ANDA wie oh e $ 7) . DESCRIPTION OF THE MISSOURIUM, OR MISSOURI LEVIATHAN; TOGETHER WITH ITS SUPPOSED HABITS, AND INDIAN TRADITIONS CONCERNING THE LOCATION FROM WHENCE IT WAS EXHUMED; ALSO, COMPARISONS OF THE WHALE, CROCODILE, ann MISSOURIUM WITH THE LEVIATHAN, AS DESCRIBED IN 41ST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK OF JOR, AND A _ CATALOGUE OF THE WHOLE FOSSIL COLLECTION. en BY ALBERT KOCH, ——<——- LONDON: E, FISHER, 33, CANNON STREET, CITY, 1841, NOS. 26. ots 28. 29. 30. Sl. 32, 33. 34. 35 36, ov. 38. 39. 40. Al. 42 43 44, 45 A6. AT. 48. 49. 4 Lower jaw of an undescribed animal, peculiar for the forma- tion of the chin, which has two large elongated insertions for the attachment of strong muscles. A lower jaw of the same species, only an older animal. A part of the left ramus of a young animal as above. Two ramuses of an undescribed animal, being peculiar for having but one tooth on each maxillary, and unusually large mental foramen. Right ramus of a Mastodon of the largest class in a good state of preservation, Left ramus of a Mastodon species, with a remarkable elonga- tion of chin. Left ramus of the lower jaw of a Mastodon, in a high state of preservation. Left ramus of a Mastodon, having an unusually large foramen. Right ramus of a Mastodon having two teeth. Right ramus of a Mastodon with its chin. Right ramus of a Mastodon with one tooth of peculiar forma- tion. Right ramus of a Mastodon with two teeth. Right ramus of a Mastodon with two teeth and one alveola. An unusually large Mastodon ramus with three teeth. Ditto. Ditto, with three teeth and chin. Greatest part of a ramus, hie: a portion of the condil and two teeth. Right and left ramus, with two teeth and two alveoli each. One ditto, with one tooth concealed in the maxillary and one alveoli. One ditto, with two teeth, two alveoli, and chin. Part of a ramus with one tooth. The right side of a skull in a high state of preservation with three teeth and the socket for the tusk. Ditto of a young animal, with eight teeth and a socket for the tusk. Extremely fine part of a Mastodon, being the roof of the mouth and on each side one tooth, together with the socket of the tusk. 50. Ditto with 2 teeth on one side and 1 on the other. . Ditto with 2 teeth on each side. 5 NOS. 52. Extremely fine part of a Mastodon, with 2 teeth on one side and 1 on the other. 53. Ditto With 2 teeth on each side. 54. Left upper jaw with 3 teeth. 55. Right upper jaw with 3 teeth. 56. Ditto, a young animal with 2 teeth. 57 and 58. Portion of an upper jaw with half a tooth and a tooth belonging to the opposite side of the same: these belong to an undescribed Mastodon species. 59. Left upper jaw with 3 teeth. 60 and 61. Points of the tusks of a large Mastodon. 62. Tusks of a Mastodon full length. 63. Tusk of a Tetracaulodon Tapyroides full length. 64 and 65. Portions of the tusks of a very large Mastodon. 66. Point of a large Missourium tusk. 67 and 68. Portions of Mastodon tusks. 69 to 90. Various Mastodon teeth of adult animals. 91 to 99. Young Mastodon teeth. 100 to 102. Front teeth of Tetracaulodon Tapyrodies. 103 to 105. Front teeth of the Missourium. 106 to 121. Teeth of the Deer, Elk, Buffalo, &c. BONES OF THE ORECTIROTERIUM MISSOURIENCES. 122 and 123. The humerus or fore arm. 124 and 125. Tibia or shin-bone of the same. 126. Ditto ulna. 127. Ditto Sternum. 128 to 130. Ditto portions of the os sacrum. 131 to 136. Ditto cervical vertebra. 137 to 148. Ditto various vertebras of the same animal. 149 to 154. Ditto portions of ribs. 155. Ditto oscalsis. 156 to 165. Ditto metticarpil bones. 166 to 171. Ditto phalanges. 172 to 189. Ditto teeth. 190 and 191, Ditto fragments of lower jaws with teeth. 192 and 193. Ditto, fragments of upper Jaws with teeth. 6 VARIETIES OF MASTODON BONES, NOS. 194, A perfect brain case with its occipital condyls, 195. Two ditto, one shewing the interior. 196. Fragment of an occipital bone, shewing both condyls, toge- ther with the foramen magnum, 197. Fragment of an occipital bone. 198. Fragment of a temporal fossa. 199 and 200. Fragments of the anterior portion of the skull. 201 and 202. Fragmenis ofa cranium. 203 to 207. First cervical vertebra in a high state of preservation. 208 to214. Second cervical vertebra in a high state of preservation. 215 to 219. Femurs of various sizes. 220 and 221. Ulnas. 222 and 223. Pelvis bones. 224 and 225, Scapulas. 226. Second cervical vertebra of an unknown animal. 227. Lumber vertebra of the same. | 228 and 229. One dorsal and one lumber vetebra of the Megiloni. 230. Various bones, and Indian implements, of an animal found on the Burbois river Missouri, as described in the pamphlet, 231. Femur of a Missourium nearly perfect. 232. A fragment of a nose. 233, Indian arrows found with the Missourium, as stated in the _ pamphlet. 234. Indian arrows as they are used in the present time. 235. Portion of the antlers of a fossilized Elk. 236 and 237. Two large ribs of an aquatic animal. 238. The head of a rocky mountain Sheep. THE MISSOURIUM. Tuts gigantic skeleton measures 30 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 point 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, 3feet; from thence to where the atless joins the head, 103 inches. ‘The whole number of teeth is eight— thatis, four upper and four lower, not including the two tusks. The two upper fore teeth are 4 inches broad and 4% 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 1} 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 narrower 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 ap- pearance; 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 upper 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 in 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, 1 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 during its life. They were carried by him almost horizontally, bending some- what down, and coming with their points up again; their length is 10 feet, exclusive of 1 foot inches which form the root, and te) THE MISSOURIUM. is hidden from the eye of the observer, as it is concealed in and under the skull. It is necessary here to remark, that the tusks are remarkably large in proportion to the size of the head, and, also, that their roots are perfectly firm and solid, so as to leave only space for the nerve. ‘The body of those tusks has been a formation of coarse ivory, partaking somewhat of the nature of bone—so much so, that it will again unite and become whole after an injury; which is proved by the fact of the right tusk having a large scar where it had been severely injured. As soon as the tusks leave the interior of the head, which takes place opposite the chin, they run parallel on each side of the nose, sinking down to the edge of the upper lip, until they reach the outer edge of it; from thence they make a sudden bend and run from both sides in a horizontal position, each forming somewhat of a semicircle. Measuring those tusks from the point of the one to the point of the other, following the curvature, is 21 feet; the distance across the head ina straight line, from point to point of the tusks, is 15 feet. . _ Especially remarkable on the lower jaw is a protuberance which is immediately situated over the posterior mental foramen, from whence it proceeds out of the ramus in a horizontal posi- tion; its point is somewhat bent down, inclining back; its length is 2? inches; its diameter at the root is l}inches. I consider this protuberance peculiar to the Missourium, as I have never seen a similar one on any of the great number and variety of fossils I have disinterred or examined, or of animals of the present race, and as yet I have never heard it mentioned by other naturalists. Another peculiarity of this protuberance is, that it possesses points resembling thorns. Iam of the opinion that the above described protuberanee was the location of some remarkably strong muscles attached to the lower lip, that gave it in a great measure the strength and faculty of a proboscis. This wise and good provision of nature has been necessary to the animal, as the upper part of the head has been destitute of this appendage, or, at most, has had a snout not larger than that of the South American tapyr. The whole length of this the lower jaw, is 3 feet 1 inch; the greatest height to the condyle, 1 foot 7 inches; the extreme height te THE MISSOURIUM. 9 the coronoid process, 1 foot 52 inches; the height of the ramus, 74 inches; the length of the posterior molar, 7 inches; its breadth 44 inches; the length of the second molar, 54 inches; its breadth 4 inches. MEASUREMENT OF THE DIFFERENT BONES CONTAINED IN THE SKELETON. The first rib, 2 feet in length; 6 inches m its widest part ; the longest rib mersures 5 feet 6§ inches in length; the last rib, 2 feet 4 inches in length; the largest of the dorsal verte- bree, 24 feet; the scapula, or shoulder blade, 3 feet 1 inch in length, and 2 feet 7 inches in breadth; the humerus or fore arm, length 3 feet 5§ inches; its greatest circumference 3 feet 3 inches, and its smallest part measures 2 feet 7 inches in cir- cumference; the ulna is 2 feet 74 inches long; the radius is 2 feet 3? inches long; the carpal articulating surface is 53 inches broad; other articulating surface, 63 inches. The pelvis measures from the anterior superior spine to the edge of the pubis, at the symphysis, 3 feet 7 inches, which gives a total breadth of the pelvis of 7 feet 2 inches; the circumference of each bone of the pelvis is 13 feet 4 inches. The femur, or thigh bone, is 4 feet 3 inch long, 83 inches in diameter; in the middle of its shaft the neck of the thigh bone is 74 inches in diameter; the head of this is 84 inches in diameter. The transverse diameter of the articulating surfaces or condyles of the femur is 10 inches; that is, each condyle measures 5 inches. The tibia and fibula or leg bones.—The tibia is 2 feet 43 inches long; 11 inches broad at its superior portion, and 8 inches at the inferior part; its diameter in the middle of the shaft is 5} inches. The fibula—the whole length of this bone is 2 feet 63 inches. The tail is composed of thirteen vertebra, and is very short in proportion to the body of the animal, its whole length measuring only 2 feet 73 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 3 inches, the shortest, 11 inches; the thumb, B 10 THE MISSOURIUM. 8 inches. ach toe is possessed of four joints, and the thumb of three. 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 desti- tute of the thumb. Its longest toe measures 1 foot 2 inches; its shortest, 93 inches. PECULIARITIES OF THE BONES. All the bones, without exception, are firm, and contain no marrow; I believe the marrow was superseded by an oily fluid, which circulated through the bones. All the vertebrze are remarkably narrow, and must have given the animal a superior degree of action in the back; this is more particularly observable in the vertebrze of the neck, which gives it the appearance of being very short. The two posterior vertebrze 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 size of the animal, and have had a great deal of cartilage 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 intestines, 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, Ist, the Leviathan had no trunk, therefore could not be classed under the Probossa genus; 2nd, 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; 3rd, the Leviathan has 24 dorsil ver- tebrze and 48 ribs; whereas the Mastodon has 19 dorsil ver- tebrze and 38 ribs; 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 upon a THE MISSOURIUM. 11 close examination the observer will perceive that the teeth of the Leviathan are much smaller in proportion to the maxillary bones than those of the Mastodon, and also better calculated for masticulating 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: Ist, his feet were webbed; 2nd, all his bones were solid and without marrow, as the aquatic animals of the present day; 3rd, 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 situated in the head that it would be utterly impossible for him to exist in a timbered country. He possessed, also, like the hypopotamus, the faculty of walking on the bottom of waters, and rose oc- casionally 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. 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 Benton county, in the state of Missouri, latitude 40 and longitude 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 plam: they present a similar appearance to that of the Missouri 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 ;-— Bz 12 THE MISSOURIUM, 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 surface of its stratum, and partly mingled with it, was the deposit of the before described skeleton. The next is a stratum from three to four feet in thickness, consisting of a brown alluvial soil: in this all the remainder of the skeleton was contained, and covered by it. This stratum was mixed with a great quantity of vegetable matter, and most of this is in a wonder- ful state of preservation; but what is still more surprising, 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 logwood, 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 embedded 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, during which this before described animal lost its life, was between 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 before 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 thousand pieces, ap- parently by lightning, combined with a tremendous tempest or tornado, There was no sign or indication of any very large trees, the cypresses that: were discovered being the largest that were growing here at the time. Through this stratum ran several veins of iron ore—suflicient evidence of the antiquity of this deposite. Immediately over this was one of blue clay, 3 feet in thickness; the next was one of grayel from 9 to 18 inches in thickness, so hard com- THE MISSOURIUM. 13 pressed 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 succeeded by a layer of yellowish clay, from 2 to 3 feet in thickness; over this, a third layer of gravel, of the same appearance and thickness; and, at last, the present surface, consisting of a brownish clay, mingled with a few pebbles, and covered with large oak, maple, and elm trees, which were as near as I could ascertain, from 80 to 100 years old. In the centre of the aboye 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, nor 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 asa monument of great antiquity, formed by nature, against whose rough and rugged sides can be distinctly 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, I 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 14 THE MISSOURIUM. generally these traditions are founded! on events which have actually transpired, and according to their importance in rela- tion to the welfare of the aborigines among whom they oe- curred, and in absence of any better method of perpetuating them, are transmitted with great care in their legends from generation to generation; but in the course of time, as might reasonably be expected, these traditions lose much in correct- ness and minuteness of detail, owing to the circumstances, more or less, in which the tribes have been placed. As I am con- strained to confine my remarks within very circumscribed limits, I will only relate one of the traditions having reference to the existence of the before described animal; this one, however, led principally to its discovery. 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 tradition 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 very angry, and at last so enraged and infuriated, by reason of these intru- sions, that the red man durst not venture out to hunt any more, and was consequently reduced to great distress. At this time a large number of these huge monsters assembled here, when a terrible battle ensued, in which 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 slaughtered animals, and offered them on the spot as a burnt sacrifice to the Great Spirit: the remainder were buried by the Great Spirit himself in the before mentioned Pomme de Terre, which from this time took the THE MISSOURIUM. 15 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 offered it up to the Great Spirit as a thank offering for their timely deliverance; and more latterly, they have offered their sacrifice on the table rock previously mentioned, which was 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 becom- ing better acquainted with his red neighbours, and having through much perseverance gained their good opinion, after much reluctance on their part, and explanations and assurances 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 toleave. From that time this spot remained in the hands of the Indians, and no entreaty or allure- ment could be held out to induce them to resign it, until they were removed by the government; 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. 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 haying hitherto been obliged, in order to obtain a 16 THE MISSOURIUM. supply of meal, to resort to the laborious process of pounding their com in mortars—the old farmer resolved on building a tub mill for the accommodation of himself and his neighbours. Tn order to procure the necessary water power, the aid of the before mentioned spring was brought into requisition; and in making the necessary excavation, the labourers found several bones of young mastodons, which excited their curiosity and astonishment, but they suspended their labour on ascertaining that the force of the said spring was not sufficient for their purpose. Soon after this the place was sold, and the excite- ment about the bones and the Indians was forgotten until the summer of 1839, at which time a young man, who was em- ployed to clean the said spring, found a tooth of a mastodon during his labour; which occurrence freminded several of the old settlers of the former transactions and traditions, and a narration of these induced a few persons residing 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 and water ac- cumulated 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 OF THE MISSOURIUM WITH THE LEVIATHAN, AS DESCRIBED IN THE 41ST 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 could be acknowledged, with any degree of Bis tes as the one alluded to. For mstance, the great and good man, and pro- found investigator, Dr. Adam Clark, in his coneluding obser- vations on this chapter, very excellently and truly remarks:— THE MISSOURIUM. 17 * 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 power- ful, too important in this description. No beast, terrestrial or aquatic, deserves the high character here given; although that character only considers him as unconquerably strong, fero- ciously cruel, and wonderfully made! Perhaps the leviathan Was some extinct mammoth of the waters, as the behemoth was of the land. However, I have followed the general 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 haying examined this subject in all its bearings, I 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 Missourr LeviaTuan, (Leviathan Missouri.) Let us now compare the leviathan with the whale. In the 41st chapter, 2nd verse, is recorded: ‘‘ Canst thou put a hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?” Refe- rence is here made to the singularly hard construction of his nose, which" peculiarity cannot with any degree of propriety be applied to the whale, as his head and nose are not par- ticularly hard, but more of a soft and gristly substance, and contain great quantities of spermaceti. In verse 3—‘‘ Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?” Here itis 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, buftalso of loud and hoarse sounds. Now it is well known that the whale is entirely destitute 6f these organs, and is not capable of emitting or making any sound save that which is caused by the ge Be of the water through the ejecting orifice in the head. The 6th verse says—‘ Shall thy companions | make a aces of him? shall they part him among the merehants ? ® There c Be Ce i, 3 s: * "4 Soi ee 20 THE MISSOURIUM. shows indisputable marks that he was possessed in a high degree of all these characteristics. Verse 12th—‘T will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportions.” This alludes to the circumstance that the animal was not altogether of an aquatic nature, but visited occasionally the land; therefore none of his parts or comely proporions were concealed, as would have been the case had he been entirely aquatic, for then his form would have been more or less hidden by the surrounding fluid. The 13th and 14th verse—‘‘ Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle? Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.” The first sentence again has reference to his shield or covering. Doubtless no one could approach him without in- curring imminent danger—not even near enough to discover the face of his garment; or, in other words, to examine the construction and particular parts of his covering. The latter part of the 13th, and the whole of the 14th verse, take parti- cular notice of his enormous grinders and immense tusks, more especially to the situation which these latter occupy in the skull. Reference is also made to the manner of catching wild animals by means of the lasso, or double bridle, as practised in the east, and of the futileness of an attempt to capture the animal in this way. From this circumstance I am satisfied that this could have’ been no other animal, either fossil or living, heretofore discovered, than the Missourium; and whoever will for one moment examine the head, must be struck with the remark- able similitude already noticed: the tusks coming out of the head until they arrive at a parallel with the nose, then turning suddenly back and forming a semicircle around the head, (like a shield, to prevent any thing from approaching it,) and mea- suring from point to point, in a straight line over the head, 15 feet. It can be seen at once how utterly futile would be any attempt to cast a bridle over him, even allowing the animal to be perfectly gentle. And again, in said verse, the peculiar po- sition of these tusks isremarked: ‘‘ His teeth are terrible round about.” Tusks are ever considered as teeth, which they are. In the 22nd verse—* In his neck remaineth strength,” &c. The structure of the neck of the Missourium exhibits an THE MISSOURIUM. 91 unusual degree of strength, and is in fact necessary to the sup- port of his enormous tusks. ‘he verses that I have not quoted treat of the natural history of the animal, but there is nothing mentioned in them that can be construed into a contradiction of the above comparison; on the contrary, were we acquainted with the true history of the Missourium, and its peculiar habits, I am fully convinced that the description given in the book of Job would be in every particular minutely correct. Before closing this subject, I will refer to the 34th and last verse of the same chapter before mentioned—* He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.” Here it is said that no created being can come into competition with him, and prosper. Whoever examines his gigantic remains, will acknowledge the justness of the above remark, and that he was indeed king over all the brute creation. As some may perhaps be ready to enquire how the leviathan which is described as being an inhabitant of Asia, came to be found in the extreme west of the globe, I will merely refer such persons to the history of all living animals, as well as those now extinct, of the same species, which are distributed over different parts of the world. Notwithstanding the great difference of climate and other local causes, they ean still be recognized as the same animals, haying but few marks of distinction. There is for instance, the elephant found alive in Africa and Asia, ° and in a fossil state in the north and west of America; the mas- tadon found in a fossil state in America and Europe, and some other parts of the globe, and thus of smaller living and fossil animals: therefore there was nothing to prevent the leviathan from being an inhabitant of the great waters of America, as well as those of Asia. The reader will have decided, from reading the analysis of the deposite in which the skeleton was found, that the Missourium was a tropical animal. EVIDENCES OF HUMAN EXISTENCE CONTEMPORARY WITH FOSSIL ANIMALS. It is well known by all persons acquainted with geology, that is admitted as a fact, that the mastodons, together with the generality of antediluyian animals, existed and became 29 THE MISSOURIUM extinct previous to the creation of the race of men; which supposition was founded on the fact that no evidence of human existence could be traced back to, or found with, those ante- diluvian animals. The positive cause of this I do not know. My opinion, however, is that this want of evidence of a former human race is, that those relics of the ancient animal world generally, have been found accidentally by persons who were not aware of the importance of a minute and critical exami- nation of the deposites disinterred by them, and therefore the scientific observer was deprived, no doubt, often of the facts necessary to be known in order to form correct opinions on this subject. In view of this I deem it my duty to lay before the world what facts I have been able to gather on this interesting subject, which will be strong evidence in favor of my belief, that there was a human race existing contemporary with those animals. These facts are as follows: In October 1838, I disinterred the remains of an animal which had clawed feet and was of the size of an elephant. This deposite was in Gasconade county, Missouri, on the shores of the Burbois river. The principal part of this animal had been consumed by a fire, which fire evidently had not been produced by a volcanic eruption, but had been formed and kindled mechanically by human hands, as it appeared, for the purpose of destroying the before-men- tioned animal, which had been mired here and was unable te extricate itself. The particulars of the transaction are as follows : . A farmer in Gasconade county, Missouri, perceived for some time a disagreeable taste in the water which he had used for his household. This water was taken out of a clear spring, situated im what is usually called a bottom, near his house. For the purpose of remedying this evil, he dug around and into the spring, thus to be enabled to enclose it afterwards as a well. By doing so, he found several bones belonging to an animal of an unusually large size. Some were whole, and some in fragments. Also, at the same time, he found a stone knife and an Indian axe. This cireumstance created some excitement in the neighbourhood ; and these transactions were THE MISSOURIUM. 93 mentioned to me some time afterwards by a Mr. Wash, who lived in the vicinity. On hearing this, I immediately made arrangements to pro- ceed to the place. On my arrival there, in October, 1838, I found the prospects rather dull; as the bones which had been dug out of the spring were principally destroyed. They had been removed from their place of embedment. without the least care, and were of course more or less broken; then ex- posed to the air without any kind of preservation being applied to them; and eventually what few remained tolerably whole, were broken by their curious visitors, to ascertain if they con- tained marrow; until the few remaining fragments were col- lected together by an intelligent gentleman, by the name of Bailey, residing in the neighbourhood, who presented them to me, and assisted me in my farther researches. I found nine feet beneath the surface a layer of ashes from six to twelve inches in thickness, mingled with chareoal, large pieces of wood partly burned, together with Indian implements of war, as stone arrow-heads, tomahawks, &c. &c. Also more than one hundred and fifty pieces of rocks, varying from three to twenty- five pounds in weight, which must have been carried here from the rocky shores of the Burbois river, a distance of 300 yards; as there was no rock, stones, or even gravel near to be found; and those pieces of rocks taken out of the ashes were precisely the same as that found on the river, which is a species of lime- stone; these had been thrown evidently with the intention of striking the animal. I found the fore and hind foot standing in a perpendicular position; and likewise the full length of the leg below the layer of ashes, so deep in the mud and water that the fire had no effect on them. The fore foot of the animal consists of four toes and a thumb; each toe has five joints, each last joint was armed with a claw, or long nail. The thumb has two joints; the crown of the foot is composed of four bones, joined together, and each con- nected to a toe. On the top of this is a thin round bone, con- necting them with the shin bone. The construction of this foot shows that it possessed much power in grasping and hold- ing objects. The hind foot is smaller, and has also four toes, Qh THE MISSOURIUM. with five joints, but has no thumb. The crown is entirely different in construction from that of the fore foot. A few of the teeth appeared to have been broken out by the force of the rocks thrown at the head of the animal, and were carried some little distance; so that they escaped in a measure the violence of the fire, and have all the appearance of those of a car- nivorous animal. - The second trace of human existence with these animals, I found during the excavation of the Missouri Leviathan. There was embedded immediately under the femur or hind leg bone of this animal, an arrow-head of rose colored flint, resembling those used by the American Indians, but of a larger size. This was the only arrow-head immediately with the skeleton; but in the same strata ata distance of five or six feet, in a horizontal direction, four more arrow-heads were found; three of these were of the same formation as the preceding: the — fourth was of a very rude workmanship. One of the last men- tioned three was of agate, the others of blue flint. These arrow-heads are indisputably the work of human hands. I examined the deposit in which they were embedded, and raised them out of their embedment with my own hands. wi iin E. Fisher, Printer, 33, Cannon-street, City. ae ¢ AY ort j , ay AS iz gus d . } . ee Oe oe BE ae Lat oct et Aen ee find in offe Of ifie fatest nimmbers of a 7 a; age sh : ‘ceed ahi a Ol puouisville Journal the yollowing very. curious ¢ bee se unt of whatis, in oné sense at least, the great 0) ' es Moe S ny : ; > . oo : Ufa: CUTIOSI y ever RnOwh to man. | i Bs a 4 ; : 1c e Tne Missouriom—This gigantic wonder of the a reation has atdength aoa in our city, oe will be e : éd at the Washington Hallas soon as the bones, which arc |e fi vow contained in fourteen large boxes, can be : pat towett Higa ase pe his, the proprietor informs us, will be near the close of the 7 ———ia™ AL | [n the mean time we will endeavor, from data far- || ished usin a printed description of the skeleton, to give our || eaders some idea of this mighty wonder of crea tion uch it may well be regarded, for, in comparison with the |} | Missourlum, mammoths, mastodons, and all other pi ine 4] liscovered monsters are but small affairs. We have already } ziven some account of this animal, and of the circumstances | i ander which it was exhumed. We have now before us an jf | accurate measurement of the principal bones of the s skelet vhieh will serve to give a better idea of its immense size cad H huge proportions. | . et skeleton measures thirty-two feet in lengthand fifteen || jin height. The Heep meas une from the tip of the nose to) ; ihe spine of the neck, 6 feet. From the edge of the upper | ip; measuring along the ro sof of the mouth, to the socket of || le eye, is 3 feet ; from the lower edge of the upper lip to the 4 irst edge of the front tox oth, 20 inches. Each jaw has 4 / teeth, and the upper jaw has besides two enormous tusks. The teeth are each4inchesbroad. The nose projects l5inches over the lower jaw. The tusks are 10 fee et long, exclusive | fj | of 1 foot and 3 inches, which forms. the root, and is buried in theskull. The right tusk was found firm in the head, ‘and remained fixed in its socket Suriig its excavation and.its | transportation to St. Louis, which fortunate circumstance t+ enables us to know the exact position and situation which ) the tusks occupied in the head of the animal during its life. \§ They were carried by him almost horizontally, bending (gm somewhat down, and then coming with their points up again making agumeen, from e coke paghhd to extremity, ina straight line acrg head, of 15 feet, The longest Tib measures MM length, the shortest 2 feet 3 inches, ‘Th: } scapula, or shoulder-bt lade, is 3 3 feet Linch in length and % i feet 7 inches in breadth. ‘The length of the humerus, or 3 fore-arm, is 3 feet Da I inches, and its greatest circumference 3 feet 3inches. ‘The femur, or thigh-bone, is 4 feet and a half i inch long, and 83 ches in diameter. The feet of the ani- § ‘ | nial appear to have been webbed. The fore foot has four (iam ltoes and athumh. The longest toe meastres 1 foot 8 inches, |iiiiem i the shortest 1 foot, and the thumb 7 inches. All the bones j of the animal are firm, and’ contain no marrow. The cavity | of the brain is quite large. | The proprietor, Mr. Koch, in his printed description of th | anit nal, makes the following rensarks on its supposed habit mA and nature : feos “The animal has been, without doubt, an inhabitaM@ of i ‘ water-courses, such as large rivers and lakes, whaeh is , Say i proved by the formation of the bones: Ist, his feet wers (ae 8 , as i* wehbed; 2d, ali his bones were solid and iehcit marrow, t | ‘as the y aquatic animals of the present day; 3d, his ribs were | aa i * too shah and slénder te resist the m: , pressures ar |‘ bruises they would be subject to on land; 4th, his legs ax ‘ short end thick; Sth, kis tail ts flat and fia. 6th and b 7 ‘his tusks are so situated in the head that it would be utter! impossible for him to exist m a timbered country. His food | consisted, as mugh-of vesetables as flesh, alth chads he e oe ibtedly consumed. a great abundance of thatkathe r, and ene of feeding ihr self with his fore f: ot, after the: Pat he tye weer OF ayer, and PE ISSESS 14 4 Vics £42 is Sgt oi G t