On the occurrence of Mammoth and Mastodon remains around Hudson Bay [microform]

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BULLETIN OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Vol. 9, pp. 369-390

ON THE OCCURRENCE OP MAMMOTH AND MASTODON
REMAINS AROUND HUDSON BAY

BV

ROBERT BELL

ROCHESTER

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY

Junk, 1898

BULLETIN OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Vol. 9, pp. 369-390 June 22, i898

ON THE OCCriMlKNCK OF M.VM.MOTH AND MASTODON
HKMAINS AROUND HUDSON BAY

MY ISOBKUT niCM-

{Head hej'ore lite Societij Dcremher 20, 1807)

CONTKNTS

Iiitrodiictioii 370

Till' (ict'iiri'ciii'c <if a iiiaiiiiiiotli tooth on tlu> east coast of HikIhoi) Imy 370

<»|iiiiioiis of Professors \V. IJoyd Dawkins ami V,. D. Copo timt it bi'longed to

I'lli jiliii.< ciiliinilii 37 1

Toolli of {•!. rnhniilii foiiml near Ivliiioiitoii, 011 tlu' N'mtli Saskatcliowan river. 372
Keiiiains of inainiiiotii aixi otiier iiiaiiiinals foiiiiil near tlie iiioiitli of tlie Mc-

Keii/.ie river aixl on the l'orfii|(iiie ami Yukon rivtMs I>7.'{

Itelics of tiu" i)isc(i) ami reiiuieer in tlie Klondike district .373

Short sketch of the ^jeiiloyiical history of the mastodon and the nianinioth . . . 374

The four species of fossil elephants of Kiirope .374

Prohahle specific identity of the inanimoth and the existinj,' elephant of India. 37.">

Causes of the extinction of species in the case of nianiiiials ',\~'t

lke;.'ional nii^iralionsiif the inamnioth and of certain livinj; nortliern nuuinnal.«. ;i7<)

I'rohahilily of annual niiyrralion of the inanimoth in Siberia .377

( 'anses of till' extinction of the iiiainiiioth in Siheria ;>77

Kxaniple of wholesale death of reindeer in Xortii .\nierica .t7H

The preservation of carcassi's of niainnioths in Siheria .37!l

I'rohahle reason of the ahnndance of niainniolh hones in (hiviatile deposit.H in

Siheria 37t»

linprolialile theories as to the last two siihiects ;!7it

Food of the iiiaiiiiiioth -his w ide ;:eoi.'rapliii'al rany;e 380

Woolly coat.« of this and some other northern nianinials 3S0

The disajipearance of llu' nianinioth from ICiirope 381

The extinction of the niamiiioth in North America 381

Inferences from the lenirth ainl cnivatnre of the tusks of the nianinioth 382

The occurrence of mastodon reiniiins near thesoutheiii extremity of .lames hay. 38.3
Characters, extent, elevatinii, eti-elera. of the PU'islucene deposits southwest

of .lames hay 383

Numerous seams of intertflacial liirnite in the distrit-t where the niastodorj jaw

and tooth were found .'[.s.")

I'rohahle period wlu-n the niastoilon lived in the rejrion of .lanies hay .387

Mastodon hones found on Shell river, in Manitoha .387

Identilication of these hones and paiticulars as to tlieir occurrence 388

LV-Hn.I.. (iKl.l,. Sim. \>t., V.il.. !l, INIIT (3t>!()

HTO |{. IJKI.I, — in |)S(»N HAY MAMMOTH AND MASTODON HKMAINS.

Pcscriptiiiii of flu' (IcpositH in wliicli tlicv were fiumil iSSS

Various liiscovi-iii-H n( iiminiiinlli and niastnilmi ii-inaiiis in tttiuT paits of
Canada 'M\f

IXTHDOIUTION

III the followinji paper on the discovery of the remains of l)otii the
nianimolh ami the inast()«h)n around Hudson liay it is proposed to jiive
a short aeeount oi' tin; j^eolojiieal surroun(hn<fs of eaeh ot" these discov-
eries, and to refer very hrielly to theconse(|iient extension of our knowl-
edfje of tlie jieo^ra phi c;d nuiufc of l>otii species over a vast area, and also
to iu)tiee some of the (|Uestioiis which they suj^ijest, such as those relat-
iiifi; to the climates of the rej^ions in which these animals tlourished, the
fjeolo^rical dates when they lived in the old and the new worlds, their
{general ;ieoi:raphical distrihution, mijrrations, causes of their extinction,
aiul other matters of j^eological imi)ortaiu'e concerning them.

TlIK (^CXUKKKNCK OK A MaMMOTII TooTII ON TIIK KAST CoAST OK

Hudson 1>av

In 1S77 i made a geolo^qcal exploration of tin? east side of Hudson
hay. I n the followiuii year a remarUaWh' molar tooth of a mammoth
was picked up on the ntcky surfaceof Long island and sent to me. '{"his
island is narrow, thirty miles in leiiirtli.and lies m-ar the Ivistmaiii coast,
its soulhwestern extremity heinu iust north of cape .lones. which is tlic;
point where James hay opei 'Oto Hudson hay propi-r. It is com-

posed of almost hare rock and has a ridi;c of hasalt runninjj; down its
center. Althou<,di it is south of the limit of tindter on the mainland, no
trees t^row upon the island itself. At the time when mammoths lived
upon the island it must have heen more or less wooded in order to fur-
nish food for them, and, from our knowledge of the uprisintr of the land
in this region in IMeistocene times, it pn)hahly stood at a lowi-r level, and
would tluM'efore he of smaller size.

I'holographs showing this tooth in dillerent positions were sent to Pro-
fessor W. Uoyd Dawkins. who had made a spei'ial study of fossil ele-
phants, and to i'rofessor K. D. Cope, with re([Uests for their det-isions as
to the species to whic^h it heloiiged, 'I'he following are their replies :

" W'ooDiii list', K.\i.i.(i\\i-ii:i,i>, Man»iik.h'I'1':i!, lolh .Inhi, ISS2.
"The very inten'siiiii; s|u'ciriii'n is a worn stnni|) of an niipci- molar iit-ionjiintf
to KU Ilium ciilitiiilii, an animal w iiiiii, in my ln-lief, is one of tiie varietie.4of tlie stock

0(f"ri{l!K.Vf'K ON KAST COAST.

:571

from wliicli the iniunnujtli, Iiuliaii t*lt'i)liant, ainl A.', iirim iiinriin lmv»' heoii ilt-rivetl.
Tln' slump is wumlerfiilly like some <>f tlic mammotli's in my ccillfftidii, lint it Ih
iitiniiwfi'.

" (Si^neil) \V. ituvi- Dawkinh."

" I'liii.AiiKi.i'mA, />((•. Will, IHSS.
" I liavi' never seen a tDutli wliirii pn'siMits all tlic in'cnliaritifs of tiiis one, l»it
eacii of its cliaracti'rs can be fouml separate in dilferent teetli of the mamiiiotli.
It is prolialily a last deciilnniis molar of a variety between the typical A', jirimiijr-
II i UK nni\ the smooth-plateil E. ciihtiiihl.

" (Sij;ne<i) K. D. Copk."

Ehplmx roJiniihi of I)r lliitrli Faleor.er, to which this luohir l)t'l()nj^.s,
:UH'oi«lintf to I'fofessors W. Hoyd I)a\vkiiis and K. I). Cope, has heeii fctund
on the I'acilie coast of Ahiska.'^ Kalcoiier only knew of its t'eniains in

Kk.iiik l. — Mnliir i)f KIi jihii^ niliniilii froiii Litiiij Islami. l[inln,ii fliiii. ('.^ iiiiliinil si/.c.)

the more southern of the United States and Mexico; hut the present
discovery, and that of a siniihir niohir. near Edmonton, N. W. 'P., taken
in connection with its occurrence in Ahiska, shows that its range in North
America was even more extensive than that of K. primlfirniiix. ('onsi<ler-
inji how very rare tlie discovery of elepliantine remains of any kind has
hitherto heen overall that great portion of the continent between Hering
strait and the vicinity of lake Erie, we may reasonahl}' expect that among

♦ HillU'tili of tlip U. S. Ucol. Survey, im. H4. 18'.t2.

:>72 R. BKM. — iriDSON HAY >rAMMnTII ANI> MASTOhoS I5KMAINS.

future discoveries of such renuiiiis in tins vast riitcrval some at least will
prove to l)elon<^ to K. cohiitihi.

Hotii /v. ciiliniilii and I'j. priiiihii'DhiM may liavo retreated sontliward in
Ameriea on account of the increasing severity of the cliniate, as did tiie
moose and the hison, or without any sullicient chant:c in this respect,
havinj^ i)eoome accustomed to the itetter climate which they t'oniid to the
south, they ahaiidoned tlu^ northern rojiions altojicther. it is to he noted
that the invasion of North America hy mammoths was iVom nortii to
s<)Uth, or in the opposite direction from the invasion of SiWeria. and tliis
circumstance may have made an important ditl'ercnce as to the charac-
ter of their sul)se(juent movements on the two continents and as to the
latitudes in which they survivc(l the loufxest in the respective rctiions.

Dr llujih Kalconer. who. with ample materials at his command, nave
the sui)ject very careful study. rcjj;ards this elephant not as a variety of
K. ]>riiiii(f('aiits, hut as helon<!;ing to a decidedly diHerent species, its oc-
currence on Hudson hay is of mudi interest and opens up various ijues-
ti<ins. not only as to the <i;eoLj;raphical ran<fi' of the species, hut also in
regard to former climatic conditions of that region and the dislrihulion
of land and water at a comparatively recent piMiod which would result
from the former levels of diilerent parts of the continent.

'{"he accompanying figure ( 1) will enahle those who are critically versed
in such matters to judge for themselves as to the sjieciesof maunuoth to
winch this molar l)eK»nge(l.

.Mammoth Tootfi koit.nd nkau Edmo.nton

'I'wo or three years ago an incomplete molar, which appears to helong
to Klcj^hd.-i cohnnlii, was foimd in the suiierlicial deposits in one of the
hanks of the North Saskatchewan river, al)out six miles al)ove Edmon-
ton, hut no particulars in reference to the discovery are availahle. The
specimen is in the museum of the (Jeological Survey at Ottawa. The
Saskatchewan at Edmonton has an altitude of ahout "i.'JOO feet al»ove
the sea. Tiie surroumling district is a line agricultural country, with a
deep covering of till, overlaid in parts with stratilied sands, gravels, and
clays, all having a rolling surface.

Elkpmaxt Hkmains i.\ tiik fau Northwkst

It has long heen known that mammoth remains exist in several ])laces
in the far northwestern regions of North America. Dall mentions the
occurrence of hones and tusks of these animals on the lower Yukon

(«•( rUKKNCK IN THK lAK NoKTIIWKST. 373

river, and a few years ajjo some of their remains were i)urc;liase<l fi»r tlie
niMseuin of tin- (ieolo^ical Survey at Ottawa from Mr V. Mercier. who
had lirought them t'rom soiiu; jdace on this river within tlie Ahiskan
hoiUKhiry. The late Mr l{ol)ert ('ani|»I>ell, of the Hudson's Hay Com-
pany's serviee, with whom I liave conversed on the subjeet, tohl me that
lie had found ehiphant hones in a river hank near the junetion of the
Lewis and Pelly to form the Yukon. Out- of thest^ Imncs was sent to
Knirhmd and idfiuilied hy Sir .lolin ilich;\rdson as helon<j;in^ to Kl*ii/i(ts
/)///(//7^/(/''« (HhinuMihach). ThehiteMr Kichard llardistyand tlie olli-
cers of the IFudson's Hay Compan}' have informed inc that in passinjj
aloiiij Hat river, a small tributary of the MeKenzie on the west side of
its delta, tlu^ Hell river, a hraneh of tlu! Porcupine, and alon^j this stream
itseifthey have seen in various places ltoiu>s of cU-phants projectiii>: from
the clay or other superficial de|»o.sits forming the hanks. Mr llardisty
.said that in the vicinity of these rivers he had frequently seen skulls of
the musk-ox (often called '■ hullMlo " in the far north) lying on the sur-
face of the ground, mostly in swamps and partly covered with moss.
This aniniiii is not now found living west of the MeKenzie river, al-
though it is (piite coiiiiuon over tiie great region to the eastward of it as
far as Hudson hay and thence acro.ss the large islands lying to the north-
eastward, which carry its range to nortlicrn (Ireenland. Its desertion of
the country west of the MeKenzie river is one of those instances of the
long-period or the tinal regitmal migrations of the larger mammals which
have not yet heen satisfactorily accounted for.

The late venerable .\rchdeacon U. McDoumM, whom the writer has
had the pleasure of meetin<r in the MeKenzie valley, some years ago pre-
sented to the Hritish .Museum bones of the mannuoth, the horse, and the
musk-ox. 1 have ol)tained from York factory, on the west side of Hud-
son bay, tlirough the kindness of l)r Percy Mathews, part of the skull of
a horse which was found there half embedded in the soil ; but this dis-
covery may have no geological significance, as it possil)ly belonged to
a domestic horse, although I could not hear of any of these animals
having ever been landed at this place, although cattle for the Red River
.settlement and for local use have been imported to this estaldishmeiit
from Kngland.

Mr William Ogilvie obtained during the present year twt) horns of the
existing l)ison (which I have seen) from the auriferous gravels of Honanza
and Elilorado creeks, in Klondike district of the Yukon near the

intersection of the one humlred and forty-tirst meridian. From the .same
gravels he also obtained some coniferous wood and part of a skull and

;J7 I H. liKi.i, — irrnsoN it.w mammoth axi» mastodon ukmaixs.

|)art of iiii iintlcr of the rfiinl(H>r. TIm! r;infic of tlic liisoii in nutdern
times has not come witliiii stivcnil liuiidrfil miles of this district.

(iKOLrKilCAl, IflSToKY OK TIIK M.\STO|)o.\ AND MaMMOTII

'I'lic ('l('|iliiint fiunily mjidc its (irst ;i|i|i(!araiicc in the .Mio<'(;n(! period
in .soutliciistcrn Asia. Tlu! earliest of tin; true l'roi»oscidea were (l) the
Stej^odons, which were the ancestors of the mastodons, the mamni(»tlis,
and the In<liau elephant, and (2) the l>o.\o(h»ns, the ancesti>rs of certain
fo.ssil elephants of Kurop(! and also of the African elephant. .\s time
went on and new species appeared, the elephants spread from their ori<r-
iiial hirthplaco into Kurope, Africa, northeastern Asia, and thence into
America over a neck of land which at a comparatively recent <;eoio<fi(;al
period close<l np Uerini.' strait. That such a land connection existed
and that mammotiis passed over it appears to he j)roven from the fact
that remains of these aiumals have heen found on Saint (Jeorj^e and
Saint Paul islands, of the I'rihilof j^roup. and on I'nalaska, one of the
Aleutian islands. The deepest part of ]{erin<r strait is covered 1>\' only
.">(>() feet of water, and, since a suhsidence of mor(> than this amount has
taken |»lace in the Pleistocene period, there is no doulit that an isthmus
connected the two continents at no distant date, and that men as well
as mammoths and other aninuiLs may hav(^ walked over it. In the old
world, masto<lons died ahout the close of the Pliocene, hut the .\mcrican
species iM(i.tt<Kli>ii. itincrirdiin'i) lived on, alontf with the mammotli. into
the human |>eriod. Falconer says : ='=

" Commencing: with tlic older strata of the siili-Aiu'iininos ami oftlic \'al d'Ariio
and n.scendlii}; to the superficial gmvels or quateriiaiy deposits of coiniuirativt'ly
modern orij.'iii, at least four well defined spi'ries of fossil ejepiiants iiavc l)i'en as-
cei'taini'tl to iiave existe<l in Imu'oiic, namely, Klii>liii» {Ijojodon) imriilioiKiliK, E.
u)ili<inuii, E. pvliniiji'ii'mx, anil E. (fjii.roiluii) nfricainix UikkUIx."

A little turthcr on the same writer says : f

" If tiie asserteil facts be correct, tiiey seem dearly to indicate that the older
elephants of EnroiH', sucii as E. mrrididnnlin and E. (iiitii/ini.i, were nnt the stock.s
from which tlie later species, E. i»-iiiiiiji')i!iis ixm] E. ii/ririninf, sprung', and that we
must look elsewhere for their ori<rin. The nearest allinity, ami that a very close
one, of the Kuropean E. iinriilloniilis is with the .Mineene E. {Lo.ruilon) jil((iiil'r<iiix of
India, and of E. in-intiijininn with tlie existing; Imlian species."

Again Falconer writes : ;]:

"The result of any observation is tliat the ancient mammoth of the prejilacial

♦ f':iln'()nl(il(i>:ii"il iiuMiidiis Mini notes dl' llii- late lliigli Kalioiici', A. ^i., M. 1)., viil. ii, p. .i.'il.
tO).. eit., p. r.l.
} Up. fit., p. 2.VJ.

I

I

1

i

KXTINCTION <»l" MAMMALS. 'tlit

' fon-Hl lii'd" iif tlu' Norfolk imi^t diU'iiH Ichh from tlic later foriii, occiiniiij; on llie
liaiiks of the Lena, than iIoch tlio latter from the comparatively moiierii mammotli
of the siiperlieial l>oj.'!^ of North America, which I rey;ai<l as hein;: only a slijiht
jjeotjraiphical variety of the same species."

Till-. Extinction ok Si'kcii'ic Foi. 's ok Mammals

F>oin tlie firnt appearance of Proljoscideans to the Recent period, one
form after another has i)asse(l away, to he succeech.'d hy anotlier, until
we have arrived at the innnediate precursor of the existiiiji Indian ele-
phant, which appears to lie spccilically identical with the niaininoth.
Falconer insists on the importance of the fact that throu<j:hout the whole
jreolouical history of each species of elephant there is jjircat persistence
in the .structure and mode of <i;rowth of each of the teeth, and that this
is tl hest sinjilc character hy which to distinj^uish one sjiecies from
aiic. 'r. lie linds. after a critical examination of a jjreat numlier of
specimens, that in the manunoth each of the molars is suliject to the same
history and the same variation as the correspondin!.': molar in the livinj^
Indian elephant.^'- Imcii if zoolojjists a<iree that these two clei)hants
hehvnj:: to the same species, H. j)riiiilijriilii.-< is snlliciently distinifuishcd as
a w(;ll marked variety to deserve rccojjnition for all the purpt>ses of j^oo-
lojiii-al description. No single cause may account for the extinction of
the m;nnm(»th all over the world. .Vs will lie point<'d out further on, it
may have heen due to the climatic changes in Siheria. while luiman
airencv may have lieen the iinal cause in Europe ami North .\meriea:
hut whether tlu' Indian elephant is spccilically identical with I'!, prliui-
(jiiiiii-'i or not, there appi'ars to he at the present time a jieneral tendency
to extinction in the existing; form, as om; which has run its course. The
canseof this is not sipparent, unless it he owin^ to {\\v. well known jj;eneral
law that the higher species of animals have a shorter term of existence
than the lower ones, and that the period of their survival is somewhat
proportionate to their rank in the scale of heing.

'Pile history of the larger mammals shows that when the geograiihical
range of a species has hecome greatly diminished, with a '■oi-rcs()onding
reiluction in its lunnhers, it does not recover lost ground, hut hastens to
its end. These conditions now apply to the Indian elephant, whether
he represents the very circumscrihed remnant of the once almost cosmo-
politan mammoth or not. .Another sign of the approaching extinction
of this si)ecies is its loss of reproductive vigor, as evidenced hy the tact
that it will scarcely hreed at all in the state of domestication.

.\s the mammoth lived contemporaneously in the ohl and new worlds

*Op. eit., p. KIK.

^•" """ -

376 R. BELL — IIIDHON BAY MAMMCJTII AND MASTODON KKMAIXS.

iifttM- tlie fJlac'ial period, tliore could .scarcely have been a sudden clian<i;e
in climate or conditions which would account for its disappeanince in
hoth hemispheres about the same time. The Indian si)ecie.s maintains
its existence in Mie original home of the whole race because the condi-
tions favorable to Htegodont elephant life proljably continue to be better
there than anywhere else.

Migrations of north krn Mammals

Popular writers on this subject .a))pear to associate the existence of
entire carca.sses of mammoths about the mouth of the Lena river with
the extinction of the species all over Kurope, Asia, and North America,
whereas this fact is only a local circumstance in the long history of the
animal.

The migration of birds and mammals, which is so characteristic of
many species at the i)resent day, has been going on forages. The alter-
nation of the seasons in the northern hemisphere would naturally stimu-
late and develop a tendency among such creatures to move northward
and southward with the changing temperature and food supply, and the
elephants would be no exception. The reindeer, with whose bones those
of the mammoth are associated in Europeaud .Asia, retains its migratory
instincts in both the old world and the new.

Hut the woodland varietv of this species (called the caribou in Canada)
is not migratory, and it is possible and even probable that there were
also miizratory and non-migratory mammotlis, according as they in-
lial)ite(l (like the reindeerj the ojx'u northern barren lands or the n)ore
southern wooded country in either the old or the new world, 'i'he
musk-ox and the .\inerican bison made extensive annual migrations.
The .\rcti(; fox travels hundreds of miles north and south every year with
the change of the seasons. The Canada lynx isone of the most migratory
of North American mammals, but its movements are governed by food
supply alone, and depend upon tiic varying abundance or scarcity of its
j>rincipal prey, the common American hare. Vacw the little htmmings
pertbrm wonderful migrations, iin|)elled, as it were, by an irresistible
impulse.

The moose or .Anufrican elk (Alren <i)i)er!c(uiitx) migrates slowly from
one large area to another through periods extending over many years.
For example, in the ( iaspe peninsula the last interval between its leaving
and again returning to the same district was upward of half a century,
and in the region between the upper (Jreat Lakes and .hunes bay the period
between his last withdrawal and reappearance has i)een still longtT.
Within the historic period the bison roamed as far east as lake Superior

(lltAllON OK MtinilKKN MAMMALS.

377

I

and l.iki' Krif, ;iu<l in inodern jicDloLriciii times it nuiirtMl into tlu' tlistant
iiorihwcst as far as tlio Yukon river, where, last year, Mr William ()j:ilvie
(ilitaiiied two of its horns ( which 1 have fii'vw) in the <fol(i-hearin<!: j^ravel
of I)onan/a creek, in latituih' fi |°. '['he l)iche or red di'er (('ercii.-< aiiia-
ilrnsls Erxielien) inhahited the St. [.awrence valley eastward to the outlet
of lake Ont.'irio in eoniparatively recent times, its remains in a, <rood state
of preservation havini^ hei'ii found end)edded in shell marl in at li-ast
two localities ntjar Kintrston. and also in the sand and gravel of Hurlin<i-
ton lleiiihts at a depth of .'JO feet from tint surface and at a height of
77 feet ahove lake Ontario. Thirty years a<j;() it was common in eastern
Manitol)a. hut now it has retreated still further west. Such examples as
the foregoinu; of annual and lonj^-ptTJod migrations favor the supposition
that the mammoth, in addition to its slower genciral movement of dis-
persion to remote parts of the earth, made annual mi<;rations in rcj^ions
wliere such movements would l»e i»enefieial to him and mi^dit naturally
he expected, as in northern Siiieria. The averai^e distance at the present
day hetween the veri^e of the forest i;i nortluM'n luirope and'Siheria and
the coast of the .\rctie sea is from KID to 'ioD miles.

Even if the distance had heen as great as this at the time when the
mammoth inhahited these regions, which is not prohaltle. this'animal
could easily move from the forest to the sea coast and i)ack again hetween
spring and autumn. Hut there is evidence that the modern forest-line
has heen n-treating southward in holh the old and new worlds. This
tendency has prevailed for a great length of time, as is shown l)y the
remains of trees of existing' species on the coasts of Bering strait l»evond
the present limits of timlicr. and in Melviih' island oil' the northern coast
of this continent, the latter occurring l)etwcen oOda'd (>(K) miles directly
north of the nearest trees now growing on the Coppermiut! river and near
(ircat Hear lake. The increased severity of the seasons in (Jreeidaml in
historic times is another evidence of the deterioration of the suharctie
clinnitc. whii'ii app(>ars to have this tendency all round the world, with
perhaps ;; few local exceptions, as in one part of northwestern .Maska,
due prolialily to a favorai)le change in the ix-ean current there.

KxriN( TIO.N OK TMK MaMMOTU IN SlIiKlUA

The mannnoth in northern Siheria prohahly passed the winters within
the forest-line, where he would find shelter from the ehilling winds and
where he might live wtdl, hrowsjng on the small hranchy spruce, larch,
hirch, etcet(>ra. With the advent of spring he would l)egin his north-
ward march, taking advantage of the long daylight, and he would spend

I.Vl — Hci.i,. liKui. SiK . Am., \"I,. !i, lM!t7

P>7.S i{. I'.KM. — innsoN p.ay mammoth \Nr> >fAsT(>r><>x hkmatxs,

part of tlio suiniiicr aixl the autiiiuii roving jil>out the short; of the Arctic;
sea, eiijoyiriji tlie cool weatlier and lindini!; ahiuuhnit sust(;nancc on the
small trees and the alder, willow, and hirch Iirnshwood. 'I'licn. with the
l)ej^iiniin<f of the severe weather, he would turn his footsteps toward his
winter quarters and move south as the season advanced. Tlie periods of
their annual mi<iratit)ns having hecome settled, it would he dinicult or
impossihle to overcome the inertia of long-fixed hahit, and they would he
ohligcd to endure the increasing severity of the climatt! on tin! honlers of
the Arctic sea. In the meantime their numl)ers would he greatly dimin-
ished from causes to lie mentioned .urtlier on. At length, those which
journeyed as far as the sea coast might he reduced to the single herd
which migrated to the mouth of the I-ena, where the climate of autumn
would he the hcst on the coast, owing to the large ([Uantity of warm water
from the south which accumulates off the mouth of this great river.

At this stag(\ if an unusually early and severe season were to set in,
accompanied hy great snow-storms, heibre the herd had started for the
south, the result might he disastrous to the remaining mammoths. The
now stunted lirush would he covered hy the deep snow, on which per-
liaps a strong crust had formed, thus preventing the animals from oh-
taining any food, while the almost continuous darkness of the early
winter would also o|ierate against them. The same conditions would
make it dillicult or impossilile for them to travel. Other individuals or
henls which did not migrate so far north may have perished from a sim-
ilar cause ill various parts of the region. We know how completely
helpless the deer ol' any species Iiccouk' in our northern woods when
caught ill deep snow with a ciust u|)oii it.

I'lider circumstances like these the last of the mammoths would soon
perish, sinci; creatures of their organization, living upon such slightly
nutriti(»us food, must have it continuously and in large ijuaiitities. That
such a jiroce.ss of starvation is not imaginary, 1 may mention the fact
that the reindeer sometimes perish over large areas in our northern harren-
lanils from this cause. Their lives depend upon a continuous supply of
the reindeer-lichen, which the\' ohtain hy removing the snow or hy find-
ing the j)lant where the ground has hecn left hare hy drifting. A strik-
ing instance of this occuri'ed many years ago on Akpatok island, in In-
gava hay. This large island had always swarmed with reiiuleer, Init one
winter, when the snow was deeper than usual, rain fell upon it (an al-
most unprecedented occurrence) and formed a heavy and permanent
crust over hoth the hare ground and the snow, thus preventing the deer
from ohtaiiiing their food. The coiise(|ueiice was that the whole numher
perished, and the island has never hecn restocked, if this former great

I'RKSKUVATION OF >rAMM()Tns IN SIHKRIA.

379

lienl liiid coinprisc'il tlic wlioli! sj)ecies then living, the reindeer wuuld
now 1)0 extinct.

i

j

I

PUKSKHVATION OK Till': KfJCSH OF MaMMOTMS IX SiHKKIA

The preservation till the |iresent day of the He.sli of sonje of the niam-
inoths which jierished in tiie reuion ahont the mouth of the Lena river
and elsewhere proves that the carcasses must have lieeome frozen imme-
diately after death, and this circumstance may be accounted for in the
following way: If the last of these creatures .succumhed in the manner
supposed, there may have Ix'en at that time a series of unusually cold
years, as sometimes happens in high latitudes, and this, together with
the increasing severity of the climate in general ever since, would ac-
count for the preservation of some of tlieir carcasses in the snow and ice
which have persisted in that region till the present time.

The occurrence of large numhers of the remains of mannnoths in the
alluvial depi>sits al)out the mouth of the Lena and otlier rivers ma\' he
explained hy the supposition that the animals had l»roken tlirough the
too thin ice in attempting to cross the streams upon it on tlieir south-
Wiird migration in the autumn, and that their hodies liad subsequently
floated down to the still water. Indeed, it is liighly probalile that whole
herds of these animals lost their lives in this manner. While the l>ison
was aliiuiilant in our northwest territories it was a matter of common
occurrence for large numbers of them to be drowned when attempting to
cross the streams in coinp.act droves before the ice was strong enough to
bear the strain, 'i'he great abundance of bison bones in some of the
rtuviatile deposits in this region is easily accounted for in this way.

The mammoths, owing to their great weight, would be still more liable
to such an accident. Professor Richard Lydekker, in " The Royal Nat-
ural History," lately published, speaking of the trade in ivory from
Siberia, says that within a recent period, coverimr twenty years, liO.tXJO
mannnoths must have been discovered in that region.

iMPROnABLE ThKOKIKS

The .supposition that the mammoths of northern Siberia were frozen
where we lind them by a sudden change from a warm to a very cold
climate, and which has remained permanently so. is as untenaide as the
other theory, which supposes the l)ones antl tusks found there to be those
of mannnoths which were ilrowne(l in great iuimi)ers and at the same
time within a limited area by a sudden catadys' " it were possible

(which it is not) that such an abrupt chiingeof c • a- could happen, it
would retiuire to l>e general around a great part of the globe, and there

380 H. niCIJ, — Kl'DSON I'.AY MAMMOTH AM) MASlulxtN HKMAINS.

is no evuleiice that such a tliiii); occurn'd at any time in the history of
tlic earth. AL'iiin. to invoke tiie a^eiK y of sudth'n cntnclysnis to account
for <;eoloji;iciil [)henotnena is an explodeil notion wliich does not require
discussion.

l''ooi) AMI oKoiUiAi'iiicAr. Ra.\<;k ok Till-: MAMMorn

I'^roin tlie remains of food foni\d witli the teetii and skeletons of tlio
niasl<>(h)n and nianiinotii, it lias l»een pretty satisfactorily ascertained
that in North America hoth of these animals sultsisted largely on the
twigs and Ixtuuhs of nortliei'n trees, such as tlie spruces ( Picca) and white
ceihir {TImjd, occidentalin), togetluM", prolialtly. witii those of other north-
ern trees and hushes, and no doulit the food of the Sjlicrian mammoth
was of the same nature. Their lai'gegrindc^rs and powerful muscles were
adnurahly adapted to reduce such materials to a jtulp. IJoth the Afri-
can and Indian elephants are " coarse fee«lers.'' living principally upon
the hranches and hark of trees and hushes, and tlie mammoth, wlu'rever
he wandered, would reipiire to sid)sist upon such kimls of food of this
(U'scription as the country he might he in ]»roduced.

'* We further know that when the mammoth pastured along the mar-
gins of the great swamps of Ohio and Kentucky the vegetation then was
nearly identical with what it is now. heing very dillerent from that of
Silteria " (Hugh Kaleoner). The same writer,* referring to FJcphtis firinii-
(jcniits, says of it: "A scope in space and time, taken together, lias heen
assigned without a parallel, I l)elieve, within the whole range of the
mammalia, fossil or recent. DWrchiac, in liis excellent ' Histoire des
Progres.' so late as 1.S4S, gives a hrief summary of the localites in which
the remains of the mammoth (A', prlinhiinins) have heen said to occur,
nanud}', from the British islands across the whole of the temperate zone
of Europe and Asia and along all the coasts and islands of the IcN' sea
as far as the frozen cliil's of the east coast of leering strait, in Kschscholtz
hay, in Russian America as high as G()° of north latituile, over most of
the United States of America, in the great valley of the Mississippi, and
along the coasts of the guUdf Mexico. De Ulainville, going a step he-
yond most of the paleontologists, douhtingly rttferred the fossil remains
of elephants found so ahundantly in tropical India to the same species-
thus assigning at least half of the hal)ital)le glolu for the pasture ground
of the mammoth."

Wooi.LV Coat ok tiii; Sihkhian Mammoth
The wool and long hair found upon the Siherian mammoths prove

* I'^ilM'iiMtolu^irul iiii'liiniis :M|i| Hull's ot llii' l:iti' lliiifli l'':ili'ii|ii'r. I.kIkIiiii, 1.si;n, Mil. ji. p. 77.

i

WOOI.I.Y COAT (»K SinKltlAN MAMMOTH.

381

%

I

I

that they had hocii aocustoiucd for a irroat h'liirth of time to ii sovcre
cliiiiiite. Althouf^h tlic Indian eh>|iliiint inhaltits a warm country, it in
a well known fact that he is intolerant of <i;reat heat and suHers much
when exposed to the direct rays of tlie sun in that climate. In the wild
state he seeks the cool shade and wanders ahout at nitrht or in the early
niorninjf.

Notwith.standinfi the lieat of the climate of India, it has lately heen
discovered that the elephant of that country retains trace.s of wool like
that which formerly clothed the mammoth. The presence or ahsence
of wool or of a thicker or thinner coat of hair or fur on a mammal does
not often constitute an important specific clhvracter. On the hi<;hlands
of 'i'iliet. where the climate is cold in winter, the domestic jfoat and the
mastid' doji produce line wool under their hair. Fn Canada we have ex-
amples of the same kind of i^rowtli in at least two of our coninKtn mam-
mals, the moose and the porcupine. In the country on the south side
of the Saint Tifiwrence, helow (iuehec, 1 have seen (juantities of very fine
hrown wool taken from beneath the hair of moose killed in the middle
of winter, which the French Canadian women were manufacturiuir into
stockin<j:s and mittens of a superior (juality. The i)orcupine ranges far
north, and in the ri\<rion west of lludso;i hay he is covered in winter witii
a ver}- deep coat of wool, through which his (piills and long coarse hairs
project liut a short distance. Further south these animals have little or
no wool, and in the hot weather I hav«! occasi(tnally seen them entirely
destitute of i)oth hair and (juills, their naked hlack skins resembling that
of a Chinese dog.

DlSAI'l'KAltANTK OK TIIK ^^AMM()T^ FROM ElltOI'K AND AmICUICA

The mammoth lived in Furope before the (ilacial period, and he prob-
ably had a wider range in the same continent after that epoch. Hi.s
final extinction in this region may have bt'en due to hum:in agenc\'. As
population increased and the forests became traversed in all directions
by liighways. and after wide spaces hail been clearetl by dilTi'rent races
of men, the mammoths would lind it diflicult to maintain their footing.
They do not appear to have ranged into Norway or to the .southward of
the Pyrenees and were very rari; in Scotland and Ireland, 'i'he geo-
graphical boundaries at that time of certain kinds of trees which they
preferred for food nuiy have been the cause of thus limiting their dis-
tribution.

In North America the last of the mammoths mav have been killed off
by the aborigines. There is evidence that they hunted these creatures,

382 u. r.iM.i, — iiiDsox v,.\\ mammoth ani» mastodon kkmains.

and lU) (louht tlicy did so for food. Suoh :i large animal would al\va3'.s
he a t(!iiiptinu; oliji'ct of tlic elias(! to n people dep(Mjdiiiji for suhsist-
ence almost entirely on the prodiifL of their li\int. When we see that
a few years of shootinj^ by foreijjn sportsnit-n in Ahicu has reduced the
elephants of that fjcreat continent to a mere fraction of their former num-
hers, it is not unreasonalde to suppose that systematic huntin<^ hy the
North American Indians throu<rhout many centuries would finally ex-
terminate the mannnoth on this continent.

Habitat oi' tiik Mammopm i\i"i:ui{i:n kkom riiK Foum ok mis Tusks

In hoth Asia and North America the mammoth proi)ai)ly [jreferred
the open liarren-lands or tundras to the thick woods, and in this connec-
tion the occurrence of its remains in Alaska, tin; Yukon and M<d\(M)zie
River re>i;ion, in the far northwest of Canada, and on the east coast of
Hudson l)ay is of much intensst. Tin; irreat leiiirth and the (loniplete
curve of the tusks of these animals slu)w that they were only fitted for
traveling in such reiiions or in very open woods. They would he able
to make little or no pro<fress throuj^fh the thick coniferous forests of
Siberia or Canada.

In 18S4 I ol)>erved on Nottingham island, in IFudson strait, a curious
fa(!t bearin.i ou this (juestion in connection with the antlers of the rein-
deer. On the mainland, wlicrc these deer may require to traverse the
thick forest in some part of their migrations, their antlers, although
much larger and longer than those of the woodland reindeer or caribou,
are straight at the ti[)s ami of such a form as to be readily dragged
through the branches of trees; but on the large island referred to there
are no trees of any kind and the antlers of the deer are more spreading,
while the tines are strongly curved or hooked. These j)eculiarities may
be merely ornamental or they may be of service to the animal in some
other way, liut it would be impossiirle for him to get through any t'orest.
The peculiarities of the tusks of the mammoth, which have been already
referred to, would not only prevent the creature from traveling in thick
woods, but they wt)uld also render the tusks useless for digging up trees,
which is the principal use to which l)oth .\frican and Indian elephants
put their straighter tusks. These characters would also indicate that
the mammoth was adapted only tor living where it was not necessary to
dig at the roots of trees and to pull them down, but in some region
where he might obtain all the l)rush he re(|uired,as lui could on the ex-
tensive northern plains of both continents in sunnner, as well as among
the small branchy trees at the edge of the forests in winter. The fact

j

! (»((rHI{KN< K NKAU Sdl'IIIKKN KNU or .lAMKS IS.AY. 'iSIJ

tliat ill this haltitiit tlu; "irouiiil woiilM In- t'l'D/fii lor the LMratiT part <•!"
the year is another reason why he would not ns(! iiis tusivs lor (lijr^iing.

'I'mk Occi'uuKMK OK Mastodon FIkmains s\:\u t\\\: soitmkhn

EXTIMCMITY OK .IaMKS Hav

When at moose factory, at the sontliwestcrn extremity of .lames l>ay.
in tlie autunni of 1S77, I was |iresente(l l)y MrS. K. I'arson, the ehief
j| factor in charj^e, with a very [KM-fect tooth of a masto(h)n. whicli had
l)cen ohtnined shortly l»efore my visit in the Ix'd of the Moose river, at
its first hend helow the junction of the Missinail)i and M;»ttiitranii to form
this trunk stream. The h)cality is 4(i mih'S in a strai<^ht hne southwest-
ward from moose factory and has an elevation of al)Out !.")() feet aliove the
sea. In the middle of summer of that year, the stream was very low, and
an Indian passintr down in his canoe happiMied to see a very larife l)one,
which turned out to ])e a mastodon's jaw, lyinj^ in the shallow water.
Settinif it on end heside his canoe, he chopped out tliis tootli with his
hatchet, and then allowed the jaw to drop hack into the river. The
5 molar is of a medium size and is very well preserved. It has nine (!on-
ical ])oints or tulxrcles, all of which are entirely covered with enamel.
At tlu^ same time that T ohtained this tooth I was informed hy .Mr I'ar-
son that some years previously a party of Indians had found some larjre
l)ones in the IxmI of the Al)itilii river, Ipctwceii the lowest on Sextant
rapids and its junction with Moose river. wlii<-h occurs .it is miles ;il>ove
^ Moose factory. From the (k'scription, 1 juilized them at tiie time to he
I elephantine remains. Tlie Sextant rapids :\re iit the upper end of the
first stretch of the .Vhitihi river after leaviuu' its mouth. The superficial
>i deposits are of the .same character alonji this str(!tch ;is on the main
Moos(^ river for many miles al)ove and helow the junction of tin; two
streams.

Tmk Pi.kistocknk Dki'osits soutiiwkst ok Jamks Hay

In order the hetter to surmise the conditions and the f;eolo<;ical time
of the existence of the mastodon in the region around the southern ex-
tremity of James hay, I should here ^ive a short description of the Pleis-
tocene deposits and of the <,a'neral character of the district.

tiuaternary clays eontaininif recent marine shells extend as far, at
least, as the Sextitnt rapids, and fragments of lignite washed out of these
deposits were observed along the margins of the river in this section.

The upward general course of Moose river, which is continued hv the

I)S4 K. IU;i,l. — III DSO.N HAY MAMMOTH A.Mi MAS'lnlxtN KKMAINS.

Missiiiiiibi, (Voiu Moose factory. ■'■ wliicli staiuls about 7 miles in from tlie
moiitli, is s(mth\vest for I"J7 miles to I'ouikI liay, at tlie foot of the Ar-
elweau [)iateau. where it turns south. The rate of rise in the river-hed
from the head of tide, 1) miles aI»ove Moose factory, to this point is esti-
mated to l)e lietween .'! and \ feet to the mile, which would maki; the I'le-
vation at the iMid of this distance lietween 400 au<l oOO t feet ahove sea-
level. In this interval the river Hows with a pretty uniform and rather
swift current, interrupted hy stony rapids here and there. The hanks
coiLsLst exclusively of till autl stralilieil drift, resting directly upon Silu-
rian and I)(!Vtuuan limestones, which slope almost impereeptil)ly toward
the hay or at only ahout the same rat<,' as tlu' river-heil itself.

The name .Moose river helon^fs properly to only thi' trunk stream helow ^
the junction of the Missinaihi, or western hrancli, with the Matta;.;ann, o' '
central hraneh, at the ahove mentioned Ki miles from the factory ; hui
as the traveled route to the Canadian PacMfn- railway follows the former
branch, it is sonuttimes n^ferred to untler the same name. The "general
hei<;ht of ihe cut-banks of the river increases from 10 or -JO feet at .Moo.se
factory to about 140 feet at the end of the 1"27 miles referred to, but often \
for considerable distances tb.e country is lov on one side or the other,
and sometimes on both sides. The usual height of the cut-banks is from
oO to ")0 or ()0 feet 4'heir lower parts appear to be composed, in most
cases, of blue clay, sometimes soft and sticky, with or without rounded
pebbles. The central stratum, which constitutes the major portion of the
banks, consists ol' liluish-jfray and drali clays, with boulders and pebbles.
The marine shells washed out of the banks appear to i)e derived from
beds of pebbly drab clays associated with this division. The upper por-
tions of tlie deposits consist of beds of ifravel and sand, with Itrownish
gravelly and bouldery earth towards the top.

The clays near the mouth of the river contain upward of a dozen spe-
cies of marine shells, some of which indi(!ate tolerably deep water; but
in as(X'nding the stream the deep-water species disappear, and at last only ^
the shore and the shallow-water shells remain, such as Snxlcava rugosa, i
Mdcoma atlaircd, M. gm ahiadka, ,Ugtll i(s edalis, imd Mj/a tntncaUi. Some |
of tlies(! shells were found as far as IJound bay, at the extremity of the
long soutlnvestward stretch of the riven- aliove referred to. Marine shells
were also observe<l along the .Mattagami from its mouth up to the foot of
the Grand rapids, a distance of 3!) miles, and at an altitude which is prob-
ably only a little lower than that attained by these shells on the Mi.ssi-
naibi. The species last seen on the Missinaihi were Saxiaiva rugosa and

* K;irtiiiy, tln' rrsiili'iii'c of ii I'liicf I'in'lor or iinciit.

t 111 my liiMiliiitii'iil Siirvi'v Ki'|Hiit for 1M77, p. 7 (', ii Iowit I'stinintcil I'lcviiliiin Wiis iiicntidiipd,
liUt sul)sc(iiic'iil iilisciv;itiuiis rcmliT il inciliiililc lliiit tliis is iiiiii'o nearly (■(inci'i.

-

Pr.KISTOCKNK SorillWKST Ol' .1 A M KS I'.AY. -M^'t

}fiti-niiiii fi(i(iili'< {Tdliiiii <ini'iiJnitiVici(). 'I'licsf. witli ;i /^c/^/, wt'i't- also the
s|iccit'.s (tliscrvi.'il at tin? hi;;liest lo(;aliti('s on tlu' Mattaj^aiiii. Aloiiji tlie
All>aiiy river, wliidi Mows Into tlie western si(l(! of Janies buy. iind also
on its ".'real soiilln'ni liram-li. llir Keno;fiiini, the hanks, as well as the
deposits of wiiirh tiiev are coniposecl, are similar ti> those of Moose river
ami its l>ranclies. I estimated the elevation of tiie hiirhest and most in-
land locality at which I found marine shells on the Kenoirami to he 4-">()
feet aliovc the se.i* The AttawapisUat is the lari^esi river tlowin;; into
.lames hay north of the All>any. I surveyed this stream for upward of
;>lll) nules from the sea, and althoU'^di it Hows throULdi a level country
and has low liaidcs, 1 did not detect marine shells at any ;j;reat distance
iVom the head of tide.

.\lthoii;^li the existence of liunite //* s//// in the superfn-ial deposits of
the All>a,ny and Ahitihi rivers may he inferred from the occurrence of
loose pieces of it alonii their shores, heds of this suhstance have as yet
heen iioticed only on the Kenoi:ami and the Missinaihi. On the former
stream it was louiid in the Ixittom of an old channel excavated in the
till and attain lillcd up liy houlder clay.f This hed contained sticks of
coniferous woods and of the canoe hii'ch. l>ut no animal remains were
deti'cted in it.

.\lon;f the Missinaihi, Ix'ds of liunitc were seen at a numlier of places
all the way from the foot of the Archean plateau to the junction of the
.Mattajianu. The lirst of these was in the west hank of a southern hranch
called Coal hrook, threeciuarters of a mile from the main river. This
l)ed is three feet or more in thickness, is underlaid hy soft sticky hlue
clay, and overlaid Ity ahout 7<' Icct of till, full of small pelildes, passiii.ij
iiilo t^ravcl at the to[>. This liL^niti; contains a little iron pyrites, and
much of it retains a distinct woo<ly character. Some of the llattened
trunks emhedded in it arc two feet in diameter.

"Oil the south sidiMif the river, at niiit'tci'ii miles Ik'Iow ("oal lironk^jr two miles
al)ove WiMiilui'ckei' islaml, a hdri/.oiital seam ol' Hj^iiite was found in the midst of
a hank of till IJ't feet iiiirh. It is from !'. to L'l feet tliick, and is nuule up priiici-
pailv ofsticksiind riishes. I'x'iow tlie iij^'iiiti' are SO fi-et of yollow-weatherin^ irray
t'iay ami ahove it 4") fct'l of hliie clay. Moth varieties of i;l;iy are full of pel)l)U's,
and they also iiold some .striated hDiilders of l.uui'cntian y;iieis^, Hnroniau seliiHts,
an<l unaltered Devonian limestone.

'W tiiree miles hi-low Woodpccki-r island, or nine miles ahove the mouth of
( >pa/.atika river, another lied of lij.'nite occurs in the hank on the same side. It is
six feet thick. l)Ut ilimiiiishes to the eastward, and is of a slialy character, heiiig
made upof laniiiiif of moss and sticks. Iiniuediately beneath the liijnite is a layer

*(t(•l)lo^i(■lll Survey Ri'port for lK71-'7^, p. Il'i.
tOnologiwil Survey |{e|ioit for 1m71-'7'J.

I.\ll — lk'1,1,. (iFui,. Sdc. Am., Viii.. !l, 18117

?* ~ -1 "' jr^*v .* ''"1 ■ ■■ * i* II ti. -

880 H. ISKI.I. — III DSON r.AV MAMMOTH ANH MASTOIioN HKMAINS.

<int' font tliick iif iiTcirultirly iiiiii'.'lcd chiy iiml s|Mits nf impiii'c liiriiitc. Next Ix-low
tliiw arc 4(1 tVi't of imstratilii'il iliil't, I'lill lA' .small iiclihlcs. uiidcr wliicli art" a fi'w
feet of Htrutilk'd yellDwiHli saiul and ^'lavel. Ucsliiij; upon tlif li<_'iiitc ate live feet
of hard K-ad-cdloicd clay, with ^it'alMs and sjiots nf a ydlnw colnr and layt-rs of
H'd, irray, (hah, ami hull'. Ahove all and lorniin); the tupof llu- hank, <>') feet hij:li,
are U) feet of hanl ilrah clay, witliHtriatcd pchhlcHund HMiall hoiilder*' and holding;
rather larjic valvcn of ■Si.c/citci rnijnmi, M icdiiii. fulrnrin { 'rilliiin iirtuinid), and .'///<(
Intni'iilii. Small si'ams of lij^nitu were si'un in two |)lai'cs in tiic hank on llic same
Hi<le at and ayrain half a mile helow tlie foot of a rapid which occurs ahout six milcH
ahove tlu' Opa/.atika.

" In the interval iu'tween one and l\\>> miles ai)ove this stream tlu' whole hed of
the river appears to he underlaid hy liu'uite. When sounch-d with a heavy pole, it
has an j'lastic feel and irives off laii^e volumes of i,'as, which may also lie si-en at any
time hul)l)lint{ up s|)ontane(aisly here and tiiere all alon^' this part of the river.
Tliis phenomenon has heen oliserved iiy (he Indians from time innneinorial, and
the locality has rei'eived the name of ''I'lic I'luhlilinu' Water."" *

At tlie foot oi tlt(! loiit;' |)orta,ii(' <>'i Missiiiail)! river, which is tour and
ii hali'iuile.s within tho Archeaii l>()f(ler, or tliat (listiiiice soutli of Uouiid
bay, at the head of the loii^ soiitliwe.stwurd .stretch al»ove de.serihed,
tlu'fe is a eoiisi(h'rah]e thicisiiess of tine silt in thin layers, with moss and
remains (>•" tVesii-water inarsli plants lietweeii most of them. 'I'lit; mean
heic;bt of thc! deposit is aliout '••<) I'eet ahovi' the level of the highest oe-
currenee of the marine shells hefore mentioned, or jiroliaidy aliout ")5()
feet ahove the sea. At the time of the postnlaeial sulimeriienee tiiis de-
po.sit may have iieen t'orminj;- at what was then the moiitli of the Mis-
sinail)i river, whik^ the whole of the Paleozoic plain lietween it ai\d .lames
hay was covered hy thc sea.

The depo.sits which have heen descrilied cover a very extensive dis-
trict, namely, thc low (U)untry emhraccnl liy a semicircular (Uirve in the
•ffeat .\rchean plateau, extending "JOO miles southwest from .lames hay.
'This tract is all underlai<l liy thc nearly horizontal Silurian and Devo-
nian strata already mentioned, 'i'hcsc rocks al.'-o appear to form the
lloor of the hay itst'lf, which is ."JOO nnles lon;^- and l-")!) miles wide.

The liuiiite heds ahove described pn>bably all belong to basins of lim-
ited exttMd. The one which has been reterred to a.s occurring in the
bottom of a drii't-tilletl valley which had been excavated in older till on
the Kenogami river, and also most of the beds along the Mi.<siiiaibi, are
of interglacial age. The seam which has been mentioned as lying be-
neath a thick stratum of till on Coal brook may be of preglacial age, in
which case the l)lue clay below it would also be preglacial. Some of the
higher beds of impure lignite further down the .Missinaibi may be post-

*(ii'i)lui:ii'.'il Survey l!i>|i(irl fur ls7T-'7.><, p. 4 V.

J

MASToi»()\ i{i:m.\ins in MAMIOI'.A.

887

placial. Tlio .strati(i<'«l (le|n»sits with wliicli tin- liiriiitfs aro associatcti
art', ii) [lart at least, inariiie, as proved l»y the shells which they eontain.

Pkuidd wiii:n riir; MAsroituN i.ivkh iikhk

'I'he iiiastoilDiis jaw ilesciiiied almve, haviiiii i>een tdiiiiil loose in the
lied of the river, may liave heeii washed out of these hanks and tlius he
of either iiiterirlaeial or postiilacial date: init it had not siillered any
wear, the tooth heinii fresh and perfect, and it shows no si<rn of ahrasion.
It has hoen inentioneil that liiinite occurs in .siln in the hed of the river
where the Jaw with this tooth was found.

'I'his relic of the mastodon may Ix'loUii to a very recent period, per-
haps to a time suhsequent to tlu; excavation of the river channel out of
these liL^nite-itearinu; clays, sands, and gravels. Its most ancient possi-
hle date would I)(! suhseipient to that of the lignite hed on which it
rested.

.MasToOON KkMAI.NS KOl'M) IN MANiroliA

Some years previous to 1S.")'5 parts of the skeleton of a larire mammal,
which afterwards proved tt> hclon;j; to a. mastodon, were found hy In-
dians in the iiottom of the valley of Shell riv(M'. at its junction with its
east Itranch. This stream is itself an (iastern hranch of the .Assinilioine-
and it takes its rise in the hii^h ground to the west of lake Wiunipegosis.
The river-llat at the spot where the mastodon remains were found lias
an (ilevation of ■_*.(•.')() leet al>ove the sea. according to .Mr .1. I>. Tyrrell.'i-
The scapula' were the only portions of thi.s skeleton which ri'ached Kng-
land. and they were examined l)y Sir .loim llicharilson. who at lirst
gave the species to which they lielonged the provisional name of I'Jtpliic^
riqirrlidiiiis, hut afterwanls. on making critical comparisons with the
bones ol" other fossil elephants, he wrt)te :

■■'I'lic |>n)lialiility, tlicrcfori', is that tlic Swan river (/. «.,S\\aii liiver liislricti
liiiiies l)elnn'_'t'cl to the Muxlmlnii iii(/iiiih !!>:. and thai the iaim<' of that s|ifi'ies must
he e\tcii(leil nortliwanl in l{u|)ert's himl to the lifly-seeoiid |iaiallel of latitinle,
whiit' tile pruvisioiial <;eu^raj)hical ilesigiiutioii of l-yijihns vnpi i-liniiint must l)e e.\-
pinit,'iMl." t

l)i;i'osrrs in wiiifii tiik .Masiohon I'.onics wi:iti'; hhni>

in 1874 I examined the Assinihoine river all the way from Fort I'elly
to Fort F^llice and also a part uf Shell river, and sent my as.si.stant, iJr

* l!«'|)i>i't (if tlio (ifolopir'al Survoy ofCuimilii fur Lsiiii-'ul, p. Viw K.

tZ(iolu);y i.f 111.' VoVMi?.' <>( 11. M. S, Ihiiil-l iluiliiy; tlif yi'iU's IslVM. I...ii.1m1i. I.omII I!,-cvo,
l.x:.l, li|.. In|. HI.

:!HS

It. lilM.I, — llfltSON liW \I\MM(»IM AMI M.\srol»«»N KKMAINS.

.1. W. S|>(Mi('fi'. t'lirtlitr ii|> lilt' liiltcr .-.ticiiin. As the ml'*' <>!' tlu' (Icposit
ill wliicli tlicsu iiuistiidtiii rciiiMiiis were luiiiul iiiid tlu' nature ol'llu' sur-
rouiKliii;; couiitn' wciv inipoitaiil in connection wit'.i the (liset)very, 1
qnote I )r Spencer's re|ioi( to ine on these points ;■'•

" The valley i.f llie A>siiiilMiiin' ailjacciit to thai >>{' the Shell i ivcr is al'uiit a mil*'

wiileaml sdiiie '.'(Kt fiTl .Icep. The alluvial Hat at thehotli f the valley is threc-

(|iiarters \>{ a mile wiile, ami the hanks rise steeply on eitlu-r siile. Thruiiiih this
level Hat the river pursues a meanderiuu; enurse from side to wide, oeeasionally
leaping; a small rapii I caused hy the nhslructiou of Laureutiaii houlders. Twenty
miles further uji, the valley is nearly ;! nnles wide, hut at this place, in the hottom
and followintr the valley loniritudinally, there an- 4 or 5 nericH of hills, risinj; irrej;-
ularly one ahove the other, till the hi>;hest reaclio nearly to the level of the plain
ahove. iJetween llii'se hills thei-e are small deeji valleys. The western hank is
often stri'wn with ;.'ravel and houlders, while the Hats helow ai'e neaily free from
them, excepting in places alon-j Mie hed of the river. The sides of the valley are
often dei'|ily i;or<;ed, hut the ravines do not extend to any j.'real distance hack from
the valley. Many of them appear to have heen cut out hy the waters from sprinirs.
Tlu'se sj)rin<rs usually hold a consideralde i|uaMtity of iron in solution, anil I oh-
terved several places where yellow ochre was hein^r deposited around them. In
several localities on the hanks of the .\ssinihoinc extensive landslides are to he
met with, sometimes showinj; stratitied deposits of clay or sand. The jjeiu'ral
course of the .\ssinihoine river at the iiitlux of the Shell river is nearly south, hut
ahove this it has a more westerly direction.

" I explored the Shell IJiver valley npwaid for;!(l miles, and Mr I la'_'ar continued
the exploration for 10 nnles further. .Moiijr the upjier pa:t of this distance the
country on either side has usually a rollini,' prairie character, while in the lower
)>ortion tlu' ri\ei' Hows in a valley nearly as wide ainl ilee|) as that of the Assini-
boine. The izeiieral course is ni'arly from the umth. At the Ik :i<ls of the valley
the river usually winds its way to the outer side, and on the inner si<le of the curve
there is left a terrace or series of terraces risiui; from the alluvial llat to the plain
ahove. The country is ucnerally Wiiii<leil, except here and there where lire> have
swept over small areas. The Shell river is mticli more rapid than the .Vssiuihoiiu',
and the sides of the valley are much more dei'ply irort^eil than those of the latter
river. At the landslidi's aloiij,' the Shell liver I oh.'^erved a few stratilii-d deposits,
hut tlu'V "generally show I'd only a hetero<,'eneous unxture of jiravelly earth, with
houltlers. . . .

" If the rivers which now How throuirh them have excavated tliesi; valleys, the
former must he of i,'reat anti(|uity. The valleysare yearly hecominu; lar<j;er hy the
s|>riiiy; floods bearing away irreat i|uaiitities of material. Kverywlu're alonji tlie
river hanks there are eviileiices of former landslides. . . . The deposits of the
Shell River valley freipiently consist of irrej,'ular ht'ds of clay, with houlders, while
aloiij? the alluvial Hat of the .-VHsinihoine they cousi.st of rej^idarly stratitied clays.
The smumits and sides of the banks of both streams are y;enerally covered w ith
boulders.

" In the more recent deposits of the Siiell River valley an Imliau is said to bavi'
found, a few years ago, some large bones, which weri' at the time sent to Fort

■ liepurt nl'tln' (iooidnii.-iil Siu'vi'y of (';\u:icl;i for I8TI-T.'i, pp. .'iN iiiul 1.3.

I

noxKs (»N siii:!.i. i;ivi;i{. 380

Kllicf ami aricrwiiidH to Imi^iIiukI. 'I'Iichc ivniainH wtTi- ilesi-rilu'il to nu' l)y a niaii
wliu had sci'ii tlicm, ami alxn tin- plafi* wlit'iici- tlioy ouiiif. Tlii'y iipficar ti» liiivtt
hcfll laiV'c i'Iliiii).'li fn liavr lu'loll^rcil to I'JIriihiiH."

Ill tlicsuiuiiicr of ISST Mr. I. B. 'rvrroll, of tlio (ieoloiiical Survoy, made
a fiirtlitT t'x;uiiin:.ti(»ii of Shrll rivrr. Ilic results of which an; |nihlislu'(l
ill the IU;|t()rl of tiii! hcpiirlMKnit for l<SUt)-'l)l. Ivcfurriiijf to those l)t)iies,
he says :

" Tlip Imliaiis allt'irt' lliat at tliis pdiiit (tlie jmictioii of thf nortli ami t-ant
Idanclics) lm;;r Imiii's wcic loiunl at tiic Itottoiii of a lamlslidc ami were l)rouj;ht
to the olliccr ill I'liai-;.'!' at l''ort rdly, Ky wiiom tlicywcrc fofwanli'il to i'",iit;lan(l.
I loll. \V. .1. ( 'liiistii , of j'.rockv illc, ( liitario, wlio was in cliar;;!' of l''ort I'dly at tin-
tiiiu', informs inc thnt the hones were slioiildcM'-hliKU's, and that in IHol!, Hoiiio
years after the hones were iiroii'.'ht in, he visited the placo 'and examined the
spot eari'fnily wlicre the hlades were taken out of tlie river at low water. A land-
slip hail oeciirre<l from tiie liank and earrieil the holies into the river. 1 found,
from eross-i|uestioiiin!.' m\ i_'iiide, tiiat the Indians iiad colleeted the hones and
imriit tlieiii on the hank, from superstition, and hiiried what would not hiirn. 1
exainiiu'd the spot wliorti they had hurled the lioiu's, hut what remained crumbled
to pieees when toiiehecl.' " *

\\'lieii traveliiiii in tiie Northwest territories in lS7o I was inforinefl
tliat larjre l)oii> -•, supposed to he those of eh-phant.-, had heen found at
Sand Iliil lake, near the (,'Il)o\v of the South Saskatchewan river, and
also on the surface of the ground on W'iiite Mml river, a small triiiutary
of tiie .Missouri on the west side of the Cypress hills,t hut I have never
heen ahle to verify these reports.

DiscovKiUKs oi'^ Er.Ki'iiANT RiOM.MNs i.v oriiioit Pakts ok C.\N.\I).\

Numerous discoveries of remains of hoth mammoths and mastodons
have heeti made at various times durinjj; the past seventy years in the
province of Ontario, hut with one exception they all occurred in tlie
district south of a straiL'ht line drawn west from 'I'oronto to the outlet of
lake Huron. The exception was the finding of the greater part of the
skeleton of a very large mammoth in a swamp on lot 1), range VII, of
the t()wnshi|) of .\maranth, county of Wellington, at ahout oO miles
northwest of Toronto. .\ tusk found with this skeleton was reported to
measure S inches in diameter and 14 feet in length.

In Ontario the remains of the ahove animals have always heen found
umler similar conditions and in very recent ileposits. In a few instances
they have heen met with in gravel and sand. At Burlington heights, at

t Ui'iHirt uf till' GiMilofjicMl Sinvoy of ('iiiiml:i fur I,sT3, pp. 7:i, ~l.
*Op. cit., p. lii'J K.

390

U. nVAA. — iriDSON I5AV M.UfMOTir AND MASTODON REMAINS.

the western extremity of luke Ontario, tlie Ixines and tusks of a larL'e
matnniotli were found in l.S4Sin an ancient lieacli deposit. -'IT feet helow
the surfaee and at an t'U'vation of 7<l feet aliove the hdce; hut in the
nijijority of eases sueh remains liave lieen (Hscovered just heneatli the
surface of tlie L'round in cuttiuL' ditclies to drain swamps, in sliell marl left
hy the drying- up of small shallow lakes, or under thin coverinjts of super-
ficial loam, silt, etcetera. In the province of (Juehec no traces of fossil
elephants have yet heen recorded, as far as the writer is aware.

In the maritime provinces the oidy discoveries of such relics yet made
consist of some mastodon hones which were found in hanks of sand and
gravel in the valleys t)f Middle and Haddeck river.s, in the central part
of the island of Cape Breton, which forms i)art of Nova Scotia. 'I'he
elevation in each case did not extend 50 feet ahove tlie sea, and the two
localities are less than 20 miles apart.

NoTK. — -.Since the foreti;oin<r [jajier was in print the writer has received
the June nunil)er of the Scottish (ieojiraphical MaL^izine. containinif Pro-
fessor .lament CJeikie's thoui;htful article on "The Tundras an<l Steppes
of Prehistoric Kurope," in which he mid<es some remarks that are of in-
terest in confirmation of the manner in which I have supposed that some
of the mammoths of Siheria had jterished. lie says: " We have seen
how in existini: tundras and steppes the s('mi-<lomesticated and wild
animals of these regions are now and again ovfM'whelmed in storms and
smothered in snow. Now, similar catastroph.ies must have happened
again and again in tiie tundras and steppes of prehistoric times."