XVIII. On the fossil Elk of Ireland
Notwithstanding the frequent occurrence of the remains of the gigantic elk in Ireland, it is remarkable that precise accounts should not have been kept of all the peculiar circumstances under which they occur entombed in its superficial strata. To obtain an opportunity of examining these relations had long been my desire; and as fortunately, during my avocations last autumn in the north of Ireland, a discovery came to my knowledge that seemed likely to throw light on the subject, I proceeded to its investigation, intending, should the results be found deserving of attention, to place them on record. These results have proved the more interesting, as they apparently lead to the conclusion, that this magnificent animal lived in the countries in which its remains are now found, at a period of time which, in the history of the earth, can be considered only as modern. I had advanced thus far when I became apprized of an analogous discovery made last year in the west of Ireland by the Rev. W . Wray Maunsell, Archdeacon of Limerick; which is not only confirmative of my own experience, but has the additional value of embracing particulars not hitherto noticed by any other observer. Mr. Maunseli's researches, elucidated by the able assistance of Mr. John Hart, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, have been communicated from time to time to the Royal Dublin Society in the form of letters, and have been entered upon their minutes; and, it is to be hoped, that a distinct publication on the subject may hereafter appear, illustrated by a description of the splendid specimen of the skeleton of the animal now deposited by the liberality of the Reverend Archdeacon in the museum of that Society. In the mean time I propose, after giving a concise account of my own inquiries, to refer briefly to the more prominent points in Mr. Maunseli's discoveries, in as far as they bear immediately on the question of the ancient or modern origin of those remains.
