lose much in correctness and minuteness of detail, owing to the circumstances, more or less, in which the tribes have been placed. As I am constrained to contine my remarks within very circumscribed limits, I will only relate one of the tra- ditions having reference to the existence of the before de- scribed animal; this one, however, led principally to its dis- covery. At the time when the first white settlers emigrated to the Osage country, (as this section of territory is usually called,) it was inhabited by the Osage Indians, and the river by which it is watered was called the Big Bone river, owing to a tra- dition preserved by them, which they stated as follows: There was a time when the Indians paddled their canoes over the now extensive prairies of Missouri, and encamped or hunted on the bluffs. (These bluffs vary from 50 to 400 feet in perpendicular height.) That at a certain period many large and monstrous animals came from the eastward, along and up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers; upon which the animals that had previously occupied the country became ve- ry angry, and at last so enraged and infuriated, by reason of these intrusions, that the red man durst not venture out to hunt any more, and was consequently reduced to great dis- tress. At this time a large number of these huge monsters assembled here, when a terrible battle ensued, in waich many on both sides were killed, and the remainder resumed their march towards the setting sun. . Near the bluffs which are at present known by the name of the Rocky Ridge, one of the greatest of these battles was fought. Immediately after the battle, the Indians gathered together many of the slaughter- ed animals, and offered them on the spot as a burnt sacrifice to the Great Spirit; the remainder were buried by the Great 12 THE MISSOURIUM. Spirit himself in the before mentioned Pomme de Terre, which from this time took the name of the Big Bone river, as well as the Osage, of which the Pomme de Terre is a branch. From this time 'the Indians brought their yearly sacrifice to this place, and oflfered it up to the Graeat Spirit as a thank-ofiering for their timely deliverance; and more latterly, they have offered their sacrifice on the table rock previously mentioned, which \^as held in great veneration, and considered holy ground. This ceremony was kept up with the utmost rigidity until one of the white emigrants settled in the valley at the foot of the rock, with the intention of making himself and family a permanent residence on this fertile spot; but he did not long enjoy this beautiful situation, for on the return of the Indians to offer their wonted sacrifice, they beheld with indignation and astonishment the intrusion of this venturesome settler on their sacred ground. Soon the council fire was kindled, when the Indians gave their accustomed murmur of dissatisfaction, and immediately the white man was obliged to leave, without the least preliminary ceremony. Some time after this, on be- coming better acquainted with his red neighbors, and having through much perseverance gained their good opinion, after much reluctance on their part, and explanations and assur- ances that he would not infringe on their sacred privileges, and would only raise corn and potatoes for his family, he was once more permitted to settle on this sacred spot, of which he retained peaceable possession until the return of some old chiefs, who had been for a long time absent. They in turn were exasperated to madness on seeing the violation of the sacred ground of their forefathers by the encroachment of the white man, and again the poor farmer was obliged to leave. From that time this spot remained in the hands of the Indians, and no entreaty or allurement could be held out to induce them to resign, it, until they were removed by the cTovernment; it then for the third time fell into the hands of the original settler, who joyfully took possession of the place he had so long desired to make his home. THE MISSOtRIUM* 13 After a while other settlers arrived, and as the want of a mill for grinding their different kinds of grain began to be felt — each family having hitherto been obliged, in order to obtain a supply of meal, to resort to the laborious process of pounding their corn in mortars — the old farmer resolved on building a tub mill for the accommodation of himself and his neighbors. In order to procure the necessary water power, the aid of the before mentioned spring was brought into re- quisition ; and in making the necessary excavation, the labor- ers found several bones of young mastodons, which excited their cm'iosity and astonishment, but they suspended their la- bor on ascertaining that the force of said spring was not suf- ficient for their purpose. Soon after this the place was sold, and the excitement about the bones and the Indians was for- gotten until the summer of 1839, at which time a young man, who was employed to clean said spring, found a tooth of a mastodon during his labor; which occurrence reminded several of the old settlers of the former transactions and tra- ditions, and a narration of these induced a few persons resi- ding in that vicinity, out of mere curiosity, to make further examination as to what was contained in the spring. They succeeded in finding several bones and teeth; but the mud ^nd water accumulated so fast, they soon became discouraged with the difficulties attending the search, and gave it over. Some of these facts came to my knowledge in March, 1840, on my return to St. Louis from an excursion to the south- western part of the country, when I immediately repaired to the spot, and. found the facts as I have here stated. COMPARISON OP THE MISSQURIUM WITH Tiqs LEVIATHAN, AS DESCRIBED IN THE 41 ST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK OF JOB. Thus far the leviathan has been considered the whale by many scientific men--by others, the crocodile of the Nile; but as there is no aquatic animal known that will bear a close comparison with the leviathan as described in the book of Job, — these just mentioned but slightly answering the descrip- tion in some points, and in others not at all; therefore none 2 '14 THE MlSSOURIUIVf. could be acknowledged, with any degree of ce]*tainty, as the" one alluded to. For instance, the great and good man, and profound investigator. Dr. Adan* Clark, in his concluding ob- servations on this chapter, very excellently and truly re- marks: "After all, what is the leviathan? I have strong doubts whether whale or crocodile be meant. I think even the cro- codile overrated by this description: he is too great, too pow- erful, too important in this description. No beast, terrestrial or aquatic, deserves the high character here given; although that character only considers him as- miconquerably strong, ferociously cruel, and wonderfully made! Perhaps the levia'- than was some extinct mammoth of the waters, as the behe- moth was of the land. However, I have followed the gener- al opinion by treating him as the crocodile throughout these notes, but could not finish without stating my doubts on this subject; though I have nothing better to offer in place of the animal in behalf of which almost all learned men and critics argue, and concerning which they generally agree." After having examined this subject in all its bearin^gs,! have come to the conclusion that the leviathan here alluded to is none other than the Missourium before described, and from this time I shall call it the Missouri Leviathan, {Le- viathan Missourii.) Let us now compare the leviathan with the whale. In the 41st chapter, 2d verse, is recorded: "Canst thou put a hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?" Ref- erence is here made to the singularly hard construction of his nose, which peculiarity cannot with any degree of pro- priety be applied to the whale, as his head and nose are not particularly hard, but more of a soft and gristly substance, and contain great quantities of spermaceti. In verse 3d: "Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?" Here it is expressly admitted that the animal was possessed of a voice or organs of sound, and that he was capable not only of emitting soft speech or sounds, but also of loud and hoarse sounds. Now it is well known that the whale is entirely destitute of these or- THE MISSOURItJitt. 15 gans, and is not capable of emitting or making any sound save that which is caused by the rushing of the water through the ejecting orifice in the head. The 6th verse says — "Shall thy companions make a ban- quet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?" There is no animal in creation which affords more material for barter than the whale, as from him is procured the sperm, the whalebone, and the oil. The 7th verse — "Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?" It is well known that the whale is harpooned, and that the harpoon not only enters deep into the skin, but also deep into the flesh. The 8th and 9th verses — "Lay thine hand upon him, re- member the battle, do no more. Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?" Here the ferocious and horrid appearance of the animal is fully demonstrated. It is a well ascertained fact that the whale is a harmless and inoffensive animal, and when pursued only endeavors to escape. The 14th yerse — "Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about." Every one knows, who is at all informed on the subject, that only one species of the whale, and that the smallest, has teeth. The 15th, 16th and 17th verses — "His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. One is so near to an- other, that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another, they stick together that they cannot be sun- dered." The whale has neither scales nor armour. I will now compare this monster with the crocodile. Were the crocodile seven or eight times larger than it is, it would bear a much nearer resemblance to the leviathan than the whale; — but if we look at the 22d verse, which reads, "In his neck remaineth strengh," another great dissimilarity is apparent; for the crocodile, being of the lizard species, has no neck, and in common with all animals of this class, pos- sesses the most power in his tail. Hear Dr. Clark's opinion of this verse: "Literally 'Strength has its dwelling in his neck." The neck is the seat of strength in most animals; but 16 THE MISSOCRIUM. the head and shoulders must be here meant, as the crocodile has no neck, being very nearly shaped like the lizard." But the language of the 23d verse is too plain to be misunder- stood; it particularly points out the neck as being formed for great power and strength. There are many other points on which this animal will not bear a comparison with the levia- than, but the limits of these lines will/ rio^ permit me to dwell on them any longer. '■>,. rw(» (>.<,• COMPAKISON OF THE LEVIATHAN AVITH THE MISSOURIUM. The first verse of the before mentioned chapter says, "Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?" The Missourium, as I have described it, was a creature of enormous magnitude, fe- rocity and strength, as well as iieetness in swimming; and by reason of his great weight and strength, could attack the lar- gest animals with impunity, and overcome them with ease; nor is it probable that any combination of human force was able to draw him out of his native element. The 2nd verse: *'Canst thou put a hook into his nose?" &c. Here reference is made to the singular formation of this or- gan, which, as before stated, does not consist of a soft gristly substance, but is of such a hard bony nature, that putting a hook through it would be impracticable. The 3d and 4th verses: "Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee? will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?" Allusion is here made to his cross, untameable and ferocious disposition; as also, to the impossibility of making him serviceable for any domestic use or purposes whatever. The same is the meaning of the 5th verse. The 6th verse says — "Shall thy companions make a ban- quet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?" There was no part of the Missourium that could be converted into merchandise, as even his tusks were of too coarse and porous a nature to be used as ivory; and being carniverous, his food consisting in a great measure of the crocodile and THE MISSOURIUM. 17 other southern amphibious animals, would render his flesh ut- terly unfit for food either for man or beast. Verse 7th — "Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head wi