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d histoire naturelle ； was a land where the water wasstagnant； the soil unproductive； and the animals without size or vigor； their constitutionsweakened by the 鈥渘oxious vapors鈥潯hat rose from its rotting swamps and sunless forests。 insuch an environment even the native indians lacked virility。 鈥渢hey have no beard or bodyhair；鈥潯uffon sagely confided； 鈥渁nd no ardor for the female。鈥潯heir reproductive organs were鈥渟mall and feeble。鈥�
buffon鈥檚 observations found surprisingly eager support among other writers； especiallythose whose conclusions were not plicated by actual familiarity with the country。 adutchman named eille de pauw announced in a popular work called recherchesphilosophiques sur les am茅ricains that native american males were not only reproductivelyunimposing； but 鈥渟o lacking in virility that they had milk in their breasts。鈥潯uch viewsenjoyed an improbable durability and could be found repeated or echoed in european texts tillnear the end of the nineteenth century。
not surprisingly； such aspersions were indignantly met in america。 thomas jeffersonincorporated a furious （and； unless the context is understood； quite bewildering） rebuttal in hisnotes on the state of virginia ； and induced his new hampshire friend general john sullivanto send twenty soldiers into the northern woods to find a bull moose to present to buffon asproof of the stature and majesty of american quadrupeds。 it took the men two weeks to trackdown a suitable subject。 the moose； when shot； unfortunately lacked the imposing horns thatjefferson had specified； but sullivan thoughtfully included a rack of antlers from an elk orstag with the suggestion that these be attached instead。 who in france； after all； would know？
meanwhile in philadelphia鈥攚istar鈥檚 city鈥攏aturalists had begun to assemble the bones ofa giant elephant…like creature known at first as 鈥渢he great american incognitum鈥潯ut lateridentified； not quite correctly； as a mammoth。 the first of these bones had been discovered ata place called big bone lick in kentucky； but soon others were turning up all over。 america；it appeared； had once been the home of a truly substantial creature鈥攐ne that would surelydisprove buffon鈥檚 foolish gallic contentions。
in their keenness to demonstrate the incognitum鈥檚 bulk and ferocity； the americannaturalists appear to have bee slightly carried away。 they overestimated its size by afactor of six and gave it frightening claws； which in fact came from a megalonyx； or giantground sloth； found nearby。 rather remarkably； they persuaded themselves that the animalhad enjoyed 鈥渢he agility and ferocity of the tiger；鈥潯nd portrayed it in illustrations as pouncingwith feline grace onto prey from boulders。 when tusks were discovered； they were forced intothe animal鈥檚 head in any number of inventive ways。 one restorer screwed the tusks in upsidedown； like the fangs of a saber…toothed cat； which gave it a satisfyingly aggressive aspect。
another arranged the tusks so that they curved backwards on the engaging theory that thecreature had been aquatic and had used them to anchor itself to trees while dozing。 the mostpertinent consideration about the incognitum； however； was that it appeared to be extinct鈥攁fact that buffon cheerfully seized upon as proof of its incontestably degenerate nature。
buffon died in 1788； but the controversy rolled on。 in 1795 a selection of bones made theirway to paris； where they were examined by the rising star of paleontology； the youthful andaristocratic georges cuvier。 cuvier was already dazzling people with his genius for takingheaps of disarticulated bones and whipping them into shapely forms。 it was said that he coulddescribe the look and nature of an animal from a single tooth or scrap of jaw； and often namethe species and genus into the bargain。 realizing that no one in america had thought to writea formal description of the lumbering beast； cuvier did so； and thus became its officialdiscoverer。 he called it a mastodon （which means； a touch unexpectedly； 鈥渘ipple…teeth鈥潱�
inspired by the controversy； in 1796 cuvier wrote a landmark paper； note on the species ofliving and fossil elephants； in which he put forward for the first time a formal theory ofextinctions。 his belief was that from time to time the earth experienced global catastrophes inwhich groups of creatures were wiped out。 for religious people； including cuvier himself； theidea raised unfortable implications since it suggested an unaccountable casualness on thepart of providence。 to what end would god create species only to wipe them out later？ thenotion was contrary to the belief in the great chain of being； which held that the world wascarefully ordered and that every living thing within it had a place and purpose； and always hadand always would。 jefferson for one couldn鈥檛 abide the thought that whole species would everbe permitted to vanish （or； e to that； to evolve）。 so when it was put to him that theremight be scientific and political value in sending a party to explore the interior of americabeyond the mississippi he leapt at the idea； hoping the intrepid adventurers would find herdsof healthy mastodons and other outsized creatures grazing on the bounteous plains。
jefferson鈥檚 personal secretary and trusted friend meriwether lewis was chosen co…leader andchief naturalist for the expedition。 the person selected to advise him on what to look out forwith regard to animals living and deceased was none other than caspar wistar。
in the same year鈥攊n fact； the same month鈥攖hat the aristocratic and celebrated cuvier waspropounding his extinction theories in paris； on the other side of the english channel a rathermore obscure englishman was having an insight into the value of fossils that would also havelasting ramifications。 william smith was a young supervisor of construction on the somersetcoal canal。 on the evening of january 5； 1796； he was sitting in a coaching inn in somersetwhen he jotted down the notion that would eventually make his reputation。 to interpret rocks；there needs to be some means of correlation； a basis on which you can tell that thosecarboniferous rocks from devon are younger than these ca