rish deer; the big-nosed, the
small-nosed, and the woolly rhinoceros; the mammoth; the cave-bear; and
a sabre-toothed felis (_Machairodus latidens_), sometimes, though
incorrectly, referred to as the cave-tiger.

_The Rhinoceros._ The big-nosed and the small-nosed rhinoceros came to
western Europe from the south. The former came the earlier and stayed
until the late Pleistocene period, when the later cavemen hunted the
reindeer. During this period it became extinct. As the climate became
severe, both species may have migrated south each winter. It would have
been possible, however, for them to remain, for they were well adapted
to a cold climate. It is interesting to know that many of our popular
tales of dragons originated in connection with the discoveries of the
huge bones of these creatures, which could be accounted for in no other
way.

Our information regarding these creatures is exceedingly meager. They
are characterized as dull-witted creatures with dim eyesight,
exceedingly impulsive and dangerous. They rarely attacked other animals,
for they lived upon vegetable food; but if they were molested they were
formidable creatures. At such times they would root up young trees with
their tusks, and pierce and rend the bodies of their most powerful
assailants. A full grown rhinoceros was seldom attacked by even a
mammoth or the sabre-toothed felis. Its thick skin served as an
impervious shield, protecting it from the most powerful blows of the
fiercest animals. It is quite probable that packs of hyenas and wolves
learned to take advantage of precipices, and that they frightened the
rhinoceros over the brink, thus disabling him so that he became an easy
prey.

The woolly rhinoceros came down from the north during mid-Pleistocene
times and was protected from the cold by a fine inner coat which
resembled wool, and a coarse hairy outer coat. This species was abundant
until the close of the Pleistocene period, when it became extinct. What
is stated above with reference to the characteristics of the rhinoceros
applies equally well to this species.

Very little has been written concerning these extinct species that is
satisfactory for the teacher's use. Brief accounts can be found in
Hutchinson's _Extinct Monsters_, p. 225; in Stanley Waterloo's _The
Story of Ab_, p. 71; and in an article by E. D. Cope on "Extinct
American Rhinoceroses," in _The American Naturalist_, Vol. XIII., 771a.

_The Mammoth._ Professor Owen, the