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TO
21* V!B®ISAB V« V(D!TaB»
EDITOR OF THE FRANKLIN JOURNAL.
BY JOHN D. GODMAN, M. D
FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS.'"
       -1 33
7dnJ
v. i.
  PHILADELPHIA;

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOB

     1826,
<& 

 
TO
DR. THOMAS F. JONES,

      EDITOR OF THE FRANKLIN JOURNAL.
 ------" Oftentimes, excusing of a fault,
Doth make the fault worse by th'excuse ;
As patches set upon a little breach
Discredit more in hiding of the fault,
Than did the fault before it was so patched."
                  Suakspeare s King John.
   Dear Sir,
         As I understood before publishing my
" Note on an article in the North American Re-
view" in your  first  number,  that  your paper
was subscribed  for by a very large number of
scientific and literary individuals, and was, more-
over, intended to be a scientific  journal, it
has amused me to find that Dr.  Richard W.
Harlan, with peculiar modesty, has stated in a
pamphlet recently published, that your work is
not scientific, and, by consequence, your readers
not  proper judges of scientific subjects.   Yet,
notwithstanding this, he  has taken great pains
to furnish your readers with his pamphlet,  enti-
tled "Refutation  of  certain Misrepresentations
issued against the Author of the 'Fauna Ameri-
cana^ " and would fain have this " Refutation"
received as a " plain and candid"  as well as a
scientific production!
   In your  first  number I  published a note,
making known one of the most singular attempts
« 
4
which has yet  occurred  in this country, to im-
pose on the public translated for original matter.
In consequence of that note,  the  author ol the
Fauna  has appealed to  the  public, and, giv-
ing' loose to  the violence of his passion, has
plunged still deeper  in the offence of which he
was  accused, by a more deliberate and sustain-
ed attempt  to deceive.  His harsh speeches,
abuse,  and dark insinuations, are unworthy the
notice  of any upright  man; more  especially
when proceeding from a person who stands  in
the predicament in which we shall now prove
him to be placed.
  That " truth is great and will prevail" is not
more certain,  than  that he  who writes under
the influence of passion is more apt to injure
than to benefit his cause.  The matter  in ques-
tion, however, is not how  much Dr.  Harlan
can outstep the bounds of decorum, or the dig-
nified  deportment  which is characteristic  of
justice  and truth.   It is with the public that  he
has a heavy account to settle, for delinquencies
heretofore but little  known in this country. If it
were in his  power to blacken the robes of the
angels  of light, it would not remove from  his
own vestments, one atom of their stain.
   Before making a more full and formal state-
ment of the extent  to which the plagiarism of
Dr.  Harlan has been carried, I beg  leave to
premise, that  I did not, as he would have it  un-
derstood, publish my first statement of his con-
duct from motives  of personal  pique.  That
Dr.  Harlan's  anger was excited a long time
ago, is most true; and this was in consequence 
5
of my discharging  a duty,  as  one of a com-
mittee of the Academy of Natural  Sciences,
which  placed the  fairness  of Dr. Harlan in
a  very ambiguous light, and  inspired  many
others, besides myself, with  deep disgust  at his
disingenuous conduct   But so far from hasten-
ing to do him an injury, although I had the facts
now to be pnn  d, then in my possession and
was repeatedly  urged to  make  them public,
it  was  not done;  because I was engaged in
preparing a  work  on the  same  subject,  and
did not wish to be charged with  the desire of
injuring  the  reputation of any man:—a feel-
ing which 1 never have experienced, and assu-
redly  I  could   not be under its  influence as
regards one,  who never did, nor can  injure
mine.   To those who urged me to publish the
facts, I uniformly replied,  that so long  as no
notice was taken of the book in this country, I
should remain  silent; but, as soon as any one
treated it as an original work, the facts should
be stated, and the proofs adduced.
   My first statement  was made as an  act of
justice to  the cause of science, and of duty to
the public:  the present letter is  dictated by a
similar feeling,  and shall be directed towards
the same end;  without reference to any  of the
asperities of language or  indecorous assertions
which  are  so abundantly scattered by Dr. Har-
lan in his " Refutation."  Nothing that is here
said is directed to him; He  stands charged with
an unjustifiable, and, in this country, an unprece-
dented plagiarism,  or the appropriation  of the
intellectual property of another to his own use.
He has not only done this,  but has come for- 
6
ward to justify his conduct,  and  place himself
under public protection as an ill-treated and in-
jured man.   Finally he criminates all within his
reach, to  show that he is not singular  in his
want of judgment,  nor standing  alone in dis-
respect for that sacred law of right, which  con-
siders the infringement of the literary property
of another as dishonest.
  The proofs of this statement are immediately
to follow, and although it is a  disagreeable of-
fice to act in such a case, yet, in this,  as in all
other instances where  connivance at  incorrect
conduct is an injury to the  character and well-
being of  society, the unpleasant duty should be
unshrinkingly discharged.  The individual  is to
me nothing; his success could  not in the least
interfere  with mine; his degradation can in no
possible way yield me  satisfaction or service.
  In the  first page of his introduction, Dr.  Har-
lan makes the following remarks:
  " A work having for its object the illustration of the na-
tural history of our country, cannot fail to prove interest-
ing, and has long been a desideratum to naturalists.   How-
ever unqualified for the task, I have nevertheless found am-
ple room for additions, alterations  and  improvements. On
the utility of the undertaking it will be unnecessary to in-
sist, when, on referring to the latest authorities who have
treated of this subject, we are struck  with the confusion,
the errors and the deficiencies which prevail.  In the very
latest work, Desmarest's Mammalogie, published in the year
1820,which professes to describe all the species of Mamma-
lia, hitherto known, the number inhabiting North America
is limited to one hundred species.   Of these many  are des-
cribed as uncertain, and  his accounts of  the manners and
habits of most of them, are  at best deficient."—Fauna Am.
  Would not every man infer  from  this, that
Dr. Harlan had made  improvements; that he 
7
would supply those deficiencies; and study from
nature the habits and manners of the animals of
his own  country ?   Would any one suppose it
possible,  after  such observations as the above,
that Dr. Harlan would be content to copy from
this same Desmarest,  those very habits  and
manners, just as they stand in the original—and
that too without acknowledgment? Could you,
Sir, have imagined such a thing ? Yet, you have
seen it; and all may see it who will refer to the
work of  Desmarest.
   In my note on the article in the North Ame-
rican  Review,  (which was  intended  to show
cause why the  " Fauna Americana"  should not
have been reviewed as an original work—not to
review it,) I gave Dr. Harlan full credit for ALL
he  acknowledged,  after stating  the  probable
amount of  his plagiarism.    In   his  " Refuta-
tion," after  declaring the charge to be " false,"
" gratuitous," " a wilful misrepresentation," $c.
he says:  Ref.  page 8.
  " In the above  extract, he offers an  unwarrantable
contradiction to the PLAIN and CANDID statement we
have made in our introduction to the " Fauna " (vid. p. 4,
note) to the following effect:
  " Mr. Desmarest, in his advertisement to the second
part of his " Mammalogie," p. 7, limits the  number of
mammalia inhabiting North America to fifty-four species:
as this statement does not in any degree correspond with his
descriptions, we presume he has permitted a typographical
error of great  importance, to escape  his notice.  We
have enumerated from his work one hundred species, as in-
habiting North America; the descriptions of about fifty of
these having been found  very accurate,  are accordingly
translated with very little alteration."
   The " candid statement,"  in the note above
quoted from the preface, is  entirely opposite to 
8
fact,  besides being injuriously incorrect relative
to Mr. Desmarest. The following are the words
of the original :
  " Relativement a leur distribution sur le Globe, les mam-
miferes peuvent etre ainsi partages: 54 dans l'Amerique Sep-
tentrionale :  10 communs aux deux continens de VAsie et de
lAmerique: 41 propres a PAsie septentrionale :  88 a l'Eu-
rope j  107 a l'Afrique, 29 a l'ile de Madagascar, et a celle de
Mascareigne: 78 a l'Afrique Meridionale et a Ceylan : 51
aux iles de  l'Archipel Indien : 33 a la Nouvelle Hollande
et la Terre de Van Diemen.  Trente Cetaces, ou  Phoques
habitent les mers du Nord,  14 celles du Sud, et a peu pres
28 se trouvent dans les latitudes moyennes."
         {Mammalogie, partie 2de. Avertissement, p .vii.)
  His reason for leaving out the parts  of the
paragraph italicised, will be  obvious enough  to
the members  of  the  Philosophical  Society,
who recollect what occurred on this subject be-
tween another member and  Dr. Harlan.  He
had a particular interest  at the time  of pub-
lishing his book to lessen the number given by
the French author.  In  this paragraph, (inserted
entire,) Desmarest has most  explicitly and fairly
stated,  that  North America  has fifty  four
species, peculiarly her own, and ten  others
which are found  in Asia, as  well as in  North
America; besides which, there are thirty ceta-
ceous animals and seals  found  in  the  north-
ern  seas, of  which Dr.  Harlan  has translated
from  Desmarest,  twenty  Cetacea,  six  Seals,
and one Morse,  making the whole  amount  of
American species  NINETY  ONE !!  as  given  in
the above  quoted  sentence,  by the maltreated
French naturalist.  Yet with this before his eyes
he had at first, the hardihood, not only to mis-
represent Desmarest,  but even to charge him 
0
with allowing " a typographical error of great
importance to escape his notice,"  and to repeat
this charge  in  his recent pamphlet as a plain
ad candid  statement!!   This is the author of
the " Fauna Americana." who  talks of being
" calumniated,"  and of " wilful misrepresenta-
tions." and "/«&*" and "gratuitous assertion"*.
   In his " Refutation," page 8, immediately after
the note quoted from the preface to the -k Fauna,"
Dr.  slarlan has the  following unparalleled at-
tack upon common decency and common sense:
  " Having thus given credit to Desmarest for fifty spe-
cies, WE HONESTLY THOUGHT that we had attri-
buted to him more than was justly his due" !!
   This could scarcely have  been anticipated,
even from  Dr.  Harlan, if no more than fifty
species had been copied; look at the  logic  of
it, supposing but fifty had  been borrowed:—a
man borrows fifty dollars from another—he ac-
knowledges it by note of hand,—he pays back
fifty.; no more;" and then "honestly" thinks  he
has " attributed to him more than was justly his
due" !!—As a naturalist, this author is  exceed-
ingly fond of establishing and naming new spe-
cies; here is a new species of honesty doubly
his, by right of discovery and by being exem-
plified  in himself: one  too, for the honour  of
which  no  one will  be likely to  contend with
him.   We  would, therefore, suggest  the  pro-
priety  of calling it  " Honbstas  Harhnic'a,"
and let its " essential characters ' be found in the
above  " acknowledgment."
   But, Mr.  Editor, can you inform us,  by what
magic  the characters  of the  orders;  of the
                      s 
10
families;  tribes, and genera, to say nothing oi
the essential characters,  (which Dr.  Harlan al-
ways translates " characters  essential") syuono-
my and habitudes of the  animals,  verbally and
servilely translated  from Desmarest,  are to be
brought  within  this acknowledgment of " fifty
species"?   Tan  you show me in  what way the
acknowledgment of " the descriptions  of fifty
species" can be made to signify the greater part of
the whole volume entitled "Fauna Americana" ?
For my own part, 1 am utterly at a loss to see
how it can be so significant,  unless it be possi-
ble that a receipt for "fifty" could be consider-
ed a receipt for  five thousand pounds.
  " If copying from any author the descriptions of such spe-
cies as have been well known, and  accurately described
since the days of Linnseus, can be construed into plagiarism,
then all modern naturalists are plagiarists." Ref.page 9.
   Is this statement true?—if it be true, will any
man pretend that the  great naturalists succeed-
ing Linnseus, have copied Linnseus, in the sense
which Dr. Harlan has copied  Desmarest?   I he
books themselves may answer.  Has Illiger thus
copied Linnaeus ?—5 as <  uvier copied Illiger ?—
Has Desmarest copied Cuvier? No. If they have
copied " species" they have not transcribed all
the characters  of  the orders, families, tribes,
and genera, word for word, letter by letter.  It
was lett for " Richard W. Harlan, M. i>." to
do this, and then to attempt to sustain himself on
that poor bundle of reeds, the acknowledgment
of the  " descriptions of  about fifty species"!!
   But not  content  with this  utterly untenable
position, and as if struck by a sort of ' judicial 
11
blindness,'  he utters the following words  after
the quotation last given: page  10.
  " If such a construction be admissible, what must neces-
sarily be the fate of that beautiful volume recently pub-
lished by Mr. C. Bonaparte,  (kt American  Ornithology,")
which contains the description of but one single species of
bird not previously known, named and described.  Yet, our
"technical critic" does  not hesitate, on  all occasions " to
elevate to the rank of an original work," this production of
his patron."
   Does he not imply by this, that  Mr. Charles
Bonaparte has  copied  those species of  Birds
which  were  " previously  known,  named, and
described" ?  Is it not evident  that such an in-
ference is what he wishes to be drawn, and thus
to insinuate that he has  done no more?   What
is the fact?   The descriptions  in Charles Bo-
naparte's truly splendid and valuable " Ameri-
can  Ornithology,"  of previously  known spe-
cies,  are more entirely  original than any which
have  ever yet been published, with the  excep-
tion of those by Wilson ; and they are as original
as his. There is not a description of a bird, in the
book above named, that is  not wholly and solely
drawn up from  observing  the  birds themselves
without reference  to any  previous descriptions,
except in cases where previous descriptions are
quoted in comparing species together.  So much
for  this  additional  attempt to wrong another
man of the fruits of his intellect  and industry.
   " We confess that we never enumerated the precise num-
ber of pages occupied  in the ' Fauna,' by the descriptions
of the fifty species attributed to Desmarest, nor do we pos-
sess the means at present of obtaining accurate information
on that subject, supposing it in the  least  important; but
as the whole number of species described in the ' Fauna,' 
IS
 amounts to rnther more than one hundred and fifty, occupy-
 ing three hundred and fourteen pages, by the fairest mathe-
 matical computation, the fifty species attributed to  Desma-
 rest cannot occupy mort:  than one third, that is to say, one
 hundred pages, in place of two hundred and fifty, agreeably
 to the unqualified assertion of Dr. G."  Ref. page 10.
   By this limping and inadequate confession this
 "Refuter" still endeavours to throw dust into the
 eyes of those who read his defence,  and again
 would centre  the whole matter  upon the " fifty
 species."   He states he has no copy of Desma-
 rest to refer to ; I,  fortunately, have one; and,
 moreover,  it shall be at the service of all citizens
 of Philadelphia  who read  French, and feel  in-
terested  to know the truth  of  this matter: it
shall be  accompanied by a marked copy of the
" Fauna," referring  to every passage in Desma-
rest copied without an acknowledgment.
   The WHOLE of  the  matter contained under
the  following heads, (with  the  exception, in
some cases, of " Dental Formulae" copied from
F. Cuvier,) is literally and servilely  translated
from Desnlarest's " Mammalogie,"  and  intro-
duced  into the  " Fauna Americana"  without
the slightest acknowledgment, expressed or im-
plied, either in the Fauna or in the pamphlet en-
titled " Refutations  fyc. but is offered  as ORIGI-
NAL " By  Richard  W. Harlan, M. D." ^c. £$c.
   Fauna Americana.
 Ord; r  Carnivora; and  Genus
  Rhmopoma,
 Genus Vcspertilio, (and Genus
  Taphozous, p. 22,)
 Family Insectivora,
 Genus Scalops
     Condylura,
     Talpa,
Seginuing '.	Ending	From Desmarest;	
15 p,	17	P"	107
17	19		120 132
24	25		149
30	32		155
34	36		157
41	42		159
 
13
     Fauna Americana.              Beginning
Fam. Carnh ora and Genus Ursus, 45
Ending From Deimare&t.
 Genus Procyon,
      Taxus,
      Gulo,
      Mu stela,
      Mephitis,
      Lutra,
      Canis,
      Felis,
 Tribe,  Carnivorous  amphi-
   bia and genus Phoca,
 Genus Trichecus,
 Family Marsupialia,
 Gems Didelphis,
 ORDER Glires,
 Genus Castor,
      Fiber,
      Arvicola,
      Lemmus,
      Mus,
      Gerbillus,
      Arctomys,
      Sciurus,
      Pteromys,
 Genus Hystrix,
      Lepus,
ORDER, Edentata and Genus
  Megatherium,
         Pachydermata,  Fa-
  mily   Proboscidea and Ge-
  nus Elephas,
Genus Mastodon,
2d Family Pachydermata, &c.
Genus u Pecari or Dicotyles,"
      Tapirus,
ORDER, Pecora and Genus
  Cervus,
Genus Antilope,
      Capra,
      Ovis,
      Ovibos,
      Bos,
 53
 56
 59
 61
 68
 70
 74
 93

102
113
116
116
121
122
131
134
145
147
155
157
172
186
189
192

199'
 46
 54
 57
 59
 61
 69
 71
 76
 94

105
li4
116
118
121
122
132
134
146
148
155
158
173
187
190
193

200
163
167
172
174
176
184
187
190
216

237-38
253
254
254-5
277
277
279
280
2H6-87
297-98
319
326
330
341
344
346

362-65
203	207	381-82
210	210	384*
217	218	389
219	220	393
222	223	409
226	229	422-29-30
248	249	450-51
252	253	480
258	259	486
264	264	492
267	268	496
* Beginning at " molars rectangular." 
14
      Fauna Americana.           Beginning
ORDER, Cm—Fam Cetacea
  herbivora.  Genus Manatus,   274
Genus Rytina,   -      -      278
Family, Ceta ; Genus Delphi-
  nus,  Subgenus Delphynor-
Ending  From Desmarest.
  hynchus,
Genus Monodon,
     Cachalot,
     Balsena,
281
289
292
295
277
279
283
290
293
296
506-7
510
511-12
522
524
526-27
   The  following  "fifty  species"  taken from
Desmarest,  occur in  the Fauna Americana  be-
tween the 1st and 149th pages.  These may be
considered  as the  species which  are  acknow-
ledged to have been  copied :
1.	Rhinopoma Carolinien-	25.
	sis.	26.
2.	Vespertilio Carolinien-	27.
	sis.	28.
3.	Sorex constrictus.	29.
4.	S. Araneus.	30.
5.	Scalops Canadensis.	31.
6.	Condylura Cristata.	32.
7.	C. Longicaudata..	33.
8.	Talpa Europea.	34.
9.	Ursus Arctos.	35.
10.	U. Americanus.	36.
11.	U. Maritimus.	37.
12.	P roc yon Lotor.	38.
13.	Gulo Arcticus.	39.
14.	M. Vison.	40.
15.	M. Martes.	41.
16.	M. Canadensis.	42.
17.	Lutra Brasiliensis.	43.
18.	L. Marina.	44.
19.	Canis Lupus.	45.
20.	C. Lycaon.	46.
21.	C. Vulpes.	47.
22.	C. Argentatus.	48.
23.	C. Decussatus.	49.
24.	C. Virginianus.	50.
C. Fulvus.
C. Cinereo-argentatus.
C. Lagopus.
Felis Concolor.
F. Onca.
F. Pardalis.
F. Canadensis.
F. Rufa.
F. Fasciata.
F. Montana.
F. Aurea.
Phoca Cristata.
P. Vitulina.
P. Groenlandica.
P. Fetida.
P. Barbata.
Otaria Ur'sina.
Trichecus Rosmarus.
Didelphis Virginiana.
Castor fiber.
Fiber Zibethicus.
Arvicola amphibius.
Lemmus Hudsonius.
Mus Rattus.
Mus Sylvaticus.
Arctomys Monax. 
15
   The   following  FOvlTY FOUR   SPECIES,
occurring between the 150th and 301st page of
the  Fauna  Americana, are  taken verbally from
Desmarest (with the exceptions specified) with-
out any acknowledgment:

 1. Arctomys Empetra.      11.  Megatherium Cuvieri.
 2. Sciurus Cinereus.        12.  Megalony* Jeffersonii.
 3. S. Capistratus.          13.  Elephas Primogenius.^:
 4. S. Niger.*              14.  Mastodon Angustidens.
 5. S. Hudsonius.          15.  Sus Scrofa.§
 6. P. Striatus.             16.  Dicotyles Torquatus.||
 7. S. Hudsonius.          17.  Cervus Alces.
 8. Pteromys Volucella.     18.  C. Tarandus.
 9. Hystrix dorsata.f        19.  C. Canadensis.^"
10. Lepus Americanus.      20.  C. Virginianus.**

   *  The concluding paragraph of the article on this squir-
rel, has the appearance of being intended for original mat-
ter, and consists of scientific discriminations.   It is merely
a verbal transfer of Desmarest's foot note (marked (1.) right
side of page 334) to the text of the Fauna.
   f Ending with the description.
   \  Two paragraphs of this article are original; beginning
with the word " Locality," page 208, and ending at " Rhi-
noceros," second line of page 209.
   §  Ending at " beneath the eyes.'5
   |  Three sentences of the article on this species are origi-
nal, beginning at " when attacked by the panther," &c. page
221, and ending with the article, page 222, fourth line from
the top.
   ^J Five paragraphs and twosentences of this article, making
about half a page are original;  (that is, not copied  from
Desmarest.) Beginning at" cervus major, Ord," &c—down
to u same species," page 236. The sentences are, u cast their
horns, for the most part, in the month of March, the leanest
Elk retain their horns the longest," and " a fine specimen,"
&c.  at the end of the article.
   ** The only original sentence in this article, is the follow-
ing, page 239, " Weight from 90 to 100 lbs."  From the be-
ginning of this article, page 238, to the middle of page 241,
ending at " extensive range," is, without acknowledgment,
verballv from Liesmarest: the whole of  the rest of the arti-
cle,  extending to two-thirds of page 243, is quoted  from
Say, as acknowledged. 
16
21.	Antilope Americana.	33.	Monodon Monoceros.
22.	Ovis Ainmon.*	34.	M Microcephalus.
23.	Ovibos Moschatus.	35.	M. Andersonianus.
24.	Bos Americanus.	36.	Ph>seter Microcephalus
25.	Stellerus Borealis.	37.	P. Trumpo.
26.	Delphinus Delphis.	38.	Bal«na Mysticetus.
27.	D. Coronatus.	39;	B. Glacialis.
28.	D. Canadensis.	40.	B. Nodosa.
29	D. Giadiator.	41.	B. Gibbosa.
30.	D. Grampus.	42.	B. Gibbar.
31.	D. Leucas.	43.	B. Boops.
32.	D. Anarnachus.	44.	B. Rostrata.
   The following species  are  acknowledged to
 be copied  from  Say; they are  inserted to aid
 the  reader in estimating the full amount of Dr.
 Harlan's origmali y:
 1  Vespertilio Pruinosus.    9  Arctomys Lndoviciana.
 2  V. Arquatus.           10 Sciurus Magnicaudatus*
 3  Sorex Parvus.           11 S. Quadrivittatus.
 4  S. Brevicaudus.          12 S. Lateralis.
 5  Canis Latrans.           13 S. Grammurus.
 6  C.  Nubilus.             14 Cervus Virginianus.t
 7  C. Velox.               15. C. Macrotis.
 8  Pseudostoma Bursarius.

   The following are from Sabine :

 1  Arctomys Franklinii.      3  Lepus Glacialis.:]:
 2  A.  Richardsonii.
   The Arctomys  Parryii, is from Richardson.

   A few days after the publication in the first
 number of the Franklin Journal,  a friend con-
 vinced me that I was mistaken in  relation  to
 " Bonnaterre's  Cetologie,"  which is  not a dis-
tinct work, but forms an article in the  " Encyclo-

  * The greater part of the synonomy,  and the  whole  of
the " essential character."
  f Beginning from page 241; ending 245.
  i Excepting the two last paragraphs which are fronrDes-
marest, and unacknowledged. 
17
pedieMethodique," and had been  for  sometime
in this city.  I was in  error as  to its not being
in Philadelphia.   Nevertheless,  it is true, that
although  Dr. Harlan  had the  opportunity  of
quoting the  original,  yet has he been content
to transcribe  Desmarest's citations  of Bonna-
terre, as if he had never  seen the work of the
latter.
   But Dr. Harlan has had recourse  to another
uncommon and  disingenuous manoeuvre in re-
lation to Desmarest; which is, that of frequently
transfering Desmarest's scientific, critical,  mar-
ginal, and foot  notes,  into  the text  of the
" Fauna," as original matter, in  such a manner
as to deceive any one who has  not the French
book before  him; and what is worse,  even
those which relate to such authors as Catesby
and  Bartram, and  as to  facts which have oc-
curred in this state.   For proof of this  refer
to, and compare  his "note," page 172, with
Desmarest's  "nota,"  page  336;  his observa-
tions, contained  in the  two  last  paragraphs of
the  article  "sciurus  niger,"  and  Desmarest's
foot-note,  (1.) page  334;  his facts relative
to the gray squirrel, pages 174-5,  and Desma-
resPs,  page  332 :  as well as various  others,
which will be seen in the marked copy of the
" Fauna."   After having made this comparison,
the reader, in admiration of the ingenuity dis-
played, will be tempted to exclaim, " Oh, shame!
where  is thy blush ?"    How he is to bring this
ingenuity  ("new species"?) under his acknow-
ledgment  of the " descriptions of fifty species."
c 
18
he may  settle with the  public, by « mathemati-
cal computation"—if he can.
   He talks much and loudly of the number ol
species he has established;—If to assert be to
establish,  he has just as  solidly thus established,
that  the  "Brown  Bear,"  (U. Arctos,) the Eu-
ropean Mole,*  (Talpa  Europea,)  the  Rhino-
poma Caroliniensis of Geoff the common  Eu-
  * The authority upon  which this genus was  introduced
into North America, is not a little laughable.  In the Mu-
seum, the European specimens have their numbers placed
within a red square : these specimens having been frequently
removed for the sake of cleaning, &c. a European Mole was
inadvertently placed behind a label having no ra/mark.  On
this authority, together with the assertion of the Museum
profile-cutter,  who depended on the same infallible guide,
this European Mole was  introduced as a North American
animal, and figures as such in the u Fauna.'' In his synony-
my of the species,  the author supports  himself,  by  quoting
" Talpa  Americana,  black  mole,  Bartram's  manuscript
notes, ''  which is  not of the slightest avail, because  the
genus Scalops was not established  when Bartram  wrote ;
granting, however, that it had been, there is no proof that
the Talpa Americana above stated, is the European Mole.
  This is not the only instance in which the local know-
ledge  of xWr.  Moses  Williams has been of service to this
original writer.  An importation of a  few living European
Moles,  would not be a bad mode  of supporting the asser-
tion that Talpa Europea is found native in North America.
It is a new  mode  of establishing  animals in any country
merely  to assert their existence.   Neither of the Messrs
Peale,  of  the Philadelphia Museum, has ever found this
animal in this country; and certainly their ample experience
and opportunities  of so doing will not be denied.   Who
amongst those that have devoted themselves to the research'
can say, that  he has ever seen the  species called European
Mole, inhabiting the soil of North America? It is no more
an inhabitant of this  country than the Kangorou  or  thP
Cameleopard.                                 ' 
19
ropean Weazel (Mustela  Vulgaris,) the Fetid
shrew,  (sorex araneus,)  fyc.  are all  inhabit-
ants  of North America.   We are yet to learn
which of his  species will stand  « established;"
judging by the number of those  which  he has
attempted  to establish in other departments.
and which have been overthrown, but little hope
remains of one in twenty escaping the same fate.
   It  has now, I believe,  been shown, that the
Fauna Americana is not what it pretends to be.
The  numerous deviations of its  Author from
rectitude, having been distinctly and dispassion-
ately pointed out, I take leave of the work with
sincere  regret  that   an  American  Naturalist
should have acted in such a  manner as to  ren-
der the exposure of his conduct an indispensa-
ble  though an  unpleasant act of duty to the
community at large. Before this letter is closed,
a few words may be said  on  one or two topics,
which, however, stand only  in collateral  rela-
tion to the principal object of this publication.
   In a  note  to  page 9, of his Refutation, Dr.
Harlan has the following remarks:
  " What renders the charges  of the " critic " still  more
presumptuous, is the fact, that  he  himself stands publicly
convicted of plagiarism ; for the proofs of which we need
only refer to an  able review by Dr. N. R.  Smith, in the
Philadel. Medical and Surgical Review, No. 2, vol. 2d, of
a work entitled " Anatomical Investigations, by  John D.
Godman, M. D."   In this pa'per  are  examined certain
claims set forth  in  the "Investigations " to a few of those
rarse aves, Anatomical discoveries. See further proofs in the
Medical Recorder, vol. 8, p. 825.  It is not to be presu-
med that he will attempt to escape from this stigma, by
pleading ignorance of Anatomical works so  well known,
and so justly esteemed as those  of Bell and Bichat." 
20
   One thing only is wanting to make this note
 a "palpable hit."  That  one  is  truth:   Dr.
 Smith  did write a keen and flippant  article in
 relation  to my  "Anatomical Investigations."
 The editor of the Medical Recorder  did bring
 forward some sentences which he thought prov-
 ed that my ideas were not original.   Dr. Smith
 was uncandid and unjust, for in the preface to
 my " Anatomical Investigations," stands the fol-
 lowing sentence, which he took no note of, but
 made his attack as if no such thing were there:


  " Among the most interesting parts of these researches,
 is the demonstration of the manner in which the  capsular
 ligaments of the great joints are formed.  I am by no means
 anxious  to claim  great  merit for proving the continuity
 of fasciae, and the  connexions  thus  produced  between
 different parts—although Bichat contented himself with
 asserting that the fibrous membrane may be traced into the
periosteum.  But I do expect the thanks of Anatomists and
 physiologists for pointing out the mode in which the capsu-
 lar ligaments are made up from the coverings of the mus-
 cles,  and thus rendering their natural conditions more in-
 telligible and opening the way to new views of their possi-
 ble situations resulting from disease or accident.  I am sure
 of receiving the grateful applause  of every  unprejudiced
 student for having in this part of the science substituted sim-
 plicity for complexity and regularity for confusion. "
                         Anat. Invest. Introd. p. xi.


   Moreover, neither of these writers took the
 trouble to give a correct view of my observations,
 which (as explicitly stated in more  than one part
 of my preface) were intended to show the  mode
 or manner in which  certain structures existed—
 not that the structures  had  never  before  been
 seen; to  show the various points at which some
 textures  were continuous, and not  that  their 
21
continuity had never before been asserted.  Br
chat made some general enunciations, that the
fibrous membranes were continuous, by running
into the periosteum  or membrane surrounding
the bone.  Bell stated in equally general terms,
that all the fibrous texture  might be viewed as
one system.  My researches showed, not only
the truth of these  assertions in detail, but led
to  many  interesting views of fibrous  mem-
branes and peculiar modifications of continuity,
never pointed out by either of the above named
celebrated anatomists.* The truth of these con-
clusions I have repeatedly demonstrated before
some of the  most respectable of the surgeons
and physicians of this city, and  am ready at
any time  to convince  any gentleman by refe-
rence to  the knife alone, and not to argument.
   To conclude with  Dr Harlan ;  he has taken
pains to  sneer at  my "forthcoming  work  on
Natural History," and  I am happy to state it is
much nearer being  laid before the public than
he has  any idea of, and  when it  is placed at
their disposal, I am perfectly sure that it will give
evidence of  my "progressive improvement."
His own book he talks  of  reprinting, and asserts
  * A year subsequent to the publication of my researches
Dr. Gerdv  of Paris, published a paper containing almost
precisely the same views as I had offered in relation to  the
muscular sheaths.  Clarus of Holland, according to Meck-
el  has taken a view of the  extension of the fascia superfi-
cialis, very similar to that given by me.  Gerdy's observa-
tions were published as novel and interesting, in 1824,  nor
does he any where think it necessary to attribute the fruits
of his observations to Bichat, because the latter has said in
general terms, that the fibrous membranes are continuous. 
22
that the first edition was not uead-bornt.  No
later than yesterday, (31st March,) the  printer
who owns the remainder of the first edition,*and
the bookseller whose shelves still groan under
them, stated, that with the exception of those fur-
nished to the  subscribers,  which  barely  defray-
ed the expense of printing,  but TWO COPIES
had  been sold,  one of which  was purchased
by myself.  He may publish the second  edition
when  he pleases; the first is restored to  its
rightful owner,  and Dr.  Harlan has acquired
a notoriety, which few men, except himself, in
this community,  could desire or deserve.*
  He has brought forward some errors of mine
in the  Journal  of the Academy of Natural
Sciences, in a way which is also peculiarly illus-
trative of his character.  His remarks relative
to the structure  of  the  ear of the scalops  and
condylura are,  in an especial manner, worthy
of attention.   I  spent as  many  weeks  in  the
fields studying the habits and manners of these
two  animals as  Dr.  Harlan  was  employed in
getting out his whole work, and as 1 was very
anxious to learn  as  far as possible from living
nature, in but one instance did I  kill either of
  *His introduction of Cuvier's mere acknowledgment  of
having received the copy of the Fauna presented to him,
strongly reminds us of Sheridan's formula, which he em-
ployed in answer to the authors who teased him with pres-
ents of their works, in order to win from him a commenda-
tory letter : it ran thus—
  Dear Sir—I have received your very interesting  [ book,
essay, poem, farce, or whatever it might  be, ] and shall, no
doubt, be very much delighted with it—when I have read
it.  With the highest respect, &c.    R. B. Sheridan. 
23
the animals for dissection. My remarks on them
wereread to the Academy on the 8th of June,
182$~and on the 9th of August, I824^having
in the interim procured another specimen for
dissection, and discovered my  mistake,  I read
a note correcting it, to the Academy, and this
note is  published in  the Academy's Journal.*
Dr. Harlan was present,  heard that correction
read—even  made some remarks about  its not
being necessary to refer it to a committee, as it
was a correction of  a paper already published.
On the Tuesday following, Dr. Harlan had the
candour  to  come forward and read the collec-
tion  now published  in his pamphlet, as if I had
never corrected my own  error!
  What  was his plea  for so doing ?  He had
read a  paper on the scalops six years ago, be-
fore I was a member of the Academy.  The pa-
per itself, is not  on the  files of the Academy.
What was in that paper?  All rests  on Dr. Har-
lan's own assertion:  and who, after knowing
the facts which are  here  stated,  can receive
any thing on the assertion  of  one capable of
thus acting ?
  He may produce his papers, and make them
show what he pleases; let any man of honour
refer to the  minutes of the Academy of Natural
Sciences, and, finding the above statements con-
firmed, then put faith in Dr. Harlan if he can.
  As to any errors into which I may have fallen
while engaged in pursuing my studies, I have not
the slightest objection to   acknowledge,  and
* Page 135, Vol. V. Part I. 
24
  am always sincerely desirous  to  correct them.
  That I am infallible, I never pretended: that  I
  am hone% I  feel well  assured.  For  proJt of
  this, let the consistency of my conduct speak;
  let those who have been concerned in business
  with me answer; let the voice of public appro-
  bation, which has, in  the  short spaceoi five
  years, given to a young, unknown, and friendless
  stranger, a standing seldom   conferred under
  similar circumstances, testify whether  or not  I
  have been an ardent and undeviating votary of
  truth, an industrious  and faithful discharger of
  the trusts confided to  me: or whether I have
  ever been known to shrink  from  any peril of
  life  or  health, when  duty bade me  jeopard
  either?  I say not this boastingly, nor in the be-
  lief that  my merits have been equal  to the de-
'  gree of public favour which I have enjoyed:  I
  can  truly say, that my  supreme desire is to be-
  come more and  more worthy of it, by the cor-
  rection of my errors and the improvement of
  my mind.
           Most respectfully,
               I  remain your  friend, 8>c.
                      JOHN  D. GODMAN.
     Philadelphia, April, 10th, 1826.
  P. S. I have deposited Desmarest's work, in
company with a marked copy of the Fauna, in
a situation where they may be fairly compared
by the curious.   For the benefit of those who
have  not an opportunity  of examining  the
books, a specimen is subjoined. 
     ,   SPECIMEN OF  THE FAUNA


 Contrasted with the, work of A.  G.   Desmarest.


   N. B.  All the articles referred to in  pages 12,  13,  14,
 15 and 16 are as servilely and as inaccurately translated as
 the subjoined, which are all selected from the unacknowledg-
 ed matter.
   It has been industriously urged to the public that natu-
 ralists are in the habit of appropriating to themselves  the
 property of others  without acknowledgment.  To disprove
 this entirely, refer to Desmarest's work, and  it will be seen
 that he gives credit with scrupulous  exactness, for all that
 he borrows.

  SECONDE FAMILLE.   Family  INSECTIVORA.
 Insectivores, insectivora.     Char. Essen.  Feet  short,
  Car. Essent. Pieds  courts,  armed with robust nails; hind
 armes  d'ongles  robustes;  feet always five-toed,resting .
 ceux de derriere toujours a  on the  anterior part of the %
 c.inq doigts, ayant leur plante  sole; fore feet most generally
 entierement a'ppuyee sur le  five-toed; crowns of the mo-
 sol ; ceux de devant le plus  lar teeth elevated into sharp
 ordinairement a cinq doigts.  tubercles; canine teeth some-
 (Point  de membranes  pour  times very long, sometimes
 voler.) Dents molaires ayant  very short.
 leur couronne herissee de tu-
 bercules  aigus; Canines tan-
 tot fort longues, tantot  fort
 courtes.
  Incisives en  nombre varia-   Number of incisors varia-
 ble.   Corps couvert de poils  ble. Body covered with hair,
 ou de  piquans ; nourriture,  or spines ; feeding on insects,
 des insectes, des racines ten-  roots, and fruits.
 dres, des fruits.
 Patrie,  les contrees tempe-    Inhabit  the temperate cli-
rees des deux continens.      mates of  both continents.^
  Ire Division. Deux longues    1st Division.  Two long in-
 incisives  en  avant, suiviea  cisors  before,  followed by
 d'autres  incisives et de pet-  others, and by  small canines
ites canines, plus courtes que  shorter than the molars.  P,
les machelieres. p. 147        24.
                          D 
26
            XLIIe  Genre.
       Sorex, Linn. Erxl. Schreb.
      Cuv. LacSp. lllig.
       Musaraneus,  Brisson.
       Incisives superieures inter-
      mediaires a double crochet,
      ayant un fort eperon situe a
      leur talon;  incisives inferi-
      eures alongees,sortant droites
      de Palveole, et ne se recour-
      bant qu'al'extremite. Fausses
      canines,  surtout  les superi-
      eures, beaucoup plus petites
      que les incisives interm£di-
      aires  Molaires a  couronne
      large herissee de pointes, les
      superieures etant  les  plus
      grandes et ayant leur tranch-
      ant  oblique ;  tete tres alon-
      gee ; nez'prolonge et mobile;
      oreilles courtes, arrondies ;
  0   yeux petits, mais visibles.

'/   Queue plus ou moins longue
'     tantot tetragone, tantot com-
      primee dans une  partie  de
      sa longueur, quelquefois te-
      retile. Corps couvert de poils
      fins et courts ; pieds a doigts
      foibles, separes, munis d'on-
      gles crochus  non  propres a
      fouir la terre;  mammelles au
      nombre de  six ou de huit,
      tant pectorales  que ventrales,-
      une glande sebacee sur chaque
      flanc,  entouree  des  soies
      roides  et serrees, laissant
      suinter une humeur grasse.
       Habit. En ete se tiennent
      dans des trous ; en hiver pe-
      netrent  dans   les  grenier £
      foin ;  vivent de vers et d'in-
      sectes;  ont une   demarche
      lente ; repandent   dans  le
      temps du rut, une odeur as-
           Genus.
 ^o?-^,Linn. Erxleb. Schreb.
Cuv. Lacep. Illig;
 Musaraneus, Brisson. _   t
 Superior  intermediate inci-
sors in  form of a  double
hook,  having a short spur
situate at their base ; inferior
incisors elongated, proceed-
ing straight from the alve-
oles, and are recurved only
at  their extremity.   False
canine, particularly the supe-
rior, much smaller than the
intermediate incisors.  Mo-
lars with   broad   crowns,
having  sharp  tubercles, the
superior are largest and have
the cutting surface oblique ;
head very  long; nose elon-
gated  and moveable ;  ears
short and  rounded;  eyes
small but visible.
 Tail  more or less long,
sometimes    quadrangular,
sometimes partly compress-
ed, at others teretile.  Body
covered with fine short hair;
feet terminated  by  feeble
toes, separate, furnished with
hooked nails, not proper for
digging the earth ; mammas,
both pectoral and ventral,  to
the number of six or eight;
 a sebaceous gland  on each
flank, surrounded by stiff and
compact hairs,  secreting an
oily liquor.
  Habit. In summer, living
in holes ; in winter, penetra-
ting hay-mows; feeding on
worms  and insects ; of slow
progression ; during the rut-
ting  season they diffuse a
strong  odour ;j [hence their 
27
i
  sez forte, &c.

   Patrie  les contrees tempe-
  rees et chaudes de l»ancien
  continen.  P. 149.

   Nota. Quelques  individus
  ont du blanc  au bout de  la
  queue, au nez, sur les pattes
  et, comme celui de Catesby,
  copie  dans  l'Encyclopedie
  autour du cou.
   (1) Cette espece  nous par-
  ait diffcrer de la variete noire
  de l'ecureil capistrate, par la
  taille   plus  petite,  par  la
  douceur du poil, et parce que
  le nez et les oreilles ne  sont
  pas regulierement blancs.—
  Elle s'eloigne  de la variete
  noire de l'ecureil gris  par la.
  brievete de la queue, p. 334

   Habit. Les elans vivent en
  petites troupes dans lesforets
  marecageuses. Ils'ont des al-
  lures beaucoup moiffs legeres
  que celles des autres cerfs et
  courent   ordinairement   au
  trot. lis vivent de bourgeons
  d'arbres et d'herbes.  Pour
  paitre, jls sont obliges,  a
  cause  de la brievete de  leur
  eou, de se mettre a genoux
  ou d^ecarter les jambes de
  devant.   Le rut, pour cette,
  espece, commence a la fin du
  mois d'aout et  dure tout  le
  mois de septembre. Les fe-
  melles mettent bas depuis  la
  mi mai jusqu'a la mi-juin ;
  la premiere fois, elles ne font
  qu'un  seul petit, ensuite con-
. stamment deux  et  rarement
  trois.  Les vieux elans per-
vulgar   name,   " pole-cat
shrew."]
 Inhabit temperate  climates
of both continents.   P. 25.
 Some individuals have white
 at the end of the tail,  nose
 and feet,  also like those of
 Catesby's (copied in the En-
 cyclopaedia) around the neck.

 This  species differs from the
 black variety of the S. Capis-
 tratus in  its small  size, the
 softness of its hair, & because
 its nose and ears are not reg-
 ularly white. It is separated
 from  the black variety of the
 Gray Squirrel by the short-
 ness.of its tail,    p.. 178,.


 Habit.  The moose  live in
 small troops in swampy pla-
 ces.  Their  gait, which is
 commonly  a trot, is much
 less active than that of other
 deer.  They feed on the  buds
 of trees and on herbs.  When
they attempt to eat from the
 grouj^l, they  are obliged,
 frorrrohe shortness of their
neck,  either to kneel or to se-
parate their  fore-legs.  The
rutting season   commences
with them about the end  of.
August and continues during
the month of September.  The;
females brinj:; forth from the
middle of May, to the midi
die of June ; the f.rst time
they produce only one young
one, afterwards two,  rarely
three.  The  old moose loose 
/
88
/
;
   dent leurs bois en jahvier et
   fevrier, et les jeunes en avril
   et en mai. Les premiers ont
   leur bois nouveau a la fin de
  juin, et les autres  au mois
*  d'aout.  Duree  de  la  vie,
   quinze a vingt ans.

    PATRIE.  L'elan  appele
   Elk, Elg, Elend, Mlg,  Los,
   Loos, etc., par les peuples du
  nord de l'aucien Continent,
   se trouve  en Europe,  depnis
  le 53e degre de latitude, dans
  une partie de  la Prusse, de
  la Pologne, de la Suede  ; en
  Finlande, en Russie,  et  sur-
  tout en Livonie et en Ingrie.
  En Asie il deseend plus  bas,
  depuis  le  45e degre  jusqu'
  au 51e, surtout en Tartaric
M-if^I
  En  Amerique, ou il  est
nomme mousou par  les Al-
gonquins,  moose ou moose
deer par les Anglais, et ori-
ginal par les Fran^ais,  on le
rencontre depuis le 44e de-
gre jusqu'au 53e, autour des
grands  lacs, &c.   p.  430

 (1.) Le Lievre du dffben-
land ou rekalek, qui reste en-
tierement  blanc, me me  en
ete, aveo du noir au bout des
oreiiles, le jeune etant d'un
gris-blanchatre.  Sa  femelle
met bas huit petits a la fois.
La nourriture  de cet animal
se compose principalement
des herbes tendres qui crois-
sent le long des ruisseaux
dans les gorges des montag-
nes du Groenland.
 their horns in  January and
 February,  and the  young in
 April and  May.  the first
 have their new horns by the
 end of June, and the others
 in the month of August. Du-
 ration of life, fifteen or twen-
 ty years.
  Country. The Moose Deer
 called Elk, Elg, (Elg, Los,
 Loos, &c.  by  the  northern
 inhabitants of the ancient
 continent,  ranges in Europe
 from the  fifty-third - to  the
 sixty-third  degree  of  lati-
 tude through part of Prussia
 Poland,  Sweden,   Finland,
 Russia, and particularly  in
 Livonia* and  in Jugrie.  In
 Asia it descends lower, from
 the forty-|fth to the fifty-first
 degree  of latitude, particu-
 larly in Tartary.
  In  America, where it  is na-
 med Monsoll by the Algon-
 quin s, Moose or Moose deer
 by the Bnglish, and Origin-
 al by the French, it is met
 with in the more  northern
 parts of the United States,
 and beyond the Great Lakes.
                 p. 331-2.
  Note.—Perhaps fhay  be
 referred  to this species al-
 so the Greenland  hare,   or
 Rekalek, which remain's en-
 tirely white, even in summer,
with black  at the ends of the
 ears; the young being whi-
tish-gray ;  the female bring-
 ing  forth  eight young at a
time. The food of this ani-
 mal  consists principally  of
the tender herbs, which grow
 along the  brooks  on  the"
slopes  of  the  Greenland
 mountains.   p. 196. 
 
 
 
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